Slowly Randidly began developing an impression of Tim Young but not immature Likely because he grew up with the chaos of the System around him A strong sense of justice because one of the few times Tim spoke he had carefully defended Randidly when Delilah had claimed she had been viciously attacked by the Ghosthound

Well maybe it might be a bit self centered to jump to a sense of justice from him defending me

Pausing in his thoughts Randidly glanced around the dining room table with a helpless smile They all seemed to be waiting for another person to start eating I mean if no one else is I�ll take the first bite

He scooped up a spoonful of the risotto and popped it into his mouth The mellow muskiness of the Level 66 Hellion Ram that Randidly had used for the meat combined well with the carrots Plus nothing could rival the creamy smoothness of a good risotto the butter harvested from Kharon�s farms was no joke Randidly didn�t have the time to make the stock from scratch and transfer the stock in small batches into the rice so the texture was a bit inconsistent But he was pretty confident in the result

Under his expectant smile everyone took a bite of his risotto Watching their individual reactions was somewhat gratifying

What Delilah sat bolt upright like she had received an electric shock Then she rapidly began shoveling food into her mouth Why is such a good food such an ugly sandy color

Derek�s expression brightened mm This is dam dang good

Tim closed his eyes and revealed an expression of pure bliss after he took his first bite While Delilah raced to devour her plate like someone was going to steal it and even Derek hasten the pace of his chewing Tim savored every bite

Somehow the very purposeful manner of eating broke Randidly�s heart Haven�t had the chance to have many good meals huh

Yet there were other encouraging signs that Randidly noticed as he spent time with the Mosses First it only now occurred to Randidly that the energy source of the city was called moss spirits Because ever since Randidly had arrived at the apartment the emerald spirits had been circling the building excitedly They liked that Randidly Tim and Derek were in the same place at the same time Randidly could feel how much the energy lifeforms adored them in their rapidly escalating numbers

Moss spirits even began to seep under the door and through the window to join the party but Randidly quietly willed them away The situation was already complicated enough as it was I wonder if I truly teach Tim how to do this someday the Moss family name will seem to be more than a coincidence to the people of Kharon

Secondly Randidly felt how Derek Moss�s image was an offshoot of his own He was the Bombardier of the Sacred Grove Although Randidly could tell that Derek hadn�t yet quite uncovered the core of his own image his ability to use images was rapidly growing under the tutelage of the Order Ducis Now it was only a matter of time

Finally Randidly touched both of their images more directly with Grim Intuition It was a much easier prospect with Derek but Tim seemed to possess a Skill that was naturally teaching him how to use images It was likely the same Skill that made the moss spirits so enthusiastic about him With that simple brush Randidly had some insight into their desires Both seemed if not content in Kharon heading toward that direction

For now at least their desires stayed with the Wandering City

After a few more messy compliments for the risotto from a full mouthed Delilah the meal proceeded in peace Each person asked for seconds Which was fine until Delilah noticed that Randidly was filling his plate for the third time and announced that she could eat more Watching her struggle through the third plate was slightly amusing but Randidly didn�t bother serving himself a fourth plate from the pot despite the fact that he was still a bit peckish he just stored it away in his interspatial ring for later

Our physical baseline is just too different Randidly thought with amusement Even in terms of hunger you aren�t my match Delilah Hehe I�ll eat you under the table anytime you want

Derek looked over at Randidly hesitantly as he cleared the plates and rinsed them off in the sink So Mr Ghosthound You said you were over here for business

Yea I am I was hoping I could ask for your son�s help Mr Moss Randidly said slowly Tim twitched and looked up with wide eyes There is a project that I plan on working on in the upcoming weeks and I want an assistant Someone who would learn to perform that task for Kharon after I�m gone Tim was the candidate I had in mind

Derek rubbed his chin as he sat down again at the table Then he stood back up to return the to the cabinet and poured himself another scotch When he sat down at the table again he looked at Randidly with serious eyes This is just a request

Randidly heard the tension in Derek Moss�s voice Some part of him winced at the helpless feeling in Derek�s voice but Randidly didn�t flinch Just a request I do come as the leader of Kharon but I come to speak to you as Tim�s father And to Tim individually I won�t force you to accept my offer I want someone who assists me of their own free will

While he was speaking to Derek Randidly�s attention wandered to the two children sitting at the other end of the table He looked at Tim to gauge his reaction but he also kept a little bit of focus on Delilah because of her antagonistic earlier statements But to his surprise both children looked contemplatively at Randidly as he spoke Huh looks like there is more depth to her than I expected too

although maybe she just has a stomach ache from eating too much

What�s the job Derek asked into the serious silence

Engraving Randidly responded A specific type of Engraving Most people can manage it well enough already to make floating platforms but I want someone to help me make more floating pieces of land like my island At that scale the requirements for uniformity and shape are much higher

Derek Moss hummed to himself Then he looked at Tim and he�s uniquely suited for it because of his relationship with the moss spirits right Well what do you think Tim Do you want to help Mr Ghosthound to make floating islands

Tim opened his mouth to speak but Delilah interrupted Heh that Even I can do that And if you beg me maybe

I don�t want a floating platform that needs to be renewed every 24 hours Randidly rolled his eyes When Delilah abruptly went white Randidly couldn�t help but chuckle I mean I truthfully haven�t been able to find out how you do it by looking at the remains But did you really think that I didn�t understand the limitation of the methods you were using

With Delilah silenced Randidly focused on Tim This will help a lot of people But I want to say upfront that learning this Skill will be a lot of responsibility And responsibility is hard When people learn you can do this people will want you to give them special treatment You will need to be able to know when to use this Skill for the good of Kharon

Randidly felt somewhat awkward speaking about responsibility It was only in the battle against Kaan that he suddenly realized the scope of consequences that surrounded each of his actions But perhaps for that reason he felt compelled to stress those factors to Tim So he spoke even if Randidly wasn�t sure that Tim would understand

Tim stared at the table for a long time But finally he raised his head and nodded I want to help Mr Ghosthound I want I want to learn the Engraving Skill

It will be a lot of work Tim Derek said softly

Tim nodded again But it will help people right I can help people

Randidly and Derek shared a glance Randidly could see the hesitation in his eyes but Derek Moss ultimately nodded slowly alright then But you can�t let it interfere with your grades alright

Ugh dad Tim rolled his eyes You know that school here is super easy It won�t be a problem I promise

And to that Randidly couldn�t help but reveal a predatory smile To be honest I haven�t heard many first hand accounts about how Kharon handles education right now Since we are on the subject can you give me some of the details of what is expected of you

Chapter 1411

Once he had Derek and Tim�s agreement to the Engraving project things began to accelerate Randidly basically lectured Delilah into staying on a semi permanent basis with the Moss�s in order to keep her someplace predictable Then he worked out a schedule with Tim for his assistance

At Tim�s current knowledge of Engraving it would take quite a while until Tim would be of any substantive assistance with creating the Engraving for the floating islands But since it was Friday night Randidly whisked Tim off to his Alpha Cosmos and dropped him off with Lucretia for a crash course in the basics of Engraving

In the meantime Randidly also traveled through his Alpha Cosmos to pay a visit to Wendy

Their meeting was a tension filled tea session in Wendy�s office while both made small talk and sipped at their steaming beverages The longer this went on the more Wendy began to sweat and pull at her collar rambling on about how important her current research was even though she never spoke with enough specificity for Randidly to have any idea what her research entailed

Not that Randidly minded his bait was already out there He just needed to wait for Wendy to bite down on the hook

Especially after the discussion at the Moss�s regarding the teaching situation in Kharon Randidly�s would not let this opportunity to enlist Wendy�s brilliance pass After Tim had run out of things he could remember about the tasks they had been given Delilah had been quite happy to chime in and list off dozens of dumb things about the current educational system in Kharon

Most of the information Randidly had heard before in a more palatable form from an overview he had been given on the education program Yet it was more alarming to hear how the children received it

It would take some time to figure out how accurate Delilah�s statements were but Randidly had already sent a message to Tatiana to give him the comprehensive version of Kharon�s teaching doctrine Still it had firmed his resolve to rebuild the system from scratch And the mechanisms of Kharon Academy would be central to that effort

Even if it was just a complex building that complex building built above a labyrinth would become a symbol As Randidly had experienced with the thriving image of independence and creativity in Kharon a symbol was a very powerful thing for motivating people

Finally Wendy could stand it no longer and set down a ginger snap cookie I uh had some spare time before bed I�ve glanced through those schematics that you passed to me A little immature but the idea is ah mildly interesting

Wendy was practically squirming in her chair While grinning from ear to ear mentally Randidly shook his head sorrowfully and waved his hand Yes well I thought so too And we had just approved a significant budget to have it built so many rare materials were gathered in order to expedite the construction yet we simply couldn�t find an architect with enough confidence to take the project and nurture it to completion Such a tragedy

Wendy coughed into a napkin Yes well There are significant flaws with many of your ideas heh and human engineers well you know

Yes of course They were simply overwhelmed by the complexity of the project Randidly said in mock sorrow Then he continued to shake his head What I don�t understand is why they wouldn�t be tempted to try it anyway Considering the growth of the moss spirits around Kharon they have an almost limitless energy source at their fingertips The sort of innovations they could make are practically infinite

Wendy licked her lips Well obviously the energy source isn�t limitless But considering the growth of the engine in Kharon unnghh certainly the amount of ambient energy grants whoever is at the helm of such a project vast flexibility the experiments one could run but someone like that would probably need specific Classes in order to take advantage of that opportunity

Randidly chewed on his lip while thinking of how to ratchet up the tension on Wendy you know that makes sense

Give me two Class lighthouses that fit my specifications and I�ll take over the project Wendy snapped Then her hands jumped to cover her mouth as though she was shocked by the suddenness of what she said

Randidly blinked Then he began to laugh that was your goal the entire time huh So I guess you already knew I was trying to tempt you into helping

Of course Do you ever come to visit me if you don�t need something Wendy said sourly She picked up the discarded ginger snap and nibbled at the edge of it Then she put it back down But I�ll admit the project is interesting

After thinking about Wendy�s request for a bit Randidly nodded slowly He was now just a normal individual within the Alpha Cosmos but his normal� abilities still put him head and shoulders above the most powerful individuals in the Alpha Cosmos In addition his recent experimentations with physical manifestations of his images seemed to have created a vast underground network of caves that were currently unexplored Within them a casual scan had found a few unactivated Class Lighthouses

I can show you two lighthouses but you will be in charge of getting the right Classes from them Select the first user carefully Abruptly something occurred to Randidly A grin spread across his face Actually I have another thought

After Randidly discussed his idea with Wendy she agreed to pass word on to the other populations within the Alpha Cosmos With that confirmation Randidly returned to Earth and met with Tatiana and Wolfram to discuss the concrete details of the first two floating islands as well as some political issues inherent in the project Reading the relevant maps sent over by Vye they identified some valuable and unique areas that they should target in the borderlands before any of the Zones expanded outward and annexed them

The meeting stretched on much longer than they had anticipated taking them well past the setting of the sun Eventually Randidly had to cease the impromptu strategy meeting in order to return to his Soulskill and pick up Tim from Lucretia�s care When he dropped Tim back off at his family�s apartment the kid was mumbling unintelligibly to himself and casually drawing Engravings on a piece of wood Luckily Derek wasn�t yet home from his Order Ducis shift and Randidly could flee without trying to explain the reaction

Through the night Randidly spent some time repairing his Nether Nebula As with drops of liquid Aether that grey Nether bubble he had conjured was the accumulation of all of the weight that Randidly had gathered for several months Luckily once expended that weight would gradually reaccumulate So with his tending the Nether Nebula soon regained enough of its former potency that Randidly needed to restrain it lest it affected the surrounding space

With the sunrise Randidly sent out several messages to various political entities on Earth revealing a few concrete details regarding the duos tournament Then he went to the Moss�s apartment to bring Tim back within his Alpha Cosmos and continue his crash course in Engraving But Randidly was taken by surprise when Delilah wanted to come as well

When asking nicely didn�t work she threatened him with both violence and telling her parents When threatening didn�t work she begged and clung stubbornly to his leg Finally in the interest of conserving time Randidly relented and brought her along too Delilah was a bit unpredictable in her actions but at the very least she was extremely talented Perhaps Lucretia teaching some structure would do her some good

Then Randidly had to go to the legs of Kharon and update the Engraving there using his understanding of gravity due to the improved Stillborn Phoenix in order to decrease the physical weight of Kharon on the ground below it Apparently there had been complaints from the Zones that Kharon�s passage damaged the ground

The damage left in the city�s wake was relatively small so far as Randidly could tell but since Kharon was currently making a beeline for the Orchard in Zone 1 he wanted to completely silence Kharon�s critics before they could even open their mouths And when Randidly complained about how exhausting keeping up with the running of a city was Tatiana laughed in his face

It took a while for her mirth to subside enough for her to speak How do you think I feel Randidly you can literally solve all these problems with a little time and focus Most of the rest of us just need to make do with what we have That�s why you are such a valuable strategic asset for Kharon That�s the mundanity of being the most powerful man in the world You are too efficient at solving problems for your own good

She patted his back fondly and left chuckling the entire time

Kadir cracked his knuckles when the contents of the message was announced to the room Everyone�s face was grim Your majesty this Ghosthound shows us all disrespect First he said that we are being plotted against by Zone 1 now he expects us to do nothing in the face of this conspiracy until the tournament We

Silence you fool King Phirun didn�t bother to glare at his subordinate The only thing that was necessary was his image Despite the fact that the man was a two meter tower of tattooed muscle he quickly was shaking and took a step back in the face of King Phirun�s focus

King Phirun allowed his image to fade His heavy lidded eyes shifted from his most powerful warrior and scanned the surrounding group of elite troops he had gathered in preparation of the duo tournament Idly King Phirun drew lines across his bulging stomach with his right hand Can anyone tell me why I am not angry at the Ghosthound�s words

The question was a trap and King Phirun�s followers knew it They all lowered their eyes deferentially none would dare speak for their sovereign To do so would be treason King Phirun eventually smiled and asked a different question Or perhaps why is the Ghosthound�s action not disrespectful to me

Again no one answered But this time King Phirun was not going to let them off His image grew increasingly heavy in the surrounding air as the silence stretched onward King Phirun�s image was conjured from a memory from the horrible tsunami that had leveled his village to the ground when he was a boy To this day he still awoke sweating from the nightmare of that day when he fell asleep in a place where he could hear the sea It was why Ifrenne was the City in the Clouds

That fear and panic in King Phirun�s heart became a cudgel That sense of overwhelming helplessness in the face of nature�s power became his strength which he then unleashed in the surrounding area The weaker amongst his guards began to squirm underneath the pressure Still no one could come up with an answer

King Phirun began to frown Strength was not enough in this world A true warrior also needed the instinct to discern when one should strike and when one should flee If no one present had that instinct his people had no hope of winning the tournament unless he participated Which would be a great loss of face for him

King Phirun intensified the pressure Everyone was trembling now and the nearest guards were gritting their teeth so tightly the muscles of their jaw were bulging Then a voice cut through the silence Because the Ghosthound is strong

When King Phirun smiled his image vanished He turned to look at the speaker The man was standing at the back of the assembled warriors leaning against his spear and breathing heavily Perhaps the weakest of his guards Tosam had spoken And it seemed like he hadn�t spoken willingly But he had spoken anyway because he could no longer withstand the weight of King Phirun�s image

It seems this Tosam is intelligent King Phirun noted as he studied the kneeling man If he had not spoken he would simply have collapsed That would show weakness To show weakness as a member of the greatest group of warriors he would have been killed

Yes because he is strong King Phirun said aloud If he were an equal this would be disrespectful and I would kill his subordinates for such a slight to my honor But in this world Randidly Ghosthound is the sole man unequivocally stronger than me For the strong to speak to the weak that is already a sign of great respect So I will simply accept the content of the message and act accordingly

That is the way of the strong So it is now so it will be someday when I become the strongest individual in the world

Then King Phirun patted his belly Alright leave me Ah except Kadir and Tosam I have a mission for you two

Chapter 1412

Randidly turned away from the messy scrawl of the layers of academy plans in front of him and frowned at the message he just received Then he looked down at the plans he had been adjusting Randidly had just returned from dropping off Delilah and Tim in his Alpha Cosmos and had planned on using the morning to address the preliminary list of problems that Wendy had with his designs And for a preliminary� list it was certainly comprehensive to Randidly�s eyes

Even if he was perfectly solved all of her gripes this goal of addressing each issue in a single morning was likely quite optimistic Wendy was extremely demanding in her requirements for the plans She would help Randidly assemble the whole but she refused to waste her time designing the trivial details� Which meant that Randidly needed to spend quite a bit of time finalizing his plans into a satisfactory form

Despite the importance of the task the message had already derailed his focus No point in forcing it now

If Octavius doesn�t reply in the next few days I�ll just need to badger him until he can give me a definitive answer as to whether there is a danger in using Dungeons Randidly flexed his right arm back and forth as he walked out of his work hut With a more focused wave of his hand he pushed away the moonlight spirits surrounding his island and revealed the clear light of the early morning around him Despite the chill the sky was clear and blue

The light reflected off of the dusting of snow on the surrounding hills and created an aura of inviolability on the ground over which the Wandering City passed Kharon had proceeded to the edge of the borderlands and was now crossing into the Southern area of the Zones on its trek to the Orchard They would likely arrive there around noon

Randidly turned away from the brilliant light of the flawless morning the message still held his attention It was a short message asking for his presence at a dinner in a few days� time Randidly scratched his neck The sender was Lyra

Truthfully Randidly had plenty of motivation to talk with Lyra after her experience with Kaan Swacc He just kept finding excuses not to reach out And honestly he already had so many things on his plate that the extra emotional turmoil of that meeting seemed like a problem he shouldn�t bother to deal with In a lot of ways Lyra and his relationship had come to rest after he had created a Class for her Or at least it had from Randidly�s perspective

From the framing of the message it seemed like she didn�t share his feelings on the subject

But she likely had some information about Kaan Swacc After how difficult the fight against the former Special Investigator had been Randidly knew better than to leave any stone unturned Plus she could give him some valuable information about the Nexus Ways after seeing Kaan use them for so long And yet

I would prefer if I hear from Octavius before that Time in a Dungeon would be a nice buffer to consolidate my current state Randidly thought sourly knowing that he was looking for another way to delay Then because he was thinking about it so much Randidly sent a reminder message to Octavius about the situation in the Nexus But he specifically stated that he would like Octavius�s opinion on the dangers of Dungeons as quickly as possible

In the meantime Randidly opened up his Path menu to cash in on his spoils The confrontation with Kaan Swacc had been extremely fruitful combined with the unspent PP he previously had Randidly now had accumulated 1114 PP that he could spend It was a significant sum Even considering the high PP costs of some of his Paths Randidly had the choice between finishing one of the larger Paths or even several of the smaller Paths available to him

Heh it�s just a matter of choosing what to do Randidly spoke awkwardly to the air and scratched his cheek as he pulled up the list of Paths Honestly the thing had grown almost too massive as he had accumulated various options in his journey through the System But he supposed that most people�s lists were just as long if not more so at least he had the ability to generate a lot of PP to pursue the gathered Paths

Lumped together it was a pretty dense mass of text question marks and numbers

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 Cleaver of the World Tree Weakness of the World Tree 0/500 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 that Burns Memories 0/ Exodus the Terror 0/1000 Genesis the Considered 0/1000 Image Cooperation I 0/100 Body Refinement I 0/ Chimera�s Struggle II 0/ Spear Mastery III 0/200 Mysteries of the Fiery Emerald Waltz 0/ Violent Heat I 0/ Sovereign of Violence I 0/1000 Body Beyond the System 0/ Deathwish III 0/3 The Pursuit of Alchemy 0/750 Monstrosity�s Growth 0/1000 Weakness of the Grim Chimera 0/500 Weakness of the Stillborn Phoenix 0/500 Greater Visualization 0/ The Shadow Beyond the Threshold 0/

The first and most obvious thing that Randidly noticed was the change in Deathwish it had become Deathwish III Chuckling darkly he set that Path to the side just one more question he would save for when he headed into the Nexus

The list was pretty impressive but Randidly quickly began to remove a dozen Paths from contention as soon as he laid eyes on their familiar names Although he thought finishing everything would be the most satisfying life wasn�t designed for that sort of method There were a lot of attractive options but if Randidly didn�t focus even he wouldn�t be able to accomplish his main goals

The much abridged list ended up being a combination of tempting previous options and some new arrivals that grabbed Randidly�s attention

Aether Convergence II the Bell of Doom Tolls 0/600 The Ashes of Ulaat Patron of Ash 0/1000 Cleaver of the World Tree Weakness of the World Tree 0/500 Ashes of Illym the Above Average Child 0/5000 The Flame that Burns Memories 0/ Exodus the Terror 0/1000 Genesis the Considered 0/1000 Image Cooperation I 0/100 Body Refinement I 0/ Chimera�s Struggle II 0/ Spear Mastery III 0/200 Sovereign of Violence I 0/1000 Body Beyond the System 0/ The Monstrosity�s Growth 0/1000 Weakness of the Grim Chimera 0/500 Weakness of the Stillborn Phoenix 0/500 Greater Visualization 0/ The Shadow Beyond the Threshold 0/

The problem was how many of the Paths appealed to Randidly In the end he had only cut the list of Paths down by half Perhaps it was a sort of curiosity that kept them in the contention through the first round of cuts but he still had too many options to consider any of them seriously So he began to rule out other Paths

The easiest to remove were the Paths relating to a specific image and the two Ashes Paths Or at least Randidly initially wanted to sheer down the options like this And Randidly was only too happy to set aside the Weakness Paths for the moment including the two newly appeared ones for the Grim Chimera and the Stillborn Phoenix

But what was somewhat frustrating were the Paths that seemed related to one image but only generally Both Monstrosity�s Growth and The Shadow Beyond the Threshold seemed powerful but possessed clear links to specific images Perhaps because of the recency of their arrival Randidly assumed that they were relatively more powerful than his more long held Paths Although he didn�t want to imbalance his triple image further the power they hinted at was tempting

For now Randidly left them as options And he cut the Paths he could choose down to a more reasonable number

Image Cooperation I 0/100 Body Refinement I 0/ Spear Mastery III 0/200 Sovereign of Violence I 0/1000 Body Beyond the System 0/ The Monstrosity�s Growth 0/1000 Greater Visualization 0/ The Shadow Beyond the Threshold 0/

If Randidly wanted to actually try and complete multiple Paths the obvious choice would be for one of those Paths to be Spear Mastery III At 200 PP it was easily within his ability to immediately complete And afterward he would have more than enough to push most of the way through the higher cost Paths His remnant 900 PP would have a lot of purchasing power

Yet that road didn�t much appeal to Randidly Mostly because his current spear style was a bit rough To put it very directly he couldn�t even manage to demonstrate all the training he had done with a spear with his new powerful body As he was barely able to manage manifesting his three images at once he hadn�t gotten much time to grow used to fighting with his new form Even just walking around while all three images merged physically was a struggle Until he could manage himself and felt more confident in his fighting Randidly didn�t want to take the next Spear Mastery Path

For a similar reason Randidly was deeply conflicted about the Image Cooperation Path Although it seemed useful he ultimately decided to put it on hold First because he wanted to take an extended crack at the issue of utilizing the images together by himself And also because he didn�t believe that the System�s Path was designed to help him utilize images in this manner anyway Better to spend his PP elsewhere

Of course as soon as Randidly thought that the System wouldn�t help him he had a Path called Body Beyond the System He was aware that Paths would allow the user to deviate from System guidelines but in Randidly�s experience those deviations came with costs So even though that Path interested him greatly he wouldn�t casually complete it

Which finally left Randidly with five choices

Body Refinement I 0/ Sovereign of Violence I 0/1000 The Monstrosity�s Growth 0/1000 Greater Visualization 0/ The Shadow Beyond the Threshold 0/

Body Refinement would likely increase his physical abilities even further Sovereign of Violence implied it would give him more fighting tools Monstrosity�s Growth drew Randidly�s eyes because of the term Monstrosity likely it was a Path specifically to draw out the potential of Skill Monstrosity�s Appalling Physicality As the Skill currently sat at an Ancient Rarity there was plenty of room for growth

Visualization was one of Randidly�s core Skills allowing him to utilize images more efficiently So taking that Path to increase his image�s power further was very appealing The Shadow Beyond the Threshold seemed related to Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold which was a Skill that Randidly was continually surprised by Empowering it was sure to result in Randidly receiving a large benefit

And in fact as Randidly considered his five options he activated Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold The purple black energy filled with twinkling orange and emerald stars covered his body He gazed deeply at his options for a long time peering into casualty to see if he could intuit the results of taking each Path

Of course all his information was speculative So very quickly the future broadened into meaningless ambiguities So just as quickly as he summoned the energy he dismissed it with a small smile on his face The revelation was only a tool Instead Randidly pressed his eyes closed All this is fine but what do I want

In the center of his being three images spun slowly Growth survival obsession Each began to resonate slightly as Randidly�s mind followed his desires

What will bring me closer to what I want

Just as Randidly was about to choose a Path a message came from Octavius He asked Randidly�s forgiveness for the delay on his reply but explained that he and Vualla were still dealing with some small issues that had cropped up since her return Apparently her citizenship status was somewhat sensitive But to answer Randidly�s immediate question Octavius gave him a mostly positive answer Dungeons probably were likely harmless

Be careful with your Nether while you are within the Dungeon it might affect the surrounding space in special ways But there are no secret tests or tribulations from spending too much time in the Dungeon Just Aether Sickness Octavius wrote Your situation is pretty unique Most people in the Nexus have more time than they know what to do with They don�t need to stretch their time out even further in order to increase their power

Randidly grinned at the message Thank god

Already he was making plans for his trip into the Dungeon Different weaknesses Randidly identified in himself and projects he needed to focus on were added to a quickly growing mental list and filed away for later As Randidly continued to stand on his island with a grin on his face he began rapidly ordering the list into descending importance

Then with a blink Randidly looked back at the Path screen in front of him One thing at a time I guess And since I know I�ll be in the Dungeon soon anyway

As Randidly tossed the 650th PP into the Path he completed it

Congratulations Your have completed the Greater Visualization Path There are many Paths forward but it simply isn�t true that all routes can be traversed by mundane means The further toward the Pinnacle you travel the bleaker the terrain becomes As you walk forward you pass unmarked graves and shards of broken blades littering the ground The Path leads forward yet passing through the broken ground leaves you without sight of your destination

Dirt and bones soaked in blood have slowly oxidized resulting in a vast stretch of grey green wasteland as you travel upward on this vast slope As you gaze at the surroundings it is obvious that this is a playground of disease and death Fissures into the abyss are laying beyond ever lip of ground gleefully waiting to take the lives of the unwary They are so prevalent that you begin to wonder if this vast mountain you have spent so long climbing is hollow

And that makes you wonder what forms the foundation of this path toward the Pinnacle

Gas seeps upward from cracks in the ground visibility becomes increasingly scarce as your legs carry you up the slope If the goal has vanished you at least trust that upward is forward With the creeping mist comes an increased danger from the faults in the ground beneath your feet As your speed slows to avoid danger silence descends to hush all but the sound of your own breath Trailing behind you your shadow laying against the surrounding mist is your only companion in this broken land

Yet as you continue upward along the mountain path the tint of the mist around you changes While at first appearing to be innocuous steam it now thickens and curdles like milk left out to sit under the beating sun The scent of it is heavy and clings to the roof of your mouth as you continue to breathe The sound of air passing through your throat is rough

What follows the curdling of the mist is the darkness Perhaps it is simply your imagination but under the cover of the surrounding shroud a greedy darkness is reaching its cold fingers out to grasp at your flickering life Its long tongue slips up through the gashes in the ground and laps up your sweat

But the darkness is not even the final shift As the mist around you deepens and darkness begins to dance your shadow steadily twists and shudders Its joints silently twitch One sharp broken movement at a time it warps into a monster Each of your breaths cause the twisted creature trailing behind you to shudder with repressed hatred The change weighs on your mind

To reach this place have you become a monster

Randidly�s mouth slowly stretched into a grimace as he continued to read the notification he had received for finishing the Path he was already in a bad mood because the Path only gave 2 free Stats every 50 PP but now to receive this sort of dreadful notification

And along with the notification came a series of sweeping images that seemed injected directly into his mind While Randidly read through the words in front of him Randidly�s consciousness turned foggy as though he had gone into his Dreamcatcher Then he was somewhere else living the notification as he read it He felt the sandy ridges of bone dirt and dried blood beneath his feet He looked down into the darkness of those fissures and could not see the bottom even with his powerful Grim Intuition

When the mist came he tasted the moisture on the air He saw the strangely corporeal form of his shadow behind him With a mild gaze he watched it shift from a humanoid to a twisted demon of violence In the same moment a wave of insidious mental energy blasted forward to hit Randidly�s images It seemed that by completing this Path Randidly had volunteered himself for some sort of mental test

Is it because I chose the Greater Visualization Path Or perhaps because my images are a certain requisite strength Or even because I broke through the physical limit Perhaps it is for the best that I didn�t try to complete a bunch of Paths at once Randidly hummed to himself suspended in the reading of the notification Sensing another wave of mental attacks he quickly refocused

That strange energy sought to use such a transformation to weaken Randidly but it found no purchase on his will as the waves of energy lashed out The shift in his shadows only caused Randidly to release a bark of laughter Have I become a monster Of course I have To survive I became the Grim Chimera And I will continue changing as I need to in order to survive and accomplish my goal

Yet you cannot stop now Take this gift so that your corpse might trudge just a little further into the grip of the darkness before it collapses and feeds the horror that slumbers here

Certainly this notification is the most sinister that I�ve ever received Rather than the System trying to attack me this just seems like the System has given in to despair

Congratulations You have finished the Greater Visualization Path Willpower +50 and Wisdom +20 Congratulations Your Skill Visualization has evolved into Greater Visualization

Congratulations Your Skill Visualization has evolved into Conviction of the Smiling Horror Skill Level will be maintained Your ability to conjure details has slightly increased Your ability to broaden the number of details in your image has vastly increased

Mission accomplished Randidly rubbed his chin contemplatively

Chapter 1413

The rather morbid notification left Randidly with more worries than he had anticipated but it wasn�t like he could do much about the strangeness of content right now In the future he would be careful about the mental attacks but for now he didn�t see any reason to focus a significant amount of his attention on the issue

Although this mental attack was really poorly matched against me Randidly thought grimly Perhaps in the future resisting it won�t be so simple

Nor would he refuse the change to Visualization As Randidly looked as his newly created Conviction of the Smiling Horror he couldn�t help but grin The image for the evolved Class Skill was mostly based on the Grim Chimera but there were also elements of the Stillborn Phoenix in it That sense of bleak obsession

The result was a good one and a timely boost to Randidly�s strength In addition it was a small step toward his images working together That alone was cause for celebration

Still only one step forward Still a lot of improving to do Clicking his tongue Randidly opened up his Path menu once more He still had 464 PP so he could push a significant chunk of the way through another Path Perhaps because it was due to the Grim Chimera that he so easily disposed of the mental attack Randidly chose to go with the Monstrosity�s Growth Path

464 PP was only enough to get a little less than halfway through the Path but every 50 PP did reward Randidly with 1 Vit End and Nether Brawn Still a pretty low yield result but enough that Randidly�s stats slowly crept upward His body began to shift toward an even more powerful form

There was also a new notification that Randidly received as he was steadily feeding PP into the Path When his Figure of the Alpha Cosmos Soulskill reached 25000 he received a notification that he would receive his next tithe from the Alpha Cosmos at Level 27500 Randidly felt somewhat sour that such a reward would require him to gather another 2500 PP on his own but he knew that it was just a matter of time with his large number of Skills

Hopefully I could get 1/5th of that in this next journey into the Dungeon

All in all Randidly grinned after feeling the changes to his power In addition Randidly hadn�t yet spent the free Stats he had obtained after killing Kaan Swacc So with all the gathered free Stats he was able to push both his Reaction and Resistance to over 1000 Plus Endurance was creeping upward at a steady pace With the Endurance he got from Monstrosity�s Growth he was only 33 away from another Stat reaching 1000

After the two Stats reached 1000 in quick succession Randidly was briefly overwhelmed by the prickling sensation of change across his body If his Grim Intuition and Control hadn�t already been at 1000 he likely would have been lost in the clashing sensations that overwhelmed him But with a fine and practiced touch Randidly could trace the different sorts of responses that struck him simultaneously

Randidly�s newly improved Reaction seemed to sweep across his body activating all of his nerve endings to a painful degree In a very visceral way it felt like the previous wiring was being ripped out so the entire electric system could be revamped Randidly leaned forward and gritted his teeth as the pathways between the nerves became increasingly steady and secure

The process felt like forcing needles down his spinal column but the effect was good Information could move from his body to his brain and back again just a sliver more quickly In terms of sensitivity Randidly�s skin evolved to be much more discerning Those small hairs that covered the human body now seemed hard wired to trigger his nerves when they sensed something

Of course considering Randidly�s current ability to react even a sliver of time decrease was very significant in dangerous fights It was with those sorts of impossible moves that Randidly had been able to physically suppress Kaan Swacc even without using his combined images

In addition to his inflamed spine there were also especially concentrated pains in Randidly�s elbows and knees When he investigated the sensation further Randidly discovered that a growing mass of nerve endings and brain cells were weaving themselves into the tendons and muscles of the joints In essence Randidly was developing mini brains� that could independently react to external stimuli Although he wasn�t yet sure how well they would function Randidly savored the strange super smooth sensation of movement as he straightened his bent form as the pain faded

The change in his Resistance was more subtle But Randidly felt that as he stood whole and uninjured there was an extra intangible something to his defenses It was a strange impression but it felt like it would be quite difficult for an opponent to inflict their first wound on Randidly

It was almost an image So by the same token it was half a Skill But when Randidly focused on it it was difficult to pin down the source Just something vital appeared to have changed in Randidly�s body In its base state he had achieved some equilibrium As such there was a certain inertia keeping him at equilibrium

After that balance was broken his defenses would return to their prior state But by reaching 1000 his Resistance had a qualitative change that would shield him from the first batch of harm

Nodding to himself Randidly looked at the whole of his Stat sheet

Level 62 (34%)

Health(/R per hour) 12051/12051 (4699)

Mana(/R per hour) 11198/11198 (2788)

Stam(/R per min) 8301/8708 (1761)

Vit 1054

End 967

Nether Brawn 1009

Agi 1187

Grim Intuition 1080

Reaction 1000

Resistance 1014

Willpower 1207

Intelligence 1058

Wisdom 744

Control 1510

Focus 804

Skills (Soul Skill) Figure of the Alpha Cosmos Lvl 25014

Combat Spear Mastery Lvl 309 Heavy Blow Lvl 134 Iron Skin Lvl 47 Dodge Lvl 145 Block Lvl 77 Calculated Blow Lvl 139 Roundhouse Kick Lvl 97 Idiosyncratic Cut (Un) Lvl 126 Stalemate Breaker Lvl 142 Talon Strike Lvl 146 Counter Lvl 94 Ruinous Drive Lvl 84

LoBW Class Skills Spray Holy Sap (Un) Lvl 27 Sharpness Lvl 169 Earthquake (Un) Lvl 48 Invigorating Call (Humanity)(Un) Lvl 14 Erode Image Lvl 100 Spriggit�s Tinkering Lvl 172 Aether Understanding Lvl 155 Aether Infusion Lvl 47 Volatile Ash Lvl 44 Conviction of the Smiling Horror Lvl 311 Fruit of the Planting of Enmity Lvl 49 Absolute Timing Lvl 140 Cycle of the Gloomy Wood Lvl 45 Riders of the Baleful Court Lvl 199 Lantern of Harsh Truths Lvl 168 Sigil of an Approaching Fate Lvl 66 Profound Influence Lvl 21 Reckoning of the Bleak Dawn Lvl 99

Descent of the Grim Chimera Chimeric Avoidance Lvl 259 Cursed Appetite of a Wraith Lvl 289 Monstrosity�s Appalling Physicality Lvl 307 Reaper�s Mantle of Catastrophe Lvl 130 Molten Fang of the Pariah Lvl 211 Man is Proud but the Chimera Takes Lvl 200 The Chimera Weeps as Man Mourns Lvl 167 All Else Succombs Yet Time Whirls the Earth Lvl 179

The Stillborn Phoenix A Star that Prayed it would be Reborn Piercing Gaze of the Egg Lvl 210 The Tug of Tragic Silence Lvl 145 Cosmic Necessity Lvl 244 Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart Lvl 234 Tide of the Void Lvl 205 Stigma of the Stillborn Phoenix Lvl 263 Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold Lvl 302

Aether Skills Aether Detection Lvl 217 Aether Manipulation Lvl 224 Living Aether Lvl 165 System Interference Lvl 88 Aether Surgeon Lvl 104

Crafting Potion Making Lvl 73 Farming Lvl 34 Analyze Lvl 29 Refine Lvl 106 Extract Lvl 92 Architecture of the Primordial Ways Lvl 279 Experienced Creator�s Ingenuity Lvl 138 Touch of the Ghosthound

Yggdrasil the Universe that was First a Tree Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil Lvl 196 The Golden Roots of Yggdrasil Lvl 262 the Emerald Sap of Yggdrasil Lvl 199 the Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil Lvl 269 the Inscrutable Mien of Genesis Lvl 252 the Implacable Price of Exodus Lvl 219 Reign of the Eidolon Crucible Lvl 245 Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil Lvl 290

Auxiliary Sneak Lvl 56 Acid Resistance Lvl 22 Poison Resistance Lvl 21 Sewing Lvl 11 Digging Lvl 9 Cooking Lvl 101 Clockwork Mastery Lvl 30 Aether Connection Lvl 21 Soul Bond Lvl 155 Chef�s Palette Lvl 36 Nether Modification Child of the Rain (Un) Lvl 59 Engineering Savvy Lvl 192 From Darkness Genesis Lvl 17 (Domain) Crossroads of the Alpha Cosmos Lvl 199 Connection to the Alpha Cosmos Nether Sensation Lvl 220 Nether Ritual Lvl 164

Stop right there Hydie yelled while trying her best to avoid the bemused pedestrians as she dashed forward down one of Kharon�s busy streets Her boots were stained with splashes of the now drying blood from the crime scene they had stumbled across catching the perpetrator in the act So despite the constant onslaught of unlucky coincidences that Hydie encountered she dared not slow down

Hell she didn�t want to slow down The sight of that pale teenager leaning up against the wall a crimson stain slowly creeping out around his body

A platform rapidly settled down in a small empty space on the busy street a few meters ahead of Hdyie Due to the platform�s sudden arrival a large man stepped to the side directly into Hydie�s Path Her breath hissing through her teeth Hydie hopped sideways to the side to avoid the man and caught a sharp elbow from another pedestrian for her troubles Suppressing her annoyance she ignored the pain and hurried forward

The man she was chasing hopped up onto a cart of melons and then bounded to a second story balcony He flipped himself up from there onto a nearby roof and vanished Hydie skidded to a stop on the street below completely unwilling to approach the precariously balanced pile of melons Instead she flicked her wrist and produced a rope with a hook on the end She tossed it up to the roof and rapidly scaled up to that level to see the man sprinting across to another building about fifteen meters away

Not that she needed to rely on the rope to climb but she had learned from Derek to eliminate the effect that chance could have on her life reliable methods were always desirable And while Hydie had a clear line of sight on the man Hydie�s hands twisted to form a rapid series of seals While she could see him two hexes shot forward and landed soundlessly on the man�s back As they flared to life luck in the area around him rapidly decreased

The man then hopped down onto another street Sighing Hydie chased after him so she didn�t lose him in the crowd

With the city having just settled outside of the Orchard the entire population was out in force ready either to do business visit the Orchard or entertain the inevitable throng of people that came to see Kharon for themselves

Her quarry took a quick glance backward as he stepped into a heavily populated square giving Hydie the impression of a sharp face and a well trimmed goatee Then he was around the corner and out of sight

Huffing to herself Hydie pumped her legs as fast as she could As she crashed to the ground from the rooftops she somehow landed on the tail of a cat The creature yowled loudly making everyone in the surrounding area turn to look at her and block her sight of the man Goddamnit it Derek You said you would cut him off You know my physical stats are

Biting her lip she pushed forward Although the people�s looks were disapproving they quickly saw her uniform and made way As she wheeled around the corner into the alley several bananas smashed into her face She froze simply by dint of how ridiculous the sudden appearance of bananas was Some simply bounced off her forehead and cheekbones but one was ripe and soft enough to squish messily against her glasses spurting sugary mush everywhere

This damn luck Hydie growled In a practiced manner she pulled out a small cloth and began to rapidly clean her glasses before replacing them In order to not lose the man she was chasing she continued to sprint forward while staying in the middle of the alley to avoid the refuse bins that were pressed against the buildings But of course that path made her smash into the collapsed form of the target while she was distracted

She tumbled forward for a few seconds before two warm hands grabbed her out of the air and gently settled her on her feet Hydie blinked and looked up at Derek Moss who gave her an amused look and then walked up to the collapsed form of the man they had been chasing Hydie turned away to hide her blush and then rubbed her knee

Judging by how much the joint hurt her kneecap must have slammed directly into the back of the man�s head Hydie inwardly hoped that his head hurt just as badly as her knee did Derek crouched down in front of the man You alright

Not fucking now the man swore He swiped his hand sideways aggressively Derek pulled his limb backward letting the man flail harmlessly at air Then he staggered to his feet and glared at them both His hands twitched but the man suppressed it Two empty sheaths were at his waist He had left his weapons at the scene of the crime

Huh that�s strange Hydie frowned Who uses sheaths these days Interspatial compartments are so much more convenient

I would advise you not to run again Derek said lightly as he stood to match the man Except Derek Moss had six inches on the man and likely forty pounds of militarily built muscle Despite the fury in the man�s expression no one standing in the alley was in doubt who would win in a confrontation between the two of them Then Derek tilted his head to the side Why did you run in the first place We are wearing the Order Ducis uniforms

Heh I thought you were a fucking Visitor You know how scary those fucks are It�s like they aren�t even human The man shivered then shrugged and spoke in a sarcastic voice So my apologies for running Just caught me by surprise is all So are we done here Or does the Order Ducis like to bully

I�d like to see your ID card please Hydie interrupted shortly Then she smiled at the man and produced an item from an interspatial ring Also is this shortsword yours

The man�s face twitched and his hand stopped as he had been reaching toward his interspatial watch I�ve never seen that weapon before

Good Derek rumbled Because we found this weapon six inches deep in a fifteen year old boy He looks pretty old for his age and he�s pretty strong but as I�m sure you are aware the punishment for harming anyone without a Class is vastly harsher than assaulting someone who is of age Heh but it looks like the idiot that�s been assaulting people around Kharon was too soaked in bloodlust to care

The man went white

Chapter 1414

Hydie stood next to Derek outside the interrogation room with her arms folded They had been standing like statues for almost a half hour staring through the false mirror at the captured man in the goatee while he sat with his head bowed Derek�s brow was furrowed as he considered the man

Honestly Hydie couldn�t stand it anymore What What is it

Derek�s frown remained an immovable presence on his face This is strange We need to be careful

Despite Hydie�s previous boredom and Derek�s perpetual gloominess she felt a spark of excitement Yea we heard the rumors but to think we would actually find the perp in such a short amount of time hehehe if he hadn�t tried to attack that kid while his older brother was upstairs that fool

Derek�s gaze turned sharp if he hadn�t a fifteen year old would have died Hydie Why the hell are you laughing

I Hydie flushed Shame devoured her excitement as quickly as it had arrived Her fingers gripped the still cuffs of her Order Ducis uniform I just meant this is just like a crime show Of course I don�t actually want someone to die

Then take this seriously This man he hasn�t tried to leave at all Something strange is going on right now Derek�s gaze went back to the man within the room Since you love true crime so much how well do you understand due process

Err Hydie scratched the side of her head Inexplicably her nails caught on a small imperfection and ripped open a gash on the side of her face Her mouth twisted as she produced a tissue to dab at the blood Due process is lawyer related stuff right All the courtrooms and the judges Honestly I wasn�t so into that portion

Derek chuckled which did a lot to rid Hydie of the anxiety she held in her heart since Derek had glared at her for laughing earlier Well yes Lawyer stuff But more specifically Due Process is related to the actions that a State can justifiably take against its citizens In this case This Lazlo Derran came to Kharon on a work visa that expired several months ago As such it would have been easy to just kick him out of the city and make him someone else�s problem under normal circumstances

But now he�s attacked a minor with deadly force Even worse it was done in a very public way That street was drenched in blood this morning Even if word hasn�t spread yet it�s only a matter of time And when that happens well Kharon as a city will want justice Derek continued to stare through at the perpetrator within the room If we knew his affiliations we could apply political pressure and use that as an outlet to alleviate Kharon�s thirst for justice But as it is we only have him

So what Hydie asked Since he doesn�t have any backing doesn�t� that make it easier Just punish him We have laws in Kharon What�s the punishment for using deadly force on a minor

True we have laws And the punishment for his crime is either imprisonment or having his Class destroyed Derek said slowly He raised his hand toward the fake mirror in front of him as though to touch it then stopped himself at the last second His hand lowered back to his side But it isn�t that he doesn�t have backing he just won�t speak of it now I have no doubt that as soon as we make a final decision on his punishment some entity will show up and make a stink Considering the bloody scene I have no doubt the tribunal will vote to cripple his Class

Hydie rubbed the bridge of her nose This was not the sort of crime drama that she had in mind during the pulse pounding chase Well fine let�s just throw him off of Kharon and forget about him or otherwise don�t we have the backing of Randidly Ghosthound Who would try and pick a bone with his city

Randidly Ghosthound does not want Kharon to become the sort of city where the strongest individual can enforce any sort of justice they want Derek answered quietly Keeping him here and punishing him Kharon doesn�t have a codified process for its justice it really hasn�t needed to yet Releasing him people won�t like that Stalling until we can make a framework to deal with him is a morally questionable option Honestly now that we�ve caught him it feels like we are actually the ones who have been caught

Crippling a Class it is a fraught method Derek cracked his knuckles and turned away from the interrogation room This is a test Someone is sounding out the depths of Kharon with this man Seeing what sort of spirit we have

So what do we do to stop such a sinister plot Hydie asked Her imagination quickly shifted from crime drama to international spy thriller Perhaps they would need to meet a contact in a casino

Derek chuckled again The one good thing about being at our level is we might sometimes worry about the high level stuff but it isn�t our job to solve it For now we just go interrogate him See if we can find out any details

Oh OH Hydie�s expression brightened as she hurried after Derek So are we doing good cop bad cop or

From the very beginning Tim had been relatively unsure about Delilah�s sure fire plan to have Tim not get bullied� in the weird country that the Ghosthound had taken him to learn Engraving Honestly he wasn�t even sure he had been bullied in that first day But after making Tim talk about it Delilah announced that she would accompany Tim to that place next time

He needed her protection she had claimed Tim knew she was just bored But he didn�t mind Seeing Delilah was energizing somehow Her determination and energy was infectious And considering the difficulty of Engraving he could use all the extra help he could get

A few tantrums later the Ghosthound threw his hands up in the air and Delilah was brought along with him as the Ghosthound teleported them to Tim�s new teacher Lucretia Honestly Tim quite liked Lucretia She smiled a lot and had hair that was a lovely lilac color Even when Tim had needed her to explain things several times the prior day she was always patient with him

The only problem was her other students As someone who had recently moved Tim had some recent experience reading the attitudes of other children around him And from the jump the children of Lucretia did not appreciate Tim�s existence Their intent gazes had followed him as Randidly Ghosthound took him to meet Lucretia

The wide field where Lucretia hosted her school was filled with her house and dozens of differently colored flags setting atop or beside simple cloth tents Apparently the flags denoted various factions amongst the students and the colors showed how proficient the groups were at Engraving Tim also later learned that there was an inherent hierarchy in their placement only the strong could set up their flags near Lucretia�s house

But due to the fact he had been brought by the Ghosthound Tim had been set up basically outside of the door to Lucretia�s house Whenever he had a problem she would come over and help him instantly After giving a general lecture Lucretia would then wander through the field in looping motions so that those near the middle would receive her guidance more often than those at the periphery But when Tim had struggled Lucretia had veered from her path and returned to his side Due to Randidly coming personally it was clear that Lucretia valued Tim highly

And the children at the surrounding flags observed it all

But while he might someday be bullied for this Tim could tell that there were a lot of rules that these other kids followed that he didn�t quite understand The few children he saw only went to the tents of those with similar flags So even though he kept being pricked by sharp gazes those invisible rules also functioned as a protection for Tim The other kids couldn�t freely come and make trouble with him

Of course the first thing Delilah did when she arrived was give the other kids the justification that they needed

A loud crash spread out through the relatively sedate grassland as Delilah stood innocently next to a flag that she had knocked over With a sigh Tim set down the spear that he was trying to Engrave and looked around to see what Delilah�s reckless behavior would bring Of course she had chosen the flag next to the largest tent

Aside from Tim�s new position it was the tent the closest to Lucretia

Tim didn�t need to wait long for his fears to be confirmed After ten anxious seconds of stillness the surrounding tents erupted in movement Various youths between the ages of 8 and 16 hustled out of their small dwellings and began to form a vast circle around them Delilah spun around continually trying to find a single antagonist amongst the kids that gathered in order to perform her goal of protecting� Tim but no one made eye contact with her So she continually frowned around as more and more people began to gather Very soon Delilah was glaring around in frustration

She looked over at Tim and threw her hands up into the air Why are they all just circling around like creepy ghosts

Tim pointed toward the tent next to Delilah and the knocked down flag The student within that tent hasn�t come out yet I think I think they are all waiting for him

What here Delilah walked up the tent and batted the walls several times with her hands The tremors ran through the cloth surface of the structure but it ultimately stood tall underneath her small hands Eventually she frowned and stood with her arms akimbo Are you sure Because it seems like this tent

Cease this nonsense Said a high pitched voice as a young boy stomped out of the tent that Delilah was slapping He looked to be Tim�s age but that meant that he towered over the much younger Delilah You have already dishonored yourself enough Why do you insist on making trouble for me during the training period

Hehe Delilah giggled She waved her hand toward Tim Well you haven�t been giving my friend and me the respect that we deserve So I figured it was time to show you how things are going to work around here from now on

From now on Tim shook his head nervously How long do you plan on remaining in this place I asked around and no one here has even heard of Zones or Kharon before If you plan on moving here it seems pretty far away from home

Him The kid who came out of the tent looked over at Tim Despite the fact that they were a similar age he certainly talked like he was pretending to be an adult He was brought by Mr Ghosthound yesterday We haven�t spoken to him at all Nothing so petty as bullying has occurred I refuse to allow you to slander my honor like this

Just shut up and fight then Delilah growled pouncing forward with her hands raised Inwardly Tim sighed He had seen her behave like this in the past Despite the fact that she was much younger than most of the kids in Kharon she had earned quite a bit more Skill Levels than any of them had and therefore could overpower most people with the element of surprise It seemed that Delilah planned on using similar tactics here

But the kid�s response surprised Tim He easily knocked Delilah�s hands away and then kicked her in the chest Her breath came out of her lungs in a rush and she tumbled backward While Delilah was struggling to her feet the kid returned to his tent and then came out carrying a long wooden pole He leveled it at Delilah Hmph Weakling

Bah just because you are a little bit older oof Delilah glared at the kid and began to mutter but he then launched himself forward and jabbed his weapon into Delilah�s stomach She was sent tumbling backward once more

True I might be older than you The kid said I have recently turned thirteen But at least I am not full of excuses A loser has no right to complain of circumstance Especially when she instigated the conflict in the first place

He�s only a few months older than me Tim thought in a daze As the kid turned away from the collapsed Delilah he shouted at his back You what�s your name I�m Tim and this is Delilah I�m sorry about her attitude

Delilah wheezed as she rolled around on the ground likely trying to say something like Someday you are all going to be sorry about my fist �

The kid stopped and glanced over his shoulder For several seconds he studied Tim but then he turned fully and bowed Well met Tim I suppose the girl is somewhat right We should have approached you earlier But it is not often that a new arrival is brought before Lucretia especially by Mr Ghosthound We were confused Ah but where are my manners I am Annon of the Willow Tree Spear Style

Chapter 1415

Randidly sat cross legged in the center of his floating island and focused on the Nether Nebula in his chest Below him Kharon was abuzz with activity as the populations of the Wandering City and the Orchard mixed but Randidly completely ignored the bustle His entire focus had narrowed to a point within his chest

In the days since his fight against Kaan Swacc the Nether Nebula had slowly been recovering At this point the density of Nether had returned to the viscous thickness that had even been able to dampen the image of the Special Investigator when he hadn�t been suppressing Randidly with that infuriating Skill It might not be Randidly�s peak but it was close

Although in terms of dangerousness by far the strangest part of the battle against Kaan was that Skill that teleported him to a location without Nether

Still Randidly set aside the capabilities of the Xyrt Brigade for now he needed to focus on his current project During the climax of that fight Randidly had briefly conjured a more concentrated version of Nether in the form of a fragile seeming grey bubble It was a Nether equivalent of liquid Aether

But what fascinated Randidly was that mistakenly summoned bubble had held such immense weight that it had both shattered the suppression Skill and then shattered Kaan�s body in a follow up attack Now Randidly carefully examined his Nether Nebula to review the steps that had brought him to that power Because the grey bubble was a failed product Instead of conjuring liquid Nether� Randidly had meant to construct the equivalent of a Fate Randidly had been aiming to make what he had named a Penance

In retrospect it wasn�t a surprise that he had failed to accomplish that lofty goal Randidly created no basis for this Penance to be formed in his desperate attempt as a Class provided for a Fate He had his Nether Nebula but that was a more organic mass of Nether currents than any sort of actual planned construction In fact it might be better to say that it was a miracle that he had any sort of result at all from the half baked idea

Randidly had ground the currents against themselves in the heat of battle trying to crazily power up in the moment This decision had forced the density of his Nether to increase by just enough to generate that grey bubble but it was very close to simply causing his Nether Nebula to detonate and level his entire Soulspace The pressure had been immense

Randidly suspected that he would have been able to survive the damage from a ruptured Nether Nebula but he wouldn�t have been able to go on to beat Kaan Swacc in that condition Thinking of how close he had come to losing everything was a splash of cold water on Randidly�s dreams of quickly mastering Nether

Still even if he had no functional understanding of Nether that didn�t mean he didn�t have methods to address that Randidly�s memories were full of impressions of Nether Gatekeepers Nether Heralds Nether Princes and even a Nether King Of course the information he could extract from his memories regarding the Nether control methods utilized by the first Nether King was tempered by the fact that the Nether King had been controlled by Aether forces

But just recently he had sensed the powerful Nether of a Nether King during its attack on the Seventh Cohort That gave him two points of data regarding Nether Kings With that as a comparison Randidly was able to discover a few things about the way these Nether beings utilized their energy

While still sitting on the cool stone ground Randidly brought both of his hands up and pressed the palms together Due to the decreasing temperature his metallic limb was pleasantly chilly to the touch Randidly still wouldn�t trust his metal arm in a fight but the damage had been steadily knitted together to the point that he was no longer immobilized the limb to protect it Besides it had recently been becoming a serious interference with his training

Once the connection between his hands was established Randidly released a breath and then gradually pulled his palms apart to create a small space between his hands Under Randidly�s careful watch two flows of Nether energy wound their way down his arms to his palms and began to circle each other

After careful study of Nether King�s using the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night Randidly had discovered a few patterns in the way Nether was manipulated The methods to accomplish it were rather complicated but the process was simple Randidly simply had to make his Nether currents flow in both directions at once

Which wasn�t entirely accurate because to make the process work involved a lot of mental gymnastics to fold the flows back in on themselves in certain specific ways but it was at least something to work with Essentially an ideal Nether current would have Schroedinger�s Flow It would simultaneously flow both directions and neither

Randidly�s emerald eyes were locked onto the two thin flows of Nether between his hands as he began to work The process was awkward at first but Randidly didn�t mind that If anything he was glad there wasn�t an immediate surge in his Nether density he still wanted to head into the Dungeon soon He was slightly wary that some strange force was going to strike soon and make his training session unable to occur

Due to his wandering mind Randidly felt the flows collapse Gently chiding himself Randidly focused and tried it again

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 222

Time and time again Randidly lost control of the Nether flows and everything to nothing between his palms But to reach this point Randidly had gone through tens of thousands of practice hours to hone his Skills When he failed at this new task he simply reflected on what went wrong and made another attempt His Willpower surged forward and began to fold the Nether once more

His gaze never wavered

Each time he failed he proceeded a little further He was a little bit more adept with the way he could manipulate Nether Randidly began to twist while folding the flows to avoid direct conflict between the same flow as he wove it together in both directions When it became apparent that his current method was fundamentally flawed Randidly just grinned

Rather than trying to draw up a new method from scratch Randidly just began to experiment Since it seemed that his folding strategy wasn�t the right answer he didn�t become bitter Instead he used it as a lesson learning to utilize an entirely new energy wasn�t easy So his intense Nether exertions became more of a thought experiment Framed in a new way a lot of tension went out of Randidly�s shoulders With that more relaxed approach Randidly began to play

If the Nether flows he wove together were doomed to collapse perhaps he could create a shifting flow that could only reach the omnidirectional flow for a brief instant before separating Randidly tried it

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 223

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 224

Just as quickly as he had thought of it Randidly attempted it and then tossed that idea to the side The implementation of the idea was more difficult than just accomplishing his original goal So instead Randidly tried to design a way to gather three woven Nether flows together so that they would collapse inward toward each other Perhaps they could balance each other out like his images could against Kaan Swacc

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 225

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 232

This idea was a better one than the prior attempt but again Randidly quickly realized his ability to manipulate the Nether wasn�t quite deft enough for what he wanted to accomplish right now Nether Sensation�s Skill Level was increasing but it was rough sledding

But life requires hard work This won�t slow me down Randidly hummed to himself He checked the time then returned to the practice Even if it was just Skill Levels and familiarity the accumulation mattered The steady motions and repetition of moving Nether flows would someday be the basis for Randidly�s strength

He tried new things and made mistakes When he ran out of ideas he played and experimented with Nether Slowly he grew more comfortable while utilizing the energy directly

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 233

Of course he couldn�t do it all today With a yawn up toward the slowly emerging stars above Randidly stretched and straightened Working on his ability to manipulate Nether was an ongoing project Besides he had a hands on demonstration of Nether that was long overdue

After idly combing his fingers through his hair Randidly activated Nether Ritual and reached through time and space for Vualla As he did so he kept his touch light because of Vualla�s situation he didn�t want to interrupt her during something important But the Xyrt Brigade training was without a doubt a process meant to break most of its applicants So he was determined to reach out and once more provide some mental sustenance to her Randidly wanted to give Vualla every advantage he could so that wouldn�t happen

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 165

As he activated the Skill Randidly kept a close eye on the way the Nether spun itself together and became a prayer It was especially annoying to see that the base utilization of the Skill could weave his Nether better than he could But looking at it Randidly had a few more ideas about how he could adjust his own methods in the future

He had been too forceful in the past Randidly noted while he watched the Nether Ritual rise upward to build the connection He had to remember that Nether wasn�t as certain as Aether It was built on connection but also on faith It was an amorphous energy that rarely possessed a definitive shape

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 166

The Nether Ritual activated Randidly�s will reached across space and time to find Vualla For an extended second there was no response and Randidly abruptly felt chilled by the reality of what might have happened to her in the Xyrt Brigade training But then the familiar warmth of her presence could be felt through the ritual Stifling a sigh Randidly gently reached out to ascertain Vualla�s current situation

This time he at least didn�t find that her image had been ground down to almost nothing But there was still a sense of fragility to Vualla as he felt her current image But rather than her being shattered it was more akin to seeing an old friend who had lost an unhealthy amount of weight since you had last met Vualla�s image of destruction was gaunt and starved to his senses Yet as Randidly felt her using it he couldn�t deny that this slow starvation had made the image pure and focused

From what Randidly could tell Vualla was currently engaged in some sort of training Her body was sweating and her image was raging at its full strength Randidly didn�t dare extend his perception outside of her body so he simply pressed his hand through the ritual to her back and passed on a little bit of warmth to let her know he was there Then Randidly withdrew

Within a few seconds he had received a message from Vualla stating that she would be done for the night in two hours Which gave Randidly the chance to take Tim and Delilah out of his Alpha Cosmos and home for the night

As soon as Randidly came and landed outside of Lucretia�s training area he sensed that something was wrong The air was rife with the scent of violence and the oppressive weight of tension Although all the tents and banners looked fine Randidly carefully scanned the surrounding area He didn�t need to look for long One look at the swollen face of Delilah made it clear who had likely instigated the trouble and been punished for it

Randidly slowly glanced around at the surrounding tents The children who lived here with Lucretia hunched their shoulders and turned away from him as he glanced around Likely they were wondering whether they went too far by fighting with Delilah But in Randidly�s mind this was probably a good lesson for Delilah Knowing that there were kids her age who were just as strong as she is would probably help ground her in the future

So although Randidly could tell that something had happened he didn�t bat an eye and simply smiled as he collected Tim and Delilah Contrary to his expectations Delilah didn�t say anything even after they left his Soulskill When Randidly escorted them back to the Moss�s apartment she stayed completely silent and then proceeded directly to her room

Tim stammered an excuse about her being tired and then fled Rolling his eyes Randidly left the apartment and went to the Order Ducis offices to talk with Derek He found the man bent over a tall pile of paperwork looking more like an office drone than a probationary member of the most powerful Order on Earth

Derek looked up sharply as Randidly walked into his office Something happen

Randidly shook his head No I just wanted to ask you something Soon I plan on going into a Dungeon for a few months to train In order to make sure Tim is ready for the project I�d like to take him with me Of course I�ll make sure he is safe during that time And if you don�t want him to age strangely through a Dungeon

But Tim can�t go into a Dungeon He doesn�t have a Class Derek pointed out And from his heavy tone it was clear what he thought about his son getting a Class before his 16th birthday

I cannot believe that arbitrary choice we made in Donnyton has basically become a universal standard for Classes Randidly chuckled True people without Classes cannot enter or exit a Dungeon alone But individuals can be brought along into a Dungeon if they don�t technically try to enter However I do think that there are some costs to bringing individuals without Classes into a Dungeon

Once again Derek�s gaze was sharp Like what

Randidly coughed lightly He didn�t think they would stay in long enough for Aether to become an issue for Tim especially if he was in Randidly�s Alpha Cosmos the whole time but even so Well Delilah was raised mostly in a Dungeon It is an unusual existence Without a significant amount of life experience to act as insulation against the isolation of the Dungeon

Ah Derek blinked Then he began to rub his chin Ahh

Chapter 1416

Compared to the lengthy discussion that Randidly ended up having with Derek Moss Annie�s response to his message was much more straightforward as long as he guaranteed her safety of course he could take Delilah into the Dungeon for a while

When he received the lightning fast response Randidly blinked in surprise The abruptness of the agreement and the lack of questions made him feel strangely at a loss after all the preparations he had made So just to reassure himself that what he was suggesting was a safe option Randidly began to talk about some of the things he discussed with Derek

Very quickly Annie interrupted him No need to explain Enjoy your trip

�Huh � Randidly said aloud He rubbed his chin and examined what he had said and then Annie�s responses again and again Was he simply better at persuading than he suspected Or was there something that he was missing

Finally Randidly figured he had nothing to lose so he simply asked Annie why she had agreed so quickly This time her response was much slower but it was again short

You don�t understand what it�s like to be a parent

At this point Randidly threw his hands up in the air and accepted that he didn�t quite get Annie�s response but her agreement wasn�t faked And Randidly doubted that he would get a different decision out of the typically stoic Dozer As long as the kids agreed he could take them both with him into the Dungeon

One task down a million to go

Over the next hour Randidly engaged in several discussions with Tatiana regarding the new political system they would implement in Kharon and also the details of the duos tournament The tournament itself was scheduled to start in six days hosted in the Orchard so there were some details that needed to be finalized as soon as possible Specifically Randidly was currently grappling with the messy task of the tournament preliminaries

Because they didn�t want to bar anyone from participating applicants were already flooding in The current count was a little less than a thousand but it seemed like they might even reach 3000 before the Order Ducis stopped accepting applications the day before the tournament It was an added strain on Kharon�s resources that was not needed right now

Even if I can�t finalize the details now I can take those questions into the Dungeon and work on them there Truly having the ability to secretly train while no time at all passes in the real world is quite the advantage

Of course Randidly wasn�t the only one who knew the advantages of Dungeons He was just one of the few people who could avoid the drawbacks But despite those risks he was aware that hundreds of people had flocked to Dungeons after the announcement of the duos tournament planning on pushing their Skill Levels just a little higher and working on teamwork Most of the projected applicants were those who had gone recently into Dungeons and stayed there for several hours of actual time

For that reason those preliminary rounds were very important The gathering of Classers was basically unprecedented Even those unaffiliated with the established Zones dreamed of naming the Earth And the Order Ducis had to deal with such a large number of people both efficiently and fairly They had to appear in control

Heh simply so many things to do But that�s for the best There is no way that the people who want to target Kharon will let these chances slide Randidly�s mouth slowly stretched into a grin But I think they will be quite disappointed if they believe they can pressure this city even if I don�t personally move

Then Randidly shook his head and let the thoughts about political issues fall away Despite the fact that there seemed to be endless things to do with the Dungeon visit planned Randidly had some time Plus the two hours was up it was time to once more reach out to Vualla Randidly�s fingers flexed

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 167

For whatever reason this activation of Nether RItual proceeded even more smoothly than the prior one had Perhaps it was because the connection was already established and Vualla was aware that it would appear so there was a base for the connection on both sides The Nether seemed to weave itself together faster than Randidly�s eyes could follow But no matter what the cause was the resulting connection was instant and intimate Randidly could feel Vualla�s warm rush of joy as he reached across time and space to suddenly swirl in her Soulspace

Those first few moments were just the two of them being present with each other allowing their familiar existences to ease both the accumulated worries that both had gathered It hadn�t been long but a lot had happened since they had last conversed

Randidly looked at Vualla and felt some sort of horrifying certainty hanging over her slowly lift as they simply interacted with each other It was a feeling that he recognized from Neveah�s struggles but the terrible specter of loneliness and depression was slowly extinguished as Randidly was there breathing with her

For Randidly�s part some deep inner fear he had been ignoring regarding Vualla was finally reassured She hadn�t died she hadn�t been turned against him Breath by breath they both relaxed

Hey Randidly began slowly Then he abruptly felt foolish Maybe he should have prepared something more meaningful to say

Vualla�s amusement was a rich and vibrant thing Her previously sparse inner landscape lit up like someone had turned the power back on at an amusement part at the witching hour If you don�t want to talk about it you don�t have to But don�t think for a second I can�t take a single look at you and know that you almost died recently Randidly Ghosthound

That forced a mental chuckle out of Randidly Well I would have brought it up eventually A Special Investigator from your very own Xyrt Brigade came to Earth He was well he was convinced I was a Nether Spy

I wonder what gave him that idea Vualla laughed You know that my senses tell me you are even more dangerous than a Nether Gatekeeper right

Randidly just mentally shrugged and continued to explain and he wouldn�t let the issue go To the point that even the Xyrt Brigade effectively abandoned him on my planet for failing to fulfill his duty With that opportunity and in order to rid the Earth of another threat I killed him

The air between them was silent Around his physical body back on Earth Randidly felt the Nether Ritual waver As his mind wandered the weave slowly began to come undone And he knew it was his own fault because he pulled back slightly as he admitted that he killed a member of the Xyrt Brigade Ultimately Kaan had been a tool of the Swacc Family but Randidly wanted to be honest with Vualla And he was very afraid of what her reaction would be

As Randidly pulled slightly away Vualla reached out and pulled him back Relax the Xyrt Brigade isn�t some cult I haven�t been brainwashed into feverishly cursing anyone that kills a Xyrt Brigade member From what I can tell there are a lot of competing factions within the Xyrt Brigade They encourage infighting so long as there aren�t any enemies present Honestly it might be better if the Xyrt Brigade was a cult

But they are much more practical than some religious organization and much more dangerous Something in Vualla�s tone began to change The bright lights of her emotions that had been given power by Randidly�s arrival began to flicker and die around him I it�s been hard here To still believe that our promise is realistic That this Nexus can ever be shaken It�s hard to do this alone I�ve it�s so dumb Without you I

You aren�t alone Vualla Chiding himself silently for missing her weakness to this point Randidly reached out with Yggdrasil and wrapped his thick roots around Vualla�s Soulspace and images Mental energy began to rapidly pump outward radiating from the roots and nourishing the surrounding space And as Randidly released more and more energy to nourish Vualla he was horrified to discover that the mental starvation Vualla had experienced was much worse than he had originally sensed

Starvation might even be less accurate than dehydration The parts of Vualla that were the brightest and most valuable her courage and kindness have withered and faded to almost nothing Under the relentless pressure she endured the Xyrt Brigade had managed to transform this Vualla from a hopeful young woman into something very close to the bleak fatalism of the first duplicate Vualla which even now bound Ileot Swacc

So this is the method of the Xyrt Brigade Randidly�s eyes flashed Both the Grim Chimera and the Stillborn Phoenix stirred in response to his rising rage

Randidly Vualla began but Randidly released a wave of sternness

Rest first We can talk later And Vualla I�ve missed you too

Randidly�s eyes began to glow emerald as his inner world shuddered and Yggdrasil emerged to the fore of his mind The two other images withdrew into the shadows watching the process with a terrible stillness All of his potent mental energy that had been tempered by the fight against Kaan balancing three images at once and manipulating Nether swirled and focused itself to empower this one image of healing Nurturing waves of simplified growth formed a gold and emerald aura that surrounded Vualla�s soul Almost instinctively she released a sigh and leaned deeper against him mentally

The effect was small at first but desiccated and almost mummified portions of Vualla�s personality began to shiver and stir after their long hibernation As the healing accelerated Vualla shared some explanation of her earlier statement as well as her thoughts on the particular brand of brainwashing of the Xyrt Brigade

Rather than trying to pin the trainees� loyalty to the organization the Xyrt Brigade took an entirely different tack They tortured and goaded the trainees to be the most powerful elites in the Nexus but then also constantly exposed them to prove that even with their significant increases in power they were nothing compared to the larger powers in this universe

They showed the effects of the wars against Nether and told the Xyrt Brigade members the vast secrets of the Nexus Ways These trainees were exposed to information that very few Nexus citizens would ever have access to and all of it hinted at the impending disaster waiting down the line if the Nexus ever slowed in its expansion They were exposed to the litany of threats that lurked beyond the edge of the Nexus territory

Randidly was especially alarmed as Vualla relayed a story she had been informed about the one time the Nexus failed in its attempt to form a Cohort and all those worlds and nascent images were pressed down into a single orb

Hundreds of worlds destroyed in an instant as the Aether architecture attempted to engage but instead simply crushed everything inward to a small ball And the most disturbing part was that this orb occasionally would release ominous pulses of energy Even now there was an entire prison devoted to keeping that failure inert and harmless

In essence the Xyrt Brigade gave its trainees capability and then instilled in them a sense of lonely helplessness when there wasn�t the force of an organization behind them Then they were set free allowed to do whatever they wished And of course in the trainees� minds what organization was more capable than the Xyrt Brigade

So even if the Xyrt Brigade didn�t command their loyalty it was only through the Xyrt Brigade that the trainees felt like they could address their helplessness Many of those released elites slowly made their way back into the organization that trained them And that was enough for the leaders of the Xyrt Brigade

Only when Vualla appeared to have revived from the almost sleepwalking state of determinedly surviving did Randidly speak again He mentally reached out with remarkable gentleness utilizing every point of his 1500 Control We always knew it was going to be difficult Trials and hurdles aren�t to be feared

yes Exactly these preparations by the Nexus That�s why its worth doing That proves we are on the right track Again a wave of light and emotion swept through Vualla�s inner world Seeing that wave of determination a lot of Randidly�s worries eased Thank you I had almost lost something very precious here I can see that now

The why Randidly whispered Why you desire power That should always be at the center of your decisions

Exactly Vualla�s inner world darkened but not in a way that Randidly associated with weakness Why I must tear everything down for what it has done to my family and so many others before me

With Vualla recovering it allowed him to focus more attention on the area around him Randidly quickly took in the sloping wall of the surroundings It appeared Vualla was floating in the middle of a stone orb The walls were covered in glowing Aether symbols This is a different sort of rest area

Vualla snickered Heh Yea I guess you could say so After you last visited me I might have ah mouthed off to one of my trainers You put me in a very good mood which isn�t well received here Since then my sleeping time was taken away and I was forced in here to meditate instead The construction of this place is actually quite interesting It isolates you from the outside world and also punishes you if your mind wanders Any stray thoughts or images you release are reflected back at you as an attack by the room Luckily it seems this Nether Ritual of yours takes our thoughts to the connection between us and I don�t need to face it Certainly makes this place more restful

Randidly smiled and continued to channel Yggdrasil energy through to Vualla As her personality was restored to her previous state he could feel her planning on taking revenge against the Xyrt Brigade teachers who had doggedly tortured her during her time here And while Vualla�s thoughts of revenge were much more thunder than lightning Randidly already had the blood of Special Investigator on his hands He privately swore to himself that when he gathered enough power to reach this place

You�ve already done enough for me Randidly Vualla mentally poked him Please don�t try and steal my prey away You don�t get to play hero all the time

After chuckling awkwardly Randidly began to withdraw his Yggdrasil image into himself Then he paused and examine the surroundings once more He didn�t recognize everything but he could piece together the way this place functioned Randidly�s eyes slowly brightened This reflection room do you think that they can observe what is happening here

Vualla thought about it for a little while Perhaps But it doesn�t seem likely If the seal in this place wasn�t perfect the effect wouldn�t be so infuriating I can tell when they are about to let me out because the reflection becomes much weaker

After spending so much time in the past few days struggling to manifest three images at once Randidly knew that he needed some extra pressure in order to progress to a steadier level And just when he had that need he discovered this place

Randidly�s grin widened What a lucky coincidence

There was a sardonic sort of resignation in Vualla�s tone After barely speaking to each other for a month now that we are reunited and have some privacy you want to train

Mentally Randidly winced Ah well not immediately How how has your day been

Oh don�t start that with me Vualla waved her hand Then a wave of enthusiasm burst out from her In fact this is perfect I wanted to ask you to demonstrate this triple image fusion I could sense you thinking about but I wasn�t sure if it would be appropriate considering you were already doing so much for me Hehe but since you were the heartless monster that brought up training first If you want to train by all means train

I never want you to think you can�t be yourself around me Randidly Ghosthound And a part of who you are is that obsession with power So let�s indulge it a bit Put on a show for me

Randidly studied Vualla for several seconds She wasn�t lying to him In her soul Randidly could feel his drive and ambition mirrored back at him That sense of strangeness to her vanished as her warped personality was restored to its original state

And seeing this Vualla Randidly felt warm

Chapter 1417

Tatiana tapped her fingers against the wide table and then adjusted her pair of chopsticks so it was perfectly straight relative to her plate �This is a good problem to have And it�s much better than the alternative �

�Have you spoken to Randidly about it � Naffur asked as he took another sip of his sake The four of them sat in a hibachi restaurant in the Orchard patiently waiting for their chef to come out of the back and cook before them Due to their rather sensitive identity and discussions they had booked the entire restaurant But because there was only three tables it wasn�t quite as extravagant as Tatiana had initially assumed when Commissioner Arrietti had suggested it

Honestly with the dim lighting it was easy to relax and feel like they were the only people in the building buoyed out of the darkness by the candle chandelier hanging above their table

At this point they had given up on waiting for their fifth dinner companion in order to place their orders Helen had a penchant for arriving at her own time anyway But since these four influential leaders of Kharon were partially here to work through some issues and there was no reason that they couldn�t get an early start on that

Not like Helen will do anything but glower while we talk business Tatiana allowed herself a small smile

Commissioner Arrietti sighed and leaned back in his chair Already the police force is pushed to its limits It helps to have the Order Ducis members following up on any serious issues but in terms of population there is only one police officer on Kharon for every 1000 people My people are running themselves ragged to keep up with reports

Honestly those numbers would be quite high in the pre System world Tatiana pointed out

The almost trademark frown of the Commissioner creased his face with lines making him seem decades older than his actual middle age Perhaps But did everyone in the pre System world have the ability to shoot flames from their hands Plus Skills are only limited by the imagination of the user The types of crimes that are now being committed

Perhaps that�s where we should focus our attention Naffur cut in As he began to speak more patiently a silently moving server came through and deposited their previously ordered drinks in front of them Setting aside the natural tensions between the various groups in Kharon the bigger problem is the scope of law enforcement hasn�t been well defined Most other governmental bodies simply added a few addendums to their penal code and applied it to the System world We don�t have that luxury If we can clarify what constitutes a crime a large amount of the police forces work would disappear

Wolfram has been working on such a prospect but some of the facets of ogre culture have made the initial result less than ideal Tatiana sighed He�s currently adjusting per my instructions but more and more questions crop up as we continue refining the definitions Honestly the ogre methods of challenging each other and having the loser obey the winner are at least simple

That�s a horrible way of running things Commissioner Arrietti fluffed up like a disgruntled hen Simply fighting to determine the righteous party What of justice and fairness Is strength really what we want to use to arbitrate these matters

Finally the fourth person at the table set down his martini and spoke in a quiet voice Then Kharon would rely on who has the biggest stick to maintain order For now that�s the Order Ducis but how long will that last

Tatiana smiled sweetly at Austin Dvelta the most influential businessman in Kharon A good point Austin The structure that we create right now is the most important thing Keeping it just is paramount Beyond that we will rely on the image that Kharon has cultivated to avoid others abusing the arrangements that we have made But we�ve already dominated the conversation with talk of criminal justice please tell us how business has been

Austin Dvelta pushed some of his short blonde curls out of his eyes and sighed theatrically Honestly it has been almost too good I know now is not a good time to raise other complaints but on the other hand what better time than now I think there�s an issue even more important than crime immigration I I�d hoped to get all your opinions on this

Tatiana smiled at Austin while rolling her eyes inwardly You�ve just recently expanded your scents and soaps business to rival the metalworking sector of Kharon and you expect us to believe you came to this dinner begging for opinions Well at the very least he is relatively straightforward to deal with Tatiana rapped her knuckles on the table Perhaps before jumping to immigration why don�t you explain to everyone here the content of the report you gave me That will give them some context

Austin smiled shyly and twisted in his seat to look at Naffur and Commissioner Arrietti Due to his slight stature and short height the smile on Austin�s face was relatively endearing Then Austin began to speak Over the past six months my company has gone from a shack next to a single field to dominating most of the agricultural sector of Kharon From working alone with my aging mother Dvelta Luor has grown to employ just over nine hundred employees Compared to the overall twenty two thousand population of Kharon that may seem small but

No need to dwell on your growth Tatiana remarked dryly Also those population numbers are very dated With the convoy coming down from the ogre nation we expect to be at about forty five thousand before we leave the Orchard And yet you still want to allow more people into Kharon

For a second Austin blinked It was clear that he hadn�t expected that the population of Kharon had grown to that extent Honestly neither had Tatiana If she hadn�t requested that Randidly use his sharp senses yesterday to do a hard count of the lives in Kharon they still wouldn�t realize that their population had ballooned upward to this point

Finally Austin spoke quietly That impossible If there are so many people

Unfortunately it appears to be true Naffur sighed Then he gestured helplessly The problem is the children We made the decision to allow guardians into the city along with their children and as far as we can tell every individual from bubble cities who had children has taken us up on that offer And these aren�t generally even their kids those guardians were just the ones with enough decency to try and protect the children after the original parents died Because of that kindness the Order Ducis generally turns a blind eye to it

But that leaves us with almost ten thousand children below the ages of sixteen Tatiana grinned at Austin Relax wait a few years and a whole slew of new employees will be available to you Problem solved yes

Ah well it�s not just employees that we need Austin continued Since arriving in the Orchard through various channels Dvelta Luor has sold nearly 120 tons of soap The Ghosthound scent in particular has been very popular That�s more than half of our total stock and our depleted warehouses now require that we operate our factories constantly in order to keep up with demand Without additional space we will quickly reach the limits of our capacity And considering Dvelta Luor�s effect on Kharon�s economy

Commissioner Arrietti harrumphed And where will this space come from Did you know we are basically at our wit�s end when it comes to housing We are expanding many of our apartment complexes upward but even with the benefits of the System it cannot be done overnight

Considering the economic impact of Dvelta Luor Austin insisted

But Commissioner Arrietti�s expression brightened Oh actually I know what you need to do Stop growing so many flowers plant tobacco Ah what I would do for a good cigarette the Donnyton brand cigars are simply too expensive

Smoking is bad for you Commissioner Tatiana said lightly

Commissioner Arrietti shrugged Heh won�t the System take care of it

Chuckling Tatiana pointed out the flaw in his thinking Won�t the System also take care of the nicotine high You�d just be inhaling smoke

Er well the familiar sensation The Commissioner mumbled but Tatiana could tell that he hadn�t thought about this issue before

Naffur shook his head and looked at Austin to get the conversation back on track We aren�t idiots Yes your company was a significant driver of growth for the past six months But those initial expansions are the easiest sort of growth to achieve Besides don�t act like you are unilaterally improving Kharon�s situation We are aware that you attempted to develop fields outside of Kharon and found the result less than satisfactory Do you want to guess as to the reason or should I

Austin sighed although we have no proof we suspect it is due to the moss spirits They provide ambient energy that is very useful to the growth of the plants we use for our scents

Exactly Tatiana steepled her fingers You�ve grown so quickly because of Kharon You want more space because Kharon�s space is valuable Not just to you but to the entire city That�s what it means to be the Wandering City under Randidly Ghosthound every scrap of land carries significant benefits even if they are easy to miss at first Let me say this Austin So far you�ve been enjoying the benefits of the Ghosthound�s land But those benefits come with responsibility That�s why you are here tonight So you can see the hard work that goes into making this city a reality

Austin was silent for several seconds He took another sip of his martini Then he slowly nodded I understand

Commissioner Arrietti glanced around and frowned down at his empty cup Where the hell is that waiter The beer here is excellent Ah but does that mean we aren�t going to talk about immigration There is still some room in the cheap housing having youth is all well and good but if we recruit capable individuals now it will benefit us in the long run

Naffur scratched his chin That would be great but we can�t keep stealing away the best and brightest from other Zones Even if Kharon has the Ghosthound standing behind it we don�t want to go out of our way to antagonize the various States Most of our income comes from shipping out high end goods Tariffs would devastate us

Plus the lurking issue of bringing in more people is the integrity of Kharon�s spirit Tatiana said Everyone else at the table turned and looked at her She wasn�t sure whether these power individuals had put it together yet but this was the reason that they had set up such strenuous requirements for entry into Kharon It wasn�t necessarily in order to make sure these people could use images but the image training would temper their Willpower and let the Order Ducis nudge them in the right direction

Seeing that she had their attention Tatiana continued to elaborate Randidly Ghosthound has emphasized time and time again how important it is to cultivate the right sort of image for the people of Kharon The reason that the immigration process is so slow is to partially condition the applicants to possess that sort of image

Can we speed the process up Austin asked looking over at Naffur

Naffur chewed on his lip Well possibly But not in a way that will matter Instead of taking three months to get their image in the right spot we might be able to do it in two and a half But that ties up more of the Order Ducis operatives

Isn�t that better Basically all the Order Ducis seems to do when you let them out into the borderlands is to bring more people to Kharon to train anyway Commissioner Arrietti pointed out

But rescuing those that need help will be the basis for our inviolability as an organization for when the Ghosthound leaves Earth Tatiana said quietly We need to be the most active force in the Borderlands Besides that�s how we spread the word about this city�s image to Earth�s population If we back off the mystique we cultivate will weaken We have no choice but to embrace it

Is this truly necessary What happens if the image of Kharon isn�t so ideal Austin said after a moment of hesitation He too had finished his drink by now I know it is important to the Ghosthound but

Spoken like someone who doesn�t understand all the hard work that has been done by someone else for you to have this opportunity Tatiana thought quietly as she looked at the young owner of the fastest growing company in Kharon But that combination of capability and naivety was why she had decided to pull him into these sorts of meetings They needed an actor with Austin�s influence to be aware of the consequences for Kharon as a whole

Without that image the Ghosthound has cultivated Kharon will collapse Tatiana said quietly It won�t be a quick thing and Kharon might even become more powerful by switching its image for dozens of years But that image we have right now is the spine of Kharon Built to last by the Ghosthound Everything else we do grows from there Altering our spine right now is not a smart decision

Naffur and Commissioner Arietti both constantly interacted with people and helped normalize Kharon�s image in their lives so they understood the subtle distinctions it created in people The way it made them stand straighter and take more risks The way it made people willing to try something and fail without being consumed by bitterness Because Kharon was the city that wandered the edges of the world They didn�t need to be perfect they just never needed to surrender to the unknown

They were always the first blazing a Path That gave the people of Kharon pride

Austin was clearly confused and unsure but he ultimately nodded Satisfied Tatiana smiled However we can look into more efficient methods of immigration We don�t want to be bottlenecked by this in the future Preparing now can become Kharon�s strength for years to come

Heh finding more willing grunts to accomplish tedious paperwork has a certain sort of satisfaction to it

Before the conversation continued the waiter finally returned Trailing behind him were two women

Helen jerked her thumb over her shoulder Figured it was easier just to bring her

Clarissa�s eyes were sparkling And I absolutely adore hibachi

Chapter 1418

Randidly sighed and leaned back in his chair Almost listlessly he adjusted some of the piles of schematics he had sitting in front of him on the desk Tatiana do you take joy in making more work for me

She chuckled and shifted her weight I�ve wondered that same thing about you for years Randidly Ghosthound The Kharon police force is relatively underleveled and understaffed for what this city is growing to be Since you are going into the Dungeon anyway this is a good chance to work on the city�s foundation Take them into the Dungeon there are only about a hundred of them You don�t need to train them personally in how to be a police officer but having them there to fight against monsters will make things easier for you anyway If the police are stronger they can handle threats more easily What�s the problem

The problem Randidly supposed was that he could use Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil to effectively exterminate every monster in the Dungeon within only a few minutes of arriving All from the comfort of his own root structure that he would create in the same moment His ability to deal with large amounts of low Leveled foes was almost unfair

Such a display would earn him more experience than he wanted to get right now of course but it was also much more convenient method than relying on helpers Plus if the police force of Kharon was in the Dungeon Randidly would need to be pickier about what Level Dungeon he chose for this Or he would need to devote a little bit of extra attention to keep them safe

Still I planned on taking some of my Riders into the Dungeon anyway so I could extract the raw resources Randidly rubbed his chin I can likely leave the police force��s safety in their hands At the same time it does present another opportunity to raise the level of Kharon�s image use the police force could be a powerful symbol to encourage further growth

Randidly sighed Sometimes his action of founding a city seemed to be the biggest roadblock to his training but he knew that it was a cheap price to pay to help the Earth Randidly ultimately raised his head and nodded Alright I can handle that Anything else

Tatiana smiled sweetly at him That depends How much time do you have right now

Growling Randidly shooed Tatiana out of his small hut before she could provide him some other thankless task to consume his time Then he looked down at the table in front of him Due to the recent count of how many children swarmed across Kharon�s parks in its current education� system Randidly was forced to vastly overhaul some of his plans for the Academy accommodating this high a number of students was a not one of his original goals

Of course the fact that they aren�t all the same age makes it slightly easier but this number isn�t something that you can just cleverly plan around Randidly frowned down at the papers on the table crisscrossed with recent revisions With this many prospective students we need space And more importantly teachers

Randidly had made steps to address the second problem but now he began to worry that it wouldn�t be enough Ten thousand kids how many teachers did you need for ten thousand kids The more Randidly grappled with the issues of the Academy the more he realized he only had hazy memories of his own education And certainly from what he could remember it was nothing special

Having a hundred educational staff one teacher for every one hundred students was probably the bare minimum Beyond that Randidly had sorta imagined that there would be multiple focus areas within the school that resembled majors in a university Those different specializations required additional staff Plus Randidly wanted the students to come through Kharon Academy to get enough focused attention to develop

Which probably put the absolute minimum number of teachers somewhere closer to 500 Randidly scratched his head and grimaced A strong headache was brewing as he considered other options It seemed pretty bad if he would need to take out a classified ad in the newspapers of other Zones to recruit teachers

Perhaps it was because of their generous spirits but teachers were a profession that did not have a high survival rate through the arrival of the System More likely they spent their time trying to protect children from the suddenly appearing monsters and lost their lives

I wonder if I could make a specialized Rider to teach Or even a Soulseed bah both seem like bad ideas

Tsking quietly to himself Randidly used Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil to bring a handful of dirt into his hut and place it on his shoulder Then that dirt began to stir and several thin roots extended out of it Very quickly they had thickened to the size of human fingers They pick up pieces of paper and pencils and rapidly began the process of adjusting the designs he had already made

Randidly wouldn�t be able to do this with complex projects because of the focus required for each revision but while he now worked to simply make his plans larger the relatively small amount of processing power he put behind each root arm could manage it Randidly�s metallic left and fleshy right arm also moved to work on the task For almost a half hour the only sound within that hut was the sound of rustling papers

Piles shifted from one side of the desk to another as he poured over the designs and marked areas that would need to be addressed in more detail For things like student housing he simply added more buildings and floors

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 292

On the one hand what Randidly was doing right now had some surprising benefits expanding the size of Kharon Academy made some of the other problems he had with various traps disappear With more size he had more leeway in terms of design inefficiency for the Engraving Some of the more frustrating bits of Aether construction were relatively simple with more space

But of course there were significant drawbacks to this expansion Not only would more resources be required but the amount of work to build the thing would probably double from just a 50% increase in size In addition to the functional issues of making Kharon Academy larger there were the practical implications A larger Academy needed not only more teachers but more custodians cooks cleaners and real estate for all these people to live And with these other areas taking up more space the space dedicated to teacher housing needed to be fully updated and expanded as well

In Randidly�s mind this was still a powerful draw But it needed to have the right sort of flair and ambiance for that to pan out

Still while Randidly worked on this exhausting task he also paid attention to the behavior of his right arm During the revision process he experimented with allowing the mini brain that had formed in his elbow when he reached 1000 Reaction to guide his actions It clearly didn�t possess very much intelligence but with a clear goal it could act independently from his main body It was something that Randidly would keep in mind in the future

Congratulations Your Skill Spriggit�s Tinkering has grown to Level 173

Congratulations Your Skill Engineering Savvy has grown to Level 193

Of course once Randidly started working on the Kharon Academy he quickly was drawn more deeply into the intricate layout of the entire complex Randidly�s emerald eyes began to sparkle as he realized that some aspects that he had originally left out from the plans such as the garden maze a sprawling library and a stadium might as well be added back into the Academy due to the increased size

They always say to aim high Randidly pointedly didn�t think about how much all these fixtures were going to cost in raw materials alone

Congratulations Your Skill Engineering Savvy has grown to Level 197

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 293

The rustling of papers around Randidly intensified He cleanly manipulated the root arms to sift through the dozens of plans Gradually a clearer picture of what the Kharon Academy was going to become emerged from the chaotic mess of papers And while Randidly saw the shape changing he started thinking generally about the teaching philosophy

The distinctions for the various specializations are the real problem having a more Class centric organization would make things too segmented Plus I want to make the Kharon Academy rather unique anyway So perhaps rather than choosing what you want to study you chose what you don�t want to study

Randidly chuckled and wrapped his knuckles against the table No that doesn�t make any sense But on the other hand

The oppressive images of Kaan Swacc came to Randidly�s mind His eyes began to glow as the beginnings of an idea formed in his mind What if instead of taking classes to build up strengths they are framed as a way of countering weaknesses

Randidly�s thoughts began to race His root arms set down the pencils and he began to pace around the central table in his planning hut Considering the layers of his underground labyrinth there should be an equivalent number of weaknesses in Kharon Academy And once you selected the weakness you wanted to address the teachers could offer their own solutions to deal with those weaknesses

In Randidly�s mind it was also a better way to prepare the children for the realities of the world In the grand scheme of the Nexus they were weak Only by constantly working to address those weaknesses would survival be possible

As Randidly began to settle on weaknesses in his mind his hands moved to the design of the labyrinth With better themes the plans were changed once more The root arms dragged over piles of papers that had been taken to the done� pile reopening their design

Congratulations Your Skill Spriggit�s Tinkering has grown to Level 199

Congratulations Your Skill Engineering Savvy has grown to Level 205

Eventually Randidly was pulled from the heady intoxication of finalizing his plans by Grim Intuition Someone was coming up to his island A more focused look revealed the figures of Mareen and Ed Dugg standing on a floating platform

Abruptly Randidly realized why they were here the construction of his home was scheduled to begin today Rubbing the back of his head Randidly organized his papers as best he could made some notes so he wouldn�t lose his train of thought later when he returned to the task and then walked out of the hut to meet them at the edge of the island

When he arrived Mareen smiled Mr Ghosthound good day Did you have any chance to work on the plans for your house this week

Randidly kept his face stoic Unfortunately not

Honestly that�s for the best Ed Dugg grinned and produced a sheaf of papers that were covered in detailed drawings of a rather sprawling home Hehehe I�ll tell you something that I learned after years of working in the construction industry the first time you build a home you vastly underestimate the number of water pipes you will need in a building so I took the liberty of drawing up a preliminary plan

Randidly barely even glanced at the papers His eyes were focused on Ed Mareen asked if the plans were alright and Randidly nodded and told her to begin work as soon as possible Then he turned to Ed And Mr Dugg considering your experience in the field I�d like to ask for your advice on an unrelated project

Chapter 1419

I�m fine Tim Go work on your stupid drawing stuff Delilah groused When he didn�t immediately leave she threw herself down onto the flower filled field rolling back and forth across several unfortunate patches of daisies like a steam roller

Tim the kind kid that he was hesitated before listening to her But at the moment that only made Delilah more frustrated When he opened his mouth to speak Delilah hopped to her feet Didn�t you hear me Leave me alone I need time away from a dummy like you

Looking chagrined Tim retreated and left Delilah alone in the field Every time he peeked over his shoulder at Delilah as he walked back toward the hill Delilah felt a surge of dissatisfaction in her heart But as she glared over at Tim she felt the familiar weight of her dad�s hand settle on her shoulder Even though he wasn�t here he was there chiding her softly when she behaved too wildly She could feel his warm and patient smile easing her anxiety Although her temper flared she did her best to force it down due to the reminder of that hand

UGH This is so stupid Delilah whispered and knocked the back of her head against the grass covered ground She knew that Dozer would push her to let go of her anger but it was hard Especially when after being beaten up the prior day she had spent all night preparing to get her revenge She had designed several specialty weapons that she carefully inscribed But of course when the Ghosthound brought her away to this place the moss spirits didn�t follow

Without the moss spirits her special weapons were useless So she was just beaten up again without any ability to resist The other kids had simply watched It was infuriating It was embarrassing

In Delilah�s mind there were two types of people that she encountered on a daily basis Those who were older than her and more powerful and people that she had eventually surpassed because her potential caught up to them In her heart Delilah had always believed that the first group would slowly morph into the second group It wasn�t that other people didn�t try to train they did it just wasn�t enough to keep up with Delilah�s growth Because she was special

Even her mom agreed with that

Even Randidly Ghosthound the man who even now made Delilah shudder in fear was only powerful because of how long he had spent training One day she would surpass him She would develop her own image and crush him for how cruel he was during their games of hide and seek It was one of her main goals

Yet with this Annon Delilah hesitated She saw how hard he worked He was only a few years older than her yet his power appeared just as overwhelming as the Ghosthound�s Logically she knew that Annon was weaker than the Ghosthound but the fact that he had been able to grow to his current strength placed a lot more pressure on Delilah mentally than anyone else ever had

After being beaten yesterday she had studied him like a hawk for the remainder of the day And as though beating Delilah up meant nothing to him Annon had returned to the same dull and boring work that Tim now struggled with It was so dumb

Delilah had watched his eyes most of all It was there in the steady focus that he displayed that Delilah found what she feared That look she saw on Annon�s face seemed to announce to the world that he would never compromise He would continue pushing forward at any cost He would never stop growing

Can I keep up with that Delilah bit her lip Then she slammed her fists back down to the ground and began to roll back and forth

Having fun destroying the flowers like that

Delilah pressed a hand to the ground and then flipped up to her feet She raised her hands ready and willing to take out her frustration on this stranger who dared interrupt her But as she looked around there was no one in the surrounding area Even the air was still there wasn�t the slightest breeze

The voice continued to speak I�ve done similar things in the past Fields of flowers they remind me of something I�d prefer not to remember So sometimes I level them and turn them to ash

What are you Delilah demanded

The voice laughed Just someone with a lot of regrets But I can probably help you How about it little girl do you want some help becoming strong I can give you a Path

At the recommendation of Derek Moss Randidly proceeded forward through the heavy iron doors and proceeded down from the surface into the large training facilities that surrounded the engine of Kharon This was where the lion�s share of the people currently trying to earn citizenship in Kharon spent their day

It wasn�t the most enjoyable existence but most of the people who were in the image adjustment process were willing to put up with the dim lighting and strenuous workouts in order to become an official citizen of Kharon This was their chance

Plus the people who were applying for citizenship weren�t even kept in the underground chambers they were simply required to finish a certain amount of training hours each day From the most recent report the number was set at eight Which gave these people plenty of time to experience what living in Kharon was really like They could even get some part time work

But for eight hours a day they would accept being sharpened and honed Both physically and mentally

You could clear the physical and image based training courses arranged by the Order Ducis and free yourself for days at a time but there had basically been no one thus far that had been able to do so Very few extremely powerful people were willing to endure this treatment This was the path for the desperate or the determined

After watching several sweating individuals struggle to roll several hundred pound tires� forward through mud Randidly turned away and walked along the periphery of the physical testing area to the training pavilion Randidly could tell immediately that the Order Ducis members here recognized him immediately by the way their heads perked up and whipped toward him but the applicants were too caught up in their own struggle to notice

And here I thought I was doing better at hiding my image Randidly mused Well perhaps its because of the connection they have with me Tatiana does always have an insane sixth sense regarding where I am and what I�m doing Perhaps this is a lesser version of that I�ll have to ask Naffur about it sometime

It was something of a relief to be able to stroll quietly through the dark hall with the reverberating grunts of exertion and shouts bouncing off the metal walls form the ambiance of a gym Randidly walked into the training pavilion with a strange sense of contentment As he did so a woman who had been slouching against the table in front of her immediately sat bolt upright and used her hands to press herself into standing M m m mr Ghosthound I didn�t realize err I what are you doing

Randidly opened his mouth to answer when the table that the woman was leaning against collapsed underneath the force of the woman�s hands In a rather ungainly pile of limbs the woman fell forward and slammed her head against the ground Randidly�s mouth twitch Just stopping by You must be Hydie Mordath right The Hexwitch

Ah heh yea Rubbing her forehead Hydie stood She furtively glanced at Randidly and then adjusted her glasses She stood up straight too looking more at the ceiling than at Randidly directly You why are you here to see me

Randidly took a glance at Hydie It was only for a brief second but Randidly�s training in regards to both images and Nether had been proceeding very steadily over the past several days Combined with his already high base image the amount of weight that he could create with a casual look equivalent to some current Earthlings full strength image

For a brief moment that weight was on Hydie and she flinched

Now why would you assume that I am here for you Randidly thought idly He had seen Naffur�s report regarding the suspicious points regarding this woman but he had ultimately left the decision over how to address it in Naffur�s hands But having her so obviously draw his attention right now Randidly let a flicker of purple black revelation energy swirl around his left eye Considering this behavior you really aren�t suited to be a spy

But considering that an Order Ducis member died due to a strange accident can�t hurt to check

The threads of causality spun outward from Hydie�s back dragging her past along behind her as she existed in the current moment With the information Randidly had been given it was enough to peer backward in time Those same threads also rolled forward and Randidly watched as they grew increasingly entangled with the fate of Kharon A frown emerged on his face

Congratulations Your Skill Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold has grown to Level 303

But then Randidly looked away and the weight was gone The energy vanished from around his eye He had peered as well as he could with the inferences available to him and it didn�t appear that Hydie was responsible for that death Because Randidly also knew of the preparations that Tatiana had been making recently in regards to problems like this he wouldn�t bother to pry into this woman�s backer as of yet

But had she been responsible

Heh Randidly shook himself gently right as his emotions caused his image in the surrounding area to intensify Truly his control over his image wasn�t as steady as he had thought The shouting of the applicants outside the building immediately fell silent Randidly could sense their throats had been frozen before his aura Their eyes bulged He felt a flash of guilt These are innocent parties And people that Kharon is trying to recruit No reason to bear my fangs here

I�m actually not here for you Randidly said giving Hydie what he believed to be a winning smile From her pale expression it was clear she didn�t believe him it seemed his cutting off of his chilled anger was a single beat too late His smile faded to a small grin I�d like to talk with one of the applicants here One Gertrude Collins Can you bring her into the tent please

For several seconds Hydie was motionless as she coped with her fear Gradually her hands began to twitch Randidly was content to wait She soon dethawed enough to pull at the edge of her collar Ah I wish I could help you Mr G g ghosthound but Miss Collins isn�t here She completed the image challenge yesterday and has sixteen hours� worth of training off

Randidly frowned I thought the challenges were purposefully designed to be almost impossible to pass

They were Even Ajax was surprised when she did it Hydie explained nervously She�s the first person to ever do it Besides never being willing to spar she�s probably the most capable image user in all the applicants So I�m sorry but

No that�s fine Randidly said Inwardly he was sighing He hadn�t bothered to check for Gertrude Collins� location because he believed that he knew where she would be Now finding out that wasn�t correct it felt like a certain kind of karma

So as to not subject himself to anymore stammering or touch upon Tatiana�s scheme further Randidly produced the Philosopher�s Key and directly portaled out of Kharon�s interior From high up on his island Randidly�s Grim Intuition spread outward to cover the whole of Kharon Then when he had located Gertrude Collins he descended quietly from the sky and landed nearby in the sprawling park in which he found her

Randidly watched Gertrude Collins for a long time She was younger than he had expected probably very close to Randidly�s age Her long dark hair was in a heavy braid down her back and she was dressed in jeans and a grey button up shirt In addition she was pretty in a way that suddenly made Derek Moss�s vehemence about her talent make a certain sort of sense But more than the details of her person Randidly watched her as she tested out of Kharon�s examination in order to come to these parks and gather a group of unruly children

She was reading them a children�s story Toward the beginning the older kids rolled their eyes but as the story went on they began to gather in larger and larger numbers First twenty then fifty then a hundred As more people came over to figure out what was happening they asked the people already there what was going on and were quickly shushed

In addition to simply reading her story she used illusions to draw out what was happening above her head so more children could see But to put it mildly her illusions were quite bad

The characters were blocky and somehow vague Rather than facial features she relied mostly on each character�s signature color to distinguish them

Or at least that�s what Randidly thought at first But as he watched her continue through her story Randidly realized that it wasn�t color that made him so sure of what he was looking at it was because Gertrude Collins� characters practically sung with their own images and motivation

Slowly Randidly nodded So this is the woman that Derek Moss thinks is the greatest teacher in the world Good Still the question now is why she didn�t come forward when the Order Ducis inquired about individuals with teaching experience

Chapter 1420

By the end of her story Gertrude Collins could barely suppress the tremors in her body Underneath her shirt thick drops of sweat were trailing down her spine The combination of using the Mana for the illusions and doing her best to imbue them with poignant images had completely depleted her Willpower She was even a little bit dizzy

As she let the final image fade her smile was bitter I can see why the Order Ducis insists that we train our bodies as well as working on the images it�s not enough just to be able to conjure a clean image if you cannot wield it oof I need a chair

Of course she didn�t have the chance to sit down The surrounding kids surged forward bright eyed and full of questions about the characters in the story The bitterness in Gertrude�s expression vanished and she turned to each child in turn and tried to explain her own thoughts on the story Secretly Gertrude felt quite a bit of pride at their interest to see the children so enthralled with a story that she had written herself was an amazing feeling It was sufficient sustenance for her to endure her exhaustion By the end of it she probably had a little over two hundred kids of various ages gathered around to listen

But as the groups of children started talking amongst themselves and conversations drifted into her ears Gertrude�s eyes twitched

If I was the fire I would have just stayed as a cold flame One girl insisted stubbornly So what if it made other people cold I love the snow Snowball fights are so much fun

It was dumb to switch an older boy agreed Much better than being a fire made entirely of light like she ended up at the end Even if the fire could then be with the candle without melting him as light what�s the point of just being light

My dad has light Skills and they are actually pretty powerful Light can be cool A chubby boy cut into the conversation But this action of speaking just seemed to draw a target on the boy�s back

Oh shut up orphan

We know he�s not your real dad

Don�t try and act cool just cause you got lucky who adopted you

The boy in question reddened and looked toward the ground There was a young girl with red pigtails next to Gertrude that was asking her a question but most of Gertrude�s attention was focused out of the corner of her eye on that particular interaction amongst the kids Her heart ached They can�t just be let to run wild like this for all of the good in Kharon it doesn�t understand the travesty that is happening underneath its nose

So many of them orphans Maybe even most of them Yet there is a part of them that hates themselves for that

If they don�t step in these children are going to develop into gangs There are already rival factions that fight against each other It�s all play fighting now but as soon as one person gets seriously injured this could escalate into something dangerous Why would the Order Ducis allow this

After balling his hands into fists the boy that was ridiculed for being an orphan turned around and fled from the crowd of children With the laughter of his peers at his back he pushed his way out of the gathering Some part of Gertrude wished she could help him but another part of her knew that a teacher�s comfort was exactly not what the kid needed now Plus she had come to this park to instill the spark of curiosity by showing them images To address all the internal problems

Yet as she saw him run all she could think about was Tim Moss and when she had previously failed as a teacher

Gertrude Collins blinked Because as that sad child charged out of the group he ran directly into a man that rather suddenly appeared in his path

With his lowered eyes that were probably tight with tears he wasn�t paying attention at all he bounced off the man and fell on his butt With a trembling lip he looked upward The man became the center of everyone�s attention and the surrounding laughter died as was though he had come and devoured it The man squatted down in front of the kid and smiled at him What�s your name

For a second the kid was silent Everyone was silent Because rather than the kid�s name everyone in the surrounding area was thinking of the name of the man crouching down and smiling in front of them They stood transfixed held captive by the force contained in that simple question Someone everyone knew that it wasn�t their place to speak when they were not the subject of that man�s attention

But finally something in the child�s chest stirred him to move This time he had been chosen My name is Paine

Nice to meet you Paine Randidly Ghosthound said softly But even if his voice was pitched low the surrounding children all heard him Even Gertrude could barely pull her eyes away from him as he crouched there in front of young Paine There was something about him that seized attention He offered a hand to Pane And it doesn�t matter who you are or where you come from You are here now And therefore a citizen of Kharon And that means that you get to decide who and what you are and who your family is

Kharon is the place for bold choices That�s why I made it so the city could move Don�t let anyone tell you what you are or aren�t

Then the Ghosthound stood He was taller taller than Gertrude had been expecting and covered with wiry muscle His metallic left arm moved as naturally as though it was flesh as he turned to regard the surrounding children His black hair was unruly across his head a testament to his wild nature His eyes were a bright emerald color that was captivating yet somehow chilling as his gaze swept the surrounding area Toward your fellow citizens you should always have respect for their choices Have I made myself clear

The children all nodded as one Gertrude even heard someone gulp audibly

Then the Ghosthound spread his hands wide Above his two palms different images flickered to life There was a brief scene of light filtering through heavy emerald leaves then there was an image of light turning milky and swirling around a dark marble Then there was a chilling dawn rising over a wasteland its rays both a relief and a curse to the creatures that had been struggling to hide in the darkness

Gertrude�s skin tingled as the image seeped into her body The image was so powerful that she even felt like she could smell the dust of that wasteland It left her in awe True she had exhausted herself for weeks to improve her images to the point where she could just barely pass the Order Ducis� tests but that was nothing compared to this Her skin was warmed by those rays of light This was Randidly Ghosthound This was why he was the most powerful man in the world

Then the Ghosthound lowered his arms and the image disappeared He grinned around at the surrounding children Light is indeed powerful but anything can be powerful if you work at it for long enough That�s the beauty of images you can share whatever truth in your heart that you possess so long as you focus

His eyes flashed again So make sure you don�t give up on your convictions

All at once the Ghosthound�s charismatic gravity vanished The heaviness that he released was abruptly gone The change was so sudden that it was slightly alarming to Gertrude The children around him began to stir as the Ghosthound straightened Then he put his hands on his hips and announced Now if that�s all I�d like the chance to talk with Miss Collins Alone please

The children began furiously whispering to each other Gertrude cursed her own pale face as she felt herself begin to blush furiously ah Is there a problem I believe I didn�t break any rules in coming here

Randidly Ghosthound chuckled I�m not here because of rules just to ask you a few questions I need your help

Randidly quickly opened a portal and brought himself and Gertrude Collins away from the whispering children Once they were safely on his island he turned to face the teacher I just wanted to ask you your opinions on Kharon�s current education situation And I think to start I�d like to know why you didn�t volunteer when the Order Ducis called for teacher volunteers

That�s why you wanted to talk to me Gertrude Collins seemed shocked Her hands came up and toyed with her silver necklace After a few twists she sighed It�s not that I don�t know I just didn�t think it would be a good fit for me Working with all this

Randidly raised his eyebrow It�s hard to totally believe you when I just watched you use your free time to interact with children Please don�t feel like you can�t Randidly abruptly realized that he had quickly brought Gertrude Collins to a floating private island covered in silver mist Honestly she was behaving rather calmly considering the fact that she didn�t know where she currently was If he wanted honest answers from her perhaps he should adjust the context a bit

Ahem Randidly cleared his throat Follow me

This time Randidly used the Philosopher�s Key to open a portal to the outskirts of the Orchard below Due to the rapid slew of construction for the duos competition a constant night fair had emerged on the Southern edge of the Orchard Bright lights flashed from lightbulbs around various carnival games mixed with food stands Scents of oil salt and sugar filled the air Due to the general increase in proficiency for humanity the difficulty of the games had increased sharply Shouts and good natured cursing was a constant companion in that area

Randidly casually walked with Gertrude for a bit She trailed after him casting strange glances his way as they wove their way through the crowd It had started as a way to make the talk more informal but Randidly quite enjoyed this break from work Plus no one here seemed to recognize him despite his bare feet

As his mood improved he allowed himself to grin around and sniff the air Still with Gertrude taking surreptitious looks at him when she thought he wasn�t looking Randidly followed his nose to purchase a funnel cake covered with powdered sugar and chocolate syrup Then he sat down at one of the many wooden tables in the area and gave Gertrude a long look He held a piece of the funnel cake poised in front of his mouth Let me ask again why didn�t you volunteer I�d like an honest answer I�m asking precisely because I want to improve Kharon�s education system

Really Gertrude seemed stunned Then she smiled bitterly Then I feel somewhat stupid I I didn�t volunteer because I had seen Kharon�s schooling� and thought it meant that the city didn�t value its youth I didn�t just want to be another body that was thrown at the problem the whole system needs to be redesigned I�m tired of being part of administrations that don�t care about their students

You really refused just because of a misunderstanding More than bodies what we wanted was people with ideas Randidly thought to himself But he didn�t vocalize those thoughts Instead he carefully chewed on another piece of warm and sugary fried dough before saying Well in our defense I don�t think any of us expected to have such a large population of children Considering the survival rate of that age group through the System�s arrival having one fourth of our population needing an education took us by surprise

That makes sense Gertrude took another peek at Randidly and then blushed I I�m sorry I was just I don�t know disappointed Kharon Kharon is doing so many things well I don�t like how much violence is emphasized but its clear you aren�t trying to turn people into an army You are just trying to give them the tools to defend themselves I was just disappointed to see that education had become the equivalent of independent study

That�s why I wanted to talk to you We only have about ten people with actual teaching experience employed by Kharon�s government considering the number of students Randidly shook his head We DO need bodies But we need more than that I would love your help to refine our teaching philosophy But I want you to know that we aren�t just going to let students engage in independent study forever Actually I�ve recently been working on a very special project Kharon Academy

Then while Gertrude Collins listened closely Randidly explained the details of Kharon Academy He went through the design and then the purpose before turning to the details Then Gertrude began asking questions questions that were very pointed and relevant Questions that made Randidly realize exactly how far out of his league he was by designing an educational institution

During this process Randidly watched Gertrude�s image And that pure dedication to education caused a small smile to form at the corner of his mouth The pure joy and commitment to helping others grow was exactly what he needed

At the end of her slew of questions Gertrude stared down at the table in front of her The previous shyness she had was shed as the focus on education came to the fore of her being Randidly waited silently feeling rather satisfied that he had listened to Derek Moss and come out to talk with this teacher He could already tell she could help shape the spirit of Kharon Academy

Chewing on her lip Gertrude finally spoke some of these things are too big for me to know any decent methods I�ll need to contact some people I knew back in Zone 1 They they have more experience than me Even if they aren�t as talented at images they know how to handle children But I do have one suggestion even though I�m not sure how realistic it is

Well obviously not the whole thing but Gertrude gestured toward the still scaffolding being assembled for the duos tournament It sat next to them in the dark opposite the bright lights of the carnival If you really want Kharon Academy to be an institution that epitomizes Kharon�s spirit of forging its own path what would capture the image of trailblazing better than having a portion of the Academy built by the very children who will spend their time there

Randidly froze His thoughts began to race Obviously there needed to be a base structure in place but other than that a portion of the students would likely choose to address weaknesses related to building or craftsmanship anyway It could be an on going process We don�t need to build it all at once As they graduate the students can shape the Academy or they act as support to throw their vote behind which professor should shape the Academy

Very quickly Randidly shook his head and brought himself back The details could wait until later But for now he needed to make sure he had Gertrude�s support going forward What better way than a Kharon municipal team building retreat Do you have some spare time tomorrow If you do I�d like you to come into a Dungeon with me to work on these ideas

Chapter 1421

Randidly frowned Due to the smoldering flames in the center of the room the enclosed space was really hot But the response he received was enough to distract him from all of the specialty tool laying about in the workshop What do you mean Why don�t you know if you will be able to help Don�t you think

Randidly stopped himself before he could complete that sentence It was somewhat rude to admit that he had thought Sam would be swept up by what he was offering and accept immediately But truthfully Randidly was somewhat floored that the resources Randidly had described didn�t seem to tempt him

Sam idly waved a hammer that was the size of a human head to dismiss Randidly�s words Due to its strange shifting hue Randidly could tell that the item wasn�t a simple tool The fact that Sam could so casually wave it was a testament to his strength My schedule is extremely busy Even if I am no longer in charge of Donnyton�s refinery I have quite a few projects lined up right now I�ve accepted down payments it isn�t an easy thing to push back such work for a favor even if it�s for you

When Randidly didn�t respond to him Sam snorted and then continued to hammer the piece of metal in front of him Every time the heavy tool smashed the metal a clear ringing echoed out in the small room A shifting and amorphous image thickened the air around the tempering demonstrating why Sam was the pinnacle of his field Even though he wasn�t imbuing it with any specificity that Randidly could see it was slowly growing more powerful The image shaped the metal and the metal shaped the image Randidly had no doubt it would slowly develop into something powerful

This ability is why I want him to help with Kharon Academy but this reaction Randidly stared at Sam�s grizzled silhouette as he continued to work Wearing a leather apron and working away with the metal the figure was a familiar one to Randidly His friendship with Sam was one of his oldest and strongest They were bonded through Aether Sam was his Dawn Smith Yet now Sam seemed completely content with where he was

Smiling slyly down at his current work Sam placed the strange hammer to the side and picked up a pair of tongs Then he lifted the metal in question and regarded it critically from several angles He even brought it to his face and sniffed it Once he set it back down the hammering began with renewed vigor

As Randidly watched a sense of strangeness grew in his chest Watching Sam�s movements nothing was off but this sort of behavior wasn�t like Sam Normally if he really wasn�t willing to listen to my offer he would have just kicked me out Which means that he probably wants something

Eventually Randidly sighed The better he got at observing people the more work seemed to appear in front of him Things just get more complicated don�t they I�m sorry that the first time I came to see you it was work

Sam glared at him this time with genuine irritation He slowly lowered his strange hammer to his side Kid do you really think I would care about that I understand how busy you must be running a city Plus heh the projects you bring me are always the most interesting ones Nah it�s fine you are a bit forgetful

Hearing that Randidly�s eyes narrowed Then what is it you want How can I get you to come agree to work on the construction of Kharon Academy

Sam�s assistance wasn�t absolutely necessary but it would be a huge help to the project Not for the general construction any average worker could handle the details of the typical buildings Due to Gertrude�s suggestion Randidly was even considering allowing the kids themselves to do the lion�s share of it But for some of the critical pieces in the labyrinth for the components that would blend images and Engraving to hold the whole Kharon Academy together Randidly would rest easier leaving it in Sam�s hands

Finally seeing that he had Randidly�s attention Sam coughed lightly I�m not much for negotiation I�d prefer if everyone was direct about things So I�m just gonna say my demand No room for discussion I want to explore one of the Corrupted Worlds Soon And I want to be the first human to do so Since the Order Ducis is in charge of them I assume you have that power

Randidly frowned Corrupted Worlds referred to the five extra Danger Zones that had been pasted onto Earth due to the test from the Xyrt Brigade After the Earth had completed its task in time these worlds had brought their Aether and significant resources to Earth At least in theory that is Right now they were just a bunch of portals to dangerous worlds

The populations of those worlds had just been primed by the System to attack and massacre the Earth a few weeks ago as part of the test Although that prompting disappeared the Nexus never bothered to send out a follow up notification that the people of these planets should cooperate with the Earthlings So the Order Ducis had been trying to establish communications with the various factions within the worlds with mixed results

You want the materials Randidly guessed after thinking about it

Of course Sam�s eyes were shining now An entire world�s worth of resources Not that I want to monopolize them but I�ve already noticed that the Earth�s resources are curving toward mythic materials that were the stuff of legends prior to the System If our images shape the materials too I definitely need to test out the materials that these other worlds imagined

Randidly thought about it for a bit before slowly nodding From what I�ve heard discussions with one of the worlds has gone pretty well I think that trade will start up in earnest soon And at that time Randidly paused as a thought occurred to him But then he shook his head and continued at that time I believe you can be the first to see and experience the materials within the world

Thank you Sam revealed a rare smile Then his expression shifted and he gave Randidly a long look Now will you be staying for dinner

Randidly felt quite a load of expectations within that expression and couldn�t help but sigh I suppose Do you think

For a second Sam�s expression was warped by commiseration He walked over to Randidly and patted his shoulder Yes I might not mind your habits but Regina will undoubtedly have some opinions on your lack of social etiquette You are after all Sunan�s godfather But still Facing it now is better than letting more sourness accumulate for a few more years

So despite his frantic schedule in preparation for tomorrow Randidly stayed for dinner with Sam and Regina As expected the first portion of the dinner saw Regina calmly lashing out with sharp comments about how long it had been since Randidly had visited or inquired about their son

Randidly took a glance at the rather silent baby sleeping within the cradle Ultimately he decided that there was no meaning to pointing out that little Sunan wasn�t old enough to even notice Instead he simply smiled awkwardly Luckily as the three of them continued to converse through the meal Regina�s attitude softened Although it wasn�t how he wanted to spend his time Randidly enjoyed the small break chatting with Sam and Regina

When he left their residence he had a message from Gertrude Collins We�ve obtained all the guardian signatures we need All told we have thirty two volunteers to come into the Dungeon with us I�ve spoken with them and they should be mature enough that the extra few months won�t matter much

Randidly produced his Philosopher�s Key with a flick of the wrist as he was replying That seems fast Did you check to make sure all the signatures were genuine

Of course I was a teacher Mr Ghosthound I know my job Gertrude quickly replied It�s somewhat awkward to say but a lot of the children live in large groups under a single homeowner There are very few children with genuine familial ties So to sign a form that the child will be gone for two days it�s quite a casual thing

Randidly�s heart tightened when he thought about the lives of these children but then his emerald eyes flashed This was why Kharon Academy was so important It could be the lifeline that these people needed

But Mr Ghosthound Gertrude said in another message Isn�t thirty two too little

Randidly�s eyelid twitched This much will be fine Thank you Miss Collins

It had been Gertrude�s idea for Randidly to bring children into the Dungeon with him and train them to help make Kharon Academy while also training the police force Randidly had immediately expressed a strong desire not to on account of the number of children that he would suddenly need to manage but Gertrude had responded rather blithely

I mean not everyone will volunteer if you ask They are kids

Privately Randidly feared that Gertrude was dead wrong

Randidly didn�t want to overestimate himself but he was somewhat aware that he was a powerful figure in the minds of these children If word spread that he was offering a bit of training he believed that quite a few children would agree Perhaps even most of them And then suddenly he would be responsible for the ten thousand children that were already causing headaches all across Kharon

So instead of putting Randidly�s name on it they had spread word to the children that the Kharon government itself was sponsoring a workshop for children looking to focus on careers in architecture construction gardening blacksmithing metal working and materials processing Despite Gertrude�s complains Randidly insisted on making the language of the request as dry as possible

He didn�t want people to come that thought the project sounded cool He only wanted children who truly were interested in the field Thirty two volunteers was abysmally low from a population of ten thousand but Randidly had a good feeling about those thirty two They could be left in the hands of Ed Dugg for most of the time in the Dungeon Hopefully they would be able to gain quite a bit of experience

Humming to himself Randidly opened a portal and walked through to visit Neveah

Chapter 1422

Neveah chuckled as she looked at Randidly�s face She walked up next to him and poked him in the side What�s with that reaction Did you think I wouldn�t finish the Engraving

Well no but Randidly blinked He shifted his weight from one foot to the other feeling awkward that he had been seen through so easily It made sense Neveah could detect his thoughts through their Soulbond Hiding his thoughts from her was basically impossible But still I�m just the Engravings are great I didn�t realize you had so much progress in understanding Yystrix�s murals recently I had sorta thought

Randidly The corners of Neveah�s expression turned downward We both know what this is really about The pain I suffered when we fought Kaan It was a lot I haven�t ever encountered anything like that Not personally I�ve seen some of your memories but this was Even now I still have nightmares about his hand squeezing my soul The sounds of bells or wind chimes make me flinch That�s why I think it�s for the best if I don�t go to the Nexus with you this time

Randidly stood very still as Neveah was speaking but the words still hit him with more power than he had expected He pressed his hands down against the counter in front of him His fingers tensed but he was careful not to grip with too much strength This cabin of Neveah�s was only made with basic materials

Neveah put her hands behind her back and continued to speak We each have our own strength This the Engraving understanding the secrets of Aether that is my strength And here on Earth is the place where I can take advantage of it best So I really think staying here will benefit both of us I can remain here and deepen my understanding of Yystrix�s teaching

As Neveah turned to look at him Randidly was very careful to control his emotions He didn�t want his response to that to taint their relationship But simultaneously there was no way that Randidly could hide his feeling of disappointment To have long anticipated them both going to the Nexus together to become strong and fight against the System Randidly was sad for that to change

For several seconds he simply stood and looked at Neveah His heart ached His metallic hand twitched

But then he shook himself slightly and showed Neveah a fragile smile although it�s not what I had planned before it might be for the best Besides the beginning period of the Kharon Academy will be the most dangerous So with you present there

Oh please Neveah interrupted him She rolled her eyes and waved her hands as though to push what he said away Are you trying to leave that pile of work in my lap Nuh uh no way Besides if we intervene too directly in the Academy won�t we be spreading your image too widely I hope you�ve realized how quickly the scale of your Kharon Academy is growing

Ah humm Randidly immediately frowned Actually he hadn�t thought about that problem Originally Kharon Academy had been relatively small He had assumed there would be maybe five hundred students within its walls But with the huge population of children in Kharon he had expanded his schematics to be eight times the original size Even then things looked like they were going to be a tight fit

But Randidly had been so caught up in scaling Kharon Academy up that he had forgotten about the latent threat that his image presented to Earth passing the Second Calamity In the end Randidly could only shake his head at Neveah�s words I honestly don�t know I hadn�t thought about it But even if ten thousand is a lot of people have you seen the most recent reports A conservative estimate of the population of all the bubble cities in the Wildlands and Zones is about 100 million people Compared to all those growing images ten thousand isn�t too much

Heh Don�t try and say that with a straight face Based on the work that you are doing those ten thousand images will grow faster and with a better foundation than most Those images are much more likely to become elites They will influence other images Neveah walked over to the stove of her cabin and picked up the pot of stew She brought over a ladle and then carefully poured some into his bowl You are gathering some of the most talented people on Earth right now Randidly You need to handle this carefully

Do you have a solution Randidly asked with a frown

Neveah nodded slowly Part of it is that I won�t just stay here and mind your Academy But most importantly you need to leave before it opens Or perhaps even more drastically than that The connection to you or more specifically your image cannot be too strong

Randidly slowly tilted his head to the side What are you suggesting

Theodora Greyman looked at the neat font of the report sitting on her desk Even the looming problem of the impeachment vote was pushed to the side as she scanned through the briefing with wide eyes

Her first response was that this was a joke No one would be this erratic But her desk was covered with similar reports The Order Ducis had made a very public announcement of the upcoming changes to Kharon�s government They were rather considerate of the fact that the Zones were watching the Wandering City�s movements very closely

But to make the government random And switch several of the people in charge every two months Theodora drummed her fingers against her desk The tempo of the percussion continued to increase but no answers emerged in her heart There was a very obvious loophole in the arrangement too Is this some sort of trap What the hell is Randidly Ghosthound thinking

There was a knock at the door interrupting Theodora�s thoughts She grunted and the door swung partially open An aide poked her head through the doorway and glanced meekly around Uh President Greyman Congress has refused to push the date of the impeachment vote back

The drumming ceased immediately Theodora could barely pry her teeth apart to force the words out For what reason

They they say that as you are not the one participating in the duos tournament the vote will proceed as previously scheduled Your presidency and that tournament are entirely independent events

Theodora suppressed the urge to snarl Really After everything I have done for this Zone They wish to push me out before I can win this for the Zone

That�s fine Thank you Victoria Theodora Greyman responded The aide hurriedly nodded and closed the door with a sharp click perhaps worried about Theodora�s temper in response to the news But Theodora remained very still even after the aide had been gone for several minutes Her mind was buzzing carefully turning over possibilities in her mind

The obstinance from congress the duos tournament to name the Earth the strange changes in Kharon�s government They were like strange puzzle pieces in her mind No matter how Theodora arranged them she couldn�t figure out the larger picture

Finally she stood Touching a painting that hung in the back of her office Theodora opened up a secret passage and descended into the bowels of the building The long corridors were dark but Theodora�s Perception allowed her to navigate them flawlessly Besides Theodora Greyman had taken this pathway down into the sub basements quite often in the past week and a half At this point she had every corner memorized

She reached out and brushed her fingers along the wall The cool stone was reassuring Heh if I had known how things would end up I was once the Chairperson of the World Council I was the most powerful woman in the world and now

now I wonder how much I really ever had

Eventually she reached a door that was guarded by two muscular men In the dark passageway it was almost impossible to distinguish their features even with high Perception But Theodora didn�t pay them any attention They inclined their heads as she walked forward through the door Within the small chamber beyond the door Richter was sitting in his wheelchair with his eyes closed Strange energy filled the surrounding air and most intimidatingly the stone ground beneath him rippled like it was the surface of a pond in a rainstorm

Wary of the energy he was releasing Theodora stopped only a few steps past the threshold and didn�t proceed deeper Instead her eyes searched Richter�s face for hints of his waning longevity She was relieved that there were no signs of corruption to be seen there but she didn�t doubt that the strange corrosion of Richter�s skin was slowly spreading from his legs to the rest of his body Her eyes went to his torso wondering how much of his pale flesh had been twisted and warped

However Theodora didn�t dare disturb him So she waited silently

Soon after Theodora arrived Richter opened his eyes Ah it�s you Still worried about me Didn�t I tell you that I have it under control

Richter all of the other experiments have resulted in failure Is it strange that I would be concerned about you President Theodora said slowly She did her best to imbue her voice with warmth and authority

Richter chuckled darkly True Plus without me it will be difficult for you to hold onto the seat of the President

Theodora�s fingers twisted as though they were squeezing the last breath out of someone�s throat but she kept those hands behind her back Richter should not have so casually spoken of such things Yet her emotions seemed to have been devoured by her circumstances Her face was extremely neutral as she replied As it turns out your efforts won�t matter at all Congress will not delay the impeachment hearing I suspect even if I were to refuse to attend

That got Richter�s attention He raised his head slowly studying Theodora Greyman Perhaps To think it has come to this point You have not made many friends with your recent string of actions

You were about to say failures weren�t you Theodora thought rather distantly Her fingers twisted and wiggled around each other like blind worms searching for food Ironic Considering the energy that currently is devouring your body is exactly one of my actions If I hadn�t decided on ignoring the words of the Ghosthound at that time

Theodora�s expression tightened but then her powerful self control smoothed out those lines Well it is too late now All of my most loyal followers have already been sacrificed Congress has made up its mind in regard to my fate Due to their participation in these experiments the Order Valorem has fractured heh All I have left

Perhaps Theodora replied very calmly In fact she felt rather at peace with herself After struggling for so long and trying to control things from the shadows it was something of a relief to reach out with her own hands to try and defy destiny But I think Congress will find it quite difficult to be rid of me

Richter raised his eyebrows You have a plan

A gamble Theodora Greyman whispered in response

Chapter 1423

Elmer Arrietti shifted uncomfortably as he stood in front of the assembled people his fingers rising naturally to pick at all the dangling bits of commendation that adorned his uniform He was currently decked out in his finest as were the rest of his force as they rose on platforms to Randidly Ghosthound�s private island Moss spirits frolicked around happily investigating the police officers then zooming off Elmer hoped that the moss spirits didn�t get so distracted that they forgot to lift the platform

Today would be the day they followed their leader into a Dungeon in order to do some intensive training Everyone was very on edge at the prospect

Of course Elmer appreciated the effort to raise the strength of the police force But after staying up all of the prior night tossing and turning he could only come to one conclusion how this training would end It would likely be polite but the Order Ducis and Kharon would find a reason during this training session to remove Elmer from his position as Commissioner and put someone more powerful in his place

By all accounts it would be a very good decision

Is something wrong Commissioner A patrol officer named Fenlin asked

Elmer cleared his throat Of course not I m mentally preparing myself Heh you have never been personally trained by the Ghosthound have you Let me just say that if you thought the normal Order Ducis training was difficult hehehe well feel free to rely on me if you have any difficulties But always remember that we are all in this together

Elmer was rather surprised at his own mouth as his secret fears somehow morphed through his esophagus into him talking out of his ass Around him the other officers began to whisper excitedly to each other and look at Elmer with eyes shining with respect

To his own misbehaving mouth Elmer was somewhat helpless Considering that he would be stuck with these people for at least six months within the Dungeon admitting now that he had no idea what he was talking about would be awkward He could only shrug his shoulders and straighten his spine squinting upward toward the Ghosthound�s island that was shrouded in silver mist The more he considered the implications the more conflicted he became regarding the prospect of losing this position

On the one hand he was currently very influential within Kharon That was nice He was included in many of the large scale decisions and was very well paid for his amount of responsibility leading the city His entire force seemed very proud of him and respected his decisions He was seen as a leader

They even dedicated the bowling complex to me Elmer thought to himself

On the other hand Elmer had no time to spend his generous paycheck because he was constantly dashing around the city investigating this or following up on that He had built a report fort on top of his desk Every day he woke up thinking that this would be the day that he encountered someone powerful just wandering the streets maybe someone at Level 60 who would be able to kill him without much effort Any attempts to sleep were swiftly cut short by stress dreams

He knew with the benefits of the System that it was just his imagination but the stress of the job made him peer peevishly at his hairline any time he was in front of the mirror

With a dull thump the large platform carrying all two hundred and sixteen of the police officers and support staff going into the Dungeon crunched up against the side of the Ghosthound�s island Elmer frowned around to see that they had apparently arrived at a supply depot for the building of the Ghosthound�s house Tall piles of wood and metal ingots formed a maze around them

Clicking his tongue Elmer strode confidently forward and the rest of the police force followed him Although he hadn�t been told exactly where to meet the group going into the Dungeon it wasn�t hard to guess Although there was nothing concrete to sense Elmer could feel a strange weight� from directly in front of him That was the presence of the Ghosthound he had no doubt Even if his own image was rather feeble Elmer had been working hard to sharpen his ability to sense other images

Plus the Ghosthound was very easy to sense when he wasn�t restricting his aura

How did I end up in a situation where I need to walk directly toward such a scary individual haa maybe law enforcement isn�t the career for me

Although intimidating the Ghosthound�s island wasn�t overly large The police contingent skirted around the edges of a pit where workers were digging a foundation for a large complex and arrived at a point where people had already gathered

The Ghosthound nodded slowly as he looked at Elmer with those piercing emerald eyes Good we are all here Everyone it�s time to go

As everyone began to gather and queue up Elmer�s eyes widened at some of the individuals that were quickly disappearing under the Ghosthound�s touch There was about fifty of the Ghosthound�s strange Riders that went first After that group were the two representatives of the Order Ducis Helen and Ajax Then a bunch of teenagers filed forward their eyes wide as they looked at the Ghosthound in front of them

Elmer watched with sympathy as the first kid the Ghosthound reached for even flinched

Behind the children were another group of people that Elmer instantly recognized Sam the Dawnsmith Nathan the Architect of Souls and Clarissa the Weather Witch Then Dinesh followed after them chatting with a shorter man with an impressive looking mustache When they had all vanished the Ghosthound beckoned and the police force came forward

Elmer was last and when it came to his turn his entire body was stiff with nerves He could feel sweat dripping down his back Without the slightest hesitation the Ghosthound reached out and touched Elmer�s arm Suddenly Elmer was in a large field with all the other people who had been taken before him The children gathered together in one group while most of the other individuals spread out and looked around with interest The Riders just seemed bored

Several officers hurried up to Elmer Commissioner where is this

Elmer cleared his throat and spoke vaguely The world�s a big place That�s why we are here To grow and learn

The surrounding police officers nodded solemnly The adjusted their any minuscule flaws in their uniform that had appeared due to the teleportation and gathered in formation as though they were on a parade ground After struggling for several seconds in front of them Elmer opened his mouth to talk more honestly about his own feelings Seeing the serious expressions of the people around him he felt somewhat like a fraud

Yet just as he was beginning to speak the surroundings changed again The group found themselves no longer on those rolling hills and suddenly they were in a valley next to a gushing river The Ghosthound surveyed the surrounding people and began to speak Alright we are now within the Dungeon Riders check the surrounding area for what sort of monsters we have here Helen Ajax get some training areas started up on that slope Yes

Helen had raised her hand Can�t I go with the Riders I could use some exercise

The Ghosthound rolled his eyes The monsters in here should be around Level 55 Do you really think you will enjoy hunting them But yes feel free Mr Dugg give some time for the Riders to clear out the valley and then start whatever construction you deem appropriate The kids will be your helpers And kids listen to Mr Dugg alright Even though he looks like that he�s very good at his job

Even though he looks like that after the career I�ve had The short man with the mustache muttered to himself Then he shook his head and stomped off toward the river The kids glanced at each other and then scurried after the man

Finally the Ghosthound turned to Commissioner Arietti and the other members of Kharon�s police force as for you your training will begin immediately I need to get a good grasp of where you are in terms of image clarity These sessions hum will probably happen every three days Aside from that Helen and Ajax will handle your training Those of you who engage directly with the populace will receive additional combat training while support staff will need to solve some logic puzzles that have been arranged for you Any questions

Everyone shook their heads Elmer�s skin began to crawl as he realized that everyone else had left the surrounding area Now it was just them and the Ghosthound

For this part The Ghosthound continued All you need to do is stand your ground and attempt to endure my image Ready Let�s begin

There wasn�t enough time after he said ready to respond at all Elmer thought in alarm He had been planning on clarifying the task but the Ghosthound moved too quickly he began to smile at Kharon�s police force And then the air around their leader warped

The change was instantaneous One second a slim and athletic looking Randidly Ghosthound was standing in front of them regarding them critically Then the air around him shimmered and his form seemed to become increasingly intense The corner of his smile kept curling upward There was so much weight to his presence that an onlooker�s eyes were dragged toward him

His hair flashed and lightened to emerald and stirred as though it was being toyed with by a spring breeze His right eye began to glow with an emerald light and his left eye seemed to become a hole in the world Light bent and twisted as though it was literally being drained away by that hungry eye A long dark tail that looked segmented like a spine flicked back and forth behind the Ghosthound The muscles and tendons of his arms seemed to strain and flex His hands shimmered and were covered in warped blackened flesh His toes flexed and dug into the ground as they were also shifting to that strange flesh

The pressure smashed into Elmer with a physical force Elmer Arrietti couldn�t breathe His entire body locked up one joint at a time until he was a sweaty statue Behind him he could distantly hear his force groan and shudder beneath that abrupt pressure But perhaps because Elmer was at the front his consciousness was directly smashed to the side

Goddamnit it knees just collapse and let me fall over Elmer roared in panic at his unresponsive body A second wave of pressure spread outward from the Ghosthound It seemed Kharon�s creator was laughing hysterically raising his head and daring the world to stand in his way That laughter ripped into Elmer�s vulnerable thoughts wiping everything away

Then all he could hear was a strange buzzing and all he could feel was sweat trickling down his back in a small stream His eyes remained locked on the Ghosthound in front of him Specifically his gaze was drawn into that intense darkness that grew from his left eye But the more he looked the more Elmer began to understand that he had severely underestimated their leader He had always known the man was powerful he had been at the Ghosthound�s birthday celebration He had felt the pressure that he could casually unleash

In front of him the Ghosthound�s skin of his shoulders and torso was translucent Although most of it was covered up by the dark grey armor he wore within the small amount of exposed skin Elmer could see pulsing golden veins His pale neck was filled with thick flexing topaz serpents The Ghosthound�s smile stretched wider and wider He took a step forward and the pressure that Elmer endured intensified His entire body began to tremble

Randidly Ghosthound wasn�t powerful because of his images He was powerful because he was his images personified The surrounding air began to howl Elmer�s muscles continued to spasm As much as he wanted to flee from the powerful figure in front of him he was too scared to move

He was a mouse before a leviathan Randidly Ghosthound was a monster that had once worn human skin

Congratulations You have learned the Skill Image Resistance

Image Resistance Slightly decreases the influence that images have on your body and mind A Skill that only emerges under extreme circumstances Power of own images will slightly increase with Skill Level Amount of resistance increases with Skill Level

Congratulations Your Skill Image Resistance has grown to Level 2

Randidly Ghosthound took an extremely heavy step forward The amount of light swirling around his eye increased Almost the entirety of the left side of his face was obscured by the swirling liquid light and that pitch darkness at the core of it He became a faceless horror stalking forward toward Kharon�s police force

Elmer�s entire body shuddered The twitches wracking his body became increasingly erratic Behind him he could distantly make out panting and low cries But Elmer didn�t have any spare attention to focus on the people behind him His own body continued to betray him barely allowing himself to move

Please just

Congratulations Your Skill Image Resistance has grown to Level 3

Congratulations Your Skill Image Resistance has grown to Level 19

Elmer�s breath was stuck in his throat His constricted organs writhed in agony as his muscles refused to relax It was like his subconscious was locked in a wrestling match with itself Half of him wanted to turn and run away while the other half wanted him to avoid detection by remaining exactly still Neither was able to grasp an advantage Each remained determined to succeed So Elmer stood still and trembled

The Ghosthound took another step forward A strange desperate howling arrived at Elmer�s ears The very air around this avatar of power seemed to seethe and scream in agony The darkness in the Ghosthound�s left eye seemed to round until Elmer could see the faintest shimmer of an egg

Congratulations Your Skill Image Resistance has grown to Level 23

After the third step Elmer went unconscious His eyelids fluttered and closed with the most reassuring sense of relief that he had ever experienced

The fourth step woke him back up to find that his traitorous body had remained standing even after he had been knocked out The strange wind that was blowing the Ghosthound�s hair finally reached Elmer somehow chilling him to the bone and scouring his skin like a raging sandstorm

Small wounds appeared up and down Elmer�s arms As soon as he bled the liquid of life was whisked away into the deadly maelstrom around the Ghosthound

Congratulations Your Skill Image Resistance has grown to Level 40

Oh Interesting Considering your determination I�ll have Helen design a private training program for you Commissioner Arrietti Good job The Ghosthound�s voice rumbled He released his image That�s all for today I feel like I have a good understanding of what you are all capable of

Even now Elmer couldn�t move His muscles had strained themselves to the point that he didn�t have the strength to relax them He remained locked in place even as the Ghosthound turned and walked away Behind him most of his police force was unconscious unable to help him

Six months

Tears silently coursed down Elmer�s cheeks

Chapter 1424

Sydney sat at Drake�s bedside with her hands folded in her lap Her eyes remained fixed on his still face Since she was able to rescue his familiar from Ace the lines around Drake�s eyes and mouth had certainly eased All of the doctors in Donnyton�s premier hospital believed that his vitals were trending in positive directions According to them these sorts of results were basically unheard of Everyone was astounded by the physical power that was present in Drake�s body

Yet now a week after he was supposed to have been fully healed� Drake still slept without stirring The wait was difficult It wasn�t that Sydney had given up hope of a recovery but her expression was becoming increasingly bitter as she observed her subordinate Perhaps I truly waited too long to take action the mental strain the continuous torture it has been years I have failed him

A single tear began to run down Sydney�s cheeks but a crackle of electricity raced across her face Instantly the small tear was transformed into a small ball of ice Her skin itched at the sudden change in temperature With an irritated expression Sydney reached up and tore the tiny frozen orb off her face and threw it across the ward It clattered across the ground and bounced off the wall

Sydney pressed her eyes shut and did her best to prevent further tears

She sat there for several minutes until she could hear the sounds of footsteps walking down the corridor The very exact timing between the steps immediately revealed the identity of the approaching individual Hope and despair warred in Sydney�s heart until her familiar�s image descended and froze everything When the cold was strong enough even emotions succumbed She would be strong She would look with clear eyes no matter what the result was

Regina Northwind pushed open the door and looked at Sydney�s stiff form She didn�t smile Instead she walked smartly up to Sydney�s side and offered her the folder in her hand This is the best that we can do Physically and with regards to his Aether Drake is entirely healthy The cause of his continued coma is likely psychological in nature

Sydney took the folder However due to the heavy level of chill she maintained to suppress her emotions her vision was somewhat fuzzy Although she looked down at the paper in front of her she didn�t actually see any of the details on the page They were just tight lines and squiggles an unintelligible sprawl that left her feeling helpless

Regina took a step back but didn�t leave the room Instead her sharp eyes focused on Drake while she waited for Sydney to speak

Finally Sydney thawed enough to clear her throat Do you have any ideas what might be going on

just a partial theory Regina admitted readily And honestly it�s somewhat of a stretch but as the leader of East End I�m sure you are aware that the bond between an individual and their elemental familiar is unusual but not unique It shares some characteristics with the Soulbound connection that some individuals in Zone 32 maintain to this day

Sydney nodded and Regina continued to speak The marked difference of course is that a contract with a familiar can be terminated unilaterally by either party I suspect the problem currently with Drake is that both he and his familiar were presented with circumstances in the past year that would have made it logical for them to sever their bond Yet neither was willing to abandon their partner They both attempted to protect each other So their bond endured but I believe they have become somewhat numb to external stimulus

We need a way to reach them then Sydney whispered Regina nodded

After a few more minutes at looking at Drake�s sleeping face Sydney stood Thank you for your help doctor I�ll think of something

Regina Northwind bowed slightly to Sydney If you need anything we are here

Then Sydney left the hospital her expression becoming increasingly stormy and vicious as she swept out of the buildings and out under the cloudy sky Snow flurries drifted downward subtly spinning in Sydney�s direction It was time that she confronted the man who had caused it all Roy had been there with Drake at the World Crater and had somehow convinced him to take the personal boost in Stats rather than giving an experience buff to Earth Sydney would find out what that sick piece of shit had done to her subordinate

And then she would make him pay just as she had done with Ace

J j just a moment Miss Helen The police commissioner squeaked raising a hand for Helen to slow her assault while the other hand attempted to wipe blood out of his eyes

Helen ignored his panicked cry Would an enemy listen to such a request on the battlefield Of course not Helen might not care either way how strong this police commissioner would become but she certainly cared that it was widely known that he was being personally trained by her As such she made sure to shower him with affection�

She had a reputation to uphold

A crimson wave of blood exploded outward from Helen�s body It impacted the partially blinded commissioner in the chest He barely managed a yelp before he was tossed down the slope to impact a tall oak tree His body crashed through the canopy and then rolled down to thump against the ground It was clear from his dazed expression that the current training session would need to be paused until the man could recover

Clicking her tongue in distaste Helen turned away from her trainee and began to stretch It had been one week since the group had come into the Dungeon and Helen was becoming a bit restless As Randidly had suggested when they arrived the monsters within the Dungeon were numerous but none were so powerful that Helen felt even the tiniest spark of excitement as she hunted them Besides the Riders appeared to be having an unofficial competition to see who could clear the most monsters and greatly resented the fact that Helen had been encroaching on their turf So she could only pass the time with her own training and that of this rather unreliable commissioner

After all the prospect of trying to teach children or weaklings was even less appetizing to her

It was a small blessing that Ajax had taken over the training of most of the force but that just meant that Helen had more free time to become bored Some of it she spent watching the other people who came into the Dungeon but she found no joy in watching children learn to build mud buildings nor did Helen wish to listen to Sam Nathan and Gertrude excitedly talk about these keystones� they were developing for Kharon Academy

Helen growled and as always happened when she was at her most annoyed and her gaze turned up toward the peak on which Randidly had set himself up

Even if she hadn�t seen him physically go there it was quite easy to locate him The Ghosthound was constantly training his powerful images up on that peak seeming to seek a way to maintain all three images at once without compromising their power Helen had been rather confused by this training at the beginning but as the heaviness surrounding that peak grew more palpable she began to feel quite a lot of fear for what Randidly Ghosthound might become in the future

As it was Helen marveled at the way that Randidly�s images slowly spread out and formed a constant seal on the surrounding area The weaker individuals wouldn�t notice it but to an experienced image user like Helen she could clearly feel how activating an image was just a little bit more difficult than it would be in normal circumstances Randidly�s domineering images spread out and warped the world to his will and the rest of them had to pay the price

The most intimidating part was that the effect was cumulative each day it became a little bit harder to utilize images that weren�t related to the Ghosthound Helen couldn�t help but be amused by the commissioner�s bleak response when he noticed how little he had improved each day But each day saw him restrained by the increasing weight of ambient image It was honestly rather impressive that the man was improving faster than the restraint was It proved he was worthy of experiencing her training

Still Helen frowned up at the peak I planned on waiting until we had developed a while in here before making trouble but if you insist on making this area so beneficial to you I�m left with no choice

Leaving the commissioner mumbling to himself and staggering to his feet Helen began to walk up toward the peak of the Ghosthound As she neared the base of that mountain the image�s reverberations grew more intense But Helen raised her chin and marched up the winding mountain path Then about halfway up the mountain the surrounding scrub trees that had hardily rooted themselves began to show signs that they were withering and dying from exposure Their leaves were brown and their branches drooped as though they couldn�t handle the weight of the images in the air

Yet beyond that only a hundred meters below the area where Randidly had settled the trees seemed to come back to life But these trees were strange Their branches grew long and they seemed to sway in the wind The leaves on these trees were a deep green that produced an almost bell like tinkling as they rustled In addition the leaves were so thick that the area around the trunk of these trees was obscured with thick shadows

Occasionally Helen was struck by the strong impression that something was within those shadows watching her movements Yet Helen�s lip just curled up under the shrouded gazes Even if some weird sort of monster had been modified by Randidly�s images wouldn�t it be a much more interesting foe than the weaklings that filled this fucking place So she looked around with enthusiasm

Of course none dared attack her So Helen arrived quickly at the top of the peak

Randidly had leveled the top portion of the mountain creating a large flat area for himself Then he had reinforced the ground beneath his feet by lining the stone ground with a latticework of roots largely increasing the integrity of the mountain In addition to that he had set up a strange stone orb lined with runes as well as a small root hut on the far side of the area

When Helen arrived Randidly was standing in the center of the training area His form had warped to a larger than life version of himself with an eye that devoured light emerald hair and a long bony tail Although there was no doubt that he had sensed her coming quite a long time ago only when she stood at the edge of his training area did he pause

Despite the fact that she knew it was an image even Helen found it somewhat off putting as the Ghosthound studied her with one emerald eye and an egg of darkness Helen why are you here

Helen smiled wickedly Well why do you think

Then she unleashed her Tides of Blood Domain and crimson waves submerged the entirety of the peak

Chapter 1425

Once her Domain pressed down against the Ghosthound�s images Helen didn�t waste any time She could already feel his images eating outward from his body the images around him were ominously dense So she planted her foot into the ground and launched herself forward She flicked her hand out and produced a spear If she didn�t act quickly she had no doubt that the Ghosthound would be able to forcefully break through her Domain

Congratulations Your Skill (Domain) Tides of Blood has grown to Level 299

The Ghosthound snorted and used his left arm to rake his heavy talons through the air His claws impacted the waves of crimson energy and ripped large gashes in the Domain before it had even settled over the surrounding area Even as Helen was still shooting forward the Ghosthound seized these torn edges of her Domain and pulled

The Domain shuddered and groaned The crimson shade to the air lightened as if he somehow managed to suppress her image with a simple physical action

Helen�s breath hissed through her teeth she had only crossed half the distance but he had done so much damage to her Domain Damn I should have waited until I was closer before baring my fangs this overpowered piece of shit

But even as her anger flared to life so did Helen�s excitement This was why she followed the Ghosthound as his knight This was the power that had captured her loyalty This overwhelming strength

Even Helen was shocked as the Ghosthound ripped his bone spear arm up through the flaws he had already seized and forcibly tore her Tides of Blood Domain in half The small beginnings of a headache began to worm its way into Helen�s temples This move was a throwback to the times where Randidly had relentlessly trained her Domain by breaking it But her image�s strength was incomparable to those days he shouldn�t have been able to accomplish it so casually

To see the Ghosthound repeat this while relying on only physical power no less was something of a shock

Yet it was a shock that caused Helen�s face to twist into a wicked grin You couldn�t help yourself could you

That blank sphere of darkness where Randidly�s left eye should have been fixed on Helen as she shot forward with her spear raised The light around it turned milky and thick clinging to the edge of that black abyss Helen�s eyes narrowed as she felt pressured just from eye contact with him

Still Helen had covered most of the distance to him so the next wave of her Tides of Blood Domain was able to instantly fill in the gash that the Ghosthound had created Plus Helen threw her Willpower into whipping the surrounding currents into an immediate frenzy They settled across the Ghosthound�s body binding him and suppressing his image With her target restricted Helen lashed forward with her spear while simultaneously striking at his back with Maw of the Hellfin

Amongst the crimson flows a shadow rapidly emerged resolving itself into a horrifying monster It opened its mouth and lurched toward his exposed back

The Ghosthound�s right arm shot upward intercepting Helen�s weapon To her shock her spear immediately shattered into bits and the Ghosthound�s attack continued forward without wavering in the slightest from the collision Helen needed to rely on the currents around her to push her body out of the way And even so that viciously powerful attack ripped another huge gash in her Domain

As for her strike at his back the Ghosthound didn�t even dodge The maw crunched down on him and then was shattered by a light shrug

Gritting her teeth Helen spun sideways and pulled another spear from her interspatial ring Then she lunched forward toward the Ghosthound�s side But as soon as the tip of her spear was about to impact the pale skin of his torso Helen swore and scrambled backward to avoid the tail that scythed through the air toward her neck

What was ludicrous was even his tail was powerful enough to destabilize her Domain as it passed through the intervening space It struck the ground and cracked the reinforced stone Jesus how powerful is his physical body

Another blast of blood colored energy swirled outward darkening the surrounding space With her Domain she pulled all of them deep into the Hellsea Her image spread out to become an immense pressure over both of them But Helen was somewhat stumped to see that her Domain struggled to reclaim the area that had been previously torn by the Ghosthound with his arm even with the recently added weight Remnants of that blow were still physically present in the air preventing her from easily healing her Domain

Congratulations Your Skill (Domain) Tides of Blood has grown to Level 300

Helen froze for a split second from the shock then cursed herself and hopped backward to avoid the attack that she suspected would be forthcoming due to her focus slipping But as she retreated several meters no attack came Randidly Ghosthound simply turned with heavy steps to regard her with that oppressive left eye of his

Helen chewed her lip Certainly powerful but it seems like he�s having difficulty wielding that strength and the images around him keep fluctuating it�s clear that a lot of his focus is toward maintaining that state If that�s the case heheh then isn�t it just a matter of outlasting him

Her eyes flashed with renewed confidence as Helen rushed toward the Ghosthound once more The Tides of Blood Domain gradually pressed forward and darkened around him

This flavor Elmer Arrietti frowned down at the danish in his hand Then he lifted it to his mouth in wonder He finished it in two bites and then licked his fingers to devour every last bit of the tasty morsel This is delicious I thought you were a construction contractor How are you so

Heh don�t judge a book by its cover Ed Dugg said with a rather smug smile as he toyed with his impressive mustache Both men chatted cheerily considering the ground beneath them shook every few seconds It seemed that the training up on Ghosthound�s peak was quite serious today While it is just a hobby I can tell you that I take baking very seriously My delicatessen was one of the most famous locations in all of Donnyton

Then Ed�s expression began to twist into a scowl before various jackals imitated me and flooded the market with mediocrity Confused by the signals of opportunists villains some of my significant following wavered but let me tell you I was conspired against and betrayed by those I once considered friends hey kids

Ed and Elmer were sitting on a low wooden bench that was placed in front of the mud brick building that was Ed�s bakery Around them were the slowly being assembled skeletons of other mud brick buildings Unlike Ed�s the bricks of these structures almost looked smudged and malformed it was clear that a much less talented builder had sweated and struggled to assemble these dwellings

As Ed spoke kids began to poke their heads over the partially assembled walls Then seeing Ed�s tense expression all of the thirty two kids that were here to learn various construction based Skills trotted out from their current projects and gathered in front of them

Ed gestured grandly like a composer readying his orchestra What is the first lesson of the Dugg School of Construction

Excellence in all things The children replied so nearly in unison that Elmer couldn�t help but be impressed

Then Ed gestured again with bulging eyes this time jabbing his finger forward like he was skewering an overweight rat that had skittered into his well stocked pantry And the second lesson

Death to the traitorous bootlickers and sycophants The children said again This time however they seemed to hunch over as they were speaking and pushed out their hands in lightly curled fists Then after they finished speaking they straightened and resumed their bored expressions

It was immediately clear that Ed Dugg had instructed them very specifically in regard to the posture while enunciating his rules Suddenly Elmer had the vague impression that he should report these sort of actions to someone of consequence Wasn�t this the early stages of brainwashing And only a week had passed since the group had arrived in the Dungeon

Ed nodded with satisfaction as he watched the performance Good good Anyway get back to work Remember tomorrow I will demonstrate the creation of shingles once more Based on what the Ghosthound has decreed Clarissa will be sending a thunderstorm our way tomorrow night if you don�t do a good job you will sleep in a puddle

The children quickly scattered back to their personal mud buildings going to the task of laying out bricks to dry in the sun with remarkable enthusiasm Elmer Arrietti politely wiped his mouth from invisible crumbs to give his hands something to do Well all of that was a bit unnecessary I just wished to compliment

The rest of his words were cut off as the familiar figure of Fenlin one of his most inept patrol officers stumbled down the slope toward the river Both Ed and Elmer watched the man who was covered in a mixture of mud and blood that made it seem like he had recently crawled out of a shallow grave rush past the mud brick huts and throw himself into the river

For almost a minute there was peace Both men sitting on the bench exchanged a glance and Elmer wondered if perhaps Fenlin had been so exhausted by Ajax�s training schedule that he had come down to the river to seek sweet release However both witnesses to this act were also aware of the increased physical capacity that the System had brought so neither moved quite yet

And to repay their expectations Fenlin eventually drifted up out of the swiftly flowing river water and staggered back to shore The man�s bleary eyes eventually settled on his small audience and widened in surprise Then specifically focusing on Elmer pride and respect emerged in his gaze

Commissioner Could you could you have already finished the training menu that Miss Helen created for you today Fenlin asked as he came closer

Elmer thought about that and glanced up toward Ghosthound�s peak where powerful image reverberations continued to shake the surrounding terrain Fenlin�s assertion was likely inaccurate In a lot of ways First of all Helen didn�t really seem to have any sort of training menu prepared for him she simply attacked Elmer with images and forced him to defend himself And also rather than finishing her training he had been knocked out by one of her attacks and woke up to find that she had vanished It was only when the fighting started on Ghosthound�s peak that he realized where she had gone

Honestly he had been quite afraid that Helen had been so disgusted by his slow progress that she had given up on him Elmer�s newest theory was that she had simply been so annoyed by his slow progress that she went to blow off some steam fighting the Ghosthound but at least she hadn�t truly abandoned him

Yet a part of him quivered in fear as he realized that also meant his training would soon resume

Elmer coughed awkwardly Ah well Even training cannot last forever Sometimes you need a bit of time to recover your faculties how is your training coming along Fenlin

Fenlin looked at Elmer for a long time Then he swayed Then he began to cry Commissioner I�m just a fraud I don�t deserve to be here

Elmer�s mouth twitched You somehow doesn�t it feel like this young man is stealing my thunder

Chapter 1426

Within the Dungeon and without any pressing external threats Randidly easily fell into a very productive routine The days flowed ceaselessly past giving him the space and leisure to alternate between physically manifesting his images researching Engraving expanding plans for Kharon Academy and simply spending time refining the details of his images

Interspersed with these activities were clashes against Helen and rather long meetings with Gertrude and Sam Not that Randidly was complaining about the duo�s enthusiasm for the subject matter but Gertrude especially sometimes made Randidly regret inviting her into the Dungeon She seemed to take a great deal of joy in deconstructing his rather haphazard previous plans for the Academy and listing a litany of terrible consequences that would have resulted without her input on the current project

Truthfully she also taught Randidly quite a bit about teaching But it did feel like it was a matter that could have been addressed in a more delicate manner Randidly didn�t mean to claim he had any idea what he was doing when he arranged for Kharon�s education system They had just needed something

On top of his flattened mountain peak Randidly shook his head and stood He raised his arms and enjoyed the pleasant sensation of his shoulder and neck popping The sun was just now peeking above the horizon and it was time to finish with his meditative recovery session It had been one month since the group had come into the Dungeon and the benefits were starting to pile up

There�s nothing better than being able to train for an extended period of time Randidly reflected as he watched the light of the dawn filtering down into the valley below

The Riders had basically explored the whole of the Dungeon at this point and were now beginning to gather the more valuable raw materials for later use Although Sam had dragged his feet in agreeing to throw his support behind the Kharon Academy project he was delighted to experiment with some of the raw materials in an effort to refine them into an even more powerful form This experimentation continued to the point that Randidly worried what amount of materials would remain when they left the Dungeon

Randidly didn�t spend much time observing the thirty two children that they had brought but Gertrude seemed extremely pleased with their progress Apparently Ed Dugg was an excellent teacher aside from the fact that he often included irrelevant information as important as he taught

Randidly�s focus was mainly on Tim�s growth And according to Lucretia what Tim didn�t possess in talent he made up with hard work

The Kharon police force was improving quickly as well But to be fair it would be shocking if they didn�t improve with Helen and Ajax lighting a fire under their asses It was only because everyone around him fell so naturally into training that Randidly had a lot of time to dedicate to his own pursuits

Specifically the balancing of his three images

A month had seen Randidly progress from barely able to balance his images while fighting to being at least able to dodge and lash out at enemies while maintaining his manifested image form Basic Skill use no longer destabilized his efforts in a split second The reflection chamber of the Xyrt Brigade was invaluable in this effort With it Randidly could get a better grasp of the base balance at any time and would recover more quickly during his training attempts

Of course Randidly was also aware that his increasing success rate was also related to the fact that his images were altering the Aether within the Dungeon He was somewhat helpless in the face of this fact He could limit the spread of his image by focusing on it but it made it that much more difficult to keep his images balanced while a portion of his Willpower was keeping his influence under control

After a few days of reflection Randidly had decided that it was better to train himself than worry about the environment in the Dungeon So he shrugged his shoulders and let it happen Instead he continued to practice He hadn�t started activating multiple Skills and images at once but soon he felt confident he could reach that point

In his body Randidly�s three images were gradually settling together in a harmonious form

Plus the physical effects of this training were soon making themselves known Even Randidly was slightly alarmed at how physically powerful he was becoming Although his Stats didn�t change every movement of his carried with it the passive hint of his three images More than a hint at this point it seemed the specter of the Grim Chimera cast a long shadow over each of his limbs His gaze pierced with the horrible cravings of the Stillborn Phoenix Each beat of his heart sent a golden pulse through Randidly�s veins

His images were becoming an increasingly large part of his daily life As such even a basic attack had the characteristics of a pseudo Skill The power he could wield with a simple movement could shatter space if he wasn�t paying close attention

Which meant that a little bit of his time had to be spent simply moving without any conscious images so that he understood his current capabilities From there he practiced his passive fighting related Skill His proficiency steadily increased Gradually Randidly felt the usage of ripping through the physical limitation of the Nexus becoming clearer to him

Of course the change to his body wasn�t a unilaterally positive shift As he had previously noted the drops of liquid Aether that Randidly had thus far condensed began to unravel as he put more focus on his images becoming physical manifestations At this point the amount of liquid Aether that Randidly possessed had fallen to only three drops He planned on continuing to empower his body with his images but Randidly didn�t think he should let his amount of liquid Aether ever drop below two drops At least not until he had a better understanding of where his new power level fit in the Nexus

Randidly sighed and shook himself as he began to walk down from his peak There are two problems with being in the Dungeon however The first is that I need to be careful about practicing Nether the Aether constructs inside the Dungeon seem delicate enough that I don�t even dare to use Nether Ritual And the second thing liquid Aether and my images physically affecting me are both fueled by emotion of a certain depth The process of increasing that is very slow in this peaceful environment

In one or two more months I�ll have basically reached the limit of improving my physical form then it�s just a matter of increasing my proficiency in balancing the images

But of course there would always be other things to train Randidly could direct more of his attention toward his Skill Levels which was always a steady avenue of self improvement He still had a ways to go in his Monstrosity�s Growth Path but he believed that he could amass several hundred PP while he was within the Dungeon

Randidly followed the worn path down the mountain looking around with amusement at the weeping willow esque chime trees that lined the area around his peak They generated a veritable symphony around him their branches swaying back and forth in something that seemed to resemble joy At this point there were about a thousand of these trees on the mountain and Randidly was currently undecided whether they possessed actual intelligence or simply mimicked it with remarkable efficiency

The deep green leaves whispered and rung as Randidly walked past them From within the heavy foliage Randidly felt the gazes of dozens of raccoon like creatures that had grown two extra sets of arms and made their home within the chime trees They used the set of arms nearest to their head to hold some sort of nut to their sharp teeth while they gestured sinisterly with their other pairs

Randidly would have slaughtered the lot of them if Sam didn�t point out that there was a strange symbiotic relationship between the raccoons and the trees And Sam was very interested in letting these chime trees flourish so they could be harvested for their unique raw materials later His gaze was almost fanatical when Randidly had seen him look up toward the greenery around his peak

It provided Randidly a strange amount of mental pressure to know that Sam seemed to regard his image as fertilizer for these organisms but Randidly was curious about them as well Hopefully they would continue to evolve as time passed in the Dungeon

Once he had passed the area dominated by chime trees Randidly accelerated downward Below the mountain was the valley and within the valley was the river that formed the core of the group�s base in the Dungeon There were a fifty or so rough edged adobe houses right near the river but since Ed Dugg had whipped the children into construction shape there were also several respectable looking houses around a small fountain Ed had made This was the core of their current Dungeon operation

Randidly proceeded to the largest of those buildings opening the heavy wooden door and walking into the food hall Immediately the raucous noise within the building ceased The kids looked up from their boar bacon and eggs with wide eyes Their mouths were frozen midway through shaping a word

Kharon�s police force had an even more abrupt reaction They dropped their silverware onto their trays with a loud clatter and immediately straightened as though their spines had universally been inflated into a completely standing position Not even the slightest slouch was allowed Randidly knew it was a show of respect yet his smile toward the police officers was somewhat tired as he swept forward into the low ceiling building

Suppressing the rumbling of his stomach Randidly Ghosthound idly waved a hand at the frozen groups As you were

The children slowly began to whisper amongst each other while eyeing Randidly with obvious anxiety but at least the police officers sat back down and began to continue eating in something resembling normalcy Randidly proceeded across the entire hall to the buffet where he put several generous helpings of fried meat and potatoes onto a tray Then he walked over and sat down next to Clarissa

The Weather Witch had a tray of food and two books laid out in front of her at her empty table She eyed him with a wry smile as he approached Certainly they are well trained

Randidly gave her a deadpan look as he sat down across from her and then began to dig into the food The taste was a little bit bland but the quality was excellent he wondered who the cook was Clarissa chuckled to herself and then began massacring the six muffins that were the only occupants of her tray Randidly watched the fluffy and buttery pastries disappear and resolved himself to grab a couple when he went back up for seconds

Gradually Randidly�s presence in the mess hall was normalized The volume of conversation in the food hall rose to more typical levels although it never reached its previous volume Randidly got himself a second tray of food and continued eating just throwing the food into the vast abyss that was his stomach Luckily Ed prepared food in bulk so there was enough that Randidly didn�t need to hide the caloric needs of his empowered body

After Randidly�s third tray of food Clarissa straightened her posture and gave Randidly a frank look Alright I can recognize when you want to talk about something No need to continue to delay by forcing yourself to eat What is it Watching you gobble so much is just giving me anxiety

Randidly sincerely doubted that anything gave Clarissa anxiety She was the most playful and irreverent person that Randidly knew It was why he sat with her now because she didn�t walk on eggshells around him But she was right he wanted to discuss something How difficult has it been to control the weather as I�ve requested

Clarissa sighed dramatically I�ve struggled but because it was a request from you I have persevered

Good Because I want to see how intense your influence can make the weather How antagonistic Randidly stated

Clarissa tilted her head to the side Then she smiled Oho Finally time to start working on the whole reason you brought me into the Dungeon

Randidly grinned in response

Chapter 1427

After their meeting with Naffur for a debriefing regarding the findings of their interrogation Hydie rather blindly trailed after Derek Moss as they left the building It was somewhat of a relief when they walked out into the sunlight but the current climate meant that even in the afternoon the sun�s rays were pale and weak The light was as weightless on her skin as the light from a bulb And Hydie felt

Well Hydie�s worries seemed to be multiplying by the second Despite her best efforts she

Hydie�s lowered forehead impacted Derek�s back Derek had stopped and he turned around to regard her when she bumped up against him He tilted his head to the side as he looked at her Why are you being so depressing Did you really think we would get a confession about some grand conspiracy from just a single interrogation

Hydie swallowed back down a well it would have been nice� as soon as it rose and marshaled itself to parade off of her tongue Although Derek had a fine sense of humor he never laughed regarding work Instead she grimaced and gathered her thoughts When she saw the patience in his expression Hydie carefully released the secret fear that had been growing in her heart He he was so nervous and beginning to ramble about why he came to Kharon and then you pointed out the inconsistency in his story he froze but then I sneezed and it

You have really gotten yourself worked up over a sneeze Derek asked his mouth quirking up in amusement

Hydie abruptly frowned to see him act so flippantly about the situation It was a high stress scenario We tightened the screws and had him on his back foot He was panicking and about to reveal the truth Then I sneezed due to my damned luck and broke all the tension It wasn�t just a sneeze

Snorting Derek turned away from Hydie and continued walking forward Rather incensed Hydie stomped after him What What is it What�s so funny

I don�t think this was about you at all Hydie Derek continued His serious eyes flicked side to side along the streets Even now he was weighing the surroundings for threats That man he was sent here by someone but he doesn�t seem like he was given a mission It just feels more like he is an alcoholic that was maneuvered into walking into a bar the rest happened organically He had the propensity for violence and the opportunity triggered him Some people find the spirit of Kharon quite off putting you know

AND we could have learned that secret from his own lips rather than relying on all this conjecture Hydie huffed They proceeded off of Kharon�s main commercial thoroughfare and toward the large bridge between Kharon and the outskirts of the Orchard Next time I promise you I won�t let the bad luck hanging around me get in the way

As if on cue Derek�s hand shot out and snatched an icicle that had been falling toward the head of an oblivious pedestrian in front of them Derek scrutinized the surrounding roofs but found that this was basically the last remaining icicle large enough to be an inconvenience It was a stubborn holdout from the storm two days ago finally succumbing to the sun�s influence

Despite the fact that even Hydie would admit that the System largely made humanity powerful enough that such an icicle was harmless she pulled quite hard on Derek�s shoulder to turn him around Then she jabbed her finger at the pick of ice in his hand See This is why I�m worried Maybe I shouldn�t be involved in these investigations I could normally focus my abilities on our enemies but we don�t know who our enemies are So the bad coincidences keep piling up around us and you

This Derek waved the forearm sized icicle in front of Hydie�s face These things happen You don�t have a monopoly on accidents Hydie Bad things happened before you were born

Hydie�s glare was vicious as she slapped Derek�s arm to get the icicle out of her face How can you be stupid about this Just because you have reacted well to the hex so far doesn�t mean you always will And what will you do if you are injured or killed huh What will your son Tim think of that Suddenly an orphan like all the other brats on this Wandering City All because you are too proud to admit

Suddenly Hydie ran out of steam She licked her lips and then bit them The pale light of the sun filtered down on them while people walked past the duo The people eyed the two Order Ducis operatives that stopped in the middle of the walkway but didn�t give their presence much thought The wind was cold as it whistled past Abruptly Hydie flushed I probably shouldn�t have thrown his son in his face

O o or said that bit about orphans

The rather blank way that Derek was staring at her seemed to energize all of Hydie�s insecurities People continued to walk past in both directions Her heartbeat began to quicken Derek�s eyes were dark and heavy as he looked at her Was he realizing that what she said about the inherent risks of proximity to her was true That the two of them shouldn�t be partners any longer

Eventually Hydie couldn�t stand the silence any longer Hey Derek I

We have work Derek interrupted in a rough tone Then he turned away and flexed his hand crushing the icicle into harmless snow powder With the police force gone we are standing in for the patrol officers Besides can you feel it in the air The people of Kharon are angry Looks like word of the attack has spread Our job is especially important at the moment

Derek had taken several large strides forward before Hydie blinked and scrambled after him For whatever reason her heart was still uneasy as she looked at his broad shoulders But Hydie knew that now that he had brought up work he was absolutely done with the prior subject So Hydie could only bury her anxiety and ask Would people getting angry be a problem Sometimes sometimes people get angry but it really doesn�t mean anything

You are right about that Derek grunted They had reached the archway that housed the segmented rope bridges swaying down to the city below Of course most people didn�t need to utilize the bridges to get down they possessed enough Endurance and Vitality to just jump off the edge and crash into the ground But both to prevent damage to the surrounding area and for the sake of appearances they made the bridges It might not mean anything that the people of Kharon are angry by itself But that means we need to be extra careful that there isn�t any further spark to set this place ablaze

Derek continued to walk forward toward the main thoroughfare into and out of Kharon but Hydie�s steps gradually slowed Her eyes were on the fragile ropes of the bridges that creaked side to side with the wind and people�s casual steps Derek aren�t we just supposed to patrol Kharon

With more speed than Hydie had expected Derek spun around and studied her with sharp eyes That gaze became a blade that lanced through her body and pinned her to the ground While he watched her Hydie felt like a rare butterfly that had been extremely difficult to catch now victoriously suppressed by a grudge holding insect collector

But gradually Derek�s expression eased we won�t be leaving And I suppose waiting here is fine

So the two stood Hydie staring at the ground and wondering if he was mad at her and Derek looking toward the bridges They waited for about three minutes before a skinny man with excessive arm hair walked up onto Kharon proper and looked around Even though Hydie�s image detection was much less acute than Derek�s her gaze immediately locked onto this young man when he entered her line of sight

The man scratched his arm habitually and looked around with a gaze encumbered by extremely deep purple bags under his eyes From the curl of his lip it was clear that he didn�t have any positive intentions toward Kharon

Derek immediately stepped forward Excuse me sir can I ask you a few questions

Derek�s voice was low but he immediately drew the gazes of everyone going in and out of the arch Those people subconsciously slowed their pace to get a better look at what was happening In the face of Derek�s calm smile the man with the heavy bags under his eyes looked uneasily side to side

Even those not from Kharon would recognize the eye catching sigil of the Order Ducis on Derek and Hydie�s arm The young man cleared his throat I I�m sorry do you have the wrong person I�m just here

Kharon is home to some of the most sophisticated image users in the world Derek interrupted His smile widened Did you really think that you could walk in with all of that resentment and ill will and not be noticed

Hydie flexed her fingers and then dropped her hands to the pair of handcuffs at her belt Even if she was still feeling somewhat worried about Derek�s opinions of her this was at least a good distraction Since they were filling in for patrol officers Hydie was ready to work out some of her frustrations through an arrest

What she didn�t expect was for the young man to stare at Derek for a long time and then burst into tears

For the moment they took him back to the station to be put in a holding cell Then for the next six hours Hydie rushed after Derek Moss watching him avoid the misfortune that came along with remaining near her and also casually intercepting other individuals with malicious intent as they came into Kharon All told they had caught five such people before their shift was over

Hydie understood the principles behind what Derek was doing The moss spirits of Kharon were naturally attracted to people who loved Kharon and avoided the people who hated Kharon And because of the sheer amount of moss spirits that the city was producing basically every person who wanted to enter Kharon couldn�t avoid passing through areas at least sporadically filled with moss spirits

Derek was simply monitoring the whole of Kharon looking for minute deviations of moss spirit movements Which was especially difficult because moss spirits behaved erratically even at the best of times Just thinking about it gave Hydie a headache

Basically all of Hydie�s enthusiasm had returned once they had all the perps in holding cells She grinned over at Derek Hehe no way we don�t get a commendation for this We captured these fools before they could even accomplish anything

Derek frowned That�s not necessarily true If someone was watching carefully they would realize that Kharon has the ability to detect infiltrators To a force with nefarious motives this is quite an important piece of information

You are always so negative Hydie muttered

Derek shrugged Comes with the job I guess Anyway ready for some more interviews

Chapter 1428

In a secluded grove of trees Delilah�s small limbs moved in sharp cuts as she practiced her newly developed Skills in secret Despite her young age Delilah continued to go through the motions of activating the Skill experiencing the physical movement of her Ashen Chop with her body Her determination was made evident by her perseverance alone with the trees and the shadows

Minutes turned to hours but she continued to practice as she had done every day for almost four weeks Truly she was the child of Donnyton�s best and brightest From a young age both Dozer and Annie had instilled in their daughter the need to accumulate practice They allowed her to have some personal time because they understood that variety and exposure were also important for children but to those two people who had grown strong under the System they would never let their daughter miss the importance of practice

It all began with repetition

Delilah�s eyes were serious as she thought of that infuriating boy who had ruthlessly thrashed her only a month ago The scene remained vivid in her mind without blurring in the least his presence was why Delilah didn�t dare slacken Even now she was unsure if this amount of work would be enough to make up for the difference in their abilities The three Skills she had learned from the mysterious woman�s voice did not seem incredibly powerful Although Ashen Chop displayed clear attack power Ashen Mantle and Voice of the Hopeless were much more confusing Skills

From the moment that she saw the last two Skills Delilah had a bad feeling in the pit of her chest

Which was why she so desperately practiced Ashen Chop Because when Delilah had originally complained to the voice the voice had just laughed and told her that Delilah herself had chosen those Skills and there was nothing that the voice could do

So Delilah practiced burning with the desire to grow strong

Of course she wasn�t really practicing secretly She was the sort of direct child that was easy to fool and would advertise her thoughts with her every move Floating in the air above Delilah�s grove of trees were two shadowy forms Both were silent absorbed in the passivity of watching the girl below struggle and sweat

Both of the watchers saw a different ghost around that girl�s form Just as much as they were looking at the present these two were looking into the past

Gradually Alta could sense the amusement beginning to radiate outward from the form of Lucretia next to her Alta pressed her lips together and strangled her annoyance as soon as it was born But this only seemed to further amuse Lucretia it seemed her suppression of the annoyance had been noticed Finally Alta could stand it no longer What is it Why are you so smug

It�s nothing Lucretia said lightly barely able to restrain her laughter

Alta sent a spike of her influence as a member of the Alpha Cosmos� pantheon to prod Lucretia in the side This only seemed to fuel Lucretia�s mirth and soon loud laughter spilled out of Lucretia�s mouth to spill over the surrounding area Alta hastily mobilized more of her influence as a member of the Pantheon to dampen the noise so they wouldn�t draw attention

Delilah paused in her training and looked around in confusion But without any further noises to clue her into what happened she quickly shrugged and returned to her task

I wish I could grind your sweet ass up and bake you into a pie Alta grimaced

Oh Alta you know what it is Lucretia said with a winning smile I�m just glad you finally found someone who can inherit your domineering images so perfectly But also

Seeing the hesitation on Lucretia�s face Alta snorted What Surprised she hasn�t become a walking death machine Hmph well she�s still quite young Nothing is set in stone yet That�s the next step in my grand plan

Lucretia smiled again but it was a much softer smile than her previous one Then both women turned back to the young girl below and watched her stubbornly practice

That�s it they are finally firing me Elmer Arrietti thought with a long sigh The worst part about it was that the day�s training had left him with a pounding headache After enduring this hellish training for two months and improving at a snail�s pace they�ve finally realized the truth that I could have told them a long time ago I�m not cut out for this job Damnit I should have just directly turned in my resignation the first week in the Dungeon

But then I guess I would have had to just stay here in the Dungeon and twiddle my thumbs that would have been incredibly awkward And even if I don�t have the power to lead the police force I have at least learned that I can be a certain kind of leader Had I not been here to talk with him I bet that Fenlin would have quit from the force already He has not thrived underneath the instruction of Ajax

Elmer�s heavy footsteps echoed strangely in the quiet night Now that the Riders were ranging farther afield to hunt the area around their base was quite peaceful At least it�s a good thing that the job market in Kharon is relatively robust Heh a fifty one year old like me passing out my resume

I might have more time to try dating but who will want to date a man without a job

Elmer continued to mutter to himself as he trudged toward the large building that had been erected at the base of the Ghosthound�s mountain It was the main building in which the Dungeon group did work relating to the Kharon Academy and it also seemed that it would soon be the location of his execution� Everyone had taken to calling it the workshop

Eventually he arrived at the entrance and could delay no longer Elmer hurriedly brushed nonexistent particles off of his shoulders and faced the large double doors into the workshop He took several breaths in and out preparing himself mentally for whatever was waiting for him within

No matter what happens Elmer swore to himself My time as Commissioner

The doors in front of him opened interrupting the heavy moment Helen poked her head out and glared at Elmer in annoyance Commissioner why are you making us wait Get in here We have much to discuss

Ah Oh well then Elmer blinked and then lowered his head as he followed Helen through into the interior Perhaps because he hadn�t ever been inside the workshop before Elmer�s attention was immediately pulled in every direction Strangely glowing Engraved contraptions sat on top of heavy stone dais in the middle of the workshop Along the walls were huge hand drawn sketches and plans of Kharon Academy To Elmer�s right was an area that looked more like a warehouse than a workshop Fully one half of the building was filled with towering piles of materials

Helen walked to the left entering into the area for which the building was named Workbenches hammers forges stills glowing edifices altars pools of mysterious liquid and messy piles of paper became a haphazard labyrinth in front of them

She continued forward past several tables bearing casually strewn brass instruments heading toward the far corner During their journey they passed the familiar form of Sam who was bent over a table and scribbling furiously Even from a distance of about ten meters the image of obsession that surrounded Sam was potent Before Elmer could get a good look at the messy scrawl on the paper in front of the man they cut along a side path and suddenly a large pile of metal ingots blocked Sam�s figure from view

So even the great Sam is worked to the bone by the Ghosthound Elmer reflected Considering all the free time that he would soon have Elmer realized that perhaps losing this job wouldn�t be so bad

Eventually Helen brought Elmer to a small alcove in the very back of the workshop Already waiting there were Ajax and a boy that Elmer recognized named Nathan Both smiled as Elmer walked into the room

I�m sure you can guess why we brought you here Commissioner Helen began with her signature bluntness Immediately the vague friendliness that was in Elmer�s heart was plunged into cold water

Elmer sighed I mean yes Based on the people assembled I think I have a pretty clear idea of what is going on And honestly I have been expecting this conversation for a while I�m not unaware of my situation

Eh Really Helen blinked in surprise which in turn caused Elmer to be slightly thrown by her reaction He didn�t think that he had ever seen Helen caught off guard before Even when she was fighting the Ghosthound Then Helen released a light laugh Not as humble as you appear to be eh Well that�s a good thing Images require certainty

That does make things much easier though Nathan said with a sigh Do you know how many times I�ve had to do my job basically without any support from the individual in question Making the arrangements as a third party complicates things immensely no one knows the images and themes that make up your Skills better than you

Even Ajax seemed somewhat pleased by Elmer�s response Heh good The more quickly I can get back to training the better

Abruptly Elmer Arrietti became aware that something very strange was going on around him The words they were saying did not sound at all like the sort of things you would say when someone was being let go

Just as Elmer was clearing his throat to test the waters with a vague question Nathan spoke again I mean if you are all ready we can start the planning immediately Do you have any ideas

Ideas Elmer narrowed his eyes Now even his confusion was hesitating Was he perhaps right and they were now asking for his input in training the next Commissioner It was somewhat emasculating to train the next generation but hohoho this just went to show that he did possess some value for the Order Ducis hum ideas well those sorts of things are somewhat hard to put into words and I am not really a man of words I think doing it personally would be best

Nathan�s eyes widened You want you want to make your own Class entirely by yourself Without anyone else�s input I mean it is possible but I suppose I can provide you with the energy

Eh Well this Elmer Arrietti began to sweat Wait what had Nathan just said

One by one Clarissa Ed Dugg Ajax and Sam wandered out of the dining hall on the pretext of going for a stroll Then when they were sure that none of the Riders or police force had followed them they turned sharply away from Ghosthound�s peak and loped through the darkness

A few miles away in an unassuming stretch of forest there was a cleverly disguised cabin Inside was a table and four chairs On the table was twelve columns of chips three white three green three red three black

As they arrived each individual stretched to loosen their muscles and took a seat Ed Dugg began to professionally shuffle the deck Sam brought a sheaf of papers with him that he stared at and muttered

Clarrisa sorted the chips into four piles Then she smiled around at the other people in the cabin Why not make things interesting tonight The buy in will be one favor to be accomplished while still within the Dungeon

Everyone nodded with serious expressions

Chapter 1429

As Randidly�s chest rose and fell steam wafted up from his overheated body His breath left his partially opened mouth in a whoosh more akin to the activation of an industrial release valve on a steam engine than any sort of human noise The whole area within Randidly�s reverse engineered Xyrt Brigade�s reflection chamber was thick with steam giving the place a strange sense of mysticism The effect was somewhat hypnotizing Outside of himself there was only the steam and the soft light from the glowing Engravings as they were poised to activate at the slightest stray thought

And within himself Randidly�s three images raged No other thoughts could exist at the moment or else they would be weaponized and reflected back at him by the chamber around him Randidly Ghosthound was totally focused solely on those images and keeping them only within his Soulspace Not even his mind could brush against them before he was prepared His emerald eyes were heavy and determined Before he unleashed everything he must be totally controlled

After he released another steaming breath Randidly raised his right hand Two images and Skills moved together at once Stigma of the Stillborn Phoenix The Chimera Weeps But Man Mourns

Randidly�s right hand was instantly covered with strange patterns as the painful stigma of the fake phoenix egg he held physically descended upon his flesh The abrupt pain forced even the experienced Randidly to twitch slightly but he did not flinch from the task At the same time his Grim Chimera Skill unleashed a lightning fast barrage of blows in the surrounding area

The light from the reflection chamber grew brighter In response to Randidly�s thoughts and images the chamber produced a reflection of his disturbance and threw it back at him Both sides unleashed a dozen blows in a split second

Congratulations Your Skill Stigma of the Stillborn Phoenix has grown to Level 274

Congratulations Your Skill The Chimera Weeps But Man Mourns has grown to Level 197

The blows smashed against one another and were equal in force such was the effectiveness of the Xyrt Brigade�s Engraving It could replicate this amount of power without difficulty But almost immediately the reflection from the sphere around him shuddered and then stopped all at once A flaw had emerged when the chamber was placed under stress The difference between the base materials between this imitation and the original was simply too great

The stone sphere that Randidly had painstakingly carved with Engraving crumbled beneath his blow Compared to Randidly�s physical body that had been slowly improved by his images over the last 70 days even the stone that had been nurtured by dense Aether for a week simply couldn�t compare

Still Randidly looked down at his hand and grinned That was two images at once One step at a time I�m getting there

Pleased with himself Randidly walked down from his peak to get some food Perhaps he should encourage Ed to shake up the mess hall menu a bit

Sam rubbed his hands with glee At this point almost the entirety of Randidly�s peak was covered with those chime trees They spread rapidly and eliminated any other foliage in the surrounding area creating a qualitative change for those trees at the core of the mountain The noise of their leaves became a constant companion in the valley The size of the trees increased too as the area they covered expanded so that the originally squat trees right next to the peak were now about ten meters tall

With height came lengthened shadows Toward those shadows Sam also held quite a few expectations

In order to test the depths of the chime trees� abilities Sam had some of the Riders gather monsters and herd them back toward their base The Riders then pushed the unwitting sacrifices into the chime tree forest and left Sam to watch the result And he was not disappointed

Compared to the stronger humans who walked amongst the trees with their heads held high the lurking six armed raccoons sensed much less of a threat from these confused monsters and struck decisively to maim and kill Then they dragged the corpses back within the chiming branches Although Sam couldn�t exactly see what was happening he could clearly hear it

A strange buzzing floated above the forest that had been spawned by the Ghosthound for several hours

Not just timber from the trees Sam muttered as he stared at the swaying forest The leaves almost seem metallic perhaps a reagent after grinding them up And the bodies of the raccoons heh best to wait and just take them apart and experiment

Sam turned away and walked back down to the workshop Within the trees one of the strongest raccoons looked up and glanced around warily For a split second it had felt an immense chill It resolved itself to listen deeply to the great song so it might sense what god had in store for it

Ed Dugg lifted his chin and blew his breath out through his nose His hands were tightly clasped behind his back and quite sweaty But he knew he needed to stand firm on this Madam I am closed for business today If you wish to have any more pastries you will need to wait until tomorrow

Clarissa smiled casually but the wind in the valley rose to be a mournful moan around his bakery Ed�s eyebrows shot upward The speed of this wind was more than capable of picking up a small building and smashing it against the side of the nearby mountain And from Clarissa�s expression

She batted her eyelids at him Truly your dedication to your advertised hours is very admirable But I do believe you owe me a favor Now tell me Ed Dugg are you the type of man who refuses to return a favor because of inconvenience

Tears formed in the corner of Ed�s eyes I thought the favor would be a one time thing But to ask for 50 muffins a day for the remainder of our stay in the Dungeon

I asked you a question Mr Dugg Clarissa countered

Ed Dugg could only slump his shoulders and allow Clarissa to walk into his bakery Outside thirty two children watched the whole process from the safety of their own adobe homes and resolved themselves never to cross the Weather Witch

Gertrude cursed her own cheeks for flushing as Randidly Ghosthound led her forward up the winding path to the summit of his mountain Jesus girl he�s just a normal man just like everyone else Even if he practically owns a city Why can�t you behave like a normal person for just ONE minute

As they entered into the area covered by the chime trees the Ghosthound paused and glanced over his shoulder at Gertrude You should stay close The wildlife around here has been getting a bit uppity lately

That caused Gertrude to blink as she crossed the distance between them She stopped short of actually touching him but Gertrude could still feel the heat of his body It wafted off of him like he was just as much a furnace as a human You you were attacked

What Oh no The Ghosthound chuckled as the duo continued forward His stride was deceptive even if he took only a single step Gertrude had to take several to keep up with him No even these raccoons aren�t that stupid But there is no reason not to take simple precautions in these circumstances

Gertrude let her mind wander as they passed through the chime soundscape of the upper reaches of the mountain to reach the peak Each one of her steps was slow and deliberate as Gertrude tried again and again to parse apart the message that Randidly had sent to her Ready for a surprise �

I�m I�m practically an employee Gertrude scolded herself as they ascended to the peak Why am I letting myself get whisked away by dumb fantasies not that I�m fantasizing about it it�s just a figure of speech

It�s probably just was it my birthday How would he know my birthday anyway

The top area of the mountain was mostly flat with a few rather austere buildings that the Ghosthound used when he wasn�t training But at the moment there was a large group of people milling about the center of the training area And as Gertrude Collins began to take in more and more details about the crowd her eyes widened

Wh who are all these people

Randidly gestured rather casually to the group who now turned to face the rather petrified Gertrude He had a self satisfied smile on his face like a child showing off a precious treasure to an adult Well we keep talking about the problems even with the housing plan of recruiting enough teachers for the Kharon Academy to run so I called in a few favors These individuals are willing to work for at least five years to cover the initial slew of teachers that we will need

Gertrude looked out at the strange group of people Most were clearly humanoid but at least a hundred of them were strange chittering spiders that were approaching them excitedly with their forelegs raised Beyond that there were several shorter and slender people that reminded Gertrude of elves They toyed with bronze contraptions while discussing quietly amongst themselves

Of course that wasn�t the end of the strangeness A group of several dozen appeared to be entirely made of living stone They smiled politely in Gertrude�s direction and gave a slight bow Yet the largest contingent were comprised of various beast people displaying the characteristic traits of their various animals while having humanoid arms and legs Their leader appeared to be a long necked giraffe woman who revealed dazzlingly white teeth when she smiled

How many Gertrude whispered as the group converged around her

Almost three hundred A good start right Randidly replied

After six months of being in the Dungeon Randidly stood along a chilly coast Air rife with salt and moisture howled around him as he surveyed the surrounding area Then he released a light pulse of image When there was no reaction Randidly smiled slightly that meant he was clear to make an actual attempt

This coast was a coast in its most natural state There was no sandy beaches but only broken rock and sea shells that had been flung on the shore Randidly stood above the rocks but the body of water still managed to splash and spit up at him almost three meters away Even if the waves looked small Randidly could sense the immense power that was contained within them The unrelenting power of water shouldn�t be underestimated

For the pleasant sensation he was standing in a low tide pool The cool water lapped against his feet a rare cause of relaxation in this tense and busy Dungeon experience But although it was nice it was just a short distraction Randidly was not here to relax

His focus narrowed to only his inner space The Grim Chimera the Stillborn Phoenix and Yggdrasil all began to rise within him At this point they were very familiar with each other Even if he didn�t have outward pressure Randidly was still capable of balancing his images That was the accumulation of practice at work

Unfortunately Randidly didn�t really have the chance to practice the higher end of his capabilities on his peak The activation still took too much time and the image reverberations were becoming too strong for some of the thirty two children to handle even with Ed Dugg and Helen passively shielding them They would need to fully dedicate themselves to the task to manage it

Besides the work with Sam on keystones was intensifying and Gertrude wanted Randidly to be present for many of the teaching seminars she was holding with the people he had brought from his Alpha Cosmos it was all becoming quite overwhelming Of course the result of all that effort was constant progress on all fronts The pieces of Kharon Academy were slowly coming together before his very eyes

But his training had been put on the back burner while he focused on other things Which was a shame because the effects were very good

Randidly�s emerald eyes slowly opened A wave crashed against the rocks below and sprayed saltwater high into the air He raised his right hand Then he brought that hand sharply down and tightened his fingers into a fist Monstrosity�s Appalling Physicality Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil

The wind went silent The waves stopped poised to smash against the shore For a mile in every direction the sea was under Randidly�s control The glow of his eyes brightened as the strain increased He had discovered that as he mixed three Skill and image activations at once the effect became more unpredictable and powerful The various roles of the Skills could be substituted for each other making them more figurative than literal

Congratulations Your Skill Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart has grown to Level 274

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 313

So although he used gravity instead of roots the grasp of Yggdrasil was still absolute So much so that he even needed to use Monstrosity�s Appalling Physicality in order to withstand the physical backlash Even now in this strained moment seizing the surrounding sea drops of sweat rapidly began to form on his forehead

Randidly�s eyes picked out the individual flecks of water floating in front of him in the midst of being spat out of the wild sea toward him He could see a surge of cold water that had been about to flood forward and wash into his tidepool But beneath his hand all of that was delayed

Congratulations Your Skill Monstrosity�s Appalling Physicality has grown to Level 320

Finally Randidly sighed and released the Skills and images The sea in front of him practically exploded from the pent up force he used to suppress it while the larger body of water had been pressing in from the outside It was a geyser upward to the sky evidence of Randidly�s success

Drained but satisfied Randidly closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the salty water landing on his skin Reached the limits of the physical improvement already and I can manage three images at once most of the time soon we will be ready to leave this Dungeon

Chapter 1430

Delilah was nervous More nervous than she ever remembered being in her entire life And it didn�t help that as she stood at the top of the hill above Lucretia�s strange little Engraving school nestled onto the slope she was completely alone Her eyes were locked onto the form of Tim standing halfway down the slope surrounded by the dozens of children who seemed to spend every second of their time in their tents training

Yet somehow Tim�s expression was warm and bright He belonged there

As they would be departing tomorrow the children had taken it upon themselves to give him a proper send off Each had prepared a small wooden placard that contained a very personal Engraving Delilah didn�t really understand the Engraving process itself but she understood that it was different for each person everyone essentially developed their own language of Engraving to speak to the world These gifts from the fellow children were core pieces of their language that would inspire Tim in the future

After only six months Tim had become one of these children If Delilah didn�t keep track of him she didn�t doubt that he would set up a tent of his very own someday

Hmph not that I care about dumb stuff like that Delilah�s gaze shifted to Annon Then she narrowed her eyes

The several months of practicing and training under that woman�s voice had helped Delilah recover some of the confidence that had been obliterated by her conflict with Annon But even so she could tell from a single look at him that this amount wouldn�t be enough She was still quite far from his dense and imposing strength

Just you wait Annon Someday I�ll Delilah grumbled to herself Then driven by the need to make sure he understood the threat she posed Delilah stomped down the hill toward the commotion around Tim The children saw her approaching and moved easily to the side to clear a path They exchanged meaningful glances

It seemed like they were looking forward to this Delilah scrunched up her brows and chewed on her lip

Soon she stopped in front of Annon Before he could speak and ruin things she seized the initiative Annon I might not be strong enough now but someday I�ll crush you Beating you that�s my goal And I�ve never failed to accomplish anything So be ready

Around them the group of children fell entirely silent They became spectators to this confrontation For his part Annon looked at Delilah with such serious consideration that she began to cheer up Heh it seems like he finally realizes the danger he is in So maybe he isn�t such an idiot after all

Finally Annon nodded Fine I will await your challenge And well it is difficult to know what the future may bring but if you truly are able to best me I will accept your proposal

Proposal Accept Delilah was annoyed You cannot refuse You have no choice but to fight me

No not that Annon waved his hand If you truly best me you will have proved that your Style is pure and powerful I would have no qualms in taking you as my wife and producing children that will emulate your bravery

Delilah stood with her mouth wide open for quite a long time Somehow she wasn�t completely able to gather the brain cells to process what Annon had just said to her

Apparently her confusion was clear on her face because Annon tilted his head to the side and considered Delilah There is an age difference yes but I suspect it will take you many years to catch up to me either way Due to that you might be currently obsessed with me now but feelings often change That�s why we do not need to finalize the details as of yet Who knows if your love will persevere through the years

Delilah swayed love

Randidly couldn�t stop laughing as he looked at the furious expression on Sam�s face You don�t need to take this so personally Harvesting the materials is the easy part the time and effort spent to actually find their uses

Sam waved his hand in irritation His expression was pinched and severe in the dim light of the workshop You don�t need to say that to me Heh I�ll bet that I�ve spent almost double as much time experimenting with materials than you have This is what I do But still to have everything appear so ordinary

Maybe I�m not as amazing a fertilizer as you thought Randidly replied with a wicked smile

Sam just snorted He walked over to the precisely chopped and neatly stacked pile of timber from Randidly�s chime trees picking up an individual cord of wood that caught his eye and bringing it close to his face as though the secret he was looking for simply hadn�t yet been viewed from the correct angle This wood reeks of your image You certainly aren�t the problem Not in this case

Shaking his head Randidly left Sam to his continued obsession and began to stroll throughout the surrounding worktables They would be finally leaving the Dungeon tomorrow after almost six and a half months of diligently training within Most of the valuable preliminary work that had been done within the workshop was already stored in various interspatial objects but Randidly rather casually moved through the space anyway checking for anything they had missed

Honestly he was somewhat relieved to be getting out of the Dungeon soon The training he had done within the Dungeon had earned him a staggering 518 PP which was just short of having him finish off the Monstrosity�s Growth Path all at once But Randidly did want to spend some more focused time reflecting on his Grim Chimera image so he could guide the result of the Path

Spying a small piece of metal hidden under a work table Randidly made a snatching motion and used Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart to pull the thing out and up to eye level On the one hand having no external threats gives me plenty of time to focus But that focus in turn makes it feel like time is flowing by more quickly Heh I wonder if I truly shut myself away from the world how long could I train without simply going insane

actually is that a real danger I should ask Octavius

But Randidly�s thoughts were jolted to a halt as his eyes registered the object in his hand He blinked slowly taking in the worn details of the piece Then he wound his way back through the empty work tables toward where Sam was still furiously examining the timber Randidly set the bit of worked metal down on the table with an audible snap Sam what the hell is this

Sam glanced over for a brief second before turning back to his precious timber It was an early attempt

There are more Randidly asked torn between irritation and amusement The object in question was a small figurine only half a finger�s length tall But despite the small size the character was made with remarkable detail The sort of detail only a master like Sam could make on such a small figure Randidly used his metallic left arm to push the figurine across the table This is clearly me

If it makes you feel better I only had to make five of you That one was the prototype Suddenly Sam�s mouth stretched wide and caused the lines across his face to deepen You have no idea how many figurines Clarissa made me make for her

So it was Clarissa huh Randidly�s mouth twitched as he pictured the cheery former librarian Certainly this act was in line with her peculiar branch of unpredictability Why does she want figurines of me

Not just you At least ten of most of the founding figures of Donnyton several other important figures too like Hank Lucifer and Tatiana But that wasn�t even the worst part She also wanted about ten thousand each of various base monsters Zombies giant insects rapid beasts etc Sam hung his head The detail on each didn�t matter but just the sheer number of them Well I developed the Skill Molten Fingertips in order to work through them quickly and even Leveled it to 61 so I suppose it wasn�t a total waste of my time

you didn�t answer the question Why figurines Randidly repeated

Sam shrugged and brought the piece of timber over to knock over the figurine She kept talking about creating a tabletop� experience but I huh

When the piece of wood hit the metal figurine there was a dull noise A noise that was quite unusual considering the materials involved and vaguely melodic Immediately Sam�s entire countenance brightened

Sighing Randidly left Sam alone for now He did not wish to spend his final night in the Dungeon listening to him banging on the timber with various metal hammers

The crimson flows of energy around Helen were so deep and powerful that they scoured deep grooves into the ground around her The current rolled and lashed out like furious serpents trying to entrap their prey The color of the air surrounding her had darkened toward dried blood She had to grit her teeth to withstand the pressure of this depth within her own image but still Helen persevered Just beyond this she felt the cusp of a grand change

A flow smashed into the ground particularly close to Helen and threw flecks of stone up toward her face She didn�t flinch

Despite the trembling in her muscles Helen�s razor sharp will continued to pressure herself deeper into the bloody image around her This incensed the currents around her they began to rage with all the ferocity of a hurricane making landfall She had chosen a rather secluded location for this final attempt while in the Dungeon but now Helen felt a sliver of pity for the rather modest gathering of trees that had been minding their business here previously

As the flows of blood raged around her those trees were blasted to splinters The ground was cracked and scarred Helen shivered keeping herself very still at the core of the whirling forces around her A spot of blood began to drip down from a small cut made by the earlier flecks of stone

Gradually even as her instincts warned her of the danger Helen forced her eyes to open and looked at the dense maroon coloration of the blood sea whirling around her Although this was her own image it wasn�t one that she had necessarily created from scratch She had some portions that were her own invention but even Helen had to admit that most of the changes she made were very shallow to the sea of blood

Helen didn�t understand the details but in their talks Randidly had theorized that she was tapping into an older image as she progressed And therefore she should be extremely careful when exploring the depths of this image

So Helen sank as deeply into the sea of blood as she dared and opened her eyes There was a constant rumbling as the currents constantly ripped at the ground around her The waters� here were thick and murky Her awareness was dismal Yet it was enough As she peered downward she sensed a vast something was sleeping before her Even as a headache exploded outward from between her brows Helen kept herself focused on that vague impression The headache grew worse Her chest seized Such was the pressure that her own body wouldn�t allow her to breathe in this place

If she breathed some instinct urged her that a terrible accident would happen Yet still Helen didn�t look away Crimson veins emerged on her eyeballs She forced her attention to sharpen

That thing in the depths stirred Something within Helen snapped into place

Congratulations Your Skill Tides of Blood (Domain) has evolved into the Sea of Flesh and Tragedy (Domain) Skill Level will be maintained Effects of the domain will slightly increase per each Skill Level

Just as soon as she brushed up against that thing deep in the depths it was gone It sank away so quickly that she almost believed that she had imagined it As it left it pulled those violent currents with it Helen was left sitting in a ruined stretched of forest releasing deep gasps as she struggled to recover her equilibrium She pressed her eyes shut and endured the headache allowing the throbbing pain to run its course

She had accomplished her goal Yet somehow doing so only made her more curious about the image she was steadily infiltrating What awaited at the bottom

Still Helen didn�t linger long in her created clearing After she recovered she ate a small meal of dried meat and cheese and checked her reflection in a small mirror She unwound her hair and rebraided it so that it looked immaculate

No need to let any of the other people know how difficult the transition had been for her And yet while she certainly did feel some satisfaction at the increase in ability she had received it was somewhat hard to get too excited when she had spent the last six months training with the Ghosthound�s evolving images

That man has a way of making everyone else�s gains seem meager Helen reflected bitterly as she hurried back to the base Not that she needed to be there tonight the Riders would be killing the boss soon so they could leave without needing any assistance but there was some talk of a party

And nothing cheered Helen up quite like how sour Randidly would be when he was eventually strong armed into attending a party After he used her Domain as a punching bag for six months she deserved the exquisite treat of seeing his brow furrowed in annoyance

As she was descending into the valley however she saw Nathan sitting on a stump and looking down over the gathering below Although they weren�t great several of the teachers that Randidly had brought from his Alpha Cosmos had pulled out instruments and were performing an impromptu concert in the middle of the more advanced houses the kids had built

For a second she hesitated Although they were peers she didn�t often speak to Nathan But there was something focused about his gaze right now that gave her pause Plus Helen could sense Randidly wasn�t yet below No need to rush

So she approached Nathan After casting her mind around she actually thought of a topic of conversation pretty easily So How did the Class making go

Nathan shook his head Commissioner Arrietti asked to delay until tomorrow He wants to center himself in his home Something about the Dungeon environment polluting his headspace

Helen frowned as she sat next to Nathan on a nearby stump I�m actually surprised that man noticed Randidly�s image is too prevalent here makes it slightly stuffy to refine any other image Maybe he�s not just a glorified punching bag

Nathan rolled his eyes You are too harsh He might not be very brave but he at least is honest He�s the type of man Kharon needs hey stop

Helen started ruffling Nathan�s hair with a smile What are you fourteen Don�t talk like you are a wise old man It�s slightly creepy

But as she smiled some inner part of Helen sighed and deflated As she looked down at the joyous celebrating happening below she couldn�t help but think of the corollary of what Nathan had said the reason that Kharon needs people like Commissioner Arrietti was because they would soon be losing the man they really needed Randidly Ghosthound

And yesterday Randidly had offered Helen a chance to come with him to the Nexus

Just trying to do my part Nathan scowled at Helen She ignored the gaze although she felt that Nathan had shifted his classification of her to becoming a condescending adult after that display

Aren�t we all Helen replied without much heart

Chapter 1431

Taking every precaution to make extra sure there wouldn�t be any adverse reactions the first thing that Randidly did when he exited the Dungeon and returned to Kharon was release a huge pulse of Aether that covered the surrounding area The Aether density of Earth was already extremely high but he didn�t want to take any chances Especially for the children he brought into the Dungeon Aether Sickness would be extremely detrimental to their growth So he tipped the scales a bit in their favor

Of course the Aether he released would gradually disperse outward and affect the surrounding area But since the Orchard would soon be home to the duos tournament the extra Aether couldn�t be considered favoritism toward the Orchard Everyone who came to fight for glory would unconsciously absorb the pure Aether in the air and rapidly improve

Randidly suspected that a few years down the line many power individuals would trace their beginnings back to this tournament Or at least he hoped that would be the case

The second thing Randidly did after arriving on his island and releasing the large contingent that had gone into the Dungeon was glare around at the surrounding melodrama Because his subordinates were too excited to have returned

It�s like finally breathing clean air after living next to a trash heap for a month Ed Dugg announced with his hands on his hips Then his expression briefly darkened as though he recalled something unpleasant

Helen nodded and glanced around at Randidly�s mist covered island Truly who would have known that high level images would cause such well for lack of a better word pollution

Flicking his fingers at them Randidly hopped off his island and proceeded to Kharon City Hall The various groups had already figured out what they would do next The teachers would go to the education facilities and introduce themselves to the children Especially for the groups from the Alpha Cosmos they were excited to start work as soon as possible

The kids that had now been trained by Ed Dugg would be going with him to work on other projects in order to get more practical experience before the main event The Riders would return to the Borderlands to patrol and play out their endless competition amongst themselves Sam would continue his research and the police force would return to their previous role in Kharon hopefully with a longer and firmer reach

A quick brush against Kharon�s image confirmed that while there was some agitation that wasn�t there previously nothing of significance had happened while they had been gone The midday sun was warm on Randidly�s skin as he landed on the roof and descended through the familiar passageways toward Tatiana�s office Talking with her would be the quickest way to catch himself back up

Immediately as he entered Tatiana passed him a cup of iced mint tea and then gestured to several piles of papers that were on the table Light slanted sharply down through the windows and filled the stuffy office with life So want the quick or the long version

Inwardly Randidly sighed Tatiana�s good mood and preparations meant that things weren�t as simple as they appeared Let�s just start with the short version Exactly how long were we gone for

About 28 hours Tatiana replied with a smile A pretty small amount of time although it does mean the Duo Tournament preliminaries are scheduled to start tomorrow Is Clarissa prepared for that

Yea we will go ahead with plan A thank god Randidly rubbed his chin and took a sip of the tea The mint was cool on his tongue leaving a lingering taste of bitterness that remained long after he swallowed Tatiana certainly had nailed his taste So the short version

A fifteen year old boy was carved up on one of the side streets in the residential area of Kharon Luckily the boy survived and the culprit was caught But because of our lack of codified laws we haven�t yet figured out how we wish to punish him

Randidly chewed on his lip Then he narrowed his eyes as purple black energy flashed across his pupils Huh You think this was arranged No you would have gotten a confession or launched a larger investigation otherwise This man was nudged into coming here Hum Let Helen return the favor by slashing him a bit and then drop him off in the Wildlands

Tatiana cocked an eyebrow and pursed her lips Randidly couldn�t help but laugh Just like you seem to have a sixth sense regarding me we�ve worked together for so long that I can tell when you think I�m being hasty even if you try to hide it

Randidly said aloud It�s a blunt response but I think the more we think about this the more time we waste And I assume you are already working to put out laws that mean this won�t happen again What else

Moving with an easy grace Tatiana walked to the piles of paper on the table and tapped her fingernail against them The statements are recorded here but several malcontents were gathered as they tried to infiltrate Kharon A man whose cologne business was bankrupted by competition with Kharon a woman whose boyfriend left her to pursue a dream of joining Kharon a few individuals who didn�t pass the recruitment criteria and bore a grudge small things but I believe they were also nudged into acting now

A bunch of coincidences huh Randidly pressed his eyes closed Although he had been rather annoyed by their glee earlier the people were correct that it was somewhat refreshing to be away from that Dungeon that had been so thoroughly soaked in his image The scents of other images were sharp and clear in comparison It was an ecosystem of images with no hegemony So he could search carefully through Kharon for these people who came to cause trouble

Their images weren�t strong but they were so different from the general image of Kharon that it was easy to locate them Once he locked on to the images he carefully brushed the relatively gentle roots of Yggdrasil against those images Although he couldn�t find anything definite his Grim Intuition told him that there was definitely a common element between them all

Randidly opened his eyes Who caught them

Derek and Hydie Honestly even I was surprised by how good of a team they are turning out to be Tatiana replied Do you want to speak to them directly

Randidly opened his mouth to say no but his Revelation energy hummed to him

Congratulations Your Skill Revelations of the Atramentous Threshold has grown to Level 321

Actually yes That sounds like a good idea

Almost immediately Randidly left Tatiana�s office at her insistence taking the other various reports with him and proceeded to the Kharon police headquarters Valor Rend who had manned the headquarters while the police were gone met him at the door and led him toward the interrogation rooms The man practically begged Randidly to bring him on his next training expedition to which Randidly provided his amused agreement

But that training session might be quite far in the future perhaps even several years

Eventually Valor pointed to Randidly�s destination and Randidly thanked him for his time and increased his pace As he walked up to the door Randidly sensed more concretely why his Revelation energy had reacted to the suggestion earlier Randidly�s emerald eyes flashed But he didn�t dwell on this revelation and simply walked into the room

Apparently Randidly�s casual training to conceal his image was more successful than he thought because both hopped to their feet as soon as they noticed him From the expressions on their faces neither had sensed his approach Hydie�s movement sent her chair clanging across the floor and slamming into the wall with a loud bang For a second the room fell into an awkward silence

Randidly grinned to break the mood Sorry to barge in on you like this but I wanted to spend some time focusing on these people trying to infiltrate Kharon Do you mind if I ask a few questions

Of course not sir Derek Moss responded immediately His arm twitched as though he was going to salute Randidly but he suppressed it Randidly�s smile widened marginally one of his strongest beliefs was that he didn�t want to turn the Order Ducis into a military organization A salute was only a small part of that but Randidly was pleased that Derek had curbed this habit so quickly

I�ve read the reports Randidly lied imagining Tatiana shaking her head sorrowfully But I want more information about their attitude Or their images at the time immediately prior to capture or immediately after How were they behaving Was there anything unusual

Hydie and Derek exchanged a glance Both of their brows were furrowed in thought Hydie busied herself by moving to the chair she knocked over and setting it back on its feet For a second it looked like she was going to return to her seat in the chair but then seemed to recall Randidly�s presence and just swayed like she was drunk Eventually Derek shook his head Their image was just that of clearly intending to harm Kharon Otherwise we wouldn�t have caught them nothing sticks out to me other than the fact they all came quietly when confronted

Randidly nodded Then he glanced at Hydie

She felt his gaze and visibly flinched Then she made a very overt show of considering the question carefully But the more she thought the more the lines of her face curved into a frown I don�t know if it�s worth mentioning but usually when we caught them they would burst into tears About half of them cried wouldn�t you say

She glanced at Derek and he nodded slowly Then Hydie shrugged It didn�t have anything to do with an image but they were all rather pathetic when it came down to it Helpless almost I I�ve felt like that in the past so

Randidly breathed out through his nose and considered that perspective The helplessness was interesting to note but it largely just conveyed that they weren�t serious threats to Kharon on their face Perhaps if they didn�t have the opportunity to come to the city the negative feelings would have withered and died naturally The reasons that these people had come here were rather mundane grievances after all

Randidly spared one last narrowed glance for Hydie before turning away I�ll keep that in mind In the meantime if you remember anything else please let me know And thank you both for the hard work

Yes sir Both replied Then Derek offered a small smile Honestly I�m not so good at image detection Most of the work was done by the moss spirits I do recall having an impression of what Hydie is talking about I almost wish I could share my memory with you so you could view it yourself Maybe then you could learn more

Randidly opened his mouth to say something polite but he froze Because the rope wrapped around his right wrist twinged just slightly Frozen with his gaze on Derek Randidly�s Willpower reached out and touched his Dreamcatcher of the Long Night And the Fate proudly told him that it could accept donated memories from other individuals although there was a cost to doing so

You seriously waited until now to tell me Randidly�s mouth twitched Is that why the Leveling of the Fatepiece stopped in the seventies no matter how much I used it I had been focusing on thinking through definitions and functions of Dreamcatchers to unlock the rest but what if the operative words were Long Night�

This Fate is an extension of my Class It was an object made to accomplish the dream of my existence and a large part of that dream is Earth So the Long Night isn�t just the troubles I face but the troubles of the entire Earth This dreamcatcher could contain the memories of many individuals hell do I even need to keep it on my person

Congratulations Your Fatepiece Dreamcatcher of the Long Night has grown to Level 72

Suddenly Randidly�s eyes widened further And we had already been designing keystones to act as focal points for images of weakness within Kharon Academy If the weight of memory could be added to that as well

Congratulations Your Fatepiece Dreamcatcher of the Long Night has grown to Level 73

Congratulations Your Fatepiece Dreamcatcher of the Long Night has grown to Level 81

Ahem Derek coughed lightly at the look of stunned surprise on Randidly�s face Is something the matter

No just some good news Randidly�s mouth curved into a smile There actually is a way for you to donate your memories to me

Chapter 1432

Despite his excitement Randidly watched the process of donation very carefully He was rather wary of the Dreamcatcher�s rather flippant admittance that there was a mysterious cost� And while it clearly gave the impression that it was possible it included no guidance to what that cost might be So when Derek pressed his hand against the three dimensional rope Dreamcatcher Randidly�s Grim Intuition was pushed to his limit to watch this potential member of the Order Ducis

And as it turned out the cost� was something rather valuable but it was something that Randidly knew would gradually recover The donation required that same emotional weight that Randidly had divvied up between his drops of liquid Aether and his physical improvements while in the Dungeon But luckily it didn�t seem to require an extremely large amount of emotional weight

The problem was that Derek Moss wasn�t Randidly So even this small cost left him rather pale and wan looking Derek�s formerly robust and steadfast image had been reduced to a ghost of itself by the process Randidly put his hand on the man�s shoulder and squeezed passing a thin vein of golden energy into his body You likely feel pretty weak right now but that should pass in a day or so Unfortunately you were the guinea pig so I didn�t know what to expect

Ha I�m just glad to help Derek said with a reassuring smile Randidly left it at that but he would devote a portion of his awareness toward Derek to make sure that the healing was a simple a process as he made it out to be If the recovery depended on the total amount of emotional energy Derek might remain this way for quite some time

Just as Randidly was leaving Hydie�s hesitant voice stopped him Do you do you want to take my memory too

Randidly glanced over his shoulder at her and turned around after seeing the firm line of her mouth while I don�t think it�s strictly necessary it may be valuable But are you willing to endure the cost As you can see from Mr Moss it isn�t a small thing

Hydie Mordath glanced sideways at Derek Yet more than the heaviness in her gaze it was Hydie�s image that had Randidly�s attention

Even if it�s difficult I�d like to contribute In real time Randidly watched Hydie Mordath�s image rapidly progress in front of him The ethereal figure at the center of a web of misfortune gradually sharpened before his focus until it was a regal and austere Hydie that looked down on the surrounding world with grey eyes She seemed to be even more deeply mired in the threads of unluckiness that extended from her fingers but she seemed to have a measure of control over them that wasn�t present before

In fact the hands of the figure in the image tightened on those strings Her aura was gradually weaving itself together into a tighter net She could never escape being inexorably tied to misfortune but she didn�t need to let that rule her As the details of the image slowly harmonized with each other Randidly sensed a drastic change in power from the young woman in front of him

And strangely that similarity that Randidly had noticed early in Hydie�s image that likely stemmed from the same source as those malcontents was erased as she found her own Path forward That hint that she too had been nudged into coming into the Order Ducis vanished as if it had never been present

But does that mean that she�s no longer a danger to the Order Ducis or that she�s just blending exceeding well A suspicious part of Randidly mused But out loud he nodded solemnly to Hydie Well then thank you More data is exactly what we need right now

The process of extracting her memories was actually much more smooth than Derek�s Perhaps because of how solid and uniform Derek�s psyche was he possessed less of that necessary and valuable emotional weight that fueled the images Whatever had just happened to Hydie�s image proved that she had that emotional weight in droves even if she couldn�t mobilize it yet

She possessed enough emotional weight Randidly reflected that she could probably refine herself a drop of liquid Aether If someone taught her about the process and how to do it of course But he let that thought lay for a while as Hydie donated her memory

Congratulations Your Fatepiece Dreamcatcher of the Long Night has grown to Level 82

Randidly pulled back his Dreamcatcher of the Long Night and wrapped it around his wrist Although the texture of the rope was familiar it certainly felt slightly more weighty after the recent additions Thank you I have a feeling that this will be very useful Due to your contributions I�ll arrange for the two of you to be part of the ten people inducted truly into the Order Ducis Thank you for your support

Then Randidly left moving before either of those two could react to the news Despite his kind words his sudden departure was purposeful in order to give them some space to react honestly without his presence As he walked out of the Kharon police office and back into the sunlight he felt both of their emotions permeate their images in very obvious ways In neither of their responses did he detect anything suspicious

Humming to himself Randidly sent a message to Neveah about a new Engraving he wanted to try making and then focused his attention on the Dreamcatcher Immediately as his perception went into that place filled with echoing chimes Randidly realized why the process had been so exhausting He didn�t just take a single memory from the two newest memories of the Order Ducis he took a whole web of memories

The soundscape gleamed and echoed with new sounds around his surprised consciousness

Narrowing his eyes Randidly began to explore his adjusted Fatepiece The memories were there but Randidly could sense that it would be extremely difficult for him to visit them if he had no connection to the scenes The rapid pace at which his mental energy was consumed would be even more egregious if he tried to view another�s memories As such he would only sparingly be able to dig into these two�s past

But this also set Randidly to thinking about his insight from before this Fatepiece wasn�t the same as the Philosopher�s Key He had thought it was a simple tool that let him visit the past But the fact that it could take the memories of others and incorporate them

Well that meant he would need to obtain memories that he shared with another and experiment with how possessing both affected the chimescape

For the moment however Randidly�s mind turned in a different direction To a batch of memories he had been meaning to get around to but that he had kept pushing away It was time to view the movie left for him by Yystrix

Sydney released a sharp breath and rapped her knuckles against the door Several large crows sat in the surrounding trees watching her with beady eyes as the sleet continued to slant sideways down and plaster her hair to her skull The chilling rain seemed to skid off the crows� feathers and leave them completely dry

Sydney knocked with more force almost wishing these strange crows would attack her Yet within the house the only response that Sydney sensed was silence

All in all she was in a very bad mood On the one hand she somehow felt that maintaining this general state of irritation would fare her very well in the near future the momentum of her emotions would make the hard acts she planned on undertaking tonight much easier But on the other hand

My underwear is soaked A very sour Sydney reflected My elemental means I�m basically immune to the cold but in the face of precipitation

She was irrevocably damp The sort of damp that seems impossible to escape when you are in the thick of it Sydney knocked again on the door with enough force that the wood groaned Is anyone home I�m going to come in if I don�t receive an answer

There was no forthcoming answer which was exactly the sort of ambiguous answer that a woman with cold and wet clothes did not appreciate Sydney�s eyes sharpened at the quaint wooden door in front of her as though she could will her eyes to penetrate through the material in front of her and reveal the innards of this place But her determined attempt was for naught

This house had been built by someone capable Not only were the materials solid enough to withstand the casual use of a System empowered human but there was a hint of an image at the edges of this construction Not enough that Sydney could sense who made it but enough that her senses couldn�t easily reach the interior of the house

How is it even possible Do images really work like this Sydney bit the soft flesh on the inside of her cheeks to expend some of her mounting fury Her emotions were like a train slated for decommissioning rushing for the end of their tracks Too late to turn back now She knocked again and waited a few seconds There was no answer

Sydney considered simply using her image to rip the faint presence on these walls to shreds but the train wasn�t off the tracks quite yet On the off chance that this was the wrong house she didn�t wish to have an awkward conversation with the owner after she had eradicated that defensive image Sydney imagined it would be very useful against monsters

But would a person powerful enough to do this with an image need to worry about monsters

So instead she gritted her teeth pushed her dripping hair out of her eyes and seized the heavy copper handle of the door When she twisted the door opened easily and Sydney was able to step into the small hut

The door closed behind her and immediately the ceaseless rustle of raindrops bursting on the ground was muted by that same image that had stymied her This place was isolated from the outside world The weight of the water that she carried in with her slowly dripped down Sydney�s limbs and off her onto the floor Her eyes were sharp as they landed at the figure sitting at the table regarding her with a small smile

You were inside the entire time Sydney said Why didn�t you answer

Neveah shook her head I was very afraid of this conversation I couldn�t muster up the strength to answer It turns out I�m something of a coward

Sydney flicked her hand and unleashed a wave of cold across her body The moisture on her turned to frost and her elemental pulled it off her person and pressed it into a human head sized chunk of ice Then Sydney flexed her hand and destroyed the ice sending frozen chips across the interior of the cabin You also didn�t lock the door

To this Neveah inclined her head I don�t think I could bear to support this secret on my own any longer I was torn

Neveah�s response confused Sydney but she quickly pulled her attention away from that so she didn�t get distracted The train tracks were ending soon The conductor on her emotion train was throwing the last of his coal into the engine causing the overstrained behemoth to accelerate toward its demise Her shoulders trembled as she considered the individual in front of her

Sydney cleared her throat It was very loud compared to the silence of the room and the pattering of rain outside Where is he

Neveah pointed to a chair opposite her at the table Take a seat

Almost subconsciously Sydney chilled the interior of the cabin with a flash of hatred Drake�s unconscious face flashed before her mind�s eye She recognized the folded clothes in a corner next to a desk as Roy�s I�m very surprised that you of all people would protect him Is Randidly behind this If you think I won�t fight you two

Neveah rolled her eyes She didn�t speak however just pointed

Sydney forcefully reigned in her irritation although she couldn�t prevent the tightening of the muscles along her jaw But she followed Neveah�s finger and saw a piece of paper With slow steps Sydney walked up to the table It was a letter She immediately recognized the handwriting as Roy�s

What is this Sydney asked Despite herself her fingers reached out and brushed against the worn material Someone had crumpled this piece of paper several times before painstakingly smoothing it out

When she looked over at Neveah the woman was crying I suppose it�s what you humans call a suicide note

Chapter 1433

Randidly floated in the in between space for a while wondering what message Yystrix had left him with this movie Then he released a breath and set everything around him into motion

Welcome Yystrix�s voice said lightly before her a strange purgatory where her breath no longer shaped words Instead Randidly could only hear the sound of her breath leave her body as he sat in the total darkness of her memories There were pauses between the breaths but there was never the sound of an inhale It was only an intermittent exhale as though Yystrix was a balloon struggling to keep its last bit of buoyancy within its form

Randidly hesitated but ultimately didn�t respond to the strange depressing release He settled himself within the dense web of Yystrix�s memories and didn�t attempt to wander from where she was leading him He allowed himself to be pulled forward as a last act of respect to the callous and cruel woman who had shaped him

Gradually light began to emerge in the surroundings In real time the world around them was calibrated into existence Randidly found himself sitting in a room with light blue walls The material of the walls caused Randidly to tilt his head to the side it seemed to glitter like metal yet also was vaguely see through like a crystal It was exactly the sort of rare material that would have Sam transfixed

Welcome to Hallohm The ancient home of my people Yystrix announced The holy land of energy beings Heh in fact it would be accurate to say that we looked down on the wider universe and the flesh beings that inhabited it To us to my people this land was everything

The cradle the home and the grave

It was also clear that Randidly was seeing from a perspective that was not his own The small body he possessed which he assumed was Yystrix�s heaved itself to its feet and slowly waddled toward an open passage As she moved Randidly was struck by the strangeness of what he was seeing Around him aside for the crystal walls almost everything was blurry What Randidly assumed to be furniture was just a vague bulge along the sides of the room It was only those walls and the open passageway that had any definition

My apologies Yystrix voice continued in between exhales Even my memory has degraded with time No amount of training or Stats can stop that I considered leaving this out but I think it is important to see Everything started from this The tragedy began here

From the passageway Yystrix�s small form entered an area that completely blurred as though it was a watercolor painting that was rained on before it dried Only after squinting did Randidly hazard that it was some sort of stairwell although Yystrix didn�t ascend She continued forward clearly knowing the path even if the area around them was bleeding into itself

There was another clear passageway and Randidly found himself in a wide open area that was clearly an arid highlands The dirt beneath him was almost bright orange Before Randidly could scrutinize the blurry plant life scattered in the vicinity Yystrix wheeled around and looked up at the building that she had just left Randidly�s eyes widened as he saw a giant crystal tower that stretched upward toward maroon clouds It seemed to have no end each floor clearly possessing a wide window and an elaborately carved stone ramparts around the edge

The Tower to Heaven Yystrix whispered The crowning Jewel of Hallohm It houses the entirety of my people It possesses 512 floors one for each of my people It is a hierarchical building those at the top have lived the longest Those at the bottom well they were born later I was just born and thus I live on the bottom floor in this memory

All my people experience this The sense of loss and wonder the abrupt existence and then this Tower piercing both the ground and the clouds

Even while the metal crystal Tower to Heaven remained the same the surroundings began to blur and warp Yystrix�s voice continued to explain There are two types of individuals in my population The first and the last Generally it is very simple to separate individuals into these two categories

As I told you previously life energy is constant amongst my people We must give of our own lives in order to bear children Typically a couple will each give half of their lives to form a child So they have two children the First and the Last The First is raised with the guidance of the parents They become our historians our great philosophers and our most respected leaders They bear the weight of tradition on their shoulders

The Last well They are born alone They have no guidance except occasional kindness from the community But they are also the sources of growth and innovation within my people�s community in so far as my people were willing to change at all The horrible loneliness the Last feel those feelings of envy that eat them up when they see the First�s supportive parents those are purposeful acts They are designed to isolate us The historians spend our childhood telling us how meaningful that suffering is How strong it makes us

Why then did I never feel strong Heh but then again was isolating you not the first thing I did to you

The tower receded like an ocean time its bright blue materials gradually fading into sky blue and then pale grey Into that void a slightly larger Yystrix was sitting on top of an orange rock outcropping looking down over a narrow ravine The figures were still blurry here but the memory degradation had settled to an acceptable level that no longer made Randidly dizzy to look at it And as he examined the surroundings with a finer comb he saw the forms of Yystrix�s fellows

There were two in the ravine below standing across from each other They had humanoid shapes but as Randidly looked at them it seemed like the outer skin of their bodies was translucent The main meat of these beings was the waves of light that flowed within the confines of their skin They were in fact oddly beautiful sights The one nearer to Yystrix was a soft blue color mixed with bursts of deep green The other was a pure bright yellow

Between them was a chessboard At the two figures� gestures blurry pieces moved There was definitely a game being played below but it was also clear that Yystrix�s memory didn�t place much emphasis on it Sometimes the moves of the blurry pieces seemed contradictory and Randidly couldn�t tell if it was due to rules he didn�t comprehend or that Yystrix didn�t bother to fact check her own memory

Yystrix widened her view looking side to side to see the broken whole of the ravine And Randidly saw that there were dozens of these boards up and down the wide crack within the rock filled with blurry figures facing off Then Yystrix looked back to the light blue and yellow individuals directly below her outcropping

As I have told you previously my people believe we are descended from the Shallah beings who truly were pure energy without form In comparison you could say that my people are energy suitably contained and corralled That wild freedom we were once blessed with was lost

Due to the horrible betrayal of the Nether people we were stripped of that freedom and forced to leave Eden Yet now with the perspective of age I see how strange the arrangement became The two energy races settled on a single extremely small world The Aether below the Tower to Heaven in Hallohm and the Nether next to Sinkhole in the badlands We stayed and we fought generation after generation

There was always a certain cold war going on where the people of Aether and Nether would periodically meet and clash People might die in combat but we would carefully gather their life energy and create more children while mourning their abrupt passing

Yystrix released another long breath But did we ever think to leave Of course not But perhaps perhaps there was something special about those locations for our people

Either way the constant presence of the Nether pushed most people into frantically played wargames This was our only real hobby as well as training for combat I found it less than compelling Our historian was often disappointed in my lack of interest but I was a Last For every one last that innovated for the Aether beings a hundred disappointed This just cemented in his mind that I was a placeholder a cup to hold life energy until I grew tired of life and gave myself to form children

Gradually as Yystrix was speaking the details of the game below them came into sharper focus Specifically a certain piece simply shaped like a pillar became so clear that Randidly vaguely sensed image energy emanating off of it Of course this wasn�t a real phenomenon but much more likely the effect of how much importance a powerful individual like Yystrix placed on the piece in her own memory

A wildfire of meaning raged around that pillar of orange stone as it sat in one of the small squares on the chessboard Randidly could see the thousands of connections that spread outward moments in the future that Yystrix would someday attribute to this pillar at this moment The memory around Randidly began to shudder as it tried to withstand that heavy meaning

The blue figure gestured and a blurry piece lifted off the ground floated forward and crashed into the side of the pillar The pillar swayed and then toppled over hitting the ground and cracking into several pieces Even as the two figures spoke to each other with blurry words that Randidly couldn�t understand he followed Yystrix�s gaze Her eyes were locked onto the shattered pillar looking at the glittery silver grey ore revealed in the heart of the pillar The shaking of the memory grew worse

I was quite inspired by that destruction The memory around them physically shattered and suddenly Randidly (who watching through Yystrix) was back within the tower At this point in time she was slightly older and living now on the 93rd floor of this slightly creepy building One of her rooms had been converted into a workshop and Randidly saw a blurry figure filled with red light waiting expectantly while Yystrix was carving a piece for him For the first time in my life I saw how something that was less than whole could be beautiful And as it turned out the rest of my people shared that aesthetic

Essentially every one of the 511 other individuals living in the tower wanted to have me carve their wargame pieces The historian wanted an official set for the Grand Arena which was where the yearly wargame tournaments was fought And then as though as an afterthought the priest mentioned that his son wanted to commission some pieces as well For a wargame rule variant�

The vision in front of Randidly shifted Yystrix was walking along what appeared to be a dried river bed with high stone walls on either side of her As far as Randidly could tell everything in the area around the Tower to Heaven was some variation of red or orange Even the clouds were maroon The furthest thing was the brown scrubby plants but his overall impression was that this was a barren land filled with swirling dust

If not for the light blue sword of the tower thrust into this ground it would be an entirely dead place

After a few more minutes of walking Yystrix walked around a bend and into a memory that was perfectly clear Again this was a place heavy with the image of what was to come Whereas the pillar had raged with wild flames this memory was cold and sticky like the scales of a tuna pulled out of the sea There was something strangely claustrophobic to the pulses of images in the surrounding air

And standing in a particularly flat area of the river bed of the memory surrounded by misshapen lumps of stone was an individual As opposed to the bright colors of most of the Aether people that Randidly had seen this one stood out His light was monochrome he was filled with waves of white and grey interspersed with thin lines of black

The figure walked forward Hello I�m Elhume It�s nice to meet you

The area around these two rapidly compressed as though a wrathful god was squeezing the edges of the memory and crumpling it into a ball The body of that cold tuna stretch and contort into a python that squeezed that moment to a pulp The orange highlands and the dusty river bed and the maroon clouds and even the Tower to Heaven were folded over drawn and warped by the weight of this meeting

Elhume spoke about the new rules he wanted to make for the wargame but to Yystrix those words were blurry Instead she was mesmerized by the black arcs that spun in his chest as he spoke They were only the slightest portion of his light but they caught the eye They rippled like colored ink dropped into water They seemed to dance as he spoke

The surrounding rumbling grew louder as the fist that squeezed this memory tightened The chill intensified Randidly couldn�t help but feel apprehensive as he felt the destructive power of the image that was annihilating this place But finally Elhume�s words came back into focus add some spice to the wargames don�t you think By the way where do you get your inspiration for your carvings They really are something

Yystrix shrugged I guess sometimes you need to take something away to make it beautiful

If only I hadn�t told him that Yystrix continued to exhale her existence continuing to dwindle

Chapter 1434

Let�s speed things up a bit shall we Yystrix continued after a particularly long breath into the silence I made those special pieces for him and they were very well received Many praised him for his vision in commissioning them This was where most of the support for Elhume becoming the next historian began People said he combined the best of a First and Last He understood tradition and could innovate Plus he had been taught by the current historian It was as though he was born for the role

The memory shifted and that horrible image of destruction associated with Elhume was pushed back It howled at the edges of the new memory whirling around the current oasis like a grudge holding sandstorm Elhume and Yystrix were sitting on a high column of orange rock watching the plateau below Elhume was talking and Yystrix was just listening to his blurry words

Elhume pursued me for a long time before I could trust him Even then I could see the violence of his emotions Especially when it involved the Nether But in the end I truly did love him Because for every bit of rage he would use to lash out at the Nether he would turn double back on himself For being too weak For being so helpless in the face of the problems plaguing our people

He was determined to be the one who would lead us back to Eden It was the home our people deserved he would say It was stolen from us he would insist The people of Nether had the key to returning and they kept it from us

Yet even he admitted that as far as we could tell from the records of our bitter war with them neither side had an advantage Our combat strength was equal despite our innovations to the wargames that we played Aether defended the tower Nether defended the Sinkhole Suddenly Randidly could sense a smile in Yystrix�s voice Which in my heart only served to prove how useless these games we were so obsessed with were

The memory shifted again to an open air amphitheater With long strides surrounded by blurry figures bright with color Elhume with dense cords of black light in his chest ascended to the stage The crowd began to cheer To the surprise of no one Elhume became our historian Yet rather than being happy his depression grew To suit his new role the standards to which he held themselves were hoisted beyond the realm of possibility Almost overnight he transformed into a man possessed

The historians I suspect now had a bit of extra information about the true situation of my people Being faced with that truth broke Elhume in a very vital way just as it had with most other historians in the past

Toward the end in that brief happy time after I brought my son back for his help Elhume showed me some of his father�s musings although not the records that led his father to create such strange and ominous ramblings In essence the former historian believed that the Aether people had never left the promised land The dead land in which we now lived was the very Eden we always dreamt about

The memory shifted again Yystrix was standing at a window high in the Tower to Heaven looking out over the surrounding area She glanced upward seeing that the maroon clouds were very close above her She was now on the 399th floor Soon her view from her window would be completely obstructed

To describe the historian Elhume as moody would be an understatement He was more natural force than a living being always shouting or swearing or crying or preaching There was only one place where he could be silent on those game boards He even made several variations to wargames in the wake of skirmishes with Nether forces perhaps to alleviate his sense of responsibility by increasing our combat ability

None of it made a difference Our people were evenly matched with the Nether But for all the raw emotion coursing through his being my spouse was extremely practical And interacting with me I believe I gave him the last bit of inspiration he needed to develop a very desperate plan

If he couldn�t make our people stronger the only way to improve our military strength was for there to be more of us Of course life energy was constant An increase in our population was impossible without extreme methods

Yet one day a miracle� occurred its sudden arrival like a bolt of lightning splitting the tallest tree in the forest We the animals came out of our secret living spaces and were aghast But our historian proclaimed it was a cause for celebration His vehement words whipped up a grand jubilation to mark the event A couple had given birth to three children Within a few months such miracles began commonplace Elhume became our prophet proudly declaring that the time had come for us to return to Eden with our newfound strength

Do you want to know how he managed it Yystrix asked softly But Randidly didn�t need much of an explanation The memories had gotten so sharp that he could see how diminished these new beings were their inner light was dim and muted Randidly couldn�t just intuit the method but he remembered the mad experiments of Thomas Karmin on Earth

Something spiritual had been cut out of the original Aether being and placed into another body The wound had healed as well as it could but what had grown in the stolen soul�s place was more than slightly wrong Randidly could sense

The window in front of Randidly blurred and vanished Then Randidly felt a sense of immense speed as the world slowly came back into focus He was rushing forward over orange highlands Although Yystrix didn�t turn to look Randidly could sense that the Tower to Heaven was behind him The further than Yystrix proceeded the denser and lower the maroon clouds became

Gradually she rushed forward into a land of shadow The Badlands home of the Nether

I stated previously that I ran away from Elhume And that was true But I was also purposefully looking for something Maybe even what I was looking for was a clean death Because there is no way to describe my methods but foolish

Periodically Elhume would travel into the wastes to scout out the area IT quickly became a point of pride amongst my people that our historian was a powerful warrior Yet I watched him every day how could I miss that every time he returned from that place more miracle births would follow

As you can see those Births created individuals that were dull is the term that seemed to fit It was all too easy to miss at first however Because of the overwhelming joy of the miracle several of the elders gave up their lives to have multiple children All at once the grand and bright lights of our people dimmed

But our numbers soon swelled to a little under a thousand Elhume�s hatred was a beast that could now stalk openly through the halls of the Tower to Heaven He practically leaked emotion with his every brutal action All of Hallohm revered that beast and praised it endlessly He was transforming right before my eyes

The stones transformed from orange to black as she continued to run forward The sky too was completely black It was a lightless place illuminated only by the light from Yystrix�s own body She rushed forward while ignoring the changes I arranged for an accident It detained Elhume and I rushed into the wastes in his place I had hoped I don�t know I had hoped for an answer

And in that darkness I met an agent of Nether He was wounded and desperate or else he might have detected that I wasn�t my husband As it was by the time he realized his mistake it was too late

Amongst the rocks that were thoroughly soaked in shadow a figure gradually emerged in front of Yystrix He was large larger than any of her people and possessed two sets of thickly muscled arms The Nether man was hunched over and a portion of his substance seemed to be gradually seeping into the surrounding air Great wounds covered his torso and his essence made use of them to waft off of his skin in thick waves

You The Nether being seemed troubled as he looked at Yystrix Who are you You how

Stunning

Then the memory froze leaving Randidly staring at the strange innocence in the eyes of the Nether being in front of him I�m sure you have questions about what I am telling you But just believe that this is true I do not wish to share my talks with this Nether King Suffice to say that I learned much including the fact that the Nether were just as pathetic a people as the Aether ones were

And I also learned that Elhume had been meeting with this man to appropriate Nether methods to mutilate our people and subdivide them into more bodies He was a butcher of the soul justifying any amount of suffering in order to appease his hatred

The frozen memory shifted In the next scene the Nether being was more hunched His essence that was wafting off his body had thickened even though the wounds that covered him had vanished Memory snapshot after memory snapshot flashed in front of Randidly�s eyes showing the gradual transformation of the being of Nether

We continued meeting secretly after I discovered this extremely confusing relationship of my husband�s The fact that he a constant font of vitriol and propaganda that painted the Nether as uneducated savages would somehow meet and work out a deal with a Nether King even now doesn�t make much sense to me

But it does prove one thing necessity always guided Elhume�s hand He would do anything to achieve his goals

As Hallohm became increasingly frenzied in his preaching I would sneak away and meet the Nether King We would spend our time just talking I learned much about the problems amongst the Nether people but those aren�t my secrets to share Nor is it really relevant But it was incredibly nice to know someone who would listen to my troubles without judgment It was a much needed release valve that kept me sane Because as I ascended the Tower to Heaven the pressure was mounting for me to give myself to the children

Elhume was not the principal source of this pressure of course Even then I think I was special to him Yet all of his dim followers didn�t view me in such a favorable manner I was the wife of the historian using Elhume�s influence to avoid my duty And in a way they weren�t wrong

But I was so inexplicably afraid Afraid that my three or four children would be dim and brief things within the cold grasp of Elhume�s hatred And after that being of Nether called me stunning I couldn�t bear the thought of becoming anything else

Eventually Elhume and I argued This was when I ran for real It wasn�t a time for my secret meeting with the Nether King but I just went anyway I was selfish

Then suddenly the frozen memories were gone and Yystrix was radiating palpable fear A cracking twisted figure hidden in the deep shadows of the wastes slowly straightened It was a being of Nether with a segmented body like an ant twisting and clicking as it sensed Yystrix Then it twitched and struck

I encountered a Nether patrol and was grievously wounded Heh the great irony was that I was incredibly weak After reading so many reports about skirmishes with Nether I was well aware of what I should be capable of As I fled I couldn�t help but wonder if the war games actually served a purpose after all

Luckily my Nether King found me and nurtured me back to health in a secret cave hidden in the badlands That was when we mixed and the process of making my son occurred Pine a genuine Shallah a being that was pure raw energy I was scared and confused and at that very time the Nether King had to go distract his fellow beings so I wouldn�t be found and as soon as Pine was born my son of pure energy began to die

As I looked at Pine I knew what my Nether King had seen when he had first seen me This was what it meant to be stunning He was so radiant and I stood frozen for several minutes and watched him die before the urgency hit me I was so desperate that my colors began to change

Randidly saw another memory Yystrix�s hands were outstretched holding an orb of light the size of a beachball But that light was rapidly dimming as the light flowed outward into the surrounding shadows It was like the world around them was hungrily devouring that light as quickly as it was being produced

But you know this part don�t you I told you this before I returned to Elhume Our fight was about having a child anyway and this was me having a child He immediately used his understanding of runes to stall the baby�s disintegration For a little while I was happy

Yet this was the beginning of the end for me as always I was instrumental in my own doom Elhume�s rhetoric regarding this being the time of miracles became even more vehement The dull youth of my people followed him without question And those that had noticed the same changes that I did finally had their fears allayed by the arrival of Pine

If Elhume was really diminishing us where did this brilliant baby come from So those few that had resisted finally gave in to Elhume�s pressure Within a few months I lived in the 512th floor of the Tower to Heaven From that height you can see nothing but thick clouds that are so dense they seem like complete darkness at all times of the day

Elhume had a grand plan a plan to finally overwhelm the Nether Inspired by his successes in splitting the Aether people Elhume wondered if he could somehow harvest energy from the flesh beings in the wider world With the power source that was Pine determined to see this through to the end he created the System

And on the eve of his greatest success I ran and hid in the wide universe

Then the memories vanished Yystrix wearing the modified version of Lyra�s face was standing in front of Randidly She smiled sadly You must have questions

Randidly slowly began to stir After being immersed in the protective cocoon of Yystrix�s memories for so long he almost had to dethaw before he could form coherent thoughts why take the time to show me these things After seeing them

You just have more questions right There wasn�t really a strong central message Yystrix revealed a familiar very playful smile At that moment she reminded Randidly so very much of Lyra Because well for two reasons First because I owed it to you Because even if you don�t see it yet you are walking upstream toward the Nexus and it will probably kill you But the second reason if you somehow manage to survive if you actually can live through the dangers of that place look for the Tower to Heaven Find the land of orange stone and wargames Hallohm

There is a subbasement below that tower that I was never allowed to enter the historian�s personal quarters If you can go there I believe you can find the old records that Elhume used as inspiration to design the System With the knowledge I left to Neveah and those records she can reverse engineer the Aether constructs And then hopefully you can free my son from this torture

Randidly frowned If that�s such an important room located in his homeland I doubt that Elhume left it unguarded By finding it I would need enough strength to defeat Elhume anyway So

You would believe so but as far as I can tell the current Elhume no longer cares about our homeland He is now obsessed with either locating Eden or creating it for himself Yystrix released a low exhale In addition that world of energy beings is special as I referenced earlier We had to leave Hallohm to protect Pine and create the System But after you have left Eden it is very difficult to find your way back

Randidly sensed Yystrix�s memories folding in on themselves He could see the Aether constructs tucking away from him the things she didn�t want him to see but Randidly also knew that he wasn�t near skilled enough with Aether to take such defenses apart So the movie blurred and reset with the sound of someone taking a deep breath It sat waiting for him to go through it again

The resources that the Nexus has access to are extremely abundant Yystrix whispered But only if you know how to use them Randidly Ghosthound Never forget that your beginning was the middle of someone else�s story

And then she was gone leaving him alone in darkness

After hearing about the strange genesis of the System Randidly wasn�t in the mood to go through it again immediately He exited Yystrix�s memories and stood up on his misty island The sun was rising Today would be the day of the duo�s tournament

Randidly�s gaze turned up toward the sky with a dark expression Soon I�ll be going to the Nexus

Chapter 1435

Mommy Delilah spread her arms and dashed directly forward toward Annie as though she was drawn with a magnet

Annie kept the smile on her face serene while glancing sideways toward Dozer with an I told you so� look This kind smile was a far cry from her true feelings in her mind she was kekeke ing like a malicious witch who finally lured her target to willingly hop into the cauldron of boiling water Heh as expected she comes out of the Dungeon completely filled with fondness for her mother Ah my cute daughter has finally returned to me

Feeling very generous Annie glided forward and swept Delilah up into a hug As she spoke to her daughter Annie rubbed her cheek against the top of her head I�ve missed you honey How was the Dungeon How long were you in there for

Dozer rolled his eyes and stood to the side to keep other people from interfering with the reunion The small family was standing below Kharon away from the Orchard but almost the entirety of the area around the Wandering City was now thick with hastily set up housing and restaurants to handle the excess population that had come for the tournament Even the expansive Orchard was unable to handle this many visitors at once

Luckily the Orchard itself had been expanding pretty constantly over the past several years and had a lot of experience with throwing up new buildings on short notice In the seven days since Kharon had settled down next to the Orchard they had already completed the sewer and electric system in the area and were now constructing buildings in earnest Apparently they intended to create a new suburb in this area with all the manpower that they had access to right now

As it was the reunion was forced to take place in a rather loud area beset on all sides by people sparing them glances as they hurried about their business of either training or seeking lodging or constructing the lodging But seeing the genuine emotion on her daughter�s face Annie didn�t care at all about the scene around them Ahh yes truly Randidly Ghosthound has no idea of the favor he did for me It felt like only a few days to me but my disobedient daughter is now wagging her tail so joyously in my arms

For a few seconds Delilah buried her head into Annie�s shoulder and ignored her mother�s questions But then Delilah slowly seemed to relax and pull back the Dungeon was okay It was a couple of months I didn�t really keep track But mommy am I weak

Immediately Annie�s eyes gleamed But outwardly she made a great show of releasing a grand sigh and shaking her head Annie was definitely a mother who could empathize with her daughter�s plight Well weakness is always relative sweetie You are strong for your age But there are a lot of people in the world Some of them are even as strong as your parents That�s why training is so important

Delilah even began to tear up yeah I�m sorry I ran away so much I�m sorry I skipped out on training so often But I

Hush It�s all forgiven Annie squeezed her daughter tightly Even the fickle and pessimistic Annie couldn�t help but be swayed by the straightforward nature of her daughter Her knuckles went white from how hard she wanted to grip her daughter to protect her but she kept her grip within normal bounds Since Randidly had so generously taught their daughter how powerful the dangers in this world was all Annie needed to do now was play the concerned parent Daddy and mommy are here

Dozer hearing his cue reached out and used his broad hand to gently pat Delilah�s back Annie was slightly miffed that they hadn�t thought to bring a camera to immortalize this harmonious moment when Delilah spoke again and shattered Annie�s rosy sense of satisfaction

Also is it possible that I�m in love Isn�t love an adult thing

eh Annie blinked Strangely her lips were abruptly dry Wait what did you just say

Delilah was still held in Annie�s arm but it was difficult for Annie to see her daughter�s face as she was frowning down at Annie�s shoulder Love Like mommy daddy stuff A boy I met in the Dungeon said that I was in love with him but I would need to wait until I�m older to marry So how do I know if I�m in love with him

He said Annie felt like breathing out fire She shot Dozer a glance to warn him not to stop her from hunting this boy down but as soon as she saw the set of Dozer�s eyes Annie immediately felt the aggression drain out of her body And again that inner version of Annie began to laugh maniacally Hehehe this husband of mine might be very stoic normally but he does have quite the temper when the mood strikes him Ah this is the wild man that I fell for

The corners of Dozer�s mouth were very tight as he took the initiative to answer Delilah�s question if you don�t know if you love him you don�t Love is a big thing but mostly it�s being sure Now this boy

But doesn�t mommy talk about how long you pursued her before she said yes Delilah insisted So she didn�t love you immediately So maybe I just don�t know yet How can I be sure I won�t love him someday

Dozer�s expression tightened further If it happens it will happen What is this boy�s name

His name�s Annon Delilah replied without much thought Then her face pinched as though the key to concentration was simply pressing her features more closely together Are there Skills for love too Maybe I should learn some

Dozer turned and walked away without saying anything Annie had to release a bit of her image power as a White Hunter in order to screen Delilah from the ominous cracking sounds that Dozer released as he moved The two and a half meter tall man moved silently but Annie could see the veins on Dozer�s neck pulsing with his heartbeat

Annie batted her eyelashes at Dozer�s back Break some bones for me my lovely prince

Tatiana stepped off the small platform onto the island and raised her voice Randidly Are you prepared

Her voice clearly echoed through the misted areas of the Ghosthound�s island Not that she needed to speak for him to sense her but undoubtedly Randidly was tied up in some sort of training from which he would need to be disentangled But to her surprise the only noise that Tatiana heard in response to her call was the sounds of hammering and shouts from where the Ghosthound�s residence was being erected Despite her words Randidly Ghosthound didn�t respond at all

The mist spirits circled around Tatiana cheerfully doing a lot to alleviate the feeling of awkwardness in her heart Is Randidly not here

Shaking her head Tatiana followed her intuition and began to walk across the island Although the information she received from the Skill wasn�t exact it was more than enough to track Randidly down on the small island He was definitely present She walked for a few minutes and soon came to an area where the perpetual silver mist was thinning it seemed Randidly was currently sitting in the sun

Tatiana soon saw Randidly sitting on a stool and gazing out toward the horizon A tall leafy tree swayed above him painting the picture of a philosopher musing on the beauty of nature Just as she was opening her mouth to speak again however she felt there was something strange about the scene she was seeing After a single blink Tatiana narrowed her eyes

As she sharpened her gaze for a second examination she once more saw Randidly sitting on a stool below a leafy oak tree that seemed to be swaying slightly in the wind This time she also noticed that beneath Randidly�s bare feet there was a thick carpet of grass that appeared soft enough to serve as a bed The early morning sunlight on his face was warm and golden

Yet Tatiana felt no wind in the surrounding area Nor was it at all likely that there was grass here this island was almost constantly covered in silver mist Had Randidly been sitting here so long that his vital energy had spurred the growth of plant life beneath him That was possible but Tatiana had another theory everything she was seeing right now was an image that Randidly had conjured

What pushed her in that direction was the coloration of the sunlight With winter rapidly overtaking them golden sunlight like that wasn�t a common sight these days

Tentatively Tatiana took another step out of the silver mist and into the clear area It wasn�t that she felt any sort of apprehension toward the vision in front of her Rather it would be better to say that she couldn�t believe that Randidly was so deeply distracted that he hadn�t noticed her approach In addition it made her overwhelmed that Randidly�s trip into the Dungeon had improved his images to this extent For several seconds she had been entirely fooled despite the logical inconsistencies of what she was seeing

Randidly Tatiana began to get his attention but her word was suppressed by the surrounding space as though the slightest interference on the image was considered a trespass The image didn�t take kindly to any interference and immediately squashed it Even her own ears could barely catch the word she had shaped

Even worse after she had spoken she sensed a strange change in the image in front of her While Randidly remained motionless upon his stool a dark swirling shadow floated up from his black hair and rapidly swelled in size The swirling of the shadow accelerated giving it the look of an inky whirlpool that hovered above Randidly�s shoulder

Somehow it reminded her of a lidless eye that was staring right at her

Tatiana felt a chill in her heart as she looked at that whirlpool Tendrils of darkness began to extend outward from that darkness reaching out toward where Tatiana was standing And as those meandering feelers approached her body Tatiana realized that her skin was numb and her muscles were stiff She awkwardly took a step backward and exploded with her own sharp image to counter that the strange heaviness that covered her body Although she didn�t want to unduly disturb Randidly that dark whirlwind was clearly announcing its malicious intent She felt no qualms from lashing out especially when she knew there was very little chance of her accidentally injuring Randidly

Tatiana�s expression twisted as she sensed the outcome of lashing out with her image She had thought that Randidly�s image was like a pool of water and her image would be able to disturb the surface and alert him sitting at the center of it Even if the stone� of her image was small in relation to the pool already present it would still spread ripples Yet her image was devoured by the air in front of her even before the tendrils from the dark whirlpool reached it

Her image was like a child climbing under a massive woolen blanket Any sort of movements she made could barely affect the whole With her strength it was almost impossible to pull the blanket off the bed and alert the man slumbering within

Damnit Randidly even your passive image is so powerful

Right when Tatiana began to truly panic thick golden roots imposed themselves between the swirling darkness and Tatiana Shimmering characters ran across the roots catching the eye Just as Tatiana was regarding their sudden appearance with shock another wave of roots shot upward and completely bound the struggling vortex The pit of darkness flared to twice its original size and lashed about Yet before those shimmering golden roots the whirlpool could do nothing

Tree branches creaked with the wind in a noise that sounded strangely like laughter Tatiana watched the tree manipulate its roots and bind its prey more tightly Casually the tree and the shadowy whirlpool seemed to be bickering Then somewhat helpless the tree used its golden root to jab in a certain direction Even Tatiana couldn�t help but allow her gaze to be guided by the sentient plant image

And she realized with a start that the root was indicating the lumpy shadow of Randidly Ghosthound At first Tatiana was confused but then the shadow began to ripple and grow before her eyes It stretched outward from Randidly�s motionless form growing a shade darker for ever inch it grew outward Then it twisted and shivered before detaching itself from the ground and reaching up through itself as though it was a portal from another realm

With a great exertion something dangerous hauled itself out of Randidly�s shadow

By this point the shadowy whirlpool shrunk and seemed to plead with the tree but the tree just rustled lightly and refused to loosen its grip Meanwhile a monstrous and powerful figure that Tatiana recognized as Randidly�s Grim Chimera image completely manifested the tails at its neck and waist flicking side to side It stalked forward with a wide grin on its face its left arm stretched out to gleefully seize onto the shadowy whirlpool as though it was plucking a ripe apple

A second later both had vanished and Tatiana was rewarded for her trouble with the strange sight of the tree in front of her creaking as it forced its thick trunk to bow slightly in Tatiana�s direction With its golden roots it opened up a clear path to Randidly

Slightly bemused and still a little nervous after interacting with Randidly�s images Tatiana walked slowly forward Only when she was right next to her leader did she cough lightly Randidly

Huh The bubble around them popped as Randidly seemed to wake from his reverie The tree and grass vanished They were simply at the edge of his island on a dirt patch Randidly�s eyes were still slightly misty for several seconds as he looked at Tatiana Then he blinked and flinched Ah I�m late aren�t I Sorry I was just thinking about something

Tatiana bit her lip Is there a problem

What Oh no nothing to do with the Earth Randidly waved his hand Then he slapped his thighs and stood up Alright time for the preliminaries How big did this tournament end up being

Tatiana secretly released a sigh of relief Falling back to facts and figures she knew she was able to put the casual display of Randidly�s power out of her mind for the moment Ten thousand And that�s only after several exacting investigations to rule out those who were too weak to meaningfully compete

So five thousand teams Randidly rubbed the back of his neck This might take

Ah my mistake for being misleading Ten thousand teams We figured a round number was best So twenty thousand people Tatiana could only shrug helplessly Basically everyone powerful on Earth who isn�t the head of a Zone is here to participate

shit So yea this is going to take a while Randidly sighed

Chapter 1436

Randidly stood on a wooden board that he had hastily covered in Engravings to support his weight He tapped his foot twice on the board to test it and then smiled when the Engravings began to glow emerald this would do After releasing a light breath he floated down from the edge of Kharon to hang over the sea of people who were waiting below for him to speak

It was the first day of the tournament The goal was to push through today and finish all the preliminaries

Although the number of participants had been cut down by Tatiana to only twenty thousand there were almost ten times as many people waiting below bright eyes Even if they didn�t plan to compete far too many people came for the spectacle of this first world tournament At the edge of the vast crowd were tall platforms topped with powerful cameras Tatiana had jokingly informed Randidly that his tournament was going to be the first difficult test that the recovering broadcast companies would need to handle He was going to be a television star

The demand to see the fights and watch the most powerful individuals on Earth was extremely high Even if there were a lot of people currently who still felt that the pre System Earth was an infinitely preferable alternative to the violent present they couldn�t deny power had become necessary They could only thrive when they could overcome the threat of monsters Subconsciously the values of the world gradually shifted under the weight of necessity

Randidly�s gaze swept over the crowd Compared to the immense weight of bodies below him and the size of Kharon behind him he was a relatively small figure floating between them Plus he didn�t activate his images at all He just looked down in wonder a human standing before the weight of humanity

These people hold the future of this planet in their hands

With Randidly�s senses he very quickly had an accurate impression of the capability of the gathered people And what he found within the whispering sea of bodies surprised him Although he had largely been disappointed with the capabilities of the average population after scanning the Orchard the group in front of him was different

But that gradual separation of power made sense These were truly the Earth�s elites They embraced Randidly�s call for images and had spent the last two years frantically training Probably more than that considering the recent bustle surrounding Dungeons There were several images present that Randidly didn�t recognize but would be able to put up a good fight against someone of Alana�s caliber

These people would rag up the mean strength of Earth even while the Median remained weighed down by the majority of the population that was content to be protected

Almost instinctively Randidly bared his teeth The Nether Nebula that he had so carefully suppressed while he was within the Dungeon spun freely around him Heh although no one is a match for me individually if all of them combine their power it will be very difficult for me to win

should probably leave them with some confidence with them heading straight toward the First Calamity But still six months of image training has me itching for the chance to fight It�s almost become a habit

Randidly�s heart began to softly pound The weight of all the gazes of the people below him became weight that spun into his Nether After being thoroughly and purposefully strangled within the Dungeon Randidly�s Nether greedily absorbed this ambient weight until a tiny void appeared at the center of the nebula The edges were tinged with grey causing Randidly to highly anticipate how his Nebula would continue to grow If it could reach the weight of the innocuous grey bubble

But right now I have other business Randidly abruptly refocused his gaze on the light reflecting off of the lenses of the distant cameras I won�t be here to fight against the First Calamity I can�t stick my fingers too deeply into this tournament that will capture the imagination of the entire world

Welcome Randidly said softly But with that word Randidly also included a wave of his image�s strength It wasn�t a concrete thing Randidly didn�t suppress the surrounding area with either the Grim Chimera Stillborn Phoenix or Yggdrasil Instead only that formless potency that made those three images terrifying spread out to cover the waiting crowd Combined with the subtle touch of Randidly�s Nether the weight he released on his audience was enough that he could clearly sense which individuals had hidden their powers from his initial scan

Before that weight the lurking predators subconsciously reacted before they could help themselves His eyes flashed side to side marking the people of interest below During the process Randidly�s smile widened This will be an interesting tournament

But then as he opened his mouth to continue someone forcefully pushed his way through Randidly�s aura You are the Ghosthound right Let�s see if you are as strong as they say Azure Claw

Randidly blinked as one of the unknown images that had been hiding its presence blazed immediately to life A young man with spiky blonde hair leapt off the ground and shot upward toward Randidly and his wooden board The man glowed with blue energy and the spectral form of a Siberian tiger imposed itself on the young man making it seem like a tiger was pouncing upward with malicious intentions

The man was quick but not quick enough that Randidly wouldn�t feel awkward bullying this obviously weaker individual

Randidly�s eyelids twitched as he considered the fact that most of the world was watching this The blonde haired man traveled upward at a painfully slow speed giving Randidly far too much time to think about what was happening Some idiot just had to try and to test himself against me well this IS the sort of place that the Earth is becoming But please wait for a more appropriate time to try and become the main character of a story Ah didn�t I just decide to make sure I kept my images out of the public eye

Luckily Randidly didn�t even have to move the police force of Kharon was running the security at the tournament and an officer quickly prepared to intercept the attack The nearest patrol officer exploded with a rather vague image of justice that manifested around his body as a spinning whirlwind of golden lights His legs flexed as he used his image to empower his physical body and leap upward

But as he did so Randidly felt a headache growing Everything felt like it was going in slow motion but it didn�t feel appropriate to intervene directly That�s Fenlin right Even before the Dungeon his control over his image was a bit And I have no doubt that he hasn�t adjusted to using his new image on Earth

As Randidly had predicted the ground beneath Fenlin�s legs exploded and collapsed as he overutilized his image He shot upward like a rocket not so much blocking this Azure Claw attacker as directly intercepting him Fenlin�s shocked face smashing into the young man�s chest with all the force of a ballistic missile

The casual image aura that remained around Fenlin was enough to shatter the image of the tiger with just the initial contact Then the two shot off to the side where they impacted the ground and created a smoking crater

Randidly rubbed his chin and sighed grateful that Fenlin had carried the attacker out of the area occupied by the crowd He�s so used to acting within the Dungeon where my image was a constant weight that he has no idea how much he needs to concentrate in order to accomplish basic tasks here on Earth it�s like a man with a battle ax suddenly trying to wield a knife in the same manner Guess it just shows they need more training

A rather strained looking Fenlin stumbled out of the smoking crater and smiled awkwardly From within the hole some light coughing could be heard

Randidly smirked around and released a pulse of Nether to make sure everyone�s focus was back on him Better move this along Since it looks like everyone is itching to start I�ll keep this short

After a smattering of laughter from the crowd Randidly continued You�ve already been divided into ten groups Today will be totally devoted to those ten preliminaries Each group will fight in a special environment for one hour Leaving the special environment will be considered a forfeit Defeating other duos grants points After the hour no matter how many people remain the top ten percent in terms of points will move on to the tomorrow�s rounds The round will finish early when 90% of the groups have been defeated

Other than that there are no rules Just know that I�ll intervene if I sense that anyone is out for blood obviously this competition might not be friendly but we aren�t here to weaken ourselves Because beyond this tournament is the First Calamity

Randidly gritted his teeth Do not forget our true foe people of Earth

Gradually the people below nodded Randidly glanced sideways toward Clarissa who stood in the shadow of Kharon Seeing Randidly�s glance she began to gather her image Then her hands began to move through several complex signs as she started the process The Skills that Clarrissa had developed in the Dungeon were powerful but they did take a bit of time before they could be activated

So Randidly turned back to the crowd Group 1 you are up Show the world how much you�ve improved your images Everyone is watching

Very quickly Randidly floated upward and out of sight of the people below He quickly moved to the Southern edge of his island where he could look down at the battlefield and monitor the situation and prevent any accidents Although it cut into his training time he would be responsible for tracking the points of the fighters below In the end it wasn�t such a big deal to lose out on a day�s worth of training all Randidly really wanted to do right now was work on Nether

Most of his other areas had already reached their limits within the Dungeon Besides centering the monitoring and safety activities in himself would mean saving the labor of at least two dozen members of the Order Ducis It was grunt work but also work that he was uniquely positioned to accomplish

As the crowd talked excitedly and split into the various groups Randidly also noticed that the blonde haired young man stumbled out of the crater covered in dirt and vaguely smoking After coughing several times he glared up toward Randidly�s island But compared to Randidly�s Grim Intuition it was clear that the blonde young man didn�t possess the Perception to pierce through the silver mist around his island

Instead the blonde young man harrumphed and began to stomp his way toward the fighting ground It appeared that he was part of Group 1

Inwardly Randidly chuckled If defeating him was this individual�s goal the blonde young man would need to improve quite a lot before he began a threat to Randidly Ghosthound So Randidly just looked up at the clouds Underneath Clarissa�s influence the slate grey sky darkened toward black The clouds thickened ominously small flakes of snow drifting downward

Very soon the rate of snowing increased By the time al of the Group 1 was in position a veritable blizzard had descended Their battlefield had turned into a snow globe that was being rather violently shaken

Randidly closed his eyes When he spoke his words boomed out over the surrounding area You have one hour Begin

Chapter 1437

Tosam�s hand shot out and gripped Kadir�s extremely massive bicep He tightened his fingers making sure that Kadir could feel his grim through the chill of the surroundings Wait

Kadir glared hatefully at Tosam and yanked his arm out of his grip but did ultimately stop as requested By decree of King Phirun Tosam was in charge of their decisions during this very important tournament Kadir was the significant muscle while Tosam was the brains of the operation Yet even while they were both beset by temperatures low enough to affect even their System empowered bodies Kadir still found the energy to spitefully act out in small ways

Tosam was just glad Kadir had sensed the seriousness of this moment as he led his muscular companion to crouching next to a snowdrift and peering down the hill in front of them There standing in the middle of the oppressive blizzard like this was just a walk in the park were two men

Honestly the fact that there were only two of them standing so boldly in a large valley was the first warning sign in Tosam�s mind The arena for the preliminary fights was relatively small Perhaps only a single square mile With a thousand groups buzzing around it was inevitable that clashes happened frequently Only ten minutes had passed since the round started and the duo of Kadir and Tosam had been forced into several brutal fights that they barely survived

Even though the foes they fought were weaker even than Tosam the fights kept attracting the attention of other teams who would intervene when they thought they could strike decisively and earn points This meant that even during a fight a portion of their focus needed to be on the surrounding area so they wouldn�t be ambushed Which made those ten minutes stretch to seem like several hours

All this while soaked to the skin with freezing sleet and forced to wade through two feet of snow

Which was why the calm expression on the two men�s faces also put Tosam on his guard as their voices drifted up to them The chaos and difficulty of the surroundings didn�t seem to affect them at all

We split up and see who can defeat more teams yea The first man said He was tall and slender with long knives strapped all across his waist and chest The thick snow seemed to be eviscerated by only his ambient image as it drifted closer leaving him completely untouched by the ceaseless precipitation I get the rules I just think betting money is too boring Let�s get a bit more serious

Oh Hehehe what did you have in mind The other man wasn�t wearing a shirt at all boldly standing the blizzard with his hands on his hips Yet as the snow swirled closer it immediately evaporated underneath the raw heat from his bronze colored skin His spirit seemed to have a physical presence dominating the area

The first man offered a small smile Just this whoever loses must fight the rest of the tournament with the other�s weapons Or lack thereof in your primitive case

Ha I like it The bronze man clapped his hands together and the noise echoed strangely in the valley For a brief moment all of the snow surrounding him was held suspended without moving Only when the noise passed did the snow continue to fall Heh I cannot wait to see you trying to throw a punch

Kadir�s eyes were wide It was clear he saw the effect of that clap too Tosam gestured sharply Both of them silently turned around and left never noticing that the two men spared them a glance while ironing out the rules of their bet Perhaps if they had remained there for a few more minutes they would not have been able to pass the preliminaries at all

In the third preliminary group the extreme environment chosen by the Order Ducis was a sweltering desert In the beginning there was almost crippling visibility on the relatively flat ground that led to some awkward standoffs Everybody basically held everybody else in check no one wanted to be the first group to get into a fight

But after only five minutes the heat had been turned up to the point that heatwaves completely distorted the surrounding vision Figures locked in combat were brown blurs the noises forced upward and away from ears by the constant rising air above the hot ground Even the sand beneath the participants� feet seemed to warp and melt underneath that oppressive heat

Due to that heat Donny was starting to get quite uncomfortable in the dark robe he was wearing to hide his features Is this really alright Very few other political leaders are participating

His companion shrugged At least Warlord and Lucifer are participating There is no rule against it The Order Ducis wants the strongest images represented

Donny released a sigh and resisted the urge to adjust his pants There were dark smudges on the horizon that were probably other people approaching their location but it was difficult to tell through the shimmering heat waves True I just feel

His companion clapped Donny�s back with quite a bit of force Just admit to yourself that you want to fight And in this world wanting to fight isn�t a problem After running Donnyton for so long I bet you have some stress to work out I certainly do

True The light in Donny�s eyes brightened His fingers tightened around the leather handles of his shield The smudges continued to become more detailed before his gaze resolving themselves into a pair of people fleeing from another pair Heh I really do need the exercise This group

Nope this group is mine His companion raised his hand There was a pulse of Mana and suddenly several spectral forms appeared around the two of them These captured souls of Raid Bosses spared glances laden with hatred for their owner but were quickly suppressed by the aura of the Sovereign of Ghosts

I�ve been scouting and maintaining communication for almost two years without a break I report trouble and watch someone else deal with it Glendel hissed After the first three Raid Boss Ghosts loped off toward the figures in front of them he instantly conjured a dozen more powerful Raid Bosses that radiated malevolence I think we need to remind these people why Donnyton was the most powerful Village on Earth

You brought a horse as your partner Alana asked in disbelief In front of her was the proof calmly munching at the verdant foliage underneath the heavy treeline They were in the seventh of the preliminary groups and Hank Howard was standing next to a completely ordinary brown horse that was enjoying its meal And he looked very pleased about the whole situation How did the Order Ducis let that happen

Let�s defeat him now and take the points Wivanya suggested as she twined her neck around a nearby tree trunk For this preliminary the Order Ducis has created a thick jungle and Wivanya was having quite a lot of difficulty moving around As such her mood had turned sullen and spiteful To avoid attracting undue attention she kept her body still while her long neck slide between the trees

Hank just smiled and patted his horse�s neck Well tehnic ally I have entered alone and they allow�d me ta bring a horse But I found havin� this fella with me helped my image Feels more like a gunslinger with a horse yanno I might even set up a campfire

So now you are dragging around a liability with you Alana shook her head But at the same time she couldn�t help but accept it That was just Hank for you He followed his own sort of tune even when it was the most illogical thing that most people had ever heard Can you be sure you will pass through the preliminaries with this guy

His name�s Ancho And haven�t you noticed that the prior preliminaries all ended early Hank waved his hand People so itchin� to fight that as long as I survive and mind my own business I�ll pass Because the others will have been beaten

You are a certain sort of brave Hank Howard Wivanya hissed Then the Frost Dragon turned its reptilian gaze on the brown horse and blew a long breath out through its nose The horse straightened from the fern it was devouring seeming to sense the attention Frost Dragon and brown horse regarded each other seriously Then Ancho huffed out a breath unimpressed by Wivanya and returned to its meal

Alana immediately sensed Wivanya gathering her power in her throat to unleash a blast of frost to punish this horse and patted her partner�s side to calm her down there was no point in wasting energy against Hank right now anyway

Growling Wivanya followed Alana�s direction and began to stomp off simply smashing the tree trunks in her path to kindling It appeared they were done with the laying low strategy Alana spared Hank a small smile before she followed her dragon to save whoever was dumb enough to investigate the loud noises Be careful There are more powerful people here than I expected

Heh do you think I need to be reminded of that The world it�s a wide place Hank replied placidly There�s gonna be a good sky tonight I think

Lyra smiled sweetly at the two men in front of her They were in the ninth preliminary group and everything around them was covered in a seething mist that clung to their clothes Aren�t you two members of the Order Ducis Hopefully no one gets the wrong idea about your participation in this tournament

Tykes tossed the heavy iron ball he carried from hand to hand spinning it lightly We are external contractors You on the other hand are a Village Spirit Donnyton is really throwing its whole weight behind this effort huh Y�all trying to name this world Donnydom

Lyra snickered She lifted a hand and a crimson orb appeared on her palm Ripples spread outward through the mist as she gathered her image When she concentrated the mist began to weaken and recede I�m here strictly as an individual I even have a Class I don�t think there is any problem with me entering this fun little tournament

Same with us Tykes countered as he eyed that crimson orb warily Then he looked sideways at Dinesh and spoke in a lower tone Are we fighting

Maybe Dinesh said with a frown He was facing Lyra�s partner who was an average looking man whose most distinguishing feature was the extremely blank expression on his face Even though Tykes could tell that Lyra was a dangerous foe he chose her rather than her partner as an opponent because of that disturbing expression on the man�s face

After hesitating for a bit Dinesh spoke to him Stan I hadn�t realized you had recovered How have you been

Stan�s eyes remained glazed and unresponsive as though he hadn�t heard the question The only answer was the muffled booms reaching them through the mist as the other individuals in the preliminary fought each other Lyra batted her eyelids coquettishly at Dinesh He�s very shy don�t take that personally He�s been doing very well

Dinesh pressed his mouth into a thin line Tykes chuckled Guess we are fighting then

Without waiting for an answer Tykes stomped his foot and shot forward with his iron ball raised in front of him Lyra raised her hand and thrust her marked palm forward with sinister quickness to meet Tykes� advance Their impact blasted outward knocking away the surrounding mist and sending both Tykes and Lyra several steps backward

In the wake of the blast several other fights were revealed as their conflict pushed the mist further away Abruptly those fights broke off and regarded the figures of Lyra and Tykes with alarm they had been fighting only twenty meters away from them without noticing anything Truly this mist completely obliterated detection

For his part Tykes� smile widened Not very high Stats but your image

This is going to be fun Lyra chuckled Then bought attacked each other once more

Chapter 1438

Randidly glanced up at the looming form of Dozer in front of him He had been surprised that Dozer made the trip up to his island and even more surprised by what he had to say You want to go into my Soulskill Why

It was night and with the constant presence of the silver mist Dozer�s silhouette was large and dark The overhanging clouds even smothered any hope of starlight They were facing each other in near darkness The man tilted his head to the side I believe it is my duty as a father

That certainly made Randidly alarmed He put his hands on his knees slightly distracted by the coolness of his metal left hand against his thigh Did something happen

No And I don�t think it ever will Dozer replied in a placid tone After a moment of scrutiny Randidly leaned back and considered that He was actually very impressed by Dozer�s self control it was clear from a single look at his image that Dozer was deeply upset But considering the iron grip that he had over his reactions Randidly didn�t think that Dozer would go wild within his Soulskill Despite the fact this matter clearly was related to Delilah

Besides the people in his Soulskill weren�t that easy to bully If Dozer behaved too wildly he might encounter quite a bit of resistance

Randidly thought for several seconds and Dozer stood still in the darkness and didn�t push That was enough to convince him

So Randidly agreed and teleported Dozer to within his Soulskill After monitoring him for a few seconds to make sure he didn�t immediately destroy the surroundings Randidly pulled his attention away and made a mental note to ask Lucretia about the situation later Then Randidly turned his attention back to the swirling Nether Nebula in his chest Yet only a few seconds later Randidly frowned and looked over to the Southwest

Dusk had fallen with the Order Ducis managing to endure through all ten of the preliminaries to arrive at the goal of reducing the number of duos to 1000 The process of Randidly monitoring the situation and removing defeated teams while also counting points proved both tedious and unnecessary the people participating in the tournament were so enthusiastic about the violent competition that they quickly fought until their numbers dropped to the appropriate amount without needing Randidly to count at all

However they faced a new problem after the preliminaries were over complaints

It seemed like every one of the defeated people had special circumstances that made their loss unfair They were ambushed They were lied to The elements of the preliminary were particularly harmful to them Their opponent had cheated They hadn�t realized that the match had started before they were attacked

On and on these complainers ranted about their lot in life They found the Order Ducis members that were busy keeping the peace and kept them from doing their jobs The huge crowds and the festive atmosphere already strained the small city�s resources even the Order Ducis couldn�t handle everything itself let alone with the buzzing of these flies

So Randidly had intervened creating a Redemption Arena that would go on throughout the night until the matches started again tomorrow After all the ideal number for a tournament would be 1024 so the matches could proceed to the finals without byes So Randidly allowed that the 24 most powerful duos from the Redemption Arena would become a finalist even though they had lost in the preliminaries

Randidly had quickly constructed an arena in a forest to the Southwest but that area had quickly been destroyed and the rubble flattened by the sheer number of people who enthusiastically participated Randidly�s eyelid twitched as he clearly sensed that many people that hadn�t been allowed into the tournament rushed to participate The place quickly evolved into a raging brawl with no signs of abating after several hours of conflict

After all there were no rules to this arena It had been created too quickly just to alleviate the other problems So after people were wounded individuals could leave the worst of the fighting and recover some before returning to the action Randidly crossed his fingers and hoped that the mass of bodies would be able to agree on the 24 strongest come dawn

Helen and Ajax had been all too happy to monitor the situation so things didn�t get too out of hand but they just ended up joining the melee But as long as they understood that they wouldn�t be able to join the tournament Randidly didn�t mind their enthusiasm He just welcomed the chance for a break

Tatiana did say that Senator Firefly sent over a short letter requesting that Randidly and Kharon help with the clean up effort afterward considering that a sizable area that was being demolished while the Redemption Arena raged The television broadcasts trained on the area went all night and talk show hosts apparently began claiming that Randidly�s image was so powerful that it incited anyone nearby to violence and referring to him sometimes as a Chaotic God of War�

Tatiana found it very amusing But Randidly could only grimace It felt extremely strange to have the world so casually push all the responsibility for their repressed and violent population on to his shoulders

Shaking his head Randidly refocused himself He quickly pushed away the chaotic noises and images from the fighting below From the level of the people participating Helen and Ajax were more than capable of handling it They didn�t need his help Instead he focused again on his Nether Nebula and the slowly increasing weight at its core

The pale streaks of grey around that core were increasing as time passed seemingly churned outward as the Nether Nebula completed a rotation Those grey streaks began to change the character of his Nether Randidly clearly felt that if he hadn�t been suppressing the Nether around him into a thin disc he could rather easily destabilize the space around him

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 237

The question is whether I need to do something about this before heading to the Nexus Randidly thought with narrowed eyes In addition how can I establish the equivalent of a Class within my Nether Perhaps if I give the Nether more structure it won�t occupy such a large area or be so obvious

The problem with this idea was that Randidly truly didn�t have the slightest clue where to begin His mind flashed back to Yystrix�s movie and he cursed her for not showing more of her interactions with the Nether King Without an example Randidly was essentially groping in the dark

The problem was that Randidly didn�t have any ideas about the basic principles that governed Nether or how it functioned He could utilize it but that provided little illumination to its core essence Even in regards to Aether Randidly�s knowledge was woefully insignificant he only could study Engravings and hope to intuit some of its secrets in that manner

Which was why Randidly looked helplessly at the dense Nether in his chest He could rely on its weight to suppress others or weaken Aether but that was about it Essentially Randidly was currently doing the equivalent of trying to figure out the uses and traits of water by splashing himself with it He was clearly getting wet but he couldn�t tell how to progress further in his understanding

So he sat in his Nether Nebula and allowed the dense waves of energy to flow through him More and more Nether was pulled up from his Nether Wells and surrounded his suspended consciousness Humming softly to himself Randidly simply existed there

If he couldn�t find his epiphany he would approach this problem with determination That was how the Chaotic God of War� would grow stronger

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 238

Huang Li the greatest warrior of Zone 7 and Captain of the Royal Guard bowed lightly to the man in front of him with a genuine expression of respect on his face Despite their differences the man in front of him clearly possessed an image as steadfast and vast as the sea Grandfather you go first

Haung Shou chuckled with a lightness that belied his casual strength and shook his head It makes no difference to me which of us goes first And with your youth you cannot deny that you are the more powerful

Please grandfather Huang Li stayed in his bent over posture without wavering It is a matter of prestige There is no doubt that the people of Zone Seven will be very proud to see that you a man who is over the age of seventy will be participating in the first match of this tournament Our people will raise their fists subconsciously buoyed by the pride in their hearts

What a cunning grandson I have Huang Shou mused a frozen standing foil to Huang Li remaining in his bowing position Huang Li could feel the older man�s gaze like a physical weight on the back of his neck To think that even I the man to which you owe everything can be used as a political tool Are those three girls truly so important to you

They are important to all of our Zone 7 Huang Li replied The are the Glorious Leader

The elderly Huang Shou pursed his lips You fool we are not just some random Zone We are the descendants of the greatest dynasty to ever grace the surface of the Earth Leaders such as them are as common as cabbages in the grand expanse of history And if you think if your tiny role as Captain of the Guard gives you even the slightest ability to affect the trajectory of our world

The grandfather I know would not get so emotional over a small thing Huang Li replied placidly His words were like a strange catalyst that had been cast into the surroundings Both were silenced and suppressed That casual statement laid bare the years of abuse Huang Li had endured at the hands of Huang Shou justified by the mandate of education� Huang Li stared at the ground while Huang Shou looked deeply at his grandson

Then Huang Shou smiled A cunning grandson indeed

Huang Li waited until his grandfather had walked forward into the arena and was greeted with the roaring cheers fo the crowd Per the intentions of their glorious leader Huang Shou was the first fighter to walk out onto the stage Even if they didn�t want to be moved those intractable elements within Zone 7 would still be quite pleased by this development It was brought quite a bit of honor to their Zone to see a peer their age participating in this contest that was the apex of Earth�s power

Huang Li straightened and followed the old man out to the arena Huang Shou had a tight smile on his face as he glanced over toward Huang Li Of course the two weren�t related by blood Huang Li had been adopted into the Huang family soon after the arrival of the System when he had demonstrated his great strength

The two stood only two meters apart but a gap of age and outlook became a gulf that they couldn�t cross Their shared name was as binding as gossamer between them If anything the closest comparison for their strained partnership was a political marriage Neither truly wanted to be here with each other but for the broader good both were willing to lower their heads

Things weren�t exactly peaceful however And as such Huang Li produced a stool from his interspatial amulet Grandfather please take a seat Allow me to handle these ruffians

Huang Shou�s eyebrow quirked upward but he still took the seat He then produced a thick walking stick and put both of his hands on its head as he serenely smiled around Somehow he managed to speak quietly to Huang Li without moving his mouth What nonsense Do you truly intend to participate in this tournament without my assistance Do you truly believe our terns are so insincere they cannot even be considered

Huang Li�s eyes were on their opponents Both were large muscular men carrying assault rifles Likely they were part of Zone 1�s so called Mana Marines� This level of foe was still within his expectations He turned to his grandfather and bowed without acknowledging his question Please grandfather just a moment Allow me to handle this

Huang Shou harrumphed The crowd around them rapidly stilled as a great weight pressed down over them and silenced outside discussion Then Randidly Ghosthound spoke

Let the tournament begin

Chapter 1439

Truly Huang Li had been relatively lucky in the first round Both opponents had displayed powerful firepower but neither of the Mana Marines was capable of hitting Huang Li with their Skills or defending against his sword Just like that the first match of the tournament had ended in Zone 7�s victory

Huang Li watched a few of the following matches but he quickly lost interest It seemed that the arrangements of the tournament weren�t as random as the Order Ducis claimed they would be when they announced that before each round pairings would be drawn The first few matches all appeared to have one dominant force that was obviously superior None in the afternoon possessed very much tension either aside from matches between two relatively weak parties

Still Huang Li doubted that anyone would raise a fuss as the Order Ducis� lie So long as the Order Ducis didn�t show very much overt favoritism to one faction the knowledgeable leaders of Earth would cautiously allow them to guide the matches After all that was the way the Earth worked The public would react strongly to a true random distribution due to the inevitable emergence of a meaningful clash very early in the tournament

Those with power worked behind the scenes so that the people experienced a world that seemed to spontaneously veer toward order The random� the public wanted was for the eventual winner of the tournament to go through several increasingly difficult fights to a climactic conclusion

In the small viewing booth given to their duo Huang Li sighed People were foolish and short sighted in so many ways

The first day of the tournament passed without much general tension from the crowd although there were many individual participants who experienced high mountains of excitement and low valleys of disappointment This tournament laid bare many people�s relevance on the scale of the world Quietly the losers slipped away while the winners prepared for tomorrow With a punishing efficiency the Order Ducis marched forward finishing over one third of their matches within sixteen hours on the first day Each match was compressed to a brutal 5 minutes to keep them on schedule

The second and third day continued like the first with much of the attention of the public turning away from the current matches to the discussion of the favorite groups to win To Huang Li�s quiet surprise their duo earned a relatively high standing they were projected as the tenth most likely to win the tournament Huang Li supposed it was because they were fresh in the public�s mind being the first match to be broadcast

But it was also true that Zone Seven was a well known and sometimes feared opponent for the people in the other Zones

Huang Li looked at the list of the rest of the Top 10 most likely to win

Immediately after them was another Duo from Donnyton led by Glendel in the eleventh spot and after that was two powerful warriors from the Great Sea Huang Shou had been very furious to see that they were outranked by Hank Howard and a normal horse that the betting houses didn�t even see fit to acknowledge but ultimately there was not much to be said about their thinking Hank Howard had the accomplishments to back up his ranking

Although Huang Li had fought rather constantly since joining New Earth it was mostly within the confines of Zone 7 And Huang Shou was an entirely unknown element Tenth was truly a ranking that weighed heavily their status as the only representatives of Zone 7

Although the specific odds given varied depending on which establishment you patronized these were mostly the consensus ranks In addition two things were universal no matter which location you went to

First was that Alana Donal sat with her Frost Dragon at the top of the rankings Their advantage was so overwhelming that she hadn�t needed to rely on anything but physical strikes to overwhelm their opponents The few brief fights they had been a part of in the preliminary were almost laughable

Second was that the establishments clearly favored the dark horses of Kir Nan and Hoowan who hadn�t originally been interested in the tournament but had been drawn by the violence of the Redemption Arena to win one of the twenty four extra spots in the tournament Their first match saw them overwhelm two notable warriors of Donnyton instantly winning approval of the general public of Zone 1 that attended the live event who secretly wanted to see Donnyton fail

Just like that the first round was finished in three hectic days Just like that five hundred and twelve teams had been eliminated Without bothering to rest the Order Ducis announced the pairings for the second round that would begin tomorrow stretching over two days But when Huang Li saw who they were paired against his expression turned ugly

This round would be much more exciting for the fans to watch than the prior ones especially now that the constant talk had identified which fighters were the most important to watch Luckily or unluckily the Zone 7 duo�s fight was scheduled for the end of the first day meaning that they had the entire day to prepare themselves

Honestly Huang Li wished for it to have been sooner Having the fight out of the way would be better But still his leaders could not afford him to lose so soon in the tournament He sat on his knees in his lodgings that were as small as a closet His hands tightened around the hilt of his sword I cannot fail

Huang Li felt the image he had nurtured for at least a year in various Dungeons of Zone 7 stirring as he could hear the cheers and boos of the crowd throughout the day The noise washed over him waves on an uncaring coastline No matter what shells or ship wrecked artifacts were thrown upon his shore by the current Huang Li would be entirely serene Only then would he have a chance

He would weather everything He was untouchable and pure

When it was finally their turn Huang Shou�s deep wrinkles around his eyes revealed his pleasure even though he kept the rest of his expression entirely neutral They walked side by side through the dark passage to the open arena It is still possible to reach an agreement

The Glorious Leader will not step down Huang Li replied lightly Then he walked out through the currents of the crowd�s cheers and regarded the foes waiting for them A towering flaming bear twisted her head and considered Huang Li Thea Glasshammer looked less intimidating than Huang Li had expected given her reputation but her eyes were laser focused

Honestly Huang Li felt rather bitter he hadn�t realized that Thea was participating in the tournament Why hadn�t she attracted the attention of the betting houses

As with the prior match Huang Li produced a stool Please sit grandfather

Hmph after walking so boldly out in front of me now you suddenly remember your manners Huang Shou replied lightly but he sat down with a heavy glance toward his grandson Huang Li didn�t bother to return the look and instead straightened There was a cool wind that brushed against his face Rolling his shoulders he walked out to the middle of the arena alone

To his surprise the infernal bear Chrysanthemum lumbered off to the side and settled down on her belly opposite Huang Shou leaving small scorch marks on the edge of the arena in the process

Is this pity Huang Li asked bluntly as he glanced at Thea Glasshammer He didn�t think most people would know of the political struggles of his Zone Seven but he wouldn�t put it past the Nemesai to dip their toes into the edges of every pool

Yet Thea Glasshammer ignored him entirely she simply stared at the prone form of the bear with very red eyes

Are you both ready The judge from the Order Ducis carefully asked looking between the two of them The crowd too seemed confused by the situation But Thea slowly turned around and nodded after sparing one glance upward toward the silver isle of the Ghosthound

Suddenly understanding that some other force was at work here Huang Li also nodded with great care He drew his wodao and calmed his heart His image stirred again slowly circling the arena One foe was doable Another win would put them into the top 256 solely on the strength of their glorious leaders There was no need for the conservative faction to move at all

From there Then Huang Li shook his head From there� he would worry about tomorrow Today he would fight the foe in front of him

Then begin The judge announced

Huang Li twisted his feet and launched himself forward That slight wind in the surroundings began to stir His sword cut horizontally without a sound the sharp blades of air around the strike just as dangerous as the blade itself Flood Dragon Across the Reeds

Thea ignored the strike raising her hammer and gathering a horrible destructive image into her body She a broken vase leaking out hatred and an ominous regret that dyed the surrounding air orange Right as Huang Li�s attack was about to land she exploded into motion and brought her hammer crashing down through his attack The blades of wind were blasted apart and her hammer smashed into the ground at something close to its full force

Cracks quickly radiated outward but Huang Li practically glided over the damaged ground his sword cutting left and right with vicious quickness Thea�s expression soured and she simply oppressed Huang Li�s Skills with her raw image That orange light continued to leak out of her eyes and from her skin sapping his strikes of their strength to the point that they harmlessly rippled against Thea�s leather armor

I don�t have time for you Thea growled gathering even more of her image to herself Red lightning crackled around her limbs She raised her hammer high once more the heavy weapon radiating a terrible sense of loss and grief A minor character like you You are not my opponent

Before Thea whipped her hammer downward she abruptly stomped her foot and released another paralyzing wave With his attention drawn upward by the gathering power the stomp Skill caught Huang Li unaware and pinned his movements for a split second Gritting his teeth he had no choice but to raise his wodao and resist her strike directly as she brought her hammer viciously down

No use in regretting the mistake was made He spun the weapon into a backhand grip and lay the blade along his forearm He squeezed every drop of Willpower he could spare to fuel his Skill His eyes were bright and narrowed Tortoise Holds its Breath

The arena shook Sweat dripped rapidly down Huang Li�s brow as he struggled to resist the hungry waves of Thea�s image The ground beneath his feet cracked and he felt the joints of his arm groan and pop from the strain Thea�s red rimmed gaze bored into him then turned and looked upward once more

Within Huang Li�s heart something snapped into place The strain on his face gradually vanished even as he was being forced backward This is all waves upon the shore ceaseless

As the stone stage beneath him collapsed he could no longer maintain his footing Huang Li was smashed into the ground by Thea Glasshammer�s strike without any further resistance Bits of the stage exploded outward leaving him crumpled in a small crater

But as the audience quieted and peered down to see what was happening Huang Li trembled and then forced himself to stand A minor character that might be true

His images stirred As Huang Li straightened an azure dragon rose with his sword twining its body along the shimmering length The surrounding wind began to howl At this point his image had completely surrounded the arena Huang Li�s eyes were bright as he wiped the blood from his mouth and considered Thea But all countries are built on the backs of minor characters such as I Do not underestimate the humble power of a single human being

The azure dragon raised its head and howled at the sky

Chapter 1440

When the curtain of night had been drawn over the world Randidly walked out to the area that had been decimated by the Redemption Arena Even he couldn�t help but be impressed by the wild exuberance of humanity that had demolished the surroundings The forest had been blasted and smashed to pieces until the charred debris formed piles that resembled ashen snowdrifts The ground was pitted and cracked throughout the entirety of the area from concussive force Weapons of all sorts had left deep scars on the ground that still possessed wisps of the user�s images The hissed and rippled as Randidly walked past

This place had been indelibly marked by what happened here

After marathoning through the first two rounds of the tournament taking three and two days respectively to finish them Randidly declared that the fifth day of the tournament would be a break In addition the Order Ducis now set out the entire bracket for everyone to see So all the various factions were pleased to have an entire day to prepare for their next round opponents

Which left Randidly with some time to address some other responsibilities Unfortunately most of that was paperwork regarding the change in governance for Kharon But at night he slipped away to accomplish a task he believed he would enjoy

I can regrow the forest but those image remnants might make this place rather strange Randidly mused He considered using Erode Image to clear the images out of the area but Randidly could detect no trace of his images or images relating to him in the area apparently Helen and Ajax had been more reserved than he had expected As such he thought it would be a shame to bulldoze the first time that other members of humanity had marked the surface of the planet with their image

Plus it would be a waste as destroyed as this was this was a testament to the growing image powers of Earth The small remnants in the soil were relatively weak but they would slowly blend together with each other and any living beings in the area to create something truly unique Encouraging that growth was difficult but Randidly was very confident that he was one of the individuals who could manage it

Compared to the Grim Chimera and the Stillborn Phoenix Randidly spoke to the darkness raising one mental arm and one fleshy one with his palms facing upward Specters of golden Engraving swam up and down the surface of both his arms and the air in the surrounding area began to naturally swirl about his figure There was a shuddering pressure on the air and then the towering image of Yggdrasil appeared behind him These little image remnants are quite well behaved

An invisible wind rustled the emerald leaves Then a veritable river of ambient energy gushed outward from Randidly�s body and soaked the surrounding ground

Randidly couldn�t use Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil to actually manipulate the plant life otherwise his carefully constructed forest would ignite and turn to ash only a few minutes later But he still could use his roots as the most efficient series of plows in the world Within only a minute of activating the Skill he had thoroughly leveled the ground that had been destroyed and mixed it with the burnt trees to enrich the soil All the while he supplied energy to those image remnants so they wouldn�t be lost in the chaos

With great care Randidly then began to add some elevation changes to the flat land Not that he would have minded if the ground here was entirely flat but the scars that held the remnant images were often at different elevations due to the chaotic fighting So he sculpted the land so those areas would be prominently featured

Then Randidly sat down and pressed his Willpower against the manifestation of the World Tree The color of its leaves turned more vibrant and the brown of its massive trunk darkened At the same time Yggdrasil�s golden script began to release a soft nurturing light over the surrounding area

Congratulations Your Skill the Inscrutable Mien of Genesis has grown to Level 261

Randidly smiled softly for the Skill Level but didn�t do anything about it quite yet Instead he focused himself and continued to gently channel out that genesis energy After only five minutes thin sprouts poked their tips out of the rich dirt in the surrounding area

As though the success of those first plants was a flare exploding in the night sky the entirety of the area began to burst with thin green tendrils that thirstily drank from the energy that Yggdrasil provided Growths became saplings saplings became modest trees and those modest trees then rocketed upward spreading out dense layers of foliage next to each other as if some sort of cold war canopy race was occurring between the various trees

While most trees raced upward other plants picked their spots with more care Thick bushes and vines grew along the base of the higher trees thickening the ground cover Flowers bloomed and withered like exploding kernels of popcorn along the ground a testament to the sheer amount of vital energy that Randidly could provide

Gradually Randidly eased off He couldn�t afford to taint this area with his image he had to gradually extract himself pulling the touch of Yggdrasil with him and leaving the energy A low headache had developed from pushing the area too far only on the potency of his image but he didn�t regret it Plus he could already feel some of the images nibbling on the ambient energy in the air preparing to grow into something more potent

Content Randidly turned away from the restored forest and opened a portal with his Philosopher�s Key When he was back on his island he poured the final PP into place and finished the Monstrosity�s Growth Path

Congratulations You have finished the Monstrosity�s Growth Path The higher you climb the harsher the environment becomes But despite the inclement elements your body has continued to evolve to suit this place You have been marked Your skin thickens Your blood heats Your teeth sharpen Your determination grows

Yet driven by strange impulses there are moments when you turn and look back across the sloping Path that led you to this point You cannot help but wonder if you could truly return to where you started any longer

Your very presence might well be enough to destroy that peaceful life you once held All evolution comes with a price

Congratulations Nether Brawn +50 Health Regeneration +50 Congratulations your Skill Monstrosity�s Appalling Physicality has evolved into Abomination�s Grim Vigor Skill Levels will be maintained

For a second Randidly stiffened in the darkness With the silvery mist of his island around him his muscle fibers tightened and flex in a very particular pattern Then they seemed to spin together more tightly into a new form They coiled beneath his skin like waking vipers If someone were to see Randidly�s form at the moment they would clearly see the thick cables of muscle moving across his body

Randidly was forced to bite his lip to suppress the accelerating beat of his heart At the moment Mareen and her crew were hard at work constructing his house for him only a few dozen meters away The sort satisfying physical test of his new Skill would likely be too disturbing to perform here

So Randidly pulled out his Philosopher�s Key and opened another portal that took him ever further South of the Orchard nearing the edge of Zone 1�s original lands There he released a deep growl that seemed to emerge from his very core The noise even resonated with the Nether Nebula that was spinning in his chest Heartbeat growl and Nether Nebula hummed in harmony with each other As his heart began to pound more quickly and blood rushed through his body Randidly felt his shadow lengthening behind him even though the only source of light was the soft touch of the stars

Randidly�s joints popped pleasantly as his muscles flexed again and shifted to a new form After breaking past the physical limitations of the System he had always felt while moving that he was wielding something just slightly too large for him to manage Despite all of the practice fights Randidly had engaged in against Helen in the Dungeon he couldn�t shake that feeling of squandered power when he moved

Only now as his new Abomination�s Grim Vigor spread throughout his body did Randidly achieve a sense of comfort and capability that he had been reaching for His fingers flexed A satisfied smile spread across his face as he looked down at his hands His long shadow stretching behind him moved independently of his body raising its head and silently laughing That silent laughter was a challenge to the universe a gauntlet thrown down

Do you dare try and kill me now

Almost without any effort Randidly�s heart began to pound more quickly and his body transformed His black hair turned into a brilliant emerald color His left eye faded to black and then was completely blotted out from the world as if an abyss had taken up residence in his eye socket Light in the surrounding area bled into that sudden vacuum Two segmented bone tails flicked back and forth a long one at his waist and a shorter one from the base of his neck

Inside of Randidly�s body those new braided muscle fibers tightened around his bones to an almost painful degree In a way it was a naked threat to his skeletal system continue to improve or you will be crushed to powder

But as quickly as the domineering mood seized him it was pushed away Randidly released a breath and began to calm his heart Not because he didn�t want to experiment further but because someone was making a beeline toward his location Mildly surprised that someone would head directly toward him when he was releasing such a dense image Randidly prepared himself to receive a guest

Rather casually Randidly had teleported himself next to a small pond hidden below a ravine Otherwise it was rather devoid of vegetation or animal life It was a very isolated location So he stood in the shallow darkness of the area watching as Thea Glasshammer stomped forward to face Randidly

Despite the fact that Thea�s image was so unstable and slightly violent that Randidly knew he shouldn�t joke the corners of Randidly�s mouth quirked up subconsciously as he saw her Is even a Nemesis coming to complain that their loss in the tournament was unfair

I Thea�s face went a blotchy red and Randidly�s expression softened She really was so young Perhaps just over twenty And aside from the Path he had taken and Lyra�s own strange existence he had to admit that Thea Glasshammer likely had one of the most difficult roads in order to get to this point

Just just tell me the truth Thea eventually managed stopping only a few meters away from Randidly Her shoulders rose and fell with her erratic breathing Her eyes couldn�t decide whether they wanted to stare at him or flit around the surroundings Why why is it only around other people that Chrysanthemum seems alive Does she has what I have become truly made her hate me so I just can�t Everything was supposed to be

Then a Nemesis began to cry fat ugly sobs that shook her whole body Randidly sighed and shook his head Time slowly passed as the sobs softened into intermittent sniffles Only when Thea had some control of herself did Randidly speak I can only theorize It�s hard to know for sure but are you sure you want to hear my opinion Even if it�s worse than your current situation

What could be worse than this Thea asked with a gesture toward herself

Chapter 1441

After Thea asked her rather naive question Randidly looked at the young woman for a long time Her armor was still torn from the Zone 7�s wind blades and she had not brought her hammer Randidly had nurtured some theories about this problem of hers for a while especially after he worked so long with Neveah to learn Yystrix�s Living Engraving methods Well the truth might be that your instincts are correct

What do you mean It seemed that the crying had relieved Thea of all her sadness so now she regarded Randidly with a tired resignation

Randidly suppressed the urge to shrug and tried to explain his thought process I�m still nowhere near Yystrix�s capability when it comes to bringing life to the lifeless with Engraving But while I suspect that at its pinnacle it can create life what was required at that moment was for life that had been extinguished to be recreated

You see Chrysanthemum react to others but to your senses she appears lifeless and hollow correct Her image grows but it doesn�t really change It simply becomes more weighty I would say that you are the one who is Soulbound to her So no one would know your partner better than you would

What you are sensing might be the real status of Chrysanthemum The rest all those playful responses to me or looks might just be habitual reactions that were inherited from the actual Chrysanthemum Just muscle spasms in response to external stimulus Randidly continued slowly watching Thea�s reaction the entire time There wasn�t a single ripple on the nearby pond as the two remained three meters apart Basically they might be evidence of some sort of life But when it comes to Chrysanthemum�s life trust your instincts

Thea�s mouth was open and her bottom lip was trembling That no then that means that she already no I thought

Like I said it�s just a theory Randidly said in a soothing voice But Thea let me say this Considering how much pain you are in right now would the real Chrysanthemum continue to act so apathetic Without reaching out to comfort you at all

That�s only because this is all my fault she�s punishing me for Thea�s legs gave out on her The human Nemesis known as Thea Glasshammer who had been at least powerful enough that Randidly had to give her some extra attention a few months ago now collapsed before him Her destructive image finally imploded wounded as it was by the fight against Huang Li And all he felt as he looked down at her was a distant pity

This world this existence there are no perfect Paths Just appropriate ends Thea

Leaving her with those thoughts Randidly opened a portal and returned to his island Even though he could empathize with how difficult it was to face the truth sometimes that didn�t mean he would help her The harm she had inflicted on humanity in the last two years meant that even the little Randidly did do might be better than she deserved

Still Randidly was glad he said something Living honestly that was something he could do Something he wanted to choose And something he needed to do to impress that image upon Kharon for after he went up to the Nexus

Night turned to day and the crowds began to gather it was time for the third round of the grand duos tournament to name the Earth

For a second Huang Li and Huang Shou had no reaction as the first team walked out onto the arena and coolly surveyed the area The two men�s hair was dark and done up in small buns on top of their heads Their eyebrows were as sharp and valiant as swords on their faces But as they slowly observed the two men�s features Huang Shou�s lined face twisted and bunched like a furious bulldog This this is impossible The mandates were clear Without official certification no one was to enter this tournament

Not all of Zone 7�s population lives within our hive cities grandfather Huang Li said easily He even found the resolve to smile blithely at his adoptive relative Something in his heart had changed after the fight against Thea Glasshammer He was the bright mirror laid over a lake on a clear winter day Perhaps these hardy individuals survived independently and only came here to win honor for our Zone I watch our ambitious fellows with great pride

Of course considering the determined capability that was present on these two very Chinese faces it was much more likely that these were two unregistered� citizens that did not submit to the Glorious Leaders or the mandates Likely they came in part exactly because they had been expressly forbidden by the central government of the Zone to do so

This was an act of civil disobedience The further they rose in the tournament the more livid the conservative faction of Zone 7 would become

Yet even if they seem capable Huang Li�s expression turned serious as he looked over toward the other entrance to the arena The duo walking down in that darkened corridor seemed to shake the whole of the stadium as they approached They will not pass here These two

But of course Huang Li had thought a lot about fighting the duo walking down the corridor since the final bracket had been released As long as these two existed Huang Li�s hopes of clinching the honor of naming the Earth would be stopped dead at the quarterfinals Such a confrontation was many rounds away but Huang Li had no doubt that these two would be waiting there

The crowd erupted in thunderous cheers as Paolo and Kayle of Donnyton walked out into the arena Despite the general distaste for Donnyton�s many entrants to the tournament these two were a special case they had managed to capture the hearts of many with their straightforward mannerisms

And as the two�s hands came into view the cheers only intensified Huang Li could feel thousands of people screaming and stomping their feet around them

Kayle glanced sideways at Paolo and spoke with a voice that somehow cut through all the noise His hands were relaxed and hung casually at his sides His body was completely free of his trademark long knives If you feel incapable of grasping victory feel free to admit defeat on our bet

Look who is talking Paolo grinned while striding confidently forward He had a tight hold on the hilt of long knife with each hand the blades pointing downward as he held them in a reverse grip If your soft fingers break you just have to ask and I will toss you these little toys so you can protect yourself

The expressions on the faces of their opponents turned ugly Huang Li did feel a bit of sympathy for his fellow individuals from Zone 7 It was certainly disrespectful that Paolo and Kayle had apparently bet with each other not to use their most powerful weapons in the tournament

Yet these two had the capability to be so domineering Relying on the opposites� weapons they had already won and reached the third round And the previous fights of theirs had not been close

As the crowd�s cheers turned to excited whispers a member of the Order Ducis stepped onto the arena The woman glanced at both duos Is everyone ready

Both sides indicated that they were ready Paolo and Kayle�s bodies were loose and relaxed while tightly controlled fury made their opponents look as stiff as puppets as they inclined their heads Huang Li tsk�d lightly So much tension before a fight If you don�t ready your muscles when it begins

Begin The woman announced Both Kayle and Paolo instantly sprung into motion

The space between Kayle and his opponent was instantly slashed in half and the man blinked in surprise as Kayle stood in front of him his hand raised to strike Then he struck with the same brutal efficiency The downward blow was so fast that Huang Li even felt Huang Shou next to him lean forward with a solemn expression

The man receiving the blow jerked backward slightly too late his eyes widening as he looked down at the deep gouge in his shoulder pauldron from the palm strike Still he definitely had the power to back up his presence in the third round After Kayle�s first attack failed the man teleported several meters backward and crossed his arms A dozen javelins of ice appeared and accelerated forward

Kayle walked amongst those javelins with the pointer fingers of his hands outstretched He flourished and twisted looking more like a renowned composer than a warrior But those conjured weapons of ice were sliced and diced into pieces until only a gentle swirl of falling snow reached Kayle�s body

He uses his hands but each of his fingers is just as dangerous as his knives although the range is slightly decreased Huang Li thought as he watched Kayle�s quick advance Before the man could conjure another wave of ice javelins Kayle planted his feet and accelerated forward But even more than his fingers

Kayle�s entire shoulder rotated inward culmination in a spinning palm strike that seemed to tap lightly against the man�s chest The man�s mouth twisted and moved likely he habitually released a curse Kayle smiled

A small geyser of blood erupted from the man�s back instantly he went pale and stumbled several steps backward Just as he regained his footing he shook his head helplessly and collapsed Blood continued to hemorrhage from his back

There was a hole about two fingers thick from the spot that Kayle had hit him Even more impressive was the fact that Kayle had managed to land the strike in a position that didn�t clip the man�s lungs or any other organs

Paolo was even more overwhelming charging forward while guffawing uproariously He moved like a boulder bounding down a hill In terms of which of the two most closely adhered to the spirit of using the other�s weapons Huang Li leaned toward Kayle Paolo simply held two long daggers in a reverse grip and threw vicious haymakers forward

Rather than using long knives he seemed to be throwing punches while coincidentally holding knives But each time he threw a punch the knives in his hand would leave deep scars on the ground His normally unstoppable punched that could break through steel had now grown claws that could rip a person in half

While Kayle had faced someone who leaned toward Mana Skills Paolo�s opponent was more of a speed based fighter He wielded two hatchets and seemed like he was used to weaving between his opponents blows Paolo did not allow him to dodge With the addition of the long knives his punches hit a large area

If he avoided the punches the knives would cut so deeply into the man�s leather armor that blood would begin to seep outward If he tried to meet Paolo�s strikes directly he would be smashed backward and sway dangerously for a few seconds while Paolo continued to laugh and bound forward The stage shook as Paolo began to gather momentum

It was a match with very little suspense

In short order both of the independent individuals from Zone 7 had been beaten Huang Li checked his watch Twenty three seconds

It is what they deserved Huang Shou snorted We forbade them from participating in this tournament for their own good Perhaps this will be a lesson to them

No you forbade them from participating so you could threaten our Glorious Leaders with our own Zone�s international standing Huang Li thought calmly You wanted to cut off the nose so our face would realize that it was powerless if it couldn�t control both of its hands

But Huang Li didn�t bother to argue with the older man It was still too early for that And in his current condition

Huang Li smiled showing his sharp canines like a carnivore

Chapter 1442

With a stubborn bullishness that refused to stop in the face of delays Randidly led the Order Ducis in pushing through two more rounds of the tournament and reached the final sixty four teams These in Randidly�s mind were the true elites He then announced that a two day break would occur so that the Orchard could clean up the event area and reinforce the actual arena for the following battles

There had been quite a few incidents in the last round where the careful schedule Wolfram created had to be discarded because an arena was thoroughly demolished by a prior fight Specialty marble was being shipped in from the Donnyton mine in order to construct a surface that could withstand a significant beating without shattering Hopefully that would be enough to keep things on schedule for the rest of the tournament

Of course Randidly didn�t have much of a break even when the tournament was paused A majority of those two days was devoured by the bloated schedule of meetings and planning sessions that Tatiana insisted on in order to prepare Kharon for the up coming governmental change So Randidly was running between meetings with Gertrude and Sam talking about the function and purpose of Keystones and then listening to Wolfram carefully explaining the predicted issues for Kharon�s growth in the next two years all the while feeling like he should have dedicated a Skill or two to management

But realistically this might be the last chance he had to deal with such issues for a while so he didn�t take the time to learn one

After much contemplation and reflection Randidly approved the proposal to recruit more contractors and specialists into Kharon and streamline the probationary process for entering the city His original fear was that his image would be too deeply ingrained in the city and therefore it was best to keep Kharon�s population small but Randidly was gradually realizing that his original premise was not true

Because with the tournament giving him a sense of perspective Randidly realized that the people of Kharon didn�t necessarily internalize his image Rather than teaching them his image directly it was indeed true that Randidly had been setting himself up in an antagonistic role with the Eidolon Crucible If anything Kharon�s image more closely resembled the remnants of the Redemption Battlefield than Randidly himself It was chaotic and heterogeneous with an oddly pure determination serving as his base

Sensing the waves of those images mixing and mingling in the city Randidly felt oddly lonely He stood at the edge of his island and pushed the surrounding moonlight spirits away so he could look down at the city he had made

Somehow I can understand why Shal took me on as an apprentice even though I was a stranger in that Dungeon With that thought Randidly began to chuckle The steady laughs continued until finally escalating to a knee slapping guffaw

After all the effort I put into creating a place that could inspire the world and not infect it with my images seems like it didn�t end up mattering Gradually Randidly�s smile disappeared Instead he became solemn as he looked more deeply at the bubbling metropolis below People flowed freely from Kharon into the Orchard and vice versa The many merchants of Kharon were ecstatic finally able to reliably sell off their stock of specialty products Some even were pushing for Kharon to set up a permanent location and settle down

And after learning that Randidly�s worry that his city would closely carry his image wasn�t an issue he was slightly tempted to allow that permanence Randidly pivoted slightly his gaze sliding across the construction for the reinforced arena to the temporary restaurants and food stalls to the new construction where the Orchard was erecting a suburb around the base of Kharon There was something reassuring about human settlements More than personal strength these edifices were a physical representation of humanity�s strength

Randidly raised his gaze higher and looked toward the Northeast The tall buildings of the Orchard were fingers reached up to the sky Cities were the hands with a thousand fingers that allowed humanity to grip the vital levers of the world

Despite the power of the monsters that had come to Earth the people have adapted We have reaffirmed our place on this planet

Looking at the eaves gutters glass windows the hundreds of electric lights the ornate wooden doors and level paving on all the roads leading into the city Randidly gradually shook his head As he did so Yggdrasil the Grim Chimera and the Stillborn Phoenix stood with him This isn�t enough Being reassured misses the point There are four Calamities coming This I suspect this amount of strength is only enough to defeat the first one

Randidly stood there and looked down As he let his eyes unfocus from the details it was only image that spiraled before his vision The images of so many people even when several people were present that possessed about 100x as much potency as others was a confusing mixture of so many influences that the resulting sensation was neutral It was a landscape of greys and softened edges The images robbed each other of their dangerous cravings and pure beliefs This was a humanity that didn�t know its future

And although it was a hard truth oftentimes people couldn�t find the correct Path forward without a concrete threat to whip them away from complacency But once the Earth was named in the eyes of the Nexus things would begin accelerating forward The System would come to collect the interest it was owed

Congratulations Your Skill Conviction of the Smiling Horror has grown to Level 345

Randidly stood at the edge of his island and monitored the images below until Tatiana approached him She glanced around to make sure there was no one else present and then took several sharp steps forward to stand on Randidly�s left Her amber eyes were bright as she scrutinized the ground below But then she turned to Randidly and tilted her head to the side Penny for your thoughts

Have I done enough Randidly asked lightly He entwined the metal fingers of his left hand with the fleshy ones of his right Purple black flames ignited in his eyes as he attempted to peer forward into the future and couldn�t seem to glean any clues from the inert mass of images before him

On the plus side at least humanity�s current position is stable Randidly mused

Tatiana chuckled You know those sorts of questions can only be answered in retrospect We�ve done our best to predict the issues but it�s the most likely the problems that we haven�t considered that will make or break our efforts We can only prepare and stay vigilant

Our efforts That�s true It�s not just me I came with the vision but I could never have accomplished this alone Randidly rolled his shoulders and then nodded slowly to Tatiana so what am I late for now

Sensing the change in Randidly�s mood Tatiana produced a clipboard and made several lightning fast notes Technically You are exactly on time But I want to make sure you stay that way Oh and I wanted to confirm that after this the Order Ducis will spend one day administering a round and then one day off until the championship So the final will be in 10 days

Randidly stretched his arms upward He had been doing this with Tatiana for several weeks he wasn�t going to allow her to lull him into agreeing to something tiresome without good reason Don�t try and hide it what�s up

I know it isn�t something that you would usually do but since you would be leaving Earth soon anyway I have scheduled something special for you Tatiana�s eyes were glittering Don�t you want a wider audience This would be your chance

Inwardly Randidly sighed

The two day break finished and the matches resumed

After the match Huang Li stood in front of the bathroom mirror and carefully wiped the blood off of his face His lips were crusted with it around the spot where he had been forced to chew on his bottom lip in order to remain conscious Even now his hands were slightly trembling as he held the damp cloth But as he looked at his reflection and carefully controlled his face to appear neutral he couldn�t keep the fingers of his left hand from tightening on the porcelain of the sink

He had done it While Huang Shou had been completely aloof Huang Li had been able to win another match and push them into the top 32 duos due to his own strength Regardless of whether they could continue to the next round this result was proof

Huang Li stiffened Then he flexed his hands and rinsed the bloody rag under the cool water from the faucet Pink water was flushed down the drain I�m inside Grandfather Is there something you need

May I come in

Huang Li pressed his lips together Then he lifted the rag to his collarbone and did his best to wipe away the remaining blood The System meant that his wounds healed relatively quickly but the dried blood stubbornly lingered a sign of how close Huang Li had come to failure earlier today After each of these brushes with failure Huang Li felt his image reinvigorating and reinventing itself to be more aptly poised to seize victory next time but he was rapidly approaching the limit of his strength and potential

This could not continue forever

His shirt was dark so the bloodstains were mostly hidden But it still felt dangerous to allow Huang Shou to come into the bathroom and see his weakness

Huang Li dabbed again with the rag The water was cool on his skin He released a long breath yes you may

The hinges were well oiled the door swung open without a sound Huang Shou stood there with his hands behind his back Huang Li didn�t turn around but spared a glance for his grandfather in the mirror Then he returned to his task He dabbed for a few more seconds and then twisted the rag in order to squeeze out all of the moisture within it

Still the bathroom was silent Huang Li closed his eyes and centered himself before opening them again and speaking Is there something you need

Huang Shou ignored the question His brow was creased but it was not the rather familiar emotions of rage or disdain that deepened the lines on his adoptive grandfather�s face An entirely foreign emotion had taken up residence there It felt like Huang Li had walked up to a familiar restaurant only to realize that the storefront had changed and it was now a clothing store

Huang Li forced himself to release another breath and it was heavy and warm as the casual breath of a dragon If his grandfather wouldn�t answer then he wouldn�t press the issue He did his best to mask the sliver of weakness remaining in his body and resumed the act of wiping away his dried blood From his collarbone Huang Li proceeded to his torn and calloused knuckles

Today he had been forced to condense the image of his dragon in his right hand to finish the fight Huang Li had been inspired by the few sporadic occasions that he had seen Randidly Ghosthound manifest his image in those instances his entire body seemed to be replaced by his image And the result was a power that was so pure that it seemed to seep into the surrounding air

Yet the process of Huang Li attempting the same thing had not gone well Probably most of the damage done to his hand was done by himself for improperly utilizing his image It was a humbling lesson To review that lesson before the figurehead of the conservative faction

Well it did not feel like Huang Li deserved

When�s your birthday Huang Shou eventually asked

Huang Li was surprised but didn�t let it show He lowered his rag and looked at his grandfather in the mirror February 1st

Huang Shou simply nodded The strange standoff continued The air between the two of them was heavy

So Huang Li grimaced and spoke again Why do you ask grandfather

Huang Shou closed his eyes for a second Then he turned away before speaking His shoulders were still as he spoke impossible upright and steady Regardless of ideological differences did you think an old man like me wouldn�t be moved by the honor you have earned for our Shou Family I will personally make sure you can understand what this means to me

Huang Li was so shocked that he turned around and looked at the back of his adoptive grandfather He was a short and stout man with heavy arms that seemed like they belonged to a hard laborer His style of dress was always loose and casual Yet still those heavy arms seemed so light compared to those shoulders Internally Huang Li had to admit to himself that aside from wanting the Glorious Leaders to step down he didn�t know much about this man in front of him

Also please be quick Huang Shou walked away from the bathroom The interview will start soon

Chapter 1443

As Randidly walked onto the set he looked around at the lights and electrical equipment that hung over the small staged area where they would be sitting With all the additional equipment and people present the normal sized banquet hall quickly became cramped He knew immediately that he likely wouldn�t enjoy what was about to happen

A number of individuals dressed in dark clothes were hurrying to and fro bringing cords or carrying clipboards or various drinks but they all stepped respectfully out of the way as Randidly passed amongst them They were extremely obvious about it too Which only magnified Randidly�s sense of being out of place here

The citizens of Kharon had a peculiar way of looking at Randidly But ultimately the dominant ideology of the city meant that Randidly was primarily a mirror to the people who followed him They looked at him and saw the best features of themselves willingness to embrace danger ingenuity and independence In the same manner his continued success was a constant reminder that this wasn�t a perfect outcome That this state of being was shaped by hard working hands and a better future could be found by following this Path

But these people Randidly�s emerald eyes slid sideways as the people continued to freeze up and stare at him as he passed There was something worshipful in their gazes They did not in Randidly�s mind get the whole point of his message They admired his results not his outlook

Randidly Ghosthound as an individual became the integral component in this grand equation that resulted in his power Rather than focusing on the effort or the time training or the near death experiences Randidly could sense very clearly that these people attributed his success to near unparalleled personal exceptionalism that was present within him

Heh unfortunately that sort of attitude got beaten out of me by Shal very early on Randidly suppressed a smirk after he shook his head when someone offered him a bottle of water But feeling these images I can at least get a good look at why the image from Earth might stagnate

Randidly�s gaze finally settled on a woman who fit Tatiana�s description The host of the show was having an extremely rapid and low conversation with a production assistant regarding the quality of the food for this important recording but her expression brightened immediately as she noticed Randidly She threw her sandy hair over her shoulder and walked forward with clicking heels so evenly timed that the woman could have served as a metronome

She offered her hand forward for a handshake and graced Randidly with a curved open mouth full of very white teeth Mr Ghosthound I presume I�m Amelia Skyne Wow it really is true what they say about you just standing near you feels different haha Please try to control your presence around the staff

Who has been talking about me I wonder Randidly carefully shook Amelia�s hand then glanced around at the staff� The people who had been awkwardly dragging their feet and listening in to the conversation jumped into the air like they had been prodded with a molten spear Then the only portion of them that Randidly could see was their backs as they hurried away

Randidly turned back to Amelia and offered a wry smile I guess I will keep that in mind Is this where we will be talking

He pointed off to the side at two comfortable looking green love seats were angled slightly apart from one another Considering the fact that there was a woman meticulously shifting roses in a vase on the table in front of them so that they were in the most appealing arrangement Randidly believed that this would be a location that would be broadcast

Amelia nodded enthusiastically Yes Let me know if you have any questions This is your first time on television right Not so easy as just fighting someone huh I�ll try to keep the questions easy and strick to the talking points I discussed with your assistant

Randidly smiled like a wolf He didn�t release his image at all but he did allow some of the influence from his Nether Nebula to leak outward I think I will be fine

Randidly�s training with Nether recently meant that his touch was much lighter than anything he had been capable of in the past He didn�t use brute force to completely dominate images in the enclosed area of the studio although it would have been relatively simple for him to do so Instead he used that thin disc of Nether to steadily erode the base images of the people around him Randidly wouldn�t do it for long enough to have a lasting effect but the people of Earth only just discovered images They hadn�t yet realized how much they rely on them

The sensation was a lot like a person�s first time standing on a boat in the deep sea They would feel the movement beneath them without completely being able to adjust Instead they could only endure their uneasiness while hoping for land

As Randidly watched Amelia�s face slowly shifted Ah O oh Well I�ll let you settle yourself then The broadcast will start in fifteen minutes

Then she hurried off heading into the cramped halls that Randidly had walked through to get here Watching her he shook his head slightly Tatiana is so much more than my assistant And I don�t think being on television will be any harder than speaking in front of thousands of people to start the tournament just more annoying

As everyone in the surrounding area was pushed away by the inexplicable heaviness that they felt when they were near him Randidly was left alone by the two comfortable chairs He calmly walked behind them and looked at the board that showed the bracket of the duos tournament From thirty two they would narrow it down to one Even Randidly wasn�t sure who would win in the end His eyes calmly traced the various lines until it was time for the show to begin Then he took his seat and rolled his shoulders

Gradually people came together The movements of the production assistants stilled as the tasks were steadily completed The small live audience that would be in attendance sidled into the recording studio and took their seats

When everything else was ready the director raised his hand and voice The lights were brightened and the cameras and mics drifted inevitably forward to absorb the two individuals lounging in the green chairs Five four three

For the final numbers he just raised his fingers Two One

Hello Earth I�m Amelia Skyne and we are broadcasting LIVE from the location of the pulse pounding duos tournament in the beautiful Orchard At the moment we�ve narrowed the most powerful partnerships on Earth down to just thirty two From within this group our champions will emerge who will officially name our planet in the eyes of the Nexus It�s a great honor and a heavy responsibility The only question is who will seize it

Very naturally Amelia shifted position from the camera right in front of them to one off to the left She uncrossed and recrossed her legs allowing her bright red dress to catch the light the material shifted and fluttered Somewhere during the shift her expression had changed from wide eyed delight to solemn contemplation Even Randidly was rather impressed by how smooth the transition was It didn�t even take a second before she soulfully spoke to the other camera

But since today is a break day we here at WGNS thought it was a great chance to sit down and look at the current favorites for the tournament Not only that but we have a special guest here in the studio to weigh in Please everyone give a warm welcome to Randidly Ghosthound

The twenty two individuals in the live studio audience began to fervently clap and cheer as the production assistants raised signs with the words cheer now� written on them The corner of Randidly�s mouth twitched upward There was a flash of purple black fire in his eyes Truly so much of our world is artifice isn�t it But if people believe in it there is power here That what it means for image to be valuable

Randidly had agreed to come onto this show in part because he wanted to offer a gentle reminder to the people of Earth about images As such he would participate in this whimsical program in order to get his message across So he nodded lightly Thanks for having me

He had been given some other suggested lines for him to open with that would bring up other topics at the jump but he didn�t bother to pander that much to the producers of the program At the same time he was quite pleased with the way that Amelia noticed his refusal and quickly moved onto the next issue

Mr Ghosthound you can see here our predicted top 4 finishers for the tournament Beyond that things get a bit dicey but we are relatively confident that these four are the most powerful groups on Earth From Block A Alana Donal and her Frost Dragon Wivanya seem almost guaranteed to win From Block B we have Hank Howard and a fan favorite his horse Ancho From Block C Richter and Blackhand And finally from Block D we believe that Lucifer and Guiliana will make it to the semi finals Not to put you on the spot Mr Ghosthound but I can see in your eyes that you don�t agree with our choices Which one is the problem

Randidly had been rather worried when he was informed that he was supposed to disagree with at least one of the stations four picks But they were truly making it too easy I think your inclusion of Richter and Blackhand in the final four

Honestly I could argue against most of these Alana is likely the most powerful but Block A also has Lyra and Stan and I can tell that they have been hiding their actual strength Meanwhile Block D probably should go to Lucifer and Giuliana but its the murkiest of the remaining blocks Tykes and Dinesh and the ogre team are all very capable But definitely Block C will be the most interesting

Ahaha I think a lot of people agree with that Mr Ghosthound Amelia said with her trademark smile Block C also includes Paolo and Kayle of Donnyton But from all accounts they are using each other�s weapons and have no intention of changing even if they start to struggle in the tournament Compared to that Richter and Blackhand seem very reliable

Randidly�s eyes drifted over toward the bracket Block C is honestly quite deep But to your point about Paolo and Kayle I want to say that you forget how important images are Amelia The weapons are just tools But the images that they both wield are extremely pure As long as they have those the weapons won�t matter much

Are the images so powerful that even you the Ghosthound need to pay attention to them Amelia teased

Randidly ignored the question and rubbed his chin as he looked at the bracket Richter and the so called Blackhand� I�ll say this Their image isn�t quite there yet They are relying on other forms of strength And because of that I don�t even think they will make it through the next two rounds to face Paolo and Kayle

Amelia studied Randidly�s face for several seconds as though the secret machinations of his mind would be revealed in his expression Is that so If you are going to stake your reputation on it I suppose there is nothing I can say

I am Randidly replied with a short glance And do you want to know why I�m so sure

Of course Please elaborate you are the expert Amelia replied coquettishly

Because they put in the work Randidly said in a low voice Because of time and effort Those two materials are the only guaranteed methods to strengthen yourself And for those of you out there who have let yourself get carried away by emotion or shallow epiphanies just watch It isn�t easy to bridge the gap of repetition

Chapter 1444

Azure CRaaShh The blonde young man bellowed seeming to throw every ounce of air in his lungs behind the yell Randidly put his chin in his hand as he watched Somehow that same ridiculous guy who had leapt out and been defeated by Fenlin during his initial speech had made it to the top 32 teams

But he truly was rather weak at the start Randidly narrowed his eyes as he followed the action on the arena The blonde young man�s entire arm was wreathed in azure flames and seemed to serve as a rocket propelling him forward But this tournament has thrown him against capable individuals and pushed his image to its limits Everyone participating is developing their images rapidly while fighting Heh if I would have known the result would be this good I would have hosted a tournament a long time ago

The only problem is my carefully considered bracket is starting to have some unexciting matches because the duos are improving at different rates But I�m sorry idiot this time you aren�t on the dominant side

Hank Howard smoothly drew his repeater and fired a Mana Bullet at the domineering blue missile arm The motion was casual and assured Compared to the bright illumination of the fire the bullet was quickly lost in the churn of heat and energy But when the two attacks met one another the result was immediately clear

The flames were blasted away and the young man was sent spinning across the arena He crashed painfully into the ground and bounced several times leaving a dribbling trail of blood on the ground from a broken nose after he face planted on the sturdy Donnyton marble He skidded to a stop as he encountered the far wall with a thump

Hank scratched the area above his ear with the barrel of his revolver and used his other hand to adjust his hat I�m tellin� ya Ancho is just a horse Don�t keep attackin� him or I won�t stay civil

Using the slight distraction the young man�s partner pounced toward Hank�s back He wore spiked gloves and seemed quite confident in his own strength the fool attempted to grapple Hank Howard Without batting an eye Hank stepped to the side and slammed the butt of his gun into the partner�s face Before the kid could even recognize what happened Hank spun around and brought his heel into the partner�s temple

The kick was sharp it barely seemed to brush the victim as it passed And afterward there was a moment where his body swayed in place Then he fell backward stunned and bleeding

Hank spat to the side

Heh do you I think this is enough to stop me My name is Skyler Ross and I promise

Skyler raised his hand and once more erupted in azure flames His tiger image raised its head and roared Its shoulders and forelegs were thick with muscles to the point that Randidly found the image somewhat ridiculous Those powerful legs rushed forward empowering Skyler�s attack further

But even with all of his strength gathered into one point Hank�s bullet smashed into him and annihilated his image Skyler was launched backward as though he had been blasted from a cannon slamming with much more force this time into the far wall of the arena The Donnyton Marble shuddered but withstood the pressure without cracking

Which also means that his body endured most of the force himself Probably broke his ribs Randidly mused

Hank sighed and shrugged Kids these days

Ancho neighed in agreement

Who do you think will win Donny asked casually as he popped fat purple grapes into his mouth

Mrs Hamilton glanced sideways at the leader of their Village You are altogether too pleased with having made it to the top 16 You realize that it isn�t even because of you right Glendel�s abilities are almost cheating against small numbers of foes

Donny just chuckled His expression was extremely self satisfied Mrs Hamilton shook her head with amusement and turned back to the stage The Huangs assumed their typical positions with Huang Shou sitting on a small stool at the back of the stage while Huang Li drew his wo dao and walked casually forward Opposite them were the Cortez siblings Isabella with her arms covered by her two long elongated oval shields and Pan making his daggers spin across his fingers

I honestly believe it will be close This Huang Li Zone 7 sure has been hiding deeply Or more like Mrs Hamilton�s eyes glittered as she sipped her tea

every time he fights his image and Skills are being refined At a ridiculous pace If we had more people in Donnyton with that sort of improvement rate Donny�s expression also turned serious as he looked down at the Zone 7 representatives Randidly was too fucking accurate with the brackets at least in Block C Every fight has been dangerously close

The sort of danger that can stir growth but still our Cortez siblings aren�t slouches either Mrs Hamilton said primly Her eyes were on the light reflected off of Huang Li�s wo dao

Out on the arena the Order Ducis member raised his hand Begin

Mrs Hamilton�s hair was stirred by the sudden arrival of a breeze as Huang Li launched himself forward An enormous maelstrom of invisible air began to stir around him and around the arena And when Mrs Hamilton didn�t look at the effect directly she saw the flash of a scaled dragon slowly constricting in the area

At least in terms of size his image is monstrous

Isabella Cortez moved with just as much explosiveness not to be outdone by her opponent Her image was one of immense weight a prowling beast that launched itself forward with deadly intent They met in the middle of the arena and Isabella whipped her shield horizontally toward Li�s temple The man practically vanished ducking and slashing at Isabella�s legs

Dragon and beast brushed past each other just out of reach The two images sizzled as both of their users tried to dominate the surrounding area with their own influence

Isabella caught the slash with her shield but the slightly large piece of metal blocked her sight so she missed Li�s powerful leg that smashed into her shield and send her stumbling backward That caught Mrs Hamilton�s attention he had enough raw force to overpower the prodigiously strong Isabella

And then with trails of wind swirling about him Li twisted and shot toward Pan

Pan�s hands blurred into several strange seals and then he split into seven clones of himself each raising their daggers and rushing toward Li with significant bloodlust The wind dragon�s influence waned as it so quickly faced off against another image

At least that was true for the area by the stage The breeze teasing Mrs Hamilton�s hair intensified

Li planted his foot and shot to the left so that he was no longer facing several of the clones at once they got in each other�s way after he repositioned himself Then he continued his charge utilizing his longer sword to bisect the clones with only a single deadly slash each

Donny shook his head at the rapid death of the clones Pan still doesn�t have enough Control to fight effectively with that many bodes Mrs Hamilton nodded in agreement

However after Li had dispersed five of the clones into puffs of smoke that were quickly whisked away by his aura of wind Pan was able to manage two clones quite efficiently They worked with the implicit understanding that came from being controlled by a single mind The split Pan avoided Huang Li�s attacks and inflicted a shallow cut on his shoulder

With Isabella recovering and rushing toward his back Huang Li�s expression turned dark Dragon�s Dance

The wind in the surrounding area intensified Even the clouds above the arena trembled Huang Li�s sword began to glow He feinted forward and Pan bit hard both clones raising their daggers and lowering their stances to defend But Huang Li�s steps were suddenly so light he seemed to be a man made of folded paper He was less a human being than a leaf drifting on the wind With a single step he changed direction and rushed to Isabella Cortez Without missing a beat he unleashed a powerful downward slash

But with her feet on the ground Isabella rapidly drew strength from the stones beneath her feet The beast bristled with indignation Her shields whipped out with enough force to shatter Huang Li�s image and sword in the same strike

Yet Li�s Agility while under the influence of this most recent Skill left Mrs Hamilton incredulous His slash seemed to slide sideways through the air and turned into a thrust This was also dealt with by the decisive action of Isabella but Li spun away and attacked from another angle They were only a small distance apart but they didn�t touch at all It looked like they were dancing together

After hesitating for a second Pan split up his two clones One carefully approaching Huang Li from his blind spot while the other rushed toward Huang Shou with his daggers raised

Mrs Hamilton sighed at the action below Pan gets too hotheaded while fighting still

Better to finish off the one foe in front of them before dragging a second into the mix Donny agreed

Huang Shou slowly raised his head as Pan rushed toward him Isabella raised her shields and brought them crashing down making the stage shudder Huang Li floated backward skimming across the stage like a dragonfly over a pond His quick moves kept Pan�s clone from getting in a good spot for an ambush But from Huang Li�s deep breathing it was clear that he was reaching the end of his Stamina

But he did not hesitate despite his dwindling resources Huang Li lowered his shoulders and charged back toward Isabella Swimming amongst the clouds above the dragon roared She smiled and raised her shields her eyes blazing with fighting spirit As the two once more resumed their lightning fast attacks and dodges Pan Cortez arrived before Huang Shou

I apologize for this sir Pan said quickly before unleashing a cross slash at the sitting old man

Huang Shou shook his head This old man certainly isn�t as young as he used to be but it is too much to ask me to stay still in this case Boy Sleep

Wha Pan�s attack faltered as his eyelids flickered for a half second But he quickly shook off the foreign influence just in time for his eyes to widen as Huang Shou smashed his temple with the cane in his hand Pan fell to the ground boneless

Pan Isabella bellowed Her attacks became even more furious toward Huang Li But without the assistance of Pan�s bloodlust the beast was quickly losing ground to the image of the true dragon floating in the sky

He probably wouldn�t have interfered at all if he hadn�t been attacked no matter how much he wanted to His pride wouldn�t let him Mrs Hamilton took another sip of her tea Pan played right into their hands

Huang Shou sat back down not even bothering to look at the unconscious body sprawled only a meter away from him I trust you can handle the rest

Huang Li�s shoulder rose and fell He wiped his hand across his lips as he considered the growling Isabella yes grandfather

Chapter 1445

On the breakday after the top 16 duos were decided Randidly followed an image trail to find the source of the strange probes that had been sent to test Kharon He likely would have forgotten all about the issue of the antagonistic agents mostly due to his busy schedule if he hadn�t noticed that the same image was lingering around the recently defeated participant in the tournament Skyler Ross

And Randidly was finalizing his preparations to leave Earth so he felt like he had a responsibility to investigate these strange circumstances The image touch disappeared from Hydie Mordath on its own but that only made Randidly warier He needed to make sure such images wouldn�t develop into a threat

But also it gave him a very good excuse to cancel all the day�s meetings Due to all the distractions Randidly felt like he hadn�t made any meaningful progress with his Skills since leaving the Dungeon It was almost becoming too much to bear

So Randidly followed that trail of image all the way North to the edge of the Nordawn Mountain range where Randidly located a small villa sitting on the slope of a mountain There were no other human buildings in the surrounding area and the only way to arrive at this villa was by following a game trail This was the home of someone who truly didn�t like being disturbed

Not quite as effective as a floating island however Randidly pursed his lips and then approached the villa directly knocking boldly on the front door While Randidly waited for the movement he sensed within the villa he carefully examined his surroundings he looked at the rows of mountain laurel and blueberry bushes along the sides of the villa He saw the mailbox and the small pond that was positively teeming with fish

This was a well cultivated area This was a home

A short woman opened the door and nodded at him as though Randidly Ghosthound turning up on her doorstep was the most natural thing in the world Please follow me Mr Syllo will see you now

Randidly was quite perplexed by her reaction to him but inwardly shrugged There was no point in arguing with the woman Instead he simply followed her through a hallway toward an open air courtyard and then through to another covered area of the house All the while Randidly�s senses were tasting the image that flowed through this place

The image was heavy in the air around the woman But it was also present in every polished surface and trimmed bush in the courtyard Whoever this Mr Syllo was he did all of the cleaning himself From Randidly�s interactions with it in the small tests of Kharon he had expected that the image itself would be insidious or controlling Perhaps even leaning toward manipulation like the image of Mrs Hamilton

But breathing it in here none of those were quite correct The image was a much milder thing that that It was surprisingly straightforward and open

But still very powerful Randidly mused More powerful than I would have believed It could even give Alana a run for her money although the two images are obviously focused on two very different things

Randidly was rather amused to see that the image was devoured by the Stillborn Phoenix as soon as it dared approaching him Unwilling to actually damage the image without understanding it he began to use Yggdrasil to guide this image away from him But he kept an eye on how it interacted with his aura

The short woman brought Randidly passed a library and to a closed door She knocked on the door opened it for him then stepped to the side Unable to resist the stirrings of curiosity in his chest Randidly walked forward

The room was dark and a shadowy figure stood on the other side of the room next to an empty wooden chair Aside from the man and the chair no other piece of furniture was present in the room it was completely bare Randidly was greeted by a soft voice filled with amusement as he entered I hope you will forgive the setting You took me something by surprise with your visit And often people have strange reactions from seeing me for the first time

After taking several steps into the room Randidly stopped and tilted his head to the side The room was so small that Randidly could feel the warmth wicking off the figure in front of him and spreading to the surrounding air And with his Grim Intuition Randidly could easily pierce through the dim lighting to see the details of Mr Syllo He began to frown You well I can understand why you would be hesitant to introduce yourself

Mr Syllo stepped forward Although his legs and left side of his torso was human his right arm was a giant red crab claw Two eyeballs at the end of strange antenna like appendages were trained on Randidly The mandibles of his mouth made a rather consistent clicking noise Heh Certainly I didn�t expect you to be a petty person So why have you come to visit me I cannot deny I�ve been very curious about you and your city�s aspirations

Before that Randidly said with narrowed eyes I�d like to ask why you have Father Karman�s image over you More than you would just have from being a part of his Raid Boss and human experiments

you have sharp eyes Mr Syllo shrugged Thomas and I were friends Before they called him Father Karmin We used to talk a lot about philosophy and I was one of the first people to participate in his experiments Back then he believed he had made a breakthrough but his methods were still rough And let me assure you that I wouldn�t have agreed if I understood the purpose of his experiments I just I believed he was a good man It seems that I was wrong

Randidly�s emerald eyes were bright in the dark room as he scrutinized the crab person in front of him But gradually his expression eased from every detail that his Grim Intuition was able to observe Mr Syllo was telling the truth In addition Randidly couldn�t detect any significant power in the body in front of him He was just an experiment gone wrong Perhaps you weren�t wrong about him being a good man Perhaps he just changed after being exposed to power for too long

Mr Syllo shook his head Mr Ghosthound this might just be my humble opinion but I don�t believe people can truly change Now if you are comfortable with my aesthetic we can move to the courtyard Even though I�ve looked like this for two and a half years it�s been difficult to get over the vestiges of vanity

Nodding slowly Randidly stepped out fo the room and Mr Syllo followed him In the light the juxtaposition of his body parts was even more striking His crab claw seemed to bulge suddenly out of his torso in an unnatural fashion The flesh around the transition was inflamed But even more than that Randidly suddenly understood the image of Mr Syllo

His was an image that believed that people could never change

His was an image that said this is what we are� It was an image of acceptance and encouragement of a very particular sort

Randidly�s mind was tracing the newly understood shape of this image as they moved to the middle portion of the house They sat on adirondack chairs in the courtyard and Randidly refused the offered refreshment Mr Syllo calmly waited for him to bring up the reason for his visit while Randidly considered the image around him The reason the image was so powerful was that it was so simple and stable It encouraged people to simply accept themselves as who they were

To put it another way it would tell people not to deny or ignore their thoughts or desires even if they were negative

To some this message would be encouraging and reassuring The image would function as a salve to heal wounds and strengthen their Willpower In others it would lead to dangerous self indulgence and a downward spiral of negative behaviors Overall it was a neutral image It was a powerful but a blunt tool

Although Randidly knew the act would always end in disappointment he still methodically cracked the knuckles of his right hand and then tried to crack the knuckles of his left The motions were just so familiar that it was easy to thoughtlessly mirror them Several people that have interacted with your image have come to Kharon I wanted to make sure that my city wasn�t being targeted

Well I didn�t deliberately target you it�s more like your city is too dominant in the minds of most people In a way congratulations Mr Syllo brought a straw up to mandible filled mouth and slurped noisily I actually imitated you Mr Ghosthound in my company In placing the image at the center of everything that we do

I run a number of banks and lending institutions across the Zones that�s how I encounter so many people And it is my company�s policy to judge people�s future productivity by their current actions Obviously there are some special circumstances that can be considered but I believe that actions are what ultimately what displays a person�s true character I watch the way individuals behave and see the truth Thoughts and emotions are just facades

Randidly tilted his head to the side Then he chuckled Honestly I�m not really one for philosophical debate I just wanted to warn you I don�t mind your ideology And I have seen proof that your image increases the power of the people around you regardless of other side effects That�s good for Earth

But I�ll say this Kharon right now is confident because I am present on Earth That means they don�t feel threatened by these people that have felt empowered by your ideology to pursue their small grudges and give in to impulses But after I leave I don�t think Kharon will play as nicely

As Randidly spoke he was imagining the confrontation between this image and Kharon�s He saw in Mr Syllo a new shape for the old privilege of the elites of Earth Even after being warped by Father Karmin�s experiments this man still came back and was able to manage quite a few banks and lending institutions� And to the weakness that he found in himself and others during the difficult transition to the System he said this It�s not your fault People cannot change

Honestly Kharon could level this type of foe in its sleep But Randidly was also aware that he didn�t need to be the only image in the world As with this duos tournament hurdles give rise to improvement

It was hard to read Mr Syllo�s expression considering his features but he currently seemed to exude amusement Are you expecting me to control people Restrict the actions that they wish to take on their own

of course not that�s against your code right Randidly grinned like a wolf You believe that people will do what they will People cannot change They will ultimately follow their nature But what is missing from your outlook is a recognition of perspective these people that drifted into Kharon were not in the position to do anything about their emotions In fact indulging in them recklessly could be very dangerous if one of our police officers lost his or her temper Humanity must know patience You should address that oversight in your creed

And yet you claim not to be a philosopher Mr Syllo observed

Randidly shrugged I�m a realist

Well thank you for the warning I will consider this The crab man said with a small bow As thanks would you like me to tell you a secret about yourself

Randidly arched his eyebrow Mr Syllo spread his arms one human and one crab His image tried to approach Randidly again only to be devoured by the Stillborn Phoenix Randidly�s image whined hungry for more

After gathering his thoughts Mr Syllo spoke You are quite interesting to talk to Mr Ghosthound I can feel your three images and the three desires that drive them quite clearly But you know I consider myself a study of human character And all three of your desires well it is a bit like the guardian of hell Cerberus They appear to be separate but they grow from one true core

Oh Randidly said

Dominance That is what you crave Randidly Ghosthound You wrap it in pretty justifications but that is the true longing in your heart Mr Syllo brought the straw to his mouth and took another slurping drink Is that not why you are planning to leave this planet Because there is no more for you to dominate here on Earth You cannot and should not contain your nature

Ha The difference between what I am and what you think I am is exactly what I told you earlier Perspective A perspective that gives me a true understanding of my capability in the Nexus Randidly glanced at Mr Syllo Then he smiled mildly well everyone can have their own opinion Just be glad we didn�t end up being enemies Mr Syllo Don�t lose your sense of perspective in the future

Then Randidly left Before too much of the day was lost he wanted to reach out and heal Vualla

Chapter 1446

Through the tenuous and thin threshold that was a Nether Ritual Randidly released waves of Yggdrasil�s image to alleviate the exhaustion and image dehydration that Vualla was experiencing She absorbed the image�s ambient energy and her breathing eased As always the process made Randidly�s mouth tighten in dissatisfaction The Xyrt Brigade had not done much to earn Randidly�s affection

At least the situation with Earth was a high level political move that much he could at least forgive after he had defeated Kaan But the suffering they claimed was training and forced Vualla to endure

Stay focused Your other image is expanding and it wants to eat me Vualla chuckled Your Stillborn Phoenix�s bedside manner is shit

Randidly shook himself and quelled the rising hunger of his egg of hunger Sorry about that I�m just well I�ll be heading to the Nexus soon I�m just trying to take some notes about the debts I�ll have to collect when I arrive

Through there connection Randidly could feel every detail of Vualla�s smile I�ll be waiting Don�t have too much fun before I finish this Seven more months and I�ll be free

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 172

Although he was unwilling Randidly let the connection fade after a few more minutes Vualla had told him that his timing was rather poor there was only a short time remaining before she would be allowed out of the isolation chamber and return to the training So they didn�t have much time to interact Randidly simply had to frantically try and let Vualla�s image heal so that terrible wasting sickness of her personality he had encountered last time wouldn�t recur

Sitting on his floating island he waved a hand and cleared a sightline to the night sky His manor here was getting rather close to being completed so the noises coming from the construction site had changed drastically The quieter and more methodical noises of the wood and stone being carved replaced the heavy assemblage of the past few days

It was almost peaceful here He reached out to the side dragging his fingers through the silver mist and watching the moonlight spirits happily twining around his hand And with dawn still some time away Randidly could do engage in some training to relax

He first stretched his body then beckoned Acri over and practiced utilizing the spear The post Kaan Acri was still quiet lethargic but it was clear that Randidly�s Soulseed weapon was steadily shrinking Apparently the amount of experience his spear had received was even greater than Randidly had expected he wasn�t done digesting it even though two weeks had passed

Acri�s next form is something to look forward to however

After Randidly set Acri to the side he moved calmly shifted into the movements fo Cosmic Necessity and practiced fighting without the spear As his skin heated the night air began to turn to steam as it brushed against him His heart rapidly began to pound and the physical force that his body could manifest shot sharply upward To the point where Randidly needed to be very careful in his movements and direct his force toward the largely invulnerable sky Otherwise he might shatter his island and ruin the buzzing construction that he had endured for quite some time

Still despite the annoyance of restraining himself Randidly quite enjoyed the sensation of throwing punched and seeing holes erupt in clouds hundreds of meters away The effects of the gradual physical condensation of his images in his body was ridiculous He whipped his left hand sideways and watched as a massive cloud was shredded into thin strips of water vapor in the distance Sometimes it�s difficult to believe that I�m still human

Congratulations Your Skill Abomination�s Grim Vigor has grown to Level 321

The timing of the Skill Leveling up forced a chuckle out of Randidly�s mouth and he shook his limbs Gradually his heart rate fell back toward its baseline and his breaths stopped coming out of his nose as steam From there he activated each of his images in turn checking in on their substance and making minute adjustments

Even now Randidly could sense that a gap still existed between his image and someone like Lady Iellaya that he had seen fighting on the front line It wasn�t so large a gap that he couldn�t bridge it with his immense Stat Nether and physical advantages but in terms of raw image he still had a long way to go That realization was both exciting and nostalgic

There�s always someone stronger Randidly thought looking out at the slowly healing holes in the surrounding clouds It amused him to think about other people below might be looking up at the same clouds and thinking the same thought for different reasons In a way the entire universe was a large circle of perspectives

Governed by life and death and powered by time the cycle steadily churned everything to dust

After musing on the nature of the world Randidly focused back on his images The process of pushing them up to a higher potency wasn�t that complicated as far as he could tell he just needed to iron out the small almost unnoticeable inconsistencies and sharpen the details It was a refinement process that couldn�t be rushed just undertaken steadily

The process was somewhat satisfying although it was monotonous It was similar to running one�s fingers across a silk blanket If you did it for long enough you would notice small tears in the fabric and could then repair those flaws

But with the big flaws out of the way smaller flaws would gradually emerge as the largest deviations from the smooth blanket currently present In a way it felt like the refinement would never cease

After adjusting his images for two hours Randidly had a new thought and focused instead on his Nether Nebula The core continued to thicken and turn slightly grey as the meaning of overseeing this tournament flowed steadily into Randidly�s Nether Honestly the effect was so good that Randidly was looking forward to how much significance he would be able to extract from the quarters semis and finals

Outside of the Nether Nebula�s core Randidly�s powerful Willpower pressed the Nether into a flat disc that spun slowly around him But inspired by his work with his images Randidly released the Nether and let it bulge outward Almost instantly small stones near where he was standing began to levitate off the ground There was a strange grinding sound in the air and visual distortions appeared around Randidly�s body as space near him destabilized

Congratulations Your Skill Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold has grown to Level 322

With small purple black flames at the edges of his emerald eyes Randidly began to take that wild and raw Nether and condense it Not to the point that it would begin to shift into the intimidating grey of that bubble Randidly had condensed but close He didn�t force it into a ring but instead spun and concentrated the substance of the Nether The visual deviations began to settle as Randidly brought the Nether under control

He created thick strips of Nether and then wove them into that same condensed disc But just as soon as he finished Randidly�s lips twitched he honestly didn�t have much experience weaving and the result was rather unsatisfactory The visual distortions flared back to life as he shredded the result and started again

Spinning and weaving spinning and weaving over and over

Each time Randidly finished the weaving of Nether around the Nebula he saw the possibility for improvement and decisively tore his previous effort to shreds Iterations passed by the dozen as Randidly relentlessly pursued a veil of Nether that possessed the same near organic flow as it had in its natural state while also increasing the density of the Nether

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 239

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 250

It was almost hypnotic to work with the raw Nether and artificially shape it to mimic natural lines Because the folds of the weave needed to be soft to facilitate the flow while the actual intersections needed to be so tight inserted that there was no space between the different flows Randidly wanted it to reach the point that an observer wouldn�t be able to tell that there was a weave at all They would only sense the subtle presence of Nether around Randidly without understanding the overwhelming powerful contained on his person

Randidly paused in his work after ripping another failure apart and looked to the sky To the East the sky was beginning to lighten Randidly released a deep sigh as he considered the prospect of the day before him The actual matches won�t be so bad but with only sixteen I�ll bet that Tatiana has already arranged for me to be meetings for the rest of the time

Yet Randidly couldn�t feel too annoyed at Tatiana She was doing what he asked preparing Kharon to survive without being able to rely on Randidly Ghosthound Not that he would be barred from returning to Earth but also despite his recent discovery that his image hadn�t contaminated Kharon as much as he thought he still didn�t want to interfere with the first two Calamities

Right now his focus was keeping Earth from appearing any more unique than it was already The attention of the Nexus had only brought complications so far It was better to proceed through the Calamities in a mundane manner while Randidly gathered power in the Nexus

Shaking his head Randidly returned to his Nether practice After making several attempts he had an idea of what he would actually like to do he wanted to draw Nether from several sources and weave it together into one whole tapestry Randidly sensed that if he were to teach others to properly utilize his Nether Wells and then combine all the disparate Nether he would finally be close to creating the Nether equivalent of a Class

However that would be quite dangerous and require everyone to have their own Aether to balance out the Nether Hum I wonder if there are other ways to mimic the effect Humming to himself and with the sun slowly rising Randidly continued to train

Unable to fall asleep and feeling too agitated to meditate Huang Li quickly ascended the stairs and reached the roof of the housing they had been provided by the Orchard Tomorrow they were matched up against Richter and Blackhand the representatives of Zone 1 They were surely the most difficult foes they had yet faced in all of their time living under the thumb of the Nexus

Huang Li sensed that Huang Shou was struggling with something internally but hadn�t pressed the issue during their dinner of steamed fish and rice They both seemed locked in with their own thoughts separated by the gulf of distance created by their opposed beliefs And now Huang Li needed time to think

But when he arrived at the roof and looked up at the night sky Huang Li didn�t have much time for thinking Instead he watched with wide eyes as he failed to sense even the sliver of an image reverberation and yet someone was casually punching holes in clouds

This This must be the work of Randidly Ghosthound Huang Li clenched his hands into fists and stared fervently upward The casual power displayed was overwhelming The distance between them was immense

But gradually as Huang Li watched he was able to calm down But I always knew I wasn�t a grand character who would become a hero didn�t I It is only with years of hard work and the guidance of my betters that I was able to reach this point And now those facts about myself haven�t changed If I want to improve I need to observe carefully and learn

And these palm strikes the reason they are powerful is not that they utilize an image to dominate the surroundings all the way to the target but instead the Ghosthound just physically pushes aside all obstacles

An image that doesn�t bother to attack the opponent�s image an image that just draws a clear separation between them and cuts forward

Gradually his eyes began to glow and the long body of a dragon appeared with him on the roof Then Huang Li hurried back down to his room to retrieve his interspatial amulet and his wo dao within He needed to practice before the inspiration passed

Chapter 1447

Hotdogs Hamburgers Fries

Sweets and treats Ice cream and funnel cakes

Long odds and prop bets First contestant to swear first to bleed first to be knocked unconscious

The cries from the shopowners along the thoroughfare were just a few drops in the bucket Around them the general babble rising up from the thousands of gathered people was practically deafening

Hydie Mordath didn�t like crowds When she was younger it was because she didn�t feel like she fit into the groups of happy people After the System arrived it was because she feared the broad negative effect that she would have on those same fragile happy people Her Skill seemed only bound by distance the more people that were crowded into a small space the more people would suffer accidents due to her presence

But the crowd of people that churned happily through the broad roads leading to the arena for the round of sixteen couldn�t even be called a crowd any longer it was a veritable sea of people with waves crashing in from every direction People joined lines for stalls or just wove through them to save time Others rushed out of bathrooms and were practically hopping with anticipation of getting a good seat for the matches The surroundings were absolute bedlam

Even with their Order Ducis uniforms there simply wasn�t enough room for anyone to give them some respectful distance They were completely pressed together and Hydie�s mood rapidly degenerated into irritation as elbows and shoulders kept knocking against her

Derek Moss as annoyingly observant as he always was glanced back over his shoulder at her and then grinned Why don�t we stop and grab a bite to eat We�re just supposed to keep any incidents from escalating anyway No need to follow all this traffic

So the two of them cut sideways through the main flow of bodies and swam toward a side path to another section of the fairgrounds There had originally been only a single food court arena planned but the number of the attendees for the tournament was so high that the original plan had to be scrapped and expanded to include four large food courts with stalls running up and down the paths around the stadium Otherwise the lines at the single food court would have been hours long as the tournament wore on

Once they were on the side path the crowd thinned out a lot and Hydie could release a breath without spitting on someone Then she scowled over at Derek Can�t we just watch from up on Kharon Why do we need to be down here

Being immersed in the crowd�s image is the best way to spot the first signs of trouble Derek replied Then he glanced over his shoulder When my partner isn�t dominating the surrounding space with her surly image

You are literally a shiny piece of military shit Hydie said without any venom She took several more deep breaths The cool autumn air flowing into her body was a relief from the heat of the crowd They continued off of the dirt path into the well paved Northwest food court I just wish once I got to see you I don�t know looking like an idiot Maybe we could walk past a pie shop and you get one splattered over your gob I just feel

Hydie paused because Derek was no longer walking beside her He had frozen the expression on his face studiously blank while his lips mimicked the mouth of a fish He stood with one leg slightly off the ground and one arm raised perfectly midstep Hydie couldn�t help but be impressed by the casual athleticism he displayed by stopping like that

She followed his gaze and saw a pretty young woman sitting at one of the dozens of wooden picnic tables situated in the middle of the food court Hydie looked back at Derek and then turned again to the woman noticing this time that the table around her was filled with a half dozen grey spiders three strange people seemingly made of stone and a towering ogre woman that hunched over in order to listen into the conversation More impressively all of them had very poignant and restrained images they were not just ordinary people

Derek Moss Hydie said lightly The corners of her eyes crinkled as she felt her mood rapidly rising Oho ohohohohoho Do you happened to have a crush

I No that�s Gertrude is just an acquaintance Derek finally finished his step and began fussing with the buttons of his uniform and wiping his sweaty palms against his slacks We simply happened to move to Kharon at similar times

Uh huh I see A gloating Hydie practically glided forward and slid her arm through Derek�s as a queen would imperiously grace a dust covered knight Well perhaps I�m not such a constant source of bad luck after all Truly quite serendipitous for us to run into an acquaintance here Why don�t we go say hello Ohoho

Derek licked his lips his eyes were still locked on Gertrude That would probably be inappropriate We are currently on duty And besides it appears they are in the middle of an important meeting

A meeting at a picnic table Don�t mind that Didn�t you just say we are here to deal with any escalating issues I certainly don�t sense any big issues The first match doesn�t start for another hour anyway let�s just go over and say hi

Although Derek�s face continued to be dominated by an uneasy frown his feet were more honest When Hydie pulled him forward he followed easily They wove their way through the wooden tables and Derek was so distracted that he actually stumbled over a discarded beer can It was with Hydie bearing a sunny smile that the two of them arrived at the table of Gertrude the teacher

Seeing as Derek was tongue tied Hydie took it upon herself to start the interaction She did her best not to giggle Miss Gertrude

That�s why the location should match oh yes Oh Mr Moss hello And you are Gertrude looked over and met Hydie�s wide smile with a politely reciprocated smile

Hydie withdrew her arm from Derek�s I�m Derek�s partner in the Order Ducis He�s told me so much about you it�s nice to meet you all I must say though your images are all very powerful It�s very impressive

One of the spiders at the table clambered up onto the top and extended a foreleg toward Hydie Ahem We are simply some of Kharon�s teachers And I must say madam I find your sinister aura to be quite invigorating If you were a spider I would gladly allow you to devour my body and regurgitate it to feed our offspring

Everyone except the other spiders blinked For several seconds Hydie legitimately didn�t know what to say

The spider began to rub its forelegs together Ah apologies I have not yet mastered the human art of humor I mean no offense

No that was actually quite sweet Thank you Hydie responded seriously Then she looked at the surrounding people Now that she thought about it she did hear from the Kharon police that the Ghosthound had produced a bunch of strange teachers from somewhere for the Dungeon training So you are teachers It�s quite reassuring to have Kharon�s youth educated by you Are you going to watch the first match

Yes This time the tall ogre woman spoke in a surprisingly soft voice I am very excited to watch the fight Say you are members of the Order Ducis right If you had been able to enter the tournament would you have made it to this round How powerful are these people

If I remember correctly Mr Moss is very strong Gertrude offered flashing Derek a shy smile

Hydie was barely able to suppress her urge to nudge him with her elbow and wink at him Derek cleared his throat and did his best to adopt a serious expression Well I think Hydie and I would have at least a 50% chance of getting to this round of 16 But beyond that no one here is weak And everyone is rapidly developing their images

Don�t they have to Another spider scuttled up on to the table and began rubbing its forelegs together next to its companion The humans Hank Howard and Alana Donal are truly sublime Aside from Mister Randidly Ghosthound and Lady Helen I don�t know if I�ve ever seen more intimidating humans

The tall ogre lowered her head her eyes still trained on Derek This first match between the Kir Nan and Hoowan two powerful ogre warriors and Glendel and Donny of Donnyton who do you think will win

Gertrude leaned across the table and punched the ogre lightly in the arm Then she turned to Derek and Hydie Illya here has something of a gambling problem Please don�t bother to answer it will just mean that she runs off to the gambling houses to place one last bet before the match It isn�t worth it

The ogre snorted and crossed her arms Then Gertrude stood up and smiled at Derek By the way would you like to watch the fight with us

Grandfather are you ready to go to the match Huang Li asked as he knocked on his partner�s door

Huang Shou ignored his question but did at least give an answer from within his chambers Please come in

With a small sigh Huang Li opened the door They didn�t necessarily need to be as early to the match as leaving now would allow them to be but Huang Li wanted a bit of time to adjust his state of mind before the match After creating a new Skill last night he was quite excited to try it out but those emotions would make him hasty He would need to remain steady to have a chance of victory against Richter

To his surprise he found Huang Shou sitting in front of a Go board with a small book in his hand The board was partially covered in the black and white stones The two colors faced off boldly marshaled like armies about to slaughter their foes Huang Shou nodded when Li came in but then he turned his attention right back to the board As Huang Li watched he would place a stone and then study the board for several seconds

Eventually he would be satisfied and glance back over at the book to restart the cycle

Replaying historic games Huang Li eventually guessed As far as mental preparations went it was likely an effective one

Again Huang Shou ignored the question he asked but still replied Do you know how to play Go

Shaking his head Huang Li said I understand the rules But the intricacies of the game are beyond me

Huang Shou placed another stone onto the board This old man will teach you then You�ve worked hard to reach this point it is time for others to assist you

Huang Li blinked Do you mean

It�s been quite a few years but I haven�t forgotten my roots As he solemnly stood Huang Shou�s face broke into a surprisingly childish smile The truth is I too was adopted into the Huang Family Heh Now that we have come this far it would be disrespectful to the Ghosthound if I were to remain idle any longer This honor of naming the Earth will belong to Zone 7

Chapter 1448

Then let the match begin The Order Ducis member announced with an extravagant gesture The crowd began to cheer as the third match of the day began

The cloaked Blackhand waved his arm and produced a dozen jet black spikes that hovered in the air above him With the thick cowl that hid all of his features and the meter long needles above him he was a sinister figure Plus the air was thick with his dense Mana and sharp piercing image Richter rolled himself a few meters backward with heaving shoulders Then he raised his head and regarded the Huangs with a steely gaze that demonstrated that he was just as determined to win as they were

Huang Li�s image dragon roared and swam through the air to surround the stage It wove through air currents and left its infinitely long body binding the air tighter and tighter But the closer to the two opponents his image went the more resistance it encountered Huang Li began to frown There was something strange about the energy they released It seemed somehow to weaken his image innately without needing to attack it

But if it is only at this level I can forcefully withstand it Huang Li lowered his center of gravity and settled into a familiar fighting stance His fingers tightened on the leather wrap of his wo dao

Huang Shou appeared even more fearless leaning on his cane as he walked confidently forward Grandson give this old man the gift of freedom to warm up It has been a while since I�ve gotten serious exercise Then he twisted his torso starting a chain reaction of cracks up his spine as the vertebrae shifted from their settled position The effect was quite impressive

Still Huang Li had no room for distractions Blackhand gestured and the spikes above him shot forward Huang Li pounced forward in response blades of wind forming and smashing against the attacks as they neared Huang Shou�s position But that same natural suppression in the energy was also present in the spikes Li�s Skills were only half as effective as he expected at defending

Narrowing his eyes Huang Li blew through one third of his Mana to produce a veritable storm of wind blades that chipped and sliced the spikes to nothing They splintered and shattered After the attacks were defeated Blackhand just snorted and conjured twenty four more gleaming spikes that floated in the air He leaned forward seeming confident in a direct conflict of numbers

Huang Shou straightened and then twisted his torso in the other direction once more creating a cascading series of cracks Huang Li studied his opponents closely Behind Blackhand a large sinister shadow was forming around Richter Leathery tentacles covered in pulsing black veins seemed to rise from his shadow and grasp at the surrounding air

Huang Li focused on Blackhand Seize the initiative now He gestured with his left hand performing a grabbing motion almost casually The image that Huang Li had coincidentally witnessed last night was reproduced on a much smaller scale His fingers stabbed like daggers toward his own palm Cloud Slaying Claw

The attack ripped forward The suppression of Zone 1�s energy affected it but it still traveled cleanly across the intervening distance Blackhand sent a black spike downward to intercept but that spike and the ethereal claw attack passed by each other without any contact The image of the claw was one that built a connection to a distant point As long as the opponent just relied on their usual image and didn�t target the weaker image of the connection established it was practically unblockable

When the claw arrived and ripped open Blackhand�s robes in a spray of blood Huang Li was already shooting forward Dragon�s Dance

Congratulations Your Skill Dragon�s Dance has grown to Level 229

Although even Li was surprised by the effectiveness he was not going to let this pass

Blackhand�s nominal hand with wizened flesh and thick black veins rushed out pressing against the wound on his shoulder He took several steps backward unleashing all of the gathered spikes like he was firing a machine gun But with the boost of Dragon�s Dance Huang Li only had to take three steps and he had avoided the spikes and arrived directly in front of Blackhand

The flood dragon coiled around Huang Li�s body raised its head and regarded Blackhand coolly Huang Li�s body accelerated forward and he brought his blade swiftly around Dragon�s Claw

Blackhand gestured sharply upward and a veil of black energy rushed up in front of him Huang Li�s eyes narrowed imperceptibly This Blackhand

His foot spun on the ground and he was around the veil and behind his foe Huang Li gritted his teeth and forcefully endured the physical backlash from the quick movement Still Blackhand had only partially twisted around in horror by the time Huang Li recovered and thrust his wodao into his opponent�s side

With a twist of the blade and a kick Huang Li sent Blackhand sprawling More blood spurted out onto the arena ground is not very good at close combat He just relies on his high Mana and the suppression of his image

Still Blackhand spun mid air as he fell and slapped his palm on the ground The strike flipped him back to a standing position At the same time almost a hundred black spikes materialized above his hunched form and quickly accelerated to skewer Huang Li Shaking his head Huang Li wove amongst the spikes and relentlessly pursued his wounded foe

Above the arena his image continued to stir the wind

Right as Huang Li was about to strike once more he pivoted and leapt sideways several meters A long almost rotting tentacle smashed downward in his previous position striking with enough force that the Donnyton marble of the stage cracked

A towering monstrosity had finished manifesting above Richter It was a sea horror oozing puss and stricken by a horrible affliction of black veins that made its fleshy body seem to be in its death throes Yet two small and beady eyes could be seen on the spongy main body surrounded by a thousand such tentacles

Enough Richter was extremely pale and gaunt but that insidious and almost caustic energy that weakened images in the surrounding area was now radiating off of his person in dense waves Don�t struggle any further At my full power

What hubris Ten Thousand Palm Huang Shou interrupted casually stepping forward and thrusting his hand forward Behind him an unadorned brass Buddha manifested As Huang Shou attacked the buddha mimicked him without even opening its eyes

The image that Huang Shou produced was so robust that Huang Li had to blink Perhaps I really should learn to play Go

Richter sent several of those ropy tentacles to meet the buddha�s palm but the tentacles were blasted to the side The palm moved serenely forward the Buddha advancing rapidly to attack the giant octopus monster

You Richter�s eyes narrowed Well if a few won�t work how about a few hundred

Rumbles shook the arena as the two image projections clashed A small frown formed on Huang Shou�s face and he used his other hand to chop through the air and blast away a significant portion of the tentacles seeking to smash and bind his image At the same time several tentacles whipped sideways along the ground aiming for Huang Shou�s actual body

Meanwhile Huang Li pounced forward once more toward the wounded Blackhand he had his own foe to fight He dodged the spikes but was stopped dead as Blackhand spun and simply made a small spiked dome around his position to protect himself Pressing his lips together Huang Li once more raised his hand and unleashed the Cloud Slaying Claw Struck unexpectedly Blackhand�s image faltered and Huang Li could forcefully smash his way through to stand before the Zone 1 representative

Huang Li�s wo dao cut sideways and Blackhand clapped his hands together to unleash a blast of energy That caustic unstable wave smashed into Huang Li�s chest even as he felt his blade ripping through the other�s flesh

Blackhand collapsed to the ground with yet another deep wound but Huang Li briefly lost consciousness hit him like a horse kick to the chest and left him dazed But he was awoken by the physical sensation of skidding across the arena and took stock of his situation It felt like acid had been poured on his image steadily eroding its strength Horrified Huang Li pressed his eyes closed and did his best to steady his image

I might be scarred but I cannot afford to fail After a few seconds of frantic image reinforcement Huang Li bit his lip and raised his head His vision was blurry and a pounding headache raced back and forth within the confines of his skull Still his breath hissed out between his teeth and he forced himself to his feet Then he held himself in a standing position even while he continued to sway

Gradually things came back into focus Blackhand was twitching on the ground but still down Blood was staining the arena beneath him Across the arena Huang Shou�s palms were light and smooth the buddha above him turning those strikes into domineering thunderbolts that smashed away the surrounding tentacles But with the strange intuition that Huang Li had gained from his flood dragon swimming on the wind he could see that Richter�s monster had cast out a tightly knit net It was only a matter of time before Huang Shou was captured

Huang Li began to take abrupt staggers toward Huang Shou and Richter�s battlefield the hand not holding the wo dao tracing the lines of his own body to check for injuries He was certainly sore and dazed but he was lucky that nothing was broken

Honestly the worst of the damage was to his image

Huang Li raised his left hand to unleash a Cloud Slaying Claw to wound Richter but then he hesitated His headache gradually receded and his thoughts cleared Huang Li lowered his left hand with a frown If he truly is a similar fighter to me he will have noticed the move I used twice to wound Blackhand He hasn�t experienced it himself but Richter probably will spot the weakness of it instantly if the first attempt doesn�t put him out of commission

So instead Huang Li flexed his fingers and empowered his dragon image as much as he could The strange damage dealt by Blackhand�s final attack made the effort painful but Huang Li would not let the first round that his adoptive grandfather conceded the point and helped him also be the round that they were decisively beaten

As the process continued Huang Li could no longer avoid the truth the damage to his image was almost crippling In his current state he simply couldn�t wrap his mind around enough details to make the image potent

Yet if anything this only made Li relax further

I could never make an image that was truly this powerful on my own anyway Huang Li continued to walk forward his joints aching The clouds above the arena slowly began to circle the stage as a weak but determined wind spread rapidly outward It is only due to my heritage and instructors that I came this far It is only due to the spirit of my people that I can stand on this stage So now for all of you who are watching please I need your help Show me the dragon that can slay not just the clouds but the entire sky

The stirring wind spread outward seeking inspiration and support

Chapter 1449

Do you feel that Tatiana asked She tilted her head and scrutinized the sky The clouds were beginning to move in a slow whirlpool What was most impressive was the fact the effect extended far beyond just the area above the arena

Randidly resisted the urge to smile Sometimes it felt like a fluke that these two got here with only Huang Li fighting but that was just because most of what he was doing was subconscious drawing on other�s strength at points when he should have been defeated But now that he has reached out purposefully Heh this will be interesting to watch

Despite their images being very different Huang Li had taken principles from Randidly�s Skills and images to innovate in new ways Honestly Randidly felt a gentle swell of pride in his chest

The effect is slightly similar to the Eidolon Crucible only much more geared toward unity Tatiana observed Then she poked Randidly in the side with a sly smile on her face Having you been playing favorites and giving out free lessons on the side I hope you made Zone 7 pay an arm and a leg

Nope he did this all on his own Randidly shrugged

Then his gaze shifted to the inert form of Blackhand and his smile faded But will this be enough Show me whether the Earth really can create an image to overcome a monster

Huang Shou could see the efficient patterns of the corrosive and dangerous attacks from the ugly beast in front of him It only took a few clashes for Shou to grasp the difference in their abilities Perhaps in terms of physical strength they were equal but the added poison that ran through the octopus�s body meant that Shou constantly needed to give up ground to survive

Shou followed the developments passively this much wasn�t enough to shake him even as the moves available to him over here were being restricted

But there was another live stone on the board currently in the form of Huang Li Before the tournament Shou had honestly not thought much of his adoptive grandson despite his status as Captain of Zone 7�s guard So he had come to the tournament as an agent of Zone 7�s conservative faction to simply watch and teach the Glorious Leaders a very specific lesson Without the assistance of the conservative faction you are only capable of this much

Heh And yet after watching that boy bleed in front of me I have suddenly become nostalgic for the toil of my own youth Ah age takes us all eventually Shou reflected His brass Buddha lashed out left and right with its palms putting on the appearance of a furious increase in strength Of course it cost him quite a bit of Stamina to do so but he wanted to test his opponent

Very cleanly Richter manipulated the monster above him to act more passively while Shou exerted himself Huang Shou narrowed his eyes as he watched Richter tighten his hands on the armrests of his wheelchair and regard him in turn This boy would be quite good at Go

Still he is young With the space afforded to him Shou ceased attacking and brought his hands together Purifying Resonance A shiver spread through Shou�s body as the sound of his clap cleansed much of the sinister energy that had seeped into him from Richter�s attacks It was slightly shocking however that the effect was only able to rid him of 75% of the remnants Some stubbornly gathered in the corners of his body refusing to be shaken by a cleansing done in the heat of battle

Richter gestured sharply and those casual swirling tentacles now thundered downward at the brass buddha with its hands pressed together Huang Shou didn�t even blink this was what he was waiting for Life is Suffering

White sigils flared to life across the body of the brass Buddha Shou couldn�t keep the technique active for very long but in that instant all damage that each of them took was reflected back on the other But even as the Skill activated Huang Shou�s wrinkled face twisted in shock You

The tentacles smashed downward spraying their corrosive and dark energy with their wild swings The white sigils flared to life and transferred that damage back to Richter whose face was locked into a grimace Richter and Shou looked eyes for a long moment feeling each other�s agony Then both slumped backward Richter in his chair and Huang Shou leaning heavily upon his cane His fingers were sweaty

The attacks from both sides ceased as both manifestations faded somewhat In the end the exchange was likely a draw Shou gave Richter another deep look You you have allowed something dark to take up residence within your legs huh Such an existence truly admirable that you have persevered through the pain

After a while pain is just that pain Richter wiped his hand blood leaking between his lips It is simply a body signaling a deviation from the typical As long as that deviation is expected you can easily ignore that signal

A dangerous way of thinking The mind is not the master of the body Huang Shou reprimanded His Mana had been instantly drained using that Skill but his image was quickly recovering to its former state Then Shou shook his head Either way you have lost My partner has defeated yours and will come to help me finish you Surrender now and spare yourself the humiliation of seeing your image crushed

Richter chuckled My partner has not been defeated she is simply trading away more of her body for power

An image ballooned into existence behind him and Shou shifted his feet and narrowed his eyes at this new threat Huang Li was about five meters behind him bent over and clasping his wo dao with both hands like he was still recovering from the hit he had taken earlier Perhaps fifteen meters beyond him Blackhand straightened and stood

The wizened hand lined with black veins reached up and ripped the remainder of the heavy cloak that obscured his features What was waiting beneath was a middle aged woman who looked to have one foot in the grave Her skin was grey and covered in liver spots The bags under her eyes were the color of a three day old bruise Thick black veins wiggled like worms across her body And her eyes were completely pitch black

Theodora Greyman Huang Shou said in shock The impeached former president of Zone 1 who once was believed to be the greatest roadblock to Zone 7�s ascendance now looked like she had was just a shell of her former self

Theodora raised her head and seemed to scream with every fiber of her being Her complexion grew increasingly pale and yet somehow she didn�t produce the slightest sound A second later a wave of that dark energy exploded from her like she was just a pipeline to a lake of caustic sewage While Richter�s image was only soaked with the energy to the point that each movement dripped it this was the pure source

Just as Shou made to shift to fight the new foe Richter�s octopus monster surged forward and smashed its tentacles at his back Snorting Huang Shou brought his focus back around and unleashed another One Thousand Palm To his surprise Richter�s bold attack crumpled rather easily it seemed the Life is Suffering had inflicted more damage than he initially thought

Which meant that Huang Shou could quickly overpower Richter if he gave him his full attention but the new attack from behind would not give him that luxury He glanced over with concern at the wounded Huang Li Grandson

We see it grandfather Huang Li straightened slowly The wall of caustic energy rushed toward his face but he didn�t even look at it He simply nodded as though reassuring himself and raised his sword upward The metal blade gleamed in the mid morning sun

The tip of the sword was perfectly upward Huang Shou found the form reassuring but there wasn�t a single image that hung over that slash It was just a normal sword to Huang Shou�s confused eyes

Huang Li spoke again before he attack I bet you can see it too if you look The True Dragon�s Shadow Sky Slaying Slash

The blade fell

For a second the sound of the wind drowned out everything else Huang Shou�s eardrums ruptured and blood tricked out of his ears He could only watch with wide eyes as though he were watching one of the silent movies of his youth Huang Li swung his sword gracefully downward and something began to stir

Huang Shou�s eyes shot upward and he witnessed it for the briefest moment an image even larger than the stadium staring down at Theodora Greyman with disdain The wave of dark energy rushed forward and was split without being able to resist at all

Bringing his palms together Huang Shou scraped together enough Mana and brought his hands together He shaped the word with his mouth but heard nothing but the roaring wind Harmonious Resonance

The energy ran through Shou�s body and healed all his surface wounds His eardrums were once more restored

WHooH

The collision at the end was so powerful that Huang Shou was knocked to his knees when the concussive aftershocks hit his body He was breathing heavily struggling to see the outcome through the dirt and debris There was no way that she would be able to block that correct

As the dust cleared Huang Shou�s expression twisted in unwillingness and bitterness Theodora Greyman was still standing seemingly unharmed But then that grimace faded into confusion Huang Li was panting and dropped his sword The weapon hit the ground and shattered into a thousand minuscule chunks of twisted metal

The strain of supporting that image had been too much

Suddenly a man with short black hair was standing between Huang Li and Theodora Greyman His emerald eyes weighed them both equally then he turned to Huang Li You need to be careful utilizing vast images like that She would have died if I hadn�t intervened and you might have destroyed a portion of the stands in the process

Randidly Ghosthound rapped his knuckle solemnly against the large thorny root that had cracked the Donnyton marble arena to interpose itself between Theodora Greyman and the attack Huang Shou was intrigued by the glimmering golden roots across the root but his eyes were drawn to the deep gash that oozed sap Huang Li�s strike had almost bisected the root completely

Huang Li blinked and then bowed deeply Then the Ghosthound turned to Theodora Greyman and gave her another few seconds of scrutiny anything you want to say You almost died from two things just now

The inky blackness faded from Theodora�s eyes But the whites of her eyes were lost in the deep bags that weighed her gaze down Why why do I always lose to you

Madam Greyman Randidly Ghosthound turned away from her We were never competing to begin with The winners of this round are Zone 7�s Huang Shou and Huang Li Any objections

The Ghosthound glanced sideways at Richter but the young man just sighed Then the crowd began to cheer

Heh I appreciate the nod but this time Huang Shou looked at the silhouette of his adoptive grandson It is not I that should have been announced first

Chapter 1450

Theodora Greyman was dying slowly Randidly could sense it Her body was rejecting the Nether that had flushed through her veins As with the original Skill he had earned whatever she was doing just created a faucet that she could turn and bring in Nether from the Great Rift And her physical body wasn�t being healed by the System as the Nether continued to further corrode her

Yet Randidly hesitated then turned away from her Fight the foe in front of you Theodora You chose this Now its time to see if you have the resolve to see it through

When he returned to his vantage point on his island Randidly�s mind was racing More than anything else he was struck with the immediate desire to train

Randidly realized something important when Huang Li pulled from the ambient images in the air he had missed something vital for the past several months Something that probably should have occurred to him as he was starting to understand Nether Just being the entity that stepped in and protected the former President Greyman from the consequences of the tournament he could feel his Nether roiling and bubbling as it experienced a heavy influx of memory and weight In all likelihood Huang Li and the other participants were experiencing something much more pronounced

But of course Huang Li didn�t have his own personal Nether He subsisted almost unconsciously on the thin film of Nether that the System allowed people to possess That small amount kept the semblance of balance between the energies but it was a slight space that made it impossible for weight to accumulate around someone

Yet the weight was still being produced The function of Nether wasn�t being affected just suppressed Randidly had sensed the process happening in the air He had experienced noticeable gains to his already developed Nether Nebula as he drank from a tributary of that weight The main river was undoubtedly thick and powerful So where did that weight go

Or to put it more directly what did the System do with that weight

The other matches ended without any incident like Huang Li�s attack against Theodora Greyman and Randidly turned his attention away from the arena below His silver wrapped island drifted back over toward Kharon The top 8 of the duos tournament had been safely determined There would be a rest day tomorrow so Randidly would have quite a bit of time to investigate this phenomenon he finally identified

Unfortunately studying the actual Aether Constructs of the System revealed little to Randidly The actual infrastructure was that sophisticated Even when he tossed the problem to Neveah she was unable to give him any real insight after an hour of examination She did add that perhaps a more extended investigation would lead to more but Randidly told her not to bother He had another idea

Actually his idea was two fold First he would see what was happening with that weight To that end he split off a poignant memory and created a globe of Nether to house it The memory was Randidly�s first recollection of meeting Shal finding him sitting in the safe room in the healing pool Then he simply placed it outside of his body letting it get flattened and squeezed by the tightly pressing constructions of Aether

Gradually as Randidly watched that compressed memory he detected it flowing away from him and toward the sky In the process of being forced through that thin membrane the walls of the memory began to crack and break The details were rubbed away but the significance remained The strain was enough to damage Randidly�s thick Nether It would take a few days to fully crack it but Randidly couldn�t help but be impressed by the quietly efficient method of extracting weight

That was the genius of this portion of the System It syphoned this weight off and destroyed its individuality and even now to Randidly�s concerted focus it only seemed like a side effect He couldn�t detect the source of the phenomenon at all

Randidly grinned up at the dark grey sky but his eyes weren�t really taking in the clouds He was seeing that swirling Aether constructs beyond that Randidly was peering up toward the location that a Nether King had come to attack the Seventh Cohort His emerald eyes searched for any lingering traces of the Nexus There aren�t that many actual coincidences here are there Just how deeply did your schemes run Elhume

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 253

The night stretched onward Randidly coolly watched his memory being smushed and stolen by the Nexus Then right before dawn of the break day Randidly reached out and plucked the memory back out of that thin membrane area

To Randidly that memory was quite precious It was enough to see that the weight of all these moments was really being stolen on a mass scale Now it was time for him to work on his second idea to take all of that Nether weight for himself

Clicking his tongue Randidly began to weave Nether once more He suspected that his arrangement would need to be near perfect in order to work

Huang Shou chuckled They sat in the main room of their allocated suite savoring the day of rest they had before the matches tomorrow Looking at it now will change nothing Rest for another few hours There is no rush to fight

I understand grandfather Huang Li said as he steadily worked his jaw For whatever reason Li just couldn�t find it in him to relax He had always known this roadblock was coming He had prepared himself mentally for it quite far in the past But now having made it here having felt the vast subconscious image in the air above the tournament and briefly made use of its power Huang Li was strained and fraying

Of course even if it wasn�t Paolo and Kayle it is not like any of the duos left at this point are push overs Huang Li grimaced and looked at the full schedule of matches for tomorrow

Match 1 (9 00 AM) Huang Shou and Huang Li v Paolo and Kayle

Match 2 (12 00 PM) Donny and Glendel v Tykes and Dinesh

Match 3 (3 00 PM) Alana Donal and Wivanya v Lucifer and Guiliana

Match 4 (6 00 PM) Hank Howard and Ancho v Lyra and Stan

Of the remainder Huang Li had to admit that the Zone 7 team was the one with the smallest chance of victory The power of the move that Huang Li was able to unleash captured the imaginations of the crowds and kept them relatively even with the more established duos in terms of bets but even Huang Li had to admit that his control over that image was shaky

But that power the fact that I wielded that power in the past Why is it now so hard Li gritted his teeth

Alana and Hank had proven themselves multiple times against multiple enemies of Earth over the last few years Lucifer had led a team to clear the challenge Danger Zone faster than any others Donny and Glendel were basically the original dominant main force of Donnyton a pair of individuals whose leadership skills meant they hadn�t needed to act publicly in years Tykes and Dinesh were former members of Donnyton and heavily involved with the Order Ducis and the spread of images to other Zones

Even Lyra and Stan the least understood pair made Huang Li nervous Lyra also didn�t appear recently in any sort of discussions but that was because she was nominally the VIllage Spirit of Donnyton She was the first Village Spirit that seemed capable of existing outside of the Village and actually fighting Viewers were left baffled by her unflappable and unhurried victories to reach the top 8

It was rumored that she made a deal with someone high up in the Seventh Cohort to transform herself into more than simply being a Village Spirit Yet during all the matches her image was dense and well controlled Which made her a figure that Huang Li felt great wariness toward

Li clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles popped No matter how he thought about it he would fail He was a failure And that failure

Ack Huang Li grunted and staggered a half step forward He twisted around and looked at Huang Shou primly holding his his knobby cane with both hands With a wince he straightened is there something you need grandfather

A grandson who listens Huang Shou said without any irony Then he inclined his head toward the dinner table Ever since you have seen that bracket you have not been able to eat or even produce a single productive thought through your your thick skull I look at you now and wonder if you are the same young man who won us the prior match

I know Huang Li whispered His hands were tingling like they were coming to life after being numb So even Huang Shou sensed that he had lost something precious in the prior match I I know

Huang Shou snorted Then he raised his cane to jab at Huang LI�s stomach but paused After considering for a bit he appeared to think better of the violent action So he revered his grip on his cane and brough the larger knobbed head around in a baseball bat swing that hit Huang Li�s thigh with enough force the limb spasmed

Caught rather off guard Huang Li collapsed While he was on the ground Huang Shou rolled his shoulders My grandfather was the greatest Go player that I have ever seen even to this day The current me could not give him a worthy match even with a seven stone handicap Randidly Ghosthound has enough personal strength and force that the Village he simply associated with in his earlier days now has enough clout to dominate the list of Earth�s most powerful people Can you guess what these two individuals have in common

For a while Huang Li just blinked and rubbed the sore spot on his thigh His thoughts truly had been in chaos since they had won their previous match He had drifted around without any weight stunned and reeling The great achievement became a weight around Huang Li�s neck that he couldn�t support That strike by his adoptive grandfather had shocked him awake

But these questions Huang Li shook his head I do not know

Guess Huang Shou opened his mouth just enough for the frosty word to slip out then resumed his near perpetual frown But Huang Li didn�t miss the way that Huang Shou�s hands choked up on the can in preparation for another swing

Li released a large sigh Still his training from the Huang Family was deeply engraved in him It had been since he became Captain of Zone 7�s guard but interrogations like this had used to be quite common for him He shifted his legs to be folded underneath him in a respectful posture from what little I know of both they were both very well respected men

There were a split second where Li detected Huang Shou�s movements and could have dodged the vicious strike His adoptive grandfather had hid his high Stats very well but even so Huang Li had higher base specs But ultimately Li pressed his lips together and allowed the strike to hit his face

With an aching jaw Huang Li turned and listened to Huang Shou The older man�s eyes were dark and flinty Your first thought is to talk of other people�s opinions of them Are you a newspaper or a gossip

Li�s breath came out threw his nose and tried a different answer They both earned the respect and admiration of their peers

Actually my grandfather was rather universally criticized and avoided He had an irascible temper and couldn�t accept even the slightest sign of disrespect His tongue was vicious I often believed that had it not been for my interest in Go he wouldn�t have even bothered to allow me to visit his estate The old man would derive great enjoyment from keeping the gate shut in my face but as you truly did not ever know him I will not count this against you Try again

How generous Very quickly Huang Li�s flash of annoyance was suppressed beneath his practicality The wheels of his thoughts began to quickly whirr to life Li�s mind felt even more clear in the wake of the second strike It suddenly occurred to him that these were not normal attacks there was a Skill hidden in their movements one so subtle that Huang Li had missed its activation

An entirely different sort of bitterness emerged in Li�s heart as he considered the truth that Huang Shou was doing this currently in order to help him The method was rough but the old man wasn�t just lashing out randomly So Huang Li did his best to consider the question posed by his grandfather what did these two people have in common

As Li�s emotions began to calm something else occurred to him despite his high standards Huang Shou wouldn�t give him an impossible task Because Li didn�t know anything about this previous Huang Grandfather the answer would lay with what he knew about Randidly Ghosthound So what did the Ghosthound have in common with this former patriarch of the Huang Family A man who that Li knew nothing about aside from the fact he was very good at

That line of thoughts made Li paused Almost reflexively he spoke to Huang Shou in a question How much did your grandfather play Go

Huang Shou tapped the base of his cane twice against the ground I cannot think of a time that I saw him when he wasn�t playing Go That board was the most important object in his life

then what unites them is dedication to their pursuits Huang Li said with confidence As his emotions calmed further and his thoughts cooled it was like his mental state was being filtered The mess of his mind was purified and streamlined the silt and pollution of the past few days being stripped away Li�s expression turned increasingly serious as he considered the internal chaos of the last twenty hours the usage of that Sky Slaying Slash was more dangerous than he thought

Setting aside the emotional reaction using that amalgamation of images while Huang Li�s image had been partially wounded by Blackhand�s energy resulted in some foreign elements bleeding into his image Foreign elements that affected Huang Li�s mental state

Of course I am a failure I am just a simple man who was raised to this point on the backs of my predecessors Why would being a failure bother me That�s not the point Huang Li released a much lighter breath The point is to contribute so those that follows can achieve even greater things

Well I suppose that is close enough Huang Shou allowed He tapped the base of his cane twice more on the ground But in this case it is better to remember that both men were obsessed to the point of being isolated from the world Never forget the steps you took to get to this point The Go my grandfather constantly played or the battlefields the Ghosthound has traversed to reach this point Do not turn your back on your prior efforts The masses have coined the term Legend and put you in that category but you are the most recent and the most eye catching of a dozen such individuals You are still the soldier from Zone 7 That is all you are and that is your strength

Li�s mouth twitched That was probably the longest speech he had ever heard from Huang Shou And he couldn�t deny it was something that he had needed to hear at the moment They sat in silence then for almost ten minutes Huang Li pressed his fingers against the windows of the housing and felt the chill of the outside world creeping through the glass Small snowflakes drifted downward dancing lazily with each other on their journey to the ground

Eventually Li flexed his hands to disperse the numbness in his fingertips and spoke although I don�t think the Ghosthound is quite so isolated as you say He is currently hosting the tournament after all

Huang Shou snorted The altar that young man worships at is power This whole arrangement is an edifice to that power Aside from protecting the participants have you seen the Ghosthound do much else I wouldn�t be surprised if he was also constantly training on the side during the matches The obsessed don�t easily waiver

Chapter 1451

This rest day was a day filled with expectation The shape of the final matches had been made clear Anticipation was thick in the air

Helio Udunes expertly chopped the onions and then threw them into the large wooden bowl with the shredded potatoes His left hand squirted oil into the bowl while his right grabbed a handful of mixed salt and spices and tossed it on top With experienced movements he brought a wooden spoon into the bowl and churned the base ingredients for his famous Orchard Hash

Rather than human movements his hands had achieved something close to a machine like precision as he furiously pumped away at the ingredients The long tendons of his forearm stood out in sharp relief as he engaged in the labor intensive act He didn�t consciously count the number of times he churned and spun the potatoes and onions but his eyes closely followed the color and consistency

If someone had been counting the number they would have noticed that he set the finished bowl down on the aluminum table after the exact same number of stirs as he had with the previous batch But even then his hands didn�t rest Helio turned to the layered hash that was already sizzling on the griddle and expertly began cutting off square portions that spat out grease

Finding a minute imperfection Helio frowned He added a pinch more of shredded cheddar cheese on top of one of the squares

Because the seasons had finally laboriously began shifting deeper into autumn the heat of the griddle and the sound of sizzling oil was extremely reassuring compared to the light dusting of snow outside Individuals with glasses pushed through the wooden door and had their glasses fogged up Even though most people in the Orchard had high enough Stats that the cold wasn�t a significant inconvenience there was just something compelling about warmth the streets generally housed only people hurrying from one shelter to another

Aside from Helio working the grill there were four people sitting in Helio�s small restaurant There were two cramped wooden tables and sets of chairs that he had barely been able to squeeze into the lot given to him but strangely all four of the customers were sitting at a single table They were crumpled like sardines but no one seemed to mind That was just the way that it was

Their voices were loud so it was quite easy for Helio to keep track of their conversation At first Helio had believed that they were purposefully trying to include him and was slightly touched But as he understood these people better they were simply loud

Oh Alana has been a Legend for at least a year now since when the Ghosthound cast aside Donnyton Liam was saying with a deep frown His hands were resting on his bulging stomach Liam was a Zone 1 native and claimed to have obtained his Class from East Providence For those who cared about such things this was apparently quite prestigious a claim Heh this Li or whatever might look flashy but he�s newly arrived at that type of strength I have no doubt they will lose quickly in the next match

Liam had large hands and thick fingers He used those almost sausage like fingers to poke the table every few words as though to emphasize his point

Helio turned his attention from the cooking hash to the next batch in the bowl Narrowing his eyes Helio consulted his Skill Then he took several smaller pinches of spices and mixed them in more carefully Personally Helio didn�t believe that Liam was anything close to one of the original members of Zone 1 He was to put it bluntly quite weak The air around him held not even a whiff of an image

But Helio was exactly the opposite of these people he was a very quiet person

Are you sure Were you there I was sitting directly behind the Zone 1 side of the stands so the attack was coming right at me Cleary was a sharp eyed woman who seemed to be constantly looking at the exit to the restaurant while she was here Helio always wondered whether she was dreading or anticipating someone�s arrival She didn�t wear a wedding ring or have a tan line but Helio suspected all was not settled in her personal life The woman continued to talk with a wide open mouth completely obviously to Helio�s sharp but brief glance That attack was powerful I think that they can at least make it to the finals with an attack like that

Sluurrpp Ning sucked deeply at her straw her eyes on the table Of the four the woman from the Great Sea Zone didn�t speak much For that reason Helio liked her the best But that didn�t mean he liked her very much in the end

He walked out from behind the grill with a pitcher and poured her another large glass of lemonade She didn�t even acknowledge him this was simply his role Helio turned away and placed the pitch back on the shelf Then his finely honed Skills from cooking prodded him to return and check on the hash once more

Evater who was a veritable wall of flexing muscle shook his head with enough force that his ponytail bobbed behind his head He was from the Zone 32 but had gotten his Class and training from the Refuge Impossible The finals At least on this subject Liam is right They might have shown they have the power of a Legend but do you think any of the people they will be fighting aren�t at that level These people can level a city just like that

Helios slipped his spatula underneath the cooking hash and checked the bottom it was golden brown and perfect He moved the chunks of finished hash to four plates

Lucifer Hank and Alana Cleary said counting on her fingers They are definitely Legends But the Ghosthound only had to intervene in that one fight in the prior round Doesn�t that prove how powerful the Huangs are

Bah that�s only because the other fights were more one sided That fight was just the best matchup If that chinaman hadn�t been so wild he would have just lost Liam harrumphed and crossed his arms Helios brought out the four plates and set them in front of everyone For a brief while the conversation was stalled as people began to eat Helios truly relished the silence

He opened up a cooler and pulled out a few more lemons He could already see the level of Ning�s lemonade in her cup sinking downward toward empty With a small knife Helio sliced the lemons in half and squeezed their juice out into a bowl

The four didn�t have any reason in particular to be friends but there was a betting house next to Helio�s restaurant that was the common point between them After several tumultuous rounds these four winning gamblers simply made it a habit to head here and gossip after all the bets were tallied

They all were locked into a strange competition outside of the actual competition who between them had the most insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the contenders And that competition was only becoming more vicious as the number of participants was narrowed down With only eight duos remaining Helios�s four customers were determined to prove their superiority over each other

The matches before even to Helios�s casual observation had been rather straightforward But truly these last sixteen individuals were overwhelming

well fifteen individuals and a horse

Still Helio was not someone who enjoyed violence The tournament was simply a necessary evil That was the sort of world they now lived in

But Zone 32 is pretty much the clear winner Evater said with pride We have six out of the top eight spots

Liam grimaced Yes well five of those six are duos with ties to Donnyton And Donnyton is special

I�m honestly surprised no one from a bubble city made it even to the top 16 Evater rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke They are supposed to be pretty powerful aren�t they People said they would move into the Zones and push regular Classers out of military roles But where the hell are they now

People from the bubble cities come in two types Liam announced His sausage like finger hit the table Murderers and layabouts Neither has any real sense of morality The strong ones are the criminals so the Order Ducis crushed them without any restraint as soon as they scuttled into civilized lands The rest are too lazy to make anything of themselves oh Helio you are a special case You do pretty well for yourself running this shop right Keep up the good work

Helio smiled politely but didn�t comment He had come from Mexico City before moving to the Orchard And more than anything else he was a professional He pulled down the sugar and added a handful to the bowl of lemon juice

Mark my words Cleary said again ignoring Liam�s prior comment Her narrowed eyes flicked to the door The door remained shut Zone 7 will get a spot in the top four That attack was breath taking They can make it

No Ning raised her head slightly She met Helio�s eyes and shook her cup Then she turned back to the other three at her table and shook her head Paolo and Kayle

With those words and the sight of Helio once more returning with the pitcher she returned her focus to the task of annihilating the remainder of her lemonade The others looked at her with sympathy Paolo and Kayle had faced and defeated the representatives of King Phirun in the prior round and Ning had lost quite a lot of money

But privately Helios agreed with her assessment Paolo and Kayle are very strong

The table considered that Finally Evater sighed They might be Legend tier too I bet their images are strong But don�t you think the winner will be Lucifer That Giuliana�s no slouch either

I just want to know why the hell they put Alana and Hank on the same side of the bracket Cleary grimaced They were my picks for the finals right when the tournament started How dumb can the Order Ducis be Did they think someone on the other side of the bracket can rival them

Paolo and Kayle Ning said again Slurrp

Helio poured more lemonade into her cup with a completely straight face

Chapter 1452

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 279

The notification was a welcome indication of Randidly�s tireless progress on his most recent ploy to dismantle the System pilfering the weight of this tournament by being better than the Nexus at its own ancient game of copying Nether That glee was somewhat diminished by the realization that he would be relying on the small scale of the theft to keep the System from noticing and by the fact Randidly didn�t know what the System did with the weight but it was still a good feeling to be legitimately working against the Nexus

But despite his general optimism his face creased into a frown as he looked at the working before him He waved his hand and dismantled the sweeping tapestry of Nether that he had been creating for the last several hours the project was ultimately a failure The inky threads ripped and dissipated in only a few seconds as he steadily recalled all the Nether into his body

Randidly looked toward the east where the veil of night was rapidly lightening toward a dreary grey morning and sighed Below both Kharon and the Orchard were slowly humming to life in preparation for the four matches that would happen today Restaurants opened and gambling halls adjusted their odds for a few last minute gamblers

I didn�t make it in time Randidly said to the air The weave of the Nether still isn�t tight enough The result is too thick Damnit I hate time crunches

Grumbling to himself Randidly stepped off the side of his island and dropped silently down toward the ground Even if he didn�t yet feel confident stealing away the weight of the tournament he wasn�t displeased with his progress over the last day Even if it was just his familiarity with Nether the repeated experiments and attempts were drastically transforming his understanding of the mysterious energy The more he wove with the substance of Nether the more Randidly began to have some ideas about how he could create the Nether equivalent of a Class

He didn�t have anything concrete yet But he at least had some viable ideas worth investigating

Congratulations Your Skill Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart has grown to Level 276

Right before Randidly smashed into the ground like a human sized bomb the Stillborn Phoenix spread its imaginary wings and released a silent cry toward the sky It�s twisted will warped space decelerating Randidly and letting him alight almost gently against the ground without any disturbance to the surrounding area Randidly narrowed his eyes breathed deeply through his nose then set off along one of the side paths around the arena It was only about 5 A M but it seemed that the air here was already thick with the scents of food

Which was good because Randidly felt like having breakfast

In a raw lack of self control Randidly�s stomach rumbled What was even worse was that his physically enhanced body produced a noise that was closer to a bear�s growl than to a usual stomach gurgle The sound was so unexpected that Randidly could help but laugh He felt somewhat lucky that no one else was yet on the street with him

He picked up his pace as he strolled toward the nearest source of a good smell while simultaneously checking his messages

He had received three messages that required his attention The first was from Tatiana continuing her dutiful tailoring of all of Kharon�s news so that Randidly could skim through and make key decisions regarding his city It was almost too easy to understand the issues from the reports Truly her dedication to her role was somewhat humbling to him This time the specific focus was the first ever Kharon Board Election which would occur tomorrow the next break day

In case Randidly missed her general opinion of the timing by her framing of the concerns Tatiana laid it out very clearly at the end of her message Having the election now is begging the Zones to take a swing at influencing us A government should above all do its best to provide healthy and intelligent options for its population and allies not expect such decisions to be made irrespective of the options available

Randidly grinned as he walked up to a wooden door leaking a particularly compelling smell having the Zones try something was kinda the point

When he opened the door the scent within was even more appetizing than he had anticipated Randidly couldn�t help but lick his lips and smile widely Which he did at the exact moment that the slender tanned man standing behind the stove glanced up and met Randidly�s gaze Then the man�s entire body twitched as though he had been doused with a bucket of partially melted snow

Randidly rapidly pulled in his leaking image and shifted his expression to something more neutral The combination of the hunger and the thought of these Zone bastards trying something I need to be more careful Well honestly he endured exposure to my image better than I would have expected

Ah sorry about that Randidly cleared his throat The small restaurant only had two tables and both were currently deserted Randidly stepped forward and sat in one of the cramped wooden chairs at the left table I was distracted and let a little bit of my image slip through Are you alright What�s your name

Although Randidly could clearly feel that the man was physically fine with Grim Intuition there was meaning to actually asking the man how he was As Randidly expected the man blinked and patted himself several times across his body as though he was searching for invisible flaws in his muscles and joints Then something seemed to click into place and the man moved back toward his sizzling grill

While he worked on the cooking food he took periodic glances at Randidly yes I am alright Please forgive me for my poor manners as the owner of this establishment welcome My name is Helio Udunes What can I get for you

Two plates of whatever smells so delicious Randidly smiled but then he suddenly regretted only ordering two plates his appetite now was truly ridiculous

That thought was all the permission his stomach needed to release another intimidatingly loud rumble His wooden chair vibrated with the noise Helio�s mouth twitched but otherwise his expression didn�t change at the slip honestly Randidly was amused to see him struggling so hard not to laugh

Letting the man work Randidly rubbed the back of his neck and turned toward the second of the two messages he needed to address The second message was blessedly short Lyra simply urged him to finally meet with her for dinner as he had promised a few weeks ago She wanted to meet this evening after her match

Which probably means she is very confident about the result since the match is scheduled for 6 P M and she is still willing to get dinner Randidly reflected as he chewed on his lip But her opponent is Hank Has she just accepted that she is going to lose Damnit every time I think I�ve settled and moved past our relationship

But still Randidly was somewhat curious What more could Lyra have to say at this point He had made it clear when he provided her with a Class that she should consider their history buried Being sword and sheath for the Village her support of Yystrix Randidly had labeled her as effectively banished from his life Yet she behaved so insistently now

If this was Lyra from four years ago this sort of reaction would make sense when they had first met Lyra was a rather spoiled young actress She was extremely clever and capable but privilege and inexperience meant that she wasn�t the most self aware individual This display would simply be her failing to understand the consequences of her actions

But even if Randidly judged her for the decisions she had made he couldn�t deny that the Lyra that he had met and seen obtain a Class was a much more sophisticated version of the young woman that he knew She also knew Randidly�s personality about as well as anyone on Earth did

If she broke the silence she likely thought she had something worth the possibility of earning his ire

Well Tatiana probably has a better grasp on me now Her Skill practically monitors my every move Randidly shook his head sharply Then he replied to Lyra with an agreement Fine it�s just one dinner I plan on leaving Earth soon anyway so I can just reject any other requests

And speaking of leaving Earth

The third message was from Octavius Shrike Randidly finally received the details he had so long waited for of the situation in the Nexus

Randidly sat at the small wooden table and drummed his fingers as he sifted through the absolutely massive message that Octavius sent him It appeared that the reason the message had taken so long was that Octavius was creating a huge repository of information for Randidly to smooth over his transition into the Nexus proper

The letter would probably have taken up about a hundred pages if it was converted to a book form Randidly felt a deep sense of dissatisfaction as he scrolled through huge blocks of text and skimmed through the extremely detailed bios of famous individuals in the Nexus to look out for His first thought was to forward the message to Tatiana and have her create a more readable version but he somehow sensed that she would not be pleased about that So he resolved himself to speed skimming

Is this proof I�ve gotten spoiled Randidly thought with a sardonic grin

Helio eventually brought over two plates of steaming potatoes onions and cheese and set them before Randidly without a word Randidly began to rapidly eat his eyes searching through the sea of words

the worst part is how officious Octavius writes Randidly grimaced and used his cool metal fingers to rub the bridge of his nose Then he blinked at the empty plates in front of him and signaled Helios to bring him two more This isn�t a report to the Nexus Council just tell me what I need to know

About halfway through the letter some relevant details about the situation began to emerge The original Vualla had effectively established herself but was in something of a bind due to abandoning her old identity and therefore her previously held Nexus citizenship Octavius lectured Randidly for several paragraphs that he should only refer to her as Edraine from this moment forward This was her new identity

Randidly scraped his fork against the bottom of the second set of plates to clean up any gooey remnants and coughed lightly Then he signaled for four more to be brought to him Helio saint that he was simply nodded

I should come here more often Randidly reflected as he turned back to the tiresome message

Edraine wanted to take one of the civilian positions on the Nexus Council but needed Tier 3 Citizenship to do so Octavius explained that the Citizenship coins Randidly had were very valuable because they came directly from an active Cohort They were needed for her to accumulate Tier 3 Citizenship Therefore they were greatly anticipating his arrival In addition Randidly could discuss the compensation with Edraine directly when he arrived

Then the message continued to explain the escalating incursions from Nether forces the targeted strikes from the rogue Nether King and the low quality of images that were entering into the Nexus from the Seventh Cohort that had the situation in the Nexus rather strained Aside from a few unpredictable and inconsistent appearances there was no central leadership to speak of within the Nexus Different factions within the Nexus had emerged and were making moves to secure a supply of Aether for themselves and their subordinates rather than addressing the ailing System

Basically everything is about to come to blows huh Randidly said softly Helio looked up but then lowered his gaze just as quickly Shaking his head Randidly stretched Well they likely have been doing the same thing for hundreds of years At this rate this can continue for quite some time still

But it�s volatile Randidly�s mouth twisted into a wicked grin A single spark might burn the whole place to the ground

Chapter 1453

Who do you think will win Mrs Hamilton asked lightly as the Donnyton group took their seats She suddenly regretted not bringing tea with her to the seats it would have given her an easy way to hide her smiles

Perhaps because Isabella Cortez had been defeated by the Huangs the young woman who sat next to Mrs Hamilton thought about the question with great care for several seconds Pan just scowled down at the arena and crossed his arms Isabella finally shook her head slightly That Huang Li is obviously very strong But I just cannot imagine Paolo and Kayle losing They have so much experience with battles that I don�t think that Huang Shou shares

Normally I would agree with you Mrs Hamilton said lightly But there are two important weaknesses to this version of them Obviously one weakness is the fact they are not using their natural weapons At the base level it is almost irrelevant to them But if they face foes with similarly powerful images that small difference will end up being crucial As for the second reason care to guess

Donny and Glendel were absent doing their own preparations for their match later But Kayle and Paolo�s squad as well as several of Donnyton�s other powerful squads were filing in around them as Donnyton commandeered a large section of the stands Mrs Hamilton could feel the instinctive delicate threads of rejection from the people of Donnyton around her but she ignored their ambient emotions

To a Mrs Hamilton who had survived from the beginning of the System�s arrival until now there was nothing more important that viewing everything with an unbiased eye

To her surprise Pan answered first Well they don�t care much about winning right They are just battle maniacs That�s always a handicap

An interesting point But I would say that they both enjoy the act of fighting too much to let that stop them once the match starts They possess plenty of tenacity toward victory once they begin to bleed But you are right that in the right circumstances that could be dangerous Mrs Hamilton replied with a smile Any other thoughts I�m thinking of a personal factor related to image

Oh Isabella�s expression abruptly brightened Is it is it because the Ghosthound is here watching And he has very obviously put a lie to their invulnerability in the past So being here would weaken them because someone stronger is present

Also an interesting thought but well you might very well be right about that but it wasn�t what I was thinking Mrs Hamilton filed that thought away so she could scrutinize the minute interactions between Paolo and Kayle�s images and Randidly�s aura during the fight But ultimately Randidly had been so studious about being self contained that there might not end up being any interaction to watch

Still it was reassuring for Isabella to bring something up that Mrs Hamilton hadn�t considered Perhaps they could someday sit at the helm of Donnyton after all

Paolo�s right hand man gave Mrs Hamilton a meaningful sidelong glance he wanted to know whether he should speak or night She inclined her head slightly It didn�t matter where the answer came from just that the Cortez siblings heard it and understood

He cleared his throat to draw their attention and then spoke They have a handicap because they are curious No one has yet forced Huang Li to display his full potential His powerful attacks have generally ended his fights Rather than winning the tournament Paolo and Kayle will focus on finding the hidden potential of the tournament participants in the beginning and middle portions of the match They won�t strike decisively to end it early which should be extremely possible for someone like Kayle

Rick Kayle�s second interrupted as he leaned forward in his seat Don�t be modest Paolo�s ability to strike swiftly is in no way inferior to Kayle�s And in fact when you consider how destabilizing Paolo can be

I don�t know what is more aggravating Kayle and Paolo fighting or the two of you complimenting each other constantly Pan complained The two men clicked their tongues and took their seats right next to each other Mrs Hamilton smiled slightly inwardly she was in agreement with Pan And in fact their bosses� constant bickering was much more palatable than the alternative

anyway Mrs Hamilton eventually continued What Rick said was correct Look they took the opportunity to come out first Although I suppose this is their right as the higher seed they are the champions while the other duo is the challenger

Around Mrs Hamilton and the Cortez siblings the Donnyton group and much of the crowd leapt to their feet and began to roar as the figures of Paolo and Kayle sauntered out onto the stone arena Whether it was due to their affiliation with Donnyton their very public bet to use each other�s weapons their approachable personalities or their dominant wins thus far this duo had won the goodwill of the public

Mrs Hamilton closed her eyes feeling the volume of the cheers around her like the presence of a swarm of bees with their segmented legs pressing against her skin It was a living physical cloud It was both sound and energy echoing in the bowl like stadium And below on the arena floor she could feel both Paolo and Kayle steadily absorbing the outpouring of support

They raised their heads and that energy flowed into their confident smiles and settled through their images

Paolo benefited a lot more directly than Kayle but both had their images buoyed upward to fill the sky Mrs Hamilton even felt Randidly stirring above as the two images spread out to dominate the surrounding space Even that strange heaviness from Randidly couldn�t hide his curiosity and interest as he looked down at the fighters of Earth

Mrs Hamilton followed the Ghosthound�s sharp gaze truly these two were special From Paolo the typical exultation of a champion emerged He was indomitable invulnerable inexhaustible He might bleed or be beaten down but nothing would ever keep him from rising once more These cheers made his image concrete almost instantly His belief in his own strength towered above him like a thousand year old sandstone pillar

But the potency of Kayle�s image didn�t fall behind his partner who was so at home in a coliseum And if anything Kayle�s image was slightly more aggressive than Paolo�s Because Kayle�s image concerned distance Any distance really The space that could be severed almost absolutely by a single slash of a blade

Mrs Hamilton�s eyes slowly opened until she looked down at Kayle with a half lidded gaze There was a swirling boundary around Kayle about six and a half meters from his person Even without his long knives he had an almost absolute control of that six and a half meters To the point that Mrs Hamilton couldn�t be sure that she could defend herself if she went within that space

It used to be that it was a difference of combat practice but now Mrs Hamilton couldn�t help but smile at the small stirrings of envy in her heart as she looked down at the prideful men on stage My attention went elsewhere Even if my image is just as robust as theirs the applications differ significantly In a fight Heh I�ll be lucky if I can overpower little Bella here

Gradually the cheering faded to a chaotic rumble from the crescendo Both Paolo and Kayle turned the opposite entrance to the fighting grounds For from there a new breeze was blowing Mrs Hamilton looked up at the sky above them The heavy clouds that had lingered after yesterday�s snow had previously seemed stoic and disapproving but her eyes could still trace the subtle ways they began to move

The wind wasn�t oppressive but it was almost all encompassing

The Huangs walked out calmly with Huang Li standing a little behind and to Huang Shou�s left as they proceeded forward Shou�s wooden cane hit the ground at an even interval echoing to with enough of an image�s edge that it managed to suppress the cheers of the crowd Gradually silence was pulled over the stage as though it was being dragged by that limping old man

Oh This is new Tired of letting your grandson steal the spotlight eh Mrs Hamilton studied Huang Shou more closely Well it makes sense The elder generation isn�t very well represented in this tournament let�s prove that the unwavering belief an image requires isn�t just a young person�s game

Perhaps I should try and meet this man before they return to their Zone

Very quickly the Zone 7 team took its place opposite Paolo and Kayle who were playing a very fast paced game of rock paper scissors Their hands were only blurs as they adjusted their response on the fly The duo parted a few seconds later and Mrs Hamilton could tell from the rather glum expression on Paolo�s face that he had lost

Meanwhile Kayle grinned over at Huang Li with a triumphant expression Mrs Hamilton couldn�t help but roll her eyes You two maniacs never change

The referee looked back and forth between the duos Are both sides ready

Both duos nodded their heads and the referee cleared his throat He checked his watch and nodded Then let the first quarterfinals match of the duos tournament to name the Earth begin

Neither side moved immediately as the audience began to cheer more loudly The wind around the stadium began to howl a counterpoint to the cheers Although his expression was somewhat listless Paolo cracked his knuckles and began to advance The Huangs exchanged a glance and Huang Shou walked slowly forward to meet him It seemed that the purpose of Kayle and Paolo�s brief competition was obvious to everyone

I find you uncouth Huang Shou remarked with a deep frown

Paolo grinned in response I find you disappointing

Meanwhile Kayle was studying Huang Li very closely as the winds around the stadium became more intense Even the heavy cloud cover was beginning to noticeably stir The man pursed his lips and then said Take your time I wish to fight you at your peak performance

Huang Li closed his eyes and released a deep breath I hope you are aware that I do not have full control over this image

I understand Kayle looked down at his hand and rubbed a bit of dirt off of one of his fingers Then he rolled his shoulders and settled into a martial arts stance By the same token my current weapons are blunt instruments Don�t spend your health too cheaply against me or you will regret it

Rather than a duos tournament this is just two single fights happening next to each other Mrs Hamilton thought

As Paolo picked up speed toward him Huang Shou shook his head with an aggrieved expression on his face I admit I was the first to break the silence between us but to think that we would all waste so much time talking Close your mouth and fight

Ha That�s the joy of it Paolo bellowed His face was beginning to turn red and he accelerated forward The last few meters between them melted to almost nothing in a single second This is it This conflict This expectation Being observed and struggling to emerge dominant If you are a man you must clench your fists and raise your voice in such a situation FIGHT ME

Paolo�s large hand wrapped tightly around a knife blasted forward Huang Shou gritted his teeth and waved his cane a swirling geometric formation appeared in Paolo�s path Bright lines of energy manifested in the formation blocking Paolo�s path But that blow struck the formation and shattered it to smithereens

Huang Li spared a glance for his partner then faced Kayle with his sword raised The volume of wind was oppressive where Mrs Hamilton was sitting so she couldn�t imagine the state of things in the arena below The referee was blinking rapidly struggling to keep his eyes open in the face of the strong wind

A sinuous dragon settled across Huang Li�s shoulders Kayle just smiled and bounced lightly on the balls of his feet

Fine then Let�s start The dragon raised its head and roared Huang Li�s eyes blazed His sword ripped through the air Cloud Slaying Slash

Sever Kayle slashed his hand downward

The two were perhaps six meters apart when they struck Both attacks were relatively normal as far as attacks under the influence of the System went Both relied on pure images of intent rather than gratuitous special effects

Yet at the end of it Huang Li�s eyes widened as blood spurted out of a fresh wound in his shoulder

Kayle grinned over at him and took a deliberate step forward Mrs Hamilton�s eyes narrowed at the ominous aura that the Donnyton Classer began to release that was the smile of a man who believed he would be capable of cutting anything in his path Not that one show me your other sword The sword that can slay an entire sky

Chapter 1454

Huang Li�s breathing was heavy as he struggled to maintain his combat readiness His body�s natural recovery quickly stemmed the blood spurting out of his shoulder but he didn�t have much confidence in being able to stop the slash that would likely follow it

Kayle�s hands were relaxed at his sides yet someone they looked more like iron spikes and meat cleavers than human appendages As much as he prodded and tested with his image Li couldn�t even stir a strand of hair on his opponent�s head That image of his ominously sliced away everything leaving only the inviolable man

Huang Li�s grip on his wodao tightened He forcefully released a deep breath as Kayle took another step closer At the very least that strike from Kayle had completely disabused Huang Li of the idea of getting any cheap advantages by relying on the strange mechanism of Cloud Slaying Slash Kayle had sniffed out the trick and severed the connection between them before Li could strike casually wounding him in the process

Still the wound helped settled Huang Li�s frayed nerves No matter what else he had made it to this round this was enough to prove the power of Zone 7 He didn�t feel confident in winning against this opponent but something in his heart shifted now that he accomplished that goal his spirit could relax and simply meet the threat in front of him

Huang Li felt confident that the millions of practice slashes and stabs he had done with this sword weren�t meaningless Even here at this high stage the accumulation was significant So when Kayle took his next step forward Huang Li moved forward to meet him

The wind gathered around Li�s feet and accelerated his advance Around the arena the chaotic flows of air rushed around like a messy confluence of rivers Meanwhile that horrifically sharp smile on Kayle�s face curved upward as he adjusted his speed to meet Li

As Li and Kayle closed the distance between them the other half of the stage was filled with repeated explosions Huang Shou was throwing up carefully arranged formations in order to slow down Paolo�s advance but the man threw knife punch after knife punch forward and shattered all of the hasty preparations without breaking a sweat Still Li couldn�t spare much attention to helping his adoptive grandfather I hope you understand the risk you are taking grandfather Good luck

I sense we will need it on this day

Huang Li slashed his weapon diagonally upward and Kayle calmly leaned back to avoid the strike Hoping for his foe�s balance to be off Huang Li twisted his sword midair as soon as it was clear the slash would miss and stabbed downward toward the other man�s thigh If he could damage Kayle�s mobility

But of course Kayle spun away with his usual poise His hand flicked out almost delicately as he twisted around Li grimaced and brought his sword upward to block The invisible blade of air smashed into Li�s defense and forced him a few steps backward Kayle lowered himself and rushed forward

You even use wind blades against me Such Huang Li wanted to accuse his opponent of arrogance as he swirled his flood dragon image even more violently around himself but he couldn�t bring himself to do it That brief clash demonstrated that Kayle had more than enough reason to believe himself capable of challenging Li to a battle of wind

The cloud blade had pushed him back In terms of the potency of their Skills it was clear that Kayle had a decisive advantage

Kayle�s long fingered hands flicked out several more times as he threw invisible cuts toward Li For his part Li gave up on any pretense of offense and settled his stance as best he could in order to just survive His blade flowed reliably through the precise sword forms taught to him by the Huang Family but his expression stiffened as he felt the small adjustments that Kayle kept making to his attacks

More than the power what filled Huang Li with apprehension was the delicacy and deftness with which Kayle struck Li was forced to pull more and more deeply from the surrounding wind in order to keep up he couldn�t give the wind even time to build itself up further considering Kayle�s implacable strikes

Congratulations Your Skill Great Sky�s Embrace has grown to Level 202

If not with Skills then with image

Li was forced continually to retreat backward his grip on his wo dao trembling as he practically shoved away Kayle�s strikes As his image spread to the surrounding area Huang Li felt his limbs trembling less and less from blocking his foe�s wind blades Li was even able to unleash a few counterattacks and achieved a reassuring rhythm in his movements But the problem was Kayle was growing stronger just as quickly if not a little bit more so

You�ve studied me Huang Li said as the realization hit him feeling strangely honored and indignant in his heart

The only answer that Kayle provided was an impossibly sharp palm attack aimed at Huang Li�s heart Pursing his lips Li prepared for the next stage of the fight

Dragon�s Dance

Domain Blade Halo

Just as Huang Li shot quickly backward with the sudden increase in mobility due to his Skill Kayle crossed his arms and manifested a swirling circle of blades around them Gritting his teeth Li pushing his roaring dragon through his Skill with more violence than he ever had in the past His body became slightly insubstantial As long as he remained within the halo he would need to be near perfect to survive

But rather than pounce Kayle paused His brow furrowed and there was a strange second of stillness from him

Huang Li passed through the edge of the halo and landed onto the ground He adjusted his stance and lowered his wo dao slightly bewildered But then he saw that all the hanging blades of Kayle�s Skill shimmer and then transform into hands

Li was dumbfounded This was a legitimate Skill And somehow Kayle had adjusted its shape on the fly Are you kidding me

Can this really be done with just an image Huang Li wondered

I�m a man of my word Kayle responded Then he rushed forward that Domain of palms spinning and swirling outward to surround Huang Li

But with the few seconds of a break Li had regained his balance and connected with the air swirling around the whole of the arena That forceful usage of his image boosted his physical performance to a point that he had never experienced in the past His wo dao drifted downward and then he exploded forward to meet the palms directly

His blade could only be seen when it caught the light as it flickered and flashed to deflect the oncoming attacks But even now Li still trailed behind Kayle�s physical abilities by the smallest amount His steps were light and uneven as he forcefully pushed his muscles and joints to their limits to avoid the brutally sharp attacks from Kayle And for the first time since the battle began Kayle�s smile slowly faded

While the explosions from the other fight continued to blast their way across the wide arena Kayle spoke with a cold certainty Bring out the other sword This is no judgment on you but you are not my match otherwise Show me your sharpest sword or you will be beaten into the ground

But Huang Li didn�t bother to answer Instead he continued to frantically swing his sword up down left right and around to defend against the veritable swarm of palms that struck at him His Stamina and mental energy were gradually being exhausted but Li somehow knew he couldn�t survive by conserving his strength Besides he had the oddest sense that as long as he continued fighting for just a little while longer he would be able to find the answer he sought

Wo dao and palms repeatedly clashed The lines around Kayle�s eyes gradually hardened

Yet this couldn�t last forever Even with the extra boost from his Dragon�s Dance Huang Li�s momentum was gradually exhausted and he was barely able to hold his ground He could match the Domain well enough but Kayle�s actual attacks were brutally sharp His hands were so filled with the concentrated image of sharpness that Li could hear the wind whistling as those fingers cut through the air Li had to urge his body to keep up with the onslaught but an answer to his prayers continued to allude him

Congratulations Your Skill Dragon�s Dance has grown to Level 259

Not that he didn�t understand Kayle�s frustration the other man wanted a challenge Huang Li�s training was ultimately a job to him but he wouldn�t have risen to his current station as head of the guard if he didn�t find some joy and passion in the act of combat Even now as the wind whipped through Li�s hair and he was trembling with the strain of resisting Kayle�s attacks he felt something reassuring about the conflict

This fight was a problem that could be solved with preparation and planning Which is why Huang Li didn�t now try and create the sword he had used to such great results in the prior match That was far too blunt an instrument to be relied upon here

One of Kayle�s attacks slipped past Huang Li�s guard and landed on his left bicep Rather than any true concussive force the strike actually drilled a small hole directly through Li�s bone and muscle to blast out the other side Blood dribbled down his limb as he forced his hands to remain tight around his sword and block the next attack

Congratulations Your Skill Greater Swordsmanship (Un) has grown to Level 219

When Li had finally managed to unleash his Sky Slaying Sword in the prior match it had both left him completely drained and with lingering mental interference He had opened himself up to the ambient images in the air and gathered them together in an enormous mass That mass became the fuel to create the imposing effect that the Ghosthound himself was forced to move in order to block

But it was dangerous And it was not the sort of strike that Huang Li felt proud of

Fine then Kayle said lightly His movements seemed to blur at the edges as he brought down a series of curving palm strikes toward Li�s body The increase in his speed was slight but the two of them had been already moving at Huang Li�s limit The first attack he deflected but the second left a deep gash across his forearm and the third forced him to retreat a half step

Kayle twisted and brought his elbow smashing into Li�s arm The domain of hands smashed downward at Li�s head and back

Preparation and planning Huang Li�s eyes flashed While the attacks closed in on him from every direction his mind seemed to spin furiously The motion was desperate but with his heightened senses Huang Li could feel his body come alive Time seemed to slow down His eyes flicked side to side to cover all the threats

Congratulations You have created the Skill The Stretch Between a Dragon�s Breaths Warning This action will consume your life energy Please see your Village Spirit in order to avoid sickness and death

Congratulations Your Skill The Stretch Between a Dragon�s Breaths has grown to Level 2

Congratulations Your Skill The Stretch Between a Dragon�s Breaths has grown to Level 3

Congratulations Your Skill The Stretch Between a Dragon�s Breaths has grown to Level 4

The truth was ambient images weren�t the only way to absorb strength and empower himself Huang Li remembered the way his adoptive aunt smiled at him and poured him steaming tea He remembered the instructors at the academy standing with ramrod straight spines and pointing out the flaws in his sword grip He remembered the sound of wind rushing through the reeds along the river and the way his Glorious Leaders had joked it sounded like the laughter of dragons playing in the shallows

It was reality but it was also an image

Kayle�s attacks steadily inched closer A terrible headache made Huang Li grit his teeth But from those fragmented memories he could see the shape of the image he had been building for the past five years all for this moment

It would have been an impossible task on his own to build such a powerful image in such a short period of time Five years was nothing on the grand scale of human history But he wasn�t on his own The weight of Chinese culture gave him shape detail and poignancy THAT was the power of being an average man

Congratulations Your Skill The Stretch Between a Dragon�s Breaths has grown to Level 5

Congratulations Your Skill The Stretch Between a Dragon�s Breaths has grown to Level 6

Finally Huang Li couldn�t maintain his new Skill any longer But he whipped his sword around slightly altering the trajectory of Kayle�s attack and the sweeping away the Domain that struck at his back Li felt his pinky break from a glancing strike of the elbow but his gaze remained focused

Of course it wasn�t that simple to bridge that gap between Kayle and himself even with a blooming image Kayle�s emotionless eyes detected the change in Li�s style and he seemed to cut through the intervening space to strike before any further variations could appear His hands ripped forward like a falcon spiking downward at the unsuspecting back of a rabbit

Dragon�s Roar Huang Li hissed The explosion of wind barely slowed Kayle down at all but it did get Li�s momentum heading backward So when Kayle�s attack landed he was smashed backward rather than simply being crushed

Chapter 1455

Wind and dust blasted outward as Kayle struck Huang Li Releasing a deep sigh Paolo pulled his envious gaze from the tumbling form of Huang Li and looked back at Huang Shou in front of him You know you are more tenacious than I would have thought But please give up Your teammate is at the end of his rope and I don�t wish to win more slowly than Kayle

And I don�t wish to lose to you The wrinkled old man said in response But he didn�t glance upward and his hands were constantly moving In the brief span of time that Paolo stopped to speak to him he was rapidly creating a more sophisticated barrier to keep Paolo at bay for even a few seconds longer

Paolo rolled his eyes truly this old man didn�t understand the concept of futility And the combination of his strange mental cantrip Skills and the energy constructions he could rapidly make with a few nodes of energy made him an extremely tiresome foe to face Yet truthfully the difficulty only made Paolo�s enjoyment of the situation shoot upward

Paolo clenched his fists and boldly stepped forward The wind was so loud that he couldn�t hear the cheers of the crowd but they still reached him through the fuzzy barrier of noise The belief and spectacle of the performance inevitably drew their gaze The absolute certainty that he was the center of their attention filled Paolo�s body with strength He threw out his punch as the energy array closed in around him At the last second Paolo�s eyes gleamed

Instead of clashing with him directly the newest array the old man had summoned twisted around his arm like a living net that sought to engulf him in its strands Yet as the energy net neared his skin it slowed and began to wither While in the arena Paolo released rather constant waves of an extremely intense aura of indomitability It was part of his image as a champion A tiny net like this

Paolo took great pleasure in shattering the net to pieces His blow even cracked the reinforced marble beneath his feet and sent Huang Shou fleeing

Paolo�s pleasure sky rocketed as Kayle pursued Huang Li on the other side of the arena and created a smaller detonation than when Paolo had struck The victory was a small one but it made Paolo feel better He practically floated forward inwardly gloating about his superiority despite the handicap of holding these useless metal sticks

But at the same time Paolo glanced sideways at Kayle and Li�s battle His mood soured further Huang Li�s image is sharpening so noticeably and he�s starting to be able to trade blows evenly with Kayle ugh why am I stuck with this boring old man

Paolo accelerated forward and Huang Shou knocked his cane against the ground Blind

After dealing with his antics for quite some time already Paolo closed his eyes and planned to proceed forward while ignoring the few seconds where his eyesight would be taken from him But he almost stumbled and fell as he did so rather than stealing his sight the man had yelled blind but in fact inflicted a tingling numbness across Paolo�s body

Paolo opened his eyes and laughed stomping his feet to dispel the strange tingling His blood burned through his veins and quickly suppressed the effect Do you really think this will be enough

Yes Huang Shou said simply as he knocked his cane against the ground again and began to create yet another energy net

Still Paolo�s patience was at an end He pressed his foot into the ground and accelerated forward He ripped directly through the howling wind and the half constructed edifice of energy and arrived in front of Huang Shou This time when the old man rapidly slid sideways with his strange footwork Paolo smashed the surrounding area with his image

For a brief second Paolo revealed the true primal glory of his image Conflict Confrontation Strife

In that single moment that Paolo�s image was ascendant Huang Shou was compelled to stand his ground and face Paolo And to his credit the old man immediately recognized the situation and adjusted his stance to strike back at Paolo

Paolo�s grin widened For that bravery I�ll make this quick

Paolo brought his right hand down in a hammering blow across his body to finish it quickly But Huang Shou leaned to the left and accepted the long gash across his chest from the knife in order to avoid the explosive power of Paolo�s punch In an even more delightful surprise Huang Shou didn�t then retreat the man twisted his cane and jabbed it forward in a counterattack

With extremely sharp eyes Paolo examined the on coming cane attack Gradually his intensity eased and he ignored it to prepare for his next strike So when the cane landed on his stomach and Huang Shou intoned Slow Paolo just exploded into motion and shattered the Skill before it could bind him

Huang Shou recovered quickly and brought his cane up across his body to defend but Paolo simply smashed that implement downward Huang Shou took a half step back and frantically tried to firm the shaken grip of his left hand Then he adjusted the positioning of the cane but it wasn�t in time again Paolo simply blew him backward with raw force

Even through the wind the sounds of the crowd�s cheers reached Paolo and drove him onward He raised his left arm in preparation for a wicked hook that would likely be his final punch With this he would

Cloud Slaying Slash

Sever

The confrontation on the other side of the arena was enough to briefly distract Paolo and he allowed that distraction to persist and Huang Shou to slip away from him Gradually the flexing muscles of his left arm loosened and relaxed He lowered his limbs and studied the results of Huang Li and Kayle�s clash

Huang Li was covered in wounds holding his wo dao with only a single hand and panting But Kayle stood with a strange smile on his face There was a long cut across his shoulder that oozed a few small drops of blood This time it seemed like Kayle was on the losing end

Paolo almost felt bad for the young man from Zone 7

Like I said Huang Li managed to cough out while he struggled to catch his breath I am unable to control the full might of the Skill So if I use the Sky Slaying Sword

Then we will finally have an interesting clash Kayle interrupted He rolled his shoulders and accelerated forward Don�t waste any more of my time

Huang Li�s eyes narrowed But Paolo couldn�t help but notice how the sharp image around the young man was becoming more concrete He was growing at an extremely fast rate So quickly that he couldn�t help but be impressed

But in the end Paolo thought with a hint of sadness

Fine then Huang Li announced That endless tide of wind that had risen and towered above the arena finally shattered and the waves crashed downward Clouds howled and churned beneath the sheer mass of air that was swirling above There was a dragon crashing down to condense on Huang Li�s wo dao but it was so large that Paolo could barely see light reflecting off of its scales It was a blurry and massive thing

With a simple cut toward the grinning Kayle Li yelled Sky Slaying Slash

The vast pillar of air condensed around his sword was ignited by the power of the motion The image exploded outward a huge spectral pair of jaws snapping shut on Kayle�s body But Paolo�s partner�s smile never wavered His eyes in fact widened with joy Sever

WHooSH

Kayle staggered backward several fingers on his hand bleeding and broken from colliding directly with the Skill But in front of him Huang Li fell to his knees with a shocked expression the dragon above him was completely bisected

A cold sun shone down through the fissure Kayle�s Skill had made in the cloud cover

Damnit Kid The preparations are ready Huang Shou said loudly Paolo glanced at the old man but didn�t bother to move at all as the other activated some Skill Inwardly Paolo was quite impressed at the old man�s gumption the different spots where he and Huang Shou had clashed now began to glow in a grand formation The fact that he had managed to sneakily do so was a surprise

but in the end this is not a stage for the two of you

Hey Kayle Paolo grunted Huang Li spat out a mouthful of blood forced himself to his feet and then began to tremble as the formation Huang Shou created pumped power into his body His eyes narrowed into slits His image sharpened even further You took the first one how about I handle this next one

I believe you already lost your chance Kayle replied smugly looking up at the writhing body of the dragon that was condensing in the sky Whereas before it had simply been a hanging specter now each scale stood out in sharp relief The dragon�s claws were the size of coffins Thin flames spurted out of its nostrils as it imperiously surveyed the humans below it This is all mine

Sky Slayingg Huang Li began Huang Shou sagged to the ground seemingly haven given all his strength to the formation The sky above darkened further the dragon casting a long shadow across the arena floor People in the stands chattered excitedly enjoying the powerful display

Thank you Huang Li Kayle replied with a satisfied expression Then he went completely still and focused his entire person on his image For a split second the purest form of Kayle image was like a blinding lunar eclipse below the massive body of a dragon A single pure divider between two vast swirling darknesses Or perhaps it was to distant points in the darkness connected by a single tether of energy The image spun slowly infinite and shifting

Even Paolo didn�t know the true form and function of that image That was why fights against Kayle were so interesting

SllaassH The blade of Huang Li�s sword was covered in a tornado that he brought brutally downward in a vertical cut Kayle adjusted his footing and moved his hand horizontally That blurred motion became the line of energy the divider

Before the force of the Skills met the two images clashed Without any fanfare Kayle�s image devoured the dragon of wind and ripped to shreds the hollowed out Skill that remained beneath it

It is not a fair contest Paolo reflected almost sadly as Huang Li collapsed In terms of specificity and dedication he is not in our league They might seem close but that last difference is not a simple gap to cross If images were colors Huang Li would be blue and Kayle would be turquoise Both a similar color but considering the total package

Across the stage Huang Shou released a long sigh as he saw his younger partner collapse A few seconds later the audience erupted in cheers

Chapter 1456

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 298

Randidly pursed his lips and shook his head after scanning through the result He waved his fingers through the air and the intricate weave of Nether he had been knitting since the first match now came undone The rotation of his Nether Nebula reversed and suddenly the pulsing Nether threads were wound back around Randidly�s core like a fire hose spun back onto a large spool

Almost unconsciously Randidly brought his left hand and pressed it to his chest He closed his eyes and focused on the sensation as he gathered the materials for the weave back within himself As he had worked on this with more and more dedication he couldn�t miss the fact that the Nether he used somehow remembered how it had been used in the past Gradually the compatibility between that Nether and Randidly�s intent was rising Combined with his own improvements in understanding and Skill Level

Well for the moment it still isn�t enough Randidly reflected as all his Nether arrived within him Then due to an all okay� message from Tatiana Randidly signaled the referee below to begin the match The two teams were allowed to walk out to the roaring approval of the crowd In the second match of the day Donny and Glendel would be taking on the combination of Tykes and Dinesh

The two duos were familiar with each other before Tykes and Dinesh left to become Nathan�s guardians they had been influential members of Donnyton But in the year and a half since they had left the Earth had experienced an explosive amount of growth in terms of fighting strength As Randidly followed the figures with his eyes even his Grim Intuition could only provide a vague answer on who was more powerful

The referee below raised his chin oblivious to Randidly�s scrutiny Let the second match begin

Well the best way to reach an answer is just to watch anyway Randidly reflected as he made himself comfortable peering over the edge of his island Both sides exploded into motion

If the first match was Kayle deliberately applying escalating pressure on Huang Li in order to flush out his full potential the second match was two old rivals furiously throwing haymakers at each other from the jump Dinesh clapped his hands together and summoned his Labyrinth of mirrors hiding his and Tykes� presence in almost a hundred rotating panes of reflective glass They shifted and cut sideways soon surrounding the entire arena

At the same time Glendel elegantly waved his hand and summoned three ghastly specters that surged out of his shadow a five meter tall four armed gorilla a human sized heron with lines of razor sharp teeth along its beak and a high mound of slime that appeared to be crackling with electricity While the heron beat its wings and then launched itself forward to pierce through the nearest mirrors the ooze trembled and then began to flow around Glendel for its master�s protection

Of course Tykes was already on the move From one of the tumbling planes of glass the man dashed forward his huge iron ball raised to smash Glendel to pieces before he could dominate the battle with his ghosts Donny sidestepped into Tykes� path and raised his shield A powerful image of momentum and stalwart purity faced off against each other

Randidly had to squint as Donny�s image released a brilliant radiance Really impressive manifestation but still

Tykes was stopped dead but Donny was forced back several steps from the collision He staggered so far back that Donny�s back foot accidentally stepped on the ooze and lines of electricity raced up his calf His face twisted into a grimace even as Tykes grabbed a chain from his waist and hooked it onto his absolutely massive iron ball

Rather than attacking the Donny struggling to recover Tykes flung his chained ball directly backward The four armed ape smashed its knuckles into the ground and bounded forward to bowl Tykes over before he could continue his attacks Tykes� hand snapped shut on the clinking chain and then he twitched his wrist to haul the ball back toward him

It blasted apart the spinning panes directly behind him revealing a Dinesh that was gripping the chain and crouching on top of the heavy ball Tykes completely disregarded the ball then and lowered his shoulders toward the five meter tall ape Although he seemed like a child compared to it he accelerated forward and speared it in the chest The momentum that he could instantly generate was honestly intimidating

Donny regained his footing and unleashed a gleaming golden slash at Tykes� back while the other man was grappling with the ape specter Then Donny turned to the approaching Dinesh and spun his sword in his hand So can you get past me

Dinesh didn�t even answer His hands flickered and several daggers releasing green smoke fanned outward from between his fingers Donny�s face turned serious Aegis

Five shields composed entirely of light spun around him and then slid into place to block the daggers But Dinesh and the iron ball were moving so quickly that Donny swore and threw himself forward to intercept the heavy projectile once more When Donny moved into position Dinesh leapt off the ball and up over him pulling out another three smoking daggers while he flipped through the air

Randidly could see the indecision on Donny�s face for a split second But ultimately he settled himself to stop the metal ball which was still heading toward Glendel who wasn�t quite fully covered by the ooze Between the daggers and the ball it was rather obvious which was more dangerous to a Glendel who only had up to his legs covered by the ooze

At the same time before Dinesh could throw his daggers the spectral heron screeched and dove toward the man�s exposed back Its claws raked across his leather armor but that Dinesh simply shattered like the reflection that he was Donny sensed what was happening but had to smash his shield against the iron ball that arrived once more

Dinesh reformed on the ground between Donny and Glendel daggers fanning in every direction They ripped through the spectral ooze and made the substance sizzle and collapse Glendel narrowed his eyes as he looked at the rapidly disappearing defensive ghost With light steps Dinesh crossed the distance and arrived before the solemn faced Glendel before he could summon another helper

Gallant intervention Donny yelled But as he did so the visual in front of him shattered Instead of switching positions with Glendel he suddenly had his limbs tangled up with the four armed ape And Tykes almost effortlessly picked up his heavy iron ball next to where Donny had been standing tossing it immediately up in the air and smashing the surprised heron to ectoplasm oblivion He yanked on the chain and caught the ball again almost casually his arm raised as he scanned for his next target

Dinesh�s Domain is not one that can be beaten by ignoring it Randidly shook his head slightly But it seemed like neither Glendel nor Donny had a Domain powerful enough to shake it in the short term

As Dinesh pulled out another smoking dagger and pounced forward Glendel tilted his head to the side Grey purple energy was beginning to gather around his arms Did you think that I haven�t been working on my own strength as well Rampage of the Sovereign

The Dinesh in front of his shattered transforming into Tykes with his raised arm Tykes� grin was wide Will that be enough against me

Randidly held his chin in his hand as he smiled down at the arena in terms of both teamwork and flair for the dramatic it was clear which team was superior He could sense a complaint from Tatiana coming as a team with direct ties to the Order Ducis had made it so far in the tournament but Randidly didn�t mind Their images were very different from his And he hadn�t particularly trained these two although they did often spar with Helen and Ajax

And besides their matches were exciting to watch

Glendel did certainly manage an impressive amount of power considering the focus of his image was summoning servants but it was nothing compared to the Tykes that dedicated his whole being to his power Glendel was knocked back and out of the arena a human arrow heading toward the stands Luckily Tatiana had stationed individuals strategically around for just this situation And Randidly watched with amusement as Commissioner Klein Arrietti moved with impressive speed to catch Glendel before he crashed

His new Class as The First Responder of Kharon is perhaps a little too on the nose but its good to see that the transition was a success Nathan said that the process was not an easy one Randidly chewed on his lip for a while then turned back to the match

With Glendel effectively out of commission Tykes and Dinesh ganged up on Donny and began to thoroughly dismantle his defenses Donny might be very skilled with a shield but the combination of overwhelming power and Dinesh�s Domain was too much for him to handle In the end Donny was on his knees and the duo of Tykes and Dinesh was the second group to make it to the semi finals of the tournament

Tatiana sent Randidly a message asking if he would like to join them for lunch but Randidly immediately declined As Tatiana�s tricks to lure him into Kharon related meetings were getting more sophisticated he wouldn�t take any chances even for quality food If she truly needed him she would request him so he didn�t mind skipping these informational discussions

Besides he had his own ideas He took out his Philosopher�s Key and opened a portal to the space behind Helio�s shop Most of the people were still within the arena so it was relatively deserted and Randidly eagerly anticipated eating in peace So he was in an excellent mood until he walked around the building and saw the sign on the door

Will be back after the Match

Randidly rubbed the back of his head and then settled down to wait on the stoop outside and play with Nether Luckily Helio seemed relatively professional about opening his restaurant for the lunch rush When the traffic in the area was still only a trickle he was striding down the path

He paused slightly when he saw Randidly then resumed his high speed walk and raised an eyebrow Hungry

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 299

Randidly flicked his hand to disperse the Nether and nodded I�m thinking I�ll take twenty servings if you can manage it

Helplessly Helio unlocked the door to his shop and walked into the building with Randidly in tow It�s possible but it will take some time to make that much My grill is only so wide Also usually the lunch hashes are different than the breakfast offering Would you like to look at the ingredients or just have the breakfast option again

Randidly looked at the menu along the wall and selected the option that combined beef onions carrots and turnips together and was served over biscuits that were freshly baked this morning Then he sat and did his best to control his drool as he waited for the meal to be finished

Helio could only make six servings at a time so Randidly amused himself by imagining he was being served different courses as he inhaled the delicious food

Chapter 1457

In the third match of the day Randidly watched Alana and Wivanya absolutely dominate Lucifer and Giuliana Perhaps together the whip wielding Giuliana and the tenacious Lucifer would have been able to rival Alana�s positively biblical strikes and images but it seemed that almost everyone who was present in the tournament had overlooked the scaled elephant in the room Wivanya

The frost dragon alone was a force to be reckoned with the image of frigid chill she released was no joke As it radiated outward Randidly suppressed the urge to eradicate it from the area around him as he suppressed an urge to shiver Combined with a Mana pool that made even Randidly raise his eyebrows the duo from Franksburg soon couldn�t keep up with the Dragon Broodmother�s attacks

Still until the last moment Randidly did not avert his eyes from the battle That was the respect that he gave to the heroes or Legends as the fans had begun to call the most powerful image users who had managed to make it this far

Lucifer and Giuliana were strong They had just encountered two individuals who were stronger still

At the end of the match Lucifer�s feet were frozen to the ground and Giuliana had collapsed in a snowdrift But he still raised his massive saber and turned his attention to Wivanya who was hovering in the air and bombarding them with chilling waves of ice His image began to boil and his fingers tightened on the hilt of his weapon Lucifer Slash

Alana shot forward to strike at Lucifer�s exposed back but he didn�t waver from his attack His image ballooned upward in a destructive aura that then rushed through the sky toward Wivanya The frost dragon raised her head and roared in challenge Frigid Storm

She breathed out ice and sleet in a dense cone but the slash ripped through that Compared to the image of cold the direct power of Lucifer�s image had enough of an advantage that he could strike a serious blow He wasn�t powerful enough to prevent his body from being riddled by wounds in his clashes with Alana but more than enough to suppress Wivanya if he ignored everything else

But such an attack obviously came with a cost

Alana drove her spear through Lucifer�s shoulder while Lucifer�s slash ripped open Wivanya�s scales and set the dragon spiraling toward the ground Wivanya landed with a crash that shook the stands Meanwhile Alana pursed her lips adjusted the grip on her spear and then twisted it painfully while it was still within his shoulder Why

Pride Lucifer replied simply The dust slowly began to clear and the dragon struggled to prop herself back up into a sitting position It seemed her right wing was badly damaged

Satisfied Alana asked

Not when I am about to lose no Lucifer replied But he didn�t lower his head He turned and gazed at Alana Do you intend to win everything

Alana didn�t bother to respond She just smashed her fist against Lucifer�s jaw and sent him sprawling Just like that the third semi final duo was determined

Immediately as the audience seethed and chattered excitedly below him Randidly returned to the task of weaving Nether The energy spun quickly into the desired thin strands and then wove themselves together to the Nether equivalent of linen After making sure the thickness was exactingly uniform Randidly spread the Nether out into the surrounding space and began to weave

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 300

Congratulations Your Skill Experienced Creator�s Ingenuity has grown to Level 145

His movements were smooth and even as he spread his Nether out to fill the surrounding area When Randidly closed his eyes he could still sense the immense amount of memory and historic weight that had existed here due to the tournament Of course it was slowly being broken down and stolen away by the high pressure of the System Aether

Randidly rolled his shoulders and then sighed

Even compared to watching that weight be stolen it was somewhat vexing to weave for an hour and to suddenly realize that the thickness had been gradually increasing to the point where it would warp surrounding space So he needed to banish his earlier work and start again Randidly could only throw his hands up in the air and make attempt after attempt the time between matches

Before the fourth and final match of today began Randidly had time to start and scrap his woven Nether nine times

As he did so he was careful to control his Nether Nebula very purposefully When he was weaving it spun clockwise and generated energy outward When he needed to destroy and start anew it spun counterclockwise and devoured all the Nether in the vicinity He was somewhat bitter to see that light grey color steadily decreasing at the core of his Nether Nebula but Randidly supposed it was worth it to increase his control

He could always refine the density later But for now he simply couldn�t weave Nether that dense effectively He needed it in a relatively less cumbersome state to keep the movements as precise as was required for the weave And now he was faced with the rather disheartening thought that perhaps he needed to decrease the density even further so flaws wouldn�t emerge so consistently as he extended the scale

But ultimately Randidly wasn�t willing to abandon his current method quite yet His Nether Sensation steadily rose in Level providing him with marginal improvements And with his almost ridiculously high Control Randidly�s base proficiency with utilizing his Skill was growing just as quickly He was definitely improving at a ridiculous pace But part of that improvement just ended up demonstrating how little he had understood about Nether when he had begun this side project

Sighing Randidly once again rolled his shoulders and ripped his failed weave to pieces The final match was about to begin Break� time was over

Lyra and Stan came out first and Randidly allowed his emerald gaze to focus on Stan Since he had helped adjust the man�s Soulskill and the result had been so negative he couldn�t help but be curious about him Perhaps more directly some old portion of Randidly�s paranoia dedicated to Lyra raised his hackles at this unexpected arrival

A sudden and complete recovery to randomly participate in the tournament didn�t seem likely

Yet when Randidly peered down at the man he could detect almost nothing from him It was like his image didn�t exist Rather than being concerned Randidly�s mouth slowly curved into a smile To test a theory he eased his tight control over his image and allowed the horrible hunger of the Stillborn Phoenix to radiate in a tightly controlled beam downward

Below Stan stiffened Then he raised his vacant gaze toward Randidly�s island As Randidly watched the man�s expression twisted and his face darkened His two innocuous brown eyes became portals to the abyss that widened and deepened as the exposure continued With a short nod Randidly pulled back his image and suddenly Stan was just an ordinary person once more He blinked and then resumed his walk

A pure copycat type huh Randidly tapped his jaw Then he looked at the other end of the arena Just what are you planning Lyra Do you really think that�s enough to beak your opponent

Hank Howard rode his horse Ancho out of the long hallway and was met by the howls of approval Perhaps it was because he was from Zone 1 and now fought essentially alone but he appealed to the crowd even more than Paolo and Kayle did Yet between this duo Randidly�s focus turned toward the horse It cantered calmly forward not even batting an eyelid at the chaotic mess of noise around it Compared to skittish horses that Randidly had seen in the past it was a suspicious response Despite the strange environment it was calm and almost haughty

yet no matter how I look at it that is just a normal horse Randidly awkwardly scratched his cheek

With great gravity Hank hopped down from Ancho�s saddle and handed the reins to the referee Then he strolled across the arena to his side his leather cowboy boots very prominently on display The referee frowned down at the horse next to him but then shook his head helplessly Are both sides prepared

While the two teams nodded Randidly finally turned his gaze to Lyra Even now some part of his heart froze when he looked at her It wasn�t that his feelings for her both for good or bad were still present within him Through time and reflection he had moved past them But somehow she had changed the anatomy of his heart That brief stutter was simply a part of his psychology now when he saw her golden hair and violet eyes

Her leather armor was almost stylish across her slender form as she toyed with a long knife and waited for the match to begin Her image was self contained and controlled As far as Randidly could tell there was nothing suspicious about her involvement in the tournament she simply wanted to see how far she could go as a human

but you aren�t just a human anymore Lyra Still if it makes you feel better neither really am I But that means we need to be very careful with our actions

Immediately Randidly�s mouth curled upward with the irony of that thought heh I suppose I have no right to say that to you considering I boldly challenged Yystrix with no rationale basis for overcoming her

Let the final match of the quarter finals begin The referee announced

A violet moon condensed in the air above Lyra as she dashed forward Hank Howard drew his repeater and laid down several crisp shots each bullet heavy with his image And that image was so sharp that when Lyra deflected the first bullet to reach her her face immediately twisted into a grimace She activated some Skill to boost her speed and shot forward trying to bring the match into close quarters as she wove between shots

Stan watched the entire thing placidly his image slowly morphing

Unfortunately for Lyra Hank Howard wasn�t a man that was only proficient with distant battles When she came close he changed his grip on his pistol and readily moved in for a round of fisticuffs He strikes were sharp and powerful and if Lyra ever attempted to open up some distance and attempt a Skill Hank could simply level his pistol at her

Lyra spun and slash and Hank calmly stepped forward He endured blows with his arms and struck to crush Lyra where she was weakest Her fighting style well it wasn�t that it was rusty but it clearly was specced more toward assassinations Confronting him directly Lyra�s tricks fell flat

As Randidly watched his respect for Hank Howard slowly growing His image wasn�t as destructive as even the defeated Huang Li�s but it was pervasive Rather than being a weapon it became the setting the more Lyra fought against Hank Howard the more she waded into the deep river of his image At the corner of Randidly�s gaze he saw a rolling tumbleweed that vanished when he looked at it more directly The noise from the crowd warped to become the lonesome howl of a coyote

The arena transformed in Hank�s hands become the platonic ideal fo the Wild West It was a land where gritty loners wandered from town to town searching through the dust and spent bullet casings for their dreams Although criminals might make a few quick bucks the course of history was inevitably pulled back toward righteousness

But even as Hank�s image became even more powerful Lyra ducked under a bullet and laughed Stan I think it�s about time that you started to move

With the wind whistling behind him Stan sauntered forward an almost perfect copy of Hank Howard�s image Lyra unleashed a few slashes to keep Hank distracted but took on a more passive role as Stan rolled up his sleeves here she could prepare for a sudden ambush Hank and Stan stared at each other for five seconds and then rushed toward each other in a brutal brawl Soon the ground was spattered with blood

although the primary reason that the brawl was brutal was that Hank wiped the floor with Stan

That�s Lyra seemed genuinely surprised as she looked at the crumpled form of Stan He hadn�t even lasted long enough for her to strike That�s ridiculous He can copy an image almost perfectly His strength should be almost the same as yours Yet you won so easily

A man�s only as good as is horse Hank said wiping the blood from his knuckles Then he shrugged and spat over to the side He can copy the image but he�s not singin� the ballad girly How can a cowboy not ave a horse

Lyra�s smile transformed into a haphazard collage of broken glass Did you seriously call me girly I�ll kick your ass

Randidly could see Lyra furious visibly mounting as Hank chuckled Girly if ya could kick my ass wouldn�t ya have done it already Let�s git this over with

Lyra image howled to the fore the violet moon that hovered above her sunk lower It seemed to close that it was like an eerie eye glaring down at the Earth But the Wild West didn�t care about the color of the moon In fact it accepted it willingly many different individuals and ideologies had swarmed through the Wild West That was part of its charm

It was a Path that could be taken by almost anyone

Her sharp and vicious image wasn�t enough to overcome Hank�s easy dependability Lyra slumped to the ground with a bullet in her shoulder and three in her thigh The referee waved his hands The winners are Hank and his horse Ancho

Chapter 1458

You cooked all of this Randidly asked as he looked down at the three meter long table in front of him There basically wasn�t space on it that wasn�t filled with pleasantly steaming food

Lyra shrugged the sharp smile that she was wearing since the beginning of their meeting not having moved an inch as she brought him directly into the dining room Of course For especially the early part of the System I didn�t have much to do When people didn�t want a Class Village Spirits are pretty passive There was some information I could obtain through the Nexus but I couldn�t do that all the time Everyone needs a hobby

Lyra pointed at the table So I practiced cooking but I don�t have much focus I just made whatever I felt like eating that night So please dig on in And if you have an opinion don�t try and spare my feelings tell me what you really think

Randidly nodded and then surveyed the table As per their agreement he had come to her house for dinner after her loss to Hank Howard in the duos tournament She had built a small cottage on the outskirts of Donnyton so Randidly had used the Philosopher�s Key to return to his old stomping grounds for the meal She had opened the door and welcomed him in with a smile And the fact that she had made it from the arena in the Orchard to Donnyton and still had the time to prepare a meal meant that she had likely relied upon her Village Spirit abilities

I suppose anything I could learn from her about the Nexus Ways I can learn from Octavius as well Randidly chewed on his lip then glanced around

The house wasn�t sparsely decorated but Randidly suspected that someone like Tatiana would find the building to be lacking personality Everything here was clean and orderly which was nice But the details were almost too perfect The furniture was at perfect right angles to each other The table was perfectly in the center of the room The abstract painting on the wall was monochrome and vague

This placed seemed like an example home not a building where someone lived

What does the great Randidly Ghosthound suddenly have opinions about interior design Lyra asked as she noticed the direction of Randidly�s gaze Then she put her hands on her hips Well I�m starving If you won�t start I will

His mouth twisting slightly Randidly looked again down at the table in front of him Immediately to his right was an appetizing looking plate of pork fried rice Beyond that was some blueberry scones and clotted cream To his left were grilled lamb kabobs with onions and peppers Below that was a small plate filled with spicy kimchi And these dishes only constituted about a third of the total food on the table

Asparagus mashed potatoes shrimp scampi lasagna a plate filled with goat cheese fried fish a beef stew macaroni and cheese collard greens

Eclectic doesn�t even begin to cover it Randidly thought He took the plate Lyra offered him and started with a kabob Even if he was slightly bewildered at Lyra�s silence insistence that he eat after providing no justification for the sudden meal invitation Randidly was willing to play along for now He lifted the kabob to his lips and took a bite It seemed like she had drizzled some light teriyaki sauce across the kabobs but it was mostly the natural flavors of the meat and vegetables that he tasted He chewed rather carefully enjoying the texture

After a kabob Randidly tried a few scoops of fried rice When he went back for a third type of dish Lyra stopped him with a level look Randidly lightly scratched his cheek feeling even more confused than he had been before It�s pretty good

Right But only pretty good Lyra nodded emphatically apparently quite pleased with Randidly�s assessment She moved with increased vigor and a cheery smile on her face with her own plate heading directly for the macaroni and cheese So tonight�s theme is going to be honestly Perfect

I guess so Randidly watched her eat for several seconds Then he started to feel slightly awkward So he shifted and helped himself to some beef stew fried fish and mashed potatoes At first he tried small bites of each so he could sample the flavors Then he chaotically mixed them all together and began to shovel the food into his mouth If nothing else he wasn�t going to pass up this chance to fill himself up on food

A night of honesty huh Randidly thought as he chewed If I hadn�t answered that way would it not be

But he had been completely honest about the dishes he had tried The food was pretty good but also it could be said that it was only pretty good Compared to the hash that Randidly had for lunch this food in front of him was nothing to speak of He forgot the flavor as soon as he swallowed There was no defect that his tongue could detect but also

When his plate was clear Randidly set down his fork with a frown on his face He finally realized what the taste must mean you don�t have a Cooking Skill

Correct Lyra answered around a mouthful of mac and cheese Randidly pursed his lips and didn�t ask any more He continued to consume the fine food until almost the entire table was left with empty plates that sat with just as stark emptiness as bare bones Once he understood what he was tasting more things began to make sense The food seemed empty to him because he had been used to high Level Cooking Skills adding something extra to the food

More than that the hash he had for lunch had a nascent quiet image as part of its appeal It was a warmth and hominess that lingered on the tongue and passively alleviated small amounts of stress in the diner Honestly Randidly had returned to Helio�s shop less for the food itself and more for that valuable image Aside from Yggdrasil Randidly hadn�t encountered any other images that addressed the accumulating mental damage that inevitably resulted from fighting with images

But this food was perfectly ordinary It was fine fare that would have been possible for a woman with quite a bit of spare time before the System

After doing a swarm of locusts proud Randidly set his plate down on the table He put both his hands on its wooden edge and leaned forward as he studied Lyra So I assume you wanted to teach me something with the food

You know me too well Lyra�s smile was slightly bitter as though she had bit into a cherry and discovered that it was a crabapple Yet instead of answering at first she reached up and toyed with the shoulder strap of her spiraling navy blue dress The skin of her arms looked almost unhealthily pale as she fidgeted

Randidly�s confusion continued to grow Then Lyra sighed and shook her head Maybe it�s fair to say I thought I could teach you something with this but I invited you here for two things One is a reminder and the other just a disclosure A reminder I�ll say that is just as much for me as it is for you

I�ve just always been fascinated by what humans can accomplish without the System Even before the System arrived I thought about it a lot Now fighting against Hank and cooking It has helped me feel the broad capability of humans Images you might think of it as the natural evolution of our power underneath the System but I think that�s not the case Lyra wrapped her arms around her shoulders The fabric of her dress flared just a little as it came up around her shoulders and she tugged at it That�s just a clever sleight of hand from the Nexus Are they really the source of images Images like Hank�s it is positively sublime A Skill might mimic the effect but think about energy efficiency

Something that disguised itself as excitement but might be closer to mania came over Lyra�s features The corner of her eyes crinkled and she licked her lips As she talked the pace of her words quickened The System provides inefficient mechanisms in the form of Skills that can transform energy into effect Then they provide a low level flow of energy and teach the kidnapped worlds how to use that energy Or rather demand that we learn But images perhaps the System provides the shape that we mimic to grow but aren�t images all our own

Randidly gave Lyra a long look His emerald eyes slowly dimmed as he considered her words

Lyra continued to speak Then the System provides trials Trials that are increasingly difficult to pass to the point that its shoddily made mechanisms no longer cut it You are required to contribute high efficiency images that take emotion and energy to manifest in order to produce greater and greater effects And the moment you cease being able to surpass yourself the flow of energy is cut off A world�s only option then is to send its people to be the grunts of the Nexus in order to cast an even wider net in the next Cohort That is the System

Lyra�s violet eyes met Randidly�s emerald ones She bit her lip Randidly blinked very deliberately He didn�t disagree with what Lyra was saying although he hadn�t considered it But to Randidly it was a largely semantic decision whether images were the natural evolution of Skills or not So your point

I�m trying to remind you why I disagree with your method Lyra hands tightened on her opposite shoulders as she held herself Because of the forces arrayed against you the System was designed for people like you No matter what new image you manage to develop the Nexus will just throw another test at you There is only one way to accomplish your goal to become more powerful than the maker of the Nexus

Looking at Lyra Randidly couldn�t help but recall that immense mountain range of crystalized Aether that he had briefly sensed as Elhume had moved Even now some part of his spirit stilled before the echo of that immense display of power Even considering his the Aether that was gradually condensing as part of his physical body Randidly doubted he could generate eight or nine drops of liquid Aether

How many drops would it take to make a crystalized mountain range

You aren�t wrong to say that that the task is almost impossible Randidly admitted But as he spoke he could hear the rustling of leaves the scream of an all devouring void and the cracking of a monstrosity�s spine adapting All three of his images stirred with unwillingness But you also give up too easily

But ultimately Randidly didn�t verbalize that thought Instead he stood in front of the table of empty dishes and considered Lyra Inwardly he was becoming even more confused did she truly want to use the same arguments against him now Is this what you brought me here to say

No I just well let me ask you something I need a reminder Are you going to to do it Randidly Ghosthound Become even more powerful than the maker of the Nexus Lyra asked still embracing herself In her red violet eyes Randidly could see the answer that she begged him to give her

It was not the answer he had expected her to want

First Randidly blinked Then he laughed aloud Even more than the weight he obtained from watching the tournament his Nether Nebula rapidly grew in density as he felt his lips and tongue shaping his next words Truly a reminder Yea I am going to become that powerful I�ll keep climbing until I stand atop the Nexus I�m going to reach the Pinnacle And then I�ll burn everything to the ground

Lyra smiled Her face was so objectively lovely as she looked at him that the same physiological weakness in his heart constricted In the face of that expression Randidly had a single gut response that she adored him She had cursed him out attacked him and sold out the Earth but she also adored him in a way that he couldn�t quite understand

Divining her motivations from her expression reminded Randidly of the sea He could see how the tides would rise and fall but there was some part of his brain that just wasn�t capable of understanding how and why water needed to flow to make that happen Her fluttering eyelashes were the crash of waves against the shore filling the air with the scent of salt

And Randidly found it immensely difficult to look at the vulnerability and gentleness in her features The lines around her nose and mouth were soft and expressive as she considered him All of her snark and emotional defense mechanisms had been stripped away It was an expression that Randidly could never remember seeing on Lyra�s face in the past I believe you Randidly So good luck

Then Lyra spun around and continued talking while facing the wall My mind still cannot fathom how you will manage it but you�ve gotten this far haven�t you So I guess what I�m saying is that my heart is convinced Thanks for the reminder Tonight yea tonight is about honesty Oh Randidly did I ever tell you about that first night that I saw you fighting

Randidly�s gaze was on Lyra�s bare shoulders Her fingers were still tight on the navy blue fabric of the shoulder straps Without speaking he shook his head

Whether she sensed the motion or just didn�t care Lyra continued to speak It was back when the monster hordes came for Donnyton But ha Can you believe that was considered a horde There probably weren�t even a hundred those first few nights But you it was night on the field of grass around the wooden palisade we built There was a half full moon And you shot out Mana Bolts and Arcane Orbs like your Mana Pool was endless The lighting of the Skills meant that half of your face was constantly in shadow as you fought It was magical

Lyra Randidly began but she interrupted him

I cannot be like you I cannot even be like Hank Howard Lyra said still talking to the wall She lowered her arms from her grip of her own torso and clasped them behind her back Her knuckles were white Her nails were unpainted But I also don�t believe that my Path is wrong This isn�t something that that I can accomplish alone Allies and connections are how I grow So I�m going to go look for help

That�s where the disclosure comes in Donnyton has been a source of many high quality images for the Nexus It isn�t just this tournament that they dominate As the Village Spirit of this lucrative Village I�ve earned some privileges I�ll also soon be heading into the Nexus Rather than simply becoming the most powerful person in the Nexus with information and allies I will be able to accomplish the same thing as you I�ll save the Earth Then Lyra hesitated briefly And I just didn�t want us to run into each other there and you to think

Think that you had sold Earth out again Randidly thought but he quickly erased the thought before it could show on his face He continued to look at Lyra back Without even relying on Grim Intuition or Revelation energy he could feel the immense loneliness that surrounded Lyra For a weird second Randidly would have believed that the sword and sheath connection that had originally been between them had reemerged

But then Randidly realized the source of the sensation was something else entirely Randidly could feel how isolated Lyra was due to his increased sensitivity toward Nether The Nether around her radiated her immense sadness and lack of connection

Randidly licked his lips And I m supposed to do what Comfort you

No that�s not right All I�m supposed to do is what I want to do So

He released a breath and smiled at Lyra�s back Then good luck Lyra

Allies and connections are how you grow huh

Lyra swayed but otherwise didn�t respond Silence hung between them like Christmas lights left along the eaves as January stoically transitioned into February Lyra looked at the wall Randidly looked at her pale shoulders

It wasn�t that there was more to say but that the saying wasn�t everything that was at play here Knowing about the two fundamental energies meant that interactions were even more complicated than they were in the past So while Randidly could have stopped it he ultimately allowed some of the ambient Nether to catch an invisible current and spiral out toward Lyra

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 302

Then grow Lyra This time I won�t be able to watch you But if you manage to succeed and save the Earth without sacrificing our freedom well that certainly would make me happy

Chapter 1459

Commissioner Arrietti Commissioner Arrietti spoke to himself weighing the words with his tongue He was sitting in his office with only his desk lamp providing light The sun had fallen leaving the room with only a halo of light around his desk He was looking down at the mock up business card he had specially made the prior day First Responder of Kharon

It was truly a cool title for a Class One he was quite proud of despite the difficulty in the transition process Setting the business card down on his desk Arrietti leaned back and released a sigh Still though he knew the act of making these business cards was useless how often was he in a situation where he would be able to hand out business cards People around Kharon simply recognized him on sight Those who weren�t from Kharon saw his Kharon Police uniform with all the stripes and commendations and leapt to their own probably accurate conclusions about who he was

He was a man who did not inspire the least bit of curiosity in an onlooker It was honestly quite depressing Especially when he had finally found a part of himself that was so idiosyncratic

It would probably be a bit too much to get my office�s nameplate changed to say Commissioner First Responder of Kharon Arrietti thought as he rubbed his chin Then he released another explosive sigh and let his body sag backward into his comfortable leather chair What it should say is Commissioner Arrietti 51 eternal bachelor

The man who inspires no curiosity in the opposite sex

This troublesome train of thought had started earlier today In the day long break between the rounds of the duos tournament Kharon had hosted its first random selection of representatives The police force and the Order Ducis had been working tirelessly through the night and early morning in order to make sure that nothing went awry with this first election They had carefully monitored the surging flow of individuals coming in an out of the city looking for anything suspicious

Riding high on the capabilities of his new Class Arrietti had been a man possessed When he wasn�t apprehending someone for questioning he was hurrying across the city to intercept someone else His new Skills related to Kharon gave him subtle tip offs when rogue elements entered the city Combined with his growing sensitivity toward images the representative selection had gone off without a hitch

Well that wasn�t exactly true As Tatiana had feared a foreign business owner had attempted to have themselves nominated as a representative even though they weren�t a citizen of Kharon Luckily Kharon�s image had reacted almost immediately with a powerful wave of hostility With the support of the crowd the new Kharon Council had passed a few laws regarding who could sit on the Council and also a security value in that removing a Council member required an affirmative vote from 70% of Kharon�s population

Just like that things were back on track for the Wandering City The council excitedly began deciding their itinerary for the next two months But in the wake of the political excitement Commissioner Arrietti had been looking forward to finally having the break that he deserved He had walked through the busy thoroughfares around the arena waiting to receive one last report before he clocked out for the day And when he walked around the corner to the agreed upon meeting place with Derek Moss

He found Derek Moss locked in a gentle embrace with Gertrude Collins Needless to say their mouths were touching

Commissioner Arrietti froze He wanted to look at anything else but the place they had chosen was the service delivery side of the food court At this time of day it was completely deserted There was a broken wooden pallet a few meters behind the couple but focusing on that made them just vague seething blobs in the foreground of his vision That made it almost worse

Et tu Moss The First Responder of Kharon eventually couldn�t stand anymore and turned to walk briskly away His slightly frazzled brain decided he would walk around the food court once or twice looking for any suspicious activity and then come back Hopefully at that point this public display will have ceased and they could speak professionally without any distractions Which was the way that police officers should be

Not that Derek is a police officer But this lack of professionalism is certainly Ahem Commissioner Arrietti had coughed lightly into his hand and glanced around at the people chatting happily about the tournament bracket Although there weren�t any matches today it seemed people were out in force just to enjoy a meal and soak in the festive atmosphere

As Arrietti walked around most of the discussion he overheard centered on the fact that most people believed the side with Alana and Hank was much stronger than the other portion But overall it seemed that most people were quite happy with how the tournament had gone

Gradually Commissioner Arrietti�s eyes had narrowed as he walked around The more he looked the more he realized that there were small signs of affection everywhere that he looked A woman with her hand on the arm of the man next to her A man nudging the man next to him with his elbow exchanging a heavy glance and a secret smile Two cats scampering excitedly underneath a funnel cake stall

And then right in front of him

If you don�t like it pull your hand away Delilah announced dragging the Moss boy confidently behind her

The Moss boy rolled his eyes How many Strength Stat points do you have anyway I don�t think I could overpower you even if I wanted to

A lady never tells Ohoho Delilah laughed exaggeratedly hiding her mouth behind her extremely small hand Then the two walked away laughing and joking Commissioner Arrietti could only reach up and wipe a small tear from his eye

Of course the kid probably didn�t think of their involvement as romantic at all there was too much age difference between them Yet wouldn�t this someday be the base setting of a heartwarming romantic comedy In comparison Arrietti�s recent interactions

I�m swimming in professional respect Arrietti said to himself in an attempt to inject some cheer but what did that really matter The more he thought about the more he realized how much work had consumed him for the past several months So he had staggered around the food court like a zombie met an obnoxiously cheery Derek Moss for the report and then returned to his office to consider the problem Yet the more he thought about it the more depressed Arrietti became

I am lonely He couldn�t deny it any longer And everyone always said that you don�t look for love it comes and finds you But he had been working tirelessly to make Kharon a great city and during that time love had conspicuously given him the cold shoulder Even worse Arrietti felt like there was nothing that he could do about it now after working so hard for so long he wasn�t even sure how he would go about trying to meet someone

In addition Arrietti understood that his current attitude was the wrong one to have If he wanted to change his situation he needed to first adjust his attitude With a grimace he stood from his comfortable chair and walked to the cabinet along the far long He took one second to drag a finger across the beautifully stained wood and then opened the door to his private liquor supply He should not seek out companionship just for companionship�s sake he should wait for the right person to appear and then turn his attention gradually to a relationship But dammit he had been waiting for so long

Commissioner Arrietti�s eyelid twitched His bottles of liquor were empty He carefully shut the cabinet door Was it Wolfram

A walk Arrietti announced to the room I�ll take a walk The greatest skill a man can learn in the pursuit of a mate is legwork Never stop walking

No one answered his pronouncement there was no one in the room to here his pearls of wisdom He could have said anything at all and nothing would have changed with the lack of answer he received When no one heard no one would ever respond That feeling of powerlessness stung

The feeling of being adrift grew stronger

With his sadness steadily deepening Arrietti took his coat off the hanger and slipped into the heavy wool garment He actually liked this coat quite a bit The bottom was quite long but buttoning it made him feel vaguely like a private eye Which his sour mood was quick to point out was the sexy version of a police officer

It also was so heavy that if he closed his eyes he could just image that its weight on his shoulders was a lover�s arms Needless to say that thought very quickly turned sour as well

Releasing a deep sigh Arrietti swept out of the precinct Fellow officers that were finishing up their shift or writing up reports stood at attention and nodded to him as he passed by them Obviously this was a show of respect but it only served as a display that made Arrietti more bitter The space between him as Commissioner and the average officer couldn�t be more clear

Then he was out the door Luckily the cold wind of the outside world blew away Arrietti�s mood In a way the implacable seasons were reassuring It wasn�t currently snowing but the steely sky above Kharon made it seem like that lack of precipitation wouldn�t last much longer He pulled up his collar and put his hands deep within his pockets fishing out his expensive leather gloves

Then he strode purposefully through Kharon�s streets wondering where he was going on this walk

Thankfully his feet eventually answered that question simply by virtue of continuing to carry him forward even while his mind was elsewhere So as he considered his limp prospects of meeting new people he arrived at the residential district of Kharon Then he kept walking past the tall apartment buildings into the wealthy section along the edge of the city which currently provided great views of the Orchard below

The street ended rather abruptly and there was a small sloped park along Kharon�s edge Two people sat hunched over a stone table on the left side of the park but otherwise the area was completely deserted The speed of his strides slowed but Arrietti quickly made it right up to the edge He carefully positioned his toes flush with the sharp drop off The wind whistled past him warning him of the great expanse below

Arrietti breathed in and then breathed out released a lung full of air that was cloudy with the cold He could just barely make out the shapes of people below walking through the different pathways that had been constructed for the tournament Farther to the South Arrietti could see the construction crews putting glass panes up in the windows of the new development in preparation for people to begin to move into the area His eyes automatically followed their methodical assemblage of the building

Sometimes it felt like witnessing something allowed him to be part of it

The day was turning to evening and the light from the sun peeking between the clouds was perfectly angled to reflect off of the completed windows They glowed golden like the eyes of a cat at night So for a while Arrietti stood and watched as these workers gradually heaved the glass upward and opened the eyes of this massive apartment monster one by one

Arrietti shook himself as a bout of laughter from the couple at the stone table woke him from his strange trance As he had suspected the cold and the exercise did a lot to alleviate his dreariness In fact he was starting to feel better already Even though that couple

Wait I recognize these voices Commissioner Arrietti thought glancing over his shoulder Then his eyes widened

A good game Huang Shou said with a small smile on his face

Miranda Hamilton shrugged her shoulders I lost

Few can lose with such grace Huang Shou consoled but from his tone it was clear that he took immense pleasure in his victory Even to Arrietti�s eyes he was quite self satisfied Shall we play again

Of course The game of life is long and really I suspect I only have to win once in order to shatter your smug attitude Mrs Hamilton began to grumble toward the end of her sentence but overall the feel between the two of them was slightly

The corners of Arrietti�s mouth sagged downward as he turned and began to walk back toward his empty apartment

Chapter 1460

Before Commissioner Arrietti arrived at his place he received a message that jolted him awake In spite of himself his heart began to rapidly beat

Klein would you like to meet me tonight

Arrietti was gobsmacked to see that the sender was Helen He straightened his spine and lifted his chin but then realized that she couldn�t see him His posture didn�t matter Coughing awkwardly he glanced around to make sure no one else had seen this embarrassing behavior and then flexed his fingers in preparation to reply On such short notice Well I suppose Where should we meet

Everything began to click together After training for so long within the Dungeon Helen had been exposed to his manly determination to the point that she found it irresistible Arrietti�s face broke into a wide smile He was a seaman on a small fishing dingy who after an extremely long storm looked up and saw a wide blue sky

The training area Helen�s answer immediately crushed any whimsical delusions that had so briefly been allowed to flourish in Arrieti�s mind The reason the area above him seemed blue was because he was staring at the surface of the water from below His boat had already crashed upon dangerous shoals and sunk to th bottom of the sea You haven�t tested the limits of your Class right Let�s do it

Arrietti wiped a tear from the corner of his eye He walked woodenly like a puppet His soul disintegrated to nothing leaving him in a state of emotional nirvana

Desire is the root of all evil

Are both sides ready The referee asked The crowd howled its approval as Paolo and Kayle faced off against Tykes and Dinesh The air between them was thick with tension Randidly hid a smile behind his hand For all that people had been complaining about the bracket they were certainly excited by the prospect of the two semifinals matches Everyone believed the teams were pretty evenly matched

But as Randidly carefully spread his modest success with Nether weaving through the arena his eyes were on the two teams Both regarded each other with the utmost sincerity the two were old rivals from Donnyton They were familiar with each other�s capabilities But below the surface Nether was already beginning to shift There was weight to what would happen today

Randidly grinned his eyes two luminous emerald lanterns that released enough lumens to be visible even during the daylight hours He was looking forward to this fight just as much as the crowd was The referee raised his hand Then let the first semi final match of the duos tournament begin

Labyrinth of Mirrors Dinesh instantly slapped his hands together and began to churn out shimmering panes of energy in the surrounding area The air around him rippled and spun Paolo cackled and dashed forward with Tykes grinning just as widely as he rushed forward to intercept him

But Kayle just shook his head and chopped with his hand toward Dinesh Sever

Dinesh had produced almost two dozen mirrors in that brief moment but almost all of them were marred with a deep crack by Kayle�s strike Those that had taken the attack more directly began to steadily disintegrate into nothing from the damage Glittering motes of shattered images fell on the ground

Meanwhile Paolo bounded forward and threw a punch at Tykes while coincidentally holding a knife in his hand Tykes didn�t back down at all the veins on his arm throbbing as he lifted the heavy metal and launched it with all the force of a cannon at Paolo

Haymaker Paolo bellowed twisting his body midair and bringing his fist down to meet the huge iron ball The collision shook the ground and left Paolo and the ball almost suspended in the air Rather than any concussive detonation the two forces resonated with each other Images flared into towering pillars as the competition intensified

Paolo was indomitable Tykes had overwhelming strength

The two images were like two rutting rams who encountered each other in the wild They rushed immediately forward and locked horns the struggles between them so violent and all consuming that all other activities were gradually shut down in order to free up more resources for the current struggle

Randidly�s eyebrows slowly rose as the second stretched without a definitive conclusion Even he hadn�t suspected that they were this even

Paolo�s pillar ended up being just a little higher The muscles of his shoulder bulged and the flung the heavy iron ball back at Tykes A few drops of blood spurted from his knuckles indicating that the victory hadn�t been a clean one

But the heavy iron ball smashed again into the marble floor of the arena and simply skidded back to its owner Tykes didn�t seem bothered by the loss Instead he hopped up casually seized the wildly whirling metal ball then rushed forward again with his weapon held above his head As the two neared for their second clash both of their images intensified

While Dinesh continued to furiously try and achieve dominance over the surrounding space with his Domain Kayle took a step that cut through the surrounding distance and practically appeared behind Dinesh He immediately slashed his hand at Dinesh�s neck

Sensing the strike Dinesh rolled forward and slapped his palms against the ground Kayle released a brutal palm as he hounded Dinesh aiming for the moment that he bounced back up to his feet but his palm only hit air Rather than throwing himself up into the air his palms hitting the ground had him sticking there Then before Kayle could respond the ground rippled like the surface of a pond and Dinesh sunk into it

Mirrors exploded outward from that rippling ground as Dinesh used the opportunity to spread his Domain�s influence The tumbled weightlessly through the air flying past Kayle

For his part Kayle just chuckled Quick Slash

The Skill was a common one used by most blade wielding Classers but it Kayle�s hands it became something else entirely Everything else seemed frozen as Kayle slashed The peerless deadliness of his image lifted the basic Skill into a much higher Rarity Randidly wondered what his Skill Level with Quick Slash was

After Kayle�s fingers whipped sideways a third of the newly produced mirrors were bisected and began to crumble Dinesh appeared from a shattered mirror and zipped silently forward at his foe�s back At the last moment Kayle spun around and chopped sharply upward Dinesh ducked under the attack and whipped his right leg toward Kayle�s knee

Rather than retreating Kayle stepped forward with fingers practically glittering with his image of severe sharpness

Across the arena the ground shook continually as Tykes and Paolo smashed against each other It wasn�t as though there was no finesse in their fighting style from watching them it was obvious that they both had enough Stats in Control to manage their prodigious physical Skills But ultimately neither wished for a victory that had been seized through trickery

So as they smashed and bludgeoned each other their moved gradually lost their subtlety The minute adjustments for a small advantage fell away and simply left two men taking huge swings at each other Tykes especially had his chest heaving like he was an ancient hot air balloon preparing for its first ascension into the sky Somehow he seemed larger than life With just his physical strikes and that enormous iron ball he was capable of destabilizing the surrounding space

It was entirely different from the fight of feints and near misses happening on the other side fo the arena between Kayle and Dinesh Plus their images didn�t clash nearly as directly Kayle was just using his image to suppress the spread of Dinesh�s Domain If too many mirrors managed to avoid his attacks Kayle slashed outward and shattered most of them before continuing with the fight

Randidly sensed the sourness from Tykes before the split happened After unleashing two domineering blows that staggered even the unflappable Paolo Tykes leapt backward at the same time as Dinesh The two landed next to each other both staring at their opponents

Kayle and Paolo glanced at each other Paolo made a face like he had eaten a bug Do we need to Really

Tykes and Dinesh didn�t bother to answer Kayle laughed mockingly It truly is a duos tournament Or had you forgotten

How can we compete if all your victories are only because of my assistance Paolo complained But he rolled his shoulders and settled into a low stance while bouncing on the balls of his feet Kayle cracked his neck and strolled forward

I hope you don�t regret this Kayle said simply to his opponents Then he vanished once more utilizing the Skill that allowed him to cut through space Rather than his physical body appearing when he arrived there was just the impending sense of a keen cutting edge that ripped toward Tykes Tykes narrowed his eyes and raised his metal ball to defend himself

But of course Paolo arrived first exploding forward like an avalanche With the amplification of his image the cheers of the crowd became deafening Which of course only urged the crowd to even greater intensities of volume With a triumphant smile on his face Paolo proudly announced his next haymaker and threw a punch that hummed through the air

Right as Paolo and Tykes were about to clash Dinesh activated his Domain Dinesh and Tykes shattered and dispersed In the empty spot where they had just been standing Kayle�s slashes ripped large chunks up out of the marble ground and crisscrossed off the side of the raised arena That attack continued forward until Helen snorted and a massive fish swam over the stands and cast a long shadow In an instant Kayle�s attack was weakened enough that it dispersed naturally

Meanwhile Paolo skidded across the ground as he tried to disperse his momentum When he stopped he twisted around and cracked his spine Then he flexed his hand and grinned at Kayle You missed

As did you Kayle responded Then Kayle vanished again becoming those brutally sharp near invisible blades that rushed across the arena Wordlessly Dinesh and Tykes shifted into position

Paolo accelerated rapidly his thighs pumping to propel him forward Heh how many times can you keep this up for Dinesh How�s your Mana pool doing

Tykes produced a chain and hooked it to the end of the metal ball Then he lightly tossed the ball which probably had the mass of a compacted sedan and slapped his palm against it It shot forward to intercept Paolo

HAYMAKER Paolo howled as he pulled his arm back And swept away by the influence of his image the whole crowd joined in the yell

Haayymmaakkeerr

Fist and ball smashed against each other and Randidly narrowed his eyes Strangely Paolo had lost The man had been throwing his right fist forward but did so while planting his right foot and stepping forward with this left But the first impact was his fist hitting the ball before his left foot hit the ground Without the step his power was almost cut in half The bones of his right hand popped and shattered

But then while he was being pushed back by the ball Paolo slammed his left foot downward The reverberation was filled with a destructive image that triggered Dinesh�s Domain Tykes and Dinesh cracked again and appeared ten meters away

Kayle was standing between them when they materialized his arms spread wide Gotcha

Tykes yanked on the chain and spun around but Kayle already slipped under his guard His hand cut sideways inflicting a shallow gash on Tykes� arm that spurted a crimson arc of blood up into the air On its own the gash was practically meaningless it was a flashy flesh wound that would heal in a second

But that spray of blood obstructed Tykes� vision for a second So while Tykes was shifting to defend Dinesh he didn�t see Paolo aiming for him

Paolo didn�t need to strike at Dinesh directly He simply smashed into Tykes with such force that Tykes became his weapon crashing into Dinesh and sending them both bouncing across the arena floor They careened off the edge hitting the dirt ground and quickly scraping up a large pile of debris behind them

Randidly raised a finger and allowed the referee to feel the presence of the Grim Chimera The man had been about to declare the Donnyton duo the winner But their tournament didn�t have a rule against being pushed out of the ring it was just typically only the loser would be forced out

But as a new image spread across the arena it was clear that Tykes and Dinesh weren�t done quite yet

Even to Randidly�s eyes the surroundings blurred The arena disappeared Kayle and Paolo both marshaled their image to stop it but Dinesh was clever likely he had been allowing his mirrors to shatter for most of the match so he could embed small pieces of his image in the surroundings Now without time neither Paolo nor Kayle could stop him

Suddenly Paolo and Kayle were standing on the completely flat surface of a pool of water Below them was the perfect reflection of themselves The light of the sky warped until everything was illuminated in a golden sheen As they shifted their weight ripples spread outward from their feet

They glanced at each other then forward The noise of the audience had been completely cut off They stood in an isolated world that was an endless reflective lake

Across from them Tykes stood hefting his metal ball The air around him crackled and shivered as the sheer weight of his image destabilized the surrounding space Beneath him the image of Dinesh was reflected as the man perfectly mimicked and empowered Tykes�s image

They merged images Paolo whistled

A good opponent Kayle replied with a grin

Chapter 1461

Randidly studied the phenomenon of the merging images for several seconds It wasn�t something that he had ever seen before not at this level Then he shifted his focus toward the Nether coming together in vast quantities due to the achievement part of the reason that Tykes could destabilize space with his image right now was the surging current of Nether beneath all of this There was a great deal of weight to Earth seeing this method of utilizing images for the first time

Randidly smiled rather innocently as he casually touched his woven Nether Yes it was definitely worth it to host this tournament

Then the combatants moved and he refocused on the match below

On that endless reflective surface the combined form of Dinesh and Tykes moved with brutal speed Each step flung them across a vast distance but the touch of its feet against the surface only released the smallest of reflections Tykes was a freight train of significance trailing distorted space like a freight train puffing out smoke

Paolo glanced at Kayle and then studied his wounded right hand Don�t cut the image until I�ve had my chance to smash it to pieces

Don�t just go smashing things until I�ve had my chance to cut Kayle replied with just as much charged excitement Then they both blurred into motion following an unspoken communication They split sideways as Tykes arrived and smashed his iron ball where they had just been standing Then they were pouncing back on each side of them

They�ve fought each other so much that their teamwork is uncanny Randidly observed

But both Kayle and Paolo�s faces quickly twisted into a grimace as they moved to attack The waves of ambient image that their opponent�s combination unleashed slowed down their movements The distorted space was thick and unpredictable When their movements impeded Tykes could simply spin around smashing Paolo backward and then raising his iron ball to crush Kayle directly

Kayle flexed his fingers Sever

Tykes twitched to the side and then ignored the blood spurting out of his bicep The image around them didn�t even waver from the Skill Then Tykes flung his iron ball backward at Paolo who had just regained his feet and threw a punch at Kayle An electric shock seemed to run through Kayle�s body his eyes beginning to glow The sense of sharpness around him intensified to the point that his smile gleamed like a barred blade beneath the mon

But before Tykes completed the motion of his punch he abruptly became Dinesh His hand opened and he unleashed a burst of orange smoke that completely covered Kayle Then his body was Tykes once more and he simply slammed his hands against the ground Unlike the soft ripples that he had produced when he walked across the ground this slam generated a two meter tall wave that knocked the coughing Kayle away

Paolo slowed down in his advance at Tykes as the man turned slowly around to regard him The spatial distortions were growing more frequent Tykes� body seemed to be constantly buzzing Grimacing Paolo flexed his right hand and slapped it with his left The bones ground against each other painfully but the strike knocked the knuckles back into place Heh you two have grown strong This is the Ghosthound halo huh

But your basic Skills lack bite Kayle heaved himself to his feet after finally recovering enough to cut the wave that was suppressing him There were strange orange spots on his face but he still grinned over at Tykes and Dinesh Your image is broad yes but even the small things deserve love and attention

Dinesh and Tykes didn�t reply Two bodies mirrored across the surface simply glanced at the two of them while slowly pulling the metal ball back into Tykes� hand Then they began to gather their Willpower as they adjusted the image in the surrounding area Randidly�s blinked and then began to laugh they were using Tykes� sense of momentum to increase the difficulty of shattering Dinesh�s control over the surrounding space No matter how long Paolo and Kayle stalled if they couldn�t shake the effect now they likely wouldn�t be able to do it at all

Fine then let�s do this the hard way Paolo announced but it was clear from his expression that he was greatly looking forward to the experience Once more through an unspoken communication Donnyton�s greatest rivals dashed for Tykes across the featureless reflective surface Each step left large ripples that clashed chaotically against each other

This time they didn�t hold back on using their images at all Although Tykes and Dinesh continued to maintain the strange isolated world that didn�t stop Kayle and Paolo from manifesting the power of their images in this place Once more Kayle�s body gradually disappeared as he began simply a manifestation of a life thirsting blade Paolo seemed to grow imperceptibly becoming larger than life as he rushed toward the conflict

Paolo smashed his fist downward and met the Tykes� swing of the metal ball directly Even with the increase in size Tykes held a power advantage in this form and knocked the man backward

But then Kayle was there spinning like top garnished with butcher�s knives The attacks inflicted small flesh wounds onto Tykes which were completely ignored It was only when Kayle adjusted his stance and unleashed a thrust that Tykes became Dinesh who then immediately became Tykes again as Paolo bounded forward with both hands above his head and smashing brutally downward

Tykes eyes didn�t waver as he considered the two attacks heading toward him He let the iron ball fall to the side and spread his hands wide Endure

The bone of his left arm shattered with an audible crunch as he simply stood there and allowed Paolo�s punch to brutalize his body Kayle�s palm drilled into his side probably eviscerating one of his kidneys

Tykes trembled then he was a completely fine Dinesh who flicked his fingers Reflect

Kayle�s arm snapped and blood began to gush from Paolo�s side A wounded Tykes snapped back into existence in Dinesh�s spot and raised his head to roar in pain Then he reached with his good arm and picked up the iron ball

Rather than seeming worried about the wounds Kayle and Paolo simply grew more focused They didn�t slow at all as they moved in unison to strike again Kayle slashed and Paolo smashed Tykes Endured the slash and brought his iron ball whipping upward to smash Paolo backward

Then ignoring Kayle�s continuing barrage of attacks Tykes pursued Paolo Paolo flipped up to his feet and settled into a fighting stance Then he took a sharp step forward and shifted his weight Haymaker

Tykes took the strike to the jaw without blinking and a millisecond after impact Dinesh was there once more Reflect

Kayle grunted and spewed blood behind the fighting as he endured the force of Paolo�s punch Then Tykes was back and he brought his left arm around to strike Paolo�s cheek with a backhand blow Paolo barely even stumbled His eyes were bright and focused as he whipped his head back around and grinned at Tykes Maybe against someone else this would have worked �

After spitting out another mouthful of blood Kayle straightened and nodded but no one has taken each other�s blows more than us Do you think you can last long enough for this damage to matter Sever

This time Kayle�s image flared powerfully to life Their continued sparring in the area had helped acclimate them to Dinesh�s reflected world So before Tykes could dodge he staggered and then fell to one knee as Kayle tore open his back like it was a colorfully wrapped package on Christmas morning

Paolo didn�t bother with small strikes with this opening he simply lowered his shoulder and tackled Tykes But to his surprise when he hit Tykes he sluggishly moved through the destabilized space and then rebounded In terms of weight the energy holding the surrounding image in place was completely based in Tykes� body Even Paolo�s image couldn�t compete directly with its heaviness

Tykes didn�t miss this moment of surprise His arms snapped out and seized the stunned Paolo�s head and brought the brawler back for a brutal headbutt The strike was so sudden and vicious that Paolo�s hands subconsciously loosened on the practically useless long knives that he held

After their heads cracked together the first time Tykes pushed Paolo back and then pulled him back in for a second blow But Paolo�s hands whipped forward He dropped the daggers and caught Tykes� head with his own hands the two straining against each other in a bloody embrace

Heh that�s my win Kayle gloated with genuine cheer

I just dropped them coincidentally Paolo hissed through his gritted teeth I�ll pick them back up

Too late the winner was decided Kayle remarked When he raised his hands he was holding a long knife in each hand Endless Quick Slashes

In a way Kayle�s Skill resembled raindrops Rather than being able to view a single one you could only be aware of the raindrops by letting the focus of your gaze recede and by taking in the unending torrent that Kayle unleashed It was a force of nature that gradually overwhelmed the destabilized space and struck at Tykes� flesh

While held in a strained embrace with Paolo Tykes could only ignore the wounds as Quick Slash after Quick Slash carved off the flesh and muscle of his body and left his bone bare to the air Even Randidly couldn�t help but wrinkle his nose as he looked down at the gore of the fight below Chunks of viscera seemed to fan outward as Kayle continued to accelerate in his rhythm

Then between strikes Tykes became Dinesh and glanced over his shoulder Reflect

Paolo�s back exploded like someone had buried a grenade there and then pulled out the pin But also in that split second Paolo exploded with force once more While Tykes was his equal in Strength Dinesh was nowhere close to being able to slow him down

This time Dinesh was on the losing end of a domineering headbutt Their skulls connected The surrounding image shook Kayle ceased his Endless Quick Slashes and stabbed forward his long knife slid into Dinesh�s side but suddenly Dinesh was Tykes again

Before Kayle could respond Tykes slammed his fist against Kayle�s face in a brutally quick left straight

Kayle crashed against the far wall of the arena but Dinesh also was unable to maintain the image Once more they were back on the marble platform and the roars of approval from the crowd were deafening

Ha You knocked him out Paolo said as he stood At first he swayed but then he raised his hands The crowd�s volume seemed to be rapidly healing all the damage he had taken Thanks for that

Tykes looked down at Dinesh who was pressing his hands to his side to stem the blood from the wound Kayle inflicted Even now Tykes could sense Kayle�s image remaining in the wound and continuing to tear into Dinesh�s body He glanced over in the direction he knocked Kayle then looked back up at Paolo Although one of each of their duos was knocked out with the roars of the crowd Paolo�s image

Paolo licked his lips But now its time I pay you back that headbutt earlier with interest

Chapter 1462

In the end Tykes had endured too much without inflicting much damage on Paolo Although both he and Paolo had been marred by Kayle�s slashes what the Donnyton duo had said earlier was accurate no one could endure each other�s blows as well as they could In terms of practice none could even come close

Now that the duo had shed the pretense of using each other�s weapons they were truly standing near the pinnacle of Earth

That combined with the way that Paolo�s image was strengthened by the crowd�s cheers meant that Tykes was eventually crushed into the marble beneath Paolo�s foot The crowd went wild and Paolo�s image turned practically blinding under the influence of the approval and triumph The first ticket to the finals of the duo�s tournament had been sold paid for in blood

Randidly glanced down at Tykes and Dinesh as the two helped each other off the arena Neither of you are totally there quite yet your image is too vague If you find your truth your combination likely won�t lose next time

Then Randidly felt a headache coming on It would probably be good to encourage these sorts of tournaments to happen every year or so or maybe like every other year to demonstrate weaknesses like this Something like the System version of the Olympics but picturing Tatiana�s face as I suggest that she arrange it

Shaking his head Randidly set those thoughts aside Likely he wasn�t the only person who was interested in continuing to host such tournaments on Earth In addition he would likely say a few words when the final winner was determined He could plant the seed of the idea in the populace then purple black Revelation energy flared to life at the corners of his eyes as he considered those options

Congratulations Your Skill Revelations of the Atramentous Threshold has grown to Level 325

Very quickly he allowed that energy to fade those concerns could wait for now After finally producing a weave of Nether that he was satisfied with Randidly reeled in the finished product to inspect the result The Nether Nebula in his chest spun in a clockwise direction pulling all the weight and significance into his core

Gradually Randidly began to smile Truly I�m glad I decided to host this tournament

It�s time Alana�s eyes flicked open She picked up a glass of water and took a long sip Then she walked to the door and out into the hallway It was time for her match it was time to see how much Hank Howard had grown

But Alana frowned as she stepped into the dimly lit hallway from the waiting room to the participant�s entrance and saw that someone was waiting there for her Are you unsatisfied

Lucifer folded his arms across his chest and studied Alana closely Yes Which is why I�m here to ask you the same question that I asked you before Do you intend to win everything

Tilting her head to the side Alana considered the well muscled man in front of her His image was certainly strong but part of that strength was simplicity It was easy for her to read his emotions from it After following the web she sighed Your pride is certainly important to you huh

I would be greatly reassured if you would just tell me that you mean to win it all Losing to the eventual champion would have been my honor Lucifer spoke quietly seeming to become a part of the shadowy corridor that would lead Alana to the arena The only portion of him that had any presence was his piercing gaze as he weighed her

I�ll give him this at least he�s earnest Alana eventually decided

And now that she thought about it this was probably the most words he had ever spoken to her When she continued to contemplate this strange behavior Lucifer then spoke again I�ll also say this Hank Howard is not a man you can defeat without craving victory Do not let your image embarrass you

You sound a bit obscene when you speak of victory Lucifer Alana said lightly as she stepped passed him But she patted him lightly on his shoulder before she starting walking at a brisk pace toward the end of the hall Already she could feel the cheers of the crowd through the soles of her feet the entire building was rumbling with their excitement But I will win Don�t you worry about that

Due to her height and impressive wingspan Wivanya could only wait for Alana in an antechamber right before the open air of the arena But because of their connection she was looking at Alana with interest after her interaction with Lucifer So this match isn�t just training We mean to win

Alana shot a sour glance at her companion and Wivanya snorted out two bouts of air that produced large patches of frost on the nearby stone wall Rolling her shoulders Alana produced her spear from her interspatial ring and inspected it closely She rubbed the blade with her thumb and then flicked it it hummed perfectly We always meant to win but yes This is a match we should win

You have finally agreed we must rename the world Ghostworld Wivanya�s tail flicked back and forth in her excitement

Alana could only roll her eyes and pat the scales of Wivanya�s neck I still don�t think that�s the name we should choose But Lucifer has a point Just because so much of my new image is based on Randidly doesn�t mean I should be embarrassed It it�s a demonstration That there are various types of images that are possible I have a responsibility

You are blushing Wivanya teased blowing a small amount of freezing air on the back of Alana�s neck Alana punched the dragon in the chest with a good deal of force and then walked haughtily away from the chortling lizard The rumbling grew louder Soon the duo began to near the light at the end of the tunnel

When they finally walked out into the daylight Wivanya spread her wings wide after being cramped for so long in the tunnel and the crowd went wild Stretched out Wivanya�s wingspan was almost twenty meters long Meanwhile Alana looked across at Hank who was already passing Ancho�s reins to the referee When he spotted her he grinned and said something that was lost in the noise of the crowd

But Alana knew him too well Even if she hadn�t been able to read his lips she could guess what he was saying It�s a good day for a duel

Your enthusiasm is your greatest virtue Hank Alana reflected She wondered if he knew it Then she continued forward to the raised marble platform After they moved into their positions opposite each other on the arena the crowd gradually quieted down The referee looked back and forth Are both sides ready

Wivanya snorted Alana nodded Hank smiled and flexed his fingers Ancho whinnied and sniffed at the referee�s pockets for snacks

Ignoring the horse the referee raised his hand The let the second semi final match of the duos tournament begin

Alana raised her spear and released her tight control over her image Orange golden flames flickered to life along her limbs She flexed her hand and a winged helmet grew on top of her head But it was Wivanya who took the first step forward The Frostdragon Broodmother raised her head and roared Her frigid image exploded outward to seep into the surrounding air and drag down the temperature The heavy grey clouds that were already hanging above the arena darkened From the look of them it would only be a short amount of time until it began to snow

Hank just chuckled and drew his repeater Rather casually he spun the gun in his hand and popped out the magazine After flicking away a minuscule speck of dust he snapped the clip back into place and raised the gun to point at Alana

Alana boldly stood in position and slashed the bullet out of the air with the head of her spear Hank�s homemade bullets were quite strong but Alana was just as overwhelming Besides that bullet hadn�t contained much of his image at all In old style westerns the first bullet was never the one that would finish the bad guy It wasn�t until the end of the fight that the gunslinger could make the perfect shot that turned everything around

In a way your image makes you predictable

Alana casually strolled forward There was no need to rush right now As someone who had traveled and fought quite a bit with Hank Howard she was quite familiar with his strengths and weaknesses Which was why she felt confident that she and Wivanya would be able to defeat him even before she had made a decision regarding her image Now that she had finally decided to put everything on the line To put it bluntly there were two methods to defeat the man and Alana and Wivanya possessed both

As Alana walked forward Wivanya rose into the air and unleashed a blast of sleet and ice from her fanged maw Hank flashed a grin and Dodge Rolled to the side so fast that he briefly seemed to vanish It was almost impossible for a human eye to follow as his body hunched over and tumbled But then he was suddenly back on his feet unleashing a barrage of bullets up toward Wivanya

Most of them deflected harmlessly off the thickening layer of ice on Wivanya�s body but one happened to strike the soft tissue at the corner of her left eye as she hovered in the air Wivanya roared in fury and flapped her wings with a few powerful wingbeats her bulk was suddenly propelled forward with powerful winds gathering behind her

The cold of Wivanya�s image began to clash very directly with the subtle touch of Hank Howard�s image Steam hissed off of Wivanya�s body Despite the fact that the Wild West could accept cold at night the days were hot and dry In this way it was surprisingly delicate

Alana walked forward with her spear raised watching the interaction Attacking the image directly was the first way that Wivanya could defeat Hank After all he was just a man He had invested quite a few Stat points into his precious Focus but even he had limits If you could push Hank toward exhaustion his razor sharp Focus would naturally decline He would miss the opportunity to take a shot to turn everything around

Images that clashed directly with Hank�s like Wivanya�s chill were rather rare If they pushed it they could use this opportunity to take him down

As the dragon continued to glide forward a veritable blizzard formed around Wivanya Although you could barely see the tips of her wings peeking out of the white maelstrom the rest was screened by ice and wind The result took up about a tenth of the massive marble arena likely blocking the vision of quite a few people in the audience Despite the fact that such a monster was bearing down on him Hank didn�t panic at all He spun his repeater and then holstered it With light fingers he pulled out his revolver

Alana�s eyes narrowed Of course exhausting Hank was a slow game And the man had survived for this long in the System governed world so it was clear that he possessed plenty of tricks The process would not be as easy as it seemed There was of course a more reliable way to defeat Hank Howard Her fingers on her spear tightened and the orange golden flames grew higher

Crippling Shot Hank announced His revolver bucked and a piercing bullet ripped forward and blew a hole in Wivanya�s blizzard Alana didn�t need her high Perception to know that the bullet would impact Wivanya�s wing joint Even with the dragon�s high Physical Defense Stats that bullet would do significant damage

In the short term further flying would be almost impossible

A split second later Wivanya roared and the blizzard crashed into the ground a good twenty meters short of Hank Ice snaked outward in deadly slashes but the man Dodge Roll�d again and drew his repeater to fire a dozen shots in quick succession Wivanya responded with a blast of ice that Hank continued to duck and weave between When he ran out of bullets in his first clip he professionally ejected the empty and snapped another into place

Above them the sky was perfectly split as Hank�s insidious Wild West image caused the sun to peek through the clouds Opposite that bashful sun the grey clouds continued to darken toward a snowstorm

Gradually Alana began to spin her spear as she walked Hank Howard�s image was undoubtedly strong and served as a way to emphasize Hank�s capability But its hardiness and constant spread came at a cost it didn�t really attack the opponent�s image Hank�s victory was premised on the fact that when all the chips were down his best was better than yours

So the second method to beat Hank was simple just overpower him directly

Alana raised her spear The wings on her helmet shivered and then began to grow The feathers transformed into a pearlescent white The First Book of Revelations Advance

Chapter 1463

The First Book of Revelations Advance

Hank rolled backward and popped up on his feet to avoid another blast of ice but inwardly he was sighing Already the composition of images in the surrounding area was shifting a heavyweight had finally bared her fangs I�d hoped Alana woulda waited just a mite longer Ah well This way is more fun

His gaze slid sideways to the radiant form of Alana Donal crossing the arena Two wings as long as he was tall beat elegantly as she gliding toward him shedding ivory feathers that tumbled artistically through the air around her In her wake Alana also released a wave of orange gold fire that rapidly spread her image�s influence And both his and Wivanya�s image were rapidly giving ground to Alana In terms of image potency Hank hadn�t yet been forced to face something as overwhelming as her pseudo holiness in the whole of the tournament

A good day for a duel Hank thought with a smile sparing one more glance up toward the chaotic sky above the arena Then he drew his revolver popped the cylinder out and carefully inserted an extremely special bullet that he had made for just this occasion

With a whispered prayer he spun the cylinder and then snapped it back into place with a flick of his wrist He sidestepped another gout of frost as the Frost Dragon began to heave her body across the ground toward him and then aimed his revolver through the inclement elements toward the glorious charge of Alana Donal Stopping her here was important

Once Alana Donal caught the scent of your weakness she would pursue relentlessly

The bullet blasted a hole directly through the ice and wind Wivanya produced and arrived in front of Alana Donal The woman didn�t even blink Hank was somewhat aggrieved to see that Alana had already planted her front foot and settled into a steady stance with her spear raised as he had aimed at her she had predicted his move perfectly But even so that bullet wasn�t something that could be easily

Sunstrike Alana called It was difficult to tell whether the glorious light of the sun arrived or the spear blurred into motion first but Alana seemed to be suddenly standing at the center of a world of pure light Like a black hole pressing on the fabric of space everything in the surrounding was being inexorably pulled into her gravitational influence Her intent hung in the air with her words pure and clear

Spear met bullet in a brilliant kaleidoscope of light Alana�s image might be quite flashy but part of that sense of flash� was just the natural side effect of the obvious strength of her image It commanded attention like a lighthouse pulled in ships on stormy nights In that meeting of spear and bullet Hank felt Alana�s image continue to increase in intensity At Alana�s core was a religious veneration that informed every decision she had made since encountering Randidly Ghosthound There was no hesitation in her strike

And in exchange for that revenant loyalty Alana had followed a Path directly toward great power Looking at the light that Alana could produce with her bread and butter attack Skill even Hank felt a certain amount of awe for her determination and commitment He wondered how often she had practiced exactly this Skill in the past preparing for the day she might use that attack to cut a bullet out of the air

in summary Hank�s bullet and the image contained therein were summarily annihilated It was the same sort of execution that informed an uneasy populace that it would be no trouble for their despot leader to render them helpless again if need be This was just business

You�ve gotta be fucking kidding me Hank muttered He considered trying another shot because he had prepared three bullets of increasing power to play into the natural narrative of his image but Wivanya was surging toward him He leapt backward creating some distance from those frosted claws and glanced over toward Ancho Ah buddy I need to borrow your image for a bit

Ancho huffed in dissatisfaction Hank winced as he rolled underneath a blast of frost that passed so close to his face he had to suppress the urge to sneeze Then he looked imploringly at his horse Look I know ya are hungry but right now we are fightin� I promise after ta� fight I�ll getcha plenty of grub

To that Ancho snickered

Hank�s face turned red Alana sped past the wrathful Wivanya and approached him with her spear raised What do ya mean the fastest way ta end the match is for me to lose

But then Alana was before him and Hank couldn�t spare any more attention for his unpredictable partner He cleanly drew his repeater but had to pause in the draw motion because Alana�s spear swept sideways through the space where his repeater would have been to perfectly unleash a barrage of bullets toward her position The only reason that the gun wasn�t knocked out of his hand was that he had paused Hank�s eyes narrowed She�s faster than I�ve ever seen her

To avoid the cleansing� aspect of the holy light that Alana released which might just cleanse the flesh right from his bones if he was exposed for too long Hank leaned backward and launched himself into a back handspring As he flipped backward he caught himself on the ground with his left hand and raised his right to fire while performing a handstand but Alana was still moving too quickly for him to get a good shot Hank could only tuck his knees down hit the ground and then roll explosively to the side

Going to dodge all day Hank Alana said quietly Solar Flare

Her already overwhelming speed increased even further The flames that danced across her limbs surged Hank grimaced and accepted a shallow gash across his shoulder in order to avoid an even more brutal thrust toward his thigh Alana whipped the butt of her spear around and Hank narrowed avoided a shattered jaw

He finally brought his repeater up and unleashed several quick shots but her body blurred at the edges and the two lifelike wings that extended from her helmet stretched downward to swat the bullets away Not to be dissuaded Hank fired six more shots While her flames devoured most of the projectiles he did force her to flick her head from side to side in order to avoid the final two bullets

It was to put it simply an unfair comparison of their base specs And while she effortlessly squashed his counter attacks she continued to advance toward him

Of course Hank could feel his image slowly gaining traction in the surrounding space The pressure from Alana�s image greatly increased the speed of its spread Gradually the chill of Wivanya was being pushed back by the whistling austere beauty of the Wild West He was settling into the track of the plucky underdog Yet as Hank sidestepped an ice blast and blocked a kick that was crackling with holy energy he didn�t feel optimistic about his chances

Alana whipped her spear around and thrust toward his stomach Hank fired several bullets at her waist to slow her down but she ignored the attacks The bullet struck her but only produced the smallest spurts of blood from the wounds His image didn�t even manage to inconvenience her Alana�s ability to ignore outside influences was positively unfair

Her decisive lack of response to his attacks meant that Hank had to bring the butt of his pistol down to knock aside her spear thrust The skin of his hand sizzled and burned from the strange radiation of Alana�s image as the golden flames licked greedily upward but Hank was able to spin away without taking serious damage

Except then he found himself looking at the narrowed sapphire eyes of a three meter tall dragon It was a frozen moment that Hank knew would end as soon as he blinked or reacted to Wivanya�s ambush Yet he wanted to remain in that strained piece of stretched time for as long as possible Because as the odds were stacked against him

As quick as lightning splitting an old oak Hank drew his revolver popped open the cylinder slid in a specialty bullet then popped the cylinder back into place As a dragon claw with all the fury of winter was howling toward him Hank pointed his gun toward the ground and fired The special bullet blasted him quickly upward about ten meters before he began to slow

He switched to his repeater and then cursed as he twisted midair and had to deflect another of Alana�s thrusts with the barrel of his gun Hank lashed out with his leg but Alana somehow managed to duck under the attack while midair and continue her preternatural rush toward him He aimed with the repeater but she was already too close

Hoping to seize the initiative Hank twisted and brought his knee upward in a brutal attack toward Alana�s forehead But she casually slapped his attack aside with her off hand dispersing his force Then her spear snaked forward and ripped a hole along Hank�s armpit Golden flames raced along her spear to spread to Hank�s body as they locked eyes The Second Revelation Struggle

What followed was a chaotic mess of split second decisions as Alana�s methodical thrusts inflicted increasing amounts of damage while Hank struggled to keep up Hank�s left shoulder was almost completely shredded and at least two of his ribs were shattered He felt something trickling down between his shoulder blades and couldn�t tell if it was blood or sweat

In the meantime his image was rapidly gaining traction in the surrounding space the clouds had truly parted and allowed the sun to shine down on the match But the small accumulation of advantages simply wasn�t enough to keep up with Alana�s efficient spear strikes

Even worse Hank could feel some vital energy in his chest being rapidly depleted as he stayed within the halo of light that Alana produced He had broken away before the flames spread directly to his body but they continued to damage him The holiness about her person was a spiritual poison that seeped into his mind Against the purity and grace that she displayed it was difficult to muster up the will to resist

Yet somehow Hank�s smile just kept widening Ya jus like this If Alana weren�t like this

Eventually Hank managed to get himself smashed down into the marble of the arena rather than skewered He left a bloody stain on the ground As he staggered to his feet he cast a meaningful glance over at Ancho Due to the small distraction he was completely blindsided by a blast of frost that knocked him off of his feet

Ancho snickered clearly broadcasting his thoughts See Almost over

If we win you can have the trophy Hank muttered as he smacked his palm against his arms to restore feeling in the limbs God but his left shoulder ached every time he moved But he couldn�t afford to remain still So he slid a new magazine into his repeater to pepper Wivanya with bullets The dragon surged forward with hatred in its eyes thankfully screening Alana�s vision of Hank as she drifted casually downward In that opportunity he Dodge Roll�d several times in quick succession to keep Alana from locking onto him in the short term

Ancho soft brown eyes displayed complete apathy for a human�s obsession with status The trophy was worthless to him Inwardly Hank was becoming very annoyed You can sell it I reckon The trophy For as many apples and sugar cubes as ya want

Ancho considered this chewing thoughtfully on the corner of the referee�s uniform even while snow began to fall chaotically over the arena Although Hank was moving with more vigor than he had been at the beginning of the match due to the growing momentum of his image he was still clipped by a large icicle that Wivanya launched out at him Hank swayed from the glancing impact but was ultimately able to stay on his feet Blood dribbled out of a half dozen wounds inflicted on him by Alana�s brutal assault

I�m barely standin� bud Hank drawled with false humor At which point Ancho finally huffed in defeat and gave his permission

Eternal Companion Hank whispered even as Wivanya spread her wings wide and screeched The gains Hank had made in the sky were gradually forced back and snow fell more heavily in the surrounding area But Hank felt some warmth returning to his extremities From the distance the sound of hoofs reached his ear with the reassuring staccato of rain on a tin roof

Wivanya surged forward with an increasingly dense aura of chilling air around her forcing Hank to roll sideways and rip open the wounds his body was dutifully knitting together When the first strike missed Wivanya narrowed her eyes and conjured a half dozen ice spears that pierced the ground around Hank and hemmed him into a small area But at the same time a shadowy figure reached the edge of the arena

Hank honestly hadn�t realized how much he had needed a horse until he saw one fleeing in panic from a giant grasshopper Something clicked instantly in his mind Because the monster was only Level 28 Hank had finished it in a single bullet and cautiously approached the horse That was how he met Ancho

But ultimately Ancho was just a normal horse even if Hank had his suspicions about that based on how expressive Ancho was So he couldn�t actually play any role in a serious battle of Hank�s But really Ancho didn�t need to he just needed to spend time with Hank exposing him to the details and meaning that could only be gathered slowly through observation

With enough time and dedication Hank could create for himself a companion with all the life and character of the real horse

minus a few superfluous personality traits of course

Once it leapt up onto the raised platform Ancho�s shadow clone reared up and released a clarion neigh that attracted everyone�s attention Everyone but Ancho who buried his head against the referee�s back as his image equivalent bared himself before so many humans

Too late to save you now Wivanya hissed but no sooner had shadow Ancho landed back on all four hooves than it stepped forward and was right next to Hank As an image especially as an image within an area with the heavy presence of Hank�s image space was not a serious problem Hank swung up into the saddle and they stepped again escaping from the frigid encirclement And when they crossed the distance to the far side of the arena Hank had his revolver ready with the second powerful bullet in the chamber

It had been far too long since he had seen Alana Perhaps it had only been fifteen seconds but after her initial blitz it made him extremely wary

Yet as Hank scanned the arena seething with mist and falling snow as Wivanya�s Skills affected a wider and wider area he couldn�t find Alana or her tell tale orange flames Somehow this absence did not make him feel better His narrative instincts made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end something was about to happen

But in the meantime Wivanya beat her wings tentatively testing the earlier wound that Hank had inflicted Air churned around the dragon like she stood at the center of a wheel and the frigid currents around were spokes The swirling pillars of mist seemed capable of grinding Hank to dust if he allowed the dragon to draw too near to him The shadow horse beneath Hank shook out its mane loosening some frost that had began to form Hank frowned around but didn�t yet move as Wivanya shuddered forward He just casually raised his revolver

He couldn�t keep this up for long Relying on the image version of Ancho vastly increased his ability to respond to threats but it also increased the strain on Hank�s mind And although he considered himself one of the most determined individuals on Earth the combination of Alana and Wivanya had constantly dogged him and made the first few minutes of the match feel like hours He needed an opportunity but Hank couldn�t win if his precious bullets were used on Wivanya

The Frost Dragon Broodmother was the perfect distraction that would eventually freeze his remaining strength from his bones Due to high Physical Defense Stats Hank couldn�t easily put her out of commission If Alana truly committed to that path to victory she could simply sit back and wait until Hank made a fatal error to strike

Of course if Alana was the type to sit back and wait Hank wouldn�t be under such pressure right now

His eyes flicked downward at the marble underneath his feet In the brief moment when his eyes landed on the marble that was swiftly turning red and bubbling the image horse underneath him was blurring away from the spot But even with the impossible quickness of the image Alana drilled out of the ground wreathed in that dangerous orange golden fire faster than he could escape The tongues of flame produced a harsh light that struck directly onto Hank�s psyche The flames snaked outward seeking to incinerate both his image and his flesh

The second most powerful bullet that Hank had prepared for this match cut through the flames but was soon hollowed of its image by the heat and then melted to a superheated raindrop It splattered harmlessly on the ground barely buying Hank a split second of reprieve from the flames But it was enough for him to open up some distance

The ghost Ancho wheeled around and whinnied in complaint Hank lowered his revolver and fed the final bullet he had prepared into the cylinder His palms were sweaty and tingling as he raised the gun His image continued to frantically strengthen its influence in the surrounding area but it continued to shrink away beneath the light that Alana produced His image flared and strained with all the tragic huffing of a children�s floatie being inflated while an adult sat on it

Not that he could blame his image much for being restrained even Hank could only keep one eye open as he aimed The light that Alana was overwhelming Ya never keep me waitin� That�s what I like about ya Alana

Surrender Hank This is your last chance Alana replied softly Her enormous snowy wings beat softly sending a few stray feathers fluttering downward Those feathers settled on the molten tunnel that Alana had burned through the ground largely extinguishing any admiration Hank could feel for the feather�s beauty They were practically weapons with enough tensile strength to smack away his empowered Mana Bullets

Hank allowed all thoughts of his image to fade away Or rather in a way he had stumbled across by watching the Ghosthound Hank became the best example of his image He didn�t need to will them into existence he simply was the image made real He breathed in slowly then breathed out He wiped his left hand against his jeans while keeping his gun trained on Alana Nah We both know that ain�t how this ends

The marble hissed as Alana drifted downward and settled onto the ground Her flaming boots gradually caused the extremely valuable stone to bubble beneath her feet I�m honestly survived you survived the Second Revelation I didn�t expect it

How many Revelations are there Hank asked casually But it was a distraction His right pointer finger twitched imperceptibly Alana blurred into motion as though she had known the shot was coming She probably had

BANG

This bullet was different from all the others Hank had prepared it precisely thinking of this moment To combat that inviolable self righteous holiness of Alana�s image it was filled with an image of the profane Even if an image like that wasn�t Hank�s strong suit it was enough to slow the insidious radiation of her flames and strike a serious blow with the refined bullet within the brass casing

In a way I knew it would come ta this too Hank thought In a smooth motion Alana�s spearhead flashed forward riding a wave of golden flames Compared to that power his bullet was so small And as fer what happens now

The Third Revelation Anguish

Later when it had been determined that Paolo and Kayle would be facing Alana and Wivanya in the final match of the tournament Randidly and Tatiana had a dinner of stir fry together underneath the stars After the food was consumed by Randidly�s endless appetite Tatiana folded her hands in her lap She lightly cleared her throat Not to pry but I can sense your feelings have been complex since the match If you don�t feel that Alana�s image is appropriately distant from your own enough to be the victorious one

Ha No it�s not that Randidly waved his hand but that just made Tatiana more troubled For the first time in a long time she was having a difficult time intuiting what he was thinking as he sat and looked up at the moon Honestly it�s fine It might be accurate to say I�m struggling a bit with vanity

At least with that Tatiana knew her role She remained silent and waited for Randidly to continue The heavy grey clouds continued to drift across the sky seeming to tease that they would soon shroud the moon but never daring to actually impede Randidly�s gaze

Eventually Randidly did continue Her image is based on my shape It is premised on a gaze that has followed me for a long time filled with worship Due to that history due to the detail with which she has viewed me it is powerful It captures the right notes The shape is totally present

Then Tatiana saw what had Randidly in such a strange mood but even if it looks like you it�s almost surprising how much it isn�t you

Randidly nodded It misses all the important things The image is me but it�s not mine Does that make sense

Slowly Tatiana nodded in return She was a fan first I think Of Randidly Ghosthound And it is very difficult for fans to look at their idols with empathy for their troubles They only see the bright spots and the glory

Chapter 1464

Hmph this tournament has just become a giant advertisement for Donnyton Liam�s mouth twisted in dissatisfaction The group around him didn�t respond overtly to his obvious emotional state having learned that it was best to just leave him to his rants Helio Undunes stood at the stove continuing to make minute adjustments to the temperature to achieve the ideal level of crispiness in his breakfast hash It was unfortunately an action that was so natural for him that it provided no distraction at all You know I wouldn�t be surprised if the whole thing was rigged

Cleary displayed her trademark sneer and leaned forward Really All rigged Well which amongst the top 16 do you think you would have stood a chance against These people could all wipe the floor with you

Those Huangs didn�t seem so tough Liam glowered across the table at Cleary Although he felt like it was somewhat of a betrayal to his pursuit of cooking perfection Helio began to hurry the completion of the food the four gamblers were always more touchy before they had eaten

It was the day after the semi final matches the first of a two day break before the final between Paolo and Kayle and Alana and Wivanya Generally no one dared directly find fault like Liam with the Order Ducis for how things turned out but there was some general dissatisfaction that both duos were originally from Donnyton

As for Helio he found the result rather natural Donnyton had created a competitive fighting ladder that had persisted successfully for several years From what he understood Donnyton had taken upon itself the role of clearing out Raid Bosses before the Orders were officially founded Of course that experience would mean its warriors were stronger

They might not have had much of an advantage when it came to images but their foundation was much stronger than any other area

But aside from that small emotional hiccup the mood for the tournament was still high Everyone crowded into the bars and restaurants announcing boldly to anyone who would listen that they had been inspired by watching someone else fight Soon their image would be powerful enough to have made it farther in the tournament finally proving their natural talent Helio glanced sideways at the foursome of Liam Cleary Evater and Ning sitting in his restaurant as he began to cut off large slices of his hash to serve

unfortunately Evater was one of those inspired� people

Listen Evater said with a confident smile as he spread his hands out placatingly toward both Liam and Cleary Let�s not forget that the audience has been the true winners here right And also didn�t we all bet on these two making the final when the bracket was released Significant amounts So none of us are wanting for money Can�t we just accept this as a victory

The outcome was obvious Cleary mumbled Liam nodded in agreement although the look on his face remained sour The two didn�t look at each other Before anyone could speak again and break the fragile peace Helio was there laying a plate in front of each of them Without comment they began to eat

Helio returned to the grill and began to scrape off grease He had obtained the Cleanse Skill in his early days but had never bothered to use it on cooking implements It simply felt more natural to do it manually

For about five minutes the peace in the shop was maintained But of course it was a short lived peace Evater quickly had cleared his plate and rubbed his large hands together as he considered his companions Have y�all heard about Zone 1 Apparently it is trying very hard to recruit the unaffiliated duos that got farther in the tournament They already have their eyes set on the next prize

Will there be another tournament Cleary asked in confusion

Liam snorted and folded his arms Still holding a grudge he wouldn�t miss this chance to mock her Can you imagine how much money the Orchard must be making from hosting this Not just as a city but so many different groups came to trade their wares I�m sure the economic benefits will keep the Orchard booming for at least a year Plus everyone wants to spot and poach talent So I�m sure the Zones will push for it

But I think I remember reading something about how the hosts of big tournaments like this usually lose money Cleary frowned

To everyone�s surprise Ning spoke up That�s different

Why is it different Cleary asked as her face creased even further in confusion Ning simply lifted her lemonade to her mouth and took a long sip draining the cup dry Evater and Liam exchanged a glance Helio moved out from behind the grill with a pitcher of lemonade for Ning

Seeing that the waspish Cleary was becoming agitated at the lack of answer Helio hesitated and then decided to speak while he was refilling Ning�s drink the difference between our current situation and something like the Olympics which is what you probably read about is twofold One the price of construction both labor and quality materials is probably only a tenth of what it was in pre System days Projects can be finished quickly The shorter duration of construction means delays won�t cascade into larger problems that end up being the hidden costs of hosting a large tournament And the second reason is that New Earth has so much space a lot of the old costs were related to updating existing infrastructure while also accommodating the several million high populations that were already present Here you can move a mile or two in most directions and find open land to construct a stadium

Helio returned to the grill and resumed his cleaning Liam blinked Damnit Helio you are truly wasted here Well actually nevermind your food is life changing So yea the Zones will push for tournaments in the future Maybe the defunct World Council can finally do something useful but aside from that did you hear Kharon�s announcement They will be visiting Ifrenne at the end of the month and the ogre city at the base of the Nordawn Mountains in two months They finally aren�t just wandering around anymore

A good choice Ning announced Then she took another long drink of her lemonade Helio paused briefly with the grease brush waiting to see if she made the slurping sound that indicated she wanted a refill Thankfully she didn�t finish the drink all in one go He resumed his determined scrubbing

People will go to those cities around those times just because Kharon is there Evater looked down at his hands with an intense expression Then he clenched his hands and spoke with a confidence that made him sound like a fool Heh people are naturally drawn to strength And at the head of Kharon is Randidly Ghosthound the most powerful image user on Earth

How can Kharon visit Ifrenne Cleary asked She pushed a few remnants of her hash around the plate with a fork and then looked around at the group It has legs right But the sea is pretty deep won�t it sink

The table considered that Even Helio couldn�t help but picture Kharon slowly sinking into the sea as the ocean floor dropped away beneath it Somehow he doubted that it would end up being a problem

well anyway I think Cleary raises another good point Liam announced Is Randidly Ghosthound really that much stronger than we have seen All the people in the top 8 were Legends And Alana clearly demonstrated that she might be in another tier of strength above that how much stronger can the Ghosthound really be He�s just been sitting around while these people are fighting

And if I can have this much insight just from watching Evater muttered mysteriously as he looked down at his own clenched fist Helio wondered if the man was developing some sort of delusion about himself He hoped someone else would notice and say something I can only imagine the gains that the fighters have made Engaging in such struggles would fuel quite a bit of growth

shouldn�t the winner just challenge him Cleary asked the group Everyone hummed to themselves considering this

Commissioner Arrietti felt his breath wheezing out through his swollen and bloody lips Helen stood above him in the training arena shaking her head You are quick That first movement you can take is explosive and almost absolute But you need to capitalize on that opportunity Don�t you have any attacking Skills worth a damn

Licking his lips Arrietti considered the question Due to Helen�s relaxed posture he considered it acceptable for him to push himself out of the small crater that currently served as his resting place His body creaked as he straightened His muscles were bruised and sore Ah I mean I do but compared to your Skills

Helen patted Arietti�s shoulder Yes well I suppose you had the unfortunate handicap of being born on this Earth Aside from Randidly well the rest of you don�t seem to have much of a desire to strike with deadly intent It makes your attacks flimsy

Commissioner Arrietti felt his heart bubbling with helpless despair but then the door to the training arena opened His expression immediately brightened Although it wouldn�t solve his current emotional desolation it would certainly make him feel better to watch another person struggle underneath Helen�s brutal standards I�ll reflect on this But it looks like someone else

Oh Helen this is where you were Mrs Hamilton said walking forward with a smile on her face She gestured to the two people following behind her Have you met the Huangs Li has been struggling to recapture the feeling of his image and I was hoping you would help by applying some pressure to him Don�t bother to pull your punches normal methods haven�t been working

Huang Li bowed Miss Helen I have heard much about you I hope you can please give me some guidance in regard to image And this Oh Commissioner Arrietti I apologize for interrupting your training

Seeing that the goals of these new arrivals coincided with his own Arrietti released a relieved smile Finally something was going his way Oh we were just finishing up

Actually this is good Helen announced She clapped Arrietti again on the shoulder sending a painful jolt through his torso Arrietti here is working on upgrading a Skill to be more deadly Your Sky Slaying Slash will serve as a good example Why don�t the two of you fight me together

Mrs Hamilton and Huang Shou produced two seats and a table and began to set out a Go board between them Arrieti�s throat was dry as Huang Li walked over with a bright expression Truly It is my honor to fight by the side of the man in charge of safety for Kharon Please take care of me

Chapter 1465

He stood alone on his island the surrounding space flickering and cracking just from his presence His two tails flicked back and forth conveying his barely suppressed anxiety His black hole of a left eye had extended to mask the whole of his face greedily devouring the surrounding light His veins pulsed with golden light as his powerful heart continued to steadily beat

Even though his carefully radiated image had strengthened the island beneath him he knew that he needed to be extremely careful about his movements right now His body contained immense potential energy Enough to become the cataclysm that sent his island crashing toward the ground

Randidly Ghosthound gritted his teeth dealing with a painful tightness in his chest that reminded him of heartburn Luckily the horrible sensation emanating from the grey core of his Nether Nebula was gradually receding as he sent thin threads of Nether flowing through his veins The hyperdense Nether gradually interacted with the physically condensed images throughout Randidly�s body reaching a strained equilibrium

But the digestion was a painful one The light grey crystal that had formed in his Nether Nebula stubbornly refused to shrink It continued to press against his chest acting as a burden on his image Without meaning to Randidly had bit off far more than he could comfortably chew in terms of Nether significance with his weave

Congratulations Your Skill Abomination�s Grim Vigor has grown to Level 331

Randidly couldn�t help but smile The dense Nether is so dangerous that it�s driving up my Grim Chimera�s physical Skill

It was mostly due to the dangerous surge of Nether inside of him that Randidly had decided to make the break between matches a two day affair As planned he had successfully gathered quite a bit of Earth�s significance with the weave he had slipped into the System�s thin space for Nether And he could now feel how as that Nether density was incorporated into himself his own Aether was being stirred to greater heights The contrast between Aether and Nether served as a method to strengthen him If he wanted to he might be able to create eleven or twelve drops of liquid Nether now The improvement was immediate and obvious If this process of acclimation went off without a hitch Randidly held great anticipation toward what he could gain from the final

But he also felt a deep sense of helplessness Because for the first time Randidly had an inkling about how Elhume could create a mountain range of crystalized Aether that was the size of a small country That man had thousands of years world of Nether interacting with his Aether to strengthen it And that knowledge didn�t give Randidly any confidence that he would be able to replicate the feat in the short term

Yet his growing understanding of the task he had set for himself only made the flames of his determination grow brighter That strength hasn�t come freely according to Octavius Elhume�s body is actually trapped by the sheer amount of Aether around him So as long as I can handle the manifestation of his will

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Understanding has grown to Level 175

Congratulations Your Skill Stigma of the Stillborn Phoenix has grown to Level 299

Randidly winced again as his chest spasmed painfully But he allowed his images to manifest further in the surrounding area The fingers of his left hand curled into long talons The ground around his bare feet rapidly turned into a field of lush grass Small bushes sprang into existence their roots digging greedily in every direction As the Stillborn Phoenix�s influence grew the air was filled with the shrill sound of it sucking away small amounts of air

Randidly had his island floating high in the air hoping not to affect anyone with the waves his image was releasing But he could sense the clouds nearby slowing being influenced by his image They circled like massive insubstantial buzzards content to absorb any stray images he left behind The comparison was so apt that it earned a smile from Randidly But then he returned to the delicate task of refining his Nether

I need to finish this by tonight Tomorrow I have so many meetings to get through

Theodora Greyman woke up coughing in the dark Her initial impulse was to push herself to the sitting position but she ended up just flailing around and burying her face into the blanket Her left arm twitched but otherwise didn�t move no matter how she struggled Her right arm felt like she was sticking it into a campfire At the same time a vice of iron tightened in her chest pressing her two lungs together into a useless lung

Needless to say the blanket in her mouth didn�t help with her cough

She could only blink away tears and resist the urge to panic that crept through her brain like a lurking tarantula The darkness around her refused to part and she just tried her best to endure her body�s response Very gradually her limbs stopped twitching and Theodora experienced a cough big enough to scoop out the gunk that lined her throat Unfortunately with her face pressed against the blanket she simply coughed it up right in front of her So as her coughs subsided she stared at the yellowed phlegm oozing slowly downward and felt the strangest sense of relief

I�m alive She whispered Then she pressed her eyes shut as her torso trembled speaking almost set her into another fit of coughs In that arena she had truly resolved herself to die She had thought she was dying

And it had made her immensely afraid Death reminder her of cold rooms in her childhood and looking at pictures that didn�t quite look like the deceased It reminded her of vanilla puddings she was given to keep her quiet while adults talked about who would take care of her

Congratulations You have learned the Skill Determined Tenacity Level 1

Determined Tenacity Despite the difficulties you have experienced you continue to persevere In the face of adversity your stubborn personality continues to propel you forward Each point of your Willpower is slightly more effective based on the obstacles in your Path Effect slightly increases with Skill Level

When the pain eventually passed the pressure in her chest slowly eased With great care Theodora began to experiment with her different limbs She felt like a toddler Despite the fact that she was alive her physical capabilities weren�t encouraging Both legs appeared to function fine but the left side of her torso was completely numb and that arm was almost useless Her right arm appeared to follow directions but flashes of pain made it difficult to maintain extended actions

Even now Theodora could sense the extended damage that channeling the Nether had done to her body It ran parallel with her veins leaving a thousand tiny cracks that fanned outward from the vital thoroughfares of her body Suddenly she was a woman made of glass With great care and about ten minutes Theodora repositioned herself so she was once more lying on her back From that vantage she could see that aside from her bed and a curtained window on the far wall the room was empty

But mostly she stared at the ceiling The vivid emerald eyes of Randidly Ghosthound floated in front of her

Why why do I always lose to you

Madam Greyman We were never competing to begin with

It was such a strange contrast After her parents had died no one looked at her so directly like that

Soon Theodora couldn�t bear it anymore and closed her eyes But that just made the strange visions worse She had been there on the arena her body filled with agonizing ice bitterness and resentment bubbling in her chest And when she threw it all in the Ghosthound�s face his reaction said it all He looked at her directly She could tell that he was being honest In his eyes they had never been competing

He had been genuinely trying to help her the entire time Perhaps not her specifically but the Earth in general he wanted people to prosper Her pride had simply prevented her from seeing it in the past

After her parents died only a few feet in front of her in the car crash she was eventually placed with a cousin who worked as a news anchor Idly Theodora now wondered who would take her now that she was this weak

When she had been standing in the arena that realization that she had been pointlessly responsible for such suffering in Zone 1 had hit her with such force that she had lost consciousness Her grip on reality had slipped as some of her fundamental premises were challenged Yet she had awoken now crippled and injured as she was and felt a lot more at peace than she had in the past

Image huh Theodora said carefully lifting her right arm off of the bed Her fingers spasmed intermittently and the exercise seemed to light her right shoulder on fire but it was somehow satisfying to reach toward the ceiling She had been impeached she had used her body to the point that it seemed like even the System couldn�t heal her wounds The only emotion her grand rival� felt for her was pity

Yet she still lived She could still reach She still had things she wanted to accomplish

Weirdly she wanted a vanilla pudding She hadn�t had a pudding cup in years

The door to her room opened And a rather large and strangely shaped man walked into the darkened interior For a few seconds Theodora couldn�t tell if her vision was worse than she thought or whether the man was partially a crustacean It turned out that it was the latter

The man sat next to her bed President Greyman I�m glad to see you have recovered your consciousness How are you feeling

Former president Just call me Theodora Theodora corrected almost absently Then her gaze sharpened somewhat This man didn�t seem like he was associated with the Order Ducis or Zone 1 So why was she lying here But that wasn�t her primary concern How is Richter

Recovering well down the hall His body acclimated to this Nether much more ably than yours The man said as he shifted his giant claw We believe it�s because he could establish a closed system within his legs to contain the corrosion that results from this energy being allowed free reign Meanwhile

Meanwhile I acted with no regard to the consequences Theodora confirmed thinking about more than just the Nether in her body She could feel the truth of her culpability in the subtle wheezing of her breathing There was suddenly an inherent frailty to her body that she hadn�t experienced since the System arrived But in away that frailty was reassuring It felt extremely real This was what it meant to be human

This was it meant to be an orphan

With a lot of effort Theodora turned her head to the side and looked at the strange figure more directly This man possessed the head and arm of a crab he must have been one of those affected by Thomas Karmin�s experiments Also who might you be To be blunt I don�t quite understand why I�m laying here in a dark room right now

The man seemed surprisingly hurt by her words Ah I apologize for not introducing myself sooner My name is Mr Syllo I�m a Tier 2 Citizen of Zone 1 I simply believed well that your privacy was of the utmost importance Considering your political position

I don�t have a political position any longer Theodora said frankly and then she began to laugh which soon turned to another bout of coughing Truly she didn�t have anything She then felt Mr Syllo activate a Skill and several tendrils of warmth lightly touched her body Although it couldn�t combat the damage done by Nether directly it could ease the negative symptoms Gradually her coughing settled down and she released a sigh of pleasure

Congratulations Your Skill Determined Tenacity has grown to Level 2

Congratulations Your Skill Determined Tenacity has grown to Level 3

I become crippled and all I get in exchange is an almost meaningless Skill She somehow found herself smiling

Thank you for your Skill Just to confirm this is the state of my body after all the available methods were used to attempt to reverse the damage done to my body by Nether Theodora asked

For a second Mr Syllo was silent all typical methods have been exhausted yes

Theodora�s mouth twitched For whatever reason she was having a very hard time resisting the urge to laugh even though every time she did so her body was wracked with agony And I suppose part of the reason you are here is to offer me an atypical method yes Let me guess it involves the research of Thomas Karmin moving my mind into a more robust body that might even be superior to my mortal coil

This time Mr Syllo was entirely silent as he considered her

So Theodora continued to speak around giggle fueled coughs I�m probably angry right That ahem that I was so obviously defeated all of my methods blowing up in my face I probably want someone to blame I probably need to build a shrine to my rage and mount Randidly Ghosthound�s head atop it But right now

A young girl sat in a chair too big for her and mechanically brought a spoonful of vanilla pudding to her lips She didn�t eat it she just wiggled the spoon back and forth watching the pudding shake The adults in the other room raised their voices

Congratulations Your Skill Determined Tenacity has grown to Level 4

Congratulations Your Skill Determined Tenacity has grown to Level 5

right now I just want to find out what these hands of mine can do Theodora finished Then with a jerky gesture that set Theodora giggling again she shooed Mr Syllo away Her hand looked like the bastard child of a handshake and the frantic movement of someone trying to dislodge a snake Thank you for the offer but I won�t be needing your help Mr Syllo

After a few seconds of silence Mr Syllo stood Well of course the decision is yours I�ll let Richter know that you are feeling better

I�ll give him this Theodora thought as she watched the crab man leave He knows when to withdraw cleanly His pitch was completely without any glaring flaws Completely invulnerable to reproach But you know Mr Syllo

Theodora Greyman closed her eyes Randidly�s intense emerald gaze was suddenly there once more seeming to peer into her very soul Images are becoming dominant not because of the power that is associated with them although that�s important Rather they are becoming dominant because you can finally shape who you really are Images are vulnerable and genuine Building that truth for yourself that�s a powerful thing

And I want the chance to build who I want to become

Chapter 1466

Randidly finally felt the stiffness in his body was easing His Nether Nebula was finally stabilized Simultaneously he experienced a profound sense of satisfaction that was difficult to describe His Aether and Nether seeped gradually together through his body becoming the fabric of his being The process of physicalizing his images accelerated with both of the energies working together Something was settling into place within him It was as though the energies had been his invisible skeletal structure for the last several years and the new ambient level of Nether allowed his bones to finally becoming concrete

He sat cross legged his palms touching the ground with his fingers splayed out around his hand Originally this had been an expression of strain yet now the position was perfectly comfortable His muscles spasmed occasionally as they adapted to the changes occurring within Randidly�s body but otherwise he was completely still His breath was so soft coming in and out of his lips that it was possible to miss it even with System enhanced senses

In that deep darkness of the night right before dawn Randidly felt strangely weightless Or rather he felt like the Earth beneath him could no longer influence him As his body was filled with the significance emotion meaning and connection of Aether and Nether gravity�s influence over him was steadily shattered His body became the dominant force in the surrounding space

Objects in orbit would be pulled toward him

With the increased strength came understanding And of course the more of that grey crystal in his chest that slowly deteriorated the more disturbed Randidly became by his insights First he began to rethink his plot to absorb the weight of the finals Because what the Nether did structurally in order to achieve the sensation of greater density was establish a network around and through his images

Unlike his images which could become true physicalizations through Aether Nether instead provided a network of energy veins that ran between his various images Perhaps obviously this was the energy of connection and balance But after he finally provided the elements of that connection his physicalizations could become that much more concrete

They were insubstantial inky serpents hanging in the Soulspace between his images They reminded Randidly of the blue veins of the Great Rift

This new addition to his Soulspace resulted in two things one very positive and another slightly disturbing The positive thing was that Randidly experimented a bit and the Nether veins made it significantly easier to utilize multiple Skills at once The disturbing thing was that this ease of complex activations came because of a resonance and inexplicable interconnected certainty that Randidly had seen in only one place before

This Nether network he subconsciously built on himself displayed all the insubstantial and ambiguous traits of karma

Which probably meant that karma Skills and also his Philosopher�s Key relied on an equally giant Nether Network to function Which was probably Elhume�s Nether equivalent to the mountain range of crystalized Aether that Randidly had briefly encountered and by which he had been shattered

For several seconds Randidly considered how little he truly knew about the Nexus His fingers flexed and dug into the grass covered ground of his island He released a sigh and lowered his head

�The Pinnacle gets farther away every time I look at it huh � He said quietly to himself as he considered his Soulspace The small half built karmic network only existed between his images and the images of the people whose significance that he had used It was as frail as a sagging spiderweb

Yet there was an unexpected deviation from the typical Nether veins The connections through that weak Nether network did find a small purchase outside of himself in Alana Donal Because he already had an Aether connection there the veins had found a single support point outside of himself And as he inspected the twining lines of Nether Randidly suspected that at least half of the physical boost he felt came from this outside support Studying it gave him quite a few ideas about how he could extend this network even further around himself

But should I really extend this karmic network Randidly�s eyes slowly opened That would boost my strength but it would put tethers of Nether in people who might not be able to withstand them Someone of Alana�s caliber would barely notice the addition probably my other Aether connections could withstand it as well but is that the sort of strength that I want

A strength built on the backs of others Will I follow the Path of Lady Iellaya No of course not My strength will be my own

His emerald eyes flashed as Randidly recalled the Nether King in the sky above Earth with enough clout to attack the Seventh Cohort directly The power displayed there had been entirely within the hands of the Nether King Rather than being raised to that capability based on support from others an almost chemical reaction had occurred within the Nether King that Randidly didn�t understand It was somewhat akin to a caveman viewing the inner workings of a nuclear reactor

It might be impossible for him as a human to replicate that feat but Randidly certainly wanted to make an attempt before he borrowed power from outside sources

And with that thought Randidly gently reached out and plucked the thread of Nether he had subconsciously woven between Alana and himself The spectral tether wriggled in his fingers for a bit before deteriorating Instantly he felt some of that sense of gravitational immunity fade It wasn�t that the physical gains had evaporated but the leverage that Randidly could wield was lost He was once more just one body trying its best to rival the power of the System

�And that�s why it�s fun � Randidly grinned He flexed his hands and stood He pulled out the Philosopher�s Key and opened a portal to a deserted ravine in the Nordawn Mountain Range Once he was there he stretched his arms wide and released the tight cap on his images that he had studiously been maintaining while the other individuals in the tournament were training and fighting Which he reflected might have been pointless it did not seem Earthlings absorbed the images of others in the same way as Tellus

But occasional self denial was always a productive exercise Whether it was the new veins of Nether running through his physical images or it was due to the strain of suppressing himself his images now roared out and instantly began to warp the surrounding space Even the darkness of the valley seemed to quiver in some instinctual warning Randidly�s smile widened

Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold The Inscrutable Mien of Genesis All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth

The three Skills activated smoothly giving Randidly an unprecedented sense of insight into his own strengths as he reached for a world where he found a superior method of utilizing Nether The thin support veins he had recently obtained fed the intellectual and spiritual strain between the three images balancing them precariously together Perhaps All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth would normally have difficulty grappling with seeking an answer in regards to Nether but the purple black revelation energy and the harsh light of Genesis spoke of impossible new beginnings Those two sources of light were like traffic controllers walking behind the heaving machinery of the Grim Chimera�s ultimate Skill guiding it safely into the sky

Congratulations All Things Succumb Yet TIme Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 204

Soon there were two Randidlys making different attempts to solve this problem Nether seethed in the two duplicated Nether Nebulas The ground around Randidly�s physical body shuddered and then sharply cracked Then there were four

Congratulations All Things Succumb Yet TIme Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 205

Congratulations All Things Succumb Yet TIme Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 229

The strain was immense It was only ponderously that the Skill chugged forward creating eight Randidly�s experimenting with Nether

And just like that the three Skills collapsed painfully twisting Randidly�s smile into a grimace Those spatial distortions in the surrounding area were snuffed out like candle flames pinched by cold fingers Peace returned to the dark valley marred only by the cracks in the ground directly beneath him Randidly chuckled and rubbed the side of his head to ease the throbbing headache �Well it�s easier but it�s still not easy �

Truthfully the combination of Skills he had tried had been quite ambitious All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth was a Skill that Randidly still didn�t have complete control over The Grim Chimera had a thread of Nether in it that meant that the activation was closer to a prayer than it was a predictable process Adding other Skills into the mix increased the cost of fueling the Skill exponentially

He hadn�t kept the Skill active for long enough to have an effective answer but it did occur to Randidly that it might be useful to talk to some people who were involved in weaving mundane materials while he was still on Earth He had been rather busy practicing weaving with Nether but it couldn�t hurt to have some actual experience as a base

But that can wait for later For now

Yggdrasil spread its leafy branches over Randidly�s head to begin the steady erosion of the headache that had taken root in his temples Waves of calming energy flowed up through the Earth and then through Yggdrasil�s pulsing golden roots The leaves rustled releasing a relaxing noise Randidly stood and stretched allowing the soft and invisible radiation of his image to soak into his skin

Congratulations Your Skill The Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 231

As the pain eased Randidly could gradually focus on the small details of his image around him He stood with his eyes closed in the shadowy valley and felt the golden roots tracing the edges of the stony ground and squirming their way to complete domination of the area Even in darkness the leaves were almost luminously vibrant with life Yggdrasil became the center of an ecosystem of energy spurring the entire valley toward new growth

Randidly hummed as he observed the way energy cycled through the Earth and sky through the branches roots and trunk of the World Tree Then that energy became a part of the winding inscriptions and radiated back outward richer and more potent It sank into the ground and clouds and enriched the surroundings Yggdrasil became a natural filter for energy in a way that made him smile Randidly allowed the process to continue his attention turning to the details of his image

He adjusted the shape and noise of the leaves His consciousness followed the slender stems of the leaves as they stretched outward from the branches Randidly carefully heightened the rough surface of Yggdrasil�s bark He wove the growth and joy he had tasted during the tournament into the radiated energy

More than just filtering energy he added the slightest hint of that amorphous human concept of home�

Detail by detail Randidly continued to work toward an image that could match the monsters he had met from the Nexus Yggdrasil�s branches stretched high up into the air seeming to hold up the shadow that covered the entire valley Dawn still dithered allowing Randidly to continue without rest

Releasing a breath Randidly moved on to the Grim Chimera As he focused on this other image the musculature along his body flexed and shifted Perhaps due to the new additions of the Nether veins running through his image body the physical manifestation had intensified

As Randidly became the Grim Chimera he felt the limbs of his arms and legs crack and shift Gritting his teeth he endured the pain as his limbs lengthened and thickened Tremors continued to run through his torso as small adjustments were made Organs were rearranged By the end of it Randidly was hunched over slightly with his newly elongated left arm reaching the ground With his bone spear of a right arm he drew small circles on the ground

The two tails Randidly possessed lengthened as well the lower tail thickening significantly as well In the past he could have used it like a whip but now the tightly interlocking segments of bone could smash as well as they could cut He took a tentative step forward and marveled at the way it naturally flicked to the side to keep him balanced

Yet the most striking change was his breath When Randidly breathed out a semi luminous fog flowed out between his lips In the dark valley his new breath immediately illuminated the cracked and warped surroundings with a sickly glow Like a broken glow stick the light of his breath slowly faded into nothing But for a few seconds the wicked curl of the Grim Chimera�s smile was visible to anyone watching

Chapter 1467

Miss Gertrude Collins was having an extremely wonderful twenty four hours The previous night she had met with Derek Moss and had a lovely steak dinner Afterward they had gone on a walk with Tim and allowed the pre teen to talk excitedly about his training with Randidly Ghosthound Apparently they would soon be traveling far to the South to choose a small chunk of land for Tim himself to engrave So Gertrude had delightedly answered Tim�s questions about the most aesthetically pleasing landscapes

At the end of the date Derek had squeezed her hands a little too tightly and given her a lingering peck on the lips that had Gertrude practically floating home Along the way she scolded herself playfully for behaving like she was one of the children she taught but couldn�t shake the stupid grin from her face

One unexpected positive about the System was that you weren�t obligated to even make an attempt to fall asleep in order to be functioning the next day you would probably function fine with or without sleep So then Gertrude allowed herself to experience a hormone fueled explosion of lesson plan production that often deviated into slightly scandalous daydreaming The lesson plans were a project that had been half finished for several weeks so she was quite pleased to make a sizeable dent in it

And the reason that Gertrude stopped working on that project was not that she ran out of steam but rather that the smell of raspberry scones from the bakery next door wafted in through her open window early the next morning She then went to the window and leaned out of the street breathing deeply through her nose A few passing moss spirits noticed her and made a beeline for Gertrude spinning playfully around her head

So with moss spirits in tow she walked down and bought herself several fresh from the oven baked goods She kept them in a wicker basket until she left the shop and then began to rapidly devour everything she had bought

By the end of the street her basket was empty and Gertrude shook her head ruefully An unexpected negative from the System was how quickly you could finish an amount of food that would have been perfectly satisfactory before the System But still she supposed it was balanced out by the fact that your body was impossibly efficient at burning fat

Then she toured the parks where Kharon�s huge throng of students was being taught pleased to see that engagement had tripled from its previous levels based on the recommendations she and other education experts had given to Kharon�s government Teachers put on demonstrations and the students gathered around to watch and ask questions Gertrude had walked around and helped where she could finally feeling like what she did here truly mattered

Then she had a lovely lunch of cucumber sandwiches with Tatiana at which she had confessed that she still sometimes felt a little starstruck when she was interacting with Randidly Tatiana had rolled her eyes poured Gertrude a tall coffee and then began to tell her the story of the night that she and Randidly first met

I don�t mind admitting that at that time I was the head of a group of high end escorts servicing Zone 1�s elite Tatiana had said And Randidly was making big waves in the metal smelting circles across the entire Zone So I was brought in to try and schmooze him I had planned to make conversation with him but he stayed locked up in a sunroom with two of the older metalworkers and just talked about chemical reactions and melting points for most of the night By the time he had finished the party was winding down and most of the other people were spreading apart And then right as I try talking to him

Tatiana gestured like she was throwing something underhand Somepne attacked with a Mana grenade And Randidly�s attention switched so fast from me to that bomb that I knew exactly how little of an impression I had made on him And the intensity of his gaze as he looked at the grenade Calm as a cucumber Randidly grabbed the unstable bomb out of the air and tossed it into the pool we were at a penthouse suite The resulting explosion destroyed the pool and ruined several of the floors of the building The owner was livid

And Randidly Ghosthound walked away as though this was the most normal thing in the world At that time violence wasn�t quite as normalized as it is now So while most people were still fleeing and in shock from the explosion he had returned to work I think the next day he developed the schematics for a new drone The attack didn�t even register on his radar That�s just who he is

Gertrude had scratched her cheek and responded dryly This isn�t making me feel any less nervous about meeting him

Waving a hand airly Tatiana laughed Just know that Randidly Ghosthound does indeed possess the male trait that his ears are tuned to several specific subjects and very few others At the same time he is currently using his hands on knowledge to guide Kharon the Order Ducis and by extension the rest of the world to the use of images I understand that you are nervous about this meeting regarding the Academy Keystones but practically it means that Randidly will be very focused on the details of this project to further his own goals As long as you don�t say anything outlandish his attention won�t actually be focused on you He will be very sure of his own ideas

As Gertrude considered this and nibbled on another sandwich Tatiana shook her head helplessly I�ll be honest by the end of it you might want him to focus on you a bit more The great Randidly Ghosthound has a habit of making broad and grand goals without considering the details of how such things will be accomplished I can assure you that your meeting will simply involve Randidly dumping a lot of work on your plate and then leaving to train

So despite her nerves regarding the meeting Gertrude Collins was having a great day She arrived five minutes early in the small terrace on the Western edge of Kharon where Randidly Ghosthound had agreed to meet her and was somewhat embarrassed to see that he was already there And true to Tatiana�s word he didn�t seem to notice Gertrude until she arrived next to his table

Oh good you are here Sit down The Ghosthound said nodding toward a chair After she had sat the Ghosthound steepled his fingers His expression was serious and his eyes were bright as he looked directly at Gertrude As the Keystones will be the guidelines to shape a student�s paths they are critically important to Kharon Academy�s development The identity of the Keystones will shape everything that follows So what are your ideas for the ideological flaws to address here

Eh Gertrude Collins blinked She shifted slightly in her seat The combination of the intensity of Randidly�s gaze and her rising heart rate meant that it took a few seconds to catch up with what he was saying And in the end what he was saying was that Tatiana had been very wrong about this meeting

Some part of Gertrude Collins began to panic Why had she spent last night drawing up lessonplans

The Ghosthound reached up and rubbed the back of his neck Some of the tensenesses in the air fell away Unfortunately I was rather indisposed yesterday due to some of my training I�ve recovered now but I haven�t had the chance to consider the issue fully yet So I thought a brainstorming session might be useful Have any ideas

Eh

Randidly sat and waited for Gertrude to gather herself well enough to answer Her mouth was very dry

You�ve fought them before right And beat em the way I heard it What�s eatin� ya then Hank drawled He leaned back so far that his chair was only on two legs with his cowboy boots up on the table Currently he looked entirely too pleased with himself

Alana didn�t answer for a while instead pushing open the windows to the balcony of the small room they were currently sharing The cool winter air felt good on her skin pushing at her partially buttoned shirt and cooling her sweat Then she stretched a hand out the window and made a fist The surrounding air stirred with the weight of her image Even her fist had meaning

Twisting her arm Alana offered her palm to the sky and for a split second orange flames blazed upward Whether it was a signal or a way of channeling her emotions she didn�t really know It simply felt good to blaze a little bit right now Then she clenched her fist stifling the fire

She turned away from the window and looked at Hank He flipped his revolver around gripped the barrel and tried to use the grip to hook the neck of the whiskey bottle that was just out of his reach Rolling her eyes she walked over and slid the bottle over to his side I feel fairly confident about beating them Which is why I find my attention straying toward Randidly Have you felt the edges of it His image

The one he keeps bottled up Hank poured two glasses and offered one to Alana

She took it and sipped at the liquid It burned her throat pleasantly reminding her of her life before the System To suppress those memories she shot the rest of the glass and set it back down on the table with a grimace Perhaps but it doesn�t make it any less alarming for those that know what they are looking for Your image is too easy going about its interactions with other images you miss some obvious things

While the world below is a chaotic mess of image fragments flying around and impacting each other during the fights a third of the sky is unnaturally still I can�t get that monstrous motionlessness out of the mind Just how strong has he become And that�s why I�m worried about the match tomorrow

Because yur distracted Hank asked He nudged the whiskey bottle toward Alana�s empty glass with the barrel of his revolver

Alana shook her head and crossed her arms The cold air continued to slip through the open window and lightly brush her hair Not distracted not exactly Although I do think that Paolo and Kayle want to win more than I do precisely because I always beat them individually in the past But no the reason I�m worried is about the story that we were telling the world In the past Randidly was always the gatekeeper of strength Donnyton tried to catch him and he trounced us

But now the Ghosthound has taken a step back And I was practically ordained by him to take his place as the strongest on Earth I have been ambassador and preacher to his use of image for years If there is a Path that the Earth can take toward strength I currently stand at its gates Paolo and Kayle will want to destroy that impediment for the sake of everyone They need to destroy it and shred the lock

Easing himself forward Hank soon sat with all four legs of his chair on the ground He took a deep gulp of his whiskey before he spoke You think yur loss here will be good for Earth But fuck em If they can�t earn the victory themselves

Alana flicked Hank�s forehead playfully before he could work up a head of steam Oh shush I�m not going to throw the match for the good of Earth I respect both Paolo and Kayle too much for that And as Randidly pointed out in the past it isn�t always for the best for the planet to be universally confident in what it has been doing A world needs something sinister An obvious villain Or perhaps its better in this case what the Earth needs is a Cerberus

A gatekeeper Hank said quietly He took his time and enunciated every syllable Then his mouth twisted like a confused earthworm But why do ya worry cause of this image stuff

Alana simply nodded meaning to affirm his initial word Rather idly she reached over toward his repeater which was sitting on the table She picked it up and carefully measured the weight with her left hand Because I�ve left Donnyton I now work with you freelancing for the Orders I no longer stand at the pinnacle of martial privilege on Earth As I take another Path that image as gatekeeper weakens

Trainin� with me dragging ya down Hank grinned at her with a bright spark in his eyes

Alana wanted to point the repeater at him and make a bang sound with her mouth but understood that he wouldn�t find it as funny as she did he was very serious about gun safety in other people�s actions to an insufferable degree Which was rather difficult to take considering that he regularly used the barrel of his revolver to adjust the jaunty angle of his hat

She set the gun down on the table My image is shifting But someone needs to act as a gatekeeper It might be accurate to say that my image wants my role as Cerberos to be slain so it can completely become the prophet of Randidly Ghosthound Right now the weight of the world�s eyes pins my image to Donnyton

Huh Hank poured himself another glass of whiskey

Images are complicated Can you not sometimes feel how its easier to develop your image if you and everyone else simultaneously think the same thing about it Well I suppose you have the benefit of being a very one note character in the eyes of the public

Hank snorted but didn�t seem to mind her comment Then jus stop lettin� the people dictate your image Also why are ya talkin� so much tonight

Didn�t we already cover that I�m nervous I�m a human being too Alana said She wrapped her arms around her shoulders

Hank stood up from his chair Then I can

Easy cowboy You�ve already taken your shot tonight Alana grinned wickedly at him She raised her leg high into the air and jabbed the big toe of her right foot against his chest as he made to stand Hank didn�t resist and allowed himself to be pushed back into his seat with a dissatisfied expression

Alana turned away and walked back to the window When she spoke again she changed the subject You�ll tell Dinesh and Tykes during your 3rd place match tomorrow

I reckon� they�ve thought it themselves already Hank nodded They both were still for several minutes listening to the cold wind carrying in the noises of Kharon humming busily with life It was a reassuring soundtrack of peace

Alana hoped Kharon would stay like this for a long time

Chapter 1468

The roars of the crowd were thunderous as the third place match of the duos tournament reached its climax The noise was heavy with expectation and approval it only now wandered about the area as it sought its ultimate target the victor

Once more the entire arena was replaced by a vast reflective pool The duo of Dinesh and Tykes stood opposite one another split by the inverting dividing line by their feat Hank held the reigns of his spectral horse and raised his revolver into the sky his eyes blazing with determination Shadow Ancho pranced sideways clearly unnerved by the oppressive image that Tykes released

As the upper of the reflections Tykes allowed his image to press down over the surrounding area with a brutal cruelty Before that immense sense of weight that he carried on his shoulders all images shuddered and shrunk Against it the slow rise of Hank�s environmental image had been struggling to gain traction But it was obvious that soon that image would finally break free

But the fighters just regarded each other with a scientific intensity Dinesh�s image had warped the surroundings but Hank had been steadily dodging Tykes� attacks for the past several minutes and firing targeted repeater shots Only after struggling for some time Randidly could sense that Hank�s image had started to achieve some tangible influence over the area

Randidly rubbed his chin The one problem with Hank�s image was that once he achieved that influence his hand was then forced toward action he no longer had the excuse to delay His image wouldn�t allow it In the West you eventually had to stand up for what you believed in or the narrative around you would collapse to dust Whether it was because of the expression on Hank�s face or the shifting images in the air the crowd seemed to sense this change They stomped their feet and waved their hands calling for conflict

The volume increased

Ancho reared answering their cheers even though Randidly suspected that the combatants weren�t able to make out the noise through the screening of Dinesh�s image But perhaps the image horse could sense the audience�s will anyway Tykes held his immense iron ball in front of him with both hands his fingers straining with barely suppressed eagerness

When ghost Ancho�s hooves hit the ground Tykes accelerated forward His body blurred at the edge a blurred reflection of Dinesh following along with him like a ghastly spirit seeking to possess a living body Hank pressed his heels into the horse�s flanks and they vanished only to reappear a few meters to Tykes�s left

Tykes planted his foot and adjusted his vector with a sharpness that seemed to defy physics The iron ball swung upward Hank lowered the barrel of his revolver and took aim

Bullet and iron ball smashed against each other The bullet screeched and screamed with unwillingness surrounding by a nova of vicious certainty that the bullet would pierce through Tykes weapon But in this case it wasn�t enough It dug its way into the pounded metal and forced open a hairline fracture but that was it Everything else was suppressed by the weight Tykes continued forward smashing the ball at Hank and Ancho but they leaped away before they were caught

The large metal ball struck the ground and produced countless ripples that radiated outward in Dinesh�s mirrored realm With gritted teeth Tykes hooked the chain around the ball and then began to spin gradually unspooling the chain The iron ball whipped around Tykes in steadily growing arcs covering a larger portion of the Arena

He planted his feet and spun in place gradually accelerating

Ghost Ancho whinnied and trotted away warily watching the aggressor Snorting Tykes abruptly twisted the chain and then yanked the ball back toward himself As the metal projectile was shooting back toward him Tykes became Dinesh Dinesh closed his eyes and suddenly Dinesh was a stunned Hank on top of the image Ancho

Well shit Hank swore as he looked at the projectile careening toward him

The ball smashed into Ancho before the image could carry Hank away getting blasted into bits of spectral matter Hank rolled out of the way of danger but then Dinesh was there his fingers fanning outward with poisoned knives

Hank�s repeater flashed up and bucked several times in quick succession as he deflected the knives away with bullets The knives then clattered harmlessly against the ground in a shower of poisonous sparks But before Hank could take aim for a more damaging shot Dinesh covered the distance and unleashed a brutal high kick Hank leaned backward and holstered his pistol he wasn�t going to shy away from a brawl The influence of Hank�s image in the area steadily grew

He had fired his first bullet experienced a counterattack and survived The momentum began to flow steadily toward him

Dinesh spun and cut sideways at Hank�s waist with his palm Hank accepted the strike with a grunt and unleashed a vicious left hook in response but his fist ineffectually glanced off of Tykes� shoulder as the larger man replaced the smaller

Hank reacted quickly to the change He jerked sideways and brought his elbow up to smash against Tykes� face Tykes grinned and leaned forward into the blow using his image to steady himself through the strike and try and grapple Hank Snorting Hank Dodge Rolled backward and then kicked Tykes in the chest when he went to follow

Tykes immediately planted his foot and skidded to a halt but that opening was enough for Hank Howard to draw his revolver The barrel gleamed with a white light in the mirrored world

The bullet whizzed harmlessly past the ribs of the smaller Dinesh ruffling his hair Hank�s eyes narrowed Then Tykes was back yanking on the chain and bringing the iron slamming back into his hand

The cylinder of Hank�s revolver clicked to bring a new bullet before the hammer Both men grinned at each other Then Tykes exploded forward and Hank took aim At the last second Hank Dodge Rolled to the side and adjusted his angle

His bullet struck the other bullet still embedded in Tykes ball With the small pick driven only a fraction of distance deeper the lump of metal exploded into fragments

Ghostworld would be the best Wivanya grumbled as the two waited in the shadowy halls to walk out into the arena proper The frost dragon�s tail flicked back and forth the appendage moving as though taking out her dissatisfaction by whipping the stone walls Can they not see everything that the Ghosthound has done for our world Naming the planet after him is the natural result of his divine effort for us This is a matter of principle

Alana didn�t even bother to answer the moody dragon As always before a match her attention was focused on the inspection of her spear She dragged her fingers across the spearhead and felt the skin of her finger easily part The sharpness made her smile Perhaps because she had spoken her worries aloud last night all of that emotion had been churning in her chest for the past several hours and gradually had become excitement She moved her hands down to the spear shaft and waved it lightly testing the flexibility

What sort of story will we tell the world today I wonder Her fingers tightened until her knuckles were white

Soon they received the signal to proceed out into the arena and Wivanya released a massive dragon sized sigh that frosted the ground in front of them She waddled forward ahead of Alana down the hallway Finally time Well even if you balk at naming the planet after him you must still keep your edge in battle Alana We will not have the opportunity to honor the Ghosthound without first seizing victory Don�t be distracted by unnecessary things

You don�t need to tell me that Alana thought with a small smile But she didn�t bother to reply She could sense through her bond with Wivanya that the Frost Dragon Broodmother was unprecedentedly excited for this match So Alana didn�t mind the constant stream of cheery complaints

Due to her role� on Earth Alana and Wivanya were given the right to walk out into the arena first The audience seethed and roared as the duo appeared in the mouth of the tunnel and then calmly proceeded toward the stage With Hank having gloriously clinched victory in the third place match the crowd was all hyped up for the final

Their appearance now was the signal for the simmering spirit of Earth to rise once more to the fore This time for all the marbles

Alana hopped up onto Wivanya�s back and allowed the dragon to carry her up onto the stage Coming out first was of course a natural advantage in a duel that relied heavily upon images The first arrival�s image would naturally begin to influence the surrounding area unless they consciously tried to prevent the phenomenon Alana suspected that Randidly would say something if the effect was too obvious but Alana believed that in terms of image sensitivity few could currently match her

And one thing she knew for sure about Randidly was that he preferred to simply remain an observer So Alana took a risk and loosened the tight control she maintained on her image

The surrounding air became laced with the slightest note of holy energy That aspect of Inviolability that Alana had obtained spread outward through the air making this space sacrosanct Any who tried to influence the area with their own image would have a difficult time dislodging the hold of faith

Although the volume didn�t change the crowd�s cheers and shrieks gradually faded to a buzzing More than their cacophony what Alana heard was the beating of her own heart

Today Alana was determined to act as the proper gatekeeper She would do everything in her power to win this tournament and keep the threshold through which both she and Randidly had passed locked Thinking this she was unable to resist the impulse to look upward after she released her image Distantly she was able to make out Randidly�s face he was laughing and shaking his head

Alana turned back down to the arena She was two Alanas one a bloated and massive image based on public perception that wanted to remain a dominant force on Earth The other was the Alana who wanted to win the tournament as proof that Randidly�s teachings were the true Path toward strength Both desired the same thing but Alana had learned the hard way about the dangers of accepting extraneous images

Besides Alana was confident that she could guard this nonexistent passage� to strength on her own for at least another year Her grin slowly widened as the excitement once more surged back to the forefront of her mind Heh Alright let them come I�m ready

Wivanya lowered her scaled head next to Alana�s body Even through the already chilly winter air the dragon�s scales radiated an intense cold that cut to the bone You seem different today Are you going to be alright for the match Your image

It�s just how the world sees me just ignore it Alana replied lightly She cracked the knuckles of her hand Don�t go projecting your nerves on me though if you need me to punch you to wake you up feel free to ask

Hmph As if a human punch could have any effect on a dragon Wivanya snorted But she did begin to flex her claws cleary antsy with nervous energy

Right on cue Paolo and Kayle arrived Perhaps out of respect for Alana or perhaps because of how their prior match had ended they dropped all pretense of their weapon bet Paolo came out cracking his knuckles and Kayle played with his knives as they came into the public�s eye Both stood tall and proud their own images steadily pushing back the subtle notes of inviolability that Alana left in the air

And this is why this is a fight worth having Show me how much you�ve grown Alana thought with a smile Then she turned to the crowd Because as Paolo and Kayle arrived the tone of their cheers changed Because I need to show you how many more lessons you need to learn

In all likelihood the difference in the crowd�s reaction wasn�t even something that was done at a conscious level It was just that from a sense of awe and respect in their voices for Alana they shifted toward a raw animalistic approval for Paolo and Kayle Hearing the cheers Alana�s eyes drifted upward through the chaotic mass of images around the arena

These people wanted a victory Although the bets on who the ultimate victor would be proved to be rather even it was clear from the crowd�s expression that there was a favorite Their approval became wishes and wishes from strong minded individuals became images that drifted steadily downward onto Paolo and Kayle�s parade toward the arena

Paolo was especially voracious rapidly absorbing any of the surrounding images and growing to an even more stupendous sky His image presence was like a pillar of light so bright and triumphant that it was difficult to look at it directly

Alana�s smile deepened Like I said You still have so much to learn

Chapter 1469

Gradually the noise from the audience fell away rather instinctively they understood what would soon be beginning and didn�t want to miss a single moment of it The referee had asked both sides whether they were ready but then he stepped backward And from the island in the sky Randidly Ghosthound drifted downward By the time his bare feet hit the arena the audience had fallen completely silent

Mrs Hamilton glanced around at the people around her Not just the Donnyton contingent but even the representatives from Star Crossing and East End were unprecedentedly solemn as they saw the master of the Order Ducis move The ritual of the tournament final had seized their attention While inwardly sighing Mrs Hamilton turned back toward the arena to watch the spectacle along with the rest of them

Rather than speaking Randidly simply loosened his grip on his images His limbs flexed and elongated the muscles and tendons standing out in his skin His left eye became filled with absolute darkness His veins were golden and his hair was emerald like maple leaves in spring

Perhaps it was because the audience had been constantly exposed to the potency of images in gradually increasing doses over the course of the matches but this was the first time that the general populace had been exposed to the truth that had been obvious to the powerful for quite a few years compared to everyone else Randidly Ghosthound was on another level altogether

His images physically clung to him in a way that Mrs Hamilton had never seen in anyone else It seemed that at any moment the horrible specter of the Grim Chimera might surge to the fore and replace the humanity of Randidly immediately And even though it was just a shifting specter around him the amount of detail on the image was obvious It was almost impossible to tell that this was just a mental projection It was so vivid and present that it suppressed all other images

Randidly Ghosthound could make images real And as soon as the audience came to that realization he restrained himself once more the very human Ghosthound had returned

Glad to see that you are becoming more considered about your melodrama Mrs Hamilton hummed to herself And also good to see that your message to the Earth isn�t changing This still isn�t enough �

In a way Randidly�s image was the equivalent of a solar eclipse In reality nothing significant had occurred But the alignment of Randidly�s image in the sky casting a shadow and stifling all the images in the surroundings made the people of Earth reflect on their circumstances

Welcome Randidly said with remarkable lightness for someone who just stood calmly before a massive crowd in silence for almost ten seconds For the final match I�ll personally be the referee I want the participants to be confident that they can unleash their full potential during the fighting without fear of injuring their opponents

Then Randidly looked directly over at Alana Don�t hold back You�ll regret it

A ripple ran through the audience they mulled over why Randidly would engage in such an obviously targeted message Paolo and Kayle seemed to take it in stride simply waiting for the match to begin But Mrs Hamilton couldn�t help but laugh Looks like Alana won�t take her time to warm up in this match That�s unfortunate

So Randidly glanced between the two teams Begin

And that was that

While Kayle and Paolo lowered their stances and raced forward an enormous orange gold flower bulb inflated around Alana She was the epicenter the fuel and the spirit of an expanding inferno Then that bulb was ripped in twain by two enormous shimmering ivory wings The shattered remnants began to smolder with gold fire as those wings beat a few times and blew the debris into the surrounding area like the glowing remnants of a burned down library Alana�s image of austerity surged to the fore quickly gaining traction on the backs of those fleeting sparks She spoke with the mandate of a higher power and spread its influence Even for Mrs Hamilton it was becoming difficult to look directly at Alana�s person

But in the face of that surging holy energy Paolo laughed raucously Yes It needs to be like this Show me how much you eh

In the middle of his wild challenge the immense body of Wivanya smacked into the marble in front of him Her sapphire eyes shimmered her scaled body twisted with her enormous clawed hand held at the ready behind her And in the second as Paolo recognized the threat Wivanya whipped her claw downward and sheered through the arena like she was digging up loosely packed dirt

Paolo rolled to the side barely avoiding the strike And then his hands sprung upward as he caught the treetrunk thick tail that smashed at his chest He grunted in took a few steps backward but Kayle was already spinning lightly in the air above Wivanya with his long knives raised

You need to be faster Mrs Hamilton thought reprovingly You should know that by now

Sun Strike

Even from across the arena Alana raised her spear and thrust it calmly forward from the core of the spreading inferno A golden light that was only vaguely spear shaped ripped forward and smashed into Kayle His long knives whipped out in an X shape dispersing most of the power but he was still knocked away from Wivanya

The First Revelation Advance

To follow up Alana beat her wings and surged forward with golden orange flames raging in her wake Compared to the size of her wings her actual body was easy to miss in the ambient light she released But she shot across the arena like a shooting star so quickly that an average human�s eye even empowered by the System wouldn�t have the time to make a wish

But Paolo and Kayle were not average at all Paolo heaved on the tail in his arms shocking Wivanya when he possessed enough Strength to jerk the several ton dragon a half step forward Then he hopped up onto Wivanya�s tail and then leapt up in a beeline to intercept Alana

Yet Wivanya was just as quick extending her left wing and simply whacking Paolo back toward the ground Kayle spun his knives across his fingers while he floated mid air his eyes locked on Alana You decided to go after me first Thank you

Alana didn�t respond at all seeming to simply be an avatar of light and holiness as she surged forward In a move that seemed so natural that it appeared slower than it actually was she once more thrust her spear forward and unleashed a wave of golden light Kayle reversed his grip on the knife in his left hand and used it to nudge the thrust to the side while spinning

He narrowly dodged the thrust but Mrs Hamilton�s acute senses picked up that his leather armor began to sizzle from the proximity of the attack Alana�s powerful image warped the surrounding air with a holy energy that was followed immediately by a blast of heat But then Kayle�s right hand surged forward in counter attack aiming a thrust toward Alana�s heart

The light around Alana intensified Fire roared around her as she beat her wings a single time

Puh

Before Kayle�s could respond Alana unleashed a brutal cross counter with her non dominant hand that smashed into his cheek and knocked him into the ground Kayle bounced once uncontrollably before he spun and righted himself He glanced down at the knife in his right hand it appeared the entire blade had melted before it could reach Alana

Kayle�s face spasmed in an expression halfway between a confused frown and an excited smile but he had to quickly toss the melted blade to the side and produce another as Alana descended down toward him like an approaching cataclysm

Paolo flipped up onto his feet and glared up at Wivanya His fighting spirit churned the air around him He jabbed his finger forward If you block my way one more time

He abruptly pulled his hand back as the massive jaws of Wivanya clicked shut right in front of him Paolo was taller than the height of Wivanya�s jaws but only by a small amount Still that transgression by the Frost Dragon Broodmother appeared to be the last straw Paolo clenched his fists and yelled Haymaker but was tossed sideways when Wivanya�s tail whipped into his waist from an unexpected angle He skidded across the arena and dug quickly into the ground between the arena and the stands

You Paolo became incensed and the crowd seemed to respond to the shift in his mood They roared their shared fury detesting the constant interference by Wivanya Paolo�s image gradually began to push back against Alana�s slow spread of the golden inferno For her part Wivanya cooly regarded Paolo while flicking her tail back in forth with all the contempt of a cat considering its human roommate Then Wivanya turned and rushed to assist in Alana�s fight against Kayle

Paolo growled and sprinted back across to the arena while Kayle gritted his teeth and spread his own image out In a vast sea of darkness a single line of light separated the two sides As Alana and Wivnaya both surged toward him he slashed forward aiming for the space directly between himself and Alana Vast Divide

Then he turned around and pounced toward Wivanya

Alana calmly raised her spear Her wings beat again throwing off ivory feathers that sizzled and caught fire from the inferno around her Sun Strike

Her entire right arm seemed to ignite in her trademark gold and orange flames as her spear surged forward toward the boundary line that Kayle had drawn That spear encountered that divide and space seemed to screech in pain Like a buzz saw brought against sheet metal there was a great grinding noise and sparks shot out in every direction

But ultimately Alana took a step back with a look of surprise on her face The lapping waves of fire that she released lost a bit of their bite Mrs Hamilton didn�t miss the smirk on Kayle�s face as he ducked underneath Wivayna�s tail and rushed in to wound the dragon Paolo vaulted back onto the arena and moved to strike at Wivanya from behind

When another few whips of the tail proved ineffective Wivanya howled toward the sky Absolute Frost

There was a strange keening followed by the howling of the wind as the rapid temperature drop around the dragon churned through the surrounding air A wind picked up across the whole of the stadium Paolo was immediately blanketed by several inches of ice and crashed to the ground where his new popsicle form skidded forward several feet But then he appeared to use brute Strength explode out of his chilly prison in a burst of mist Once more he moved forward to continue his assault Meanwhile Kayle cut forward with his long knife Sever

Ice shrouded his blade and crept up his right arm but largely his Skill protected him from Wivanya�s defense Shaking his arm to dislodge the remain frost he rushed forward

But Absolute Frost had slowed the duo Alana�s eyes narrowed Solar Flare Sun Strike Sun Strike Sun Strike

With brute force Alana tore through Kayle�s barrier and surged toward the battle The walls of flame trailing in her wake were almost two meters tall Wivanya whipped her bulk around bringing her claw slashing toward Paolo He ducked to the side and then hopped over her follow up tail whip She had used the same pattern one too many times to catch him with it right now

While in the air he raised both hands above his head and grinned like a maniac as he flew forward Although she twisted Wivanya couldn�t avoid Paolo bringing his hands down powerfully on her side Several scales in the area were shattered by the force of the blow The dragon hissed in pain

Meanwhile Kayle was forced to plant his foot and turn around as the shimmering waves of heat caught up with him You won�t make it in time Alana Vast Divide

This time he used both knives when he slashed creating a barrier that was so thick that it was visible to the naked eye Alana laughed lightly as she raised her spear The Fourth Revelation Divinity

Alana was the edge of the horizon and dawn had suddenly arrived The pure light tore through everything in its path and seared into Kayle�s body before he could respond Even the flames in the surroundings were extinguished suffocated by that pure white light that she released

For a second she was the type of existence that truly held power over all others

Chapter 1470

Randidly folded his arms as he watched Alana unleash a Skill that may or may not be based on her reverence toward him As Kayle was rapidly moving back to avoid that light his long knives crisscrossed in front of him throwing up several smaller barriers in order to lessen the effect of Alana�s attack But the intensity of the image that Alana unleashed along with the Skill steadily eviscerated everything in the surrounding area Even Randidly felt impressed through his sense of awkwardness it certainly lived up to the moniker of Divinity�

But he could already tell that particular Skill had a steep usage cost After the first pulse of that all consuming light the illumination swiftly receded leaving a determined looking Alana glaring down at Kayle The flames behind her had shrunk to be about a handspan

Despite being hit rather directly with the Skill Kayle managed to leap back up to his feet almost immediately But his left arm was trembling as he took a fighting stance in front of Alana Most of his exposed flesh was covered with rapidly reddening burns Meanwhile Paolo was grinning from ear to ear as he considered his partner That�s exactly right That is the sort of fight that this should be

Paolo raised his hands and the sluggish cheers from the crowd began to warp around his limbs Streams of partial images swirled through the air spinning and flowing into his body as he intensified his image of triumph Those partial images looked like wisps of silk sleek and light enough to be blown away by a strong breeze

Sensing the meaning to what he was doing Wivanya swept her claws at Paolo But this time he didn�t even bother to dodge He stepped into the blow with lowered hands and let his heels grind into the marble as Wivanya smashed him sideways

Wivanya is reliable but her image conflicts too directly with Alana�s Randidly thought to himself Their combination isn�t ideal

Paolo�s face twitched but he stayed on his feet Although the claws shredded the flesh of his shoulder he was somehow able to endure Wivanya�s attack Seeing him survive the noise from the crowd exploded upward More and more wispy images flowed to Paolo Even Randidly had to wonder about the physics of the move and narrowed his eyes to examine Paolo�s image But Wivanya responded with a roar and unleashed a blast of concentrated frost from her mouth

A pillar of light exploded from Paolo the cheers and approval of the crowd becoming tinder to the flame burning in his heart It wasn�t the exact same sort of inviolable light that Alana released but it at least shared the trait of being bright which seemed to further excited the audience They raised their voices and shook their limbs caught in the frenzy of the conflict

Alana glanced sideways at Paolo�s ascendant image then returned her gaze to the panting form of Kayle in front of her If he continues to accept all those foreign influences to his image he is in for a rude awakening

He can handle it Kayle exposed a small smile and then both foes blurred into motion Although she clearly didn�t have as much punch to her image any longer Alana Donal was still the human on Earth who had done the most combat training over the last several years Her step thrust and then follow up sweep with her spear were blisteringly fast

At his best he could hold his own but he was no longer in peak condition Kayle deflected the thrust but could only be smashed backward as Alana targeted his wounded arm Her spear cut deeply into the wrist of his bad arm But as Kayle was thrown backward he twisted mid air and once more manifested his stark image above his head The line seemed so slender but it cleanly divided infinity The Sword of Triumph

Alana tensed but she wasn�t the target of the Skill Instead it appeared that Kayle cast several lightning fast barriers around Paolo Randidly chewed on his lip but then understanding gradually bloomed in Randidly�s eyes as Paolo rapidly exploded with the potency of the images that he had been absorbing Streams continued to flow into him from the crowd but now nothing could flow out any longer His body bounded by Kayle�s Absolute Divides was the vessel to the rapidly increasing pressure of those images While he stood there and seemed to rush rapidly towards some sort of detonation Wivanya�s claws scratched helplessly at the barriers Kayle created

Randidly felt a small smile taking hold on his face The result isn�t as integrated as Dinesh and Tykes� combination Skill but I can already tell that this effect will be much more exaggerated

For a split second Alana frowned But ultimately she ignored the trembling Kayle and pounced over toward Paolo Wivanya switch

Keh You are lucky human Wivanya glared at the exultant Paolo and then bounded across toward Kayle Seeing the dragon�s approach Kayle gritted his teeth and recovered his footing Just like Alana it seemed that the Skill he used cost him quite a bit of his Willpower He also had to replace another one of his long knives that had been shattered by Alana but he settled into a defensive stance and waited for Wivanya to approach

Once more light gathered around Alana while she moved forward but this light seemed to make the details of the surrounding space clearer rather than obscuring her person Her image had shifted once she had exhausted her image of divinity The color contrast of her person shot upward making the flames around her vividly orange and her wings almost blindingly white

The flavor of her image shifted slightly again as she raised her spear She was no longer a pure valkyrie but a prophet When her mouth opened something sanctified and almost solid flowed out she spoke the word of a God Spear Thrusts so Plentiful They Sound like Rain

And Randidly could hear it in the moments that followed the sizzling impact of hundreds of spear attacks that Alana threw outward each with a deceptive amount of force behind the attacks These were strikes that would have laid out any of the contestants below the top 8 But it appeared that Kayle had taken great care in the construction of these barriers because they cracked but didn�t quite shatter Alana�s eyes sharpened

She withdrew slightly the intensity of her image rising further once more Waves of heat began to rise from her pearly wings as though the feathers were eternal tongues of flame Her eyes were determined as she considered the figure of Paolo The Fourth Revelation Divinity

The intense brightness that followed was a different sort of brightness from the first activation Randidly chewed on his lip she was developing her image further with every use True Alana was once again the epicenter of the phenomenon but rather than being blinded by the light Alana�s form seemed to swell and fill the attention span of the viewer In this baser form the shard of divinity that she channeled in her image became all consuming And with that power at the tip of her spear she thrust her weapon forward

At the same time Paolo exploded with a hurricane of force All of the pressurized energy of his image that had been funneled from the crowd through his body finally broke out through Kayle�s barriers from the inside So he was swimming at the head of an avalanche of concentrated images swinging his fists wildly challenging everything and anything in his path

The two forces collided and Randidly pressed his lips together in a thin line the battle was approaching the point that he was confident in his own safety but it would be more difficult to ensure the health of the participants His three images swam through his blood slowly altering his body in preparation for what might follow

And the confrontation stretched onward as Randidly watched The clash was a little like two spouts of water spraying at each other drops were flung in every direction but no immediate victor was determined With the addition of the audience�s image Paolo was able to force Alana into a standstill What he lacked in detail he made up for with a single minded pursuit of power

Into that strained stalemate stepped Kayle With the deft fingers of his uninjured right hand he reached up and grabbed the shattered edges of the barriers he had conjured around Paolo Eventually he settled on a jagged remnant that shimmered in his hand even as it began to disintegrate and scatter But while it remained he slashed downward at Alana Victory Severed

A white crescent of light shot forward toward Alana The shard in Kayle�s hand fell to pieces even as the hand holding it was torn to pieces

Randidly�s pupils instantly tightened to the size of a pin tip A lot of meaning and imagery was seething beneath the surface of Kayle�s gesture giving the slash vastly increased power based on the symbolism present But just as quickly as Randidly recognized the threat it presented Wivanya was moving She tossed her body in front of the attack and crossed her wings as an extra line of defense Heavy layers of ice formed across her body

Wivanya took the brunt of the slash and crashed into the arena with enough force to shake the surrounding ground Much of her left wing was shredded and enough blood to fill a small stream gushed out of the wound on her side Some of her organs were clearly visible through the ripped flesh Even so the white crescent had enough force to continue downward and strike Alana

Her image of divinity was cleanly dispersed by the shattered nature of Kayle and Paolo�s combination attack but so was Paolo�s the only problem was that Alana hadn�t been expecting it at all A quick scan indicated that the damage to Wivanya was severe Randidly had no way of seeing her Health but based on the blood being knocked unconscious and the way her image was obliterated he made his decision

Wivanya has been knocked out for the remainder of the match Randidly announced Even as Paolo spear tackled Alana Randidly used Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil to wrap the heavy dragon�s body with roots and lift her to medical help Of course no sooner did Randidly lift Wivanya off the ground than she regained consciousness and began to struggle

I wait I can still Absolute Wivanya began but Randidly briefly unleashed the significance that he had gathered in his Nether Nebula The nebula paused in its clockwise rotation and briefly twisted in the counterclockwise direction Thick cords of Nether unspoiled and wound themselves around Wivanya

You�ve been knocked out Randidly said quietly struggling to keep his Nether from interfering with the images of the surrounding people as he suppressed Wivanya Some part of him was unsure if his intervention was the right decision but he had already intervened He could sense how weak and feeble Wivanya�s Willpower currently was It was best for her to retire and recover

There was an extended moment where chilly sapphire eyes met firm emerald ones then the dragon collapsed and curled up like a piece of carbon paper left next to an open flame Randidly carried her away with the roots toward the waiting medical team then turned back to the fight

After both images had been shattered by Kayle�s strike and most likely further weakened by the brief appearance of Nether in the space Paolo had rushed forward and tackled Alana directly Her spear was knocked from her hands as the two grappled and she was forced several steps backward

But Alana reacted quickly her hands finding purchase on Paolo�s leather armor But with the advantage of momentum he unleashed several sharp punches to her sides and face shoved her once then threw a Haymaker that smashed Alana into the ground

Coughing heavily Alana rolled quickly to the side to avoid the several slashes that Kayle unleashed at her downed form Had not both of his arms been wounded she likely would have been eliminated right there Then she flipped up to her feet and produced another spear that she leveled at the two foes that were circling around her Blood was trickling from the corner of her mouth

Her eyes flicked between Paolo and Kayle who were carefully positioning themselves Golden flames surged to life along her limbs That was a great move But I can feel both of your images starting to fade Are you stalling for time now rather than attacking

Your image is even worse Kayle commented so quietly that his words were almost lost in the roar of the crowd Even if the participants were feeling quite drained the audience was still at its zenith

For his part Paolo guffawed and slapped his chest You think that I�m done When the audience demands more Never I still have more gas in the tank

And true to his word his image once more began to churn He took several steps toward Alana the glorious glow of triumph around his body brightening back toward its previous levels She kept her spear steady but Alana�s eyes narrowed You if you keep absorbing so many external images your own image purity

Maybe for other people it would be a problem but I get to tell my own story Paolo countered He took another step forward The image around him intensified He glanced sideways as he flashed a grin at Kayle I know what you are thinking But I want your word that I get a single exchange right now with her without your interference You already got to fight with her for a while

It�s foolish Kayle replied sharply Paolo shrugged The two stared at each other for almost ten seconds while Alana�s breathing slowly grew more regular Blood stopped leaking from the wound on her shoulder

Finally Kayle sighed and shook his head Fine One exchange And I won�t do any follow up

Perfect Paolo cracked his knuckles and then lifted his left hand the fingers of his right tight around his left wrist All the images that surged toward him from the audience congregated around that hand filling it with a massive if a bit conflicting amount of meaning The Left Hand of the Champion

Paolo clenched his glowing fist Alana huffed out a breath and her flames surged even higher around her body She rolled her shoulders and the flames around her regained some of the previous intensity Waves of heat once more surrounded her The Second Revelation Struggle

She moved quickly her spear flicking side to side unpredictably while Paolo moved ponderously under the weight of his image He only threw a single punch so heavy with his Willpower that it blew all of Alana�s brutal attacks away Paolo had small gashes opened up across his arms and a deep wound right below his collarbone but he smashed Alana into the marble arena with enough force to crack the reinforced stone ground

For the second time Alana was knocked down in a decisive blow

The crowd erupted in a roar as Paolo steadied himself and then raised his fists above his head in pure exultation His sense of accomplishment was an almost physical thing and those same slivers of image that flowed into him were now flowing back out popping and inflating to three times their original size so they seemed to be lopsided and overinflated balloons that meandered sluggishly through the surrounding air

Randidly could feel the hyper dense Nether running underneath everything catalyzing the images of the people here for as long as it remained The effect primarily seemed to be bloating but Randidly understood it was more than that it was like the aspect ratio of television being raised above the content on the screen The images looked bloated because they could now exist in high definition but they hadn�t quite figured out how to manage it yet

Paolo Kayle spoke sharply staring intently at the downed form on the ground between them It isn�t over yet

Randidly felt the significance of the Nether running underneath the arena deepen even further

Her right elbow had been shattered in the impact on the ground but Alana simply propped herself up with her left She rubbed the blood from her lips but only succeeded in smearing it across her cheek and making her countenance look positively ghastly Yet such was the intensity of her expression that the smeared blood only seemed appropriate

This was a woman out for blood

Paolo and Kayle shared a glance while the crowd�s noise gradually receded Both of them were wounded although not as badly as Alana was Yet somehow Alana�s figure now completely devoid of the emphasis of images was even more intimidating than the radiance of her orange gold flames had been previously

You�ve made it Paolo and Kayle Alana said woodenly She looked dispassionately down at her right arm at the spot where the flex of her forearm had been torn asunder and the fractured bone was revealed Her left hand flickered with warm flames and she pressed it over the wound The flesh began to sizzle This is the current pinnacle of Earth You�ve proven that as long as you persevere any human can achieve this proficiency with images and control their own Path

Neither answered so the only noise was the sound of Alana�s wound being cauterized

After a few seconds Alana pulled her hand away from the charred flesh Her face hadn�t even twitched I think I was confused before the match began I thought my role was to show you that you weren�t quite there yet But you are there huh No what I�m really supposed to do is show you what�s next

She reached up and rubbed her chin idly as though lost in thought I had always planned for five Revelations But it wasn�t until I was here that I realized how my role can only carry me so far I cannot allow the role to become who I am the life and the vessel must be in balance with each other So this Fourth Revelation I cannot separate it from who I am And when you punched me Paolo I realized how much I want to win Right now Alana Donal wants to win more than almost anything else I don�t want today to end in regrets

Her right arm was still hanging uselessly at her side but the flames on Alana�s left hand grew more intense Wincing Paolo settled into a defensive stance Kayle crossed his knives in front of his torso It was clear that he was having difficulty keeping the knives steady

The Fifth Revelation Alana said quietly Want

Chapter 1471

If Alana�s first four Revelations were about the emotions she experienced from interacting directly with Randidly Ghosthound the Fifth Revelation was her honest response to the news that he would be leaving and that she didn�t possess the strength to follow him It was for that reason that Alana refused to stop getting up no matter how many times she was smashed into the ground

The previous night before she had gone to have dinner with Hank Alana Donal had gone to speak with Randidly she wanted to request that he take her and Wivanya along with him to the Nexus

Some part of her had understood that the request was rather unreasonable She and Randidly hadn�t even had much interaction lately In addition she was aware vaguely of the gulf that existed between her own power and that of Randidly Ghosthound The scent of his images lingered in the air around his island constantly fascinating Alana If she went with him at her current power level she would only be a burden on him She could understand that But she also believed that by training with Randidly directly she would be able to quickly advance across most of the gap between them

Randidly had been in a lengthy meeting with Gertrude Collins when Alana had arrived at Town Hall and inquired with Tatiana so she had decided to politely wait until he was finished During the time that she was waiting Helen also came to talk about something with Randidly so the idle duo had agreed to grab a coffee to stall for a bit of time and see if the meeting finished soon

During that coffee Alana Donal had confessed the reason that she wanted to talk to Randidly was to ask whether she could come with him to the Nexus Helen had been silent for several seconds after she heard that and then set down her cup with a click Follow me

Then she had taken Alana to the training arena and tossed her a training spear Almost by instinct Alana caught the spear and frowned You want to spar right now

I just want to teach you a bit of fear Helen had responded in a voice that Alana had taken as being filled with arrogance And so she had tightened her grip on the spear and fought against Helen without holding anything back Although it was a little over twelve hours to the finals Alana had freely unleashed all four of the Revelations she had

At the end of the spar Helen had crouched next to the wheezing Alana Donal Think deeply about what your role in the life of Randidly Ghosthound truly is Only come back to make this request if you are absolutely sure of your answer

Which was why Alana had shown up at Hank�s covered in blood sweat and dirt She had been truly and utterly suppressed in a way that she hadn�t experienced in quite a while Even when Randidly had become the avatar of the Grim Chimera in his challenge against Donnyton Alana hadn�t felt so helpless She hadn�t been able to reach him there but it had felt like he was only a short distance away

This was different Because in Helen�s image there was an implacable certainty that Alana couldn�t currently rival It wasn�t confidence and it wasn�t just concrete Willpower projecting a conclusion

Helen simply knew her role implicitly That certainty eliminated all hesitation in her person and image As small as Alana�s hesitations were they were still present She didn�t quite know what she wanted to be That was an undeniable fact

Seeing her state last night Hank had demanded an explanation and then stomped away to exact vengeance on Helen He slunk back a half hour later looking a little roughed up but seemingly less mentally affected than Alana had been

Now standing with a useless dominant arm in front of Paolo and Kayle Alana acted without hesitation She wanted to be the woman who won this fight So she raised her head The Fifth Revelation Want

The white wings spreading outward from her Fate above her head beat rapidly and began to shrink As the wings receded white flames seeped out of the fingers of her left hand She rigidly extended her fingers forward to mimic the head of a spear and then settled down into a half crouch Both Paolo and Kayle watched her warily nursing their own wounds

Of the five revelations this one had the weakest Skill effect It simply granted Alana an increased clarity of intent between her thoughts Skills and body The effect was a slight but holistic amplification that grew more powerful the more single minded she became The change in the color of her flames just proved it was working as intended And standing in that arena as Randidly and the audience weighed their actions Alana could see with absolute clarity the Path she wanted to take

If you want to be something different simply be through action Changing yourself is that simple

Alana glanced between Paolo and Kayle Her gaze felt leaden as she shifted it from side to side as though the process of adjusting the object of her attention required several technicians fiddling with precise dials Are you both prepared

They didn�t answer with words but both Paolo and Kayle sprung forward at the very same instant Kayle could only move one of his arms well enough to hold a knife but his eyes seemed to gleam with the palpable desire to seize victory for himself Paolo kept his left arm close to his chest but Alana sensed his image gaining traction around his body once more she suspected that he would be able to manage at least one more strike with that wounded� arm

Kayle was coming from Alana�s 10 o�clock while Paolo rushed in from her 3 She stepped sharply to the right making a beeline for Paolo Her left arm was a spear that she thrust forward in a sizzling line The white flames rising from her hand didn�t flicker with the movement seemingly above the influence of air pressure caused by her movement

Paolo lowered his shoulder and used his right arm to push aside Alana�s thrust The muscles of his right arm were shredded from contact with that placid white flames and his face twisted into a scowl but he managed to deflect it For a split second they stood there Paolo�s left arm cradled against his chest while her arm right arm hung limply at her side Alana watched him with half lidded eyes

He didn�t strike despite her nonexistent guard

Alana smashed her foot into the side of Paolo�s knee earning a grunt from him But his image of triumph flared and kept him on his feet At which point Kayle arrived at her back and slashed forward with his long knife

Twisting Alana accepted a long gash across her shoulder blades in order to whip her right arm around She couldn�t grip with it or move anything past her elbow but it was enough to crack Kayle in the jaw with her shattered elbow joint She felt the fracture spread to her upper arm but Alana couldn�t dwell on that she shifted her weight onto her other leg to move fractionally away from Paolo

But the three of them were simply too close together As Kayle was falling backward from her elbow strike his leg whipped up and kicked Alana in the waist It wasn�t particularly damaging but it did mean that Paolo caught up with Alana before she could pull back her left hand His right hand seized her left wrist below the reach of the white flames

This time he did strike with his left arm a straight so brutal that she would have wondered if he was injured at all had she not been able to hear the bones of his shoulder grinding against each other during the explosive movement Yet she had been expecting this Alana pivoted on her left foot bringing the right half of her body backward and letting the punch whizz past her nose

But instead of running out of gas there Paolo�s fist sprung open and then he swung his arm toward her Before she could react Paolo had physically seized Alana�s face pushing her to the side in an attempt to unbalance her Alana twisted her left wrist to escape Paolo�s other hand but his grip was like steel The crowd�s cheers made him seem more like an avatar of wrought metal than a human being His body became the refinery and each movement was a working of incredible sophistication beyond the normal functioning of a human body

Her right arm flailed but was largely useless Alana�s mouth tasted like blood as Paolo�s fingers ground her cheeks against her teeth In her heart she felt viciously frustrated But more than anything she was struck then by her own limits This was as far as she had been able to make it even after ridding herself of her hesitation

Alana�s torso was steadily being pushed backward and her legs couldn�t keep up with the pressure Paolo possessed more raw Strength than she did There was a part of Alana that felt like it was time to give up

But she didn�t want to And in her chest there was a resonance form the vast space that had existed since Randidly Ghosthound had created the connection with her Through that she had gratefully absorbed quite a few details that had largely solidified the foundation of her image That connection had been the lifeline that had made her rapid ascension to the strongest individual on Earth that much more smooth

So close the precipice of a loss now and still under the influence of the Fifth Revelation Alana felt that calm resonance It could nudge her in the right direction now but she sensed that it wouldn�t be enough to overcome her current predicament And when she thought about that she could see the one moment where that connection had been useless when she had lost herself in the expectations that Donnyton had for her

And in a way it was the presence of this supportive connection that had put Alana in the mindset that meant it was so difficult to escape the behaviors that had her image plateau for so long It had caused her to take the details of images for granted

It wasn�t enough just to absorb another�s details to grow stronger while only working on the fundamentals herself Sometimes even a prophet needed to raise her eyes toward the sky and want

The muscles of Alana�s abdomen strained against the muscles of Paolo�s arm I still want to win

The white flames on Alana�s left hand stirred and slid down her arm Her arm abruptly cut sideways as she sliced through the fingers of Paolo�s right hand and then cut his left arm off at the forearm Strangely his hand still squeezed her face even as Paolo took a stunned step backward

Unfortunately victory wasn�t quite so simple

Kayle�s long knife ripped into Alana�s right thigh and then cut downward largely destroying her quadricep She fell forward onto her knees but that also brought Kayle into a hunched position as he continued to twist the blade in her wound She rewarded him with a horse kick to his face that crunched his nose into a mound of mashed flesh and cartilage that leaked blood

With her right leg trembling she spun onto her butt and raised her left hand above her head The white flames evaporated from her limb and formed a one meter tall hand in the air above her It resembled ghastly figures from poorly developed film in older photography blurred at the edges and strangely exaggerated It was a child�s rendition of a hand rather than an anatomically correct version

That glowing white hand swept forward its fingers scything toward Kayle Kayle produced another dagger to replace the one he left sticking out of Alana�s thigh and reversed his grip His Willpower clearly illuminated his grey eyes Absolute Divide

Chapter 1472

Randidly watched the final moments of the match without expectation or judgment simply experiencing the heights to which humanity could now reach These would be the people on the front lines against the First Calamity

Alana�s hand of pale flames slammed against Kayle�s defensive Skill In the air above Kayle his image manifested with a vivid intensity that surpassed his previous usage by far he was currently giving it his all That simple white divide in a sea of blackness warped the surrounding air somehow shifting before Randidly�s eyes until the colors flip flopped Now a black line divided a sea of white Kayle�s face was twisted into the most pained grimace that Randidly had ever seen

The two Skills clashed And in the end

Kayle�s Absolute Divide endured while Alana�s flaming hand faltered and dissipated For a second the two stared at each other The low roar of the crowd was like the static on an old television that was poorly tuned It added a sense of unreality to the two rigidly staring fighters

They both sagged at the same moment

Dammit I wanted to win Kayle muttered Then his eyelids fluttered and he fell forward having completely overdrawn his mental energy to defend against that last attack

Randidly felt a great deal of sympathy for the man the headache he must be experiencing right now was undoubtedly brutal Plus Alana had tricked him The hand of white fire she had conjured looked intimidating especially after she had sliced Paolo but it hadn�t possessed any real bite Randidly unleashed a bit of Yggdrasil�s image to lessen Kayle�s pain

There were now only two active participants left in the finals

With a grunt Alana pulled Kayle�s knife out of her right thigh Then she rolled onto her belly and slapped the ground with her left hand pushed her body of a couple of meters off the ground She twisted midair and managed to land on her good leg She swayed for a second then turned toward Paolo while she ripped off his hand�s grip on her face and tossed it to the side

An excellent fight Paolo announced from a growing pool of blood One worthy of crowning a champion

Alana simply stared at him appearing too exhausted to muster the words But as she held the knife aloft her arm didn�t waver

Chuckling Paolo looked down at his own limbs Blood oozed from the stumps of the fingers on his right hand and gushed spiritedly from the severed end of his left forearm In front of him and a few meters to the left his limbs twitched Yes it should be exactly like this Alana Donal I want to show you one last Skill

He raised his right arm The silk wisps of images that he took from the audience flowed in faster and faster weaving themselves together where Alana�s Want had severed his flesh Very quickly the missing fingers were replaced by a ghastly phantasm of those fingers His hand glowed with meaning and Paolo clenched those spectral fingers into a fist

The Right Hand of the Challenger

Paolo lightly threw a punch forward The spectral fist shot not toward Alana but directly up into the air gleaming like freshly polished silver

Then he shrugged at Alana But the fact I need to make a challenger�s fist means that it is already my loss We concede

The crowd was silent until the words that Paolo had said seemed to sink in Randidly tilted his head and considered the slate grey sky hopefully they could finish the award ceremony before it began to snow

Then the audience caught up to Paolo�s words and exploded

King Phirun watched the award ceremony with a frown on his face and his arms crossed Some of the best doctors from the various Zones had rushed down to the arena and made sure that all the contestants were recuperating without any issues But aside from having their images roughed up a bit even the hemorrhaging Wivanya was quickly returned to prime form so that the ceremony could begin

That was the benefit of the System as long as there were no extenuating circumstances even severed or annihilated limbs could be replaced So that now only thirty minutes after being pronounced out of the final Wivanya sat primly on her hind legs while her rapidly wagging tail revealed her cheery mood Alana Donal actually had to whisper something to the dragon so that she wouldn�t injure any of the other duos with her tail

The sight only served to worsen King Phirun�s mood Beside him Huang Shou glanced sideways at him in amusement You are disappointed with the result

Pah King Phirun spat to the side Next to him his Zone�s duo that made it the farthest in the tournament Kadir and Tosam visibly flinched But then King Phirun shook his head No Alana Donal deserves this victory Paolo and Kayle are also impressive fighters The only problem I wish they would have a little decorum They act so carelessly

Huang Shou�s smile quirked upward at the corner and he adjusted his grip on his cane Oh

King Phirun refolded his arms so the opposite arm was on top Although he was inherently suspicious of Huang Shou the man at least had an admirable amount of pride For that reason he deserved an answer These are the greatest warriors of our age fighting with each other to the point that they were practically bleeding out and ineffectually swinging their fists at each other How can the populace have any respect for power when the powerful seem so mundane Truly I am glad that I didn�t decide to participate I worry about how my reputation would have been impacted

Truly it was a great dishonor to lose to Paolo and Kayle in the quarter final round Haung Shou said lightly but the smug expression on his face revealed his true feelings King Phirun grunted but had nothing to say to that quiet boast The older man had earned it His gaze was heated as he turned briefly to his duo that was eliminated in the top 16 then back to the arena floor

Randidly Ghosthound looked around at the waiting audience Beside him Wivanya�s flicking tail was positively hypersonic It is with great pleasure that I announce the victors of the Earth�s first and possibly last Duo�s tournament In third place

Last tournament Kadir mumbled to himself

Tosam nudged his partner�s shoulder Because we might be renaming the planet today

Hank Howard and Ancho The Ghosthound continued While the crowd clapped enthusiastically for the gunslinger�s saunter toward the proffered bronze medal in the Ghosthound�s hands Kadir huffed out a breath

Well I�m not gonna go calling Earth something different just because of some stupid tournament Kadir said through gritted teeth

Hank took the medal and then tried to put it around Ancho�s neck The horse shook its head wildly avoiding it like it was a piece of rotten meat Meanwhile King Phirun threw a mild glance at Kadir If you felt so strongly about the issue you should have simply won the tournament

Besides it might not matter Added Tosam with a sly smile The name change happens in the System right With its translation software it might automatically translate Earth to the new name every time you say it So even if you refuse to say it no one else will notice And you will hear everyone else say whatever the new name is

Kadir blinked in horror Beside Huang Shou Huang Li leaned forward and glanced down the row of people at Tosam That�s an excellent point

Out on the arena floor Hank threw up his hands helplessly and put the medal around his own neck The audience was half clapping and half laughing as he returned to his starting position at the side of the arena With a small smile on his face the Ghosthound continued In second place Paolo and Kayle

This applause was much louder but mostly because mixed in the clapping were calls of you got screwed � and Next time for sure � Despite their loss Paolo and Kayle seemed rather genial about the whole thing taking the silver medal from the Ghosthound and then engaging in an impressively fast game of rock paper scissors afterward With a wide grin Paolo slid the medal around his neck and strutted back to their position Kayle just shook his head

Finally the announcement that we were all waiting for The Ghosthound beckoned He didn�t even bother to activate his images yet he somehow seemed to be standing at the bottom of a bowl so your attention couldn�t help but flow down toward him The winners of the duo�s tournament are Alana and Wivanya

The clapping from the crowd started off loud but it was quickly drowned out by the fifty or so dragons that launched themselves into the sky at the announcement and belched frost toward the overcast grey skyline Wivanya raised her head and joined her children in their exultation giving themselves over completely to their joy

Rather than a medal Randidly produce a glowing stone tablet Strange runes covered its surface shifting as the Ghosthound�s fingers pressed up against it He walked over to Alana and offered her the Runic Tablet So Are you ready to officially make our planet a part of the Nexus

Yes Alana said shortly She looked at Randidly with several seconds as though wanting to say something He regarded her with a mild expression on his face Then she shook her head and looked down at the tablet She held it in front of her with both hands as though she was truly holding an ancient artifact that could be broken from the slightest mishandling Wivanya lowered her head from her roar and brought it next to Alana�s head where the dragon began to speak rapidly

King Phirun could not hear what the dragon was saying but Alana Donal was having none of it After literally shooing the enormous dragon away she released a sharp breath and looked around at the audience I name this world Expira

The tablet in her hands broke in half golden dust shooting rapidly out of the broken tablet and flying up into the air Then in front of King Phirun a notification appeared

Congratulations Your planet Expira has officially become a part of the Nexus As new citizens of the Nexus you will be subjected to periodic tests to determine your eligibility for benefits The first test will take the form of a great Calamity that will descend to Expira and attempt to lay waste to everything you have built

Congratulations The difficulty of your Calamity has been increased in proportion to the density of Aether on your planet The Calamity will arrive in 150 days Please prepare well

Chapter 1473

�Expira � Tatiana spoke clearly as she glanced down at the clipboard that she held in front of herself They were in her office meeting at 10 A M sharp the day after the world was named and the first Calamity was announced Randidly knew that she checked the clipboard less because she needed the reminder but more because the habit of confirmation was so deeply ingrained into her person that she would be bewildered by the suggestion that she didn�t need to double check her work It was why she was so good at running Kharon �To expire or to exhale In a way certainly a morbid motif to associate with the world but considering your quest to destroy the Nexus �

There Tatiana paused in her unasked for explanation checking Randidly with the same relentless determination to confirm she showed toward her work Honestly Randidly couldn�t begrudge her this habit considering the difficulty of keeping up with his quick decisions the trait was a boon Then she set down her clipboard on her desk � perhaps more relevantly one of the many ways to reference ghosts in Latin is expiravit A mouthful and one that would not translate well to the name of a world But Expira on the other hand �

�Stop trying to tease me The planet is already named � Randidly shook his head unwilling to admit that he did feel quite a bit of awkwardness from the thought that Alana would have named the world after him �I know you brought me here for other reasons what did you want to tell me �

Chuckling Tatiana stood from her hefty leather chair and walked to the window She used just the tips of her fingers to grab the maroon drapes and drag them to the left to marginally lower the amount of light in the room Despite the fact that temperatures continued to remain low the sun was bright on the day after the duos tournament ended While walking over to the Town Hall Randidly had heard several people say the sun dawns on Expira � He had winced every time

Tatiana marginally adjusted the curtains a small amount further leaving her office mostly in cool shadow �I brought you here for three things First Donny invited you to dinner a week from today On your behalf I accepted You could stand to be more friendly toward Donnyton Secondly everything is prepared for our construction crews to begin work on the other floating islands As soon as you pick out the pieces of land and finalize the plans we can begin

�Finally I wanted to ask you officially as the head of Kharon�s government when Randidly Ghosthound planned on heading to the Nexus Through my Skill I can see some of your answer but what I feel is oddly unsatisfactory �

Randidly considered the question carefully like he was judging the attitude of a man he had never seen before Not that he didn�t have some inclinations as to how to answer the third question but he sensed his vague feelings wouldn�t be enough to ease the slight edge to Tatiana�s smile � I certainly won�t be staying here until the First Calamity arrives My growth rate on Expira is quick but not as quick as it needs to be So I�ll remain long enough to get all the projects finalized but probably not longer than a month �

�If you really want to accelerate your growth rate relative to the base timeline why not spend some time in Dungeons � Tatiana said Then she pursed her lips �While you are there you can help me with some of the details of Kharon Academy �

Randidly had to wince at that He briefly channeled Revelation energy giving him a little extra insight into how his additional work with the Kharon Academy project would influence it What few insights he gleaned by peering forward weren�t surprising but they still stung a slight amount Others would achieve much better results than he would It wasn�t a problem of willingness to help on his part but perspective

What was needed was tools to help educate children and teenagers who were basically still near the normal capabilities of a human Randidly did not have much expertise in that area Or rather the methods that seemed natural to him were horrifying to others

Thanks Shal Randidly closed his eyes But it wasn�t like his assistance would be completely useless �Tatiana you don�t have to hold back As much as I will grumble I can handle more of the work on these projects they are my brainchildren after all But as for my growth rate �

Randidly shook his head �A Dungeon would help me develop in specific ways I think the details of my images could be vastly improved and I can perhaps make some breakthroughs in Nether manipulation And those are important areas of my power But they aren�t the core of my identity that I�ve chosen That is my image physicalizations and utilizing multiple images and Skills at once And as for that I probably improved more during the fight against Kaan Swacc than I have before and since It isn�t an ability that you can practice alone or without the threat of death if I fail I�ve grown too used to the tension I need to ascend to the Nexus to find more difficult challenges �

�Pah � Tatiana pressed her hands against the windowsill and leaned forward Her face was hidden in shadow �I do know what ascending will mean for your growth And I don�t really need help with the projects I just don�t want you to go It�s going to be hard without you �

�Hasn�t all the suffering I�ve put you through prepared you for this � Randidly said gently Then he adopted an innocent expression �In fact you should probably be thanking me If not for how much suffering I�ve made you endure as you tried to keep up with me you would be �

Tatiana pulled a book off of a nearby bookshelf and flung it at Randidly like it was a frisbee A tremor ran through Randidly�s body and suddenly he was taller and slightly hunched over His joints ground into a new alignment As the book whizzed toward his face a tail of bone about two fingers thick flicked out from behind his head and caught the book a few inches from his face While his left eye was devoured by darkness he twisted the book so he could read the cover A Regression Analysis of the Danger of Unchecked Raid Bosses

Randidly raised an eyebrow �Sounds captivating But I bet the conclusion is that the best option is just to kill the monsters �

�You are blessed in many areas but I doubt you are as funny as you think you are Randidly Ghosthound � Tatiana shook her head almost ruefully Then she walked over toward Randidly who was still in his physicalized image form The orb of melted light and darkness observed how Tatiana did her best not to tremble as she withstood the substantial pressure that Randidly�s images released And Randidly couldn�t help but love her for that attempt to make him feel normal These days he did his best not to dwell too long on his departure from human limits It was it filled him with an oddly bleak mood Like the individual he had become was so far removed from who he had been that he now human only in name

But that was the point Randidly said to himself I was unable to protect myself or the people I cared about before I haven�t lost the Why of my transformation Even if I can no longer be considered the same person we want the same things I would have been happy to know that I have come this far It�s time to ascend to the Nexus

When she held out her hand Randidly released the images and the book fell into her palm She returned it to the shelf and slid the book into place Perhaps sensing the mood with that Skill of hers she was quiet for some time

Then she turned back to him and put her hands behind her back �Honestly that book is a quite self important text which comes to common sense conclusions But it gathered quite a lot of data to support those conclusions so there are many tools within it that allow you to identify how long a Raid Boss has been active based upon various signs in the area Certainly worth a read for anyone planning But anyway I can sense you have another reason for remaining on Earth One that seems quite unpredictable I can sense its shape but not it�s origin Can you tell me what I�m sensing �

Randidly rubbed the back of his neck �Honestly your Skill is somewhat uncomfortable But you are technically right I�m waiting for something else to happen before I leave Earth �

He paused considering how to explain Because ever since the tournament had finished and he had almost unwillingly watched all the significance Paolo Kayle Alana and Wivanya generated be siphoned away he had sensed that something was coming for Earth through the thin film of Nether that the System allowed some force had been constantly producing significance ever since

It wasn�t near the level of the tournament but it was at least double the previous Nether density that flowed through this area of the System Randidly dearly wished he would have been paying more attention to the time before Kaan arrived to see if it was that type of event that was approaching

At first Randidly had assumed the change was just related to the impending First Calamity that had been announced to be more difficult than usual But that didn�t feel right As Randidly carefully monitored the significance he could tell that the event in question was much closer than the announced Calamity It would happen quite soon as far as Randidly could tell

Randidly wondered if the extra difficulty was the fact that the Calamity would be arriving early

�Something will happen soon on Earth � Randidly eventually said to Tatiana �I really don�t know more than that But it should be only a few days or weeks away I just want to make sure the consequences aren�t too drastic before I go �

Tatiana walked back over to Randidly and nodded Then she reached out hesitated then put her hand on Randidly�s shoulder With emerald eyes he looked up at her Tatiana released a breath and then spoke with urgency �Alright I�ll keep an eye out for anything strange But I want to say one more thing You are going to want to disappear without saying anything don�t give me that look You know it�s true I�m telling you don�t you dare Unless you want to come back to Earth to find that I�ve created an entire action figure line based on your likeness �

Randidly blinked Tatiana smirked �I�ll give it very embarrassing catchphrases like �The Spear Always Advances � or something like that Alright go away I have a lot of work to do �

Randidly forced out a chuckle but he didn�t get up quite yet He reached up and put his hand on Tatiana�s that was still on his shoulder and squeezed �Please never do that And I promise I�ll let you know before I leave �

After the meeting with Tatiana Randidly returned to his floating island and returned to his peaceful area of greenery on the Western side He sat down meditated for about fifteen minutes and then carefully wove together a Nether RItual Randidly was rather pleased to notice that his practice weaving Nether to take significance made the process of making a ritual much easier In fact Randidly was rather confident that his new Nether Ritual was much more powerful than any he had been able to make in the past

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 175

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 305

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 176

With an almost intoxicating sense of intimacy Randidly reached across the distance between them and touched Vualla But he took extra care to keep his touch light he would feel like an idiot if he lost himself in his more efficient Nether Ritual and revealed the connection between them to the Xyrt Brigade

As per Randidly�s usual luck he could immediately sense the sense of strained fraying from Vualla�s images she was in the middle of an absolutely brutal spree of training Almost unconsciously because Vualla couldn�t spare much attention from her task Randidly felt her mind reveal that the training should end in about six and a half hours Randidly licked his lips in dissatisfaction and quietly shut down the Nether Ritual He had wanted to show off his recent improvements due to the Nether significance he absorbed but he didn�t mind waiting

Chapter 1474

To fill the time until Vualla could be safely contacted through the Nether Ritual Randidly walked to the finally completed home that had been constructed for him in the center of his island He had considered putting the island into his Alpha Cosmos and taking it with him but ultimately didn�t feel like it was worth the effort Plus Neveah seemed to have been quite taken with the idea of Randidly�s home and had spent several hours touring the place and speculating about an Engraving she could make for the house

Randidly walked to the front of the house and put his hands on his hips To be sure the newly completed domicile of the Ghosthound was quite impressive even if it isn�t anything like what he would have built for himself But considering his long line of wooden shacks that generally served as his homes he could understand why the decision hadn�t been left to him

The house was a massive beast that hunkered to the ground appearing squat with its three vaulted floors only because the house stretched left and right for almost fifty meters in each direction and made the height seem insignificant The exterior felt heavy due to the gleaming black marble that was used to form the bones of the building In the silver light of the moonlight spirits that spiraled constantly around the building the marble gleamed playfully generating the incorrect impression that the house itself was alive

Two pillars flanked the main doors to the building stretching up past the limits of the first floor and reaching the apex of the second Above the pillars was a relatively small balcony that overlooked the area in front of the house Randidly glanced around If he wanted the balcony to worth a damn he would need to do a bit of landscaping on the area in front of his house Right now it was just pitted and rutted dirt with the tracks of the machinery that had stacked the expensive materials of his home on top of each other

Of course landscaping was an area in which Randidly felt significant confidence With a wave of his hand Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil caused small microbes in the soil to swell up to small bean sized growths of organic matter then explode further until they were krakens sculpted of roots and vines These plant krakens rapidly leveled the surrounding ground with their tentacles and then ground up the larger stones and spare materials that had been left behind Everything became a part of the soil to enrich future plants that would grow there

Randidly even used the sharp thorns that adorned his vines to sheer down extra steel beams and scattered the shavings within the mass of dirt With the System basically everything has some value The plants that grow here might be weird but that�s just a part my legacy No need to worry too much about the details

Considering how this place would likely be treated in the future Randidly also decided to dig a deep trench extending outward from the front of his home Later he would fill it with water to make his home resemble a national landmark As he did so he idly wondered if Tatina would hire groundskeepers for the place and later curse him for making the water feature so large

Ultimately Randidly decided to shorten the length of the pool

He released a powerful pulse of Yggdrasil�s image to encourage growth in the front area after his plant krakens began to smolder and scatter to ashes then walked to the heavy wooden doors to enter his home Randidly paused and ran his fingers lightly over the wood It was a good material even now radiating an intense spiritual energy Although the effect was minor compared to his base regeneration it was easier to recover Mana while near to this door This was an area of particular interest to Neveah It would very easily accept a powerful Engraving

From the intermittent messages that he received from her she was having difficulty keeping the Engraving self contained keeping the effect as potent as she wanted while also not quickly reducing the door to splinters due to the relevant softness of the material

Randidly had told her that the door wasn�t an important issue but Neveah had stubbornly insisted that the door was basically the mouth to his house And having quality teeth had a direct effect on the ease with which you moved through life

Considering the few times Randidly had seen Neveah show her teeth in her natural form he decided to let go of the issue Besides it seemed to be helping shake the funk that had hung over Neveah since the fight against Kaan Swacc

But when he pushed open the doors into his house he couldn�t get the image of a beast�s mouth out of his mind The doors opened into a large hall made interesting only by the intricate mixture of jade marble and blood steel that formed mesmerizing patterns along the floor At the far end of the hall was a massive staircase that curled both to the left and right and took a walker up to the second floor

But Randidly ignored the upper floors for now and simply walked through the two wings of the ground floor pushing open smaller mimics of the massive front door and revealing the empty spaces within Perhaps because of the image he possessed when he walked into the house Randidly couldn�t help but feel like he was walking through the inner organs of a preserved beast long after it had died

The rooms were empty dry and sterile All of the byproducts and fuels of actual life had long ago disappeared from this place It was a mummified corpse and at this point it was impossible to tell what sort of beast this had originally been

One thing that disturbed him became increasingly apparent Although many moonlight spirits gathered around the outside none had come within the walls of his house The house was gorgeous the paneling expensive and well made but Randidly was not satisfied with this

As Randidly pushed open doors to empty rooms over and over again he gradually could understand why it had been such a big issue to Neveah to add an Engraving to the home This place was for me but right now it is the furthest thing away from being mine So while Neveah works on an Engraving

Randidly ascended to the third floor finding yet another long hallway that spread to his left and right without any variance Every fourth room was a bathroom and several had small passages between the non committal spaces Thoughtfully he chewed on his lip Then in a decision he made in a split second without thinking about the consequences Randidly body shuddered and once more transformed into the physicalized version of his images His joints cracked as his arms and legs extended outward The muscles of his legs and torso trembled and swelled Heatwaves wafted off of him as his heart raced and brought scalding blood to his newly transformed body

His left eye was shrouded in shadow His veins gleamed golden His hair lightened toward emerald green

Then in a natural expansion of his images Randidly roared The vicious teeth of the Grim Chimera were barred toward the ceiling without restraint The third floor around him shuddered and then was torn to pieces Bits of wood and steel and stone were blasted to bits and exploded outward The two lower floors shuddered but thankfully held

That had been Randidly�s one worry he didn�t know enough about construction to know if what he was about to do would completely invalidate all the effort and materials that had gone into making this home But he some part of him felt a deep sense of dissatisfaction at the empty home So he decided to fix the problem

Before all the debris collapsed down to the surrounding space Randidly released a light breath Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart

All the bits of broken materials halted midair hovering uncertainly under the pulse of gravity that Randidly released Then he raised his metal fist and tightened it all the materials flew rapidly back together and spun together in a small tornado of destruction The moonlight spirits above his house had frozen at the destruction but now began to dance excitedly and fly insubstantially through the tornado By simply smashing everything together against itself Randidly quickly created a large ball of soil

But this amount was far from enough Humming to himself Randidly opened a portal with the Philosopher�s Key to one of the random valleys in the Nordawn Mountain range where he had done his more explosive training sessions Then he casually transported large amounts of soil and plant matter that had already subtly incorporated his images to the ruin of the third floor That would make the process more simple

With this Randidly could cover the entirety of the third floor in at least a foot of soil without a problem The cracked remnants of the walls remained at most of the edges of the third floor keeping this soil layer from collapsing outward These wounded structures groaned from the pressure but ultimately stayed upright

At least its good the materials are so high quality Randidly reflected The increased weight from all this stuff didn�t cause the house to collapse

Then very deliberately Randidly turned his attention to the trees he had brought over through the portal and targeted them with Yggdrasil The massive phantom of the World Tree appeared in the air above Randidly Its glittering emerald leaves rustled lightly in an invisible breeze Golden light flashed up and down the massive trunk tracing the massive history of the world that was recorded across its bark

Then Randidly sat still with his legs folded beneath him and released consistent waves of that images of varying power There were several small trees but already their roots dug into the dirt on the third floor and crisscrossed one another Randidly greatly anticipated the result the moonlight spirits gleefully floated amongst the small canopy of the trees bringing life back to this place He consistently pulsed the image of Yggdrasil until enough time had passed and he happily set aside the renovation� of his house and wove a Nether Ritual

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 177

A vast space separated Randidly and Vualla but Randidly bridged that with a whispered prayer He could distinctly feel the heat of Vualla�s body even from this distance In a way that was impossible to put into words he had been subtly influenced by the places where their thoughts and bodies had touched during their interactions on the frontlines Through the passage of time and circumstances the typical entropy of those foreign notes had not faded in his body If anything they had only become more poignant There was meaning to the fact that Randidly Ghosthound had met Vualla Mateo

Like two celestial bodies who moved within each other�s gravitational field their trajectories were subtly and absolutely altered by even their proximity That shared orbit gave Randidly the material needed to form a bond between them no matter the distance

The first thing that Randidly felt when they connected was a burning curiosity Sensing it was safe right now to contact her Randidly freely reached the rest of the distance and their two minds brushed against one another While Randidly focused on releasing more of the now slightly flagging image of Yggdrasil to heal Vualla�s image Vualla methodically examined Randidly from top to bottom Her inspection was extremely vigorous

This would go more simply if you would let me finish Randidly teased

Vualla snorted mentally Don�t act coy with me you are horrible at hiding your emotions You are quite proud of your growth aren�t you What the hell did you do Your images have so much more depth to them now Then Vualla released an exaggerated sigh If I hadn�t had that recent rapid improvement maybe you would have caught up to me

Randidly paused in his healing and examined the images he was helping to recuperate And all the shy satisfaction he felt dissolved into helpless amusement Perhaps due to the rapid cycle of being ground to nothing by her training and then revitalized Vualla�s image had experienced an immense transformation She had always pursued absolute control of her body in order to make herself the ultimate machine of destruction but it seemed that Vualla recently expanded the scope of her image a bit

Before it was just her body but now there was a growing sense of internal and external influences within her image Around her was a persistent flow of energy She had begun to understand how interconnected the physical objects and images were How by bringing power along alternate avenues the destruction that could be wrought spread even further

Basically she had begun to incorporate Nether principles into her use of images The Nether wasn�t genuine so the effect hadn�t reached its full potential but it had given her a significant boost in power Considering the already deep and detailed image that she had managed to receive from the brief possession from the original Vualla

And also the fact that she had been constantly pushed to her limits by the Xyrt Brigade�s training

Randidly bowed his head in mock surrender Please remember to mention me in your speech when you topple the Nexus

Vualla laughed in their mental connection loud and genuine and full of pleasure Randidly felt the warmth pass between them But then Vualla�s mood turned more serious I hope I get that chance Looks like someone else is trying to beat us to the punch

Sensing Randidly�s mental query Vualla continued to communicate Your Nether King in the sky above Earth It looks like the Seventh Cohort was a feint Two days ago it was discovered that the Nether King was active in the Sixth Cohort By the time its presence had been discovered at least ten planets that possessed citizenship of the Nexus had been quietly polluted and destroyed It used the corpses of Aether beings to raise an army of twisted monsters

My training is being accelerated I�ll be deployed in a month to investigate the extent of the Nether threat to the Nexus

Chapter 1475

Alana froze with her lips slightly apart when she opened the door and found Helen standing there one hand on her hip and her usual scowl of I wish we were just fighting� written large across her face But very quickly Alana�s expression turned solemn and her hands dropped to her sides in a way she had known that she would be coming She had chosen a Path by approaching Helen and asking for passage to the Nexus This was the inevitable result of her true progress on that Path

�So � Helen asked simply Her expression didn�t change

Alana pressed her lips into a line She felt somewhat reassured by her own very human sensation of her heart pumping blood through her muscles and organs When she spoke she chose her words carefully �I felt my own weakness in the finals I understand how close I came to losing that fight And I cannot deny that my victory was less due to the strength of my image and more due to gamesmanship within the fight But still I want to try �

A win is a win Helen responded mildly She was using her own image as she carefully studied Alana staining the air around her a mild pink with the intensity of it Being carefully weighed by Helen was a curiously impersonal thing At the moment it was like they had never met fought eaten or laughed together at all The attention that Alana now earned was a pure thing of merit sundered from personal feelings

�You have a week Sharpen your spear Alana Donal � Helen said before she turned and left leaving Alana with a strained sense of erratic glee

A week was a small amount of time But after her fight against Paolo and Kayle Alana had quite a few ideas about areas of her image that could be refined At least a dozen small steps popped into her head that would let her improve And what she had learned from watching Randidly Ghosthound through the years was that it was these small steps that eventually carried you all the way toward power As long as she went into a Dungeon and spent a few months honing herself within

Alana clenched her fists so hard that she subconsciously released tongues of orange flame that danced across her knuckles Whatever Helen had seen it had been enough for a chance as long as Alana could take the next step she could earn herself a ticket to the Nexus Her excitement was so genuine and pure that she belatedly realized that the flames had extended up along her arms to her biceps and began to singe her cotton shirt Chagrined Alana brought herself back under control

Behind her in the suite they shared the door to Hank�s room opened and the gunslinger poked his head out �Is that woman gone I ain�t associatin� with her ever again You know she tried to cut my revolver in half �

�Maybe that�s considered flirting in her culture � Alana chuckled and closed the front door Besides I know plenty of men that would kill for the shot� on her you had Isn�t that right cowboy

Hank made a strangled noise in the back of his throat that made Alana laugh She walked toward her room but he cleared his throat and spoke before she got there Ay reckon that it won�t be these pistols that eventually slay her but there is another issue You seen Ancho today

Alana paused briefly She considered telling Hank the truth that she had seen Ancho hanging around with some of Wivanya�s children and a few ogres that convinced the horse to try drinking ale and spitting it at a match to pretend he was a dragon The sight on Hank�s face when he learned of his horse�s escapades would be priceless

On the other hand she didn�t want to blow up Ancho�s spot if the strangely intelligent yet otherwise mundane horse was able to return without issue So Alana offered Hank a small smile and lied Have you checked the stable Well you know he doesn�t like it there he might be wandering about Kharon I�m about to head out so I�ll look for him as I�m departing and let you know if I see him

Then Alana slipped into her small bedroom and shut the door behind her Very quickly she gathered up all of the few objects that she had scattered around the room her spare clothes leather wristguards a whetstone and rag for polishing the head of her spear a few spare dollars of currency on the bedside table and the half read travel report sent back from Vye�s explorations

The book was the last thing Alana picked up Of particular interest to her was the section on Zone 11�s Epic Dungeon A few had gone in to cull the numbers of monsters that periodically exploded out of the Dungeon but Warlord hadn�t yet wanted to commit a large number of Zone 11�s forces to the endeavor Which meant that the hitherto unseen Dungeon Boss was a perfect foe to test herself

She tossed everything into her interspatial ring She only had a week she would need to start immediately

Before even the clumsily tied rope came loose and the extendable ramp began to slide back toward full extension Commissioner Arrietti was there His hand snapped out and seized the metal handle and dragged it the half meter back into its original position With his other hand he looped the rope once more about the ramp and deftly tied a quick knot Then he stepped back and glanced around at what had previously been the main route of ingress and egress into Kharon the gate had been disassembled and all of the rope ladders and ramps were stowed away Now it was simply another edge of the city without any lingering structures

Behind him he heard one of his patrol officers speaking quietly to a younger colleague �And THAT is why he�s the Commissioner It might seem overwhelming at first but you can�t relax not even for a second That�s what it means to wear the uniform If you want to learn how to be a police officer of Kharon the best way is to watch the master �

Well it helps that my Skills give me precise warnings about accidents like this Commissioner Arrietti thought modestly while simultaneously bearing a wide smile on his face He remained facing out toward the edge of Kharon to hide his good cheer Over the edge he could see a crowd milling above peering up at the moving city Ahem Certainly though considering the torturous training with Helen I had to endure in order to get here I have earned the chance to savor this respect

Commissioner Arrietti stood with arms akimbo looking down below at the construction crews that were rapidly moving through the area of the duos tournament and either tearing down or making the various structures permanent Just as quickly as this place had housed thousands of attendees now the Orchard moved forward with plans to make this area literally house people Beneath him the stone ground began to tremble

While a small crowd watched the many legs of Kharon eased outward and pressed against the ground Engravings gradually began to glow along their length Up by Commissioner Arrietti moss spirits swirled downward over the edge of the city in larger and larger numbers preparing to fuel the movement Four hundred metal limbs pressed against the ground and then began to flex Kharon trembled once more

Then it gradually began to rise Another wave of moss spirits exploded outward from the buildings of Kharon in a breathtaking number They whipped through the air and then zipped down to swim playfully amongst the many legs as the metal limbs heaved Kharon�s bulk up into the air The motes of emerald light ran together so thickly that they no longer seemed like individuals but were one giant river Upon that river the boat that was Kharon gradually stirred and was carried away toward the borderlands

When Kharon was safely trundling South heading to blaze a Path to Earth�s final and hitherto uncontacted Zone Commissioner Arrietti gave up his heroic pose at the edge and turned around He strode purposefully back toward the center of Kharon giving stern nods to the various municipal workers that continued to pack away the materials used for the bridges When he passed the two officers that were talking about him earlier they snapped to attention and offered him a sharp salute Arrietti�s heart swelled with pride

He walked around the corner and was now safely out of sight Arrietti surreptitiously checked the surrounding street Then he broke into a brisk jog toward Town Hall feeling a light film of sweat beginning to form on his forehead despite the cool temperature he was going to be late

The consequences of such a state made him furious at himself for losing himself in the swell of pride If Tatiana was in a bad mood and assigned him some additional training with Helen

Arrietti began to accelerate and tears formed at the corner of his eyes What did it say about him that his closest female relationship was with the woman who regularly tortured him He was only a few steps away from those particular men who enjoyed painful explicit acts in sex dungeons with beautiful women what if this prolonged exposure to Helen who was admittedly a very attractive woman was slowly warping his typical preferences

Needless to say Commissioner Arrietti arrived at Town Hall with a bubbling cauldron of negative emotions sitting in his chest But at the front door he straightened his uniform and coughed into his hand His worries were ultimately pushed to the side in the face of his training It was only with a confident and severe expression that he proceeded into the building Regardless of his feelings respecting the institution of Kharon was paramount It was only as the prestige of Kharon was increased that Arrieti could find satisfaction in his semi miserable state

Only through my station that I can feel satisfaction Arrietti reflected rather dourly as he walked down the hallway and approached the meeting room He sighed and shook his head reaching for the door handle He was prepared for the worst

But before Arrietti opened the door Tatiana came swiftly around the corner Her face split into an apologetic smile as she saw him �Ah Commissioner I hope you all haven�t been waiting long my meeting with Randidly took a little longer than expected Is everyone present �

I have no idea Arrietti thought to himself But instead of answering he smiled and opened the door His eyes scanned the present faces within as they turned to regard him Then he confidently answered �Yes we are ready for you �

�Actually though � When Tatiana reached him she put her hand against the doorframe and pushed it shut The people within tilted their heads curiously to the side as she did so �There�s something I wanted to talk to you about Come to my office after the meeting so we can address it further but I wanted to give you some time to gather your thoughts before that there has been a sharp increase in complaints regarding Kharon�s police force over the course of the tournament It is most likely just due to the added strain of helping with security but I want to be thorough As long as you don�t mind I�d like to launch an investigation into the entire department searching for corruption and abuse of power �

�Eh But we just put the whole department through the Dungeon training � Commissioner Arrieti mumbled He heard a strange ringing in his ears His department investigated

Tatiana sighed �We don�t talk about it much but its precisely after sharp gains in power that people can experience dangerous shifts in their psychology Previously repressed and controlled impulses have a habit of manifesting when someone feels a newfound sense of capability But I trust your choices in subordinates I�m sure all of it will be for nothing �

Then she opened the door and walked into the room

Chapter 1476

Tatiana smiled at the five figures waiting at the meeting table while she and Commissioner Arrietti took their seats at opposite ends Gertrude Collins sat with her hands folded on top of her legal pad looking every bit the teacher�s pet with her blue and pink post its flanking her legal padlike two brightly colored watchtowers Kharon�s senior teacher Mrs Jane sat similarly with her hands folded but without any paper in front of her Yet Tatiana had interacted with the mild seeming woman enough times to know that she was wickedly sharp anything that she heard she remembered

Beside Mrs Jane was Brethren Zod the Weaver representative chosen amongst the non human teachers that would be present at Kharon Academy From their few interactions Tatiana had found the Weaver surprisingly useful for planning if a bit unpredictable Oftentimes the young spider provided a perspective that greatly challenged the human�s preconceived notions about teaching Naffur was currently out helping Vye with a Raid Boss problem so Ajax was present to represent the interests of the Order Ducis opposite the Weaver Perhaps it was somewhat racist of her but Tatiana found it very amusing how much the cockroach man and the spider detested each other Even though Ajax was originally a human transported into a monster�s body the body seemed to have steadily influenced his behaviors She made a mental note to be careful about letting the two argue

The final figure at the table was the smallest ogre within Wolfram�s cohort of scribes hunching his shoulders to not take up more space than he needed At two and a half meters the act of him slipping through the door was mildly impressive

As she sat and pulled her chair in behind her Tatiana glanced one more time at Commissioner Arrietti The man�s face was creased in a deep frown Inwardly Tatiana shook her head She didn�t doubt that the man was even now examining his every memory to search for any evidence of the creeping corruption that Tatiana referenced as an example she could have waited until after this meeting but Tatiana had figured giving him some time to reflect was better than springing the issue on him once she had him in her office But Tatiana hoped that he wouldn�t now let the issue distract him from the meeting the man simply took his work way too seriously

He would probably kill me if he found out but I wonder if I can secretly set him up with a woman to help him ease up a little Tatiana organized the papers in front of her and then set them down on the table Then she cast one last critical glance over Elmer Arrietti making note of his attire and how he held himself Heh who would have thought that my experience running a high end escort service would come in handy like this

But she let those thoughts go for now Instead she cleared her throat �Alright we all know why we are here After his discussion with Miss Collins the Ghosthound made it clear that we would need nine Keystones for Kharon Academy We currently have six that fit the criteria that he set Miss Collins if you�d bring everyone up to speed �

Gertrude Collins nodded smartly �As per the Ghosthound�s instructions the Keystones are to be ideological issues or outcomes that the student will spend their study at Kharon Academy learning to address These will be more general than majors at a university Although I communicated how focusing so much on the negative might not be a good thing � Gertrude paused so Mrs Jane next to her could press her lips together � he remained firm

Honestly I never understood a teacher�s need to frame everything positively Tatiana dragged her fingers across the wooden table We don�t live in a positive world But luckily Randidly gets to take the heat for this decision hehe and Mrs Jane is the type to hold a grudge

�So these are the six Keystones we now have Indulgence Ignorance Weakness Tragedy Helplessness and Emptiness These are the issues that our students will address �

�There is quite a bit of overlap between them � Brethren Zod commented while his two front legs bobbed against the edge of the table �Should we not seek to make all of the different Keystones distinct �

Tatiana nodded �Ideally yes But I don�t think it�s an issue as long as we keep it as minor a crossover as possible After all the same methods can be used to solve many of our world�s problems But since their study will be informed by the whole of methods to address each issue the Keystones should still shape distinct followings But the fact is that we still need three more options So if anyone has an idea �

�There�s another issue � Gertrude added She made a small note on a pink post it and very purposefully stuck it to her pad before she continued to speak �It�s the creation of the Keystones Randidly excuse me the Ghosthound said that he wouldn�t help with the details of their creation So we will need nine individuals to help source the Engravings Neveah will be making for the Keystones So �

�So if you feel strongly about one flaw in our world please feel free to take responsibility for a related Keystone � Tatiana finished Then she drummed her fingers against the table as she considered the issue Her gaze touched on all of the people around the table �Don�t force yourself there are plenty of powerful image users on Kharon now We can get outside assistance if we need it But also the people here are the ones who understand the spirit of Kharon Academy the best We are the ones who can give the most insight into its shape �

Then as she considered the thoughtful expressions of the surrounding people Tatiana noticed that Gertrude Collins was making several notes on a blue post it She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes �Also considering the fact that we need three more Keystones anyone who has an idea should share We can hopefully generate one or two more in preparation for the meeting with the Ghosthound at the end of the week �

Commissioner Arrietti rubbed his chin Tatiana made a mental note to gently press him later to see if he had a concrete idea And after toying with the post it note in front of her Gertrude looked up with a determined expression �Well actually I did have an idea I just I don�t know what word to use to sum it up But if I had to pick one I guess truth �

Everyone looked at her The ogre scribe shifted slightly and spoke in a soft voice �Did you say truth �

�Ah yes But like I said that�s just a stand in � Gertrude to speak more rapidly �What I�m really talking about is something like destiny We have helplessness already but a sense of helplessness toward your life Loss of control and agency Or maybe something like avoiding a destiny that you don�t want That Path doesn�t have to be true for you �

Mrs Jane nodded very slowly �I think I see it And I think the word you are searching for is Certainty You want to combat certainty It�s a good option �

They were standing about fifty meters away but the sound of that ponderous volume of water crashing into the pool below had almost become ubiquitous at this distance The crashing notes of water impacting water would have echoed outward to fill a larger space if not for the fact that it was a constant production line of vibration So the sound didn�t echo it just continued constantly pushing against the eardrums of the listener The noise pooled contentedly above like the water did below

Randidly scratched his cheek suddenly understanding what Tatiana must constantly go through with his wild and high minded ideas �You think this would be a good spot to take for the Kharon Academy �

Tim Moss nodded seriously and pointed up toward the mouth of the waterfall �It�s flat up there right That can be where most of the school buildings are Or over there along the ridge Tim waved his hand vaguely not having any actually viable options to point at in particular Then a town and houses and stuff can be down here at the bottom well maybe a bit farther away so they didn�t hear the waterfall all the time But like it�s really cool right Waterfalls are cool �

�Oh yea � Randidly said hollowly His senses were spreading out to cover the surrounding area and getting a gauge for how large the piece of land he would need to take in order to maintain a working waterfall In addition he was quickly able to determine how rocky the surrounding area was Engraving could substitute for quite a lot but still � It�s very cool �

Encouraged Tim�s expression immediately brightened �Plus I�ve seen the Niagara Falls before this is nowhere as big as that So probably people won�t mind if we take it away or something �

Randidly�s mouth twitched This area is flooded with monsters that I don�t know if anyone would even notice that it was missing People who live nearby might even thank us for ripping their neighborhood monster den out But as Randidly glanced around he did see a few crumpled and vine covered signs that human habitation used to be present here Likely before the System rearranged their world there appeared to have been a large building at the base of the low hill on which they were standing

The people who lived or worked in that building had undoubtedly developed a tolerance for the constant thrum of low thunder that echoed out from the waterfall Randidly�s mouth twitched Lucky pre System Perception bastards

But that was Randidly simply projecting the sardonic amusement he felt as he considered the viability of using this area of land as the base of Kharon Academy and son developed a headache It wasn�t the noise of the waterfall that stifled Randidly�s enthusiasm despite the fact that he had earlier promised Tim that he could help pick the spot to draw him out of his shyness The genuine reasons that he hesitated were two fold

First space to build the Academy

Randidly glanced upward at the waterfall in question For about thirty meters above the ground the water fell freely from a thin ridge where it geysered horizontally out into the air But despite its height the waterfall possessed immense power due to sheer volume of water that squeezed out through the cracked stone and into the air

The smallish mountain in front of them was just one of a hundred in the surrounding area None of the surrounding mountains were particularly large but they pressed so tightly together that Randidly guessed that the source of the waterfall was snowmelt from the more massive Mountains only a short distance away It probably flowed through the high valleys in the main portion of the mountain range finally arrived here to crash gleefully down toward sea level

But the area around the source of the waterfall was rocky and cracked Most of the ground in the surroundings was sharply inclined It was possible that they could level the ground to make a firm foundation but how much space was available for the various classrooms and the auction hall that Randidly wanted to be present in Kharon Academy They would need to take some of the surrounding mountains as well and have some of the construction be on the surrounding peaks

Randidly did some mental calculations A conservative estimate put the resulting landmass at about half of Kharon�s size Which would certainly be able to house the 10 000 children that currently clogged Kharon�s parts but it was a slight wrench in their plans All the careful drawings and projects that Tatiana had forced Randidly to make would have suddenly been for naught

The second issue was less pressing but still frustrated Randidly with a pool of water and resulting river that deep where would he put his labyrinth The landmass would also need to be thicker than his original estimates The increased area would help generate enough power to keep it airborne but still

What about you Tim asked finally waking Randidly from his mental calculations Have you picked a spot for the other land we are choosing I can give you some suggestions if you want

I think I have spots picked out but thank you Randidly said wryly wondering how over the two hours of their tour of the countryside Tim had shifted from a shy pre teen who could barely look at Randidly to an authoritative patriarch in the field of real estate But honestly Randidly appreciated the change It helped alleviate some of his anxiety that he was shifting too far away from being a human

Which was useful just because Randidly was preparing himself to completely ignore that fear and throw most of his energy into a few days of intensive image training Hearing the news from Vualla had lit a fire in his heart Once more he felt confident about his decision to move on to the Nexus

That was the venue where he could grow most quickly and defend Expira�s future

This world could get along without him just fine in the meantime What Randidly needed to be ready for were the bigger threats coming down the pipeline I think I�ll just pick that valley of wildflowers we found and then that flat stretch toward the beginning If we clear out the cactuses it would be ideal

Tim looked at him in shock That first place was a desert You are going to make people live in a desert Think of how high their air conditioning bill is going to be Dad always complained about stuff like that when we lived next to the desert

Randidly�s face twitched I think it will end up working out

Chapter 1477

Kharon hummed around Randidly Ghosthound at full and furious capacity In various small meeting rooms across the city the assembled teachers began refining the curriculum plans for Kharon Academy Tatiana invited various agricultural groups of Kharon to her high windowed office to talk about the acquisition of a floating island dedicated to growing the Wandering City�s food Commissioner Arrietti led an investigation into abuses of power within the Kharon government starting with his own police force In the belly of the city the Order Ducis began to ramp up the difficulty of its training assignments as the many applicants prepared to seize the five openings

But that was just the tip of the iceberg A cohort of immigration applicants were finally approved and given full status as Kharon�s citizens The metal working complex made a recent breakthrough using a strange fluid obtained from a mysterious pool in Zone 11 to create a metal that could be recast with ease Competition was heating up between the restauranteurs of Kharon who had enjoyed the explosive demand during the tournament but now had to return to only the population within the city The cities park service dubiously prepared for the arrival of a true winter

Meanwhile Randidly quietly stood on his floating island and felt waves of significance pass beneath him like wrinkles on silk as Kharon rapidly began to evolve But still as it had been since the tournament there was something else producing significance on Expira He frowned slightly using his delicate senses to try and trace the source But while significance slowly accumulated around Kharon Randidly couldn�t sniff out the reason for the gradual shift

Of course Randidly wanted what Kharon did to be significant But he sensed that this was not completely the doing of his city So before he moved toward training he took some time to dedicate his whole attention to the change

After a few seconds of standing at attention like a german shepherd that had caught the scent of a groundhog Randidly huffed out a breath and then shook himself He turned and glanced over at his now partially renovated home On the demolished third floor seven trees stood tall with quite a bit of space between them After almost a day of periodic blasts of his Yggdrasil image it was clear the plant life was beginning to shift toward something that should exist partially in myth

There was an ethereal quality to the air within this grove In addition Randidly would occasionally catch a smolder of golden light from the root systems these trees were creating But it wasn�t quite there yet

Randidly cracked the knuckles of his right hand and then produced his Philosopher�s Key Honestly Tatiana had taken the news that he decided to redecorate the top floor very well considering what it had cost to employ Mareen She just emphasized that any changes he was making needed to be done before he left for the Nexus she refused to finish any half made mess And considering the fact that this would be a working of image Randidly would prefer to handle the details himself

When his mind insistently continued to fuss over the issue of the changing layer of significance across Expira Randidly walked through the portal and found himself met by the soft rush of waves hitting a shoreline They lapped forward over his toes and frothed onto his ankles He took a deep breath tasting the heavy tang of salt carried by the wind

For this training session Randidly chose to head to the Nemesai�s old base in the middle of the sea Since Thea�s breakdown and due to the fact that the world now accepted them the Nemesai now moved more openly into the Zones Being also citizens underneath the fucked up Nexus they honestly got along rather well with their Champion counterparts Which meant that the abandoned and desolate secret hideout could be freely used

And Randidly wouldn�t need to worry about polluting the surrounding space Or about leaving the ground torn and charred

Randidly walked away from the shoreline but didn�t head down into the dizzying network of tunnels and caves than ran beneath the island Randidly grinned up at the pure azure sky above him lightly dotted with quickly moving clouds Setting aside the danger of causing a cavin in on himself he genuinely wanted to remain out here The color of the sky reminded him of Vualla�s eyes

Still he had to push all those little distractions away as soon as he settled down into a sitting position Today would hopefully be the beginning of a shift that had been a long time coming today Randidly Ghosthound would work very seriously on the image of the Grim Chimera

The air around him cracked as his body quickly began to produce more heat His heartbeat quickened His blood positively sizzled as it rushed around his body and passed oxygen on to his muscles As the changes to his cardiovascular system grew more drastic a tremor ran through Randidly�s body A low growl escaped his lips His eyes narrowed into slits as the pain began

Unlike during a triple image activation which had become increasingly habitual Randidly kept a lid on both the Stillborn Phoenix and Yggdrasil as the Grim Chimera expanded freely through his body Previously he had carefully allocated space in his person for each of the images to coexist But now he didn�t require that careful calculus He could simply explode with a single minded power So the Grim Chimera gleefully expanded and manifested across the entirety of Randidly�s person

His metal left arm rippled and a bulging arm of muscle appeared in its place ending in a massive claw with talons as long as a human hand Those talons stretched out lazily almost as though it was testing the laws of physics in the surrounding space His right arm slowly withered and stretched until a spear of bone covered in dried blood extended out from his elbow His shoulders and spine cracked and twisted as he grew slightly taller and broader His two bone tails flicked back and forth from his neck and waist His heart rate continued to rise

Randidly eyes blazed with emerald fire His mouth stretched wider and wider less as any display of emotion but acting more like the side effect from his jaw cracking and grinding into a new joint formation His heartbeat accelerated even further thundering in his chest The skin of his torso turned pale as the skin of his extremities darkened The air around him hissed as Randidly breathed out and released blasts of steam

His larger shoulders rose as his new lungs inflated to fill his new rib cage When he breathed out the steam it was slightly luminous although the effect was mostly lost in the broad daylight underneath the brilliant azure sky Then his whole body trembled a split second later the Grim Chimera raised its head and roared toward the sky blasting out steam like a dragon whose treasure horde had been pilfered

A flock of birds on the far side of the island took flight as sound waves and image reverberations echoed outward Randidly sensed fish quickly zipped out of the nearby shadows toward deeper waters and couldn�t stop the surging glee in his heart This was the raw dominance that the Grim Chimera wielded The trials that had nearly killed it left it unfathomably strong For good measure Randidly roared once more The remaining animals in the surrounding area fled

The roar of a predator is a universal signal Randidly thought idly Then he rolled his shoulders and took a step forward His ankle and knee bent slightly and he savored the sensation of power that flooded through him The physical limitation of the System was practically nonexistent now although Randidly could still vaguely feel where it lay coiled like an untied rope around his body But with that awareness was also a certainty that he could stop his foot and break past that limit almost immediately hitting the ground and sundering the surrounding island in an explosion of violence

The realization brought the Grim Chimera a great deal of joy While Randidly was now his image personified he still possessed an independent perspective that watched the inner machinations of the Grim Chimera�s mind Likely the uncontrolled emotions were a reflection of the parts of Randidly that resided within his other his image But this observational Randidly was somewhat amused by the Grim Chimera�s easy joy and ferocity If you don�t control that hunger you�ll soon bite off more than you can chew Probably sooner than you think

The Grim Chimera breathed in sucking in oxygen and energy from the surrounding

Congratulations Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith has grown to Level 299

The relatively thick Aether that blanketed Expira rushed into the Grim Chimera�s body The thin film of Nether provided an almost nonexistent boost to his Nether Nebula But the real effect was the way that the surrounding air of the island seemed to grow dim for a few seconds Randidly could notice trace weakenings of the stone beneath him as the Grim Chimera stole something vital from everything touched by its breath

The Grim Chimera held that breath in his chest for a few seconds that gradually released it Then he breathed in again

Still all that energy made the Grim Chimera practically glow Randidly took a few more steps forward savoring the intoxicating feeling of power within this physical form Then before he was carried away by the sensation Randidly stretched out his right arm The subtle strand of rope wrapped around his wrist trembled and then unfolded into the air Soon the complex matrices of the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night hovered in front of him

The Grim Chimera burning with fighting spirit slipped into the strange space of lights and echoing resonances The observing Randidly felt a small amount of pity You believe this is necessary to prove yourself and we believe it is necessary so you might be broken and then reforged but be careful

Without any hesitation the Grim Chimera called a moment to mind and it grew bright and rushed to hover in front of him Of the moments within the Dreamcatcher it was clear from the shrill keening of it t this was one of the most powerful Randidly carefully wove a protective film of Aether and Nether tightly around his Class then allowed the eager Grim Chimera to reach forward and touch that heavy moment There was a brief sense of disorientation and then Randidly was there floating

It was an extended empty moment The Grim Chimera grinned in anticipation Randidly Ghosthound released a breath while the Stillborn Phoenix and Yggdrasil prepared themselves And then that flitting Perception came upon his person as Elhume looked for Yystrix

If anything Randidly�s first impression of that contact was a sense of awe In their previous brush he hadn�t possessed the same familiarity with Aether and Nether that he did now So when this time that massive landmass of crystalized Aether appeared in front of him he could truly appreciate the feat it represented The fossilized power there was enough to rival what one million Randidly Ghosthound�s could currently accomplish There were mountain ranges and valleys and plateaus and rough edges ravines within that landmass sized crystal all possessing more raw power than Randidly could generate

Looking at it it seemed impossible

Even more intimidatingly this time Randidly could sense what lay beneath that huge and eye catching piece of crystal Aether It rested on a swirling swamp of Nether It was a sinister tar that sizzled against the bottom of the crystalized Aether representing an equally staggering gathering of significance to mirror the meaning that Elhume possessed

But the sizzle made Randidly frown Why

Something that was deeply locked away within all that crystalized Aether stirred The movement created a minuscule crack That silent slithered across the continent of crystal And suddenly all that Randidly could sense was a distant buzzing

When he came to his Absolute Timing told him that he had been unconscious for four minutes and eleven seconds He sat up with a groan a vicious headache pounding at the periphery of his awareness That brief brush with Elhume had apparently knocked him directly out of the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night

He glanced around It seemed that the process had also melted the only now cooling sand on which he had been standing

Randidly turned his attention inward and then sighed with relief although his Class was shaken it hadn�t been stripped barren as it had in the past Perhaps being knocked out of the memory and not having to remain underneath Elhume�s scrutiny weakened the permanent damage Or quite depressingly perhaps he had finally become powerful enough to survive a single glance from Elhume

At that point Randidly became aware of the low whine that was coming from the Grim Chimera What he found in his image was somewhat shocking even the most core detail of that confident Grim Chimera was now blurry and indistinct The impact of Elhume�s attention had smashed it to smithereens If it hadn�t been the image focused on survival it likely would have been completely annihilated the remnants now uselessly drifting apart

Yggdrasil was also wounded from the brush but much less so than the Grim Chimera So it quickly marshaled its energy and prepared to heal its fellow image But Randidly shook his head and stopped it The Grim Chimera chose this Let it heal on its own It needs this

Meanwhile the keening cry of suffering continued But more than a lament the noise was a promise The Grim Chimera swore vengeance with every moment of his strained suffering

Chapter 1478

Why are you grinning Kayle asked even though he knew the answer His longtime rival was not a complicated man

Paolo�s expression like his voice and movements was practically booming on the small balcony of one of the Orchard�s finest hotels Ahaha Well isn�t this exciting This well certainly there is no honor in what we do now but considering the circumstances eheheh

Don�t laugh like that Huang Shou brought his cane down in a brutal smack against Paolo�s back but the man simply endured it with his shit eating grin in place Kayle shook his head slightly you needed to hit Paolo harder than that in order to get through to him He considered lighter strikes like that just displays of affection

Then Huang Shou jabbed his cane at the papers on the desk small end table that he had previously directly Huang Li to drag out onto the balcony The papers fluttered slightly from a small breeze Mrs Hamilton sent over projections Read them Don�t think that now that the tournament is over work has ceased It is only beginning

Huang Li Kayle and even Paolo obeyed For their next project they had no chance unless they came armed with plentiful information

Over the next several days Randidly practiced with weaving Nether gave Tim some pointers on the Engraving to create floating islands and spent some time refining his other images while the Grim Chimera recovered from that immense psychological impact The process was slow at first but the Grim Chimera�s natural inclination toward adaption meant that it quickly accelerated Much of the raw sense of power had been beaten from the Grim Chimera in that brief contact with Elhume but it had regained its almost uncanny cunning in exchange

Not that Randidly needed the Grim Chimera to behave particularly intelligent most of the time but it was one third of the person he was gradually becoming Keeping it in touch with caution was prudent considering the dangers that waited in the Nexus When the confidence was unfounded it needed to be tempered

Once the Grim Chimera had regained enough of its details to condense into a physical form Randidly didn�t let that freshly shaken image settle he continued to hammer it by taking it into the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night and fighting against Kaan Swacc And during those fights Randidly only used the Grim Chimera

His physical power and capability in physical condensation of images had increased but the largest gain from the fight Randidly�s ability to use three images at once was sealed As such the Grim Chimera quickly became involved in several long drawn out fights with Kaan Swacc Which is the worst method to combat Kaan Swacc who used those extended brawls to methodically suppressed the Grim Chimera�s abilities until it was beaten into submission

Time and time again Randidly persisted until his vision was blurred from the creeping headache of using the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night but he did not slow down After being defeated by Kaan and then meditating for about twenty minutes in the real world he would stand and shake himself off Then he would open up the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night and throw himself right back into the fray

After the fifth such attempt an attempt that had only lasted three minutes before Kaan Swacc had suppressed Randidly and forced him out of the memory the image of Yggdrasil pulsed slightly it pointed out that the process Randidly was currently experiencing was very similar to the training of the Xyrt Brigade Which meant that it carried with it the same risks that had made Randidly so furious when they had afflicted Vualla

Randidly considered that his chest rising and falling relatively quickly thinking was also a chance to catch his breath Truly he was exhausted And when he focused his Willpower on the current state of the Grim Chimera what he found there was lackluster The last time the image had been this blurry and feeble was when Randidly had been forced as an image to the frontlines

Otherwise it had never been this bedraggled and feeble

The body and face was wan and ethereal Once more the Grim Chimera was a featureless being the details rubbed away The only elements that were maintained with any clarity were the sharp edges of his talons and the point of the Grim Chimera�s bone spear The rest had faded into a bitter shadow that hung in the air like a stench Even the two tails of the Grim Chimera had vanished

Ultimately however Randidly shook his head side to side at Yggdrasil�s objection You are right this is dangerous That�s the point The Grim Chimera doesn�t respond to anything else And compared to the Skill Levels that you two possess the Grim Chimera has a much lower foundation We need to force that upward The faster the better

The Stillborn Phoenix stirred but all it felt was contempt for the weakness of others It might have even sprung over to devour the Grim Chimera if Yggdrasil hadn�t always been careful to watch the selfish image�s movements For its part Yggdrasil pulsed again urging Randidly once more

Randidly waved his hand I stopped Vualla from going down this Path because of what her image was becoming It was calcifying into a horrifying monster with no senses only the capacity for destruction But the Grim Chimera will grow even in these circumstances That is the type of image that it is Trust me I made it that way

Unwillingly the part of Randidly that agreed with Yggdrasil relented And so the Grim Chimera went once more into battle against Kaan Swacc The unifying image of it was getting weaker as it continuously overexerted itself but Randidly didn�t concern himself with that Instead his focus turned to the various Skills that made up the Descent of the Grim Chimera If the common thread was lost focus on the aspects

Its two passive abilities were the first specific images to receive Randidly�s attention Even if the whole of the image was weakening that would eventually come back if the parts grew healthier So in the next fight against Kaan Swacc Randidly embodied both Chimeric Avoidance and Abomination�s Grim Vigor to the best of his abilities

These were the Skills that generally drew the least amount of their potency from his image so Randidly hadn�t spent much time refining the images related to them They were after all entirely passive in their activation But in that first fight against Kaan Swacc with that mindset Randidly realized how much the Grim Chimera needed those two images when fighting alone

Chimeric Avoidance was the signature Skill of the Grim Chimera that allowed it to avoid just a little bit more that what should be physically possible Every one of the Chimera�s movements could be streamlined because of that Path of variance that only it could walk Attacks that should lay the Chimera out simply brushed against its hardened skin as it weaved closer

Because the Skill�s effect bordered on impossibility Randidly had just vaguely influenced the direction of the image in the past His attention had been spent elsewhere But now he felt the massive contractions running through the body of the physicalized Grim Chimera as he fought His heartbeat was thunderous his blood was scalding While stepping sharply backward to avoid one of Kaan�s pyramids that shot down at his head Randidly realized that the Grim Chimera wasn�t inherently special It had no magical Skill that gave it access to isolated space in order to dodge

The body of the Grim Chimera evolved on the fly Its joints bones and muscles could expand and contract rather freely The more Randidly examined himself the more he realized that the bones of the Grim Chimera seemed to be lined with a cartilage/muscle hybrid that allowed his skeleton to contract And as agonizing as the process was the Grim Chimera knew it was worth it

Survival first Everything else was just a bonus

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Avoidance has grown to Level 289

Kaan used the resonance from one of his pyramids to suppress Randidly�s abilities and another to boost his own Then he zipped forward filled with the fiery assurance that Randidly Ghosthound was a Nether spy

And how could the Grim Chimera withstand the strain of the constant expansion and contraction Because it had a Skill that made him more myth than flesh

Congratulations Your Skill Abomination�s Grim Vigor has grown to Level 335

Steam radiated off of Randidly in waves as he spun sideways breaking past the System limit and barely managing to use raw Nether Brawn and the dregs of the Grim Chimera to stand up against Kaan Swacc�s blitz He moved with a violence that shredded his muscles because he had no other choice and his body was steadily knit together again by the vigor that animated him

In this Skill Randidly steadily invested more and more of his thoughts and insights as the frantic battle raged The drive at the core of the Grim Chimera became almost an obsession because Randidly sensed that shifting this image would give him the insight to transform the Grim Chimera What was the source of this monstrous vigor As his arms were smashed and broken by Kaan�s attacks Randidly�s attention was stretched to its limits The length between moments because positively yawning

Possibilities flitted and front of him and were banished just as quickly

Randidly released a steaming breath The muscles of his legs tensed as he prepared to roll to the side In the genesis of the Grim Chimera were hidden many old images but as Randidly dug deeper within himself looking for an answer the image that emerged most cleanly was ash The Chimera was a being of ash surviving and persisting through a great cataclysm The old world had been reduced to embers and scattered leaving nothing remaining of the grand civilization of the past

But not all of those embers had gone out The wafting steam radiating outward from Randidly�s skin began to intensify Randidly blinked It was pretty simple really He had considered similar options in the past Animating the core of the Grim Chimera was one of those few remaining embers of a destroyed world

And just like that the engine of the Grim Chimera became suffused with overwhelming heat Which was not enough to prevent Randidly from being smashed into the ground and knocked out of the memory by Kaan Swacc only a few moments later

While he recovered from the damage the Grim Chimera had sustained Randidly lay on his back and looked up at the sky Somehow while Randidly had been training even the clouds had fled from him All that lay above him was a vast expanse of blue The sky was so clear that it didn�t even seem to exist It gathered his gaze and rewarded him with nothing but that eternal blue

In his chest there was a minor shift at the core of the Grim Chimera Where there had previously only been emotions now the molten ember of a destroyed world bound itself with those emotions The ashy capricious form of the Grim Chimera began to swirl and churn

Considering how exhausted Randidly�s mental energy was even outside of the weakened image of the Grim Chimera the change did not come with much fanfare But like the slow trickle of water forcing its way out of a broken pipe it portended larger shifts to come

Randidly began to laugh as he observed the slow shift in his image See It�s working

Yggdrasil shook its leaves in disbelief

Chapter 1479

Derek Moss scratched his cheek and did his best to phrase his objection delicately Aren�t we technically also applicants to the Order Ducis

Naffur just shrugged summarily vanquishing Derek�s concern Although the leader of the Order Ducis�s reassuringly solid aura helped mask his age sometimes it was impossible to hide how youthful his features were Standing now away from the rest of the Order Ducis applicants that milled around the training area Naffur dropped most of the official stern expression that he generally carried and spoke candidly Technically you are right But two of the slots in the next batch are reserved for you and Hydie So we figured you would have extra insight to help choose the other five people who would join Congratulations

Lucky us Hydie grumbled Then she stifled a yawn and capped the gesture by chugging the rest of her coffee They were standing in one of the staging bays of Kharon as the city walked steadily South The sun hadn�t yet risen so the air still had the grainy texture of twilight as it filtered through the open passage out into the world

Rather than taking offense at Hydie�s comment Naffur just grinned His whole face lit up with the useful charm that meant he would likely lead the Order Ducis for a long time Yea well blame yourselves for being too efficient at your tasks If you keep doing the things we ask we are going to keep coming up with jobs for you There are thirty people who persevered to this point among the applicants although you�ll notice that there is a pretty clear hierarchy amongst them Just take the group and clear out some of the denser monster populations in the area The Levels are in the high 60s around here so you should be able to get a good picture of their actual strength

If I may Hydie raised her hand She had a little bit of coffee sticking to her upper lip Naffur blinked but nodded Hydie pointed over at Derek I assure you that he is the one who is responsible for our efficiency If anything I�ve routinely encumbered our activities So I think it�s for the best that I sit this one out lest the process be negatively affected

No Naffur responded Then with a sly grin he walked away

I guess that�s that Derek thought wryly

Derek walked over and patted Hydie�s shoulder Keep trying Someday you�ll be as good at avoiding work as you want to be Why do you want to skip out on this one anyway After patrolling through Kharon for so long it will be good to get out and just hunt some monsters Plus you can try out your new image on some targets you won�t feel much pity for

Yea yea Hydie waved her hand then quickly pulled it back to her chest Immediately after she sighed It�s just well I haven�t this is embarrassing to admit But it�s been a while since I�ve painted my nails I set out all my bottles for ease of selection so I don�t have any in my interspatial ring And my fingers look ragged right now I was in too much of a hurry this morning

Derek turned away and shook his head Well seems like we are ready to depart then

Hydie huffed out a breath

Once Randidly discovered and refined the image of a burning ember of a planet as the core of the Grim Chimera�s image his attention moved on to another Skill Molten Fang of the Pariah

Congratulations Your Skill Molten Fang of the Pariah has grown to Level 241

That heat source was exactly what Randidly needed to boost the raw destructive might of the Skill With the average temperature across his body rising about thirty degrees with the shift in his image his right arm was practically glowing with heat as the new notes were added to the Skill But it wasn�t just the heat that made the attack powerful since the source of the flame was a dying world there was a horrible caustic quality to the fire in the Grim Chimera�s chest It struck both the wielder and target but the Grim Chimera had spent its entire existence accepting that horrible energy source

It was a flame that released the acrid tang of ashes and sweat The radiating illumination gradually tainted the Grim Chimera darkening and warping it to its current form

Gradually Randidly�s thoughts on how the Grim Chimera grew so twisted were solidified The details of the images while still remaining weak grew clearer In his mind that ambiguous cloudiness was banished But with that clarity came some rigidity So Randidly threw himself with even more dedication into the spars against Kaan Swacc He pushed his limits without restraint

Congratulations Your Skill Molten Fang of the Pariah has grown to Level 242

The added offensive power of the revamped Molten Fang meant that Kaan Swacc couldn�t be as aggressive in his attacks on Randidly so the brawls stretched out into extended slugfests If Randidly were genuinely trying to improve his ability to defeat Kaan Swacc he might have experienced a small amount of despair at the repeated slow losses He was making progress but none of it seemed to affect the outcome

But Randidly didn�t need to win here he already had In fact he relished the extended fights Even as his body and image began to fray at the edges from the strain his Skill Levels and his conclusions about the image of the Grim Chimera began to accumulate toward a complete transformation The brutal impacts and desperation of the confrontation against Kaan Swacc were pushing him to greater heights

However soon Randidly had utilized the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night so often for so long that he had a constant low headache The fights were lasting for longer and longer as his Skill Levels improved which increased the strain of deviation from the memory Yet Randidly didn�t relent in his dedication One day of mind grinding training became two and then three The headache became a constant pounding resident in his cerebral cortex that sapped Randidly�s high brain function and left him with only instinct The improvements to the various details of his Skill usage gradually slowed as he ran out of mental juice

But he didn�t mind In the haze of pain and fighting Randidly was looking for the grand spirit at the core of his images Others might hesitate to wander into such a deep mist of exertion to find an answer but Randidly was confident in the choice he knew that the spirit of the Grim Chimera was an enormous grand thing It could stand toe to toe with his other images

Even through the haze it would be so profound that he would recognize it instantly when he felt it So he wandered forward in near blindness fighting and struggling waiting for that epiphany

Or at least that is what he told the part of himself most closely associated with Yggdrasil which was watching the training process with increasing alarm But Randidly had carefully arranged this week so he would have several days in a row to train without any interruption He had a meeting with Tatiana Saturday morning and a dinner with Donny Saturday night

Otherwise the week was free He could be as bleary and battle crazed as he wished

Randidly allowed himself a bit more rest time between the matches as his exhaustion deepened but he continued to keep himself in that drained state As his mind for details continued to be eroded his fighting style expanded to include the other Grim Chimera Skills Reaper�s Mantle of Catastrophe filled the surrounding air with the bitter ashes of the world ember of the Grim Chimera carried greatly weakening their images

Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes continued to be an aggressive explosion of straight line momentum that enabled Randidly to cross the distance to Kaan Swacc but now it carried a vague emotional component As the Grim Chimera exploded into motion it briefly was filled with an all consuming desire for revenge At first the sudden fury surging through his veins confused Randidly but he gradually understood that the source was the ember not that the energy source possessed by the Grim Chimera was sentient but it did carry with it a deep yearning for revenge against the Cataclysm that had sundered it

That emotion was so potent that it was willing to direct it at any poor sap who stood in the ember�s way

His chest heaving as he faced off against Kaan Swacc Randidly flexed his fingers with such violence that the joints of his fingers popped and cracked On this I can get behind you That�s why I refuse to stop improving So that one day I can hold the Nexus accountable for all the lives it has devoured Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes

Congratulations Your Skill Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes has grown to Level 219

Congratulations Your Skill Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes has grown to Level 220

Randidly also enjoyed the usage of The Chimera Weeps But Man Mourns which allowed him to release a veritable wave of lightning fast spear thrusts in the surrounding area Each individual attack was relatively weak but the sudden burst allowed him to both deflect Kaan�s pyramids while scouring small scratches across his metallic body With one more tool being refined for the new shape of the Grim Chimera he was able to hold his own against Kaan Swacc for even longer stubbornly enduring the Xyrt Brigade representative�s ability to suppress images

At this point even the Nether Suppression Cell was of limited usefulness against Randidly Nether was steadily becoming a larger part of who he was sure but without his conscious direction it mostly functioned as an anchor that allowed more of his images to physically condense on his body Those benefits might fade eventually if Randidly was kept in the Suppression Cell for long enough but it wouldn�t happen over the course of a brief spar

Soon all of his Grim Chimera Skills began to accumulate Skill Levels at an extremely fast pace The constant usage plus the newfound image of the world ember became the catalyst for immense change in the Grim Chimera Aside from of course the final Skill of the Descent of the Grim Chimera Skillset Especially while exhausted and drained Randidly knew that the Skill All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth would require some individual attention that he couldn�t yet give it Without proper time and attention he wouldn�t dare use it

So he continued to fight and struggle Wednesday turned into Thursday and then Friday Day and night passed without Randidly even noticing His bloodshot eyes grew almost glazed to time�s passage fixed on the memory of Kaan Swacc Between the matches he sat and meditated trying his best to recover his mental energy with only Abomination�s Grim Vigor serving as the source of the healing

For now he was entirely the Grim Chimera A Grim Chimera that he was steadily rediscovering within himself

Chapter 1480

When Randidly turned up for their meeting Tatiana looked him up and down and then clicked her tongue in distaste Did you finish training immediately before you had to come here You smell like sweat and look like a zombie Your eyes are as red as my lipstick

Randidly considered lying but guile is an art that requires quite a lot of consideration and effort the truth was much easier And most likely telling the truth was the right thing to do Well I�m not done training yet but

But you are in the middle of something I understand Tatiana said lightly They were sitting on a wooden bench in one of Kharon�s parks which Randidly appreciated The feeling of simply sitting in the sun was very pleasant while he nursed his general sense of exhaustion But he didn�t then enjoy when she slapped a heavy packet of paper onto the bench between them Her image oozed tightly controlled fury But what you should understand is that you can�t just half ass this and you certainly cannot put these decisions off not considering we don�t know when you will leave

So I�m going to take a walk around the park It will take about fifteen minutes When I get back I hope you are ready to talk about the city that you founded and how you would like it run With impeccable precision Tatiana spoke stood and then walked away with small rapid steps

The wind seemed slightly chillier as she stalked away

Randidly rubbed his chin guiltily As Tatiana moved further away he released a low breath Then he eased the restriction he had placed on his other images allowing Yggdrasil to finally flood his body mind and soul with warm and vibrant energy It was the monsoon the desert of his mind had been waiting for Compared to the steady and stubborn healing of Abomination�s Grim Vigor the effect was immediate His headache began to gradually weaken and Randidly gratefully sat with his eyes closed and recovered

She�s right Randidly thought to himself as he sensed the life around him in the park Becoming strong enough to matter in the Nexus is important but that only matters as a means to protect Expira Strength is not my ultimate goal It�s that sort of thinking that led the original Vualla astray

And while I�m here I need to give the proper care to the problems of the Earth

Before even Tatiana came back Randidly mind started to come back into focus One part of him began furiously scrutinizing his behaviors in that desperate spree of training to look for methods to improve the Grim Chimera but a larger part did turn toward the packet that Tatiana had left on the bench He picked it up and began to steadily read through it The task of paperwork was daunting due to the unending field of followup paperwork that was always lurking beyond the first batch but lifting his chin and pouring through just these documents in front of Randidly was manageable

When Tatiana returned she didn�t mention that frustration and annoyance that must have led to her going on a sudden walk and Randidly didn�t either They addressed only the work arranging the sale of the land and talking over various options for the housing island Randidly had been scouting In their careful planning and long term projections Randidly really felt how he would soon be gone from Earth And how long that absence would be for His wandering city would really need to thrive without his reassuring presence

Randidly�s emerald eyes surveyed the park around him The flitting moss spirits the walking couples and the laughter of children all seemed suddenly so separate from him He had always been aware this was coming but as the truth of his forthcoming absence started to sink in a part of Randidly couldn�t help become melancholy

Sensing the shift in his mood Tatiana smiled playfully Only this amount of work got you down You just don�t have it in you to be a bureaucrat

Randidly ignored her attempt to lighten the mood and just spoke from the heart I�ll be sad to go

And we will be sad to see you go Tatiana replied with the same directness Then she pointed to a graph on the page in front of her and asked Randidly a question and he allowed her to guide the discussion forward to the next issue on the agenda

The meeting ended up lasting for almost two hours but that was mostly because Randidly started taking longer and longer pauses to consider the questions that Tatiana asked him and reflect on the actions he�d taken on Expira to reach this point During those extended silences she didn�t prompt him simply letting him slowly work through his thoughts

So it was in a changed mood that Randidly returned to his floating island Some of the exhaustion that Yggdrasil was furiously trying to address slipped sideways to become emotional heaviness that tugged at his thoughts There was significance in his reflection which drew more density into the steady churn of his Nether Nebula That light grey color at the core was growing increasingly distinct

After shaking himself back to action Randidly walked onto the third floor of his home and considered the rapidly expanding foliage present there He released several powerful pulses of Yggdrasil feeling the ground accept the image easily as it was shaped by the World Tree�s power Then he more carefully allowed the Stillborn Phoenix image out in the surrounding area using it like a pesticide to suck away the life and energy from developments that weren�t in line with his plan

With a nod Randidly hopped off of the third floor and landed on the ground Then he walked over to his small shack on the other end of the island He pushed open the door and peered carefully inside his eyes taking in the deep gouges in the ground and the piles of shaved metal Acri have you recovered

There was a low hum in response and then Randidly�s living spear tiredly slithered forward out the door From the three meter long bulk of the previous lance form Acri had used the stupendous amount of experience that he absorbed from Kaan Swacc to streamline himself back toward a more typical size for the spear Yet above all else what struck Randidly as he viewed the reforged Acri was an appalling thick pressure that the spear now released

The sensation of sharpness he emanates is almost overwhelming

Acri twined its body beneath itself like a spring and then launched it up into the air where Randidly snatched it and tested its weight The material of the shaft had shifted somewhat Where it had previously been a plant spear now it clearly felt like Acri�s plant matter had edged toward metal Randidly could feel the pulse of life within the forest green shaft but it was a type of life that he wasn�t familiar with The material felt cool and solid against his palm

Randidly�s hand tightened on Acri and he flicked the spear from side to side With the weight increase the balance of the weapon felt even more appropriate in his body that was strengthened by physicalized images Randidly could feel the momentum and force that could be now generated with the metal/plant Acri and it brought him quite a lot of joy

He held up the spear to catch the light Even though the main result of the transformation was a general reduction in size Acri�s spearhead remained overly large for the shaft It was as wide at the base as Randidly�s thigh and stretched perhaps a half meter long Perhaps it might be more accurate to call the new Acri a glaive While Randidly watched the spearhead slid part revealing two jagged blades that connected to form the spearhead Tightly layered patterns ran across the blade reflecting various shades of green grey and blue

You look good Randidly grinned at Acri who wiggled shyly Then he allowed the spear to curl around his waist like a belt while he checked the time

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Timing has grown to Level 161

Randidly still had about four and a half hours before his dinner with Donny He wavered between refining his Nether weaving or training the Grim Chimera further but ultimately he felt like he was making a lot of progress with the Grim Chimera While he still possessed that insight he wanted to see how much further he could push the image

So he opened a portal to the old Nemesai base and continued his training Once more he forced the Grim Chimera to confront Kaan Swacc directly

Significance continued to pool around him solidifying even more of his image physicalizations in his body Although Kaan Swacc could empower himself and weaken Randidly with his resonances Randidly�s base specs had risen to the point that even Kaan Swacc wasn�t physically a match for him

The memory of Kaan was shocked by his inability to completely suppress Randidly but not overly so He once more loudly criticized Randidly for destroying his future and cutting himself off from the Nexus limitations and also for selling out his potential to the Nether Then he weaponized his image and used it to wear down the Grim Chimera�s powerful body With the combination of all his slightly improved new Skills Randidly stoically endured for longer than he ever had before The fight stretched on for nearly half an hour before Randidly was forced out of the Dreamcatcher simply because the deviation from the past grew too extensive and the headache was unmanageable

Randidly tsk�d as he rubbed his temples afterward Acri slithered up and rubbed his neck in concern Maybe I should spend some time trying to absorb other�s memories and finally finish Leveling up the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night If I�m going to train like this I need to be able to withstand the pressure for longer

But for now Randidly simply satisfied himself with his current capabilities For the next four hours he challenged Kaan Swacc almost a dozen times each battle brutally straining the limits of his new image As he had hoped the new Grim Chimera was gradually gaining a solidified shape

Of course a part of Randidly wished he could break past Kaan�s frustrating defense and crush him with just the Grim Chimera And he had one last Skill that could perhaps do that All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth But as tempted as he was Randidly let that avenue unpursued He wanted to be very sure of the new shape of the Grim Chimera before he began to tinker with its most powerful Skill

When his Absolute Timing warned him that he was in danger of being late Randidly twisted his lips in frustration left the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night and allowed Yggdrasil to work on his persistent headache while he opened a portal to a bathhouse in Kharon After scrubbing himself clean and applying some Ghosthound soap to himself with a conflicted heart Randidly opened a portal to the residential district on the hill over Donnyton and searched for Donny�s home

When he arrived a guard directed Randidly downward through several long corridors and too a staircase into a basement At the bottom Randidly walked out into a chamber the sized of a football field whose walls were lined with Engravings Randidly�s eyes took in the whole thing Considering the sophistication these must have been done by Sam

At the center of the area was a small gazebo and garden where Donny was standing and talking with a man in a chef�s uniform At Randidly�s arrival Donny gestured for the man to leave and turned to Randidly Ha You are here on time I honestly planned on you keeping me waiting

Randidly smiled wryly I suppose I deserve that but before we continued I�d like to ask you a question

When Donny tilted his head to the side Randidly shook his Look does everyone think that I�ve been developing a temper You can let whoever you have in your Bodyguard Skill out I won�t freak out if we have a third person for the dinner

For a second Donny�s face froze But then he sighed well this makes things much easier But I�m sorry to admit I don�t think this will be the dinner you expected

There was a blurring as he deactivated his Skill and Randidly�s eyes widened Fifteen people exploded into motion taking positions around him A horse huffed a large breath out through his nose

Alana leveled her spear at Randidly�s back It�s an assassination attempt Sun Strike

Chapter 1481

Based on my observations of Randidly Ghosthound we have three distinct advantages Mrs Hamilton had written at the beginning of the extensive report they had all been given in preparation for this The first lies in the rather brutal compulsion to improve that the Ghosthound routinely demonstrates through his training habits Perhaps he doesn�t think of it that way but we can rest assured that he is training himself with a rigor that will eventually produce a vulnerability we can take advantage of It is simply his nature

He knows little of rest

Huang Li was blurring sideways into his assigned position as the words seemed to echo in his head Although his System boosted Intelligence let him memorize the report from almost a single glance he had still carefully pored over every word in the last five days careful not to miss anything After all they would only have one chance

Huang Li drew his sword and his mind continued to run through the words of the report Secondly it is clear from that values emphasized by the Order Ducis that there is a large hole in Randidly�s experiences Perhaps other than the occasional monster Randidly Ghosthound has not often been ambushed The Order Ducis only speaks of self improvement never preparedness or vigilance

There are a few easy explanations for this strange understanding of the System dominated world First the Ghosthound�s Perception is far beyond typical human limits There is even no anecdotal evidence of someone being silent camouflage or fast enough to get the jump on the Ghosthound The one exception is the use of Donny�s Bodyguard Skill which used against Randidly Ghosthound�s second fight against Donnyton as a whole As such I believe Randidly will notice quickly but it is the best method available to us

Plus you need to consider that since the beginning even before he had a class Randidly Ghosthound was stronger than all but the highest Level monsters on Earth As such with the scientifically proven sensitivity monsters have toward Aether usage they have probably avoided him instinctually

Another explanation is one that is largely extrapolated from second hand accounts and observations of the Ghosthound�s companion Helen The other world where Randidly spent quite a bit of his time Tellus was one dominated by spear users There a barbaric sort of chivalry governed the battles Perhaps entirely by accident Randidly has been primed to believe that a target wouldn�t bother to ambush him for a shred of an advantage Quite frankly Helen routinely talks when prompted about how everyone thought Randidly was quite weak until he proved them all wrong

No one took him seriously enough to ambush him until it was too late We won�t make that mistake

The third advantage is the most unpredictable because its application in Randidly�s battles has been haphazard But it cannot be denied that he will occasionally be overwhelmed with battle lust It doesn�t truly cloud his judgment not as you would hear with the berserkers of old but he often practices self denial in those fights He stubbornly refused to switch to a better answer to his opponent in order to sharpen a certain set of Skills or images

With these three advantages I believe it is very possible for the current Earth to inflict serious damage on a surprised Randidly Ghosthound

�It�s an assassination attempt Sunstrike � Alana announced using a sign they had agreed upon beforehand to indicate that she could sense the Ghosthound�s image was in a weakened state Rather than launching herself forward and attack as the Ghosthound twisted rapidly to face her Alana struck the ground in front of her with her spear The burning stroke threw up a spray of dirt and pebbles to screen the Ghosthound�s vision Huang Li settled his feet and raised his sword His heart was pounding harder than anything he could remember except that moment where he had lost against Paolo and Kayle But now those powerful warriors joined him in surrounding the Ghosthound And yet

There�s something in the air Huang Li realized He barely suppressed a shiver The air around him is thick The surprise that he had briefly been able to detect from their quarry had vanished And in its place some as oppressive as a sky filled with massive iron grey storm clouds settled over the underground area

Huang Li had heard the rumors had seen the Ghosthound from afar but it was different now as they aligned themselves as foes against him The hitherto ambivalent energy around the Ghosthound now grew hostile It pressed over Huang Li�s mouth making it difficult to breathe But he forced himself to remain focused and study their foe

He was a young man perhaps in his late twenties his arms shoulders and waist thickening with potent muscle that showed through his loose clothes He had short black hair and bright emerald eyes His left arm was entirely metal apparently forged by the Ghosthound himself From afar the Ghosthound had even appeared skinny but up close he possessed all the raw and primal presence of a jungle cat

His eyes flicked almost contemptuously around at them as the screen of dirt fell and hit the ground At that moment Huang Li began to understand what it meant to be the strongest person in the world

Hank�s bullet was the signal for their offensive to start in earnest To follow up a half dozen of Glendel�s monstrous spirit followers charge to swarm the Ghosthound Their eerie cries echoed incessantly in the small underground space Behind the specters Paolo Kayle Lucifer and Tykes swarmed forward to be prepared to smash the Ghosthound if he made a single mistake Huang Li stood in the secondary encirclement with Giuliana Donny Dinesh Alana and Lyra joining him They were there to reinforce if any of the front four that Randidly attacked

Beyond them Huang Shou Glendel and Stan waited to address any further issues that emerged Ancho after being summoned was rapidly cantering back toward the entrance to the underground training area Huang Li wondered if the horse had the sharpest instincts out of all of them Aside from Wivanya who Alana stated wouldn�t agree with this course of action every one of the tournament top 8 duos was present

All to bridge the gap between themselves and Randidly Ghosthound

As the bullet rushed toward the Ghosthound Huang li could see a sliver of hesitation in their target�s eyes Yet simultaneously as Li thought he recognized that emotion the Ghosthound�s body was blurring into motion He pulled a long dark spear that appeared to have been wrapped around his waist like a belt and cut quickly upward The enormous spearhead impacted the bullet with a crisp ding the projectile was cleanly dissected while midair Which gave the Ghosthound almost a horrifying amount of time to glance around and weigh the foes that were arrayed against him

The lines around his eyes tightened The heaviness in the air grew more unbearable And even though the electrical lights in the underground area didn�t flicker they suddenly seemed dimmer The disapproval of the Ghosthound squeezed the entire area dimming even the light

�Are you serious � The Ghosthound said rather casually considering the circumstances He flicked his spear and it spun so quickly that it hummed Then his hand snapped shut as a spectral wolf pounced toward him Rather than seeming worried the Ghosthound smiled �The Chimera Weeps But Man Mourns �

His spear released a melodious whistle as it ripped through the air adding a strange beauty to the dozen quick thrusts that reduced the ravenous spirit to just wafting shreds of ectoplasm He whipped abruptly around his joints seeming to compact and twist in a tighter motion than should be possible for any human individual The Ghosthound�s spear flashed up a four winged owl was cleanly beheaded The spear then whistled cheerfully to the right A minotaur and a harpy were shredded while both howled with unwillingness The Ghosthound sucked in a powerful breath and the remaining two specters seemed to stall in their charge

A few deft strokes later the Ghosthound had the freedom to grin around at the foursome of Paolo Kayle Lucifer and Tykes Shreds of Glendel�s thralls drifted in the air around him

So this is Randidly Ghosthound Huang Li tightened his grip on his newly acquired sword It almost felt like the weight Huang Li had sensed from the body of the Ghosthound now reached over and playfully put its finger on the tip of his weapon The muscles of Li�s arm strained to keep his stance clean in the face of that force His resistance was made more difficult because of the enclosed area Huang Li�s image couldn�t efficiently spread in the basement But he gritted his teeth and expanded his image to rush around the edges of the arena

Meanwhile Tykes reached the Ghosthound and hefted a replacement iron ball above his head one that had as much diameter as he had height Handles had been installed on the sides so he could keep a firm grip on despite its surface area But even as Tykes quickly whipped the ball into the air in preparation for a strike he was stabbed in the chest by the Ghosthound�s spear It was such a sharp movement that even Tykes couldn�t react he seemed frozen in comparison That was just the difference in their base abilities

But Tykes shattered and reformed into the Ghosthound himself his spear now thrust into the empty air Behind him in the Ghosthound�s original position Tykes brought his massive ball down toward the Ghosthound�s back Across the arena Dinesh released a slow breath

�Ha � The Ghosthound twisted around to his left His metallic left arm blurred and warped as he spun and it was with an enormous taloned claw that the Ghosthound met the blow Rather than knocking it away he just caught it with a dull thump Steam started wafting out of the corners of the Ghosthound�s mouth and nose �Now�s not a great time for a spar I won�t be able to hold back if you keep pushing me �

Kayle and Paolo crossed in front of the Ghosthound each blasting out a powerful image Kayle possessed his enormous divide Paolo was positively explosive with the aura of triumph he radiated They planted their feet and struck at the Ghosthound who had opened up his stance to catch Tykes� blow Tykes for his part swore quietly to himself and heaved on the ball but the Ghosthound�s talons had sunk into the surface the weapon didn�t budge even when he was putting all his Strength into the effort

The Ghosthound spun his spear the enormous blade at the end stopped Kayle�s slash dead and knocking the man back a few meters Then the Ghosthound opened his stance further taking Paolo�s powerful punch directly to the chest He didn�t even grunt he simply released Tykes� iron ball and straightened into a kick to Paolo�s chest The man was blasted backward as Lucifer arrived and swung his massive saber in a horizontal slash that Kayle had to hop back to avoid

This too the Ghosthound didn�t bother to avoid He pulled back his spear set his feet and then sprung forward in a thrust so quick that Huang Li didn�t even register the movements until they were completed In fact some part of Huang Li wondered if it wasn�t his mind filling in the movements of the Ghosthound after his eyes failed to catch them His speed and coordination were uncanny

Lucifer responded more quickly than Huang Li would have been able to smashing his heels into the ground and slowing himself down so he wasn�t skewered immediately But despite his attempts he shattered like broken glass as the Ghosthound�s spear reached him In his place Lyra appeared turned sideways so the attack barely grazed her midsection

�Don�t fight him physically � Lyra yelled Above her head a violet moon released a powerful wave of light Her image forced aside the sinister darkness that seemed wrapped around their foe Then that light pressed down across the Ghosthound�s body briefly suppressing him With that opportunity Lyra twisted her palm in the air �Sudden Eclipse �

As debris was blasted away in every direction the Ghosthound took only a single step backward His skin was reddening and steam wriggled its way off the skin of his arms and legs Huang Li pressed his lips together and continued to ramp up the speed of the low wind around the arena Into that chaotic space stepped Alana Donal

�When he forces me back take the shot � Alana announced to Hank Howard Then she blazed with golden orange light A billowing veil of holiness spread out from her person sizzling as it steadily eroded the images of the others in the surrounding area Lyra retreated back her hands gradually nurturing some new attack The sense of holiness that Alana released suffered no imperfections as it dogmatically cleansed the surroundings Two enormous ivory wings spread out from Alana�s helmet and beat launching a flurry of drifting white feathers in the air

When the holiness hit the Ghosthound the steam around his body thickened His skin shimmered strangely His form was partially obscured making the long shadow that he cast even more ominous Alana�s face tightened into a frown �Solar Flare The First Revelation Advance �

Alana blurred into motion at a speed that Huang Li had only seen once before a few seconds ago from the Ghosthound�s dominant response to their group teaming up on him Randidly Ghosthound spun his spear and turned to meet Alana directly Hank crossed himself and then raised his revolver At the back of the encirclement Glendel raised his head �Wraith�s Vengeance �

Chapter 1482

Displaying a remarkable amount of Control Alana pulled her image back to just around her person and didn�t interfere with the descent of Glendel�s will upon the Ghosthound Above his Glendel�s body was the towering and indistinct figure composed entirely of shadow The only exception was a pair of luminous eyes below the heavy crown that he bore This was the Sovereign of Ghosts ruler of the deceased savior of the damned That long shadow possessed the strength and integrity of a monarch steadily focusing on the figure of the Ghosthound

The shadowy Sovereign of Ghosts raised his hand and pointed at the Ghosthound and from the ground beneath the Ghosthound�s feet came the grasping hands of angry ghosts The Skill drew power from the foes that the target killed so they had anticipated a massive response when they used it on the Ghosthound But the ambusher�s hesitated for a brief moment as thousands upon thousands of hands reached up and seized onto the Ghosthound�s limbs

There were so many hands that there quickly was no more room on the Ghosthound�s body to grip even for ghosts So then the hands started holding onto each other in tightening rings Where they couldn�t bind the Ghosthound�s movements directly they formed ropes woven of hands that tried to bind him

There were human and monster hands so thickly clustered that they began to blend together into something positively corporeal They were ghastly bindings of sharp knuckles and desperate fingers With the steam rising off of the Ghosthound�s skin and the chains of spectral flesh binding him he was almost completely invisible to their eyes But even so the Ghosthound�s emerald gaze cut through the foggy haze and locked onto Glendel �You are certainly trouble You�ve done a good job remaining low key for the past few years �

Then Alana was their her spear bright and pure as the dawn as it rushed forward The first clash between Alana Donal and the Ghosthound was him deflecting her spear to the side but the cleansing power of Alana�s image behind the strike carried forward and smashed into his chest The dense almost physical images of the Ghosthound wavered and Huang Li felt a flash of confidence The ghostly hands around his body seemed to tighten

They could do this

Then the Ghosthound exploded with force It was difficult to describe the phenomenon in any other way Huang Li�s eyes couldn�t follow the particulars The steam and mist and even Alana�s image were blasted away as he took such an abrupt and powerful step forward that it shattered the surrounding space His figure was suddenly revealed his skin releasing dense heat waves that made him difficult to view in an entirely different way

Most alarmingly those powerful spectral chains that Glendel had created were forcibly torn as he stepped forward And in the next moment Alana pulled her spear back and the Ghosthound stabbed forward to counter her When the two spears impacted each other Alana�s holy image stuck again at the weight that the Ghosthound released into the surrounding area And that holy wave of flames flared to even greater brightness as the two forces began to mix as though experiencing a surge of motivation to burn the power around the Ghosthound away and leave him defenseless

The Ghosthound twisted his spear and then spun bringing the butt of his weapon around to strike at Alana�s head She ducked and thrust at his midsection which he sidestepped with ease Then he planted his foot and accelerated at an impossible pace repaying Alana�s thrust with one in kind As he did so the Ghosthound sucked a deep breath The golden flames that were surging around him dimmed Even Huang Li perhaps twenty meters away from the Ghosthound swayed as that inhale pulled at something vital in his chest and stole a tiny pinch of it His image which had just been able to gain some momentum turned suddenly sluggish

Kayle had recovered his position and sprung forward as it became clear that Alana could only hastily move to deflect the Ghosthound�s thrust upward He cut decisively in a sharp vertical motion between the two combatants �Absolute Divide �

The Ghosthound�s spear sheered right through the barrier that Kayle conjured barely being slowed by a fraction of a second as it did so Which gave Alana a slight edge but even so the wicked and sharp weight that the Ghosthound wielded slashed through Alana�s golden flames and ivory feathers to cut a narrow gash in the shoulder of her leather armor

Hank Howard took his shot aiming for the moment where the Ghosthound�s spear scored a hit on Alana�s armor That small encumbrance was what he had been waiting for As the bullet rushed forward more and more scraps of the shattered images that had already been thrown against the Ghosthound were gathered together They flocked together like a school of multicolored fish each bearing a small amount of power Yet when enough of those scraps were gathered that bullet became a kaleidoscopic streak through the air Just as the Ghosthound pulled back on his spear Alana released her own and seized his shaft �Not so fast �

Without any apparent effort the Ghosthound flicked his wrist and flung Alana to the side Alana blinked in shock

Then he turned toward the attack and the head of his spear flashed in the light as he cut toward the bullet With the Perception given to Huang Li by the steady breeze that churned through the arena he could sense how perfectly the Ghosthound lined up his attack

which was why the sudden second shot from Hank�s revolver threw him off so much The bullet shrieked across the intervening space nicking the edge of the powerful bullet and redirecting it down and to the left The second bullet was so impossibly fast that it impacted the far wall before Hank�s powerful bullet impacted the Ghosthound but that quick bullet bounced off the wall without damaging it its power was practically negligible Yet for the first time the Ghosthound was struck with a serious blow That amalgamation of the previous images used against him blasted away the strange aura around the Ghosthound and sent him skidding backward across the ground for several meters

His toes left deep troughs in the dirt ground Finally he eased to a stop and immediately reached up toward the wound

Drops of blood fell from the Ghosthound right shoulder where the bullet still flared with furious life and continued to drain the oppressive deadliness the Ghosthound released into the area With their foe clearly shaken and focusing on the last attack Giuliana stepped forward and snapped her whip forward at the Ghosthound�s back

But as soon as she did so Alana�s eyes widened �Let go of �

Yet her warning came too late Even without the Ghosthound moving his previously rigid spear twisted sideways The head of the spear spread apart like a monster�s jaws and snatched Giuliana�s whip out of the air With a small yank the Ghosthound sent Giuliana sprawling Such was his overwhelming Strength that she was pulled eight of the ten meters toward the Ghosthound before she could stop herself Paolo and Kayle rushed forward to strike at the Ghosthound but he slipped between their strikes That same almost unrecognizable speed was suddenly applied to dodging Then His left arm transformed into that massive claw and he seized Giuliana by the head

For a split second Huang Li felt a chill Randidly Ghosthound was going to crush her skull right in front of them He would kill them to make an example of them

Luckily that did not happen While everyone else waited to see what the Ghosthound was doing the man in question grinned and tossed the suddenly limp Giuliana out of the encirclement Huang Shou moved to catch the woman and gently laid her down on the ground Then he looked up and gave the Ghosthound an inscrutable look �She�s just unconscious �

�That�s the punishment for springing this on me � the Ghosthound announced as he spun to look at them all �But it will help me finish something that I�ve been working on for a while When I catch you I�ll be taking a bit of your mental energy You�ll recover but it will put you out of commission for a few days Still want to continue �

He hasn�t even used his image yet not really Huang Li thought But as he did so Alana Donal spoke and reframed the issue �The Ghosthound is so exhausted that he cannot even muster his images in his defense He�s bleeding This is our chance �

Tykes roared and heaved his massive iron ball toward the Ghosthound�s back

Randidly had used the opportunity where he had contact with Giuliana�s skull to absorb a portion of her memories into the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night As soon as she had been caught there was a sudden surrender to her will to fight that was enough of a permission for the Dreamcatcher He didn�t know much about her but she did possess enough power to make it to the top 8 duos on Earth They might have made it even farther too if they hadn�t run into Alana and Wivanya who would go on to be the champions

So he figured he would try it And the experiment turned out to be a success he earned another Level for his Fatepiece through it

On the flip side his �ambushers� appeared somehow incensed by the fact that he knocked her out so quickly Which Randidly thought seemed somewhat unfair considering that the punishment was a relatively light one considering the zeal with which they were launching full strength attacks at him

Still Randidly couldn�t help but smile this was an entirely different sort of challenge than the fights against Kaan Swacc And Alana was right After his extended training sessions this week he really was near the end of his endurance Even if the physical manifestations of the Grim Chimera could occasionally be summoned for heavier effectiveness he was largely just fighting against these people relying on his physical capabilities

Which meant that the would from Hank�s bullet was a genuinely troublesome one considering it continued to burn at the surrounding flesh of his shoulder Once more he ruthlessly prevented Yggdrasil and the Stillborn Phoenix from participating in this duel this fight was the Grim Chimera�s

Yet Randidly�s only response when Tykes picked up his gratuitously large iron ball and toss it over at his back was joy Once more his left arm spasmed painfully and transformed into the taloned claw of the Grim Chimera But this time when he should have deftly snatched the ball out of the air Randidly grasped nothing the ball in front of him shattered into pieces of glass and Donny was there with his shield raised

Randidly swiped his hand sideways to smash Donny away but Donny still managed to punch forward with his shield and hit the spot in his shoulder that even now burned as the image ate away at his physically condensed images The physical impact made it worse Randidly released a hiss of pain that came out as a blast of steam

Congratulations Your Skill Abomination�s Grim Vigor has grown to Level 338

Randidly swayed sideways to avoid Donny�s follow up slash and then stepped sharply forward to avoid the immense saber wielded by Lucifer Other figures blurred around him seeking the opportunity to strike it seemed that Alana�s words had invigorated them But his eyes found Dinesh�s figure at the back of the group Heh as long as I can shatter your Domain well maybe that a little unrealistic right now

The Grim Chimera was a starving camel unable to bear Randidly�s weight should he try and flex his Willpower Which just meant he had to beat this the old fashioned way By eliminating his foes one by one He would need to ignore the replacement effects for now

Paolo and Kayle struck at Randidly first Paolo throwing a full swinged punch while Kayle approached with his precise strikes Randidly could feel Paolo�s steadily growing fury likely as a result of him simply enduring his prior punch to land a strike Randidly pressed his lips together and wove Acri�s tip in a figure eight while he considered his next move These two were a problem Both because their images were strong enough to wound the convalescent Grim Chimera and because they were relatively sturdy He wouldn�t be able to make any headway without taking some risks

Kayle�s knife cut into the back of Randidly�s thigh while Paolo�s punch slammed into his wounded shoulder Randidly swayed and then thrust his spear toward Paolo�s chest His lips twitched his right shoulder was getting slightly stiff slowing his attack somewhat He would need to monitor that going forward

Upon impact Paolo shattered as Randidly had expected But he hadn�t expected the person who now appeared in front of him it was Lyra again cradling a swirling orb of red violet fire A viscous liquid energy raged back and forth seeking to break from the bounds that Lyra imposed upon it

Lyra winked at him and then opened her hands The Promised Radiance

Image and energy swam together and became a battering ram of liquid lightning that struck Randidly�s chest with enough force to send him tumbling backward Perhaps due to the time she had to charge the attack the destructive force even took Randidly by surprise He even wondered had his body not endured the worst of it whether the walls of this cavern would have been able to handle it

But the structure of the Grim Chimera meant that these sorts of attacks could be overcome directly

He sprung back up to his feet aching but none the worse for wear and scowled as he felt himself shattering and reforming somewhere else His new location was directly in front of a snarling Lucifer Lucifer Slash

Perhaps because he started with the spot where Hank�s bullet burned in Randidly�s shoulder and slashed downward he opened up almost the entirety of Randidly�s chest To endure the blow Randidly forced down the complaints of his mind and condensed entirely as the Grim Chimera So instead of blood fire flickered out of the edges of the wound The ember of the destroyed world was revealed releasing waves of crackling energy in the surroundings

Wounded like this Randidly had an epiphany about the Grim Chimera He began to laugh Yea this is fun isn�t it

Chapter 1483

Huang Li watched with narrowed eyes as Randidly Ghosthound the most powerful man on Expira was opened from shoulder to hip by Lucifer�s strike The flesh split and flecks of gore were flung onto the floor Pressing his lips together Huang Li continued to churn his images around the edges of the arena as he prepared for his opportunity to move But he couldn�t tear his eye away from the Ghosthound�s wound

Flesh might have ruptured and bones cracked but nothing leaked out after the initial biological debris At least nothing physical It was a dull red heat that escaped from the wound in his body hazing the air with waves of heat As he stood before the stunned Lucifer Randidly Ghosthound looked more like some deadly machine than any being of flesh Even worse his insides were clearly on display Fleshy red and pink globes pulsed slightly ostensibly still carrying on their routine functions despite how close they came to being cut in half like a ripe tomato

The Ghosthound�s smile curled upward as he considered the shock on their faces When he spoke more steam escaped his mouth seeming to glow slightly Yea this is fun isn�t it

There was suddenly something present in the room that hadn�t been there previously It was only a trace and that trace was both minuscule and elusive but a shadow flickered in the heat waves around his body and the Ghosthound�s heaving shoulders His body had been a cage and now this being could escape The image of the Grim Chimera leaked outward staining the air like colored ink does water

Somehow that small sliver of the image was enough to suppress the surrounding images It spread its twisted limbs pushing everything else back The air suddenly tasted metallic and sour The Ghosthound�s shoulders and spine cracked as his body shifted and grew His bones seemed heavier his muscles coarser and almost charred by that powerful source of heat in his chest The waves of heat wafting off of him intensified All but the extremities of his body were blurred and muddled giving him a strange ghastliness While his aura darkened it was only the Ghosthound�s emerald eyes that stayed the same weighing the surrounding threats

Attacks based on images can reach him Alana announced Then she twisted her mouth It�s obnoxious but physical attacks don�t appear to do anything significant We will tire out before he does Use your images as much as possible

The Ghosthound and sprang into motion Somehow he only seemed faster with those few inches of height and width that he added with that strange transformation when he had been wounded moving at lightning speed toward the closed eyed Dinesh Paolo and Kayle were instantly there interposing themselves between the Ghosthound and his target Both positively blazed with their images

And then the Ghosthound accelerated He stepped right and then stepped left with that same preternatural grace and he was past Paolo leaving only a billowing cloud of steam in his wake from his overheating body

Wha YOU Paolo roared and his image roared and spun back into his body Perhaps in some instinctual imitation that burning flame of triumph that he had spun itself into thin threads that entered Paolo�s body and fueled him to greater heights as he had seen from the Ghosthound So he twisted as the Ghosthound moved past him ignoring the steam and pouncing toward the Ghosthound�s exposed back

Paolo hit the ground without being able to land a strike He blinked in confusion he was too slow to catch up

Huang Li�s hands tightened on his sword so much so that his fingers were trembling His strike was not yet prepared but he would need to use it anyway if Dinesh was in danger while preparing their next move But luckily Hank Howard rolled forward and sprung up in the Ghosthound�s path Both narrowed their eyes as they considered each other Hank drew his repeater with a speed that could keep up with the Ghosthound and carefully aimed at his opponent�s chest

The Ghosthound still with flames licking up out of the gaping wound on his chest stepped to the side in what appeared to be an attempt to avoid Hank just as he had Paolo But at the last second his left hand snapped sideways to snag Hank�s head Hank leaned to the left as though he had predicted the attack then fired six bullets out of his repeater into the Ghosthound�s open wound

Huang Li saw one of the organs exposed in the Ghosthound�s chest pop

The Ghosthound hissed and spun his leg arcing up to crack against Hank�s shoulder and send the man sprawling But that was all the time Paolo needed to catch up to the Ghosthound�s back and bring both of his hands wreathed in glorious golden light crashing down toward their quarry�s back

The Ghosthound twisted and thrust forward with his right arm while taking a step forward Blood sprayed out of a gaping hole as he opened in Paolo�s shoulder even while the wounded man in question planted his foot and roared fully in the Ghosthound�s face With that thunderous shout came a searing image of challenge that blasted the Ghosthound directly

The Ghosthound winced and took a half step back

Which put him perfectly in line for Tykes� massive metal orb to smash toward him The huge projectile howled with an image of momentum seeming to possess all the force of a collapsing mountain Tykes pumped his legs and shoved it forward with all his strength

The Ghosthound twisted and lashed out with his right arm But even he seemed surprised when his bone spear of a right arm skewered through the iron ball and he was still impacted as the ball slid along the length of bone Then Tykes planted his feet and physically shoved the ball forward knocking the Ghosthound off balance

A split second later the Ghosthound�s back foot smashed down and he stopped Tykes dead But again that brief moment was enough of an opening for the powerful warriors they had gathered to intervene

Huang Shou and Glendel glanced at each other Then Huang Shou pointed at the Ghosthound Be Still

Even as he handled the aggression of the arrayed figured of Tykes Lucifer Paolo and Kayle the Ghosthound�s gaze whipped around to focus on Huang Shou as he spoke The Ghosthound then barred his teeth his shoulders rolled and began to pop once more as some new change came over the Grim Chimera

Glendel slapped his hands together and created a noise that echoed through the underground training arena Sovereign�s Guillotine

That massive phantom and its dark crown that stood behind Glendel began to tremble with exertion The towering figure raised a shadowy finger and from it sprung a keening wailing blade that shot toward the Ghosthound There was something overwhelming that Huang Li could sense from that blade It pressured the surrounding space to surrender to it to give completely into the fate that it brought In terms of image this was the most condensed strike against the Ghosthound yet Paolo punched Kayle and Lucifer slashed and Tykes continued to strain against the massive iron ball to keep the Ghosthound locked in place to receive that attack

A tremor ran through the Ghosthound�s body right before the attack landed transforming into a massive shaking that sundered Tykes� massive iron ball right down the middle From that broken orb of metal emerged a slender hand that seized Tykes� face By the time the dust cleared from Glendel�s Sovereign�s Guillotine landing Tykes had been tossed to the side

He had been rendered instantly unconscious just like Giuliana

But they had scored another deep hit against him The Ghosthound�s left hip and much of his thigh had been ripped open flesh and bone appearing strangely more like a thin film with an underlying metal scaffolding than flesh Seeing the wound Huang Li was reminded of seeing the peeled back exterior of a zeppelin than any examination of a living being With all the dangerous explosiveness of a hydrogen balloon considering the radiating heatwaves and the horrifying image that was also escaping through that new wound

The worst part was that the Grim Chimera stirred again once more given outlet into the world The heatwaves were starting to fade around the Ghosthound revealing the sharp edged details of his form Just that sliver of the Grim Chimera�s image seemed to reach out and squeeze Huang Li�s heart

But the Ghosthound�s face was twisted into a grimace the attack had definitively dealt damage

Huang Li also didn�t miss the change in the Ghosthound�s right arm The bone spear appeared to have swollen within Tykes� iron ball with enough force to rupture it and taken on different proportions The new limb was still thin and when all the slender fingers were pressed together still formed a sharp point but now five spindly fingers stretched from a skeletally thin forearm Compared to the dominant left arm the balance struck Li as comically horrifying Rather than any muscles the entire thing seemed to be held together by pitch black tendons creating a stark contrast to the dried blood and yellow of the bones

Kayle yelped abruptly drawing everyone�s attention And suddenly the Ghosthound was gone pouncing forward at his most recent prey At some point a long tail as thick as two fists pressed together had snaked outward from the Ghosthound�s waist With a flick it swept Kayle�s feet out from under him By the time Huang Li had registered these facts the Ghosthound was springing forward to knock the runner up out of this ambush

The Fifth Revelation Want

Alana blazed with holy fire smashing into the Ghosthound before he could reach the surprised Kayle At the last moment the Ghosthound twisted midair like a feral cat and met this new threat His massive left arm whipped around smashing into Alana�s almost blinding spear thrusts Once more the Grim Chimera manifested its fury completely apparent For a brief instant the impact of images was so powerful that Huang Li coughed and was forced to take a step back

In the air above them Grim Chimera and prophet Valkyrie fought It was a frozen instant of a full impact between the two images

Then Alana grunted and was sent tumbling backward Her image flickered and then died around her like the flames had been buried in ice Kayle was able to regain his feet but the twisting movement that the Ghosthound used to face Alana allowed him to also bring his tail around in a whip blow that smashed Kayle into the ground sent him bouncing away like a ragdoll

Lucifer Slash Lucifer quickly stepped in but the wounded Ghosthound was even more monstrously fast than he had been while at peak health The Ghosthound avoided it with a single step toward Dinesh but Donny was instantly blocking his way As though he had expected that the Ghosthound stepped again and rushed toward the previously motionless Stan Lyra opened her palms and released a powerful ray of violet light but the Ghosthound ducked under it without slowing at all

On cue Stan erupted into a perfect mirror of the Ghosthound leaping forward and lashing out with the sharp and slender claws on his left hand It was the Grim Chimera hitting all the same notes but on a much smaller scale Yet like a handler cradling a newborn giraffe the Ghosthound slipped under the blow and touched Stan on his head and waist at the same time The man instantly crumpled the imitation Grim Chimera gone

The Ghosthound turned to regard the rest of them Heh The Grim Chimera grows based on danger How could a freshly born version be anything compared to me Which begs the question that I�ve been wondering since this started

The Ghosthound tilted his head to the side Why bother with this Do you really want a beating that badly

Chapter 1484

Lucifer�s eyes blazed as he considered the challenging tilt of the Ghosthound�s head Lucifer�s own shoulders rose and fell with each heavy desperate breath struggling to wring just an ounce more potency about his own image His gaze was locked onto the Ghosthound If it wasn�t for you

Everyone had their own reasons for accepting Alana�s invitation to this fight But for Lucifer it was because the Ghosthound was strong Overwhelmingly so Because there was a strong foe why was it confusing that he challenged him

The proof of the Ghosthound�s strength could be seen in their current situation Of their starting group three had already been eliminated Giuliana made Lucifer the most furious but the biggest loss was probably Stan Eliminating him early meant that his ability to copy another�s image didn�t have much of a chance to get established Stan had been a fallback plan should the fight well go as it was currently going

The most infuriating thing was that Lucifer could clearly sense the Ghosthound�s theoretical limits The man was mentally exhausted to the point that he basically only released his image when seriously threatened by an attack And each of those image pulses though powerful further decreased his available energy Even if the Ghosthound had an immense reservoir of Willpower originally that had been reduced to a dry wasteland with a few intermittent puddles This was the version of the Ghosthound that was the most mortal

But even so he suppressed them with just his monstrous physical stats and high Level Skills His image was almost an afterthought It was humiliating It was invigorating

no one has anything to say The Ghosthound spoke into the tense silence He pursed his lips You just want to attack me randomly with no explanation

Again no one responded Lucifer was practically grinding his teeth It was hubris the Ghosthound now spoke with the arrogance of one who had never looked at the back of another and wished for the power to bridge the gap between them Or if he had experiences like that he had now forgotten them

When Alana had suggested the attack it had come as a shock to Lucifer But he believed that all of the participants in the duos tournament or at least those at the top wondered the same thing when they pushed themselves to their limits to seize victory and name the world How far were they from the best Expira had to offer

How far were they from the power wielded by the Nexus

Now they faced a truth combined they measured up to less than one third of the Ghosthound�s power They couldn�t even defeat a single exhausted one of his images And perhaps it was truly closer to one third or one half of his abilities because he still had the benefits of his powerful Stats no matter the image But it was an unsatisfying realization

We can do better than this Lucifer hissed to himself

There was a sharp crack from Alana�s crumpled form and a hiss of pain Then the woman stood up and brushed herself off She glanced down at her broken spear tossed it to the side and produced another from her interspatial ring She gripped the shaft with both hands and lowered herself into an offensive stance Blood trickled out of the corner of her mouth but orange gold fire slowly sprang to light along her spear There wasn�t a single ounce of surrender in her figure even though she was the only one who had endured a blow from the full power of his image

Lucifer tilted his saber so he held it horizontally across his body Your inner light and heat were bright when I first wounded you Ghosthound but now they grow dim You are weakening even as we are Yet you dare ask us why

Fine then the Grim Chimera said He was all bone tendons and inner fire as he rolled his shoulders and then accelerated toward Dinesh Alana once more launched herself forward the first to put her body in the Ghosthound�s path Lucifer leaned forward and exploded toward the Ghosthound�s exposed back

Unfortunately that new right arm of the Ghosthound�s was just too fast The hand shot out and seized the tip of the spear the slender fingers belying its immense strength Again with the slightest twitch Randidly tossed Alana to the side Lucifer�s fury mixed freely with his image surging along the length of his saber Yet his speed wasn�t enough As he pursued him from behind the Ghosthound opened up space between them without any apparent effort As long as he had that speed his back was never truly exposed

Then Donny was there again grinning from ear to ear There was a joy to exhausting this powerful warrior Invincible Aegis

A dozen immense golden shields sprung up between Donny and the Ghosthound Each was about two meters tall and was covered in a shimmering array of pictograms depicting their fight against the Ghosthound thus far It told a gallant story that ended in the defeat of the monster by the band of heroes

Invincible The Ghosthound�s voice sounded amused Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes

The ground beneath his feet cracked and in the same instant the noise of him impacting the largest central Aegis reached Lucifer�s ears There was no instant of time that could fit between those two occurrences Donny was blasted backward his Skill flashing with golden light as all the shields were forced backward before the power of the Ghosthound In fact he continued sliding backward until he settled only a meter in front of Dinesh who stood in rapt concentration with closed eyes The central shield cracked

I need ten more seconds Dinesh sent out a message to the group Even though Lucifer was already rushed forward at the Ghosthound�s back he felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach Ten seconds was a long time

Kayle seemed to materialize next to the Ghosthound who was raising his spear for another strike at Donny�s weakened Skill and crossed his long knives Slice and Dice

Even with his imposing image of a cruelly sharp divide adding an edge to his strikes each quick slash of his knives only inflicted shallow divots in the Grim Chimera�s impossible sturdy skin The strikes did have enough of an image to draw a reflexive rise in the Grim Chimera�s power but it was practically a negligible thing

But it did stall the Ghosthound out briefly Huang Shou thrust his palm forward Shatter

or perhaps it didn�t slow him down at all The Ghosthound moved so quickly he vanished avoiding the strike entirely and appearing behind Huang Shou Before the aging man could even respond his head was grabbed and he was tossed to the side

Paolo had somehow predicted the abrupt change in direction and was close enough to launch a sharp elbow strike at the Ghosthound�s temple But the Ghosthound�s massive left hand tightened into a fist flicking sideways and shattering Paolo�s elbow with an audible crack Just as his slender right hand thrust forward to seize Paolo�s face Alana shot forward with thin white flames running along her spear

Her eyes glowed She let her breath slide out between her lips The Fifth Revelation Want

Those flames running along her spear immediately brightened Their white tips seemed to shimmer

For an extended second the Ghosthound seemed struck with indecision as Alana shot at his back and Paolo�s indomitable image blazed even brighter despite his shattered joint Yet then the Ghosthound twisted so quickly that Lucifer couldn�t follow the movement His slid outward fingers pressed together in a deadly point toward Alana�s chest

Alana seemed to predict this releasing her spear and stepping to the side Then her hand now bearing those white flames cut downward and severed the Ghosthound�s tail His right hand veered sideways and ripped into Alana�s shoulder

Haymaker Paolo bellowed as he threw his punch His blazing image spun itself into threads and rushed to his knuckles The Ghosthound brought his left hand across his body in a backhand and effortlessly knocked the punch away The image of indomitable triumph was shattered Then he seized Paolo�s face with his immense talons

Lucifer caught up his saber raised He hated that this was all he had the move he practiced day after day seeking to catch up to the distant form of the Ghosthound But this was what he had poured his last several years into It bore the weight of all his sweat and blood It had to be enough Lucifer Slash

His emotions and memories seemed to burn through his fingers and into the blade as he pulled it sharply downward and aimed at the sundered flesh on the Ghosthound�s chest He felt instantly that this was the sharpest slash he had even unleashed Yet he couldn�t help but also notice how quickly the Ghosthound responded

The Ghosthound�s fingers in Alana�s shoulder sprang open widening the wound and then he threw her to the side At the same time Ghosthound released Paolo Both hands rushed toward Lucifer at a speed that was at least double his slash

Paolo�s left hand seized the Ghosthound�s wrist that had just released him His eyes were blazing and his image exploded outward over the surrounding area pressuring even Lucifer Don�t you dare think I�d go down so easily Right Hand of the Challenger

Paolo planted his left foot and smashed his right fist against the stunned Ghosthound�s jaw Lucifer slashed downward and cut open another deep gash across the Ghosthound�s midsection

Immediately that strange heat source in the Ghosthound�s core flared to life There was a frozen moment in Lucifer�s Perception as he faced the direct ire of the Grim Chimera Before that sinister gaze all of the accumulated effort that went into his Lucifer Slash was crushed and obliterated The weight of that image smashed Lucifer in the chest He was sent flying backward vomiting the contents of his stomach

Paolo was sent stumbling backward as well shaken but somehow still conscious The Ghosthound swayed and hunched over his face hidden in shadow Yet others recognized it was an opportunity

Hank drew his revolver and shot a bullet that cleanly punched through the flesh above the Ghosthound�s right knee The image of the Grim Chimera flared again but it was truly drained at this point The heat wafting off of his body was rapidly decreasing Donny leapt forward and swung his sword at the Ghosthound�s back but a much thinner tail stretching from his neck snapped upward slapping the strike to the side

Donny landed and hopped backward resetting his stance The Ghosthound released a deep breath

Then everything around them shattered as Dinesh activated the move he had been focusing on for the past minute and they appeared in about a hundred meters off the ground

The sun was just setting so the sky around them was stained orange and pink The clouds began to steadily swirl as the image that Huang Li had been steadily nurturing was able to explode outward and rapidly gain traction in the wide open sky That wild wind began to form a maelstrom centered around the slightly stunned Ghosthound

Directly in the center of those swirling clouds a massive violet moon seemed to descend It released a powerful light staining the surrounding clouds with even more wet and unnatural colors After a suspended moment of floating all of the arrayed individuals began to fall down toward the wasteland to the Northeast of Donnyton

A wasteland that the Ghosthound himself had created when he made his Class

Don�t hold anything back Alana said raising her voice to carry above the increasingly tempestuous winds Her helmet morphed and once more wings of pure white beat above her body Her limbs were trembling but her image was clear and bright

Huang Li raised his sword The wind was singing along the length of his blade the song of the Ghosthound�s defeat Sky Slaying Sword

Chapter 1485

Randidly had been hunched over when the shattering shift had happened so the first result was that his weight carried him forward in a slow somersault His Grim Intuition buzzed while it attempted to relocate its bearings and then snapped back into place flooding him with information about the surroundings Randidly then knew exactly where he was but he couldn�t muster up the spare energy to deal with the change in scenery The whole reason that he had leaned forward in the first place because some part of him sagging underneath the weight of his own image

His image physicalizations were dormant physicalities� that manifested in the real world when moved by his Willpower Compared to the usage of raw images they were less impactful but much more efficient to utilize However in regards to the Grim Chimera Randidly had overused his Willpower to the point that the cost of the physicalizations was approaching the speed at which his overtaxed mind replaced his mental zeal

A little bit more and the physicalizations would reach a tipping point Randidly suspected they would cannibalize themselves then to keep them physicalized eradicating all the effort that he had poured into them over the past few months

Randidly Ghosthound was currently exhausted beyond his own understanding Not physically he had thousands of Stamina to spare He had moved past the point where Stamina was ever a barrier to what he wanted to accomplish To a lesser extent he had also gained a near infinite supply of Mana But in terms of Willpower and psychological determination

That tipping point was so close Randidly could practically feel it his thick and clumsy gathering mental energy in increments the size of grains of sand Leaning forward Randidly committed everything he had to carefully picking up a few more grains to maintain this form

In his mind the Grim Chimera swayed under the unrelenting scouring that these attackers inflicted upon him Just as Randidly was able to find the new physical shape of the Grim Chimera they had begun to tear it to pieces Of course that was exactly the method by which the image would grow the quickest But the combination of the brutal training followed by these small attacks

In the lonely space of his mind Randidly asked himself why he was so insistent on propping the Grim Chimera upright

Don�t hold anything back Alana shouted to her assembled Expira dream team and even through Randidly�s weariness the corner of his mouth quirked up Around him the remaining fighters shifted into a new formation and Grim Intuition continued to dispassionately catalog their aggressive movements around him

Randidly gathered five grains of mental energy and carefully put them into the central area of his Soulspace His Nether Nebula was churning seriously rapidly absorbing the surrounding significance but Randidly couldn�t spare his attention to notice Two of those gathered grains was spirited away to support the Grim Chimera physicalizations

Randidly gathered four more valuable particles of energy

The surrounding clouds were spiraling together steadily forming into a vast dragon that sucked in a deep breath as though it would swallow all of existence As Randidly continued to tumble forward in a lazy rotation the head of the dragon accelerated in its growth pumping its body to stretch and spiral around enough to catch up to its own tail Then it opened its jaws to slurp up the surrounding clouds extending its amorphous body even further As Huang Li raised his sword that massive dragon twisted and regarded Randidly with sinister eyes

You are next those eyes whispered

Above the clouds a massive violet moon was descending It hung fat and low in the sky dominating at least one fifth of the horizon Even some part of the distracted Randidly dispassionate admired the sublime light released by this celestial body So bright was the light that the red violet moon released that the color seemed to flow together into a drop of liquid light After trembling at the edge for a short while that drop fell down from the moon with all the suddenness of a tear It streaked across the sky with all the violence of a meteor seeking to eradicate all life on the planet Lyra reached up and caught that brilliant drop of liquid light between her palms

Randidly released a breath Three more granules of mental energy One went to the physicalizations There was less and less to recover as he pulled deeper and deeper on his own brains reserves The issue wasn�t that he didn�t have methods to defeat the people arrayed around him Even if he dropped the physical manifestations of the Grim Chimera and fought primarily with his physical abilities he was confident that he could defeat them It wouldn�t even be a contest at all if Randidly activated either of his other two images to assist in the fight

One issue was that Randidly barely had enough mental energy to deactivate the physicalizations The process would undoubtedly be messy perhaps leaving some lasting scars on the Grim Chimera in the process

But it had also become a point of pride for his image The essence of the Grim Chimera had been barred and that essence refused to allow any compromise before these foes Which was why Randidly had tortuously fought relying only on the weakening power of the Grim Chimera to persist To the point that the last dregs of his mental energy were devoured keeping the Grim Chimera active

This time when Randidly pulled he could only produce a single shining granule of energy For the moment this was as much recovery as could occur

If we just rely on solely you we might lose Randidly observed to the hunched form of the Grim Chimera The gathered mental energy flowed through his brainstem returning his focus to a sharpened state A loss would have unpredictable results on Expira

Huang Li flourished his sword The howling wind in the surroundings became almost deafening as both the intensity of the wind increased and the participants began to fall back down to the ground while they vigilantly watched Randidly�s motionless form Sky Slaying Sword

The air around them rumbled as that massive cloud dragon began to move Randidly continued to tumble forward seemingly oblivious to the approaching danger The dragon was certainly impressive and fueled by a towering image but it was slow He still had a bit of time to gather himself

Within his Soulspace the Grim Chimera sneered at Randidly An unpredictable loss There is only one consequence of a loss death That is the way that it has always been That is what it means to be the Grim Chimera It has been your privilege to be in situations where that is not the case but that is why I refuse to relent I will face this threat alone or I will be crushed alone That is the Path I walk

Randidly wished he could be mad at his image but it was an all too familiar refrain He had taken a similar stubborn Path in the past This result was just a result of those previous choices

Huang Li�s sword cut downward perhaps a bit superfluously The maw of the cloud dragon opened as it accelerated downward seeming to gather the whole of the sky behind it as it built up momentum toward its target Randidly felt so tired from the training he had endured and then this attack that he couldn�t sustain both experiencing emotions and physical movements at the same time So for a few scattered shards of time he simply mused about the gamble that he was about to take

This was a targeted threat at the Grim Chimera that his image hadn�t really experienced since it had become a part of him There was great meaning to this unprecedented sense of crisis as he had obviously experienced with the rapid condensation of a new form of the Grim Chimera in the past few minutes But there was an equal risk

With his current mental state Randidly was unsure how the Grim Chimera would fare after any more direct confrontations with another�s images The outcome that he feared most would be that his image would shatter damaging and forcing him a large step backward in terms of physical image manifestations

But in a way he had no choice It was either willingly maim the Grim Chimera directly or dance on the edge of a knife Survival above all else

Of the two dozen cradled grains of mental energy two were stolen to fuel the physical manifestations If he was going to do this he needed more mental energy than this

The Grim Chimera raised its gaze and looked up at the rushing cloud dragon that Huang Li unleashed A split second later he activated Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes in order to zip sideways toward Dinesh Randidly�s eyes were sharp and vicious as he cut through the countervailing winds Unfortunately it seemed Dinesh had let Acri in the training area when he teleported the rest of them out here I might be facing this threat alone but I�ve already disabused myself of the notion that I can handle every threat directly let�s see how much control you have over that massive image Huang Li

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Avoidance has grown to Level 293

As Randidly streaked sideways through the whistling wind the Sky Slaying Sword blasted through the spot where he had been originally floating with the rumbling vibrations of an avalanche Then like the titanic working that it was it twisted and undulated to shift its course in Randidly�s new direction In that time Randidly arrived before Dinesh and watched him shatter suddenly becoming a determined Paolo

Right Hand of the Challenger Paolo bellowed Somehow that indomitable quality that he possessed enabled him to resist the tug of the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night and now Paolo seemed positively bristling with that same fighting spirit His attitude was completely contrary to his shattered left elbow joint that hung uselessly against his body

He practically stank of abundant mental energy

Randidly�s eyes flicked sideways finding Dinesh amongst the dropping individuals As I thought You�ve still got some juice left But if I�m being honest yours is an image that I can deal with Better to handle a foe like this while I can Then Randidly refocused on Paolo and grinned he was exactly what the doctor had ordered Cursed Appetite of a Wraith

Congratulations Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith has grown to Level 300

Congratulations Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith has grown to Level 301

Whereas the Skill could generally be used to absorb trace amounts of energy from the surrounding area Randidly�s Skill and image usage had be becoming increasingly sophisticated since the Skill had been created So when he directly reached into Paolo and pulled at his mental energy he was able to rip out a large handful Granules fell like raindrops on parched ground His physical form subtly intensified in color Details became increasingly clear Paolo stalled out in his punch confused as the brilliance in his fist dimmed Meanwhile that ember in the Grim Chimera�s chest began to send tongues of flame flickering up out of his heavy wounds once more

Randidly clenched his massive left hand and hammered Paolo�s punch directly shattering the man�s knuckles and sending him tumbling away Then Randidly squinted upward and kicked his feet sharply downward at the same time He shot upward relative to the other fighters aiming for the grouping of Donny Lyra and Huang Li

Of course others moved to intercept him almost instantly The cloud dragon had drifted horizontally through the air again to right its direction and now accelerated up at Randidly from below Alana streaked in sideways each beat of her Fate�s wings sending pearly feathers tumbling through the air

But what Randidly was actually waiting for was Kayle who obliging manifested behind Randidly�s back and aimed several slashes at his blindspot But as Kayle began to swing his long knives Randidly�s right hand whipped around and snatched at Kayle Just as lightning fast as he appeared the man twisted and slid away through the air but Randidly activated Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes to explode in pursuit and catch him

For the second time in the fight someone�s psyche stubbornly resisted the pull of the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night this particular duo of Paolo and Kayle from Donnyton was trouble When the thin fingers of Randidly�s hand squeezed around his face cutting several gashes across his cheekbones jaw and upper neck Kayle decided to ignore defense and manifested his image in one shimmering blaze along the knife in his right hand

Which was also what Randidly was waiting for Heh maybe you two aren�t so bad after all So generous with your energy Cursed Appetite of a Wraith

Congratulations Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith has grown to Level 302

Because he hadn�t experienced it personally Kayle was no more prepared for Randidly to reach within him and steal some of his mental energy to fuel images Another handful was tossed into Randidly�s starving Soulspace The sharp divide along Kayle�s swinging knife dimmed and only scratched at Randidly�s shoulder while Randidly dislodged the rest of Kayle�s pesky resistance by slamming his left fist into his stomach Finally the Dreamcatcher could pull some of his memories from his head

Randidly tossed Kayle to the side and stomped on the air again shooting upward Behind him the massive cloud dragon was growing in size making the distance between them seem increasingly small It was definitely accelerating as well As Randidly�s Grim Intuition considered the size of the thing he was really quite impressed by Huang Li managing all of that image energy and keeping it pure wasn�t a small feat

You go no further Randidly Donny announced from above He brought the blade of his sword against his shield producing a clear and valiant noise Righteous Barricade

A dense network of golden lines sprayed outward from Donny spreading rapidly out to form a web above Randidly separating him from the remaining challengers With the barrier in place Randidly would be forced to avoid the cloud dragon below while they continued to pepper him with attacks from on high In particular Randidly felt quite wary when he saw the small dagger that Lyra was shaping from the liquid light she had gathered

That�s gonna be a problem Randidly�s mouth twitched For all that Lyra had only had her Class for one fourth the time as most of these people she was fucking strong

But despite what the Skill could mean the Grim Chimera only chuckled at the display Power flooded through his image physicalizations his heart began to pound Those two breaths of image potency he had stolen from Paolo and Kayle might be scraps compared to what he normally wielded but it was also about double the potency that he had started this fight with So Randidly stomped on the air once twice and then three times His body accelerated and ripped past the physical limitation Before Donny could react Randidly was right in front of him

Lucifer Slash Lucifer gallantly came at Randidly from the side but it didn�t even matter Randidly once more activated Cursed Appetite of the Wraith They seemed a bit more prepared for his greedy pull this time making sure Randidly only could sneak away with a whisper of their power But that was really just to distract them Meanwhile his limbs blurred into motion

So fast that each movement produced a sonic boom Randidly knocked aside Lucifer�s slash with his left hand That fist then continued forward and smashed into Lucifer�s gut Even as he was about to be blasted away Randidly�s right hand snaked out and seized his head His memories were pilfered by the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night

Then with his grip on Lucifer�s head he whipped the limp body around and smashed it into Donny�s shield As Donny adjusted his defense Randidly�s massive left hand clenched into a fist and moved with deceptive quickness It slid under his shield and caught Donny in the diaphragm likely causing the muscle to seize and produce the sensation that he couldn�t breathe Randidly�s right hand then released Lucifer�s head and grabbed Donny�s in one smooth motion

Even as they all fell down toward the ground and a massive cloud dragon ascended to obliterate them Randidly had reduced two more of the ambushers to non factors He turned and grinned around at the surviving seven

Chapter 1486

After favoring Huang Li Paolo Dinesh Glendel Lyra Alana and Hank each with a few seconds of a long stare Randidly glanced downward toward the churning clouds beneath He felt like he was walking a tightrope above the eye of a tornado with the howling maw of the cloud dragon yawning beneath him He could see disturbingly far down its throat And each second that he delayed it rushed upward with an ever growing fury Randidly suspected that the longer it pursued him the faster it would become

It seemed like one of those Skills

Yet simultaneously he was walking a tightrope of image usage that was some of the best training he�d experienced in a long time Although they opened with the announcement that this was an assassination attempt Randidly could read how false that was in their images They weren�t here to kill him rather it felt more like they wanted to prove to Randidly Ghosthound that Expira didn�t need him This was a strange attempt to frame their parting as equals rather than Randidly being in such a dominant position

And at the moment that framing did have merit Randidly might only be using one of his images but they still managed to threaten him Encountering this fight was enough that Randidly would take care not to act too unilaterally paternal toward the planet in the future He wasn�t the only person that could protect it

Yet all that was for later The fight wasn�t over yet and Randidly was ascendant while the ambushers adjusted their position in an attempt to strike a decisive blow With the energy he was able to steal in the last several seconds from Donny and Lucifer his physicalizations were blazing to life The world ember in his chest released heat through the pounding of his heart reddening his skin His exhalations were thick with steam as he spread out his arms and flexed his muscles His skin tightened and warped its defensive properties strengthening every second

The Grim Chimera�s grin at the surrounding circumstances was wicked A dull roar reached his ears as the cloud dragon approached from below Let�s see if you can catch me then Reaper�s Mantle of Catastrophe

Congratulations Your Skill Reaper�s Mantle of Catastrophe has grown to Level 159

Congratulations Your Skill Reaper�s Mantle of Catastrophe has grown to Level 164

The Skill Level was relatively low compared to Randidly�s other abilities but the haze of ash ill will and heat waves that spun outward from his body combined with the steam he already released to form a thick blanket that shrouded the surrounding area With his glowing emerald eyes at the core Randidly gritted his teeth and forced that Mantle to explode outward The thick particles of the Grim Chimera�s Mantle twisted and deflected energy away making it difficult for anyone to locate him within the grey smog

Congratulations Your Skill Reaper�s Mantle of Catastrophe has grown to Level 165

Of course compared to the mouth of the ravenous cloud dragon Randidly�s fifteen meter cloud was the size of a skittle thrown toward a human mouth But it did make the fighters above hesitate Hank Howard held his revolver at the ready his eyes narrowed for any movement Lyra continued whispering quietly to the dagger of violet light she was shaping Sweat was dripping down Huang Li�s forehead as he maintained the huge working of the cloud dragon His hands on his sword were only able to resist trembling because of how tightly he gripped the weapon

Alana drifted downward toward the smog her hair fluttering as all of them continued falling toward the ground Her spear was held loosely in her right hand Despite the fact that her image had been damaged in their prior clash the tight expression on her face meant that Randidly wouldn�t take her lightly In terms of determination few could match Alana Donal

Which was why Randidly sensed the strange desires of Alana�s image and was confused There was a deep longing there but she didn�t attack She just stared intently at his Mantle

Why try to do this Alana Randidly wondered even as the roar of the attack rushing toward him grew increasingly loud

In spite of the tense situation Randidly spared a glance downward then back up toward Huang Li He�s someone worth watching I�ll have to get Tatiana to invite him to some Order Ducis training sessions to keep him on the right track

But then he forced himself back to the task at hand The haze around him continued to spread outward but he noticed with distaste that the cloud dragon would catch up with him before any of the others were at the fringe of his Mantle Even Alana was too far away Randidly weighed his pilfered cache of mental energy but decided it was ultimately not worth it to challenge the cloud dragon directly So instead Randidly opened his mouth and shouted Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes

Most of the opponent�s flinched and Hank�s revolver barrel twitched side to side searching for Randidly�s presence But Alana continued to calmly regard the murky depths of Randidly�s Skill without the slightest hint of fear Those strange desires that swirled around her grew more intense the longer she stared It�s a feint Remain calm He is the one who needs to move

Congratulations Your Skill Reaper�s Mantle of Catastrophe has grown to Level 166

Congratulations Your Skill Reaper�s Mantle of Catastrophe has grown to Level 172

Grimacing Randidly maintained a tight grip on his Mantle around him The wind continued to nip at the edges attempting to pull it apart and reveal his form But Alana was right that shout was mostly a distraction Using the principles he had learned from his extensive experience weaving Nether he used those few seconds to weave together the caustic strands of his mantle into an even more dense barrier that he could carry around his person There was no avoiding making a move here but the Grim Chimera was gradually learning subtleties to its stubbornness There was no shame making some preparations for unavoidable setbacks

But soon his prep time came to an end The open mouth of the cloud dragon brushed the bottom of his Mantle and physically ground it to naught upon contact the invisible winds within its throat had enough force to rip the Mantle to shreds Randidly�s evaluation of Huang Li rose another few notches

Congratulations Your Skill Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes has grown to Level 225

While making a mental note to really work on the Skill Levels for this Skillset even further Randidly shot upward at a vicious speed Behind him he felt the cloud dragon stir and ponderously pull its jaws shut The motion appeared slow because of its immense size but as the lips smashed together right behind him with enough force to ruffle his clothes Randidly chuckled Almost Missed me by a full meter though

Randidly shot directly toward the alert Hank Howard who instantly trained his revolver on the three meter orb of Mantle that Randidly had woven together in preparation for this Hank narrowed his eyes Then he closed them Just as Randidly was bewildered by the choice the man pulled the trigger

Of course his damned instincts

Because he was carefully hoarding his mental energy for his next trick Randidly only relied on his physical body to dodge But to his surprise even as he cut sharply sideways and twisted that bullet seemed to curve toward him as though it caught and rode a gust of wind It smashed into his right shoulder boring a hole through his Mantle and revealing his physical position within the grey smog

Even worse was Hank�s image Although it wasn�t flashy the bullet that cut into Randidly�s flesh flared to life and fought against his image physicalizations immediately The narrative leaning of Hank�s image tried to pull Randidly into the role of an overpowered villain Before that could get any traction Randidly gritted his teeth and squashed the image The bullet flickered and was ejected from his body a split second later before it could inflict too much damage But the sudden show of force did end up costing him much of his spare mental energy

Just as he was about to recreate the Mantle Alana Donal was there Her eyes shone with a brilliant white light and met Randidly�s gaze The Third Revelation Anguish

The blow was invisible and vicious Everything was twisted and torn Even Randidly who was used to immense amounts of pain grunted and froze for an instant as that invisible pain lashed across his body And that moment of pause was exactly what they had been waiting for Randidly felt the air around him become thin and filmy like glass Then it shattered

Alana felt something close to relief as Dinesh activated his ability for one more massive usage The strange smog that the Ghosthound kept close to his body seemed to twist in the air to try and escape it but then it exploded outward and revealed that he had been successfully shifted At the moment he probably was slamming into the ground below He would react quickly but not quickly enough

But that was just the smaller of the two workings that Dinesh accomplished The bigger one was shifting the entirety of the massive cloud dragon that Huang Li manipulated flipping it upside down At the moment it screamed down toward the ground where Randidly had been sent It was a veritable bomb of tightly compacted winds ready to test the limits of the Ghosthound�s physical resilience

The wings of Alana�s Fate beat several times slowing her descent toward the impact point She glanced around and raised her voice to cut above the dull roar of the wind Prepare for landing We will be going in as soon as the Sky Slaying Sword dissipates Hank

But then Alana blinked and glanced around Where was Hank Howard Now was a bad time for him to uphold his aloof Western trope of appearing only when they needed

Then Alana grimaced

A split second before the dragon hit the ground Alana heard Dinesh shout You How

I avoided it Alana could hear the grin in Randidly Ghosthound�s voice

Even twenty meters in the air the impact of Huang Li�s impressive Skill hitting the ground shook Alana Winds churned through the ground like teeth of an invisible leviathan moving at speeds that they gripped huge slabs of rock and heaved them out of the ground These huge pieces of debris were smashed against each other and then tossed by the air currents back toward the ground smashing into their more stubborn fellows Very quickly an area about one hundred meters in diameter had all of its rock of significant size reduced to spiraling sand particles

Then the exterior winds ceased hitting the ground and the maw itself impacted the space

This impact was a different beast entirely than the initial contact manifesting as a massive concussive wave that slapped the surrounding space Alana was tossed to the side losing sight of her fellow attackers in the chaos The ground rumbled and dropped as stone chipped and cracked Behind the maw of the cloud dragon its massive body began to collapse as its energy was spent Then the air filled with a horrible hissing sound The speed of the winds on impact was so fast that the sand that wasn�t blasted away was melted into gleaming glass

Alana�s image had to flare with the aspect of inviolability in order to prevent her from crashing into the ground Quickly she steadied herself and began to glide As the debris began to settle the crater was revealed It spread outward in beautiful waves delicate sheets of overlapping glass giving the stone space the beautiful curve of flower petals

However this attack ended up being an utter failure When Alana hit the ground and could effectively examine the area she found that Randidly Ghosthound was holding the bodies of Dinesh and Glendel Likely he had already tossed the unconscious form of Hank Howard to the side

Only she Lyra Huang Li and Paolo remained

Chapter 1487

Alana Donal just focused on breathing for a few seconds She felt slightly dizzy as her brain slowly registered the reality of the situation

The phenomenon of her person was not a physical response Although she was bruised and battered from the intense earlier clashes she hadn�t taken enough hits to experience dizziness No Alana was dizzy because her mind was buzzing After all these arrangements after the best that Expira could offer gathered and ambushed Randidly Ghosthound in his exhausted state this was what they had been reduced to She wasn�t shocked but rather just sick to her stomach

It was a disappointing result to say the least

All of this had been her brainchild although many of the fighters had secretly harbored similar desires to understand where they stood in comparison to the Ghosthound It had been easy to spread the word and gather support But she was the one who breathed life into the attempt She had called on old contacts and made the plan She had led the simulated fight discussions She had thrown the first attack And all this she had done selfishly

All to prove that she would be useful to bring to the Nexus To give her the clout to make the request

Lyra seemed to finish shaping her dagger and gripped the gleaming amethyst weapon backhanded Alana could tell that the woman was more nervous than her sharp featured face revealed So she wasn�t surprised when Lyra hopped sideways and landed only a few meters away from Alana Huang Li was nearby too but he was panting and sweating Likely the Sky Slaying Sword had depleted a lot of his remaining energy They were running out of usable fighters

Alana couldn�t sense Paolo but she knew that he would be stubbornly moving through the rocky terrain preparing for his next strike His continued stubborn refusal to quit was perhaps the only reason they had made it this far If he had gone unconscious when the Ghosthound had grabbed him earlier

Alana shook her head Her failure to prove her strength here became a key that was steadily twisting the ignition of some engine in Alana�s mind The process was painful and depressing That was why she was currently buzzing As time stretched on that buzzing wormed its way outward First just her neck and shoulders but then her muscles and organs and skin were all buzzing Her entire body was straightforwardly facing the realization that Randidly truly was on another level altogether than she was

If she went with him she would only hold him back Compared to him her fighting strength was insignificant

The Ghosthound looking monstrous and proud as the Grim Chimera twisted and cracked his back His lower tail flicked side to side ineffectually severed about a meter along its length from Alana�s earlier strike It felt like that was her only contribution to the effort to defeat him Alana licked her lips they were dry When she spoke through the buzzing mostly out of the sense of responsibility that even now pushed her forward her voice sounded distant The fact he didn�t attack immediately means he�s just as wounded as we are Be careful of his ability to siphon off your energy and we can still

If I�m being honest Alana Lyra glanced over at her with a half smile I suspect only you and Paolo believed we could win in a direct confrontation Fighting is Randidly�s are of expertise He has spent all his time becoming the best at it The rest of us just well we have our own reasons for the attempt

Then Lyra twisted around and looked back toward Huang Li You alright kid

I still have a little more energy maybe one attack Huang Li whispered So much sweat had dripped off of his nose that a small puddle had formed on the ground in front of him The tip of his sword pressed against the ground Lyra seemed to want to vocalize the clear doubts she had toward Huang Li�s abilities Alana could read the urge on her face but ultimately the Village Spirit thought better of it She just turned toward the Ghosthound and raised her dagger

We have our own reasons for the attempt huh Alana reflected The key in her head continued turning Something settled into place and felt right She admitted it to herself this attempt had failed She could not fight as well as Randidly did Perhaps not even after training with him for several months Where once there was an emergent buzzing now a strange coolness spread through her head And like the buzzing it ran out across her shoulders and then through her whole body That�s true this is Randidly�s Path

And my Path

It�s been changing for a while already It�s time to follow through that shift to the end No more holding back

Warning Strange fluctuations detected from your Fate

Please see a Village Spirit immediately Warning failure to do so might result in sickness or death

Alana ignored the notifications that popped frantically up in front of her Her gaze cleared as she realized her own Path She could not stand by his side with her spear but there were other ways that Alana Donal could be a part of the Legend of Randidly Ghosthound With gentle fingers she reached up and touched the wings that grew from her Fate Then she twisted them at the base until the wings were inverted The dazzling white feathers faded to a metallic gold Where the wings once beat powerfully above her head now they stretched almost lazily downward behind her back

Raising her hand Alana pointed in a line that passed directly through the Ghosthound Finally she understood her Path The Fourth Revelation Divinity

Randidly narrowed his eyes and crossed his massive left arm in front of the gaping wounds in his chest He had seen this Skill of Alana�s in the past and the effect was powerful Even in her weakened state he dare not take it lightly

Besides something had suddenly shifted about Alana The Grim Chimera could smell it in the air she now smelled dangerous The doubt in her desires had vanished

Yet after Alana pointed nothing happened Randidly frowned Then he swore and rolled to the side cursing himself for being foolish enough to have all of his attention drawn forward A haymaker smashed into the ground where he was standing shattering the already unstable ground

By the time Randidly had rolled and popped back up to his feet Paolo was already pursuing him Worse with the addition of Alana�s Divinity Skill Paolo moved quickly enough to catch up with Randidly He was wreathed in golden fire his right fist raised and his left still hanging broken at his side He was the avatar of vengeance come to take one last swing at Randidly Ghosthound

Randidly pulled air through his teeth He really didn�t have enough energy for this Cursed Appetite of the Wraith

Unfortunately he had used this Skill too many times There was an implacable zeal visible in Paolo�s eyes that also existed around his mental energy reserves meaning that Randidly was only able to take a few grains when he activated the Skill Paolo didn�t even slow in his attack He just laughed and bellowed This is what it�s supposed to be like Right Hand of the Challenger

Randidly clenched his enormous left hand and met the blow directly The heart at the core of the Grim Chimera�s body continued its industrial tier blood pumping flooding his arm with heat as his muscles tensed At the point of impact Randidly felt Paolo�s already weak knuckles shatter into even smaller pieces But somehow Paolo�s blow had crossed their previous gap in capabilities After they clashed both were forced a small step back

Alana�s Skill had empowered the idiot

Of course Randidly�s right arm used that step�s worth of opening and slashed up like a whip His sharpened fingers of his right hand skidded off the golden light surrounding Paolo�s skin diminishing it but unable to pierce through The Grim Chimera growled Molten Fang of the Pariah

When heat flooded his right arm it was on an entirely different level His skin bones and tendons all began to glow various shades of cherry red Paolo�s eyes recognized the threat but Randidly�s hand was already moving as he adjusted Alana�s light had dimmed too much So the strike pierced cleanly through his right shoulder scalding the surrounding muscle

Congratulations Your Skill Molten Fang of the Pariah has grown to Level 246

I wanted Paolo grinned as Randidly�s left hand came up and grabbed toward his skull Champion this time

As the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night finally did its work on Paolo Randidly heard a new threat approach Sky Slaying Slash

Unlike the massive Sky Slaying Sword this Skill of Huang Li covered the distance between them in the space between two separate seconds Randidly�s pupils immediately tightened as he realized that he couldn�t both dodge the attack and extract Paolo�s memories So he gritted his teeth and marshaled his remaining mental energy The Grim Chimera raised its head and roared in defiance as Haung Li slashed it

For a split second Randidly lost consciousness He came to when he hit the ground Paolo shaken from his grip but seemingly safely unconscious Just as Randidly�s body began to bounce up away from the cracked stone he spun at lightning speed his eyes blazing with all the intensity of a firework He regained his footing instantly and prepared his counter attack Especially because he was once again on the last dregs of his mental strength he needed to finish things as quickly as possible

More than the need what Randidly felt in that brief stunned moment that made him ready to strike with no hesitation was the Want Maybe it was because Paolo had planted the tiniest seed in his mind with his words but the Grim Chimera yearned for this victory Each moment of survival in the face of long odds was an affirmation Each scar a further development of the Grim Chimera spiting the universe�s continued attempts to kill him There was wild joy in the Grim Chimera�s heart now so close to another victory All he had to do was seize it

Randidly Ghosthound was a blur as he planted his feet tore the ground beneath him and then accelerated back toward the final three individuals But he was somewhat shocked to see that Huang Li was in the midst of falling over without any action from his part it seemed that the last attack had drawn too deeply from his energy

The dagger in Lyra�s hand began to gleam as she brought it to bear on Randidly Until you�ve defeated me

Randidly touched Lyra�s head almost lightly as he loped past her She swayed and fell to the ground her powerful dagger rapidly dissipating Although her attacks were certainly powerful that power was practically useless against the physically dominant Randidly Unless she raised her Perception and Reaction she simply wasn�t� able to land any hits

Which left only Alana standing

With all of his momentum built up the increasingly bleary Randidly planted his foot and readjusted his vector He made a beeline directly for her And he likely would have charged forward and tried to run her through with his right hand had not Alana extended both hands outward in a clear gesture of surrender

Although the Grim Chimera was suspicious he slowed in his charge and stopped a few meters in front of her Alana regarded Randidly with clear eyes We no longer need to fight You�ve won

Randidly blinked slowly Just like that

Alana chuckled and extended a meaningful gaze around the surrounding area to the unconscious bodies craters burn marks and piles of shattered rock that littered the surrounding landscape If they hadn�t moved to a wasteland probably quite a lot of the residential mountain would have been destroyed around them Then Alana chucked Yes just like that We surrender

Heh Randidly grinned Despite the fact that she had led this attack against him Randidly didn�t believe that Alana would verbally surrender and not mean it he had truly won And then he couldn�t help himself With the last vestiges of his image strength his whole body rippled and he was the Grim Chimera

And then he raised his head and howled He was dominant He had survived He was happy

Chapter 1488

Lucifer groaned out a hot breath and tried to sit up As soon as he made the attempt his left hand rushed up to his head as though he was trying to stem a bleeding wound A terrible splitting headache struck at him as he moved The muscles of his body tensed from the pain holding him in that hunched half sitting position waiting for that horrible motion sickness to run its course through his body Almost instinctively Lucifer�s hand that was propping his body up tightened and his fingers buzzed with the grainy sensation of dirt underneath him

But even worse than the sickness was the sensation that followed Lucifer felt strangely hollow as the sickness receded from his mind and left him aching He was adrift where he used to know solidly where he existed He squeezed his eyes shut and flexed his image to try and overcome the sensation with brute force It had worked in the past

Yet when he activated his image Lucifer paled in horror the sense of feebleness was only worse as he tried to reach for his image

The raw instinctual sensation of a cough yanked Lucifer back to the present reminding him of the predicament of his body When he opened his eyes he was surprised to find that his vision was blurry Around him were only vague blotches of color that melted into each other His head was still swimming And that was when he started to wonder if today would be the day that he died That thought wandered through his body like a determined tadpole winding its way through the confused and deserted veins and settling finally into his image The small being made slow progress but its vitality soaked outward into his person as it spread

I refuse to die today

Lucifer growled to himself and released a pulse of his image He could clearly imagine his body moving through the motions of his Lucifer Slash That familiar motion became an anchor that allowed him to open his eyes and focus to see the surroundings

The weakness was still appalling but the image did work as a focus His vision slowly settled into something usable

Lucifer was sitting up in a long line of bodies that were laid rather casually on a flat stretch of ground His head flared painfully once again but Lucifer ignored it The memory of attacking the Ghosthound without being honest about their intentions rushed back to him Wincing Lucifer raised a hand and pressed it against his temple Was this some sort of punishment

Goddamnit it why do I feel so weak Lucifer gritted his teeth while focusing on the figures that were already up from the defeated bodies They slowly resolved themselves into the figures of Kayle and Lyra who were talking quietly to each other From the tight expressions on their faces Lucifer guessed they were suffering from similar nausea He wondered if he looked that blotchy and unsettled

They both noticed when Lucifer saw them exchanged a glance and began walking over toward him But Lucifer was distracted by a large blur to his left His first instinct was that this sudden intruder a monster and he tried to leap to his feet But that leap� ended up being simply a whole body spasm that sent his head spinning with nausea He collapsed back down onto his back

Even worse the blur raised its head and Ancho gave Lucifer a rather unamused look Then the horse lowered his long face and resumed his gleeful ransacking of the unconscious Hank�s pockets The horse pulled out a repeater from its holster chewed on the handle experimentally then shook its head and placed the gun delicately on the ground Ancho sniffed in Lucifer�s direction but seemed largely unimpressed by the possibility of him possessing treats So the horse turned away and investigated the other unconscious individuals

While Lucifer�s spinning mind settled back down Lyra and Kayle arrived at his feet Kayle spoke first in a quite voice Are you alright

Lucifer considered the question seriously for a bit of time before licking his lips and answering I I feel physically alright But my head

Yea Lyra cut in Then she grimaced The Ghosthound he stayed long enough for me to wake up He said he took quite a bit of our Nether for having the nerve to ambush him like that Ugh he said that She raised her hand and pushed back her tawny hair irritably so that the offending strand was tucked behind her ear But he had a stupid grin on his face when he said it so I know he got something out of it

So you guys too Lucifer asked just to confirm

Kayle nodded He glanced at Lyra but she seemed to be seething with fury and in no mood for further talking So Kayle spoke again From what the Ghosthound told Lyra the phenomenon will last anywhere from two weeks to a month The motion sickness should disappear first but the sense of weakness that is what will take a while to recover

I�ll have to feel Lucifer�s eyes widened Suddenly he could understand Lyra�s fury He made a fist with his right hand raised it a few inches off the ground then brought it back down softly into the dirt it was the most aggressive display he felt he could manage at the moment And he did this to all of us this is an attack on Expira How DARE he What if we don�t manage to recover before the First Calamity

That date is over four months away Kayle answered placidly Lyra very visible bit her lip hard enough that it bled clearly agreeing with the spirit of what Lucifer was saying But Kayle only sighed We could have challenged him directly as we did in the past It would have been another grand event and likely a wide audience for our loss Instead we did it secretly hoping to gain a significant advantage with the suddenness of the attack And to be fair I suspect he did fight us with a rather large handicap

Randidly Ghosthound sought to strengthen the planet and prepare us for the Calamity sure but more than that Kayle looked upward as he was speaking Lucifer couldn�t help but follow his gaze The sky above was overcast painted with the soft blues of night right before dawn Which meant that they had been unconscious for perhaps ten hours The fact that Lucifer was still sore after being knocked out for that time was shocking

Kayle shrugged after his long pause He has always stressed that with the arrival of the Nexus the world is much less forgiving our actions have consequences This is the price we have to pay for seeking a genuine victory over the Ghosthound

Lucifer mulled that over for a while his anger settling like a choppy sea after the storm has passed Gradually the waves disappeared and left only salty water Dawn inched closer engaging in the slow process of illuminating the sky And strangely Lucifer stumbled across a realization that brought him quite a bit of joy He grinned around at Lyra and Kayle Heh it�s not all bad news however So we were the ones who woke up the most quickly I suppose

Don�t pat yourself on the back Lyra said in a dead voice She practically spat out the words Randidly told me that he took more from those that could spare it So the hardest hit were Alana Hank Paolo and Huang Li When I asked him how much more he had taken from them relative to the rest of us he just laughed

In that moment Lucifer thought he heard an echo of that laugh bouncing gleefully off the cracked ground around them He could see the Grim Chimera standing before them arms spread as though it was inviting challenges from all of existence He could see the zeal and wild joy on the image�s face

Lucifer shivered

He had to wait several hours for his psyche to recover but it was worth it for this result Randidly grinned down at the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night Thin strands twisted across each other setting into an entirely new pattern The dense intersection of strands gradually settled toward order A shape began to emerge Jackpot

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night has grown to Level 93

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night has grown to Level 94

To make sure that Expira�s strongest wouldn�t start thinking it was okay to attack him randomly while announcing things like this is an assassination � Randidly had pilfered some significance from their memories with his Fatepiece But it wasn�t until he had completely won and knocked Alana Donal unconscious for good measure that he understood that he was taking a bit of their innate Nether while he did so

Which made Randidly scratch his head and go back over the unconscious bodies to examine the phenomenon He didn�t take more memories the second time around but he used his Nether Nebula to steal even more of each person�s Nether He waffled for a while but ultimately decided to just take a flat 70% from everyone Which resulted in a surprisingly significant boost to his Nether Nebula He could sense that one of those grey bubbles was very close to being produced within that intensely compacted core

In addition the loss of Nether was an injury that would probably linger for quite some time When he had tried it with Derek Moss He had taken memories from him without also reaching for some Nether on top of that And even so the man who was famously chipper had been listless for four days

The Nether he took should gradually recover with plenty of time to spare before the Calamity but Randidly recalled the helpless feeling he had when Kaan Swacc used the Nether Suppression Cell against him in their duel Even if you didn�t rely on it consciously your significance within the Nether of your body grounds your image Without it

There was an internal chime The churning threads of his Dreamcatcher settled into place A mystical glowing pattern floated in front of Randidly�s eyes He grinned and leaned forward going into that place of chimes and intersection And once he was there Randidly thought of a specific moment and felt himself arriving in front of it The smile on his face stretched wider and wider as he witnessed the result

With the support of so many memories on the same moment Randidly felt how much more stable this memory had become The strands became thick supports twined effortlessly together into thick cords The memory itself hung fat and pulsing in the corner of his Fatepiece on another tier altogether than his other memories With so many perspectives it had become its own small world

He released a breath and reached toward it

Randidly entered into the memory as Alana The world blurred and then he found himself looking at his own confused face right at the beginning of the attack The rest of the anti Randidly faction was shifting into formation Here Alana would have delivered her inflammatory opening line but Randidly didn�t bother with that Instead Alana rippled and vanished replaced by the towering image of Yggdrasil Wind whistled through the emerald leaves

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 317

Real Randidly lashed out freely with Absolute Grasp sending hundred of blindingly fast roots whipping at the various fighters around him Taken by surprise most were knocked away before they understood what was happening A veritable wave of plant matter knocked them senseless and pushed them away

Which just showed poor planning Randidly shook his head rather sorrowfully why weren�t they prepared to deal with his Yggdrasil Skillset

Well I suppose it makes sense that they would underestimate its true power I haven�t demonstrated its capabilities much on Expira but it IS a Transcendent Skill You can�t just ignore it

Meanwhile the memory Randidly instantly realized something was wrong His Absolute Grasp reached out and seized onto the spreading roots and the two silently struggled until the roots stilled Both Skills seized upon the roots with the same absolute power resulting in a stalemate Compared to the rather calm activation of Grim Chimera that had actually happened in the fight the tight fury in fake Randidly�s eyes as he considered the real Randidly was an entirely different beast

All three images had activated as he glared over at the new arrival who used his Skills He snarled Who are you

Randidly paused Ah perhaps explaining this situation might be slightly awkward Especially after my experience of Kaan Swacc

But in more positive news despite the deviation from the original memory Randidly didn�t have much of a headache at all Having so many memories form this recollection truly strengthened its boundaries

Which meant he had some time to explain

Chapter 1489

In the end it was actually more simple than Randidly had expected to convince the memory version of himself that what he was saying might possibly be true

So I�m the memory version The memory had asked with pursed lips They mutually agreed to maintain a seething forest of roots around their face off keeping the duos away Real Randidly didn�t want to bother with them and fake Randidly didn�t want this strange interloper near them Some of them tried to cut through the mass of plants but the two Randidlys just regenerated the barrier Which meant that they were completely isolated within the pulsing mass of vines But I must assume that you coming back and challenging yourself is a pretty significant deviation from the original scenario How�s your head

Randidly gestured vaguely behind him to the ambushers I took the memories from all of them With more people�s significance supporting the memory it looks like deviation isn�t such a problem

Taking memories from them Dream Randidly said rubbing his chin Randidly rolled his eyes He could practically hear the oh that�s a good idea� in the memory�s internal monologue Then the memory looked back at him seeming to consider him Meanwhile the undercurrent of testing continued Every second the memory would release pulses of different images seeming to test him Randidly responded with the same pulse

The only difference was the Grim Chimera Randidly grinned wolfishly over at the memory when that image came up His version of the Grim Chimera had a noticeable edge

So why are you here then What do you want from yourself The memory asked His eyes glittered as Yggdrasil spread its branches and began healing his mental fatigue Regardless of the reason it seemed obvious that the memory considered him a significant threat and not a training opportunity That was good

Randidly�s smile was lazy The Grim Chimera appeared around him I wanted to refine some of the changes to the Grim Chimera that I�ve made And as you know we�ve already fought so many times against Kaan so I thought why not try and fight the man who managed to defeat Kaan Swacc

After a moment of silence both Randidly�s began to laugh Fighting intent spiked upward from both of them Then the memory Randidly pouted Heh it�s rather frustrating that I have to be the one used as a whetstone rather than the one improving but I assume this is your first attempt Next time tell me to look at our Nether Nebula There�s something wrong with mine It�s hard to explain It�s like its a replica built to look like one without any of its power A model with no true significance

Randidly blinked Thanks

Then they began to fight

Tatiana sat in her office She took a sip of her tea and then sighed in pleasure White teas were her favorite This particular blend included both dried raspberries and what could only be grass that had been soaked in white wine The result was sour and bitter just the jolt she needed to start the day

Then the central spine of Kharon turned and looked to the North letting her eyes fade from the forefront of her focus so her mind could peer through the walls of her office Although it was far away she still could feel the place where Randidly Ghosthound had fought last night In retrospect some sort of challenge against him in the wake of the duos tournament was obvious She should have seen it coming But at least from what Tatiana had heard from Mrs Hamilton Randidly had inflicted a rather serious punishment against them She offered a sharp smile to the hardwood paneling of her office wall

She would give him shit for making more political work for her but if the Zones tried to make an issue of it Tatiana would butcher them How dare they legitimately try to ambush him After all the work he put into making them stronger

But Tatiana suppressed that frustration and turned her attention to hallways of City Hall around her She took another sip of her delicate tea and released a sigh As she grew more distant from Randidly during the process of preparing for his departure her uncanny intuition slowly evolved to include the creations of Randidly Ghosthound So she could faintly feel the sensation of each person moving about the building She could feel their feet tap lightly along the floor of the tiled halls

Tatiana stood and walked to the door She held the handle for several seconds waiting for her target to approach Then just as Commissioner Arrietti was hurrying past Tatiana opened the door When their eyes met she favored him with a smile Ah Commissioner How are you doing today

I am well thank you The Commissioner gave her a short bow Then he hesitated as though debating over whether or not to say something As always with the man his sense of duty won The report on corruption

Ah let�s not talk about business right now Commissioner Tatiana waved her hand Wouldn�t her life be so much easier if she had more subordinates as determinedly single minded as he Then she brought her fist against her palm as though she had just remembered something Oh Didn�t you tell me that you enjoyed barbecue I recently went to a new restaurant and the food was excellent If you have time perhaps you should stop in and give it a try

Oh Well I do consider myself something of a connoisseur of the grill The Police Commissioner said Then Tatiana gave him the address of a restaurant owned by a single middle aged woman with a warm smile and a spine of iron Tatiana had done a thorough investigation of the woman�s background to make sure she had no ulterior motives for coming to Kharon and believed the two would be compatible Her intuition told her it was an ideal match All that was left was to see if Tatiana had lost her touch since coming to work in politics

With a nod Tatiana walked away from the Commissioner and went to the staircase in the East Wing of City Hall She could feel Commissioner Arrietti standing still and repeating the address to himself so he wouldn�t forget it The image of the very serious expression he undoubtedly had on his face made her smile

As Tatiana descended to the ground floor she passed the bickering figures of Derek and Hydie on the wide stairwell Tatiana favored these two with a warm smile as well Ah back from your training expedition How did it go

No fatalities Derek announced in a jolly tone but the corner of his mouth twitched Unfortunately about a third of the participants suffered rather serious injuries Injuries so serious that we needed to call a dedicated healer in order to stitch them back together It just seemed like so many unlikely accidents befell our expedition

Oh shut up Hydie said frostily She was keeping a rather cool expression on her face but Tatiana could sense how legitimately disturbed she was about the accidents She was doing better at embracing her own Aura of Misfortune but she hadn�t quite been able to avoid flinching at these consequences It would be a slow process of learning to accept herself Won�t this build character If we give things too freely to people they will get spoiled

Well said Hydie Tatiana commented as she glided down the stairs past them She waved one hand over her shoulder in goodbye As long as they are alive they can learn and grow The rest well it�s just experience

Once on the ground floor Tatiana quickened her pace Today she had quite a few actual meetings to get through mostly regarding the plans for Kharon�s floating islands In addition she had to meet with Vye and Naffur and plan out how they wanted to approach Expira�s final Zone

Tatiana paused in her walk and looked straight up Although Randidly was floating on his island above she felt powerful image reverberations coming from him it appeared he had returned to training

You are somewhat hopeless Tatiana sighed as she briefly experienced the periphery of Randidly�s all consuming desire to strengthen himself then she went to her meeting and treated it like a palate cleanser She passed through the mundane realities of paperwork and meetings and was able to breathe a lung full of air without the near obsession of the Ghosthound lingering across her senses

Not that she minded Randidly�s presence But she needed to focus

If Kharon was a body Tatiana would have considered herself to be the inner ear She wasn�t particularly responsible for any of the actual living that was done by the body but she was constantly monitoring its balance She checked in all of the various leaders and made sure they were mentally stable She took the temperature of the various workers in all of the major industries of Kharon She sat through meetings listening and reflecting on the way the Wandering City was developing

She listened to the pulse of the body senses taut for any perceived flaws

As days passed Kharon arrived at the previous edge of the world without much fanfare Without even pausing it crossed the equator into the wild wilderness that was the last obstacle before arriving at the final of Earth�s Zones Monster resistance intensified but it was nothing the Order Ducis couldn�t handle There was more work to do but it became predictable in a way Everything was beginning to settle into place

Which was why Tatiana wasn�t surprised a week after the people of Expira attacked Randidly to find the Ghosthound himself waiting in her office Her skin began to tingle She knew why he was here immediately just from his posture

It�s time Randidly said quietly His hair that had grown wild during his training sessions had been trimmed back down to finger length Although the clothes he was wearing weren�t particularly nice it was one of the compromise outfits that she had picked out for him to wear at official gatherings a short sleeve white button up and forest green shorts Wearing the outfit he seemed almost criminally mundane His tan right arm could belong to any clean cut young man

Even his emerald eyes were somehow sedate refusing to catch any of the evening light filtering in through her window

Tatiana felt a rising wave of emotion and pressed it sharply back down before it could sweep her away She walked around to her desk and examined the calendar sitting there even though she knew it by heart You don�t plan to have the final meeting with Miss Collins and the teaching board regarding Keystones

No I already worry that the lessons I�m pushing them to teach are a little too harsh for the current times Randidly folded his arms across his chest They have the right number of ideas now its just refining them Neveah will be remaining on Expira so she can still help with the Engraving when they are ready As for the other stuff Honestly you did it Tatiana You�ve managed to make me completely superfluous in my own city These people don�t need my help any longer

Tatiana knew that he meant it as a joke so she flashed her teeth in an imitation of a smile But she felt quite cold all of a sudden She breathed in and then breathed out When do you leave

Tonight Randidly replied I�ve already gathered my Riders they all chose to accompany me from within the Alpha Cosmos So they won�t be scouting for the Order Ducis any longer I�ve already talked to Naffur about it

Are you taking anyone else with you Tatiana asked

Randidly shook his head Just Helen The people of Expira they will be handling Expira�s problems in the future I can�t drag them around with me all across the Nexus

Then this is goodbye For a while at least Tatiana blinked Randidly walked forward and put his arms around Tatiana�s shoulders squeezing her into a tight hug He was strong of course he was strong but it was so easy to viscerally feel how strong he was as he hugged her His hands pressed her back bringing her to his chest She felt so light and insubstantial compared to those arms He smelled like soap charcoal and iron The metal arm was warmer than she thought it would be Not as warm as flesh but also not unpleasant

Then he let her go and took a step back His eyes were still dark but they swirled like shadows over the surface of a deep swamp Goodbye Tatiana I�ve left so much in your lap I know that And I could never repay you for all you�ve done for me

You can Tatiana whispered She refused to allow herself to cry at least while he was here She would save that for later You can win this You can go the Nexus and ensure that no more humans need to die to fuel it

Randidly favored her with a toothy grin That�s the plan

Chapter 1490

Helen stood with her hands in her pockets tilting her head to the side as she regarded Alana Alana couldn�t read the expression on the other woman�s face She approached Alana�s answer with the same stoic determination that she approached violence She immersed herself totally giving it the entirety of her spirit Silence hung between them as Helen mulled over Alana�s words

The two were standing on the veranda of Alana�s Donnyton home looking out over Donnyton Below smoke billowing up from the industrial district reveal that the city already was preparing to move through the day despite the early hour Finally Helen shifted she reached up and cracked her jaw with one hand before speaking What made you change your mind

Alana chuckled Perhaps the fact that it was a bad idea to begin with I shouldn�t tie my life to Randidly Ghosthound at least not literally I am the prophet that will spread the virtues that he exemplifies across this world I�ll be the voice to reach that Randidly cannot on his own But I�m not going to make the same mistakes in regards to my role that I did with the responsibility of Donnyton I have my own Path independent of him

At that answer Helen favored Alana with a wicked grin Are you sure you aren�t just a sore loser after ambushing him How�s your head

Alana turned away from the other woman To tell the truth she probably was still at only about half power a week out from the fight But she wasn�t going to dignify Helen�s jibe with a response Are you sure you don�t just want a punching bag in the Nexus No this is the right decision I realized while fighting Randidly that I shouldn�t be trying so hard to be him He has some very notable weaknesses that are better avoided I can be myself and also continue to strengthen Expira

For several seconds Helen was silent Without any more words passing between them Helen could understand Because she too had faced a similar decision in the past Even if she had made the opposite choice she could respect Alana�s reasons then good luck

You too Alana said seriously There was the sound of water lapping against stone and then the air darkened By the time Alana turned around Helen had vanished carried away by her Tides of Blood Alana stared after idly her allowing some of the doubts she had toward her decision to surface on her face It hadn�t been easy Alana�s troubled frown formed deep caverns across her cheeks

The morning breeze was cold on Alana�s hands gripping the railing of her veranda Winter was truly here

But the more time passed with this opportunity gone the more Alana began to relax There were consequences of not following the Ghosthound on the journey but at the very least this was her choice She had earned those consequences And making it allowed Alana Donal to feel free She closed her eyes and felt the steady pulse of life coming from her altered Fate It reaffirmed her conviction

As long as she continued walking this Path would carry her forward

Alana was still sitting on her veranda enjoying a meal of fried ham and potatoes when Wivanya�s bulky for noisily landed in her yard Her dragon companion�s wide wingspan blew huge gusts of wind across the surrounding houses likely waking any sleeping neighbors Icicles were shaken and dislodged from the manicured trees in the surrounding lawns But Alana doubted that the sulky neighbors would have the nerve to bring it up to her

She allowed herself a small smirk Just a perk of being the strongest duo on Expira Plus it shouldn�t happen too often in the future I won�t be remaining in Donnyton for long

Although Wivanya was typically composed in her actions currently the dragon simply pressed her wings to her sides when she was about ten meters away from the ground and dropped like a frozen bomb toward the ground After hitting the lawn and sending another shockwave through the surrounding block the dragon used her claws to scramble up toward Alana on the veranda Alana Is it true

You�ve heard the news about the Ghosthound I assume Alana kept her face impassive balancing out the wild emotional reverberations coming from the dragon Perhaps because Alana had known Randidly when he was just Randidly but his eventual departure was something she knew would happen eventually But Wivanya seemed completely blindsided by this development

The Frost Dragon Broodmother swung her head side to side like a dog looking for a scent Yes They say he left last night Without Without even coming to visit the Ghosthound Cathedral

Inwardly Alana snorted honestly Randidly would be more likely to come to the Village of the pious Frost Dragons if he didn�t know about their cathedral dedicated to him Continuing to shout about it at every opportunity would not lure him into visiting But she understood how much the figure of the Ghosthound meant to Wivanya The entirety of the growing Frost Dragon population dearly wanted to show him their sincerity

Unfortunately I think this is a situation where you will be disappointed for now such is the prerogative of gods Alana thought sadly But her face opened up into a warm smile as she mastered those feelings to cheer up her friend The Ghosthound cannot yet visit he is required in the Nexus But doesn�t that mean that Ghosthound Cathedral can be even more impressive when he finally does visit

Wivanya considered that Her sapphire eyes narrowed and Alana briefly thought that her dragon saw through her rather clumsy misdirection But when Wivanya spoke she used a voice that was trembling with excitement a whole glorious Ghosthound complex hum maybe we should add a pyramid

Sorry Randidly Alana thought as she reached out and patted her companion�s long neck

You run this shop yourself Elmer Arrietti asked as the woman gracefully leaned forward and set the large tray of food in front of him The smells hit him first warm and rich He couldn�t control the saliva in his mouth as he gazed at the heaps of smoked brisket pulled pork baked beans cheesy mashed potatoes and cornbread But then the Police Commissioner reached down and adjusted his belt reminding himself to act his station He looked back up at the proprietress and cleared his throat

Selene favored him with one of her winning smiles and the Commissioner was briefly stunned his face tingled like she had lightly slapped him His heart pounded in his chest as she spoke Why yes It�s actually been somewhat difficult for me moving to a new city and setting everything up But smoking meats is what my family has been doing for generations Hehe I�m glad I can now count the Police Commissioner as one of my customers Maybe I should put it on a sign and hang it up

I Arrietti cleared his throat again Well I do technically still need to taste the food so

The woman smiled and withdrew to the other side of the small restaurant Commissioner Arrietti couldn�t keep his eyes from following her She was short and had an extremely healthy waist with her arms and legs lean from the labor of hauling and hanging all the meat that the restaurant Her auburn hair was done up in a tight bun above her head Although he didn�t want to get ahead of himself Arrietti would admit that she was very close to his ideal type Adding to that the fact that she moved to Kharon alone

I must be careful cannot make it seem like I�m using my station to pick up women Arrietti scolded himself He took a drink of water cooling his throat and also cleansing his palate

When he had arrived he had thought she was a beautiful waitress He had been mortified when he asked to talk to the pitmaster to speak about the meat selection and she sweetly responded that she preferred the term pit mistress and introduced herself as Selene After stumbling through his order he had guiltily used his high Perception to follow her movements through the back of the restaurant as she prepared the food

She truly handled everything herself So not just a beautiful woman but also a capable one Elmer Arrietti gulped He took another drink of water

Abruptly he realized that he was looking over at Selene and she was staring back at him with her chin in her hands As recognition dawned in Arrieiti�s expression the corner of Selene�s eyes crinkled in amusement What you don�t like a woman who likes to watch

When Arrieti�s mouth refused to close normally he took a fork and stuffed some of the brisket inside so the expression wasn�t so unusual The common physical machinations of chewing began to take over But almost immediately he forgot all about Selene�s coy expression Elmer Arrietti was immediately at peak concentration He mobilized his image so that every one of his senses was heightened to its limit This meat

The next ten minutes were a blur of barbecue sauce and savory flavors The meats were placed on Arrieti�s tongue where their spiced juices and tender flesh became a culinary delight Although he usually controlled his appetite on this meal he made so such attempts for this meal He continued voraciously devouring the food until the tray was entirely clean

Elmer leaned back from the table and sighed in contentment Selene laughed as she stepped forward and picked up his tray That�s a great expression on your face That�s exactly why I like to watch my customers eat when I can Can I get anything else for you

Actually Arrietti took a steadying breath Her earlier comments had definitely been a bit flirty right Although it was somewhat awkward that he was doing this at her place of work they were both adults They could behave as adults And Elmer�s heart was trembling in a way he hadn�t felt in twenty years But it was an extremely adult tremor More than her looks Selene�s cooking Actually Maybe sometime I can come to eat here with you again

That wasn�t quite right Commissioner Arrieti�s eyelid twitched

Selene smiled Sure I�m open six days a week Do you want your check then

No I err yes actually bring the check Arrietti scratched the side of his head But what I meant to say is that you and I the two of us maybe not at your restaurant

CoommIIssIoonneerr

Arrieiti�s stuttered proposal was drowned out by the sound of someone yelling from outside on the street In a way Arrietti was relieved at the distraction why was he behaving like a prepubescent boy Shouldn�t he be old enough that these sort of nerves didn�t ruffle him But simultaneously he felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach he recognized that voice

Heiffal burst through the door to the restaurant followed closely by the other members of the crew that had enthusiastically taken the joy out of bowling for Commissioner Arrietti These were the few dozen that constantly infested the alley making it boisterous and busy at all hours of the day They were the ones that had stolen Elmer�s peaceful moments of repose from him The group crowded in behind Heiffal quickly filling up the available space Tables and chairs were pushed to the side making more room for them to congregate around Arrietti

There were tears in Heiffal�s eyes Commissioner Arrietti I just want to say thank you for everything you�ve taught us about control and precision about inner peace and self improvement

Arrietti began gritting his teeth Control Inner peace You people Why haven�t I ever seen any evidence of this

We are heading back to the Nexus Heiffal continued a single tear running down his cheek as he regarded Arrietti But we knew we couldn�t go without one last game of bowling So please For old time�s sake

Ah I�m actually Elmer was trembling He had FINALLY found an opportunity to escape his status as a fifty two year old bachelor and these punks wanted to ruin his first impression I need to

Commissioner Arrietti your sense of honor is pretty legendary in Kharon I�ll give you this one on credit Selene said as she deftly wove her way through the press of bodies Then she waved goodbye with a napkin as though sending him off on a sea voyage from which he might not return safely

Elmer Arrietti studiously kept control of his face as he was buoyed away by the capable hands of Heiffal�s crew Behind him he could hear Heiffal�s soldiers whispering

Look at his face he can barely control his emotions

Ah Commissioner Arrietti he�s so overcome Seeing him so emotional like this

Take it easy be strong just like Commissioner Arrietti We can�t guh We can�t cry Waahh

So she had heard of me before A bitter Arrietti thought desperately trying to find the silver lining in the situation

Chapter 1491

When he left Kharon Randidly had a few more visits to make before he could actually leave Expira in good conscious It seemed that every time he turned around he somehow had developed a whole new slew of responsibilities The first this time was a visit to Ghost Once his mobility was revealed and most of the world knew about the AI�s transforming gundam esque body he was forced to relocate to the Wildlands South of Zone 1

From what Randidly understood all of the Zones pressured Ghost to come work for them manufacturing drones To avoid being locked down once more Ghost had refused them all preferring to experiment on his own But because of that he had been forced to keep his operations relatively low key

Ghost was quite delighted with his visit it seemed he had saved up a lot of research to share since they last met After briefly allowing the excited Ghost to take him through his newest drones and then complain about having to hide the continued production of his metal army Randidly brought him back to intelligence The two discussed the current state of Expira and Randidly was rather relieved to find Ghost�s understanding basically matched Tatiana�s Seems like she has enough sources to survive in this world

Then due to a spur of the moment thought Randidly suggested that Ghost move his operation to the island formerly used by the Nemesai It was slightly stained with Randidly�s images now but it was also very secluded and included a spacious underground It would be hard for the Zones to track the AI there

Ghost agreed and packed up his operation within only fifteen minutes It was an impressive feat Three two hundred meter assembly lines were folded and compacted into bus sized vehicles A shimmering sea of scuttling spider robots that assisted Ghost arranged themselves in tight formations and waited for Randidly to open up a portal While the sea of metal trooped off to its new home Randidly made sure Ghost new to contact Neveah if he had any problems

In addition Ghost agreed to help Kharon three times should they need it in exchange for one favor from Randidly or Neveah Then they shook hands Randidly using his flesh and blood right arm to grasp the porcelain and steel appendage that Ghost offered him

There�s one other thing Randidly said after they both took a step back Most of Ghost�s stuff had already gone through the portal I want to stress try your best to survive the Calamities That is the time frame that I�m thinking Kharon is strong now but

Ghost seemed to whirr as his AI considered that I see True the help I could give to them now is relatively limited Heh I understand what you want my role to be You worry more than I thought you would Mr Ghosthound

I�ve been given a crash course in worries these past few weeks from an expert Randidly answered dryly It hadn�t been enjoyable but it was quite true Besides this is me worrying now so I will be free from these feelings tomorrow

Good luck Ghost told him before heading through the portal and examining his new space

Then Randidly went and visited both of his original two Soulseeds Both were overjoyed to see him but Randidly could sense that there was some distance in their relationships now that probably would never be bridged again their pure adoration of him was gone Compared to the duo of Acri and Sulfur that had been by his side the entire time there were clear signs that the early separation from Randidly had adjusted how Thorn and Arbor would grow

But although that made Randidly sad it was probably for the best Their independence meant they weren�t going to be limited by him

Their general cheer at his arrival was basically the same but what happened after was quite different between the two of them Arbor immediately unloaded all of the details of the Cult of Arbor starting with Kiersty�s most recent struggles to control her budding feelings for one of the guards that worked for King Phirun So Randidly sat rather still while the smoldering Arbor clambered all over him covering him with soot and smoking leaves and inundating him with gossip

Randidly sat and listened The veins of Yggdrasil ran through his body as he was patient and kind with this being which he had created

At the end they embraced and Randidly said a few quiet words to Arbor about the importance of balancing the need to listen to its followers and the need to act as his own treant Randidly went on to say that Arbor should try his best to life purposefully There was no right way to live life so each day should at least be an affirmative choice That way Arbor would be taking responsibility for the shape of his living

Then they embraced again and Randidly had moved on to his next task Thorn�s interaction was even briefer

Thorn also embraced Randidly impressing him with the plant�s ability to deal damage to his body that was improved by his physicalized images The sharpness of his nominal thorns was no joke Then Thorn passionately explained its current idea to grow stronger through emotion and images dig to the center of the planet and take up permanent residence there where his thorns would be able to reach anywhere in the world From that position he would be able to protect everyone No one would need to die

Randidly�s eyes softened as he listened to Thorn explain

Of course Thorn was currently having difficulties getting his vulnerable core through the molten stone of the mantle And the deeper it dug the hotter it got But it emphasized that Randidly�s power to use Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil had inspired it It wanted to possess that same absolute capability

For now it�s probably for the best that Thorn doesn�t get that capability Having him able to reach across the whole world

Thorn Randidly paused unsure of what he wanted to say Because when he looked at Thorn he saw quite a few worrying similarities to himself But regarding those flaws what right did Randidly have to criticize So he could only slowly exhale His images crowded around each with their own idea on what to say to Thorn

In the end Randidly stuck with the feeling that Yggdrasil released He reached out and patted Thorn�s pink and black core Don�t forget to have fun buddy Life�s something worth enjoying sometimes And if we are talking about living you cannot ever completely eliminate risk

The last visit that Randidly made was to Neveah They had been in near constant contact over the past few weeks as the plans for the Keystones were finalized but they hadn�t actually seen each other for quite some time Through their connection Randidly had known that it was because Neveah wanted to be alone right now What had happened with Roy left a deep scar on her that Randidly couldn�t quite understand

But now Randidly was leaving and Neveah refused to go with him So he was no longer willing to let her have her space He wasn�t going to go without saying goodbye

When he arrived at her cabin she was already waiting with the door open He followed her inside sniffing and catching the scent of a stew she was making In the corner of the room a large cauldron merrily bubbled bits of carrot onion and potato periodically visible as the mixture continued its steady churn What surprised Randidly was that Sydney was sitting in the corner of a room folding laundry She looked up at him with a slightly unfriendly stare as though daring him to question while she was here

Randidly wasn�t a fan of the antagonism in her expression but decided he had bigger fish to fry at the moment He looked at Neveah and sent her a message Is it fine to talk about things here

Is there anything that we would talk about that we are trying to hide Neveah responded Outloud she asked Tea

Please Randidly said moving over to sit in one of the wooden stools at the table While Neveah went through the small motions of putting a kettle on to boil and Sydney returned to her folding Randidly tasted the swirling emotions around their images In addition he could use his Nether Nebula to brush against the significance that pooled in this place Despite the limits imposed by the System there was quite an abundance of Nether present

This cabin was a dense mess of Nether

Neveah ground up some tea leaves I assume part of the reason you are here is to ask me again if I�m sure I don�t want to come I will say that I am sure If you want that letter on the table is Roy�s suicide note Read it Then you might understand

Frowning Randidly looked at the letter in question He picked it up and unfolded Someone likely Neveah had taken great care when refolding the letter The creased paper was sharp and stark against the messy words written within Randidly scanned the letter and his frowned deepened Certainly the handwriting was overly stylized but more than that

He read the letter twice before he set it down His emerald eyes glittered Do you think this is accurate

Yes I believe so Neveah said Steam began to whistle out of the kettle and she whisked it up and poured the boiling water over the leaves When he died Roy�s consciousness was pulled somewhere Likely all living things governed by the System are taken there Part of the damage he sustained was due to witnessing the crazy meat grinder of images but more than that and the reason that nothing ever seems to try and escape from that place

That�s where all the significance goes Randidly breathed Everything that has been stolen from the Cohorts And they use it to try and make

The words on the page floated at the forefront of Randidly�s mind All the parts of an infant are assembled there all the limbs and organs But they were drawn by someone who had never seen the real thing The pieces float around each other the heart orbiting the pelvis while passing through a belt of drifting fingers and toes like a solar system

Neveah barred her teeth Or perhaps its better to say that the reason the Nexus can gather all the dying images is that it already has so much significance gathered in one point And when you witness that mass of significance it means so much more than you ever could That hits you viscerally You feel rightfully insignificant It�s probably why Roy became so obsessed with heroes and their tropes only in stories could he feel meaningful Being a part of something softened his certainty that he was individually meaningless

Then Neveah lowered her gaze I have to admit it has me worried Against Kaan I�m not mentally strong Randidly Not like you are If I had to face that significance Even if I could just sense it existing nearby I would be crushed So it�s better for me here

Randidly�s mind whirred Part of him was grappling with the issue of Neveah�s decision while another part of himself began gradually to assemble a picture of the Nexus based on what he knew That strange warped baby at the core of that place of death

Randidly released a breath I understand

He sat for a while after that settling his thoughts and drinking his tea He even found it within himself to talk quietly for Sydney for a time making polite conversation Neveah eventually asked if Randidly was staying for dinner to which he had to reply in the negative it was already time for him to go They embraced

He was hugging a lot today

He opened up a portal and moved back to Kharon There the soldiers that followed him from the frontlines waited They had just finished with their own goodbyes These soldiers were put within his Alpha Cosmos Then although he was somewhat loathe to admit he needed her assistance Randidly headed to Donnyton He could do this on his own but he now wanted to be careful to keep everything within official channels

So he met Lyra to the South of Donnyton on a small hill next to an apple orchard She looked extremely grumpy as though she was running a fever and Randidly�s request had forced her out of bed She was very clearly suppressing the urge to shiver in the chill wind Randidly couldn�t prevent a grin from spreading across his face it seemed that his punishment was having the desired effect

Probably to refuse to acknowledge her weakness Lyra didn�t even bother to complain about it Instead she waved her hand in front of Randidly�s eyes He observed carefully as she attached a small bit of Aether architecture to his Class He scrutinized it carefully as it latched onto him watching for any more observation software But it truly just allowed him to see parts of the System that were barred to him before

And once it settled Randidly could sense them running through the world around him the Nexus Ways

The main hub is the biggest one It�s really self explanatory Lyra stretched her arm up and gestured vaguely Then she seemed to remember something and pause Ah there is one more thing You are the first person from Expira to be designated by a Village Spirit as worthy to head to the Nexus As such

She gestured and a notification appeared in front of Randidly

Congratulations Due to your accomplishment you have been given a Tier I Nexus Citizenship Coin See your Village Spirit for more details

Chapter 1492

As Lyra had indicated the location of the main terminal was obvious once Randidly started looking The Nexus Ways were like invisible flumes that ran across the surface of Expira and when he stepped into the thickest one he was pulled through to a spacious gleaming stone cavern In the center of that cavern stood two tall stone pillars that reached all the way to the ceiling On the floor between those pillars was a mystical looking Engraving Motes of slight drifted upward from the ground a testament to the residual power present there

Randidly walked forward delighting in the sensation of the cool material of the ground on his bare toes He paused above the Engraving and studied it Despite the fact that he had been doing his best to keep up with the slew of insights that Neveah made and reported to him the Engraving in front of him was completely indecipherable He recognized some pieces that would transfer energy but he couldn�t get any real grasp on the actual function of the thing

Of course the function was rather obvious this was the portal

When Randidly approached his new piece of Aether attached to him prompted him with a question

What is your Destination

A hitherto never before seen menu appeared in front of his gaze There was a space for prior destinations and also a place where you could enter in the coordinates of some random place you wanted to go Randidly wondered idly how far the Nexus Ways stretched Considering the size of each Cohort the coverage must be absolutely massive Probably to the point that his brain wouldn�t be able grapple with the amount of space that this portal could move him Probably Randidly wouldn�t even be able to cope with how far he was traveling simply to the Nexus He was heading toward a scale that persisted past the limits of his imagination

And this was the enemy he had chosen for himself Randidly couldn�t help but grin The refined Grim Chimera stirred in his chest its tails flicking back and forth But Randidly forced himself to relax now wasn�t the time But certainly he could hold his head up high in the face of the Ways His Philosopher�s Key held just as much juice as this infrastructure Plus it was a much more convenient size

But I cannot deny I have a soft spot in my heart for ambient motes of light Randidly thought His mind briefly drifted back to the development of his house and floating island but he forced himself to let go Dwelling would only make this journey more difficult

In addition to those other functions there was a rather large selection at the top of the Teleportation Screen Nexus

Randidly clicked it and stepped onto the runic Engraving on the ground He could feel the metal disc that held the Engraving begin to heat as energy churned and bubbled through the runes The pillars on either side of him began to tremble Randidly glanced around as light steadily began to congregate around his person It was like the runes on the ground were sucking it out of the surrounding cavern and concentrating it within the circle So as Randidly watched the surroundings steadily dimmed to monochrome shapes and then toward pure shadow The metal beneath his feet continued to grow hotter and hotter Distantly Randidly could sense that the Engraving was now reaching out and gripping the surrounding space That space was thoroughly squeezed

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Detection has grown to Level 227

When the surroundings faded to pitch black there was a light pop The screen of borrowed light and squeezed space that had been wrapped around him cracked and faded away And a sea of new sensations flooded in to smack wet and stark against Randidly�s senses

The very texture of the air around him seemed unfamiliar

The first thing that he noticed while his eyes adjusted to the returned light was the smell of the surroundings The air smelled of sweat and iron reminding Randidly a lot of his time working in the metal refinery Next to his Grim Intuition came the Aether flooding around him at a density that was at least double that of Expira It was choppy and irregular but it was immediately clear that the Nexus was certainly a place filled with rich energy The people who lived at the core of the System did not want for Aether

Next came the heat and the awareness of how many people were in the surrounding hundred meters Their voices lapped against each other in the surroundings reverberating and mixing into a muddy torrent of words that reached his ears As Randidly�s Grim Intuition rapidly gathered and categorized these sounds he discovered something rather stunning Perhaps someone with a Reaction lower than Randidly�s wouldn�t have noticed it but there was a sliver of blurred noise in the voices Especially to the quieter ones near the edges of her Perception There was a hint of a delay to when a noise was produced and when it became intelligible

And then it hit him There are so many voices that the translation software is having difficulty keeping up

�Sir please move and allow the next arrival � A voice said interrupting Randidly�s thought process And it also woke him up to his current situation He was standing on a perfect replica of the portal on Expira bearing the same Engraving with the two pillars But each of these pillars were standing alone without a roof And each pillar served as the pillar for two of such portals as the portals chained off to Randidly�s right and left for quite some distance

�First time in the Nexus � The voice spoke again and pulled Randidly�s attention forward to the speaker He leaned against the edge of a wooden platform in the middle of the path clearly made so he could monitor the situation in the surrounding portals He was wearing an official looking grey uniform with a badge that had the letters NLC on his right breast Around his platform there was a constant flow of bodies heading toward Randidly�s left

It was then that Randidly realized these people were moving on a central path that wound between the two rows of portals on either side Randidly took another quick glance around People of all different shapes and sizes were trooping dutifully forward along the path appearing to know their destination The lines of portals seemed to to stretch and curl like ribbons meaning that the surroundings were a maze like network of portals tightly packed portals During that one glance Randidly could sense at least thirty portals beginning to activate in the surrounding fifty meters Across from Randidly the light popped and an officious looking lizard man walked purposefully forward and joined the flow of traffic

The uniformed man�s gaze began to harden and Randidly felt the Engraving beneath him beginning to heat So he walked several steps forward and looked around Once he was off the platform the worker seemed to lose interest in him turning to glance casually around at the rest of the portals Meanwhile Randidly solemnly looked up at the sky above A man with snakes for arms sauntered past him chittering in annoyance as Randidly simply stood in his way

His Grim Intuition fed him more information about the surroundings slowly transforming the expression on Randidly�s face Above him was the milky way highlighted in wide golden strokes Two absolutely massive stars lingered overhead each taking about as much space as Randidly�s fist if he held it up toward the sky shedding yellowed light across a glittering space that was filled with asteroid debris cosmic dust and the remnants of what clearly were destroyed worlds The destruction was so close to his current position that Randidly could see the wreckage and broken rocks tumbling end over end suspended eternally above these teleportation relays

Because the location on which Randidly was standing on was just one of six hundred floating platforms that were covered in serpentine lines of teleporters Randidly�s platform was part of a massive ring that stretched in both directions The flow of bodies was toward a massive teleportation Engraving at the center of the relay where groups of five hundred at a time were sent forward to the Nexus proper That train of thought had Randidly slowly pivoting and looking toward what sat coiled at the center of so many teleporters

Randidly�s emerald eyes narrowed as he gazed at the hazy form of the Nexus It was so distant that even he with his powerful Grim Intuition couldn�t make out any of the details There was only the massive form hunched and shadowy in the distance Although perhaps perspective was playing tricks on him the Nexus appeared even more massive than the stars coloring the nebula It was lopsided and heavy with only vague lines indicating the towering buildings that dominated the Nexus proper

Yet despite that Randidly�s gaze was pulled down to the deep darkness sitting below the Nexus The lines around Randidly�s eyes tightened and his Nether Nebula briefly stalled in its eternal churning Even from here Randidly could sense the massive concentration of significance

If it�s this horrifying from this distance Randidly gritted his teeth But he forced his feet to move forward joining the flow of bodies around him It makes sense why someone would be driven mad by it That power

Randidly followed the path for about ten minutes of winding walking The sparse stream of people became a rapid river of bodies as the portals around them continued to activate and add their passengers to the flow A massively muscular humanoid stepped directly in front of Randidly blocking his path His rather undersized and bald head looked down at Randidly from between his massively over muscled shoulders The effect was a bit like an apple sitting between two cantaloupes Then the humanoid sneered at him and strode forward

Perhaps because he was busy internalizing all this new information about the Nexus it took Randidly several seconds to realize that he had just been insulted When it finally hit him he blinked and snorted out a gust of laughter at the humanoids back

But now that he had noticed it he could start to sense that there was an increasingly competitive edge to the crowd around him As more people arrived there was less space for them all Especially as they approached the plaza with the large scale teleportation formation the various figures seemed determined to make themselves out to be the top dog on this relay one of six hundred similar relay platforms

Perhaps the sheer scale of the two golden suns above them made these ants try their best to feel meaningful At the edge of the horizon the dark and hunch form of the Nexus sat like a disapproving moon

Around Randidly there were several lightning fast collisions of images as various individuals postured against each other And ultimately Randidly was rather stunned all of the people around him were incredibly weak Basically any of the individuals in the top eight duos of Expira would have been a dominant force here Which was perhaps proof that Randidly�s attempts to strengthen Expira�s development worked but wasn�t this a little much

How did these people use images like this to pass the Calamities Or were they special cases like me that were invited before the Calamities No that seemed even more unlikely

A few aggressors came for Randidly and the comfortable bubble of space that he maintained around himself but unlike the first humanoid who seemed completely oblivious the traces of Randidly�s physicalized image meant that most challengers quickly balked and backed off Randidly grinned Although most people here were pretty weak their Perception wasn�t too bad

When they finally arrived at the platform there was something of a queue for the massive central teleporter Randidly would have been content to wait but he caught sight of that muscular humanoid strutting forward toward another uniformed NLC employee at the front of the line Hey you Do I really need to wait for this What�s to stop me from just flying toward the Nexus myself

The employee didn�t seem impressed at all by the humanoid�s bluster He simply chuckled Heh If you have to ask whether you can do it you cannot It�s just one of those things

The humanoid�s expression darkened You

But further conversation was cut sharply off as a figure flashed downward and slammed into the crowd Most people were taken completely by surprise so Randidly had to use his metal left arm to guide bodies lightly to the side as they were blown back toward him The muscular humanoid was knocked forward toward the employee who grinned wickedly and brought his arm around in a brutal hook that slammed into the humanoid�s stomach

The humanoid slumped to the side almost insensible from the pain The employee laughed Like I said if you have to ask you cannot

A violent place Randidly observed

Meanwhile the figure that had slammed down amongst the group resolved itself into Octavius Shrike His rhinoceros horn gleamed coolly in the golden light it was clearly freshly polished The officious looking Rhinoman cleared his throat Apologies Mr Ghosthound I didn�t mean to make you wait If you would please follow me

Everyone turned to look at Randidly with wide eyes

Chapter 1493

Randidly examined the piece of Aether Architecture that Octavius Shrike used to navigate them directly onto a deeply hidden Nexus Way on the relay platform and buoy them quickly toward the Nexus It was much more sophisticated than the minor thing that Lyra had given Randidly it seemed being the Overseer of an entire Cohort came with quite a few perks But unfortunately the structure was too delicate for Randidly to try his hand at adjusting his own

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Detection has grown to Level 228

Randidly was somewhat disappointed that he didn�t have much of view as they moved quickly toward the Nexus along the Way but supposed the sightseeing could wait until later The two didn�t talk much after Octavius had told him they were heading to see the original Vualla who now went by the name Edraine they both understood that once they arrived there would be a lot to talk about

Inwardly Randidly felt strangely uneasy There was something about what he sensed of the Nexus it made him feel worried for a reason he couldn�t quite put into words But no matter how much he examined that emotion he couldn�t seem to find the source Stillborn Phoenix wondered if it was due to the horrible significance below but Randidly didn�t think it was that So he continued his introspection in silence trying to find that source of that sensation

After about a minute of being within the Way they popped out and suddenly Randidly was in the Nexus proper He sucked in a breath but the surroundings were underwhelming Compared to the massive open space of the teleporter relays the current surroundings were much more mundane They seemed to be within the bowels of the Nexus appearing in a long corridor lined with ventilation ducts and water pipes running along the ceilings Apparently even the Nexus needed pipe for amenities A low mist hung across the metal mesh floor seeming to rise eerily from below

Octavius saw Randidly�s wandering gaze We are in the Undercity which makes up most of the actual Nexus A lot of infrastructure goes into maintaining the perfectly manicured dreams in the upper city Heh you�ll get a real kick out of it when you see what it�s like up there Oh be careful about how much Aether you absorb down here Oftentimes it isn�t very pure By the time you notice a problem there is already a deep flaw in your image Don�t say I didn�t warn you

They began walking down the long corridor while Randidly studied the Aether in the surrounding space As Octavius had indicated there was something rough about the Aether And now that Randidly examined it more thoroughly he realized that the reason the Aether had felt so raw to him on his initial arrival was that it had a texture that was almost similar to molten metal It had partially been re solidified around the teleporter relays but here in the core of the Nexus undercity it was amorphous and chaotic fresh from the smelter It was the same brittle Nexus Aether simply before it had hardened into shape

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Manipulation has grown to Level 240

Randidly experimentally toyed with the Aether as they continued down the hallways watching the ways it interacted with his images and body His physicalized images basically ignored the diffuse pollution present but Randidly could see the way it steadily attempted to infiltrate his other images Because this Aether was fresh off from being generated there were lingering emotions clinging to the energy Likely they would eventually disperse on their own but now those emotions greedily latched onto anything they could Then the emotions attempted to bleed into the image and stain it

Emotional pollution huh Randidly thought His mind drifted briefly down to what was probably happening below to produce this side effect From what he had heard from Octavius in the past perhaps the scariest truth was that this was only the exhaust of the grand engine that fueled the Nexus Yet even the exhaust possessed so much ambient energy

For most Nexus arrivals this was likely a very dangerous type of pollution For people of similar strength of image as Randidly it was likely just annoying But to Randidly himself well there was always an exception

The Stillborn Phoenix was positively delighted that the energy displayed such a straight forward desire to approach it It opened its vast howling maw and began steadily sucking in those emotions sweeping up a sizeable amount of Aether in the process

Octavius glanced backward over his shoulder at Randidly perhaps having sensed the movement of the Aether He seemed to hesitate for a split second then repeated his warning Be careful about how much energy you absorb

Randidly nodded but inwardly was rather unconcerned There was something building within the egg of the Stillborn Phoenix but there had been no stirrings thus far Besides this was the first time that the image had been able to devour emotions to its heart�s content There was the possibility of pollution but Randidly sensed those emotions were exactly what the Stillborn Phoenix needed It was a creature of pure desire and unwillingness to accept reality This sort of pollution would fit right in

Honestly it�s more troublesome that I have to absorb this crappy System Aether along with all these lingering emotions Randidly frowned down at the floor trying to think about how he could screen the emotions off of the Aether

Meanwhile Octavius walked up to a plain looking metal door and twisted the knob He opened the doorway and gestured This is the hollow spine of the undercity the Web Some areas are completely isolated through the maintenance corridors so you need to head down through here directly Just follow me for now you�ll get the hang of it soon enough

Then Octavius leapt out of the door and into space giving Randidly room to step up and peer out into the Web The area really was a vast cylinder of space stretching up and down farther than Randidly could see The space was about a mile across giving Randidly a view of countless thin layers of maintenance corridors continuing in tight rings stacked on top of each other opposite him Periodically small alcoves had been created that were fit with massive Engraved lanterns to provide a light dusting of light that barely managed to cover the vast space

Looking at the far wall the area resembled a game of Tetris Buildings had been stacked steadily on top of each other with different metals and building styles showing that the process was done piecemeal Sometimes there were strange hollows in the wall places where the builders couldn�t find exactly the right shape and had to waste space as they continued stacking Unlike real Tetris the previously built ground hadn�t been eliminated when a row was complete So everything just continued to pile up

The other rather obvious feature of this space and likely the source of the moniker The Web� were the cables

Randidly�s eyes followed Octavius Shrike The Overseer of the Seventh Cohort landed rather lightly on a cable that cut down diagonally toward some distance location on the far wall and then allowed his weight to slowly shift to the side When he was almost horizontal he flexed his leg and shot himself down to the right

Humming to himself Randidly hopped down and mimicked him The sensation of wind whipping past his face was actually quite pleasant

They made rapid time descending deeper and deeper down the web The wires and cords they used at launching pads were relatively more sparse than Randidly had expected but they were quite solidly anchored The material swayed when they kicked off but never seemed to fray And now that Randidly was moving through the area he noticed a few other scattered figures doing the same thing as them either ascending or descending quickly and quietly amongst the wires There was simply so much space that they were easy to miss

As they continued to head deeper Randidly quickly noticed that the lingering emotions in the Aether grew stronger In front of him he observed how Octavius began to circulate his energy in a very good imitation of a raincoat pushing away the emotionally charged energy before it could infect his images

Meanwhile the Stillborn Phoenix cackled madly and sucked up as much of the emotions as it could Both the Grim Chimera and Yggdrasil grimaced in embarrassment at their wild fellow image

Time continued to pass They proceeded deeper and deeper the light inside of the Web slowly fading More and more of the light alcoves were dim or broken leaving more of the space in shadow The emotions in the Aether became increasingly turbulent

Until finally Octavius leapt toward the wall and gripped a metal pipe running around the edge while he pressed open a door They went in and Randidly found himself in a darkened street He blinked and turned around looking at the entrance to the Web and then back up again When he looked for it he could barely make out a sloped ceiling above him they were in a dome about the size of a city park But if he didn�t know better he would say they were simply outside on a cloudy night

Octavius closed the door behind them and led the way through the darkened street to a three story apartment building The mist lay thickly along the ground here almost up to Randidly�s knees They proceeded quickly inside and immediately Randidly felt the difference There was some sort of energy field around the building that kept out the tainted Aether Although the Stillborn Phoenix whined that it was still hungry Randidly walked up to the third floor

And there was Edraine studying a map on the far wall She smiled at him when he entered Finally made it eh Well met Randidly Ghosthound Welcome to the Nexus Is it everything that you thought it would be

Randidly had two reactions to seeing Edraine The first was a quivering sense of deja vu she certainly looked almost exactly like an older version of Vualla Her hair had greyed out and there was a large scar across her left eye but otherwise they looked so similar that it was uncanny But Randidly supposed that this wasn�t actually singular experience many individuals over the course of their budding relationships had met their partner�s parents and were slightly disturbed by how deep the resemblance ran

But the second reaction Randidly�s palms began to get sweaty That strange confusion and fear that Randidly had felt growing along the underside of his heart since he had arrived at the Nexus all that was instantly swept away by the raw aura of power that was wafting off of the Edraine in front of him

She was smiling lightly at Randidly but Randidly felt that massive image crouching behind her ready to surge to the fore at a moment�s notice It was a headless simulacrum sculpted with porcelain and pewter It was a streamlined perfect tool of destruction If Edraine willed it she could blast away a huge chunk of the undercity with a single movent The potent silence of her image was almost unnerving

Randidly�s smile curled upward until he returned Edraine�s grin That sickly feeling that Randidly had felt when he had arrived had been disappointment The Nexus was built at a scale beyond his imagination on some interstellar foundation but everyone he had encountered felt so weak He had come here to grow strong and as he saw more and more of the sprawling Nexus he had worried that it wouldn�t be as easy as he hoped

But Edraine�s image blew all those feelings away Although they might be deeply hidden the Nexus was filled with individuals like her Their ability might be kept tight compact and overwhelming but they were present The truly powerful had gathered here These individuals were so powerful that Randidly wouldn�t even know how to begin fighting against them

Randidly licked his lips The Nexus heh It�s certainly immense

Edraine chuckled It certainly is But we don�t have much time to work A very special opportunity came up and I wonder if you would be interested in doing some more work for the Nexus Military Council This time not as a frontline Commander but as a Drill Sergeant

Chapter 1494

It will only take up a few hours of your day to be a Drill Sergeant Edraine continued to speak as Randidly pondered the suggestion It will leave you plenty of time for your own training Especially if you have subordinates you can reliably use to oversee the base level training of the recruits Most importantly this is an emergency mission with the reward of one Tier 1 Nexus Citizenship coin for completion That enough makes it an attractive offer but also talks between the military council the Xyrt Brigade and the NLC have stalled out Everyone wants their own representative in this position and not someone who professes loyalty to one of the others At this point the entire program will need to be delayed if they don�t select someone by the end of the week Which gives us an opportunity

What is the NLC Randidly wondered out loud picturing the vicious punch the uniform worker had slammed into the over muscled humanoid The casual use of violence did not earn the organization any points in Randidly�s book Also even if they need to pick someone why would they pick me

The Nexus Labor Collective Octavius interjected They are a technically unofficial body but since the Nexus Council never bothered to make a legitimate civil service for its many pieces of infrastructure it was able to take over that role In the past the teleporter system and Aether valves were basically left unguarded the NLC rose to ensure that the powerful couldn�t so easily abuse the System Or at least the powerful without any shred of legitimacy

Edraine cleared her throat As to your other question In this case what is important is that Octavius here is a former member of the NLC They plan to select a hundred and one drill sergeants with most being given control over ten thousand recruits after they cull the chaff applicants that are flooding in So when you come with his recommendation as well as with a successful track record of repelling the Nether attack on the frontlines you should get the support of two factions and slide into one of those spots You are a compromise candidate with enough experience to be credibly competent So are you interested

Randidly flexed his fingers Almost idly he took in the surrounding room There was no furniture but the wooden table in the center of the room but the walls were covered with maps and graphs The immense Nexus was shown in cross section with lines to the important places within the supercity There was notations about the Nexus� Aether expenditures compared to the amount of energy it generated There was even an entire wall dedicated to the different factions and how many powerful individuals each definitely had and was suspected to have

This was clearly the home base of a group that had plans for the Nexus From sensing the images of the surrounding two individuals it was clear that they shared his goal too Randidly just had to decide what his role would be in the whole machine

His mind continued to whirr even as Revelation energy crept into his right eye Purple black energy danced across his cornea He saw the branching lines he might take stretching out before him Truthfully a part of him just dearly wished to hole up down here in the Undercity and train for a while The Grim Chimera was just a little bit away from a qualitative transformation The Stillborn Phoenix would undoubtedly begin to grow if he could go deeper and absorb more of those ambient emotions perhaps using Yggdrasil�s natural filtration to keep out the unwanted energy

Congratulations Your Skill Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold has grown to Level 329

But he didn�t forget the disappointment he felt upon initially arriving at the Nexus Everyone he saw during his brief meandering walk had been weak It was only when Octavius was able to guide him through the maze like Nexus to a very specific location that he was able to encounter Edraine

The powerful were present here but the Nexus was so large that it was very easy to miss What Randidly needed was a way to connect with and encounter these powerful people At first blush becoming a drill sergeant definitely seemed to be an excellent opportunity to do so But before he agreed Randidly asked the other large question that hovered in his mind But why does the Nexus need so many drill sergeants right now Don�t they usually just throw people into the fire and train those that survived

Edraine and Octavius shared a glance It was Octavius that eventually spoke leaning against the table in the center of the room You�ve heard about Nether�s attack on the Fifth Cohort correct From the reports sent back by the initial Xyrt Brigade deployment the Nether taint has spread much farther than we had expected Some suspect that almost half of the Fifth Cohort has been compromised Although they are elite the Xyrt Brigade cannot be everywhere and all the frontline deployments have seen an increase in Nether Raids No serious attacks but enough of a mobilization of Nether forces to make the military council unwilling to redeploy a serious amount of troops to a Cohort So the Nexus is doing something rather unprecedented A draft pulling from all the old Cohorts

That�s why the teleporter relays were acting at max capacity when you arrived Edraine added She pressed her fingers down against the table looking at her nails with the detached and idle curiosity of a child These worlds might have been surviving but they already endured the Calamities their Aether stream is currently rather minimal And most planets have established hierarchies where those at the top maintain their strength with what little Aether the planet receives There was always the opportunity to become a Village Spirit Champion or Nemesis for new Cohorts but those numbers were a pittance compared to the population of all the Cohorts For the first time in a long time a planet�s youth broadly has the chance to leave their home and seize their own power

but they were so weak Randidly couldn�t help but blurt out There hadn�t been a single eye catching individual amongst the thousands of bodies that had churned around him Huang Li would be a wolf among sheep if he was similarly drafted Of course that was a minuscule sample and perhaps some had been rather capable at concealing their capabilities from Randidly�s casual examination but even so

Edraine shrugged What do you expect These people had basically no opportunity to absorb energy and strengthen themselves Why would the dominant forces raise Aether sucking individuals Plus most threats to their world have been dealt with There was no real pressure on any of them to improve But there is an even more thorny difficulty which is the real reason that a drill sergeant selections is such a mess Octavius

Octavius straightened and grimaced Because these recruits are from planets that have passed three Calamities in the past most have a very powerful and influential benefactor that currently resides in the Nexus this is the individual whose images allowed them to originally pass the Calamities Largely these individuals have left their planets to develop without their interference in the past but now that their descendants are coming into the Nexus they want only the best for them

To the point that they�ve created an elite� brigade of two hundred that will be personally instructed by Head Drill Sergeant However Octavius displayed a sour expression The selection criteria for these is ENTIRELY based upon who you know It is the farthest thing from elite as possible Just two hundred old monsters of the Nexus pointlessly meddling where they don�t belong

Edraine waved a hand Such is the truth of our world Nepotism will never disappear But we need to move quickly if we want to seize this opportunity Again let me ask you are you interested in instructing these weaklings Teaching can sometimes be its very own sort of training

I�m interested Randidly finally said Ten thousand people that would be a lot but both Heiffal�s unit and Helen had been unknowingly practicing for a challenge just like this as they had boosted the image capability of those on Earth And it seemed like this would perfectly serve as a way for Randidly to come in contact with the powerful individuals in the Nexus I�ll be able to manage those numbers

Plus Randidly hadn�t forgotten that Vualla�s deployment date had been pushed up due to this very same Nether invasion of the Fifth Cohort If he could provide some assistance to her by training up these individuals

Oh perhaps I was unclear Edraine said She smiled and for a split second the image behind her stirred Randidly felt the eerie sensation of his body resonating with that shift The porcelain and pewter fingers of her image tightened on air The table beneath her fingers began to hiss seared by the ambient power she so casually released

Frowning Edraine pulled her hand back from the charred handprint she had left on the table Then she shrugged and spoke to Randidly You�ll be going for the hundred and first position available the Head Drill Instructor Personally you�ll only have to assist with the riff raff elites But it will mean you will have all the elite benefactor meddling in your affairs Will really add some tension to your time here in the Nexus eh

Lady Iellaya folded her arms and crossed her legs as she sat in the large amphitheater She had arrived early here just so she could avoid a situation like this but her tormenter was a wily fox A slow burn of irritation smoldered in her heart At moments like this she missed Abiodun more than she could express with words His stoic presence would have deftly turned aside conversations like this before they even began Even senior officers had found her closest supporter off putting

So much lost for the sake of power Lady Iellaya allowed a sliver of melancholy to swim through her irritation But it was swiftly overwhelmed by her tightly controlled annoyance as the man continued to doubt her

Are you sure this applicant will be suitable Commandant Shevran Wick spoke in a gravelly voice his substantial jowls shaking as he did so The man was covered in thick brown fur and had the build of a bear The only hint of his truly impressive age was the long grey stripe that ran through his furr down his spine

It was clear both from his tone and the grand history of their interactions that Commandant Wick would like nothing better for Randidly Ghosthound to show up and be a steaming pile of donkey shit Then he could sorrowfully shake his head and lecture her on the importance of tempering and patience Her applicant like Lady Iellaya herself was too young too fresh What would be implied was that the Commandant himself was beyond reproach and capable of doing no wrong

You�ve seen the survival rate of the men under his command during that particular attack Lady Iellaya said doing her best to keep her voice even The Commandant was not her direct superior but he was the senior member from the Military Council in charge of this project If she wanted to pull this off they needed his support She had no doubt that the Xyrt Brigade representative would continue to abstain Soon you will see him in person and taste his image But I assure you he will suit your purposes

The Commandant reached up and physically grabbed his furry jowls lightly massaging them as he considered what she had said Likely he was looking for any word that was a bit too hasty for his taste Lady Iellaya found herself less concerned about his general disbelief and more disturbed by the weird physical gesture she was forced to watch But she held her tongue The Commandant cleared his throat There are many methods to achieve such numbers on a battlefield Especially as one as chaotic as that one Many of those behaviors shouldn�t be casually rewarded

You weren�t even there you bastard You have no idea what it was like Lady Iellaya felt acid running through her veins eating out through the capillaries and sizzling hot and dangerous in her flesh For a brief second images of that haunting melee of bodies appeared before her eyes If there was a method of challenging and killing the man next to her without turning the entire military council against her she would do it But truthfully Lady Iellaya was unsure of whether she could manage it None of these ancient Commandants could be underestimated

Instead she offered him a brittle smile She never had hated an action as much as smiling at this man in front of her I believe that with your insight you will understand the truth when you see him

Hmm The Commandant fell back into the process of stroking his jowls and considering Luckily some of the other examinees arrived They greeted each other quietly less out of professional courtesy and more with the tired acknowledgments between laborers that had been grappling with a particularly difficult problem for far too long A giant tree had fallen across their road and now the investors were demanding assurances the thoroughfare would still open on time Some concessions needed to be made

Lady Iellaya and the Commandant represented the Military Council There were also two stern faced women from the NLC They sported identical glasses and frowns as they nodded toward the military representatives Last but not least the one Special Investigator from the Xyrt Brigade walked into the room and yawned Then he waved at the others while walking toward his seat and casually scratching his lower back Next to her Lady Iellaya felt the Commandant bristle at the unseemliness of the display

Together they formed the special tribunal on Drill Sergeant Selection

Lady Iellaya lifted her head as they settled into the five seats at the table peering through the doors of the amphitheater to the two figures that had arrived outside This was the first of the three candidates they were considering for the position of Head Drill Sergeant It was already tacitly agreed that they would choose one of these three

Octavius Shrike had brought Randidly Ghosthound And he had the advantage of being the first candidate they saw

Lady Iellaya�s loyalty to this newly created rather small faction based around Edraine and the idea of radically altering the Nexus had been relatively shallow at the time of its creation she had just been named Supreme Commander of the frontline and was content to nap in her victory like a cat in sunlight Plus her emotions were extremely turbulent making her unwilling to commit for too much She was high from her success grieving over the loss of Abiodun faction and deeply skeptical of the rather unknown Edraine�s capabilities

But then Lady Iellaya had been forced to interact with the Military Council for three months The invisible limits had become obvious She clearly felt that she was currently at the apex of what she could accomplish without someone dying above her on the totem pole Many a time she had been sent away from a meeting while all the established Commandants of Central Command remained behind drinking brandy

There was a greasy edge to their smiles as they watched her go they knew exactly what they were doing And although there might occasionally be internal disagreements they delighted in keeping the power just amongst themselves

And then Edraine had returned and Lady Iellaya had met with her The raw power that woman could release unnerved even Lady Iellaya she possessed the sort of power that could shake even the Military Council Gradually Lady Iellaya started to take their faction�s abilities quite seriously She agreed to go along with their plans at least for now

They just needed the smallest crack to form a grip on the army Then they could begin to tear everything down and remake it as they wished And Randidly Ghosthound was the key to that

Honestly she had been rather surprised that she had so easily gotten a seat on this Tribunal But from what she learned after the fact most of Central Command believed that these troops were being sent to die There was a strange certainty amongst them that if these youths were really so talented they would have already been noticed Therefore it was for the best to stay some distance away and blame others when the recruits started dying

The only reason that Commandant Wick became involved was he did have a descendant that seemed quite talented and insisted on participating in the draft So the Commandant moved directly determined to shield this seedling from harm

We have the opportunity now All we need is for the impression that Randidly gives off to be the right balance between controllable and capable Once more her gaze went out through the still shut doors Her examination was acute relying on their prior interactions to judge him As Lady Iellaya sensed the changes in Randidly Ghosthound her eyes began to glow It was almost too much the speed at which this man improved To the point that he was becoming somewhat unsuitable for this role

No one of any true power was going to be allowed anywhere near the elites� What if their instructor earned their loyalty and had the power to pry them away from their original factions

Which prompted Lady Iellaya to send him a quick message When you come in to the interview focus only on your tree image And especially emphasize its ability to heal and alleviate mental damage I�ll take care of the rest

Chapter 1495

Randidly released a breath as he stood before the doors to his sudden interview He rolled his shoulders to loosen up A guard in a sharply pressed military uniform was standing next to the carved double doors with his hands folded behind his back His eyes were aggressively straight ahead He seemed to receive some notification and finally acknowledged Randidly They are ready for you

What joyous news Randidly watched as the man�s eyes quickly flicked away once he had delivered this missive from his superiors It must have been a great honor to spread the good word

Randidly glanced to the side Octavius was looking over at Randidly wringing his hands like a dehydrated man squeezing a damp dishrag If anything this Overseer seemed more worried than Randidly himself about the whole situation Sweat beaded across his brow and he kept rubbing his horn before returning to his hand wringing Are you are you prepared

Within himself Randidly shifted his images Both the Grim Chimera and the Stillborn Phoenix receded from the air around him He felt his body gradually shift as he suppressed even the physicalization of his images in his body A grunt escaped his lips as the painful changes popped his joints While the strength and definition within his muscles steadily decreased his heart continued its powerful beats With no other images jostling for dominance Yggdrasil made the veins in his chest and right arm glitter with golden notes His hair shifted toward black with an emerald dusting when the light hit it just right Randidly nodded at Octavius I�m ready

The doors opened and Randidly stepped into the room The floor was a material similar to marble with elegant gold patterns swirling across the surrounding area The ceiling vaulted upward held aloft by massive pillars around the outside of the thirty meter wide room The heavy air of the room quickly enveloped him as he stepped forward muffling even the heavy sound of his heartbeat

It immediately became clear to him that his panel� intended him to be impressed by their presence All five of them sat at a table on a raised dias in the center of the room The air around them didn�t display even the slightest hint of an image a phenomenon which Randidly had only seen from Kaan Swacc in the past It was less that they didn�t� have any image but that they would allow not even the slightest tremor of an image in the air around them These were people who had incredible control over their image That control became a stifling silence that sought to bully Randidly into conformity

Almost effortlessly Randidly shrugged off that oppressive vibe Part of it was how far he had come with his own images but it was also the anchoring of the significance in his Nether Nebula If they wanted to stifle him they would need to try a little harder than that

In direct contrast to the panel Randidly walked into the room while steadily radiating the healing energy of Yggdrasil He tightened his Control over the sensation as his image expanded to fill the surrounding space but he made sure to let his most support image be on full display Per Lady Iellaya�s advice he emphasized the healing elements

There were five people in the panel with Lady Iellaya on the far right Of them all she was clearly the least competent when it came to images the area around her that was devoid of images was the smallest and had the foggiest edges But even so she displayed a mastery that inspired in Randidly a resolution to improve she had not been slacking since being named Supreme Commander Likely she had kept working with the gift that Randidly had given her reaching even higher attainment

Her face displayed not the slightest hint of their prior association mildly meeting his look without any recognition With her stern expression and sharp military uniform she barely resembled the last impression that Randidly had of her mud streaked bloody and crying after Abiodun died on that fateful day This was a capable determined military leader

Randidly wondered whether he would need to cultivate a similar persona if he landed this job The prospect was unappetizing but he could practically feel Tatiana staring reprovingly at his back He instinctively straightened his spine To accomplish his goals he wouldn�t balk from making more social effort

Immediately next to Lady Iellaya was a rather large man that seemed relatively human shaped His face was covered in thick brown fur forming dense patterns across his skin that looked like he had a thin mesh net stretched across his features There was a small smile playing across his lips as he studied Randidly but Randidly�s Grim Intuition immediately pinged as he looked at his man he was the most dangerous one in the room

If an image was a marble it would inevitably slide toward the suppression area around that man And even Randidly was unsure if he could resist the stifling weight the bear man released

Next to that man was someone wearing a Xyrt Brigade uniform leaning back in his chair and seeming quite bored with the whole affair He had messy hair and an extremely large mouth that stretched low along the bottom of his jaw He also had two small horns poking out between his unruly auburn curls He didn�t seem to notice that Randidly had arrived

Opposite from the two individuals in military uniforms were two women who wore NLC badges Both of their trim pinstripe outfits ponytails and glasses matched each other completely Randidly honestly found it rather impressive that they could resemble each other so closely when one was half a meter taller than the other

Unlike the Xyrt Brigade member the NLC scrutinized every inch of Randidly He had to suppress an urge to scratch his chin as he saw the smaller of the two women staring fixedly at his bare feet

There was nothing on the table in front of the five Most sat with their fingers steepled while the Xyrt Brigade man kept his hands behind his head Randidly was led to a seat immediately below the dias He waffled between reining in Yggdrasil or continuing to allow its energy to diffuse throughout the surroundings but ultimately figured that he should seem consistent with his image even if it would probably come across to these Nexus elite as sloppy He took his seat and tried to seem like a quality candidate

Honestly he wondered what his face was doing at the moment Even a hasty scan with Grim Intuition failed to capture exactly what sort of impression he was radiating

In his mind Randidly began to recall with amusement the few interviews he had gone to before the System arrived on Earth Somehow he didn�t think that this panel would ask him what his greatest weakness was But just in case he began to run through possible answers in his mind

Probably the easiest and the most appealing would be something like I train too much Randidly�s lips twitched No matter where it is bureaucracy is a farce

But to his surprise Randidly found that he didn�t have to do anything at all Lady Iellaya opened her mouth and began to speak And to the moment he was sent out of the room Randidly was never called on to say anything at all

This is Randidly Ghosthound Lady Iellaya stood and gestured to Randidly who was doing remarkably well at the task of sitting rather mildly in the chair His Yggdrasil image leaked out of the edges of his person and filled the air as she had requested Yet Lady Iellaya couldn�t help but hesitate before she began his introduction because the sudden change that her words had inspired in the young man was remarkable

All of the latent threat she had sensed in him had vanished after she had sent him that message His body seemed to have restructured itself Even if the power of the Ghosthound�s image hadn�t reached an impressive level his prodigious Control over it was shocking Oftentimes Control was what separated an average soldier from an exceptional one

Seeing that casual Control Lady Iellaya felt her eyes narrow briefly it was just more evidence of the vast potential this young man possessed They relied on Lady Iellaya�s position and Edraine�s raw power from the shadows to position themself currently but it was the irregular existence of Randidly Ghosthound that gave the group hope

He would be the key

Lady Iellaya coughed lightly to stop her mind from wandering further Then she continued her introduction He was assigned to my unit and served diligently specializing in the healing of our image soldiers after Nether attacks His performance was so impressive that he became a direct subordinate of mine by the time the Nether King descended to the battlefield You have all seen the reports his ability to keep his subordinates alive speaks for itself And this was not a fight where any could hide in the rear Commander Ghosthound was at the front with his image constantly He endured the Nether corruption and grew stronger for it Even now his image is pure

She spared another glance for Randidly He seemed rather puzzled but simply waited for her to finish Good Commandant Wick would turn against him if he spoke out of turn even once They couldn�t afford a single mistake Not after she had been spent days bootlicking for this shot She cleared her throat Commander Ghosthound please display your image within the antechamber

The corner of Randidly�s mouth twitched In the next second an enormous tree grew rapidly upward in the space around his body The leaves rustled lightly from a non existent breeze and the massive branches creaked and groaned as the whole structure shifted The color of the bark was rich and varied as the tree continued to grow upward

In terms of detail Randidly really had improved The tree that manifested in the room caught the eye of the viewers and held it The life giving energy it released was apparent and abundant It was not singular but the effect was certainly compelling The benefits he could provide to the soldiers underneath his command was obvious

Or at least Lady Iellaya hoped it was so

Beyond the healing aura Commander Ghosthound is also able to spread out a veritable sea of thorny roots toward foes Lady Iellaya continued They can defeat the average Nether Beast with ease and at least slow Nether Gatekeepers down For the same reason he is uniquely suited to observe and interact with a large group of individuals at once With his high Perception and Control he is a premier candidate to train our elites

Have him try and manifest his roots within the room The Special Investigator from the Xyrt Brigade grunted Then he smiled cheekily over at Lady Iellaya She pressed her lips into a line but didn�t say anything She knew she didn�t have to

A split second later a physical tree rapidly grew out of the ground in front of Randidly Ghosthound to match the spectral one hanging over him Randidly didn�t even find the request strange Thick and dangerous roots lined with thorns rolled around the periphery of the tree like drunken snakes Meanwhile the five people sitting at the panel straightened their eyes widening They stared captivated at the very real tree in front of them as its roots steadily slithered outward and its trunk thickened Even the Special Investigator sat up and stared solemnly at Randidly

The smaller of the two individuals from the NLC blinked rapidly attempted to figure out what was going on in front of her Even through the seals on this space

For his part Randidly seemed rather confused by their aghast reaction But just as soon as the serious note entered into the Special Investigator�s eyes while he gazed at Randidly he snorted and leaned back in his chair Ha very funny He didn�t generate these he simply inflated biological matter that was already present in the room Truly what a nice parlor trick you arranged for us

If you wanted a better test of his capabilities Lady Iellaya said with relish laid thick across every word You should have asked for one

Then she smiled widely at him

That certainly silenced the Special Investigator It also ran the risk of earning his ire but Lady Iellaya figured it was a worthy gamble considering the fact he had abstained from every vote thus far seeing the Special Investigator mocked would improve the Commandant�s mood She spared a small look to the side The man positively hummed with glee His eyes were almost hidden within the laugh lines around his eyes At least on that count it would appear that she had succeeded Hopefully this good cheer would be enough to sway his vote

Can he though Manifest directly in the room The NLC representative asked She leaned forward her eyes traveling up and down Randidly�s body

Lady Iellaya looked over at Randidly The expression on his face clearly conveyed that he didn�t really understand what he was being asked Considering he didn�t know much about the Nexus that made a fair amount of sense So Lady Iellaya decisively shook her head He cannot

There were two types of wards on this interview room and both of them were quite strong Lady Iellaya didn�t even fancy her own chances of breaking through them in a short amount of time One set of Engravings limited new substances being created in the room and the other prevented any substances coming into the room through any method but the door But Randidly Ghosthound got around both of these from working with the small bits of biological matter that were already present in the room Which kept the display within the acceptable range of power level for the Drill Sergeant after the initial shock faded

Also The other NLC woman adjusted her glasses Commander Ghosthound has been on leave since earning his command correct Do you believe that he has retained his edge while being away from the front for the past few months

Yes Lady Iellaya could respond here without any irony or artifice His work ethic is staggering As you�ve likely noticed from the report his planet is still undergoing the Calamities In an effort to better prepare the situation in the Nexus for his homeworld he is completely dedicated to improving his own capabilities He is their lifeline

Next to her Commandant Wick shifted slightly like a bear waking from hibernation But isn�t that also a drawback We cannot have him leave to face the Calamity while the Nexus struggles against the greatest threat to existence we have ever encountered The Nether will not wait for his planet

He will not be returning to help his planet with the Calamities Lady Iellaya responded calmly She actually had no idea what Randidly would do at that time but being honest here was a death sentence He understands that his greatest chance of protecting his planet is by working in the Nexus With enough Coins of Territory his entire world would be safe regardless of the outcome of the Calamities

The Commandant folded his hairy arms The smaller of the two NLC members stirred again And just to be clear he never has actually done anything as Commander He was appointed to that position only a few months ago Since then there have been no major attacks

That is true Lady Iellaya allowed She opened her mouth to speak again of the capability Randidly Ghosthound demonstrated but the Special Investigator cut across her

Let�s put it to a vote The Xyrt Brigade soldier squinted down at Randidly before speaking again with a shrug I abstain

For The larger of the NLC members said

Her smaller counterpart frowned at her Against

For Lady Iellaya said Then she looked to Commandant Wick

The man was silent for several seconds clearly savoring the power he possessed as the swing vote It was exactly to give him this opportunity that Lady Iellaya had spoken first everything was to prime his mood to accept this candidate As long as the Commandant agreed Randidly would have the chance

Lady Iellaya�s heart began to sink as the Commandant sighed He has no experience with this sort of task but I must admit that he does have some unpolished charm So well I cannot in good conscience put him in charge of our most talented youths He is no more but a boy himself I also abstain

Without three Fors the motion fails This applicant is rejected the smaller NLC woman announced

Lady Iellaya felt very cold The Special Investigator shooed Randidly like he was a naughty pet Okay okay we are done with you Send the next applicant into the chambers

Chapter 1496

Randidly glanced over at Lady Iellaya after being so summarily dismissed from the interview hall Her expression was tight and her skin was pale But there wasn�t a twitch from the feathers along her arms she had no will to fight against this pronouncement It was clear that she considered the issue decided then and there

Toying with the idea of releasing a combination of images to change their impression Randidly slowly stood But as he looked at the disinterested expressions of the people on this panel some deep part of Randidly reminded him that there were legitimate reasons for avoiding social contact sometimes His instincts weren�t entirely detrimental to him These were all capable individuals of the sort that Randidly had wanted to interact with Even just meeting them like this spurred him to train harder and reach their capabilities

But none here were without an agenda of their own Their careful machinations wheeled and clicked behind their every action Walking too deeply amongst the powerful individuals would mean less and less time that Randidly could spend on improving himself he would constantly need to dedicate some energy to staying on his toes So he turned away from this Path when he was rejected Perhaps this is for the best Just a few months in just a few months I bet I�ll make significant enough progress

I still want to focus on perfecting the Grim Chimera but that�s just as a foundation for activating three images at once When all of my images reach the Pinnacle

Randidly walked out of the room Octavius Shrike was waiting there beyond the doors and either he had been listening into the interview� or the result was clear from Randidly�s expression Either way he turned without speaking and led Randidly back through the winding halls of the military base to a more civilian area

With a casual swipe he opened up the Nexus Ways after they were safely clear of the military wards and led Randidly through a portal They popped out into a busy area and Randidly looked around with interest Seeing a nearby ledge Randidly walked over to it and looked down Then his eyebrows rising he looked up

They were standing on one of the highest of a series of floating circular rings the interior of which was lined with shops Each ring was at least the size of several city blocks People hopped up and down around the outside of this strange chain while Randidly could see the familiar walls of the Nexus�s hollow spine around them The level that Randidly and Octavius were on seemed to feature a variety of armors Randidly patted Sulfur to reassure it that it was not being replaced as shopowners enthusiastically waved him over to take a look

Octavius looked at Randidly sighed and then turned to stare out of the edge of their ring Unfortunately it wasn�t as peaceful as it initially seemed Whole groups of people crawled over the railing as they ascended from below or lightly stepped off in front of them to drop down to another location A group of size gelatinous humanoids with eyeballs visibly floating in the suspension of their bodies were shouting boisterously as they clambered upward clearly new to the Nexus Two tall figures wearing cloaks that covered all the details of their features moved silently intent on their path toward a shield shop near to where Randidly and Octavius were standing A constant throng streamed by them giving the area an extremely cloistered feeling despite how far the rings were from the outer walls

This is Bray Street Octavius eventually said It seemed like Randidly�s failure to obtain the job hit him like a giant emotional hammer strike That realization made Randidly somewhat uncomfortable But gradually as though each of the surrounding people carried away a tiny handful of the Overseer�s sorrow as they passed Octavius� expression improved All thirty six rings are considered the street� Now I wouldn�t recommend actually buying anything here the prices are reprehensible But it will give you a good idea of the standard of materials and equipment available in the Nexus

Then Octavius cleared his throat He was once more regaining his serious expression If you want I can give you a tour of the other important Nexus landmarks below the surface until we have enough citizenship tokens to get you to Tier I you cannot see the surface But the Grand Colosseum the Suspension Chamber and the Altar of Sacrifice are all definitely worth seeing

Randidly held up his metal left hand I�m interested but not now There is already a lot here As he said that he glanced upward at the ring floating above them He mentally took a snapshot at the positively sublime Aether Engraving that generated the lift and sent it to Neveah to study it I�ll need a bit of time to decompress and settle myself So I�m thinking about training for a few days if I�m not needed for anything else

Octavius Shrike hesitated He reached up and rubbed his horn Well we should have a debriefing to give you a little more context of what is happening and what we plan on doing but I suppose a few days of training will probably help you clear your head

Then Octavius reached over and put his hand on Randidly�s shoulder Mr Ghosthound don�t blame yourself Sometimes sometimes things just don�t go your way That�s life You shouldn�t let your failures burden you

Randidly�s mouth twitched Which of us is truly burdened I wonder I really just want to train

Seeing that this conversation seemed to be wrapping up Randidly put his foot upon the small fence at the edge of the ring This is above the Web right We are still in the hollow area of the Nexus

Yes that�s correct Ah do you need me to guide you to a training area Octavius asked

Randidly decisively shook his head No but thank you I learn best when I�m exploring on my own Plus I want to investigate a bit

One last thing Octavius once more reached out and grabbed Randidly�s arm right as he was about to jump downward The deeper you go in the Web the more of that dirty Aether flows up The density of it increases exponentially If you go deep enough there are even traces of Nether present So it can also mess with your sense of time Be careful

I will be Randidly said with a sharp smile But then he had leapt over the edge narrowing stepping across two six legged insect people who were scutting up to the armor ring Randidly briefly angled his body at a diagonal so air resistance would naturally slide him further away from the rings before twisting mid air and aiming his head directly down He closed his eyes and felt the passing air on his skin

Randidly rapidly began to accelerate downward the bodies of the fellow Nexus citizens along the rings blurring into obscurity He began to whip past the levels of Bray Street one after another shooting straight downward Randidly couldn�t help but smile The increased wind ruffled his hair There was something extremely intoxicating about the natural speed generated by gravity

But then Randidly�s smile faded Actually this gravity it wasn�t coming from any enormous body of mass was it Either there was some artificial Engraving at the base of the Nexus that powered it or

Or Randidly was diving headfirst right toward an immense mass of significance that was so mind bogglingly large that it physically pulled everything in the surroundings toward it

With that bucket of cold reality poured over the experience Randidly streaked past the bottommost ring and entered the Web proper Wind whistled past him as he continued to fly steadily downward without recognizing this portion of the Web a testament to how far they had ascended for the meeting After about another thirty seconds Randidly neared the portion that he had traversed with Octavius after their initial arrival Cords across the vast space became increasingly frequent

But as the Stillborn Phoenix enthusiastically began to absorb emotions once more after Yggdrasil hastily moved to purify the chaotic Aether Randidly knew this amount wasn�t enough So he didn�t try and slow his descent at all The Stillborn Phoenix had a large appetite He tapped his waist twice and belt Acri happily unfurled itself and sprung into its spear form Randidly�s muscles steadily began to swell as he once more began supporting his image physicalizations for his other two images

His grip tightened on his spear as he pointed it downward His heart in his chest was thunderous as it increased the speed at which his scalding blood circulated through his body The Grim Chimera was conjured in the air behind Randidly and barred its teeth Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes

Congratulations Your Skill Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes has grown to Level 295

After a series of brutal confrontations with himself while still on Earth Randidly had pushed the Levels of most of his Grim Chimera Skills up by quite a bit And the biggest improvement was exactly with Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes Combined with his physical Stats Randidly�s Skill created an enormous sonic boom that echoed in that Web as he pierced downward sending cables in the surrounding area swaying wildly The flimsy veil of the System�s physical limitation shattered easily around him now that he had almost completely broken its hold

With subtle adjustments of the angle of Acri�s blade Randidly guided his body to slide back and forth through the interior of the Web weaving at high speeds between the numerous cables that blocked his path Not that the cables were very densely packed but at the speed he was descending he simply covered so much distance in a short amount of time that it was guaranteed that several ended up blocking his path He rode currents of air downward feeling slightly guilty as he blew past others using the Web as a means of transportation

Soon Randidly had reached the depth where they had left the Web for that small residential dome where Edraine had set up her base He continued shooting downward without a thought This amount of emotion still wasn�t enough

Finally as Octavius had warned the prevalence of wild emotions woven through the Aether sharply increased The Stillborn Phoenix gleefully began to suck them all into itself making Yggdrasil struggle to filter out the System Aether Randidly�s veins rapidly began to glow within his body as Yggdrasil surged with more and more power to keep up with the other image�s demand

Randidly whipped Acri sideways dispersing his momentum in a blast of air At this point in the Web almost all of the lanterns along the walls were dim or broken There weren�t really any doors along the outside either leading to habitable locations in the Nexus It was a realm of shadows seething with emotion and freshly processed Aether As Randidly drifted downward and landed against a swaying cord he could truly feel the pull of the significance below Even Randidly with his prodigious self control and Willpower found it difficult to pull his gaze away from that seething mass the tugged his attention downward

When he considered that the dismembered pieces to construct a child were at the core of that significance he shivered

Then he settled down into sitting with his legs folded beneath him while balanced on the cord As he released a breath he also released all the limiters he had placed on his images for the interview Randidly�s small section of the Web shook as an absolutely towering version of Yggdrasil stretched upward Its branches twined together and lined themselves with leafy greenery filling the whole hollow spine of the Nexus with life

While those leaves began to glow with emerald light and rapidly cleave the powerful emotions from the Aether the Stillborn Phoenix distorted light around Randidly�s left eye and greedily began to feed

Chapter 1497

After staying in that dark hollow for some time with his images acting at full capacity Randidly realized that Octavius had been right There was some very mild time distortion present down here due to the thick Aether which meant that while Randidly spent time here training less time passed above in the Nexus proper

Which just resolved Randidly to go deeper into this well next time but for the moment he was thoroughly benefiting from his time down here Yggdrasil had stabilized in the surrounding area churning rapidly through the raw Aether that was radiating upward from the depths of the Nexus The Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil had been steadily gaining Skill Levels as it separated the emotion from the energy present Plus once Yggdrasil caught up with the Stillborn Phoenix�s demand it used some of its extra potency to normalize the chaotic Aether that it was processing anyway

The result was a much more palatable stream of Aether heading upward Randidly raised his head and grinned Compared to the total volume of energy flowing here I am only affecting about one fifth of it Perhaps as Yggdrasil gets stronger I�d be able to cleanse all of it But for now a small positive side effect of my training which is quite rare

Honestly I usually destroy or poison the surroundings I guess this just goes to show that the Nexus operates on entirely another tier

In fact Randidly had an ulterior motive for allowing the purification He had felt a subtle shift in Yggdrasil as it took on this new task The exertion was different enough from what Yggdrasil usually did that he sensed that the Inscrutable Mien of Genesis could move toward a more purifying effect in the future Randidly allowed the gradual shift for now while he considered the long term consequences of such a change

Congratulations Your Skill the Inscrutable Mien of Genesis has grown to Level 269

Meanwhile Randidly�s body was steadily being covered with dark grey scales The Grim Chimera assumed almost complete control of Randidly�s body while the two other images focused on the ambient energy Rather than trying to access or utilize the Aether the Grim Chimera simply stood by and allowed the rapid flows of energy to temper its body

In this case that tempering involved his exterior muscles and skin gradually toughening beneath the onslaught of energy It was an intermediary step in pushing the Grim Chimera to the next level This process was helping but Randidly sensed that he was still missing something to complete the transformation

Finally the Stillborn Phoenix continued to devour the emotion that Yggdrasil purified for it Luckily its hunger wasn�t actually infinite At the volume of one fifth of the ambient energy in the massive hollow spine of the Nexus the Stillborn Phoenix couldn�t handle anymore So the egg of darkness just sat there and happily devoured more and more ambient emotion at a constant if massive rate The change for this image too still seemed a bit away but it helped familiarize Randidly with the details of the Stillborn Phoenix

It was a strange broken phenomenon that dreamed of being a living phoenix

Meanwhile a small part of Randidly was intently watching for changes in his Nether Nebula As Octavius had said the deeper he had gone down here the more the System restriction on Nether had loosened At his current depth there was about double the amount of Nether present than there had been on Earth Which certainly allowed him to loosen the tight spiral he maintained within his own Nether Nebula and relax a bit

But Randidly found that if he let his Nether stray too far from him it was sucked down to the waiting hell below Which made him regard the abyss quite solemnly He licked his lips Someday someday I�ll have to see how deeply I can safely go If I can strengthen my mental defenses I�d like to see the way Nether is orchestrated at the core of the Nexus

For the moment it mostly functioned as an extra bit of strain to help him train his control over Nether which was certainly worth the trip

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 307

So Randidly lost himself in the familiar rhythms of training Yggdrasil steadily stretched outside of its comfort zone The Grim Chimera steadily resisted the churn of energy and evolved into a scaly chrysalis form The Stillborn Phoenix continued to engorge itself on the lingering emotions from the images that were probably being smelted below His Nether Nebula continued its steady steady rotation

But then something changed The rate at which the Stillborn Phoenix was absorbing emotions began to drop Very quickly it was only able to stomach a trickle of emotions Yggdrasil was confused but it just shunted the extra emotions up with the refined energy anyway honestly the World Tree didn�t really care what happened to the energy once it purified it Yggdrasil was just savoring the experience at the moment

Randidly began to frown as he felt for changes within his image Of course the dense folding of light around his eye did little to reveal the state of the image on its surface But after almost a minute of investigation it really seemed like nothing was wrong with the image it was just literally full Very soon that trickling of emotions it continued to absorb stopped altogether

Then a shudder ran through the Stillborn Phoenix and Randidly�s attention instantly heightened to its limits He had taken the emotions rather lightly because of the nature of the Stillborn Phoenix but if there was actually some permanent damage

There was a sudden massive blast of emotion out of the Stillborn Phoenix If the emotions that had gone into the Egg of Depression had been at a three in terms of vibrancy and violence their time within the egg had upped their impact to something closer to a seven They erupted upward in a wave joining the purified energy and instantly turning it even more chaotic and violent than it had been originally It was a veritable sea of mania and violent emotions

Randidly�s eyebrow twitched All of the purification that he had done was immediately obliterated by the sinister and hungry emotions that raced upward with all the bloodthirsty glee of a pack of grey wolves that had caught the scent of prey His impression that he was engaging in some sort of community service by working with this Aether immediately evaporated It was once more confirmed that he was a dangerous strain on the environment no matter where he was Suddenly Randidly was quite glad that he could only handle one fifth of the ambient energy flowing upward

From what little that Randidly could sense from the emotions that the Stillborn Phoenix regurgitated if a weak willed person thoughtlessly absorbed some of this energy they would be quickly overwhelmed by their darker impulses The air was suddenly thick with hatred envy rage and bitterness Randidly could practically see those emotions smashing against the walls of the Web above him bounding back and forth and growing stronger on adversity

After about five minutes the torrent of negative emotion stopped The Stillborn Phoenix radiated puzzlement as it tried to understand what had just happened as though it hadn�t been the one to unleash that emotional calamity toward the Nexus Randidly couldn�t help but be amused by its casual destructiveness

Well maybe I�m overreacting Randidly thought taking another glance upward through the mass of swaying cables above his head Perhaps those emotions aren�t as dangerous as I thought Maybe they just seemed especially violent because of how suddenly they came out of the Stillborn Phoenix

While Randidly was thinking the Stillborn Phoenix began sucking in emotions once more Around ten minutes later that absorptions slowed and then it spewed emotions that were definitely more volatile than they had been previously The process repeated Gradually Randidly just accepted this as a function of the image

And it was around the fourth such cycle that he realized it was almost as though his dead image was breathing

Against This means that this candidate is also rejected Applicant you are dismissed The tinier representative from the NLC adjusted her glasses and glanced back and forth down the people on the table Her expression held barely controlled frustration The Xyrt Brigade Special Investigator continued to seem bored despite the seriousness of their plight Lady Iellaya kept her face impassive as best she could while knowing that she wasn�t doing a good job Commandant Wick seemed troubled but didn�t say anything

Part of the problem was the decisive difference in the candidates presented They were either obvious cronies of the NLC or Military High Command Randidly Ghosthound had been the compromised candidate but Commandant Wick hadn�t been moved Likely his mind was on the fact that his great granddaughter would be placed into the elite unit to be nurtured and would therefore be instructed by who they chose today

Randidly Ghosthound didn�t exactly inspire confidence He simply looked too much like his actual age

Yet no other candidate had been able to gather enough of the votes either And right when Lady Iellaya was resigning herself to another long day of meetings when someone did something very very stupid and created an opportunity for them to proceed forward

You think I�m going to give up just like that The most recent applicant said incredulously His metallic silver body gleamed as he folded his arms and remained seated in his chair As one all of the figures at the panel turned and looked at him Even Lady Iellaya felt his expression turn cold at his audacity All my life I have dreamed of the day that I would have the chance to fight for the Nexus But because I was born on a world that had already passed the Calamities When I was young my father told me

Unfortunately for this young man�s backstory all it took was for him to speak out of turn for the Commandant to lose his patience The high ranking military general raised a single finger and spit and blood geysered out of the metallic humanoid�s mouth Clutching his stomach the applicant rolled off his chair and hit the gorgeous gold patterned floor

An indeterminate liquid ran down the leg of the applicant�s chair to drip on the ground

Commandant Wick studied the nail on the finger that he raised toward the young humanoid He pursed his lips The most important quality in military personnel is respect for a superior�s command You when you clearly ignored a dismissal you were guilty of insubordination A disobedient soldier like you must be punished immediately lest your mistake becomes a habit Do you understand

On the ground the applicant groaned He shifted his trembling limbs and attempted to push himself off of the floor but his hand slipped on some of the blood and bile that was even now still leaking out of his mouth His head hit the floor with a dull thump But the metallic man forced himself back up Lady Iellaya could see a crack along his forehead I I

When Commandant Wick raised his second finger the applicant�s metallic body bubbled and ruptured An invisible force seemed to press his waist into the ground while folding both his legs and torso up into the air Even now Commander Wick�s expression remained mild Your input was not required

The applicant vomited blood once more Lady Iellaya had heard about some of the exhibitions� that Commandant Wick engaged in but this was the first time she had seen one in person His zeal toward discipline was legendary

What what�s happening My body The applicant whispered His voice was hoarse and shriveled like his vocal cords had been replaced with charred rubber

Commandant Wick shook his head his expression was one of pure sorrow You are experiencing pure chaos With order broken your life will soon devolve into nothing That is exactly why we need discipline That is exactly why the military is necessary

The applicant began to release a keening whine Meanwhile the larger of the NLC women spoke up this has been a very educational lesson but I think it�s best if we stop here

The Commandant glanced along the table toward the NLC portion of the panel Defending your applicant

Not quite no The woman shook her head It is just that applicant was recommended to us by the Swacc Family

Heh The Special Investigator snorted What a bunch of petty bastards Nice one Shevran

The Commandant�s expression turned thoughtful Then he glanced over at Lady Iellaya Hum Well this presents a unique opportunity doesn�t it If your selection is truly as great a healer as you claimed he will have no trouble expediting the recovery of this applicant I am willing to rethink my earlier vote

The high wail from the metallic humanoid sputtered and went silent with a wet gurgle The Commandant looked down at the two raised fingers he still maintained almost surprised to find that the fingers had remained ramrod straight while he had been speaking to Lady Iellaya He slowly lowered his fingers earning a relieved sigh from the pile of mangled metal flesh on the floor

Just as Lady Iellaya felt the spark of hope it was dashed once more The larger of the two NLC women frowned at the Commandant I�m also rethinking my vote Considering your attitude toward our candidates I think this Ghosthound is unsuitable for a number of reasons Therefore

I�ll also change my vote The Special Investigator announced with a lazy yawn I don�t need to abstain all the time I�ll vote for this Ghosthound Basically anything to avoid spending another day with you shits

Everyone fell silent for several seconds eyeing each other There was no love lost between the various political factions of the Nexus Even if they were finally facing an external threat from the Nether the old grudges ran deep But when it seemed that no one else had anything to say the Commandant looked again at Lady Iellaya Well Call him up

Chapter 1498

Randidly paused in his training when he received the message from Lady Iellaya The cable underneath him swayed slightly with his movement But then he finished through his current cycle As he breathed out two long trails of steam from his nose a hidden current of fierce and terrorizing emotions hid within the exhale Those emotions rapidly turned upward and accelerated as though sensing that there was easier prey than Randidly waiting above

He messaged Lady Iellaya back How quickly do you need me to return

If you could arrive within five minutes that would be ideal Lady Iellaya�s reply came so quickly that it seemed like she had prepared it

Randidly glanced upward through the gloomy Web and grimaced Although honestly the distance was the least of his troubles While reaching up and cracking his neck Randidly tentatively communicated with the Stillborn Phoenix asking whether it could control the release of emotions for a short amount of time After all blowing out these insidious and violent emotions in the faces of the interviewers would probably not make a great impression

The Stillborn Phoenix was practically radiating righteousness when it informed Randidly that it could not stop spewing emotions because that was just how it breathed Asking it to stop was akin to asking it to die

Randidly suppressed the urge to press his palm to his face He suppressed a secondary urge to strangle the Egg of Chaos Unfortunately for him all of his images had inherited his stubbornness So he could already sense that it would be rather pointless to remind the image that it hadn�t learned to breathe until only a short two hours ago It would undoubtedly refuse to admit that was the case

Luckily the Grim Chimera stepped forward and offer an alternative It had already been sensing that its exterior had reached its limits for this type of training and now it needed to train its interior to match So it suggested that the volatile emotions be released directly within Randidly�s rib cage mirroring the act of breathing more directly Randidly�s body would become the entire world for the Stillborn Phoenix containing the very air it breathed Yggdrasil then added that it could reinforce the surrounding organs and purify the emotions further preventing anything dangerous from occurring

Randidly shook his head in disbelief as he stood Y�all realize that this is MY body right You have no proof that there won�t be consequences from this

The images pretended not to hear him and Randidly could only sigh But he had already accepted that he might not become a Drill Sergeant after that initial rejection Although he would return for this opportunity it did not move his heart much It was part of a grander scheme to earn Citizenship Coins and free up Edraine Randidly understood that But more than anything else training was his highest priority at the moment He wouldn�t sacrifice everything for this position

While the Stillborn Phoenix cautiously released the seething emotions within his body Randidly once more produced Acri and launched himself directly upward It was a bit more difficult than simply allowing himself to fall but as he flung himself against the wall and repeatedly launched himself diagonally through the Web he quickly gained speed while heading upward Once more his heart rate began to rise The physical limit seemed to recede before him allowing his body to explode with power

The Grim Chimera sat within the emotions practically bathing in them They caused abrupt and strange changes to the substance of the image but the Grim Chimera�s eternal ability to adapt meant that it soon suppressed the twitches and the tremors that ran through the Grim Chimera�s body Soon it generated a film of its own pure emotion that kept these other emotions from approaching

That desire to survive and grow was indomitable The Grim Chimera�s eyes burned as it tempered that deep yearning it held within the emotions

The air cracked and ripped as he passed through space His limbs were wrapped in tight currents of air that blasted any cables that were near to his person

Meanwhile his veins once more began to glow with golden light as Yggdrasil formed a seal on the released emotions within Randidly�s ribcage Obviously the emotions took up no actual space So it was relatively simple to compress them But with so many emotions clashing and weaving amongst each other a qualitative change began to come over them

Aether as an energy was primarily comprised of two things substance and emotion The term substance could also be freely be interchanged with shape Aether was an energy that responded to the depth of emotions and the integrity of the shape given to that energy Which was why so many emotions gathered in one spot specifically having been cleaved from their shape by Yggdrasil began to behave strangely

As he accelerated up through the Web Randidly�s stomach began to gurgle as the emotions managed to influence him physically He clearly radiated displeasure to make sure his images knew that this wasn�t an acceptable side effect The golden light that Yggdrasil was releasing grew stronger Meanwhile the Stillborn Phoenix continued to steadily exhale more emotions as though it didn�t notice his ire One of the Stillborn Phoenix�s Skills began to activate taking over the process of breathing�

Congratulations Your Skill the Golden Roots of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 297

Congratulations Your Skill Tide of the Void has grown to Level 235

Without a distinct shape for the energy the emotions would normally disperse outward and gradually decompose naturally They needed a physical vessel or detail shape to anchor them Aether needed both emotion and shape to remain in a stable form Randidly had studied the System Aether that had largely been stripped of emotion in the past but he had never seen the opposite composition And while he continued to rush upward to his call back interview the gradual exhale of the Stillborn Phoenix pushed all that raw emotion into a space without shape His body hosted a natural experiment

And due to the seal that Yggdrasil had constructed within his body the emotions were suspended within a relatively isolated environment They continued to compound and clash increasing their simmering intensity with each passing second Soon the emotions had shed all pretense of shape and just mixed together in a chaotic mass within Randidly�s stomach Honestly it was difficult to even sense what was occurring within himself the emotions were chaotic and messy to the point that they barely resembled Aether at all They were raw pink and slightly uncomfortable like the revealed penis of a dog

Sensing that Randidly�s mood continued to sour on this experiment Yggdrasil stretched a golden root downward toward the emotions in an attempt to assuage his doubts The root began to shine brightly carrying with it the nascent sense that Randidly�s Skills could purify the emotions

Just as soon as the emotions encountered the image the tip of that imaginary root ballooned outward like it was displaying the time lapse of a tumor�s genesis The light it released became tainted rapidly shifting to a red pink hue Decisively Yggdrasil sliced off the root before the taint could spread That hunk of image dropped down into the stewing emotions twisting and morphing until it became so swollen that it had lost all articulable shape

Then it popped like an overinflated balloon spreading glittering notes of pink light like a handful of thrown confetti Randidly coughed lightly Unless one possessed the adaptability of the Grim Chimera it definitely seemed like these emotions were a deadly poison

Yggdrasil hurriedly upped the energy it used to suppress the emotions no longer daring to stretch out its image to touch them directly They continued to churn rushing and gurgling like the interior of a washing machine will all of the same disturbing lack of awareness of what happened within the contraption

Luckily that was around the time that the Stillborn Phoenix stopped producing the emotions It rapidly began to slurp the strangely mutating emotions within itself It didn�t seem to mind the changes at all

Feeling some unconscious relief as the emotions were taken from within his body Randidly accelerated further the next time his foot hit one of the walls Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes

Congratulations Your Skill Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes has grown to Level 296

While the wall beneath his foot fractured from the force Randidly blasted rapidly upward He purposefully activated Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold right before his jump so he could peer upward and arrange for a path through all of the hanging cables He streaked past with all of the subtleness of thunder once more shocking those proceeding through the area at a more normal pace

At almost exactly six minutes after Lady Iellaya had sent the message Randidly rushed through the hallways of the military base and reached those familiar double doors Octavius was there waiting for him He stopped Randidly before he could proceed directly into the room reaching up to fuss at the collar of his uniform

As though this was the first time that he had noticed it Octavius examined Randidly from head to toe and blinked when he looked at his bare feet You what happened to your shoes Did you lose them while you were exploring

Randidly shook his head Never had them I always liked actually being able to feel what was beneath my feet And now that my body can grow to be as hard as steel there�s no reason to restrain myself

Huh Even if you are fighting on dangerous terrain you never put on a foot covering Octavius seemed puzzled

Randidly wanted to point out they had passed plenty of individuals who were literally naked while they had been on Bray Street but decided just to shrug He couldn�t deny that his few opportunities to fight on lava had been particularly painful Nope Never have

I wonder if it violates military code Octavius whispered to himself

Frowning at the delay Randidly purposefully asked shouldn�t I be heading in there

Octavius�s eyes widened Oh Yes of course Don�t keep them waiting for even a second longer

Shaking his head Randidly walked back into the interview room

Chapter 1499

Your mission is simple the bear like military man next to Lady Iellaya spoke immediately when Randidly entered into the room Just as quickly as Randidly walked forward to stand before the group his Grim Intuition pinged an even larger threat from the man than Randidly had felt previously That made his eyes narrow so characters that were this powerful still could hide their abilities from even Grim Intuition That was a good fact to learn when the stakes were relatively low

The dangerous bearman pointed to a partially melted statue that lay near the interview chair had sat in only two hours ago Demonstrate your capabilities by healing the body and image of this man and you will receive the position of head Drill Sergeant However let it be known that you will bear the consequences of any lingering afflictions that affect him in the future

Belatedly Randidly�s eyes widened the melted statue was actually a toppled over metallic humanoid From what Randidly could see several of his limbs were bent in the wrong directions He wondered whether they were normally so uniquely bent or whether it was a result of whatever had occurred here And judging by the image wafting off of the metallic body

Randidly glanced once more at the furry military leader The bearman�s irises were two black chips in his eyes as dark as the empty space next to the moon in the night sky Slowly Randidly nodded of course If I�m supposed to heal someone their convalescence is my responsibility

The bearman smiled at Randidly with an expression that would have been a smirk had it spread from his mouth to his dark eyes Meanwhile the Xyrt Brigade representative released a bark of laughter Ha You�ve been hoodwinked kid That fool down there is from the Swacc Family I suspect that no matter how skilled you are he will remain broken and they will come demanding compensation The sort of compensation that�s above your paygrade

As Randidly crouched down next to the metallic body his mouth was moving before his brain really thought about the response I�ve dealt with the Swacc Family before I�m sure it will be fine

A split second later he paused and wondered whether he should have revealed that when he was still attempting to earn this job The silence of the people at the table on the dais became somewhat strange But Randidly decided to ignore the change and just focused on his work He reached out and pressed his hand against the being before him to get an idea of his current status And at that exact moment the Stillborn Phoenix�s had sucked all of the volatile emotions into itself

There was a churning rumble from Randidly�s chest and then the image became to exhale Emotions rampaged outward with all the desperate devastation of a broken dam

Hss Randidly let his breath sneak out between his teeth as Yggdrasil unfolded into the air above him in order to suppress the changed emotions This journey back from the interior of the Stillborn Phoenix saw the emotional intensity increase again by an order of magnitude The emotions practically hummed with infectious and dangerous power

Ah please do be careful Fragments of my image may remain from the earlier interview The bearman said very officiously Randidly had to make a conscious effort not to roll his eyes while Yggdrasil stabilized the seal on the emotions within himself But he was then rather shocked to see that perhaps the military man hadn�t just made a baseless assumption about Randidly�s display of weakness the damage to the metallic man�s body was quite similar to what had happened with Yggdrasil�s root

The source wasn�t the same but the result bore a significant resemblance to each other The bearman�s image had somehow stripped the shape� of Aether from this metal man and left him with chaos When the metallic man had probably panicked heightening his emotions that overwhelmed what remained of his mental framework and caused his entire self to collapse

Randidly felt a strange sort of horror as he inspected the result

Please

Randidly blinked in surprise Because of the strange angles of his joints and the coloration of his body he didn�t realize the patient was still conscious These were the sort of injuries that usually pushed someone into a coma But now to his discomfort he realized that even the man�s neck had been twisted to the point that he was staring up at Randidly His eyes were filled with fear and pain Please

Strangely Randidly remembered the shock and horror that Neveah experienced when she had been struck mentally by Kaan Swacc Something hardened in Randidly�s heart and the Grim Chimera raised his head from within his baptism of violent emotions to glance at the bearman and curl his lip upward It is exactly because of people like you that this Nexus is such a hell for those without the strength to defend themselves I WILL surpass you

I will end your casual violence

Then Randidly turned his attention back to the man and released as much of his image as he could Once more the other physicalizations of his images receded his hair became emerald and his veins pulsed with golden light The energy he radiated downward was soft and gentle like rays of sunlight on cool mornings The metallic man gasped and gulped down desperate breaths of air

There WERE in fact remnant bits of the bearman�s image continuing to destabilize the metallic man�s body and agitate his emotions Randidly rapidly used a surge of Yggdrasil�s Inscrutable Mien to blast them away taking great joy in the thought that he was annihilating that small smirk from the bearman as he did so

The image fragments were strong but they were truly just remnants Randidly had no trouble eliminating them

Congratulations Your Skill the Golden Roots of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 298

Congratulations Your Skill the Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 257

Very quickly the metallic man�s image and body initiated the healing process without those lingering elements causing damage and began to greedily absorb the ambient energy that Randidly was producing In fact his body and image were absorbing so much energy that Randidly could feel flaws beginning to emerge in the restructured physical form

Randidly narrowed his eyes and restrained the flow of energy to the man before him The subject groaned again but the strange mutations within his body ceased Although his body was no longer affected it seemed like there was a permanent change to the man�s emotions they now possessed an intensity that could destabilize his form

Randidly wasn�t sure whether it was just a side effect of what he had recently experienced that would soon fade or a permanent change he would need to learn to control

But for the moment Randidly focused energy toward his images allowing the framework to return to the man�s image of himself before letting his body reconstruct the shape As he continued to witness the fits and starts of healing before a sudden emotion demolished a minute�s worth of work Randidly�s fury continued to mount Even with all the assistance he proved lingering holes remained in both this man�s image and body

Whatever technique it was that had been used was obscene in the scope of its effects Its power was overwhelming and bizarre It was another bit of evidence that the Nexus was not someplace where he could casually offend others

But no matter how horrendous the damage was it wasn�t worse than what Nether could do to Aether The combination of the two energies when not aligned not only destroyed but also warped the edges into a useless haze Comparatively these wounds to the image were clean as though someone had somehow used an eraser to simply remove parts

Plus the man�s emotions gradually stabilized as Randidly eased his pain

While the patient continued to sputter and breathe heavily Randidly carefully did his best to approximate the lost portions of his image All the while he kept a tight lid on the increasingly dense emotions in his own chest The Grim Chimera�s aura caused the exhaled emotions of the Stillborn Phoenix to seethe it bared its teeth at this obvious cruelty

Which only agitated the pink and red emotions within Randidly forcing Yggdrasil to work harder to suppress them Plus the emotions he was refining seemed to sense the vulnerable metal man They cautiously tried to escape only to be beaten back by the purifying light from a golden root

Time gradually ticked past The panel sat quietly studying Randidly�s image while he worked He did his best to keep all image reverberations for the Stillborn Phoenix and Grim Chimera contained But that was secondary toward helping this man

Blessedly the Stillborn Phoenix finished exhaling and then began to suck away the dangerous emotions Yggdrasil could then concentrate more fully on healing the man The golden energy it released grew thicker almost physical in its warm embrace After a strained few minutes the metallic man released a sigh His joints began to loosen and straighten His basic sense of self had been repaired to a serviceable state His emotions were calm

After his body had unfurled itself he collapsed to the ground But there was intelligence in his eyes as he looked up at Randidly Thank you

Just obeying orders Randidly said His voice must have revealed his dissatisfaction because the bearman harrumphed

Soldier I have a question for you Randidly warily turned to face the bearish man who had earned the wariness of the Grim Chimera His dark eyes continued to drill into Randidly as though he could pry apart his anatomy simply by virtue of his extended attention and understand Randidly�s secrets in that manner The man cleared his throat You have my permission to speak freely If I were to give you an order that would obviously endanger the lives of your hypothetical charges would you follow that order

Randidly thought about it deeply And from the intensity of Lady Iellaya�s stare she wanted to him to add some deference to the answer he would tell this man And perhaps some part of Randidly wanted to cave as well which is why the rest of his personality railed against that impulse The Grim Chimera that had allowed itself to be scarred and warped by the chaotic mass of emotions within his body peered out through Randidly�s emerald eyes with the utmost seriousness

You are exactly why I want to become strong Randidly thought He stood straight and kept his expression even No I would not

As the man loosened his grip on his own image his dark eyes seemed to swell to fill Randidly�s vision The rest of the surrounding details of the room were pushed out drowned in that darkness For a second Randidly tensed but he forced both the Stillborn Phoenix and Grim Chimera to remain passive He allowed Yggdrasil to recede before that darkness

And in that nothingness Randidly sensed the leering gaze of chaos There were waves of space warping energy and seeds of psychological ruin But above them all was an absolute imperative that usually contained those dangerous forces As the bearman looked at Randidly he lifted the lid from the pot and allowed Randidly to experience them directly He displayed the raw horror within his own person Yet it wasn�t that which even the Grim Chimera viewed with dread

It was that cast iron compulsion that somehow managed to govern this cesspool of mutation and organic impossibility that drew Randidly�s wariness That was a twisted strength of will that he had rarely seen in the past

The lapping waves of that chaos crept closer The hairs along Randidly�s right arm began to stand on end The dwindling emotions within his body began to stir But since Lady Iellaya was present Randidly wouldn�t forcefully resist the image until he received actual damage

As Randidly�s jaw began to ache from clenching the bearman pulled his image back His eyes were suddenly just dark eyes and the ominous heaviness in the air departed leaving not a single lingering clue that hinted to the horrifying power he had displayed a few moments earlier The man smiled I suppose that makes sense But you do realize the consequences of disobeying a direct order from a superior don�t you

Randidly didn�t bother to answer He simply glanced down at the metallic man next to him who was only now regaining control of his breathing

The bearman chuckled but his dark eyes seemed to become even more antagonistic as he considered Randidly What if I requested that you wear full military uniform while acting as a Drill Sergeant Commander Ghosthound as a way to demonstrate the importance of discipline to your recruits What would you do then

Randidly didn�t miss the way that the bearman�s eyes lingered on his feet Inwardly Randidly threw his hands up in the air Are my bare feet really that unusual

I trust you will do what you think is best for the recruits Randidly eventually answered Emerald eyes met black ones In his heart Randidly settled into a realization if this man would force the issue of him wearing shoes in front of the recruits he wouldn�t bother with being a Drill Sergeant Even more than the discomfort of wearing shoes what Randidly wasn�t willing to put up with was a bully And right now that was what this man seemed to be

What Randidly realized immediately after that was that the bearman seemed to recognize that resolve in Randidly�s eyes The bearman�s smile widened

But instead of the order that Randidly had anticipated the bearman closed his eyes He backed down I will do exactly that Congratulations Commander Ghosthound You will be our Head Drill Sergeant Report to the Fifth Cohort Rally Station in six days for further orders

Chapter 1500

This time Randidly silently followed Octavius through the stark passages of the military base after the interview As such they made very quick time The duo quickly descended down through the Web and reached its deeper recesses where the house of Edraine was located But while Octavius proceeded directly through the heavy metal door on the wall Randidly paused on a cord It was only when Octavius turned around that Randidly spoke Go on ahead I need to take care of something very quickly then I�ll follow

Octavius was grinning from ear to ear still buzzing from the excitement of Randidly earning the position of Head Drill Sergeant so he nodded and turned away without thinking too much about it Which allowed Randidly to unobtrusively drop another few hundred meters downward in the Web without anyone being in the pollution zone

He didn�t need to go as deep as he had been training earlier And no matter how much he wanted to keep training now was probably not the best time for that it was finally time that he got on the same page of everyone else as to why they were taking these actions But for now Randidly alighted upon another cable in that gloomy energy waste chute and gratefully released the emotions that the Stillborn Phoenix had been steadily refining

Compared to their earlier violence these emotions had greatly settled while Randidly had been informed of some of the smaller details of his new post Which left the emotions an almost slime like form sluggishly exiting Randidly�s body Their pink red color had become increasingly vibrant possessing some inherent quality of purity that made the emotions difficult to regard directly without some instinctual squinting More importantly as shape had almost completely been stripped away and only emotion remained Randidly had been able to tell that the process of breathing was steadily polarizing the emotions More and more they were stripped and reshuffle to resemble that obsessive and all consuming desire of the Stillborn Phoenix

By extension the emotions were essentially becoming Randidly�s own

He could already feel a sudden stirring from his image physicalizations if he was feeling it directly with the slow accumulating image physicalizations it seemed like he would also be able to create more drops of liquid Aether with the strength of these emotions

But Randidly was still cautious about cashing in on that benefit without fully understanding it So he released those emotions now to see if the extra emotional power would remain once the emotions were removed from his body

When the emotions hit the air at first there was no response Then only a second later the emotions began to explosively hiss and foam like potassium dropped in water The emotions expanded outward with all the furious glee of a brood of young dragons eager to leave the nest their earlier sluggishness completely forgotten as the impurities of the world built space between the emotions

Feeling somewhat conflicted Randidly watched those emotions diffuse into the surrounding space Then he noticed something else quite strange the Stillborn Phoenix retained some connection to those emotions as they spread outward That expanding and diffusing energy had been marked by Randidly�s emotions just as surely as something could be marked by a powerful and distinct shape

How long will that connection linger I wonder

Humming to himself Randidly allowed the suddenly obedient Stillborn Phoenix to absorb some more of the ambient energy to continue its breathing To Randidly�s surprise the brief exposure to the bearman�s chaotic image had really affected the Egg of Depression The idea that all of its carefully constructed artifices could be stripped away by another had aligned the image much more closely with Randidly�s interest it had been scared straight For now at least it was committed to the journey of training so they could overcome this new foe

With Yggdrasil�s help sucking up another massive amount of ambient emotion and cutting away the energy only took a few minutes As the Stillborn Phoenix adjusted to the process the speed of the refinement was increasing Then Randidly ascended and proceeded into the residential dome and to Edraine�s house

Opening the door to Edraine�s room Randidly was surprised to see that Lady Iellaya was already there Which meant that there were more passages through the Nexus than just going up and down the Web Still wearing her ornate military uniform Lady Iellaya grinned over at him You know Commandant Wick could crush you right Like a bug accidentally if he carelessly passed too close to you

For now Randidly responded with a similarly sharp grin They booth took steps forward and hugged each other briefly Then they stepped apart at the same moment moving with unspoken cooperation Seeing Lady Iellaya�s skeptical expression Randidly shrugged But we will see what happens in a year

You are fucking insane Lady Iellaya speechlessly shook her head Then both turned and looked at Edraine and Octavius who were standing next to the central table in the room with serious expressions Since Randidly had gone to his interview the table had been cleaned of the messily strew papers and now housed three separate stacks of coins

Randidly observed the three stacks The leftmost stack he recognized as three Coins of Territory stacked on top of each other The middle stack resembled the Tier I citizenship coins except the metal was a strange blue color There were five of these coins

The final pile was Nexus Tier I Citizenship coins and there were four of them

Although we�ve been biding our time we�ve still managed to gather quite an amount of resources Edraine�s voice was smug as she spoke Then she pointed to the leftmost pile These Mr Ghosthound are for you An insurance policy in case our attempt fails and there are reprisals

That immediately had Randidly pressing his lips together The Grim Chimera growled deep in its throat this would grant me the ability to take away a whole planet as territory should we fail A way to save Expira huh So what exactly is your plan Edraine What are we even doing here Why am I becoming a Drill Sergeant

But even as he said that Randidly did activate Hallucinations of the Bloodless Heart to float the Coins of Territory over toward him His right hand tightened around the three coins and they were stored in his interspatial ring He would not refuse this he also had the planets of the Nemesai to still research and assist as per their agreement

Edraine nodded slowly I do think it�s time we talk about that All four of us Very simply all of us here want to change the Nexus I think it would be for the best for us to start with this commonality It�s a bit frivolous but I�d like to begin by each of us stating our individual goal for changing the Nexus As for me I wish to change the philosophy of the Nexus I no longer wish for lives to be treated as a resource

Randidly frowned slightly as he studied Edraine If he had been forced to make a guess previously he definitely would not have said that Edraine was here over philosophical differences with the Nexus Considering what happened to her and her brother

For a second the room was silent Octavius glanced around nervously then cleared his throat I wish I wish to live a peaceful life That is all But but I�ve lost people due to the Nexus If I can prevent something like that from happening again if I can make the Nexus a more peaceful place

Randidly hadn�t spent much time with Octavius Shrike but he was struck by the sudden intensity that seized the rhinoman�s face when he mentioned losing people to the Nexus The lines around his eyes deepened and his mouth stretch wide to reveal thick and flat teeth Rather than resembling the teeth of an herbivore Randidly instead saw the insatiable cogs of a machine that would stubbornly grind any offending substance to dust

The Overseer of the Seventh Cohort seemed like an unshakable monolith in that room just as powerful as anyone else present

Then the intensity left Octavius leaving him the same slightly tired and nervous looking bureaucrat But Randidly filed away that display in his mind he would not again underestimate the power that Octavius possessed

Lady Iellaya cleared her own throat drawing everyone�s attention A worthy goal Octavius I maybe it�s selfish but I just want to honor my word I have made guarantees to protect the people who follow me I have failed in this respect in the past I never want to feel that feeling of failure ever again I refuse to disappoint them any longer

Again there was a moment of silence as Randidly absorbed that information Then belatedly he realized that it was his turn to share his motivation for wanting to change the Nexus All three of his images rose steadily up in his chest resonating with each other They were his strongest motivators To survive to grow and to achieve the impossible

But although each was parroted as a being separate from himself they were still him They always were They were three different expressions of who he was and could be

Randidly Ghosthound immediately thought of the burning passion he shared with the current Vualla Their manic glee at the thought of tearing down the System The reasons to do so were so numerous that Randidly didn�t know where to begin

So he paused and considered When did I start on this Path

Randidly reached up and scratched his chin Although it shouldn�t possess the same physical needs of his fleshy body his metallic left arm twitched as his mind wandered The three surrounding individuals his co conspirators didn�t look at him but Randidly could sense their attention was locked onto him He was not their leader nor the most powerful amongst them but Randidly Ghosthound was the link that had woven them all together

Because he had caught the attention of the Overseer of his Cohort Because he had been sent to the frontlines Because he had persisted and been assigned to Lady Iellaya Because he had been able to heal damage to images and earned her praise Because he had been able to utilize Nether and steadily unraveled the secret of Ileot and Vualla Because he had found Edraine the core of the System the replacement in the form of her duplicated brother

Randidly released a breath In the silence he heard the sound of his own heart He blinked once and while his eyes were closed he saw the self righteous silhouette of Ki Kunot I I want to give everyone the opportunity to grow strong I want

Perhaps it was because of the process the Stillborn Phoenix had started but Randidly�s emotions felt particularly potent at the moment The guilt he felt for the mistakes he made and the rage at all those who tried to use him those emotions boiled in his chest If he was a kettle he would be squealing with pent up heat

Yet Randidly forced all of those emotions down As they did only when Randidly pressed his three images wove themselves together closer and closer The combination was unexpectedly easy So suddenly Randidly was looking at his heart with the eyes of all three of his images The followed his motivations back to the pure core of himself

Strangely Randidly�s mind drifted back to the recent sensation of diving down through the Web to head for some training The sensation of air parting before his body cutting cleanly through space as though he was sailing on the thin boundary lines between the currents of energy He had been a god of wind thrilled by the sensation of the shackles of the System being shattered He raised his head and savored that liberation The feeling had been exhilarating

With the roar of the wind in his ears being almost deafening Randidly had felt alive

I want people to feel free Randidly finally said The other three studied him Then he winced It sounded rather unsatisfying after seeing the emotion that his fell co conspirators displayed but it was difficult for Randidly to match that Because the core emotion that motivated him forward was not a desire for revenge although he had slowly developed that as he experienced both Yystrix�s and Elhume�s meddlesome plots

No Randidly was motivated forward as he chased joy Joy that he had learned training under Shal in the Dungeon all those years ago The joy of feeling the edge of perfection of engaging in the dance of spearplay and testing your own limits The joy of competency and the natural exuberance of physical movement

The joy of honing your limits and discovering yourself Of seeking an answer to a problem and discovering one Of following his own Path without regrets Of spitting in the cruel face of reality and daring it to do its worst

For a brief moment his three images shifted further and more completely than they had in the past They settled together in one pure blended form But then the balance was lost and Randidly released a long sigh

Edraine tilted her head to the side and smiled Well then here we are No matter the motivations we share our goal changing the Nexus But as I�m sure you all can tell this is not an easy task There are some very powerful individuals with vested interests in keeping the Nexus the way it is Any sort of shift will be met with resistance and among us we don�t have much political power in the Nexus

That is slowly changing Edraine glanced at Randidly before she continued to speak But it still isn�t enough Even if we were to gather enough Citizenship Coins to get us all to Tier III we still wouldn�t have an easy time So I suggest that we cheat

Edraine smiled Power can make up for some deficiencies in influence but we would truly need an absolute power in order to make a serious ripple in the current Nexus And I know where we can find one

Is it you Lady Iellaya asked disbelief clear in her voice No one was quite clear on how powerful Edraine currently was but Randidly shared Lady Iellaya�s doubt that they would be currently hoarding citizenship coins if she really was that powerful

Chuckling Edraine shook her head No but only someone with my ability to read the flows of energy would be able to find this tool It might sound crazy but what I propose is that we steal and weaponize the sealed body of Elhume

Chapter 1501

stealing Elhume�s body sounds like a bad idea Randidly said after a beat of silence He had wanted to listen longer to Edraine�s entire plan before he interrupted but when he heard the name Elhume he felt compelled to speak up He is the creator of the Nexus and the most powerful person in it Even if his body is truly sealed Just attracting his attention

Edraine raised up a hand You are correct that attracting his attention comes with so much danger that even I am unsure if I could survive But don�t be so quick to reject the idea Plus if you have some useful information about Elhume I�m willing to take it into account

Randidly blinked In a way he did have some information about Elhume but what he had learned from Yystrix was how powerful Elhume was and the origin of the System None of that seemed really relevant to this planned larceny three thousand years later so he shook his head rather helplessly maybe the biggest reason I�ve come so far in such a short amount of time is that a certain individual interfered on Expira From her I learned some background about Elhume But nothing relevant

There was interference in my Cohort Octavius muttered

Meanwhile Edraine�s gaze turned sharp That interference is highly irregular She must certainly be very powerful in order to escape the notice of the System architecture Is there any chance that we could meet with this woman If she�s truly that capable

Elhume tracked her down and killed her Randidly said lightly but his chest tightened as he said it Which was exactly why he was deeply wary of a plan involving Elhume From his recent usage of the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night the sensation of Elhume�s gaze fracturing his Class was still fresh in his mind A tremor ran through his Class just thinking about it

I�m sorry for your loss Edraine said with a very genuine expression on her face Then while Randidly was struggling to cope with the conflicted feeling he felt when being given condolences for Yystrix Edraine continued to speak But I believe there are a few things that you do not know about the situation Elhume is overwhelmingly powerful but by and large he exists entirely as an image being at this point When his body became useless to him he discarded it He keeps tabs but has made no attempt to liberate it

In addition I perhaps was being slightly dramatic when I said we would steal his body I too wouldn�t want to weaken the seal on his body Instead what we want to make use of is the massive amount of power released by the crystalized Aether sealing his person That ambient energy will be the fuel to effect the change we want

Lady Iellaya reached up and cracked her neck Heh Even if he doesn�t use it anymore I doubt that Elhume won�t have something to say if we attempt to take his body I like the spirit but I have to agree with the Ghosthound This is dangerous The deepest parts of the Nexus I would tread lightly

Across the room Octavius Shrike shivered His eyes were filled with dread as though he was a small child remembering a nightmare Everyone had experienced the harsh truths of the System in the past

Meanwhile Edraine frowned around at them Yes there is extreme danger But I have one thing to say to all of you we will not be able to change the Nexus without brushing up against Elhume Above all of the trash that has congregated at his feet in the Nexus� three thousand years of existence he is the true hurdle Taking his body would give us an opportunity A pice of Elhume to stave off the whole But if you have any other ideas about how to rival that monster�s power

Randidly had been about to say something else but that truth silenced him Even in his current tier of strength Elhume was a being that could shake him to his core with just a look And that wasn�t a psychological commentary Randidly�s body had been physically impacted just by the man�s attention

His gaze was the least of his weapons and it was still overwhelming

But ultimately Edraine was correct Any true change to the Nexus would need to at least partially brush up against Elhume�s awareness Expecting to hide meaningful change was foolish Therefore they didn�t have any other choice but to take these sorts of risks And as long as they prepared and planned well

Randidly licked his lips Well who sealed his body anyway If that�s possible perhaps that will give us a blueprint about how to go about this

Edraine released a low laugh No one sealed his body Heh we don�t have much reliable information about what exactly happened but I believe we can piece things together between my memories and secondhand accounts From what I can tell his body being sealed happened around the time of the Second Cohort I had known of Elhume in my original life and he was moving around freely although he was rarely seen But at that time he pursued a now defunct Path to power image physicalizations

Randidly gradually began to frown

Meanwhile Edraine continued to speak While we currently use our images to push toward making thought projections condense as physical presences there used to be a school of thought that these projections could be used to gradually modify your physical body to resonate more directly with your images While I was just entering the army and my family was fighting it was an extremely popular school of thought In terms of Stamina none could match those who physicalized their images within their bodies They seemed to possess endless wells of energy

When I first recovered my senses it struck me as strange that this practice has largely disappeared After some investigations I believe it�s because of what happened to Elhume�s body Edraine pursed her lips The details are unknown but it is clear that at some point Elhume�s body reached a tipping point There was so much energy in his body that it began to attract more energy From what I can glean Aether began to crystalize around his body eventually sealing its movements completely

Octavius shook his head slightly and cleared his throat There are some records of Elhume�s body moving in the past briefly forming a crack in the crystalized Aether that allows the body to have some influence in the outside world The results were catastrophic to areas nearby So he was moved But just as quickly as it is formed the ambient energy heals those flaws in the seal around him So theoretically if we had enough power to endure those brief attacks we could safely utilize his body as an energy source

Randidly�s mind began to whir He looked down at his hands wondering if his pursuit of image physicalizations would eventually lead him toward a similar result Certainly he would gain a lot of power but getting there but someday would the purity of his power draw Aether to him and crystalize it around him

Yet some part of that train of thought felt suspicious to Randidly If you gather enough Aether in a physical form is this really the only result Without the use of Nether to ground the Aether I definitely can see rigidity becoming a serious problem The more I observe the energies the more I see how depriving Aether of matching Nether makes the energy turn brittle But wouldn�t Elhume be aware of Nether and its usage He was the one who created the System He definitely is aware of how to manipulate it

So why did Nether stop working as a way to balance out his physicalized images Was it because his mastery of Aether severely outpaced Nether

It was something Randidly would need to reflect on carefully in the future but for now he comforted himself with the depressing truth that he was still very far from the amount of physicalized images that it would end up being a risk

Everyone else also seemed to be mulling over that information leading to another stretch of silence Edraine studied each of them in turn Now assume for a moment you all agree to assist I can guess what you are thinking how we will be able to find and steal Elhume body

Each of us has a role Randidly you will be working as the Head Drill Instructor in order to earn merits was the Nexus military repels the invasion of the Fifth Cohort If you perform well or more accurately your recruits perform well you should be rewarded with a Nexus Citizenship coin or two I�ll get to why that�s important when I speak of my role but to get access to Elhume�s body we need more Citizenship coins

Edraine looked at Lady Iellaya Supreme Commander Iellaya you will pour everything you have into training You will be the one to act as our shield when the time comes During this operation I predict we will need to be able to resist at least one or two attacks from Elhume�s body Your goal will be to increase your strength to the point you can survive him cracking his seal briefly

Randidly recalled that horrible jarring noise of the crystalized Aether shattering and shivered Expecting Lady Iellaya to reach that much capability

Meanwhile Octavius will be researching Engravings To transport further seal and utilize the ambient energy that all that crystalized Aether releases Edraine glanced at the Overseer In addition if a few more planets pass through the first Calamity Octavius will earn some honorary Citizenship coins Again more on that later

Edraine pointed a long finger at herself Meanwhile I will be responsible for infiltrating the Nexus proper locating the hiding place of Elhume�s body and then distracting Elhume�s attention while you three actually steal the body But to start doing that I�m going to need Tier 3 Citizenship to fully gain access to the forbidden areas

Now Edraine gestured at the coins remaining on the table There were five of those blue coins and four of the normal golden Tier I Citizenship coins She quickly picked up two of the blue coins and one of the golden ones With a flourish she made the coins dance across her fingers Citizenship Coins can do one of two things either grant you citizenship or open a Path to the Pinnacle of the Nexus Setting aside the second option for now You can upgrade your citizenship coins by combining three of the same Tier But one of those three used in the combination must be an entirely pure gold Citizenship coin

She pressed the coins one gold and two blue together between her palms There was a flash of light and suddenly there was only a single coin in her hand There was a ring of gold near the center of the coin but the rest of it was blue The honorary coins are generally the mundane rewards given out by the Nexus Only in special circumstances and on planets still facing the Calamities do genuine gold coins appear Which is why we needed to seize the opportunity of the Head Drill Sergeant position

Then Edraine grimaced and pressed her palm against the pile of three Citizenship coin on the far side of the table When she moved her hand away a thick golden coin that glowed with an inner light sat on the wooden surface Thanks to the two coins you brought Mr Ghosthound we have an entirely pure Tier 2 Citizenship Coin Which is the most difficult piece to assemble To raise me to Tier 3 Citizenship we will need two more genuine Citizenship Coins and one more honorary coin

Randidly was confused He pointed at the other coin in her hand with the gold ring Why can�t you use that Then we only need a single more gold citizenship coin

Unfortunately Edraine tossed the coin at Randidly and he caught it between his pointer and middle finger The metal was strangely cold against his fingers You need to have Tier I citizenship in order to accept the role of Head Drill Sergeant We might have fudged your application but as long as you show up as a citizen it won�t matter So make sure you train these fools well alright It�s an investment

Then Edraine looked at each of them in turn again and chuckled not that we are in any rush We aren�t ready for this operation not even close But this is the only answer I could come up with to change the Nexus Let�s try our best people

Chapter 1502

Are you not worried about your images being affected Octavius asked again in a low tone

Randidly smiled wryly and glanced down into the Web below Beyond the gentle lines of the cables spanning the chasm was the seething mixture of darkness and emotions that had recently caught Randidly�s attention Even now the vivid emotions in his body were being thoroughly refined by the Stillborn Phoenix as it inhaled and exhaled He couldn�t exactly sense the emotions he released earlier but he did have the impression that those emotions were still connected to him even as they had embedded themselves in some different flow of Aether and been unknowingly absorbed by a citizen of the Nexus

The more he paid attention the more Randidly began to understand how emotion could be just as distinct as the shape of an image It was an entire arsenal of gleaming weaponry that he intended to practice with until he was extremely proficient

For now Randidly looked back at Octavius with a half smile Yes I�m sure Believe me when it comes to filtering energy there are very few images as efficient as Yggdrasil I�ll be fine down there

Still be careful Like Edraine said we�ve invested in you So Octavius trailed off perhaps realizing that he was shifting steadily toward a lecture Randidly tilted his head to the side sensing the shape of something more than just Octavius� instinctual need to control in his stifled urge But very quickly Octavius shook his head again Anyway just remember that you need to be back in six days

Randidly nodded and then hopped off of the cord This time he didn�t use his Skills or his body to accelerate downward He simply allowed the natural pull of the phenomenon below to gradually accelerate him into the dimly lit shaft While he descended he kept a careful eye on the Aether and Nether in his surroundings Especially after hearing the news that Elhume�s image physicalizations eventually caused him to be sealed within crystalized Aether Randidly felt strangely restless Either he was missing something or there was more to Elhume�s sealing than meets the eye

Although maybe I�m just thinking that because I don�t want to back down from image physicalizations Randidly mused to himself But then he shook his head and focused He had six days Those six days were what was most important right now During this time he had several goals he wanted to accomplish

First he wanted to get the Grim Chimera as close to an evolution as possible That way while he began training these two hundred recruits he could begin to think more deeply about the final Skill of the Descent of the Grim Chimera All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth Which Addressing that critical Skill would keep him on track to evolve his Skillset before he needed to be deployed to the Fifth Cohort

Second Randidly wanted to try and recreate that feeling of stability amongst his three images that he had briefly felt in the meeting with Edraine and the other co conspirators As he had reflected earlier it was becoming increasingly clear that he hadn�t given enough attention to emotion as a foundation of Aether In the past Randidly had just taken it for granted that it would gradually accumulate But from an initial observation of the Stillborn Phoenix�s actions it was clear that Randidly could direct seek to improve his usage of emotions He would spend a few hours each day studying this phenomenon

Third and perhaps this depended mostly on how deep in the Web he proceeded Randidly wanted to refine his weaving of his Nether Nebula further As dangerous as it was he was sorely tempted to proceed into the depths of this place and observe the monstrous amount of Nether below him Although it appeared at a chaotic mess from a distance the first hand account from Roy indicated that the construction was originally very purposeful

The Nether had been made to create a body or a being Perhaps even a body for the son of Yystrix and that Nether King so he wouldn�t continue to dissipate

Yet it was equally clear that something had gone wrong since the System had been created Now the Nether simply pooled in a horrifying swamp of significance Rather than saying the System restricted Nether throughout its domain it might be better to say that this mass of significance sucked ambient Nether away so efficiently that no one could accumulate much of the energy

Meanwhile very few others had a flow of their own Aether like Randidly to ground their significance and keep it from being dragged away It appeared he had almost stumbled into this benefit

But whether the accumulation of significance was purposeful or not Randidly grimaced as he continued to speed downward It was difficult to know the purpose without observing the core directly And even if he exposed himself to that danger it was a toss up whether Randidly understood enough about Nether to interpret what he was seeing He might take the risk of going into the depths and discover nothing

For now he would simply observe the behavior of Nether carefully

Fourth Randidly had gathered quite a pile of PP in recent months Between his training with the Grim Chimera and improvements to the Stillborn Phoenix he had almost gathered 750 PP With the next few days he hoped he could reach 800 and finish another Path

And finally Randidly grinned and gestured sharply with his arm to disperse some of his momentum He had proceeded quite deeply down into the Web He recognized the spot where he had been training earlier and allowed himself to drift a little further down As he did so he realized that the substance of the walls was changing Whereas the previous portions of this shaft had clearly been made of some industrial metal the walls began to look very much like bone There were no doors just dark recesses that might lead deeper toward shadowy caves

Randidly wondered whether calling this area the hollow spine of the Nexus was more literal than figurative

It only took about a hundred more meters of dropping for the violence of the emotions in the air to double from Randidly�s previous training spot In addition the pulse of Nether in the air continued to thicken to surprising levels Even the air was heavy and cloying down here Without the intermittent lighting along the walls the shadows seem liquid and contaminated constantly bleeding outward and into each other in some eternal deterioration toward true darkness

At his current position Randidly landed lightly on a cable But this time he was unwilling to satisfy himself with swaying on these cables while he trained He released a breath and reached out for the tiny microbes that were present on almost all surfaces And to his shock he found almost nothing in the surrounding area Nothing lived on the stark walls of the shaft Nothing crept along the rusted metal cord of indeterminate quality underneath his feet Instead he found the only occupant of the area a wafting hint of an image Something ancient and horrifying But like the shadows constantly pooling around him at this depth the image seemed to vanish when he looked at it directly

More than ever Randidly was quite sure that the Nexus had been built on top of the body of an ancient beast Which made him wonder if there were still such massive beasts wandering around in the area The prospect was somewhat exciting Especially after seeing how that primordial scent that remained suppressed any sort of bacteria from growing

It also reminded him that his view of the Nexus had been extremely limited so far If possible he should explore a bit more in the future

Still Randidly let those thoughts go Even if the walls weren�t helpful his skin had plenty of options for Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil Very soon thorny vines were wriggling off of his body and grabbing onto the cable beneath him From there the vines expanded and grew weaving themselves outward until they covered about the outer 75% of the Web and left only a small portion near the middle completely unblocked

Randidly studied the result carefully varying the tightness of the weave until he was satisfied Near the edges the vines were extremely close together allowing less of the emotionally volatile Aether to pass through Meanwhile near the open space in the center the Aether was much thicker Plus Randidly created a single vine across the center hole where most of the Aether now gushed

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 318

Even then Randidly wasn�t satisfied For about fifteen minutes he studied the roots and vines he had created watching for any mutations due to the ambient emotions Or even due to the relative prevalence of Nether in the area After that time passed Randidly had to conclude that there really was some serious pollution to the energy in the air the bottom portion of the vines he created was turning vaguely bronze But Yggdrasil vigorously protected its image against those emotions leaving Randidly relieved A little discoloration was fine for his purposes

Then Randidly began working on the final goal in this six day training operation bringing out Helen Heiffal and the eight hundred other frontline soldiers under his command for training with this emotion laden energy Both to get a wider sample of the effects but also to make sure that when Randidly showed up as a Drill Sergeant even his subordinates would impress the recruits

Although if the recruits are anything like the people I saw Randidly shook his head Helen will tear them to pieces

Then he began to train

Charlotte come here Commandant Wick growled sitting before his personal garden and sipping tea Without a sound he set his small cup down next to his bamboo mat

A small blue bird tweeted a soft song and flitted around the edges of the garden The humidity that he kept his garden meant that Charlotte�s Wick neck was slick with sweat She didn�t let any of the discomfort show on her face however At his summoning Charlotte stood from her prone position and walked back to crouch near to the Patriarch of the family Although the Commandant didn�t turn around Charlotte could tell that he was pleased by her behavior

Or rather the lack of the bone shaking dread she sometimes felt around the Commandant meant that he was relatively pleased

For a while he sat and she crouched in silence Adding constant musical accompaniment the bluebird flitted around the garden Meanwhile the Commandant�s eyes were on the prize of his garden the twelve bloom amethyst lotus The soft gradient of its brilliant petals glittered in the false light of the garden as the twelve thin stems stretched elegantly upward from the base of the bush After humming to himself the Commandant raised a finger A leaf withered on one side of the bush falling quickly away

Are you prepared for the training The Commandant finally said

Charlotte kept her head low while she answered Of course Patriarch

He nodded slowly with the expansion and contraction of his lungs Good Very good But even considering your current image you should have no trouble distinguishing yourself from the rabble even if they might have some minor associations with characters of actual note Still there is something else The Head Drill Instructor I would like you to become close to him By any means available to you

Even though she had thought that she was prepared for anything the Commandant�s words still took her by surprise For a split second her words caught in her throat You want me to

Foolish girl The words were uttered with a forceful derision that lashed across Charlotte�s face with all the sharp burn of a whip Flushing with an emotion between humiliation and fear she was barely able to suppress a whimper she knew weakness now would only earn her additional punishment Pressing her fingers to the ground Charlotte did her best to hid her shaking hands

Eventually the Commandant�s displeasure subsided He would have no interest in your flesh girl Even if he is a minor character in the grand scheme of the Nexus he shows much more promise than someone like you I just wish for you to befriend him Make him understand the benefits available to him should he profess his loyalty to the Wick Family His image interests me

Chapter 1503

Randidly sat in the central area of his root super structure as the emotionally loaded Aether flowed harmlessly around him At this point he had acclimated to the point that any tempering of his body from the raw Aether was almost negligible Randidly had however been able to confirm that the additional emotional refinement of the Stillborn Phoenix had greatly boosted the rate at which he could generate image physicalizations At this point he had five drops of liquid Aether and his arms and legs continued to subtly lengthen as he physically developed into the Grim Chimera For just seven days of training the improvement was dramatic

Randidly looked up Very distantly he could see some alcoves that still possessed working light fixtures along the interior of the Web He was keeping careful track fo the time due to the temporal distortion caused by Aether density Although it had felt like seven days had passed down here he kept in regular contact with Octavius to make sure he didn�t miss his return deadline From what he could tell he still had a few more hours

Plus with all the physical changes to his body immersing himself in the chaotic flows of Aether was almost pleasant like a dip in a hot spring Randidly didn�t plan on pushing the envelope this time but he recognized that he was ready to proceed deeper toward the engine of the Nexus

Shouts rang out around Randidly as Heiffal�s men continued to train in orderly lines They alternated between sparring and group exercises as they engaged in their own body tempering Although the benefits they gained were much less tangible than Randidly�s their images were growing increasingly resilient in the face of foreign energy In addition perhaps just by proximity to Randidly as he experimented with emotion their images now possessed an inherent flavor that definitely hadn�t been there before

It was a matter of shades and hints Only the edges of those images had been adjusted but those new edges were viciously sharp

For those who most successfully incorporated both distinct shape and appropriate emotion in their Aether the image potency they could generate was rapidly increasing Randidly estimated that the strength of the group had gone up by about 10% in the seven days which was a thoroughly ridiculous number

Of course the benefit of incorporating emotion will be greatest at the beginning when its development goes from unconscious to purposeful Randidly reflected as he sat in the middle of his root structure He reached his hands and used the thumb of his right hand to rub the nearby roots Very idly his gaze wandered across the completely copper and brass bottoms of his roots after a week of exposure In the future the development won�t be nearly this smooth and easy But they will at least have the opportunity to develop in that direction

Randidly released a breath of faintly glowing steam and prepared to spend some time focusing on the emotions of his own images Each of his three images was moving in separate directions but that would only increase their power in the end But before he had finished mentally sharpening himself he felt a familiar tug at the edge of his perspective A powerful sleepiness rapidly invaded his mind and blurred his awareness of his surroundings

Eidolon Crucible huh

Randidly mused But he didn�t resist its pull Although he did hope that he would subconsciously maintain the root supports while he was experiencing the Skill Otherwise he might wake up very deep down this shaft

As always Randidly found himself whisked away to a blurry and surreal mental landscape as the Skill activated Yet even through the strange haze of the Skill he didn�t recognize the surroundings at all he was standing on the sandy dividing land between the sea and a tropical rain forest The familiar form of Kharon crouched against the sandy ground further down the shore but Randidly�s eyes were drawn inland to a gleaming city on a low hill that appeared to be made entirely of gold

Is this the final Zone to arrive on Expira Randidly wondered But before he could spend too much time examining the surroundings a pillar of emerald light exploded out of Kharon With a rumbling groan the city shifted and lifted itself up off of its sandy resting place That emerald light pooled in the sky swirling into an ever growing emerald maelstrom The joints of the legs groaned underneath the city�s weight There was a shiver and it began to move As Kharon began to charge toward Randidly the emerald clouds above opened up and spat pale green balls of flame that turned the surroundings into a hellscape

The spirits of Kharon�s people began to stir

As the nearby rain forest began to burn and collapse Randidly spread his arms wide This time he allowed the Stillborn Phoenix to take the lead in fighting against this trial The phoenix of darkness spread its wings and sucked in a deep breath And as the image did so Randidly was surprised that he received quite a bit of emotional information from the surroundings

He could sense the people of Kharon�s pride And their intense curiosity toward the Zone But mostly Randidly felt an infectious excitement as the people of Kharon prepared to challenge his image

Sprinkled within those emotions were a few individuals radiating a powerful disapproval Mostly Randidly expected this was Tatiana and Gertrude Collins what with him leaving without helping them finish Kharon Academy But Randidly knew that they would do much better work than he could do they simply understood the human experience of growing more intimately than he did these days

In the end it was better that he not taint Kharon Academy with anything more than his name Violence was too deeply etched into the fabric of Randidly Ghosthound

After deeply inhaling and having its chest swell the Stillborn Phoenix released all of those emotions in a deafening cry having thoroughly influenced them within its enigmatic dark core Even the emerald maelstrom above shook Because what the Stillborn Phoenix released with that piercing cry was a wave of determination that bordered on obsessive It was a desire so strong that it was willing to directly confront reality and warp it until it achieved its goal

In front of that red eyed commitment the emotions of Kharon faltered

Randidly carefully experienced the broadcasted emotion of the Egg of Depression Only a fool would completely ignore reality But I am starting to see that I judged the Stillborn Phoenix too harshly The reason that it so completely dedicates itself to the impossible is that I needed that bit of insanity Or perhaps its better to say that was for a long time an unrecognized part of me Both Yggdrasil and the Grim Chimera are overly focused on real threats and possibilities I needed a part of myself that could keep me motivated on this insane endeavor to change the Nexus and the Stillborn Phoenix became that remorseless passion

It isn�t just an insane independent image its a part of a whole Its an important part of me

Randidly flexed his fingers and the Stillborn Phoenix spread its wings and released a wave of darkness that swept outward The flames in the rain forest were gradually snuffed out The darkness slapped against the surface of Kharon with a physical force stalling it further And then Randidly unleashed the full power of Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart A ripple exploded through the surrounding space

The power of gravity was banished Stones broken trees and even the massive form of Kharon began to float upward as all of the surrounding area came under the Stillborn Phoenix�s sway The waves of the sea rolled helplessly through the air tumbling upward in a spiral

Congratulations Your Skill Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart has grown to Level 296

Randidly�s eyes were piercing emeralds in the darkness released by his image With the added benefit of emotion aiding his usage Randidly quickly overpowered Kharon�s resistance and overwhelmed their ability to cope with images He physically breathed deeply at the end pilfering a small amount of their image potency for himself as they crumbled and failed

Congratulations Your Skill Reign of the Eidolon Crucible has grown to Level 251

Congratulations Your Skill Reign of the Eidolon Crucible has grown to Level 275

As he absorbed some of their images Randidly began to frown He had the vaguest inkling about the new Zone so he paused as the Skill deteriorated and took a deeper look at some of the thoughts from people of his city Only after he confirmed his suspicion did he allow the Skill to collapse and release his consciousness to return to the Nexus Heh seems like the new Zone has been able to domesticate a few species of giant lizards a lot of Kharon�s children are excited about the prospect of riding a dinosaur

The expression on Tatiana�s face as she tried to decide whether to acquire riding dinosaurs� was something that Randidly was very sorry to miss And in fact even though it had only been about a week since he left Randidly felt rather sad that he wouldn�t he on Expira to experience these things with his planet

But then the lines around his eyes hardened I came to the Nexus for a reason I cannot lose sight of that Kharon can definitely manage without me Meanwhile the preparations I make here cannot wait

With his emotions still slightly disturbed from the memories churned up by the Eidolon Crucible Randidly instead spent the next several hours focusing on his Nether weaving Not that he needed to maintain as thin a Nether presence down here as he did on Expira but Randidly also didn�t want to set off any of the military�s alarms Keeping his Nether presence low was a good habit to be in

Somehow he doubted that they would accept him as readily as he had been on the frontlines

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 317

But more quickly than Randidly would have believed he received the message from Octavius that indicated that he should begin his return He stood up from his position in the gushing energy and allowed the Stillborn Phoenix one last massive exhale A wave of powerful emotions blasted upward toward the unsuspecting Nexus

Randidly waved his arm and called his forces to him to proceed back into the Alpha Cosmos until they reached the training ground While he did so he couldn�t help but notice that most of his soldiers had incorporated a tiny amount of the regurgitated emotions from the Stillborn Phoenix into their bodies That distinct pink red coloration in their images was easily recognizable when it was in front of Randidly even if he couldn�t sense it from afar

From what he could tell it generally benefited his subordinates which was why he hadn�t made attempts to prevent it Perhaps because they already had some connection to Randidly and his Aether the typically wild emotion adapted more easily within them and also seemed more willing to soften its gleeful maliciousness Before they realized the depths of their own emotion for the images this emotion could serve as a stand in

But Randidly knew he was going to keep a close eye on its development in the future And that thought made Randidly press his eyes closed There was simply so much that he was trying to juggle It almost seemed like he had more work after he left Kharon behind in the capable hands of Tatiana

Just as quickly Randidly opened his eyes Helen was the last one to be shifted whisked away to the Alpha Cosmos But he had one more order of business before he proceeded upward he opened up his Path screen

Chapter 1504

Over the course of training with his subordinates Randidly had activated the long dormant Ruinous Drive and Aether Skills more directly to earn huge chunks of Skill Levels Combined with the gradual gains in his base Skills and the specific gains in Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil and Tide of the Void Randidly had crushed his of reaching 800 PP

The new environment had benefited him just as much as it had his soldiers Randidly now had 986 PP to spend Unfortunately that amount didn�t rid Randidly of the difficult decision regarding what Paths he should take Pursing his lips Randidly examined the expanded list

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 Cleaver of the World Tree Weakness of the World Tree 0/500 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 Image Cooperation I 0/100 Body Refinement I 0/ Chimera�s Struggle II 0/ Spear Mastery III 0/200 Mysteries of the Fiery Emerald Waltz 0/ Violent Heat I 0/ Sovereign of Violence I 0/1000 Body Beyond the System 0/ Deathwish IX 0/3 The Pursuit of Alchemy 0/750 Weakness of the Grim Chimera 0/500 Weakness of the Stillborn Phoenix 0/500 The Shadow Beyond the Threshold 0/ The Chimera�s Metamorphosis 0/2000 Greater Nether Core 0/

Randidly hummed softly to himself as he looked at his Soulskill which currently sat at Level 25550 The next tithe from the Alpha Cosmos will happen at 27500 so this batch of PP will get me almost halfway there but that probably means I can either accomplish one larger Path or a few smaller Paths now It will still be some time before I get to finish almost anything I want

As always Randidly quickly cut down the giant list of Paths to a much more manageable few that he was considering Then the real work of choosing between them could begin Generally Randidly shortened his list to include a few broad categories of Path options Those relating to Aether and images working together those related to improving his individual images Paths that would further the power of his physical body and Paths to improve his Nether

Also because he would soon be a Drill Sergeant Randidly left the Bearing of a Teacher Path through the first round of eliminations Revelation energy flickered to life at the corners of his eye as he examined the list once more

Aether Convergence II Bearing of a Teacher Exodus the Terror 0/1000 Genesis the Considered 0/1000 Image Cooperation I 0/100 Body Refinement I 0/ Chimera�s Struggle II 0/ Sovereign of Violence I 0/1000 Body Beyond the System 0/ The Shadow Beyond the Threshold 0/ The Chimera�s Metamorphosis 0/2000 Greater Nether Core 0/

Frowning Randidly considered his options once more The violet black revelation energy intensified to match his gaze At just below 1000 PP the two Yggdrasil images were the two most tempting if he wanted to spend all his PP in one place But ultimately Randidly didn�t quite believe that he was ready to take either of those Paths The addition of purification in the image of Genesis was interesting but Yggdrasil�s stable growth meant that the was emphasizing the two other images at the moment Using a Path to forcefully evolve a half baked image seemed like an inefficient use of PP

Similarly Randidly decided against any of the Grim Chimera and Stillborn Phoenix Paths at least until he had a detailed picture of the next form the image would take The Grim Chimera was certainly going through a metamorphosis but it could do that on its own And Randidly hadn�t quite figured out the shape of the Stillborn Phoenix that breathed emotion

After much consideration Randidly also decided to wait on Image Cooperation and instead meditate on that feeling he briefly achieved during the meeting with Edraine For the briefest moment he had united his images with a base emotion When he also removed Aether Convergence II from the options he had a much reduced list to choose from

Bearing of a Teacher Body Refinement I 0/ Sovereign of Violence I 0/1000 Body Beyond the System 0/ Greater Nether Core 0/

Randidly licked his lips Between the two similar options Randidly thought perhaps Body Beyond the System would be a more impactful choice of Path Perhaps most relevantly Body Refinement was part of a chain of indeterminate length In addition despite its obvious preference that he did not pass certain boundaries the System didn�t have any problem rewarding Randidly anyway once he actually crossed those bounds

There was always a cost for the transgression but in this case it was him not being able to access the System�s Aether

Ha Randidly snorted Then he grinned widely and looked down into the deep shadows of the shaft below him That was why he was having such an easy time extracting the emotion and had no problems being infected by this chaotic Aether It was System Aether it inherently rejected him Which enabled him to easily harvest the emotion present

Rather amused Randidly shook his head Then he focused back on the Paths One way or another Randidly believed he should start with Bearing of a Teacher for the Paths It would likely be relatively smaller because it was an early Path option open to him and it might assist with the training of the recruits The better they performed the faster they could get Edraine to Tier 3 citizenship

And the faster they could achieve that the more time they would have to actually plan the act of stealing Elhume�s body before circumstances inevitably forced their hand

So Randidly began adding PP to the Bearing of a Teacher Path The Path only required 200 PP and gave him a point in Focus and Control every 10 PP

Congratulations You have finished the Bearing of a Teacher Path As you continue to ascend toward the Pinnacle it is inevitable that others will attempt to imitate your climb Some will fail but with your assistance others will succeed They may take separate Paths to your own but you will leave an indelible mark on all those who listen to your words The Path beneath your feet glows faintly acting as a beacon for your proteges Walk with pride lead with grace teach with kindness

Congratulations Wisdom +50 Synchronicity detected Recalculating Skill

Your Skill Lantern of Harsh Truths has evolved into the Torch of Fast and Slow Silences Skill Levels will be maintained

Torch of Fast and Slow Silences A skill designed to assist those who reflect on themselves Exposure to the user will gradually accumulate energy within any viewers During the next fast or slow silence they experience as they reflect on themselves that accumulated energy will be expended to assist with their computations Speed of accumulation increases with Skill Level The benefit to viewers increases with Skill Level Area of effect slightly increases with Skill Level What is considered a silence grows with Skill Level

Randidly couldn�t help but chuckle it looked like he would no longer be able to strike at his enemy�s mental flaws in the midst of battle anymore The effect would wait until their next silence� whatever that meant But even if the Skill might have greatly helped him in the past it had been part of a desperate effort each time It wasn�t something Randidly could ever rely on

Meanwhile adding more positive realizations to the Skill would soften the effect while still pushing the people around Randidly toward positive growth Certainly as a benefit he obtained for 200 PP it was well worth it Which once more left Randidly with a decision between his remaining options

Sovereign of Violence I 0/1000 Body Beyond the System 0/ Greater Nether Core 0/

Following similar lines of logic that he used to move away from the image focused Paths Randidly also planned on waiting to select the Greater Nether Core Path He hoped he could explore deeper into the Web and observe the mass of Nether at the bottom from a safe distance As his Nether Nebula slowly churned its way into forming a second tiny grey bubble Randidly knew that he was genuinely on the right track he just needed a bit of inspiration to put the pieces together

Sovereign of Violence was tempting for what it might mean but Randidly also worried whether it would come with hidden hooks from the Nexus When he had asked Octavius about it the Overseer had confirmed that Sovereign was a very particular distinction within the System hierarchy But it was an area that Octavius didn�t know much about and therefore he had very little advice

After a few minutes of considering Randidly poured his remaining PP into Body Beyond the System It turned out that Path required 500 PP and gave him a point in Nether Brawn every 10 PP spent

Congratulations You have completed the Body Beyond the System Path As the environment of your Path has grown more dangerous you have eschewed the common routes and descended from the high road where your feet go no man was ever supposed to tread Flames like up from cracks in the ground and sinister vapors cloud your vision Yet your ability to adapt surpasses the imagination Although all normal roads are now closed to you you still may be able to claw your way to the Pinnacle through sheer forces of will

Congratulations +300 Free Physical Stats

Randidly blinked Then he began to laugh He used 22 of those free stat points to push his Endurance to 1000 Instantly he felt his body shifting on a cellular level Instead of the invigorating sensation of a spark of life being ignited throughout his body as happened with Vitality this time he felt the sharp defining lines between his distinct biological organs grow increasingly clear The boundaries were strengthened His joints were reinforced

Across his body his skin grew robust and rugged Meanwhile he took 78 of the remaining free points and put it into Agility The final 200 went into Grim Intuition His skin began to tingle at the sharp and sudden statistical increase Then Randidly looked at his Stats screen and grinned

Even if its hard to see the benefit of a single stat point these days when I get so many at once

Level 62 (39%)

Health(/R per hour) 12051/12245 (4778)

Mana(/R per hour) 11198/11223 (2838)

Stam(/R per min) 8301/8796 (1772)

Vit 1065

End 1000

Nether Brawn 1120

Agi 1265

Grim Intuition 1280

Wisdom 794

Control 1530

Focus 824

PP 286

Skills (Soul Skill) Figure of the Alpha Cosmos Lvl 26250 (27500)

Combat Spear Mastery Lvl 311 Heavy Blow Lvl 134 Iron Skin Lvl 47 Dodge Lvl 150 Block Lvl 77 Calculated Blow Lvl 149 Roundhouse Kick Lvl 97 Idiosyncratic Cut (Un) Lvl 126 Stalemate Breaker Lvl 142 Talon Strike Lvl 146 Counter Lvl 94 Ruinous Drive Lvl 114

LoBW Class Skills Spray Holy Sap (Un) Lvl 27 Sharpness Lvl 189 Earthquake (Un) Lvl 48 Invigorating Call (Humanity)(Un) Lvl 14 Erode Image Lvl 100 Spriggit�s Tinkering Lvl 222 Aether Understanding Lvl 195 Aether Infusion Lvl 47 Volatile Ash Lvl 44 Conviction of the Smiling Horror Lvl 351 Fruit of the Planting of Enmity Lvl 49 Absolute Timing Lvl 167 Cycle of the Gloomy Wood Lvl 45 Riders of the Baleful Court Lvl 254 Torch of Fast and Slow Silences Lvl 170 Sigil of an Approaching Fate Lvl 66 Profound Influence Lvl 21 Reckoning of the Bleak Dawn Lvl 99

Descent of the Grim Chimera Chimeric Avoidance Lvl 329 Cursed Appetite of a Wraith Lvl 346 Abomination�s Grim Vigor Lvl 360 Reaper�s Mantle of Catastrophe Lvl 252 Molten Fang of the Pariah Lvl 276 Man is Proud but the Chimera Takes Lvl 300 The Chimera Weeps as Man Mourns Lvl 247 All Else Succombs Yet Time Whirls the Earth Lvl 229

The Stillborn Phoenix A Star that Prayed it would be Reborn Piercing Gaze of the Egg Lvl 219 The Tug of Tragic Silence Lvl 185 Cosmic Necessity Lvl 263 Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart Lvl 296 Tide of the Void Lvl 245 Stigma of the Stillborn Phoenix Lvl 299 Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold Lvl 330

Aether Skills Aether Detection Lvl 238 Aether Manipulation Lvl 240 Living Aether Lvl 165 System Interference Lvl 88 Aether Surgeon Lvl 104

Crafting Potion Making Lvl 73 Farming Lvl 34 Analyze Lvl 29 Refine Lvl 106 Extract Lvl 92 Architecture of the Primordial Ways Lvl 279 Experienced Creator�s Ingenuity Lvl 145 Touch of the Ghosthound

Yggdrasil the Universe that was First a Tree Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil Lvl 267 The Golden Roots of Yggdrasil Lvl 298 the Emerald Sap of Yggdrasil Lvl 237 the Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil Lvl 273 the Inscrutable Mien of Genesis Lvl 269 the Implacable Price of Exodus Lvl 229 Reign of the Eidolon Crucible Lvl 275 Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil Lvl 318

Auxiliary Sneak Lvl 56 Acid Resistance Lvl 22 Poison Resistance Lvl 21 Sewing Lvl 11 Digging Lvl 9 Cooking Lvl 101 Clockwork Mastery Lvl 30 Aether Connection Lvl 21 Soul Bond Lvl 155 Chef�s Palette Lvl 36 Nether Modification Child of the Rain (Un) Lvl 59 Engineering Savvy Lvl 235 From Darkness Genesis Lvl 17 (Domain) Crossroads of the Alpha Cosmos Lvl 199 Connection to the Alpha Cosmos Nether Sensation Lvl 317 Nether Ritual Lvl 177

Chapter 1505

The Fifth Cohort Rally Station reminded Randidly of the teleportation relay stations pretty directly It was perhaps five times the size of the initial teleporter relay that Randidly had landed on as he arrived at the Nexus and was part of a closer orbiting ring of landmasses but otherwise it was the same rather dusty stone plateaus floating below the brilliant star system that felt so close to the Nexus

In addition it didn�t appear to be a very well developed area There were a few cramped buildings toward the middle of the Rally Station and there appeared to be a few construction crews working to throw up a few more hunched buildings but it was obviously a desolate location

Randidly paused as they arrived and looked to his left off the edge of the Rally Station and toward the Nexus Because the Rally Stations were floating in a much closer ring the Nexus was no longer just a lurking shadow in the distance Now Randidly felt like he was standing at the base of an enormous mountain range The bottom portion of this central gathering place was covered in thick mist but Randidly could now see exactly how massive the foundations of the Nexus truly were

From that churning rumbling mysterious machinery rose the Nexus proper It was a towering pillar that was topped with a gleaming city of which Randidly still couldn�t make out any distinct details despite his 200 more points he put into Grim Intuition Narrowing his eyes Randidly stared toward the massive Nexus for several more seconds Then he turned and followed Octavius toward the grouping of buildings at the center of the Rally Station

Are you ready Octavius asked in a low voice You just need to report to the Rally Station Superintendent He will indicate where your recruits will be reporting in twelve hours Then you should proceed to that area and begin making preparations

I got it Octavius Randidly waved his hand tiredly The Overseer had been nagging at him the entire trip to the Rally Station In spite of himself Randidly couldn�t help but spare another glance toward the Nexus At the very least he was beginning to understand why the Nexus was so difficult to perceive with his senses there were different layers to its reality

When Randidly had activated his Tier I citizenship he had felt another piece of Aether attach to himself But rather than affecting his body it seemed to act as a lens that let him witness a layer of carefully manicured Aether that layover and under certain portions of the Nexus The reason that he needed Citizenship to work here was because he would have been unable to perceive the Rally Station without this Citizenship

That realization had been disturbing He had been walking past an entire Nexus that hadn�t even been able to notice Not that Randidly had spent much time exploring the Nexus but it still bothered him quite a bit The more time he spent here the more he realized he might still be underestimating what was present here

However now that he was aware of what he had been missing Randidly could see the shadows� of these other layers all around him They were especially dense around the Nexus proper but he could tell that there was a lot to the Nexus that he wasn�t currently seeing As he now looked through space his Aether Perception just barely was able to brush against those secret places What had briefly appeared to Randidly as a strangely industrial energy plant with a city built on top of it now became only the barest tip of the iceberg

Octavius looked at Randidly with an exasperated expression as he continued to focus toward the Nexus and not on the task at hand if you understand that�s fine Just remember that although the compensation you can receive is lucrative that�s not just because of the Nether threat It�s because these elites� you�ll be training are the pet projects of people of actual clout This might be a time where the pen will be mightier than the sword making some connections in the Nexus wouldn�t be such a bad outcome from this Earning the approval of the Superintendent would be a good start �

Randidly nodded to show his agreement while inwardly knowing that him being able to charm some of these people into friendship was almost guaranteed to be impossible But there was no reason to so obviously douse Octavius� hopes

Three squat and grey buildings crouched in the middle of the Rally Station with only a few feet of space between them as though they were gathering together for warmth A featureless grey flag flew at the top of the largest and seemingly the squattest Randidly raised an eyebrow at Octavius The Overseer shrugged An old habit of the Nexus military They fly a blank flag over their central commands due to one of the only successful attacks on Elhume to ever occur Apparently his images were so damaged that they were unrecognizable for months afterward This blank flag is a symbol of the Nexus� ability to recover from anything

Randidly nodded idly There weren�t any guards at the door but as the duo approached the doors opened and two sharply dressed lizard people stepped outside to hold the doors open for them They both had a sword strapped to each hip and saluted as Randidly and Octavius approached Randidly pressed his lips together slightly when neither would meet his gaze Somehow that irritated him

As he walked past them he sensed the first thread of strangeness and paused as he passed over the threshold Randidly didn�t miss the way one of the guards audibly gulped as he did so Pursing his lips Randidly continued forward

The mood within the building was just as intense and foreboding as the exterior would have suggested In front of them was a long grey hallway lined with black doors The handles to the doors were white They passed quickly through this monochrome limbo Octavius heading straight down the hall and Randidly followed at a more considered pace He focused on the emotions in the surroundings The Stillborn Phoenix was still working on improving but he could gradually get a sense of a place by breathing in some of the ambient emotions

This place Randidly frowned He could taste the edge of madness on the air And it seemed to seethe around them constantly growing worse

At the end of the hallway was a black door that was larger than any of the others manned by a guard The doorknob on this door was silver which a nearby guard twisted to open the door for the duo This guard did glance at Randidly but his eyes were narrowed and nervous What was the strangest was that the fear that Randidly sensed was clearly directed toward him

That caused Randidly to blink

Within the door was a normal office if a bit tackily decorated also in monochrome There were impressively large windows along the far wall but without curtains they were just rectangles hanging on the wall A humanoid with pale skin sat behind the desk his eyes moving rapidly back and forth Octavius and Randidly searching for something in their expressions and postures Randidly�s mind began to spin with more certainty The madness that he had briefly sensed outside was originating from this room It even smelled like desperation in here The pale skinned humanoid had started it but now the emotion had spread to cover the whole of the building

Worse there was a familiar image lingering here

Witnessing this central point of the madness Randidly almost immediately recognized that image Gradually he began to frown Commandant Wick

Drill Sergeant Ghosthound Sir The man behind the desk sprung to his feet as though his completely obsidian chair had only just been belched out from the mouth of a live volcano and walked around the desk with a face covered in fake smiles As he was wringing his hands his pale knuckles were red from the stress induced pressure So glad to finally meet you sir I�m the Rally Point Superintendent Jym Xeruth Ah I bet you want to see the new plans sir No doubt you noticed the construction outside If you will look right here

Superintendent Jym twisted and pulled a large scroll off of his desk While he was doing so Randidly looked sideways at Octavius who had spent most of their journey over here reminding Randidly to think before speaking around the stern Superintendent Meanwhile the effusive and antsy Superintendent Jym continued to speak as he unrolled the scroll One fifth of the surface area of the Rally Station will now be dedicated to your elite team Per your orders we�ve begun erecting ten solitary training pods in your area

My orders Randidly frowned unable to stop himself from feeling somewhat annoyed that someone had so obviously approached the Superintendent and used his name to change the training arrangement Still Commandant Wick did strike Randidly as someone that overbearing

His irritation only got worse as Superintendent Jym flinched from the obvious display of disapproval on Randidly�s face Believe me sir we are staying very close to the request made by your representative We your sterling and unimpeachable reputation proceeds you We understand how exacting your standards are If you look at these plans Jym was so close to Randidly that he couldn�t avoid noticing the sheen of sweat across his skin as the Superintendent put away the general plan and pulled out a scroll that showed the details of the training pods You�ll see that we are sparing no expense with the materials Consider this a gift from The Fifth Cohort Rally Station We are deeply invested in seeing you succeed Ah I hope every one of your recruits will fruitfully enjoy your instruction

Randidly gritted his teeth to keep himself from reacting with a sarcastic comment He didn�t like the fact that he didn�t really know what was going on But for now he could only roll with it There was no reason to worsen whatever misconceptions this man had about him What Randidly was really reacting to was the fact that Commandant Wick had moved behind the scenes Was it really a move just to increase the resources that Randidly had access to Or more likely were these training pods connected to a broader plan

Still Randidly�s gaze slowly turned serious as he focused on the scroll that Jym offered to him He recognized some of these Engraving patterns Gradually Randidly began to grin Heh I can work with this Have you begun Engraving yet

Instantly Superintendent Jym flushed Ah we only heard about about your requests a few days ago so we haven�t had the chance

Forget it Randidly announced decisively He waved his hand and turned away as though he couldn�t bear to look at the scrolls any longer if he was going to be made out to be a brutal dictator he was at least going to enjoy the benefits Don�t bother to bring the Engravers in I will need to handle this myself

Of course Head Drill Sergeant anything you say Superintendent Jym parroted tossing the schematics scroll across his office like it was an oozing virulent plague bearer In the obsessively clean office the crumpled scroll against the wall was extremely eye catching Do you need any other assistance

Randidly kept his expression mild as he did some mental calculations He was actually quite getting into this persona that had been made for him Despite the violence usually required to cultivate such a reputation he couldn�t deny it certainly made the people around him more amenable So instead of speaking he gave a pointed glance at Octavius

Octavius cleared his throat I believe that for now we will inspect the grounds Perhaps you could find a guard to escort us Oh in addition we would like files on all of the other Drill Sergeants that were hired To understand their standard

Superintendent Jym�s eyes bulged at the sudden request but a single glance at Randidly seemed to make him rethink any objections he had Randidly walked away while the man complied both so he didn�t need to constantly feel the anxiety and slight scent of madness from the Superintendent but also so he didn�t roll his eyes at this obvious attempt by Octavius to gather information

So Randidly walked down the hall and out of the central building The guards carefully avoided catching his eyes as he waited outside to the point that Randidly moved about twenty meters away from the doors so their frantic emotions didn�t disturb him Then he closed his eyes and began to steadily refine the details of Yggdrasil

He opened his eyes again when someone walked out of the headquarters of the Fifth Cohort Rally Station but it wasn�t Octavius it appeared the documentation request was much more time consuming than Randidly had expected The individual who walked out was tall and slender reminding Randidly vaguely of Expira�s impression of elves Like Randidly while under the influence of Yggdrasil the man�s shoulder length hair was emerald His golden eyes flashed as they caught the light

The man glanced at one of the guards Let�s work hard together in the future It�s the average soldier like us that will make the difference you know Most of Command doesn�t know anything about the actual war We will be the ones fighting and bleeding so don�t be so stiff If you have any problems you can come to me for help

Both of the guards regarded the elf man coldly Neither responded Randidly�s lips twitched although the two lizardmen guards were staring at the elf with all the enthusiasm as a dog owner regarding a runny shit their attentions had clearly shifted toward Randidly Heh As Head Drill Sergeant do I count as Command

The elf�s enthusiasm faltered as the guards did their best to glare at him But very quickly he caught sight of Randidly and immediately brightened He said to the guards have a good day then strode confidently over toward Randidly

The elf had a wide smile on his face Hello friend I�m Lay�mel Tuuellethe a Drill Sergeant here Did you just arrive I know those guards can be rather unfriendly but it�s just because a VIP is supposed to arrive today Heh in one way it�s understandable but in another it is extremely tragic how much effort is put into sucking up to superiors in the military

The two guards paled and looked up at the sky Randidly had the strangest sensation that they were mentally sending him assurances that he wouldn�t be reported for disciplinary action if he were to smite Lay�mel Tuuellethe into a puddle of gore right in front of them The certainty Randidly conveyed to him about this just from reading the guards� emotions was honestly impressive

Lay�mel leaned forward a conspiratory expression on his face Apparently the Head Drill Sergeant is a real brute He sent one of his lackeys from Nexus High Command to prepare for his arrival When he saw the space he would be given he went on a rampage and demanded more now average Drill Sergeant�s like you and I will be using the service tunnels for our daily training only allowed to head up to the surface based on a rotation schedule At first the Superintendent rejected the request but then the Head Drill Sergeant had the Superintendent�s son conscripted on a minor prior infraction and placed within his own camp for special training�

And the worst part Lay�mel dragged out the phrase savoring the obvious interest on Randidly�s face Is that the Head Drill Master is taking pages out of the Xyrt Brigade�s playbook He has made training chambers that are exactly like the torturous isolation chamber the Xyrt Brigade uses to deal with particularly rebellious recruits Extreme barbaric stuff Already there is a lot of antagonism directed at this extreme new Head Drill Sergeant

Such is my life Randidly sighed inwardly

Chapter 1506

Lay�mel eventually wandered off with a cheery wave still unaware that Randidly was in fact the demonlike Head Drill Sergeant he had described at length By the end Randidly was paying attention less out of any politeness and more taking notes about what sort of violent instructor he was supposed to be Yet more than being so thoroughly gossiped about Randidly was more annoyed that Lay�mel didn�t give him space to introduce himself through the ten minute conversation the man didn�t stop speaking for a single second

When the guard came out to guide Randidly to the location he would be in charge of Randidly gave the two guards that witnessed his conversation a long look And then he very purposefully smiled mildly

As he walked away behind the nervous guard he could feel the two lizardmen saying silent prayers for the family and friends of Lay�mel Tuuellethe

Still Randidly pursed his lips as he considered the broader consequences of these actions on his behalf It was obvious that Commandant Wick had intervened very directly into Randidly�s role as Head Drill Sergeant Which would be seen as Military High Command taking a very direct interest in the Fifth Cohort Rally Station And that direct interest would undoubtedly draw retaliatory action from the other political factions within the Nexus

What Randidly couldn�t yet tell was whether the Commandant had meant to help Randidly or whether he just wanted to paint a target on his back Hopefully Octavius could investigate and help determine that

They quickly arrived at Randidly�s training area Overall it was a bit lack luster But then there really weren�t any portions of this floating rock that possessed many redeeming qualities There was a barracks for sleeping and a large parade grounds but it was mostly just a rocky plateau like everywhere else Around the barracks were the skeletons of the ten isolation training stations being slowly assembled by work crews

This is your area sir The guard cleared her throat and announced

You are dismissed Randidly said Then he allowed time for the guard to hurry away from him and Octavius

not that we cannot be sure there isn�t more at play here Octavius said slowly But I�ve heard enough from Lady Iellaya to know that Commandant Wick is exactly this domineering in his normal interactions The only problem you don�t have his clout to insulate you from the consequences

After nodding slowly Randidly very quickly allowed the image of Yggdrasil to spread outward and fill the entirety of the space that now belonged to him It seemed impossible to give back the extra surface area he had been given so Randidly figured he might as well make use of it Massive arteries of glimmering golden roots spread out from where he was standing to weave through the bare and dusty ground As light filtered inward along those roots the grand trunk of the World Tree began to form

The deep and rich color of the bark was soon covered in scrawling runes that detailed the past and future of the universe In their mystical and obtuse shapes lived the secrets of existence And as the trunk stretched upward and branches started splitting outward Randidly unleashed a wave of his newly refined emotion into Yggdrasil Yggdrasil was filled with awe at the power of nature reverence toward life an austere peace in regards to the struggles of living beings and a deep trust in the cycle of life and death At its base the simple joys of living flowed outward sharpening and intensifying the pure energy the tree released into the surrounding space

With his now boosted Grim Intuition Randidly could feel dozens of powerful figures pausing in their own preparations and looking toward the looming specter of the World Tree that distinctly covered one fifth of the surface of the Rally Station In a way it was him announcing his presence In another it was him checking to see the attitudes of the other Drill Sergeants How problematic had the Commandant�s actions been from the point of view of other trainers

For now no one raised their image in challenge to him It was enough to let him breathe a sigh of relief he had time then to stake his claim

Next Randidly allowed Helen Heiffal and all his other helpers out of the Alpha Cosmos In addition to the front line soldiers Randidly noticed that Helen appeared to have recruited a few Earth Golems and White Hunters to join her as assistants For now Randidly kept his Riders within the Alpha Cosmos for training only two hundred odd individuals he probably already had enough helpers

But they were always available if these recruits needed some fresh faced sparring partners

Randidly gestured to the surrounding space and addressed his helpers Everywhere that has the scent of Yggdrasil on it is ours We will be training two hundred individuals to be elites if you have anything that you need construction wise just let me know

Helen pondered that for a moment Well if I can ask for anything can we turn one of these open fields into an area filled with pits I sorta like the idea of forcing two people into a pit and making them fight each other it�s just more intense than having them fight on flat land Sets the right mood when everything is muddy

Randidly paused and tilted his head to the side as he considered Helen�s request

Oh Heiffal slammed his fist to his palm Do you know any Engravings that could increase the gravity Stamina is the most important tool for soldiers at the frontlines So if we had a reliable and fast way to exhaust the recruits that would help the training along

Suddenly one of the White Hunters Helen had brought spoke up I believe we need an area to test precision Is it possible to grow a bamboo grove here The soil is a bit but I assure you that the result will be satisfactory

Also you aren�t expecting us to stay in that building with the recruits are you Helen said pointing over at the squat concrete barracks We as the trainers need to be distinctly separate from the recruits In addition us having an imposing or impressive residential building will serve as mental pressure on the recruits That added pressure will sharpen them

Randidly�s mouth twitched Pits and gravity Engravings I can handle but now you want me to throw up a five star resort for you Heh although it shouldn�t be amusing I somehow have the feeling that Helen will greatly add to my reputation as a sadistic monster

Very quickly the details were hammered out and the renovation work began The pits were the easiest of the requests While the Southern portion of Randidly�s area was left as a flat parade ground the Western area became the lands of pits Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil quickly hollowed out almost a hundred five meter diameter pits for duels In addition Randidly used half of the area to create a large pit filled with rough terrain for larger skirmishes

Randidly cleared didn�t possess the ability to create an opulent housing for his trainers but he didn�t have to it already existed Wendy had erected a rather sizable building within the Alpha Cosmos to house all of the frontline soldiers that Randidly regularly placed within there In addition she had the foresight to make all of the plumbing self contained as long as Randidly connected the building to a water and a waste line it could be transplanted wholesale to the Rally Station

After a few mistakes in the massive transfer that cracked a few windows the Northern portion of their training area was dominated by a fifteen story apartment complex Compared to the squat buildings that dominated the sandy plateau the building truly stood out He had been somewhat bemused by Helen�s suggestion of adding mental pressure to the recruits when he heard it but Randidly could deny there was a certain ostentatious flair to its very obvious presence Even Randidly looked at it and felt a vague annoyance If nothing else anger at its flagrant existence might drive recruits to train harder

Meanwhile the Eastern portion of the training area was transformed similarly to the Western except instead of pits the Eastern portion was dominated by gardens They brought seeds from within the Alpha Cosmos and used the ambient energy of Yggdrasil to make the soil hospitable With the strength of Randidly�s image the process was rather quick Half of the garden space was taken up by a massive bamboo forest while the remainder was split into a hundred mini gardens

The suddenly talkative White Hunter called Muareth waxed poetic about the mental benefits of gardening and how the cultivation process mirrored the process of creating an image almost exactly While Randidly was unsure of how much he agreed he certainly had firmly planted himself on the path of deeply terraforming the area both as a continued statement of his overbearing persona that was thrust upon him and as a general improvement of the dour aesthetic of the Fifth Cohort Rally Station

With most of the large projects started Randidly�s subordinates went to take care of the details Meanwhile Randidly proceeded to the half finished personal training areas and shoed away the work crews They fled from him like the red sea parting for Moses Because he planned on Engraving these himself he wanted the finishing touches to be grown with Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil anyway that way the buildings would turn to ash and disintegrate taking his Engraving secrets along with him when he was finished with them

After some consultation with Neveah over the details of the Engraving and refining the design Randidly expanded the number of training chambers to eleven These areas consisted of a meditation area and a suspension sphere based upon the Engravings Randidly had seen from the Xyrt Brigade�s treatment of Vualla

Randidly also gave Neveah another task to use the principles of that suppression area he had experienced on Tellus that sucked away Mana and Stamina combined with an increase and gravity and a general image suppression to create an area that would truly strike fear into the hearts of the recruits

Which left Randidly just to make his suspension spheres Five would be a softened version of the Xyrt Brigade�s design which would reflect back any uncontrolled thought at the individual within Five would be a variation of Randidly�s own design which would reflect back only emotions that the images were releasing Or at least that was the hope

Some of the Aether mechanisms would need to be tested before Randidly was confident in their functions

The final sphere was a combination of both with an increased requirement for control that Randidly planned to use to train himself and punish any recruits that were particularly troublesome This one took the longest as Randidly had to use a much steadier hand to reinforce the powerful Engravings that would fuel the chamber

Congratulations Your Skill Architecture of the Primordial Ways has grown to Level 281

Congratulations Your Skill Experienced Creator�s Ingenuity has grown to Level 151

Congratulations Your Skill Architecture of the Primordial Ways has grown to Level 295

Congratulations Your Skill Experienced Creator�s Ingenuity has grown to Level 170

It was just when Randidly was finishing up his Engravings and discussing the details of the grand exhaustion Engraving with Neveah that an individual that Randidly didn�t recognize entered into the area now dominated by Yggdrasil�s image In spite of the fact that he was generally occupied Randidly looked up and glanced toward the Southwest

Immediately one of Heiffal�s men made a beeline for the interloper and intercepted him But then that soldier brought him to Helen who brought that individual in the direction of Randidly It seemed this person was someone of import

Purple black Revelation Energy appeared in Randidly�s right eye while light began to bend and swirl around Randidly�s left The Stillborn Phoenix had just recently exhaled its violent emotions into Randidly�s chest so when it breathed in Randidly allowed the image to partake of the surrounding emotions Even from this distance Randidly could clearly taste the different sensation of this new person Stubbornness a barely controlled fear a natural wariness and a steely and determined antagonism

Randidly couldn�t prevent himself from baring his teeth This fellow wasn�t a friend

The man was literally a deep blue humanoid skeleton with glowing red eyes Barbed spikes curled up from his shoulders elbows knees and forehead Randidly wondered whether he had been reanimated by a lich or truly had lived in this manner his entire existence As the duo of bored Helen and surly skeleton arrived Randidly folded his arms behind his back and stared silently at them He was the picture of a disapproving army commander that had been disturbed

The skeleton�s glowing gaze focused on Randidly and scrutinized him As the mutual examination continued Randidly allowed more and more of the Grim Chimera to manifest in the air around him His body and the surrounding air warped as the physicalizations intensified

The time being tempered by the rough energy coming up from the base of the Nexus had done no favors for the Grim Chimera�s aesthetics Now it looked more like a charred corpse than any sort of healthy individual Its entire exterior was blackened and blistered But those viciously sharp eyes of the Grim Chimera eviscerated the skeleton�s own gaze and forced him to look away The skeleton had a strong image but Randidly clearly sensed that his slowly growing control over his image�s emotion made even a single one of his images markedly stronger

you must be Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound the skeleton eventually said Randidly remained silent not even bothering to acknowledge him he couldn�t deny that he loved the engagement style of this furious persona It required so much less talking than was normally required of him

The heaviness in the air grew After shifting his jaw the skeleton spoke again My name is Banum Voloppesett one of the normal Drill Sergeants I just brought you some news I heard from a associate in the Engraving Department at the NLC that an emergency came up Your special training chambers will be delayed I apologize

As you can see I took care of it myself Randidly gestured vaguely behind him It seemed this plan had been set in motion before Randidly had spoken with the Superintendent Is there anything else

Huh Barnum Volopesett�s skull was remarkable expressive his shock was clear You wait you know Engraving

If there is nothing else you may leave Randidly said simply And then he stared at Banum until the confused skeleton turned and left without another word But when the man had left the area Randidly�s expression turned into a grin As he thought other factions were moving to block him The only question was whether the interference would stay this minor for the foreseeable future

Oh also Helen spoke up She spread her arms and dumped about twenty scrolls sealed with glittering symbols onto the ground The Superintendent passed along these They are apparently messages from various individuals of the Nexus Wanting to discuss the best ways to train their distant nieces and nephews

Oh indeed Helen I�ll leave handling this matter to you Randidly said officiously

Helen rolled her eyes and gestured with her head A ripple of crimson light spread through the surrounding area and suddenly a massive shadow manifested nearby The enormous undersea monstrosity opened its mouth and chomped down on the scrolls obliterating them Randidly grinned it was great to have a subordinate who understood what you meant perfectly

Alright then Randidly said as he rubbed his hands together The pressure was lightest now partly because most people didn�t have the measure of Randidly yet and also perhaps because of the heavy handedness with which Commandant Wick had intervened on Randidly�s behalf But despite the price of that Randidly currently had carte blanche within his training area The Superintendent thought Randidly was holding his son�s life hostage and would turn a blind eye So Randidly planned on making some preparations for when the pressure on him became more intense Let�s get started

Chapter 1507

Gabriel Swacc has the piece

Raymund Ballast felt his hands clenching in fists as he stood on the humming teleportation platform For the first time since his brother was born he felt the entirety of his world�s fate resting on his shoulders His heartbeat began to accelerate his people could not afford another failure And perhaps because of how personally Raymund had taken that failure his thoughts went to that enigmatic phrase he had scrutinized for the past two years

Raymund�s mind was laser focused on the last message his brother had sent him as the teleporter whisked him away to the location where he would be spending three months training This training would be his chance to prove himself Then hopefully with his edges honed Raymund would fight against the Nether Invasion on the Fifth Cohort and achieve spectacular results thereby earning him the influence needed to look into that name and find out what was this piece�

Raymund was vaguely aware of the mysterious Swacc Family and had heard rumors about the shady practices it engaged in to spread its own influence throughout the Nexus His was a planet that had passed the Third Calamity hundreds of years ago and seen its triumphant hero mysteriously disappear shortly after the planet was directly connected to the Nexus Since then their Aether allotment had steadily dried up leaving more and more of the population to slowly waste away It had progressed to the point that Raymnund�s people had lost all hope

But then Techetadore had born Even Raymund had watched his younger brother grow through those first few years and somehow sensed that this young man was different He was an individual who could change the fate of an entire world

After twenty years of explosive growth Techetdore headed to the Nexus to fulfill the expectations of his entire world And considering Techetadore Ballast�s potential it seemed reasonably likely that he could have been recruited to serve the Swacc Family Raymund could practically see it A young foolhardy and slightly desperate Techetadore arriving at the Nexus to look for work The sinister Swacc Family immediately taking notice

Raymund beared his fangs into the melting void of the teleportation corridor Techet is cutthroat and decisive while fighting but he he never knew the despair that the rest of us lived and breathed before he was born He probably never considered that he could someday encounter a situation that he couldn�t overcome

Yet even if Raymund�s brother had been recruited for some nefarious purpose why had he simply sent that message without saying anything more Why had he not sent any Aether to their steadily dying home planet Why had it been two years without any new news

With a lurch Raymund Ballast and the thousands of recruits around him arrived at the Fifth Cohort Rally Station Towering giants slimy humanoids and growling beasts shuddered and tried to maintain their balance Raymund swayed lightly but stayed completely upright while several of the people in the surroundings collapsed into each other setting off a series of shoving matches For many of these people this week had seen the first major teleportation they had experienced Even now they were struggling to cope and more than willing to take it out on each other

Meanwhile Raymund had experienced teleportation before About six months after Techetadore had ascended to the Nexus he had earned enough to have Raymund visit His brother had seemed exhausted but he had been as bright and optimistic as Raymund remembered His brother didn�t mention any details but said he would be able to secure a steady stream of Aether soon So Raymund had returned to their home planet with the good news for his people that soon their prayers would be answered Techetadore had succeeded

Then one month after that

No one blamed Raymund obviously But something had died as more and more people lost hope Their culture withered and receded into the dark places of their homes The cities had become ominously silent

Even while most of the surrounding recruits gathered their feet beneath them and sorted out which individuals were the most powerful the majority of these people gave Raymund a wide birth As a humanoid Vulpine standing at three meters tall Raymund�s rich fur and three thick tails often intimidated smaller creatures In addition Raymund�s uniform was a forest green whereas most of the surrounding recruits wore bland grey uniforms Raymund�s tails swished back and forth as he cast a heavy gaze around at the surroundings His yellow eyes only caught one other individual wearing the green uniform in this current batch

The green uniform signified that they were part of the elite squad They would be personally trained by some war hero from the frontlines who had actual experience fighting the Nether It had taken Raymund a lot of effort to get into the elite unit Yet disappointingly the other green uniformed individual seemed like a perfectly normal humanoid He was short and slight with pale skin Yet as Raymund looked at him the humanoid turned around and returned his gaze His pale eyes were remarkably clear even at this distance

Raymund furrowed his brow Not a single individual in the elite unit can be underestimated These are the people from which I need to stand out

Not that Raymund could sense anything dangerous from this fellow elite But the pressure Raymund felt now stemmed from the fact that he had only been placed into the elite squad for being the top scorer in the general recruitment drive The recruiters had been full of praises for Raymund but that was just in comparison to the normal recruits

From what Raymund could gather he was the only member of the elite squad that had been tested All the others didn�t even need to bother with it They relied on connections to secure a place beneath the Head Drill Sergeant

There was a shout from the edge of the teleporter which pulled Raymund�s attention from his fellow elite The group of recruits began to move A gelatinous cube with a grey uniform steadily dissolving inside of it oozed steadily forward in front of Raymund toward the edge of the teleporter After one last glance toward the other green uniform Raymond squinted around at the Rally Station Despite the fact that most of it seemed to be a featureless red stone plateau orbiting the Nexus Raymund could see a tall building next to a forest in the distance which was probably where the Drill Sergeants stayed

Meanwhile the recruits trooped steadily forward toward a gathering of ugly squat buildings situated a short way from the teleporter As soon as their group got off the Engraved mechanism the next batch arrived with a flash of light and joined them in a river of bodies toward those grey buildings The speed slowed as their group approached the buildings but there were several guards at a tent rapidly giving each recruit directions to the place that would be their home for the next three months

As Raymund approached a guard caught his eye and jerked his chin to the side very obviously there were a hundred individuals in the green uniforms waiting off to the side as the grey clothed recruits were sent off in every direction Raymund rolled his shoulders swished his tail and strode out of the main stream to join his fellow elites

When he arrived amongst them he drew very little attention Most seemed either too nervous to pay attention or too engrossed in their own minor conversation to pay him any notice It was only a massive grey dog perhaps twice Raymund�s size with a green uniform comically ill fitted around its torso that opened an eye and regarded the newly arrived Foxman Then the dog snorted and laid its head back down content to nap The slender humanoid that Raymund had noticed earlier also wound his way out of the crowd and followed in Raymund�s wake

They exchanged a glance as they approached the elite group together After a hesitation the smaller man extended his hand hello We will be training together from now on so I�m Benjamin It�s nice to meet you

Raymund�s clawed hand was twice the size of Benjamin�s but he couldn�t deny the rush of relief he felt as the other recruit who hadn�t needed to be tested acknowledged him so easily The tension in Raymund�s chest eased if only slightly He shook Benjamin�s hand I�m Raymund It is an auspicious meeting

With some of the tension gone the two walked together toward the place where the elites congregated As they approached they could hear the conversation that was happening in the midst of the group the recruits were gossiping about their Head Drill Sergeant

A squat being composed entirely of fire was speaking as they walked into the loose circle say he�s been secretly trained by Commandant Wick the most brutal military Commander in the history of the Nexus for a hundred years He�s more monster than civilized creature preferring corporeal punishment to all other training methods

All the gazes in the circle shifted toward a slender woman covered in brown fur She pursed her lips My grandfather and Drill Sergeant Ghosthound only met the other day There is no truth to these rumors

Keh of course you deny it A being with dusky grey skin and white hair to his shoulders shook his head Ram�s horns curled away from the sides of his head

The fire elemental nodded solemnly at the young woman be that as it may it cannot be denied that our Drill Sergeant was sent to the Frontlines for using forbidden Skills Then while he was there so many of the Commanders began mysteriously dying that they had no choice but to promote him When the Nether King attacked he erected a powerful castle that inexplicably protected his troops while all other groups were decimated

Raymund noticed a small movement out of the corner of his eye A young man with extremely pale skin shivered at as the fire elemental spoke reaching up and wrapping his arms around himself as though he was briefly struck by a chill wind Raymund sniffed that young man stunk of fear

The flame elemental the ram demon and the brown furred young woman continued to debate the facts surrounding their Drill Sergeant as more and more of the elite squad arrived Soon all two hundred had gathered and the mood began to change The elites glanced at each other and then over toward the guards directing the other recruits wondering where they should be headed

Raymund and Benjamin shared a glanced Raymund barred his teeth Have you noticed that the attitudes of the guards are perhaps peculiar

Benjamin nodded solemnly and pressed his lips together for a second before he spoke Even if they are afraid of us due to our backgrounds we are still recruits There is no reason to avoid us so completely But they seem to dread us I suspect that there is a kernel of truth to these rumors about our Drill Sergeant and these guards have witnessed it

Just as the group of recruits in forest green uniforms was beginning to get antsy and consider approaching the guards there was a massive pulse of an image from the tall building to their West Raymund instinctively tensed as an overwhelmingly strong image of an enormous life giving tree spread in the air above them At the same time he didn�t miss the way the guards flinched All the recruits in grey uniforms paused and looked up at the sky with wide eyes

But it was clearly a message because as that image spread out all of the forest green uniforms began to resonate Their Head Drill Sergeant had summoned all of the recruits

The discussion amongst the elites finally trailed off They looked at each other with serious expressions Then they began to walk toward the source of the image The guards watched them go with deep frowns on their faces Honestly the intensity of their scrutiny and the tight implacability of their emotions began to unnerve Raymund

What have these guards witnessed Raymund wondered

It only took them about five minutes to cross the distance and arrive at a very clear boundary in the direction of the tall building There was a low wall covered in Engravings running to the left and right and a wide ivory arch in the middle to allow them entrance into the area To their left beyond the boundary was a thick bamboo forest To their right were several small gardens

Two individual stood beyond the archway idly watching the recruits approach The figure on the left was a rocky humanoid with thick limbs To the right was a pale being with a quadruped bottom and a slender humanoid top Its entire body seemed to be composed of a white chitinous armor As the group settled in front of the arch the right figure cleared its throat I am Muareth responsible for guiding you to your training area Your mission is simple follow this straight road to the central crossroads and then turn to the South Parade Grounds There are no tricks this is your only task You have two hours to accomplish this Failure will mean being stripped of your qualifications to be a member of the elite squad

Muareth surveyed the trainees Most of them seemed rather confused by the simple requirement a sentiment that Raymund shared Muareth smirked As I said it�s an extremely simple task But I will say this this is also your one opportunity to turn away This is your one opportunity to withdraw with no questions asked The Ghosthound will push you to your breaking point for the next three months It will not be a pleasant experience And let me assure you that no matter who you are related to They will not be able to help you once you step onto his territory You will be entirely on your own

Peh The white haired humanoid with rams horns spat to the side and looked at the two figures beyond the arch with obvious dissatisfaction Your fear mongering won�t work Humph let�s go

He boldly took several steps forward and crossed the boundary Three others followed When those four had fully arrived on the interior the horned man twitched like he had hit with a bolt of lightning and froze His three followers collapsed

Muareth just chuckled Congratulations you three Your chance to back down is now forfeit Welcome to three months of hell

Chapter 1508

Ripples of trepidation ran through Raymund Ballast�s chest as he watched the three collapsed individuals twitch on the ground He also couldn�t help but notice that the collapse was strangely silent Perhaps these three were weak but to see them fold quietly over like a card castle buffeted by a gust of wind was a rather powerful demonstration of the difficulty of the test

As one most of the recruits outside of the archway focused their gazes on the white haired humanoid As the one who remained standing despite the mysterious impediment he became the best litmus test for how passable this hurdle was

After only a few more seconds of strained silence he raised his head and laughed loudly An image of darkness and violence spread to fill the air around him Hahahaah Child�s play Did you really think that taking away my Stamina would stop Urgh

The ram demon shut up as Muareth walked over to him and smashed him in the gut with one of its long arms As the ram horned man collapsed and groaned weakly on the ground his arms spasmed ineffectually It was clear that he was struggling to recover from the unexpected strike

Muareth grinned down at its victim and then turned to the watching group Please remain respectful to all instructors and in the presence of your instructors or you will be punished Disrespect will not be tolerated here But as this fool pointed out the suppression over this area is really just a trick As you can see we have completely adapted to moving around in this environment without any trouble While within the training area your Stamina and Mana will be continually drained Therefore you will need to rely upon your image for the entirety of your actions Anyway the clock is ticking Please proceed to the Parade Grounds within the time limit

You The fool� in question finally got his arms under control and began to push himself up off the ground But Muareth raised one of its hooves and smashed the humanoid�s face into the ground Raymund heard his nose break with an audible crack

Do not Muareth hissed as it lowered its head down its victim as blood seeped from the ram demon�s nose Address me as you again You will not get a third warning

Meanwhile with the trick revealed several others began to tentatively step across the threshold They all reacted similarly with a grimace and a stagger But as their individual image spread out to cover their body they could continue to function normally They steadily tested movements and then began to walk forward with more confidence Muareth snorted at the silent form of the ram demon on the ground and followed the leaders as more and more recruits proceeded forward Everyone remained quiet and serious they were beginning to believe the rumors about their Drill Sergeant from seeming the casual brutality of his subordinates

Yet somehow Raymund found this reassuring Muareth�s casual treatment of the white haired humanoid just confirmed it these people cared not at all who you were They were simply here to train you if the training was truly merit based he could hold his head high as long as he could produce results But still

Raymund sucked in a breath No point in delaying any longer It�s time to see whether I have the mettle to stand amongst these elites or whether I will always be the forgettable brother of Techetadore

With gritted teeth Raymund walked forward and crossed the threshold Almost immediately he grunted and fell to one knee It felt like his own body betrayed him transmogrifying into inert scrap metal that refused to function as a usable tool But right before he collapsed the face of his younger brother appeared in his mind

In that flash of a memory Techetadore was wincing Ray you will never get better at dueling if you never strike to kill me in our spars

Raymund had shaken his head I dare not Techetadore If an accident were to befall you I

If something happened to me Techetadore had suddenly insisted leaning forward and jabbing his elder brother in the chest I trust you would dare� much more than you now believe is possible If you put your mind to it there is no reason that you couldn�t be just as strong as me

Raymund had sighed at the time just thinking it was one of those strange things that his younger brother said sometimes Yet at the moment Raymund heard those words clearly A tremor ran through his body His brain was suddenly on fire Raymund Ballast refused to collapse and exploded with all the Willpower he could muster His image spread outward through his body setting the hairs across his skin to stand straight up

The image was warm and reassuring it reminded him of Techetadore who possessed an almost identical image of their world�s god Raymund wasn�t very proficient in using his image to manually move his body but he was able to stand up through his wobbles Next to him Benjamin looked at him with obvious concern Are you alright

Raymund would have laughed bitterly had that not required an extremely acute control over his image Instead he steadily worked to speak in an understandable manner Heh I�m fine You seem fine too

Benjamin shrugged I�ve engaged in similar training in the past Truly as you grow used to it it gets much easier to handle But it is rather surprising that this Drill Sergeant Ghosthound employed this method Especially as the first test of his recruits I think that all those who elected to have their elites sent here are in for a surprise

Raymund frowned at Benjamin and wished to question him more on the subject but the slender man shook his head and began walking calmly forward Feeling slightly overwhelmed by his companion�s speed Raymund tried his best to follow

Behind them the rest of the recruits passed over the threshold In addition Raymund took note of the individuals who weren�t thrown at all by the shift moving like Benjamin had without a hitch The brown furred young woman frowned but continued to walk at a steady pace as she crossed into their training area The fire elemental�s inscrutable facial features didn�t twitch in the least Yawning loudly the massive grey dog walked forward without pause It was only as he passed him that the dog slowed and sneered at Raymund

Raymund�s face twitched God I abhor dogs imbecilic ass licking creatures

Although some of the recruits were clearly trudging forward with grim expressions of exertion on their face everyone proceeded through the archway and began walking forward With a tall bamboo forest on their left and gardens on their right the walk was even somewhat scenic Certainly it was much more enjoyable than the dusty stones they crossed to get here

And as Benjamin had indicated using his image gradually grew more natural to Raymund Rather than it being something he wasn�t capable of it was simply an action Raymund had never been required to do in the past His movements soon became much smoother His tails began to wag once more Very quickly his proficiency increased

But a short time after that Raymund began noticing something else about the process he was steadily developing a headache After only a short amount of time of using his image like this he was already growing weary from the unusual exertion

It did however make Raymund feel somewhat better to glance at Benjamin and see that his acquaintance was also grimacing Benjamin seemed to notice Raymund�s gaze and shrugged lightly Then he spoke in a soft voice I retract my earlier statement Everyone everyone is in for a surprise This formation the man who designed it is clearly a sadist If anything the intensity increases as we head toward the center

the guides Raymund managed to get out

But Benjamin understood what he was saying and nodded slowly Yes The fact that they display no signs of strain is either proof that this formation is more elaborate than should be possible or that we will be expected to grow entirely accustomed to this strain Both options are somewhat troubling

The recruits eventually reached the central area denoted only by eleven small buildings arranged in a circle around a massive silver bell From there their weary journey turned South toward the Parade Grounds Again physically the journey was extremely short Perhaps only two hundred meters But after being strained for ten minutes in an entirely new manner the group arrived rather listlessly before the beautiful humanoid woman waiting for them on the parade grounds

At first Raymund only barely took note of the woman as he was largely concentrating on managing the throbbing headache that seemed intent on reducing him to a drooling husk of a person But as he approached her suddenly he couldn�t help but frown toward the woman She was the center of a storm of pressure that covered the surrounding area The woman adjusted her long braid and smiled sweetly at the group

Strong The massive grey dog growled At some point he had ended up keeping pace with Benjamin and Raymund Even though he naturally disliked the dog Raymund didn�t disagree Benjamin narrowed his eyes and studied the woman

The woman shifted her weight from one hip to the other The tightness of her leather armor broadcasted the shifting curvature of her muscles as she did so Her smile widened as she studied the exhausted group Welcome Randidly Ghosthound will be your Drill Sergeant but I�m your Overseer Call me Overseer Helen I�ll be making up all of your individual training regimens so stay on my good side Now does anyone have any questions about your training

Suddenly being faced with such a question when they hadn�t even learned the details about their training Raymund was bewildered But almost immediately Benjamin stepped forward While forcing individuals to engage solely with their image is effective training in the short term any such training cannot be done for longer periods of time Without special resources the strain on images takes a long time to heal So what is your method for expediting the healing process

Overseer Helen nodded and tossed something at Benjamin He reached up and snatched the objects out of the air deftly despite the fact he was moving solely relying on his image When he opened his hand Raymund peered over Benjamin�s shoulder and saw that he had been given two coins that were stamped with a golden tree Meanwhile the stony man and Muareth began to pass out single coins to everyone else

For asking the right question at the right time you receive one extra Tree Coin Tree Coins can be traded in at any time by anyone to ring the bell at the center of our camp Overseer Helen said She shifted her weight back You can earn Tree Coins and other varieties of coins for accomplishing something impressive during training Question time is officially over Now you currently have a half hour of free time after that we will be having a 1 v 1 tournament to give us an idea of what we are working with Prepare yourselves as you see fit

Then she produced an apple and began slicing off pieces to eat as though she was completely done with interacting with the group Meanwhile the attitude amongst the recruits turned somewhat strange People kept sending glances toward Benjamin who calmly pocketed his two Tree Coins with a mild expression

Oy Finally the white haired man with ram horns broke the silence He unfolded his arms from across his chest and glared at Benjamin You are the only one here with two Tree Coins It�s only fair that you use your extra one so we all understand what they do

I disagree Benjamin said calmly Although I am exhausted my image can persist for a while longer without a problem Exactly because it is dangerous there is a great benefit to training within this suppression field Therefore I plan to wait a while before using a Tree Coin

Think about your fellow recruits The horned man said with a dangerous smile that suggested what Benjamin should really consider is the implied threat of violence Benjamin turned away without responding a clear sign that he believed the conversation was over The horned man�s gaze sharpened Meanwhile the three officials� all seemed rather unconcerned with the bubbling undercurrent of violence

Before anything happened the flame elemental stepped forward to Muareth and offered a Tree Coin I wish to use my Tree Coin Do I need to do anything

Although Muareth was the one who took the coin Overseer Helen answered Nope I�ll send up the signal

Then she raised her arms and an absolutely massive image filled the surrounding sky The currents of air turned crimson and flowed like boiling blood Within that blood a massive shadow filled the sky as though some deepsea horror had been projected upward from its normal lair With a swish of its massive tail the shadow shifted and turned to regard the recruits waiting below with obvious interest

But before the shadow could move again it was blasted away by that overwhelmingly pure image of life energy flowing from an enormous golden tree But instead of being intimidating this time the energy bloomed outward in a warm wave that lapped up against Raymund and made him release a gasp of pleasure

That energy flood through his mind seemingly knitting together all the strained edges of his image In addition that energy seemed to flush all the clutter out of Raymund�s mind and leave him with an incredibly sharp impression of his own image For the first time in recent memory he had some concrete ideas on how to shift his image to become vastly more powerful

Within him his sinuous nine tailed fox stirred

The flood of energy lasted for almost fifteen minutes before it gradually began to recede And suddenly Raymund felt extremely prepared to utilize his image for every movement the rejuvenation had been more effective than he would have believed

Meanwhile the fire elemental glanced over toward Benjamin Although his expression flickered with the flames that made up his body Raymund sensed disappointment on his face If you could easily do something to benefit another why would you hesitate

Benjamin just shook his head

Chapter 1509

Randidly looked out the window of the residential building and cast his gaze toward the pit filled area to the South From his perspective he couldn�t really see the duels with his eyes but Grim Intuition gave him plenty of information regarding the messy results The recruits were about halfway through the tournament and it was already clear that there was a stark divide amongst the recruits regarding their capabilities

About half of them clearly were overwhelmed by the suppression formation quickly running out of steam after a single slightly stiff jointed fight Those lucky enough to win those horrid martial showings despite their flagging capabilities were then crushed by the group that was able to adapt quickly It was clear that their image hadn�t been trained for this but about 60% of the recruits were capable of fighting solely with their images

It was amongst those 60% that the true competition could begin and where the power of their images began to matter more and more

Randidly idly rubbed his chin The 40% that couldn�t keep their images active for even a few fights would go to Helen and a few of her chosen subordinates to force them to develop a concrete image Against the Nether ambiguous or vast images would quickly be corrupted And Randidly knew first hand that the impending threat of violence from Helen was a powerful motivator

These weaker trainees would also be supplemented with healing energy more frequently without having to spend their Tree Coins They were essentially seeds that would be thrown in a garden full of fertilizer and then forgotten about for a week They needed to show their ability to sprout before they would earn serious attention

Heiffal would take the lead on the other 60% fine tuning their individual needs for violence precision and mindfulness which corresponded to the areas of the pits the bamboo forest and the gardens respectively This would also be the time where most of the information regarding the recruits was gathered Then there would also be group image endurance training which Heiffal would oversee directly and small rests arranged in between the larger training exercises

Currently Heiffal and Helen had cooked up some war games they wanted to play but first they would have to select and group the recruits into twenty ten person squads Randidly had suggested some strategies on how the squads should be grouped just from watching the recruits arrive and struggle with the suppression Engraving However Muareth had made the good point that Randidly�s initial impressions would effectively gather all of the strongest individual in three of the squads which would certainly create elite squads but it would leave the rest as relatively unimpressive groups

Randidly released a sigh and rubbed his forehead Even with hundreds of subordinates he somehow felt exhausted with the task of training these recruits In addition he became quite aware of the ways that this process of extreme image training could go badly Both for the recruits and for Randidly himself Already the Earth Golem at the entrance to Randidly�s training area had reported that almost a dozen more scrolls had arrived for him from various individuals in the Nexus it seemed the recruits had tattled about Randidly�s extreme training methods

But for now as long as they stuck to just sending scrolls Randidly was content with just ignoring all outside influences Results would speak for themselves when the time came

It was just a matter of getting those results

While the tournament finished up Randidly looked to the East toward the entrance to the main entrance to the area he had claimed Specifically he looked at the physical limit that was becoming a rapidly noticeable boundary on the Fifth Cohort Rally Station The very air was beginning to polarize there Previously Randidly had wondered about the physical spread of images in space but he had never thought about it too deeply But with the added emotional information Randidly finally had the capacity to see and understand what was happening

One important aspect of emotion as a part of the image was gracing them with a unique almost electric charge So instead of mixing freely with other images an image with a strong emotion would push other images away like the same two sides of a magnet As this gradual ionization occurred over time naturally insulating itself against outside influences the boundaries would become increasingly stark

Even now Randidly watched as the air along the boundary gradually shifted Within became increasingly lively and energizing Breezes began to gradually stir the growing bamboo forest as the area dominated by his Yggdrasil image developed a primitive climate Meanwhile the air outside remained dead with the buzzing edge of Yggdrasil keeping these two areas from mixing

Humming to himself Randidly turned his attention back to Octavius� recent message

I�m in the process of investigating the backgrounds of all of your recruits I should have the information shortly Please refrain from offending any factions until we understand who we are dealing with

Randidly didn�t bother to keep himself from rolling his eyes but he did only think his response and refrained from replying to the message Just like you explained to me what I would be doing in the Nexus prior to my arrival I basically had no idea what was happening until I showed up Your reports move at a glacial pace

But even if the speed of his investigation was relatively unsatisfactory Randidly couldn�t deny that he was certainly an extremely fastidious information gatherer Therefore it was best to just leave the Overseer to his work

Besides Randidly had other concerns One of Superintendent Xeruth�s subordinates had arrived at the edge of his land informing Randidly by proxy that the plan had been for his elite squad to take part in the larger skirmishes However the sweating guard had stressed the Superintendent was willing to adjust the schedule if Randidly believed it was best for the long term potential of the many talented individuals that he was instructing�

Considering the fact that Commandant Wick had somehow gotten the Superintendent�s son assigned to Randidly�s command Randidly felt somewhat awkward at the deferential and very obviously fearful treatment he was receiving from the man But Randidly hardened his heart I won�t actually be punishing the son for the father�s behavior He will be given the same opportunity to improve as everyone else Which will undoubtedly benefit him Although considering the intensity of the training Helen is cooking up it might seem somewhat abusive to a concerned and already stressed father

Well anyway I might as well take advantage of my freedom while I have it The first skirmish is in a week it would be my elite two hundred against a full thousand Heh that�s just enough to make sure the recruits struggle

Just as Randidly began to hammer out the details of how he wanted to exhaust the recruits before that fight Helen sent him a message The tournament had finished it was now time for the recruits to meet Randidly Ghosthound

Not the real Randidly Ghosthound of course but the Randidly Ghosthound who was the Head Drill Sergeant for this special recruitment drive All of the subordinates had been informed that Randidly was playing a brutal and pitiless taskmaster and were all too willing to feed into this false impression of Randidly

Honestly the enthusiasm with which his subordinates embraced this performance was somewhat alarming to Randidly He wondered for several if he should assign them some extra training to keep their minds from dwelling on such silly things but then realized the irony of that thought and let it go

Randidly stretched his arms above his head and cracked his back Then he reached up and ruffled his dark hair while yawning Alright time to become an absolute nightmare

Rolling his shoulders he worked most of the tension out of his chest and back Then he began to concentrate on his images For this first reveal of this hard nosed character Randidly wanted to come with all three of his physicalizations at full strength Not only did he want to impress the recruits but he had a reputation to uphold

Although he had hidden the Grim Chimera and the Stillborn Phoenix while applying for this position now he had the job there was no longer any reason to hold himself back No longer did he need to appear easily controllable Randidly closed his eyes and tried to find that common thread of emotion that had briefly allowed a near perfect union of his three images

Unfortunately he couldn�t find that easy settling point that special moment was extremely difficult to recapture So instead of finessing the issue Randidly�s Willpower tightened around the three images and forcefully pressed them together Across his body the muscle fibers swelled and twitched as the physicalizations intensified Sparks of electricity crackled around his metal left arm as image and Engraving began to steadily mix

A nonexistent wind ruffled his hair as the individual strands slowly were dyed emerald seeping outward from root to tip Randidly growled as his shoulders and spine shifted into a wider resting point The light around his left eye swirled and melted sucked into the abyss of the Stillborn Phoenix His heart began to pound against the limits of his ribcage pumping hot blood throughout his body Randidly flexed his fingers as the temperature of his person steadily rose Heatwaves rolled off of him a physical manifestation of the warping influence of his images

When he released a breath it came out in a blast of steam His veins began to steadily glow with a golden light A single tail flicked side to side from the point where his neck met his back while a much thicker tail extended outward from his waist Randidly flexed his bare toes and pressed them against the ground His skin began to darkened and char His metallic left arm began to bulge in size soon becoming a massive monstrous claw His right arm remained slender his fingers lengthening and sharpening into deadly points

Randidly released another breath containing the combined weight of his three images within the luminous discharge Their emotions clashed and rose like a flag hastily pulled up a tall metal pole The Grim Chimera was impatient wanting to dedicate most of its effort to its imminent transformation The Stillborn Phoenix had settled into a calm cycle of refining and releasing emotions no longer acting as erratically as it had in the past Yggdrasil was filled with a boundless warmth excited by the prospect of guiding so many recruits to discover their own images

Randidly felt those emotions churn within him He felt the edges of his physicalization and the way his emotions charged his person He was prepared

With a flick of the wrist Randidly produced his Philosopher�s Key and settled it into the air As he did so he reminded himself that he would need to open a portal to the heart of the Web to release and absorb some more emotions during the next few days Before he came to the Fifth Cohort Rally Station he had demonstrated his Fate�s ability in front of Edraine and she had completely been unable to detect it As such he felt relatively comfortable using it freely

Randidly twisted the key and opened up the portal With a single step he crossed from the heights of the tower to the muddy and pitted Southern area Immediately Randidly felt the attention of all of the recruits snap to him He suppressed a smile keeping his expression severe these first few seconds were the most important More than his other images Randidly allowed the Grim Chimera�s impatience to dominant his aura He released another steaming breath wreathing him in a partially luminous cloud as he studied the recruits

This was the Head Drill Sergeant they would have Impatient Distant Monstrous

He had sensed their images as they fought but now Randidly could look at them directly The winner of the tournament regarded Randidly with an uneasy stare a begrudging respect and an aggressive pride clearly warring in his expression He was a dusky skinned young man with white hair and rams horns curling away from his head Sensing his gaze Helen supplied the young man�s name through message DiOrtho Vant

Randidly�s gaze moved on to the second place finisher a gentle seeming young woman covered in brown fur This then would be the reason that Commandant Wick was throwing his weight around behind the scenes Her name was Charlotte Wick And honestly the attitude she displayed was impressively respectful and controlled She made a much better first impression than the tournament�s winner

Not that I can say anything about him just for being so off putting Troublemakers who have that much attitude generally have the skills to back themselves up Randidly reflected

Randidly�s gaze shifted down the line In third place was a massive grey dog called Vizzeret Clamman Fourth place was a positively regal looked foxman named Raymund Ballast Fifth place was a being of pure flame named Jieu Ronault who amongst all of the recruits was the only one who radiated a powerful and emotional aura of inner peace That one was definitely a recruit worth training

Beyond that Randidly increased the speed of his scan stopping briefly only on two more individuals as he observed the whole of the recruits First at twelfth place was a surprising presence Kallum Xeruth the hostage� son that made the Superintendent so docile His aura was radiating fear but there was also a hint of stubbornness to him He possessed genuine ability befitting the son of a Superintendent

Finally Randidly�s eyes settled on a slender recruit that Octavius had already warned him about Benjamin Rex Although they weren�t sure of the intimacy of the connection it was obvious that he had ties to Solomon Rex one of the most powerful and mysterious figures in the Nexus In addition Benjamin was ranked 101 out of 200 Basically as close to the middle as possible despite having the best image control of all the recruits

Congratulations Your Skill Torch of Long and Slow Silences has grown to Level 174

Alright then let�s get this started Randidly thought Then he cleared his throat

Chapter 1510

Raymund Ballast wasn�t sure what he had been expecting from this notoriously brutal Head Drill Sergeant but the actual figure that appeared before them still managed to shock him into a numb stare Almost subconsciously he straightened as Drill Sergeant Ghosthound stepped smartly out of a mysterious portal and considered the recruits He was only on a small hill above the vast trench where the recruits stood but their Drill Sergeant cast a long shadow

The obvious first impression was that the Drill Sergeant was rather hideously ugly his garish emerald hair lopsided arms tails at his neck and waist the charred skin of his body and the way light ebbed around the left side of his face were all extremely striking in very different ways that didn�t mix well The combination seemed almost random leaving him with a very aggressive fearsome appearance

But as that initial shock began to settle other notes began to emerge One was the piercing emerald light from the Ghosthound�s right eye Another was the softly pulsing golden veins that managed to shine through even his charred skin When the Ghosthound released a breath it came out as steam that hung in the air around him Although he was well muscled his limbs were lean and designed for action

Raymund couldn�t help but blink as he noticed more and more details of their Drill Sergeant

Obviously Raymund had grown up with the threat of the System�s monsters Since his world had already passed three of the Calamities in the past the threat had greatly diminished during Raymund�s time but it was still present He had faced a wide variety of monsters in the past So he couldn�t help but be briefly puzzled by his own reaction to the Ghosthound

As the silence dragged on and those two very different eyes of the Ghosthound swept through the recruits realization slowly crept up on Raymund in the absolute silence of the parade grounds The reason that the Ghosthound was so striking was because of the obvious complexity of his image As Raymund attempted to get a sense of what the Ghosthound was there was so much conflicting feedback he felt an amorphous scaled changeling a vast golden tree and a howling void all keenly aware of Raymund�s examination and not pleased by the intrusion All three of these images were flickering intermittently through the Ghosthound�s person

A mighty warrior Raymund eventually decided Because even if he was confused about the details of the Ghosthound the fact that he had served on the frontlines and waded through waves of bloodshed to get here was readily apparent

The Ghosthound cleared his throat lightly The noise echoed through the silence of the parade grounds The many assistant overseers that had watched the recruits matches with hawkish gazes stood absolutely still seeming more like statues before their leader than real organic existences The show of discipline was intimidating because it was so telling

This Drill Sergeant demanded absolute adherence to his rules

Yet Raymund could not blame the subordinates for following such an extremely demanding leader For he found that the conflux of the Ghosthound�s images together created a stickiness to his person It was exceedingly difficult for Raymund to tear his gaze away from the Head Drill Instructor There was something innately compelling about the man

I�ll keep this brief The Ghosthound finally said his voice filling all of the empty silences in the surrounding air Congratulations 60 percent of you have the bare minimum qualifications of receiving my instruction For you Overseer Heiffal will be taking you to the Garden Quarter There you will have the next six hours to build lodgings for yourself and decide what you would like to plant within your garden

The Ghosthound paused there and pursed his lips let me say that the gardens were not my idea However I have been informed time spent on external cultivation will help soften the severity of my other lessons on the proper development of images As such work on the garden IS mandatory Each week the individual whose garden is the least impressive will receive a light punishment administered personally by me

What was most intriguing about listening to the Ghosthound speak was the nuance within his voice Somehow Raymund felt like he could clearly sense every emotion their Drill Sergeant experienced And as the Ghosthound spoke about the punishment a barely contained glee in his voice filled Raymund with fear

As for those of you who have summarily failed to display even the base qualifications of a proper soldier the next two days of your life will be handled personally by Overseer Helen If you fail to improve markedly under her tutelage then you do not deserve to be here That is all The Ghosthound abruptly finished Then he breathed out another breath of luminous steam and raised a key in front of him

Yet as he turned it midair and conjured a similar portal to the one he arrived in he stopped himself and turned back to the crowd His voice was suddenly stiff and harsh Ah One more thing An administrative note Over the past few hours I have been receiving a constant stream of scrolls from non military personnel wishing to offer ME advice on how I train recruits Undoubtedly this is only because you all hadn�t yet realized the joyous experienced of being trained by me and hastily reported back to your relatives an incomplete picture of the effective training regimen that is transpiring here Being of a benevolent outlook I�ve had my subordinates destroy such intrusive messaging before I could even see the name of the foolish senders and hold you all individually accountable for your lack of faith

Something in the Ghosthound�s gaze changed then The stiffness began to fade as the Drill Sergeant could no longer maintain his cool Instinctively Raymund felt the hairs on the back of his neck rising The surrounding air seemed to be sucked away leaving only a constricting suffocating fury that radiated outward from the Ghosthound From the deepest and most twisted pit within that darkness the fury seemed to emerge hating anything and everything that stood in the way of that man accomplishing his goals

That generosity The Ghosthound said with a throat that sounded like it was lined with gravel Has run out I do not wish to be bothered by further idle gossip or unasked for opinions You had your chance to walk away you did not take it Lower your head and obey your orders soldiers Have I made myself clear

For a split second there was silence It was only when Raymund felt himself being prodded by a crimson flow extending outward from Overseer Helen that he seemed to realize that it was the soldiers� turn to speak

Sir yes sir The two hundred recruits bellowed The Ghosthound snorted as though deeply disappointed with their response But he walked into his portal and vanished without another word

Instantly Raymund sagged as the immense pressure of the Ghosthound�s presence no longer gripped him by the throat and held him in place Around him the other recruits were similarly exhausted from enduring their trainer�s scrutiny Yet Raymund could also sense the way that the attitudes of the surrounding recruits changed after that brief speech While the training was undoubtedly difficult seeing the Ghosthound was confirmation for most of these individuals that they could grow strong by listening to him This was their chance

In the Nexus power was worshipped And Randidly Ghosthound was more powerful than all of the recruits here combined

Alright those of you who are too weak for the Ghosthound�s training and you know who you are Overseer Helen said lazily Come to me Here here there is no shame in being weak From what I understand most insects and invertebrates start out as pathetic and useless as you It took most species thousands of years to evolve past these worthless states So really you are in tenacious company Where your ancestors failed we are giving you a marginally better chance to succeed

While several pale faced and exhausted recruits trudged over toward the widely grinning Overseer Helen the rest started to gather around Overseer Heiffal As Raymund shifted into position he passed by the massive grey dog The dog seemed to notice Raymund out of the corner of his eye and sneered at Raymund the dog had been the one to defeat him in the earlier tournament

Raymund did a very poor job of suppressing his temper and his lip began to curl upward to reveal his fangs You self important creature You are a domesticated and neutered wolf One small victory while I am adapting to the circumstances means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of our lives

Very quickly Raymund forced his gaze away He was here to impress his instructors and earn as many accolades as he could during the reclamation of the invaded planets in the Fifth Cohort Getting himself caught up in some pointless interspecies rivalry would only distract Raymund from concentrating on his actual goals

Yet no sooner had he distracted himself from that issue than appeared the teasing face of his younger brother Techetadore in the forefront of his mind If you don�t learn to enjoy the small things in life Ray you won�t be able to accomplish the big things you want Big things are just a bunch of small things stacked on top of each other

After several hours of being drained by this strange Engraving around the whole of the training grounds and being forced to fight until he collapsed Raymund was extremely irritated So much so that he lashed out at the fictitious specter of his brother that lingered in his mind Big things are different they are important This was never a joke Techet Saving our planet was something you should have taken more seriously We were all counting on you I was

Although the first memory that had appeared receded like mist underneath the sun�s warmth with this outburst another memory rose to the fore of Raymund Ballast�s mind This was from a much longer time in the past where Techetadore was only six years old and Raymund was trying to explain to his brother why it was important because of his innate talent that he focus on training

Why do I have to do it Techetadore had pouted at Raymund You are older And you are stronger than me YOU should be the one who has to do it

That was the only time that Techetadore voiced an opinion like that Yet even now Raymund felt a deep shame that so much was heaped upon the shoulders of his younger brother from a young age Although Raymund prided himself on how well educated and knowledgeable he was he didn�t have the language to cross the gap between himself and Techetadore now or then

He and his people spoke the language of shame and weakness Techet did not Which was why he was special Of course Raymund couldn�t deny his own talent Although it paled in comparison to his brother�s he was also the brightest hope that his planet had seen Yet ultimately Raymund�s existence was simply the signal for his people to begin to gather their resources to eventually pour into the true chosen one

But it was with all those thoughts flitting around his head that Raymund joined the throng of people walking toward the Eastern portion of the grounds All of the austere beauty of the bamboo forest was lost on Raymund He kept his head down until the person in front of him stopped Then hearing that Overseer Heiffal was speaking Raymund bit the inside of his cheek

Pay attention Only through continued vigilance can success be achieved Raymund chided himself Then he turned all his senses toward the Overseer

honestly it doesn�t matter at all Overseer Heiffal was saying Then he indicated a large wooden box These seeds are what is provided You are free to choose as many or as few as you wish You can obtain bamboo for your dwellings from certain groves that I will show you so just pick whatever you want Does anyone have a favorite flower

The recruits were silent and dull eyed having difficulty quite understanding the question after being forced to fight each other for several hours

Overseer Heiffal shrugged Too bad If someone had said a favorite flower there you would have gotten a Tree Coin Anyway get to it recruits You only have six hours until tomorrow�s training begins

Chapter 1511

The unfortunate truth that became immediately obvious as the recruits set about their current task of building themselves a shelter was that there was a wide disparity in terms of architectural understanding amongst them Each individual came from a different background there were thousands of worlds with wildly divergent building styles Raymund�s world for example primarily relied on tents for their dwellings so he felt rather nonplussed when he was given bamboo as the primary material

He was somewhat gratified to see that most of his fellow elite recruits were just as miserable as he while they attempted to make for themselves a private space These people had been groomed from a young age they had never been asked to make themselves a home

There were of course some exceptions

After two hours that he spent fruitlessly stacking bamboo Raymund looked on with several other stunned recruits as Charlotte Wick put the finishing touches on a picturesque bamboo hut It was only a single room but that room was large enough for a bed and also came with a working door Just as she allowed herself the brief respite of settling underneath her perfectly aligned roof and coolly regarding her audience a wet drop hit Raymund�s face and forced him to look upward

The gorgeous hanging nebula above the Nexus was completely obscured by a thick layer of water vapor that hung in the air Their sky was filled with dark grey clouds With a dull rumble of thunder it began to rain over the Fifth Cohort Rally Station

Benjamin Rex who had selected a spot next to Raymund to set up his dwelling space frowned upward through the hastening raindrops Are there weather patterns on the Rally Stations

Raymund just shook his head wordlessly The cool sensation of rain hitting his fur was surprising but not unpleasant His fur was naturally oily enough that most of the moisture slid off of him As it was he set aside the seemingly hopeless task of building a home and focused on his garden

After being shown a box of seeds Raymund had randomly selected two as the plants for his garden One seemed to resemble a rather large nut and possessed a thick brown shell The other was a tiny blue bean When Raymund had inquired to the assistant overseer watching the box what they were he had been told that the man was not a gardener� and that the best way to find out would be just to grow the seeds

Which was a practical solution but not one that was reassuring with the hanging threat of a punishment from the Ghosthound if his garden wasn�t satisfactory Considering he had absolutely no experience with gardening Raymund was justifiably worried that he would be the one receiving that punishment

For the moment Raymund could only sigh and settle down on his haunches as the rain began to fall harder around him The precipitation smacked lightly into the dusty areas between the cultivatable land of the gardens and seeped into the ground But more than the rain in his immediate vicinity Raymund�s attention was periodically pulled upward by the noise of the rain falling into the bamboo forest The tall stocks rustled and swayed from the storm It was a dull background static that somehow became a part of the task

This activity is certainly not what I expected from Drill Sergeant Ghosthound Raymund frowned down at his clawed fingers Just how intense is the typical training that even a man so stubborn as he was convinced to include this sort of diversion as part of the training regimen

But despite the strangeness of the current circumstances Raymund was surprised to find that gardening was a surprisingly effective way to keep his mind off of how mentally exhausted he was While he dug small holes in his garden and carefully placed the thick shelled nut in the holes on the left side of the garden and the blue beans within the holes on the right the small mundane tasks of cultivation put Raymund�s perception primarily in his body The humidity in the air the sound of the rain the soft grains of the soil between his fingers the near weightlessness of the seeds

His senses became the reprieve from his mind So although every action required constant stimulation from his image in order to move his body he achieved an equilibrium in his image usage that meant he was no longer constantly exhausting himself as he mimicked normal life

Once all the seeds were within their holes and covered with soil Raymund closed his eyes Even his breathing slowed to near stillness The rain simply washed over him as he crouched over his small garden His mind was completely blank He allowed his image to recede He was almost a statue completely devoid of biological needs a sentry standing watch over the garden Time slowly slipped past

His senses grew and grew becoming everything For a few moments he felt relaxed The pressure of his current circumstances gave him a brief reprieve

Then aware that this opportunity would not last forever Raymund came back to himself He stood and stretched still slightly stiff in his movements due to his unfamiliarity with how to use his image in this manner But he was improving Then he looked up toward the sky The rain was clearing up but it was an appropriate demonstration that a dwelling with a working roof would quite easily improve his quality of life while staying here So Raymund turned his attention to his house

No one would ever call him a carpenter but the squat shack he threw together could honestly be described as practical�

Around two hours later Heiffal called for everyone to gather it was time to begin their training in earnest Perhaps out of nervousness one of the other recruits turned in a Tree Coin and another wave of warm energy was released over their group Feeling refreshed Raymund paid attention as Heiffal explained their next task

and promptly joined the rest of the recruits in grimacing at the pronouncement They were going to work on improving their base physical abilities

Head Drill Instructor Ghosthound places enormous importance on physical capability Heiffal was saying A strong body supports a strong image So your first task will be running underneath the influence of a gravity array A gravity array on top of the suppression array that takes away your Stamina Those of you who somehow made it this far without developing a passive physical Skill I hope you saved a free Skill slot Otherwise this will be an extremely difficult few hours for you

Although in this case our images are the only reason our bodies are able to move Raymund thought grumpily So shouldn�t you say a strong image supports a strong body

Raymund had a love/hate relationship with physical fitness On the one hand he found it profoundly tiresome Even with the System there was a limit to how strong you could physically become Therefore training with Skills or images was much more fruitful

On the other hand Raymund inexplicably was very good at those sorts of physical exercises Even toward the end when Techetadore had surpassed him in every other aspect he could keep up during the daily physical exercises that Techetadore put himself through For that reason physical fitness held a special place in Raymund�s heart it was the activity the two brothers had always done together

Heiffal led the group of recruits back toward the central area where an entirely new building had been erected while most of them struggled to cobble together a competent enough shack to keep off the rain Raymund definitely believed this was done purposefully as a mental prod at the recruits The suitably chastened recruits then followed Heiffal as he walked jauntily forward into the tall dome that had been erected to the West of the central bell Yet while Heiffal could continue calmly forward into the interior of the building the leading recruits collapsed immediately with a strained groan

Heiffal turned behind him with an expression of surprise on his face his body perfectly at ease Oh Even this is too much Well I guess we won�t even need to turn on the main formation for your first training session My my my Perhaps you should have been grouped in the failures column

Raymund felt a flash of pleasure as he watched the strained figures of those unlucky few who thoughtlessly led the recruits The grey dog had been one of the first to step across the threshold and collapse Now it growled and struggled to stand

Somehow Raymund felt his legs carrying forward past the hesitating other recruits In other areas he perhaps wouldn�t have been so bold But as long as it was physical fitness in only that area he could keep up even with Techet And sure the pressure within the room would be more than was comfortable but Raymund gambled on the fact that half of the initial failure of those recruits was due to surprise But this was an opportunity he didn�t want to miss

So Raymund Ballast walked past the threshold his image bracing for the change He could hear the sound of his own heartbeat in his ears

Even though he expected it the change still hit him like a sledgehammer across his back His vision briefly swam from the impact and he couldn�t help but hunch forward and brace himself But with a strange vindictiveness that Raymund hadn�t realized was present within his heart he forced his back straight and raised his chin Then he did his best to appear nonchalant as he strolled forward

At the last moment he glanced to the side down at the massive grey dog which continued to struggle upward Their eyes met Raymund smirked Then he looked away he had more important things to care about

It felt extremely refreshing to leave a growling mutt on the ground behind him

Similar to Raymund most of the other recruits didn�t experience such an embarrassing collapse once they were prepared for the sudden increase in gravity Eventually all of the recruits followed Heiffal through to find several massive metal logs that they would be required to carry around the arena twenty times today

The solid bars of metal were two meters long and half a meter thick As Raymund considered his bar he felt like he was an inspect toying with the tool of a giant For someone his size and he was one of the tallest of the recruits it was difficult to manage

The additional weight of the metal log didn�t mean much especially at first The recruits stayed in a relatively tight pack as they jogged around the arena The bar was heavy but these were all recruits that were billed to be elites they had experienced training in the past that had pushed their physical limits But very quickly that small additional weight they were forced to haul around began to add up On some of the recruits around him Raymund saw more and more sweat dripping down from their brown Gritting his teeth Raymund held the rather unwieldy thing above his head as he loped forward even as his shoulders began to throb in pain

Congratulations Your Skill Chosen of the Vulpine Godhead has grown to Level 226

Certainly the benefits from such training accrue very quickly Raymund reflected as his increasingly murky and exhausted mind tried to ignore the growing pains in his neck and shoulders His legs continued to pump as he ran seeming an independent existence to his fading intelligence Next to him Benjamin jogged along while trying to find a grip that kept the relatively larger pillar balanced above his body Yet if this is to be the daily schedule

Congratulations Your Skill Chosen of the Vulpine Godhead has grown to Level 227

Very quickly Raymund�s body began to creak in protest from even this brief amount of physical exertion His capability that had even impressed Techetadore meant nothing here Somehow the extended chain of his image flowing through his body and working his completely drained muscles was some of the most agonizing training he had ever engaged in Because his muscles were completely devoid of Stamina the entire time each exertion was akin to an exertion that occurred when his musculature was just a single second away from failure

This training occurred in the ideal and most painful circumstances possible That was why the results were so immediate

Very quickly his confused body pulled at the surrounding life energy to try and develop his physical form in a new direction As such the Skill Levels came quickly But after only four steady circuits around the four hundred meter track Raymund was approaching his limit Gradually the speed of his steps began to slow as the weight he was carrying grew greater and greater

Not that it really mattered Most of the other recruits were also hitting a similar wall In fact he could be relatively proud of the fact that he had lasted longer than most But Raymund couldn�t help but notice that Benjamin was steadily leaving him behind as he was able to maintain the same pace

Suddenly Raymund Ballast felt profoundly alone His only companion was the sound of his lungs expanding and contracting His nose twitched as a large drop of sweat fell off of his face

As his mind became foggier the metal pillar he carried began to swirl together with the sense of helplessness that had mired Raymund�s heart since Techetadore had disappeared Obviously with the people of his world starving he couldn�t remind idle when his own brother the youth he practically raised and guided had vanished into the depths of the Nexus Yet similarly he couldn�t escape the sense that he was so far from finding any meaningful information regarding his brother

Raymund�s legs continued to churn carrying him forward Even if he were to perform well in this battle against the Nether what then Would that really give Raymund the tools to find out what had happened to his brother

The constant need to do had kept Raymund moving so far and let him ignore the deep flaws in his methodology But now with his high brain function being steadily stripped away by exhausting training that was clearly designed to tear him down the dark fears of his heart were slowly surfacing And when he faced them he just wanted to collapse

Quit

A voice seemed to speak directly to Raymund at his most despairing and he almost listened to that voice immediately But his ears twitched So he raised his head and did his best to focus his cloudy eyes on the source Heiffal was standing above a recruit that Raymund didn�t recognize on the other side of the track Despite the fact that Raymund felt like he was also near his physical limits he continued forward until he was within earshot of the Overseer

The recruit was clearly a tiny individual wearing her wrinkled grey skin like a too large rain poncho She was currently struggling to manage to shift the metal pillar off of its body so she could regain her feet once more What struck Raymund most about this hazy picture was how much the recruit was struggling

Meanwhile Heiffal continued to speak I�ll let you in on a secret all individuals possess small choices in their lives Currently you can quit or get back up I recommend you quit Your body is inept your image is ungainly and vague your potential is lackluster and you don�t have the capacity for the hard decisions that are required from soldiers So quit

Because even if you keep going your decisions won�t meaningfully change That�s the problem with small actions they inevitably lead to the next small action You can never escape the present Five seconds from now you will still have to choose to endure this agonizing training or quit Ten minutes after that when you still haven�t finished your required laps you will face the same choice And this entire time the pain of continuing will increase Nothing will have changed except you�ve forced yourself to endure for longer than you needed to So quit now

The wrinkled woman groaned and collapsed weakly unable to shift the metal pillar from on top of her Seeing the treant finally cease struggling Raymund�s feet slowed He wondered if she had suffocated beneath that pillar When he arrived at the fallen recruit being largely avoided by the other exhausted recruits Raymund paused and set his pillar down He knew that it would be so easy to quit at the moment

His body felt light The right side of his neck where he had rested the pillar for his first few circuits tingled

Yet his body reached down to help lift the pillar off of the fallen recruit This new variety of exertion caused different muscles to protest leading to Raymund�s assistance being much less helpful than he had planned But his mind was so exhausted he could think of no plan but continuing to strain himself lifting one end of the metal pillar

Then another recruit stopped A red skinned woman with no mouth but six eyes set down her own pillar and lifted the other end Together they rolled the pillar off of the short and wrinkled recruit

Don�t say I didn�t warn you Overseer Heiffal shrugged Raymund nodded at the woman and then heaved his own pillar back onto his shoulder While it was sitting on the ground the thing seemed to have doubled in weight At the last moment he realized he should switch it to the other side of his neck

But it was too late The pillar had come to rest and Raymund�s trembling arms would hear nothing of shifting the pillar when it was already so securely settled So Raymund could only sigh and continue to run

Congratulations Your Skill Chosen of the Vulpine Godhead has grown to Level 228

Congratulations Your Skill Chosen of the Vulpine Godhead has grown to Level 261

Chapter 1512

Demonstrate your image The assistant overseer repeated sternly faced with Raymund�s rather blank faced confusion It was clear from their expressions that the three overseers were supremely unimpressed with his nonresponsiveness

There were two things that confused Raymund about the current situation The first was that after the recruits finished their required twenty laps and wanted nothing more than to collapse into a degenerative stew of sweat and muscle fibers they were brought into an underground complex below the training area that seemed just as extensive as the facilities on the surface There he was directed to a small training room where three unfamiliar assistant overseers were waiting at a wooden table They each held clipboards

They wanted him to demonstrate his image That fact barely managed to penetrate through his bleary confusion to reach his consciousness

But the second source of confusion was that the formation on the surface didn�t affect this area at all Raymund�s body was once more his own to recover naturally and move After using his image constantly for almost twenty four hours the shift back to being able to physically move was so pleasurable that it felt like Raymund�s every movement was buoyed by a comforting layer of clouds

Ah yes Raymund blinked Then he tried his best to focus His mind was still exhausted from what he had endured in this first day of training but the lack of the physical suppression filled him with a strange sense of calm His numb body because the perfect vessel to house a consciousness focused upon his image He could manage this amount of pressure with ease

Gradually the lids over Raymund�s eyes sank downward His world became a rich darkness It was his canvas for creation He long claws flexed slowly outward like an orange tabby luxuriously waking up from a nap in a pool of sunlight

The first detail he conjured was the fur of the nine tailed fox Here was one of the smallest but the most important details to create a cohesive image The base of each hair was a pale white but toward the edges it faded to a deep maroon As the nine tailed fox sat in darkness it meant that the godly figure seemed to bleed directly into the surrounding world It was a monster that existed as a natural part of the world the grandest wound that existence had ever experienced

Those hairs spread outward being a part of an absolutely massive body Each hair was as tall as the highest tree in the greatest forest And to the nine tailed fox those were simply one of a million hairs that covered its body The nine tailed fox was like the sky or the wind It was simply a natural presence that persisted even as other factors around it rose and fell

Next came the shape Raymund and his people were bipedal but the nine tailed fox was a true fox It sat on its haunches calmly its forelegs keeping its body in an upright and dignified position In the theology of Raymund�s world all of his people originally walked around on all fours and possessed nine tails But the first fox Fiero came across a tumbling water monkey that was hanging from a tree and savoring a fat strand of grapes The water monkey saw Fiero�s nine lucious tails and was deeply jealous So with some clever words and a dramatic feast that it made of the grapes the water monkey convinced Fiero trade one of his tails in exchange for the knowledge of how to walk on two legs and use his hands to eat grapes

The Chronicles of Fiero were honestly rather depressing for Raymund It detailed all nine of the petty reasons that Fiero was convinced to part with his tails the ultimate symbols of respecting the natural order of existence As a foxman who was born with two tails Raymund was considered rather special most of his people were only born with a single tail in the modern era

Until Techetadore who was born with six glorious tails Raymund�s brother changed everything even from the beginning

A frown crossed Raymund�s face His image wavered slightly He berated himself and then concentrated on strengthening his dedication to his image Even if there was no array pressuring him currently that didn�t mean all of the exhaustion of the past day had been magically healed He couldn�t afford to let himself be distracted by any ancillary information at the moment

So Raymund forced himself to concentrate solely on his image His exhausted mind swept away the distractions and settled once more on the nine tailed fox From the sitting fox with the brilliantly shaded fur all nine tails spread outward in the surrounding air like pure rays of light from the sun There were some subtle curves in each of the tails but those soft details were practically invisible between the maroon furr and the deep darkness of the backdrop

At the center of this bouquet of tails Raymund�s nine tailed fox sat with its eyes closed seemingly completely inert Rather than a true biological monster this was a natural presence in the world Its influence gradually spread to the surrounding space weighing heavily on the surroundings Its snout was long and regal An invisible halo of superiority radiated outward from the immaculate creature that Raymund conjured

When all the details were assembled they seemed to blend together and form a near perfect whole Despite the earlier distraction this was one of the better complete nine tailed foxes that Raymund had ever managed He felt a flush of pride in his chest

Releasing a breath Raymund opened his eyes The three assistant overseers looked at him as though just noticing that he had been fulfilling their request while he stood with his eyes closed The central figure a squat man with bat wings blinked �Oh are you finished �

Raymund opened his mouth but couldn�t decide what he wanted to say to that The fact that the assistant overseer had even asked the question

When Raymund didn�t answer the assistant overseers seemed to take that as assent and began to take furious notes on their papers They alternated between grimacing at the image that Raymund created writing down some sort of observations and then glancing meaningfully at each other�s notes and nodding in agreement

Eventually bat wings cleared his throat �Alright that�s enough of that for now I think we basically understand your image Now we have a few more things to investigate while we design your personal training regimen Feel free to think deeply about your answers when you are done here you will be going back up to the surface immediately to continue your training How do you intend to improve your image �

�I � Raymund blinked at the abrupt question Still his gaze quickly brightened A few days ago he would not have been able to articulate how he wanted to improve his image But after being completely drained and then refreshed by the wave of warm energy from the bell Raymund began to sense a few methods that would allow his nine tailed fox to be even more powerful �I want to be able to visualize the great nine tailed fox as part of the natural world Almost as if the tails of the fox were the world�s rivers its spine was the great mountain range things like that �

�Display your most powerful attack � Bat wing announced glancing at one of the fellow assistant overseers and not even bothering with the barest acknowledgment of Raymund�s answer �Sevet will be receiving your attack And don�t flatter yourself there is absolutely no chance that someone like you could threaten Sevet �

� alright then � Raymund bit back his irritation and attempted to keep his mind focused He rolled his shoulders and his eyes flashed as the image of the nine tailed fox behind him pulsed with power He opened his mouth and roared while a spectral projection of an enormous fox head rushed forward to rip into the waiting Sevet Sevet raised a small hatchet and briefly pulsed with a massive image that Raymund was barely able to sense before he had smashed aside the attack

Congratulations Your Skill Furious Bite (Un) has grown to Level 279

�Hmm � Bat wing made a few more notes �What would you say is the dominant emotion of your image �

Raymund frowned still somewhat disappointed that his attack had been so readily dealt with But it seemed clear that these individuals were veterans of actual fighting against Nether so Raymund tried to console himself with that information Yet beyond the fact that his attack had been easily neutralized a rather unexpected question was waiting �What do you mean dominant emotion �

�Hmm � All of the assistant overseers hummed in unison this time Somehow Raymund felt like he had failed a test that he hadn�t been told he would be taking

Bat wing frowned down at his notes not even looking at the awkward feeling foxman �What would you consider to be the primary motivation of your image �

� do you mean my motivation for making the image � Raymund asked

That finally earned the direct focus of the assistant overseer�s gaze But it was not a positive emotion that colored the batman�s face with derision �I�m asking you why your image exists Raymund Ballast Does it not even have a reason to exist If it doesn�t want anything how could you expect it to be a powerful image �

To that Raymund could think of no response Even Techet had never exposed a crazy idea like a created image having its own desires Part of Raymund was becoming increasingly frustrated feeling like this was a joke How could an image have a dominant emotion What could an image want

Yet at the same time Raymund couldn�t deny that images were deeply connected with emotion His people had thoroughly documented that images with powerful emotional connotations could achieve significantly superior results with the same amount of effort It was why young children were encouraged to design their images of the nine tailed fox with features from their parents That way they would feel more personally connected to the image and emotionally invested

And in a way isn�t asking what my image wants a roundabout way of asking what I want Raymund�s subconscious had him shivering in dread before he could stop himself And if it�s what I want

�Well anyway that can come later � The Bat Wing said �What is the highest Rarity Skill you possess And it�s Skill Level �

Raymund�s mouth immediately felt very dry He opened his mouth to say that he would prefer not to say but he stopped himself it would only draw more attention to Raymund�s greatest shame if he did so Besides these overseers were not from his planet They would not understand the connotations of his Skill�s name

After clearing his throat Raymund responded � Fiero�s Audacity It�s a Legendary Skill But its usage is a bit inappropriate So it is only Level 49 �

�What is its usage �

Raymund�s snout twitched �It steals things �

That set off a flurry of note taking but eventually the three assistant overseers were finished The Bat wing shooed Raymund away in a clear dismissal �Alright head back to the surface You have more training waiting for you soldier �

Lady Iellaya cautiously walked into the room and looked around for any sort of disturbing signals in the surrounding decor Lucky the heavy and expensive furniture that filled the room struck her as relatively normal The servant of the Wick household bowed and vanished into a side passage leaving her alone in the ornate library Despite the fact that Lady Iellaya felt very little attraction to the physical trappings of wealth even she was swayed by the swanky decor

The areas of wall not obscured by heavy wooden shelving were decadently strewn with wine red paint and dark wood trim Between ancient tomes that seemed to radiate barely perceptible hints of image were heavy brass and iron instruments of indeterminate purposes Lady Iellaya wandered closer to one in particular her eyes scrutinizing the interlocking cranks and modules for some functionality Yet all she could really glean was the heavy metal of its construction and the abstract complexity of its purpose the specifics determinedly eluded her

Lady Iellaya took a step back and spun on her heel to view the whole of the room The entire place was strewn with similar inscrutable mechanisms likely deriving just as much of their value from their current ambiguity as from their true purpose

She likely would have started taking closer looks at these curios had Commandant Wick not quickly arrived at the room gliding confidently through one of the heavy doors Despite his bulk he moved quietly across the plush carpet of the room She made a mental note of his relative stealth for future reference Lady Iellaya habitually snapped out a salute and she registered the flicker of approval on his face

But then Commandant Wick waved his hand At ease soldier This meeting well it�s more of a courtesy call than anything else Our business here is strictly unofficial

If anything this only increased Lady Iellaya�s wariness even as she calmly nodded Commandant Wick was a brutal authoritarian but he safely existed within the rigid confines of military structure Lady Iellaya was not within his chain of command although she had worked with him on this recruitment drive Ultimately his ability to bring his personal power to bear was largely limited Meanwhile during an unofficial visit

Sit please Commandant Wick said gesturing at a plushy leather chair Lady Iellaya silently sank into the seat her entire focus on the powerful man in front of her as her weight gradually shifted to the expensive piece of furniture With every polite action Lady Iellaya was becoming more and more unnerved This did not seem like the same Commandant Wick that had tortured her and snubbed her for months

Heh I�ll get straight to the point The Commandant�s dark eyes weighed Lady Iellaya carefully seemingly amused by her obvious suspicion You snuck one past me this time This Randidly Ghosthound is far more competent than you portrayed him at the interview But I can see why you did it Had I known the truth there was no way he would have been the selected candidate

Even as Lady Iellaya�s pupils dilated Commandant Wick held up a hand Relax I am not so petty as to hold you accountable for taking advantage of my own hubris But I do need a definitive and completely honest answer from you right now before this becomes even more costly to reverse will your Ghosthound prepare the elite squad for deployment

For the first time Lady Iellaya could see past her own nerves and see some of the smaller details about the Commandant His usual poise and sense of unassailable power was a little worn at the edges His image remained monolithic and tightly controlled but beyond that he truly seemed exhausted

Lady Iellaya frowned what happened

Commandant Wick grimaced The announcement will come tomorrow evening no matter what But even now we don�t know the extent of the damage We thought we thought we had the Nether forces locked down to one corner of the Fifth Cohort But early this morning they somehow hijacked a portion of the Nexus Ways Several of the reclaimed worlds have gone silent once more In addition Forward Command was assault directly A Commandant was slain by the rogue Nether King

Lady Iellaya froze Even before she thought about what that fact might mean for her career she wrestled with the enormity of the fact that a Commandant died They were the twelve most powerful individuals in Military High Command She had met all of the Commandants in the past Any of them wouldn�t absolutely demolish her in a direct conflict Yet one of those powerful Commandants had died

We have underestimated the enormity of the threat this time Commandant Wick�s eyes hardened and although Lady Iellaya wasn�t the target of his ire she barely suppressed a shiver being exposed so directly to his emotion In one week I will personally head to the frontlines to stabilize the situation But because of the severity of the threat the elite squad can no longer remain as idle as its creator�s had once hoped So let me ask you again will the Ghosthound prepare those soldiers for the realities of the frontlines

His dark eyes seemed to grip her by the throat His voice was mild I hope you understand that I will both know if you lie to me and kill you for such a transgression Now is not the time for political posturing There is a genuine threat to the Nexus We need to come together to handle it decisively before it spreads further

Chapter 1513

Randidly floated downward in the Web the hollow spine at the center of the Nexus his eyes narrowed as he carefully monitored the churning mass of chaotic Aether that was blasting up from below At this depth there basically wasn�t any wall fixtures that provided a reprieve from the seeping gloom He had already gone past the place where he had helped temper Heiffal and his crew for a week seeking to draw closer to the weight of significance at the core of the Nexus

In terms of absolute distance Randidly wasn�t sure how far he was from the bottom But at this point even ten meters deeper downward had Randidly�s Grim Intuition warning him that this was a dangerous descent

Still unwilling to risk losing himself for a time in this mass of significance Randidly slowed himself and grabbed a cord so he would not fall any further There he carefully examined his condition and discovered Grim Intuition wasn�t exaggerating the threat of this space it was currently a negligible effect but Randidly could feel some of his ancillary thoughts vanishing into that mass of significance below Thoughts without a sizable backing in significance or emotion were too light to currently resist that pull

It was easy to extrapolate from the fact that even Randidly was currently being affected by it how someone could have their mind deeply wounded by direct exposure The Nether Nebula in his chest furiously churned almost as though it was trying to justify itself in the face of the obviously much larger Nether stewing below the Nexus Thick veins of Nether flowed through his body struggling to ground him

Randidly settled himself onto a cord and adjusted his mental state He watched the steady ebbing of some of his ambient Nether away from his body through half lidded eyes The core of his Nether Nebula was safe but some of the Nether that flowed through his veins was being steadily leached away

Whatever is down there is strong Randidly reflected

What was peculiar about the process was that the flows of Nether left his body from strange angles They then wound their way downward in peculiar spirals Randidly couldn�t determine any rhyme or reason for the methodology but since it was strange he studiously observed the stolen Nether Perhaps in the future this spiraling absorption would help him make sense of how to utilize Nether more generally

But when it seemed he had seen the same curling spiral over and over Randidly turned his attention inward His skin continued to darken the Aether here volatile and frothing against his body Into that horrible churn of this by product energy Randidly opened himself and dumped the emotions that had been steadily refined by the Stillborn Phoenix over the past few days

As had happened previously the almost gelatinous emotions were partially inert as Randidly released them into the surroundings having been refined down to a condensed form But as the emotions encountered the raw Aether and more impurities were introduced the substance seemed to catch fire The entire process was invisible but Randidly�s newly tuned senses could detect the way that the energy flowing upward had increased in image temperature� as it were The violence and desperation of the emotions shot sharply upward

I hope I�m not inciting any riots in the Nexus

Shaking his head slightly Randidly turned his attention to below looking into the flowing river of Aether runoff Then with the Stillborn Phoenix almost trembling with excitement he began to breathe deeply of the dubious flow Yggdrasil quickly wove a net of branches to filter out the energy and leave only the emotions as the Stillborn Phoenix greedily drank

Congratulations Your Skill Tide of the Void has grown to Level 251

Congratulations Your Skill Abomination�s Grim Vigor has grown to Level 364

As Randidly sat and waited for the Stillborn Phoenix to sate its appetite for emotions he reflected on the current conundrum afflicting the Grim Chimera With all the tempering that he had put the Grim Chimera through in the past month he had greatly hardened its exterior While the recruits had been running laps Randidly had been within his nearby training pod experiencing a physical strain almost triple what they were enduring to continue to push his own limits The process was excruciating leaving his arms and legs covered with giant oozing gashes akin to the result of ripping away a scab prematurely

Despite all that force that he used the rough exterior of the Grim Chimera only grew back hardened even further He was a butterfly stuck within a calcifying cocoon strengthening his own prison with his struggles

Now Randidly wasn�t worried that he would be stuck in this form permanently But he did realize that it would require a powerful dose of necessity that he couldn�t generate for himself in order to escape this form Unfortunately it seemed like the Grim Chimera was going to stubbornly refuse to abandon its new crusty visage until it had to

Probably will need a mid fight power up god one of these days I�m going to fight someone who attacks without pausing to revel in my struggles and I�m going to be punished for this Randidly grimaced Then he received a message from Helen calling him back to the Fifth Cohort Rally Station So he finished up the emotional absorption and returned to the Overseer housing facility

He found them within the great hall on the ground floor which was generally used for meals Almost all of Randidly�s subordinates were gathered immediately warning him that something wasn�t quite right In addition the air in the wide gathering hall was heavy with worry Randidly frowned What happened

The situation in the Fifth Cohort has deteriorated Helen said immediately Lady Iellaya stopped by while you were gone and explained some of the gruesome details but she wants you to speak with her directly for all the information For our purposes we are lucky that our deployment hasn�t been accelerated She just wanted to stress that because the threat is becoming much more legitimate Military High Command won�t be able to protect our elite group as planned They will be deployed in high leverage situations as was advertised when they determined the Aether allotment for the project So our training had better be effective for all our sakes

Randidly mulled that over for a few seconds His first thought was of Vualla who should be deploying with the Xyrt Brigade to that area shortly But he didn�t dare contact her until she was off of the Xyrt Brigade compound Still Randidly understood Vualla�s personal strength She would not die easily

It didn�t completely alleviate his anxiety but it did allow him to shelve it and turn to the issue in front of them As for whether their training methods would be effective Randidly�s emerald eyes flashed with grim satisfaction You�ve finished the screenings right How prepared can we make them in the next three months How do they compare to the people of Earth

Helen and Heiffal exchanged a glance and Heiffal stepped forward to speak first Compared to the people of Earth these recruits have several distinct advantages First their base Stats and Skill Levels are generally almost one hundred higher across the board They have already been honed by professionals in terms of combat theory In addition they have had years to develop their individual images to the point of being capable Of course there are associated drawbacks They have a relatively rigid idea of images many were bewildered when we asked what their images want Others cannot think of a single idea for how to improve their images Perhaps even worse very few have handled legitimate challenges in the past There have already been a few mental breakdowns especially amongst Helen�s group The mental strain of actual combat is foreign to them

Helen cleared her throat Luckily there are some observable signs to give us a warning of an impending breakdown So it isn�t too much trouble to handle them But the group I�m dealing with they have a relatively weak resolve to begin with I can beat them into shape but I don�t believe they will continue to improve on their own after the training So the short answer is yes we can boost their capability past being able to handle a few Nether Beasts But the bottom 40% will never have a hope of rivaling a Nether Gatekeeper

Randidly pursed his lips and glanced at Heiffal What about your group If we don�t have even a few who can hold their own against Nether Gatekeepers it�s going to be hard to honestly refer to the unit as elite�

There are quite a few promising seeds amongst our group but I will say the preconceived notions about images are holding a significant portion back Heiffal glanced again at Helen Honestly I almost think we are going about this exactly the wrong way We do have three months after all I believe it might be better to break down the talented recruits with Helen�s methods and cultivate determination in the weaker ones with accomplishable physical training Success breeds confidence Once we have them all at a similar base state I believe these recruits will grow explosively

Randidly grunted And in terms of potential will these recruits be able to rival you and your men within three months Heiffal

Individually I doubt it I haven�t seen much evidence of a team spirit amongst them But there are several who could easily surpass me within that time If they embrace emotion as a part of their image and start opening themselves up to change they could surpass me within a week Heiffal replied

Randidly drummed his fingers against his thighs as he considered that He should meet with Lady Iellaya and discuss the details of what was actually happening on the frontlines as soon as possible But If he agreed to the switch in training methodology it would probably require that they lean on Randidly�s own images to accelerate the process The actual elites were all quite capable they wouldn�t be easy to breakdown In addition to that Randidly still wanted to explore the Stillborn Phoenix a bit more before he exposed the recruits to it But it would probably help their acclimation with emotions

Randidly glanced at Helen The look in her eyes told him that she agreed with Heiffal�s assessment Rather than trying to immediately improve the recruits� power it would be better to attend to their foundations first

Back to basics then

Fine let�s switch Randidly said Which means we are trying to send a message to the recruits with their performance in the first challenge against other recruit groups Meanwhile start rewarding the high performing recruits with Darkstar Coins Heh We will need to make that first individual who uses it part of the spectacle but I�ll make sure they benefit Any other ideas for shifting the training

Muareth stepped forward I think one way to spur immediate change is to mix sparring with Heiffal�s warriors into the normal training regimen The sooner we can make the recruits realize how weak they are in comparison to veterans on the frontlines the more quickly they will focus on improving Especially when they will feel like they are physically more powerful than Heiffal�s crew

Besides Heiffal added We don�t have many more constructions planned my boys are mostly sitting around doing nothing They can plan out training regimens but it would be better if they got to stretch their legs a bit while doing so Fighting the recruits directly will give them more knowledge of their Skills

No sooner had Randidly nodded in agreement that Helen frowned down at the ground Actually speaking about the construction I think I have an idea Let�s give the recruits some stake in the game

Chapter 1514

Charlotte Wick sat in her sturdy bamboo hut during one of their routine meditation hours and used a piece of charcoal to gently shade the arcing line on the page beneath her She kept her breathing slow careful not to upset her current project Almost instantly she frowned down at the paper and used her furry wrist to rub away some of the charcoal that wasn�t quite what she wanted Then she began again holding the piece of charcoal with only the tips of her claws barely daring to blink as she tried to capture the perfect curve of Overseer Helen�s cheekbones

It was a fruitless venture of course Her dozens of failed attempts scattered across the floor of the hut would testify to that But it was in seeking perfection that living beings could find meaning This was one of the few things she had learned from her grandfather that she agreed with

Most individuals seemed to assume that there was some perfectionist streak within the descendant of Commandant Wick that made her work so hard to create a secure house for herself Others opined that she wasn�t as strong as she wanted them all to think and needed to hurry back to the enclosed hut in order to hide how nearly Charlotte was coming to pieces after each training session

The point of the housing is a place of rest Charlotte shook her head slightly as she tried to find a non charcoally spot on her paws to rub away a stray stroke Why should they care if I use the house for its intended purposes The recruits should spend this extra energy training

After five days of grueling work despite how exactingly exhausting the training underneath Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound was most of the recruits were starting to force themselves to skip some of their �meditation� time to network gossip and recruit They played at being their ancestors with enough influence and power that their connections and words mattered They were children wearing formal suits and ballgowns several sizes too large

To Charlotte whose grandfather had long laid bare all she could ever be to him they seemed so foolish and shortsighted Of course Charlotte was also wasting this time Yet for whatever reason she couldn�t bring herself to care To Charlotte nothing was as fulfilling as the act of drawing Overseer Helen

Charlotte leaned back from her paper and chewed on her lip briefly She was currently trying to capture the grace that Helen displayed while fighting The sketch on the page was Helen spinning around with that look of incendiary determination on her face that seemed to consume all of Charlotte�s waking hours Even now with such an inferior copy sitting in front of her

She licked her lips

As someone who had never felt much of the slightest flutter from her heart while regarding the physical form of the opposite sex but had always been told the passion would come in time this matter was profoundly disturbing to Charlotte Not so disturbing that once she had a secure home that she hadn�t spent all of her spare time sketching the object of her obsession But Charlotte did feel deeply scandalized that the woman who seemed to have infected her subconscious was largely hairless like a newborn It was unnatural to Charlotte�s people

During coitus Overseer Helen was undoubtedly sweaty and slick like a fish or a slug The thought made Charlotte Wick shudder She licked her lips again

Outside her hut several groups of people were talking fiercely at one another in a fierce debate over something pointless There were brief flashes of emotion laden with threat between the groups but no actual fight broke out between the two sides This forbearance was less because the Overseers cared at all if they fought usually they encouraged the competition and reward the victors The real reason the recruits didn�t fight was that they had no gas left in the tank If they fought now today�s training would be a miserable marathon of physical fitness image shaping underneath a suppression field and sparring against the instructors

With twenty long hours until their next break That gulf kept them snarling but harmless

Clicking her tongue Charlotte regarded her most recent sketch critically The great tragedy was that Charlotte had never been present when Overseer Helen had actually fought She had seen the gorgeous Overseer walking around and lecturing but that was the extent of their interaction

Charlotte looked sharply up A group was boldly approaching her hut She quickly threw herself to her feet and stored away her charcoal and sketch paper within a rudimentary bamboo chest she had made Meanwhile she was internally lambasting these roving political press gangs How quickly you�ve forgotten that before the Fifth Cohort was invaded you were nothing but trash to those with true power Just like your parents and their parents before you the true players in the Nexus would have praised you endlessly and rewarded you with crumbs never allowing you the opportunity to become anywhere near as influential as you seem to think you are

And now for the first time in hundreds of years we get the chance to be something To train underneath someone who could give you control of your fate And all you can think to do is mimick your oppressor Peh

As the group arrived before her hut Charlotte opened her door and walked out It wasn�t currently raining but a low mist hung over the Eastern portion of the training grounds After five days of nourishing energy the ground was covered with a thick layer of grass The transformation was jarring With such heavy and isolating banks of fog rolling through the Rally Station and the consistently brutal training Charlotte felt unmoored for the first time in her life It was easy to forget what her life had been like to this point the hard moment to moment struggle of the training made everything else seem like a dream As she stopped before the approaching group the soft stalks of grass seemed to buoy her upward

The bamboo forest rustled as an invisible wind leisurely swirled overhead

The current Charlotte was even so bold as to tenderly draw Overseer Helen the consequences of which well she tried not to think about it Nevertheless it was the freest she had ever felt in her life Yet as she looked at the group of four that walked up to her hut she was filled with an irrational anger

Didn�t they understand the opportunity they were now being given So why

Why try and stamp out the otherness of this place and pollute it with the mundane

�Is there a problem � Charlotte said coolly as she weighed the group through narrowed eyes She recognized the leader of the group if only by reputation After the first day which seemed designed to give the Overseers a holistic understanding of the recruits the training had drastically shifted Currently aside from the horrible physical fitness and image critiques most of their training was being summarily beaten down by assistant overseers However it quickly became apparent that there was a hierarchy amongst the Overseers Charlotte for example was part of the top group that faced a rotating mixture of twenty or so Assistant Overseers that could rather casually suppress even the best recruits

Meanwhile Djark Quewn the red scaled draconian who strode confidently up to her hut belonged in the second group He was still incredibly capable but not one of the truly elite individuals in the elite camp Djark favored her with a wide smile refusing to acknowledge her tone �Hello Miss Wick I was wondering if you had made a commitment to a group for the wargames yet I think you will find that no other group can support an individual of your caliber as well as my group can Together �

�I�m not interested � Charlotte said sharply Then she walked past the group and toward the path Generally she found that a firm answer was the best way to deal with desperate individuals like this Because there could be no other explanation for why Djark would try and rope her in with such a baseless promise than desperation

Even he should know that she had no reason to waste her time with him

As she walked past them there was a slight stirring in the air Djark�s sharp fury radiated outward a few meters from his person with something close to a sharp temperature increase One of the largest surprises in the Ghosthound�s training regimen was the emphasis on emotions But the results spoke for themselves being conscious and purposeful about how emotions related to your image had paid dividends to many of the individuals in the training camp Djark and Charlotte included

But of course the distribution of those harvests wasn�t even

Without much effort at all Charlotte sensed that emotional outburst located it in the surrounding Aether and took great pleasure in smothering it She continued walking away leaving a fuming but helpless Djark Quewn behind her There was already a stark divide between the first group and the second group in terms of capability that was growing by the day The combination of intense training and rejuvenating mental energy helped those who were already the most powerful grow even more dominant There were exceptions but it was for that reason that Charlotte was so dismissive of Djark�s offer even in his play world he didn�t possess the capital to sway Charlotte Wick

But she refused to think deeply and waste further time Instead she resolved herself to go for a walk to organize the clutter of her thoughts She didn�t have a destination in mind so Charlotte simply wandered through the housing and garden area and examined the surrounding growth Even now the whole experience was slightly surreal Out of the already vibrant grass came an explosion of color fruits and vegetables in the designated garden plats The juxtaposition of violence and gardening seemed like a strange combination but one that attempted to balance out the horrible truth of being in the military

Charlotte slowed down to examine a few bright magenta and burnt orange daffodils that proudly thrust themselves up from an extremely well maintained garden But no sooner did she slow her speed to linger and delight in the bright eruptions of color than she sensed a vigilant individual within the nearby shelter lock onto her position Being more adept with their new utilization of emotions than the occupant within Charlotte could feel their worry and suspicion about her presence

Perhaps for entirely different reasons that she the resident was uneasy Because in the pretend world that the recruits were partaking in the individual within couldn�t resist an invite If his political backing outside of the camp was weaker than the other party he would have no choice but to agree to another�s demands

We fracture so quickly Like cold glass in abandoned windows

With a small sigh Charlotte wound her way forward through the eclectic mix of gardens she felt no need to be a source of stress for a fellow recruit But at the same time she felt a persistent melancholy that there existed very little comradery between the various recruits Part of it was play acting that so many engaged in but part of it was also the lack of cohesiveness that the Ghosthound forced upon them They did physical training together but they were generally split up to work on their individual images during the bulk of the training

In their free time each recruit had a shelter to erect and a garden to cultivate There wasn�t any communal building like a typical mess haul It meant there was very little forced exposure which might engender some sense of comradery Most of Charlotte�s information about her fellow recruits came from the few spars she had been able to witness

Of course that was supposed to change soon the Overseers had already announced that wargames would start to occur as part of their daily training after the challenge against another Drill Sergeant�s recruits at the end of the week And the reason that individuals were approaching Charlotte was that Overseer Helen had hinted that construction would be a significant portion of the wargames

As Charlotte remembered how close she had been standing to Overseer Helen when the perfect near hairless specimen had been delivering the news she couldn�t help but flush Her leather armor had truly been so perfectly fitted to her body that Charlotte�s imagination had easily been able to supply the likely elasticity of her bare skin If Charlotte could someday draw her claws across Helen�s

As one all of the recruits who were currently on the rest part of their rotation raised their heads and looked toward the source of the large noise A ripple ran through the lingering mist over the garden area But when there was no announcement came from the Overseers most recruits gradually settled back into their recovery time By this point solely using their image to move had become second nature to all the recruits but they still relished the chance to simply exist for a while without straining their image Very few were willing to tire themselves out unnecessarily to witness what was probably just a spar between a recruit and one of the assistant overseers

Yet Charlotte was one of those individuals After a brief hesitation she started walking toward the central training area despite the fact she had another hour of rest and meditation remaining All image reverberations were completely muffled by the Ghosthound�s influence on the surrounding area but a noise that loud could not have been made casually Likely someone already powerful had a breakthrough in their image and were now taking out five days of frustrations on their sparring partner

Charlotte both wanted to know who it was and to know how the Overseers would handle it

A smaller explosion echoed outward and Charlotte increased her pace She waded forward through the thinning mist that radiated out of the bamboo forest and quickly arrived at the central training area There it was easier to sense the image reverberations that still remained in the air from the collision And even more than that a very familiar cackle echoed out through the space the recruit who had experienced a breakthrough was DiOrtho Vant the individual who was already the most capable of the recruits

Vant�s shirt had been completely blown away revealed the dusky skin of his torso as he clearly struggled to breathe Yet his face was warped with a triumphant expression beneath his curling ram�s horns �Aha Take that I don�t need your shit advice about my image anymore you �

Charlotte Wick�s gaze could barely follow the movements in front of her For a split second her mind refused to believe what she was actually seeing One minute DiOrtho Vant was leering with a wide smile on his face over a fallen Assistant Overseer and the next Helen was there her fist brutalizing the fragile bones of his jaw Vant flew backward skidding across the ground like a stop across a still lake and eventually slamming into one of the training spheres around the central bell The Engravings of the sphere immediately flared to life reinforcing the construction so Vant was stopped dead

His body bounced against the ground and rolled a few times until his momentum was completely dispersed

Charlotte looked on with a thundering heart and sweaty palms as Helen folded her arms behind her back and walked over toward Vant �We are here to teach you the capacity for violence it is true And your quick adaption is a testament to our talent as instructors However it is with great disappointment that I note you have continually ignored the lessons on respect that you have experienced You are out of warnings Mr DiOrtho Vant Today is a punishment �

�Hehe � The recruit forced himself to his feet When he was standing he wiped some blood away that was dripping from his lips �What do I care if you beat me I can survive it Your Ghosthound puts up a tough act but he wouldn�t actually endanger any of our lives As long as just one of us gets hurt won�t the rest panic He will lose his �

Again there was a stuttered juxtaposition of two moments in time that Charlotte�s senses couldn�t quite catch Somehow Overseer Helen had crossed the distance between them and her spear was sliding beneath Vant�s breast bone with all the smooth surety of a spoon dipping into soup His flesh didn�t present even the slightest impediment to Overseer Helen�s thrust

Then Helen ripped the spear out then in a brutal movement that tore open Vant�s chest and she spun around bringing her heel toward his temple Although Overseer Helen�s speed was overwhelming Vant managed to react in time to bring up his guard Charlotte watched as his forearms cracked but didn�t shatter from the kick Vant stumbled several meters backward but his expression hadn�t changed

Keh like I said guhk

Overseer Helen slid her spear into DiOrtho Vant�s heart His eyes flared out widely

At this point Charlotte couldn�t deny that she was somewhat aroused That look of recognition on Vant�s face as he realized that Overseer Helen could kill him any time she wanted The fear and dread in his expression Charlotte gripped her arms as tightly as she could digging her claws into her own flesh Yet somehow she couldn�t tear her eyes away

Charlotte wasn�t sure what would happen next But then there was a soft pulse of an image from the Ghosthound�s tower Something that Charlotte couldn�t quite identify began to seep outward into the surrounding air

Instantly the fear on Vant�s face vanished His sneer came back just as quickly Aha See Stop mad dog before your master disciplines you

Oh shut up Overseer Helen rolled her eyes and brought the butt of her spear around She smashed Vant�s head into the ground with enough force that his scalp was ripped revealing a cracked skull beneath Then she gestured to a nearby Assistant Overseer as she skewered Vant with all the lazy indifference as if she was poking a cube of cheddar cheese with a toothpick Take him and throw him in the second training orb I need to go figure out what Randidly is up to

Chapter 1515

Randidly hummed to himself as raised his hands and flicked his fingers The motions were meaningless but he felt oddly empowered as he guided Aether out around the training area in a complex pattern like he was a composer keeping time for the symphony He tried to keep the individual Aether flows extremely bare but because of that it was hard even for Randidly to make sure the superstructure he was slowly erecting would fit his very exact specifications He pressed his eyes tightly closed and leaned forward splaying his fingers out in the air

Within the penthouse apartment that Randidly had commandeered of their Alpha Cosmos housing building one flesh and one metal fingertip guided the energy in a complex swirling weave that hung in the air Outside a much grander reflection began to emerge His heart began to thump in his chest His image physicalizations flared to life as the feeble streams of Aether kept trying to wander off of the paths chosen by Randidly

From Yggdrasil he took the vast Control from the Stillborn Phoenix he took an almost obsessive Focus and from the Grim Chimera he took the unwavering Willpower The thin flows of Aether soon began to connect The system began to flow forward building up momentum to sustain itself

The smaller version dissipated leaving Randidly solely grasping the convoluted mess that coiled in on itself above the oblivious recruits Then he released a breath through his nose

At this point Randidly and Neveah had basically utilized all the tricks they were able to decipher from Yyxtrix�s gift in order to create a vast Engraving that covered their area of the Rally Station In theory the Engraving should be capable of suppressing those within for increased training efficacy keeping outside actors form being able to peer within the formation and defending against unwanted intruders if someone were to force the issue So now it was time to get a little aggressive with Randidly�s training methods

Randidly couldn�t help but grin as he pulled away even more of the Aether he was manipulating What remained was gossamer and trembling emotion barely Aether at all

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Manipulation has grown to Level 252

Randidly released another slow breath through his nose He could feel the way that his intense focus was gradually warping the surrounding space around him In his chest his Nether Nebula began to accelerate as it pumped Nether throughout his body There was a groaning from Randidly�s physical torso as that innocuous grey bubble in the core of the Nebula slowly began to grow

The idea for this had actually come from Edraine when she had been talking about methods to earn Nexus Citizenship coins One common tactic employed by those of the Nexus to improve themselves was to expand their image having it take up the space of an entire world Then they began to purify it at that larger size so they could later compress it again and achieve a superior image She explained to Randidly that this was the generally acceptable final stage of reaching the Pinnacle

Randidly had his own spin on this technique

Gradually Randidly�s Nether Nebula slowed its rotation Then it stopped and began to spin in the other direction After a second of internal rumbling a tide of Nether surged outward through those carefully drawn pathways and filled the atmosphere of the Southern portion of their training area Almost instantly the entire area darkened as the chaotic energy dominated the sky

Those thin trails of emotion became the guild that drew the Nether down the paths of least resistance

The energy gushed like the fallout of a broken dam frothing and crashing unpredictably for several seconds as it engorged the trails left by the Aether Randidly�s expression tightened More and more Nether blasted out of his body gleeful for the scent of freedom after the long pooling within his Nether Nebula An inexplicable tremor ran through Randidly�s hands as he tried to continue his gentle guidance

Very purposefully he had constructed the framework for the Nether system in the sky above the training area So as the divergent flows bucked and crashed against each other it was in a space that wouldn�t impact the average training session But even Randidly didn�t expect such an explosive reaction from his Nether With gritted teeth he widened the scope of the Nether currents so some of the excess exuberance of the energy wouldn�t smash apart the whole structure More of the sky darkened but his creation remained stable

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 321

Randidly couldn�t help but smile as he struggled to retain control of the Nether ecosystem that he had unleashed in the sky Each individual flow was like a bloodthirsty eel struggling to escape Randidly�s tight control and descend toward the befuddled individuals looking up at the sky from below Heh my excuse of having Nether present in the training grounds to create exposure for the elites looks a lot better when it seems like I have control over the whole process

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 322

A bead of sweat oozed down his brow and then lightly traced the outline of his cheekbone His whole body was tensed to continue the struggle And Randidly might have continually fought and forced his will upon the Nether until it submitted had not Helen coincidentally climbed the tower to speak with him and moved within the area Randidly had given over to the Nether

At first he was horrified especially as the Nether paused and then forcefully ripped itself out of its previous moorings to rush toward her The Nether spiraled around Helen before Randidly could stop it And he knew that the presence of his Aether in the air and Helen�s body would largely blunt the caustic effect of normal Nether but

Randidly blinked Then he narrowed his eyes After studying the suddenly meek Nether around Helen and the Nether that furiously tried to push its way forward to touch her Randidly could only sigh That�s right Nether is the energy of connection Trying to build a system without any connections is impossible individuals naturally serve as the mooring points

Feeling somewhat hesitant Randidly lowered the writhing Nether System down onto the training area proper allowing it to interact with the recruits He could feel them stiffen as their bodies suddenly adjusted to the sudden sense of pressure now present in the air Even if his ambient Aether that filled the air and this Nether were compatible with each other and prevented the worst reaction it was still an alien sensation to most of the recruits

And in that brief pause Nether rushed forward and created an entirely organic network of flowing energy by using the various individuals as waypoints The energy became even rather obedient as long as it was flowing from one person to another it didn�t mind the direction it traveled

In addition Randidly could suddenly feel a few extra motes of significance settling within his Nether Nebula as the energy system around him made its path back through his chest before spreading out once more Randidly watched the entire process with half lidded eyes The goal was to mimic the expansion of images with Randidly�s Nether Nebula He would use this time to examine the way that Nether moved on a broader scope hopefully providing him with enough insight into Nether that he might make some headway with a Nether Class

Perhaps sensing that Randidly was largely done with his working Helen ascended the rest of the stairs to Randidly�s penthouse She knocked on the door and then opened it She peered around with interest clearly sensing the movement of Nether Is this another training method for the recruits or is it just for you

both But it will require direct attention on my part to weaponize the Nether to mimic the effects of an actual Nether Beast Randidly rubbed his chin examining the way that the Nether was behaving below Perhaps based on significance some of the original flows were thinning while others were thickening Eventually smaller Nether flows became obsolete and new ones were organically born between individuals standing near each other Randidly allowed the Nether to do its work Instead he glanced at Helen with a half smile Also did you enjoy that demonstration You stabbed that recruit through the heart It�s rare I�ve seen someone get under your skin like that

Helen rolled her eyes That kid needed to learn a lesson but I don�t quite think it will stick No matter how closely he comes to death if he doesn�t die he will continue to believe he is invincible A stubborn fool If we don�t kill him a Nether Gatekeeper surely will

I�ll work Nether into his training chamber Randidly nodded He had allowed Helen and Heiffal to head the training of the recruits but that didn�t mean he hadn�t been paying attention And over the past five days DiOrtho Vant was both the recruit who had improved the fastest and the only one that hadn�t had their attitude turn for the better in the disciplined environment Twenty four hours to start and if he comes out without learning his lesson we can just leave him in there for a week Any thoughts of revenge heh those reflection chambers will keep him honest

Maybe Helen just shook her head her long braid bouncing against her back But remember that we don�t have to just worry about him according to Octavius� report Vant�s backer is one of the most ancient amongst the recruits

Randidly pursed his lips a blood drinking psychopath who rose to prominence in the Third Cohort Certainly an unsavory character who would raise a descendent to think he was invincible not caring about the consequences

Make sure you think about the consequences before you punish him too harshly Helen jabbed a finger toward Randidly I get it Randidly I really do You are getting restless staying here and training the recruits But don�t bite off more than you can chew The rest of us won�t be able to survive it

Randidly waved a hand in irritation But the reason he was irritated was that Helen was right Sitting for the past few days on the Rally Station knowing that Vualla was about to be deployed against a Nether threat that had killed a Commandant one of the most powerful individuals within the military structure it made him feel like he was wasting his time here Randidly craved the chance to fight and work off the nervous energy that was filling him

It didn�t help that the Stillborn Phoenix�s emotional refinement meant that his emotions were becoming quite powerful Both with his images but also just for normal living All power came with a cost

Randidly forced himself to calm down In front of him stretched two and a half more long months of training these recruits And he would gladly take that time for his own training but he also craved more perspective about how he fit into the existing power structure of the Nexus After the fight with Kaan Swacc Randidly had definitely made some serious improvements That transformation wouldn�t be complete until he had finished the Grim Chimera�s metamorphosis but he was strong

Exactly how strong Well

Randidly shook his head and then refocused on Helen Was there something else

Yup Helen walked over to the table Randidly had rather casually roasted some meats this morning mostly a massive boar he picked up while he had been within his Alpha Cosmos and had been steadily snacking on the result while he had worked on his Nether system She picked up a piece and confidently popped it into her mouth A second later her expression brightened and she took a few more We got another scroll requesting a meeting But this one is from Commandant Wick himself

That had Randidly�s attention Suddenly he wished he had delayed activating the grand Nether array for a few more days Remembering that tightly controlled madness that he had briefly witnessed in the Commandant standing over that metallic being that had his physical form destabilized to the point of being an ooze the skin on the back of Randidly�s neck prickled was the request as the acting head of the military efforts in the Fifth Cohort

Helen shook her head Only as a doting grandfather according to the scroll But he would like a full tour of our training facilities and the opportunity to talk at length with you right after the first inter Drill Sergeant skirmish Seems like he�s hedging his bets The only reason we�ve been able to expand so freely is that everyone thinks we have his support right

Right Randidly rubbed his chin Well it wasn�t like he planned on hiding what he was doing here But he did wish he would have had some more time to act without anyone noticing But Randidly supposed that was impossible he was the head Drill Sergeant As the Fifth Cohort became more of an issue he would come under more and more scrutiny

Honestly the fact that outside forces had remained quiet for the first week was quite a blessing

Oh there is one other thing I forgot Helen now holding an armful of Randidly�s smoked meats said as she walked toward the door That other Drill Sergeant Banum Volopposett stopped by to pester to meet with you He says the Engraving Guild is very interested in learning about some of the runes you used They are willing to assist with your experiments if you are willing to share your insight

Randidly snorted Yystrix�s Engraving methods were one of the few advantages he had If they came with Nexus Citizenship Coins he wouldn�t mind it But otherwise

Chapter 1516

Charlotte Wick walked calmly next to Benjamin Rex accompanying the slender young man toward their destination They hadn�t arranged to meet like this but when they had seen each other the fell into step beside each other Charlotte resigned herself to the pitstop that she knew Benjamin would make but was glad for his company

Having a companion keeps the flies away Charlotte sighed inwardly

Of all the recruits Charlotte got along best with Benjamin One reason was that he was also uninterested in the political posturing of their peers A second reason was that he also had powerful enough backing that no one pushed him And finally because they could exist next to each other without either trying to start a conversation The peace was immaculate

They walked in glorious silence letting the sound of wind through bamboo be their only accompaniment The sound of their footfalls on the dirt ground became the baseline to a calm sonata Charlotte revelled in the experience right up until the point there was a barely perceptible shiver through the air and both of them stopped

Something was coming A split second later it hit them both

While Benjamin remained rather stoic in the face of the invisible reverberation Charlotte could only accept the sickening heaviness that came with this invisible energy with a grimace For several seconds she stood as still as a status trying her best to not think too deeply about the strange sensation of other that invaded her body Her stomach flipped over urging her to vomit immediately but Charlotte stifled that impulse

In a way it felt like her skin was being peeled away but not painfully No the sensation was curiously numb But after her skin was peeled back these other perspectives slipped into the place where her flesh had once been While Charlotte�s consciousness observed from a distance those confusing and erratic invaders inflated her skin and pretend to be her right in front of Charlotte

Her skin crawled as the sensation continued to build It was a sensation that an image could affect not at all Charlotte could only endure it She pressed her eyes closed to block out that unfamiliar vision of herself in her mind�s eye and clenched her hands so tightly that her wrists began to ache This sensation had been occurring rather frequently over the past six hours described by the Overseers as a new training formation designed by the Ghosthound� Periodically everyone would experience this horrible exposure to Nether gradually acclimating them with a softened version of what they would fight against in the Fifth Cohort

If this was a softened version Charlotte certainly dreaded encountering actual Aether

But the immediately obvious truth about this array was that it didn�t affect everyone equally or at the same time The tremor that precipitated the Nether�s arrival was something that could be mysteriously sensed by those in the surroundings So sometimes the Nether would arrive at most of a group with tiny tremors then crash all together inside the body of the final individual leaving that person in something near a seizure

Everyone had their own experience with it too Some said it felt like their blood was turned to ice Others said that it seemed that tiny agents of darkness began to nibble at the edges of their senses until they were entirely isolated

Charlotte had the mysterious others that rushed under her skin

Over time it became obvious that the intensity these episodes weren�t random the Nether by design or chance favored certain individuals giving them a few seconds of agonized stillness every hour The recruits had taken to calling this the Ghosthound�s favor�

Charlotte wasn�t the worst recipient but she was in the top five

Truthfully a version of Charlotte that had somehow achieved nirvana would have calmly agreed that the process wasn�t without benefits When that strange sense of foreign observers being present in her body left Charlotte found her mind was clear and calm Her image seemed especially robust in the aftermath In addition she was gradually becoming accustomed to the sensation She recovered much more quickly afterward

But the sensation was still horrible She felt like a well used piece of leather armor worn and then tossed to the side The clarity came from being discarded and left with a strange hollow sensation in her chest

The Charlotte Wick who had been spent all her life receiving benefits� from Commandant Wick didn�t trust those benefits for a single moment

Charlotte let her breath hiss through her teeth as she raised her head and looked at the sky Those strange observers seemed to mutter to each other and roam along the length and breadth of her body Her extended muscle fibers hummed with their passage as if their invisible feet touched lightly against her bicep and quadriceps as they trotted back and forth The visitors seemed to multiply until their innumerable whispers tapped at the interior of her skull Her body resonated like the string section of the orchestra right before the show starts

Much more persuasively this time her stomach made its case for vomiting Although tempted Charlotte refused once more She clenched her jaw

After the peak the sensation began to fade One by one the strange visitors trotted their way out of Charlotte�s body leaving her with the same sense of numb satisfaction as an intense workout The horrible otherness of her own body receded fading like a nightmare before the calm light of morning Gradually she could open her eyes Charlotte released a shaky breath

Benjamin looked at her in sympathy You are truly favored

I suppose so Charlotte sighed Then without any further comment on the incident the two turned and continued their journey forward along the dirt path She would have been quite happy to move without any further reference to the incident but to her surprise Benjamin spoke again

There is a pattern you know To the Nether arriving He blinked his pale eyes twice as though consolidating his thoughts physically in his vision Each word was exactly spoken then without hesitation Even now this is just a theory based on the infrequency of the arrival and how little time has passed but I spent my meditation hours chasing the ripples The Nether seems to flow and gather together

For a second Benjamin trailed off But then he raised his gaze and looked directly forward through the mist covered idyllic gardens in front of them to one individual in particular And then the Nether spreads out and starts the process all over again Everything is gradually funneled inward then dispersed

Charlotte pressed her lips together The few people like her were truly unfortunate But above them one recruit clearly received the most agonizing Ghosthound�s Favor his episodes lasting for a full five minutes before he was released from the Ghosthound�s cruel grip And no one who was near enough to experience the thunderous reverberations of the Nether�s arrival would deny that even the worst episode another experienced was only half as violent as his

They arrived at his shabby shelter to find Raymund Ballast sitting up and panting There were no real walls to the building it was just a slanted roof on stilts to keep the rain from soaking him Currently the framing of the shelter just added the vulpine�s pathetic appearance His luscious auburn fur was matted with sweat The ground nearby was covered with deep claw marks likely inflicted while he was in the worst of the Ghosthound�s favor

Raymund glanced upward as the duo approached and shook himself to wakefulness His movements were still slow and seemed clumsy Charlotte and Raymund were not close but both appreciated the company of Benjamin Rex although clearly for different reasons But Charlotte was willing to get used to the Vulpine�s presence if only just because Raymund Ballast was another individual who didn�t partake in the politicking of the training camp

Benjamin glanced at Charlotte as though apologizing for this different variety of companionship that required verbal interaction which he shared with Raymund and then looked back at Foxman It seems like the episodes are getting worse

True Raymund Ballast stood His two tails once bushy and lively now hung limply behind his body They twitched as Raymund stretched It honestly feels like the Nether is it�s going to sound weird but digging something inside of me Like its a construction crew blasting apart something inside of me in order to create a tunnel through a mountain My Overseer Advisor says that once I have grown accustomed to what the Nether is doing it won�t be so troublesome

That caused Charlotte to frown and enter into the conversation Do you like your Overseer Advisor Allowing the Nether to adjust your body might be

Raymund�s expression brightened and he stretched out his arms toward the sky it seemed clear that he welcomed the change in conversation topic Oh yes I actually think she�s the first Overseer to actually listen to what I am saying about my image I want to be stronger but there are some things I am just unwilling to do

Meanwhile Charlotte warily watched the Foxman move Although he looked somewhat bedraggled at the moment he was still one of the most physically intimidating individuals in the training camp He was three meters tall and his forearms and shoulders were thick with cords of muscle The Nether training might be extracting a brutal toll on him but the physical training was polishing his already significant gifts in that regard

Before she had witnessed Overseer Helen Raymund Ballast was the sort of aggressive physically impressive male that Charlotte had believed she would eventually mate with Assuming they were compatible his offspring would possess many desirable traits

Oh she doesn�t think you should change your image Benjamin asked pulling Charlotte�s focus back to the present

Raymund�s bright expression faded somewhat Well she still insists I should change my mindset But she says I don�t need to change in any particular direction Just that my image growth is clearly weak so it�s obvious that it�s not an effective image

The three stood awkwardly at that Despite the fact that Raymund had been the only recruit to make it to this elite group purely on merit and his initial capability was very impressive his growth since then had been rather mediocre At the moment Charlotte suspected he was still one of the twenty strongest recruits but others were swiftly catching up It was an abrupt fall from his status as fifth in the initial tournament

Again Benjamin glanced at Charlotte before he broke his silence Hum Well it�s good that you found a good match I too enjoy my Overseer Advisor He is surprisingly observant And recently he has been teaching me a strange game from the Ghosthound�s homeworld called bowling It apparently assists with focus and image control

Wait Charlotte blinked in shock You like your Overseer Advisor too

Raymund and Benjamin glanced at Charlotte while her features were marred by confusion Eventually Raymund scratched his cheek awkwardly You don�t like yours

Raymund�s disbelief somehow left Charlotte speechless Her tongue moved in her mouth for a few seconds gathering her thoughts He sometimes just Doesn�t seem very reliable

Two days ago every recruit had been assigned a personal Overseer Advisor Their training still involved a slew of Assistant Overseers that would spar with the recruits but these new Advisors were specifically individuals they would never fight with Instead these individuals would serve as mentors interacting with the recruits during their meditation hours or time within the bamboo forest In addition they would provide recommendations as to methods to improve the recruit�s images

During the few interactions between Charlotte and her Overseer Advisor she had left the meeting with a bit of a headache Her Advisor was verbose to say the least And seemed much more concerned with his own heroic escapades than assisting with her image

Well anyway Benjamin said sensing Charlotte�s sour mood He looked again at Raymund Are you prepared for this

Raymund grimaced Ugh of all of the individuals to be the first one to get a Darkstar Coin why did it have to be that dog but I guess I can bear it since we are getting free time to watch the redemption Have the Overseers announced what he will receive for the Darkstar Coin

Yes Benjamin smiled and Charlotte found the expression from the slender humanoid slightly creepy Vizzeret Clamman will be joining the Overseers for a training exercise He can select any five Overseers to assist him and then they will then protect Vizzeret for ten minutes From the Ghosthound himself who will be trying to kill him

Chapter 1517

When Raymund first realized what turning in the Darkstar coin would earn for that foolhardy dog he first remembered the ominous silhouette of Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound and he couldn�t prevent himself from shivering Both the Ghosthound�s impressive visage and the very real difficulty and effects of his newest training formation were fresh in Raymund�s mind he couldn�t imagine trying to stand against him Even for only five minutes

He wondered how long Vizzeret would be able to last He hoped the result would be embarrassingly short

Then Raymund�s jealousy began to fade and he held quite a bit of genuine anticipation toward Vizzeret�s struggle to survive even with Overseer help

But that thought made Raymund pause as the trio began to head to the Southern training grounds Exactly how powerful is the Head Drill Sergeant that he can overpower a group of any five of his Overseers within five minutes

The three of them walked quickly forward Raymund still wincing internally at the dull ache that ran throughout his body after experiencing the Nether array With the deeply frowning Charlotte behind him as she seemed to be reflecting on her own distaste for her Overseer Advisor the group traveled in silence It was almost comfortable

A lot of Raymund�s sense of intimidation had been beaten out of him by virtue of simply being next to all of the so called elites� in the training camp but there was something about Charlotte�s fierce expression that made him unwilling to offend her Even now she left him slightly on edge

Gradually they joined a larger group heading South a series of exhausted and morose figures coming from the bamboo forest or from the individual training chambers As they passed the central area someone turned in a Tree Coin and an invigorating wave of energy crashed against Raymund�s body The group released a collective sigh of relief With the lingering damage from the Nether still present Raymund savored the warm sensation of comfort that he felt from that mental energy before it began to gradually fade

As more people gathered the bubble of Charlotte�s stormy mood was slowly suppressed by the weight of numbers The excitement of witnessing their Head Drill Sergeant fight was infectious amongst the recruits hopping from individual to individual until they were all exhibiting symptoms They had seen his images felt the capability of his subordinates and experienced his brutal training programs Now it was time to see such a capable individual in action

And at Vizzeret�s expense Raymund thought smugly

The flow of recruits soon arrived at the huge trench dug in the center of the Southern area which they hadn�t yet had the occasion to use Wargames would start after the skirmish but for now it was just a low muddy area that they walked around to get to their own training pits Currently Assistant Overseers directed them around the edge of the massive ditch spacing themselves out as they wished to witness the challenge The three of them quickly walked along the edge until they had about thirty meters of the side to themselves

As they settled to watch the action was already beginning below Overseer Helen stood with her arms crossed as she weighed the massive grey dog in front of her like she was calculating how much edible meat hung off his oversized bones Her clear voice echoed through the surroundings as I informed you previously the rules are simple This is both a training exercise and the chance to earn a personalized lesson from the Ghosthound himself You will select five Overseers to help you fight the Ghosthound Should you survive five minutes you will receive your special lesson

But frankly Overseer Helen smirked At your current power both in terms of physical Skills and image you are nothing but dead weight It will therefore be the thankless task of the Overseers to protect you from the Ghosthound while you struggle to survive A thankless task So have you selected the five Overseers that will assist you

While Vizzeret worked his jaw below and considered his choices Raymund put his hands on his hips up above and spoke quietly I wonder how powerful exactly the Ghosthound is

I wonder that as well said a new voice Raymund twisted around and discovered that a rather scrawny reptilian that he didn�t recognize had somehow snuck up on their group But from the reptilian�s uniform and the subtle touches of image that radiated outward from the man it was clear that he was an Overseer Then the reptilian turned and beamed at Charlotte Miss Charlotte Took me a bit to find you Didn�t I say that I would be waiting on the Western side of the gorge This is the Eastern side

Charlotte bowed mechanically her furred face inscrutable Advisor Salazar I apologize It must have slipped my mind I just wished to watch the challenge with my friends

Raymund tried not to look as shocked as he felt

Don�t worry don�t worry comradery is an important element for everyone Advisor Salazar flapped his hand and settled near the other three clearly joining them for the duration of their stay Ahem but as I was saying even we wonder how powerful the Ghosthound is these days Ahem ahem let me give you just a bit of c context There we were standing on the battlements of the Ghosthound�s thorny castle as the Nether King invaded

Shouldn�t we pay attention to the challenge happening below Charlotte interrupted warily

O oh I s suppose that�s true Advisor Salazar seemed to wilt like a flower visibly disappointed that he didn�t get to tell his story Meanwhile Raymund was somewhat alarmed as he observed his own image in relation to this Overseer There was something about the lizardman�s aura especially while he was talking which put him perfectly in harmony with the surroundings And weirdly Raymund felt some of the exhaustion in his physical body beginning to heal while he was standing nearby to the Advisor

That sort of healing was something Raymund had rarely witnessed in his existence He spared a single glance for Charlotte You might complain but none of these Advisors are weak

Below Vizzeret shocked exactly no one when the first Overseer he requested was Overseer Helen She sighed in defeat but said nothing After that he cleared his throat and said Overseer Heiffal As he did so there was a rumbling chuckle from behind Raymund Heiffal is capable as a leader but his fighting style is too blunt to be useful in a challenge like this Especially against the Ghosthound He is not one you fight directly

This voice Raymund recognized so he was already bowing as he turned around Advisor Zauna Who should I select if I obtain a Darkstar Coin

Me She replied simply Then she folded her arms in a position that meant the conversation was over While Benjamin and Charlotte sparred glanced for the stony exterior of Advisor Zauna Raymund looked back below at the challenge After the two obvious picks Vizzeret listed off the names of three other Overseers that he didn�t recognize They steadily trooped out to surround Vizzeret

Helen grinned up at the sky but her words were clearly meant for Vizzeret Are you ready You should activate your image as much as you can Because once things start there is no turning back The Ghosthound will come with the intent to kill you

Taking her advice seriously Vizzeret shook his head and unleashed his image He pawed the ground as he did so revealing his nerves A horde of gleaming golden furred dogs manifested around him surrounding him protectively These spectral dogs raised their noses and sniffed the air looking for danger

Unfortunately for that fool Zauna said quietly In an effort to make the challenge fairer the Ghosthound will come without using his images So any Perception Skill looking to catch the whiff of an image will be useless

Right after Vizzeret manifested his image the five Overseers glanced at each other and then spread out to surround the grey dog at a distance of about eight meters Each of them flared their own images to life even the weakest of which dwarfed the dogs� display sending a thrill of pleasure through Raymund That is until Helen unleashed the full extent of her image and the entire several hundred meter trench became a churning sea of crimson blood

Even standing just at the edge of that sea applied so much pressure to Raymund�s body that he could barely move Overseer Helen�s image was awe inspiring The crimson flows that lapped up against his feet felt so thick and real that a part of Raymund doubted this was an image If he were to compare this effect to what he could accomplish with his nine tailed fox

This is why they say my image won�t cut it Because my ethereal eternal nine tailed fox will never have the punch of this concrete existence

From the side Benjamin spoke toward Zauna Is the Ghosthound truly this overwhelmingly strong He does not even need his image to fight against us

Just watch Advisor Zauna glanced over at Benjamin with her flinty eyes The common sense of the Nexus says that the Path to power lays directly through images Randidly Ghosthound does not believe that is the case Or rather he believes that the entire self is worth cultivating as you hone your edge Now watch closely or you will miss him as he arrives

At his Advisor�s words Raymund rolled his shoulders and narrowed his gaze While the tides of blood churned below Raymund turned his face upward and looked for the brutal forthcoming blitzkrieg from the Ghosthound Low clouds lay overhead seeming to hint at the impending descent of a threat

The wind traced its slow progress through the dusty Southern area rubbing up against Raymund�s fur Below the golden hounds of Vizzeret flicked their ears back and forth The five Overseers stared straight upward seeming to sense something the rest of them did not

and nothing in particular seemed to happen

Eventually Advisor Salazar giggled You t tease them too much Zauna You know the Ghosthound is going to make a show of it

As the lizardman Advisor spoke the Ghosthound did indeed reveal himself purposefully He came down slowly floating through the air toward the exhibition area The space around him bent and warped making the descent extremely smooth His person seemed to grip his surroundings so tightly that he could bend and twist them as he wished

As one all of the recruits looked at their Head Drill Sergeant and slowly began to frown Because the form that floated downward to challenge the five Overseers and Vizzeret was not the complex and strangely harmonious horror that they had witnessed when he spoke for them No this form was entirely humanoid His hair was black Both his eyes were visibly luminously emerald although it did seem to Raymund that the left eye was slightly darker

Is that really the Ghosthound Charlotte whispered

Just him when he�s about to show off Zauna huffed but her eyes held a deep respect for the figure who alighted on the edge of the deep ditch The Ghosthound was also much more casually dressed than he had been in his display before them earlier wearing only a beaten pair of leather shorts and an angular grey chest armor In his right hand was a long spear with flaring leaves along its shaft

Watching the small movements spear Raymund couldn�t help but blink Randidly�s hands were still but the weapon was undulating slowly the spear was alive

But the longer that Raymund watched the Head Drill Sergeant the more he realized that there was one other particular detail about the man that floored him After experiencing the training array for the past few hours there was no way he would miss the unmistakable tang of Nether that covered the Ghosthound�s shoulders like a mantle And in a quantity that left him petrified

How can he contain so much Nether within his body Benjamin whispered

Salazar pounded one of his hands softly against his chest as though to clear some phlegm before speaking Hum The G ghosthound is currently a near p perfect replica of how much energy a Nether Gatekeeper has That is the foe he wants to raise you to beat In the grand s s scheme of the N nether army they are pretty common

Chapter 1518

Charlotte Wick looked in wonder at the swirling mass of Nether that hovered around the Ghosthound and felt a genuine twinge of fear The way he had warped space on the way downward took on a sinister edge His shadow was long and dark falling into the massive ditch If anything the lack of the monstrous features of his images laid bare exactly how dangerous Randidly Ghosthound was as an individual It made sense that even her grandfather would encourage her to seek this man out and try to win his favor

But then some of the details of what her Advisor had said registered with her As someone who had been in the periphery of Commandant Wick�s existence she had some understanding of the power of the creatures of the Nether And although Nether Gatekeepers were a nightmare for the average soldiers So right now he is as powerful as a Nether Gatekeeper

Advisor Zauna snorted and cast her a rather impatient glance He has as much energy as the Nether Gatekeepers girl In terms of power well at least three of the Overseers chosen could fight a normal Nether Gatekeeper to a draw Helen might be able to kill one and wound another at this point Now watch what�s about to happen and tell me how powerful he is in comparison to that rabble

Charlotte pressed her lips together and kept any flush of embarrassment from rising to her face Advisor Zauna was right it had been a foolish question Of course a more talented individual could do far more damage with the same amount of energy as

Charlotte paused because she realized that her own Advisor was looking at her with a sympathetic gaze Somehow the lizard man�s eyes managed to convey don�t take it personally Zauna is mean like that to me all the time I thought it was a reasonable question� Gritting her teeth Charlotte looked away from her advisor She wasn�t sure what pissed her off more that Advisor Salazar continued to act like he and she were very similar or that she so easily could read his intentions after barely knowing him for a few days

Again she wondered if she could switch Advisors

Luckily most of her anger ebbed as there was movement from the demonstration in front of her Even the surly Advisor Zauna straightened and focused on the Ghosthound as he lightly rolled his shoulders and then glanced down toward Overseer Helen His voice reminded Charlotte of the wind light where it touched your skin but massive in the way it managed to move the entire sky Are you prepared

Instead of answering Overseer Helen just spared a glance for Vizzeret The grey dog raised its head proudly refusing to bow before the waves of pressure that the Ghosthound was releasing The golden dogs around him followed suit I am prepared

The stone lip on which the Ghosthound had been standing shattered as though he had been an unholy apparition that had been banished from this realm by Vizzeret�s words Yet as soon as the noise of shattering stone reached her Charlotte understood that she was about to miss what happened So she pressed her lips together and activated the only Skill taught to her personally by her grandfather A Warrior�s Poise

Charlotte�s fingertips tingled Her pupils dilated The details before her sharpened And then and only then was she able to catch the barest blurs of the fight occurring at high speeds between the Overseers and Randidly Ghosthound

While the Head Drill Sergeant pierced sharply down toward the clearly unprepared Vizzeret Heiffal accelerated upward to meet him Meanwhile Helen twisted around seized Vizzeret by the scruff of the neck and then bodily tossed him back into the waiting arms of one of the Overseers The golden dogs turned fuzzy and then vanished Her charge taken care of Overseer Helen whipped around and glared up toward the approaching Ghosthound

Overseer Helen�s immense image exploded into motion so many different flows of crimson energy wrapping around to bind the Head Drill Sergeant that Charlotte couldn�t even begin to count them Yet without even seeming to break a sweat the Ghosthound ripped through them all

His body moved but Charlotte couldn�t quite pierce through his speed to any of the details

How high is his Agility Charlotte�s eyes widened

The Ghosthound impacted Overseer Heiffal his spear flashing Charlotte couldn�t catch what sort of attack he used but Overseer Heiffal deflected off to the side like he was an unwanted pest Before the Ghosthound could accelerate forward and attack the still limp Vizzeret another Overseer intervened swinging a massive hammer toward the Ghosthound Meanwhile Overseer Helen stood with her eyes narrowed the crimson flows of energy around her gathering and darkening

The whole of Overseer Helen�s image seemed to be exploding with fury but the time interval was just so short

The moments began to accelerate as the various participants became more serious Three images flared to life from Overseer Heiffal the Overseer with the Hammer and the third Overseer that was waiting behind the hammer wielder to assist with stalling the Ghosthound

The Ghosthound reached out and blocked the hammer with his bare left hand Somehow Overseer Heiffal regained his balance mid air and pounced back toward the Ghosthound from the side Charlotte wasn�t able to tell if he had any injuries

When the Ghosthound�s hand touched it the hammer shattered into a million tumbling pieces Simultaneously the Ghosthound�s spear seemed to split into a dozen different serpents that lashed out at the gathering Overseers from different angles three strikes for each

Congratulations Your Skill A Warriors Poise has grown to Level 203

Still about fifty meters back from the main action Vizzeret�s paws finally hit the ground At the same moment Helen�s feet left the ground and an enormous shadow expanded to fill the space around her body A shadowy maw ghosted silently forward in her wake Charlotte�s eyes twitched as she struggled to follow the Ghosthound�s movements and could only make out seven blurs where his spear used to be

Boom Boom Boom

At almost exactly the same time all three of the Overseers gathered around the Ghosthound were smashed into the ground creating three small craters The Ghosthound�s spear once more settled into a singular weapon His bare toes touched the ground Overseer Helen rushed forward glorious and perfect in her surging momentum The crimson flows continued to seethe powerfully Charlotte was concentrating so hard her eyeballs felt like they were vibrating

The Ghosthound stepped forward even as Vizzeret belatedly flared his image to life once more The golden dogs returned but they were greatly diminished by the Ghosthound�s influence Nether swirled around the antagonist�s body thick and foreboding

Dunn

The arena was cut with the sound of two spears colliding For a brief instant both the Ghosthound and Overseer Helen were brought to a standstill That enormous shadow had shrieked and expended itself finally stopping the Ghosthound�s advance Even more shocking all of the bubbling potent power of the crimson tides in the surrounding area suddenly turned sluggish Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound had completely suppressed an entire image Domain with just a Gatekeeper�s worth of Nether and so much physical power that Charlotte couldn�t believe it

It was the only even exchange of the entire challenge

Charlotte�s eyes were locked on Overseer Helen�s shifting muscles She could practically feel the heat of the blood pumping through her body as she struggled to retain her balance

Congratulations Your Skill A Warrior�s Poise has grown to Level 204

The Ghosthound recovered from the frozen moment first moving with a preternatural smoothness that more rightly fit his more monstrous body than the humanoid form he currently wore Nether or no Once more his spear became a blur Blood spurted out of her side as Overseer Helen struggled to adjust her guard By the time her eyes widened in pain the Ghosthound was moving past her

With a roar Overseer Heiffal leapt in from the side and

was smashed into the ground with enough force to bounce him a full meter back up into the air Behind them all the pieces of the shattered hammer continued to tumble through the air The Ghosthound�s spear once more settled back into a singular fearsome entity within his right hand

In the next instant the Ghosthound crossed the distance to the final Overseer standing next to Vizzeret The Nether flowing through him followed him like a cloud corroding the images in the surrounding space

Go Charlotte couldn�t help but whisper as she saw Overseer Helen leaving a shining trail of blood through the air behind her caught up to the Ghosthound The bearwoman�s heart was pounding as she saw the gathering shadow

not next to Overseer Helen but beneath the Ghosthound�s feet it seemed the brilliant Overseer had planted a trap there perhaps understanding what sort of foe they faced in the Ghosthound His pale emerald eyes turned downward

The shards of the hammer finally hit the ground tinkling lightly

Congratulations Your Skill A Warrior�s Poise has grown to Level 205

There was no surprise in the Ghosthound�s expression as he regarded the gathering shadow beneath his feet just a mechanical recognition of the appearance of a threat Yet somehow that expression was exactly the most chilling glance that Charlotte could imagine she had often seen a similar expression on Commandant Wick�s face when he was contemplating certain unsavory matters

BooM Crack

The shadowy image was smashed to bits by the Ghosthound with raw physical force Charlotte didn�t need heightened senses to detect that feat the very ground beneath her feet shook from his stomp Then he twisted around and slammed the butt of his spear against Helen�s side She adjusted and blocked but her spear still splintered from the strike and she was sent flying

Just as the last Overseer�s image was rising Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound thrust his spear forward with no discernable time pause between his strike against Helen and his thrust The Overseer was skewered and tossed to the side

Congratulations Your Skill A Warrior�s Poise has grown to Level 206

There was an extended moment when Vizzeret raised his grey head and met the pale eyes of the Ghosthound In the next moment there was a splatter of blood left on the ground and the huge animal was skidding across the ground its limbs broken and limp The golden dogs were shredded like paper

Time seemed to stand still as the Ghosthound stood with his spear raised gazing after his recruit as the VIP in this challenge tumbled across the ground to a stop Charlotte�s mouth felt very very dry Overseer Helen�s image which had become a constant crimson hue cast over the entire event gradually faded it was clear that the result had been decided

The Ghosthound frowned over toward the inert form of Vizzeret You have failed to survive for the required five minutes According to my Skill you have managed to endure for four entire seconds By all possible metrics it can be considered an embarrassing failure

Then the Ghosthound folded his arms and turned away He raised his eyes to the sky His expression was mild he didn�t even seem disappointed However you were still the trailblazer who dared to turn in the Darkstar Coin first For that ambitious display Overseer Helen please provide him with another Darkstar Coin An opportunity to redeem yourself in my eyes In the future Perhaps far in the future

Without another word the Ghosthound opened a portal and vanished As the overt heaviness of his presence gone the watchers gradually relax Next to Charlotte Benjamin shook his head That is a cruel reward to receive

Raymund nodded in agreement The vulpine had a complicated expression on his face as looked toward the broken form of Vizzeret Only four seconds huh

Chapter 1519

Randidly returned to his penthouse apartments and the first thing he did was walk to the center table and pop a piece of smoked meat in his mouth Helen had seriously raided his supply meaning he would likely need to smoke another boar in the next few days if he wanted to keep it around as a snack But right now the main goal was to give his body something to do while his mind whirred Thoughts clicked into place like tumblers giving him a clearer view of what had occurred today

First and simplest even Randidly was surprised how far his body had come since his fight against Kaan Swacc He had always been strong overwhelmingly strong compared to most individuals who utilized Aether But in the past he would have said that it was still quite difficult to suppress a manifestation as powerful as Helen�s image solely with his physical prowess and some Nether But now

And while the growth of his various physical passives was part of it the real culprit was the recent institution of the Nether in the training camp As Nether flowed between the various recruits significance gradually accumulated and was eventually deposited within Randidly�s body As a result his Nether began to gradually change Although he lost some of his own significance in exchange to fuel the process the reason the process was so valuable was that the significance released seemed to beget more of itself as it spread throughout everyone

Honestly it reminded Randidly of information he had learned about the banking industry back while he was in college Randidly acted as the central bank lending out his own significance to various individuals to get the process started Then those individuals utilized that loaned significance to improve their own lives and by extension enriched the loaned significance The more significance they had the easier it was to generate This enriched significance was passed on to others where it continued to circulate to the point that it returned to Randidly very much more valuable

In the back of his mind several new methods for attempting to create a Nether Class began to ferment He felt like he was very close to achieving a breakthrough on that front

But the big reason that Randidly was so shocked that he had silently returned to eat a few bites of meat and the reason that he was briefly distracted enough during the challenge to unleash a full strength sweep that nearly killed Recruit Clamman was because this system of significance had somehow triggered his Dreamcatcher of the Long Night

Although he had taken the memories of challenges in the past from present individuals and that had boosted his Dreamcatcher all the way to Level 99 he had never been connected to said individuals during the process With the introduction of the Nether array and although the array clearly favored recruits over Overseers for reasons Randidly hadn�t quite figured out yet the connections had finally been present during the process

A shared moment had been saved

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night has grown to Level 100 Congratulations Your Fate has reached maturity

Randidly cracked his knuckles For a second he allowed himself to relish in the completion of this Fatepiece it had been a long time coming And hopefully the cost of its usage would dramatically decrease now that it had been completed It would let him deviate more meaningfully from the past without forcing him to endure a vicious headache afterward

Then he reached within his interspatial ring and removed the blank canvas that he had obtained from the tomb of Yystrix Each Fatepiece was connected to an important individual or aspect of his life The Philosopher�s Key was tied to himself while the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night came from his father Randidly had fought against admitting this for a long time but Yystrix had carefully shaped him to his current capabilities Whether he liked it or not she was the one who had given him the tools to survive in the Nexus

While within his interspatial ring the canvas had rolled up into a scroll To Randidly�s surprise there was no notification when he retrieved said scroll out of the ring But as he held it within his hands the fingertips touching the Fatepiece buzzed with potent energy

The benefits to my Leveling was a sharp increase in Focus but a small decrease in Control Randidly released a breath and unfurled the scroll It wasn�t until the blank page was completely open before him that a notification popped into existence in front of his eyes

Congratulations You have obtained the third piece of your Fateset the Visage of Obsession Lvl 1 The Alchemist is differentiated from the common man by one simple truth he will not stop on his Path until he discovers the key ingredient to create the impossible Yet even the great Alchemist cannot completely escape the flaws of his mortal coil at least not without a reagent The Visage of Obsession is the ever shifting reflection of the Alchemist�s determination that borders on madness To a mundane viewer it is just a painting Yet to the Alchemist it is a potent catalyst to cleave the user�s mind from the limitations of a worldly perspective In the depths of Obsession reality begins to fragment

A strong enough desire can warp reality

Warning Once usage of the Visage of Obsession begins its use can only be delayed never stopped The user will experience ten trials that will test the limits of his obsession There will be a cost to passing each trial

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Visage of Obsession has grown to Level 2

Randidly decisively snapped the scroll shut and snorted to himself He barely even had time to capture the now revealed vivid swirls of color on the canvas before he stored it away It�s a bit late to tell me that the usage can only be delayed never stopped when I�m required to look at it directly in order to receive the notification Also I wonder what it means by trials

However unlike the prior two Fatepieces this one came with some implicit understanding of its usage even if that usage didn�t seem immediately useful Even with the scroll closed and the details of its actual depiction hidden Randidly sensed that all he needed to do to Level the Fatepiece was to spend time looking at it As for the trials and the costs for passing them Randidly wasn�t sure All he could tell was that the Visage of Obsession was used when he had a problem he couldn�t solve through normal means

As soon as he had an understanding of the Fatepiece he thought about his Nether Class issues But the lack of immediate clarity was enough to make him decide that he should spend some time addressing the current problems in front of him before he committed himself to stare at the painting

First tomorrow was the first scrimmage battle between Drill Sergeants To his own surprise Randidly found that despite the current plan to exhaust the recruits before the match and make them lose he felt an impulse to change his strategy His memories of the few other Drill Sergeants that he had met meant Randidly really didn�t want to lose

In addition there was the impending meeting with Commandant Wick who would no doubt have opinions on the outcome of the skirmish

But Randidly shook his head decisively as he put another piece of roast hog into his mouth The whole point of the Darkstar Coin demonstration and this first skirmish was to light a fire in the hearts of the recruits Hopefully this display would spark some enthusiasm toward physical training It wasn�t enough just to follow the program They needed to push themselves

Of course Randidly didn�t think they would approach his Nether Brawn he could easily overpower a Nether Gatekeeper at this point He had left the System limit far behind making him likely to be one of the most physically powerful individuals in the Nexus And Randidly wasn�t going to force the recruits to take his Path to break through the System limit But getting them closer would help them survive And make it vastly easier to handle a Nether Gatekeeper

For now Randidly could only wait to see whether the Darkstar Coin would have the desired effect Heiffal would observe the recruits over the next several hours and report back whether there was any noticeable change

In the meantime Randidly wondered if he should prepare anything for Commandant Wick�s visit Either as an extra indication of his competency or as a way to distract Commandant Wick from his true capabilities Specifically he wondered if he should think of a scapegoat for the Engravings that Neveah created He somehow doubted Commandant Wick wouldn�t have questions regarding this individual In that regard Randidly sent a question to Lady Iellaya asking for her advice

The fact that Commandant Wick had requested the meeting rather informally meant that Randidly felt less of an impetus to do either But Randidly knew himself well enough to know that this was partly his own desire to continue his training rather than preparing for this social interaction Shaking his head at his own bad habits Randidly walked to his window and looked out over the training area

A storm was brewing to the East driven partly by Randidly continuing to apply the gas to growth in the recruits� gardens but also in response to the recruits� emotions after the earlier demonstration Their introspection and gloom became ambient with the advent of their understanding of emotions as images even if they hadn�t quite realized it So the heavy cloud cover was a partial reflection of their current mood

Which was fine if they were content after watching Randidly crush five Overseers that had been repeatedly thrashing them for the past week he would be concerned for their futures as soldiers

Randidly let his eyes unfocus as he looked out at the clouds and instead peered toward the flows of Nether that had become part of the fabric of the training area The dark energy glided from individual to individual right now with a feather light touch passing so peacefully through them that none seemed to notice it running through them Randidly wondered whether they understood exactly how much the fabric of their physical body was being altered by hosting even if briefly Nether

Although the truth is I don�t really understand the long term effects either

What was interesting about the current flow was that it wasn�t returning to Randidly in the same cycle as it had for the past several hours He could see significance building below as the Nether spun through everyone and then back on itself but it didn�t yet return to Randidly The more Randidly observed this the more he realized that this was a characteristic of Nether rather than some defect of the system he had created

The Nether below was building to something within the hearts of the recruits and returning to Randidly would somehow spoil it Or perhaps it was better to say if he harvested it too early it wouldn�t be ripe So the Nether had shifted organically becoming something akin to an echo chamber for whatever significance the recruits would eventually subscribe to the event they had just witnessed

Randidly rubbed his chin If I make a Nether Class the ability to organically change would need to be a part of it Having a rigid structure like a Class wouldn�t work in fact perhaps the whole concept of Levels wouldn�t quite capture the growth of Nether

Before Randidly could consider that concept too deeply he received a reply from Lady Iellaya Do what you think is best But know that Commandant Wick is famously unimpressed with demonstrations and even more famously critical of a subordinate that doesn�t understand the importance of impressing his superiors

Randidly read that message several times It didn�t seem to become any more helpful on repeated perusals Basically Commandant Wick was the damned if you do damned if you don�t� type Which left Randidly shaking his head once more and walking back to the smoked meat on the table

As he popped another piece into his mouth he raised his head and peered almost directly upward into the sky Revelation energy flared to life around his eyes as he peered as far as his insight would allow into the future For the first minute he peered forward at what he should prepare for Commandant Wick but after that he shifted his attention Because while tomorrow was the Drill Sergeant Skirmish and then the visit from Commandant Wick the day after that was the day that Vualla would be deployed to the Fifth Cohort

Congratulations Your Skill Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold has grown to Level 333

Which meant that soon he could attempt to safely contact Vualla again but also that she would be exposed to danger Randidly pressed his lips together But then a thought occurred to him

He reached into his Alpha Cosmos and contacted his hitherto idle Riders He had vague plans on making them help with the training but he already had enough assistance with that due to Heiffal�s soldiers Meanwhile

Perhaps Vualla could make use of them They had some experience fighting the weaker Nether Beasts after all

Chapter 1520

Leaving his portion of the Rally Station to attend the skirmish between recruits immediately reminded Randidly that this place had been quite a dump before he had begun terraforming his area He walked alone toward the bleak and squat grey buildings at the center of the Rally Station while Helen gleefully took the recruits through the toughest physical training exercise yet Something that would really have them primed for the upcoming skirmish

At the very least the Darkstar demonstration had the desired effect the recruits are finally taking their physical training seriously Randidly reflected as he walked up to the central buildings He flexed his hand remembering the sensation of when Helen had struck him with enough force to stall him out Plus several individuals had breakthroughs with their image The weak willed ones are finally showing signs of developing resolve Growth is clearly trending upward

He paused outside the central building eyeing the guards who seemed to dread any sort of interaction with the fearsome Head Drill Sergeant Although he didn�t recognize the images of either of these two individuals the way they stared at the ground and imperceptibly trembled in his presence meant they had heard of his reputation

Which made Randidly feel quite awkward Not because he minded the reputation but because he had been so dismissive of Superintendent Xeruth�s missives that he legitimately had no idea where the skirmishes would take place He had wanted to come and ask these guards but seeing their expressions it seemed somewhat inappropriate for his persona to admit he didn�t know something

Not that he had no idea where the competitions were being held Randidly could sense that the near two hundred thousand recruits and two hundred Drill Sergeants were gathered at three massive caverns in the heart of the floating Rally Station But between them all Randidly wasn�t sure which he as the Head Drill Sergeant would be attending

Luckily Randidly was saved by a fool

Ah umm you Randidly turned and looked at the elven eared visage of Lay�mel Tuuellethe who clearly thought he had forgotten Randidly�s name when he had never even bothered to ask it But despite this obvious faux pas the strange Drill Sergeant�s face still split into a wide grin as he recognized him And here I thought you had been gobbled up by our Boogeyman of a Head Drill Sergeant Are you preparing for the skirmishes Indeed what a coincidence Why don�t we head over there together Hehe I wouldn�t mind sharing some secret training methods as we chat the growth of my recruits has been positively explosive

Lay�mel walked over and clapped Randidly enthusiastically on the back Meanwhile Randidly derived quite a bit of enjoyment from the way the watching guard�s scaled skins turning steadily grey as they regarded the unfortunate next victim of the boogeyman� Gradually as Lay�mel�s speed of pats on Randidly�s shoulder grew slower his expression grew more strained Ah why don�t you lead the way friend

Shit he has no idea where to go either And also this would have been me gambling that he is in the same grouping as I am

Still at least with the presence of Lay�mel Randidly had an easy method to escape this situation He looked over toward the guards his gaze as ominous as if he were holding aloft a gravestone without an inscription Each one of them could see their fates being sealed by his gave gaze One of the guards practically tripped in his haste to hurry over S sirs how about I guide you to the location It�s in one of the interior training facilities

With this minor inconvenience taken care of Lay�mel once more regained his cheer Excellent excellent excellent Anyway let me clue you in on some of the more savory gossip that I�ve heard Do you know of Drill Sergeant Pellmon

Randidly shook his head and spoke in a low voice that hopefully conveyed an ambiguous and tightly controlled emotion I do not

As they moved forward behind the sweating guard Lay�mel�s eyes practically glowed with excitement He kept fluttering his fingers outward like his arms ended in massive butterflies Oh indeed Well he is one of the most prestigious of the Drill Sergeants that was hired for this draft He worked for almost fifty years as an image purifier Very talented and powerful It would make sense that you wouldn�t have encountered him casually yet well it seems that Pellmon has extensive exposure to our fearsome Head Drill Sergeant They are from the same homeworld

What Immediately Randidly�s eyes sharpened There was a slight hitch in his step as his mind started to whirr considering who this could possibly be

Seeing that he had Randidly�s attention Lay�mel practically oozed satisfaction as he slowly nodded He waited to speak until the gesture was finished I was shocked too It turns out that the rumors about Drill Sergeant Ghosthound being from a world that hadn�t yet passed the Calamities yet were completely fabricated they were only thrown out there to keep us off the right track Meanwhile this Ghosthound was truly an old monster from the Fourth Cohort which explains why he is so close with Commandant Wick

As Randidly listened to Lay�mel he gradually relaxed It was clear that there wasn�t some other individual from Expira running around achieving success in the Nexus behind Randidly�s back the Drill Sergeants all just seemed to be incorrigible gossips So Randidly nodded along with Lay�mel�s enthusiastic explanations making small notes of all the different sins and traits that were ascribed to him Eventually he started removing the strange ones and focusing on the ones that amused him slightly Because there was a lot

Randidly wondered if there was a similar slew of rumors about him on Expira hopefully with a bit more truth to them

The rumors ranged the gamut from strange to shocking The Drill Sergeants said that Randidly Ghosthound has a Skill that allowed him to plant seeds of fear within his targets just by looking at them He could hear the utterance anytime anyone said his name (not that Lay�mel seemed to notice how much danger he was exposed to as he loudly explained this ability) and peer through time and space to examine their soul when someone attracted his attention

Randidly Ghosthound bathed once a month in a pool of blood that he had collected from worthy adversaries Randidly Ghosthound refused to allow windows in any dwelling in which he resided lest a ray of pure sunlight strike his body and even partially weaken his image of darkness Randidly Ghosthound collected rare metals and spent long hours training his body to discern the hardness of a material only by smell Randidly Ghosthound�s left arm was infected with a rogue image and tried to kill him which was why he had a metal left arm

Or otherwise the current Randidly Ghosthound was a rogue image that had parasitized the original Ghosthound and sealed him within his left arm

They also said that most of his training methods involved him and his special Dark Regimen� assaulting the recruits while laughing maniacally They casually bet about how near death the recruits would be afterward Although Randidly didn�t want to assume the worse hearing that rumor made him wonder if he should have a talk with Helen about cruelty during training sessions

But honestly based on their improvement speed maybe its best to leave that issue to the side for now

The tidbit that Lay�mel said had been revealed by Drill Sergeant Pellmon left Randidly staring blankly ahead for several seconds after he heard it Randidly Ghosthound was a two horned goat who masqueraded as a six horned goat after killing his father and grandfather and wearing their scalps to the point that they had become a rotting part of him

Each salacious rumor that Lay�mel Tuuellethe revealed seemed to be a physical blow that landed on the shoulders of the guard who served as their guide The lizardman kept his gaze to the ground as they continued forward Randidly almost felt bad for this individual who might head back to his home tonight and wonder whether his presence during this thoughtless honesty from the elf man would draw the ire of the fearsome Ghosthound simply because of proximity Perhaps he would assume the Ghosthound would hunt him down and kill him for even witnessing this

But there was little Randidly could do The benefits of his reputation still outweighed the detriments Randidly said a silent prayer that this random guard knew a good therapist who could help talk him through his persecution complex

Of course they ended up heading to the largest grouping of individuals beneath the surface it seemed that the Head Drill Sergeant would be the keynote event at the underground battlefield that had been raging on for longest They followed a tunnel down into the depths of the Rally Station the sounds of battle echoing up from below

Randidly might have been able to figure this out on his own but he didn�t regret the slight delay hearing these things from Lay�mel was useful Probably

Randidly drew in a breath and focused on the battle going on below him god he missed genuinely fighting The rumbles he could feel through the stones beneath his feet set his heart pounding And Randidly could sense that they were almost there Although the recruits fighting didn�t notice that their Head Drill Sergeant was about to arrive Randidly could feel several strong individuals within the enormous training cavern fixated on him as he approached

Although he was keeping his image relatively under wraps there were at least six people that were able to detect him anyway One was the Superintendent but the rest were strangers Randidly barred his teeth Good Looks like everyone worth knowing is already here Let�s make an impression

You don�t need to be nervous Lay�mel said interrupting Randidly�s thought process Then he slapped himself on the chest Worry not With me as your companion you will certainly be able to establish yourself amongst the Drill Sergeants Ah but where are my manners What is your name again As I�m sure you�ve noticed I am Lay�mel Tuuellethe

The guard in front of them flinched But Randidly just smiled They had reached the end of the tunnel There was only the doorway and the fighting beyond the threshold He reached out and put his hands up against the metal door as he looked over his shoulder at Lay�mel I know who you are Lay�mel I�m Randidly Ghosthound Thank you for the information

For several seconds Randidly held Lay�mel�s gaze He peered through his eyes to see the gradual realization that hit the elf man Because honestly Randidly was curious about what he would find within Lay�mel The man�s timing and obliviousness in the past two encounters was suspicious

After Randidly�s words traveled through Lay�mel�s ears reached his brain and he slowly digested that information in the context of the conversation they had been having on the walk down here Lay�mel�s reaction didn�t disappoint Behind the initial blank shock there was a wave of emotions that didn�t quite fit with his displayed persona envy fear and genuine hatred

Aha I thought you had the tang of the Swacc Family about you Randidly turned away and pressed open the doors Instantly he blasted his image outward and filled the air around the other Drill Sergeants with a stifling weight that was subtly backed by Nether there were too many forces conspiring around him to be passive any longer It was time that he begin lashing out and establishing himself

Fighting against the other powerful individuals was the most tempting option but Randidly was able to restrain that impulse Instead he would let his recruits speak for him for now Hopefully they would be able to put up a good showing for him despite the fact that they were outnumbered five to one At least then Randidly would have the chance to try and figure out exactly how many groups were making trouble for him

After pushing open the door Randidly�s gaze slid sideways There was a tremor from the surrounding images but they controlled themselves and allowed Randidly to be dominant for the moment As the largest of the four underground skirmishes there were above sixty Drill Sergeant�s present They came as frost giants metallic praying mantises strangely colored humanoids and a tiger with four wings For now Randidly ignored them all His gaze looked onto Superintendent Xeruth and he made a beeline for the official

As he moved toward the pale man the Superintendent twitched visibly as though suppressing the desire to look over Chuckling Randidly strolled forward and didn�t bother to call his attention over to him They were on an upper platform and the Superintendent was ostensibly looking over the side and overseeing the skirmish happening below

Randidly arrived next to the Superintendent aware of every eye on him He kept radiating pressure with his images but didn�t manifest anything more than his base physicalizations Then he waited for a few minutes Only when the skirmish had a clear victor did Randidly show a slow smile toward the Superintendent I trust you won�t mind if my skirmish is next

That is fine The Superintendent responded woodenly Signals were released and soon the two groups were summoned to the lower area Two hundred individuals faced off against a thousand And the comparison between them was almost laughable Randidly�s group was clearly exhausted with many of them still breathing heavily as they waited for the skirmish to be commenced In addition they wore torn and mismatched armor which was a stark contrast to the impeccable and uniform thousand red suits of armor that Randidly�s recruits faced

An unaffiliated Drill Sergeant raised a bugle and sounded the start of the match

By the end of the fight Randidly could only release a frustrated groan Is that really it

Chapter 1521

Is that really it The words echoed out through the training arena At the moment no one knew how to answer that question

Superintendent Xeruth suppressed his impulse to flinch as the Ghosthound spoke beside him with such raw disappointment The man�s presence and his ominous control over his son were already intimidating enough but Xeruth had steeled himself against the expected arrogance and endured the casual affront of having to put up with the Ghosthound�s expansive good but not great image In essence he had made quite a few mental preparations for what he might need to deal with from the Ghosthound

Yet the bewildered disgust managed to surprise Xeruth

Below the Ghosthound�s two hundred recruits looked just as bedraggled as they had as they arrived for the skirmish It was clear that they were bruised from earlier fights and near exhausted from the hellish training they had been enduring Superintendent Xeruth had been in contact with his son earlier in the week so he had heard some of the details of the Ghosthound�s methods And seeing their hollow eyes and shaking shoulders his son might have underplayed how hellish the experience was It made Superintendent Xeruth have an ominous feeling about why he hadn�t heard much from his son in the past few days

Still those bedraggled figures stood over the thousand crumpled forms of their opponents their matching armor smashed and battered They seemed just as bewildered as their Head Drill Sergeant sounded as they looked at their defeated foes

Is there a stronger group we could face Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound asked very loudly Again his voice echoed clearly out to the surrounding Drill Sergeants Before the fight that sort of question would likely have goaded one of the surrounding Drill Sergeants to aggressively speak out against him But now they remained silent the Ghosthound had sent a strong message with the overwhelming victory of his recruits

With this example made public no one could deny that there was a reason that Randidly Ghosthound headed up the elite two hundred man squad And as more and more details came out about how serious the issue was in the Fifth Cohort Superintendent Xeruth could understand why Commandant Wick thought it was necessary to bring in a brutalizer like the Ghosthound to train the elites In a way it was proof that Military High Command was taking this threat seriously

It was also proof that they had to take the previous threat seriously With the Nexus Aether Distribution Summit in Alymiyan which occurred once every ten years coming up in five months the High Command knew they needed to show results as quickly as possible to placate the populace

Then Superintendent Xeruth blinked because Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound was looking at him with his emerald eyes that were filling with increasing scorn Remembering the Ghosthound�s question Xeruth cleared his throat Unfortunately all the other groups were matched up against each other It it wouldn�t be fair

Hm Xeruth could feel the vibrations from the noise in his bones The Ghosthound frowned deeply but didn�t say anything Below Xeruth could hear one of the Ghosthound�s assistants announcing to his troops that break time was over and they needed to head back to training Without a word of complaint the troops below turned and walked out of the arena

As they did so Superintendent Xeruth panicked and frantically searched amongst the bodies for his son It was only when he found Kallum looking similarly tired but otherwise extremely healthy that he could finally relax a little Then his mind slowly turned to the issue of what he had seen in the fight

At the beginning of the confrontation the Ghosthound�s recruits had really been outmatched Not only were they outnumbered but it immediately became clear that they hadn�t much training in regards to teamwork With their tight formations and cohesive images the numerically superior opposing recruits had surrounded the elite squad and began to safely bombard them from afar

Yet the bombardment didn�t have the desired effect on the elite squad Rather than being disheartened and shocked by the attacks the elite squad seemed to have a realization that was something like oh this isn�t so bad� Then under the leadership of a few overwhelmingly powerful recruits the elite squad exploded outward and smashed apart the carefully constructed group images with brute force

Honestly their current fighting methods were closer to Nether than Aether But their image strength was the real deal

While Xeruth had been reflecting on what he had seen the Ghosthound had been considering The humanoid with dark hair cleared his throat Every noise he made seemed unnecessarily loud especially while surrounded by so many completely silent Drill Sergeants Well this won�t work Arrange for well at this rate five opponents for my recruits during the next skirmish In the meantime I�ll think about how I want the battle structured Is this understood

The man�s eyes were emerald yet there was something impossibly sharp about the determination in his gaze Despite the fact that the Superintendent didn�t find anything overwhelming about the man�s image there was an imperceptible heaviness to their interactions It wasn�t something that Superintendent had felt often in his life but he wouldn�t forget the source

Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound felt just as wild and unpredictable as a Nether Gatekeeper With the same gleeful capacity for violence

So Xeruth could only force down his disappointment and acquiesce with a nod Stay safe Kellum As long as we endure until the day you are deployed

After explaining his demands Randidly returned quickly to his own area of the Rally Station He didn�t even bother to scan through the parting crowd of Drill Sergeants to get a good read on which openly hostile emotions belonged to who In addition he barely had time to notice Lay�mel Tuuellethe skulking in the back avoiding eye contact before he walked into the stone tunnel and pulled out his Philosopher�s Key

Two things bothered him First and most importantly he had felt the arrival of Commandant Wick to his training area Just the Commandant�s arrival was enough to cause the Aether and Nether ecosystems Randidly had created to shudder Even worse the man hadn�t bothered to wait for an invitation and instead had directly pressed forward into the Aether Engraving around Randidly�s base Had Randidly not noticed what was occurring and designated Commandant Wick as an ally the Commandant might have simply ripped Randidly�s defenses to shreds

Which at least answers the question of how effective the Aether defenses currently are against true power Randidly thought darkly But he observed the ways that Wick strained the defenses and sent the details to Neveah so she could try and improve their formula

Meanwhile the other reason that Randidly was in a bad mood was because of the performance of the opposing recruits they had entirely failed to present a meaningful challenge for his recruits He had been distantly aware that his was the elite� squad which meant that most of his troops had been groomed to be capable enough Meanwhile the other recruits were desperate individuals from fading worlds in older Cohorts

The opposition had been trained in fighting in groups but it immediately became obvious that these other recruits hadn�t been exposed to Nether The changes that Nether was making to the bodies and images of his recruits were relatively minor but it added weight to them that their opponents lacked After receiving a few blows his recruits realized that the opposition was nowhere near as dangerous as their Overseers

Their strikes were light Then like a pack of wolves that smelled blood they struck suddenly and with overwhelming force

At which point the other aspect Randidly had forgotten about took over the natural recovery of the recruits underneath the System Without the array suppressing them they swiftly began to recover Stamina By the time the fight was over Randidly�s Overseers were almost anxious to get them back into the array lest they need another few days to adjust to the constant image exertion to move

Plus all their images have really solidified after needing to use them for everything Randidly frowned Then he tsk�d lightly Looks like we will have to up the difficulty for the next skirmish

With those thoughts Randidly returned to the central training area where Commandant Wick was hunched over Randidly�s personal training pod that he hadn�t even the chance to use yet inspecting the Engravings As Randidly closed the door behind him the massive bear man glanced over his shoulder then looked back at the Engravings Quite interesting the setup you have here Truly your physical body is impressive You�ve passed the System limit directly

Randidly nodded slowly The Commandant�s furry mouth twitched A pity Although you can achieve a small amount of success once you pass the limit being cut off from the System�s blessings comes with hidden costs Well anyway you clearly are capable enough now But not so capable that you can survive without relying on my reputation Hm

Toward the end Commandant Wick spoke with a rumbling tone that brooked no disagreement He turned around and folded his hands behind his back while regarding Randidly directly Despite his image physicalizations the Nether Nebula that spun in his chest and anchored him with significance and his extremely high Stats Randidly felt the edges of his vision darkening as he met the gaze of Commandant Wick

The Commandant�s aura was a study in opposition On the one hand there was an extremely demanding series of mental restraints through the Commandant that brooked no disagreement Those powerful bindings could suppress almost anything Even the dangerous scent of pure madness that hung across the bearman�s person

The shape of the image was still hidden but the image was so powerful that Randidly didn�t need to witness it directly in order to sense some of the broader strokes

Randidly�s heart rate increased and his hands grew sweaty as he resisted the radiating waves of pressure Each second saw him violently assaulted by the horrid madness that raged underneath the cage of the Commandant�s image Very deliberately the Commandant was testing Randidly

Randidly was powerful but before someone who genuinely possessed an irresistible image he still fell a bit short His hands curled into claws His Nether Nebula spun trying to steady his images but Randidly couldn�t muster enough dominance in the surroundings to generate his own images to fight back

Yet Randidly refused to back down even as the Commandant�s dark eyes seemed intent on smashing him into the ground breaking him open like an egg and poking through his secrets Randidly raised his chin and forced himself to speak You bet on me when you believed the Nether Invasion was a small matter but now that it is important you are unwilling to take the political hit by admitting that you knew nothing about my capability You are greatly relieved by my success right

Emerald eyes met black ones

Congratulations Your Skill Conviction of the Smiling Horror has grown to Level 355

I see we understand one another The Commandant�s face broke into a wide smile that showed his wide and thick yellow teeth His image receded like he had drawn a curtain across an open window to the deepest pit of hell And considering what you displayed in the skirmish today I believe we will have no problems cooperating Truly I appreciate capable subordinates Randidly Ghosthound Results will matter first in the military Do not forget that

Chapter 1522

After seeming to get the measure of Randidly through their brief confrontation the Commandant�s attitude eased immensely He then moved directly to the other purposes for his visit First he asked whether Randidly would require additional Aether to fuel his Engravings to assist in the training of the recruits Clearly he was now willing to provide more legitimate assistance than just his reputation Although there wasn�t much spare as Head Drill Sergeant he was entitled to some amount of energy allotment

Without thinking Randidly denied him there was no point in polluting his area with sub standard System Aether Then the Commandant chuckled darkly Heh so the crime that caused you to be conscripted is accurate You are a Heretic There are no problems with your status just know that I will thoroughly annihilate you if it ever comes to light you stole Aether from your recruits Because those recruits are also my recruits

From the way Commandant Wick glanced at him while he said that the threat at the end was just lip service Randidly couldn�t even sense the slightest stirrings of the aggressive Commandant�s emotions as he said it This meant that what was more important was whether such an act was discovered than whether it occurred That austere suppression apparatus that controlled Wick�s madness apparently didn�t rid him of his cruelty

Results will matter first Randidly thought with a chill

The second reason for the Commandant�s visit was more practical Commandant Wick wanted to ask whether Randidly could arrange the elite soldiers be arranged in ten person Squads prior to their deployment After examining the sporadic reports from the Fifth Cohort Military High Command had some idea of the Nether numbers Essentially things weren�t looking good for the recovery efforts

Twenty capable squads was the least Military High Command thought it needed to stabilize the situation

The goal would be to have each ten person squad capable of surviving the assault of three Nether Gatekeepers for a significant portion of time and of killing a lone Nether Gatekeeper given the chance Randidly could of course guarantee that he could create five such squads without thinking the top five recruits might be able to manage that themselves at the end of their training But to have all twenty of the squads reach that level

The Commandant stared at Randidly with mild eyes while he considered that task Somehow the Commandant when he was acting mundane was just as unnerving as when he displayed his erratic madness Eventually Randidly forced himself to nod It should be possible But I have to ask Which task is more important Killing one or surviving three

Surviving against three Nether Gatekeepers The Commandant rumbled

Which meant that he would need to have a talk with Helen and begin pushing the training in that direction But it also meant that the situation in the Fifth Cohort was even worse than Randidly had heard from Lady Iellaya

The last topic that Commandant Wick brought up was the one that took Randidly by surprise and was also the most distasteful to him In effect Commandant Wick told Randidly in no uncertain terms that if the situation in the Fifth Cohort dragged on for longer than planned he would represent Commandant Wick at various political functions This would be considered payment� for the favor of getting Randidly the job

Although from what I hear that wasn�t exactly what happened Randidly�s face twitched

Despite his general skepticism toward Wick�s claims of being owed a debt he didn�t try and refuse the pronouncement From Commandant Wick�s perspective Randidly was likely an ambitious young man with loose associations with Lady Iellaya due to coming up to his Commandship underneath her Now he was in the Nexus looking for means to advance

Letting Randidly serve as a political stand in would serve Wick two purposes The first would be to bind Randidly more tightly to him in the public perception Even if Randidly wanted to join some other faction in the future other individuals would be suspicious of him for bearing Commandant Wick�s touch so strongly

In addition it would in theory at least give Randidly a taste of what living under the umbrella of military high command would mean With all the honor and benefits that came with it Meanwhile there was no reason for Commandant Wick to suspect that Randidly was part of a secret cabal to overthrow the Nexus and the young man�s acceptance hinged more on access to the upper levels of the Nexus

Edraine would likely be very unamused if Randidly didn�t make use of such an opportunity

The only downside was the fact that Randidly would need to attend fancy Nexus dinner parties Or whatever the equivalent was here Which left Randidly feeling helpless and frustrated

But after that Commandant Wick left for other business Almost immediately Randidly couldn�t help but such in a deep breath the air tasted so clean and pure it was like he was drinking from a melt water stream coming down from the mountains Randidly was shocked by how much he relished the lack of pressure after the bearman left While idly wondering whether he would be able to reproduce such an oppressive aura with an Engraving to increase his training difficulty Randidly acknowledged that most of his eagerness to fight someone had been squeezed out of him by that interaction

Being near Commandant Wick was a reminder that the difference was still too vast He would need to improve before he could stand up against the truly powerful

So Randidly began making preparations to head into an extended training session Even if he stalled out in his investigations of the Grim Chimera and the principles of Nether he could still push his raw Skill Levels upward Each additional Level was a slight increase in effectiveness Eventually those slight increases would lead to a qualitative change

He had come this far through gradual and consistent training He wasn�t going to deviate now

Randidly contacted Helen and Heiffal to give them the goal of splitting the various recruits up into squads and have them be able to survive against three Nether Gatekeeper Then he contacted Edraine and talked a bit about what Commandant Wick had told Randidly That conversation turned out to be rather illuminating because she gave Randidly some information on the broader situation in the Nexus

Randidly had seen basically none of the proper Nexus due to how quickly things had moved when he arrived and his commitment to training but the situation in the Fifth Cohort was having some unintended consequences Beyond the ring of teleporters that Randidly had initially arrived on there were Outer Realms floating in space which basically amounted to giant middle class residential complexes And individuals with homeworlds in the Fifth Cohort formed a large percentage of the population in some of these mini cities

As the situation in the Fifth Cohort worsened alarm quickly spread

Under normal circumstances the discontent might have been vocal but ultimately without teeth but widespread Aether rationing since the creation of the Seventh Cohort combined with the fact the Aether yield from this Cohort was unable to keep up with the Nexus expenditures meant that there was already quite a few individuals who resented the Nexus They were all too happy to arrange destabilizing demonstrations questioning the decisions of Nexus leadership

The leaders of these demonstrations urged that the Nexus accelerate its timeline for armed intervention against the Nether threat Otherwise two and a half months from now the entire Fifth Cohort might be obliterated

After she relayed that news Randidly was silent for almost a minute before he sent a message back Reflecting on his meeting with Commandant Wick he recalled worry and grim determination in the military man Perhaps also a little bit of pride But there had been little genuine fear or empathy in his expressions Just so we are clear do we know if the Fifth Cohort is a net positive for the Nexus in terms of Aether

Edraine replied almost immediately Of course it is currently a drain on the resources of the Nexus

Randidly pressed his eyes shut At that moment he was back on Tellus as the hordes of the Second Calamity invaded He stood on the Hallat and constructed a vast Engraving formation that allowed him to slaughter the soulless drones And then afterward he had taken a shovel and dug graves

By the time he had attained the power to make a difference so many had already died Even now that feeling of emptiness haunted him

Very often in life Randidly was so busy with tasks he needed to accomplish that he never stopped and reflected on how he felt His heart silently bore the wear and tear of living without rest as he threw himself into one battle after another He was unfeeling only because he simply forced himself to process everything at light speed not worrying about how it was affecting him

But this situation in the Nexus this was not what he wanted This was exactly what he didn�t want To become a part of the Nexus leadership that might make the cruel calculation to delay action for a broader benefit while sacrificing lives in the process Randidly raised his right hand and pressed it against his chest His heart ached

Yggdrasil hated the loss of life The Grim Chimera solemnly bowed his head acknowledging the struggles of other creatures to survive in this brutal world The Stillborn Phoenix continued its heavy breathing It may no longer howl in the same way but its eternal obsession with accomplishing the impossible remained steadfast

This cruel world must be changed

Gradually Randidly�s eyelids fluttered and then slowly opened His eyes at that moment were luminous and green His three images swirled together driven by what he didn�t want and Randidly could faintly feel the edge of what he did want With that as the base utilizing three images at once

For now Randidly didn�t grasp at that emotion to affirm his theory of image cooperation He simply stood and allowed himself to experience those feelings He needed power Utilizing three images at once was a method to achieve great results but the only way he would continue to improve was to work on his images It wasn�t even about allowing the Grim Chimera to evolve what he needed to do was refine the potency with which he believed in those images altogether

His Conviction of the Smiling Horror was overwhelmingly powerful one of the highest of his Skill Levels But it still wasn�t enough He could push it higher

Randidly drummed his fingers on his legs For now the plan would be to spend the next three weeks until the next skirmish refining his own images During that time he would simply allow what was occurring with the Nether flows in the training areas to continue unimpeded When he came out of his seclusion he could study the results

Perhaps he could even use the principles he observed to create a larger version of the Nether system that he could spread across his Alpha Cosmos And an array on that scale would likely form a firm foundation for a Nether Class

Randidly flexed his fingers and looked down at the Engraving in front of him Time to see how effective these training pods really are

Chapter 1523

DiOrtho Vant roared in challenge and spread his arms out wide His flesh rippled and trembled as he allowed his signature Skill to do its bloody work Across his the span of his back his flesh began to ripple and tear as weapons forced themselves past the confines of his person and into the air carrying with them bits of shredded flesh as a testament to their journey

A broadsword with a line of gold along the center of the blade pierced directly out of DiOrtho�s left shoulder blade and proudly dribbled blood across his back A two headed ax cut out just above DiOrtho�s right hip Two spears with their white tassels stained with blood pressed up out of his shoulder

And at the core of him that deafening foundry continued to churn prepared to create more and more until he could grasp victory

Congratulations Your Skill Infinite Armaments has grown to Level 269

His shoulders heaved as blood dripped down and mixed with the mud of the pit He eased up on the Skill allowing his body to settle into this facsimile of a metallic and war mongering hedgehog

While his body trembled with something akin to ecstasy from the combination of pain and power of his image DiOrtho reached up and seized a middling sword with a slight curve to it that was pocking out of his right side The weapon cut into his hand as he seized the blade and ripped it all the way out of his body His side throbbed as he casually flipped the sword to grab the hilt He flexed his hand trying to squeeze out all the pesky blood that was making his grip slippery

Opposite the unflappable flame elemental Jieu Ronault tilted his head to the side as he considered DiOrtho�s display You truly are a masochist Is all of this sacrifice necessary for a spar

DiOrtho sneered All power requires sacrifice That attitude is why I�m the strongest and you are not

Jieu didn�t even bother to respond to the blatant provocation Instead he gestured sharply and conjured six pillars of frozen flames around DiOrtho�s position DiOrtho rolled quickly to the side then pounced forward at his foe Moving as smoothly as a conductor motioning his string section to raise a single note Jieu slid sideways out of DiOrtho�s path He then brought his hand up and a sea of flames fluttered weakly across the whole of the surroundings

Although Jieu�s strange flames appeared mild and somehow slowed the ram demon had personally experienced their power The heat they released was localized but overwhelming

Still DiOrtho ignored the defensive Skill and tightened his grip on the sword in his hand Some aggressive instinct in his chest told him that this defensive move wouldn�t be enough As long as he hit hard enough he would overwhelm the flame elemental So he planted his feet and he swung that random sword still perhaps two meters away from his sparring partner

The abomination of metal and gears that belched out smog in his chest groaned

Congratulations Your Skill Fang of the Ancient Machine Horror has grown to Level 267

There was an ominous buzzing as DiOrtho�s slash cut through the air At the same time a massive mound of clicking gears and servo engines loomed over the battlefield Jieu noticed the viciousness of the impending attack and raised the field of too still flames to a greater height but the enormous machine suppressed them directly Its attack cut through the ground and smashed into Jieu�s body

Physically there wasn�t any response from DiOrtho�s bloody slash the blow phased through the flame elemental with only the slightest flame ripple in response But the condensed Mana and image behind that attack hit a second later impacting brutally and causing the elemental to bubble and froth strangely

DiOrtho�s fingers tightened on his sword for a follow up strike just as the Overseer intervened

Stop Vant you arrogant piece of shit what don�t you understand about not being able to use physical attacks as a focus

The disciplinary from the Overseer burst was sharp and brutal It smashed downward between DiOrtho�s shoulder blades obliterating his Infinite Armaments Skill and instantly suppressing his image The attack caused DiOrtho to stagger wrath and pain mixing smoothly together in his body The concoction bubbled and smoldered as it flowed through DiOrtho�s veins The Overseer grimaced and cracked his knuckles A second burst of pressure struck down so fast that even the furious DiOrtho could only accept that he was being smashed to the side He skidded along the muddy ground and then rolled against the muddy wall of the pit

These self righteous shits DiOrtho fantasized about the day he was more powerful than them and could simply kill them all He knew that it wouldn�t be in the near future even if he could rival the various Overseers that followed him around and disciplined constantly DiOrtho felt quite a bit of fear toward the Ghosthound

So long as that man cast such a long shadow DiOrtho wouldn�t strike at his subordinates He might have an anger problem but he didn�t have a deathwish

After interacting with his crazed ancestor� on only a few occasions DiOrtho had learned to recognize the scent of one whose hands had been soaked in blood Someone who hadn�t just extinguish a single life but had reaped thousands Those few moments where the Ghosthound had seen fit to descend in front of them his capability for death was a palpable thing It lurked behind the darkness in his left eye just waiting for the chance to escape

When DiOrtho looked at it he realized how pale and wane his aggression was in comparison

DiOrtho lay on the ground and raised a handful of mud in the air above him He flexed his fingers and made a fist the sluggish sensation of mud squeezing through his fingers reminded DiOrtho of cooling blood As he lay on his back and looked past his muddy fist at the swirling clouds a memory flickered to the fore of his mind

How intriguing Usually attracting my attention means death The shadow leaned forward DiOrtho�s arms were severed at his elbows and his legs were severed at his knees The ram demon could only lie there and dread the figure in front of him The smile on the shadow�s face deepened But for some reason heh I like you I hereby adopt you into my family How generous right

Through that open mouth DiOrtho watched the shadow�s tongue curl in on itself Tell me how generous I am DiOrtho Say thank you to your new benefactor

Get up One of the Overseers walked over to DiOrtho and grunted out an order DiOrtho had a sudden surge of vicious intent to strike this Overseer but he quickly curbed it Although he couldn�t sense her DiOrtho knew that Overseer Helen was waiting for him to lash out She took great pleasure in punishing him should any of his transgressions amount to a serious offense

Simultaneously DiOrtho felt extremely sour and pissed off at his own reaction If it was the him of two weeks ago before the training had begun he would have lashed out without a thought Yet after only two weeks he was already cowed and well trained That thought made him laugh Which compelled the Overseer to frown and slam his foot against DiOrtho�s ribs

Although he wanted to appear strong DiOrtho couldn�t help but wince as his body was thrown a few meters into an even muddier portion of the pit The mixture of dirt sweat and old blood from spars clung to him For several seconds he just lay there and panted the Overseers were strong

Jieu Ronault who had been watching his fallen sparring partner the entire time with a conflicted expression on his face could no longer remain silent Truly my physical form is impossible to damage with attacks like that So it is not dangerous

Silence recruit Suddenly Overseer Helen was there crouching at the edge of the pit and looking down into the interior In her hands was a scroll which she snapped shut she had a small smile on her face It was never about punishing this misbehaving recruit although you wouldn�t know that from how much he constantly sulks No it�s about separating your instincts for image usage from physical movements and Skills Despite his other shortcomings our dearest Vant has grown quite a bit under our tutelage He owes us a lot even if he doesn�t want to admit it

I don�t owe you shit DiOrtho�s face warped into a bestial snarl His ram horns vibrated with his growing craving for violence Before this all consuming desire for revenge even the threat of a beating meant nothing

A pair of shadowy eyes pierced through the entirely crippled DiOrtho It was clear from its gaze that the shadow enjoyed this immensely Tell me how generous I am Or you die

DiOrtho was halfway through the process of leaping up and attacking Overseer Helen when the Overseer next to him smashed the but of his spear into the side of his knee Helpless DiOrtho could only collapse once more into the mud His face squished directly into a murky puddle of his own blood

Well that�s enough for today Overseer Helen clapped her hands Recruit Ronault stay here and we will arrange for another sparring partner for you This time I want you to try striking without any physical or pseudo physical movements to help ground your images just use your image Meanwhile Recruit Vant spend some time in the core of the bamboo forest I trust you won�t burn it down

DiOrtho sneered spat out a mouthful of mud toward the feet of the nearby Overseer but only because he resented the Overseers Honestly he quite liked the bamboo forest So he forced himself out of the pit and strutted away doing his best to project he aura like he had managed to achieve exactly what he wanted There was the chance that his confidence and oozing satisfaction would irritate Overseer Helen and get his training changed but DiOrtho was willing to take that risk

The whole point was to get under Overseer Helen�s skin

But she didn�t even seem to notice DiOrtho�s attitude When he glanced over his shoulder to check her reaction she was already gone So DiOrtho pressed his lips together and walked through the pot marked Southern portion of the training grounds He passed dozens of pits filled with dueling recruits their cries and images echoing upward into the sky Gradually DiOrtho�s temper cooled as he made it to the central area passing a few recruits being taken into the individual training pods

Even through the haze of frustration and rage in DiOrtho Vant�s chest he couldn�t help but feel a small amount admiration for Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound as he examined the images of the recruits he passed Within two weeks most of which the Ghosthound himself was absent the recruits had grown an explosive amount The weakest of the recruits had reached a level of image solidity and specificity that could have rivaled DiOrtho before he came to this camp As for the stronger individuals

Everyone now moved solely by relying on their image without even noticing They participated in the physical fitness training without complaint They cultivated their gardens and meditated in the bamboo forest Everything that had been so difficult and confusing and exhausting at the beginning fo the training camp was slowly becoming second nature

If only the Overseers didn�t have such fucking sadistic personalities DiOrtho thought thinking of Helen in particular He clenched his fists It�s exactly fucks like you that I�m going to kill first when I finally have that power

With such thoughts bubbling in his heart DiOrtho arrived at the rippling bamboo forest While most of the edges of the forest were a uniform wall of woven bamboo stalks there was a single entrance with a red gold arch near the central training portion Overseer Muareth sat there thoughtlessly with one of the Spider Overseers the two of them carefully weaving a web between two thick stocks of bamboo They didn�t even acknowledge DiOrtho when he arrived

After hesitating a moment to see if they would say anything DiOrtho began walking forward toward the center of the bamboo forest Almost immediately outside noise was suppressed The surroundings slowly turned gloomy as the tall bamboo chutes left the paths in shade These paths frequently branched out but DiOrtho stayed on the main path Around him the wind brushed lightly against the bamboo setting everything rustling

Suddenly a soft rain began to fall causing DiOrtho to stop on his walk and look upward at the grey clouds He reached up and slowly wiped some of the softening mud off of his face He felt a drop of rain on the skin of his now exposed cheek Then he continued forward

Chapter 1524

DiOrtho settled into a meditative position in the small dirt clearing at the center of the bamboo forest There was enough space here that the light arrived normally in this spot although the rainstorm meant that the ambiance was gloomy anyway

He faced away from the path he had taken to get here so all he saw was the bamboo reaching toward the sky The rain had intensified starting to wash the rest of the mud off of DiOrtho�s leather armor but he didn�t pay that any mind Instead he focused on finding that necessary emotional state to allow his Perception to spread out over the bamboo forest to its limits

It was difficult to ignore that surly urge to break and tear in DiOrtho�s heart And perhaps if someone was watching he would not have been able to do it During his earlier visits to the bamboo forest he had even been tempted to rush out amongst the bamboo and tear it to shreds Now Overseer Helen�s sneer as she told him not to burn it down taunted him The bamboo was a reinforced variety of the plant fed on Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound�s energy but DiOrtho still believed it would be possible

But he didn�t He breathed Through his teeth in a hiss but he simply breathed

As the wind picked up the rain slanted sideways as it passed through the bamboo and landed more directly on DiOrtho He closed his eyes The sounds of the tall shoots of bamboo creaking and groaning filled his whole perception His chaotic and violent thoughts were gradually rubbed away by the natural sounds of the surroundings

Congratulations Your Skill Metal Horror�s Discernment has grown to level 222

Each stalk of bamboo was about six meters high Despite that impressive height when the wind pressed down on the bamboo it freely allowed itself to bend farther than DiOrtho reckoned was possible It was a robust and flexible material that had some magical property of isolating sounds and sensations

Or maybe I�ve just been beaten so much I�m becoming dumb DiOrtho lampooned

Yet that thought was a distraction too DiOrtho released another breath His heart rate was gradually calming down His senses expanded The cool kisses of the raindrops became a part of him a part of the greater bamboo forest around him When it rustled he rustled He leaned as one more stalk of bamboo

The whole experience of the bamboo forest had struck him as rather pointless at first But then during one of the rare lectures the Overseers conducted on the subject of images Overseer Muareth brought up something very interesting That there were two discrete entities that were present in the bamboo forest that were also present in an image the collective and the individual

The collective moved with the wind but the individual lengths of bamboo each possessed their own singular movements as part of that collective

Partially it was circumstance some of the bamboo was simply screened from the worst of the wind by its fellows So while its neighbors might shake and shiver underneath the assault of the wind and the slanted rain its movements were exceptionally mild

Partially it was a result of the history of each bamboo stalk When was it born How much strain had it endured Was it able to obtain enough water through its roots Was it often exposed to wind These questions left tiny differences in the resilience of the material which led to different outcomes underneath the same wind Over the stretch of history an individual bamboo chute quickly diverged from its fellows

The wind began to pick up even as the rain began to slow The rustling grew louder DiOrtho�s senses carefully followed several individual movements in the surroundings Everything moved individual yet became a part of the seamless whole

Congratulations Your Skill Metal Horror�s Discernment has grown to Level 223

In terms of images what this meant is that an image should never just be thought of as a blanket to cover Skills It was not a rubber stamp to be slapped on every attack Images were comprised of key characteristics that involved the various portions of someone�s image So when DiOrtho now used certain images he would focus on and empower aspects of his image that were specifically related to the effect that he wanted That concentrated focus would give him a slight edge But over time it also would mean that he would grow more familiar with the various characteristics he possessed

He would live in the individual portions of his image as they were used Through that usage they could grow strong But the first step was witnessing and acknowledging how the whole and the collective couldn�t be separated

DiOrtho breathed in and then breathed out Gradually as his mind reached the proper outlook he shifted his attention to his own image The wind began to fade Seconds stuck to each other leading inevitably into the next ferrying DiOrtho along into the future

About a half hour after he had entered into the bamboo forest the cleansing wave of energy from the Central Bell restored DiOrtho�s flagging mind Sighing he stopped the work on his image Although it restored him to his peak mental state it also knocked him out of the proper perspective to continue refining his image With his sharper senses he stood up and stretched And he would have sat back down to continue meditating on the details of his own image but he noticed a maroon shadow in the sky

Overseer Helen was summoning them Her oppressive image looked coldly down over the training area

DiOrtho Vant pressed his lips together He was sorely tempted to pretend he had been so deep in his meditative trance that he had missed the obvious summons Overseer Helen had that unfortunate knack of being able to see through his lies but his refusal to come when called was just one more tactic in a whole slew of mental guerilla warfare

However DiOrtho spat to the side and then began the winding walk outside of the bamboo forest Rather than being afraid of being punished his primary motivation was that he was afraid of missing a demonstration by the Ghosthound

Damnit I need to find a way to earn a Darkstar coin DiOrtho punched his fists together with enough force that one of his knuckles cracked Not that he believed he had reached the same amount of power as the Ghosthound But DiOrtho was confident that he was more capable than the fool dog Vizzeret And without experiencing that gap himself even if it was painful he would not be satisfied

Unfortunately for him it quickly became clear that today wouldn�t be another Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound demonstration Two large signs had been erected in the central area outside the ring of individual training capsules Most of the recruits were gathered around the signs and talking quietly to each other but what really clued DiOrtho to the fact that this display would be disappointing was Overseer Helen�s expression

As soon as he walked over she beamed over toward DiOrtho with a wide smile She beckoned him over Seeing her motions the other recruits took some steps backward Ah good Recruit Vant Just the man I was waiting for These will be your new squad assignments Please feel free to shut the fuck up even if you have any questions These decisions are final until the next skirmish

Even worse DiOrtho could feel that Helen�s words brought everyone elses� gazes to him they knew that Overseer Helen was making an example of him His face flushed and his ram horns throbbed They always had to fucking target him

There was nothing DiOrtho hated more than being stared at

With a heavy heart he suppressed his urge to rip a weapon out of his body and sever a few limbs to really give these worthless losers something to look at But he managed to wrangle his emotions and looked up at the list Squads

Of the ten squads listed DiOrtho Vant was not one of the large names listed at the top of any as a squad captain He began to chew on the inside of his left cheek to keep his face expressionless

When he noticed that he was in the Squad underneath the bastard Raymund Ballast the Vulpine whose image was comically feeble and ineffective DiOrtho Vant began to grind his cheek into a gory pulp Over the past five days Ballast�s standing in the ranks had taken a nosedive His improvement was practically nonexistent

But with Overseer Helen right there seemingly gloating at being able to find new ways of torturing him he wouldn�t let himself appear weak Not with all of these pathetic wastes of space watching the whole interaction So despite the blood in his mouth DiOrtho just shrugged and said How exciting

Then he turned around and walked away widely furious at how little control he felt like he had over his own life Finally he managed to pry his jaws open and release the unlucky bit of his cheeks that he had been mashing for a little over thirty seconds That�s just the way it is People with power abuse that power People without power can only blame themselves for being weak

His skin began to itch his image naturally wanted to erupt with different weapons through his muscles and skin so he could make this place a field of blood But as soon as that impulse arrived it fizzled and died What it left in its place was a dull and frustrated ache Even at the speed he was improving it wasn�t enough Currently he was simply too weak

DiOrtho�s feet naturally carried him East heading for his shelter and garden But that choice of destination struck DiOrtho as unsatisfying Unlike his gradual acceptance of the bamboo forest he was continually bewildered by the requirement that the recruits garden during their free time When only a few ugly brown leaves had popped out of his garden plot DiOrtho had completely given up

After all failing in this area would bring in into the Ghosthound�s sphere of attention And then

Well DiOrtho didn�t know

Rather than going back to his own area DiOrtho simply began to wander through the spacious residential area The residences were generally twenty to thirty meters from each other so DiOrtho could easily avoid encountering anyone In addition the thin mist that was a constant presence in the residential area further added to this sense of isolation It was easy to feel like he was the only person in the surrounding

Ah Mister Vant I believe it is best we come to an understanding

DiOrtho�s teeth once more snapped shut around that bit of torn flesh in his cheek He wheeled around finding himself face to face with Raymund Ballast Immediately he was angry that this fuck had followed him that DiOrtho had been so distracted he hadn�t noticed and that this weak piece of shit was taller than him His skin once again itched and this time DiOrtho completely planned on teaching his squad leader� a lesson

A lesson he would carve into the fox�s body with the sharp end of a blade

Ar arroo

But just as he was about to attack a strange noise from a nearby residence stalled DiOrtho�s momentum The very small part of his brain that could control his emotions reined in the radiating aggression that he was releasing Instead DiOrtho glared sideways toward a rather sizable dwelling some distance from their current position where the noise originated

DiOrtho�s eye twitched And why the hell does it have to be such a nice looking house

After casting another sizzling dagger of a look toward Ballast DiOrtho walked stealthily forward across the soft ground toward the house He hesitated at first but Raymund Ballast eventually followed The two moved through the grass until they had a better view of the dwelling which continued to infuriate DiOrtho with its obvious workmanship

There were three tall pillars along a veranda with a swinging door leading to a rather spacious interior Somehow the bamboo of the exterior seemed to have a strange shine like the owner had spent time polishing it

Yet when he saw the easily recognizable form of Vizzeret napping outside of the dwelling DiOrtho felt a vein in his temple throb How the hell did this fuckign mutt build this house with its paws

stupid dog Ballast muttered with obvious distaste

DiOrtho�s lips twitched Some of his earlier antagonism gradually receded watching the sleeping dog�s leg twitch I bet it�s dreaming of a fucking bone

I bet it�s dreaming of having real hands Ballast countered raising his own limbs in mockery of the grey dog�s inferior form

At least for now DiOrtho decided not to kill his squad leader It would after all be too easy for the crime to be traced back to him Especially so hot off of the announcement of the squads

Chapter 1525

After taking the time to roast some fish for a quick meal Vizzeret suddenly opened his mouth to release a deep yawn Steam wafted up from the delicacy sitting on the plate in front of him However the act of yawning seemed to unlock a sudden wariness in his chest that he couldn�t resist Helplessly he found his body curling up beneath him he twisted sideways to avoid faceplanting directly onto his meal His eyelids fluttered but then closed as his body thumped onto the floor of his dwelling helpless as his consciousness was swiftly carried away

Just as quickly as this strange exhaustion struck him Vizzeret experienced a sharp stab of clarity that cut through the strange surroundings He moved his head from side to side sniffing Vizzeret was standing in the large challenge pit in the Southern portion of their area There were a few blurry figures in the surrounding area softened by the presence of the luminous silver mist of a dreamscape But as Vizzeret peered around curiously a strong sense of foreboding appeared in his heart His hair stood on end and he had to suppress the urge to growl Then he just as quickly suppressed the urge to lie down and expose his belly

The two distinct figures turned to look solemnly at Vizzeret One floated in the sky above the pit while the other was standing nearby to where Vizzeret had appeared He was perhaps only three meters away

Both were Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound

The one in the sky chuckled Ah The Nether connection must have pulled him along when you activated the Dreamcatcher because he is so connected to this moment anyway Interesting But it�s worth knowing that it can be used like that

Increased strain though The Head Drill Sergeant on the ground observed with a frown

Feeling very out of place Vizzeret opened his mouth I

Recruit Clamman That is your name correct This time when the Head Drill Sergeant on the ground spoke it was with iron and ice in his voice His emerald eyes narrowed as he looked toward Vizzeret Clamman Stay silent and stay to the side This doesn�t concern you But the fact you were brought here well you can consider it a bit of good luck Exposure to forces about your level is good experience Try and avoid getting caught in the crossfire I would hate to almost kill you again

This is a nightmare some part of Vizzeret whispered to him

As the Head Drill Sergeant continued to pierce Vizzeret with his gaze the massive canine could not help but nod and scurry backward about twenty meters His own experience fighting against the Ghosthound was still too fresh And the casual way the Head Drill Sergeant had fought against the Overseers left Vizzeret dreading the Ghosthound�s true power

When the canine had created quite a bit of distance between them the Head Drill Sergeant looked away and peered up at his doppelganger At a symbol that was invisible to Vizzeret the two blurred into motion One released a monstrous complex image of three almost conflicting figures that condensed around his body There were emerald leaves and golden roots an enormous claw and a hand with razor sharp fingers and a horrible hungry darkness These images flickered so fast that it was impossible for Vizzeret to catch the details

The other Ghosthound became the eye of a grinding maelstrom of Nether wielding a fist sized grey bubble in his right hand Every time that strange maelstrom spun Vizzeret found it more difficult to breathe The two accelerated toward each other and clashed

The ground shuddered and cracked sending Vizzeret farther backward he clambered out of the massive ditch to higher ground But shockwaves and blasts of Skills decimated the surrounding area The explodes grew larger and larger Every second saw that the radius of destruction increase as the conflict between the two intensified

Vizzeret blinked and found himself skidding across the ground The air pressure from the latest contact was so powerful that it had briefly knocked him out The ground beneath him was shuddering Huge chunks of broken ground were being thrown everywhere

The massive canine frantically leapt up onto a small island of stone and dirt that had been sent tumbling end over end to avoid the thick carpet of aggressive roots that exploded from where he had been previously standing Right as he landed he spared a glance upward but then he adjusted his stance and leapt further away to avoid a suffocating heaviness that darkened the sky

Vizzeret really wanted to stop and observe but it sort of felt like he would be annihilated if he did so

Congratulations Your Skill Canine Agility (Un) has grown to Level 268

Vizzeret sprinted past the collapsing bamboo forest as fast as he could manage occasionally looking over his shoulder to look directly at the maelstrom of darkness A horrible screaming filled the air and Vizzeret couldn�t tell if it was an image or just a shrill and furious wind Beneath the pads of his paws he felt the entire Rally Station shudder and crack

Panting with his tongue lolling outside of his mouth Vizzeret continued to flee The ground around him was sundered opening up a vast ravine that he was forced to jump over

Congratulations Your Skill Canine Agility (Un) has grown to Level 287

With a sigh Randidly powered down the personal training pod Gradually the light in the Engravings dimmed and the physical and emotional suppression he had subjected himself to over the past week faded The sensation of relaxation that seized him to finally be without any sense of effort seemed to wipe away all his previous sweat and bitter stubbornness

For a week he had buckled down Now he unburdened himself

The first thing he did when he walked out into the waiting area was stretch He twisted sideways earning a very satisfying series of cracks up his spine Then he bent at the waist and touched his toes feeling his hamstrings pop lightly He rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles for good measure Certainly it had felt like he hadn�t been stuck in a single position for the entire week due to the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night but the truth was Randidly basically hadn�t moved

Randidly had spent the week pushing the limits of his images both in detail but also in terms of Skill Levels The Stillborn Phoenix had received most of his attention as he worked those Skills back into his common combat habits And the gains were bountiful as Randidly developed himself further it became easier and easier to raise his lower Level Skills up quickly

Step by step he had grown stronger Feeling pleased Randidly grinned down at his hands

But of course this was only the start So he took several deep breaths He had deliberately isolated both his Aether and Nether while he was within the training area just to avoid any unexpected events while he was affected by the suppression array So now he gradually re extended himself into the surrounding space checking for anomalies Luckily none appeared

Not everyone can just punch a hole in my defenses like Commandant Wick can

Nodding to himself Randidly walked up to the Engravings and looked down at the suppression field It was to the point that even he struggled against it but he believed he could push it even further With a careful touch he began to erase and then redraw the Engravings to form new even more vicious restrictions

Congratulations Your Skill Spriggit�s Tinkering has grown to Level 232

Congratulations Your Skill Architecture of the Primordial Ways has grown to Level 307

This is why people think I�m a masochist Randidly smirked as he made some minute adjustments to his new Engravings This should challenge me physically but perhaps I can go into the Dreamcatcher and reproduce Kaan�s metal pyramids if I can further my image suppression

However before Randidly had even finished his adjustments he raised his head and narrowed his eyes His Nether Nebula began to spin more quickly and he could feel the air around him slowly ionizing as energies converged on his current location The space seemed to buzz and compress Randidly released a quick smile it seemed that the significance had successfully been refined by the recruits and was ready for him to harvest

Or rather the significance now demanded an audience whether he wanted it or not

So he opened himself and allowed the torrent of significance to spiral into his body But to his surprise Randidly immediately grunted in surprise His chest pounded with pain and he could only grit his teeth against the growing discomfort It felt like every part of his body was covered in a rough gradually constricting rope His ribs popped The rotation of the Nether Nebula slowed straining to incorporate this new significance into its ecosystem

At the core of the Nether Nebula there was an innocuous grey bubble that tumbled weightlessly through the air with a second smaller bubble beginning to form next to it As the Nether Nebula continued to struggle to churn forward those bubbles began to fizz The completely condensed bubble began to rapidly shrink while the smaller one slightly grew As Randidly watched an even smaller third bubble formed and gradually increased in size

Damnit Randidly muttered to himself as he pressed his metallic left hand to his chest The coolness of the metal was a relief The pain was extremely strange Compared to being submerged completely in lava it was a mild sort of agony But it was the most uncomfortable and horrifying heartburn that Randidly had ever experienced It came hand in hand with a creeping sense of helplessness As his Nether Nebula struggled to incorporate all this significance and continued to slow the pain grew worse

Randidly pressed his eyes shut and began to try and create a flow with his Nether to relieve some of the pressure but there was simply too much of it He could have shunted a lot of the significance into the surrounding space but he somehow sensed that if he struggled with this his recruits might be crushed by the sudden rush even if it spread amongst them

This flow of significance I can feel the way their time here at this Rally Station has changed so many of the recruits it seems like all the improvements they have made are compounding the significance

Randidly held on and endured the strain as best he could The Nether Nebula continued to slowly rotate He threw his Willpower behind that heavy spinning urging it forward Despite the fact that he knew it was relatively ineffective he began weaving together the Nether in the periphery of the Nebula creating some space and easing the rotation At the core of the Nebula another tiny grey bubble formed And then another

The rotation slowed further Randidly felt a sharp sense of foreboding

But then there was a groan from his Nether Nebula as the significance was whipped into a tight core Five grey bubbles the size of marbles clung to each other radiating a horrifying weight His Nether shuddered and imperceptibly grew denser Then the strain began to ease as most of the rush of significance was accommodated The Nether Nebula achieved a much more ponderous equilibrium

I�m still missing something about Nether Randidly grimaced His senses carefully inspected his Nether Nebula and the grey bubbles Perhaps that was incorrect too Randidly might understand Nether well enough but he just didn�t know what to do with it

Randidly released a breath and opened his eyes His expression turned serious He certainly hadn�t expected this but now felt rather dumb for not foreseeing this eventuality when he expanded his accumulation of Nether This strained episode he had just experienced was probably Nether Sickness

Aether Sickness occurred when an individual earned too many Skills and Stats before obtaining a Class The System declared that this was because an individual could no longer simply sustain themselves on ambient Aether and Randidly had never really questioned it because it hadn�t been a serious issue for him He passed on the System�s message to the people of Expira and they had adjusted But now Randidly wasn�t so sure that was the full story

There probably was some truth to Aether Sickness being related to a lack of energy but its effects should be so sudden if that were true What might be more likely is that it is a combination of that weakness due to insufficient ambient energy and a sudden complication due to having too much Aether affixed to a physical body without having any structure to it

It was the equivalent of building up the materials to construct a skyscraper solely on the small plot of land that would form the foundation If the skyscraper is high enough obviously the finished product would require more materials than could be contained in that area Hence the Nexus came peddling a Class to systematically build a structure to affix images and Skills to

As to why Randidly hadn�t encountered the problem sooner it was because even from the beginning Yystrix was building something special within his body Then when he obtained the Alpha Cosmos the amount of anything he could physically withstand shot upward

He had a very big foundation to work from

But even so Randidly now sensed he was approaching that limit in regards to his accumulated significance He had easily surpassed the power of a Nether Gatekeeper yet now needed to create some sort of order in his Nether if he wanted to expand his significance further

Which meant the creation of a Nether Class grew a lot more pressing

Chapter 1526

Randidly rubbed the bridge of his nose as he walked out of the training area and looked up toward the sky Low clouds hung overhead slowly building into a rainstorm A cool wind brushed Randidly�s cheek I guess it�s better that I realize now that this is becoming a problem My personal significance turns out to be nothing compared to how much a group can accumulate

But I suppose that makes sense Nether is the energy of connection When it is shared it flows much more efficiently My Nether Nebula should be able to continue grinding away for a little while longer although it might not be comfortable Which means I�m once more faced with the problem of figuring out how to make a Nether Class

Randidly pursed his lips as he thought Three ideas came to mind for proceeding forward The first was relying on his recently acquired Fatepiece the Visage of Obsession to try and intuit how a Nether Class would work by staring at the Visage It was after all a rather strange Fatepiece designed to remove preconceived notions and solve problems

However two things stopped him First he was wary of the fact that its usage could only be delayed never stopped That combined with the hints that there would be a price for using it while Randidly was in the middle of it meant that it wasn�t an option that he would easily choose Plus it would undoubtedly be more effective to use that method once he had more information regarding Nether

With more legitimate understanding having an epiphany would be exponentially more likely

Therefore Randidly focused on the other two ideas The first was proceeding more deeply into the hollow Web� at the core of the Nexus and seeing if he could perceive the edges of that horrible mass of significance that was present below Randidly was even more curious about that significance after his current experience with Nether Sickness Perhaps the reason why the Nether he could sense was so stagnant was because that half formed baby was stalled out in a similar way Its body couldn�t withstand the significance that was being given to it

That thought caused Randidly to shiver Perhaps what was currently happening with his Nether Nebula was closer to what happened to Elhume�s body The uncontrolled weight of his own significance might eventually suffocate him

The other idea was to contact Vualla She should have been deployed to the Fifth Cohort and would be fighting against the Nether Not only could Randidly reassure himself about the state of Vualla but he might also be able to observe Nether forces there and intuit the way Nether could be used After all his ability to understand Nether had increased quite a bit since he had last been exposed to true Nether forces

Even seeing a Nether Beast might be inspiring Randidly felt an odd temptation to capture one and try and understand it although he was slightly wary about how close that would come to experimentation on a live subject

Nodding to himself Randidly stretched Then he gestured lightly with his hand and began to form the familiar Nether Ritual With his Nether seeming to reach the limit of Nether density he could achieve it was somewhat more difficult to shape it as he wished But Randidly was in no real rush the recruits probably wouldn�t throw another chunk of significance like that at him for another few weeks So if he shaped slowly so be it

He took his time making the ritual really focusing on the details of its construction And although the material was slightly misbehaving Randidly also observed the way that his intent flowed perfectly through the branching weaves of the ritual without any entropy Honestly he wouldn�t really have described the process like that before now but now that he experienced the thicker Nether the connection was just so overwhelmingly superior that he couldn�t help but be shocked the fidelity of intent

Maybe the reason it�s so difficult to control is that it�s so much more like me Randidly thought wryly as he put the finishing touches on the Nether Ritual

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 180

When he finished he instantly activated it The sensation of tunneling through space and time to reach Vualla was slightly intoxicating In a way Randidly felt like his consciousness was truly traveling through the intervening substance of the universe rather than just arriving at Vualla like he usually did The journey the Ritual took was as roundabout as usual still as secretive

Two eyes like inverted white triangles against a black backdrop perfectly even along the edges with a small blue orb floating in the middle

But as soon as he felt the vertigo and the Nether Ritual turned strange Randidly hissed and ripped the woven Nether in front of him to shreds The connection was barely flickering to life when it was already destroyed Even still Randidly staggered back into the training area and spat out a mouthful of blood His head began to pound as he unsteadily allowed himself to settle down on his haunches

In the split second that the Ritual had almost connected to Vualla Randidly felt a sudden and overwhelming pull sideways Or rather the thread of his Nether had been caught up in an immense whirlpool of Nether that engulfed the surrounding area Randidly had then ripped through the fabric of the Nether Ritual but not before he briefly connected with the incorrect target

The Nether King looked at Randidly for the briefest fraction of time seemingly just as surprised as Randidly had been to see each other Then without any hesitation the Nether King had lashed out with a pitch black lance of significance The weight and casual power of the attack had been what inflicted most of the damage on Randidly and left him with a lingering headache His Nether Nebula buzzed but honestly it began then to pick up speed that attack had loosened some of the tightness Randidly was experiencing

As his body and Nether Nebula rapidly began healing from the blow Randidly directed a wry smile at the ceiling fo the training area He used his foot to close the door behind him so no one would wander upon him like this Next to him the blood he spat out sizzled on the ground Shit I should have seen that coming

Although the Xyrt Brigade might not be familiar with Nether Rituals there was no way that the Nether forces didn�t utilize them Perhaps the entirety of the Nether army�s communication was based on the fabric of Nether Rituals He was a fly that had wandered into a massive web and was foolish enough to be surprised when the spider turned up If the Nether King hadn�t been so shocked by the connection or Randidly had been a hair slower in severing it

With a sigh Randidly shrugged that thought off Because he still had more important realizations to face

Although its shape and the flow of its Nether are entirely different Randidly muttered That I�m almost positive that Nether King in the Fifth Cohort is the same one I briefly interfered with at the frontlines Everything that happened since then all of the Nether attacks Am I responsible for those

The muscles around Randidly�s heart tightened The figure of Ki Kunot briefly flickered in front of his gaze Then he remembered the grainy texture of the wooden handle of his shovel as he dug graves along the Hallat River His emotions which the Stillborn Phoenix was refining every day seethed and roiled like a boiling cauldron in his chest Each was a serpent shocked awake by a loud noise alarmed and aggressive But eventually Randidly pressed his eyes closed and shook his head He refused to allow himself to go down that Path

Plus although none of this could have happened if he didn�t influence the knot of Nether that bound the Nether King he wasn�t the Nether King He couldn�t be held responsible for all the destruction that the Nether King had wrought since their paths had crossed

But it�s hard to be confident about that Randidly grimaced If someone knowingly released a terrorist because it was the right thing to do they would likely hold some culpability toward what happened afterward

Again Randidly distracted himself from those thoughts his emotions were already difficult enough to control as it was he didn�t need to dwell on upsetting subjects to pass the time But this time the new topic was also rather depressing It seemed that it would be even more difficult to contact Vualla on the frontlines than it had been in the Xyrt Brigade training facility She was now in an active warzone Both sides would be on their guard for spying attempts Especially now that Randidly had been caught red handed by the Nether King

He could send a message of course But that was just much less satisfying And Vualla had been abysmal about replying to messages through the entire time they had known each other

Further reflection was interrupted by the door opening Helen paused and looked over at Randidly the pool of blood next to him and the sparking training sphere which apparently now was shorting out due to a mistake Randidly had made during his most recent adjustments

She closed the door behind her and walked over to crouch down next to him You get mugged

Yup Randidly responded as cheerily as he could manage The combination of the heavy sense of guilt toward the attack on the Fifth Cohort and the helpless impotence he felt in regards to contacting Vualla meant that he couldn�t do a very good job of fooling Helen But his longtime companion simply glanced at him then shook her head in mock sorrow

This means work for me I guess I�ll go find a mop Helen pushed off her knees and stood with a determined expression on her face

Randidly�s mouth twisted at that What Overseer Helen going soft From what I hear about you these days you should be making recruits clean up the mess with their tongues

Normally I would But it�s somewhat different when the blood is your blood and the humanity that its presence reveals will take some of the bite out of the ominous persona you�ve been developing Helen flicked her wrist twice and procured a literal mop from her interspatial ring So it falls to me to be the one to mop everything up

You don�t need to tell them its my blood Randidly countered playfully He knew it was meaningless but talking with Helen did distract him from some of his darker thoughts Then he paused and frowned Wait do you keep cleaning supplies in your interspatial ring

I�m more concerned that you don�t Then Helen snorted and pointed at the spots on the floor where the blood continued to sizzle and spit The reinforced tiles were beginning to corrode You think I can give a recruit a mop and tell him not to think too deeply about whose blood this is Have you met anyone else whose blood corrodes metal Jesus I bet the dumb fucks would try eating it as though a stomach of all things could absorb someone�s image

That forced a genuine chuckle out of Randidly You could just wait until it eats its way through the entire Rally Station Then the recruits could come in here and fill in the hole Have we trained our recruits in the use of quick drying cement yet Might as well put it on the agenda

We�ll have the drywall hung around these Nether Beasts before they can even sneeze Helen shook her head in amusement Then she glared at Randidly as she pressed her mop against the offending blood Of course we can�t do that The fucking rumors that I hear about you when the recruits don�t think anyone�s listening This is just the sorta shit that will get them to gossip caustic blood Ugh and if I�m being honest It�s not just the recruits

Helen didn�t elaborate on that and instead moved to rub the mop against the sizzling blood on the ground But she really didn�t have to explain Randidly�s expression shifted as he sighed He levered himself up onto his elbow and watched the cleaning process Within only a few seconds smoke was wafting upward from the wiping portion of the mop

Randidly shook his head what are you even doing

Trying to cheer you up Helen said surprising Randidly She scratched her cheek Tatiana told me that you are surprisingly weak to silly shit So Here I am

Then she continued to mop The moment seemed strangely surreal with Helen continuing to scrub the tool against the ground and ignoring the fact that her implement was slowly disintegrating She hadn�t even used water just rubbed the mop directly against the blood The sizzling grew louder compared to the tiles the mop head was made of much less durable materials She scrubbed harder only seeming to spread the dangerous blood out across the ground and worsen the problem

Very soon Randidly was laughing aloud He didn�t like that Tatiana and Helen had believed it necessary they prepare to cheer him up He liked even less that they had been correct He waved his hand and the Stillborn Phoenix paused in its breathing to suck up his blood Gradually the sizzling ceased leaving the only sound in the room to be Randidly�s chuckles

Tatiana�s so much better than the soft stuff Helen announced Next time you get moody unless you want a spar you�ll be on your own So take care of yourself

Thanks Randidly said very seriously He could feel Helen�s complex emotions hanging between them Then he flashed Helen a cheeky smile But didn�t I already take care of the blood problem on my own It�s not like this time you

Helen pressed her lips together and broke the wooden handle of her broom across Randidly�s back earning his raucous laughter

Chapter 1527

Randidly stood in the darkness of the Web peering down into the depths of the Nexus Even with his Grim Intuition the murky shadows below were an impenetrable shroud Secrets might be right below his position but Randidly couldn�t tell He had traveled deeper down into the Web than he ever had before observing as the cables that earned the nickname the Web becoming increasingly infrequent and the materials of the construction being reveal more and more as sculpted bone

If Edraine�s hideout was perhaps a kilometer down below Bray Street the suspended shopping megaplex this was two kilometers further beneath the hideout Down here Randidly never saw anyone else traveling through the Web Shadows were his only companion

Randidly had sunk so deeply into perpetual gloom that he didn�t really even notice the darkness anymore His vision was a rainbow kaleidoscope of energy

The Aether here was chaotic to say the least It hissed and rebounded off the walls in a frothing torrent Remnant emotions and wishes seemed to manifest at the corners of Randidly�s vision a testament both to his increased sensitivity and to the raw emotion that was maintained at this depth In terms of close far this three kilometers brought him to the bottom Randidly honestly had no idea he simply had no idea how far down this spine extended

In addition the allotted layer for Nether underneath the System was growing exponentially as he descended Even Randidly with his massive Nether Nebula could relax some of his boundaries and allow his thick Nether to rotate around him To the point that it relieved a lot of the recent pressure he had been experiencing by keeping the Nether within his body He lost a little bit of significance every second to the horrifying mass that he believed to be below him but as long as he didn�t stay here for an extended period it was negligible

Still Randidly wasn�t in a good mood I can go a bit deeper probably quite a bit deeper Maybe one more kilometer The extra significance I received acts as an anchor that allows me to resist the pull of that monster down there but will that depth be enough to actually see the Nether at the core of this

Randidly doubted that would be the case He could spend some time trying to create an Engraving to help increase his resistance to the inexorable drag downward but for the short term it looked like this too was a dead end to observing the flows of Nether His casual observation of the Nexus from the Fifth Cohort Rally Station seemed to imply that even ten more kilometers down wouldn�t bring him close to that horrible cataclysm on which this place was built

And after seeing the way I dragged Vizzeret into the Dreamcatcher If I try and revisit the moment I saw the Nether King to observe him perhaps he would be able to sense what I was doing and interfere

Bah I really could use someone who would teach me to use Nether

While he slowly turned his way through his various options Randidly floated in the Web looking down into the darkness The Grim Chimera amused itself by manifesting and swiping its talons through the helpless emotions remnants while Yggdrasil and the Stillborn Phoenix got to work releasing and then absorbing another wave of emotions Raising his head Randidly could barely see a spot of light above him truly he was quite deep below the Nexus

Then he sighed It�s not surprising that I�m starting to encounter more difficulties as I grow stronger Before Leveling was enough but now I need to have the conceptual framework or all of my preparations and training will be for naught

After the Stillborn Phoenix was satisfied Randidly pulled out the Philosopher�s Key and opened a portal to his penthouse apartment Chewing on the inside of his cheek he stepped through onto the gleaming grey hardwood floor With a shrug he shed Sulfur and tossed the armor over a nearby chair He still was a little unwilling to consider the option of the Fatepiece yet

Randidly paused in his thoughts and looked up Helen and Heiffal were waiting for him at the pointlessly massive dining room table Truly this apartment was so large that he hadn�t completely scanned it with Grim Intuition when he casually glanced around He was getting sloppy

But that wasn�t his concern at the moment The fact that this duo was waiting for him wasn�t a great sign

Somebody die Randidly asked as he moved to the counter and poured himself a glass of whatever When he turned around and saw that the plate of his replacement smoked boar meat was completely depleted in the middle of the table his eye twitched

Helen smirked Actually yes But not one of our recruits We received a scroll from Commandant Wick all current recruits and off duty military personnel will be required to attend the funeral of Commandant Lyrim the one who died in the Fifth Cohort recently In addition he especially notes that the recruits will be given an entire day off to grieve�

Randidly narrowed his eyes How unusually generous of military high command So the recruits will have 24 hours out from under our watchful eye Hum Well I think we will still be alright even if people find out I�ve been using Nether

Trailing off Randidly frowned at the expression on Heiffal�s face He paused and considered the twenty four hours from a different angle you don�t think that the free time is aimed at us at all You think that someone wants to target the recruits

Not that you won�t be targeted but you will probably be a secondary concern Commandant Wick has been making your relationship very public plus you have a reputation of strength Not like the recruits They won�t be making contact with just our recruits either Although they would definitely be the most valuable Heiffal sighed

Randidly�s gaze turned sharp and heavy The Grim Chimera barred its teeth He admittedly didn�t have much of a direct relationship with these recruits at the moment His Nether and Aether were currently assisting them but those energies couldn�t replace actual interactions and discussions In the future Randidly would likely train a few personally But for now he was more of a symbol than any real part of the recruits� lives

But they were his recruits Since someone would target them

What gives them to gall Randidly asked

You probably haven�t had time to read through Lady Iellaya�s updates Heiffal said rather judiciously while Helen clearly just rolled her eyes at Randidly�s obvious confusion As the tensions rise in the Nexus there is a propaganda war going on between the Nexus Labor Council and Military High Command In essence you could say that the Military High Command is shouting that its new batch of recruits that it�s been so carefully guarding are going to solve all the problems in the Fifth Cohort and with the Aether rationing Meanwhile the NLC says that this would never have been a problem if the Military High Command wasn�t rife with corruption

Which it probably is Helen added

But the problem Heiffal continued without acknowledging Helen Is that the NLC has been forced to ultimately be passive The recruitment drive and the offensive have nothing to do with them Even worse they don�t have any way of understanding what is really happening in the recruitment camps except for official Military Briefings So while the military is saying this is an emergency and they require additional Aether to train our troops the NLC are completely in the dark They conceded the expanded budget to the military in order to receive this 24 hour opportunity

Gradually Randidly�s expression eased so rather than being worried about being attacked the biggest concern is that our recruits are going to be bribed

Well basically yeah Helen said But then she narrowed her eyes However let�s not forget who we are dealing with the Nexus bigwigs are often less concerned with the very real enemies in front of it than with hoarding what tiny benefits they can take for themselves Should some unfortunate accident happen and the military fail spectacularly at stabilizing the Fifth Cohort the NLC certainly won�t give a shit It would be a win for them So what Lady Iellaya warns about is some nudges toward that

Randidly�s expression stilled further until his figures were entirely neutral His eyes glowed with an inner light Do you believe that is likely For them to not only take advantage but that the NLC would actively try and sabotage our preparation efforts

Lady Iellaya believes it to be very likely Heiffal said with a nod

Randidly released a breath and scratched behind his ear He had always known that Elhume and his System were designed for a singular purpose and that purpose had very little to do with respect for life But Randidly had never really considered the effect that would have on those in power From what he understood the current Nexus was essentially a society that developed without any interference from Elhume the original creator hadn�t been active in the day to day operations since the Second Cohort Therefore he had been willing to just assume they were typical bureaucrats

But of course living and benefiting under such a cruel system would warp even a saint

I had assumed that Commandant Wick�s madness came from his experience on the battlefield Suddenly Randidly felt very cold even standing in the middle of his tastefully decorated penthouse dwellings But it might be better to assume that everyone at a certain level of influence gains that sort of cruelty Otherwise they wouldn�t have been able to take advantage of our twisted System and clamber up to that position in the first place

Without much of a thought Randidly reached out and touched against the organic flows of Aether and Nether that spiraled around him filling up the whole of his training area By now whether consciously or not the recruits and Randidly�s various subordinates had fully accepted the energy flows around them Perhaps now that the deficiencies in acclimation had been adjusted in the recruits Nether flowed more evenly between recruits and their trainers He could sense them all determined to hone their abilities and improve their power

Those at the top prosper because of those at the bottom Randidly thought rather sardonically feeling the way that those energy flows that passed through the surrounding individuals returned inevitably to him Here he was the harsh taskmaster who gained the most benefits But unlike the individuals from Military High Command and the NLC Randidly remembered the bargain that had been struck

In exchange for their support they had his protection

Randidly opened his eyes When is the funeral for the Commandant

Two days from now Heiffal replied after consulting a scroll in his hands There will be a service in the Outer Realm where Commandant�s descendants lived

After a slow nod Randidly spoke again Let�s not worry about what the recruits do while they are out in the world we might have the manpower to keep track of them but there are dangerous forces in the Nexus that we won�t be prepared for No reason to get into a blind fight Better to just wait and screen problems as they make their way back to the Rally Station

In addition lets up the training Quite a bit Since they are going to have a day off let�s give them exhaustion worth resting for a day over Randidly�s eyes glowed emerald I�ll adjust the suppression array so it�s closer to my level In addition I�ll increase the amount of ambient energy I�m releasing Helen Find the opportunity to reward two more Darkstar Coins to appropriate recruits Ideally choose someone who will use the coin before the break day

I know someone who would use it almost immediately Helen shook her head She tapped her nails of her right hand against the hard surface of the table The problem is letting him have the chance to genuinely earn it the kids a fuckign nightmare Very much a young and pissy brat But I do have a few ideas

Randidly barred his teeth I just need the chance to appear before them one more time And we might need to adjust the challenge rules to make sure that things last long enough that they can perceive my images and not just my body

I thought you weren�t going to use your images in those challenges Helen spoke slowly with an aggrieved expression on her face

Randidly couldn�t help but chuckle Ha Generally yes It will be primarily a physical demonstration But I heh you will have it rough in the confrontation sorry Helen She sighed in an exaggerated manner and Randidly continued to speak But I will need to address this situation directly I�ll make a small speech after the challenge We need to handle this somewhat carefully

How Heiffal asked

Randidly flexed his hands By reminding these elites that being a part of something matters That integrity and justice are their own reward That if any one of them puts their own benefits above the lives of the people in the Fifth Cohort

Randidly Helen rolled her eyes You don�t need to beat around the fucking bush Scare them shitless with a demonstration and then talk about how important it is not to be tempted to taking a bribe from outside forces We get it

For a second Randidly froze Then he chuckled Helen certainly had a particular way of viewing the world and that view didn�t include platitudes well that�s an extremely blunt way of viewing it But I suppose that�s right Alright any questions If there�s nothing else I�ll head to adjust the array

Heiffal and Helen nodded and went about their own work They would likely have their own preparations to make so that the next two days would be absolute hell for the recruits But Randidly had to admit that it appeared these recruits absorbed lessons best when exhausted It had been their methodology thus far and he didn�t think he would change now

With quite a bit of longing in his face Randidly looked at the plate that was completely devoid of boar meat I guess I�ll need to take the time to roast another boar and then hide the finished product from Helen

After his two subordinates departed Randidly used the Philosopher�s Key to open a portal to the core portion of the suppression array It was located in a stone room underneath the individual training pod area With his experience working with his own pod it was rather simple for Randidly to increase the suppression

Currently recruits were left without any Stamina and thus had to use their images in an environment that had a low ambient amount of Nether That was the source of the suppression But it was quite easy to both increase the ambient Nether and also add an additional bit of Engraving that would noticeably increase the gravity in the area Randidly�s test subject was himself so he sat in that enclosed stone room toyed with the various settings

His own pod mostly targeted his usage of image so he had never gone all out to target physical movements

Congratulations Your Skill Architecture of the Primordial Ways has grown to Level 310

Randidly�s face was illuminated only by the soft glow coming from the Engravings that ran across the floor beneath him and the walls around him He soon grew curious about the limits of his own body and pushed to the limits earning an unconscious growl from his body After enduring the combined suppression for a few minutes Randidly deactivated the array and upped the effectiveness even further Then he pumped the Engraving full of Aether so it operated at maximum efficiency

This time his body practically shuddered as it withstood the force The increased gravity and polarized air pressured him from every angle His image physicalizations naturally emerged to resist the effects Randidly grinned down at the bulging veins along his chest and arms I might have broken the System limit on physical strength but that doesn�t mean that I�m completely unstoppable with just my body That�s the limit of investing overmuch in only the physical

Inside Randidly�s chest while he was enduring full strength physical suppression the Grim Chimera stirred The rough scar tissue that covered the Grim Chimera began to crack and tear just slightly

Oh This might be Randidly�s grin widened

Chapter 1528

None of you are deaf and dumb no matter how weak you currently are Overseer Helen drawled as she slowly surveyed the gathered recruits in front of her Her hand was on her hip the fingers tapping rhythmically as she considered She pursed her lips So I�ll say openly what you�ve probably heard in whispers to this point both Military High Command and the Nexus Labor Council are using the death of a Commandant to broker a deal That�s why it�s so important to never stop training if you are too weak at the wrong moment you die And after you are dead you will be nothing but a poker chip to be used and discarded

Next to Raymund Ballast DiOrtho Vant slowly began to frown The emotions of the surrounding recruits were an uneasy balance between excitement and worry It was clear that there was a lot at play in the broader Nexus right now but Raymund was still excited for this opportunity for one reason only he would have some time to investigate the disappearance of his brother

Gabriel Swacc has the piece I�ll find out who you are and what that means I�ll find you Techetadore Raymund clenched his hands

Meanwhile Overseer Helen continued to talk It is the official position of Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound that recruits should have no contact with governmental or political organizations outside of their current military hierarchy while on leave In addition just fucking avoid military types outside of your chain of command If you stay in line Randidly Ghosthound will protect you Otherwise heh you are on your own Godspeed

Unfortunately for Raymund�s grand plans he hadn�t the faintest idea of where to begin when it came to searching for information in the Nexus He understood vaguely that there were certain individuals in the Nexus who specialized in the sale of information but he didn�t know who those people were or how to find them He was a country boy in the big city

His first instinct was to ask either Benjamin DiOrtho or Charlotte They all had powerful backers and he would consider them his closest peers But Raymund shook his head decisively If I were to rely so directly on my companions would I be any different than these other fools who arrived in the training camp to curry favor

But despite his feeling of directionlessness Raymund Ballast was also determined After enduring the Ghosthound�s hellish training wandering around for a bit and seeking these information brokers didn�t seem so overwhelming He was capable enough to accomplish this task although the 24 hour time limit was something of a concern

Ah one more thing Overseer Helen announced after a long pause Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound has decided that we might as well take advantage of this entire day of rest you recruits will have by adjusting the training schedule leading up to Commandant Lyrim�s funeral Hehehe You are not going to enjoy these workouts but I�m going to enjoy watching you break

No one was so brave as to actually grimace or sigh when they heard this completely unexpected but unsurprising news but Raymund could feel the emotional reverberations around him clearly For most of the recruits they had just managed to adjust to the demands on their body And based on Overseer Helen�s words and expression this would not be an easy change

You have two hours of free time now do whatever you want Afterward we will start with four hours of physical fitness training Prepare yourselves Then Overseer Helen shooed lightly in dismal

How much more difficult are they going to make it to just move DiOrtho grumbled But although Vant was the most vocal complainer amongst the recruits it was also true that he was the only one radiating a cautious excitement at the news The man was practically glowing about the increase in training difficulty He met every oncoming challenge with a scowl and malicious glee

His approach to risk is extremely deficient and unnatural Raymund sighed Around them the various recruits were either furiously discussing the funeral with one another or returning to their dwellings probably also to arrange for further discussions The more Raymund watched their considered arrangements the more exhausted he became

For these individuals who had constantly been seeking out and making political connections in the sphere of Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound�s training camp this announcement was the signal to advance what plans� they possessed to the final stage� They were building bridges and cutting deals between the various factions But honestly Raymund had very little understanding of what these recruits had of worth to offer each other

They were just soldiers that hadn�t even fought yet They could head to the Fifth Cohort and die and they would be forgotten within a week

Mumbling to himself DiOrtho wandered away from Raymund likely heading for the bamboo forest to think Raymund let him go without comment Managing the most powerful recruit as part of his squad was difficult enough under normal circumstances When it wasn�t important he was perfectly content allowing the ram demon to go about his own business

Moving quickly Raymund Ballast returned to his clumsily made hovel and walked underneath the roof Although it wasn�t currently raining the weather patterns changed before your very eyes in this controlled climate that the Ghosthound maintained Almost as though on cue as soon as Raymund was under his shelter the wind in the surroundings began to stir Even from a distance the sound of the rustling bamboo forest echoed through the area

For a second he looked over at the vine y purple tomatoes creeping up out of his garden with a bit of concern considering the quickly rising wind But then he shook himself that wasn�t important right now What Raymund needed to do was decide how he should proceed

This was the opportunity he had been waiting for He didn�t currently have the clout to command respect but he was affiliated with the Ghosthound From the way that Raymund had heard other recruits talking about their Head Drill Sergeant he was clearly a rising star in the Nexus But at the same time

Raymund�s snout twitched Overseer Helen�s words made it clear that the sort of interaction that Raymund intended to take was a betrayal Relying on the Ghosthound�s reputation to cut a deal was not an honorable move His intentions were outside of the context of what she had been talking about but at the same time

Yet what am I supposed to do My world is dying They cannot wait for me to become a famous Commander And at the rate that I�m improving A deep shame welled up in Raymund�s chest as he considered how he had fallen to the high twenties in terms of rankings amongst the recruits We need Techetadore He is the one with the six tails He was the one who was born for this I�m just

Raymund luckily didn�t finish that thought Unluckily the reason he paused in that line of thinking was that a rather sneering voice from Raymund�s subconscious began whispering to him You act so self righteously refusing to compromise on your image despite the fact you have no idea how to improve it yet at the slightest chance to chase Techetadore you cast that honor aside How much is your integrity truly worth

Raymund�s lips curled up to bare his fangs That�s different You expect me to blindly pursue power with the same dedication that I show toward my family The culture that raised me

His emotions churned and sizzled as the two sides of himself continued to clash So you are saying that it is the ends that justify the means You sell your honor for your family and it is excusable

I am not betraying the Ghosthound Raymund countered But even as he said it it was difficult to fully believe it His emotions slowly stabilized and swirled together He released a long sigh and looked down to the sharpened nails at the ends of his powerful hands These hands despite his relatively slow improvements speed now had grown so much in only three weeks He was that much closer to having the capability to find and assist Techetadore For that Raymund owed the Head Drill Sergeant a great debt

And yet Raymund pressed his eyes shut He still was tempted Around him the wind intensified rushing through the air like a child dashing back for shelter lest he find the solemn doors of his home closed to him

Shit Lady Iellaya said with a sigh as she looked down at the mark on the heavy Aether Diffuser before her They were stuck in the dimly lit and low ceiling�d undercity where all the critical infrastructure was located in this Outer Realm but the damage was obvious enough that the lighting didn�t matter Someone had burned away a very specific portion of the Engraving This the Engraving is warped by the attack I don�t think this can be repaired it will need to be replaced

Disciplinary Magistrate Qiolo a humanoid covered entirely in long grey hair nodded in agreement as he drew his furry fingers around the edge of the wound Then he brought his fingertips to his mouth and licked Sharp People with images strong enough to damage this don�t usually hang around in Outer Realms Especially in my jurisdiction So either someone here had a breakthrough or someone was brought in to send a message

A spider skittered out from behind the Aether Diffuser drawing glances from both Lady Iellaya and Disciplinary Magistrate Qiolo The mundane creature twitched and died from the combined weight of their gazes Then they turned back to the ruined machinery

Shit Lady Iellaya said again Once more Disciplinary Magistrate Qiolo nodded

Lady Iellaya had been appointed head of security for the funeral ceremony of Commandant Lyrim simply because she was the lowest ranking individual hanging around Military High Command at the moment So she had been both preparing the venue for the funeral and scrutinizing the recent teleportation logs for Outer Realm Umt the larger location where the funeral would be held Which was when she had noticed an urgent report from a Disciplinary Magistrate from a neighboring Outer Realm and come to investigate

In terms of Outer Realms Umt was as posh as they came possessing superior facilities and a generous Aether allotment It was the perfect location for a tasteful funeral

Meanwhile this Outer Realm Outer Realm Schizzorix was near abandoned The population was small and most of them were injured cast offs from earlier wars against the Nether Their Aether allotment was proportionately smaller This also meant that discontent was extremely high amongst the residents

The Aether Diffuser itself was the means by which the Outer Realms received their Aether allotment It was a hulking mound of metal that looked like a generator but functioned closer to a release valve Qiolo pointed to the slightly melted material around the base of the Diffuser Whoever did this was smart too The attack didn�t damage the connection to the Nexus Ways only the release sensor So before the interference was discovered Aether ceaselessly pumped out The machine could no longer detect it had reached its daily allotment And someone was here gathering it which was why it wasn�t discovered earlier

How much Aether do you think they got away with Lady Iellaya asked

Disciplinary Magistrate Qiolo grinned The equivalent of its yearly allotment in the span of five days Which also means that Outer Realm Schizzorix will not be receiving any further Aether for a while Heh this place is so fucked

You seem remarkably cheery about the fact you�ve most likely lost your job And that you failed so spectacularly to prevent this Lady Iellaya observed slowly You are the Disciplinary head here you won�t be able to avoid punishment

When I was twenty I offended someone I shouldn�t have and had my image destroyed Qiolo said quietly The room was dark enough that Lady Iellaya couldn�t quite make out his expression The hairs on his face were sleek and shimmered as his lips moved Still I didn�t give up I started from scratch I managed to obtain a job in the Disciplinary Board and contributed significantly to the prosecution of the Overseer of the Sixth Cohort You might not have been active at the time but my investigation eventually revealed how corrupt that Overseer was I was given a commendation and my own entire Outer Realm out here It wasn�t until I got here that I realized how little my efforts mattered

When the Disciplinary Magistrate smiled Lady Iellaya could see his teeth were very sharp So I won�t deny that I am sympathetic to the people who hold the Nexus in contempt And after living on a pittance here for a hundred years what else can they do to me I reported the leak I did my duty let them punish me for that and sow more negative karma for themselves What do I care

Lady Iellaya considered the man in front of her for several seconds Then she said Would you like a job

Chapter 1529

Randidly rolled his eyes at the opening line of Neveah�s message As a more social person despite being a Bone Wyrm she wasn�t a fan of the way that he had handled the governmental situation on Expira Still the rest of the message was more serious so he carefully read every word

Contrary to expectations Expira has been rather peaceful in your absence Perhaps a peacekeeping and temperamental overlord was more aggravating than helpful Most of the Zones are spreading outward in a queer mirroring of colonialism seizing large tracts of land and resources There are some small disputes but there is simply so much land that the Zones won�t bother with confrontations over it Similarly most bubble cities have aligned themselves directly with a Zone With Kharon patrolling the unexplored areas civilization has a chance to rebuild itself

I must say though if Expira plans to run through the history of Earth at an accelerated pace I�m a little anxious

Speaking of which thank you for asking how I am I appreciate your newfound focus on emotional balance I can sense it through our connection and it�s helping me ground myself So I�ve been better After hearing your description of what likely caused Roy to take his own life I believe I�m slowly coming to terms with it Feeling like your actions are meaningless can destroy someone

There was a big piece of news recently Donnyton announced that it will soon be moving They will maintain a presence in that original valley but your original town is growing a bit too small for their operations And I think they want to avoid the growing tensions between themselves and Franksburg for control of Zone 32 So they claimed a large river valley near the equator and are currently recruiting people to join in their move

Zone 1 is low key thrilled The presence of Donnyton always aggravated them even now that Greyman is no longer President

I�ve made more progress on Yystrix�s legacy The current section I am working on appears to be related to the Nexus Ways It is a fascinating look at the way they used Aether to mimic Nether�s ability to connect but it honestly seems not very useful considering your Philosopher�s Key Therefore I plan on switching again soon to try one of the few remaining areas I haven�t addressed

In other news I�ve made a new friend I believe humans call our relationship pen pals So I�ve never met this individual but we communicate semi frequently about trivial matters It is quite the novel experience

Finally concerning your questions about additional physical suppression please stop You have a problem You are straining your physical form to the point that it damages your images That cannot be healthy

But to my mentally sick Soulbound companion below is an Engraving that I believe will achieve the desired effect

Best wishes

Neveah

Randidly grinned and scanned quickly through the Engraving His eyes rapidly brightened The Engraving essentially took principles from Randidly�s own experience as the Alpha Cosmos to restrict individuals even further It would forge a weak energy sympathy between the body and a larger structure in this case the whole of the Rally Station Thereafter a portion of an individual�s effort would be directed to moving the entire Rally Station and therefore largely wasted

Sensing that he was steadily approaching the required suppression to force the Grim Chimera image to evolve Randidly flexed his fingers Heh Grim Chimera do you really want me to pile on the physical necessity to push you to the next stage of your evolution Don�t say I didn�t warn you This will not be pleasant

Randidly hopped to his feet and walked to the window of his apartment He still had about twenty four hours before he needed to release his recruits to attend the funeral Therefore he also had time before the planned Darkstar Challenge As long as he pushed himself to the limit there was a chance that he could evolve the Grim Chimera before the challenge

And a dominant Grim Chimera was exactly the image that could scare the recruits into behaving during their time off

Nodding to himself Randidly moved to his personal training area and began adjusting his Engravings to incorporate Neveah�s idea The training pod was becoming quite cramped with all the layered Engravings but it was still possible to fit everything he wanted

Congratulations Your Skill Architecture of the Primordial Ways has grown to Level 312

But right as he was about to head in and strain himself Randidly had an idea He quickly sent Helen a message

Should I say congratulations or condolences Overseer Helen teased The mercurial flow of her expressions as she was speaking was almost petrifying despite the fact that she knew she shouldn�t stare so openly Charlotte Wick could not tear her eyes from the features of the feminine goddess in front of her She could barely even breathe This hairless humanoid was simply that perfect

Although her lack of movement might also be due to the brutalizing workout they had just endured Each of her muscles was releasing a constant stream of feeble complaints under the new array Overseer Helen hadn�t been exaggerating about how difficult these two days were going to be Charlotte�s dominant emotion had become numbness

Currently Charlotte was standing with DiOrtho Vant Jieu Ronault Kallum Xeruth and Tilem Joust the top five ranked recruits Aside from Vant they were all also captains of squads They regarded the Overseer in front of them carefully all of them antsy albeit for very different reasons than Charlotte

The Ghosthound is currently training in his pod making preparations to adjust his image Overseer Helen jerked her finger behind her Charlotte managed to tear her eyes away and glance at the training pod building in question She couldn�t sense anything but her instincts warned her to stay away from the hunched metal shell of a structure In addition he has decided to give you five an opportunity you will be allowed to come with me into the waiting area and witness the image reverberations he is releasing And should you survive for an hour within the staging area you will receive a Darkstar Coin for your efforts

Next to her DiOrtho Vant raised his head His breathing quickened

Charlotte was somewhat scandalized to feel a sense of familiarity with DiOrtho�s emotional reaction he appeared to fetishize Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound just as much as Charlotte did Overseer Helen Very quickly Charlotte suppressed that thought No My my emotions are much purer There is simply a magnetic pull I�m purely an observer I have no special desires Unlike that uncouth Vant

During Charlotte�s bout of vehement self hypnotism Overseer Helen continued to explain You do not need to take advantage of this opportunity I won�t force you It will take the place of your rest hours so you will need to proceed directly to your next physical fitness block after this In addition I will not protect your life while you are in there and the Ghosthound well he is notoriously oblivious to the harm that he can cause with his image There is a significant risk both of injury and of having your image warped by his Does anyone want to back out now

All five recruits remained silent and still No one had come this far from balking in the face of challenges

Overseer Helen beamed at them Glad to see we haven�t yet cured you of your overconfidence Well come on then Let�s get this fucking over with

With her usual swagger Overseer Helen walked forward to the door to the Ghosthound�s personal training facility In terms of exterior it was perfectly in line with the other training buildings Its pod was no larger than any of the others But with every step they took toward that building Charlotte�s instincts upped the volume on their warning about that place There was something dense and dangerous swirling around it Every more worryingly Overseer Helen paused in front of the doors Her image exploded around her thick currents of crimson energy winding their way around her lithe limbs

Only then did she open the door and reveal the ominously still interior She walked forward with even steps The noise of her boots against the tiled floor echoed strangely After exchanging alarmed glances the recruits followed Each activated their own image in imitation of Overseer Helen Charlotte�s plant/beast hybrid the Primordial Spirit cantered slowly forward behind her On its leafy rack of pale antlers small bells chimed calming the emotions of the individuals around her

Although DiOrtho Vant spared her an irritated glare the rest of the recruits radiated gratitude as Charlotte�s assistance helped calm their emotions Although she would never admit it out loud she paid tribute where it was due Advisor Salazar might be tiresome but his teachings about creating an aura are absolutely sublime Peh I suppose it was a survival instinct If he didn�t have a calming shroud around him he would be killed for constantly telling his stupid tales

As soon as Charlotte stepped across the threshold her attention snapped back to the situation at hand There was a strange ringing in her ears She could barely suppress a gasp laid bare in front of her was the ongoing struggle of their Head Drill Sergeant Randidly Ghosthound The interior area was dimly lit and murky with powerful emotions and half formed emotions warping and obscuring the space just as surely as fog would Her bones resonated with the rumbling force that was rumbling through the air of the training hall If their bodies hadn�t been a point of emphasis for the past several weeks

It felt like they were standing suspended in the middle of a storm cloud during a typhoon Everything was howling force and potent charge Or like she had been plunged to the bottom of a frigid sea Her skin crawled

Even with all of the training they had done it was only Jieu who appeared completely at ease in the staging area Overseer Helen glanced over her shoulder casually her crimson blood flows seeming to easily push away the crashing waves of image in the surrounding air She gestured slightly toward the swirling darkness at the far end of the hall Adjust your state here When you are ready

oomm

Next to her Kallum Xeruth spat out blood and fell to one knee as a horrifying cry emerged from the darkness in front of them That rumbling groan was almost infectious somehow after it experiencing it it began to feel like it was coming from the depths of your own body Charlotte�s Primordial Spirit wavered She began to sweat She wrapped her arms around herself like she was desperately hugging her own torso

Overseer Helen�s mouth twitched when you are ready follow me for a closer look But I�d recommend not taking a step closer than me I�ll be using this opportunity to train as well And as for the pressure right next to the training pod I wouldn�t dare experience it even for a second It would physically squish you Like a bug

Then she walked forward Snarling DiOrtho Vant forced himself to follow after her Jieu Ronault glided serenely after them For the moment Charlotte Wick waited and radiated energy from her image as best she could But with the chaotic rumbles in the space her image was warped and weakened

But soon Kallum appeared to have stabilized himself and stood His gaze was toward the training pod of their Head Drill Sergeant There was something fanatical in his gaze Charlotte glanced sideways at Tilem Joust a young woman with almost a dozen eyes on her face Pale and sickly looking Tilem shook her head her body could barely withstand it as it was

Charlotte nodded slowly then led Kallum forward wanting to observe the Ghosthound even if it was only for a moment

Chapter 1530

DiOrtho Vant was trembling but he had enough physical capability remaining in his body to take one further step forward Perhaps a meter in front of him Overseer Helen glanced back over her shoulder at him with a cool gaze Her entire figure was partially obscured both by the chaotic images that the Ghosthound was throwing off and by her own crimson flows that spiraled tightly around her every move The air was so thick with images that it was somewhat oversaturated

The clicking machine horror conjured by DiOrtho strained trying to push back the waves of force around him Every second saw his image turning even dimmer

Even through the haze of his exhaustion he could tell that Overseer Helen looked at him with genuine pity Turn back Vant You are overmatched here

Fury bloomed raw and hot in DiOrtho�s chest He meant to growl but the noise came out as a groan But at least those emotions could briefly become fuel for his image Perhaps four more meters in front of Overseer Helen was the Ghosthound�s training pod a rumbling core of seismic activity DiOrtho�s eyes were bloodshot as he did his best to ignore the Overseer and observed the powerful image rising in the air above them

His muscle spasms were increasing in frequency but the movements were still manageable DiOrtho�s mouth twisted open I must endure here I refuse to give in I�ll show them that I have what it takes Someday I will have the power to never be beholden to fucking anyone

Through the haze of image and the hum of the Engravings of the training pod it was only possible to see the broadest strokes of the blurry figure standing in the air in front of them Yet despite the fact that the details were muffled by the surrounding chaos it was like looking through a filter and suddenly seeing vivid and vital color for the first time That figure seemed real and concrete in a way that spoke to a horrifying depth of Willpower possessed by the Ghosthound

DiOrtho took another step forward The trembling grew worse as his image was steady ground away by the veritable sandblasting of ambient image that was whipping around the Ghosthound�s image The whirring of his machine horror became an unsteady whine Meanwhile the Ghosthound was pressuring his image so forcefully with the array that debris was being ripped away and that debris was enough to completely defeat DiOrtho�s image

It was humbling It was humiliating

Someday I swear someday

Overseer Helen shook her head He�s right at the cusp kid And you think the pressure is high right now What is about to happen is an increase of an entire tier Don�t let your pride blind you to the truth Look at yourself You could die

DiOrtho knew the Overseer was right He couldn�t miss the current fractured state of his body His blood vessels had burst and his organs were struggling to maintain themselves He also could tell that the Overseer was being genuine But that just made it worse Despite the warnings he tried to take another step forward But due to the damage to his body he only swayed in place

If I�m meant to die here then so be it DiOrtho clenched his teeth in a tiny attempt to brace himself against the forces buffeting him I won�t run away from my own weakness

Above them the blurry figure raised its head and roared It spread its arms and through the veil DiOrtho could see the skin its limbs tear like feeble gift wrapping before the greedy fingers of a child His hanging skin flapped and fluttered like a flag The hulking image form then reached over with its right hand and began to rip large chunks of its own flesh off The pressure shot sharply upward and DiOrtho suddenly found that he could not breathe Even so he didn�t mind He didn�t look away for a single moment

The tiles beneath DiOrtho�s feet began to crack

Or he would have not looked away had that sudden flesh rending not unleashed a gale force wind that blasted outward DiOrtho blinked and had to fall to his hands in knees in order to not get blasted backward His image sputtered and was extinguished beneath that assault A split second later he had to lower himself further so it appeared like he was scuttling along the ground like a common beetle to avoid being shoved backward Yet with the advent of the stupefyingly powerful wind the clarity of the image overhead sharply increased

Even as the wind continued to howl the veil parted

DiOrtho recognized the figure of the Ghosthound looking frail and slender after so much flesh had ruptured and been torn away Only his left arm remained formidable a massive claw of bulging muscle and heavy bone Again the Ghosthound raised his head and roared But after that roar his body began to fail

It started with his right wrist The joint simply collapsed spraying flecks of fractured bone and gore into the surroundings Then his left hip began to twist and groan His left foot seemed to explode spraying blood everywhere His right forearm snapped like a twig the bone thrusting up through the arm and revealing the fractured end His lower jaw was ripped away letting blood dribble down over his neck and torso

With wide eyes DiOrtho watched the overwhelming pressure slowly crushing the Ghosthound�s image body Joints and long bones failed first with the larger muscle groups slowly being shredded from his form and leaving only a cracked skeleton in its wake That is except for that massive left arm The pressure ruptured the thing�s blood vessels and had it constantly leaking crimson liquid but its massive weight resisted cracking

The pressure continued to tick upward causing DiOrtho to squint Once more visibility dipped as the Ghosthound was situated in the core of a whirlwind of gore and viscera Yet DiOrtho could still barely make out movement within that bloody screen The Ghosthound�s left arm was slowly reaching upward Its creaking claws spread wide

Strangely that enormous claw pressed to the Ghosthound�s chest with enough size to engulf most of his upper torso Then that claw began to tighten even as the rest of his body continued to splinter and spatter

DiOrtho�s hair began to stand on end From the Ghosthound�s image a rumbling sound echoed outward that was so real that it almost didn�t seem like a part of an image And perhaps it wasn�t because it moved perfectly in parallel with the Ghosthound�s physical heart Yet as DiOrtho listened every sense told him that the image floating in the air above him was the source of the noise It felt like the heart in question was right next to DiOrtho resonating with his body

The pressure increased as the heartbeats continued The noise grew stronger each beat smashing outward with such power that the pressure was forced briefly backward Then it gathered up in a wave and smashed against the Ghosthound�s image furious about this transgression Something was rising in the air around the hunched form of the image gripping its own chest with its talon Yet the image wasn�t the Ghosthound�s only creation he was the architect behind the suppression array as well And as though it was infuriated by this show of defiance the array upped the pressure further

The image�s legs were annihilated in a sudden spray of gore so that the body simply hung in the air His right arm began to writhe and bubble like it was being roasted over a fire until it shriveled and was physically torn away at the shoulder His cheekbones splintered and cracked his skull shuddering and splintering

Meanwhile The enormous claw continued to tighten clearly shattering ribs with the force of its grip In a way it looked like the claw of the image intended to take its own life before the array could do it It was one of the most perfect acts of spite that DiOrtho had ever seen

In front of DiOrtho Vant Overseer Helen lowered her stance and increased the thickness of the crimson flows around her Just as he was feeling rather gratified that she was also being visibly tested by this powerful image a wave of heat smashed against DiOrtho His skin was almost instantly scaled Blisters gradually began to form along his face and hands the closest exposed skin to the image

DiOrtho�s vision began to grow blurry but he blinked rapidly so that he wouldn�t miss a single detail The heat wasn�t from the suppression away it was the Ghosthound�s image itself that seemed to be boiling itself The heart was the source of an unending inferno that began to completely warp the rest of the image

THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP

The massive claw that had protected the heart from the pressure around it to this point began to ooze and melt The mixture of bone metal and sizzling flesh oozed down the image�s waist and dripped across the space where its legs used to be The fractured skull of the image dripped across its shoulders A strange light emerged in the Ghosthound�s image slowly warping the surrounding space

DiOrtho snapped awake as his forehead hit the ground painfully sending his scalded skin screaming The pressure must have briefly knocked him unconscious He raised his head back up to look at the image but the light had become blinding

DiOrtho�s head hit the tiled floor once more This time the contact did not wake him back up

Warning Please see the nearest Village Spirit

Recalculating Synchronicity detected

Congratulations Your Skillset the Descent of the Grim Chimera has evolved into the Supremacy of the Grim Chimera Some Skills have also evolved Skill Levels will be maintained

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Avoidance has evolved into Chimeric Impunity

Congratulations Your Skill Abomination�s Grim Vigor has evolved into Grit of the Ascendant Bane

Congratulations Your Skill Molten Fang of the Pariah has evolved into Pernicious Fang of the Shade

Randidly released a long breath savoring the sensation of Chimeric Impunity almost making the previous physical suppression irrelevant He barely seemed to feel the effects of the array any longer With a small grin on his face carefully released his left hand�s grip on his chest and raised his arm

Rummbbllee

The whole of the Rally Station shook Randidly�s eyelid twitched The boost in power is so much that the energy passing along the sympathetic relationship between me and the Rally Station can shake the entire hunk of rock

He might very well have been tempted to continue to experiment with the new capabilities of the Grim Chimera but he had a killer headache the strain on his image of the Grim Chimera was truly ridiculous He would need to take a long break before he tested his new limits

The process of evolution had been a close thing too Randidly had underestimated how stubborn the Grim Chimera was It wasn�t until the end as the image truly began to disintegrate at the edges that its basic form began to change By the time that the process was finished even Yggdrasil was completely drained from frantically healing the damage to the Grim Chimera

Randidly huffed out another breath and deactivated the suppression array But seeing that the Rarity had gone up on the Skillset he knew that the attempt was a huge success

Chapter 1531

Unfortunately the increased Rarity of his Skillset was where the good news for the day ended

Randidly stared at Helen with a helpless expression on his face What do you mean he likely won�t challenge me in time That was the whole point of allowing him to witness the transformation

Even I was stunned by his stupidity Helen said with the shake of her head She gestured to the slumped form of DiOrtho Vant on the ground His skin had gradually healed from the terrible burn marks that covered his body but he still remained unconscious He came so close that I couldn�t afford to protect him I needed to keep myself from ending up like that And I�m pretty sure his image was impacted pretty directly It burned away partway through and he stayed through sheer Willpower He will need some actual time to recover from that

After rubbing the back of his neck Randidly could only sigh Well too late to do anything about it now Did you give out any other Darkstar Coins

The other recruits had the fucking common sense to leave the training area when it was clear your physical suppression was beginning to bleed outward into the surrounding space Helen said with a pointed glare at Randidly

He raised his hands in an admittance of guilt It was a new array that I�d never tried before Obviously the result was great but it did bleed into the surrounding space The array needed enough power to forge a connection and that seemed to warp the surrounding limiters How bad was it

Bad for me Near fatal for him two meters back Helen grunted She folded her arms and then unfolded them Then she threw her hands up into the air Sorry I�m not trying to lay the blame at your feet Just unfortunate that our best recruit might be wounded by this And honestly he fucking reminds me of me So much misplaced violence peh Helen spat off to the side Let�s be positive though Hopefully he wakes up a bit less of a dumbass

Randidly faked a smile but his chest still felt heavy Not that he would lose sleep over it but he still regretted hurting the recruit like this Especially when it was clear the young man had Helen�s attention He rolled his shoulders lightly just to feel the sensation of moving his body For the next few hours I�m going to experiment with my new image Let me know if his condition changes

Helen nodded and Randidly left Part of what he wanted to do was experiment with his changed image but that was only part of his motivation for wanting some alone time Helen might not be aware of it but whatever had transpired with DiOrtho Vant�s image had attracted the attention of the surrounding Nether Randidly both wanted to monitor the process to ensure the recruit�s safety but he also meant to observe it

Every bit of data was important And from the behavior of Nether the process wouldn�t harm DiOrtho Or at least not physically It might spell trouble for him down the road as the accumulated Nether in his body proceeded past a certain point but it could also be an opportunity The Nether was quickly repairing the impact that Randidly�s image had made against the recruits

Although its a disappointing irony that I might need to become someone�s Nether teacher before I am even close to understanding the energy

Randidly shook his head He could wait until later to sharpen his own humor on himself For now he needed to take advantage of these Nether reverberations

Raymund almost felt like he was floating as soon as the suppression array was deactivated He looked down at his long claws in wonder sometimes it was very easy to forget that even existing in their camp was some of the most brutal exercise that he had ever experienced Around him most of the rest of the recruits had similar expressions of pure bliss as they waved their liberated limbs around

The quickly arriving impression of power was intoxicating

Is this a celebration you should attend looking so joyous recruits Overseer Helen�s voice cut across all of their relief like a knife made of ice thrust into the ribs We are going to the funeral of a Commandant A being who died in the very location to which you will be soon deployed murdered a foe who is more likely to kill you accidentally than to even notice your existence Now is anyone going to explain the joke of this situation to me or are you going to behave as soldiers

Raymund and the other squad leaders whispered a few words to their particular squads helping the ground stabilize their expressions and emotions The two hundred recruits were standing near the central training area in tight groups preparing to head to the Rally Station Teleporter Even DiOrtho Vant who looked like he had just woken up from a nap remained silent Overseer Helen scrutinized them for several seconds her mouth in a thin line

Just as she was opening her mouth to say something else the air next to her opened and Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound walked out into the area in front of the recruits With what was probably the original version of the look that Overseer Helen imitated and used on the recruits the Ghosthound�s gaze razed its way through the ranks leaving the unfortunate recruits who met his eyes paralyzed for several agonizing seconds by the force of his person

He seems different Raymund vaguely sensed

After studying the recruits the Ghosthound nodded slowly I�ll keep this short Don�t bite off more than you can chew recruits You�ll choke to death

He turned away without saying anything further and Overseers Helen Heiffal and Muareth formed the various squads up into a tight column behind him They marched quickly toward the central portion of the Rally Station where the other recruits were waiting en mass in their polished armor The other groups stood as still as statues and allowed the elite squad to pass

Yet as they trooped forward Raymund felt his chin slowly rising He took longer more confident strides A week ago they had faced and defeated a batch of recruits five times their number And now after the hellish training they just recently endured Raymund was filled with the ridiculous notion that even if every other recruit attacked them together they would still be able to defeat them

But that might simply be dazed exhaustion inflating an otherwise legitimate bit of confidence Raymund shook himself slightly He couldn�t help but attempt a similar glance to the one that he had seen from both Overseer Helen and Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound as he regarded the competition He quickly scanned the surrounding sea of silent recruits as the elite squad moved through the waiting crowd right to the front Such a numerical disadvantage is likely insurmountable There are one hundred ninety nine thousand of them

Yet aside from the Drill Sergeants I cannot spot a single image that intimidates me amongst

Raymund blinked and rapidly withdrew his very obvious inspection suddenly realizing that he had been staring directly into the eyes of a Drill Sergeant across a sea of bodies between them That very Drill Sergeant appeared to have noticed Raymund�s gaze several seconds ago and was now red faced with fury As Raymund flushed and looked at the ground there was a rush of noise as the Drill Sergeant rushed toward

After flinching Raymund looked upward The other Drill Sergeant a squat humanoid with suddenly very red skin and four arms had charged over toward Raymund Somehow the Ghosthound had sensed his approach and interposed himself between them Although Raymund�s heart was pounding he couldn�t help but feel strangely relieved as he looked at the Ghosthound�s broad back

Teach your recruit some manners The other Drill Sergeant snarled Or if you don�t have the balls get the fuck out of my way and I�ll

Which of us the Head Drill Sergeant The Ghosthound asked He raised his right hand and jabbed his finger into the chest of the other Drill Sergeant sending him stumbling backward While the aggressor�s face was suddenly slack with shock likely due to how easily he was pushed around the Ghosthound stepped forward again I know my job And my place Can you say the same

You Apparently this Drill Sergeant�s temper was more dominant than his sense because he stepped forward and whipped his arms sideways to knock the Ghosthound�s hand away Almost immediately something changed in the air Raymund couldn�t see it but he felt the Ghosthound�s emotions instantly condense to a vicious blade

And when the other Drill Sergeant pressed his arm against the Ghosthound�s it just passed through the Head Drill Sergeant�s limb without any resistance

Without missing a beat the Ghosthound reached forward with that flickering right arm and seized the Drill Sergeant�s throat with his suddenly very solid and strong fingers As he lifted the unfortunate soul of the ground whose expression was frozen in the face of a fish being dragged to the butcher�s table the Ghosthound�s left arm came up Strange angular black armor formed around his suddenly massive limb as he made a fist

That relief in Raymund�s chest rapidly turned into a stunned panic He�s about to smash that man�s skull like a melon

Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound A sweaty looking Superintendent Xeruth was suddenly standing next to the Ghosthound his hands held aloft like he wanted to stop the Ghosthound�s movements but was scared actually touching him would set him off Raymund could see drops of preparation on the Superintendent�s pale temples This isn�t this just a misunderstanding Drill Sergeant Pooual just made a mistake Isn�t that right

I The Drill Sergeant hissed through his teeth emotions warring across his face Yet fear had quickly overtaken anger Apparently he was also aware of how close he came to being wiped from existence due to this casual confrontation But before he could come to any conclusion Raymund heard the Ghosthound�s voice seeming to radiate from the Head Drill Sergeant�s back

Oh You were going to apologize Then I suppose everything is fine The Ghosthound said

Apologize Drill Sergeant Pooual�s skin rapidly flared back to red

But Superintendent Xeruth felt no such qualms about putting his hands on this lesser Drill Sergeant His hand clamped down on the man�s shoulder Yes Apologize to the Head Drill Sergeant

For several seconds the entire assembly was silent The near two hundred thousand soldiers looked on at the confrontation Standing right near the epicenter Raymund could just barely touch on the slightest inkling of the emotions passing between those two powerful men And from what he could tell The Ghosthound believed he had already won so strongly that he was gradually changing the Drill Sergeant�s mind

His confidence cut even more deeply than the image power he had displayed

Although his skin was so red that blood might be welling up from every pore the Drill Sergeant lowered his gaze I apologize

The Ghosthound just snorted Then he turned away without even acknowledging the man�s words Let�s get going We�ve wasted enough time here

Chapter 1532

The ancient mechanical clocktower was the tallest building in Outer Realm Umt giving Lady Iellaya a sprawling view of the downtown area of the floating piece of land She looked down through the glamorously wide stone streets that were absolutely clogged with soldiers in military uniform Superior officers shouted and waved their arms forcing their various battalions to move to make room the soldiers flowing ceaselessly behind them

Lady Iellaya checked with her aide on one key fact and was somewhat nonplussed when it turned out that her initial impression was correct For most of the off duty personnel attending the funeral was only voluntary

Looking at the numbers that continued ceaselessly to flow out of the teleporter formation it seemed that many had resolved themselves to volunteer And Lady Iellaya didn�t fail to realize that the more people were present in the Outer Realm the more difficult it would be for her to detect a saboteur Lady Iellaya glanced sideways at the aide standing next to her Do we have the room for all of the soldiers

We�ve already started moving all of the soldiers below the rank of Commander out to the overflow venues so this area should clear up shortly The aide responded quickly In addition we have received regular reports both from the extra security around the teleporter and the entrance to the undercity there has been no suspicious activity thus far Everything is optimal

Lady Iellaya allowed herself a short nod The black feathers down her arms and spine flared slightly hidden under the tight military uniform that she wore It was difficult to shake the feeling that she was missing something But for the past week she had been tirelessly throwing herself into preparations for this funeral She had visited the nearby Outer Realm that had been attacked She had thoroughly inspected thousands of teleportation records She had patrolled every public inch of Umt looking for any trace images that stuck out to her amongst the local population

Maybe what I�m missing is a fucking break Lady Iellaya thought sourly

Perhaps most depressingly she was slowly realizing that successfully pulling off Commandant Lyrim�s funeral would mean nothing in the grand scheme of things This was only a detriment to her career a failure here would mean she could no longer advance while Military High Command would almost instantly forget her hard work should she succeed

Or even worse they might assign her more funerals in the future

Lady Iellaya shuddered then looked back out to the streets below Due to the sheer volume of people who came out for the funeral most of the actual residents of Outer Realm Umt were stuck within their stone residences their noses pressed to their windows to watch the spectacle While the few remaining family members of the Commandant had already been taken to the chapel the rest of the people who lived here descendants or not wore solemn faces and watched the soldiers march below Somehow the event felt less like a moment honoring a fallen comrade than a foolhardy denial of weakness by the military

Look at how large our armies are Look at the solidarity This will never happen again We are invincible The soldiers seemed to shout with their localized unity in each step But as Lady Iellaya stood on the clocktower and waves of sound separated by space converged on her all she heard was a chaotic mass of bodies stomping around

She could understand why the real residences might be especially tense right now Sometimes it was better simply to avoid the attention of those in power Especially considering how little value Commandant Lyrim appeared to put on protecting the Outer Realm even during his life and also because of how shallow the backing was of this Outer Realm currently

Offending the wrong person would mean this place would be wiped off of the map

The residents of this Outer Realm might be relatively affluent in the grand scheme of the Nexus Many of them were employed by the NLC or were assistants to the Overseers of the various Cohorts But although they might have specialty training it wasn�t so strenuous that replacements couldn�t be found even in the short term

That was the reality of the Nexus There were simply too many people waiting in the wings hungry for access to more Aether

Lady Iellaya turned away from the window That�s why I cannot hesitate to seize more responsibility I�m so close Just a little more

She glanced sideways at her aide Contact me immediately if something comes up But for now I need to pay my respects Let�s get this over with

The aide bowed and Lady Iellaya proceeded down the straight and sharp cornered stretches of stairs that formed a repeating square all the way down to the ground She could have utilized her Authority in the Nexus Ways to jump to the location more directly but Lady Iellaya thought it was better to not clutter the signals being observed by her team monitoring the Ways If anything unusual happened she wanted to know immediately The time that they took to investigate her movements might be crucial to the security efforts

Lady Iellaya did not forget even for a second that an unstable element bearing a year�s worth of Aether for an Outer Realm was lurking about There were enough powerful individuals present at the funeral that there was little chance of anyone truly important dying but with so much Aether missing she was unwilling to take even the slightest risk

Besides Lady Iellaya could also use the physical exertion to work her way through some of the stress she was experiencing from the constant state of awareness she was maintaining Unfortunately she knew immediately when she arrived at the ground floor that the next few minutes wouldn�t be as stress free as she had hoped

Lady Iellaya narrowed her eyes at the woman waiting for her with her hands clasped behind her back Miss Rex What a surprise to find you here Is there a problem I can have a guard guide you to the chapel if you wish

Neshamah Rex smiled sweetly at Lady Iellaya Each strand of her emerald hair seemed to be an exquisite work of wrought stone twinkling in the light filtering through the window Even more strikingly the light that hit her cascading mane of hair then radiated out from around her in a delicate and arresting halo Lady Iellaya felt a strange unfamiliar irritation as she looked at the inscrutable young woman in front of her With her blue skin and a deer skin mahogany dress she truly looked like a perfectly manicured product rather than an actual living breathing and shitting individual

Lady Iellaya convinced herself with difficulty that punching the woman to wipe the smile off her face would not help ease her stress

Neshamah�s lips parted and she tilted her head to the side She still maintained a small smile Oh my how embarrassing Have we met before I was under the impression this was our first meeting

Lady Iellaya pressed her lips together This is our first meeting Miss Rex But I believe you should be aware that you are a relatively well known figure around the Nexus Now if there is nothing I must be going

Of course You are the head of security for the entire funeral right What a stressful job Which is why I came to speak with you Neshamah�s eyes crinkled at the edges There is something I want to say before I let you go

Lady Iellaya just looked at the other woman ignoring her perfect dimples The notoriously playful and irreverent Neshamah Rex was exactly not the sort of individual who Lady Iellaya wanted to encounter right now

By the end of a few seconds of pregnant silence Neshamah was practically beaming What I want to say is You are doing a great job

Lady Iellaya�s didn�t even react that�s it

That�s it Neshamah nodded so sharply that it was clear she believed that she had accomplished something of actual significance The young woman clapped her hands together and unleashed another bright smile You are basically the only woman at Military High Command right Hehe I might have been a bit dishonest earlier Even if we haven�t met before I also know quite a bit about you Lady Iellaya Such a determined worker a better soldier we haven�t seen in the Nexus for entire Cohorts So maybe I also wanted to spark a friendship while making sure you understand how appreciated you are Have I charmed you yet

I must return to work Miss Rex Lady Iellaya said in a monotone voice She brusquely shook the young woman�s hand and then started walking toward the door Thank you for your support Now if you�ll excuse me

The door opened before Lady Iellaya had reached it A rather uncomfortable looking Randidly wearing a stiff military uniform that was entirely too tight walked through the door He opened his mouth to say something to Lady Iellaya as he entered but then he caught sight of Neshamah Rex and fell completely still Then his gaze toward the beautiful daughter of Solomon Rex turned rather intense

Almost hungry

Seriously Randidly Lady Iellaya rolled her eyes inwardly But she said nothing because she was rather shocked to discover that Neshamah was similarly transfixed by the sight of Randidly Ghosthound The daughter of Solomon Rex blinked several times as she considered Randidly The two were balanced in a frozen moment stalling in their previous movements

Neshamah recovered first Her trademark smile bloomed Well well well It�s been quite some time since I�ve been surprised like this You are

Randidly Ghosthound Randidly said quietly His emerald eyes scrutinized Neshamah but Lady Iellaya could now vaguely sense he wasn�t actually besotted as she had assumed he was peering through Neshamah examining some interior construct of her person And you

Ah You are that contentious Head Drill Sergeant The mad dog of Shevran Haha This is quite amusing Neshamah slapped her knee with all the glee of an old sailor hearing the news that the red light district was having a sale all of her previous coquettishness gone I am Neshamah Rex It�s very nice to meet you For now let�s leave it at that But in the future feel free to reach out Mr Ghosthound

Still chuckling she walked past Randidly and out into the street where two tall bodyguards in grey coats were waiting The trio quickly cut into the dwindling crowd of soldiers and seemed to instantly vanish

Lady Iellaya frowned at Randidly What was that about

Randidly�s eyes were still pointed out the door looking through the crowd following the vanished figures The muscles of his jaw continued to work as though he were clenching and unclenching his jaw That Neshamah uses Nether Actively The way it was moving through her person she�s better than using than I am

Lady Iellaya blinked Really

Really Randidly confirmed finally shaking his head and turning to Lady Iellaya Lady Iellaya chewed on her lip at that thought Not that she didn�t believe Randidly but it was difficult to imagine that one of the most famous individuals in the Nexus had been secretly utilizing Nether this entire time

which probably meant she was doing it with the Nexus�s blessing Hum That was something worth considering And it was slightly disturbing to realize that this young woman had been using Nether right next to her without Lady Iellaya being able to sense it at all

But Lady Iellaya quickly shook herself They could discuss the implications of the Nether later If you have something to say let�s talk while walking we are already late enough as it is If I don�t bury the Commandant personally I don�t think it will even happen

Chapter 1533

As it turned out Randidly didn�t have much to say on their walk to the chapel he had just come because he hadn�t wanted to linger with the constantly fearful Superintendent Xeruth as the two of them waited for the funeral to start Plus some of the surrounding individuals had been staring at Randidly and whispering apparently his reputation preceded him Therefore he had come looking for Lady Iellaya

The small chapel where the funeral would be held was a rustic building that could only barely claim to be a chapel based on the height of its ceilings Thick uncarved stone pillars held the roof about five meters above the heads of a normal humanoid Which did seem to add a reflective mood to the attendees But even with that height the hundred Commander rank military personnel and above the family and the various security guards meant that the entire thing would be filled to bursting with bodies

Lady Iellaya was not looking forward to squeezing into a seat

Even worse the entirety of the chapel was shaped in the same hewn stone look of those grand pillars The benches were squat grey pews The altar was a stone table The windows looked positively feeble between the heavy rectangles of stone that formed the walls Everything was rough and weighty

It spoke to a Commandant who valued austerity and solemnity over all else It felt like the building itself was all the gravestone the deceased could ever desire

No one was happy with the arrangements and despite the fact that she had no control over the situation Lady Iellaya had been receiving a steady stream of criticisms for the past week over the venue Basically she now hated this Outer Realm and its chapel more than anything else in the Nexus

Aside of course from the Commandants who refused to promote her But that was a work in progress

So as they walked Lady Iellaya didn�t try to hold back her feelings of frustration while speaking Of the individuals that she knew Randidly Ghosthound was one of the few which she trusted implicitly Their conspiracy to overthrow the established order of the Nexus generated bound them together even ignoring the fact that Randidly had remade her Class for her So Lady Iellaya ranted wildly talking about her fury toward the various attendees before moving on to how difficult it had been trying to protect Outer Realm Umt from being the target of any giant terrorist attack

With the Nexus� situation being what it was Lady Iellaya was inundated with threats of action from various dissatisfied groups It was impossible to keep track of who could take advantage of the gathering of important individuals to send some meaningless message that would probably be misinterpreted anyway

The sense of sympathy powerlessness Lady Iellaya felt as she studied these groups did not leave her particularly optimistic about Edraine�s plan at all But at this point she wasn�t going to back down

This conversation carried them through most of the walk They had headed outside of the downtown area along a dirt lane now blessedly devoid of other soldiers to ascend a small hill and arrive at the chapel Along the lane were bare imitations of trees done in copper and brass their sharp and angular branches ending in points sharp enough to impale flesh Lady Iellaya finally ran out of steam as she considered these queer decorations on the way to the chapel

Fucking creepy as hell Lady Iellaya�s feathers twitched I wonder how many birds have killed themselves on these branches

Right when they were about to arrive at the chapel Randidly Ghosthound spoke Well we don�t think the resistance is very powerful right At least not powerful enough to seriously threaten all the Commandants and political figures here right

Yes but that doesn�t mean I won�t be blamed if those in power are inconvenienced even the slightest bit Lady Iellaya said with a scowl Just imagining the shitstorm she would need to endure if something happened

I just mean it doesn�t seem likely to me that the funeral would be the target You talk about wanting to send a message but what�s stressing you out is that stolen Aether right Well they didn�t try and send a message with that collection Randidly pointed out He scratched the back of his neck like he felt slightly awkward speaking out They just stole a bunch of Aether And now you�ve very obviously tightened security here Fighting from a position of weakness only a dumbass would attack the funeral right now There are probably dozens of easier targets in the Nexus with so many elites concentrated here

Lady Iellaya shrugged Not my patrol not my problem Now let�s just get through this shall we

Octavius Shrike woke up with the knowledge that something was very wrong with his situation Reaching for his image netted him nothing In addition his body was entirely frozen He couldn�t manage even the slightest movement

His bedroom as it usually was when he lay down for some restful meditation was completely dark The door and windows were sealed But he could sense that he was not alone in the room Two presences shifted lightly around his desk at the far end of the room perusing through the copious amounts of scrolls and personal effects that Octavius maintained there

For a second Octavius felt a flash of panic But then he quickly calmed himself His initial fear was that this was the Nexus itself moving against him perhaps someone had informed those in power about the alliance between himself Edraine Lady Iellaya and Randidly Ghosthound to overthrow current Nexus leadership But that feeling quickly passed as he realized that despite his proclivity to record every portion of his life he had forcefully restrained himself from noting anything incriminating down

If they were looking for evidence they would not find it here

Especially here in his home office Only documents relating to the Seventh Cohort were present Mostly it was his personal observations about common elements present in the worlds that were passing through the Calamities and a second hard copy of Aether harvests statistics in the Seventh Cohort The former was the seed of a paper Octavius intended to eventually submit before the Eighth Cohort was formed and the latter was just a precaution

However that lack of panic quickly erupted back into panic as he blanked on what other forces would have the capability and the motivation to break into his room and restrain him Confusion and darkness quickly whispered to those fears helping them rapidly swell and overtake him His image once more strained against the strange sense of isolation but Octavius could manage to do exactly nothing

I�m at their mercy That chilling thought helped calm Octavius down

The two presences noticed Octavius� wakefulness as well stopping in their examination and glancing at each other They might very well be completely imperceivable with Octavius being sealed as he was if not for some recent points about emotion Octavius had learned from Randidly Ghosthound The two figures blended perfectly into the darkness and their images were perfectly controlled but they allowed their emotions to flow rather freely

Octavius managed to latch onto two distinct flavors of emotion in the darkness

Cruelty seemed to grin as he looked over at Octavius He�s awake

Anxiety glanced at Cruelty in annoyance Although Octavius couldn�t truly sense either of their movements he liked to imagine that Cruelty shrugged before he replied to the pointed glance Why not talk We have him We have everything here we need Let�s enjoy the success

Finish the job first Anxiety replied curtly We need to make sure we get all the records he made of the Aether Harvests Even if we are deep in the lower portion of the Nexus the possibility of other forces noticing the array around the house isn�t zero Stay focused

Bah why worry The man is anal he is so good at organization that its boringly easy to find all his documentation ah I suppose it�s possible that he might have another copy hidden somewhere Hehe can�t be too careful right Cruelty paused and notes of glee began to emerge from him He walked over to Octavius� bed and began to stand over him The hanging darkness suddenly felt that much more solid

Octavius tried to squirm but still couldn�t move at all He marshaled his image but that just made Cruelty laugh Heh So Mr Shrike please tell me are you hiding another copy of these notes I would really appreciate honesty I would hate to drag this out

Even through the pitch darkness of the room Octavius could sense something congealing in Cruelty�s hand But just as Octavius began to sweat and that hand was being lowered toward his chest Anxiety stomped over You cannot use Nether We are Nexus extremists exposing a corrupt official How would we know how to utilize Nether Just burn him out the old fashioned way

Fine Cruelty mumbled Inside Octavius shivered He wanted to open his mouth and tell them that he didn�t keep second records but his body was still completely paralyzed His eyes widened and his pupils dilated despite the darkness

Please Octavius said a silent prayer Even the overlay System was isolated here he couldn�t even send a message

Somehow Cruelty appeared to observe Octavius� struggles Oh I know you cannot answer me yet But I usually find giving you a taste of pain before I ask the questions clears up any misunderstandings You will die tonight Octavius Shrike The only question is how clean your passage is going to be Now let me show you what unclean� feels like

For a split second as Cruelty moved closer to Octavius a portion of his Aether Architecture engaged Which filled the frozen Cohort Overseer with both hope and foreboding Hope because the architecture placed there by the System could come to his aid now and stop this insanity Foreboding because if what Cruelty planned was enough to trigger the System�s implicit defenses whatever he was up to was not a good thing

Yet just as quickly as it had come the Aether Architecture disengaged Cruelty was prepared for this Fear swallowed the brief hope that had been ignited in Octavius�s heart

Cruelty�s hand touched Octavius� chest Although he could not move his body slowly strained to arch his back and create space from the light touch The pain arrived a second later wet and clinging spreading to engulf his entire body The darkness became an abyss as Octavius felt this strange being begin grinding away at his image Octavius� eyes bulged He wanted to vomit In a very real way the fabric of Octavius was being destroyed and he could do nothing about it

His tongue began to swell and undulate just slightly His organs were screaming

The pain continued to rise within him in densely packed waves His image couldn�t even marshall itself to fight He just felt a horrible sickening fear as he felt everything he had built in his time in the Nexus was erased All his hard work came to naught If he could have moved Octavius would have trembled and sobbed Although he would have been aghast at the possibility before tonight Octavius would have even traded his beloved horn for the safety of his image

They plan to make me weak Octavius thought in desperate

But another voice in his head just snickered Doesn�t this prove you are already weak

Eventually the pain stopped With its retreat the restrains on Octavius� body also dissolved He reflexively tried to cough but he was so weak and drained he just ended up drooling and convulsing lightly

Now tell me again Cruelty said with glee Do you have other copies of these notes

A new emotion arrived at the scene It seeped up through the floorboards and around the edges of the door It was a horrible bloodlust so thick and hungry that it numbed Octavius just to sense it He couldn�t believe that the other two didn�t notice

Octavius� eyes rolled back into his head But despite the fear he couldn�t help but laugh The air around them continued to change ever exit was now sealed You gentlemen are so royally fucked

Perfect Let�s keep going with messy than shall we Cruelty responded Clearly he was delighted that Octavius didn�t capitulate immediately Yet as he moved to touch Octavius again the mysterious figure stilled

In the darkness a beast yawned grabbing the attention of both Cruelty and Anxiety That bloodlust became an image that began to squeeze the room The bed and the doorframe and Octavius� desk began to tremble Both the shadows were transfixed Before they could figure out what was happening whatever array they had prepared popped audibly

A woman was suddenly standing in the middle of the room next to Octavius� bed Although the gloom elsewhere remained impenetrable she seemed to glow with an inner light She grinned around at the two shades that stood transfixed at Edraine�s sudden presence among them Although the Engraving had already been destroyed Edraine�s image tightened in the air Your array is quite good Took me a bit to intrude And I would have likely missed it had I not been looking for it Just bad luck on your part I suppose But good luck for me I smell a rat in the Nexus

Who are you Anxiety demanded His voice was authoritative but his emotions revealed how tenuous his control of his mental state was We are on official Xyrt Brigade business If you interfere

Edraine shook her head and gestured Suddenly the room was illuminated Two furry humanoids looked at her with their mouths open in shock You aren�t military ah are you members of the Bestial Purity Association Interesting But considering that your leader is likely still hibernating Heh who paid you off

The one who Octavius had thought about as cruelty who had the beady eyes and greasy fur of a weasel flipped sideways and rushed toward the door The other man a humanoid canine dashed for the sealed windows Both bounced off their intended exits with their claws glancing ineffectually off of the surfaces A powerful barrier was up in the surrounding area

Edraine cracked her knuckles The right humorous of Cruelty which formed the majority of the upper arm cracked a split second later The weasel man whimpered and fell to the ground

Edraine�s gaze was cold The being that had been afflicted with the suffocating embrace of a duplicated personality for a few thousand years barred her teeth You hurt my subordinate You made me watch Now it�s time for you repent

Chapter 1534

Octavius moved from his bedroom to his library while Edraine released the full fury of her image with the two assailants in the other room The heavy tomes that lined his library shelves watched silently as he stood for a while next to his desk and trembled He had one hand on the mahogany surface and the other over his heart It took almost ten minutes for Octavius to control his breathing and bare to peek inwards at his injured image

The fear was a physical thing toying casually with the muscles of his chest like his body was a guitar it playfully strummed

When Octavius finally worked up the nerve to check something within him gradually eased It is not as bad as I feared Much of the detail was lost but my image was stalwart enough to not sustain any permanent warping

To put it in perspective while Octavius had feared that he had lost years of his hard work due to Cruelty the truth was likely closer to a month or two of recovery would have him returned to his former capability But even now thinking of the pure joy that Cruelty radiated as he was purposefully striking at the core of Octavius made him grit his teeth and press his eyes closed

Octavius reached up and rubbed his horn Even if the trembling stopped time retained its fuzzy fragile sensation as he tried to ground himself

He only stopped rubbing his horn when Edraine walked purposefully out of his bedroom Her mouth was twisted into a frown Either they have more spine than I expected or they truly don�t know who paid them to do this But I would like a second perspective contact Randidly Perhaps his Dreamcatcher of the Long Night will be able to sense something

She turned away then and frowned at the ground But just as Octavius was sending the message to Randidly Edraine turned back around and looked at him Oh and Octavius They paid for what I did to you These two will be as feeble as mice for the rest of their lives

Lay�mel Tuuellethe stood underneath the boughs of one of the metallic tree like statues leading up the low hill to the chapel He was deeply irritated by his current situation but tried not to let that show on his face He was not irritated because he wasn�t invited into the chapel for the funeral service honestly the place was crawling with figures so powerful that Lay�mel wouldn�t even dare breathe for fear of offending someone he couldn�t As a non named member of the Swacc Family Lay�mel meant nothing to even his connections in the Family His position was closer to that of a contractor than a member

He could make deals with the Family but they would discard him immediately if he crossed the line or if he became embroiled in any difficulties

Lay�mel flicked a metallic branch in front of him pausing briefly to listen to the low noise it made He glanced toward the man laying on the ground next to him his irritation steadily mounting How the hell is this funeral lasting so long Although I cannot give you an exact measure of the Ghosthound�s capabilities believe me that he is an easy foe to underestimate he is the type of scheming foe that deeply conceals himself

Uh huh figure man replied with obvious boredom He was a muscular figure with a shaved head laying on the ground with all of the tension of a homeless person napping on the beach The man�s tanned arms were covered in inked designs a truly barbaric custom in Lay�mel�s opinion but the most arresting aspect of this figure wasn�t the man himself it was the massive black greatsword on the ground next to him covered in blue Engravings

Lay�mel had been careful to stand on the opposite side of the man from the sword His instincts simply wouldn�t allow him to casually approach

The man reached into a pouch at his waist and pulled out a small piece of candy in an opaque plastic wrapper He opened the wrapper and popped the item into his mouth Almost instantly mist starting rolling out of his nose and mouth The man grinned up at Lay�mel appearing to be an apparition that floated within the localized fog Want one These Frigid Glacier candies are very good Very refreshing I really need to buy more

No thank you Lay�mel responded automatically He stopped flicking the metallic boughs and began to squeeze the metal with his hand Because he could make deals with the Swacc Family he had some access to inside information As long as he could obtain very detailed information about Randidly Ghosthound or even capture him alive he would have the chance to officially bear the Swacc name

His heart pounded That was the goal he had pursued for so long

Lay�mel winced and released his grip he had squeezed so hard that his palm was now divided by an oozing gash of a wound He flexed his hand and watched as the flesh steadily knit itself back together Then he began to flick the metal once more

After the wound was completely healed Lay�mel cleared his throat and continued to speak One of the Ghosthound�s images is related to life Another appears to be some sort of spiritual figure And if you can believe it it appears that he even has a third image of the same caliber Ah obviously each individual image is no match for you Mr Dunn But combined

It�s an interesting method of using images Velio Dunn replied through a wide yawn that had his jaw cracking For a split second he appeared to be a frost dragon bellowing his breath toward the sky Then when he relaxed and smiled a nova of mist spread out from his face due to the candy But

Velio jabbed his finger at Lay�mel You are ruining all of my tension It�s like a good fuck with a stranger in a dark alley you don�t want to sign a contract agreeing to all the details beforehand Half of the fun is living in that raw moment and discovering these details together So don�t tell me any more about him I just want to see him just once to see if I�ll accept the job And if he�s weak peh

Instantly Lay�mel flushed But I have already given you the fee

You paid for me to take a look Suddenly Velio Dunn was not an affable man laying on the ground He glared up at Lay�mel and the elf couldn�t even breathe The runes on the enormous sword began to glow So I�m here taking a look I�m trying to keep you from fucking wasting your money by ruining everything with your prattle So accept my advice alright Let�s have some patience Try and enjoy yourself a little more

So Lay�mel fell silent even though he was feeling humiliated and furious Somehow the worst part was that he was just as scared of the runic greatsword than the man himself Still lying on the ground Velio Dunn popped another candy into his mouth He amused himself by blowing mist rings up into the air above him

Truly if I hadn�t obtained his name from a Swacc Family contact Lay�mel�s expression was stiff It would be difficult to believe that he is someone who has lived since the Second Cohort and is one of the most feared assassins in the Nexus

They waited like that in something like silence for almost ten minutes the only noise was Helio chuckling to himself when he managed some acrobatic feat with his mist rings Lay�mel did his best to relax Then blessedly individuals began to file out of the chapel above them on the hill

Lay�mel nodded decisively Let�s shift positions to attract less attention

Why bother Velio rolled onto his back and then flipped himself up to his feet With a toe he flicked his two meter long sword up in the air and seized the hilt with his hand Anyone who would recognize me has already sensed me anyway There is no need to skulk around for just an innocent look

Lay�mel blinked Uh aren�t you worried that being seen would tip off Randidly Ghosthound As an assassin

Lamel heheh your name is a portmanteau of lame camel Anyways Lamel it seems clear to me that you just don�t get it Velio patted Lay�mel�s shoulder several times and each touch sent near painful jolts through his body Velio Dunn was strong Also don�t call me an assassin ever again Or I�ll kill you But I don�t take these jobs because I like killing In fact I find killing generally deplorable I can�t have a climactic rematch with a dead man

No I do this because it�s fun To fight To struggle To have an inevitable showdown Velio Dunn shook his head almost sorrowfully When he blew the mist out of his mouth this time it was directly into Lay�mel�s face I�m here to look because if it seems like fun I�ll definitely fight this Ghosthound of yours And I�ll admit that it seems like I�m a jinx for most people inexplicably people who fight me end up dying during the fight Can you understand how disappointing that is To be all riled up and lathered and then to have your opponent bisected in half on the first attack There is no greater sorrow in the world

I I see Lay�mel�s mouth twitched

I cannot handle that disappointment any longer I am not a young man Velio sighed deeply Lamel I get that this Ghosthound is stronger than you you are pretty weak to begin with But that doesn�t mean he isn�t just another schmuck who would inexplicably end up impaled on my sword understand I have to protect myself from disappointment So let�s just

There he is Lay�mel interrupted pointing up through the crowd at a figure who walked out of the chapel

Velio Dunn tilted his head to the side and squinted up toward the chapel The chubby bloke with the two hammers at his waist I�m sorry Lamel but that�s a definite no

No not him the the humanoid with short black hair Lay�mel was exasperated If we don�t mind being seen let�s just walk up there and I can introduce you to him That way you can read his image

Haven�t you been listening to me Velio Dunn looked at Lay�mel with a scandalized look on his face I�m a dangerous man What if I kill him accidentally while introducing myself

What do you mean WHAT IF Didn�t I hire you to kill him Inwardly Lay�mel was fuming But he had been forewarned that Velio Dunn was a little bit peculiar So he kept his temper as best he could Well ah There Do you see It�s that man The one holding that key up to the air on the left

Oh Was all Velio Dunn said But Lay�mel didn�t really notice because he watched with shock as Randidly Ghosthound opened a portal in the air and stepped through it And just like that he was gone

He didn�t use the Ways Interesting Velio�s words brought Lay�mel back to the present As Lay�mel twisted around to urge Velio to accept the commission he was pinned to the ground as he saw the expression on the other man�s face There was no humanoid in those sharp features only a hungry beast Velio licked his lips I accept Lamel That body of his bearing the sin of breaking through the System�s physical limitation I�ll definitely fight your Randidly Ghosthound Hehe I just hope he doesn�t die quickly

Chapter 1535

Randidly shook his head emphatically Sorry Unless those two focus on the sensations they felt when interacting with their mysterious backer the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night cannot do anything to help It�s not an interrogation device just one that allows for reflection

The two of them were standing in Octavius� library Edraine shrugged slowly as though she had been so aware this news was coming that she forgot to react to it when she heard it I understood it was a longshot but it is difficult to know the best course of action without knowing who our foe this time is Luckily Octavius was just a chess piece in the larger Nexus political struggle not the actual target Our group�s purpose is likely unrelated to this incident

Randidly nodded slowly and turned to look through the wall into the now mostly demolished bedroom they were strong through The person who could hire them Their Engraving was positively sublime but even without that I wouldn�t have wanted to fight them at the same time Why would they do this anyway

Gesturing to a scroll on the table Edraine spoke in a light tone They did it to frame Octavius for underreporting the harvested Aether in the Seventh Cohort Apparently whoever arranged for this attack has also been moving amongst some of the NLC�s lower tiered accountants in very specific places about 25% less Aether was reported than what is currently present in the Seventh Cohort gathering formulae Octavius is currently checking each formula by hand but he�s already found several dead bodies in the area The opposition is cleaning up after themselves and leaving us a mess

Then Edraine sighed The air around her started to hum with anxiety The lines on her face were deep to Randidly�s eye Lady Iellaya was able to pull some strings to shift of the Cohort�s security personnel to help with clean up on the Commandant�s funeral but we need to figure out how badly Octavius has been deceived Especially now that there is a trail of bodies it will be difficult for Octavius to avoid culpability as the Overseer

you need a distraction Randidly realized tasting the subtle moodiness that was radiating off of Edraine That was why she had insisted that he come so quickly even though the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night was almost guaranteed to be ineffective His mind began to whirr To buy Octavius time

A last line of defense in case of emergency Edraine said as she nodded But we are near that point already With another hour Overseer Octavius Shrike will have uncovered a plot to steal Aether from his Cohort and heroically put his life on the line to stop that If he is discovered in ten minutes next to the bodies the most likely conclusion the security personnel will come to is that he is dirtying his hands to cover his tracks We need a stop gap in place to pull attention away

Likely the force that is responsible for this conspiracy won�t try and interfere directly until they understand why their initial attempt failed they won�t move drastically They don�t need to if the entity responsible is large enough pay off the Bestial Purity Association to do its bidding They will likely assume that someone like me exists and push other pieces around to draw me out Here Edraine pursed her lips Her face looked especially severe as she stared down at the floor a testament to the different life experiences between her and Vualla it�s unfortunate to admit but we cannot digest this situation ourselves You won�t just be a distraction but also a bridge As a group we don�t want to draw attention to ourselves by bringing this conspiracy to light and also we have no legitimacy in the eyes of the established Nexus organization

You don�t need to spend so much time explaining Randidly cut in We don�t have much time What do I need to do

Honestly perhaps it is me that I�m trying to convince by dragging my feet Edraine sighed again and shook her head But you are right We don�t have time If there are better answers they will take more time to discover than we have We might not be able to digest the benefits of revealing this conspiracy but Military High Command easily could

Suddenly Edraine�s hesitance began to make sense Randidly�s eyes narrowed as black purple energy flared to life around his eyes He did his best to peer into the future but he felt the heavy madness that he had witnessed in the face of Commandant Wick pollute his vision Very quickly that primal madness of chaos made the intersection of chance murky Even so Randidly pushed himself to the limit Darkness swirled around his left eye until he was completely blind to the physical realm What remained was the graceful and brutal crash of intentions that spiraled toward the future

This taint from Wick�s image Randidly could only grit his teeth and do his best to predict how the monolithic military figure would react Yet the more he peered the worse he felt very quickly he was nauseous He had never seen the threads of timelines mutate before his eyes like this His Skill gave him a window into an entirely different world

To Randidly it looked like a sinister ballroom where the unholy band sawed bones against each other to the raucous merriment of the bloodthirsty couples that spun together across the various timelines He could practically hear the laughter of the dancers in his ears as harsh and jarring as a piano ripping itself to pieces

And above it all thousands of glowing red eyes watched from the eaves

Congratulations Your Skill Revelations of the Atramentous Threshold has grown to Level 340

Congratulations Your Skill Revelations of the Atramentous Threshold has grown to Level 341

Ultimately Randidly shook his head and backed off of the Skill he really wasn�t able to peer into how Commandant Wick would react Instead he spoke to Edraine it made sense even if it made him uneasy I�ll get in contact with the Commandant and allow him to spin this as corruption within the NLC In exchange he protects me while I perform the distraction and finds Octavius to be completely innocent in the follow up investigation That is putting a lot of faith in him

Plus the worst of it Randidly�s frown deepened We reveal the connection between you and I Which will draw in Octavius and Lady Iellaya We let him know that you exist and that my relationship with Lady Iellaya is more serious than just her being my superior officer

Edraine nodded You are correct that our ability to gain this information and offer it to him will reveal a bit of our strength but I suspect it won�t be as much as you think Men like the Commandant he might now suspect that you have someone near his power behind you but there is no way that he will expect me

Edraine revealed a sharp smile as she finished her words Just the movements of her lips and tongue were enough to release weak waves of force in the room As always her image was quite impressive No wonder she had subdued the duo in the bedroom so easily The scroll on the table trembled and rolled Randidly slowly nodded his assent Alright then I�ll send a message to the Commandant

Elohamore Huzzhleigh adjusted the cuff of his guard�s uniform Then he reached up and unbuttoned his collar Immediately he heaved a deep sigh of relief he appreciated his position as a member of the Nexus Security Force but the requirements for the uniforms were notoriously strict Sometimes a day of simply patrolling became near torture

Even now his partner Kadan glanced around quickly to check for a superior when she saw him unbuttoning the collar Then she gestured toward the clock with a small smile on her face Are you cutting out early Heh maybe a special night planned with Mrs Huzzhleigh

Fuck off Kadan Elohamore rolled his neck Due to him being more bestial than humanoid the neck hole was barely capable of containing the thick muscles of his upper torso His windpipe was forced to give up some of its space to compensate

I�m just saying the last time I saw you this excited Kadan said with a widening grin until the noise of her words was briefly blanketed by outside noise

A rumble went through the ground and their guard post Instantly Elohamore�s face went white and he quickly rebuttoned his uniform Kadan tightened her belt and then leapt to her feet Both grabbed their weapons as they hurried through the door and into the outside world with all thoughts of clocking out forgotten

Behind them the warning light flicked on several seconds too late

Very quickly the duo rushed toward the source of the reverberation Powerful confrontations were unfortunately very common in the Nexus Even worse the Nexus Security Force had no legal right to intervene in these sort of situations when the image power indicated that the upper crust of the Nexus was moving

Elohamore knew that this would be a difficult incident as soon as they arrived at the source of the shockwave The explosion had come from the Suaycloak Lounge a swanky gambling establishment in the district that Elohamore and Kadan patrolled They were a bit below the bottom of Bray Street so this area wasn�t the truly posh portions of the Upper Nexus but it was exactly in these sorts of mixed neighborhoods that seedy establishments thrived

The grand five meter tall doors of the Suaycloak Lounge had been smashed to the side so forcefully that the portions of the wall where the hinges had been attached were now cracked and crumbling Elohamore made a note of that in situations like this the security forces were essentially highly paid appraisers They tried to calm whatever confrontation was going on but they were really just here to record who broke what

Later they would send a missive to the culprit with a carefully tallied bill

This sort of job always left a sour taste in Elohamore�s mouth because it was a far cry from what he had thought he would be doing on the security force But he breathed in as deeply as he could manage and strode through to the interior which was set up like a jazz club

A man with black hair a metallic grey torso armor and bare feet was glaring over at a four armed man who was trembling in the corner People scrambled to the side trying not to be pierced by those locked gazes The black haired man smiled Did you really think I would just let your show if disrespect go

Chapter 1536

Elohamore panted rapidly his lungs clogged with a cloying panic He dare not blink lest he missed something and suddenly became the target of this vicious man�s attention It had only been two minutes since he and Kadan arrived at the Suaycloak Longue but in that time he had an epiphany it wasn�t that the security forces didn�t want to intervene in situations like this but they simply didn�t have the backing to stand against someone truly powerful

An average person meant nothing in the Nexus Only with power came influence

Elohamore and Kadan had very quickly been forced to retreat beyond the shattered main doors in order to avoid being damaged by the strange pressure that Randidly Ghosthound released The man seemed to walk at the center of a greedy vortex of darkness devouring both physical objects and the images of those that resisted

His movements were brutal and destructive All resistance was crushed with extreme prejudice And as his attack grew more frequent the darkness seemed to grow even more sinister

The Ghosthound now stood in the center of the destroyed club still releasing that cloying aura that siphoned off all resistance from the remaining individuals He held his four armed target aloft his hand around his throat He appeared to be studying him perhaps faced with the realization that his demands for a more genuine� apology would not be met as he had both broken his target�s jaw and knocked the man unconscious

Of course that sort of reaction would be the realization of a mentally present individual The Ghosthound had thus far displayed little faculty for recognizing the facts in front of him Only his domineering temper and vicious pride had been on display

Perhaps what currently brewed in his mind was a growing fury that his desire was being frustrated Elohamore felt a great deal of pity for the Ghosthound�s target as he dutifully noted down what property had been destroyed

A powerful manager of the Suaycloak Lounge lay slumped on the ground right where the Ghosthound had smashed him into the marble floor for daring to interfere His body was covered in a thin dusting of splinters from the table that had once existed at that very spot Elohamore could see the shattered bones of his arms poking out through his flesh

Another woman who had been an associate of the Ghosthound�s target was still smoldering in the corner with her arms and legs severed and strewn casually throughout the completely silent main lounge area Most of the other former guests had retreated to the upstairs when it became clear that the Ghosthound wouldn�t even bother to notice them if they didn�t interfere with his work

The Ghosthound�s single mindedness at least was a blessing

Keh I suppose The Ghosthound began to slowly speak but Elohamore jumped before the intimidating villain could continue a figure had materialized behind him right outside of the Suaycloak lounge After sparing Elohamore an irritated glance for blocking her path a three meter tall woman strode confidently forward into the ruined room

Her voice was booming as she glared over at the Ghosthound What is going on here Do you really think that there won�t be consequences for your actions Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound Release that man immediately and come with me you will be tried before a tribunal for your crimes

As she spoke the woman seemed to glow with a bright light Her skin was luminous Looking at her back Elohamore seemed to see a lonely mountain peak as the radiance of dawn spread out to gently touch upon the landmark Underneath those precious first rays the mountain seemed to transcend physicality and become something near divine The air hummed with the breadth of its presence

Oh The Ghosthound�s darkness had steadily ebbed as resistance to him had fallen but in the face of this new arrival his face twisted into a wild glee His left eye became a pure black orb with the image light the woman released unwillingly being bent and twisted by that suddenly palpable hunger The two images impacted each other with a physical clap that echoed in the empty interior And who the hell are you to tell me what to do

He truly is the epitome of pride to not even recognize a Chairperson of the NLC Elohamore thought with a little bit of envy Although he would never abuse power like this man would he couldn�t help but admire the Ghosthound he had the nerve and capability of being so bold in the Nexus Meanwhile Elohamore

Someday Elohamore half promised himself Somehow he couldn�t manage to make the thought convincing

The woman�s shoulders began to tremble as she spread her arms out wide Ripples ran through her image and suddenly there was a figure meditating on top of the mountain The quality of the light changed and suddenly the darkness was pushed back the wild hunger of that darkness could not withstand the force of this light You heh I�ll teach you a lesson before I toss you back onto your precious Rally Station

Now Chairperson Loyola Another figure was abruptly there next to him but Elohamore was too busy struggling to withstand the light from that mountain to jump again in surprise Such aggression over a mere scuffle between Drill Sergeants this isn�t something that figures like us should be involved in

The tall Chairperson slowly turned around but she did lower the pressure she was using to force the Ghosthound back Commandant Wick Do you truly believe I will let this go Not only did he destroy my business but he also blatantly ignored the code of the Nexus As such

Please The Commandant waved a massive paw in the air as he took several steps forward When he passed Elohamore the pressure Chairperson Loyola released could no longer reach the members of the security force It was like it never even existed I�m truly surprised you would show such an unseemly display over mere monetary concerns �

You dare call me unseemly Chairperson Loyola gestured to the shattered and smoldering lounge around her When your mad dog did this His pride drove him to almost kill a coworker Is this the sort of leaking ship you run these days

Belatedly the Ghosthound glanced around He took a few steps over to a partially destroyed couch and draped the four armed man�s body across it Because half of the legs of the piece of furniture had been obliterated the man�s body slumped sideways seemingly about to tumble off of the slanted remnants of the couch

Unlike your fragile NLC we in the military encourage minor spars The Commandant continued serenely Each of his steps was heavy as he continued forward The Chairperson turned all the way around to face the Commandant her expression twisted into a stare of open hostility It didn�t seem to faze the Commandant at all But honestly I�m surprised you have time to play around in a minor matter like this

Suspicion flickered in Chairperson Loyola�s eyes but she ultimately didn�t bite She just stared at the bearman in front of her with a frightful intensity

The Commandant smiled very slowly dragging the moment out oh hadn�t you heard Recently Overseer Octavius Shrike came to Military High Command with evidence of large amounts of corruption in the NLC Fearing that he would be used as a scapegoat he had no choice but to utilize the organization with the most sterling reputation to exonerate himself from these obvious misdeeds We�ve been investigating the Seventh Cohort personnel for several weeks now the results should be announced to the public later today Let me say the truth seems to be pretty damning

Emotions flickered across the Chairperson�s face so quickly that Elohamore couldn�t follow the tiny movements at the corners of her eyes and mouth Her wrinkles rapidly expanded then shrunk Gradually she seemed to realize that the Commandant was no kidding She pressed her lips together You you have no right to investigate the NLC you bloodthirsty pig We have an audit department

How could the people guarantee that the investigation was completely unbiased The Commandant interrupted If we allowed the ones being investigated to investigate themselves Do you take the people of the Nexus to be fools you oversized slut This is what justice looks like

Elohamore couldn�t help but shiver When both sides are so obviously determined to find fault with each other can either one really be trusted But if there definitely was corruption in the Cohort

Once more the Chairperson�s face was mercurial and inscrutable But finally she snorted With the issue behind her forgotten she strode forward past Commandant Wick and the watching Security personnel and disappeared

The Commandant chuckled lightly and gestured at the Ghosthound Instantly the man walked to the Commandant�s side and the two turned and left without giving the security personnel a glance Neither Elohamore or Kadan had the energy or capability of stopping them however both didn�t dare move until they left unwilling to attract the attention of these powerful figures

That was Kadan whispered She shook her head several times as though she didn�t quite believe her eyes And then they left without saying anything It�s like

It�s like this wasn�t about that poor fool at all Elohamore said with a sigh This was just a piece in a bigger game across the Nexus I have a feeling what we heard was legitimate There is going to be news about corruption in the Seventh Cohort soon As for what happens after that

Both fell silent Both were scared This was definitely above their pay grade

In the middle of the demolished club the four armed man�s body finally overbalanced from his position With a thump he slid off of the couch and onto the cracked floor

Honestly Randidly was extremely grateful that the Chairperson had arrived at the club when she had He was running out of ideas of how to stall for more time by inflicting non fatal damage on the unfortunate Drill Sergeant To ease his conscious and put on more of a show Randidly had rather secretly injected minute amounts of Nether into the Drill Sergeant�s body during his grand and overly aggressive attacks While he tossed his unfortunate victim around he wove that Nether together into a near invisible flow through his body

The effect would be minor but an astute man would notice that his attacks and images would be just a smidge heavier in the future now grounded by his own significance

Randidly glanced forward at Commandant Wick as they walked He considered saying something but decided against it for now It was clear from the emotions around the man that he was in a good mood Randidly wasn�t going to risk spoiling that for now reason

That thought earned a small smile from Randidly as he reflected both on his wariness toward the Commandant and his forced retreat before the image released by the Chairperson Truthfully I�m still coming up short Even with the new Grim Chimera even utilizing three images at once I might have reached a point where I can reliably survive but victory is out of my grasp Which means His mind returned to the Nether he had seen in Neshamah Rex and Randidly�s gaze sharpened But if I ask for help with Nether what will she ask for in exchange

The duo proceeded through the Nexus Ways while Randidly mused to himself swiftly arriving at Military High Command Soldiers leapt to their feet and saluted as the Commandant glided confidently forward Randidly followed in his wake Military High Command was situated in a massive black castle directly below the surface� of the Nexus where only those who possessed the requisite qualifications could go Security at the perimeter was tight but the interior of the castle was hauntingly deserted

Randidly idly wondered if he satisfied the conditions for going to the surface yet but he didn�t possess much curiosity toward that location Especially not when he finally had a lead on meaningfully increasing his power

He didn�t want to waste any more time

The duo passed through the cookie cutter hallways quickly the only detail that distinguished that they were moving was the fact that the faces in the hundreds of portraits along the walls were of different people To see all these stern faces as they moved forward it really put into perspective how long the Nexus had been in existence

The ambiance wasn�t helped by the fact that the lighting came from torches with maroon flames placed periodically along the walls It cast a strange light over everything as though the entire place was crusted with dried blood

They finally arrived at the Commandant�s office and once the door was closed behind Randidly the bearman didn�t waste any time Heh This was an unexpected boon Mr Ghosthound Even beyond protecting Shrike I owe you a favor And I don�t say that lightly Also I believe there is an easy favor I can give you

You are trying to reinforce your images right Allow me to help I have a particular knack for regulating unruly forces With my assistance I can near double your power immediately

Chapter 1537

The Commandant�s eyes glowed somehow making the wild claim that he could double Randidly�s power credible But there wasn�t even a flicker of hesitation in Randidly�s mind

I will have to decline Commandant Randidly replied slowly The offer might sound beneficial but Randidly didn�t trust it for a second But thank you for your generosity Considering that I still need to train the recruits it is for the best that I do not make any sudden changes to my person

A stretch in a time dilated location would easily resolve such difficulties The Commandant countered smoothly with an easy smile His teeth were very white

Randidly resisted his body�s urge to tense and he forced the Grim Chimera not to manifest its defiance Now was not the time to show outward aggression But he did make a slight mental note the dark side of Commandant Wick�s good moods was a sharp increase in avarice He bowed slightly Even so I have to decline Shortcuts will only hurt me in the long run

Heh That�s why I like you Ghosthound The Commandant chuckled again You aren�t swayed by immediate benefits But still are you sure you won�t reconsider Considering your connections well it seems obvious that your ambition is not some mundane accomplishment You cannot deny that more power will make seizing what you want easier As your superior officer I owe it to you to help achieve your desires

The Commandant�s words were light but his image shifted slightly at the same time The tight control that he had maintained over his image rippled and parted If Randidly�s senses hadn�t been so acute he might have missed the change In that oppressively restrictive scaffolding that restrained Wick�s madness a hint of a flaw emerged That madness spread out to touch the surrounding space seeming to erode the natural order of the universe within the office

it�s an emotional attack He�s trying to inflame my desires Randidly abruptly realized After the Stillborn Phoenix�s experience with emotions as a part of images in the past few weeks he would never overlook the sudden surge of charged emotions that sought to infiltrate his person as the Commandant spoke And at the moment the Stillborn Phoenix gratefully shifted from its normal cycle and devoured the threads of madness from Commandant Wick

But Randidly was thoroughly chilled by the situation despite his immunity Just like with Neshamah and Nether the more I meet the upper crust of the Nexus the more I realize that my tricks are being used by others more proficiently than I can manage Maybe they don�t have all of them together but I�m not unique

While the subtle display filled Randidly with a sense of dread he kept a slight smile on his face He kept any stiffness from his features even so I can wait Besides somehow I feel like having a favor from a great individual such as you Commandant Wick will be invaluable in the future

Commandant Wick�s smile faded The massive bear man looked at Randidly Ghosthound with his beady black eyes Within his soul that madness stirred and seemed to seize control of the Commandant�s body Despite being a living breathing organism he stilled entirely there wasn�t even the slightest modicum of movement from his person for almost ten seconds

Then his image shifted and the flaw was repaired Commandant Wick shook himself lightly and then allowed himself a sardonic smile Keh I have to admit my insistence has more to do with my discomfort with owing a favor than anything else but I�ll respect your wishes Bahaha those labor freaks will be on their back foot for months after this Especially because of all that extra Aether that�s turned up It�s one thing for us to claim there was corruption most people might not be convinced all considering their bias against the military But if we also sweeten the deal with a generous increase in everyone�s Aether allotment Heh most would be forced to admit that there must be some truth to the investigations Otherwise where else could the Aether have come from

Randidly nodded slowly But Edraine has already informed me that most of the spare Aether that was discovered was confiscated by Military High Command The surge in Aether that we are experiencing is because the military made the unilateral decision to stop supplying Aether to the vast majority of the planets in the Fifth Cohort

Millions no maybe even billions of people will die to cement this as a political victory for you

Randidly�s heart clenched Being associated so closely with Commandant Wick made him feel frustrated Again he was in a situation where those billions of people would have been relatively safe if not for him If not for this chance the military would not have so decisively cast the Fifth Cohort to the side Of course Randidly didn�t necessarily feel responsible this was the callous decision of the Commandant�s

But his hands tightened into fists Yet I have taken advantage of these brutal military leaders They are for the moment my allies

It was a bitter realization

But anyway I must return to the Fifth Cohort the Commandant turned away and stared at a map on the wall The Nether is up to something big I need to be there to stop it You are dismissed soldier

Randidly saluted and then left With his heavy heart the portraiture that surrounded him on the walk out of Military High Command looked especially distorted The haughty expressions of the fallen military leaders twisted into leering sneers The faint screams of the dying seemed to permeate the building Randidly paused briefly and closed his eyes His Nether Nebula stirred his four grey bubbles tumbling end over end His Nether washed through his veins quickly finding and locating the foreign element in his body

With a sizzle his Nether annihilated that insidious thread of emotion that had embedded itself in his veins But Randidly�s expression was quite ugly Even though I saw it coming Wick�s image still managed to effect me If I didn�t have Nether that was keyed only to my images it would have been near impossible to find and eradicate the taint

After he left Military High Command Randidly immediately pulled out his Philosopher�s Key and opened a portal to deep within the Web Before he returned to the Rally Station he wanted to do a few more cleansings of his emotions just to be sure Beyond that since they had another fifteen hours or so off anyway he would stretch that out a bit and train

Humming to himself Randidly began to descend deeper than he ever dared to in the past Part of him acknowledged it was a risk but another part of him knew that he couldn�t afford to take his time improving

And once I�m sure I�m not compromised Randidly thought slowly as he floated downward It�s time to focus on my definitive Skills for the different images But before the new Grim Chimera I should return to my original image Yggdrasil The Inscrutable Mien of Genesis and the Implacable Price of Exodus have both been on the back burner for far too long Let�s not forget to sharpen my most reliable blade

After the twenty four hours were up Raymund Ballast returned to the Fifth Cohort Rally Station with a face long with disappointment Reality had taught him several harsh lessons He was more capable than during his initial arrival to the Nexus that was undoubtedly true But in the grand scheme of things he was still a tiny fish who had foolishly swam out into the depths

The first information broker he managed to locate after asking around for a while had shut the door in his face when he requested information regarding the Swacc Family The second had refused to answer any of his questions and even recommended that Raymund pay him an exorbitant sum so he wouldn�t simply sell the fact that he was asking questions about them to the Swacc Family

A string of further failures led Raymund to halt his investigations around that last message Techetadore and sent and instead just ask about his brother This was a little more fruitful but didn�t turn up anything significant Techet had definitely come to the Nexus and been seen around He had even arranged an apprenticeship with a middling tier fighter who participated in the Nexus Arena but apparently Techet had quit the training after a week

Based on the timeline it was right after he quit that Techetadore had sent his final message to Raymund

By the time Raymund found out this information his twenty four hour holiday� was up He didn�t even have time to try and speak with the fighter Techet had met before he had to return to the teleporter formation

Plus his mood was not helped by the fact that he was once more burdened by the suppression array the Ghosthound had created After a full day without its constant presence the exertion was once more agonizing

Currently Overseer Helen had them all standing in formation near the teleporter on the Fifth Cohort Rally Station A last few recruits were scurrying out earning death glares from Overseer that promised them additional training due to their lateness Overall the mood of the recruits was rather strained and restless Partially because they likely shared Raymund�s opinion about returning to the suppression array while the other recruits clearly weren�t affected but also many people were whispering about the report of corruption in the Seventh Cohort

Finally the last recruit arrived Overseer Helen stared around at them all and cleared her throat Does anyone have anything to say about the request made of you by Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound This is your one chance to come clean about any deals you may have made with outside forces

The recruits remained silent Overseer Helen nodded seeming unwilling to push the issue Alright then Squad Captains form up We are heading back Time to pick up where we left off

The group moved quickly across the dirt track as they returned to the training area But as they approached the space given to their elite group they slowed Head Drill Sergeant Randidly Ghosthound was waiting for them at the edge of his territory with his arms folded Yet after Overseer Helen said a sharp word the group kept marching

They filed around the Ghosthound avoiding his eye contact The intimidating man stood there at the edge and looked individually at all 200 of the recruits as they passed him

The group seemed to heave a sigh that flowed amongst them the tension in their bodies releasing as crossed the presence of the Ghosthound without anything happening Yet after they had believed they were safe the Ghosthound spoke

One of you lied

Everyone paused They couldn�t help but turn around and look at their Head Drill Sergeant dreading what they would find in his face And as expected Raymund�s blood curdled as he saw that orb of darkness that had taken the place of the Ghosthound�s left eye He favored the group with a slow smile Did you really think I wouldn�t notice

Chapter 1538

Randidly shook his head almost sadly The emotions from the recruits in front of him swiftly turned extremely chaotic So much so that he knew there were multiple that likely had made some sort of deal

Yet amongst these recruits there was one that went beyond that someone was trying to bring something foreign in

Randidly wouldn�t have been as confident in his discernment a day ago but Commandant Wick had given him some hands on experience with drawing out an unwanted foreign image As the recruits paused and turned around to face Randidly he calmly mobilized the Nether flows in the surrounding space

It would have been difficult out in the broader Rally Station But under Randidly�s training area he was king A foreign entity passing into his territory meant that it was governed by his laws

Also Randidly was aware that he couldn�t completely shield his recruits from the mundane persuasions that other entities could offer them From the uneasy guilt wafting through the air at least a dozen had reached a verbal agreement with the enemies of Military High Command They might even be curious about the elite training being conducted by the Head Drill Sergeant

But Randidly had a suspicion that the waves made by Military High Command�s report on corruption might push individuals to do something rather drastic He didn�t have any real awareness of how the population of the Nexus would react but Commandant Wick�s obvious relish of the event informed his understanding

This was big Which would make the NLC and its allies desperate And desperate individuals took risks

Randidly spread his arms His Nether Nebula began to accelerate resisting the immense inertia of its weight His body became the mouth of a river of Nether It came out of him in waves flowing through the recruits in front of him without much resistance they were used to the strange effect the energy had on them

But when that flood of energy passed through the recruits at a depth and density that was many times higher than what they had normally experienced their eyes went wide and they swayed where they were standing Many of them tensed and frowned no doubt suddenly accommodating Nether at that density was uncomfortable even with their powerful bodies

A few looked like they were about to faint

But Randidly didn�t relent He narrowed his eyes and scanned through the recruits as the Nether flowed ceaselessly out from the sea contained in his body It was an unintended benefit but it appeared his array was preparing him for a situation exactly like this And when the Nether wave had resonance through almost all of the recruits and hit the squad that was second from the front that was following Helen

Ah Ahh A recruit began to scream His hands went to his right side as though one of his organs was rupturing

Instantly Helen barked out an Order Everyone back away from Recruit Quewn NOW

The recruits twisted around and looked at their fellow recruit bewildered by the sudden intensity conveyed by Helen�s order Randidly didn�t bother to wait for them to obey All three of his images spread out in the surrounding space but the one that cast a long shadow over the situation was Yggdrasil The World Tree erupted upward like a long frustrated volcanic explosion a geyser of rune covered bark that sent emerald leaves spinning across the surroundings

In the next moment Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil manifested Thick golden roots erupted out of the ground and swelled until they were large enough to overpower a normal sized human Still Randidly was glad to see that most of the recruits were already reacting to the sudden actions proof that the training was having some effect a month ago they would have stood around slack jawed for long enough for them to be dragged into the confrontation But there were a few exceptions

Djark Quewn was a Squad Leader that had been chosen primarily for his leadership abilities and his fellow squad members were especially hesitant to the sudden shift In this case the current orders clashed with their previous training They were not supposed to abandon an injured squad member

So Randidly forcefully smashed them backward with Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil as the Nether spiraled around the panting recruit They skidded across the surrounding dirt with pained cries he hadn�t attacked them but Randidly Ghosthound didn�t bother to treat these recruits with kid gloves

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 322

Seeing Randidly intervening directly with impunity the other Squad Leaders realized that this wasn�t a joke and seized the initiative In their small groups they rapidly retreated from the area Very quickly it was only three of them on the dirt road back into Randidly�s territory So he barred his teeth and slowly walked forward It was time to see what sort of image he was dealing with

Helen folded her arms across her chest Her expression was stormy

Meanwhile Recruit Quewn continued to scream Ah what what the hell is happening I didn�t

His words were cut off as the flesh by his waist began to bulge outward A half formed image flickered around his body and the young man collapsed He looked down at his side in shock clearly unaware of what was occurring within his body Randidly did possess some sympathy for the recruit it was very likely that he hadn�t understood what he had agreed to But he wasn�t willing to give him the benefit of the not considering how powerful the incomplete image was that was clawing its way out of him

Not that it�s having an easy time

Randidly chuckled as the image tried to break out of its hiding spot in the recruit�s body but couldn�t quite manage it Some of the tension he felt eased Based on its strength this image wasn�t a pushover But the lessons that Randidly had learned on the frontlines during his time as an image held true Maintaining an image�s clarity while it was submerged in Nether was extremely difficult especially when you didn�t have much experience in that area

Randidly tapped a finger against the side of his jaw Cook in there for as long as you want I�ll be out here when you are ready

Helen quirked an eyebrow upward if she should intervene but Randidly shook his head and gestured for her to retreat a bit As he walked forward toward the now howling recruit Randidly concentrated on Yggdrasil Around him his golden roots wove themselves upward to form a dome around Randidly and his quarry Seal off the surrounding space This thing can�t threaten me but I don�t want it to target the rest of the recruits when it gets desperate

Helen nodded and Randidly cracked his fingers The image inside of Djark Quewn�s body finally seemed to recover itself from the shock of being flushed out with Nether bursting out of the recruit�s lower abdomen in a spray of gore There was a horrible hissing as the image shifted from the milder Nether inside of recruit�s body to the caustic and openly hostile energy in the air but now the image had come prepared

In a flash of pale green light the image forced the ambient Nether backward and manifested in all its splendor It was a dark skinned humanoid that stood proudly before Randidly with his chin raised His eyes were wrapped in dirty bandages and both of his arms were severed But unlike Randidly the image seemed completely whole even without his two arms

The golden greaves lovingly wrapped from the man�s foot to his knee radiated a formidable amount of power This one wasn�t a pushover despite the image�s obvious discomfort to be exposed to Nether Randidly�s smile widened Who do you work for For what reason did you infiltrate my recruit

On the ground Djark Quewn spasmed slightly His side steadily knit together due to the System but it was obvious that the recruit�s own image had taken some damage as this image had forced itself out of his body The image remained silent his wrapped eyes focused on Randidly�s person

As Randidly calmly walked forward as he was speaking when his opponent didn�t answer he shrugged Well it doesn�t really matter I have too many foes identifying one won�t make a difference Instead your annihilation will do great to send a message

The image pressed his mouth into a thin line but still he didn�t respond Instead he kicked with his right leg bringing the limb almost immediately from a relaxed position to straight upward his toes pointing to the sky A wave of force blitz forward due to the brutality of the motion

Randidly�s heart began to pound Besides it�s about time to test the limits of this new image

A ripple spread through Randidly�s body as his image physicalizations snapped into place This time it was only the Supremacy of the Grim Chimera that roared to life His skin paled until his flesh seemed almost immaterial but at the same time a black lacquer surged out from his torso and spin around him

In a split second his left shoulder was soaked in this material to the point that it dripped down his arm It ran across his collarbones covering the highest part of his torso The material flexed and settled into heavy armor Just as quickly as the physicalizations took form Randidly raised his left arm and spread his oversized blunt figures A massive black gauntlet seemed to cover his hand making the limb seem ominously solid

As the lacquer further refined its shape on his left arm it became increasingly sharp and brutal This was the gauntlet of a conqueror That conqueror�s hand reached outward toward the wave of force rushing at Randidly

Congratulations Your Skill Grit of the Ascendant Bane has grown to Level 375

Those heavily armored fingers simply seized that wave of force and crushed it to oblivion Thin lines of that lacquer continued to run down from the heavy armor that concentrated around his shoulders Two relatively thick strips ran down Randidly�s chest from his collarbones to his waist where they spun around and formed into a tightly woven belt

Just as the lacquer continued to spread outward and drip onto a segmented tail behind Randidly�s body the blindfolded image launched himself forward Despite the fact that it was only an image it moved quickly and in a physical manner it seemed that the image was focused on the mechanics of physical movements quite like Vualla

Which meant that this was a very very bad matchup for the image

The image pivoted sharply in his charge and arrived at Randidly�s right side unleashing a brutal roundhouse kick at Randidly The black lacquer continued to draw faint accents across Randidly�s legs and feet but it never touched his pale right arm with his long fingers sharpened to points And aside from those two thick lines on his chest Randidly�s torso was only the faintly luminous flesh

So as the attack streaked forward Randidly�s uncovered body turned translucent The air hummed with the brutality of the images force And the attack passed directly through where he had been standing without affecting Randidly at all His body was insubstantial The ghost of the Spear Phantom had returned to the Grim Chimera

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Impunity has grown to Level 337

Before the image had recovered from its whiff Randidly�s right hand slashed out and drilled into the place in his chest where a human�s heart would be In that half beat of time before the image jerked backward Randidly unleashed a powerful pulse of Nether directly into the image

The image instantly retreated with a blurry hole in its form but almost instantly the details returned to startling clarity But a lot of the pale green luminescence of the image had dimmed

Randidly�s smile was a slow one more than most other people he understood how unsustainable it was for an image to keep receiving Nether wounds No need to rush Let�s get to know each other a bit

Chapter 1539

Despite the fact that the wound weakened the image it was still strong Competing just on image Randidly was not sure his new Grim Chimera image would be able to overpower it directly Which was slightly disappointing but he had to give credit where credit was due The sharp movements and powerful kicks the image displayed were certainly impressive if his body had been present Randidly would really have enjoyed the fight between them

But perhaps because his body wasn�t present the image suddenly displayed another extremely dangerous trait in a foe decisiveness His bandaged eyes scrutinized Randidly briefly but then he spun on his heel and leapt away All intent to fight had vanished His leg flashed upward and Randidly�s tightly woven dome was sheered open as though it was a piece of rotten fruit Even Helen�s Tides of Blood that circled outside of the root dome was instantly penetrated

Randidly just smiled indulgently The lacquer continued its path down his legs forming a pair of armored shorts that stopped just above his knees Trying to run

Obviously the image didn�t bother to answer the taunt kicking again to destroy the air in front of it and accelerating forward But just as the image was about to shoot forward Randidly sucked in a deep breath His eyes glowed with wicked glee

Congratulations Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith has grown to Level 354

Congratulations Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith has grown to Level 355

Randidly�s Skill hadn�t changed in the most recent evolution but his understanding of its usage slowly did As the Grim Chimera shifted toward Supremacy it could steal more than just Mana Stamina and trace amounts of Aether Its covetous fingertips could gently tear away larger concepts from its victims So Randidly seized some of the image�s acceleration That combined with his own dominant physical gifts meant that he caught up to the image right as it was about to shoot out through the hole in the root dome

The image�s gaze cut sideways Randidly grinned and slashed right his right hand The image couldn�t dodge so it spun up a leg to block Which only made Randidly�s smile widen His hand passed through the block and seize tightly onto the limb His fingers squeezed so tightly he cut slightly into the tough flesh of the image�s leg

Then Randidly spun around and his half meter thick lower tail heavily armored and covered in lacquer spikes smashed into the image The image twisted and released a second quick kick that met the tail directly

Randidly�s eyebrows rose when the kick was enough to stall his lower tail The force of the impact had loosened his hand�s grip But even then Randidly could tell it wouldn�t be enough Damnit why couldn�t the main body have come too This honestly feels like bullying

Lowering his torso the image prepared to kick off of Randidly�s arm and escape when its body spasmed strangely Blood began to bloom out of a sudden hole in the image�s back That oozing blood splattered to reveal Randidly�s previously invisible upper tail that had whipped out and pierced into the image

That attack also carried with it another payload of Nether which fuzzed the edges of the image for a brief moment The light it released dimmed further

The upper tail was only two meters long but its tip was just as sharp as the nails on Randidly�s right hand It easily ripped itself back out of the image and flicked lightly from its position on the base of Randidly�s neck The motion was fearfully casual as the image�s blood steadily evaporated from along its length

Being briefly paused was enough for the image to miss its chance to run without being chased down and slaughtered from behind Again displaying its decisive personality it spun around and unleashed a kick

The attack was fast but Randidly only needed to lean backward Meanwhile Randidly�s lower tail snaked outward and spun around the image�s waist With one leg lashing out to strike Randidly and the other stabilizing the move the image was defenseless The tail�s spikes pierced into the image�s torso as its grip tightened Then Randidly simply tossed the wrapped up image back down into the center of the isolated space

The sounds of bones breaking as the image smashed into the round was a testament to the quality of the image Even though it was probably slightly stunned from the impact the image quickly righted itself and was met with another surging flood of Nether He staggered sideways portions of his body flaring and becoming fuzzy as the image struggled Randidly floated lightly downward as its light dimmed further He tilted his head to the side Rethinking this resistance

You are making a mistake doing this The image finally growled But it seemed that was the extent of its desire to communicate because the dimming light around it flared to life All the fading detail snapped back This mental projection was cashing in on its remaining Aether to return to its prime state The image spread its legs and leaned forward

Randidly simply waited for this final bit of resistance to run its course The image�s mouth twitched and then it kicked several times in quick succession A rampaging horde of force waves galloped toward Randidly Randidly observed with interest as the image released some of its tight grip over its form and seemed to simply become an amorphous presence amongst the force waves hiding itself

Grinning Randidly flexed his massive left hand and his slender and sharp right Then he stuck his left forearm up as a bastion in front of his body while lowering his right fist to his waist The lacquer continued to shift across his body and creep upward On his chest the lacquer appeared to eat entirely through his torso and reveal an empty passage that would allow an outsider to see directly through his body On his face the lacquer covered his left eye and hollowed out the eyeball to leave a void

Some allowances for the other images Randidly thought with pleasure But today Grim Chimera the show is all yours

The fingers of Randidly�s left hand began to glow cherry red and then a humming orange before ascending and becoming white hot Steam began to roiled around his cocked limb As the image�s attack arrived

The force waves crashed against Randidly�s heavy left arm barely making a dent The attack was strong but even Randidly was impressed by how dense and immovable the left arm of the Grim Chimera now was His right eye flashing as the image flitted sideways and shot toward the root dome Randidly right hand blurred into motion

The image split into three forms that moved in different directions but Randidly�s upper tail lashed out With its lithe form it was capable of moving at overwhelming speeds and it quickly sliced through two fakes Randidly�s hand shot unerringly toward the fine version of the image

Congratulations Your Skill Pernicious Fang of the Shade has grown to Level 296

The image seemed to have anticipated that Randidly would be able to find it and strike as soon as Randidly eliminated the fakes and began to move the armless body condensed back to its powerful form One of the golden greaved legs whipped up and smashed into Randidly�s glowing hand In addition Randidly felt the image marshaling all of its remaining Aether in a very particular way

Inwardly Randidly shook his head with pity Unfortunately for you This attack contains no Nether

Using Nether against Aether was akin to pouring water on fire To compensate for this anticipated attack the image was now doing the equivalent of upping the fire�s temperature so the Nether would evaporate� before it could do much damage Unfortunately for the image to end this fire in no uncertain terms Randidly had brought a giant boulder and simply planned to smash it out of existence

His incendiary fingers cracked and shattered the golden greaves The attack continued forward and ripped a deep gash in the images thigh Waves of heat radiated outward and further seared the image flesh As the image jerked its head back Randidly�s hand ripped sharply upward and left a trail of mangled image details across the armless torso And it was at that point that Randidly smashed it with another blast of Nether

The figure in front of him grew misty as the image was unable to maintain its consciousness for much longer You mistake I will

Randidly wasn�t sure how much connection truly existed between the body and the image in this case There had been some distant acknowledgment of each other�s situation when Randidly had been on the frontlines but whoever owned this image likely didn�t possess the same sort of advantages that he did Plus the array that he and Neveah had created should interfere with that connection somewhat

Yet Randidly also believed that the original owner of this powerful image would understand essentially what had occurred and would be very very mad about it If this foe had been a casual one in the past he or she would be radicalized by the loss of this image

Even so Randidly struck again with his hand that continued to burn the surrounding moisture from the air and scattered the image into remnant details Then he breathed deeply with Cursed Appetite of the Wraith and Tide of the Void to gather those details within himself He isolated them inside of his Soulspace to study and experiment with in the future

Randidly withdrew his root dome into the ground allowing the engorged organic matter to smolder there and eventually enrich the soil Then he walked over to the waiting Helen How much could you sense of our fight outside of the dome

Helen shrugged Basically everything no one ever accused your images of being subtle Even if my image muffled it a bit more I believe every recruit is capable enough to observe a portion of that fight Word will get out about what you did here

Randidly nodded slowly and chewed on his lip Meanwhile Helen tilted her head over toward Djark Quewn who continued to shiver on the ground What about him

Kick him out As quickly as possible Randidly said simply It was perhaps a cold response but Randidly knew that keeping him here would only put the young man in more danger Reporting that he had accepted the individual of a hostile foreign party into his body and brought it onto the Rally Station

The cruelty of Commandant Wick�s response to such a report could be imagined

Chapter 1540

Raymund Ballast squeezed his hands so tightly that his arms shook with the strain His knuckles ached Two responsibilities warred with his chest the first toward his morals and the second toward his people After his experience in the Nexus and then today feeling the frightful conflict of images as the Head Drill Sergeant fought against the infiltrator Raymund had stared directly into the unforgiving truth of his current situation He was not strong enough to find Techetadore alone

He was weak Raymund blinked slowly and looked around him at his shabby shelter He was incredibly weak

yet I cannot guarantee that what I offer will tempt the hearts of the Overseers Something within Raymund�s body disengaged and slowly began to relax at that thought His shoulders which had been so tensed against this momentous decision could gradually ease as he acknowledged that his off might not be enough The true responsibility would lay with Advisor Zauna All I have is my own body and what meager potential I possess

Raymund was currently weak In the wider Nexus this weakness had severely restricted his movements But at the moment his weakness was reassuring Because as soon as he acknowledged his inability he understood the responsibility wasn�t something that he alone could bear He needed assistance to move forward

For some reason Raymund smiled He raised his head and nodded decisively Yes this is the correct decision I was always the one who would prepare the way for Techet Therefore my own wishes are unimportant If I am able to liberate my brother from whatever current circumstances bind him achieving success in that endeavor is worth any price

With resolve in his heart Raymund marched out of his shelter and toward the Northern portion of the training grounds Most recruits were resting at the moment but the Vulpine didn�t want to miss this opportunity The sooner the training started the better the result That was something that Overseer Helen had drilled into him

Today would be the day that his life changed again

When he arrived at the Overseers building he informed the guard at the door that he was here to see Advisor Zauna She came out soon after her heavy eyes on Raymund With his two tails excitedly swishing back and forth behind his back he announced to her that he had resolved himself he would accept her advice regarding how to change his image and utilize his Legendary Skill

He then went on to explain that his reason for earning the top examination score and coming to the Nexus was to find his brother In exchange for Advisor Zauna�s assistance in locating Techetadore he would make whatever changes were necessary to his image to reach his full potential

Zauna moved slowly after Raymund�s speech reaching up and running her thumb over her chin Her face made it difficult to read her expression And this new resolve to change your image this new form is what you truly desire

It is what is necessary Raymund said with certainty He performed a short bow toward his Advisor My hesitance in the past oof

Advisor Zauna slammed her fist into Raymund�s stomach Then as he bent all the way over she brought her other hand down upon his back Gasping weakly Raymund fell forward with bulging eyes He sat on his knees and struggled to breathe Zauna had struck him directly in the diaphragm with her first strike briefly paralyzing the muscle group

Zauna spat off to the side You are foolish Have you truly listened to my advice The problem was never that you didn�t use your most potent Skill I suggested that you focus on that because it is definitely powerful whereas your current image is definitely not But what your image is missing is not anything specific but the presence of a personal desire You as an individual must identify a clear goal for your image

As long as you treat your image simply as the executor of a foreign responsibility you will be weak Advisor Zauna turned away Her heavy footfalls seemed to shatter all the fragile optimism Raymund had come here in his heart Go rest recruit See if you can meditate away your stupidity

Sulfur hummed in concentrated as it gradually began to stretched its body across the ground to mimic the shape of the Grim Chimera�s new image Randidly�s lips twitched as he tried not to smile at the plant armor�s struggles Are you sure you don�t want any help I can strike you a few times so you build up some kinetic energy

Sulfur resonated with annoyance practically shouting through their mental connection that it didn�t want to bother Randidly with something as trivial as this It was more than capable of adjusting its form to resonate with his images

Truthfully Randidly appreciated the sentiment behind the glacially slow shift from Sulfur The fact that his armor was trying to help in his own way was kinda adorable But realistically

Shaking his head Randidly turned away At this rate it will take a couple of weeks for Sulfur to ooze into the correct shape With my assistance that time would likely be shortened to only a few days Well I should be safe in the Rally Station for a while at least Two more weeks until the next recruit challenge two months until I will be leaving for the frontlines I suppose we have the spare time

So Randidly left his armor to its business and found a comfortable position on the floor He cast a forlorn glance at the empty plate where his roast pig used to sit but that could wait until later His attention turned inward His three images stirred each with something on its mind The Grim Chimera wanted to refine its shape The Stillborn Phoenix whined that it wanted to devour more emotions Yggdrasil wanted to strengthen its dominion over the surrounding area in case another attack was incoming

For now Randidly ignored the three issues that were raised and focused in on the form of Yggdrasil He passed through the emerald leaves the rune covered boughs and arrived at the sturdy trunk of the World Tree He was engulfed in a sea of rustling creaking and shifting as the invisible wind tousled the canopy around him In his mind he reached up and touched his hand against the thick bark Even through his fingertips he could sense the raw vitality beneath the rutted surface

Releasing a breath Randidly focused further on that life energy that seemed to pulse unceasingly from the core of this mythical plant As he sunk more deeply into his vision golden light filled his vision Sprinkled into that grand vitality was elements of purification that Randidly had incorporated early and now he focused on that purification and expanded it As he began to work that energy released a pulse of overwhelming light Shade and color were eliminated and only illumination remained

Gradually that light faded Orbs of white fire blazed and slowly dyed the surroundings white a lighter tint of gold Ripples began to run through the powerful life energy

With gritted teeth he endured the feedback from his own image Then he continued to tune the details The color gradually shifted around him Randidly wanted to completely transform the manifestation fo the Inscrutable Mien of Genesis and he believed that would start with the energy at its base The golden sea of life energy was his focus for now

The force and weight of the image came from the concept of genesis For Yggdrasil that genesis came from the sheer amount of natural growth was spurred on by the ambient energy it released This nurturing energy was the seed of that genesis Refining the energy further would lead to a cascading series of changes through the Skill

Randidly raised his hands above the golden sea and gently lowered them The water� flowed up to his fingers so the tips just lightly brushed against the surface With the added layer of purification present in this energy the sensation was almost painful Energy that was very similar to electricity jolted up from the pure spring of energy and made the muscles of his fingers reflexively tighten

But of course energy was a very amorphous concept Simply by refining the substance of the energy Randidly would probably struggle to make any transformative change Which was why he intended to cheat

With great care Randidly reached out into his Soulskill and seized a portion of the image fragments he had taken from the image with the bandaged eyes They gleamed with a pale green light tumbling end over end in Randidly�s palm He tightened his hand slowly gradually destroying the ancillary details until only the portion that Randidly desired remained In this case what Randidly isolated was the sense of intent�

The image had moved with such purposeful force that its attacks could cut through space with an admirable efficiency Randidly didn�t want that damage but he did wish to cause a small shift in his vital energy In the past Yggdrasil�s energy was simply an ambient encourager It was just as much fuel as it was the impetus for the growth But if he could shift so the energy was more purposeful

As a subconscious natural force the Inscrutable Mien was near divine It was the sleeping perfection of natural beauty like a thundering waterfall WIth consciousness and purposefulness Randidly had no doubt he could reach an oppressive level of power with the Skill

Inside of his downward facing palms those pale green motes appeared above the sea of life energy His fingers continued to spasm as Randidly seized it so directly but it was within acceptable levels With a soft gesture he diffused those sparkling pale green lights into the core of his life energy Boldly releasing their light they sank within the endless waves of golden energy

From there he began using his insights into Nether to subtly weave some structure into the way the golden energy was diffused outward from the core Prodded by his will those motes of pale green intention spread their radiance through the sea of golden energy as it steadily shifted its basic structure to a more considered flow

As small flaws and inconsistencies emerged between the golden energy and the pale green motes of light the bolts of feedback coming along Randidly�s fingers grew stronger The magnitude increased to the point that the muscles of his forearms began to cramp

There were obviously dangers with incorporating foreign images into oneself One was that you might inject something dangerous into yourself that you didn�t immediately notice Randidly wasn�t so worried about this for two reasons he could directly annihilate any offending image with Nether and because his three images mutually restrained each other preventing a problem from getting out of control before he could restrain it

In reality the one reason that Randidly had hesitated wasn�t related to the specific images themselves but the fact that he was pretty much marking himself by accepting these image remnants Even if he reduced the image to its component parts Randidly was willing to bet the original owner would be able to recognize the pieces that were now incorporated into Randidly directly He would lose all access to plausible deniability this way

But Randidly was willing to take the risk His interaction with Wick had lit a fire in his chest He needed to increase as strength as quickly as possible This role as Head Drill Sergeant was an opportunity to gather resources for Randidly�s mission with Edraine but it was also making him plenty of enemies in the process simply by his association with Military High Command He couldn�t waste this time

When the three months of training ended Randidly would need to be ready to defend himself Counting on Commandant Wick�s favor to protect him seemed like an easy way to end up dead in a shallow grave

Or a way to be somehow improved� by the Commandant�s madness so that the individual Randidly Ghosthound was irrevocably warped beyond recognition

After shivering Randidly banished those thoughts and continued thoroughly reworking the flow of his vital energy through Yggdrasil His fingers continued to twitch The motes of pale green light were steadily being diffused into the spring of golden energy but some hint of that color remained Occasionally Randidly would pause and open his eyes peering at the way Nether flowed between the recruits and overseers Then he would return to his Soulspace and imitate that organic shape with the vital energy

As part of the newfound purpose every bit of growth caused by Yggdrasil would be intentional In addition there would be something almost unmistakable about those beings touched by Yggdrasil�s energy Randidly didn�t want the effect to be too egregious lest his ability to heal unaffiliated parties was negatively impacted but he did want the energy to possess a signature frequency

Those who were raised beneath the shadow of the World Tree would always recognize their own

And speaking of shadow Seeing that the process of refining his vital energy would take more time Randidly�s attention shifted He pulled his hands out of the sea of energy and shook his numb extremities lightly he would need a few more sessions before he had achieved the desired effect

So he raised his gaze and let himself fade back out to stand before the World Tree He twisted around and looked a the deep shadows cast by the thick layer of emerald leaves But before he was able to locate the Implacable Price of Exodus he received a message from Helen

We received a message from Superintendent Xeruth It�s clear that he is quite conflicted but risked offending you to deliver the message Apparently there is a man who wishes to come to visit you on the Rally Station His name is Velio Dunn And he says he wants to fight you

Chapter 1541

Blessedly Octavius Shrike responded very quickly when Randidly reached out for information regarding the mysterious Velio Dunn Honestly that should have been the sign that the content of the message was not good news Randidly�s expression quickly turned serious as he read through the message

Don�t become involved with this man under any circumstances Do not attract his attention From what I gather he claims to have originated in the Second Cohort but some records indicate he was active even before then Reports are conflicting but there are two easily ascertainable facts he is overwhelmingly strong and has a nasty habit of killing individuals with high potential

His behavior is notoriously erratic but in the past several hundred years its been relatively common for larger factions to hire Dunn to fight against talents from rival factions All of those individuals have died tragically in their combat

Let me emphasize once more Overwhelmingly Strong

Upon reading that message Randidly very decisively replied to Superintendent Xeruth to tell this Velio Dunn that he was very busy training the recruits and couldn�t meet with him Suddenly some of the Superintendent�s sudden backbone by reporting this message made sense it wasn�t that he was no longer afraid of Randidly but that he was just as afraid of this new arrival He dare not fail to pass on the message

Randidly pressed his lips into a thin line as he looked down at the callouses on his hands It seems like the sharks are already gathering Heh but I suppose this wouldn�t be the Nexus if there weren�t dangerous individuals lurking everywhere I was pretty lucky to have come so directly under the military�s wing at the very least access to me won�t be easy for two more months

But after I head to the frontlines

After releasing a breath Randidly considered his next move At this point there were simply so many areas that he wanted to improve that he wasn�t sure the best way to proceed All of his images needed attention as well as his subtly accumulating problem with how much Nether density he possessed In addition he had a plethora of tools available to him that gave him an overwhelming number of possibilities All three of the Fatepieces he now possessed were relatively interesting although the Visage of Obsession appeared to possess some latent dangers

For the moment Randidly opened his menu to put himself out on a limb and send a message to a brief acquaintance Randidly believed it best to get the ball rolling on that front as quickly as possible He scrolled through the individuals whom he had recently encountered his eyes glazing over as he looked at the unfamiliar and complex names there simply had been too many random individuals within his sphere of influence at the funeral

Some of the naming sense of these Nexus citizens are a bit Randidly rubbed the back of his neck Then again maybe I don�t have room to say anything

But after searching for five minutes Randidly�s emerald eyes began to glitter with a growing suspicion He returned to the beginning and checked through the difficult to read names with a bit more care But it didn�t end up mattering

In terms of messaging the System was extremely helpful in its construction It made a note of all other Aether beings that passed near you allowing you to go back and contact these individuals any time you wished However when Randidly looked for the name of Neshamah Rex

She�s not here Randidly pursed her lips It�s possible that Neshamah isn�t her true name but I feel like that isn�t the case

Randidly could think of two other explanations for this absence The first was that he had met a double who was simply posing as Neshamah at the funeral But that seemed unlikely considering the very real and very sophisticated organization of Nether that Randidly had witnessed around her body He didn�t sense within Neshamah the same harmony that Randidly possessed between his own Aether and Nether but Neshamah clearly had been able to balance the very different energies within her body

Plus the artistry with which she had balanced her Nether

The second explanation was that she could somehow block the System from displaying her name or sensing her person Considering her use of Nether that wasn�t such a surprising realization just a bitter one

Does that mean that she will be the one to reach out to me regarding usage of Nether Or Randidly�s mind stirred toward the recruit who bore the name Rex Annoyance creased his features Either way he didn�t have a good ability to seize the initiative for this method of improvement He could lay some groundwork to communicate through the recruit but

Randidly sighed And learning to utilize Nether is definitely the way I can completely transform myself still no reason to be down about it There are plenty of other ways to train

After sending a message to Helen regarding an arrangement for the recruits Randidly returned to his position sitting on the floor He spared a glance for Sulfur�s continued efforts but shook his head and turned away no need to open that can of worms again His armor was surprisingly testy about this issue So once more he closed his eyes and sank into the realm of his images

Randidly stood on a thick branch of the world tree his hand on the ancient bark Beneath his fingers golden runes sparkled and seethed with secrets about the universe But Randidly turned away from that light and looked toward the deep darkness in the surrounding canopy The emerald leaves released their constant tinkling notes And although the invisible wind around the World Tree constantly rustled the leaves there were some places within that layered darkness that stood completely still

From within those deep shadows a figure stirred at Randidly�s gaze With a hiss the figure slowly walked forward until Randidly could just make out the details of his image through the haze of layered leaf shadows

The Implacable Price of Exodus possessed relatively normal if dirty legs But above its waist its torso erupted into a dozen arms that ended in sharp nails These brutal limbs stretched in every direction like a blooming flower Those hands constantly seemed to be reached and grasping seizing the ambient life energy in the air for itself THe knuckles were gnarled and misshapen Of course this image was extremely small in the grand scheme of the World Tree But still it was a rather constant drain

Hidden amongst the myriad of joints that attached to the torso was a massive fanged mouth and two bulging eyes All in all the figure was a shadowy monster that lurked within the World Tree Its existence wasn�t necessary but it had woven itself somehow into the fabric of the image

Randidly didn�t conveniently have any image fragments to grind up and sprinkle through this Skill to improve it but he didn�t think he needed them for this transformation He was somewhat inspired by his interaction with Commandant Wick truly the greatest monsters did not look their parts

This many armed visage was a beast The grand villain of the world tree was much more sinister than that

Randidly walked forward along the branch enjoying the sensation of his bare feet against the bark As he neared the Implacable Price of Exodus the image hissed once more and took a step deeper into the shadows Randidly ignored the Skill�s warning and continued forward As the monster withdrew further Randidly snorted and simply reached out and seized the Skill directly

Compared to me Randidly showed his teeth

As soon as he touched the image his hands began to blister and sizzle In truth the Implacable Price of Exodus was an extremely dangerous concept that Randidly had managed to conjure within himself It possessed the power to even damage its fellow images Which was why Randidly fully intended to weaponize it further

Congratulations Your Skill Stigma of the Stillborn Phoenix has grown to Level 306

Heh Randidly grinned at the squirming monster in front of him It was clear that the creature wanted to use its many arms to push Randidly away but didn�t want to exacerbate Randidly�s pain by creating more contact points between them You think something like this is enough to scare me You should know me better than that And that kindness of yours you are a natural disaster and you feel pity for those that are steadily destroyed by your existence Your power is almost regretful

That is what we need to change

Although Randidly didn�t have new image fairy dust this time he had a reliable source for this transformation the Alpha Cosmos He hadn�t been particularly involved in the Alpha Cosmos in quite some time which was a testament to how stable things had been since Yystrix was no longer around to periodically invade

However that didn�t mean that life in his Soulskill was perfect There were heroes and villains self righteous monsters and quickly forgotten saints To generalize greatly the Alpha Cosmos was rife with individuals struggling with their own humanity Occasionally Randidly would give himself a break by just watching the people within the world going about their lives

Before him the Implacable Price of Exodus whined as its form began to melt and shift like wax before a furnace

Perhaps the original prototype for this sort of character was Alta Bounty who sought to destroy the Alpha Cosmos for the sins of its creator She was an individual who had sacrificed everything to achieve her goal And she had felt such destruction was justified the entire time Because she had truly believed that there was no other way to escape the cycle of pain

That was why she had been so dangerous That was the crazed certainty Randidly had seen within Wick That was the monstrous rationalization that he wanted to be at the core of the Implacable Price of Exodus

As his hands continued to sizzle against the Skill�s skin Randidly steadily built an altar to the hubris and narcissism of humanity

Of course Alta wasn�t the only such individual There were hundreds of people who had hurt others within the Alpha Cosmos because they believed that the ends justified the means There were people who sold their family or their bodies or their souls to accomplish their goals Sometimes these journeys were brutally short other times they were painfully extended Either way there was a thick layer of bitterness that accumulated in the dark places of the Alpha Cosmos

Not to say that this was the dominant emotion Currently the Alpha Cosmos was doing quite well There were bright spots of hope that periodically would cleanse some of this bitterness just as there were times that the light of hope would falter and dim before the harsh weight of reality Such was the balance of the human condition

Such was the weight of a true world

Randidly channeled that bitterness that helplessness that craving for change He also pulled from outside the Alpha Comos drawing from the determined figure of Kaan Swacc The man who was so sure that Randidly had been a Nether spy that he would stop at nothing to try and eliminate him

For several minutes Randidly was a conduit to these complicated and dangerous emotions That holy sense of necessity made motivations irrelevant It was a towering monster that demanded obedience and silence During that time he didn�t panic or really react to those emotions He allowed them to rage within himself lashing out against him but doing no permanent damage And gradually they began to organize themselves The stronger more volatile ones settled to the bottom hiding in the depths

Randidly opened his eyes The monster in front of him was gone Instead Randidly was holding the shoulders of a lovely young woman with gold skin like she was constructed from pure metal She had long lashes as she slowly blinked consciousness and understanding blooming in her eyes

Then she gave Randidly a deep look as he released her

Meanwhile Randidly looked at her back where strange lengths of metal stretched back into the darkness behind her The way they were arranged made it seem like she was held in place by some sort of restraint but Randidly knew that was a lie Those were her greedy arms made as inconspicuous as possible

A second after he released her she pulled herself back into the dark places of the World Tree quickly vanishing Randidly shook his head lightly That figure is now something that genuinely believes destruction is the answer She will be an unstable element within the image but that is why it will become powerful

It was a risk

Randidly took it without hesitation He would walk without regrets toward the Pinnacle

Chapter 1542

DiOrtho Vant ignored the soft rain falling on his exposed feet He had never gotten around to making a shelter large enough to cover all of him and at this point he didn�t see the point of making any extra effort Apathy lay heavy across him His horns itched but he didn�t even bother to reach up and scratch

He laid on his back with his left arm behind his head letting his eyes unfocus as he stared at the roughly hewn wood of the ceiling Meanwhile he made the Darkstar Coin dance across his fingers

The noise of the rain generally hushed all of the surrounding sounds In addition the slowly rising mist pushed away other physical presences Therefore DiOrtho felt like he was floating alone in those noises He was adrift

A part of him was furious at his current indecision urging him to stand up and lash out The well trod path of breaking rending and destroying called out to him singing its familiar tune And yet there was a deep unfamiliar hum rising from his chest DiOrtho pressed his eyes tightly closed

A larger part of him was blank and numb as it had been since he had woken up from his brief coma after being exposed to the Ghosthound�s transforming image He didn�t like it but it was necessary

His eyes flashed open DiOrtho flicked the coin up into the air and caught it with a sharp swipe a few seconds later Why haven�t I used this coin If I had it a few days ago

He would have immediately challenged the Ghosthound He would have gleefully fought and likely been crushed similar to how decisively that dog Vizzerrett had been smashed into the ground He would have embraced those possibilities confident that the experience would spur him to greater growth

I feel nothing DiOrtho announced casually to the room The whirring inside of him gradually slowed Even though it was small this place was his Somehow he found comfort in that So much comfort that he had no desire to leave this place ever again

Of course as soon as he said that DiOrtho felt a ripple in the nearby mist that filled him with annoyance Because someone was walking along the meandering path toward his shelter This time when he flipped the coin end over and watched it catch the light he simply allowed it to fall down into his waiting palm His finger squeezed the coin feeling the sharp edges of the metal If he had squeezed tightly enough he might be able to slice open his palm

DiOrtho placed the coin into a pocket and pushed himself up into a sitting position His sharp eyes recognized the figure of his Squad Leader Raymund Ballast approaching him

That aggressive part of DiOrtho wanted to sneer at the thought of this weakling being his squad leader but he frowned instead The air around Raymund was just as heavy as DiOrtho�s heart felt

That finally ignited some fire in his chest Am I really as mopey and useless as this fool What the hell is wrong with me

The machine god image began to roar His image stirred without DiOrtho even spurring it onward I could just kill everyone and everything I�ll end it all

DiOrtho hissed He clamped down on his emotions and immediately suppressed the faint buzzing that rose from the machine horror in his chest There was an intermittent clicking as the infinite clockwork of DiOrtho�s image seemed to come alive but all of that was quickly smothered by DiOrtho�s Willpower

Damnit you are my image Don�t you dare rebel against me Horror and hot fury seethed through DiOrtho�s veins But those powerful emotions just seemed to fuel the machine horror he now housed The clicks once again rose in intensity as the sinister engines at his image�s core began to fire on all cylinders Once more DiOrtho was forced to suppress his emotions His hands were trembling

When DiOrtho was younger his father was the tribal leader of the ram demons He often stayed with his uncle while his father was away warring against rival demon tribes leading their tribe�s crusade Even though they had passed the Calamity and had a powerful ancestor sending Aether to their world DiOrtho�s people did not settle down peacefully They fought and bled for their dignity and status Such was their way of life

DiOrtho�s uncle was different He was weak a historian who studied ancient religions and cultures of the demon tribes And before DiOrtho could participate in training he would sit and listen to his uncle talk about some of the more interesting cultures Even to this day one of those cultures stuck with DiOrtho the worshippers of the Machine God

For most of his life DiOrtho had considered learning about this ancient religion to be the great blessing of his life But now

During a particularly long campaign for DiOrtho�s father his uncle had taken him to an ancient temple Or more accurately it was the site of an ancient crash landing on the demon�s homeworld upon which those ancient people had built a temple The walls were lined with strange gears and mysterious constructs The shape of the chairs was bulbous and exotic

DiOrtho had walked around the temple with wide eyes The demon�s world was a primitive one relying primarily on the strength of their superior bodies The strange workings of metal were a revelation to him In his quiet voice his uncle explained the theorized purpose of many of the machines Then he took the young boy down to the core and showed him the engine of the ancient construct that had crashed and devastated an entire island

DiOrtho had never forgotten the glittering gears and angular sheets of metal he had seen that day Those shapes were the seeds of his ancient machine horror that he used to rise to power

Laying in his shelter DiOrtho grimaced He didn�t like it but his exposure to the Ghosthound�s image had changed something fundamental about his image It was as though there was not an unfamiliar soul housed within his body The sensation was disquieting

Shaking his head he turned to look at Raymund Honestly he could use the distraction The Vulpine�s fur was messy and his eyes were downcast You look like shit

Advisor Zauna humbled me with her fist Raymund chuckled weakly There were deep bags under his eyes It appears my actions have deeply affronted her My weakness is my own fault I understand that But all the avenues to improve myself that I have taken appear to have been the incorrect decisions

Huh DiOrtho said noncommittally The Darkstar Coin was heavy in his pocket

They sat in silence for almost thirty seconds before the emotionally exhausted DiOrtho began to get annoyed by the fact that Raymund Ballast just stood next to his shelter with his head bowed Raindrops the size of pins continued to tinkle downward rustling the grass and gradually soaking through Raymund�s fur

Honestly the fucker was horribly depressing DiOrtho was horrified at the thought that he had appeared similarly while he was considering his own problem

The ram demon�s mouth twitched why the fuck are you just standing around here then Go nap or something We have physical training in less than an hour With how feeble your attitude seems heh It�s going to be a rough session

To DiOrtho�s surprise Raymund just nodded But then he raised his gaze and huffed out a breath from his nose spraying away some accumulated rainwater on his snout That is that is why I approached despite the fact I understand my presence troubles you DiOrtho On the subject of desire I have met none who indulge themselves as fully and truthfully as you do There is a purity to your actions that I well that is your strength I hope you can offer me some advice on this matter Please

As he listened to Raymund�s talk DiOrtho gradually tensed You wish to learn about desire from me

Kill them all Then end yourself Return to oblivion start again The cycle is endless

Pah You really are a fool DiOrtho hissed As his emotions stirred the machine horror seemed to click with excitement It was an extremely aggravating feedback loop Made much worse by the water logged annoyance standing in front of him

Right when DiOrtho resolved himself to get to his feet and beat the shit out of his Squad Leader to work off some steam there was a pulse from the central training area the Overseers had something to announce

DiOrtho gave Raymund a look that was dripping with venom but the Vulpine didn�t seem to notice through his clouded eyes His squad leader was clearly still too deeply concerned with his own issues to even recognize how close to being smashed into the ground he had come And that obliviousness only served to trigger DiOrtho further

which only increased the joyful calls for destruction from his image which forced DiOrtho to calm himself lest his image rise unbidden in his chest Snorting he shoved Raymund roughly We are summoned Don�t just daydream

Huh Ah yes Raymund mumbled

With a vein throbbing in his temple DiOrtho led Raymund back toward the central training area Most of the recruits had already gathered because the physical training would begin soon Despite the previously somber atmosphere cast over the group after Djark Quewn had turned out to be some foreign spy the recruits were all talking excitedly with one another

Glancing around DiOrtho ascertained that no Overseer was present especially Overseer Helen He could release a light sigh Somehow he sensed that her antagonism would only worsen the state of his image And without her present he felt no qualms about letting loose a bit

DiOrtho harrumphed releasing a bit of his barely controlled image in the process Those nearby winced and stumbled backward opening a path for him to simple noticeboard that had been erected He strutted forward with his chin raised while inwardly examining the image pulse he had released Whatever the Ghosthound did it certainly made my Skills stronger the only problem is that it�s that much more difficult to control fuck and it keeps making me think about ending myself

Raymund drifted along behind DiOrtho like a malevolent specter with business in the mundane realm His eyes were blank and bleak staring at nothing DiOrtho did his best to ignore his soulless squad leader and quickly scanned the announcement The more he read the more he barred his teeth

Heh good news for you DiOrtho spat out over his shoulder at Raymund Gradually the man blinked and looked upward DiOrtho inclined his head toward the announcement Two tournaments individual and Squad The winners will be tutored by the Ghosthound himself guided on the use of images If he can straighten you out no one can

And he�s the one that caused this fucked up change in my image DiOrtho pressed his lips together He better be able to fix his mess

Chapter 1543

Randidly Ghosthound scanned rapidly through the typically extensive message from Octavius Shrike Unlike last time this message took a bit longer to return it was now about a week after the funeral for the deceased Commandant and Randidly had asked his question the day that Velio Dunn had tried to visit The tournaments for his recruits were scheduled to occur today Still Randidly read through this message carefully As he did so he gradually frowned

Octavius was able to determine that Tellus was one of the few planets from the Fifth Cohort that wasn�t completely cut off from Aether support after last week Mostly it seemed this decision was made because Tellus was still doing its job as an Aether refinery The System pumped rough Aether into the atmosphere and the planet was quite explosively producing a refined product Likely due to the devastation of the Second Calamity these few years had seen rapid growth from the survivors

They had managed to pass a Calamity They were rebuilding after a catastrophic population loss

But there was one thing that Octavius could not determine the location of Shal

The records clearly indicate that he was given an opportunity to approach the Pinnacle and failed Octavius� message listed This isn�t a surprise to approach the PInnacle in that manner you essentially fight all those who approached the Pinnacle ahead of you on a straight Path It would be a miracle if someone was able to survive in such a gauntlet In addition it is clear that the Swacc Family made special arrangements for Tellus afterward These are publicly recorded events

However it appeared that the Swacc Family�s assistance was contingent on some agreement with Shal And the Swacc Family refuses to talk about their own business with outsiders Using some of the functions of the Nexus Ways I can determine that Shal is still alive wherever he is But he is cut off from the other portions of the System

Sighing Randidly turned his attention back to the task at hand He floated in the Web rubbing his chin with his right hand The emotions that the Stillborn Phoenix had been refining over the past few days wound out of him like thread from a spool and spun upward buoyed by the currents of Aether Randidly watched the densely flowing emotions with a complicated expression Is this what a spider feels like as they spread their webbing It�s not like anyone should be captured by the emotions but they are steadily infiltrating other places within the Nexus

Randidly shook his head lightly There was a strange sense of connection that was growing as Randidly released more and more emotions up through the Web into the lower portions of the Nexus The one upside of this was that Randidly definitely felt some of the pressure from his Nether Nebula ease With a larger base� to distribute the strain even slightly the enormous density of significance he was gathering slowed him down less

He didn�t overlook the unique way that a portion of Aether was assisting with a portion of Nether The two energies complemented each other Emotion and connectivity could achieve a strange balance in a similar way to significance and shape could reinforce one another Unified the two energies were overwhelmingly powerful

Which was why Randidly was still so annoyed he had heard nothing from Neshamah Rex in the past few days In fact as he floated in the Web he was starting to be so disgruntled at his helplessness that the emotions Randidly was releasing began to sputter and spread out strange infectious tentacles through the air The emotional energy changed color and the surrounding space seemed to be tinted by the intensity

With a twitching eyelid Randidly calmed his heart by snorting out a blast of steam The emotions unwillingly faded back to their normal state Seeing his emotions taint the surroundings reminded him of Commandant Wick�s madness but Randidly tried to reassure himself again that his work with the emotions could be considered a public good They were much easier to parse apart than the chaotic emotions that flowed up from below even if they were a tad more insidious

Chuckling to himself about being an environmental hazard Randidly flipped out his Philosopher�s Key and returned to the Fifth Cohort Rally Station After grabbing a few pieces of smoked boar on the table Randidly began his normal routine

After cleansing his emotions he sat in a meditative position and continued fine tuning the Inscrutable Mien of Genesis and the Implacable Price of Exodus As he enriched Yggdarsil�s life energy and continued to guide the consciousness of the tree�s new monster Randidly steadily accumulated the relevant Skill Levels Currently he felt like both Skills had sharply increased in potency even if neither of their details changed

Such steady development was a function of Randidly�s current prodigious strength but he couldn�t deny that it was somewhat less satisfying than the explosive changes he used to so frequently experience But such gains were few and far between now Another wouldn�t occur until the next Soulskill Tithe

After working on his Yggdrasil Skills Randidly headed down to his personal training array and continued his version of physical fitness Helen frequently complained that his sessions rendered most of the nearby training pods unusable because of Randidly�s wide image reverberations and Superintendent Xeruth sent very mildly worded queries about the increasingly frequent tremors running through the Rally Station but Randidly believed that this was also a necessary avenue of improvement

His body continued to accumulate overwhelming Nether Brawn within his limbs With his enemies slowly revealing himself the process of training his greatest asset was extremely reassuring Randidly flexed his hands with enough force to produce localized sonic booms This is the way that I catch up despite how many years head start they possess I have to make use of every tool available to me

Every now and then during the week Randidly would check in on Sulfur watching the armor�s continued progress However he had to be very circumspect about it these last few days He had apparently checked in a little too often with Sulfur and now the Soulseed was rather huffy that Randidly didn�t believe it could accomplish its task Anytime it noticed his attention it would get all surly

Not that I don�t know that you�ll eventually do it it�s just I�m wondering about when Randidly thought with amusement But he tried to be a little less micromanaging Besides he had so many other things to do

Randidly had attempted earlier in the week to cheat into contact with Neshamah by using his Dreamcatcher of the Long Night going back to the meeting with the mysterious woman and studying her more aggressively But overt observations caused her to clamp down Nether defenses around her body laughing in the alternate memory at Randidly�s attempts much to his chagrin And a slower examination was about as effective as trying to figure out how a car worked while staring at the exterior he could glean nothing at all except it was what he was looking for

So his Nether progress mainly consisted of continued observations of the Nether System in his training area As it continued to develop patterns were emerging that Randidly could identify and extrapolate to broader truths about Nether In his estimate five years of such observation would be very beneficial to him

but five years was too long a timeline People wanted to kill him now

To increase the effectiveness of such observations Randidly poured a bit extra Nether into his Alpha Cosmos to establish a similar organization there But he needed to be careful about how much significance he accumulated the grey bubbles continued to be a strange pseudo physical strain on his Nether Nebula

Randidly rolled his shoulders and slapped his hands against his cheeks Even if there isn�t any easy Path forward I�m still progressing I�ve gathered quite a lot of PP again Soon I�ll be able to take another Path And about 1000 PP beyond that should be the next tithe from the Alpha Cosmos

Randidly probably wouldn�t be able to earn that much PP before the three month time limit was up But hopefully his actions on the frontlines would gather a huge amount of PP to him and accelerate that process

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Timing has grown to Level 172

Randidly glanced toward the window Checking the time the recruit tournament would begin soon Although Randidly wasn�t going to be helping with the administration he should begin to pay attention to the recruits some of them were starting to show serious potential Plus Randidly needed a little bit of a break to refine his thoughts regarding All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth He had decided that he was finally prepared to address the Grim Chimera�s ultimate Skill

Yet just as Randidly walked through the door he stalled out in shock at the message he had received His hand reached for the doorknob and missed A split second later Randidly forgot about his plans to leave as he reread the message Instantly a grin covered his face

Did you miss me Randidly

I don�t know why you would when I�m an objectively ignorant fool I�ve been so busy I couldn�t even manage to send a single message to you My bad I�m not so good at this you know

Randidly couldn�t help but chuckle the message was from Vualla Although he couldn�t reach out to her with his Nether Rituals the messaging would work when she was in Aether controlled space

I did feel you try to reach out to me previously but the Xyrt Brigade been rather constantly active since we came here destroying these Nether nodes as quickly as we can It�s gotten better since the new Commandant came to the frontlines to assist us but it�s still quite rough I could use a nap Some of the people trained with me have been slaughtered right in front of me The Nether Gatekeepers we have encounter are different

They aren�t just cookie cutter beings They have individual traits and the equivalent of Skills When pressed they can transform into a super form that will last for a few minutes But before we identified this capability we were getting ambushed by it every day Heh some bastard even dared to rip out my intestines Not that it was serious but certainly a cavalier way to treat a lady right

Gradually Randidly�s excitement over hearing from Vualla disappeared His expression grew serious His three images pulsed with tightly controlled fury If Vualla mentioned a wound to him then Randidly knew that it was much more serious than she let on

But what I wanted to tell you is that the upper echelons of the Xyrt Brigade are scared They hide it well enough but it�s clear that they haven�t fought against Nether like this Especially because we haven�t yet been able to figure out why the Nether King is sneaking around setting up these Nether Nodes A lot of our resources are put toward destroying them but the upper echelons won�t commit to eradicating them completely

Some of them are beginning to suspect these nodes are simply a distraction But no one has any idea what they are supposed to be a distraction from The opposition currently has the initiative in the Fifth Cohort This Nether King is making the Nexus seem like a much more mortal foe eh It doesn�t help that after the previous leader of the Xyrt Brigade was killed there has been a lot of infighting behind the scenes

If the Nether doesn�t kill us soon we might just fucking do it ourselves I get that what I want to see is a dismantled Nexus but it�s frustrating that it feels like I�ll be on the frontlines of those losses

But in other news I�m more powerful than ever Want to spar We are being sent back to the Nexus to debrief and rest for a few days I�ll come find you even if you try to hide

Stay safe I�ve heard some strange rumors about you The Xyrt Brigade doesn�t know what to make of you But they deeply fear Commandant Wick

Chapter 1544

Congratulations to our winners Overseer Helen announced in a crisp voice that cut through the cheery atmosphere DiOrtho Vant just looked down at his hands There was some dirt underneath his nails He was so exhausted that even emotions seemed difficult at the moment And especially congratulations to our Squad Number Three which was able to achieve victory in the Squad tournament and its Squad Leader won the individual tournament outright Certainly fitting for an individual who was taught by the very best Heh

Standing in front of the crowd of dirty and bloody recruits Jieu Ronault already appeared to possess a regal stature due to the fact he didn�t possess a physical body that could be contaminated by the mundane filth of the ground The fire elemental nodded sagely at his victory Truthfully this would not have been possible without your training

DiOrtho�s lips twitched and he was forced to suppress a mild nausea in his chest With more energy he definitely would have sneered at the elemental But he had lost decisively so Even his misbehaving image remained silent in front of Jieu�s modest display What could he say to someone who had so thoroughly crushed him

Nothing

And he had not even lost to him in the finals DiOrtho had been defeated by Jieu Ronault in the round of 16 And fighting against others to determine final placement DiOrtho had ended up 11th overall

11th DiOrtho�s bile tasted bitter as it crept up his throat

Yes yes no need to butter me up Overseer Helen responded But at the same time a smile that invited more flattery stretched across her face When Jieu remained silent she huffed in disappointment and shook her head Well anyway the winning Squad and the top five individual fighters will be trained personally by the Ghosthound Meanwhile ah the most concerning individuals by far have to be Recruit Vant and Recruit Ballast Tsk tsk after how impressively you two started to end up being ranked 90th and 11th And I bet in another week you�ll be 199th and 200th Heh everyone else disperse These two need some special training

The recruits looked at DiOrtho with gloating gazes finally lighting a spark of fury in his chest Yet at the same time he was helpless

Overseer Helen was right What the hell had happened The tournament had started so well but by the end

Gradually his sneering fellows walked away from the duo of losers leaving the two failures to stew in the approaching judgment of Overseer Helen Even through the haze of numb failure DiOrtho was slightly nervous about what might be coming Considering what he had been capable of accomplishing previously compared to his performance in the tournament

What went wrong Why did this image of mine

Soon the mustering area was deserted They stood on the packed dirt with Overseer Helen surveying them with her sharp eyes She shifted her weight pursed her lips Got anything to say about your performances or should I say it for you

We will accept whatever punishment you deem fit Overseer Helen Raymund Ballast said with a bowed head If DiOrtho was lightly spattered with mud the foxman was caked with it His losses had been even more desperate and fraught

To both their surprise Overseer Helen just chuckled Honestly we don�t mean to punish you In fact the two of you seem to react negatively to our methods As far as we can tell you are too softhearted to handle the training So we are giving you a break to try and recover from your over strained brains We�ve arranged for a weekend getaway at a beach for you two softies

What the hell are you saying DiOrtho Vant snarled From that initial spark his emotions exploded into a conflagration For the first time in a while the machine horror in his chest aligned specifically with his own desires he would attack the Overseer in front of him with as much force as he could muster Pity was not something that he would stomach even now

Yet just as DiOrtho was about to pounce forward he was pinned to the ground by Overseer Helen�s words the fact that you couldn�t tell that was a joke demonstrates how addled your brain really is You performed like shit do you really think we wouldn�t punish you for that Ha And Recruit Vant I think we both know that if you had been willing to so fully embrace your image during the tournament you wouldn�t have been pushed down to 11th

DiOrtho twitched With a growing smile Overseer Helen continued to speak I think the most embarrassing part weren�t you extremely dominant right when the tournament started Yet as the other competitors fought through the ranks under the watchful eyes of Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound they strangely started to experience epiphanies during their fights Their image was steadily refined Meanwhile the discord between yourself and your image heh Honestly it�s rather impressive that you were able to desperately hold onto 11th place even while completely unable to improve

A low growl came out of DiOrtho�s throat but he couldn�t deny what Overseer Helen was saying At the beginning of the tournament even though he was still disturbed by the sudden unbidden will present in his image he had gradually relaxed as he looked around and saw that many recruits he could still suppress

However as the tournament went on they grew Rapidly It was almost as though the Head Drill Sergeant�s presence spurred them on to a previously absurd level of growth As the Ghosthound sat with his chin in his hand and watched things just began to click for many of the previously mediocre recruits As the corner of the Head Drill Sergeant�s mouth curled upward DiOrtho�s pride had taken several severe hits He could only watch as others began to surpass him

And you Overseer Helen rounded on Raymund Ballast You are even more disgusting I�ve never seen someone so confused about what the fuck to feel At least Vant here knows what he wants even if it is a steaming pile of poo You Recruit Ballast are a coward who isn�t able to confront his true nature

So this is what�s going to happen You two will no longer be joining the normal recruit schedule In fact for the next week you will just be doing physical fitness training At a degree higher than in the past because you won�t need your image for anything else but moving That�s basically all they are good for Your mind may be reheated vomit but your bodies are at least honest Overseer Helen pointed toward the far end of the training area where a new training pod had been erected Congratulations you were so unfortunate that the Ghosthound felt it necessary to intervene in your lives

Just physical fitness Raymund muttered DiOrtho turned and looked at the Vulpine with wide eyes Did this fool really have the gall to sound relieved that we would be only doing physical fitness Fuck how much did I mess up to end up lumped in together with this empty headed fool

The physical training was already brutal to exclusively do such training for the next week DiOrtho shivered

After that we have a new type of training lined up for you in a bit of a sensitive location Overseer Helen�s smile widened Should be fun I haven�t been able to run wild recently

Hmm I think I�ve seen enough for today The overwhelming voice of Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound boomed out over the assembled recruits Even with just him speaking a sense of weight accompanied every word that made it difficult to withstand He pressed and folded the surrounding space making him the center of it I�ll think a bit about your training regimen In the meantime you are dismissed

Then as Charlotte Wick was bowing with her fellow recruits the Ghosthound spoke again Except for Recruits Ronault Wick and Clamman You three stay for a bit

Although Charlotte was shocked by his sudden words she was nothing compared to Vizzeret�s reaction The shaggy grey dog literally popped off the ground like he had purposefully hopped such was the suddenness with which his entire body tensed Meanwhile the other recruits exchanged a few looks and then steadily retreated from the training room

Once they were gone an ominous silence descended over them Charlotte looked up at the Ghosthound wondering why she had been chosen to remain Meanwhile the Head Drill Sergeant was looking down at his metal left harm studying his fingers seriously The silence began to stretch

Only Jieu seemed completely unaffected by the heavy note in the air although Charlotte had basically never seen the flame elemental display any sort of discernable emotion She sometimes wondered if he was truly mortal at all and not some construct

Eventually the Ghosthound raised his emerald gaze and looked at each one of the recruits in turn Heh You three have my attention I�ve already designed a specialized training regimen for the three of you When you return to your shelters you will find an object that has been touched by my image waiting there Expose yourself as you deem appropriate I believe there to be synergy between you three and my images but it is not a guaranteed process If you can incorporate my image The Head Drill Sergeant�s lip curled upward perhaps displaying how unlikely it was in his mind that any one of them could survive his image Charlotte wouldn�t disagree with him either This was a meaningless gamble from his perspective I�ll have further pointers I can give you as well Any questions

The silence arrived once again sudden and heavy The power with which the Ghosthound spoke made breaking through the silence seem simple but without his voice the darkness of the training area turned thick and restricting Yet despite that heavy taboo that seemed to exist Charlotte forced herself to clear her throat Sir why me

The Ghosthound�s emerald eyes zeroed in on Charlotte What a pathetic thing to say recruit If you don�t believe you deserve this opportunity feel free to withdraw

Charlotte�s blood seemed to freeze in her veins Directly experiencing the Head Drill Sergeant�s ire she could barely breathe No I that�s not these two are just

Most disappointingly haven�t I already answered your question You The Head Drill Sergeant folded his arms His eyes continued to burn holes in Charlotte�s chest As I said the true reason you were selected was because of synergy between my images and the three of you These two were coincidentally the first and second place finishers in the tournament while you were fifth

The air around the Ghosthound began to buzz Truly a disappointing showing considering I felt some small amount of potential from you recruit I hope I won�t come to regret this decision Dismissed

Almost blinded by the hanging afterimage of the Ghosthound�s emerald gaze that had been seared into her mind�s eye Charlotte Wick stumbled out of the training hall behind Jieu and Vizzeret Both looked at her with sympathy but they didn�t stay to commiserate both made beelines toward the recruit living area They would only have so much time to rest as it was and an item with the Head Drill Sergeant�s image was waiting for them back in their personal quarters Of course they would like to investigate before anything else

Even as Charlotte hyper ventilated for a full minute outside of the training building she couldn�t help but also get excited Aside from her grandfather the Ghosthound was the most powerful man she had ever met She had personally felt how overwhelming his images were And considering how much she had already improved with the help of his subordinates

Charlotte sprinted back to the well constructed shelter and threw open the door But as soon as she did so Charlotte went pale and began to tremble

In the middle of her inner sanctum a small rock sat releasing a powerful aura of growth and life energy It appeared that the Ghosthound had given her his tree image to combine with Charlotte�s Primal Force

But whoever had been here had rummaged through her drawers The hundreds of freehand sketches she had made of Overseer Helen were strewn across the floor Even some of the more explicit albeit tasteful depictions were included And along the far wall a line of text was carved

Very bold Recruit Wick Show me your resolve or I�ll show everyone your hidden talents Heh

Charlotte felt tears welling up in her eyes as she slumped to the ground The sneering face of the Head Drill Sergeant was so vivid before her eyes that she began to tremble Those emerald eyes hung over her like a guillotine

Chapter 1545

Randidly�s mouth twitched in amusement as he glanced sideways Another week had passed and now the Overseers and Randidly were finalizing their plans for the second challenge against the other Drill Sergeants which would mark the halfway point of their stay on the Fifth Cohort Rally Station They had already sent over the details of the challenge to the Superintendent but now they were doing some last minute strategizing for the various squads

Or rather the Overseers were Randidly was having a hard time keeping his eyes away from Helen who flushed red every time he glanced over at her He wouldn�t have been surprised if steam began coming out of her ears

Heiffal nodded sagely at something one of the other Overseers said We will go with your suggestion And I think that�s just about it Even if the other Drill Sergeants have really managed to train up their recruits since last time I think our preparations are more than enough Especially considering the fact that three of the recruits have begun incorporating your images Randidly

And they�ve been so enthusiastic in their absorption of the images as well Randidly said lightly Helen lowered her face toward the table to hide the shift in coloration as her skin flushed His lips twitched the other Overseers could sense that something else was going on behind Randidly�s slight jabs but they didn�t know the details

Helen had been the one to deliver the image object to Charlotte Wick�s She had been the one who had gone through all the drawers finding the hidden drawings the recruit had made She was the one who had been so shocked that she had immediately run and told Randidly And then later when he visited Helen�s room

As the silence slowly turned awkward Randidly twisted his lips and spoke he didn�t want things to become too strained That should be enough then right Give the recruits two hours of rest before we form up for one last hour long physical training session Then we will head over

Muareth rapped her legs against the table What about Vant and Ballast Will they be participating in the challenge

Randidly glanced at Helen again this time for a legitimate reason But of course Helen didn�t know that and her face turned as red as a tomato This is like the boy who cried wolf This time I legitimately want your input But considering how much significance is stagnating around the two of them

Sighing internally Randidly shook his head They will skip the challenge We need them to get over their issues before coming back to the group Anyways let�s end here for today Helen stick around We should talk about our two miscreant recruits It�s time to take off the kid gloves

Helen was so upset that she kept her head hung low and STILL didn�t even glance over at the aromatic roast boar sitting on the table And when every other Overseer had filed out of the room and returned to their duties Helen looked sharply up at Randidly Let�s not talk about this at all alright I don�t fuckign know why I did it And I fucking regret it So stop stop being such a dick about it okay

Perhaps because of how raw Helen�s voice was Randidly carefully controlled his voice and decided to let one little detail of the Charlotte situation go Because it hadn�t been the discovery of the drawings that had Randidly had stumbled across that led to this strange imbalance of emotional power Helen had come forward rather directly and informed Randidly about it It was only later by coincidence that Randidly had discovered that Helen had taken a particular picture drawn in rough strokes and showing her with her spear raised and ready to strike and hung it on her wall

That was why Helen couldn�t bear to meet Randidly�s eyes

Nodding slowly Randidly said Unless she brought it again he would let it go Sure So how have those two been doing

Helen released a wide sigh Her whole demeanor changed in front of Randidly�s eyes She pulled her shoulders back and her image of crimson tides began to swim lazily through the surroundings Overseer Helen was back Well they are definitely improving their bodies But they still have enough spare energy to think about useless things Especially that Vant the fuck has a battery hidden somewhere on his body I swear I agree that we need to up the intensity

Randidly pursed his lips That means I�ll need to be involved a bit I can manage that And if we finally break them down you�ve read Wendy�s reports Do you really think this is a good idea

Helen shrugged Honestly No But Muareth consulted with Lucretia and this is what she recommended They will perform a kidnapping on the crown princess of the Shelly Kingdom and then escape for 24 hours without using their images at all We hope the situation becomes complex enough that they will be nudged toward their own desires

Is twenty four hours long enough for them to change Randidly asked slowly Not that he thought there was much danger in allowing the recruits into his Soulskill they likely wouldn�t even realize that the location they went to was special To them it would just be a strange world within the extremely wide Nexus The teleportation wouldn�t make them think twice

Helen tilted her head to the side and gave Randidly a confident smile It was about twenty four hours after I met you that I asked to be your spear attendant Trust me This Crown Princess is an absolute delight She�s just the type that Raymund Ballast needs to meet

Fine And if that fails I�ll work them over myself Randidly said with a small smile Helen�s smile grew a subtle mirror of his own They both had grown up in the shadow of the Tellus teaching style when repetition didn�t work brutality was the usual tool for forcing a student out of a rut

After bowing Helen left Randidly glanced briefly at his Soulskill menu He had managed to earn himself another 861 PP in the past six weeks centering primarily around his Grim Chimera Skills and physical passives Plus Randidly had earned a rather large chunk a week ago in the Skill the Torch of Fast and Slow Silences During the tournament amongst the recruits his presence gave them a huge boost

They had likely accumulated fragmented insights by being within the sphere of his energy but his presence had triggered all those insights to come together into a tangible form He filled the silences with opportunities and the recruits had largely seized them and improved Aside of course from the two troublemakers who were having such difficulty with fusing their wills with their images

The Soulskill Tithe would arrive after he spent 1750 more PP So this chunk put him halfway to that goal Randidly allowed the ghost of a smile to dance across his face then closed the menu Both of the Inscrutable Mien of Yggdrasil and the Implacable Price of Exodus had reached their limits his improvements for both stalled out So for now he sat and continued to meditate on All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth

For the very silly reason that this was one of the last instances of the word Earth� that the System didn�t automatically translate to Expira Randidly was slightly hesitant to try and force a change In addition the effect was already quite powerful If Randidly thought about a desired goal the Skill would separate his fate and move through those parallel possibilities until he found a self where he could accomplish the desired task Then for a few seconds he would possess the power of that alternate self

Honestly Randidly had to assume that the Skill was based upon some Nether principles because he hadn�t ever seen a similar effect

Randidly paused Then his eyes widened The alternates

Hopping to his feet with a touch Randidly went to his window His eyes were blank as he looked out at the flows of significance connecting all the recruits resting below Very quickly the flows of Nether moved through their bodies and mixed between each other The recruits had mostly grown used to the subtle reinforcement and barely noticed

But now that Randidly was looking he could see possibilities floating around the flows Without knowing exactly what he was doing Randidly wished and pushed against the flows and with a strange meta physical tremor the entire system of Nether snapped into a new position After several strange eddies of Nether circled around for a few moments the energy settled onto a new path The flows were now pointing in different positions with energy flowing to new places for new reasons

There are multiple different pathways And I think they can be layered That�s why Neshamah�s Nether Randidly whispered to himself He pressed again And then again

Some of the recruits paused in their rest and frowned The sensation wasn�t exactly painful but the rapid series of shifts was strange to experience Like a noise of which you couldn�t determine the source Meanwhile Randidly�s eyes glowed as he realized that some of the pressure he had been enduring was alleviated further by his significance flowing along new pathways

At the moment Randidly could only find about four different natural Nether configurations But even that was enough He took several deep breaths and watched the Nether flows for almost two hours After carefully studying one of the new ones Randidly closed his eyes and attempted to directly control the way Nether was moving He gritted his teeth and tried to maintain both the original flow and the new one on top of each other The flows would move amongst one another but not hinder the other at all

Two independent systems would be stacked on top of each other

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 329

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 330

Very quickly friction began to emerge between the Nether flows With a sigh Randidly released his grip on the Nether But he couldn�t help a smile from blooming across his face He wasn�t currently in the mindset to work on this but he had finally identified the beginnings of improving his Nether

Besides Randidly had to leave soon for the inter Drill Sergeant Challenge Patting his chest to calm himself down Randidly walked toward the door where Heiffal had gathered up the recruits below It was time to head out

But as he neared the door Randidly paused lightly Even without Randidly turning to look over Sulfur began to buzz with annoyance With a wry smile on his face Randidly left Okay okay no rush on the armor There shouldn�t be any problems at this challenge anyway

Randidly Ghosthound�s face transformed into a glower as he adopted his Head Drill Sergeant persona He carefully studied the faces of his recruits and then turned away without comment This time he had obtained the location of their challenge so he marched directly there heading down through the tunnels to the wide underground training facilities Then Randidly walked up to the observation platform and pushed open the door

Randidly�s eyes swept through the gathered Drill Sergeants With a smirk on his face his images blasted outward But after a single aggressive step into the room Randidly stopped dead

As soon as his images hit a certain man standing in the back next to Lay�mel Tuuellethe those images were completely devoured There wasn�t even a hint of struggle they just disappeared The person in question was a tall muscular man with bare arms that were covered in tattoos He had a massive sword on his back that was covered in glowing runes

The man grinned at Randidly as soon as he arrived His eyes began to glow a pale blue Then he reached up behind his back as though to draw his sword

Chapter 1546

Rather than seizing his sword the man simply grabbed the air with a firm grasping motion Then the tattooed man pulled his hand sharply downward in an arc

But despite the fact that the man didn�t actually grab the hilt of his sword the clear vision of him swinging the massive weapon appeared in Randidly�s eyes Image intent created a duplicate as he swung his empty hand through the air Randidly couldn�t detect even the slightest flaw in the motion His image projection of the massive sword was almost completely perfect

The image created was sublime It screamed that it was created to cut and that was exactly what it would do Some of the other Drill Sergeant�s sensed the ascendant image and slowly turned

An energy slash that hummed with its powerful image ripped through the intervening space toward Randidly The other Drill Sergeants seemed finally to realize something was strange and began to move Randidly watched with narrowed eyes as these unfortunate individuals who were between him and the attack were completely shredded into red mist by the force of the strike

As promised the image cut them to nothing Drill Sergeants began to scream

With a solemn expression Randidly considered the attack rushing toward him The area influenced by the image was small but that intensity he could sense Even he found it slightly difficult to breathe

Randidly clapped his hands together His Nether Nebula began to rotate at full force For the first time outside of practice his three images shifted clearly together His body rippled as his image physicalizations manifested He was the partially spectral Grim Chimera the golden veins of Yggdrasil clearly visible through his translucent body A massive mahogany heart carved with golden runes appeared in the empty space the Grim Chimera made in his heart His two tails flicked back and forth A swirling vortex of darkness appeared in his hollow left eye socket as the Stillborn Phoenix began to hiss its displeasure

Reaper�s Mantle of Catastrophe Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil

In his body three images moved as one and activated three Skills Nether reinforced his every movement with significance He didn�t hesitate to reveal all of his cards before that horrifying image

Before that attack these Drill Sergeants were worth less than paper

As purple black energy flashed around his eyes and a swirling cloak of restricting darkness spiraled around Randidly�s person a huge wave of empowered roots blasted out of the ground They impacted the rapidly advancing slash but weren�t able to slow it in the least Randidly�s pupils dilated

The slash was simply moving too quickly

Chimeric Impunity Cosmic Necessity Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil

Bracing himself Randidly brought his left left arm around with every bit of force he could muster to meet the slash with a left straight Each of his images flared to life His image physicalizations seemed to become brighter like someone had turned up the contrast on his body The effect was multiplicative meaning that his power

Congratulations Your Skill Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 300

Randidly�s mouth tasted like blood He was definitely falling Thoughts rattled against the inside of his skull His instantly could sense that his Health was low He had been smashed backward with such force that he had briefly lost his bearings The ground reminded him again of where he was

The Head Drill Sergeant skidded back out of the threshold where he had been standing and slammed against the stone wall with enough force to shatter the reinforced stone Each of his joints screamed in agony

Groaning Randidly went to push himself up with his left arm and just collapsed onto his side He looked down in shock his image physicalizations had been broken and his metal left arm completely shattered In addition there was a deep gash in his side His heart began to race as Yggdrasil quickly helped to heal his wounds

Randidly coughed and spat out a mouthful of blood He blinked rapidly then tried to focus on his foe Through the trail of dust and broken ground with the backdrop of a chorus of screams of those who had been near enough to the attack�s path to be wounded and not just annihilated Randidly looked over at the still grinning tattooed man

If anything the man�s grin had widened as he sensed Randidly�s gaze Ha You survived Excellent Lamel you didn�t lie about his power Then this is an official introduction I am Velio Dunn Mr Ghosthound Let�s enjoy this fight to the fullest

Randidly felt a chill in his heart as he looked at this monster that had lived since the Second Cohort Apparently even staying on the Rally Station didn�t guarantee his safety And this time when Velio reached upward above his head he actually grabbed the sword Randidly really didn�t want to find out how much more powerful an actual attack of his would be than just the empty air that was weaponized by that image

Fuck Randidly�s mind was briefly blank for a split second this was a circumstance that he hadn�t expected at all Then with all the force of Shal smashing the back of his head with the butt of his spear Randidly�s training slammed back into place

As his foe moved to attack Randidly gritted his teeth and thrust his hand toward Velio Dunn He needed to buy himself some time The suppression formation that Randidly had developed to temper his body snapped into place again Velio restricting his movements Anyone with a bit of Aether understanding could easily dismantle the array but perhaps

Oh What an interesting array Velio announced The muscles along his arm bulged instead of attacking the array he forcefully pushed forward directly through it Successfully Which meant that Velio Dunn also had broken through the physical limitation of the System

An explosion even more massive than the first rocked the Rally Station as the small amount of sympathy between Velio Dunn�s body and the entire floating military base saw the military base shuddering and rupturing like it had been cursed with a calamitous earthquake The stone tunnel around them collapsed burying Randidly in a veritable sea of boulders

Randidly ignored the rather harmless debris using Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil to seize Heiffal Helen and the recruits and then carry them out of the underground They would probably be fine but they were his subordinates even the recruits He wanted to get them as far away from this monster as possible

Then Randidly pulled out his Philosopher�s Key and opened a portal to the sky above the Rally Station even as he felt a second overwhelming attack eating through the stone to annihilate him With the addition of the sword his images seemed to freeze and shrivel in a way that severely limited his mobility Randidly had to resist the effect directly with his powerful body

He stepped through the portal and into the air above the Rally Station just in time but not before he felt something glance off of the fabric of his Fatepiece

For a brief moment the flash of soul rending pain had Randidly hunched over and clutching his head He began to tumble down through the air toward the crack riddled surface of the Rally Station But with gritted teeth and his image�s assistance Randidly forced his head up and opened his eyes He couldn�t afford to lose focus even for a second

He sent a quick message to Edraine and raised his Philosopher�s Key Immediately his heart sank His ability to sense locations and opened portals was slightly off as though his senses were fuzzier than they had been in the past

Velio Dunn burst out of the ground He looked up at Randidly and wagged his finger at him Running away Mr Ghosthound How disappointing Where is your sense of challenge I asked you for a fight

Randidly barred his teeth at the self righteous individual in front of him Even now the most horrifying thing was that Randidly couldn�t even sense any pressure from him when he wasn�t attacking His image was perfectly contained Velio Dunn you�ve been alive for thousands of years right I�ve experienced the System for less than a decade Give me five more years and I promise I�ll give you the fight you are hoping for

A change came over Velio Dunn�s face His features began to stiffen Fate brought us together now Mr Ghosthound Who are we to argue with the arrangements of Fate Either you were destined to survive this encounter or you will die

Randidly�s heart turned to ice Yet suddenly there was a flicker of movement

No one further will die today Velio A new voice said Randidly released an explosive sigh The cavalry had arrived The speaker was a giant praying mantis standing to Velio Dunn�s right To Velio�s left there was a humanoid with a completely featureless face Both were wearing uniforms that indicated they were Commandants Military High Command had come out in force

Velio Dunn�s smile shrank as he glanced back and forth What two individuals can�t even have a fight anymore What is the Nexus coming to

You�ve destroyed military property Velio And slaughtered almost a dozen of our Drill Sergeants The praying mantis said evenly It waved one of its scythe arms at the broken ground I�m sure you are aware that the Nexus Council has you on administrative suspension This is grounds for you to be brought in and imprisoned for your deferred sentence of 100 years

Velio Dunn chuckled some of his earlier cheer creeping back into his expression Do you really think you have the votes to do that

And to Randidly�s shock the praying mantis fell silent But neither of the Commandants moved from their positions Their images billowed outward from their bodies and formed a cage around Velio protecting Randidly

Ultimately Velio Dunn released an aggrieved sigh For the slightest moment a horribly destructive image spread outward so much so that Randidly gritted his teeth despite the protection of the two Commandant�s Bah fine fine Another day that officious control freaks stomp out the last bit of fun in the Nexus Then Velio looked toward Randidly Is this really how you want to live Mr Ghosthound Babysat for your entire life

you fucking asshole Randidly cursed internally All three of his images glared hatefully over at Velio Dunn You have the fucking nerve to ridicule me for not walking forward and allowing you to slaughter me Just you fucking wait I won�t even need the five years I�ll bury you in two

Seeing that his words had no effect Velio Dunn snorted and turned around Hey Lamel wait where did Lamel go Bah what a hassle

The featureless humanoid vibrated out his speech through his skin I�ll gladly escort you back to your home Mr Dunn

After those two had left the praying mantis looked over at Randidly Its faintly golden eyes swiveled independently of one another both landing on Randidly hmm You survived a casual greeting from Velio No wonder Wick has given you his support

Then the Commandant chittered and turned away I will be staying on the Rally Station in the future as a precautionary measure to prevent Velio from returning You may call me Commandant Keckle Such a talented seedling cannot be left for the elements to uproot

Chapter 1547

Randidly was slightly leery at first knowing that this strange Commandant Keckle would be staying on the Rally Station to watch over him On the one hand he appreciated an extra line of defense to deter Velio Dunn after that brief clash that tattooed man had shown Randidly how little he could do in a direct fight against a powerful monster of the Nexus

Randidly had sensed that truth when he faced the greedy Commandant Wick but Velio Dunn�s attack had revealed just how foolish Randidly had been

On the other hand Randidly also worried that Military High Command would begin to look a little too closely at the structure of his training array Perhaps like the Engraving Guild of the Nexus they would be interested in the various runes that he had learned through Neveah studying the tomb left by Yyxtrix on Expira

However it quickly became apparent that Randidly was overthinking the issue in the day after the debacle caused by Dunn the Commandant was busy replacing all of the killed and broken Drill Sergeants so that the troops would be trained on time Due to the rapid nature of the changes Randidly sniffed the hint of some inter military politics in the new appointees Still that really wasn�t any of his business His job as Head Drill Sergeant primarily concerned the elite squad

It was enough that Commandant Keckle seemed focused on other issues

Randidly made some quiet inquiries and received the official report from Lady Iellaya regarding the death toll 17 Drill Sergeants were considered to have been lost in the attack Fifteen were killed outright while two had their images destroyed Further a little less than three thousand of the recruits had been seriously maimed in the rapid destruction of the Rally Station A few of the Commandants were floating the idea of having a second wave of recruits trained but there was nothing definitive yet

Due to Randidly�s quick actions with Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil he had managed to move his recruits before the Velio�s image had ripped through the underground tunnels There were a few minor injuries but they rapidly healed due to the recruits� powerful bodies Really the only true damage suffered was

Randidly grimaced down at his Philsopher�s Key that he spun across his fingers as he sat in a comfortable chair The Fatepiece hadn�t been rendered completely useless but creating a portal now took about five minutes of concentrated effort that left Randidly with a buzzing headache He sensed that the Fatepiece was slowly healing itself but for the foreseeable future it would be an inconvenience

Remembering the attack Dunn had unleashed when he actually gripped his sword made Randidly shiver Still it wasn�t like it was all bad that�s one more piece of evidence for where I sit in the Nexus hierarchy Plus Sulfur has been torturing himself due to the fact I wasn�t able to wear him for the attack So he�s practically begged that I help shift his form to match to the Grim Chimera�s form

Beyond any of these petty benefits there was another large reason for celebration right now two days after the Velio Dunn attack Randidly�s heart was warm even if he was currently on strict orders to rest

Are you cold A sharp eyed Vualla asked a Randidly as she spotted his shiver from across the apartment She quickly produced a blanket from her interspatial ring and draped it across him Randidly�s mouth twitched as he spotted a bloodstain on the rather threadbare blanket that Vualla had offered him it seemed that like Randidly Vualla didn�t spend any effort collecting material positions Seemingly oblivious to Randidly�s thoughts Vualla continued to speak Is there anything else you need I�m not extremely skilled in any domestic arts but I want you to recover as quickly as possible

I�m really fine Randidly pointed out If you wanted to spar I�m prepared It�s just my Fatepiece that�s still a bit shaken up

She had shown up suddenly using her credentials as a member of the Xyrt Brigade to get onto the Rally Station She had even somehow managed to capture some of the raw Nether from the Fifth Cohort bringing it to Randidly as a gift because she understood how he wanted to study Nether

Her expression had instantly shifted when she had found him and examined his state Even if there were no visible wounds Vualla had taken in his turbulent emotions and instantly understood that something had happened They had been apart but their connection had snapped back into place instantly There was an implicit resonance between them that was partially the exchanged Aether and Nether and partially something primal Through that bridge Vualla had glimpsed a bit of the circumstance

Through that same bridge Randidly saw Vualla�s honest response And surging from the depths of her soul Randidly had briefly witnessed a baleful force of annihilation With his newfound attentiveness to emotion he could feel the sharp teeth of her rage snap at this world

Strangely it was one of the most touching displays he had ever seen

Of course as she now sat on his lap in his apartment Vualla ignored Randidly�s claims that he was prepared to spar She settled sideways across Randidly�s blanket covered lap sliding her arms naturally around his neck During her time training with the Xyrt Brigade she had let her hair grow out Her azure curls flowed down over her shoulders to the middle of her back like a sedate stream Her clear azure eyes were locked onto Randidly�s emerald ones as she seemed to measure him

Through her eyes Randidly could sense how much fury she possessed Fury toward the Nexus for destroying so many lives and the fickle nature of this world that Randidly had almost been destroyed the day before she would have seen him Randidly�s heart began to beat faster and his features softened

I know Vualla said quietly She leaned forward and laid her forehead against Randidly�s shoulder When she released a deep sigh of exhaustion Randidly felt her warm breath on his throat I know that you managed to survive this time We are just too far away from our goal I don�t want to lose you Not now that I�ve finally found you Across space and time

Randidly meant to reach up and pat Vualla�s head but he abruptly realized his left arm was still melted to nothing inside the collapsed tunnel of the Rally Station He had begun making a new blueprint with Neveah but that would take a few more days before they used their polished Engraving abilities So he grimaced and used his other hand to reach up and squeeze Vualla�s shoulder

For a few seconds he simply savored how warm she was They could worry about the impending crisis later For now they simply reminded each other of their connection As their proximity continued the fidelity of their connection increased

Without quite knowing how he was so certain Randidly knew what Vualla wanted He squeezed her shoulder and then brought his fingers across to her chin and nudged her upward And when she relaxed and looked up to meet his gaze Randidly kissed her

Her lips were soft but what he mostly noticed were her hands They were clamped around his shoulders squeezing as though she was deathly afraid of letting go even for a second Their kiss shifted Vualla angling her body a bit away from Randidly

His hand went back to her shoulder and squeezed as their kiss grew more intense I�m here

Her hands remained tight on his shoulders as she pressed herself against him You might not want to but they might make us leave one day

On an unspoken cue they began removing the obstacles between them Vualla ripped her threadbare blanket to pieces with obvious glee At this moment in this ostentatious penthouse apartment they had each other within arms reach the experience was heady

Both were so filled with fire that despite their desires to linger near each they would return to the dangers of the Nexus They would not compromise on their goals So these precious chances couldn�t be missed

For a while after that Randidly didn�t think about anything at all

Lady Iellaya�s eyes blazed as she thrust her right arm forward Her black feathers were flared outward as her limb unleashed a tide of darkness at the chest of Dmitri Qiolo Apep the Peregrine Serpent spread its wings will all of the smothering power of a torrential downpour that bordered on sleet Qiolo�s image was extinguished by that gushing wave of force In its wake there were only scales and black feathers and swirling darkness remaining in the surroundings

Despite the fact that his image was destroyed Qiolo quickly recovered Perhaps because of his history of being crushed he was surprisingly resourceful in bad situations He sprang sideways narrowly avoiding the rustling charge of Lady Iellaya�s image Then he planted his feet and raised his arms A naked iron blade seemed to flicker life above him Qiolo seized the implement and dashed forward heading to strike at Lady Iellaya

She shook her head almost sadly The offensive Peregrine Serpent that had flashed past Qiolo vanished and then reappeared its body curled tightly around Lady Iellaya in a defensive posture Its eyes gleamed in the darkness Grimacing Qiolo tried to roll to the side but he could not avoid the serpent�s tail from that distance He was smashed back drowned in a wave of raven feathers that clung to him weakening him further

He crashed against the ground but rolled right back onto his feet He spun the sword adeptly and cut his way through the flow of feathers Yet small amounts of inky darkness began to stain his limbs

Just as Lady Iellaya smiled sweetly and prepared to finish the test Qiolo raised his arms in surrender The serpent hissed in her ear that she should strike and devour this weakling anyway but Lady Iellaya ignored that voice The image she had received from the Class Randidly made for her despite being quite powerful was ultimately short sighted in its decisions But she couldn�t suppress the unwilling rumble of her stomach as though she missed a meal

Gradually the darkness receded The raven feathers shriveled and vanished eventually taking with them those inky stains Dmitri Qiolo looked at Lady Iellaya with quite a bit of fear in his face Lady Iellaya didn�t even bother to suppress her smirk So are you convinced

Yes You are truly powerful The former Disciplinary Magistrate could only shake his head at her oppressive image superiority Yet despite the fact that his former image had been broken he still had demonstrated a very solid foundation One that convinced Lady Iellaya she wasn�t mistaken for offering him a job

His features furrowed as he carefully considered his next words I am convinced you are a worthy superior to follow But can you truly arrange for some additional Aether to be given to my home planet

It is within our abilities Lady Iellaya nodded as she walked across the training area to be near the man in front of her She obviously wasn�t going to be too specific about this ability lest she reveal the astound capabilities of Randidly Ghosthound It was enough for Qiolo to assume they would simply misuse some other Aether allotment to improve his home planet�s situation

Yet as they stood an arm�s length away from each other she couldn�t help but hesitate

Even now after seeing his image Lady Iellaya had a few reservations about the man in front of her She didn�t want him to sacrifice his potential to her because that would be detected down the line she needed him independent But because of the fact that he would be an independent existence she had forced him through these series of spars Each had left her unsatisfied they gave her no more insight into his personality than she already possessed

Of course it was also a good exercise for her image and body And in the meantime Octavius Shrike had begun pulling some strings within the NLC to find out information on Dmitri Qiolo But Lady Iellaya knew that such information would likely not sway her opinion

Lady Iellaya received a message When she saw it was from Military High Command her expression turned serious She was required to report immediately to the observation room Something had happened in the Fifth Cohort

Get yourself a clean pair of pants Lady Iellaya said tersely She narrowed her eyes and looked at Qiolo There were large holes in his attire after being ravaged by her image This can finally be considered a pass I�ll arrange for your planet to receive additional Aether you should be able to verify the change by the end of the week From now on you are my second For now just observe and followed me Can you handle that

Dmitri Qiolo looked at Lady Iellaya for four longs seconds Then he nodded You won�t regret this

Lady Iellaya snorted A lot of people had told her what she would and would not regret in her life Generally they ended up being wrong But it is true that most of that impression was formed through the early parts of my life So many people told me that I would regret the day that I had chosen them as a foe heh

If I had a penny for every grave I dug for pompous fools

With a wicked smile on her face Lady Iellaya quickly prepared herself to head to Military High Command Three minutes later both she and Qiolo were wearing freshly pressed uniforms as they moved through the Nexus Ways toward their destination

As could be expected by the seriousness of the message the guard post was a mess as large numbers of people rushed in and out of Military Headquarters Aides were dashing back and forth through the hallways as Lady Iellaya and Qiolo walked quickly along the gauntlet of portraits Qiolo looked around with a heavy gaze but stayed closed to Lady Iellaya as they cut directly through the press of bodies When aides drifted too close in their haste Lady Iellaya felt no qualms about releasing a sharp pulse of her image to send them stumbling out of the way

The duo took a sharp right near the middle of the building and headed down the stairs to the lower bunker The observation deck was kept below grounds where it could tap more directly into the Nexus Ways for its information When they pushed open the double doors to their destination they found a tight bunch of high ranking military officers waiting for them looking with concern at a fluctuating pattern displayed within an Aether array

The room was relatively small despite the fact that twenty soldiers were stationed here full time monitoring the heavy Aether scaffolding that supported the Nexus The walls were lined with tightly packed desks while there was a central display between them to bring up the important information

The one Commandant in the room the featureless humanoid Commandant Larian glanced at Lady Iellaya as she arrived and then turned back to the chattering group that surrounded the central display area He unleashed a deep vibration instantly silencing the others Alright we are all here I think it�s time to talk about what this means

All eyes in the room turned to a single individual

The soldier manipulating the Aether array instantly went pale and took a deep gulp Lady Iellaya frowned at him for a second before being able to place the low ranking soldier As the grunt who had noticed the anomaly in the Nexus Ways and reported it he was given the opportunity to speak in front of the senior officers It was clear that the tension rolling off this powerful individual was doing him no favors She almost pitied him Ah I was at m my normal post when I saw

He gestured helplessly at the Aether display unable to find enough Willpower to keep talking While the senior officer responsible for the observation deck quietly led the trembling cadet away the Commandant vibrated again As most of you are aware the Nether forces have been seeking to establish these Nether Nodes within their territory The Xyrt Brigade has been hard at work raiding and destroying these but we haven�t been able to determine their function and therefore have let some of our zeal lapse in recent weeks

Plus the Xyrt Brigade specialists needed a break Unfortunately that gave the Nether the opening to do this The Commandant gestured to the display Lady Iellaya frowned as she tried to take in the confusing details of what she was seeing The display covered the whole of the Fifth Cohort which was a complex network of worlds and the Nexus Ways Of course the Nexus used the System to relocate most of these worlds to reproduced environments around itself meaning that they were much more closely packed than they had been previously

But there were still almost a hundred thousand worlds in the Fifth Cohort With some failing to even make it to the Calamities and therefore being moved further the final map was relatively spotty But amongst these lines of white and green lines to delineate the Nexus Ways the tiny black orbs were rather eye catching In addition it now appeared that the black orbs were arranged in a particular pattern

are they attempting to break space again As they did with the Great Rift The Highest Commander of the Nexus garrison asked Lady Iellaya could already hear the rising panic in his voice Likely the man had the position for hundreds of years and the thought of actual battle left him fearful

Commandant Larian shook his featureless head No After struggling with the corrosion of the Great Rift for so long we�ve now taken many steps to prevent such an event from occurring ever again Space is reinforced across the Nexus These Nether Nodes would not be able to accomplish that even with a Nether King at the helm

But Lady Iellaya turned around A young woman with her white hair up in a ponytail walked into the room She was very conspicuously not wearing a military uniform although there was a metallic patch over her right eye This Nether guy is smart He�s not trying to break the space just bend it Those nodes are already beginning to warp and twist the Fifth Cohort

Who is this An officer cut in glancing between the young woman and the Commandant

It was difficult to read the ranking officer�s expression but Lady Iellaya could instantly tell something was off It took Commandant Larian several seconds to reply to the question this is a specialist in Nether phenomenon that we called in to examine the working

Shit Lady Iellaya blinked It must seriously be bad if they let a civilian in to this meeting And judging by her cocky expression

I work for the Engraving Guild I�m Pyllipia Bounafferre The NLC dog flashed a rather charming smile before clearing her throat lightly She walked forward to stand at the center of the room As I was saying If this continues as I suspect the space of the Fifth Cohort will begin twisting inward

Why Lady Iellaya asked sharply

Pyllipia beamed over at Lady Iellaya Well because our strong defenses against space being broken means that there is a very powerful connection to the surrounding space So after the Nether King begins folding the space he has taken from us

The Commandant turned to look at the projected map Hostilities have continued but battle lines have gradually stabilized The Nether hasn�t been able to expand since Commandant Wick began exerting his influence in the Fifth Cohort But we haven�t committed too large a force to attacking the Nether either We were waiting for the recruits to finish their training

But it looks like we won�t have that luxury much longer Even if we don�t attack the Nether King intends to drag the surrounding space into his domain

Chapter 1548

Are you sure you�ve managed to completely heal I haven�t given you much time to rest Vualla said with a grin Randidly just rolled his eyes and raised his massive left arm He hadn�t remade his metal limb yet but Sulfur�s transformation had been supercharged by an enthusiastic thumping by Vualla over the past three days His left arm wasn�t physically present which would drastically lower the offensive power of his left arm but the armor would be able to handle the defensive actions even without physical support

It was a handicap but not a large one

They were standing in the massive ditch in the Southern portion of Randidly�s training area Considering both of their strength they needed a space at least this big in order to spar safely Plus he had an ulterior motive for sparring with Vualla out in the open the recruits were busy being put through another sadistic round of training by Helen but they would hopefully be able to sense his images

Randidly had detected in the Nether that the recruits had been uneasy knowing that a powerful figure had attacked their Head Drill Sergeant and eliminated over a dozen other Drill Sergeants in the process Their hesitance noticeably slowed their rate of improvement according to Helen�s reports So Randidly wanted to send a message Hopefully feeling his movements would get them back on track

Vualla shrugged and waved the massive gauntlets that she wore on both bands Then her azure eyes blazed as she released her image The details of her person seemed to dim as a thin metal exoskeleton spread to cover her entire body The dark blue metal seemed to blur the details of her features aside from her cascade of azure hair and her glowing eyes

She became a navy shade with azure accents

Vualla planted her foot into the ground and accelerated forward without even waiting for Randidly to deploy his own image Vualla was nothing if not direct

And she was more than willing to punish him for not taking this spar seriously

Randidly moved his Nether Nebula first feeling his sense of time slowing down as he savored the possibilities within his own physical form The vortex of darkness began to churn in his chest To be honest he had spent the last few days truly recovering He had cooked meals with Vualla and walked through the bamboo forest To his relief his difficulty in using the Philosopher�s Key had noticeably dropped although Vualla pointed out to him that repeatedly using the Fatepiece was probably hindering the healing process But at this rate he should be healed before he went to the frontlines

Randidly�s right hand flexed

Military High Command appeared to be busy with something referenced by Lady Iellaya�s most recent report but Randidly didn�t concern himself with that His own capabilities were his primary concern He needed to grow stronger

Vualla�s presence meant that he hadn�t pushed himself much in regards to his recent discovery of the alternate ways that Nether could flow but just being aware of this face opened his eyes to several possibilities As his Nether Nebula began to spin more quickly and his four grey bubbles stirred in the core region he could alternate between flows through his body to spread out some of the accumulated Nether significance Some of the suffocating feeling in his Nether was eased leaving him with only the potency

Vualla had crossed almost half the distance to Randidly blurring forward as she somehow continued to accelerate even though she hadn�t touched the ground a second time Randidly�s eyes narrowed in disbelief There is something about that metal covering her body it�s able to reverse the influence of inertia What a monster

Of course Randidly wasn�t going to stop back from a direct physical confrontation

His three images surged to the forefront of his mind The Grim Chimera became the physical form Yggdrasil became the heart and veins and the Stillborn Phoenix was his left eye and his very real desire to overturn the established order of this world Sulfur hummed with pleasure as the three images flared to life adding some passive pressure to the armor

Randidly�s muscles bulged with force He thrust Acri forward all his power focused into the tip of that spear to meet Vualla

Grit of an Ascendant Bane Yyrwood Body of Yggdrasil Cosmic Necessity

Congratulations Your Skill Grit of an Ascendant Bane has grown to Level 378

The ground beneath Randidly�s planted feet shattered and cracked But Vualla�s glowing eyes widened when the two of their bodies smashed into each other she was knocked slightly backward Still there wasn�t even the slightest hesitation as her physical power was overmatched by Randidly She lightly touched the ground with a foot and spun behind him with a graceful pivot

Randidly followed with just as much poise and with barred deadly intent

Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes The Tug of Tragic Silence The Inscrutable Mien of Yggdrasil

Randidly spun around and raised Acri on a new line As the Tug of Tragic Silence came from behind Vualla and pressed her lightly from the back to restrict her movements Randidly exploded forward with Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes Due to how close they were to each other the impact was almost immediate The holy and purifying light of Yggdrasil spread outward sizzling against her exoskeleton

Vualla�s azure eyes narrowed

Congratulations Your Skill The Tug of Tragic Silence has grown to Level 238

A ripple ran through Vualla�s metal form and the force from Randidly�s attack was somehow shunted off to the left The muddy ground ruptured and blasted upward in a ten meter area but somehow Vualla had escaped harm Fistfuls of heavy mud were thrown back toward where they were standing but both of them had leapt apart from each other

The metal exoskeleton on Vualla�s body shifted further obscuring her features to the point that she was just a dark blue shadow with an azure trail behind her head Randidly pursed her lips Heh Sulfur looks like you two are slightly similar in your ability to manipulate force but to think she can also redirect foreign attacks is there a limit to this ability

Both fighters shot forward at the same time Randidly couldn�t wait to figure out the limits of Vualla�s defenses Portions of the Vualla�s metal gauntlets pulsed and began to expand Destructive forces concentrated in her palms It seemed that she was done fighting him with the kid gloves something began to stir in her wake

The barest hint of the true shape of Vualla�s image began to reveal itself like her current form was just an obstruction to true perfection She was the moon passing in front of the sun becoming a blinding eclipse Randidly�s heart began to pound as he couldn�t control his surging excitement

Yea this is what I need Randidly grinned widely as both Acri and Sulfur joined him in his joyous physical revelry of a well matched battle

Vualla�s foot looked like it lightly tapped the ground mid dash but a wave of mud exploded outward Randidly�s vision was completely blocked by the explosion of soil but he only grinned Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil cut through the wave of mud like swiss cheese ripping through to strike at the interior space Thick thorned roots whipped and coiled like the edges of a buzzsaw through the middle But of course Vualla had vanished

Randidly looked up and activated Chimeric Impunity with full force as she smashed into the ground in front of him unleashing a devastating wave of force that just passed harmlessly through his ethereal body She must have jumped up hit one of the drifting rocks in the loose atmosphere about them and immediately shot back downward

Not just inertia then She must be able to affect friction for her to do such violent movements and not release and signals Randidly�s right hand snaked outward at Vualla�s crouched form even as his fingers began to glow cherry red Unfortunately Chimeric Impunity also meant that Randidly lost his grip on his weapon

But his Skill had earned him a chance for a sudden strike and Randidly was going to take it

Congratulations Your Skill Pernicious Fang of the Shade has grown to Level 299

Vualla twisted and avoided the blow With her exoskeleton sliding through the air she swept her leg around to knock Randidly�s feet out from under him He slammed his left arm down in front of the kick and blocked it directly sending Vualla�s leg rebounding harmlessly Sulfur cooed in pleasure as it absorbed the brutalizing force Randidly released a breath that was pure steam as his body began to heat up

Instead of retreating again Vualla hopped to her feet and stepped forward in wide sliding steps Her fists cut high low and then high again as she unleashed a potent punch combination Randidly ducked under the first one but had to grunt as the second slammed against his stomach He used Hallucinations of the Bloodless Heart to blast the finishing straight to the side with a burst of gravity

His hair was blasted away from his face just by the force of her punch�s passage

Meanwhile Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold energy began to congregate in his swirling abyss of a left eye His vision began turning strange as he used that Skills power to peer beyond the veil of the physical Everything was flattened allowing Randidly to observe the subtle movements of energy and image in the surroundings

To his surprise he almost had to squint as he looked at Vualla Her image was near blinding Heh looks like she�s only getting started Well then

Congratulations Your Skill Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold has grown to Level 347

Randidly�s upper tail snaked out and lashed against Vualla�s neck earning only sparks as it encountered her tough exoskeleton From the shape of her image moving in response Randidly unleashed a laugh of pure joy Vualla�s image was more complicated than he had thought Not only was the armor across her body serving as a protection but it was also constraining her image somewhat

Beneath that exterior something was building

A ripple of that image spread out with enough force that it dispersed Randidly�s momentum completely A split second later he used Chimeric Impunity to cut through the space behind him and distance himself about ten meters away from Vualla In the next second her coiled image finally cracked through her metal exoskeleton

CRACCCCCCCkk

The mud around her was annihilated Suddenly Vualla was standing on a thin pillar of stone above a hole a sphere around her had been completely blasted to oblivion Her image faded allowing Randidly to see her grimacing over at him You always were too sharp for your own good But this is enough of a warm up I think

Randidly barred his teeth but there was no joy in the expression Revelation energy continued to let him witness her image Similar to Sulfur Vualla appeared to be able to absorb the kinetic energy directed at her But she seemed then capable fo discharging it into her surroundings with devastating force When combined with her ability to accelerate rather freely and somehow alter the trajectory of physical attacks

It�s unfortunate to admit it but why the hell does it seem like Vualla has spent the last few months speccing herself to crush me Randidly grumbled inwardly His Skill Levels had continued to improve but a lot of his growth had see him pouring his gains into his powerful body There was likely a limit to how much force Vualla could actually absorb and manage but that would be facing her image directly

In comparison Randidly was irritated to think that Vualla might be an easy opponent for someone like Kaan Swacc who could counter her image with his metal pyramids

Still that didn�t mean that Randidly was completely without any recourse Earlier his Inscrutable Mien of Yggdrasil had inflicted some light damage on Vualla Direct images would be more effective at hurting her than his strikes had been

As Vualla began to accelerate the enormous phantom of the World Tree manifested in the surrounding space Its branches and leaves covered the entire sky And deep within the shadows of that canopy a hateful shadow began to stir

Today Exodus would exact its price

Chapter 1549

It was a draw Vualla said with the wide smile of a woman who was very confident in her victory She reached behind her head and took a few seconds to tie her azure hair up into a ponytail After their spar finished she was flushed and bright eyed seemingly ready to go for another session

You are a monster Heh is this what people think when they fight me

Randidly who was covered in dust and laying on the ground waved his hand in irritation at Vualla�s beaming complexion Don�t give me that shit We both know you would have won if we had pushed it all the way to the edge

Yes but you are being a sore loser so I was giving you an easy out Vualla chortled to herself She crouched next to Randidly and smiled down at him with warm eyes that began to melt his annoyance Then her gaze began to wander across his body She licked her lips I hope you know I�ll still be attracted to you even if I�m stronger than you Especially with this armor mm I love how yummy your bare midsection looks

Randidly waved his hand again but he couldn�t keep a smile from tugging at the corners of his mouth Truthfully he wasn�t all that upset about his loss You know it�s not that It�s just I want to be stronger Especially after being so thoroughly thrashed by Velio Dunn It�s felt like I�ve improved so much enough to fight against the mid tier fighters in the Nexus But after meeting him

I�m in the Xyrt Brigade which is the most powerful group in the Nexus Vualla pointed out while her eyes continued to drag over his midsection And I�ve been doing nothing but training like crazy for the past few months PLUS the only reason my image has been able to grow so effectively is that you�ve been supporting me from the shadows I couldn�t have gotten to this point on my own Besides it�s not like you didn�t have a few trump cards remaining right When you were meeting my eye at the end as I was smashing my fists against you you smelled like danger

Randidly growled in disappointment even though Vualla was right He hadn�t mobilized the grey bubbles in his Nether Nebula that had been so effective in the final confrontation against Kaan Swacc It was a method that might very well be able to overwhelm Vualla�s force diffusion In addition he hadn�t attempted to use All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth as he was still tinkering with the shape of the image So it wasn�t like he had exhausted every option available to him

But they had compared base specs and Vualla�s were slightly higher As her acceleration continued to escalate over the course of their spar she was practically unstoppable

Besides Vualla continued as she stood and offered Randidly a hand up He took it and she pulled him to his feet and slid her arms around his waist As a backdrop for the sudden moment of romantic embrace the muddy ditch had been turned into a smoldering ravine The observation made the corner of Randidly�s mouth twitch

Vualla tilted her head to the side and looked up at him You�ve focused on your attention on your ancillary abilities you haven�t been pouring as much attention into just beefing up your images Obviously you�ve improved since fighting at the Great Rift but There is a reason that images are the main focus in the Nexus Images are powerful

True Randidly admitted as he allowed his hand to wander down Vualla�s hips

She snorted and playfully spun away Ah not today This is a prize for the winner of our spar unfortunately

Rolling his eyes Randidly brushed the mud sweat and blood off of his torso as well as he could with just his right hand Most of it had been earned toward the end of that fight while Vualla displayed increasingly overwhelming acceleration Her speed had pinned him down and forced him on the defensive Ignoring the other issues Randidly asked a genuine question he had been wondering about Do you have any advice you learned as part of the Xyrt Brigade that can help me I�ve seen plenty of examples but I�ve very rarely received any guidance

Actually yes Vualla took Randidly�s arm as though she had completely forgotten about her previous coyness and the two of them began walking back toward Randidly�s apartment in the Northern sector Well not much advice but some understanding that might help you when you work on your images Up to the point where you are now the power of the image comes from specificity and clarity right Well beyond that there are three tiers where you are aiming for exactly the opposite You�ve already achieved the first but it�s a matter of mindset You must learn to trick with your image

Fool an observer into doubting his senses Fool the universe into doubting its laws Fool the self step onto the Pinnacle Those are the phrases repeated ad nauseum by the Xyrt Brigade�s trainers

Fool the self step onto the Pinnacle huh Randidly muttered to himself For a method to reach the vaunted heights of the Nexus it sounded like ambiguous nonsense

Vualla waved her outside hand rather lightly as she squeezed Randidly�s arm That�s the goal yes But only two images have managed to make it to the Pinnacle since the Nexus was created it�s not an easy Path so don�t get your hopes up For now you should start thinking about how your images can negate the universe�s laws Learning to mess with friction and inertia is how I grew to be this heh well overwhelmingly stunning So if you figure your own middle finger to this universe

Randidly�s lips twisted into a smile That final blitz of attacks that was the first time in a long time that I�ve actually had trouble following punches That�s how quick you were So I suppose you could consider me stunned

Stop you are making me blush Vualla teased She fluttered her eyelashes at Randidly Then she took off her heavy gauntlets and allowed them to fall to the ground Unencumbered she slid her arm through Randidly�s once more Now as the victor of our spar I demand that you take me for a walk to the training area I simply love the way your cute little recruits shiver and avoid eye contact when you walk by

Ha Randidly snorted But he allowed himself to be pulled forward by Vualla Her hair cascaded down her shoulder and brushed against his arm Sulfur separated itself from his torso and non existent left arm and plopped onto the ground with Vualla�s gauntlets Acri was already using its sharp head to nudge the gauntlets over intent on investigating these powerful pieces of equipment

As they climbed up out of the remnants of the enormous ditch Randidly glanced behind him and unleashed a pinch of Mana Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil became his rapid response landscaping crew large and thorny roots pushing dirt around to turn the apocalyptic battlefield into a normal pit of mud He couldn�t help but notice that the ditch was a little deeper than it used to be they had literally annihilated some of the ground during their fight

But it would be usable should the Overseers require it

Randidly spared a small glance for Vualla as they continued forward She�s truly strong and she makes an interesting point Deceiving the universe overturning the laws with image heh maybe that�s the area I should pursue in regards to the Grim Chimera�s final Skill It somehow manages to fool space and time

While Randidly steadily began to brainstorm about his Grim Chimera image the duo moved toward the training area Exhausted grunts and the demanding shouts of the Overseers filled the air Helen and Heiffal were busy leading a physical fitness exercise but the presence of Randidly and Vualla almost immediately drew the attention of the recruits They began sprinting forward despite their significant weights and suppressions against them unwilling to attract Randidly�s attention by being the slowest performer But what Randidly found the most shocking was that he basically had to do nothing to be an intimidating force in their eyes these days

He had been almost instantly replaced in a manner that was somewhat insulting Randidly could read the recruit�s emotions the brightly smiling Vualla next to him injected them in an even more crippling fear than all of his aloof cruelty put together To the recruits the playful twinkle in her eyes appeared to be hellfire

Vualla deliberately slowed their pace so the two of them stopped right outside the ring in which the recruits were struggling If anything their deliberate pauses made the recruits throw themselves more frantically into the action of exercise But through the press of bodies Randidly caught sight of two individuals who were performing remarkably better than the others

Their eyes were glazed with exhaustion but they had been going at the frantic pace the entire time Their shoulders shuddered with their heaving breaths as their bodies struggled to keep up with the physical demands placed on them And as the other desperate recruits accelerated so did they a tiny bit DiOrtho Vant and Raymund Ballast continued their idiotic training regimen so their issues with images could be adjusted

According to the earlier schedule they should be in Randidly�s Soulskill now However his own injuries had delayed the schedule somewhat Looking at them now it was clear that they were almost ready Nether continued to linger in their bodies preparing for a breakthrough

Helen walked slowly over to where Vualla and Randidly were standing and offered them a short bow Then she turned away from the recruits so they couldn�t see her expression and raised her hands to her cheeks Her face eased with the soft edges of pure bliss Ah truly I admire your mm dedication to the recruits training Miss Vualla Randidly here stopped by so regularly and possesses none of your flair for motivation

Please Miss Helen I�m simply an observer Vualla�s smile grew even wider as she shared a malicious glance with Helen Those sparks of hell flame shot between the two women Without your instruction my assistance with motivation would be completely useless heheh it�s so rare to see such single minded determination from recruits You truly must have a gift

While the two women continued to chortle Randidly said a silent prayer for the mental health of the recruits But he was quickly distracted by a message from Lady Iellaya

Military High Command finally unfucked itself There will be a large scale mobilization of forces coming from every frontline to the Fifth Cohort considering the recent activities of the Nether In addition a second wave of recruitment is going to happen on a much more expedited time schedule

I�ll be heading to the Fifth Cohort as soon as I send this message Apparently the occurrences there are fairly disturbing

Stay on the Fifth Cohort Rally Station as much as you can The Commandants will protect you from threats but don�t for a second believe that they are on your side Something is going on at headquarters it feels like someone cut a deal to the NLC after the corruption allegations I bet someone paid a king�s ransom to keep those details from leaking The report should come out soon so we might be able to tell more then

Stay sharp

Randidly scanned the message a few extra times gradually beginning to frown He quickly sent back a response to Lady Iellaya to confirm that they would remain here for the full three months She sent back an affirmation but also added the extra warning of being careful of the Engraving Guild

Randidly rubbed his forehead which finally pulled Vualla�s attention away from the recruits Her forehead creased Everything alright

Right now yeah Randidly sighed But thinks are starting to get more complicated aren�t they

Vualla nodded slowly Then her eyes brightened Yea maybe we should spar again

Chapter 1550

Anything to report Jelick Youmun asked the guard he was relieving at the observation station There was a ritualistic cant to the speech it was the same phrase Jelick had said every day as he came to relieve the other guard It signaled the shift between them The only moments they shared were these bordering edges of their twelve hours shifts and they gradually came to hold special meaning WIth them the two guards were a perfect whole despite the other dangers on this battlefield of the Fifth Cohort these moments of oneness helped Jelick cope

Nothing the guard replied with similar relish Both smiled at each other This was the best part of their greetings the confirmation of normalcy Because neither denied that there was a horrible possibility waiting in the darkened eaves of this place something might genuinely happen

Yet that horror hadn�t yet arrived For another day the ritual continued uninterrupted

The Nether had recently established enough Nether Nodes in the Fifth Cohort to activate a great working What this portended no one knew Yet as one of the many guard outposts they would theoretically be the first to know It was a responsibility and a curse

Jelick Youmun would never say it out loud but sometimes he wished he could simply bury his head in the ground If death came for him he wished for it to be sudden and utter

After a nod the other guard hopped down and left the small tower Jelick clambered up the stone edifice and planted himself in the observation chair Displays in front of him showed movements in the nearby Nexus Ways while there was also a wide glass window beyond the display to observe the surrounding space

The observation tower was built on a high mountain top giving Jelick a grand view of the surrounding peaks rising up over the wispy traces of clouds like triumphant spears But as this planet barely possessed any sort of atmosphere the sky was exceedingly clear Jelick could look outward and upwards toward the wide and dangerous universe

Somehow the observation tower felt exposed His ability to see also became a barely suppressed fear that some being was out there scrutinizing Jelick in turn

Stars hung bright and low overhead If he squinted it was also possible to make out the shape of other planets within the System But Jelick set those aside for now The more he looked the more worked up he would become Instead he stuck to his tiny rituals He took out his notebook and carefully transcribed what he saw on the displays in front of him The displays would automatically record the results but having the notations helped keep him focus

Then Jelick settled back in his chair and began to count his heartbeats His eyes steadily glazed over

Jieu Ronault�s emotions were chaotic Part of it was a defense mechanism the image of Randidly Ghosthound was simply that powerful As he exposed himself more deeply to it his own image struggled and twitched The previously quiet sound of the Stillborn Phoenix sucking away the surrounding air and emotions became a howling gale

The two of them were sitting inside the Ghosthound�s personal training chamber Jieu�s flames were chaotic as he was exposed to the image of the Stillborn Phoenix directly For someone who prided himself on his self control this filled Jieu with a deep sense of shame But there was something overwhelming about the ambient craving that the Head Drill Sergeant could release from his image

The self assured strength of that desire began to completely smother Jieu strangling his flames He looked deeper and deeper into that abyss and began to see something stirring amongst the cataclysmic natural forces The sheer size and weight of the matter that had gone into the image was completely ludicrous Just feeling its massive gravity filled him with a sense of awe and dread

The flame elemental felt an inexplicable shiver run through his body Staring into the howling maw of nothing his mind somehow found the spare moments to wander

Jieu Ronault was a being that truly did not understand his origins His ancestor� had discovered him existing on a tumbling hunk of interstellar metal a placid flame the size of a palm with eye catching color His ancestor had allowed his curiosity to convince him to bring that flame back to his abode where he had been shocked to discover that steady flame possessed a meager consciousness

Jieu Ronault had no true homeworld He had never experienced the horror of the System�s arrival and the Calamities either not even passed down through culture He was a being adrift unmoored and confused

Somehow the dark oblivion of the Head Drill Sergeant�s image seemed to sense that directionlessness The shadow of a bloodthirsty bird of prey seemed to be piercing Jieu with its eyes And as it carefully examined his past the resentment that the image felt for him steadily grew

Forty years of training after being discovered that ancestor had released a now fully self sufficient Jieu Ronault into the Nexus earning him a position within the elite squadron of the force that would retake the Fifth Cohort from the Nether Invasion This was an opportunity for the flame elemental who would have preferred to remain secluded for the rest of his existence his ancestor insisted An opportunity to discover a truth about himself His ancestor assured Jieu that should he accumulate sufficient strength the truth of his existence would come to him naturally

Even though Jieu still doubted his own senses that informed him it was there he could sense the gradual movement of this Stillborn Phoenix Its body twitched unnaturally but it dragged its bulk forward It eyed Jieu greedily as though relishing the thought of devouring the flame elemental

ease up The Head Drill Sergeant�s voice cut sharply across Jieu�s emotional reaction You struggle too much against the image If you cannot manage to control yourself in its presence

Jieu wanted to retort that this was a difficult task but he knew that the Head Drill Sergeant would not accept excuses Besides he could not deny that he had been allowing his mind to wander to unnecessary details during this session His own existence would remain stable until he gathered more information regarding this image As long as Jieu could continue to accumulate experience he would understand this strength He trusted the Head Drill Sergeant

And yet The flame elemental felt the even illumination released from his body dim Even his light was being steadily sucked away by that horrible carrion creature within the egg of darkness For the first time in a long time he felt helpless Why am I now hesitating What do I fear within this image Its determination is admirable and exactly what I need

In the initial stages of absorbing some of the principles from the Ghosthound�s image it had gone extremely well The process was smooth to the point of being unbelievable The Jieu who usually prided himself on his self control couldn�t help but be surprised by how quickly he gained incorporated some of the Ghosthound�s strength The Stillborn Phoenix because it was quite opposite Jieu was everything that he lacked His own image grew more robust and grounded the more he experienced this strange phenomenon

Yet after a few days he had reached a point where everything ground to a screeching halt A grand and mysterious choice was manifesting in front of him slowing the steady and reassuring speed of his improvements

Could I be losing control of my image as happened with Vant But now my analysis seemed to indicate that I was sufficiently compatible with this image More tremors ran through Jieu�s flames and he quickly tried to reign in his disparate thoughts The shrieking of the Ghosthound�s image increased in volume as it devoured more and more ceaselessly hungry Yet

He had been very skeptical that he who cultivated an image of a perfect flame sitting on top of a rotating brass wheel would be able to incorporate the image of an anthropomorphized black whole Yet the more he was exposed to it the more Jieu realized that the crux of the Head Drill Sergeant�s image was desire A desire so twisted and desperate that it became an eternal purpose

Desire at a sufficient strength grounded itself by warping the surroundings If Jieu could incorporate just a sliver of that desire

you�re afraid The Ghosthound announced and Jieu tried to marshal his honest expression that pronouncement drew a flinch out of the fire elemental despite his best efforts The usually placid tongues of flame along his person began to flicker and tremble There was a stretch of silence after that which applied an invisible pressure to Jieu

But the silence was nothing compared to the deep sigh released by the Head Drill Sergeant as he withdrew his image Clicking its beak in disappointment that ravenous Stillborn Phoenix gradually vanished The howling died down to nothing

In the suddenly peaceful training facility Jieu lowered his head I apologize It is this foolish disciple�s fault for not being able to understand a master�s teachings

Didn�t I tell you to stop with that master nonsense We are nothing that serious The Ghosthound huffed and shook his head The two were sitting on the ground in the unlit training area letting the gloom pool around them To Jieu it was the perfect breeding ground for flickers of the vanished image Heh I think I understand why you are having difficulties You are a raw being that defies explanation quite like the Stillborn Phoenix Gravity heat cosmic radiation I believe you are woven of the same elements Yet the reason I thought there would be a great deal of common ground is because you both deny your true nature

Jieu kept his eyes on the ground even as he felt a deep sense of shame Just like Jieu couldn�t help but silently watch as that kindly ancestor� that raised him and taught him all about philosophy and poetry walk away

I have built everything so carefully Jieu thought as he looked down at the rippling flames of his existence Yet why does it almost appear like I have truly built nothing for myself

It is an all consuming black hole The Head Drill Sergeant�s features were hidden in the shadows as he spoke Yet it just wants to be a simple egg You are the pure incarnation of fire but you refuse to truly burn You exist in extended stasis

Jieu Ronault said nothing He just focused on keeping a tight grip on the flames of his body

You are both so desperate Yet why is the desperate you so still Even through the darkness Jieu felt the Ghosthound press his lips together in disgust A tremor ran through him Reflect on that You are dismissed recruit Skip our next image training session Desperation without resolve is just panic And I�m not in the business of wasting my time with weak willed recruits

Chapter 1551

Charlotte couldn�t help but look at the far wall of the canteen in admiration Many a time had she witnessed the glorious sight of Overseer Helen tossing a misbehaving recruit into similarly sturdy walls and had been impressed by the structural integrity But now she realized such displays had been misleading the casual looking buildings were even more monstrously sturdy than she had expected

They had to be after all

Despite the fact that it was only their Head Drill Sergeant and his lover that were fighting the whole of the Fifth Cohort Rally Station seemed to be shaking with the force of their passion Charlotte Wick had heard from some of the other elite recruits that the normal Drill Sergeants scattered around the Rally Station eventually just told their recruits to ignore the seismic disturbances Plus it seemed like the Superintendent of the Rally Station had completely given up on restraining Randidly Ghosthound

Besides when the reverberations are that powerful Charlotte shivered and looked down at the trembling food in front of her Her spoon clattered across the rim of her bowl like it was performing a country jig Who would want to come and tell him to stop

The canteen shook again but the ground was largely still Which probably meant that the two fighters had impacted each other in the air dispersing most of the force upward and outward But still the radius of their collisions was horrifying Both the wild laughter of the Grim Chimera and the thunderous rustling of Yggdrasil�s leaves could be clearly heard

The latter noise made bear woman tighten her hands on the edge of the table The World Tree was the image given to her to learn by the Ghosthound and she had benefited immensely from it But the circumstances still filled her with a suffocating dread

In an effort to suppress her unease Charlotte cleared her throat lightly and looked across the table anyway what were you saying about this Vualla Ben

The pale Benjamin Rex paused with a spoonful of mutton soup on the way to his lips As he slowly lowered the spoon he tilted his head to the side as though listening for the arrival of another sundering clash When none came after a few seconds he nodded in satisfaction and began to speak I don�t know much but it is clear that the azure haired woman was wearing the uniform of the Xyrt Brigade After their near constant deployment in the Fifth Cohort they were given a week break so the timeline also lines up To this woman spending time with the Head Drill Sergeant is a vacation

Even the usually emotionless Benjamin�s expression displayed the same sort of awed fascination that had infected the rest of the recruits since the arrival of this Vualla No one knew whether to admire her or fear her

Charlotte tapped her fingers on the table her own mutton soup was already mostly devoured Only a few dregs remained in her bowl which was her fifth helping The combination of carrots turnips potatoes and stewed meat was surprisingly delicious Her mind went to the stern expression of her grandfather I�m surprised that the Ghosthound was able to get the Head Drill Sergeant position with ties to the Xyrt Brigade

They must not have known Benjamin�s expression was conflicted as he stared down at his plate There is no way that a Commandant would have let the Ghosthound anywhere near us if they had known I�ve heard some other recruits talking that they were deployed on the same frontlines so it makes sense that they would have met but

Charlotte Wick rolled her shoulders as the conversation was briefly stalled Gradually she was deciding that she was part of the majority of recruits in her opinion of Vualla she deeply feared the woman Because after listening to the duo spar and feeling their images clash against each other an unavoidable fact had emerged the Xyrt Brigade woman was stronger than the Head Drill Sergeant It wasn�t by a lot but it was easy to see their relative power from the fact that the Ghosthound emerged from their spars disheveled while Vualla was positively beaming with pleasure

Of course none of the recruits dared look down on their Head Drill Sergeant for this they had felt the overwhelming power of his image Either of these powerful individuals were enough to crush them Instead it just earned her a whispered nickname the Azure Death

No recruit wanted to draw her attention while she continued to dally with the Head Drill Sergeant on the Rally Station Hers was a smile that hid fangs in the eyes of the recruits

Charlotte shook her head and then looked toward the third individual at their table She wanted to change the subject remembering the Azure Death�s bright expression chilled her to the core When the Vulpine continued to mechanically shovel stew into his mouth despite her pointed look Charlotte kicked him under the table Oy Raymund Wipe that depressing look off of your face don�t you have a break today How�s the special training going

The wolfman blinked several times before raising his head Almost instantly Charlotte felt somewhat bad for him She had believed that what the Overseers forced the general recruits to do was brutally spartan but then she had witnessed the way that Raymund and DiOrtho were constantly tormented with repeated demands of superhuman feats of strength Even the usually cocky DiOrtho had become taciturn and cooperative with Overseer Helen after constantly having extreme displays required of him The duo moved smoothly but with the blank eyes of robots

But after those blinks Raymund�s gaze cleared somewhat He seemed to consider her question for several seconds before quietly answering To be frank it is an astonishingly effective training regimen It has become clear to me that my difficulties with image development are a product of a personal defect Being too exhausted to think has given space for my psyche to get out of its own path

Benjamin nudged the Vulpine in the side Obviously that was the point but you�ve still been doing near constant physical training How has the Skill growth been

Oh the results on that front are similarly unequivocal Raymund responded casually My passive physical Skill has been pushed up by near one hundred Skill Levels I think the exact number is ninety three but it is a testament to the Overseers� commitment to our growth that I have come this far in so short a time

Charlotte�s mouth formed an O Finally her nagging worries were truly dislodged from their quiet burrow in her brain You you�ve gained almost a hundred Skill Levels in just a single Skill since you�ve come to the Fifth Cohort Rally Station That�s

All three paused for a second it seemed the spar was not yet finished The wind outside the canteen began to howl as the Ghosthound activated his Stillborn Phoenix image Charlotte reflexively reinforced her own image with life energy one needed to be careful when the Ghosthound released the image of the egg of depression It had a habit of stealing away energy from the surroundings in a way that was easy to miss until it was too late

Several recruits had been humiliated to realize all their carefully accumulated energy from two hours of rest had vanished devoured by the maw of darkness Of course the Overseers were very unsympathetic training went ahead as normal no matter how poor your performance was going to be

If you had a problem you needed to raise it with the Ghosthound Which no one did

Raymund cleared his throat and continued speaking Well no actually This accumulation occurred solely in the past eleven days since the initiation of the special train My other Skills have unsurprisingly stalled during the one note methodology but physically I feel rather confident in myself

Almost a hundred Skill Levels in ten days Benjamin muttered in disbelief Both were staring at Raymund like he was insane Charlotte couldn�t get over the fact that Raymund had basically achieved over half of the Skill growth that she herself had all in a single Skill in ten days

Still is such an accomplishment really that worthy of note Raymund shook his head in answer to his own question Then his sharp eyes went to Charlotte Out of the three chosen to directly receive the Ghosthound�s image you�ve definitely made the most progress Miss Charlotte The benefits you�ve harvested are impossible to miss Right now if there was another tournament

Charlotte resisted the urge to preen in front of these two but she subconsciously released a pulse of life energy from her Primal Force image A few surrounding recruits looked up gratefully before continuing with their meal After studying Yggdrasil for ten days Charlotte was able to capture the smallest bit of its healing aura Yet a split second later a near imperceptible twitch ran through her body

As it always was things related to the Ghosthound�s image were tainted in her mind Those nagging fears steadily returned to nibble at the edges of her attention

well I cannot say it�s that not impressive Charlotte demurred But beneath her thick layer of fur her body began to sweat Her body responded instinctively even as she carefully controlled the timber of her voice Truthfully the Head Drill Sergeant well is it fair to say that he has a knack for inspiration This training we all endure is hellish and oh I believe your current situation is similarly demanding Raymund but still he prodded me to discover new reserves of motivation within myself I cannot seem to bring myself to rest in regards to his image Perhaps that�s why my results are so unusual

Perhaps she was a suspicious bit more verbose than normal because there was an imperceptible widening in Benjamin Rex�s eyes He considered her expression carefully Indeed

Meanwhile Raymund didn�t notice anything was amiss He nodded tiredly and said We were blessed to have the opportunity to study under Randidly Ghosthound His methods are beyond reproach

the truth is I dare not show anything less than stellar results The Ghosthound could destroy me at any moment Despite her best efforts Charlotte�s lip trembled She bit into the plush worm of flesh to keep it from displaying any more weakness Overseer Helen is perfection in motion but even I can tell she is a temperamental and private person Some of those drawings that I made That I can�t help but keep making would give such a cultured and refined angel more than enough motivation to end my life

Or even worse ignore me completely

Charlotte�s Primal Beast was more powerful than ever before yet she couldn�t help but feel insidiously stifled on the Rally Station The tight grasp of the Ghosthound spun around her limbs like chains For now all that he required was the incorporation of his image but the prospect of continuing this existence weighed heavily on Charlotte�s mind

Her association with Commandant Wick would mean that the Ghosthound would not dare directly have her cultivate his image to later cannibalize her for strength but she could not envision a way of escaping from under the Head Drill Sergeant�s thumb for the rest of her days Yet her turbulent emotions betrayed her again at that thought her foolish heart at least accepted that this way she would remain near Overseer Helen

Charlotte released a deep sigh Somewhere she had no doubt the Ghosthound was snickering at her expense

Benjamin was still frowning at her for someone who has achieved such rapid gains in such a short amount of time you don�t seem very excited Were there any side effects of adapting to the Ghosthound�s image No offense but I don�t understand why your growth is so quick compared to Jieu and Vizzeret None of us lack effort

For several seconds Charlotte attempted to condense her irritation toward Benjamin�s accurate bluntness into a searing glare The pale skinned Benjamin didn�t even bat an eyelash forcing Charlotte to release a hissing breath of defeat She was just opening her mouth to sharply retort when she was completely blanketed by an immense noise

The ground beneath their table shook from the impact which meant their table shook The remaining dregs of Charlotte�s stew sloshed side to side in her bowl Gradually the rumbling calmed down And from the diminishing presence of the Ghosthound�s and his lover�s image the fight had ended

Before Charlotte could respond to Benjamin Raymund stood �Please excuse me for departing early This day is not entirely a break Apparently Sir DiOrtho and I will require a history lesson before we take on this special mission Overseer Muareth is going to lecture us for a few hours today so we are prepared for most eventualities �

�What�s your mission � Benjamin asked curiously �I�m quite a bit jealous that you will be outside of the suppression array but I�ll bet it�s another hostile environment correct �

But to both of their surprise Raymund shook his head Then the Vulpine shrugged �I also cannot interpret the Ghosthound�s actions this time As far as we can tell the task is simply to accomplish a certain mission in twenty four hours without consciously using Skills or images �

Chapter 1552

With a rush of stale and humid air the three cloaked individuals found themselves crouching in a pitch black cave Air was displaced by the teleportation but the surrounding wind soon turned sluggish All three looked down in annoyance as they found themselves ankle deep in cool and murky water they hadn�t noticed this issue until their shoes were soaked through And by then it was too late

Well two of the figures seemed distracted by the state of their damp feet

Ah Raymund released a thunderous sigh that echoed in the enclosed space Although he couldn�t see him DiOrtho could clearly feel his movements as the vulpine raised his arms as if to pray Such sweet release

DiOrtho Vant clicked his tongue at the display even if he inwardly agreed To be finally freed from the excessive restrictions of the Ghosthound�s suppression array was a great relief After their own training weights had been individually retooled to help with their training they had literally been left with no spare energy for any thought but their tasks

The mission was mysterious and strange but at least it was a vindication

Overseer Helen gestured sharply and hopped out of the puddle The two recruits tried to mimic her silent steps as they followed her even as their senses expanded through the cave system in front of them They both soon had to curse and accelerate without concern for the noise they made as Overseer Helen shot forward through the branching tunnels She seemed perfectly content to leave them behind

Of course both recruits could now keep up with her explosive movements Their coiled muscles flexed as they left a spray of dirty water in their wake as they pursued the Overseer Both loped forward with uncanny balance and grace their time training their bodies meant that tasks like this were refreshingly simple

A new place DiOrtho�s image whirred with excitement Those ancient steel mandibles covered in stains of long forgotten blood began to stir The ancient machine horror chirped as its engine slowly initialized A new sacrifice to return to perfection

The unbidden thoughts were as unpleasant as always

DiOrtho kept his eyes forward basically ignoring the words from his image as his feet padded silently against the stone ground He wasn�t sure how effective the training had been for Raymund because the foxman seemed remarkably confident and relaxed during their debriefing meetings but there had been no change with his image At best DiOrtho had taken the distractions as a chance to reassure himself that although his image might now seem to possess an independent consciousness it wouldn�t do anything independently

It was quite safe to ignore his image�s mutterings

It only took a few minutes of running to reach the edge of the cave Before he saw the light DiOrtho felt the wind on his face His nostrils flared for the first time in a long time he smelled organic matter other than the soft fresh scents of gardens and bamboo The warm and slightly spicy scent of autumn leaves reached his nose Soon the trio slowed down and steadily walked out of the mouth of the cave to a high ridge along the side of the mountain A thick slope of slowly dying trees was all around them

Overseer Helen gestured to the land below Welcome to Jewel the capitol of the Shelley Kingdom This will be where your mission starts

A beautiful location Raymund replied inanely with an absolutely goofy grin across his snout Tsking in annoyance DiOrtho pulled his cloak�s hood down to reveal his horns and studied the landscape below

Despite the fact that only the moon was present in the night sky there was plenty of light to see the surroundings The ground rapidly fell away before them as the forest transformed into low plains that was heavily cultivated Due to the fall weather the fields were half cleared as the owners of the land steadily harvested their gains from the summer Large piles of compost matter could be seen dotting the landscape dark lumps next to the half sheered farms

DiOrtho�s eyes wandered even farther Truly from their vantage point it was possible to see for quite a distance

Beyond the farmland were several small clusters of buildings Even from here DiOrtho could see an impressive amount of craftsmanship in both the orderly roads and neat buildings No movement was visible during the night but the area seemed completely picturesque On DiOrtho�s homeworld such an area would be an easy target for raids His fingers itched just looking at it

Sacrifices The machine horror hummed Ignoring his image DiOrtho looked further

Beyond the small towns there was a massive lake It was so large that the far edge was beyond the capability of his eyes The water that he could see was so placid that it almost seemed fake The perfect replica of the hanging moon seemed to have been painted onto the water rather than being a fragile construct of refracted light Several boats could be seen drifting across the lake�s surface but those left no mark either as though the water craft were simply specters gliding across the surface

And beyond the lake with its perfect reflection crouched underneath it like a shadow was the indicated capital of Jewel The buildings of the city were tall and tan The roofs were a distinct red color that could be identified even from a distance Unlike the small towns Jewel was alive even at night Several massive buildings along the shore were illuminated by ambitiously large bonfires DiOrtho narrowed his eyes he had seen such large cities in the Nexus but never on normal worlds there simply wasn�t enough Aether present to support populations that large With a frown he cast his mind back to what he knew about this world

Over the past six hours they had been forced to sit through a mildly detailed history of this continent in order to prepare for their mission which the Overseers had refused to explain to them until they were set loose Basically this continent was ruled by two large political entities the Armgrast Empire and the Shelly Kingdom While the Empire was the larger and more centralized power the economic strength and political connections with the smaller unaffiliated States allowed the Shelly Kingdom to stand toe to toe with the Empire

That precarious balance was slowly shifting toward the Empire as it consolidated its control over certain areas that it had recently conquered but then came the Great Migration Although the lecturing Overseer was suspiciously vague about the details DiOrtho could only accept that a several million individual population appeared out of nowhere Even now Overseer Muareth�s refusal to answer filled DiOrtho with annoyance The way they explain it it�s like the entire Northeast portion of the continent was simply dropped onto an already present landmass perhaps it had something to do with the System Or a powerful Skill Bah what nonsense

Just tell me what I need to do to fix this fucking Skill

Either way a current of rising power had gushed forth from within the Shelly Kingdom In addition the advent of Class Lighthouses another concept from this world that mystified DiOrtho seemed to favor the Shelly Kingdom The locations of this world�s version of the System Village were unfairly distributed to the North and East parts of the continent

In order to combat this rising combat potential the Armgrast Empire was forced to make several political sacrifices to control a significant portion of the large mountain range the formed the lion�s share of the border between those two political States This area was the primary source of Netherite a powerful and dangerous mineral that appeared to truly just be steel that was infused with Nether

Within the past six months things had settled into an uneasy truce as both sides settled on cultivating their newfound resources It was a race to see which could weaponize their advantage fastest

This at least DiOrtho understood implicitly A similar phenomenon happened when two rival demon tribes agreed to a temporary truce to each attack other factions Both sides knew that the peace would end quickly it was a matter of who was willing to take the gamble first

Initiative was important but so was having the conviction to follow through with the strike

During the lecture DiOrtho had been shocked at the way that Raymund Ballast had simply nodded and accepted everything that the spider Overseer had been saying The stupid fox didn�t question a single strange fact about this world Classes from lighthouses No fear from Calamities or history of dealing with the Calamities Nether was a part of the mineral composition on this planet

Unless this planet was testing a new arrangement of the System most of these facts seemed simply to have been invented by Overseer Muareth It went against every established and uniform custom of the Nexus

Yet now as DiOrtho looked down over the city below he could feel the truth of those facts in the surrounding air Nether swirled in thick currents above them As he pushed his Perception to the limit he could feel areas where a dominant yet somehow inert image held sway in the larger world these would be the Class lighthouses

Any questions before I give you the mission recruits Overseer Helen said Because afterward the twenty four hour time limit will begin and you will receive no further help from me

DiOrtho suppressed his instinct to observe that the Overseer had provided no help at all thus far anyway Then just as quickly as he backed down the muscles of his shoulders tightened in self hatred that he had been so easily cowed His eyes narrowed He was about to open his mouth and spew verbal bile when Raymund spoke in a careful voice No images or Skills correct But I must inquire how would you rate the capability of this world

If you were allowed to fight at your full strength perhaps there are one or two individuals present that could rival you Which is why you are restricted to solely your physical force Demonstrate the results of your training over the past ten days Overseer Helen said Then she folded her arms Anything else

What happens when we crush this task� you keep teasing us with DiOrtho growled

Overseer Helen�s mouth twitched I�m so glad you asked There is one other fact you need to know about this world there are demi gods running much of the normal System behind the scenes A hybrid position between Village Spirits and the Nexus technicians that handle the finer points of Skills and Paths In fact your client� for this mission is

Me

Despite himself DiOrtho Vant took a sharp step to the side as an image abruptly manifested A horrifying avatar of ash and self immolation spoke up behind him He whirled around and lowered himself into a fighting stance This figure radiated woe and regrets so deeply that the ground underneath her feet began to shiver and crack Her body seemed to be burning itself from the inside out fueled by a horrible hunger for destruction

The Machine Horror in DiOrtho�s chest stirred Within that glowing figure it recognized a kindred spirit It clicked its mandibles excitedly

But then that inner fire flickered and died revealing a rather young looking humanoid woman who studied DiOrtho with interest Then she looked to the side at Raymund and smirked If you manage to complete my mission I�ll assemble a personalized Path for each of you I hope you�ve been saving your PP because my product will definitely be more lucrative than your usual Path

Her gaze lingered on Raymund for several more seconds For you the Path will be a key to open up the darkness in your heart And for you The woman�s eyes flicked to DiOrtho For a split second they glowed red orange like the dying embers of a fire For you you don�t need the key your darkness is already rampant But you need the courage to face it

You think DiOrtho took a half step forward but Overseer Helen blurred into motion Despite his improvements DiOrtho was unable to respond before the Overseer had speared his thigh from behind pinning him to the ground with her weapon As his body shuddered in pain more and more of the thick muscles of his leg were torn open

Just as quickly Overseer Helen removed her spear and spun it flicking away DiOrtho�s blood No more questions recruits It�s time to start Alta here will be providing you with further instructions when you finish the first task but for now you are here to kidnap the princess of the Shelly Kingdom Good luck Oh and one more thing no killing If you take anyone�s life you are immediately disqualified

While DiOrtho was staggering and putting his hand over the wound Overseer Helen jabbed him in the back with the butt of her weapon That means you Vant Play nicely with the locals okay Or I�ll bury you here myself And enjoy it

Chapter 1553

1693 1694 1695

The slow beat of Jelick Youmon�s heart continued to follow along with the constant march of time The steady relationship between time and biological function was his lifeline Sometimes the Nether could use its strange influence your perception of time However Jelick�s body would always be completely honest

At exactly 1750 beats Jelick opened his eyes His shift was almost over After checking the display and recording the readouts Jelick gathered himself and exited the observation tower The other guard waited below

When their eyes met the other guard spoke in a rumbling voice His eyes were as serious as a priest during a service Anything to report

The moment of tension stretched as Jelick slowly opened his mouth Despite himself his heartbeat quickened This was the moment that their ritual could finally have summoned a monstrous disaster that would destroy the careful peace of the Fifth Cohort Dancing across that razor�s edge was horrifying and thrilling

Nothing Jelick finally said Both smiled as they exchanged positions Jelick hoped the days would always be like this

Is this wise Raymund Ballast asked of DiOrtho Although the Vulpine knew that the ram demon was getting extremely annoyed by his constant inquiries he couldn�t restrain himself His instincts warned caution and this course of action was anything but prudent

By asking around they had managed to identify the location of the royal compound But Raymund didn�t think for a second that their massive cloaked forms wouldn�t attract attention They were both quite a bit larger than the average citizen of this Shelly Kingdom

As he expected DiOrtho glared over at him as he continued to crack his knuckles The ram demon clearly needed healthier methods to deal with his anxiety We know that the kidnapping is just the first of five tasks that demi god Alta set for it We only have twenty four hours to complete all five Do you really want to drag our feet when this first task seems so simple I don�t believe for a second that bitch Overseer Helen will make this easy for us

Raymund winced You should not curse the Overseer She is undoubtedly observing our movements

A noise halted Raymund mid sentence Both of the recruits glanced warily around at the wide street before the wall Currently they were simply pressed up against the wall three fourths of the way down the compound�s West facing wall There were towers both at the corners of the square compound and halfway down each section of wall which meant there was no ideal location for entry

As dawn�s light slowly filtered down onto Jewel and its citizens started waking up the two of them glanced up at the ten meter tall wall behind them Raymund was very aware of how exposed they were the cloaks they wore covered up their features but he could vaguely sense some capable individuals within the royal compound

When it was clear that the noise was a false alarm DiOrtho shifted his hips and farted loudly Then he waved his hand wafting away the expelled gas into the air above them Let her observe She said she wouldn�t interfere the entire day and if nothing else the bitch is definitely someone who would keep her word

Raymund�s eyes turned heavy as he gave DiOrtho a long look please consider being more respectful with your language Even if you do not like the Overseer don�t for a second pretend the current you would be able to eviscerate your past self due to her efforts Show some respect

You DiOrtho�s eyes widened and then narrowed For the first time since they had arrived in the city he stopped cracking his knuckles Fury radiated off him like steam from a boiling kettle Heh finally growing a backbone Let me just say that both my past and current self could kill you without even

Oy

Both of the recruits looked upward in surprise A grey skinned humanoid leaned over the wall glaring down at both of them He adjusted his golden helmet as he bent over to stare down at them If you both of you are just here to work out your issues fuck off This is the property of the Royal Family If you refuse to leave I�ll call the city guard who can rightfully detain you for up to 48 hours oof

Raymund released a sigh and quickly scaled the wall Halfway through the guard�s threat the thick layer of anger DiOrtho directed at Raymund sharpened to killing intent and cut upward The ram demon flipped up onto the ten meter tall wall as though it was the first step in a staircase and slammed his fist into the guard�s gut After a spittle spraying grunt the man twitched and collapsed Raymund got on top of the wall just as DiOrtho brought his leg around in a brutal kick that caught the stunned second guard who in the jaw

With a sickening crack his neck twisted sharply and the humanoid collapsed

Vant Raymund hissed and rushed to the second guard He placed his hand on the man�s neck luckily the man was still breathing It looked like the crack was his jaw breaking He looked up and barred his teeth at DiOrtho Your hubris will doom us Such a blow could kill this humanoid Then all our efforts

DiOrtho grunted and looked around at the two towers at either end of the stretch of wall But I didn�t kill him did I I�m not a fucking idiot Anyway we can�t leave them here Grab the bodies and let�s go

Grab the Raymund blinked but DiOrtho had already hopped down off of the wall into the interior of the compound Raymund rapidly glanced around his ears strained to catch any movement nearby

Luckily there was none

Perhaps because they hadn�t used any of their images during the brief conflict their stealth was still intact Still it was with sweaty palms that Raymund gently lifted the guard whose head he heard crack while more casually seizing the belt of the other guard who was beginning to mildly drool from the sudden blow that knocked him unconscious

They dropped down off of the high wall and landed behind some flowering bushes This whole wing of the royal compound was decorated with tasteful vegetation and lofty gazebos Despite the season the dark blue blooms on the nearby bush still managed to hang on to their branches Tossing the one guard under some foliage Raymund carefully laid the other onto the ground

Yet it earned him an over the shoulder glare from DiOrtho What the hell are you doing The longer we have to get in and out the better Just carry them with us if we have to keep them alive If we just leave them under a bush what if they wake up and start making trouble

You dare imply that I should Raymund began thoroughly tired of DiOrtho�s disrespect but of course DiOrtho was already loping quietly across the gardens Cursing quietly to himself Raymund hefted the two guards over his shoulders and hurried to follow They couldn�t unleash their full speed with leaving very obvious tears in the ground when they planted their feet but just a light jog to the two recruits made them as fleeting and hard to catch as the wind

They wound their way past the stable and the kitchens attracting the attention of only a few chickens which squawked in displeasure at the rush of air the two left in their wake Their completely nonexistent understanding of the layout of the compound should have made the process difficult but architecture helped them quite a bit They quickly identified the three sprawling manors at the back of the compound as the houses for the king queen and crown princess

Each had a golden statue in the owner�s likeness giving even the cautious Raymund confidence in their conclusions

Of the three the princess� home was the smallest which meant that it was the size of Raymund�s entire home village as compared to being as large as the entire fertile river valley where he was raised Plus it was the only home of the three which pressed directly up against the edge of the lake which formed one border of the compound

Which was for the best because when they made to cut between the king and queen�s manor in order to reach their target more quickly DiOrtho pulled sharply up and raised his hand Wait Hey idiot you

Yea my touch will be lighter by far than yours Raymund answered shortly He immediately understood what DiOrtho was saying the ram demon sensed something up ahead but didn�t have much natural Perception without the aid of Skills So Raymund paused in the lieu of a massive fountain and closed his eyes

The sensation of this planet possesses a bit of extra Raymund�s tongue flicked out Spiciness was the word that came to mind but it didn�t cover the whole of it There was simply a broader range of energies in the air The images and emotions were especially rich but the Nether that was present behaved differently than normal Nether too

Somehow the Nether here genuinely seemed to belong to this world

But Raymund put those thoughts to the side and carefully listened to the air His ears flicked forward The effect was small but individuals at a certain power tended to subconsciously buzz The amount of energy contained within their body was never truly inert It was simply waiting to be used If he listened and slowly turned

After a few seconds Raymund released a quiet growl You�re right Two powerful individuals near the king�s house and someone weaker around the queen�s

So we go the long way Why the hell are we unable to use images or Skills again DiOrtho grimaced Then he turned and beckoned to Raymund Well fuck it Make sure you bring the trash

They had to take a wider circle back around through the servant�s quarters and now the sun had risen enough that most people were waking up Still Raymund and DiOrtho could easily rush up the side of the servant apartments and pad quietly across the roof toward their destination They paused at the edge of the lawn around the princess�s house and Raymund closed his eyes once more Then he snorted and pointed toward the veranda where the powerful guardian of the princess was located

An elderly woman was sitting there bold as brass drinking a cup of tea and looking out at the water She was perhaps twenty meters from the small outbuilding where Raymund and DiOrtho were crouching Although they could only see her in profile the relaxed smile on her face was obvious She was completely unprepared for an attack

Raymund lowered the two guards he had been carrying one under each arm to the ground As long as we take her by surprise

Again DiOrtho moved before he finished speaking Like a bolt of greased lightning he streaked across the yard and hopped lightly over the railing of the veranda At the last moment the old woman seemed to understand something was happening and twisted to look at the charging form of DiOrtho She flicked her cup of tea to the side and raised her hands just as the ram demon slammed his fist into her diaphragm As her eyes bulged he spun sideways and smashed his elbow into the woman�s temple

Raymund�s eyelids twitched as he watched the old woman drop like a bag of potatoes He hefted the two unconscious guards once more and rushed forward His ears strained the entire time so he could give a report when he arrived next to DiOrtho there has been no alarm raised As we likely have a few spare moments to gather ourselves then we should

There was a crash above them drawing both their gazes upward A split second later a large and shadowy figure burst out onto the lawn and started sprinting toward the lake DiOrtho and Raymund exchanged a glance

Do we Raymund began but DiOrtho shook his head

Looks like someone noticed us Hopefully that wasn�t the princess fleeing Fuck we don�t even know what she looks like do we I guess we saw the statue Let�s just brute force it then The ram demon growled Then he exploded upward ripping a hole into the mansion After a brief hesitation Raymund draped the two guards across the old woman�s body and followed his partner

With their limits on their speed removed they quickly ripped through the long hallways and found the princess� quarters The golden doors and sparkling chandeliers were a dead giveaway But when they looked around the room

What the hell DiOrtho blinked

Raymund�s breath hissed out through his nose as he streaked across the already destroyed room and to the wide balcony The vaulted windowed doors to the outside patio had been shattered scattering broken glass across the spacious overlook Raymund stopped at the edge of the balcony and stared intently after the disappearing figures Behind him the bed had been ripped to shreds and several end tables had been overturned There was a few drops of blood on the ground leading from the bed to the broken doors In front of him

Another party is currently kidnapping the princess Raymund said slowly as he looked at the fleeing figure One individual was carrying another

Just as DiOrtho made to respond a bell began to ring in the central portion of the royal compound A booming voice echoed across the surrounding area Intruders

Chapter 1554

Vualla looked around with interest In the darkness her azure eyes seemed to glow I mean I�d heard about how insane the construction was but they took me right to the Xyrt Brigade training ground when I arrived in the Nexus I haven�t had much time to explore Is the Nexus really squatting on top of a giant skeleton And damn You really can feel the dead emotions wafting upward huh

Randidly folded his arms across his chest and looked downward They were floating in the Web while the Stillborn Phoenix released its latest batch of emotions into the surrounding space Thick tentacles of emotions lashed outward Most spiraled upward but a few put tentative feelers toward Vualla She swung her fist with a playful smile and annihilated the offending emotions

As the Stillborn Phoenix continued its emotional purification the finished product became more stable and its hunger for more emotions grew At some point Randidly would be worried about where he could freely devour emotions like this But for now

You are sorta a monster you know that Vualla smiled cheekily over at Randidly as she flicked a finger and destroyed another clump of his released emotions

Randidly could only chuckle and shrug I�ve had no choice but to become one That�s the Nexus right

And that�s why we will end it Vualla said as her expression becoming solemn She had left her gauntlets back in Randidly�s apartment but when she brought her right fist sharply against her left palm Randidly felt enough force in the impact to shatter a continent like a china plate One fucked up piece at a time we will tear it all down So we no longer need to become monsters just to survive

So we have the freedom to choose our own lives Randidly replied quietly He reached across and squeezed Vualla�s hand for a few seconds before clearing his throat The Stillborn Phoenix rumbled in dissatisfaction at this delay How are you feeling We might need to go quite a bit deeper into the Web to satisfy my image It�s a glutton

Bah is your superpower breathing Nether Vualla wrinkled her nose and looked down into the swirling gloom below them with obvious distaste They weren�t quite as deep as Randidly normally went but they were definitely past the point where the structure of the area had renovated for living habitation they were clearly hovering in a hollow spine This was the point where the air began to turn strange

The corner of Randidly�s mouth twitched If you need assistance just stay near me

Nah there really isn�t that much Nether here Just enough to be uncomfortable Plus it�s good enough practice to resist the growing influence of Nether and also these wild emotions She looked at Randidly and flapped her hand Lead on

With a nod Randidly allowed himself to drop down through the Web The Stillborn Phoenix released a strange crooning noise as it sucked at the surrounding space showing how excited it was to devour more emotions Although the noise was somewhat off putting Randidly was just glad that he had built a working relationship with the spiteful image A split second later Vualla followed him down

There wasn�t any real useful method of telling how deeply Randidly descended aside from the presence of Nether so he used that as a gauge He pushed past his former deepest location curious how Vualla would handle the chaotic rush of emotions while he did so Seeing that she seemed to be managing fine he stopped holding back Heh honestly sorta dumb of me to worry about her When it comes to power and image purity she�s got me beat

At the point where they finally slowed the Nether was about four times as prevalent as was generally allowed underneath the control of the System It was still only about 5% of the ambient energy but its presence in the air could no longer be denied The walls around them were warped in bulging in some places likely due to prolonged exposure to Nether The yellowed bone darkened to a rotten brown in some places

Randidly�s gaze lingered on the continued drop below them for several seconds

The Nether in his body whirred With his newfound insight into layered alternate Nether flows the stability of his Nether Nebula had largely increased Therefore remaining at this depth presented no problems He also had some spare effort to blunt the gravity of significance that reached for Vualla And based on the fact that she wasn�t yelling at him she likely didn�t notice which was a blessing

The Stillborn Phoenix began to inhale

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 335

Congratulations Your Skill Tide of the Void has grown to Level 289

As Randidly looked down in the impenetrable darkness below him he gradually understood that the presence of Nether was unavoidable around the Aether Refinery below it was only due to the Nether that the escaping emotions were as blunted as they were And as the two people floated there allowing the Egg of Darkness to absorb more and more emotions there were intermittent blasts of truly violent outbursts Against all odds a few waves of obsessive desire had survived the grinding below

even beyond that mass of significance I can feel tugging at me from below the churning Aether Refinery might be enough to destroy me Randidly reflected If some of the escaped emotions can be this powerful at this distance how powerful are the ones that are too large not to be annihilated

Of course there were a few unsubstantiated assumptions about how the Aether generator worked in Randidly�s train of thought He couldn�t be sure how accurate his conclusions were So he set that to the side and concentrated on another issue how he could adjust his images to fool the world

Specifically in this case how the image of the Grim Chimera could transform into something even more overwhelming

While the Stillborn Phoenix continued to guzzle down emotions Randidly looked down at his hand He idly traced the creases across his right palm with his eyes All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth creates a connection across parallel universes to find the answer to whatever problem I�m currently facing Paradoxically the Skill is already designed to fool the universe which is why it�s so difficult for me to find an effective strategy to expand my Grim Chimera image I�m looking for something grand and in this case but the mundane function already accomplishes what I want

So how do I strengthen that ability to fool the universe

The lids of Randidly�s eyes slowly slid down to shutter his gaze His senses expanded to capture the surrounding flows of emotion The undercurrent of natural Nether hissed and spat as it continued to suffocate the life out of the escaping energies and dulled their edges Randidly�s Willpower began to resonate with All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth He activated the image without activating the Skill just brushing lightly across the surface

Releasing a breath Randidly didn�t have anything he was seeking There was no problem that became the base of the Skill But floating in the hollow spine of the Nexus he spread his awareness through to the parallel worlds closest to him His senses could just barely capture these other Randidlys who had utilized slightly different avenues to reach his same current position Due to it only being a resonance the others aligning with his position helped him bridge the gap Without pulling any abilities from the disparate Randidlys to his present self it was actually somewhat relaxing to spread himself out

In the strangest way it reminded Randidly of having two Nether flows happening at the same time It required the same unfocused effort the same mixture of concentration and relaxation the same inner acceptance If he gradually allowed the edges of himself to spread outward

Congratulations Your Skill All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 235

As he did his best to simply savor the sensation Randidly could see a Path forward for his image The Grim Chimera was more than a single entity It spread across all universes seeking to help itself survive at all times Or to expand it even further the Grim Chimera was all life seeking in different scenarios to always surpass the danger of the environment

A smile quirked across Randidly�s mouth ruining his concentration It might be a bit much to say that I�m all life But to draw more of a connection between the various versions of myself

Shaking his head he once more released a breath and cleared his mind The Stillborn Phoenix continued to slurp down emotions and Vualla appeared to be meditating in the air next to him His skin tingled from the cool air flowing up through the spine of the Nexus as though he was being brushed by the breath of a sleeping beast The image of his ultimate Grim Chimera Skill began to shine as it resonated with his intentions Across space and time Randidly felt the other versions of himself also floating in the Web

That resonance acted as a beacon drawing more and more significance in toward the center Randidly�s Nether Nebula shuddered and began to accelerate Distributed across all the versions of himself the pressure of his significance eased

As he stretched he began to move beyond this place His mind was practically buzzing from trying to contain all the possibilities available to him but he pushed himself further and further The very familiar feeling of a mental strain headache began to pound behind his closed eyes He raised his hand and pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose but he didn�t break his concentration

Randidly grasped at the divided versions of himself seeing the limits of his reach In the core of his Nether Nebula an additional grey bubble began to form

Very soon his headache worsened He achieved a precarious balance in his Soulspace buoyed by thousands of phantom Randidly The process was fascinating He could feel these different versions of himself and feel the slight ways they differed from him And the longer he managed to balance himself here in some massive communion with the various Grim Chimeras more and more were drawn into arriving Those Randidly�s that were further in likelihood from the main body could gather adding their thoughts and feelings to the grand collective

Congratulations Your Skill All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 236

Congratulations Your Skill All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 243

Suddenly a ripple came through the Randidlys One by one they began to be ripped away from the collective And the strangest wave of information came to Randidly Although they vanished he didn�t lose the details of those that had been so suddenly cut away Those that hadn�t proceeded as deeply into the Web

Congratulations Your Skill All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 244

Randidly�s eyes shot open The muscles along his jaw flexed Despite the fact that the image was not yet sated Randidly ruthlessly cut off the Stillborn Phoenix Then he looked over at Vualla with what he hoped was a relaxed smile Hey Vualla Do you mind if I ask you for a favor

What�s up Vualla opened her eyes and tilted her head to the side

Randidly shrugged The hairs on the back of his neck were beginning to stand on end Helen needs some help beating some sense into those two troublemaking recruits that I was telling you about I hope you don�t mind but when it comes to beatings you are the best woman I know Can you lend a hand

Vualla�s azure eyes regarded Randidly for a few seconds as though she sensed something that he had tried to keep from his tone Just as he was about to say something else to try and force the issue she nodded and smiled With a sharp gesture she sent herself drifting over toward Randidly But as he put his hand on her arm she reached over and squeezed his shoulder

Her fingers felt as cold and dangerous as daggers pressed against him Her smile sharpened You are a bad liar Randidly Ghosthound But I trust you Whatever�s going on don�t die

Then Vualla allowed herself to be teleported to within the Alpha Cosmos After she disappeared a voice drifted down to Randidly from above Heh An audience is the best companion for a duel but I suppose I admire your bravery in facing me alone Who was that anyway She smelled strong I guess I�ve had good luck since running into that Lamel I keep finding people I want to meet

Randidly released a breath and faced upward The reason that the alternate Randidly�s had been ripped away was now grinning down at him with his tattooed arms folded across his chest It was certainly a strange application and one that would be almost impossible to maintain constantly but All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth had given him just enough of a warning

Not enough to escape of course but enough that the combative voice didn�t cause Randidly to flinch Somehow Velio Dunn had tracked him down

His Philosopher�s Key was steadily recovering but it still took between thirty seconds and a minute to build a bridge between two positions Randidly brought up his messaging function and then clicked his tongue in annoyance his ability to utilize the System was being suppressed

They came prepared Damnit Who knows that I regularly come here

Randidly was alone with Velio Dunn And the man�s smile was slowly widening

Chapter 1555

How did you know I was here Randidly asked quietly Although the Web had narrowed somewhat as Randidly descended the space was still massive His words echoed off the walls

Velio Dunn wagged a finger at him with his other hand on his hip Shush Why must you question the details of our meeting It was ordained by fate To always dig at the trivialities of existence is to live drowning in a sea of grey inanities You completely miss the revelries of existing Is that the way you want to live Mr Ghosthound

Randidly pressed his lips into a thin line The reason he had decided to come to the Web was that the Stillborn Phoenix had been nagging at him lately and Vualla had casually offered the fact she was curious He had presumed the field trip to be safe for two reasons First his experiments with truly powerful individuals indicated that no one could sense the activation of his Philosopher�s Key Which didn�t mean that no one would have the ability to sense it but that it was a relatively stealthy method of transportation He was confident in its secrecy

Which was why I want to know how Randidly thought with a frown Were you waiting for me or can you track my movements

Second Randidly had confirmed Edraine to be in her dwelling on standby should an unfortunate accident occur He had assumed that he would be able to send her a message when any sort of danger appeared He didn�t expect Velio Dunn to arrive with some sort of array to cut off his ability to send messages She had warned him to take care with the depths of the Web but this

Randidly�s gaze shifted from Velio and to the darkness behind the man They were using the same array that suppressed messaging to hide their presence but Grim Intuition was much more exacting than Perception there were two figures skulking behind Velio Based on the sophistication of the array either they were simply geniuses when it came to Engraving or this was a trap they laid here for him

That was almost the more intimidating option They had prepared for this

Bah yes I must admit that I did not come alone but they have assured me that the array would not suppress your combat abilities at all Velio Dunn shrugged Then to Randidly�s surprise he pouted like a toddler What was I supposed to do You refused to finish our duel when I visited you I was so exhilarated to meet someone who thrilled me with just a look and then you fled and hid Do you know how that made me feel

Randidly�s gaze turned heavy He was already tired of Velio�s ridiculous and self absorbed way of framing their interactions He released a breath his heartbeat was steady even as his muscles tensed in the savored moments of preparations His previously frantic mind had already settled upon the most likely way that this confrontation would end but that Path was fraught with difficulty So despite his distaste Randidly decided to stall for time in case Edraine could notice something was wrong and would arrive to assist as had happened with Octavius

But of course she was much closer to Octavius Randidly couldn�t help but reflect

Outwardly Randidly smiled and pointed to his nonexistent left arm I haven�t yet recovered from our previous fight perhaps we could push it back a few decades

Velio Dunn shook his head The cool blue glow that was coming from his rune covered sword was gradually spreading out to illuminate the Web This assassin was preparing as well with much more frightful results Relying on external help for power will only bring you grief Mr Ghosthound I was doing you a favor that metal limb was a length of chain wrapped around your potential Honestly you should be thanking me

Randidly�s smile faded Although his heartbeat increased in frequency he was still relatively calm Because after listening to Velio�s last response he began to realize something He took a more exacting look at Velio The muscular man continued to grin down at him but the expression didn�t reach his eyes In those delicate orbs there was only a chilling intent to kill Randidly The tattoos along the man�s arms seemed alive undulating in the shadows

Anticipation Randidly thought He�s savoring this

You are playing coy Randidly said surprised at the realization You know just how unreasonable you are being Do you get off on watching your victims think that they have a chance of talking you out of the duel Accidental victims my ass Those eyes of yours you love the sight of blood

Velio Dunn froze for a half second Then his expression shifted The corners of his eyes crinkled and he released a booming laugh Ha Hahahaha Mr Ghosthound would you believe me when I say that the first time I saw you that I knew you were special Heh In fifteen hundred years It�s probably been fifteen hundred years since I�ve been called out like that If it wasn�t for the fact you reminded me of someone I hate I might even let you live after I shatter your image But that resemblance dooms you

Velio reached up for his sword Randidly watched the movement The light from Velio�s sword began to surge The muscles of Velio�s arm bulged Randidly just pressed his lips together and watched His images spiraled together in his chest preparing for his defensive effort

But as Velio seized the hilt of his sword he paused as he was staring intently down at Randidly The man reached up and scratched his cheek as though embarrassed Umm aren�t you going to do anything This should be where you say something cliche like if you think I�m the same me that you beat last time you are making a mistake� or this time will be different� Can you have an outward reaction Truly moments like this are the only way to break the monotony Don�t ruin it for me

You want me to help you enjoy your life by regurgitating cliche lines back at you Randidly quirked an eyebrow upward His nerves thrummed in his chest now that Velio was gripping his sword but he couldn�t help but tease the man who came to kill him For someone who spends so much time complaining about how boring life is you seem to be embracing the predictability What�s so scary that you seek out and kill anyone with potential Velio Dunn

Velio�s expression vanished as though his emotional wattage had been exceeded and the breaker failed What was left was dead flesh still bearing the resemblance of expression but only out of necessity There was only despair and darkness animating his feature A chill ran through Randidly It felt like he was looking at a thin sheet that had been drawn across a rotting corpse Although the shape was blunted somewhat by the covering Velio�s soul was so warped that the gross deviations from the norm were clear no matter the obstructions

Even worse Velio�s image changed That pale blue light radiating from his sword became suffocating The array that isolated the two of them began to sizzle from the force of his presence Randidly couldn�t tell what they were doing but the two shadowy figures moved quickly to stabilize the situation

You ask heavy questions for a man about to die Velio said quietly If you don�t plan on volunteering the information I�ll drag out the source of your confidence and crush it And just so you know your teleportation trick won�t work twice

As Randidly shrugged he would see the knuckles of Velio�s hand tightening on the hilt of his sword It�s no secret And I didn�t want it to come to this but I don�t think I have a choice I have a superpower just one In most locations it wouldn�t end up mattering But here

A superpower An expression of shock returned to Velio�s face Then he snorted as some of his facade recovered Heh is that so Then I�m looking forward to it With death below and death above let�s have a fun duel Hey What the hell are you doing

Halfway through Velio�s words Randidly began to rapidly shoot downward If there was one thing that he could trust it was that Velio Dunn valued his own life And considering the fact that Velio now considered Randidly trapped here it seemed logical that even someone as powerful as Velio held some wariness toward the mass of significance below

When he had confirmed with Edraine that she would be paying attention to his position even she had warned him not to go too deep down the spine The power there was a threat to even her Hopefully Randidly�s unique advantages would allow him to survive at the depth required to warn off Velio

As Randidly shot downward the presence of Nether in the air rapidly increased In addition thick geysers of dangerous emotions smashed against the sides of the hollow spine as they ran their violent course Velio must truly have been caught by surprise because Randidly opened up quite a bit of distance before he began to move

Randidly even used Man is Proud but the Chimera Takes to explode downward with a little extra intensity From the location where Randidly originally had been floating the Nether content in the air increased from 5% to 5 5% Then it shot up to 6% and then 7% The air whooshed past his skin leaving him tingling

But then Velio was there right in front of Randidly with a vicious expression on his face Fucking kid If you are just going to be suicidal let me help you along

Velio Dunn�s hand on his sword twitched At the same time Randidly was mobilizing every bit of strength that he possessed Revelations of the Atramentous Threshold Chimeric Impunity All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth

Congratulations Your Skill All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 245

As he did in the practice Randidly didn�t search for a version of himself that could survive Or at least Randidly didn�t reach for specifics With Revelation energy sharpening his vision and giving him a predictive edge Randidly joined the collective sea of parallel Randidlys and rapidly gathered more and more versions of himself in the same hanging moment To him they were all data

They were alternatives

He observed them die in droves through their resonance experiencing a horrible backlash from the extinctions in the process It was mental strain on a tier that he had never experienced before Each death was like a small emotional bomb that sought to infect and destabilize his images Yet he couldn�t spare the attention to deal with that now

After observing one thousand six hundred and three varying methods of moving through the present and feeling one thousand five hundred and eighty two end in his death Randidly slammed every ounce of himself into Chimeric Impunity He slid to the side seeking to dodge through one of those narrow possibilities

1 4% survive rate from only the first blow Randidly barred his teeth And he calls this a fair duel What a hypocrite

But that was not all the preparations he needed to make to survive Aside from the recently formed still small grey bubble in his Nether Nebula Randidly pulled all four of his other grey bubbles into his right hand He didn�t attempt to meet the blow simply struck at the space between them in an attempt to screen the attack Time turned sluggish as the sheer mass condensed in his hand warped the surrounding space Radiating waves of gravity rippled through the distance between them

Velio�s eyes narrowed in mild surprise

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Impunity has grown to Level 338

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Impunity has grown to Level 340

Randidly felt the bones of his wrist and forearm shatter The entirety of his hand was simply numb when made it seem likely the nerve endings in the appendage had just been annihilated before he could feel The next thing he knew he had slammed into the side of the Web skidding and tumbling deeper down toward the mass of significance waiting below

Randidly blinked several times as Yggdrasil wrapped its warm branches around his Soulspace and began to rapidly heal the mental and physical damage he had taken The speed of his descent was quick almost as quick as he had been going previously just smashed downward this time by the force of Velio�s attack His rattled mind gradually calmed down and Randidly immediately forced his gaze back upward toward the figure of Velio Dunn

The man�s wild smile had returned his eye was filled with a manic gleam Hey you�re pretty tenacious you know that It�s probably been a hundred years since I�ve faced a seed like you But if you think this is enough

Perhaps the most horrifying detail of the picture was that the last blow was struck with Velio�s sword still in its sheath Now Velio gripped the leather piece of equipment and pulled it off revealing his massive blade in all its glory The gleaming cruelty in Velio�s eyes brightened

He was playing with his food It seemed that Velio�s enjoyment of this process wasn�t faked at least

Of course Randidly didn�t have much spare attention to study the sword everything about him hurt The Nether content in the air around continued to steadily rise as he fell nearing 15% Some of the more powerful emotions surging through the air had enough potency to sizzle and blister against Randidly�s skin Yet after Velio finished speaking he vanished

Feeling a sick sensation Randidly twisted midair Velio waited below the blue runes on his sword glowing so brightly that it was almost blinding This is where you die Mr Ghosthound Truly it�s been a pleasure

Randidly looked down at his hand the skin of his right hand flopped around like the slimy remnants of a popped water balloon A bitter smile covered his face I suppose it�s too much for this foe to look at me and have some deep realization about himself leading to a mental breakdown huh

Chapter 1556

Velio Dunn appearing confident in his victory didn�t strike immediately with his image as the two moved toward their next clash Besides Randidly was zooming directly down toward him like a fastball toward a batter Instead the excited Velio began to speak This was always your fate for having the hubris of breaking through the physical limitation ugh

Although Randidly�s hand was useless for punches he flicked the appendage and unleashed a spray of blood at Velio that spattered in the man�s eyes They were close now only a few meters apart To Randidly�s disappointment there was no sizzling or burning it was clear Velio was powerful enough to ignore the damaging effects of Randidly�s blood Still it was extremely satisfying to force the assassin to reach up and wipe away his blood

Then several things happened at once

Although he had never done it himself Randidly had witnessed the methods of his Fatepiece and Nether enough times to have a hunch about a new use for his Skill In the brief period of time that the overconfident Velio was distracted Randidly gathered as much Nether to himself as he could His Nether Nebula continued to accelerate spinning wildly to reaccumulate the mass that had been depleted already in this fight

He near instantly wove the Nether into a tight funnel His Willpower ached from the strain but he dare not hesitate Gritting his teeth Randidly connected two points in space Another dangerous tremor ran through his Nether Nebula At the same time he felt a ripple through the surrounding Aether the suppressing array was shattered

Screams echoed from above just as a message arrived I won�t be able make it down in time to prevent him from killing you And fighting him

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to level 192

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 201

I understand Randidly replied as his Nether Ritual bridged space One fraction of time he was shooting toward Velio�s chest the next he was beyond Velio shooting deeper into the darkness The distance covered was only five meters yet the entirety of his Nether Nebula was depleted It was more exhausting than he had expected And with both of his arms out of commission I�ll be able to survive down here I believe at least for a while Enough to escape later But he needs to be pinned down for a few seconds

His now completely exhausted Nether Nebula began to accelerate further It was spinning crazily sending waves of destabilizing energy through the entirety of Randidly�s body His images weakened rapidly caught by surprise by the phenomenon But of course there was currently nothing Randidly could do These next few moments were too important to spare much attention for the issue

Got it came Edraine�s reply

Just as Velio realized something was wrong and twisted around to glare at the figure of Randidly that had teleported past him a beam of sizzling orange light shot downward like judgment from heaven Velio had begun to move to strike at Randidly again but he instantly recognized the danger presented from Edraine�s strike and was forced to ignore Randidly

Instead he faced upward Randidly couldn�t see Velio�s expression but he could hear the barely controlled fury in his growl His back was wide and ominous Just who the fuck are you

Edraine didn�t reply but her light laugh echoed down through the Web Velio raised his sword and smashed it against the orange energy The two lights mixed and became as blinding as a direct blast from a floodlight after your eyes grew accustomed to the dark

Randidly continued to shoot down in the meantime tumbling through the air Yggdrasil was knitting together his flesh but both the emotional damage from the strange utilization method of the Grim Chimera and his destabilizing Nether Nebula were extremely dangerous The Nether content in the air continued to climb finally pushing past 25% of the ambient energy

Luckily the prevalence of Nether meant the space turned chaotic Although he had only traveled a short distance the air turned murky Even the powerful image reverberations as Edraine and Velio clashed were muffled by the turbulent emotions and thick Nether around him

Still Randidly�s expression turned bitter The Grim Chimera image was largely lifeless having spent everything on Chimeric Impunity and still been deeply wounded by Velio A wave of emotions smashed into Randidly�s from the side dragging a groan from his lips In addition the ambient Nether hungrily tried to eat at his flesh

Normally he would create a buffer of his own Nether to protect himself but his Nether Nebula continued to dangerously accelerate without showing any results all of the Nether he was producing was being steadily stolen by the mass of significance below Which meant that his Nether Nebula continued to rev faster trying to accumulate Nether faster than it could be stolen

That half formed grey bubble at the core of the Nebula was the only reason things hadn�t completely collapsed

After tumbling down for thirty more seconds Randidly huffed out a breath and decelerated Blood continued to trickle out from the ruined wreck of his hand The Nether content of the air was almost exactly 30% Although it wasn�t ideal he manifested his Yggdrasil image directly in the space around him It clashed with the Nether but it also gave Randidly some time to gather himself

He felt oddly isolated surrounded by the murky clumps of Aether and emotion But that was for the best He needed a chance to

Shit Randidly spat out his eyes turned upward

Although it was being weakened by the ambient Nether and those same emotions that were burning Randidly�s skin a light blue slash cut sharply down toward Randidly Velio�s image didn�t waver at all even as the Skill it was riding faded Luckily Yggdrasil was already manifested So Randidly could quickly unleashed the Inscrutable Mien of Genesis and Yyrwood Body of Yggdrasil to defend himself A purifying and holy halo bloomed from Randidly�s body The emerald leaves of Yggdrasil rustled their indignation at this affront to their dignity

All of the power of Yggdrasil reached its apex inside the enclosed space of the web And into that power that rather dull looking blue slash arrived

Congratulations Your Skill the Inscrutable Mien of Genesis has grown to Level 301

The strike was much weaker than the first one Randidly had endured today likely due to the environment and Edraine�s assistance But Randidly was also in a much worse condition than he had been at the beginning of the fight Yggdrasil could only endure for a few moments before flickering and vanishing Once more he was smashed downward by the strike

Eventually Randidly managed to recover and slow his descent But this time the ambient Nether reached about 41% of the environment Painful tremors ran through his Nether Nebula as it accelerated beyond its limits to gather Nether But of course this much closer to the horrifying significance below Nether was stolen before Randidly could manage it at all

Without much choice Randidly bloomed into the Stillborn Phoenix A vortex surrounded him bending the surrounding energies Both emotion and Nether were devoured by the nondiscriminatory image The process was painful but Randidly needed some safety to stabilize himself His headache intensified but Randidly used his remaining dregs of his Willpower to naturalize and convert some of the raw Nether into his own energy

He kept a tight grip on that Nether and used it to ground his Nether Nebula Some of the strain immediately eased although he now needed to constantly divert a portion of his attention to stabilizing his Nether The greed of that significance below was truly horrifying

Might give me a bit of inspiration later for Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil Randidly shook his head and took a long needed breath Then he glanced upward through the murky air Even with Grim Intuition he couldn�t sense anything at all from Velio and Edraine�s fight Gradually the sense of tension in his shoulders eased

It took about five minutes of meditative recovery for Randidly to feel at least safe No further attacks had come from above meaning that he was stable for now He produced his Philosopher�s Key and gave himself a few more minutes to focus The Fatepiece activation remained fraught with discomfort which wouldn�t help his current circumstances Then he raised the key and sought the folds in space time that would allow him to escape

After a minute he gave up with a vicious expression the only locations he could find with his Fatepiece were deeper toward the core of the Nexus Then with rising alarm in his chest Randidly noticed something else

Although he believed he had been floating in the same position during this recovery the amount of Nether in the air had risen to 42% It might mean nothing but considering the result of his Fatepiece

Randidly had gone too near whatever lurked at the heart of the Nexus He was now being inexorably pulled down into the depths

Lady Iellaya�s expression was blank for several seconds And you just left him down there

Edraine nodded slowly Even I cannot do anything about the core of the Nexus You�ve felt it right The horror of that place What would be the use of sacrificing myself Besides Mr Ghosthound is the most resourceful of us all If anyone can make it out of that place alive he can

True but Lady Iellaya hesitated

Edraine turned away and walked to the window He hasn�t responded to my messages which leads me to believe that the Ghosthound is already at a dangerous depth Still have faith in him But that is not why I called you two here I assume you�ve seen the report released about the Seventh Cohort

Across the room Octavius nodded slowly Military High Command has found no traces of systemic corruption The hidden Aether was a result of a few independent actors

Quite different than expected And the fact that there was no corruption rather than corruption on a small scale Edraine�s voice was heavy This wasn�t just a brokered deal between the NLC and Military High Command this was a cover up We are missing something So I need help from both of you

Octavius gather every report you can find on Aether yields for the Cohorts As far back as you can I want to see the numbers And Lady Iellaya do you think it�s possible to get me into the Vault I�d like to speak with our ignoble former Overseer of the Sixth Cohort

Chapter 1557

This feeling A bitter smile stretched across Randidly�s face His emotions to describe them as chaotic would be understating the issue Several parts of his body were tingling as his nervous system was flooded with adrenaline Despite the aches in his recently healed right hand he stretched it outward and grabbed at the air Every breath was still difficult His heart beat rapidly but it was accompanied by a pounding headache that made it especially taxing to focus

Considering the fact that Randidly had to maintain the Stillborn Phoenix and keep a tight grip on the reins of his Nether the exertion was all but impossible He walked along a precipice where a single failure would lead to the long fall toward death

Yea Randidly said again looking to his left Although there wasn�t much meaning to it he had drifted toward the side of the hollow spine since figuring out his situation A yellowed and bumpy bone was next to him gnarled like an ancient tree As he looked at it the wall seemed to be warping before his very eyes Yet if closed his eyes and touched the bone he knew that this distortion was an illusion the bone wasn�t being warped Randidly was This sensation The tingling approach of death

Randidly endured a raging torrent of emotions that smashed into the Stillborn Phoenix from the side and then checked the Nether content of the air 46% After two hours of floating and stabilizing his mental and physical state the mass of significance below tightened its grip on him He was getting pulled downward faster and faster

Yet some part of Randidly couldn�t hate the tension It was almost a nostalgic feeling

The Stillborn Phoenix howled around him Randidly had a sensation in his chest akin to volcanic heartburn from the wide assortment of emotions and energies his Egg of Darkness devoured but it was necessary It was only because of the buffer his image created that Randidly had been able to nurse both Yggdrasil and the Grim Chimera back to a stable state

The Grim Chimera had endured the brunt of Velio�s first attack Even though it had been with a sword still tucked into a sheath the hit had been a direct one Yggdrasil�s situation was slightly cleaner it had been taken by surprise but at least it was a weakened image that reached Randidly

At that thought there was a flash of fury in Randidly�s emerald eyes Velio�s attacks turned out to be more insidious than even he had expected It was just another piece of evidence that despite his brash persona Velio Dunn was very deliberate in his hunting of the young talents of the Nexus

He hadn�t thought much of it at first but Velio�s sword left some trace remnants in the wounds left on his images Of course he had immediately sensed that the wounds were for lack of a better term frozen by the strike Their natures were heavily suppressed Yet it was after the healing process began that he discovered the latent danger there was a sense of rot and degeneration to Velio�s chill as well Those more dangerous elements were almost completely masked by the chill and might have completely ruined his images if he had not taken the time to inspect them closely

Randidly grimaced as another blast of emotion hit him from the side This spear of emotions was strong enough to pierce through the Stillborn Phoenix and directly impact Randidly For several seconds angry red lines of infection appeared on Randidly�s side where he had been impacted They burrowed underneath his skin spreading rapidly outward Sensing the danger the Stillborn Phoenix increased its suction devouring more and more in an effort to protect its bearer

The swirling whirlpool of suction spread pulling more and more of the dark surroundings toward him

The smoldering pain in Randidly�s Soulspace increased as the Stillborn Phoenix ran rampant but it did give him some time to deal with this new threat Growling Randidly slapped his hand against his side As he smashed the insidious emotions with what little Nether he could maintain for himself the spread of those red lines on his side slowed

I don�t like using my Nether like this but otherwise Heh

With the problem under control Randidly pushed back more aggressively against the invading emotions The red lines retracted When the emotions had completely been forced back into an angry red boil on his side he simply ripped away the chunk of flesh and tossed it to the side

It tumbled quickly through the murky air below him warping and mutating before his eyes The irritated flesh bulged and twisted By the time the flesh had vanished into the darkness below it had warped into a tiny misshapen imitation of Randidly himself And it turned to glare hatefully up at him as it was sucked downward

Randidly shivered yet his lips still twitched into a smile His eyes were bright with the particular brand of madness that he had learned from Shal Heh hopefully whatever horror waits below is just as dangerous as advertised I don�t want a doppelganger running around plotting to kill me and steal my Fate

Chuckling to himself Randidly reached out and touched the wall The surface was so smooth that it almost felt wet to his fingers so much so that the first few times Randidly touched the wall he had assumed his shattered hand was still bleeding Such a gnarled yellow surface was conveyed to him as smooth Even the sensations being fed through Randidly�s nerve endings was somehow being curtailed by the significance below

The situation he found himself in was quite serious Plus due to the fact he hadn�t heard from Edraine despite the several messages that Randidly had sent

Absolute Timing informed him that time was passing but he already knew there was a time warping effect within the Web At this depth beyond the event horizon� of significance the effect was probably even more pronounced So the small worry that his recruits would be sent off to the frontlines without any more instruction could at least ease Randidly Ghosthound likely had as much time as he wanted to deal with this problem

Gradually Randidly�s expression shifted as he looked around Although his images were still recovering he could ease up somewhat Time to address the impending danger head on

Randidly rapped his knuckle against the weird wet seeming wall with his knuckle His wicked smile was still firmly hung across his face Honestly what I�m most curious about is the origin of these bones how are they so powerful that this significance hasn�t ripped them down

Truly the Nexus is a mysterious place Randidly�s smile widened He knew it was somewhat crazy yet he couldn�t help but feel an inexplicable surge of joy THIS was what he was missing This impending sense of doom that he had so commonly encountered due to the System in the past His encounter with Kaan Swacc had the resemblance toward it but Randidly was much more prepared in that situation It wasn�t exactly the same

He had his Fatepiece to practice the fight against Kaan multiple times Although the foe was strong Randidly held some significant advantages

Not now The suddenness of the ambush by Velio Dunn reminded him of the actions of Yystrix time and time again as she plotted against Randidly his Soulskill and also Expira This was the sort of situation that spurred him toward growth Thinking back the last time he felt this sort of sensation was when he was slowly sizzling in a pool of lava looking up at the radiant power of Aegiant on Tellus

Since then Randidly pulled his hand back and looked at his palm In his chest the injured Grim Chimera stirred Its eyes half opened with the languid satisfaction of a cat laying in a pool of sunlight The image smirked even while still fuzzy at the edges

It still lived despite the sudden overwhelming attack That in and of itself was the greatest victory it could achieve Randidly�s expression slowly morphed to mirror the Grim Chimera�s Even as another blast of emotions hit up against the devouring defense of the Stillborn Phoenix Randidly�s glee didn�t ebb

Now it�s just a matter of figuring out how to escape this Randidly muttered to himself He checked the Nether content of the air 47% Some of Randidly�s joy gradually dimmed It was just a gut feeling but he sensed that even now he was only in the periphery of the significance below

50% was a watershed After that things would accelerate even further

Yet Randidly could only look with a heavy gaze at his Nether Nebula The most effective method he had for slowing his descent appeared to be his own Nether that was how he felt safe and confident going as deeply as he had previously He might be wading into a deep current but he had his own weight that gave him some control

His depleted Nether Nebula continued to rapidly spin churning Nether out of his Nether Wells But the raw energy was quickly pulled away Not all of it of course but most If Randidly had come to the Web early today with a lake�s worth of Nether and had ended his clash against Velio with only a pinch he now had a fistful He was not accumulating Nether quickly enough to use that as his method to escape

His other options

Randidly paused in his thought process as the Stillborn Phoenix rather meekly made a request to stop sucking in so much and start releasing the refined energy Randidly glanced around at the murky darkness Currents of emotions still blasted through the surrounding space twisting and visibly warping the air as it passed Being exposed to those influences was troublesome but Randidly understood that keeping his currently healthiest image running was important So he nodded slowly

With a huge sense of relief the Stillborn Phoenix withdrew its whirlpool suction Then it began to belch out thick cords of emotions that spiraled in the surroundings wildly

As his image lowered its defenses Randidly pursed his lips and did his best to clamp down on both his feelings of despair and the near manic excitement that resulted from his circumstances He couldn�t let emotions cloud his judgments The environment was definitely having an effect on him His emotions were running especially high

Despite that he would need to figure out a method to escape and do it extremely quickly

Physical movement had already proved ineffective It certainly felt like he was moving but there didn�t appear to be any discernible change in the air Nether basically immunized Randidly from the attacks of foreign emotions but it didn�t solve the problem of significance

Randidly narrowed his eyes Damnit am I once more stuck on Nether Rituals and a Nether Class then Fuck I should have set aside my pride and just approached Benjamin Rex while I had the chance Neshamah Rex So far all I really understand is that the important part of the construction comes from the layering I�ve started to be aware of the different alternatives in Nether flows but combining them or understanding what the different patterns do

It was essentially the same as Engraving a piece of paper as a part of the whole and then stacking these pieces on top of each other until you have an entire book To shift an analogy fully it was like writing a novel Each page was important but was only a vehicle to convey the whole of the narrative

In essence Randidly was starting to understand the tools but not really what he was trying to build with his Nether And to change that here while completely isolated from the rest of the world

Randidly narrowed his eyes as he looked as the strands of emotion that the Stillborn Phoenix exhaled They were even more chaotic and powerful than he remembered they greedily swam out and tried to devour the blasts of emotion that were shooting past him Most of the time they were obliterated but sometimes they managed to infect the emotions It seemed the Stillborn Phoenix was getting better at this

Randidly chewed on his lip The amount of ambient Nether in the air had increased to 48% Perhaps an option would be observing the Nether in the Alpha Cosmos but that task requires more time than I have I have two other cards� but both seem pretty useless here The coin I received from the Nemesai that replaces something present with something from the depths of the Nexus It wouldn�t help me escape unless I could summon something like a Nether King and even then would the Nether King help me escape

The other card is my Fatepiece The Visage of Obsession Letting a hiss escape his lips Randidly waved a hand to bat away some curious emotions that swirled back from the Stillborn Phoenix�s maw to investigate him They scattered like a school of nervous fish as Randidly recalled the explanation of the Fatepiece

The Visage of Obsession is the ever shifting reflection of the Alchemist�s determination that borders on madness To a mundane viewer it is just a painting Yet to the Alchemist it is a potent catalyst to cleave the user�s mind from the limitations of a worldly perspective In the depths of Obsession reality begins to fragment

Truthfully perhaps a new perspective on the problem of Nether usage would be useful but it doesn�t solve the problem of time Randidly growled in frustration as he glared upward from where he came

Then he froze A few seconds later he blinked Then Randidly began to laugh He reached up toward the sky and seized the emotions that freely traveled upward He reached even further beyond that he seized all of the refined emotions he had released thus far to which he still maintained a slight connection

A shudder ran through Randidly�s body It was difficult but his descent stopped He could feel the invisible current of significance that had been naturally guiding him down thus far By resisting it he became aware of it and could resist it even more directly Grinning Randidly tried to pull himself up But somehow the connection didn�t work like that Just the same way that emotions ignored the grip of significance they also refused his demands of necessity Randidly could only sigh and shake his head

The connection was there preventing his descent That was all Randidly checked the Nether content He had stabilized himself at 49%

At least now I have some time to breathe Randidly muttered to himself

Chapter 1558

You�ve got to be fucking kidding me Randidly�s mouth twitched as he surveyed his surroundings His tongue danced along the inside of his teeth Then despite the dangerous circumstances in which he found himself he began to laugh

Truthfully he wasn�t just engaging in a short laugh It was a guffaw of such madness tinged mirth that he curled up slightly like a shrimp as he experienced it Some part of Randidly urged him to suppress the laughter but he didn�t want to It was enjoyable Despite the fact that he had now been stuck hanging by a thread of emotions in this place for a week he was having fun here

The constant threats were fun With the unsatisfying confusion about his Skill Levels these attacks helped break up the monotony

Gradually his laughter slowed like a sprinter moving to a jog and then beginning to casually walk Soon all that remained was a smile stretched across his face Randidly also had to admit to himself that there were some serious emotional deviations occurring within him It was just difficult to care too much about that

As the Stillborn Phoenix stopped its defensive absorption it released a worried keen The fact that the previously misbehaving image was now so meek almost incited another round of giggles but Randidly managed to suppress that impulse Besides he was prepared this time As the danger surged from below both the Grim Chimera and Yggdrasil filled the void left by the Stillborn Phoenix His Nether Nebula was relatively feeble compared to his previous heights but it was far improved from the version with which he had arrived at this depth

Still the sinister currents from the depths spiraled upward A chill ran down Randidly�s spine He narrowed his eyes Even with Grim Intuition the movements were disguised as first slippery grey knives hiding within the misleading distortion of the wild emotions that surged to and fro These grey eels were condensed emotions too but they were anything but wild Dangerous but not wild

Randidly barred his teeth as he stared downward at the stalking emotions that toyed with being a predator His emerald eyes were luminous in the darkness of the spine This was the third time that the Stillborn Phoenix needed to take a break to exhale the refined emotions The first attack Randidly had thought was just a coincidentally powerful blast of emotion that took him by surprise The second attack was even more aggressive and clued him in to the fact he was being targeted but it was clumsy Meanwhile this attempt

Just as the Stillborn Phoenix completely withdrew its own event horizon of absorption Randidly sensed sudden movement from the emotions around him But instead of those slippery grey beings below the attack came from below

As Randidly twisted and looked up at the torrent of infectious emotion that struck him from above his smile widened Well looks like you really are getting smarter aren�t you But if its just this it�s not enough

This is not nearly exciting enough to hold my interest

Yggdrasil�s branches spread outward around Randidly The leaves rustled releasing a horrible rumbling through the surrounding space Somehow the soundwaves reflected off the nearby wall and escalated to a crashing landslide�s worth of noise A brilliant purifying light flared to life from within the World Tree�s canopy Before the attacking emotions could even react they were cleanly annihilated As that light dimmed nothing remained of the infectious energy

Below him the grey eels surged upward Yet Randidly giggled Again this Skill has reached Level 301 again The first few times I had figured my intellectual state was worse than I feared but now I�m definitely gaining the same Levels over and over again Is that another effect of this significance below I don�t earn PP

But will I receive a large gift wrapped package of Skill Levels for real when I eventually leave this place Hehehe

This is a throwback to those days where I completely cut myself off from Skill notifications

Randidly didn�t bother to look downward at the eels that were weaving their lithe bodies amongst each other as they attacked him Because while Yggdrasil protected him from above the Grim Chimera protected him from below He had absolute confidence that this attack could be easily handled by his images

Although the Grim Chimera continued to be bothered by its lingering injuries it roared in fury and threw itself down to combat the emotions directly Its massive right arm splattered a grey eel like it squished a bug while its right arm scythed through their bodies back and forth without any perceptible resistance The eels attempted to writhe around the strikes but their movements were clumsy Whatever was animating them was getting better but they weren�t yet proficient

Or even interesting Randidly thought as his lip curled upward

When the eels realized that the Grim Chimera was like a god of death compared to them they gave up their attempts to rush past at Randidly�s body and simply targeted the image itself The eels opened their mouths and bit down at any exposed flesh they could find These small bites added up as they injected chaotic emotions into the Grim Chimera exacerbating the lingering wounds left from Velio Dunn�s attack

Yet Randidly didn�t mind In the real world a continued stacking of wounds would eventually lead to the degradation of the Grim Chimera�s strength But in this strangely imbalanced state hanging by a rope of emotions in an area that was beginning to break down under the influence of Nether Randidly saw with a remarkable amount of clarity that while images were easiest to make when they were grounded in reality they didn�t need to be Although it was actually impossible for one to grow stronger like a berserker the more wounded they were

The Grim Chimera was one such impossible existence

Fooling the universe�s laws huh Randidly reflected His glee instantly vanished as his thoughts turned Somehow the rational part of Randidly was more disturbed by the capricious changes in his emotion than the giggle fits but it was rather convenient when the shifts moved toward reflection and gravity This can perhaps be considered a transgression against common norms but laws Heh and this Path leads to the Grim Chimera becoming omnipotent by dying a dangerous gamble

I cannot deny I�m tempted I�ll need to think about it more

Congratulations Your Skill Grit of the Ascendant Bane has grown to Level 378

Below him the Grim Chimera finished its grim work on the emotions Its shoulders heaved for several seconds exulting in the triumph before it faded as it returned to Randidly�s Soulspace to lick its wounds The Stillborn Phoenix steadily began to release refined emotions that earned Randidly�s envy by being able to swim upward out of the event horizon

Randidly sighed Still with a serious expression he looked downward His lips moved purposefully as he spoke to the darkness He knew the target of his words couldn�t hear him but he spoke anyway There seemed to be some meaning to that Nether stirred around him even through the mass of significance pulling it away A sneak attack huh that�s certainly new

Of all the repeated Skill growth he had seen the most was definitely Tide of the Void A portion of his attention was now constantly maintaining the pull on emotions that resisted the grasp of the significance below The strain was tiresome but compared to the alternative Randidly reassured himself by checking the Nether content in the air still 49%

Yet he twisted his mouth as he looked downward I might need to come to kill you huh

Just like how the connected emotions could hold Randidly up there was a sinister existence that persevered below using its connection to him to prevent itself from being pulled any deeper into that grinding power plant on which the Nexus was built A hunk of flesh that had apparently gained sapience and the desire to survive

Randidly scratched his chin Aside from the attacks no information flowed upward Truly he wondered how the warped thing below managed to sense him

What was most frustrating about the connection was that the growing piece of flesh Randidly had cast away had one significant advantage over him the time dilation was even stronger where it was because it was closer to the significance This was why its control over emotions was rapidly increasing to the point that it could launch concerted attacks against Randidly from its position He had to assume its ability to detect him also stemmed from a mastery of emotions that he didn�t possess

Randidly tsk�d but he had a smile on his face The madness in him liked the presence of this hateful doppelganger It�s attacks brought him a threat the scent of danger was back in the air Randidly could sense the precipice of death once more and his growth again quickened due to its proximity

But it was a dangerous gamble Made worse by the very few recourses Randidly had to deal with the problem

The ideal situation was to figure out a method to pull himself out of the Web In the past week he had been familiarizing himself with the behavior of Nether in the air non stop He didn�t have any true results but the accumulation of such experience was important He also used small scraps of Nether to experiment with different Nether Rituals but he didn�t have much to spare His resources were still limited

Ultimately if Randidly needed quite a lot more time to figure out how to escape he would probably need to deal with this escalating threat in order to have that time It was possible that the doppelgangers attacks would plateau but it was foolish to rely on that possibility The System might be displaying misleading Skill Level notifications but the pessimistic part of Randidly assumed that the more unfortunate possibility was the true one

Below him that weird chunk of his flesh that had been infected by strange emotions was gaining Skill Levels Even if it wasn�t quick it time on its side

Descending further also seemed manageable After all Randidly had a method to hold himself steady against the pull of the significance So he could annihilate the doppelganger now while it was weaker and simply establish a new equilibrium

Ending the threat would make this place insufferable but on the other hand

One moment there was a fluttering of excitement in Randidly�s chest at the thought of going down to seek a fight with the doppelganger but the next he sighed and shook his head Heading deeper had some disadvantages Right now he was steadily accumulating more Nether As his weight� of the Nether Nebula increased the speed of his accumulation accelerated Deeper in the spine accumulating Nether would be much more difficult His experiments with Nether Rituals would be slowed even further

In addition Randidly suspected that the strain of holding himself against the grasp of the significance would increase as he went deeper Based on the fact the emotional doppelganger managed it such an effort wasn�t herculean But Randidly was still a bit from his peak capability Based on the increasing sophistication of the attacks from below he still had some time

Besides there were also some advantages to staying here First there was an increasing complex Nether flow around him that had nothing to do with either his own efforts or the significance It seemed that this extended confrontation between him and the emotional mutant was triggering something from the Nether

Which made sense such a confrontation was significant The patterns due to their strange relationship were unfamiliar to Randidly and extremely educational

In addition even time Randidly�s images crushed the emotional attacks they naturally absorbed a portion of the shattered emotions used as weapons From them Randidly could feel he was incorporating some instinctual understanding of how to utilize emotions Just from that the emotional weight that each of his images possessed grew more profound

Due to the time differential Randidly had quickly set aside the idea that he would practice weaponizing emotions in a similar way his opponent simply had more practice time Besides wouldn�t he just absorb those same lessons by defeating the attacks with his own strengths

But Randidly�s emerald eyes looked down with a hint of greed The connection and desire within the emotions that attacked him

Didn�t that hold a hint of resemblance toward Nether

I�ll come down for you one way or another Randidly whispered to the air Then feeling like he was saying the lines of a villain Randidly began to laugh once more But while his face was crinkled in revelry the fingers of his right hand continued their controlled movements A small Nether Ritual was formed tested and banished upon that palm over and over again

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 201

Holy fuck I might be going insane Randidly grinned downward He blinked several times Then he snorted

He didn�t hate the feeling

Chapter 1559

The woman called Edraine tapped her chin several times in a row as she considered It was clear that she was somewhat shocked But despite the tall stacks of scrolls in front of her that indicated how much work was on her plate she stopped immediately when the new arrival had made herself known You are

Neveah Neveah responded with a firm expression Her insides still trembled from coming to the Nexus but she had no choice I came because something has happened to Randidly

The rhinoman Octavius Shrike looked up sharply from his own desk They were in the study right now with the most dominant items in the room being tall piles of scrolls It was almost impossible to move through the cramped room He reached up and rubbed his horn We are aware that Randidly was stuck in an unfortunate situation but Did something happen recently

Octavius shot a secret glance toward Edraine whose expression was much more placid Neveah felt the sharp blade of fury rising in her chest apparently they knew that something was happening to Randidly That was both good and bad But Neveah was relieved that the concern she saw in Octavius� expression was genuine

Obviously Neveah understood these people through Randidly�s previous impressions of them but it was another thing to meet them herself Randidly could be somewhat oblivious Seeing them with her own eyes gave her a better sense of the sort of people they were And from this brief impression she had to conclude that they genuinely cared about Randidly

So Neveah cleared her throat I can confirm that I sense Randidly is alive but I also simultaneously sense that he doesn�t exist like our Soulbond never was created in the first place That strange contradiction is why I came

Edraine closed her eyes When that vivid spirit wasn�t being broadcasted through her gaze the woman looked old Her grey hair was extremely still as she spoke Randidly has proceeded beyond the danger zone below us approaching the core of the power plant of the Nexus Such a powerful facility had sinister side effects One of those is an all consuming chunk of significance that had been accumulating for thousands of years He is within its grasp

We are unable to give him any aide without also being consumed by it Such a phenomenon is not something that can be overcome with power

Based on her understanding of Nether Nevaeh nodded slowly She had been able to inuit that much by examining their connection before it so abruptly vanished without actually vanishing Alright But what I want to ask is is there any possibility we could send something down that could assist I�m extremely worried about him

Octavius sighed We wish to but

In addition Edraine opened her eyes again The fact that you can confirm he is still alive that is reassuring He possesses capabilities we don�t If anyone could survive this the Ghosthound can I�m sad to admit it but I don�t know what sort of assistance we could give

Neveah shook her head No it�s not his capabilities that I�m worried about It�s well it might be hard to explain how the Soulbond functions We were intimately connected but now we are not although we still are What worries me is that well have either of you either had a strong relationship with someone

The room was silent Edraine reached up and scratched her cheek as the silence continued Neveah turned to look at Octavius The Overseer of the Seventh Cohort coughed awkwardly Well due to the many responsibilities of a Overseer I haven�t had an opportunity

Neveah waved her hand she wasn�t interested in hearing about the plight of an overworked bachelor not right now So instead she just explained as best he could When you are with someone you find balance with them Both individuals might have started as outgoing and generous but when connected one person will be pushed downward in those traits For a concrete example due to our connection Randidly�s own study of Engraving has largely slowed I became the Engraver while he focused on improving his martial prowess

Octavius looked between Neveah and Edraine trying to understand what was going on But Edraine was beginning to frown Which was good in Neveah�s mind It meant that this woman might be able to understand the danger of what Neveah discussed

the reason I am worried Neveah continued Is because our emotions intermingled so freely while we were connected And between the two of us I was definitely the more cautious one Simply by being connected to me Randidly became more aggressive but my caution was always a part of him acting as a restraint That was the balance we achieved Now that has disappeared What�s left is only his wild aggressiveness which is used to having an equally strong caution subconsciously keeping it in check

Neveah bowed her head Which is why as quickly as possible I want to assist him Or reach out to him to warn him of the danger So please If there is anything you can do

Edraine closed her eyes once more She continued to tap her cheek

Raymund Ballast and DiOrtho Vant moved quickly in their pursuit They blasted off from the beach destroying the lake facing wing of the princess� manor as the ground beneath their feet cracked and destroyed the nearby foundations While the royal defenders roared in fury behind them they accelerated toward the cloaked figure that had managed to kidnap the princess before they did

Without the veneer of stealth they had maintained previously their powerful physical bodies displayed overwhelming force The other kidnapper had almost a minute�s head start but the duo had cut that lead to nothing within ten seconds Their blatant movements would eventually lead over the royal guards but both realized that stealth missions weren�t their strong suit

Time to settle this with the only tool available to them their physical bodies

The kidnapper had been running along the edge of the lake so when they caught up Raymund pounced and landed in the shallows in front of their foe with a massive splash The kidnapper sloshed to a stop looking around warily Raymund snarled he didn�t like the scent of desperation that clung to the kidnapper

Will the culpability lie with us if he behaves desperately and harms the princess Raymund thought uneasily Better open with a strong front then show empathy

Just give up and die DiOrtho said rather lazily as he began walking toward the kidnapper�s back Make this easier on all of us

Raymund twitched

The kidnapper whirled around a cloak covering his features Meanwhile the expression of the princess that was slung across the kidnapper�s shoulders brightened as she struggled and raised her head Thank god Take that you dirty immigrant Aren�t my knights powerful If you give me up now I won�t have them torture you for so long And your sister well I�ll need to see how I feel but

As the desperation around the kidnapper turned to fury he threw the princess down into the shallow water Then he raised his foot to stomp on her head while she flailed around in the shallow water to find her bearings

DiOrtho and Raymund moved at the same time Water exploded

DiOrtho reached to pierce into the kidnapper�s head with his hand Raymund smashed the kidnapper in the temple and caught DiOrtho�s strike The muscles of both their arms strained as the kidnapper collapsed Raymund let his breath hiss out through his snout Killing is prohibited

Just gonna rip out the fuck�s tongue DiOrtho glowered Then he glanced over his shoulder Pursuit will be coming A mute failed kidnapper would leave fewer clues for the guards The less they know about us the better

I�ll carry him Raymund countered He reached down and seized the back of the cloak to lift the kidnapper Obviously his weight was negligible to the Vulpine but he was still somewhat startled to realize how light this being was He peeled back the soaked hood of the cloak to reveal a sharp featured face that made it seem like there was some ratkin blood in the kidnapper Better not allow variant elements to remain at liberty We must discover why he too wishes to kidnap the princess

Bah just more trouble DiOrtho shook his head

It was at that moment that the princess finally managed to sit up and spat out a mouthful of water on DiOrtho As the ram demon�s eyes narrowed with fury the princess blinked in confusion and frowned up at them What the hell sort of rescue is this anyway He almost killed me Can you trash not even manage this properly And after you already failed to protect me too

He dropped you in the lake princess Raymund said rather lightly as he tossed the kidnapper over his shoulder Then he raised an eyebrow at DiOrtho Shall we go

The princess stood up She smiled sweetly at Raymund but the effect was somewhat grotesque For a humanoid she was extremely poor featured Her lips were thin and her nose was large Heh I don�t believe you heard me sir knight He almost killed me And you were right there and you didn�t do anything to prevent it I cannot believe someone like you a monster fuck half breed managed to become a royal guard But it�s obvious from your failure here that it was a terrible mistake Hehehe so change your attitude or I�ll tell my father

DiOrtho Vant saint that the was picked the princess up by the hem of her dress and casually flung her across the surface of the lake The princess screeched like an owl as she skipped across the water in a series of tumbling splashes She skipped four times before she slowed down enough to sink With a refreshed smile on his face DiOrtho leapt up and splashed into the water next to where she had gurgled to a stop

He lifted her out of the water Say something like that again I dare you

RAPE The princess screamed as she struggled in DiOrtho�s grip Half breed filth lusting after my flesh ggrrhh

DiOrtho dunked the princess�s head underwater Raymund looked toward the beach area where there were a few cottages with extremely manicured lawns From within a window of one of those cottages he saw definite movement in response to the princess� scream

We should go Raymund said quietly

DiOrtho grinned over at him Maybe soon But do we even know where we have to go We�ve kidnapped oh wait He lifted the princess out of the water She spluttered and spat When it seemed like she was cognizant of what was going on around her DiOrtho sneered By the way we aren�t your royal guards Wouldn�t take a shit gig like that We are here to kidnap you too Apparently it�s a very popular profession

Then he pressed her face back under the water and turned back to Raymund Honestly I never thought I�d get into political activism but we are doing this country a favor by cutting out this cancerous cyst of a girl So Maybe I was a little hasty to try and rip out that guy�s tongue

to think DiOrtho Vant could stray so near an apology Raymund said drily Back toward the royal compound he could see a group of guards gathering and beginning to head in their direction A figure shot ahead of them clearing possessing much more capability But we need to move Pursuit is coming

Raymund�s eyes narrowed and he spun around as a threat approached from the opposite direction than the royal compound but steadily relaxed as he saw it was Helen She landed with a massive splash that drenched both Raymund and DiOrtho and grinned around at them Good job You need to escape but heheh I�ve taught you all you need to know about running right You�ll take that princess to the Southern Fang which is the Southern most mountain in the border region between this Kingdom and the Empire There is a Fate Lighthouse there Make the Princess get a Class

After a very uncharacteristic hesitation Helen also said There might also be some adjustments to your mission I�ll let you know after she has a Class Get to it recruits

Chapter 1560

Can you feel that I�m getting the chills Randidly grinned as he spoke completely invalidating his own words

The sixth emotional attack was gathering below him A veritable sea of grey eels of emotions mixed hypnotically in a slippery On his level a hulking mass of darkness was rumbling closer from the middle of the hollow spine The emotional intensity it displaced could overwhelm the combined emotions of all three of his images Yet Randidly couldn�t keep himself from laughing his head raised confidently in the air The noise echoed out in the murky darkness a vivid counterpoint to the silence of the emotions

As expected the attacks had increased in intensity as time passed The doppelganger was learning The sense of danger had approached oppressive levels even faster than Randidly had expected His eyes glowed as he looked downward Then again this thing is made of my flesh Should I be proud it improved so quickly A real chip off the old block

Again the Stillborn Phoenix keened softly in warning as its inhalation began to slow Perhaps because it had rather constantly served as the frontline defenses in this inhospitable place it now felt responsible for Randidly�s safety But Randidly just waved his good arm Don�t worry Today today is special Can�t you feel it in the air

Randidly had resolved himself for today The significance churning between himself and the doppelganger below wove together in thick inscrutable currents

The prolonged inaction had him panting for this fight A month of sitting watching the flows of Nether around him incorporating emotions more fully into his images and rather pointlessly earning Skill Levels saw Randidly greatly stabilize his Nether Nebula At this point he was halfway to completely recovering and his accumulation speed had doubled The halfway mark took him a month to reach but he would be completely recovered in a week But also

How did you manage this little me Randidly murmured as his eyes slide from the grey eels to the heavy ominous shadows that were approaching from the central area of the hollow spine Then he looked up Above him a spiky ball of emotions twitched and lazily spun Randidly smiled widely up at that most unnerving threat More than anything else it reminded him of a deep sea mine Likely it wasn�t the main attack but its constant approach would provide a larger and larger threat as the conflict continued

All these things are just emotions Heh To be outclassed by a shitty chunk of fat frustrating Randidly continued to talk to himself His lips twisted He had continued to absorb emotional knowledge as he survived the previous attacks but it wasn�t enough Especially the fifth emotional attack the doppelganger had reached a new plateau of power

The Stillborn Phoenix faded as Randidly shook his head sorrowfully His defenses had faded once more His skin was exposed to the chaotic air Randidly reached over and patted the wall next to him almost fondly Well this has been fun

An ominous rumble spread from the massive shadows that drifted closer to Randidly They unfolded and twisted like massive stone rubix cubes Soon some mechanism clicked into place and the chunks of emotion expanded into massive golems with hands large enough to squeeze Randidly until he popped With a chorus of shrieks the grey eels erupted upward From the darkness below the primary grouping three more such choruses emerged wave after wave of these weaponized emotions had been prepared It was a literal tide sweeping upward at Randidly

Grim Intuition thrummed these were all threats The doppelganger was going all out to kill him The imitation came to play

but it has to end today Randidly breathed out and knocked his knuckles one last time against the bone wall His grin widened The corners of his emerald eyes crinkled He looked over at his hand ignoring the rush of emotions Am I really such a petty person This place is doing strange things to me But I want what you have little me And today I�m going to take it

His hand tightened into a fist The golems had almost reached them They stretched their wide hands toward him the emotional severity of their constitution radiating out from them and applying an oppressive mental pressure Right before they reached him Randidly severed the emotional lifeline that had kept him tethered for the last month He looked down toward darkness

Weirdly it seemed like the abyss beckoned inviting him deeper

Congratulations Your Skill Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes has grown to Level 303

As he accelerated downward the Grim Chimera spread to cover his body The golems grasping hands seized nothing Randidly�s severed left arm condensed becoming a massive gauntleted hand Grey black armor covered his upper body Yggdrasil�s golden veins stretched through his person pumping revitalizing energy through all of him

Furious those impotent golems smashed their hands against the bone wall and attempted to pursue Powerful emotional ripples spread outward but there was no chance that they could catch him

The Nether content in the air rapidly increased Randidly began to laugh wildly enjoying the feeling of Nether and emotion parting in front of him The grey eels froze for a second surprised by Randidly�s response By the time they twisted and began to swarm toward him he had already reached their position Randidly flexed the fingers of his right hand which now ended in sharp points His heartbeat was thunderous in his ears

The Chimera Weeps But Man Mourns

Congratulations Your Skill The Chimera Weeps But Man Mourns has grown to Level 251

Randidly�s hand blurred into motion slicing and cutting back and forth to eviscerate all emotions in his Path Within Randidly�s range this Skill was unmatched in its indiscriminate slaughter He activated the Skill over and over as he continued to pierce downward buzzing through the middle part of the sea of emotional weapons like he was a meat grinder The tumbling spikey mine hummed in warning while the large handed golems roared their fury as Randidly opened up more distance between them

But suddenly Randidly slapped physically into an invisible barrier His eyes widened It didn�t stop him but it slowed his descent immensely There was a qualitative change at the line of 50% Nether content in the air Suddenly it felt like he was swimming rather than floating in the air In addition a wave of confusing information invaded Randidly�s senses In a way very different way from Randidly�s experience with the Great Rift this Nether was unified and resonating with everything within it

Combined with Grim Intuition Randidly was near blinded by the flood of information he was receiving For a shard of time he was stunned into inertia driven drifting But just as quickly a vicious sharpness returned to his gaze Randidly had located his target

In addition as he had suspected the drag from below almost doubled in strength His Nether Nebula began rotating faster to steady his position

Or maybe the sensation isn�t completely different Randidly pursed his lips his previous laughter forgotten as he angled himself for his new acceleration vector In the Great Rift I�ve felt something like this before from those blue veins But here that phenomenon is everywhere

Randidly didn�t give it much more thought he didn�t have time to consider the situation deeply With another smile tugging at the corners of his mouth he glanced over his shoulder He had perhaps annihilated 5% of this wave of grey eels as he forced his way through with three more waves surging toward him at different angles But the eels he had blitzed a path through were spinning around and head toward his back

This isn�t good enough Randidly muttered He could escape but he didn�t want to Those golems were pretty intimidating but these eels The Implacable Price of Exodus

In the darkness of the World Tree a woman opened her eyes Then she opened her mouth Then as the thousands of misshape hands that stretched from her back stalked forward she began to scream

Congratulations Your Skill the Implacable Price of Exodus has grown to Level 269

Randidly turned away with disinterest as the invisible and bloodthirsty woman he had added to Yggdrasil shredded the eels that were foolish enough to approach him with malicious intent Some she tore directly in half others she seized and used as weapons to kill their fellows There were also some that she rather carefully cut in half so she could peer into their inner workings She mashed their immaterial hearts between her molars For a few seconds the all consuming madness of Exodus reigned It was a bloody and near instant slaughter

Leaving the shattered emotions in his wake Randidly shot downward The information he was receiving was confusing but he was quickly developing the ability to interpret its signals

As soon as he neared the target the natural flow of significance between them quickened Randidly barred his teeth and shot downward reaching the depth of 59% of the air being Nether before he found his target And what he found was disturbing

First the chunk of flesh he had tossed away had grown more twisted than he had expected Not to the size of a human adult but perhaps to the specifications of a gangly preteen It wore no clothes and was a farcical imitation of Randidly himself It had a head and limbs but those were purely decorative There wasn�t even any skull eyeballs or teeth filling out the doppelgangers face The head flapped emptily in the semi liquid air looking like a hollow mask made to resemble Randidly The arms and legs were the same

It was more floppy flesh colored rubber gloves than human

Horrifyingly the real features were carved onto the torso Pure green orbs swiveled to fixate on Randidly A gaping mouth filled with crooked teeth spasmed and pulsed It quickly became clear that this creature was trying to say something to him

Randidly could feel its emotions too as the thing�s expression continued to contort It was shocked and panicked at his sudden appearance but what truly destroyed any glee Randidly might have had for the confrontation was what he felt next A shy hopefulness emerged in the doppelganger In its frozen indecision Randidly could feel slowly wondering whether Randidly had come down to save it

It wondered whether he hadn�t meant to toss it aside

Randidly closed his eyes as his right hand shot forward As he gritted his teeth he felt something crack in his jaw This world the burden of living here is sometimes too heavy to bear I can�t believe I need to Fuck

The doppelganger screamed like a pig with a broken spine The brief flickers of hope were washed away by fear and pain as Randidly�s hand pierced forward Although the thing was made from Randidly�s body it had none of his accumulated significance or stats The image physicalizations weren�t present So this strange being was depressingly easy to slaughter Significance spun around the two of them as Randidly crushed the dense bowling ball of matter at the doppelganger�s core The screaming stopped

Randidly didn�t open his eyes He didn�t want to look at the empty hollows of the skin mask the thing had for a head He didn�t want to see the blood he could feel dripping across his fingers in case it was red like a human�s He was more tired than he could remember being in a long time In a strange inexplicable way Randidly had just killed an innocent child

It had developed the ability to weaponize emotions and lash out at him but still it was a chunk of flesh he cast away

No It�s pointless to think about this further The muscles of Randidly�s jaw clenched again earning him another pop He reached up with Tide of the Void and once more seized the extended emotions Suddenly he could feel the insistent pressure of the significance below dragging him downward It was more troublesome than he thought but it was still manageable He was at 61% Nether content I know I�ve had to do terrible things to live and sometimes I�ve done terrible things without needing to But that�s why I want to free us all from this hell

I cannot stop now

As Randidly gradually calmed his trembling emotions the Grim Chimera went about the grisly task of gliding forward and devouring the doppelganger�s remains Through the process it absorbed a significant portion of the emotional capability from the queer body Then the semi independent image glanced over its shoulder at Randidly�s main body still frozen in that moment that he killed the cast off bit of flesh

Very quietly the Grim Chimera gathered together some of the remnant thoughts and emotions it also absorbed through devouring the significance between the two of them Then it isolated those emotions and resolved itself to throw them into the Stillborn Phoenix when it had finished exhaling

There was no need to expose the main body to some of these thoughts

Despite his best efforts to deal with the strange emotional turmoil Randidly remained frozen for quite some time The doppelganger�s body had already been dealt with completely but his outstretched hand remained curled into a claw He held onto the emotions that flowed upward preventing him from falling any deeper He incorporated the significance he had gained into his Nether Nebula finally evolving that half grey bubble fully into a bubble He also tried and failed time and time again to keep his emotions even

As the Grim Chimera watched Randidly uneasily it was Yggdrasil that eventually awakened him from this fraught rigidity It brushed a branch along his back to draw his attention then released a pulse of energy there was something he had to see

Gradually Randidly opened his eyes He looked at his frozen hand for a second and then sighed The tension left him and he rolled his limbs to loosen himself up Then he turned to see what Yggdrasil was indicating

What he saw sent rumbles through his emotional state once more Shallowly scratched against the wall were three rough looking drawings With a trembling hand Randidly reached up and touched the childish pictures He had witnessed how durable the spine was how long had the doppelganger been down here insistently carving to make any sort of effect at all

Of course it was obvious as Randidly examined the area that the doppelganger had relied on Nether but it was still an impressive achievement The first picture was of a twisted tree with sharp branches The second picture was of a glowing sun The third picture was the perfect human body

As above so below Randidly sighed to himself Was the doppelganger trying to create its own versions of Randidly�s images Indeed that was most of the advantage Randidly had against the emotional attacks He traced his fingers across the messy pictures his expression turned thoughtful If the doppelganger had managed to replicate his images

Then Randidly noticed that although it was still shallow Nether was flowing through the images even now With wide eyes he inspected every inch of the drawings Then he could only release a humorless laugh and look down at his right hand thank you

Something clicked into place in his mind Randidly smiled bitterly at the wall This kid left me the keys to making a Nether Class

His shoulders sagged A deep sigh escaped his lips I guess I�ll need to find you somewhere nice And then I�ll dig you a grave Somewhere with plenty of sun and trees

Chapter 1561

In Randidly�s mind there had always been a link to the Nether chain that he had been missing Perhaps he had never consciously acknowledged the missing information but his experience in the Nexus had left him feeling slightly off balance Something didn�t quite fit Specifically Randidly�s increasingly flagrant use of Nether had never drawn the ire of either the NLC or Military High Command despite the fact that both could have used it to threaten him He had his justifications loaded for any challenge but the challenges never came

Randidly�s eyes narrowed Like a perfect metronome his finger tapped against the bone around him Dark currents of midnight blue Nether spiraled around him

Randidly chewed on his lip as his thoughts continued to whirr His gaze slowly turned upward watching the raging torrents of emotions blast past him and strain against the near rubber rind of the border between above and below 50% Nether content in the air It seemed that there was a filtration quality to the near liquid substance in which he now floated which severely weakened the emotions before they escaped upward Which probably did a great job of protecting the fools like Randidly who decided to spend some time in the shallow portion of the Web

The downside of this was that Randidly had spent the last two weeks the time since he had killed his doppelganger mostly defending against emotions while he observed and considered the behavior of Nether the danger at this depth was a constant threat that kept his nervous system buzzing with tension Still the experience was fruitful Even if Nether and the wild emotions didn�t interact directly with each other Randidly could witness the way that strong emotions could affect significance

And the more he watched the more he was developing a theory about the piece that he was missing

Briefly Randidly glanced downward there was some movement in the depths below him which stretched downward like a midnight blue chasm The slight coloration made it even more difficult to see very far in this place At first Randidly had believed it was just the emotions rising that drew the eye but now he was becoming a little less sure of that And in his heart he held a strong desire to descend further and slaughter whatever monsters might wait below

Heh Even that mass of significance that drove Roy to suicide

He moved his hand and reached downward seizing his opponents The corner of Randidly�s mouth quirked upward as he briefly allowed himself to revel in his bloody imagination But he quickly suppressed that indulgence and shook his head He reached out with his right hand and ran his fingers across the etchings on the wall that had been left by his doppelganger Until he was finished thinking about how to make a Nether Class it was probably for the best for him to linger here

But Randidly truly believed he had discovered the Path forward And with the etchings left by the doppelganger acting as the catalyst to mobilize his understanding his emerald eyes began examining the factors present in the Nexus with an entirely new penetration

Suddenly the act of Engraving seemed extremely suspicious to Randidly

In the darkness of the hollow spine emotions continued to surge past Randidly�s drifting form Gradually his brow began to furrow His mind meticulously gathered all the information he had ever encountered about Engraving

In the past he had learned Engraving without thinking too much about its mechanisms for functioning Honestly pop culture on Expira had a large influence on his immediate acceptance of Engraving there were many examples of such runic symbols possessing power in the fiction of Randidly�s childhood Why would the System be any different You had a strange language of meaning and energy that could add strange effects

But even from the beginning there were already several suspicious points about the act of Engraving Rather than having any true language� the shapes of Engraving were drawn from personal experience There seemed to be some objective actions that could be taken to improve your understanding of Engraving but each individual developed their own school of thought as they improved their Skill

Different individuals could accomplish different results depending on their area of concentration That was why obtaining Yystrix�s tomb was so valuable she had provided insight into ten different areas

From the Engraving Encyclopedia Randidly had received years ago on Tellus he had learned that there were many methods of achieving the same result At the time he had certainly found this strange but the knowledge wasn�t really actionable he was too weak to really think deeply about what this meant He simply labeled Engraving as a Skill that depended heavily on context

Now the word context seemed insufficient Rather Engraving seemed to be based entirely on significance

The second suspicious point was more innocuous unlike most other sources of power of the System Engraving was physical Contrary to the dominant and amorphous Skill sigils that formed inside of an individual�s Soulspace a physical Engraving had the ability to create a Skill not from energy but from patterns and meaning

Third and perhaps most importantly there were the strange messages that Randidly had received from the Engraving Guild of the Nexus since his tenure as Head Drill Sergeant had begun At the time he had basically ignored those messages without thinking twice They were just another scroll in the daily pile But now thinking back to their content they were perhaps a bit desperate to rein in his actions and request that he meet with them

Of course after his first encounter with Velio Dunn Randidly had no intention of leaving the Rally Station That thought made Randidly now grimace then grin and laugh aloud as he continued to use the stretched emotions to hold his position in the depths of the Nexus The 61% Nether content of the air swirled around him now largely kept in check by his own recovering Nether Nebula

It wasn�t ideal for careful meditation but it was good enough

Randidly shook his head These observations and a few others led him to one conclusion that Engraving was ultimately a Nether method that had been repackaged With that as a guide Randidly finally experienced several breakthroughs in understanding as he recalled the briefly witnessed Nether King as well as Neshamah Rex�s dense energy

Because Randidly saw another pattern from these memories To have an image was to take the immaterial and use it to affect reality Then the reflection that Nether should follow is to take the concrete and generate the immaterial Therefore the energy flows that Randidly witnessed were not isolated constructs but rather the natural consequences of some physicalized manifestation that was at the core

His metaphor about witnessing the body of a car was more apt than he had realized

The resulting energy flows might be layered but that just meant that the core was correspondingly complex Randidly�s eyes slowly blinked and then closed He could see Neshamah�s smug smile as she noticed his intense examination of her Nether Then with that snapshot of energy as his guide he began to work those flows of energy backward to discover what was at the core

Gradually the complexity began to unravel

But after a few seconds Randidly opened his eyes with a growl Of course he couldn�t manage to completely deduce her core At least not yet But Randidly didn�t stay annoyed for long He turned and looked at the markings on the wall next to him The desperate scrawlings of the doppelganger still made Randidly slightly bitter about his heavy handed actions As he ran his fingers across the markings he could feel how long the doppelganger had worked to make these Engravings That effort and time became inertia that continued to push Nether through them even though the original creator had died

Randidly wondered if these would naturally give birth to some version of a Nether beast as an immense amount of time passed and those flows were naturally allowed to deepen Because what seemed to have happened was that the doppelganger had planted the seeds of significance in the base Engravings

Randidly touched the twisted tree the brilliant sun and the perfect human body on the wall each in turn They represented degeneration abundance and contentment or fulfillment The significance spoke for itself And Randidly wasn�t entirely sure that he was interpreting the nested meaning of the etchings correctly but he could vaguely sense its shape

Randidly could feel the deep significance held by the doppelganger toward each of these ethereal concepts despite the fact that its life had been short and twisted Each was a large part of his experience

Well god knows how long it existed down here Randidly frowned at the wall Time is stretching even further but it�s tough to know the state of the outside world Hehehe if it wasn�t so inconvenient to escape this place it truly would be a great area for training

Then Randidly gritted his teeth as a long nagging thought surfaced in his mind How the hell did Velio Dunn know I would be in the Web

It was a question that plagued him but he forced down his curiosity and returned to the creation of a Nether Class There seemed to be a trick to mobilizing Nether instead of Mana to form the base of the Engraving but Randidly had rather quickly picked up the knack Still he held his finger wreathed in black energy aloft without scratching against the bone His mind continued to whirr

Rather than the process what now made Randidly hesitate was the goal

Architecture of the Primordial Ways was the Engraving Skill he had created in the past and now it would become the ultimate weapon toward the establishment of a powerful Nether Class Yet that didn�t mean it would be a simple process

Because Engraving was a tool that Randidly had always wielded with a goal in mind Or more accurately Randidly�s Engraving was always some means to accomplish a goal He Engraved to create an arm to empower a Skill to suppress his physical abilities with an array etc Meanwhile the process of immortalizing his own significance was not a means of creating a Nether Class although it could be viewed as such Rather it was truly the pursuit of self actualization

Just the thought of such self examination gave him a headache

But Randidly sensed that proceeding without some care and thought would inevitably taint the final product He could not view this as a way to discover a Nether Class He truly needs to clear his mind and reflect on the significance of each of his images Rather than their shape Randidly needed to pinpoint what each meant to him

Thinking shallowly about himself the results of his significance examination were quite simple Yggdrasil was his first image and the one that spurred his growth The Grim Chimera was the image that allowed him to adapt to any circumstance And the Stillborn Phoenix was the most recent and the phoenix that represented the difficulty of Randidly�s dream

Randidly began to chuckle Will it really be that easy I wonder Significance huh what a loaded word

Humming to himself Randidly pushed himself to the side away from the doppelganger�s pictures While drifting through the overly thick air he casually unleashed a burst of Nether to deflect some emotions that were heading up from below toward his previous position But then Randidly swore quietly and grimaced as those emotions managed to shatter his Nether defense and ripped large chunks of flesh from his body As the muscle fat and skin tumbled through the air they began to wriggle slowly

Learning from his previous mistake Randidly�s left eye immediately darkened Light in the surrounding area bent inward and was absorbed Then the egg of depression shrieked and unleashed a wave of force those pieces of flesh were crushed to naught With a deafening clap

Congratulations Your Skill Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart has grown to Level 301

Sensing Randidly �s decisive movements to destroy his flesh the flow of emotions curled up and regarded him as though they possessed intelligence It was a curious cobra regarding prey that continued to struggle despite its previous attack In its stillness Randidly felt a lurking threat

Yet before Randidly could lash out with a more concentrated blast of Nether Randidly looked sharply upward A powerful image shot downward His expression soon turned horrendous Are you fucking serious

A metal spike radiating a waning image slammed into the boundary between below and above 50% Nether content sending a wave of force through the surrounding space

Chapter 1562

Randidly�s heart clenched in a combination of fury and exasperation The image that smashed into the surrounding Nether and emotions was unfamiliar but his experiences with Velio Dunn were too fresh in his mind to take any chances As the impact expanded rapidly outward Randidly decisively released his emotional tether and dropped about fifty meters deeper into the spine This only increased the ambient Nether a few percentage points but it did create some space to gather himself

Holy shit Randidly muttered with narrowed eyes as the shockwave of the spike�s arrival spread out into the surrounding space he wasn�t going to be able to avoid this His lips curled up into a sneer as his muscles flexed and locked into a strained and agonizing position Due to the conducive nature of the midnight blue air it was like he was repeatedly experiencing the grinding sensation of being exposed to that image even though there was quite some distance between him and the spike Randidly�s mouth slowly opened but no sound escaped his lips The moment slowly stretched

His fingers twitched and flexed His knuckles popped Several veins on his neck bulged outward

Then the wave passed through him heading deeper toward the horrifying significance below Gradually Randidly could force his joints to relax and study the now drifting spike more closely It truly looked like a giant nail almost the size of Randidly himself The metal was some sort of heavy iron with a large chunk at the top and a spike below that Yet as the heavy object slowly began to drift down through the gloomy air buffeted a bit by the emotions that spent themselves on this new target Randidly saw a familiar looking Engraving across the surface of the nail

Gradually his eyes widened After re establishing his emotional tether so he wasn�t devoured by the significance below he used Tide of the Void to gradually pull the nail down toward his position As it approached him Randidly clicked his tongue and looked up at the spot on the wall where the doppelganger�s etchings remained I can use the Dreamcatcher to examine them but it�s quite unfortunate that I lost direct access to them Perhaps I was a bit too jumpy But still the power of that image

Randidly�s eyes went to the nail again If those Engravings are truly Neveah�s work then Edraine But why

Randidly paused as he abruptly realized he couldn�t feel the familiar connection he possessed with Neveah For a second he was aghast it was like discovering he was missing a toe and the loss obviously wasn�t recent His eyes widened further Although the connection was still present a Soulbound wouldn�t be cut without consequences Randidly couldn�t feel it Information and emotions couldn�t flow through their intimate bond

Suddenly the arrival of the nail made a bit more sense

Grinning with genuine happiness Randidly reached his hand up and beckoned The nail floated down toward him Heh you were always a bit more sensitive than I was Sorry for being a bit slow on the uptake Neveah So you were even willing to come to the Nexus to help me huh I probably don�t deserve you

Randidly�s Grim Intuition quickly scanned through the whole of the Engraving Although he had never seen anything exactly like this before he quickly understood its function and inserted Mana into the correct area of the Engraving There was an audible click and the nail split in half The two heavy pieces of metal fell away revealing a bronze plate supporting a scroll an envelope and some sort of strange brown debris

Squinting Randidly picked up some of the brown bits in his fingers He took a long sniff Then he popped the chunk into his mouth Blueberry muffins Or the casualties of the baking wars

He shook his head sorrowfully for the tragedy of the impact then opened the letter As he suspected it was from Neveah It warned Randidly about the lack of emotional temperance he now possessed now that emotions weren�t flowing freely between them In addition she excitedly informed him that she had included some muffins she learned to bake from her pen pal on Expira Plus the scroll contained the finished Engraving for Randidly�s arm

Randidly couldn�t help his smile from softening Heh at least that explains how wild I�ve been But if I�m dealing with my aggression you handled all the caution How difficult was it for you to face your fear and come to the Nexus Neveah

At the bottom of the letter she wished him good luck on returning as soon as possible to the Nexus She would wait for him in the Nexus just to confirm that he was alright The last line informed Randidly that about 30 hours had passed between when Neveah lost contact with him and when the spike was sent down to Randidly�s position

He considered that information for a while The letter cleared up his concerns about his insanity at least he was undoubtedly being affected by the emotional intensity but his personality also felt out of wack because his subconscious connection to Neveah had been suppressed Knowing he wasn�t secretly infected with wild emotions was such a relief that Randidly giggled then coughed lightly to restore his dignified expression

In terms of time Randidly had been down here for about a month in a half although most of that was above the 50% Nether content line Sinking to this depth of 63% the time dilation probably increased rather significantly due to the increase in proficiency he had seen from the doppelganger�s emotional weapons As for the exact ratio

Definitely at least a month passed here before a day passed in the Nexus It might even be as much as three months passing down here for a single day

Still that sort of shift meant that he couldn�t stay down here for the decade he had claimed he needed to catch up to Velio Dunn but it would probably be alright even if Randidly stayed here for even a year Heiffal would be able to handle things in his absence with the trainees

Then Randidly opened the scroll and scanned through Neveah�s specially made Engraving His eyes immediately brightened this wasn�t just good The arrangement was positively sublime Comparing the prior Engraving to this one was like comparing a letter to a smartphone With his first glance at the Engraving Randidly had quite a bit of difficulty interpreting the complex interactions that made it work

It was clear that somehow the movement of energy through the metal limb would generate additional energy in a feedback loop to reinforce the joints during impacts but Randidly was bewildered as to the mechanism There were small distortions in some of the familiar sigils in the Engraving but Randidly didn�t understand how those changes would accomplish what Neveah claimed they would Probably Randidly would need a few days to understand the Engraving enough to attempt making it

Even if making the arm was a distraction from the very real danger of his situation the project would give him some to improve his Architecture of the Primordial Ways before he began to work on the etchings that would physicalize his significance Randidly nodded to himself So for now he would continue to refine his emotional control as a warm up then study the Engraving until he had a functional understanding Afterward he would ponder the significance of his three images until he had recovered his mental energy

Randidly scratched his ear and grimaced down at the scroll This is going to be a bit more difficult than when I can just ask Neveah questions about anything I don�t understand looks like she hasn�t been slacking off while I�ve been training in the Nexus

He could direct Helen to gather the necessary metals for his arm in the meantime Randidly wondered if Wendy had managed to invent any new methodologies for working with metal Then

Stirrings from below caught Randidly�s attention Then he swore quietly as dark sniffing shapes swam upward through the midnight blue darkness They were still far away and traveling slowly but two entities were quickly pushing their way up through the gloom of the murky darkness Likely they came to investigate that strange wave of force that had allowed Neveah�s message to reach Randidly down here

So there really are monsters in the depths He whispered

Strangely the first thing Randidly felt was a flash of jealousy He narrowed his eyes and examined the approaching figures it was clear that they were able to resist the pull of significance and push themselves upward although their speed wasn�t anything impressive Yet to Randidly�s surprise they didn�t appear to have any actual emotional affect to their bodies His Grim Intuition strained to pierce through the surrounding space The constant cascade of information through the Nether dominant air continued to be more hurtful than helpful Yet abruptly Randidly recognized them

Nether Beasts Randidly released a shocked breath Both of the dark silhouettes raised their heads and looked directly at Randidly apparently this time they were close enough to catch his voice Then with a growl Nether surged from their body and propelled them aggressively upward

The beast on the left was a giant newt with a long neck and six eyes on its triangular head The one on the right was a three armed monkey the third arm being a rather slender limb that stretched around its body from the middle of its spine Compared to the Nether Beasts that Randidly had seen in the past their exteriors were much more detailed they weren�t simply malevolent silhouettes intent on ripping Aether beings to shreds They definitely possessed a more complete Nether flow that allowed them to resist the significance pulling from below

But other than that they seemed similar to the Nether Beasts Randidly saw in the Great Rift Unrefined Nether rolled off their bodies Although their exterior was more detailed Randidly still sensed the core of their being within their bodies sustaining their form The corner of Randidly�s mouth twisted upward as he felt a surge of cruel glee

It had been a long time since two Nether Beasts were able to threaten Randidly Ghosthound But they would serve as the perfect stress relief

Without seeming to sense the differences in their tiers of existence the two Nether Beasts roared and closed the last several meters between them In their postures was the certainty that they would kill him Meanwhile Randidly was a little worried about the way those roars reverberated down into the depths but the enjoyment of a fight quickly pushed away those worries there was little he could do about that now anyway

If more came then he would just kill those Nether Beasts too

The fingers of his right hand glowed in the murky Nether filled air as the monkey Nether Beast rushed forward His Pernicious Fang of the Shade drilled directly through the monkey�s fist and shredded its arm The blow continued to blow apart the Nether Beast�s shoulder sending it tumbling backward in agony

Thick tendrils of Nether condensed from the wound gradually gathering the ambient Nether into a thick mass that clouded the air

Meanwhile the image of the Grim Chimera condensed around Randidly�s body As the newt launched itself forward the spiked lower tail of the Grim Chimera whipped sideways into its body and smashed it backward The movement was almost dismissive Completely stunned the newt didn�t even have the capacity to react as Randidly�s upper tail pierced forward through the center of its forehead In a flash the deadly point impacted the core of the Nether Beast causing the entire Beast to tremble uncontrollably

Randidly raised his eyebrows as he turned to study the newt more carefully How strange your core could withstand that Looks like you are more genuine than those grunts at the front lines

Just before Randidly was about to release his emotional tether and go study the newt�s Nether core he activated Chimeric Impunity The monkey�s third arm ripped forward harmlessly passing through Randidly�s now incorporeal side But Randidly�s smile rapidly widened as he looked over at the monkey Nether Beast

Although Randidly had destroyed its right arm its core had been intact He had assumed the monkey would be sufficiently distracted to allow him to focus on the newt And now it seemed that intact core had begun to rapidly spin Nether surged outward in a particular pattern strengthening the Nether Beast But more importantly the wounds that Randidly had inflicted upon the Nether Beast rapidly began to heal underneath the ministrations of its core

The healed limb was covered in a chitinous armor that definitely hadn�t been there previously Its ruined hand now ended in razor sharp nails With a screech the monkey stabilized itself and shot back toward Randidly with its hand raised

Randidly�s emerald eyes glittered Did you really just evolve to fight me How fascinating Let�s test your limits then I suspect you will soon regret the fact that you didn�t just immediately die

Chapter 1563

Contrary to his positively contagious excitement at the beginning of his experiments Randidly was quickly disappointed by the ability of these Nether Beasts to repeatedly evolve He had sparred for almost ten minutes with the improved Nether Beast allowing it to strike him with both its old limbs and its new one And without a doubt the new limb had a drastic increase in power compared to the original But it was lacking quite a bit if it truly wanted to inflict a wound on Randidly

In addition to testing its current capabilities he continued to inflict non fatal wounds on the Nether Beast to urge it to evolve further But although it healed with slightly higher specs after each wound knitted back together none of those changes came even close to the improvement of the first Because of that Randidly quickly tired the exercise and restrained both the monkey and the newt with the injured core

It was much less enjoyable but he began to approach his examination much more scientifically

After studying their behavior for a few days and then studying a four winged frog Nether Beast that wandered up a few days later Randidly was able to confirm most of his findings about the Nether Beasts

First the cores that these Nether Beasts possessed were very different than the cores he had seen on the frontlines While those he had encountered in the past were clearly just an imitation these were true cores acting as a physicalized object to hold the significance manifested by the Nether flows around these Beasts In essence Nether was at its most powerful when it was attached to a physical medium to generate intangible energies with its flows

Which was why Randidly was so helpless when he had tried to weave together his Nether in the past No matter how dense and thick his Nether became it was never more than energy What he needed was a physical object to serve as the core The details of how to make a core still eluded him but it confirmed that the doppelganger�s actions were correct

To that end Randidly identified two types of intangible energies that anchored Nether produced by those cores The first he labeled Virtue The Virtue produced by the core seemed to accumulate at a constant rate although the amount of stored energy appeared to plateau at some predetermined amount for each Nether Beast While all three were bound by Yggdrasil the injured Newt stopped accumulating Virtue the most quickly After that was the four winged frog and finally the monkey accumulated the most before slowing down

This was basically the amount of charged power the anchored Nether had gathered Meanwhile when the usual Nether flows were interrupted that Virtue would expend itself to produce the second type of energy Stature

That was why the arm of the monkey experienced such a transformation

Stature was the equivalent of image physicalizations The Stature condensed in the wounded arm after it healed and lingered through all of the subsequent days of testing Honestly the improvement seemed permanent Considering that Nether was the energy of connection and memory it made sense that it required external stimulus to mobilize the improvements Which meant that ensuring a constant stream of stimulation for his Nether Class would be important

Theoretically Randidly determined that he could eventually make the monkey as powerful as him should he give the monkey time to accumulate Virtue and then mortally wound it over and over again Unfortunately the increase in power it experienced was relatively minor compared to Randidly so he shelved that idea

He definitely didn�t want to stay here for that long

But what was most fascinating to Randidly was that when a Nether Beast transferred its Virtue into Stature it lost its ability to resist the horrible mass of significance below Without Randidly seizing onto them with roots they would have been pulled downward Perhaps if they didn�t accumulate Virtue fast enough they would have been ground to dust at the base of this shaft

When Randidly had gathered all the information he could from them he slaughtered the Nether Beasts and pulled out their broken cores to examine them As eh had suspected they weren�t just crystallized energy but actual physical objects Their mundane shapes were the most disturbing discovery of his investigation The newt had a blade of grass at the core which disintegrated to dust when Randidly fully destroyed its exterior The monkey had the bones of an actual�s monkeys paw The frog was centered around a hunk of hardened stone

All three were covered with mysterious symbols Unfortunately the truth of Engraving was that these Nether Cores were based on a completely foreign understanding of runic symbols As the energies around these actual objects gradually faded Randidly couldn�t understand even a bit of what they represented But he still forced himself to study them carefully Even just seeing the shapes might inspire his own Engraving so he made use of every second he could to absorb them

When the cores had turned completely inert Randidly sighed and looked down into the depths below him Despite the fact he was now aware of his overly aggressive mindset he couldn�t help but feel some disappointment that stronger Nether Beasts hadn�t wandered upward to investigate the disturbance from before He felt quite a bit of temptation to head deeper and locate these more powerful Nether Beasts His hand twitched at the thought of slaughtering more Nether Beasts Plus the difference between the Great Rift Nether Beasts and these was extremely stark

If Randidly found a Nether Gatekeeper would be able to beat it in a fight The prospect made his mouth water and his eyes sparkle Plus even if he inflicted a deadly wound on the Nether Gatekeeper its Purity would become Stature elevating it into an even more dangerous existence

Yet he could only sigh and shake his head in regret Not yet Better to wait for that a bit

Randidly brought Nether to his fingers and drifted closer to the wall Time to start thinking about my own significance that I will anchor on a physical core

Lady Iellaya tilted her head to the side Is this really necessary

Edraine nodded forcefully her mouth pressed into a thin line I had my suspicions when there was no corruption found in the Military High Command investigation but after reading through the records well it�s definitely been quite an illuminating few days I fear that we are missing something extremely large that is occurring right beneath our noses Even more than our plan to steal Elhume�s body if we can figure out this truth

Octavius Shrike who was sitting in the corner of the study in front of a pile of open scrolls stirred He raised his horned head and blinked Then he shook his head a blank expression on his face So if things would have continued as they were just like the previous Overseer I would have been accused of corruption But why

Very likely Edraine stood up and stretched Even though it was foolish Lady Iellaya couldn�t help but be slightly taken aback by the smooth practice of the very human movement Most of the time Edraine sat at her desk like a statuesque goddess To see her roll her neck like a normal person was rather unexpected But perhaps Lady Iellaya�s response was also a result of feeling Edraine�s image as she blasted Neveah�s nail down toward Randidly

To make sure that the nail had reached its destination Edraine hadn�t held back in the least The horrifying orange light Lady Iellaya had felt across her skin her hands tightened to fists just remembering it Even though it was several hours ago her body hadn�t forgotten the sensation I still have much more growing to do

As for why Edraine shook her head Even I cannot gather the details just from these reports But let me ask you something broadly about the Nexus why do we have an Aether shortage

Lady Iellaya glanced at Octavius who seemed bewildered by the question The Overseer cleared his throat Well because people use it As more and more people have joined in the Nexus we both need to provide more raw Aether to them so they can grow and also we need to power the Nexus Ways and other amenities of the Nexus The Nexus� size has ballooned through the last three Cohorts So what are you trying to say by asking that

I just want to point something out Edraine shrugged elegantly She reached for her coat that hung on the back of her chair and slid her arms into the garment I agree with your first point people without any exposure to Aether grow by gathering raw Aether and utilizing it directly learning as they do so But as for the second drain on our resources isn�t that nonsense I could take a pinch of any sort of Aether and refine it with my own image to the point that most of the Nexus would be powered In terms of efficiency at utilizing Aether we have two individuals in the Nexus who have reached the Pinnacle they can make the fake real with their wills Either could entirely eliminate the demand for refined Aether

But it�s not like we can ask the most powerful people in the Nexus to work as power plants Lady Iellaya argued

Edraine�s mouth twitched as she glanced over at her Well that isn�t wrong But there are plenty sufficiently talented individuals who are middling in terms of the Nexus hierarchy to eliminate the need for refined Aether completely Which only leaves the demand for raw Aether as the driver of our Aether shortages�

The Nexus earns raw Aether two ways by passively controlling a larger area and gathering the energy over time and by breaking down the inefficiently refined Aether taken from failed planets The second method causes quite a bit of energy loss almost 30% because the emotions held by those individuals persist despite our best efforts But the Nexus now covers an obscene amount of territory The passive gathering of Aether should more than cover our needs And also remember the only reason the Nexus needs so much more raw Aether is because it claimed that it did and subsequently expanded so rapidly Normally the Nexus shouldn�t have an Aether shortage at all

Octavius was clearly lost So

But Lady Iellaya�s eyes widened So because this framing of the Overseers for corruption is a pattern and clearly supported by someone highly placed in the Nexus that Aether is being used for something else But they are siphoning off the raw Aether not the refined version that is more valuable for those who already have powerful images Why would they need the raw form Basically only those weaklings without any of their own Aether and unable to purify it with their image would want raw Aether

Edraine gestured at Lady Iellaya with a finger as she walked to the door And that question is exactly why we must go visit the former Overseer Because of how tightly guarded he is I suspect he noticed something

Chapter 1564

Over the next month of focused Nether research Randidly managed to lure up a few more Nether Beasts from the midnight blue depths by releasing expansive pulses of his images One of those unlucky fish� had been much stronger than the others clearly having expended its Virtue for Stature several times in the past In addition after Randidly slaughtered it and obtained its core the markings there had been particularly eye catching

Combined with the subtle alterations that Randidly gradually internalized from Neveah�s gifted arm Engraving his Skill steadily increased In terms of proficiency he was confident that he had made significant improvements

In addition all three of his images grew quite a bit sharper during that time Well Randidly didn�t think that was quite accurate In terms of detail there was some minor improvement but it wasn�t overwhelming Rather than sharper

Randidly�s new images now cast much darker shadows

Being constantly exposed to the wild emotions at this depth meant that he couldn�t slack on his emotional precision even for a second Each manifestation grew both more vivid and self contained while also becoming strangely leaky That is the power of the image spread out like an amorphous cloak as the emotional base expanded and dominated the surrounding space

Randidly�s growth was very quick in every area except the one that was probably the most important His understanding of Engraving was shaping up nicely but when it came to transforming that into a Nether Core

Fuck me Randidly growled as he pulled his hand back and slammed it against the bone wall in frustration The surface didn�t even shake let alone crack despite the fact that this blow blasted past the physical limit of the System as it struck This spine had seen much worse in its day than Randidly�s fist

And that realization only depressed him further

With a sigh he lowered his slightly sore hand and studied the shallow markings on the wall The drawing there was the most recent in a long string of failures that stretched off to his right about a quarter of the way around the inside of the spine He had begun the process with Yggdrasil as it was his first image His thought process was that he understood Yggdrasil the best out of all his images And he had tried to use his Architecture of the Primordial Ways to epitomize that ethereal concept as his first and probably most important image almost sixty times now

But even halfway through this most recent attempt before he deepened the Nether flowing through the Engraving the flows began to destabilize and run together in a messy knot Somehow Randidly looked at the wiggly drawing of a tree and realized that both the shape and the ideal that he was pursuing was insufficient

Randidly raised his hand and ruffled his hair Plus I can�t make the Engraving look like a tree The doppelganger could because that truly was his natural expression of his ideas But I have too much of an abstract base in my Engraving the final product should evoke the feeling of Yggdrasil but the core runes will just need to be more esoteric

Randidly had considered not trying to mirror his threes images exactly but then he would have no idea how to start this process Besides he sensed that achieving a balance between his current self and his Nether Class would be best Aether and Nether in harmony would give him the boost in strength he was looking for

Probably not all the way to Velio Dunn�s level but still

The other problem of course was what physical object would serve as Randidly�s core The most convenient answer was putting those final carvings somewhere within his Alpha Cosmos but the problem was that he would need to mentally be in the Alpha Cosmos while he worked on them Unfortunately he had experimented and discovered he couldn�t maintain the emotional tether while he was within his Alpha Cosmos

Which meant that to prevent his body from unknowingly tumbling down into the significance below Randidly would need to create the cores here

Randidly couldn�t help but grin widely and stare down toward the churning significance below Of course are you truly as dangerous to me as you were to Roy These fucking Nether Beasts seem fine from wandering around

But they possessed Nether Cores

Of course even though his words reverberated down through the conductive midnight blue air there was no answer from below All around him was only emotions and stillness in the Nether rich air The stretched time of this place was steadily getting on Randidly�s nerves and he wasn�t sure what he could do about it

His continued failures didn�t help his mood in the least

What am I fucking missing He muttered looking again at his drawing And of course he could think of an answer he wasn�t truly able to find the significance of Yggdrasil It being the first image he ever developed was obviously true but something was missing to that explanation The first� was just a label It couldn�t cover everything Yggdrasil was to him

As for methods other than a boring ass extended meditation session to find that truth

Randidly hesitated for a few seconds then reached into his interspatial ring and produced a heavy scroll from within his ring�s messy depths The texture of the paper was thick and rough as though it was a mix of canvas and true paper The edges were frayed and tattered as though it had existed for a long time

Strangely as Randidly produced his Fatepiece the Visage of Obsession he felt the Nether in the surrounding space stir Even his own Nether Nebula began to churn just a little bit faster Even the emotions that were rushing past began to imperceptibly curve toward him as though they were caught in the orbit of some overwhelming celestial sphere His fingers tightened on the Fatepiece He glanced around at the darkness and barred his teeth Heh Am I supposed to feel happy that my Fatepiece can create this sort of response Are you hinting that this is the answer I�ve been looking for

Randidly�s emerald eyes went back to the rolled up painting The response from the surroundings did make some sense however It was the Visage of Obsession Obviously there was a powerful emotional component to the Fatepiece In a way it was reassuring to see its effect

Yet it was still impossible to tell if this would help him find the significance to form his Nether Cores

Some part of Randidly told him that this was a gamble made attractive only due to how aggressive he was right now but Randidly was losing his patience after toying with the Nether Beasts for a few weeks Perhaps if he was struggling to understand the Engraving Neveah sent or to think of ways to improve one of his images he wouldn�t have so quickly turned to the Fatepiece But the crux of the issue was that Randidly was seeking understanding about himself

Even his most patient version of himself had to admit that sometimes it was very difficult to achieve an understanding of the self by simply remaining in one place Using the Fatepiece would cause a reaction Just Randidly had no idea what it would be

But is obsession really the emotion I want to be pursuing in order to understand myself Randidly mused Yet as he said that aloud he unrolled the Fatepiece As he did so he recalled the notification that he had received when he had obtained it

But what the notification says is true Randidly whispered as he completely unrolled the scroll and looked at it directly To his surprise it was a rather bland watercolor painting with the sky being a melty mixture of seafoam greens and robin�s egg blues while the foreground contained an arching orange red lump Toward the bottom of the lump it faded to brown and then black I will not stop until I can accomplish the impossible

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Visage of Obsession has grown to Level 3

At least it seems like I can gain Levels in my Fatepiece here even if I can�t do the same with Skills Randidly mused I wonder why that is Because a Fatepiece has an internal predetermined growth Path

As Randidly stared intently at the painting he wasn�t sure what he was expecting But what he began to observe were the slow changes of the color composition of the piece Stretches of pure emerald expanded and contracted across the top like clouds driven by an overwhelming wind Flashes of orange and yellow manifested in the lump along the bottom Gradually the fuzzy edges of the colors narrowed a bit so each small piece was distinct giving the mound the kaleidoscope colors of fall

Randidly paused in his viewing to confirm that the emotional tether was still present To his relief it was but his Absolute Timing Skill gave him a shock in that reprieve he had been staring at the Fatepiece for almost ten minutes already

Is this the cost Randidly wondered Losing an increasing amount of time without noticing it

When he once again looked at the Fatepiece this time he could feel the process of it activating It was like his attention was like a pitcher of water that he dumped into the painting He constantly generated more and more emotions and focus which was just dumped into the Fatepiece without end As his liquid attentiveness was poured forward in an unending stream the painting gradually began to fill As it filled the content of the colors on the Fatepiece began to whirl forward

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Visage of Obsession has grown to Level 4

The colors along the ground because it was becoming increasingly obvious that the mound in the foreground was supposed to be the ground continued to twinkle like stars orange red yellow The sky was runny like whisked eggs blues and greens growing amorphous and mixing Randidly blinked and felt himself moving forward Or rather the perspective of the painting rolled smoothly forward Everything was melting together

Subconsciously Randidly�s breaths began to accelerate He leaned forward and frowned deeply at the Visage of Obsession

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Visage of Obsession has grown to Level 6

What That notification shook some of the Fatepiece�s hold on Randidly Wasn�t it Level 4 previously Did I really missing the previous Level up

Yet while his thoughts had wandered his eyes had remained on the painting So just as quickly as he had been shocked away he fell back into the shifting colorscape in his hands The blues of the sky were darkening toward royal blue while the greens were growing paler And in the foreground something was approaching Randidly floated forward over a hill and arrived at an arching stretch of black a heavy stone bridge

And standing in front of that bridge was a figure

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Visage of Obsession has grown to Level 9

It�s been a full day since I started staring at this thing Randidly chewed on his lip In the grand scheme of things a day was worth very little to him But he expected that the cost in time would continue to steadily rise as he used it That made his gaze harden a little further I suppose then it depends on how effective this is at truly opening my mind I don�t feel much different yet but the tests every ten Levels should be the key improvements

If it ends up being worth it I might need to go deeper just so time is even more dilated

But again Randidly�s thoughts faded away as he refocused on the colors in front of him The ground gleamed and flashed like a searing river of lava And the details of the dark figure slowly came into focus

Yystrix drawn in heavy and rough strokes that slightly blurred the features that she had stolen from Lyra looked up at him from the canvas She smiled sweetly Hello Randidly It�s been a while

Chapter 1565

Raymund Ballast folded his furry arms to buy time as he gathered his thoughts Certainly from the moment that they were given the task of kidnapping someone he was comfortable Yet as time went on that discomfort had deeply taken root in his chest slowly tightening around his esophagus When his arms were completely folded he looked down at the ten meter deep pit that DiOrtho had dug when they had arrived in the valley At what point do we liberate her from her current predicament

When she agrees An incensed Diortho Vant growled Above them the slightly luminous form the Class Lighthouse stood proudly erect It was midafternoon and the high mountains around them kept the sun from illuminating all of the surrounding area Yet before the Lighthouse those shadows were quickly banished Which gave the entire area despite how far they were from civilization a surprisingly neat and orderly feel

There had been some individuals visiting the Class Lighthouse as the three of them had arrived but as soon as those people had obtained their Class they had departed Raymund rolled his tongue across his teeth as DiOrtho�s words and looked again down into the hole

Apparently Raymund�s emotions were clear on his face because DiOrtho sourly spoke another few sentences Look hunger teaches lessons alright Once we break her this job is going to get a hell of a lot easier She will just follow around like the meek mouse that she

A shuffling noise from below caused both of them to pause Raymund leaned together with DiOrtho to glance down into the depths of the pit where the princess was scrabbling at the edge of the dug up ground At first Raymund assumed that she was trying to climb out but the young woman was kneeling as her hands determinedly scraped more dirt from the wall So he cleared his throat to attract her attention the sooner this farce ended the better Princess have you decided to accept your Class

The woman stopped her frantic actions and turned her face upward Her mouth was smeared with mud and when she smiled small granules of dirt could be seen between her teeth After a very obvious swallow she spoke Heh you dumb fucks I�ll just eat dirt and kill myself to spite you Why the hell would I get a Class I don�t negotiate with inferior species terrorists Whatever fucked up plan you have I�ll ruin it

Raymund was speechless Did this young woman truly intend to eat dirt until she died But just as quickly as he had that thought he turned to look at DiOrtho Vant in case he needed to restrain his partner in crime Over the past few hours the princess had repeatedly infuriated the ram demon to the point that he had dug an enormous hole and tossed her inside of it without food Yet to Raymund�s surprise DiOrtho�s face was rather placid at the woman�s show of defiance

You don�t mind this development Raymund asked cautiously

DiOrtho shrugged Well seems the bitch has more spine than I expected But does it matter I�ll punch her stomach and make her vomit up all this dirt she�s stuffing into her fat mouth even if she�s insane she still is a princess How much dirt can she really stomach

Do you truly believe such actions Raymund was floored by that casual response He pulled DiOrtho away from the edge of the pit so they could speak without the princess hearing Below in the pit the shuffling noise busily resumed Your best solution is to simply punch away the problem You are significantly more powerful than the girl what if your casual fist shatters her organs You need not continuously rely on violence to solve problems In fact you should not

Oh Then what do you suggest DiOrtho responded with a frown We�ve been waiting around for four hours here while she dug in her heels Time is ticking away Besides you cannot seriously expect me to let her hold her own life hostage she will only get more spoiled if we don�t beat this out of her Better to deal with this harshly

Raymund narrowed his eyes His chest burned with his discomfort You so casually talk about violence against a girl barely older than a child

That finally earned truly malice from the eyes of DiOrtho Vant He reached over and jabbed his finger into Raymund�s shoulder The volume of his voice steadily rose as he spoke And you so casually forget why the hell we are in this mess in the first place YOU don�t even fucking know what you want And even when you find a goal the slightest moral quandary leaves you helpless You give away half your lifespan to any random shit who asks nicely Is it any wonder why the current you is so weak

Raymund was so surprised he couldn�t even muster a response to DiOrtho�s words for several seconds As soon as that surprise turned to fury in his chest his tightly held control cooled those dangerous emotions He spoke through gritted teeth While it is true that I haven�t reached my full potential

Even now you are fucking terrified of yourself DiOrtho snarled This time when he shoved the Vulpine he smashed his palm against his chest and sent him a half step backward The ram demon stepped forward aggressively into that small space and pressed his chest against Raymund�s Why the hell do you deny your nature You are a fucking fox Raymund Act like one

My people are indeed noble foxes Raymund barred his teeth However the implications of your tone

From below the princess� voice drifted upward Don�t you half breeds dare kill each other while I�m still stuck down here

Both paused balanced between annoyance toward their captured target and fury toward each other Raymund once more reined in his emotions lest he pointlessly lashed out Fighting now was a waste of effort And as much as he hated to admit it DiOrtho was probably correct in his accusations Raymund too easily sacrificed his own pursuits

Advisor Zauna also shared DiOrtho�s opinion about embracing his natural impulses

Despite that admittance that the other side had a valid point Raymund was unsure how the confrontation between the two trainees would have ended had his instincts not begun tingling at that very moment His ears snapped upward From the way DiOrtho�s pupils dilated it seemed his companion sensed the same approaching threat

Without needing to speak DiOrtho hopped down into the pit Raymund could hear the princess yelping and scrambling backward away from the demon but ignored the noises The Vulpine pivoted and looked toward the East The only way into the valley housing the Class Lighthouse was through a thin game trail that meandered down the dense cluster of trees that had sprung up between the surrounding peaks As a dull thump from the pit was followed by retching noises heavy footfalls came from that innocuous dirt path

Gradually the hairs along Raymund�s arms began to stand on end Each step of the approaching figure echoed strangely through the ground It wasn�t an image exactly but there was weight to the resonance in the ground Like there was more presence to the approaching figure than just physical mass and image

Somehow seeing the azure haired beauty walking out of the forest with her hair done up in an elaborate braid didn�t ease Raymund�s nerves in the least When she saw the Vulpine and her expression brightened Raymund felt a chill running up and down his spine Carrying an unconscious princess with a bit of bile dripping from her lips DiOrtho clambered out of the pit and stood next to Raymund They exchanged a long glance

You know you�ve really kept me waiting The azure haired woman grinned That innocent smile immediately jogged Raymund�s foggy memory Although he had been near dead with exhaustion at the time this ominous woman was clearly the romantic partner of Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound

Suddenly Raymund felt like the wind in the valley had completely died out When Overseer Helen had mentioned that the plans for their training had changed

What the fuck is she doing here DiOrtho whispered But from the tremors in his voice it appeared the ram demon was jumping to the same conclusion that Raymund had come to Seeing Lady Vualla�s expression soften at DiOrtho�s words Raymund had the urge to run

Yet even with their powerful physical bodies even if he could also utilize his image he had no confidence that they would escape

Either of them

Oh don�t act so tense you two I don�t mind a little swearing and banter between training partners She waved her hand lightly Then her smile widened and she looked at the duo carrying the princess with the eyes of a predator Because that�s what we are right now Ah I should explain a bit Due to Randidly�s circumstances our stay in this world will be extended for a bit Well maybe more than a bit We might be here for quite a while so I�ll be helping Overseer Helen with your training Exciting right

Her smile slowly shrank into something small and poisonous But don�t worry I�ll be under the same handicaps as you I won�t use an image And also well I was planning to wait until you got the princess a Class before revealing myself but what is taking so long I was starting to get bored

Once more Raymund and DiOrtho exchanged a glance Raymund barely suppressed the urge to growl in front of this woman Her presence rivaled no In terms of the raw force of her person she likely even surpassed the Head Drill Sergeant Just by standing there she almost pinned Raymund to the ground Sparring against her seemed suicidal

Yet paradoxically despite the significant threat she represented she also ignited his urge to fight In DiOrtho�s eyes Raymund could see that same desire mirrored back at him A strong foe smiled at them and they both clenched their fists and narrowed their eyes

Lady Vualla clapped her hands together releasing a resonating pulse in the process that hit Raymund and inflicted a dull ache in the marrow of his bones I�m not relieving you of the responsibility of this task the princess will get her Class from this Lighthouse one way or the other But I simply have to assume that you haven�t been taking this mission seriously Perhaps its a problem of motivation Digging a hole and threatening her And apparently without much effect Tsk Tsk

See I�ll help with your motivation I�ll give you one more hour to finish this If you manage to wake up the princess and get her to agree to receive a Class that hour will be time for you to have a headstart on me If you continue to dawdle well we will start fighting right here Honestly the prospect of being cooped up in this place has me quite stressed I think a few scrappy brawls will do wonders for my mood

As Lady Vualla continued to speak in front of them both of their faces were solemn Her humanoid form had every instinct in Raymund�s body screaming that she was extremely dangerous When she casually cracked her knuckles Raymund had to suppress the urge to shudder

And her azure eyes there was something else there something that was bothering her Yet it undoubtedly felt true that she wished to work off some aggression to their detriment

DiOrtho grimaced Might be about time to try this your way Raymund

With a nod Raymund Ballast took the princess�s body and did his best to rouse her to wakefulness As he did so his traitorous senses couldn�t help but detect that Lady Vualla�s smile widened

She enjoyed this

Chapter 1566

Randidly frowned down at the Visage of Obsession for several seconds as his brain considered this sudden appearance The drawing of Yystrix tilted her head to the side that same small smile on her face Randidly bit his lip But after a few moments of examination he shook his head heavily no You are not truly Yystrix You are just me aren�t you

The rough featured Yystrix shrugged The navy blue and pale green sky behind her rippled Well I�m a construct that was carefully made by your subconscious And you do have quite a thorough understanding of me even if you don�t understand all the secrets of my existence so I would say that the difference is negligible You can consider me both you and Yystrix

Randidly pursed his lips at that In his mind that distinction made a world of difference With that realization he was able to release a breath and relax this wasn�t another nightmare scenario where Yystrix somehow managed to infiltrate some part of himself to exert her will once again It was just the indelible mark that she left on him manifesting itself in the painting

The effect was more annoying than dangerous more exhausting than deadly

Yystrix�s smile widened as though she could sense his thoughts She moved her head from tilting to the left to tilt to the right But she changed the subject You must have questions about the Fatepiece I am here to give you your first test but the actual mechanism is rather simple So while you are here I can try and ease your curiosities

After a short snort that showed how little he trusted her words Randidly was silent for several seconds Despite the fact that this was just a projection from his subconscious every effort that this individual made to help him only made him more suspicious But he couldn�t deny that he had some concerns about the activation of this Fatepiece

So after thinking carefully he opened his mouth to speak Will using the Fatepiece grant me what I want Can discover the significance that each of my images holds in my heart

The Visage of Obsession obviously isn�t just going to provide you exactly what you want In typical Yystrix fashion she shrugged unhelpfully Her eyes were bright and amused as she examined Randidly It�s a tool that will surely cause some result as you pass through the various challenges it will present but the exact result is difficult to know After all obsession is a powerful but very distorting force upon an individual How you handle that is difficult to predict

Randidly grunted at that and shook his head Heh If this is your idea of answering questions I guess I have a very thorough understanding of Yystrix after all

Yystrix�s nose crinkled as she laughed Randidly silently noted the increase in detail of this figure the more he stared at the Visage of Obsession in his hands Yes yes laugh while you can Your Fatepieces are all a bit Well the Visage of Obsession is unpredictable to begin with But I�ll say this of all the reasons you could use this Fatepiece your current goal is one of the best you could have chosen The significance of your own images as you pass the trials and lose precious things your own significance will be one of the few things remaining

That caused Randidly�s gaze to sharpen Lose precious things huh Which brings us to the first trial

Yystrix nodded It�s rather simple really For the first trial reach into the Visage of Obsession and rip out my tongue

That caused Randidly�s eyebrows to shoot upward Rip out your tongue So it�s a fight

What Oh no I won�t struggle I�ll just bleed a lot Yystrix shrugged Beneath her feet the reds and oranges of the ground flashed and shifted The greens in the sky above Yystrix continued to grow increasingly pale until they were only a few tints away from white She shrugged Sorry to disappoint you but the Visage of Obsession won�t test you in that manner None of the tests will be fights Just reach into my mouth and rip out my tongue Then you can move on from here

It�s that simple Randidly asked slowly And of course Yystrix just smiled in response

Huffing out an annoyed breath Randidly let go of the edge of the Visage of Obsession As he expected it just hung there in the air in front of him So he pressed his hand forward and saw his fingers pass through the front of the Visage of Obsession without any discernible change in sensation He flexed his fingers With narrowed eyes his hand continued to travel forward as the drawn figure of Yystrix grew and grew until it dominated the entirety of the foreground Her eyes were very very bright

She smiled at him as though she was encouraging the act It�s that simple

Randidly�s eyes narrowed But it wasn�t like he had any choice He glanced around at the edges of the Fatepiece but it was now difficult to see past the face of Yystrix The lines around her eyes were so familiar It was the gaunt face of Lyra who had walked to hell and back She was a woman who was deeply haunted by her past by the pursuit of Elhume by the situation of her son Pine

Sighing Randidly reached forward Yystrix obligingly opened her mouth He grasped her tongue pausing for a second as he truly felt the slimy sensation of a tongue through the pads of his fingers After wondering at the realism Randidly�s fingers tightened around the tongue and he began to pull

Rather anticlimactically he hadn�t bothered to worry about his grip and his hand slid harmlessly of the bundle of muscles and nerves While Yystrix chuckled Randidly gritted his teeth and reached back within her mouth This time he reached deeper seizing on the base of the tongue His grip was firm And then Randidly ripped that tongue out

When suddenly Randidly�s own mouth tasted like blood he only chuckled But then he blinked because he realized that he didn�t make any noise as he laughed

As the Yystrix in front of him suddenly receded allowing the colors to return she winked at him Then she held her finger up to her lips to make a shushing gesture Then in a small whirlwind of rough grey lines she was gone

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Visage of Obsession has grown to Level 10

The Visage of Obsession quietly rolled closed in front of Randidly and hung there in the air by some otherworldly power Almost as though they were sharks sensing blood three gusts of emotion cut in sideways and tried to knock the Fatepiece away from Randidly But the Grim Chimera roared to malicious action and shredded those emotions to tattered pieces of ethereal mist

Only a few minutes had passed since he had reached Level 9 in his Fatepiece but Randidly could no longer make any noise This then was the cost�

He opened his mouth and blew through his lips He could feel his breath escaping his body but it made no noise Randidly frowned He brought his hand around and slapped it against his chest Again there was no noise although he felt the normal force Meanwhile the emotions continued to howl upward from the depths of the spine moaning as though the energy animating them came from strained agony Air rustled against the ragged clothes on Randidly�s body

He drifted over toward the wall and slammed his fist against the warped and yellowed bone Again no noise resulted Randidly clicked his tongue or meant to but of course nothing happened When he ripped out Yystrix�s tongue he had completely taken away his own ability to generate noise

That caused Randidly to scrunch up his own face Obviously that couldn�t actually be what happened Much more likely was that he had somehow deprived himself of the ability to hear noises that he had made

Having that thought caused Randidly to make another meaningless click of his tongue which then caused him to roll his eyes at his own situation Not that he especially relied on making noise stranded as he was in the depths of the Nexus But it felt strange to so suddenly be deprived of his ability to make noise

Which is probably the point Randidly�s expression turned solemn as his gaze landed on the floating Fatepiece If things continue like this I�ll be steadily deprived of portions of normal existence as I use the Fatepiece In exchange I suppose I�ll more easily be able to focus on my significance But at the same time

Randidly shook his head at how this might affect his already precarious mental health Then he looked down through the midnight blue darkness After a moment of indecision he released his emotional tether and began to drift down through the swirling torrent of emotions His right hand shot out and grabbed the Visage of Obsession Randidly�s emerald eyes glowed as he let his own emotional strength seep outward from the edges of his body and combat the wild emotions directly

I cannot stop now that I�ve started And if I continue I�ll require more time Better to head deeper now in case I lose sight next

So Randidly descended Yggdrasil Stillborn Phoenix and the Grim Chimera cutting open a path It was somewhat dangerous to release his images for long periods of time but with the support of Yggdrasil clashing against the surrounding blasts of emotion became a tempering process The impurities in his image�s emotion were hammered out and then cleanly healed It was a holistic improvement that Randidly couldn�t quite measure at this moment

Because as he headed closer to the horrifying significance below the emotional remnants were growing steadily stronger So it didn�t feel like his improvements were very much to speak of at all Yet Randidly had a sense that he was improving much more quickly than he realized

Occasionally as he fell downward emotions managed to break past his defenses and sear his skin Although empowered with image physicalizations his skin rapidly broke out in blotchy boils Then his flesh began to sizzle and warp until these deviations were annihilated by the thunderous fury of his image

All of his images of course were now also silent

Randidly kept his attention on his Nether Nebula the entire time as the Nether content in the air moved up toward 70% The emotions he could learn to cope with but he knew he was playing a dangerous game in terms of significance Until he managed to replicate the effect of the Nether Cores proceeding too deeply might lead to him simply vanishing without a trace

Before I even get to make to dig a grave for my helpful doppelganger Randidly thought bitterly And that thought led him to slow his descent and reach upward for the emotions that the Stillborn Phoenix steadily released For a split second Randidly�s heart dropped the difficulty in reaching up toward those emotions was many times what it had been only a short distance above him

Then he paused Honestly he probably had dropped more than a short distance as he had proceeded The time he spent falling was probably misleading It wasn�t that the Nether content in the air changed more quickly the deeper he went

just that he was traveling more quickly downward In fact the changes in the Nether content of the air might be happening much more gradually the deeper he descended Yet that truth was erased by the obscenely powerful significance below

Either way the Stillborn Phoenix�s pattern of absorption refinement and release had greatly accelerated since coming down below the event horizon of this significance Due to the constant barrage of emotions it had to pick up the pace of its breathing� So when Randidly finally reached up through the surprisingly vast space that now existed between him and the Nexus proper to seize his emotions he paused in his descent

Grimacing he acclimated to the new pressure of the flow of significance it was still manageable but getting very close to his limit He then cast his eyes around Gradually the corners of his mouth quirked upward If he could have he would have laughed aloud

There were quite a few shapes moving the murky darkness below him Their robust body had his eyes sparkling with excitement Randidly was nearing the territory of the Nether Beasts

Chapter 1567

As the desperate figures of Raymund and DiOrtho hurried from the valley Vualla crouched on one of the overhanging peaks and watched their rapid departure A smile danced across her lips as she checked the time they had managed to convince the princess and depart in only nineteen minutes They still had plenty of time to open up some distance between them

Vualla flicked a pebble off the cliff and watched it bound down the rock face to the ground below Seemed like it truly was a matter of motivation after all

The sound of skin against rock drew Vualla�s gaze to the left but quickly she allowed herself to relax honestly there were no opponents in this world that truly threatened her It was just instinct from the Xyrt Brigade training that kept her suspicious That and her constant knowledge that Randidly was out there in the Nexus fighting for his life

A sudden movement sent a few more bits of stone tumbling down into the valley below Helen scampered herself up around the rock face with the ease of a mountain goat and settled next to Vualla You seem to enjoy babysitting I�m surprised

You know It�s honestly not as bad as I thought Vualla readily admitted to the other woman I can see why Randidly always spends so much time trying with his subordinates I can definitely feel how fulfilling this is And watching them it�s somewhat inspiring you know As though individual differences each generates its own advantages It encourages a different sort of strength in me It�s fascinating

Enjoy it please Helen nodded Then her expression twisted toward an uneasy look at the sky Because based on Randidly�s last message

Vualla gritted her teeth with such force that his jaw began to tremble Randidly had said that he had decided to train in the deepest portion of the Web as he prepared for their escape but how could she not sense that the process was much more difficult than she let on He was stuck after he had brought her here to relative safety

Still her own memories of that dense Nether and horrifying natural phenomenon pulling from below told her in no uncertain terms that she would be of no use to him Despite how much it pained her she could only remain in his Alpha Cosmos for the moment Her immensely powerful image was completely useless against this type of foe

Every individual had their own advantages

Perhaps sensing her mood Helen clapped Vualla on the shoulder Don�t let it bother you that much He has things only he can do and we have things that we can do as well Come on I want to introduce you to a few very emotional individuals

Vualla raised an eyebrow Who

The King and Queen of the Shelley Kingdom Helen replied with a sly smile Did you think that you were just going to be working as a vigilante You are going to be hired as a tracking and pursuit expert In order to make those two absolutely miserable you�ll have the entire force of a kingdom behind you

Vualla grinned

Randidly floated on his back staring upward and watching with no little envy as the vibrant emotions the Stillborn Phoenix released could swim upward and escape these depths The vivid pink strands flew upward in spirals savoring their relative positioning As a weight counterpoint Randidly and his sour mood were stuck down here

Plus he enjoyed looking upward because he had sunk so deeply in the shaft that the darkness above matched the darkness below There was a curious duality to the experience like laying upon a mirror It was entirely impossible without the steady movement of emotions to know from which direction he had come

He paused now because he needed a slight break the passage of days had been unusually difficult for a Randidly who had been training for long lonely stretches since the beginning of his System tenure

Not that he didn�t benefit greatly from his training down here Randidly enjoyed the restrictions placed upon him here too It was quite simple to release a pulse of an image and draw one or two Nether Beasts to investigate which usually resulted in powerful enough impacts that more Nether Beasts were drawn upward In between attempts at discovering how to Engrave for his own Nether Cores Randidly cleared his mind with manic melees that set his heart pounding

The Nether Beasts still weren�t truly a threat to him but they were stronger than the small fries he had lured upward previously In addition more and more drifted upward as he slaughtered them meaning he didn�t worry about depleting their population And although Randidly suspected there was no meaning to what he was doing after he finished studying the fading cores of the slaughtered Nether Beasts he dropped those cores and allowed them to return to the significance below

Yet he continued to be perturbed Randidly had to admit to himself that this wasn�t a matter of boredom there was plenty to do here with threats of multiple varieties surrounding him But the act of constantly shaping and reforging the emotions present in his images straining against the draw of the significance below and the withdrawal from the Soulbond connection added up More than had ever been true in the past ominous black clouds hovered at the edges of Randidly Ghosthound�s psyche

So Randidly took long breaks from his normal training routine to steady himself by studying the surroundings Sometimes he wondered if the Nether Beasts were a side effect of the power plant working below

Yet his emotional state wasn�t the only difficulty plaguing him Despite the fact that Randidly was (probably) steadily earning Skill Levels with his fights against the Nether Beasts he continued to struggle with the Engraving for a Nether Core Architecture of the Primordial Ways was extremely sophisticated but

Randidly looked at the nearby bone wall The air down here was especially thick and murky which led to the illusion that the spine was widening the deeper he went But either way as he glanced around he could see failed attempts at capturing the significance of Yggdrasil curling around into the darkness His technique was getting more advanced with every stroke He was trying complex new patterns Yet

Pursing his lips Randidly looked back upward The midnight blue darkness held no answers although it continued to broadcast a variety of confusing information up from the depths A tumbling claw from a slain Nether Beast drifted close enough to him that Randidly batted it away in annoyance But as he did so he paused

Something had occurred to him finally If he could speak he would have said aloud It doesn�t matter that Yggdrasil was my first image What matters is why I chose that shape as my first image

Of course he couldn�t speak So he only thought about that distinction and continued to frown

There were obviously contextual reasons that he had chosen Yggdrasil Randidly had learned the golden roots Skill from a turtle in Donnyton�s partner Village Plus his earliest Skill was Entangling Roots which he had used to survive during his early System struggles Plant based Skills quickly became part of his core skill set as he trained with Shal and then later returned to Expira

But if there was a driving subconscious reason

Dragging up such a motivation won�t be easy the me of today is very far from who I used to be

Randidly twisted his mouth Then he rolled his shoulder and procured the Visage of Obsession once more The process of working toward making a Nether Core was new and therefore boosted the speed of his Engraving growth quite a bit Helen and Wendy had gathered him the materials he needed to begin forging but he figured there was no harm in waiting a bit longer to work on his arm

Besides I�m a little worried about the effect the environment here will have on the limb Randidly made a bitter expression That anxiety delayed him somewhat but it wasn�t like he would be able to wait forever An escape from this place still didn�t seem like it would happen anytime soon

He would probably need to create a new arm here as distasteful as that truth was

Randidly finished unrolling the Visage of Obsession before him His eyes sank once more into the colors Randidly was rather shocked to discover that since he had last looked the colors had reversed suddenly the sky was flashing with warm oranges and bloody reds while the ground was a dark blue

In this strange point of view Randidly glided forward

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Visage of Obsession has grown to Level 11

Soon the ground darkened to black From a hump the ground flattened Randidly seemed to be moving across a plain of absolute darkness The only observable sign that he was traveling at all was the continued wheel between red orange and yellow above him The way the lights glimmered hinted that his destination was close

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Visage of Obsession has grown to Level 14

Of course Randidly was deeply suspicious of the Visage of Obsession when he pulled briefly back and sensed that almost two days had passed without him noticing Inwardly he was glad that he had proceeded more deeply into the depths of the Nexus Hopefully this would prevent any unexpected developments outside of this place why he continued to push himself

This makes me wonder if using the Fatepiece is worth it Randidly bit his lip Also

Unfortunately Vualla Helen and the two recruits would need to keep themselves occupied for a time within his Alpha Cosmos but as far as downsides went this one wasn�t debilitating just tiresome And perhaps even giving Helen more time to solve their issues with images was probably for the better

Then Randidly refocused his gaze on the Visage of Obsession The colors seemed to seep forward out of the edges of the painting He could feel himself being drawn inward into the painting but Randidly didn�t resist the sensation His perception spun like all that was Randidly Ghosthound� became a liquid that was swirling down a drain

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Visage of Obsession has grown to Level 15

and then he came out the other side purified

His mind felt sharp and powerful Like he could slice apart the shallow world of colors in front of him

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Visage of Obsession has grown to Level 17

Creepy ass painting It�s like you heard me complaining about you Even if the effect is just this mental cleansing it�s very valuable Randidly reflected The acuity I�m feeling right now is it an illusion Or perhaps just an effect of steadily shedding away the redundant or distracting thoughts

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Visage of Obsession has grown to Level 19

There was no obvious arrival at the destination as had happened the previous time The darkness of the ground was absolute Randidly almost didn�t think he existed on that plain he was only a bump against the implacable darkness a smudge below the brilliant fiery sky Yet at that place the form of Yystrix formed once again in front of him

She smiled slyly and tilted her head to the side as though asking how he was managing with his current predicament Despite the fact that this projection was grown out of his subconscious Randidly smiled aggressively back at her His expression was a challenge asking this Fatepiece to do its worse

Without any noise standing on that pitch black landscape Yystrix laughed Then she pointed upward at her own face Her message was clear this time rip out my eyes Randidly pressed his lips together but this time he did not hesitate

His only dissatisfaction was the fact he currently had a single arm Which meant that he needed to do her eyes one at a time

Chapter 1568

To Randidly�s surprise losing his sight was much less bothersome than losing his voice had been although he used his eyes much more while he had been here But it turned out that the information gathered with his eyes had been superfluous

Plus whatever had occurred at the 15th Level of his Fatepiece lingered Some of that horrible emotional exhaustion had been forced away leaving his remaining personality and Willpower streamlined The sensation of clarity was certainly intoxicating

And so I start to drink more deeply from the poisoned well of obsession Randidly thought wryly

As he had noted previously when he still had eyes to witness it the murky darkness above and below him resembled each other to the point of being interchangeable Yet now his blind senses could comb through the surroundings in minute detail The air was thick and coarse like unwashed wool It felt itchy against his skin and also strangely damp

Into the void where his sight had been stepped his growing emotional acuity leaving the shaft dyed with constantly bleeding tints

The way emotions manifested wasn�t the same as colors not exactly but the vibrancy and heat� of these passing emotions and Randidly�s own images gradually soaked the surroundings in a new sort of awareness The resonances and collisions became part and parcel to his newfound existence

Which didn�t even address the biggest benefit without Randidly�s eyes his Grim Intuition began working much more diligently to interpret the sensations that filtered up through the Nether To his shock he discovered that he could peer much more deeply down into the depths in this manner And what he found there were hundreds of thousands of Nether Beasts milling around in the darkness

Sometimes they fought each other but it was a largely inert experience that left him deeply curious

In addition Randidly was able to confirm that his sense of space wasn�t lying to him the spine really was growing in diameter as he descended further At this point it was almost double in size as he had observed previously

Releasing a silent breath Randidly pushed himself through the air toward the wall Of course there was still an area that he was worried about He slowed himself as he neared the bone marveling at how smooth the inside of the spine was to his Grim Intuition Thousands of years� worth of emotion had stripped away any bumps and irregularities from the surface With a snap of his fingers Nether wound down from his nebula and to the tips of his fingers

Then he began to Engrave

Very quickly Randidly frowned and cursed at himself mentally Partway through his Engraving he had forgotten the larger shape of the formation and created a glaring weakness in the flows of energy Randidly resolved himself to pay closer attention with Nether Sensation to the shallow lines of energy running through the Engraving so he didn�t lose himself again

So he started over

For a while Randidly dragged his fingers gracefully across the bone wearing a pattern into the difficult surface That was part of the problem with this practice that the substance was so reinforced that it required dense Nether to make even a shallow a mark Yet Randidly possessed Nether at the requisite density

His knuckles were white as he applied careful pressure during the Engraving process

Still halfway through this second try Randidly grimaced and ceased his efforts He had been keeping tabs on his shallow marking along the wall by sensing the volume of Nether flowing through the small indentations but already he realized that his vigilance wasn�t enough to avoid problems Nether flowed through the created pathways in waves At all times there was a low amount of Nether present throughout but then one of the rotating waves� would push through that area deepening the effect

The problem was that because of the way his senses now detected the Nether he had made the Engraving uneven from misunderstanding his own senses Randidly could already detect that the Nether flow he had created before it could ever become a Nether Core would destabilize and collapse due to a shoddy foundation

So Randidly drifted a meter to the left and began his third blind attempt Instead of going for anything specific Randidly simply tried to capture the feeling in his heart when he thought about Yggdrasil It was the World Tree the safest source of growth in his life If he could capture that sensation in Nether

The mute and blind Randidly rolled his useless eyes at the notification which came to him like a sudden epiphany in the nighttime of his awareness It didn�t break his concentration while Engraving not quite but it was certainly an unwelcome distraction Without even bringing the satisfaction of seeing where my true Skill Level now is

Suddenly Randidly paused midway through his Engraving Wait a second how am I going to use the Visage of Obsession if I�m blind

Randidly was tempted to immediately pull out his Fatepiece and look at it to find out the answer that but he smothered his curiosity for now The Visage of Obsession would eat up his time if he would let it better that Randidly fely like he was at the end of his current potential before he returned to the Fatepiece

At the moment plenty of that mental acuity remained He was still content to continue training

So after an extended pause Randidly resumed his third attempt Of course he quickly was forced to stop this one as well But this time it wasn�t due to any flaw in his Engraving the project simply hadn�t developed long enough for those flaws to reveal themselves

Instead Randidly was forced to pause and turn his gaze downward to face a particularly belligerent cluster of emotions that was roaring up toward him like an out of control freight train In his new senses that were plugged into the conductive Nether of this depth it blazed up toward him like an eruption from a maroon volcano

Seriously Randidly flicked this wrist to banish the lingering Nether from his fingers and then raised his hand The veins across his arms began to glow golden There was no longer any accompanying sound but Randidly could feel the overwhelming vibrations in every inch of his body as Yggdrasil�s leaves rustled behind him Can�t you see I�m fucking busy

Randidly�s hand tightened into a claw Although he couldn�t see it an overwhelming aura of holiness blazed from his fingers Ripples spread out through the Nether rich air before Randidly even unleashed the Skill Then he barred his teeth and smashed his claw downward in a vicious strike to meet the landslide of emotions

There was an awkward sense of weightlessness to Randidly�s strike as the Skill blazed with bright power enough to send his skin tingling but when it smashed into the wild emotions there wasn�t any feedback or noise His ears could only catch the mournful howls of emotions flowing upward through the spine around him

There were no crashes no booms

Still his Nether Sensation painted a much more satisfying picture Like a nuclear weapon detonating in a forest the initial blast destroyed the structure of the emotional torrent and the heat of Randidly�s Skill incinerated the remaining troublesome survivors A huge ripple blasted downward in its wake leaving Randidly completely unharmed

Of course Nether Beasts immediately turned their gazes upward due to that ripple By the dozen they sniffed at the foreign image and used their Virtue to resist the pull of the significance below They came with mild curiosity up due to their instincts but as soon as they were within a hundred meters of Randidly they seemed to recognize him as some existential threat

From the murky darkness the Nether Beasts began to accelerate upward

Randidly grinned widely Although he could no longer see them they seemed to dance across his exposed skin due to the conducive Nether The thick and damp air of this place pressed against him as though to smother him but he thrived under that pressure In fact the sensation possessed such high fidelity that Randidly made the decision to reach up and rip away the remains of his cotton shirt and leather armor he had been wearing His bare chest rose and fell in the darkness as he prepared to receive these guests� He breathed deeply pulling at their Virtue as he did so

The Grim Chimera was the ultimate thief stealing even their valuable Virtue from right under their noses Those small strands congregated rapidly in his chest and filled him with a buzzing sense of lightness

Unfortunately just as soon as he absorbed the Virtue the energy destabilized without a physical medium and fell to simply be more typical Nether That caused Randidly to frown but he simply whirled his Nether Nebula faster and condensed the Grim Chimera more fully around him The Nether Beasts roared in challenge and charged upward While maintaining his emotional tether holding him in place Randidly began lashing out and slaughtering them

The Grim Chimera pierced through the wild emotions of this place and totally bisected unsuspecting Nether Beasts Very quickly they realized the threat this image presented but the Grim Chimera�s speed and adaptability meant that it could easily avoid the Nether Beast�s unsophisticated counter attacks Truly it was an apex hunter at this depth

If he wanted a true challenge from the Nether Beasts he would need to head deeper

Occasionally Randidly�s strikes wouldn�t quite kill a Nether Beast and then its Virtue would transform its body and become powerful Stature These Nether Beasts possessed a much higher base potential than those he first encountered meaning the transformation significantly narrowed the gap between their powers

But in this time in the depths of the Nexus the Grim Chimera hadn�t been idle It silently cackled delighted that these Beasts thought themselves sufficient to challenge it Its glee and determination bled outward from Randidly�s body staining the surrounding air

Despite his initial joy the sensation of the battle was strange Randidly felt like a plague bearer or even like a lonely personification of death The roaring Nether Beasts charged upward and then he without any discernible noise silenced them In his Nether senses the initially bright cores and barriers around the Nether Beasts glowed as they charged upward filled with self righteous fury Yet beneath his touch they began to flicker and dim like summer fireflies before the inevitable chill of fall

Gradually the chorus of attacking Nether Beasts fell silent leaving Randidly floating above that mass of dimming life And his senses were all tied together in one larger hyper sense now so there was no way to close his eyes to the situation in front of him He simply floated there observing the way everything around him went dark and silent

Rather than a fight he had simply extinguished them

For almost an hour Randidly paused in his training and simply watched the cessation of the observable phenomenon below him Gradually the turbulent emotions pushed upward again bringing some variety to his vigil But still

The mental acuity could do nothing to help with the black edges of his own soul As always the stronger he got the more poisonous he began to his environment

In a dark mood Randidly returned to the spine and began to continue his Engraving

Chapter 1569

The first month of escaping from the combined political wrath of the Shelly Kingdom the relentless pursuit spearheaded by Lady Vualla was exhausting but ultimately within their capabilities for Raymund and DiOrtho Using less traveled roads and small towns they crossed from the Shelly Kingdom to the Southern Portion of the Armgrast Empire Periodically Overseer Helen would manifest in front of them and give them some task usually within the next few days

So the recruits had dragged the princess to a grand lake across the vast Southern Desert and to the top of the Lone Peak that sat deep within the holy land of the Armgrast Empire During that time the constant reliance on their overwhelming physical abilities caused them to become slightly cocky compared to the average individual within this world the recruits were unstoppable

Their speed gave them a headstart that seemed insurmountable Any time they were spotted they could leave the pursuit in the dust As long as they shook off any tails by the time that Lady Vualla arrived they would be fine

Continued success built their confidence even as they grew steadily more familiar with the capabilities of their bodies

Yet such confidence was as it always had to be fatal A few days into the second month of their escapades Raymund and DiOrtho walked into a trap And the jaws of that trap was the Imperial Prince of the Armgrast Empire a lion headed young man who release image reverberations that quickly grabbed the recruits� attention The lion man led with a roar and followed up with legitimate power that neither could underestimate

Even if they had access to their own images and Skills Raymund was unsure if they would be able to overcome this man In that confrontation their pride was thoroughly shattered

Without their images the two of them could only rely on their physical strength to endure the Prince�s attacks while steadily fleeing Because behind the prince the specter of their true foe was lurking Yet as though the Prince knew exactly what was on their mind he doggedly pursued the two of them unleashing attack after attack

Even with a physique that Raymund had considered to be near unrivaled DiOrtho bones had been shattered and his head had been so battered that he was slightly dazed from a concussion But they managed to escape barely fleeing through a dried up river bed to the West

Raymund had the princess over his shoulder and glanced behind him at DiOrtho�s hobbling form He couldn�t help but grimace We are going farther away from Overseer Helen�s next mission but we still have two days As long as we lay low for several hours DiOrtho should recover his vigor And after that

He rushed around a bend in the dusty riverbed and then skidded to a halt In front of him Lady Vualla cracked her knuckles

No more hesitation Raymund The woman said sweetly Her azure hair swayed as she began to walk forward toward the Foxman Show me the limits of your potential Otherwise I�ll bury you both right here

It�s about time

To the constant itch of irritation action became the cooling balm that allowed him to finally silently exhale Randidly released the emotional tether and began to drift downward once more Without his eyes fooling him Randidly had a much better sense of the way that the significance below was warping his perception of space as his annoyance parted clarity returned He could feel the way he accelerated downward quickly picking enough speed to cross vast amounts of space

The sensation was almost wondrous The deeper he traveled the more mysterious the Nexus became

So it�s true The same distance that would have gotten me five more percent of Nether content in the air up above barely reaches a single percentage point down here Randidly reflected with a frown His senses spread outward straining to touch the edges of this place

His Nether Nebula whirled at full speed to resist the pull of the significance below but his experiments with Engraving to prepare a Nether Core were starting to bear some fruit Although there wasn�t a physical core in the Nebula Randidly could imitate the principles well enough at this point It gave him a little extra advantage at maintaining his own independence even without being able to generate any Virtue of his own

He liked to think that had he not already proceeded so deeply down toward that horrifying significance he would now have been able to escape but it was difficult to tell whether there was any change at all He simply didn�t have enough information At the very least it weakened the draw from below which was still significant progress

A few Nether Beasts lingered in the surrounding area and sensed Randidly�s descent but he was able to easily dispatch them when they aggressively charged toward him The Grim Chimera ripped them to pieces and the Stillborn Phoenix greedily drank down their ambient energy Meanwhile his senses were strained to keep measuring the Nether content in the air At the cusp of 71% Randidly slowed and seized his emotional tether once more

Only a little at a time Randidly reassured himself Then he looked� around

Continued sightless exposure to the subtle mixture of Nether and emotions refined his detection abilities even further The sensations in the murky darkness deepened providing a strange sense of liberation from the flat shapes that could be captured by eyes No longer were the surroundings quite so dark Each ambient emotion had their individual vibrancy shape and echo creating a kaleidoscopic look into both the present and the past In some strange way everything meaningful that had occurred within the surroundings was recorded for Randidly�s senses allowing him to glimpse the smallest portion of the history of this place

The thick Nether that made up the air diligently recorded everything that occurred The location possessed its own memory Even now Randidly floated on history

At first Randidly was simply intrigued by the resourcefulness of his senses but then he realized that looking at the ways emotion had behaved in the past was still quite useful to him in the present Although he couldn�t discern why this would be the case there were areas that were frequently warped by powerful emotions and others that hardly seemed to have been touched in the last ten years

Which at least gave him places along the bone wall where he wouldn�t be disturbed as frequently in his Engraving Following this discovery Randidly shifted his positioning

In addition Randidly discovered several locations where slight warping in the emotional history had occurred He likely would have continued to study them had not he been attacked by a group of Nether Beasts and witnessed the creation of such a distortion with his own eyes they were locations where Stature had been manifested

Even those changes were recorded within the surrounding air Noticing this made Randidly�s expression gradually twist Nether Beasts rushed at him but the Grim Chimera was more than capable of slaughtering them If one possesses an acute enough ability to read Nether does that mean that individual could completely follow my passage here understanding my every move

The thought left Randidly feeling rather sour

After he finished off the foolish Nether Beasts Randidly looked around with new understanding If he looked for long enough he almost felt like he could see ghosts lingering around in those spots transforming before his eyes

With a sigh Randidly shook his head Although his senses had become much more acute they still couldn�t quite completely acclimate to the surroundings Well that was perhaps not true Randidly just wasn�t quite strong enough to rip all of the secrets out of the surrounding shaft which seemed to become more mysterious the longer he stayed here

But he reassured himself that it was only a matter of time before he could read into the secrets of this shaft

After he stabilized his position at his new depth and settled in a location with low emotional traffic Randidly�s attention turned downward With his more expansive senses he could reach deeply into the area below him and see that the interior of the spine was as he suspected widening even further

That observation caused Randidly to pause and grin maniacally At this point this looks less like a spine and more like a bone esophagus leading to a massive stomach Heh just how much of a monster was this fuck

Randidly set that thought to the side for now and continued with his examination Within the wider space below it seemed that there were even more Nether Beasts he could lure toward himself to fight But the Nether Beast population he could observe was nearing the point where any fight that Randidly got into would quickly become tiresome there were simply too many Nether Beasts for even him to comfortably defeat those nearby quickly enough that others wouldn�t notice and investigate

Basically Randidly estimated that any fighting right now would embroil him in a struggle that could last anywhere from two days to a week just from the constant stream of nearby Nether Beasts It would be a never ending cascade of aggressive Nether activity And considering the amount of image power he would likely need to use to fight off those Nether Beasts more could very well come up from below

More Nether Beasts and worse With the way their abilities were improving he would encounter Nether Heralds soon

And of course that thought sent a shiver of excitement through him

Silently shaking his head Randidly looked even deeper into the depths Due to the powerful emotions radiating upward from the power source below the whole area was stained with a subtle shade of maroon Despite his buried anticipation he could locate no Nether Heralds below it appeared he would need to satisfy himself with the typical Nether Beasts

In addition the more he peered downward the more Randidly realized that there were some openings in the gathering of Nether Beasts It was so far below that he couldn�t get a clear view of what was occurring but there were clearly spaces that the Nether Beasts avoided

And those open spaces were gradually shifting As though the Nether Beasts instinctively avoided some living creature

Perhaps some sort of apparatus connected to the powerplant below Aether Guards Or even a weird life emotional life form Maybe I�m not the first person to detach a doppelganger Randidly wondered But without more evidence he set those conjectures aside An aggressive part of himself was intensely curious but after descending further into the depths he could placate his aggressive tendencies for now

Besides Randidly came down here with a different project in mind

Silently breathing out through his nose he pushed his thick Nether out of the Nebula and into the surrounding air Although his eyes were useless in the gathering of information his Nether Sensation could detect the strange energy his eyes released as his body became the core of a weave of Nether The thick strands of Nether rapidly moved together pushing back the surrounding air and building a tiny bubble of isolation

The ambient Nether in the air resisted a little but Randidly was able to open up a few meters of space where he could work The bubble pushed everything else back

Once the Ritual cleansed the surrounding air Randidly folded his legs beneath him and began to meditate He needed to observe the behavior of the Nether Ritual as well as making sure there were no problems with the emotional tether or the Nether Beasts in the surrounding area Keeping the surrounding Nether from interfering with the process was just the beginning

After about an hour Randidly allowed himself to nod slowly this would work

Then he straightened his body rolled his shoulder and flexed his fingers of his hand He took out the Philosopher�s Key and opened a portal to basically the only location he could currently Before him a threshold to his Alpha Cosmos opened connecting this space to the secret world that was his own body

Strangely the plane of the portal rapidly grew fuzzy Randidly frowned it looked like his Nether Ritual wasn�t completely effective Or rather there was some filtering that he couldn�t avoid The energy makeup of the air on the two sides of the portal was different enough that this distortion occurred when the atmospheres met But considering the effect was relatively minor Randidly had to consider this a success

He reached through the portal with an open hand

It was slightly awkward waiting there with just his hand but his reliance on Nether Sensation meant that his vision beyond the portal was mightily reduced He could only rely on the exposed skin of his hand detecting soundwaves to carefully construct a picture of what was occurring beyond the portal Figures shifted moving toward the portal

Oddly Randidly felt strangely nervous When I�m alone I don�t mind missing my senses but it does make it awkward that I can only communicate through messages

But very soon a small ring was placed within his hand Grinning Randidly pulled his hand back closed the portal and scanned the ring New schematics and several valuable metals were carefully stacked within

It was time to reforge his left arm

Chapter 1570

Randidly took a few hours to study Wendy�s new plans The Spriggit woman had outdone herself of course Then he once more sat in a meditative position with several bars of the Black Gold that he had obtained for his arm floating around him He watched the tumbling ingots carefully seeing how they behaved when they were exposed to increasing amounts of Nether His Nether Sensation wrapped around each bar of metal watching for the smallest bit of corrosion

Luckily there was no reaction from the Black Gold From what Randidly understood from the hastily scrambled explanation included with the materials Black Gold was the new top end metal that Wendy�s company had developed It was an alloy with actually nothing to do with gold but it was the result of exposing a certain brass alloy to the Netherite now found within his Alpha Cosmos

Obviously Randidly couldn�t witness the material himself but Wendy�s messages assured him that the metal was quite beautiful a completely black metal with thin branching golden lines running through its core without lessening its resiliency The aesthetics of the metal didn�t matter so much to Randidly but he did like the obvious connections to the golden veins his image physicalizations caused in his body It might just be superstition but he believed the combination would be a good one

Assuming of course that he could finish the arm without any hiccups

Randidly began to steadily manipulate the bars of metal sensing their heft and density He even unleashed an attack from the Grim Chimera watching the way the Grim Chimera�s claws were slightly impeded by the metal and weren�t able to rip all the way through That earned a small smile from Randidly It might not be to the point where it would be able to stand up against Velio Dunn but after Randidly refined the metal it would certainly be sturdy

Honestly if there was a material that could stop Velio Dunn I�d cover myself in it and just be done with it He thought with a twitching mouth

But while Randidly continued to steadily use his Skills to push the limits of the metal he began his preparations for the forging He brought out both Neveah�s letter and Wendy�s schematics to study them carefully together Because if either was flawed the entire creation would fail His acute senses could sense the presence of ink on the page giving him a full view of the information he needed He idly cut a divet into his chest with a nail allow two large pools of blood to form on either side of him

He couldn�t use his eyes to see which was emerald and which was crimson but the negative and positive energy thrown off by the pools of blood were more than enough to keep them clear in his mind He was even rather surprised to realize that the reason that his blood could behave so differently was because of mobilized emotion He silently clicked his tongue and shook his head Perhaps such an explanation should have occurred to him a long time ago

Then he closed his eyes Alright Now it�s time

Randidly�s right hand flexed and his heart began to pound He could feel the little humidity in the air of the shaft rapidly turning to steam around him as the heat radiated by his body shot sharply upward Randidly activated Stigma of the Stillborn Phoenix increasing the strain on his person but also increasing the heat further Without any external source of flames Randidly intended to rely on the heat that his body generated to melt the metals

Seemed a bit silly to try and build a kiln floating here

Very quickly Randidly ceased pushing his body to become a furnace because he could sense the edges of Neveah�s letter in his hand were beginning to smolder So he maintained that state of near combustion of the paper and swirled the steam and thin tendrils of smoke around him with Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart There was just enough of a substantive barrier created by the Nether Ritual that Randidly could accelerate that gaseous mixture until it flattened itself into a thin barrier around the edges

Within those rapid flows of air the temperature rapidly cooled But that as more steam drifted off of Randidly�s skin the temperature gradually began to climb back upward within that dense gas layer Randidly�s lips twitched Very soon the temperature in that hyperdense layer was going to climb past its previous highs He just hoped it wouldn�t rip through his Nether Ritual in the process

In the meantime Randidly drew a metal ingot to his hand and began to practice the Engraving given to him by Neveah With his recent improvements the Engraving she had made for him was complex but not overwhelming After attempting the engraving four times Randidly felt confident enough to proceed

Congratulations Your Skill Architecture of the Primordial Way has grown to Level 312

These useless notifications are really starting to get on my nerves Randidly barred his teeth then forced himself to calm down Being distracted right now would only lead to regrets down the line the next time his arm faced a force that could shatter it

But before the Engraving came the metal refining After storing away the scrolls for the Engraving and the designs for the arms Randidly allowed the scalding layer of air to spread back out and fill the entirety of his Nether Ritual As his body trembled he forced his heartbeat to accelerate His muscles began to swell slightly as his boiling blood surged throughout his body More and more steam wisped off of him to the point that he could sense the impending dehydration within his body

Still Randidly ignored the discomfort and pushed himself forward His Willpower had been steadily been honed by the activities with emotions giving it an unforgiving edge that he brought now to bare on himself

Randidly couldn�t prevent his mouth from twitching in regards to the notification but he ultimately ignored it Then he cast his senses outside of his Nether Ritual seeing if there was any movement among the Nether Beasts Seeing that there was none Randidly began to process of metal refinement

Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold

As Revelation energy filled his body Randidly peered at the metal ingots floating in the air around him He could sense their delicate loosening of their bonds as the heat tugged at them but Black Gold was an extremely robust metal this heat wouldn�t be enough to melt the bars So he cackled without producing any noise and pushed the heat of his body upward His heart was thunderously silent shaking every inch of him with every beat without producing the slightest noise

As the heat rose the Black Gold began to soften at its edges With a knowing smile on his face Randidly raised his right hand and made a fist Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart squeezed the super heated air around the metal ingot increasing the heat even further as the air molecules collided with each other in a much smaller space Where his source of heat was relatively static he could only apply more and more pressure

So his fist tightened His Willpower flared

He couldn�t see it happen but he could feel it The metal began to ooze and bubble

After that the destabilization began to accelerate The ingot completely lost its shape under the tight grasp of the Stillborn Phoenix�s Skills Then Randidly began to spin the molten metal whisking away any slight impurities that he found within its material His heart continued to beat raising the ambient temperature within the Nether Ritual

With a steaming finger he pointed to guide the entire process of smelting

The sphere of metal was brought through the negative energy blood drawing out its weaknesses Then Randidly thoroughly beat and purified it with blasts of gravity Afterward it was dunked within the positive energy blood which strengthened its structure and reinforced it Randidly�s heart continued like a perfect metronome marking his progress

When he was satisfied with the first reforged ingot Randidly released it to float toward the top of his work area and started on a second ingot Soon he had created a second third and fourth but then he was forced to pause in his work He could feel the Nether Ritual slowly beginning to tear and allow some of his precious heat to radiate outward into the surrounding space Due to that strange heat some Nether Beasts were drifting closer

His annoyance spiked Randidly cursed quietly and wove a second larger Nether Ritual

Halfway through the weaving Randidly went through the motions of clicking his tongue and didn�t produce the slightest noise He shredded his Nether Ritual and began again Each of his flows of Nether was suddenly very purposeful As he returned to making more common Nether Rituals after utilizing Engraving to make a Nether Core he realized he had made some rather foolish assumptions when he earned the Skill that he now carried Banishing those assumptions Randidly began weaving again aiming to mimic significance rather than organic lines

Organic lines were a byproduct of existence They aren�t the ultimate goal

Since he was remaking the Nether Ritual anyway Randidly made the final space about double its original size It had occurred to him after melting a few ingots that it would be difficult to manage everything in his original zone Soon the second Nether Ritual snapped into place and once more sealed his activities from the outside space The Nether Beasts who drifted closer could not find anything of note within the Ritual and steadily drifted away

The Stillborn Phoenix seemed almost disappointed that it didn�t get to devour more Nether Beasts for the moment

Expanding the space obviously cooled the air which meant Randidly had to spend a couple more minutes building up heat And the previously melted metals hardened in that time which filled Randidly with dissatisfaction He gritted his teeth But after concentrating on his heartbeat for a while the temperature reached its previous levels Yet Randidly suddenly thought this wasn�t enough his Willpower flexed his muscles with such desperation his body began to shake

I need more heat As soon as sweat formed on his brow it evaporated and was whisked away His skin was red and inflamed Yet he knew that even this

Struck by sudden inspiration Randidly released the tight reins he kept on his emotions All his aggressive fury his frustration with his own development and that tingling madness that drove him into fights against Nether Beasts flooded out of his heart and filled his body Images required both shape and emotion to achieve their strength But even without shape emotions had power That was one of the lessons this experience had carved into his bones

To his Nether Sensation Randidly felt pink flames lick across his body He let the aggressive emotions run wild feeling the familiar suffocating feelings of mental imbalance rising within him Yet he didn�t slow down as he approached that barrier He simply blasted past it reducing it to splinters

Randidly felt something within his Soulspace change but he didn�t investigate the sensation closely Under the influence of the wild emotions he clenched his hand into a fist The flames around his body grew in height The isolated space became an inferno

As the ingots floating in the air began to melt Randidly began to laugh

Chapter 1571

The ambient temperature around Randidly Ghosthound continued to rise as he released his emotional limiters His skin was constantly tingling while his nerves sang with the near constant searing pain that stabbed into him from the uncontrollable emotions The flames of emotion dyed the surroundings a deep purple color to his senses More and more buried feelings of dissatisfaction and fury bubbled up from the depths of his soul

In a way it was cathartic In another it was a descent toward madness

The constant threats from the Nexus the arrival of Kaan Swacc on Expira now the movements of Velio Dunn targeting him

Neveah�s emotional wounds and the fact that his weakness had drawn her to the Nexus despite her wishes

The sacrificed worlds of the Fifth Cohort the monsters of the Nexus

His current circumstances the innocent doppelganger he had killed

Everything erupted from his body staining the surrounding space The sensation was oddly intoxicating especially as more and more emotions gushed upward He paused in his manipulation of the melting metal to just savor the flood of sensations Gradually he was coming to understand the powerful effect of the Visage of Obsession There was no better word than Obsession� to describe the wild hunger in his soul right now Those undeniable emotions became motivation that guided his hands with unerring conviction

Randidly could feel the veins in his sightless eyes steadily popping as he stared state forward into the air in front of him As his gaze grew increasingly bloodshot his hand grew almost cruel in its determined refinement of the Black Gold Meanwhile the heat continued to rise ripping out impurities from the metal that Randidly couldn�t even sense prior to reaching this heat He could also feel the Nether Ritual straining underneath his newfound intensity but to his malicious glee the barrier strained but held

His progress in manipulating Nether was currently sufficient

Steam molten metal and flames flowed around Randidly His Stillborn Phoenix raised its head and screamed its fury He couldn�t witness the light bending around his face as the image manifested but the power was enough to warp the very air The emotions within the Nether Ritual began to sluggishly swirl as that power distorted the surroundings Gravity gripped the space once the purities were removed from the metal Randidly began to shape and temper the material with the base force of celestial bodies

Yet he couldn�t miss the way the Stillborn Phoenix�s form began to twist and warp as he maintained its phantom The hyper concentrated emotions led to shuddering changes within the image From the depths of the depth less singularity at the core of the Egg of Depression Randidly could feel certain impossibilities yearning for manifestation With small steps those impossibilities became slightly more likely

Yet those changes only increased his own power The Stillborn Phoenix�s cries grew increasingly loud to Randidly�s ears to the point that waves of imperceptible force traveled beyond the edge of the Nether Ritual And in his chest his of Nether Nebula began to spin even faster The feeling of limitlessness that followed these changes was intoxicating

The small portion of Randidly that still maintained his rationality couldn�t deny that his current state was strange But while his body was seized with the delirious joy of obsession that small observer could construct a theory as to his current situation

Currently Randidly felt like his grasp could extend beyond the normal limitations of his mortal coil He spread like an amorphous cloud outside of his body through emotion The intensity of his concentration maintained his sharp Willpower through the experience but the sensation was profoundly uncomfortable to the small shred of rationality remaining to him Suddenly he no longer seemed to be tied to a physical form By the same token he was no longer protected by the physical That prospect filled him with a strange sense of urgency worrying that his body would be consumed in whatever reaction now wracked him

Soon he would be a ghastly spirit wandering around to prey on the living

However reflection proved those worries to be largely unfounded he wasn�t close to becoming an undead Instead Randidly�s explosion of emotions was steadily pushing him toward internal balance In the past he had primarily relied on shape to govern his images His time in the depths saw him gradually increasing his mastery of emotions but it was always a secondary concern to his original methods But at this moment under the influence of obsession he instead shifted to a state where emotion was the dominant trait of his Aether

Shape could barely contain the intensity of emotions he had triggered

He was emotionally unleashed blazing with all of his hidden thoughts By surging past that limitation now he might even have the possibility of later bringing the two aspects of Aether into alignment in the future

Still not that any of that fucking matters right now Randidly barred his teeth as his shoulders rose and fell with silent laughter True to his earlier impression he toed the line of madness as his emotions washed across his personality and body with all the unpredictability of the sea But as he sensed the floating blobs of molten metal around him his mouth twitched Ugh looks like I need a bit more metal though

Randidly produced a dozen more bars of Black Gold from his interspatial ring They tumbled slowly in the air as the temperature rapidly softened their edges Under the heat released by his emotional flames and his pounding heart it only took those ingots a few minutes to completely melt into the refinable form Then he rapidly began cleansing these new additions to bolster his shrinking store of metal

There were obviously costs to his current state Even if he was obsessed to the point of seeking perfection from the result the influence of the emotions made him slightly heavy handed in his refinement When he blasted away the weaknesses of the metal he often annihilated quite a bit of the surrounding material

Some part of him understood that proceeding more slowly would make the process more efficient But he had plenty of material to spare

His heart began to pound as his hand flicked side to side guiding the molten metal through the air in front of him at higher and higher speeds It flowed in a large figure eight then spun off to the side and spiraled into a vortex from a twitch of his finger The bulging and distorted forms of overly emotional Yggdrasil and Grim Chimera combed their power through the material removing any weaknesses they found

When finally the refinement process seemed unable to locate any flaws he proceeded to the next step With tight Control Randidly began separating the large batch of satisfactory molten metal into smaller clumps Soon nearly two hundred beads of metal in varying sizes trembled in the air

Randidly sneered and mobilized every ounce of force he could from his manipulation of gravity Huge distortions smashed into the molten metal beads as he began to shape them But before he fully committed to moving onto the next portion of the forging his eyes flashed His mouth opened and he unleashed a pure screaming note that dwarfed even the Stillborn Phoenix at its most shrill

Of course the note created no noise But the pressure coming from his emotions spiked upward They spiraled together and resonated with that note until the majority of those emotional flames condensed into a tight stone in front of Randidly�s mouth He drove every last drop of emotion in his body to that crystalized point Then as his expulsion of the emotions continued the stone cracked

This produced a definite noise bits of smote crystal smashing against Randidly�s face and chest and unleashing a wave of force that distorted the surrounding air That wave ripped through the floating marbles of metal tearing huge gashes in their form Luckily that wave of force passed harmlessly through the Nether Ritual But as it escaped into the surrounding air Randidly curiously noted that it seemed to frighten away any of the ambient emotions

Tsk so the secret to crystalizing Aether comes from emotion huh How the hell did I even manage to do that

The Nether Beasts stirred to investigate the disturbance as Randidly fell from his emotional intensity but they still weren�t able to peer through the Nether Ritual For now it seemed like he was proceeding as planned

With renewed clarity in his movements Randidly slowly blinked Then he raised his right hand in front of him Although his heart continued to pound and shake his body the emotional flames dimmed across his body The extended state of agony steadily eased For now he was spent

Gradually Randidly�s breathing continued to fall toward normalcy as he continued his work on the metal limb After the explosion of fury his emotions receded like a tide leaving him feeling somewhat numb That tingling numbness didn�t detract from his conviction however His mental edge seemed to be all the sharper fully revealed after the departure of his emotions

His senses narrowed on the waiting beads of metal in front of him

Whatever that emotional wave had been it had baptized the remaining metal As continued to shape the material into his arm he could feel the physical form of the metal sometimes bend in unpredictable ways The way the material folded spoke to an existence that perhaps had incorporated a bit of his Grim Chimera allowing the material to somehow avoid� a portion of its mass Whether that was a good or a bad thing however

Even with a diminished wildness in his heart Randidly still smiled widely at the result Somehow I can tell that this result is exceedingly special

Then his grin shrank somewhat as a more wry portion of his humor reared its head At the very least I will no longer need to weave these Nether Rituals and do Engravings with just one arm fuck but it�s been quite annoying to be so imbalanced like this

Small physical deviations aside the actual shaping was the quickness of the steps to creating an arm In this iteration Wendy had set aside the idea of scale mail at Randidly�s request the pieces had simply become too small to contain the power of the Engraving he needed Part of that was materials but some of the individual scales had been wearing out prior to Velio Dunn�s devastating strike The arm might have lasted enough year at that pace but it was still disappointing to Randidly that there were already signs of failure

The metal was shaped and tempered then cooled to slowly settle into its new shape Gradually the sharp edged components formed in front of him

The new form had been inspired by his Grim Chimera image but it wasn�t overly reliant on the image Unlike the hollow options he created previously this arm would literally be composed of both a refined inner limb and a thick layer of armor that would be wrapped around it Randidly would need to help reshape Sulfur so he wasn�t taking the place of the limb but that was probably for the best

Sulfur simply wasn�t made for the delicate touch required by Randidly in his training or normal life

Most of the tiny pieces in front of him were bits of the complicated hand that was the portion with the most difficulty in assembly Even so Randidly rapidly spun the pieces together to create the final form Like pieces of a puzzle guiding themselves into their natural place Randidly observed with great satisfaction as his limb was completed

It floated in front of him the final result radiating a powerful emotional light

With a nod Randidly waved his hand the arm and armor around it disassembled itself The pieces spun outward and arranged themselves in front of Randidly He raised his right hand and Mana rushed toward his fingers It was time to Engrave

Chapter 1572

Congratulations Your Skill Experienced Creator�s Ingenuity has grown to Level 180

At first Randidly was somewhat worried that his exhausted state after expending all that emotional energy would mean that the final Engraving would be less than satisfactory But whether it was due to the mental clarity of the Visage of Obsession or because all of his distracting frustrations he had been carrying were removed he performed perfectly during the Engraving The movements of his fingers across the Black Gold arm were smooth The flow of Mana from fingertip to metal was clean

Each runic sigil was sharp and distinct The edges were perfectly luminous Randidly couldn�t actually see the result but his senses were telling him that the result was near ideal As he finished the arm he pulled back and silently clicked his tongue in satisfaction Even if the gesture made no noise he appreciated the physical sensation of impact within his mouth

These Skill Level notifications are a useless distraction but it�s true that it feels like there�s been an overall change in the way I Engrave the continued practice for a Nether Core has bourne fruit This Black Gold arm hum perhaps that name isn�t accurate any longer Should I call it Black Blood metal Or Blood Gold or Blood Black Brass

Well it doesn�t matter With a flourish Randidly added the final line of injected Mana to the arm in front of him It flashed brightly as the energy flowed through the entire piece of equipment Underneath Randidly�s careful scrutiny the arm demonstrated that there were no flaws the energy flowed through the Engraving without any leakage Finally Randidly allowed satisfaction to take root in his heart The arm floating in front of him was like a torch in the isolated Nether of his bubble yet didn�t suffer at all due to the environment He had completely succeeded

He reached out and pressed his fingers against the equipment viewing its Stats

The Ghosthand Baptized by the Abyss Level 99 A profoundly warped left arm of Randidly Ghosthound The design workmanship and execution of this arm have approached the limits of mortal hands In addition many powerful energies in the environment have pushed the material beyond the realms of the physical This piece of equipment has vast potential but it remains to be seen how that will affect the limb

Aether and Nether are able to mix freely within the limb Slight boost to the usage of both Aether and Nether when channeling through this limb

Vitality and Endurance +100 Agility +30 and Control +50

Specter of the Ghosthound Breath from the Depths Emotional Resonance

But as Randidly began to frown at the aspects of his equipment more notifications popped up in front of him

Warning Error detected Due to interference unable to completely examine the chosen equipment Please proceed to the nearest Village Spirit for additional details

Warning Failing to seek assistance from a Village Spirit may result in sickness and death

That familiar refrain earned a strong eyebrow twitch from Randidly Like Hell I�m going to go out and talk to a Village Spirit after all this time even if I wasn�t stuck in here but seriously the fucking significance below also interferes with me seeing the details But more importantly I don�t love that Breath from the Depths Does that mean the arm is somehow influenced by the pull of significance below But the term breath�

If Randidly were completely unwilling to take on the risk of the unknown attribute it might be safest to simply destroy the arm or at the very least store it within his interspatial ring for the foreseeable future He had been influenced by too many entities in the Nexus to react very positively when a surprise like this came up But the term breath� made him hesitate Perhaps he was overreacting

Breath was passive It wasn�t domineering or controlling It was simply an exhale an influence sure but one likely generated by proximity Considering the fact that Randidly was already to escape from this place his main worry was that the aspect would somehow make it even more difficult to escape from this place

Yet Randidly also knew that having his arm back would raise the efficiency of his training And he could start incorporating more of his typical combat training into his routine down here While he was armless he generally avoided any sort of meaningful combat training so as not to develop bad habits for when he had both limbs For that reason he knew his dubious Skill growth (with the repeating Skill Levels) was slower than it needed to be

Assuming that the Skill growth was real just masked by the significance here he would have a pile of PP waiting for him when he escaped The bigger that pile was the closer he would be to receiving his Alpha Cosmos Tithe Power in the Nexus was mostly based on Aether images and Randidly was now investing heavily in finally obtaining concrete power with his usage of Nether but that didn�t mean that the original milestones of power stopped being effective

When Randidly gathered enough Stats he would create a mound that could even let him drag down the most powerful individuals in the Nexus He trusted that Even now further Stat points would push him further toward the realm of impossibility With the System limit broken and in his rear view mirror there was no reason not to keep pushing forward His Aether Crossroads would supply him with enough energy to develop beyond all recognition

With the time advantage these arrogant individuals had over him he wasn�t going to refuse any benefit he could accrue

Randidly released a breath The emotional radiation from the arm continued to give him an extremely detailed look at the curves of the limb But as he sensed those emotions now a thought occurred to Randidly Actually if the arm throws off this much emotion constantly haah

Accepting the unknown attribute was a risk but Randidly reached out and seized the armored wrist in front of him He brought the arm around and blew another breath out through his nose His right hand went to the heavy shoulder of the limb His blind eyes narrowed His hand tightened on the joint which ended in a short spike to grip onto the flesh of Randidly�s body while the Engraving bonded with him

He shook his head slightly as his acute senses traced the edges of that spike If only this process was a bit more comfortable

Without any further hesitation he shoved the joint against the remnant flesh of his shoulder The spike broke through his skin drawing a silent hiss from Randidly Then his Aether stirred as he activated the Engravings present To Randidly�s senses emotion began to move with the Mana creating an even brighter illumination within the Nether Ritual Those violent emotions rapidly drove the heat of the metal upward

Randidly grimaced as the energized metal began to sizzle against the skin of his shoulder Then his chest rumbled as he felt the lines of energy digging their way outward from his equipment into his body The already scarred flesh of his shoulder once more was invaded by Engravings and Randidly had to force himself to relax to allow the bonding to occur All the previous markings on his shoulder had to be seared away to make room for the new ones

But as expected the experience wasn�t a pleasant one

The cleansing and marking didn�t take long however Soon the pain rapidly began to fade And in that vacated stretch of sensation the tingling feedback from his new limb began to arrive With a ghost of the smile on his face Randidly raised his armored left arm His new knuckles were thick and angular while the fingertips tapered down to the normal human size

It was a hand that could carve an Engraving punch through a stone wall or wring the life out of the throat of an enemy

Someday Velio Dunn Randidly glanced upward at the emotions that swam upward When I�ve had my decade don�t you fucking worry I�ll come back for my revenge You�ll get your duel

Currently Randidly had experienced three months within the depths of the Nexus He wondered how much time had passed in the outside world

After shaking his head to rid himself of distractions Randidly raised his hand and swiped it through the air The Nether Ritual parted allowing the thick Nether in the surroundings to come flooding back He planned to study the marks he left on this location�s Nether by this forging but as his aura spread out he could only grimace

Three violent blasts of emotions that were heading up on the other side of the shaft curved around and headed to his position as though they were curious about the radiation his arm released

His worst fears were confirmed the ambient emotions of his arm acted as a draw pulling everything toward him With a long face Randidly prepared to blast away these offending emotions

As he did so Randidly wondered if there would be a way to tone down his arm a little

For a while Helen was silent as she looked at Vualla sitting on the rock rubbing her cheek Finally she opened her mouth Should we punish them for this It might not have been conscious but he definitely mobilized an image against you

No this much is alright Vualla said with a sigh She slapped her cheek lightly The spot still stung slightly from where she had been so thoroughly smashed Training these two recruits certainly wasn�t resulting in the sort of growth she had experienced while in the Xyrt Brigade training facility but it broadened her horizons Vualla hopped up to her feet and shook herself Besides isn�t this exactly what we wanted Guiding him to this Path Heh I guess that fox is finally desperate

Truly that punch that Raymund had used had been sublime if Vualla did say so herself But she was somewhat biased because that punch was originally hers

And that Vulpine had somehow stolen it and used it against her

But Helen pursed her lips but didn�t push it further

Vualla waved a hand Believe me I�m mad But it�s not that important in the grand scheme of things I�ll have my revenge on that bastard because this time I won�t be surprised by his abilities And when I finally capture them hehehe being without images might be shit otherwise but nothing replaces the feeling of beating someone to a pulp with just your own fists am I right

Chapter 1573

As always Randidly gradually lost himself to constant repetition of training In a way it was a relief It helped him avoid undue stress due to his current precarious situation The only problem was the addition of the left arm periodically pulled him out of training as it attracted the attention of the escaping emotions from below no matter where he positioned himself in the shaft While those emotions would react with fear and aggression when they came close to him curiosity still drove them to investigate

If I die here I�m going to leave a BOMB�s worth of negative emotions I�ll haunt all of you

Despite his vindictive impulses Randidly wondered what exactly the arm felt like to these semi conscious emotions But ultimately the flows of emotions weren�t the problem the problem was his fights against emotions attracted the attention of the Nether Beasts

Which as he had predicted could quickly escalate

There were no true noises from his strikes but the reverberations in his hands were viscerally powerful His knuckles were white Randidly gritted his teeth as the Grim Chimera manifested across his body to strengthen his physique He used his powerful left arm to simply smash back a giant centipede Nether Beast while his right hand flicked out and inflicted several deep gashes across two other Nether Beasts that rushed toward him These sheep like Nether Beasts Why couldn�t they just leave well enough alone Fuck they are going to make me lose my grip on the emotional tether

More than destroying the Nether Beasts he attacked his blows knocked his opponents into the path of their reinforcements They came up in a malicious wave surrounding Randidly and seeking to strike at him from every angle But Nether Sensation kept him a step ahead allowing him to predict and interfere with their shitty tactics

Yet as the Nether Beasts in front of him stabilized himself he felt an all consuming fury that they would push him like this And that emotional blaze was exactly what Randidly was waiting for In front of him was almost thirty Nether Beasts with two that he just struck transforming Virtue into Stature and surging forward but sudden the edges of his Grim Chimera manifestation began to shimmer with cracking power

The left arm of the Grim Chimera grew heavier The right arm flexed and grew sharper A grey aura rippled outward and soaked the surrounding space The Nether Beasts within that area found themselves mired in the shade their movements significantly slowed

Congratulations Your Skill Reaper�s Mantle of Catastrophe has grown to Level 272

Randidly couldn�t trigger this reaction at will yet but when someone pushed him emotionally

Within the depths of the Grim Chimera Shape and Emotion moved in tandem Balance was briefly achieved The air around the Grim Chimera grew sticky as its grey aura released a horrifying amount of suppression His physical manifestations grew bright and lethal As the two tails of the Grim Chimera flicked back and forth the nearby Nether Beasts screeched in pain and were inflicted with near fatal wounds and left with cracked cores

A few Nether Beasts had the presence of mind to lash out with their claws and tails to strike back as the Grim Chimera gathered itself but Chimeric Impunity meant that their attacks were harmless

Then the Grim Chimera grinned as they crowded around his empowered form The Chimera Weeps But Man Mourns

The fingers of the Grim Chimera shot out in several directions aided both by shape and emotional energy Typically this Skill unleashed about 10 to 14 thrusts in the area around him The damage of each of those wasn�t especially impressive but rather the utility of the Skill came from the fact that each thrust was near simultaneous Randidly could inflict quite a bit of damage in his surroundings in a short amount of time

Yet the boost from the emotional energy made all the difference When Randidly�s hand shot out to rip away the life from the Nether Beasts in front of him huge cones of force followed in the wake of his attacks They silently swept outward ripping through the Nether Beasts� bubbles and annihilating their core For a brief moment he was a flurry of activity Both arms lashed out wildly Randidly seemed to sit at the center of an explosion and launched shrapnel in every direction

With eyes glowing with fury Randidly panted and looked out across the empty space in front of him Severed limbs fizzled and began to disintegrate no longer supported by the Nether Cores that had sustained them

He released another breath as his emotions steadily drained out of him leaving the Grim Chimera in its more typical form A similar process to condensing drops of liquid Aether and using a hyper powered Skill but the efficiency is much better I don�t need to gather emotion for near as long this way I�ll be able to wield this power much more frequently if I can just master my emotions

That thought earned a rueful smile from Randidly He shook his head Mastering emotions It wasn�t a realistic goal even if he gave up his wish to overthrow the Nexus and became a monk Then he glanced around his position sensing the movements of Nether Beasts to investigate that last image burst he released Without much urgency he drifted across the whole of the shaft to the other wall Currently he felt like he had reached his limits with his Engraving attempts it was time to activate the Visage of Obsession once more

So far these sacrifices haven�t been much but there are quite a few more to go I only have so many senses what could be coming next

Before he produced the Fatepiece Randidly wove himself a Nether Ritual to seal the surroundings as he had done for the forging It was especially necessary now to have a refuge with his arm constantly drawing emotional ire his way Once he had his protective barrier up he pulled out the old scroll hyper aware of how grainy the canvas paper in his hands felt

He unrolled the Visage and looked at it with his blind eyes wondering whether his sight would pose a challenge But as he expected it did not

The longer Randidly looked the more emotions began to flow out of the blank canvas coloring his vision His point of view was gathered and pulled forward Instead of just being able to see from the perspective of the painting Randidly felt like he was sinking directly into that strange world of ambient colors With the experience of sensing the surrounding through Nether he realized that the colorful painting displayed a view that was extremely similar to Nether Sensation

The ground was again black although there were thin strands of yellow poking up through the ground in spots This time the sky was green with red flashes Randidly began to float forward

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Visage of Obsession has grown to Level 23

Skipping Levels now or did I really just miss them Randidly sighed as he continued along the strange ground in front of him He decided to ignore the constant passage of time He simply observed the surroundings The yellow was becoming increasingly common in the messy black strokes of the ground It was like he was walking on a hill containing a vast amount of precious gold And the sky

The red was bleeding outward from its humble beginnings It was a fatal wound constantly oozing Very quickly the green darkened as it was stained beyond recognition

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Visage of Obsession has grown to Level 27

The ground became light and the sky became dark Randidly continued forward leaning against a low wind that was forming in this place Colors blurred further in front of him tugged by the currents The horizon blended together into an ugly mass As Randidly�s senses continued to create a perspective for him he felt oddly like he was walking directly toward the abyss

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Visage of Obsession has grown to Level 29

This time Randidly was surprised to find that the figure that bloomed in front of him was not Yystrix At first he thought it was still her projections but those features were too playful to belong to the ancient being that could trace her origins to before the Nexus No this person in front of him was Lyra

Randidly tilted his head to the side Lyra grinned at him and winked He snorted in response and gestured with his hand get on with it

She sighed dramatically and the familiar movement brought a hint of nostalgia to Randidly�s heart Things were so much easier back on Expira toward the beginning while the duo stayed in Donnyton Even without a Class he had direct and clear ways to grow more powerful There was a simple satisfaction to those times that Randidly had lost as he had grown

He gestured again at Lyra�s knowing look get on with it

This time she shrugged Unlike Yystrix who pointed to the part of her body that Randidly would need to rip out of himself Lyra produced a wicker basket Randidly was rather disturbed to sense that within the basket were the bloody remnants of a tongue and two eyeballs She hefted the basket and smiled at him

Her thoughts appeared in Randidly�s head without any sort of communication Which made a certain amount of sense because she was simply a construct of his subconscious But what Lyra requested Randidly surrender made him slowly frown

Give me your sense of direction

Randidly grimaced Without that do you truly want me to be stuck here forever

Lyra shrugged Her expression clearly indicated that it didn�t much matter to her whether he chose to continue with his Visage of Obsession or not But he couldn�t back down now She shook the wicker basket slightly and tilted her head to the side Again Randidly could easily read the thoughts from her expression even if you refuse to proceed further you won�t get these again until you complete the Visage of Obsession The Visage can only be delayed

Just as Randidly felt the benefits of the Fatepiece accruing the disadvantages grew more obvious as he proceeded But despite his misgivings Randidly nodded his assent to this sacrifice There was a flash of light and suddenly a battered brass compass appeared within Lyra�s basket Her smile widened

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Visage of Obsession has grown to Level 30

Randidly didn�t proceed further he pulled himself out of the Fatepiece and inspected himself Absolute Timing told him this most recent usage of the Visage had taken two weeks And as he studied his body he didn�t feel much difference He still held on to the emotional tether that kept him from proceeding deeper In terms of losing his sense of direction

Initially Randidly was very optimistic But all he needed to do was keep a portion of his senses on the bone wall so he wouldn�t lose himself But to test the effect he purposefully didn�t extend his Nether senses back toward the wall For a few moments he was adrift Unbidden Randidly could feel himself steadily sliding through the surrounding space The sense of momentum was shocking it seemed that part of what he gave up was control over his movements

He spun back around and was shocked to find that he remained floating right next to the wall Some of the irritation at losing control faded but it was quickly replaced by annoyance that his senses had fed him false information of movement

The sensation of being forgetful and unmoored quite obnoxious Randidly grimaced Then he glanced downward But then he blinked and realized he was glancing upward not that where he looked made much difference to his senses He tried again to glance downward and coughed into his hand But at least all I need to do is release the emotional tether to drift deeper

God it would be nice if I could get lost and accidentally leave this place haah

Chapter 1574

The only real difference in Randidly�s current training regimen after reaching Level 30 in his Fatepiece was that he needed to keep the wall within his perception at all times Having a frame of reference kept the worst side effects of losing his sense of direction from popping up It also prevented the inexplicable impressions of movement that were surprisingly convincing despite the fact that Randidly repeatedly reminded himself they were false

Unfortunately keeping a portion of his attention on the surroundings was rather difficult to manage during some portions of his training Especially when his newfound forgetfulness kept making itself known

Yet Randidly had to admit that the forgetfulness also benefited him As had happened previously there was a newfound purity to Randidly�s concentration that often resulted in him completely shutting out what was happening around him So while he considered the significance of his Engraving for his Nether Core sometimes Randidly would abrupt wake to find that he had drifted away somewhat while he had gathered quite a few Skill Levels

The worst part of the whole experience was that he found it very difficult to care The goal began consuming his every waking moment resulting in him setting aside the danger of the indulgence and simply pushing forward This meant that his Skill Levels continued to steadily tick upward but the observer part of Randidly was growing increasingly worried

But at this point I�m already in the grips of obsession Randidly�s face contorted With these three sacrifices there is nowhere to go but forward

So he kept his worries to himself and threw himself more deeply into the training As predicted once more possessing a second arm helped him in the efficiency of his improvement With renewed confidence he once more resumed combat training Randidly was also very careful to create enormous Nether Rituals to contain his image reverberations He had accepted that attracting the attention of the Nether Beasts was more trouble than it was worth

Even his aggression had limits these Nether Beasts would swarm toward him until he was exhausted

All three of his images steadily grew in their emotional clout He spent time developing his usage of the spear altering his form to incorporate his increased physical power He continued to experiment with Engravings both related to Nether Cores and more typical Engraving projects His senses grew even further tuned to Nether letting him peer even more deeply into the depths

Again he was fascinated by the vast spaces below where he sensed Nether Beasts actively avoiding something in the depths Considering how they behaved like drunken moths and drifted closer to him anytime he released any sort of energy he was shocked that these Nether Beasts had some instinct that drove them away If he could observe this phenomenon and duplicate it his attempts to train would become much simpler

But to his senses he was unable to determine what caused those spaces And Randidly still possessed enough of his caution not to force the investigation If the Nether Beasts thought this was a source of danger Randidly would at least tread cautiously

Randidly trained for another month in the thick darkness losing himself whenever he looked away from the wall But soon that familiar sensation manifested in his training Randidly could sense the plateau in his growth he had reached the limits of his current potential Not that he wouldn�t continue growing but the speed was beginning to drop as he trained without any pressing necessity urging him forward

Worst of all his understanding of his own significance still eluded him He remained stumped

Randidly sighed and pulled out the Visage of Obsession His senses were steadily drawn inward and then fed into the paper The sky had now turned completely crimson while the ground cooled off toward a dull grey Randidly felt like he was in the monochrome world of a vampire

With no other choice he began walking forward

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Visage of Obsession has grown to Level 39

After his previous experiences of wandering for a time Randidly was rather shocked to find that he arrived almost immediately in front of Lyra She held her basket against her hip with that same sly smile on her face Perhaps it was an aspect of losing his sense of direction� but his sense of time completely blurred leading him immediately to this point

Obviously he didn�t doubt that time had skipped forward while he was drawn into the Fatepiece But he almost wished he could turn around inside the Fatepiece and examine the space� behind him But the feeling of being inside� the Visage of Obsession was only an illusion His senses couldn�t examine the Path he had taken to get here

Randidly tilted his head to the side as he examined Lyra There was no reason to delay since he was already here What now

Lyra offered him the basket and smiled She raised her hand with a flourish The System has been a bit distracting don�t you think Why don�t you get rid of its notifications

Randidly�s expression slowly became solemn as he considered her reply you don�t just mean Skill Levels

Messages too Came Lyra�s impish reply Oh and those warnings Not that you listened anyway but its better to rip out something like that from the roots right

Randidly released a low breath Before accepting the demand of the Visage of Obsession he composed and sent messages to Helen and Vualla saying that his training would take away his ability to contact them for a while But that he was safe and improving quickly and would likely soon have a method to get out of the grasp of the horrifying significance

The last line was a bit of a stretch but Randidly felt the effect that Fatepiece was having He was rather confident that he would soon have a breakthrough The significance swirling around his practice was steadily increasing He knew he was close

After sending the messages he nodded He reached up and put a finger to his temple going simply by instinct When he moved that finger away he could feel a tight cluster of Aether attached to his finger After minutely examining the complex intersecting lines he lowered his finger and deposited the System notifications within the basket

With a gleeful expression Lyra vanished and Randidly slid out of the Visage of Obsession He consulted Absolute Timing A month had passed in that sudden moment of arrival in front of Lyra Which brought his time in the shaft to near five months Around him the Nether Ritual he had made to isolate himself was starting to tear at the edges the coincidental damage from emotions had almost interrupted his focus

Randidly shook himself loosening the muscles that were stiff from long standing still for a month Then he twisted his mouth Seems like if this keeps going up this depth won�t be enough to cover the time spent in the Fatepiece

Feeling somewhat worried by various threats Randidly released his hold on the emotional tether and drifted downward The air continued to thicken around him as it contained more and more Nether The increases were incremental but Randidly could sense the qualitative change in the air was coming soon

As he drifted downward his senses could stretch farther and farther sensing more and more Nether Beasts crowding the depths In addition he could detect three of those entirely clear spheres where Nether beasts dared not tread Below them was an even thicker grouping of Nether Beasts but what was most intriguing was that in this group there was a significant amount of fighting

Feeling suddenly cold Randidly seized the emotional tether once more He wiped cold sweat from his brow and released a relieved breath Part of losing my sense of direction really was losing my sense of time If I wasn�t paying close attention to the Nether content of the air I would have just kept descending and even still I proceeded a bit more deeply than I wanted

Currently the Nether content in the air was right below 75% To distract himself and prevent the increased density of Nether Beasts at this depth from noticing him Randidly wove a Nether Ritual around his person Then he began to train each of his images in turn shaping them and charging their emotional power

It was comically easy to set aside his images and concentrate on the training Soon he was completely immersed

But even if he lost himself in the familiar training patterns partway through he slowed in his movements as he practiced with the Inscrutable Mien of Yggdrasil He looked down at his hands in wonder Heh without the Skill Level up notifications it is quite easy to get lost here I really wish I knew what the ratio of time here to the outside world is

Sighing Randidly could only set that concern aside There was really nothing he could do to find out that knowledge worrying about it was a waste of time So he settled back into his stance and thought about what Yggdrasil meant to him

And as he was about to activate his Skills the epiphany he had been waiting for arrived

Stability and growth those are what I sought with Yggdrasil The warm embrace of the World Tree that supports the entire planet Both of Randidly�s arms fell to his sides From the deepest part of his soul waves of indigo began radiating outward He pressed his eyes closed and bowed his head Those are what those are what I was looking for Those are what I imagined

Significance is subjective Each individual experiences it personally It is shaped by context And it can move quickly or slowly Some seeds planted in the mind won�t bloom for decades Others immediately flare to life Narrative adds a shape to the speed of growth but it�s not quite that predictable Viewing the issue from that angle there is a rather simple explanation of why I so quickly turned to the World Tree Randidly�s lip curled up Yet that answer is so convenient and cliched fuck

Is this really because of my parents

Randidly�s memories drifted back to the past He thought about his father leaving About his mother losing herself in liquor and drugs and men Of spending a silent childhood of loneliness Of meeting Sydney and then chasing her through high school and into college This younger version of himself that Randidly viewed dispassionately in his memories threw himself enthusiastically into all his pursuits

In the long nights of his youth Randidly Ghosthound had heedlessly searched for something Perhaps that something truly was stability and growth Because when he shaped his image that was what emerged

There�s only one way to truly see if this insight is enough Randidly reflected He drifted over toward the bone wall Nether concentrating on his pointer fingers As he did so the significance in the surroundings began to sluggishly congregate toward him Randidly couldn�t help but tremble Even now his movements carried enough weight to resist the significance below

Randidly began to carve The movement of Nether around him only grew stronger as the Engraving took shape in front of him

Chapter 1575

Time seemed to accelerate for the current Randidly But at the same time it receded like a shy tide He barely noticed its passage as he threw himself into his training If not for Absolute Timing he might have been completely drifted away into the satisfying actions of improving himself The mental clarity gifted by the Fatepiece left him sharp but it also left him smooth

He glided forward on that smoothness barely noticing his surroundings He passed easily from one moment to the next without the slightest hint of friction or hesitation

His abilities with isolating Nether Rituals grew more sophisticated with repetition Without Skill Levels he could only rely on examining the results but it was clear that his creations now lasted for longer He could lose himself for a month and still return to himself to find the Ritual intact Randidly wondered if he should expose himself more to the emotional attacks to force growth but his current rate of growth seemed fine to him

So he continued to train He glided forward gradually accumulating significance and experience in equal measure The Nether around him was rich with emotion and nuance carrying with it the weight of history Yet even with his accumulation he was uncannily smooth cutting through everything

His focus on details became overwhelming Randily often found himself lost in the minutia of his improvement Yggdrasil the Grim Chimera and the Stillborn Phoenix continued to sharpen their details They grew strong

He improved in other areas as well Spear usage Image details Emotional control Nether utilization In all of these areas he improved

Sometimes each training session took a whole day sometimes they stretched to fill an entire week Without really noticing it these training sessions pushed the time Randidly had spent in the depths upward he had suddenly been here for a year

I�m improving quickly I believe but is it enough To that question Randidly had no answer

He was stronger yes but it was not enough The foes waiting for him in the Nexus were even stronger than the current him So he buckled down and trained His resolve continued to fold itself into smaller and sharper forms That resolve cut through everything to push him toward his goal

Of course improving his Engraving for the Nether Core took up most of his time His epiphany guided Randidly to create a shape that mobilized the surrounding Nether but he destroyed the result all the same and tried again immediately afterward His useless eyes traced the curves of Nether upon the bone wall and realized his mistake

What he had discovered about himself was the core but it wasn�t the whole Everything he had considered in the past was relevant It was significant� The larger shape had been located now it was just a matter of establishing the relevant context

Which once more brought him back to training The repetition would have once been tiresome but he couldn�t even stop himself at this point His emotions continued to seeth within his chest empowered and volatile

From effort inevitably came results As the Engraving for his first image gradually took shape his thoughts moved to his other two images And in addition Randidly began practicing the Nether art of layering His Nether Core would need to incorporate all three of these forces So to get ahead of problems down the line he practiced the layering

Due to his smoothness more and more time was lost Wrapped in his Nether Rituals he was safe from distraction The only reason Randidly eventually surfaced was that he felt that familiar plateau arriving before him It was no longer so simple to spot the increased proficiency from practice

So he produced the Visage of Obsession and stared into its swirling colors He was buoyed further by those colors until he arrived in front of a familiar figure But the rough strokes that had once been Lyra shifted to draw a new form

Ki Kunot the leader whose fiery passion reminded Randidly of himself when he had finally understood the System the bird woman he had killed inside of a Dungeon on Expira was waiting for him upon a grey plain She greeted him with a stern glance as though asking what took him so long Randidly almost chuckled but just gestured for her to inform him what he would sacrifice here

The separation between the world and the Visage of Obsession Ki Kunot responded in a light voice It will proceed more quickly if you view it directly but now it will steadily advance whether you are viewing it or not

Randidly pressed his lips together As long as one aspect didn�t run unchecked that was almost a benefit And the sacrifices

To Randidly�s relief Ki Kunot shook her head in denial No they will not be automatically deducted Those steps will always require your express assent But this step will further eliminate your sense of time The fog of the Fatepiece will cling to you always To that end Your Skill Absolute Timing will also be blocked

So this is the cost of proceeding halfway through the Fatepiece Randidly grinned at Ki Kunot and nodded his assent to this sacrifice And just like that he was back floating in the gloomy shaft Emotional currents washed around his Nether Ritual Yet what he noticed immediately was that at the edges of his perception the colors began to swirl strangely Tingling motes of silver and navy blue flashed Yet when he focused on those areas the deviations rapidly normalized

Randidly clicked his tongue silently and dismissed the Nether Ritual Then he released his hold on his emotional tether intent on going deeper As for how long

Randidly abruptly realized he had simply been blankly floating downward for at least a minute Without his Skill time was becoming increasingly runny between his fingers He felt a great deal of pity for those inside of his Alpha Cosmos who would proceed through this length of time normally but he needed to trust them to maintain their edge in the meantime

Struck by a sudden idea Randidly wove a new Nether Ritual as he was falling The shape was extremely familiar Nether Beasts surged forward from his movements but Randidly didn�t care He allowed the Stillborn Phoenix to manifest directly in his left eye rapidly devouring the emotions in the surrounding area With its surging size and unstable power it rapidly blasted away all the Nether Beasts that approached Randidly

Which of course drew more ire but Randidly didn�t much care His focus was on the woven Nether between his fingers

He finished the Nether Ritual with a flourish The connection bridged across time and space connecting Randidly with Vualla He felt her heat and her shock replaced quickly by delight as she realized it was him He smiled enjoying the familiar sense of power he could feel from her image She was certainly as impressive as always she hadn�t been slacking in his Alpha Cosmos

Around him the Stillborn Phoenix continued to grow The core of the black hole had grown so that the entire space around Randidly�s head was being bent and devoured in its maw In the shaft that usually was only disturbed by emotions a new horrifying wind was being born It drew its fingers silently along the inside of the bone seeking purchase to seize and devour

Yet just as quickly as the delight flashed in Vualla�s heart it was replaced by worry as she examined his state Randidly what�s why do you feel so strange

My Fatepiece requires some self sacrifice Randidly replied awkwardly Their connection expressed meaning directly to each other but he understood from Vualla�s deepening confusion that his expression was ambiguous He sent her a pulse of warm confidence Don�t worry The effect is temporary But I we might be here for a while Is everything alright

Heh Randidly�s heart broke slightly as he felt Vualla set aside her significant worries and affect a cheery outlook through their connection She easily changed the subject These two recruits of yours Randidly where the hell did you find him With all the time you�ve given me they are going to be monsters when we leave here

Great Thanks I couldn�t Randidly trembled and raised a hand to press against his chest The surroundings snapped back into focus How long had he been sinking downward His surroundings were filled with a sea of furious Nether Beasts But the Stillborn Phoenix had taken this chance to swell until Randidly�s entire body was hidden by the warped space His Nether Nebula was spinning furiously I I couldn�t do this without you But I need to go Stay safe

You too Came Vualla�s reply Then Randidly ended the Nether Ritual and seized onto his emotional tether He gritted his teeth for several seconds as he grew used to the pressure from the significance below He was now at 82% Nether content in the air And considering the increased distance for the change in percentage he had fallen much deeper than he had originally intended

Randidly glared around him The Stillborn Phoenix had been running rampant while he was distracted but Randidly swiftly pulled that wild energy back inward Hundreds of Nether Beasts surrounded him now and they surged forward perhaps believing that the shift was a sign of weakness Hydras and minotaurs and enormous slimes and krakens lashed outward at Randidly to slaughter this interloper

But his movement was one of preparation With Randidly�s malicious smile thick blades of gravity began to slash outward in every direction shredding all of the nearby Nether Beasts The Egg of Depression was like a machine gun before a herd of pigs ripping through flesh faster than they could even realize what was happening

Another small change occurred within the core of the Stillborn Phoenix as it reached out and devoured the surrounding Nether Cores It seized upon something precious and began accumulating it within its own core

But then Randidly suppressed his wild image He sensed the surrounding area in a single moment more Nether Beasts were converging but he had time before they gathered Randidly raised his hand and created a Nether Ritual to isolate himself Then he sat down and meditated

He had a new problem he had proceeded so deeply into the shaft that the significance below was stealing away his Nether more quickly than he could produce it

Yet Randidly�s newfound smoothness also prevented him from panicking He began to manipulate the Nether inside of his Nebula directly having it form a certain pattern that he had developed for his Nether Core The Nebula was heavy but Randidly sharply pulled the energy to suit his will

The shape was not fixated on a physical medium but Randidly�s time refining the structure of the Engraving hadn�t been wasted even its merest form began to hint at the power it could eventually wield Gradually the influence the significance below could wield on him fell to a weak tug that Randidly hadn�t experienced since about the 50% Nether mark

Then he rolled his shoulders disassembled his Nether Ritual and began to drift through the middle portion of the shaft as he gathered himself once more

He had thrown himself into both the attack with Stillborn Phoenix and the restructuring of his Nether Nebula without thought but in retrospect he could feel how mentally exhausting both of those tasks were

So he drifted simply allowing time to pass

The Nether Beasts had drifted away not finding the source of the disturbance while his Nether Ritual hid him Randidly studied the nearby Nether Beasts The creatures here were definitely more intelligent than the manufactured version but at the same time

At some point he yawned and stretched Break time was over Time to return to training

Chapter 1576

Vualla shook her head rather sadly after the connection was broken She was sitting a carriage wearing a silver gown that accentuated her brilliant azure hair and eyes When she had seen herself in the mirror even she was pretty impressed by how she looked when she scrubbed off the dirt she was a knockout

This was exactly why she was delighted when Randidly suddenly contacted her out of the blue after being dead quiet for several months She wanted to show off a little in front of him And it was also why she was then filled with a strange sadness sensing that Randidly was currently in a strange state of mind

At this point there is nothing I can do but trust him Vualla balled her hands into fists Even with the Xyrt Brigade training we are really far from overthrowing the Nexus aren�t we Randidly You are out there risking your life to develop yourself And I I need to continue to grow here as best as I can

The carriage stopped There was a polite knock at the door Miss Vualla we�ve arrived at the auction venue Please be sure to have your mask in place before you head in the Shelley Kingdom would like to distance itself from events like this

The corner of Vualla�s mouth quirked up She reached to the side and picked up a mask that she had specially tailored for this event as an homage to the body that was also this world The face was a hound with long black hair and emerald accents around the eyes Combined with Vualla�s natural color hair and silver gown the accessory clashed garishly But somehow that display was satisfying to Vualla

She pulled the hound mask over her face and opened the carriage door The driver offered her his hand and she stepped down onto the cobblestones looking up at the brilliant lights from the building in front of her Wide marble stairs led a curving path around fountains and statues of heroes before finally arriving at a pair of enormous black doors Groups of masked individuals held flutes of champagne and conversed in quiet voices

Their eyes briefly flicked to Vualla but away with disinterest She was dressed to the nines but being simply beautiful wasn�t enough to earn anyone�s attention it was only political power that attracted attention here

I could annihilate this entire country if I was allowed to use my image Vualla thought cheerily as she stared around

It was the site of the most powerful financial institution inside of Randidly�s Alpha Cosmos the Unus Institute Central Bank And due to the mission given to the recruits by Helen a month ago they would need to be here in person

Vualla began to walk up the stairs with a wicked smile Tonight she intended to enjoy herself

Randidly�s small voice of observation continued to note the way he was being polished like a shining sword His edges grew sharper His core became shining and reflective a bright torch in the depths of the shaft All of his ancillary personality traits gradually fell away to dedication and ambition Stroke by stroke the Visage of Obsession was wiping him smooth

He wondered how much longer this could proceed At what point would he cease changing But the curiosity was only an idle thing his attention inevitably was pulled back to the firm resolve that drove him forward In this place with this chance he would grow strong He finally had time� He would then escape this place and pay back the debts he owed to the villains of the Nexus

So he Engraved He polished his images He trained

Occasionally Randidly left his Nether Ritual and fought against the Nether Beasts with each of his images in turn Yggdrasil grew towering and became more holy and glorious The Grim Chimera continued to streamline its form for violence The Stillborn Phoenix grew larger and more complex its manipulation of the surroundings becoming overwhelming

Then he worked on his Nether Engraving As he perfected Yggdrasil he began to develop the seeds of significance for the Grim Chimera and the Stillborn Phoenix Then he experimented with layering the varying forms together into a complete whole

The results were disappointing Keeping the heavy significance present in the construction while also weaving three different forms together was nearly impossible But Randidly simply set his failures to the side floated to the left and began Engraving once again Failure meant nothing to him He did not waste his time during those attempts he simply found one more method that was ineffective So he tried another

And anyway the current Randidly barely noticed the passage of time at all What difference did it make to him

It was only when the Visage Obsession hummed in warning that Randidly paused in his Engraving He silently clicked his tongue and got out the Fatepiece annoyed that he had been interrupted while he was busy testing out a new theory But he understood why it called to him

Ki Kunot once more stood in front of Randidly You must give up your external connections to proceed further

The current streamlined Randidly could see immediately what his subconscious construct within the Fatepiece was requesting from him But still he made an aggrieved expression as though he was confused How does that make sense The whole point of this is to work on my Nether Core Connection is one of the core principles of Nether You are trying to cripple me as revenge for your fate aren�t you Ki Kunot

The projection flapped her wings in a huff Your humor is ill timed and riddled with guilt toward how you dealt with me I am you If your heart wants you to be crippled well enjoy being buried here by your own hand But in terms of Nether you already have the clues needed to find your own significance in the images You have just kept being distracted by your current connections and are unable to see the truth of how you�ve developed

Randidly snorted Just admit that the Nether Ritual to Vualla pisses you off

Would a subconscious projection get angry in the first place Randidly felt Ki Kunot roll her eyes Your resolve is weakened by your reliance on Vualla It is necessary

Finally Randidly�s teasing ceased His expression became serious She holds the same goal in her heart Her support has value

Which means she will understand and admire your resolve Ki Kunot replied sharply then she sighed Let�s not distract from the truth you are worried about how the Visage of Obsession is proceeding You have held a part of yourself back during this process That hesitation will need to be lost here too If you continue forward you need to accept the risks

It is a gamble Randidly grumbled Ki Kunot didn�t deny it Randidly withdrew his senses to within his body and simply hummed feeling the vibration traveling through his body Without his sense of time he couldn�t tell how long he meditated then

But ultimately he nodded

Just like that certain exchanges that had been occurring subconsciously within himself were ceased All the meaning and shape that he had been steadily absorbing due to his Aether connections stopped flowing into him Randidly Ghosthound was left alone with himself

His senses displayed before him a rich world of emotion and color Nether Beasts breathed and fought each other beyond the strange empty areas that Randidly now approached Annoyingly he still couldn�t quite make out what floated in the middle of those voids though it was clear that something was there

But he didn�t dwell on it much He loosened his grip on his emotional tether and sank even deeper Then when he was just above the areas with the strange emptiness he stopped himself and began to train

No matter what else changed training was the same

He Engraved he perfected images he gathered emotions he meditated on significance he went out and slaughtered Nether Beasts Without that small observer in Randidly�s mind he was completely absorbed in this process He passed smoothly from one moment to the next

In a way it was the most fulfilled he could remember being

Bit by bit by studying the Nether Cores of the slaughtered Nether Beasts he had some breakthroughs in the area of layering his Engravings As his second image Randidly thought very deeply about what the Grim Chimera meant for him If Yggdrasil was his deep yearning for a stable support system then this adaptive monster was

As it had previously the Visage of Obsession hummed when it wanted his attention Randidly gnashed his teeth and pulled out the Fatepiece What the hell do you want now It�s only been

Randidly couldn�t finish that thought Because he had no idea how much time had passed since the last time that the Visage had spoken to him And then he let his annoyance go because once more there was a new figure in front of him within the Fatepiece Shal�s familiar frown examined Randidly from head to toe Then he shook his head as though disappointed

Do you really think Shal would be disappointed if he saw me Randidly thought with a smile as he looked at the projection

But to his surprise the projection nodded sternly Your resolve has the right shape but it remains a fragile thing I know you can do better than this Randidly Ghosthound I trained you to achieve more than this

You are ridiculous Randidly thought as he shook his head Even if I�m not amongst the top characters in the Nexus

Basing your evaluation of yourself on comparisons with others is the comfort of fools The Shal projection responded

Randidly was speechless Or more accurately that response left him with a blank mind Because he could feel how much the projection believed what it said Did that mean his subconscious was just as foolishly stubborn

Not willing to indulge this shade for any longer Randidly shrugged Alright fine What do I need to sacrifice this time

Your ability to rest obviously The Shal projection said Then it added You waste too much time recovering Better to throw yourself back into training during those times That way your bones will remember when you are too exhausted to think

Chapter 1577

Despite his own rather significant capability Heiffal felt his limbs stiffening Which paradoxically was a good thing If not for the creeping sense of stiffness Heiffal might very well have collapsed the differences between their states was simply too vast

The two individuals were standing near the central training area of the Head Drill Sergeant Heiffal dare not let this individual into Randidly�s training area even though he suspected it was a meaningless effort In the nearby area the recruits were currently finishing up their physical training more quickly than they ever had in the past Part of that fanatical dedication to the task was their recent improvements but also

How could they not notice their Overseer was pinned to the ground by the gaze of another

Commandant Wick pursed his lips His arms were folded behind his back as he surveyed Heiffal The small change in his previously mild expression released a blast of pressure that he was forced to endure without complaint he is so busy with training that he cannot even greet his superior Tell him I bring news

With glacial slowness Heiffal forced himself to bow before the military leader in front of him Sweat ran down to the tip of his nose and dripped onto the ground Unfortunately there is nothing I can do at the moment Please rest assured that his only focus is providing the most capable recruits at the agreed upon time But he is currently busy

The Commandant snorted and Heiffal barely prevented himself from vomiting from the impact of that expulsion of breath Hah This sudden elusiveness in the face of a superior is disconcerting Concerning But I suppose training the recruits is what truly matters in the long run As long as the results end up being satisfactory I won�t pursue this vacation any further

The Commandant turned away but Heiffal didn�t allow himself to relax He remained in his half bowed state as the ominous figure gathered his thoughts

truly the Ghosthound is a fickle man Doesn�t he know that leaving the Rally Station means Dunn could kill him as easily as swatting a fly The hubris of the young certainly boggles the mind Then Commandant Wick glanced back over his shoulder at Heiffal His fury face was twisted into a scowl Two days remain until the Xyrt Brigade returns to the frontlines and the Nexus�s counter offensive begins I hope your master understands that the longer he remains away the more the other Drill Sergeants will gossip Firm leadership is necessary in times like these

Heiffal had nothing to say to that He remained there sweating until Commandant Wick snorted again and vanished It was only then that he allowed himself to straighten and stiffly walk back to his personal chambers

Despite his significant injuries just from exposure to Commandant Wick he had enough pride not to display his weakness in front of the recruits But below the exhaustion was worry Heiffal too had no idea where Randidly was Their connection remained although it was screened in some manner

Heiffal could only trust in his leader and wait Like the other Overseers and Advisors on the Fifth Cohort Rally Station he threw himself into the training of the recruits to hide the unease that lurked in his heart

Shal�s projection might have framed the sacrifice as Randidly losing his ability to rest but his experience was more similar to constantly carrying around a lit bonfire in his chest The insides of his own ribs were charred with his enthusiasm and sudden vigor It was a compulsion that bordered on obsession

The fire he held wasn�t energy per se but it felt a lot like energy It was a constantly gurgling stream of emotional motivation When one task ended he couldn�t help but continue on to the next that was in front of him He was in a constant manic state during his activities where finishing was actually a detriment because he had to scramble to find something new to occupy him

Honestly if Randidly hadn�t had prior experience with engaging in less mentally draining methods of training he might well have continued to frantically Engrave Nether until he had burned himself out That was how irresistible a geas he now bore

Not that a burn out would have stopped him from continuing of course He just would have lost a huge amount of efficiency as he continued to push forward after his mental energy was depleted Even with the time dilation he might truly need to spend a decade down here struggling with the problem of Nether Engraving if he allowed himself to fall into that state

Luckily that burning motivation in Randidly�s chest was relatively non discriminatory in its pursuits as long as Randidly truly pushed himself into a task it was satisfied

With such an ambiguous goal Randidly devised a new way to push himself Or rather he created a new method of a very familiar process in this strange environment testing the limits of his body

It was exactly the sort of draining but mindless exercise that Randidly needed right now

Constant work saw Randidly improving his Nether Core Engravings at a visible pace He had no unbiased method of determining his proficiency but Randidly was almost positive that had he not proceeded so deeply into the depths of the Nexus he would now be able to resist the pull of significance below and escape As it was when Randidly combined his rough Yggdrasil Engraving in his Nether Nebula with his insights into the Grim Chimera and the Stillborn Phoenix he was barely able to strain against the inevitable flow of significance downward

Basically he had gained enough independence to experience first hand how tightly he was grasped by the abyss

It was somewhat akin to a child pushing against a bolder He developed enough capability to exert his power even though the weight he struggled against was far beyond him In a way his struggles were completely useless Even if he stayed down here for a hundred years Randidly somehow doubted that his physical body could ever force itself through the space warping force of this significance Even his speed of improvement couldn�t ever catch up with this

Yet even as Randidly strained and pushed against the current of significance with both his flesh and metal arms his mind had several minutes of must needed rest

But if you think this is all I can manage Randidly�s competitiveness once more manifested against the implacable tide He floated in the shaft with his arms raised above his head I�ll rip this entire Nexus to pieces one day Do you think some shitty significance is enough to stop me

As he continued to press upward in the darkness of the shaft the veins along his right arm and neck began to swell The vibration from his heartbeat steadily grew more pronounced through his body even though he could no longer perceive the sound� His image physicalizations sizzled with power as Randidly pushed himself toward the limits of his physical body

It was obviously a much smaller phenomenon than this shaft but it wasn�t like Randidly lacked the ability to rip space to pieces

He clenched his jaw until it began to ache His muscles were trembling all across his body When there still wasn�t even the slightest bit of give from the current of significance Randidly�s face spread into a wide smile His fingers flexed outward his knuckles cracking from the power they endured In Randidly�s chest his three images began to swirl together into one complete whole His metallic arm released waves of Mana as the Engravings across it activated and hosted the image physicalizations The heavy upper body and left arm of the Grim Chimera covered Randidly

The fingers of his right hand grew longer and clawed His revealed veins across his body began to glow with an inner golden light The new more unrestrained Stillborn Phoenix condensed its event horizon down to a flat black disc the size of a large coin that floated in the place of Randidly�s left eye Energies in the surrounding area warped and melted turning runny as they encountered the edge of that flat black coin

Randidly couldn�t see it of course but his hair began to rustle and wave as it was buffeted by a gentle wind Gradually each hair shifted toward a deep emerald

Those changes manifested quickly then spiraled back in Randidly�s chest to connect with one another With the external changes completely the images began to mesh with each other A powerful reverberation spread outward from his core and the physical force Randidly unleashed almost instantly doubled He activated his Yyrwood Body of Yggdrasil Grit of the Ascendant Bane and Cosmic Necessity Skills to mobilize as much physical power as he could manage

He reached his peak And when he ascended to that point he stretched that moment for as long as he could

Partially Randidly wanted to push himself to the limits of his abilities All the muscles across his body flexed and strained unable to shift the current tugging at him even the smallest bit He could feel minute tears forming in his flesh just from the immense pressure that he endured But also it was a good chance to observe the completed arm under extreme strain This force could not rival a strike from Velio Dunn but Randidly was happy to discover that there was no warping in either metal or Engraving on his arm

Just as Randidly was about to ease up his mobilized body and images he realized that the surrounding space was a bit too monochrome to his sensitive Grim Intuition All the emotional color had been sucked away When he cast he senses about there wasn�t the slightest hint of a foreign emotion floating upward toward him The space was also devoid of Nether Beasts

After so long experiencing the silence of his own existence the echoing impact shocked Randidly even more than the brutalizing impact did

The attack came without warning smashing into Randidly�s side and sending him spinning The next second he slammed against the wall and rebounded tumbling out into the middle of the space Randidly quickly righted himself and flared his triple images to the peak of their power He was shocked but not truly damaged by that strikes there were some perks to reinforcing your body as much as Randidly did

A few seconds of tingling soreness was already fading as he righted himself The details of the image physicalizations grew sharper as he prepared

This time the invisible strike didn�t come from the side but directly above him Shuddering from the blow to his shoulder Randidly could only retreat and buy time to locate the culprit But also the damage had increased this time the force was enough that Randidly could only helplessly allow his emotional tether to be jarred out of his grip as he was smashed down With a vicious scowl on his face Randidly mobilized his combined images to comb the area above him

Yet no matter how he scanned the image waves he released were casually unwound without being able to locate the foe Had his image not unraveled right in front of his eyes Randidly would believe that the area above him was completely empty

The effect combined to the ominous silence around him was eerie A small seed of doubt emerged in his heart Had the abyss felt his struggles and lashed out against him

Without his emotional tether he began to sink down to the waiting significance below Randidly�s expression turned increasingly grave as he scanned his surroundings Luckily that sense of emptiness around him gave him a different theory and allayed his sudden fears This this is the thing that keeps the Nether Beasts in check

Randidly flicked his hand outward and released a dense blast of Nether Although the amount of Nether in the surrounding air was high Randidly�s senses could see his own pure Nether spreading out with all the subtlety of a bucket of ink being dumped into a fish tank

His plan was to at least glimpse the shape of his foe but as soon as the Nether spread out something began to devour it easily With an uneasy heart Randidly stared upward at the empty space above him and wracked his brain to think of another method But even with his mental acuity at its peak with so many distractions removed Randidly could think of no way to escape

Once more he hovered above the abyss with a hostile foe prowling toward him

Randidly�s eyes narrowed A fight then Fine let�s draw you out a bit

Chapter 1578

Randidly unleashed Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes and accelerated upward But at the same time he didn�t forget that he and this invisible opponent were essentially in freefall heading down toward the abyss below His acceleration was only relative With his sense of timelessness it really would be possible for him just to fall down to the depths in one go

Still Randidly didn�t overthink that issue one threat at a time was enough

Randidly�s right arm lashed toward the empty space where he expected this foe to be floating His fingers harmlessly tore through space He spun around and dispersed his momentum Then he slashed left and right Still nothing

The silent expanse around him seemed to mock his efforts But Randidly continually scanned the surrounding area

But after a while he gnashed his teeth How long had he been waiting

On cue his Grim Intuition gradually seemed to discover trace discrepancies in the air to his left He exploded into motion But just as quickly as Randidly unleashed Man Is Proud But the Chimera Takes to unleash a flurry of piercing thrusts his image physicalizations wavered and receded due to a strange pulse of energy from that spot in the air

While mastering his shock Randidly twisted around clapped his hands together A wave of gravity spiked downward as Randidly mobilized Hallucinations of the Bloodless Heart The Stillborn Phoenix screamed first in fury and then in unwillingness Just like the Grim Chimera this image was dispersed with a pulse of strange energy as well

Suddenly the empty space next to him seemed incredibly dangerous The air continued to ripple Due to the close proximity Randidly�s instincts warned him in time to raise his arms to defend against the invisible strike crashing down toward him

Randidly grimaced as the bones of his forearm and shoulder throbbed painfully after enduring the most recent strike It was definitely growing stronger His focus was completely dispersed and he was once more driting downward Unless those first two strikes were warning strikes or

Even while Randidly�s senses could spy the barest hint of the opponent that floated above him he was completely clobbered from the side When the blow hit him Randidly felt like he was just being smashed by a giant club when he was struck the strike possessed all the brutality of a tribal warrior from the stone age

After tumbling through the air Randidly landed back against the bone wall and steadied himself He barred his teeth toward the empty air around him Were there truly two of these things or could it simply move extremely quickly With this distance between them he couldn�t sense these things at all

Plus it seemed like they were relatively well equipped to handle him even after all the improvements he made down here The foes dispersed images and devoured Nether And Randidly was getting worried that each time they did so they got a little stronger At this point their attacks were painful but not enough to overcome his physical gifts But if this continued

Randidly had to grasp an advantage as soon as possible

With a light tap Randidly pushed himself away from the wall and drifted back into the space He was like a teenager wading out into a placid lake in spring completely oblivious to the predators that waited below the surface His image physicalizations pulsed as Randidly marshaled his Willpower But in order to fight back he would need to locate his foes And in order to pin them down Randidly had two ideas

Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil Randidly flexed the fingers of his right hand and seized upon the tiny microbes that covered his skin As they were flooded with Mana they rapidly swelled until they were thick and thorny vines that spiraled through the surrounding area His own body was the heart of an expanding plant monster

Just in case that didn�t work Randidly touched the Stillborn Phoenix and released a vast exhalation of concentrated emotions from the black hole Since the Stillborn Phoenix had been steadily devouring destroyed Nether Cores the emotions it released were steeped in madness So violence and intensity radiated out from Randidly like heat from a sun Since they sucked away the emotions before they attacked he hoped this would reveal them

Glassy eyed Randidly cast his gaze around There was a strange sense of lightness to his movements How long had he been standing here No it couldn�t have been long since the emotions still remained

Lowering his shoulders to banish his doubts Randidly charged forward The thorny vines that grew from his body lashed out in the surrounding space without hitting anything Nether Sensation and Grim Intuition continued to monitor the surrounding space but Randidly felt a sinking feeling in his chest If I can�t find these things Heh I�ve taken for granted how valuable Perception is

Randidly didn�t slow down as he charged forward even as directionlessness started to afflict him with a sense of nausea But he ignored his flipping stomach A slight eddy in the emotions Randidly released was all the warning that Randidly needed he flooded almost 1000 of his now rarely used Mana into his roots and had them exploded in size They split and forked over and over again until a towering mass of vegetation speared toward the movement

Even if Randidly couldn�t see the cause it was enough to sense the squat form that ripped its way directly through the roots So Randidly spun sideways barely avoiding the first strike and raising his left hand to counter attack

But not only were these things powerful but they were quick Randidly barely could make out the outline of what appeared to be a floating torso with two powerful clubs for arms when his purser spun In a split second its acceleration vector completely changed and its other arm ripped through the plant matter to strike at Randidly

At the same time Randidly felt a tingling from behind him He wasn�t sure whether he should be frustrated or relieved but there really were two of the things present The image of the Grim Chimera that he was preparing to use to attack crumbled to nothing from the radiation released by the second enemy

These fucks make Kaan�s image countering look like child�s play Randidly activated Chimeric Impunity to briefly avoid club like arm of the creature but began to sweat as the other foe once again canceled his image Had it acted just a bit sooner that arm would have likely ruptured some of his undefended organs It isn�t countering my images and Skills It�s just somehow invalidating them

Randidly pressed his lips together If I think about the way that Vualla described images instead of creating something from nothing this being has the ability to reinforce reality It doesn�t fool the world it strengthens it

His thoughts flitted through his mind at high speeds without so many distractions thinking was a relatively instant process So Randidly could reflect on his foes while also minutely adjusting his body position

The enemy in front of him was smashing around wildly and Randidly couldn�t avoid for much longer And lurking behind him was the second specimen Due to its slower approach Randidly felt rather confident that the berserk one in front of him was the one that had absorbed the Nether earlier Seeing the way the second one didn�t go crazy from just canceling his image Randidly decided not to antagonize them further with Nether

Suddenly the way the Nether Beasts completely avoided these things made sense Perhaps Nether was what fueled this one to such a sudden increase in power

So Randidly mobilized the strength in his body to strike he couldn�t just run As the foe in front of him brought its massive and invisible arm downward to smash Randidly he turned sharply sideways The blow skidded past him ripping the surface layer of Randidly�s skin off his chest as it passed

Bastard

In that instant Randidly activated all three of his images together Two tails a swirling event horizon in his left eye lines of armor covering his torso and down his legs the image physicalizations snapped right back into place Three images worked in concert Randidly normally couldn�t activate his three images so quickly but the hints of each image he was creating in his Nether Engraving added weight to those images

Randidly�s waist twisted and he brought his metal arm around in a brutal strike to the core body of the invisible foe He had experienced the arms enough to know that strikes there wouldn�t make any difference All three images howled with their concentrated power With the powerful pressure of necessity the emotional sharpness of each grew even more viciously ominous At their base all three mixed cleanly

There was a pulse from behind him but Randidly had a split second of unfettered explosive power the foes could disperse his images but it didn�t seem like they could prevent him from mobilizing them altogether And that small space was enough

Clink

The noise was unsatisfying because Randidly couldn�t produce noise himself But Randidly�s metal hand punctured through a relatively fragile barrier Small pieces of broken glass flew sideways and impacted the metal arm finally making a noise Immediately he could sense a searing blast of electricity that was conducted up through his arm to his body Randidly�s hair stood on end and he grimaced

But Randidly was still in a good mood his strike had worked

CHiiIrrpp

A piercing cry exploded from the thing in front of Randidly quickly picked up by the other one nearby The shrill noise seemed to fill up even the vast empty space of this hollow spine It wormed into Randidly�s ears making him dizzy

Still the one Randidly had struck sizzled and then fell still Randidly tossed the thing into his interspatial ring for later inspection and turned to fixate on the second one Although the noise was annoying and Randidly began to feel a soft dribble of blood from his nose and ears as long as he struck at their weak cores

Randidly was speared sideways with enough force to daze him but it was the impact against the bone wall that truly sent him reeling After the first impact the missile that struck Randidly had accelerated Perhaps he would have even been knocked unconscious if not for that unavoidable fire in his chest he must not rest With a gasp his blind eyes bulged open Consciousness flickered back on a split second later

Are my ribs cracked

So Randidly groaned and forced his buzzing limbs to feel down at the being that pinned him to the wall To his surprise he found that this one had used its core to hit Randidly and its arms to keep him in check so the impact had done just as much damage to it as it had to him

After another painful discharge of energy into Randidly body the thing pinning him went limp But somehow it was difficult to feel positive about the fact that these things displayed enough commitment to their aggression that they would sacrifice their existences to hurt him

You fucking shits Randidly tried to growl but of course he produced no noise A blank space surrounded him his Grim Intuition still couldn�t get a grasp of these foes Once more the placid lake of darkness stretched in front of him The emotions he had released earlier were draining away

These things had the ability to make Randidly truly blind

Still that didn�t bother him very much But the mechanism by which they avoided detection was the problem These automatons were clearly not beings of Nether If anything they seemed to be an anti Nether automated defense Perhaps they were related to the Aether Refinement Facility that was at the base of this shaft and constantly releasing dangerous emotions

Randidly wanted to take a breath and gather himself but of course he couldn�t His subconscious no longer allowed him that luxury So instead of taking a useful action Randidly reached down and gripped the body in front of him They really were two heavy cudgels attacked to a fragile oblong core He shifted his hands to the attachments between the core and the arms

Rather than metal it felt like these things were made of cool porcelain As he made his preparations he savored the refreshingly smooth feeling beneath his fingers

Then Randidly barred his teeth and ripped the limbs off of the piece of shit With a casual gesture he tossed the scrap down into the shaft As he silently laughed he could feel the drones approaching

They appeared as small drains that subtly sucked away emotion in the surroundings As far as he could tell six more were gathering around him

Chapter 1579

The streamlined Randidly wasn�t just good at training his mind also adapted quite quickly to fighting His attention was a razor that would cut to the issue at hand no matter what the situation was

Even against these strange creations Randidly initially had quite a bit of confidence However it quickly became apparent that Randidly had chosen his foes poorly

Should have fucking stuck to bullying Nether Beasts Randidly�s senses scrambled to keep track of his foes in the surroundings

Randidly�s left arm struck against the approaching slam of out of the porcelain automatons which forced him through the air sideways Without leverage he could only retreat before their overwhelming power At the same time he couldn�t reflect on that attack for too long his right arm shot upward to lash out at another automaton that approached him whirling like a helicopter propeller He twisted to avoid the spinning clubs and half lunged forward As long as he could strike in that small opening

Randidly�s pink finger snapped as his blow came up just short and was then blasted away by the rotating automaton His hand throbbed in pain as he rapidly retracted his arm Before the impending counter attacks could arrive Randidly twisted around and shot himself downward

Randidly was struck directly in the jaw dazing him for a split second The bone of his jaw fractured and he painfully pulled a muscle in his neck as he was twisted around His instincts contracted his body bringing his limbs together and guard his torso As he did so he finally realized the largest problem with continuing this fight

It�s my sense of direction not only do I sometimes dodge a different direction than I intended but as soon as they create the slightest bit of distance I forget where they were are these things fucking invisible at all or am I just

Right on cue one automaton gathered both of its massive arms together and slammed them down on Randidly�s side His right arm blocked most of the damage but he still grunted in pain His skeleton creaked as he was buffeted sideways There wasn�t a single part of Randidly�s body that didn�t ache from being treated like a rubber ball during a children�s kickball game over the past ten minutes

But even though he was battered Randidly�s mind continued to furiously process information The longer he fought against these things the clearer it became that they weren�t truly trying to kill him only drive him deeper into the shaft Perhaps as he theorized earlier these things were designed to keep powerful Nether creatures from escaping upward and he had attracted their attention completely by mistake But either way they behaved predictably which gave Randidly a chance to strike back

Mentally he reached out and seized his emotional tether The deeper he went into the shaft the more difficult it was to grip� the emotions that stretched like a lifeline upward from his current position but Randidly was able to steady himself after a few seconds of struggle He was barely able to detect hints of their movements but Randidly knew that his sudden deceleration had the automatons repositioning themselves

Let�s see how you can handle this Randidly thought with a grin

Immediately his skin began to tingle his Grim Intuition was sure that the automatons were approaching to continue driving him downward Once more Mana flooded out to the microbes in his skin and he became a vine amoeba floating in the dark His tentacles lashed out widely with thorny edges

Those thorny vines hit the automatons and did not one lick of damage to the approaching opponents The thorns were silently repelled by their porcelain exteriors But the swelling plant matter once more gave Randidly a picture of three automatons in the surrounding area

What he saw made his eyebrows rise upward all three were in the helicopter mode cutting cleanly toward Randidly from his lower right behind him and directly above It seemed that these things possessed some sort of collective intelligence which allowed them to adjust their tactics after fighting for a time

Still it wouldn�t be enough

Even if the spinning increased the automaton�s power Randidly could take advantage of it He activated the Grim Chimera and displayed a burst of speed His image was immediately wiped out by a pulse of energy that enforced the dull reality around him but he had already shifted around to the side of the nearest automaton He moved past the dangerous hoop and struck at the core with all the venom of a rattlesnake

The destruction of one set off the piercing chain reaction of noise through the surrounding automatons Even though he expected the response Randidly felt somewhat alarmed as blood spurted out of his nose there were more gathering than he had guessed Their combined volume inflicted more damage than he had been expecting But although the noise made him dizzy it did rather directly reveal the locations of those automatons in the surrounding space

There were ten automatons slowly circling closer to Randidly

It also displayed the porcelain constructions fury but that just amused the current Randidly His own fiery emotions flared higher in glee As he silently chuckled he retrieved a dozen spare ingots of Black Gold from his interspatial ring His heart began to pound as he flexed his fingers and gripped the first ingot It was a bar about as long as his forearm and as thick as his fist In his hands the weight of it was extremely reassuring

If Skill attacks won�t work Randidly grinned Then with blood continuing to trickle out of his orifices as that horrible noise annihilated his mucus membranes he flicked his wrist and launched the metal bolts

Chink Chink Chink

In quick succession those three bolts pierced through the cores of the nearest automatons and destroyed their cores Randidly�s smile widened The cores were even more fragile than he had expected But his glee began to ebb for two reasons First any automaton more distant from him than five meters was unaffected Or rather Randidly had missed his throw

Whether it was his lack of direction or that the automaton dodged his effective range was limited Very much so Frustratingly so

The second reason that Randidly�s mood turned so swiftly was that his skin was beginning to tingle in a very different manner from his earlier anticipation Not because of any intuition or fear but due to waves passing through the air These most recent three casualties hadn�t erupted in shrill noises to call their companions when they had been destroyed No instead they fell silent Or at least silent to the normal human frequencies

The remaining automatons communicated with each other using subsonic pulses of sound

Worst of all Randidly was once more floating in empty darkness He seemed entirely alone His own emotions spread to the surrounding area but otherwise it was a blank space

Worrying about what the automatons were planning Randidly stored away all but two of the Black Gold ingots and activated Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil once more Thick vines wrapped around Randidly�s body bulging and warping They swelled and slashed outward with their thorns looking for the automatons The pulsing heart of vines grew to three meters in diameter and then five meters without encountering anything

Randidly�s scowl worsened Pulses of energy from the surrounding space continued to disperse his image and Skill meaning Randidly had to mobilize Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil over and over again In addition the cessation of the Skill meant that the plants he had already grown would quickly disintegrate and turn to ash after a short amount of time But during that time he forced himself to keep expanding in the face of the Skill neutralization He would follow this Path to its end

Soon he covered a ten meter diameter sphere based around his body Yet he hadn�t encountered a single automaton Randidly rubbed his thumbs across the bars of metal in his hands Already the bonfire in his chest was heating up making his stomach uncomfortable If he didn�t act soon

At the same time seven projective automatons forced their way in through the thorned plant exterior The roots and vines that were reinforced with Randidly�s Mana were annihilated simply by the layer of air that the automatons generated as they pierced forward A split second was all the automatons needed to arrive right next to Randidly

Even his hyper streamlined thought process was a half step too slow to respond in time to the impending threat Randidly barely had time to twitch before the automatons were there with their arms raised clearly intending to smash him into gore and visceral His fingers tightened on the ingots in his hands

But even as his reaction time proved woefully inadequate the Grim Chimera raised its head and silently howled The rotation of Randidly�s Nether Nebula quickened Instinctively Randidly activated the most powerful Skill in the Grim Chimera�s arsenal All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth

Randidly�s awareness branched off into two then four then eight then sixteen different Randidly�s standing in the same spot In those precious fragments of time each reacted differently based on their slightly different timelines They each flourished struggled struck attacked clashed and fought in different ways

Randidly�s Grim Intuition buzzed as he felt them all severely wounded by every exchange they attempted Although the feeling was faint he could sense that beyond this first killing net that spun down around him more would come Randidly had finally destroyed enough of the automatons that he had earned their full attention and ire

It was an honor that Randidly had never hoped he would receive

However even in the face of death the Grim Chimera was decisive in its actions And with very few other choices Randidly allowed the image�s instincts to guide him As the automatons arrived he blasted an enormous amount of Nether upward fully a third of his Nether Nebula was discharged between the automatons Even in those small moments before the automatons impacted him he felt a tremor running through their bodies

As a distraction it could be considered only partially successful

The blast of Nether also produced a concussive force to propel Randidly downward The slight pause as the automatons rapidly gobbled up the Nether and the sudden shift from Randidly was enough to push him outside of the danger zone but two automatons still slammed into him Their first shattered through his hastily condensed image physicalizations and broke the bones in his left thigh and knee Shards of bone tore their way out of Randidly�s flesh and tumbled weightlessly in the air behind him a trail of gore that testified to the danger of his current situation

The second hit Randidly in the side caving in his already fractured ribcage Even his powerful heart skipped a beat due to the impact

Like a broken kite Randidly tumbled downward in darkness barely able to sense his surroundings

Chapter 1580

Wheezing a breath out Randidly finally reached up and seized upon his emotional tether This time he needed to squeeze his eyes shut and helplessly grasp for well he couldn�t know how long the process took but he felt like it took much longer than it had previously Not only were the emotions more stretched and strained as he proceeded deeper but he was absolutely exhausted

His broken ribs steadily knit themselves back together

The automatons had doggedly pursued Randidly as he had tumbled deeper into the shaft smashing him against the walls and each other whenever they could The physical form that he had once held with such pride had certainly been humbled against Velio Dunn but it was now as he was pushed deeper and deeper that his arrogance was completely broken His bones repeatedly cracked and blood sprayed from his ruptured skin

In darkness he fell downward dogged constantly by the automatons But at a certain point his Grim Intuition�s constant warnings eased He took a few seconds to gather himself

I�m still so weak Randidly wiped blood from his mouth and glared around him into the empty space in the direction he believed to be up No attacks came and he continually scanned the surrounding space soon his expression eased He now had the confidence to hold his current position Because although he still couldn�t detect the automatons until they were right on top of him he sensed the change in the air

Randidly ran his tongue across his teeth as he furiously studied the surrounding environment in order to keep his obsessive motivation happy 90% Nether content in the air I�ve proceeded very deeply And this situation

Randidly sensed several powerful creatures floating below him Their auras stained the air a variety of colors a precariously balanced series of territories in the darkness Nether Heralds and Nether Gatekeepers glared up at him briefly as he arrived but they quickly turned their attention back inward They were thickly clustered in this area all hovering in a meditative stance with surrounded by their various boundaries with each other

Combing through the air with Grim Intuition Randidly was shocked to discover that he could feel almost a thousand of these powerful Nether soldiers just in the area around him each more potent than any of the Nether Heralds he had fought on the front lines In his mad flight down the shaft he had completely lost sight of the walls he now simply felt alone in the vast darkness The bones had receded gradually leaving only emptiness

The worst part of his current situation was that his grasp on his emotional tether was steadily slipping He could shift his grip to steady himself but in that moment he would go a little deeper into the abyss Randidly silently clicked his jaw shut testing how the bone was healing For the moment it was still quite sore

We are all now truly caught by the significance below those automatons can move relatively freely but even they dare not come down here They batter any strong Nether Beasts that escape upward and force them back downward in a way they are the jailors for all the Nether forces down here

Scanning the significant Nether power that the nearby Gatekeepers possessed Randidly shivered inwardly But on the other hand he couldn�t help but be excited much more than the areas that housed the weak Nether Beasts above this place provided a lot of helpful examples of successful Nether Cores for Randidly�s experiments

It was only a matter of acquiring the relevant data

For several seconds Randidly eyed the closest Nether Gatekeeper that floated in the darkness It was a humanoid creature with dusky and hairless skin for a torso but its legs were covered in black fur and ended in hooves Upon its head were an impressive rack of black antlers Then he shook his head

Studying could wait For now he needed to reestablish his equilibrium Yggdrasil flared to life in his chest illuminating his veins with golden light and expediting the healing process And to his relief there were no interfering pulses from above But honestly his body was the least of his worries

Unleashing all that Nether bought him some time but his current Nether Nebula had weakened significantly Even with the incorporation of his Nether Engravings in the expanding flow he was steadily losing Nether to the significance below So Randidly ignored his aching body and hurriedly mobilized his Nether Nebula with his Willpower

The Nether Nebula spun faster and faster churning out Nether Randidly gritted his teeth and forced himself to reaccumulate his own dense Nether

When he had once more built himself back up Randidly released a sigh of relief Then without the ability to take a break Randidly forced his tired mind to focus its efforts on his images He carefully refined the details while his body gradually healed from the beating it had taken during the descent The fire in his chest continued to urge him forward forcing him to push at his limits

Then although his flesh was still tender and recently healed Randidly needed to once more strain himself against the current of significance and focus his efforts on physical strength his mind just couldn�t take any more effort He was dangerously close to the foggy exhaustion that would have him struggle down here for years without any effective improvement He needed the chance for his mind to recover

So he forced his reknit flesh to move It was especially painful training As his muscles trembled Randidly felt the unfamiliar impulse to surrender he truly wanted to give up and just surrender But his instincts told him that he couldn�t Although it was much less obvious than his body�s current situation allowing the oblivion of the mind to swash him away was just as dangerous

The pain and anguish of his current struggle had Randidly wandering in his memories to those days where Shal took him into a Tellus prison and forced him to fight against the inmates there He remembered the endless field of tall grass swaying in the wind He could picture perfectly the color and shape of blood dripping off the tip of his spear

And gradually the pieces of Randidly�s consciousness came back together while his body bought him time He could allow his strained body to relax and turned to other pursuits Namely he had stumbled across some insights into the significance of the Grim Chimera while being bludgeoned by the automatons

I always felt like I was missing something when I was younger Randidly spoke quietly to himself in the emptiness of his Soulspace Why was I quieter than my peers Why couldn�t I walk so easily among groups Why was I always so nervous Why did I always struggle in social situations So I think I internalized that I was missing a piece of myself And if I could only find that piece I would be normal I could fit in

Part of that emptiness was reassured when I met Sydney and Ace along with my few other college friends but the hole never really went away It just took a backseat to the other concerns in my life

But that that is the core of the Grim Chimera The desperate belief that I have the ability to evolve That someday I won�t remain helplessly inadequate in a way that others rarely seem to be

Yggdrasil craved stability but I also developed desperately wanting to change

Randidly fingers glowed with the congregation of Nether Then he began to trace his appendages through the air leaving sinister trails of darkness in their wake Within Randidly�s senses these trails were the purest absence of color forcing away even the powerful emotions that Randidly subconsciously released from his body At the moment he had no walls and didn�t bother to utilize a physical medium for his initial attempts he knew in his heart that he was still finding the shape

One step at a time Randidly reassured himself

But with his impression of the Grim Chimera�s significance in his life Randidly carefully attempted to solidify these concepts in Nether The shapes gradually grew sharper and more refined as he continued to draw shapes Those refined runes were steadily incorporated into his Nether Nebula Even though Randidly continually was losing his grip on the emotional tether the improvements to his Nether Nebula added the slightest hint of buoyancy

Closing his useless eyes and letting his other senses fall away Randidly only shaped Nether no threats could reach him here The automatons didn�t travel past the 90% Nether content line and the surrounding Nether Gatekeepers were more concerned with their own troubles Time became ephemeral flowing freely around Randidly

His fingers flicked back and forth moving quickly and lightly He buzzed with burning inspiration

But soon he began to approach the limits of his current understanding of the Grim Chimera He worked the core base inspiration the shape of the image the way the image had helped him and his different Skills into the patterns of significance that he traced through the air When the shape seemed stable he practiced upon some metal ingots until he was confident that he was on the right track

Then those concepts were incorporated into his Nether Nebula where the patterns of significance for both Yggdrasil and Grim Chimera became tested constantly through the flowing avenues of energy The incarnation within the Nether Nebula was slightly different than how a core would exist of course While the core would be a closed system in the Nebula these shapes were drawn only from outflows they were never reinforced by a second revolution of the energy

For this reason his Nether Nebula could never truly be his Nether Core But on the other hand the constant repetition of the shapes allowed Randidly to observe their behavior closely He could only see the way that energy would pass through the shapes in the first revolution but experience with those first revolutions gave him insight into the small flaws in his thinking The shapes grew more polished and refined even as Randidly accumulated experience layering the two very different concepts of significance

Randidly pulled back his lips that balance was difficult It was exhausting to refine the shape of both Yggdrasil and Grim Chimera at the same time they were far too different from each other and the balancing between them needed to be done very purposefully or he would get nothing from the experience Randidly hoped that this was akin to balancing on a two legged chair versus a three legged stool so the process would get easier when he worked in the Stillborn Phoenix But the boat of rosy outlooks hadn�t been what carried Randidly to his current strength

That honor belonged to practice So he practiced

Soon or perhaps not soon and only soon to Randidly�s impression the Visage of Obsession called Randidly once more He paused in his Nether Engraving practice and allowed his attention to be devoured by the canvas Whereas Randidly�s attention had previously been an inert liquid he now flowed into the colorful emotional world with attention as shapeless as a gas But with a wick of focus he condensed into a solid form to walk forward

For the first time in a while a defined landscape had returned to the Fatepiece The ground was a luminous golden color feeling warm and kind to Randidly�s senses The sky had lightened to a hopeful pink But in the distance a horrifying grey tower could be witnessed piercing through both the bright ground and sky

Randidly floated forward and observed the occasional thin grey root that seemed to poison the color in the Visage and turn everything monochrome The reach of the grey tower was quite long it seemed

Before too much time had passed while he was still quite distant from the grey tower Randidly encountered Shal�s projection

Shal shook his head at Randidly You are quite talented at foiling my good intentions for you Why do you refuse to throw yourself into your training

You are an unhealthy impulse Randidly replied while silently clicking his tongue Useful for focusing on one goal but largely unhelpful otherwise Let�s skip this part please I�ll be quite glad to no longer deal with you and make it to the last projection of this maddening Fatepiece What sacrifice do you require

Shal chuckled If you think I�m unhealthy heh Well this sacrifice is an easy one To proceed further you must give up all memory of your name Randidly Ghosthound

Chapter 1581

The man floated absently for a while in the darkness feeling somewhat lost His limbs felt separate from him as though the body was barely his He looked at his hands one metal and one flesh almost in wonder for several long moments

But then the fire in his chest urged him toward action No matter the strange sensation he had work to do

The man shrugged Clearly I had to give something up in order to proceed with the Fatepiece Yet nothing seems different Am I just going to be numb this whole time Hum Well best not to dwell on it So to finish my Nether Core all I need is the significance of the Stillborn Phoenix And then to actually Engrave the thing

The man stretched his limbs feeling his joints crack pleasantly As he moved the numbness was steadily disappearing The horrible heat in his chest continued to char his organs to urge him to move forward but somehow that drive was blunted by the strange emptiness that the man felt in his head Rather leisurely he used his Grim Intuition to peer at the surroundings Particularly he examined the Nether Gatekeeper floating nearby very closely

Due to the dense aura of Nether the creature projected outward it was difficult for him to get a good look at its Nether Core But as he continued to press his Willpower the general shape of the Nether Core was revealed to him Grim Intuition took great pleasure in slowly peeling back the layers of obscurement

Gradually the Nether Gatekeeper appeared to sense the intense scrutiny It looked upward with sharp eyes at the man The territory� around this Nether Gatekeeper was a vivid teal color Yet as it appeared to grow more and more incensed at the man�s unrelenting attention that strange being raised its antlered head and hissed up at the man the color of the area grew closer and closer to white

After adjusting his grip on the emotional tether the man grinned down at the Nether Herald below him If you�ve got the ability come and stop me Otherwise

Even as the Nether Gatekeeper began to gnash its teeth and swipe menacingly at the air the man gradually forced his senses through the thick layer of swirling Nether and could study the Nether Core within the creature Immediately the man�s mood improved compared to the average Nether Beast the Nether Core of this Nether Herald was created with such complexity and acute curves that even his initial examination proved fruitful Some of the subtle layerings of patterns present helped point the man toward solutions for his own complex layering problems

The man grinned downward in satisfaction And the Nether Gatekeeper could do nothing to stop him

So a new variety of training was incorporated into the man�s normal schedule There were some other nearby Nether Gatekeepers and the man antagonized them all with his invasive stare until he could observe their Nether Cores while they were still functioning His understanding of complex Nether layering finally reached beyond his initial sense of helplessness As the man drove himself forward in this new manner he also felt his ability to observe Nether growing at a prodigious rate

Still he didn�t masquerade as a peeping tom all the time He also spent a significant amount of his energy revising his images Strangely the man in his current iteration felt like he had been such an idiot in the past why hadn�t he been able to see all the simple ways that his images could be improved So he started making large scale changes to the three main sources of his strength

For Yggdrasil the man�s focus was two fold first he adjusted the runic symbols that covered the bark of the World Tree to utilize some of the principles of Nether Although the effect was small some portions began to resemble his new progress in Nether layering In his mind it was silly to expect that the story of the universe would be solely writ in the shape of Aether

Secondly he began to add some surrounding plant and animal life to his image Beings now existed in the biome generated by the World Tree Yggdrasil�s main power came from the aura of life that it released into the surrounding area Yet that most powerful weapon wasn�t demonstrated properly in the image the effect was simply reliant on the faith the man had poured into it Now as smaller shrubs and ferns blossomed beneath the auspices of the World Tree that aura of life became concrete

Birds fluttered from branch to branch while foxes sat below and watched them with cunning eyes A smattering of brightly colored flowers bloomed near the base of the massive trunk Yggdrasil was a spring of life invigorating plants and animals alike The very air changed nearby becoming pure and wholesome

And already the rejuvenation effect has increased the man thought with a smug smile

For the Grim Chimera image the man focused on the tails The spectral tail starting from the base of his neck grew more translucent and mysterious seemingly not even present most of the time Sometimes an observer would see it flicking to the left yet in the next instant it was somehow curling around the opposite shoulder Its behaviors and traits were misleading and dangerous for the man�s foes

Meanwhile the lower tail had its bone armor completely overhauled The spikes were blunted this wasn�t a weapon of puncturing but bludgeoning In addition the length doubled In terms of power the blows that the Grim Chimera could execute with the lower tail were now more powerful than any strike the man could make with his other limbs

As the tails became more central to his image the man could feel his balance shifting The structure of his legs shifted with more muscles clustering around the knee joint His explosive power steadily rose as he refined the image

The man was most hesitant with his changes for the Stillborn Phoenix considering he hadn�t yet figured out the significance of that image He was missing a key component Because of that he focused only on one specific aspect the black hole�s ability to devour emotion

The man hadn�t thought deeply about it before but it was strange that his image could absorb emotion when even the horrifying significance below him in the Aether Refinery couldn�t manage to restrain that fickle Aether energy But instead of justifying this deviation from the norm the man offered up some capability as compensation

Now when the Stillborn Phoenix was active spectral forms would sometimes wander out of the event horizon Monstrous hunched beasts humanoids with hollow eyes even a starfish esque amoeba drifted out of the Egg of Depression as the man shifted the black hole�s focus These phantasms were hollow shapes� that rapidly disintegrated after departing the black hole Without their energy and emotion motivating them they rapidly fell to pieces

In the man�s view if he could restrain one portion of Aether he should be less effective at influencing the other portion

Much to the man�s delight those remnant pieces of shape left behind a thick thread of significance which the man was only too happy to devour into his Nether Nebula He hadn�t been focusing on the development of his grey bubbles in quite some time due to the more dangerous threat of being dragged down by significance but these occasional phantoms rapidly bolstered those grey bubbles

Previously the man had only a single grey bubble floating at the center of the whirlpool with a small bulge hinting at the formation of another Yet as he continued with his training he gathered more and more to the point that three bubbles clung to each other in the core of the Nether Nebula

Feeling pleased the man continued his ceaseless training

He pondered the significance of the Stillborn Phoenix and sharpened his images Then when his mind began to grow weary he tested his physical body against the inevitable current of significance heading downward He delighted in the powerful vibrations of his own heartbeat Occasionally he had to reset his grip on his emotional tether but the speed at which he sank downward was acceptable It would take a very long time for the man to even reach the antlered Nether Gatekeeper below him let alone the Aether Refinery at the bottom of this place

Still slightly annoying that I�m falling more quickly than that fellow The man reflected as he spared a glance for the Nether Gatekeeper below him Hopefully he isn�t the type to hold a grudge

For the most part this seamless existence of training was extremely satisfying But occasionally the man would be rocked by a sense of impending crisis He would halt his activities and float for several seconds in the darkness exploring his own soul in order to find out why he had such a terrible feeling in his chest

Yet his soul was empty of anything but the sensations of the present leaving the man bewildered at the source of this worry His heart ached with a sense of loss that he didn�t truly understand Sometimes tears formed in the corners of his eyes At times like those he wondered why he was down here constantly training Why did he need to struggle like this

The ache in his chest grew stronger in those strained moments of empty reflection The man felt like he was peering into the mirror but he had no actual features the item could reflect back at him The impression his empty soul left him with was somewhat chilling

But those motivating flames also surged upward during those long moments A resolute expression came across the man�s face Even if the why of his current circumstances eluded him he trusted those flames in his chest And those flames told him that everything would be solved only as long as he continued to advance

So the man trained and trained

Part of that training was utilizing strange and mysterious abilities that were related to his images yet somehow independent The flames approved of this activity and the man found it relatively restive so he engaged with those abilities from time to time as he gave his mind space to tinker with other pursuits

In particular the man was fascinated by a certain particular state he could achieve with those abilities where he would touch upon the Fates of parallel versions of himself Unfortunately those alternate versions were just as foggy and adrift as the man was But as they all worked together they could maintain the connection in a much more intimate way

Although the man was abandoned and compelled to train in this place of darkness he was not alone in his struggles That realization made him feel very warm and that warmth steadily began to change the shape of that ability

Then there came a day where the man stopped his training for an entirely different reason A scroll appeared in front of the man and steadily unrolled without him even touching the object He examined the scroll with his senses and then followed his instincts to allow himself to merge with the scroll

He knew this object It was a Fatepiece

The man found himself in a new place where the ground was a swirling and murky grey that varied between storm clouds and gunmetal Strange forces shifted beneath his feet As the man lifted his Grim Intuition a tower the color of a heavy sword pierced upward The sky around the sword was a robin�s egg blue but that tower continued upward until it reached an enormous black moon that hung over this place

The man stared at the tower for a long time His senses went to the spot where the sword punctured the moon Grey tentacles stretched from the sword seeming seeking purchase on the moon but with no success Then he lowered his gaze as he detected that there was another figure in the vicinity

The man looked at this stranger curiously The person in front of him was extremely clear as though drawn in an entirely different style than the rough and blended fabric around him The man had short black hair and bright emerald eyes Without a shirt the lean and powerful muscle of his torso was revealed There seemed to be shallow scars across almost all of him The stranger�s left arm was made of black metal but golden veins that pulsed intermittently with light ran through that dark material

Strangely the man�s feet were bare His toes didn�t seem to mind the seething layers of grey beneath his feet

Powerful the man thought as he examined this unexpected presence

As though sensing his thoughts the emerald eyed man grinned But very quickly the stranger�s face turned serious as he began to speak Well I guess I should take that as a compliment But we shouldn�t spend much time chatting I believe your instincts should tell you why you came to this place

The man considered that once more examining his empty soul Perhaps it wasn�t a mirror but a well And at the bottom The man slowly nodded as he could see down to his goal There must be a sacrifice to advance

Indeed The stranger said wryly Then the man shook his head as though amused by some secret joke Well this is a bit larger than the previous sacrifices but it will hopefully accelerate the process Even I�m not sure how long we�ve been like this So these The stranger gestured to the grey tower and the black moon above him are what you will be sacrificing

The man tilted his and to the side feeling very confused Why would he need to give up these strange and foreign entities They were not his to begin with

The stranger rolled his eyes Trust me when I say that these things are a part of you although it�s tough to sense it in your current condition This grey tower is something we have been building for a long time It is the Lord of the Baleful Wood and all associated variations

The stranger�s finger went up to the black moon that loomed above both of them That I suppose that is the bigger sacrifice That is the Alpha Cosmos

Again the man looked up without any recognition

Sighing the stranger shrugged Don�t think about it too deeply the meaning is there even if you cannot sense it Oh but there is one more thing The Fatepiece is essentially in its most active state after this sacrifice and won�t deactivate until you accomplish your goal So good luck Don�t you dare give up halfway

Chapter 1582

Edraine had been extremely careful with her planning The more information she had gathered the more hesitant she had become What they did now would leave some traces And what Edraine began to worry about was who would be the one who would come to silence unwanted snoopers

Lady Iellaya strode forward confidently following the heavily armed guards into the depths of Military High Command�s prison They were hemmed in by heavy stone blocks the size of a normal dresser Even worse the ceiling was oppressively low so everyone who passed through this place had the impulse to stoop Here the worst and most dangerous criminals in the Nexus were kept under lock and key Of course the open secret of this place is that most of those terrible criminals were soldiers who had simply killed too many people too blatantly to ignore

But the Nexus might be relatively lax most of the time but its justice was harsh Once the criminals were sent here they would never escape alive not without significant help The guards here possessed enough power that one could pin down Lady Iellaya and two would probably be able to overcome her in a short while

Their quiet capability added extra tension to the air as they proceeded down the stone hallway Expressionlessly the duo of guards held a torch aloft and continued forward The flames licked eagerly at the stone ceiling

But luckily it did not appear that this place was designed for someone of Edraine�s caliber She moved in Lady Iellaya�s shadow without revealing a hint of her presence Or rather her image constantly annihilated any signs of its own passage leaving nothing in her wake

After some investigation Ocativus and Lady Iellaya had discovered that no one had ever visited the corrupt� Overseer of the Sixth Cohort In the entirety of that individual�s stay in this horrible jail no one proceeded to the deep cell surrounded by heavy stone to either interrogate or visit the disgraced Overseer Considering the political clout required to have someone assume the position of Overseer it was impossible that the Overseer had no allies remaining

To Edraine�s mind there were two possibilities The first was that the Overseer had truly pulled the wool over his allies eyes for her own personal gain But based on the research that she and Octavius had done that was almost impossible

The second possibility then was that the Overseer had been tossed aside by her former allies Which implied that the core of this conspiracy was powerful enough to buy them off or intimidate them into silence

Lady Iellaya did remarkably well keeping her expression even as they approached the crucial intersection She had requested permission from Military High Command to visit some old Nether Heralds that were held captive here considering that she would soon be heading to the Fifth Cohort it wasn�t a particularly strange request

Except for the fact that Lady Iellaya was the leader of an entire frontline she was undoubtedly familiar with Nether Beasts of all types But Edraine and her cabal had no choice they needed access to the Overseer

There was a breeze that rustled the still stone halls filled with heavy air It was the sort of air that hadn�t been touched by wind in centuries Just as the guards paused to glance backward from the strange anomaly Lady Iellaya sneezed and rubbed her nose Sensing the guards� gazes her eyes turned sharp

what the hell are you lookin� at soldier

Pressing their lips together the guards turned away And in those few interactions Edraine arrived before a small wooden door far down the hallway There was the sound of an aluminum can being crunched to a flat disc and then Edraine brushed away the remnant dust from the deceased guard and opened the door

Within a shriveled green caterpillar woman sat in a wooden chair Her antenna were limp and feeble her body ancient and weak Other than the woman and the chair there was nothing else in the small cell When Edraine arrived the woman�s milky white eyes shifted upward And then she smiled

I�ve waited for someone to come here a long time The woman whispered She gestured to the surroundings As Edraine�s eyes adjusted to the lighting inside of the room she could see that every inch of the cell�s walls were covered in dense lines of script Even the floor was crisscrossed with words I believe you�ll find everything you want here Every secret that I have I only ask for one thing in exchange That you kill me so I can finally escape this wretched world

Edraine�s eyes flicked around scanning through the words until she found the information she was seeking There was a portion of the text dedicated to the caterpillar�s home world some explanation of her insights into her image and also an entire wall that appeared to be a auto biography

Her lips curling upward Edraine skipped to the end of the biography As she hoped there was the information regarding her time as an Overseer When her eyes reached the few lines pertaining why she had been betrayed by her supporters Edraine frowned they would need to do some more investigating in order to verify the former Overseer�s claims

Then Edraine turned back to the caterpillar and nodded I will do as you wish

Edraine didn�t bother to mention that she would have slaughtered the woman anyway to prevent news of her visit from leaking It seemed more merciful to allow this woman to believe she finally had control over her fate

The shade gripped the limp body beneath it maintaining their floating position as best as it could Its hold upon the emotional tether shook slightly Honestly it was quite annoyed that it not only had to keep itself from slipping downward but also protect this inert body

Yet its subconscious urged the shade to protect this floppy humanoid And when the shade looked down at the face of the humanoid it felt its nonexistent heart soften Yes it was an exhausting task But it would never to refuse to protect this humanoid And when it looked at its face there was just something so familiar

The shade shook itself Its attention could not waiver There was work to do The longer it procrastinated the longer it would need to suffer underneath this weight

As the shade turned all of its considerable focus inward to consider the significance of an abstract existence called the Stillborn Phoenix it immediately smiled All it took was a thought and the problem unraveled before the attention of the shade Due to its extremely unusual existence the shade could see to the core of the issue immediately

The Stillborn Phoenix was many things but above all it was the personification of necessity during the difficult tribulations of living In a way it was possible to think about the Grim Chimera closely relating to necessity but that was an entirely different understanding of the term The Grim Chimera responded to necessity and other outward forces in order to survive

The Stillborn Phoenix was literally all of the necessity in the life of

The shade paused and frowned Its mind turned abruptly foggy as it tried to follow through with that train of thought The thoughts scattered like they were dried leaves blown away by a chill gust of wind But despite the strange intellectual stutter the shade quickly shook itself once more it was a higher order intelligence and not one to be stuck on tiny details Instead it continued its reflections on the Stillborn Phoenix

Yet the more the shade thought about it the more it realized that necessity wasn�t quite appropriate Or rather it painted a rather rosy picture about the sort of necessity that constituted the Stillborn Phoenix If the shade was a bit more honest with itself it would perhaps instead choose the term compromise

The Stillborn Phoenix was the site of compromise between the self and the universe and due to its role was filled with unwillingness Its existence was the evidence of the inevitable concessions one engaged in during the normal course of existence

It was an image built with foreign and recycled pieces The purity of the host was steadily wiped away It was a place where other powers were devoured and repurposed In a way it was an image innately tilted toward failure Even from the beginning the image knew that its dream was impossible In the end a singularity of mass could never break through the egg� of its even horizon and be reborn as a phoenix On this bitter foundation anything and everything was absorbed

It was a contradiction It was inherently flawed It was the representation of the lack of perfection in the self But even from that flawed beginning the image didn�t possess the power to rise above its existence Outside influences continued to intrude

It made allowances and excuses They were impossible to avoid Even with monumental strength strength wasn�t sufficient to live

The image was the faded regrets of R G

The shade�s face twitched That thought was extremely strange Then it shook itself for the third time and adjusted its two grips one on the limb flesh body in its hands and the other upon the emotional tether that kept it from being pulled inexorably downward After discovering the long awaited significance that it had been pondering it raised its hands to a new task Nether spun out of its inner nebula and arrived at its spectral fingers

Luckily shades can have as many hands as they want the shade grinned to itself and grew six more arms It divided its attention and segments over several portions of its mind allowing itself to wholeheartedly� work on six attempts at once Nether Engravings filled the surrounding space inky blank lines of darkness that hung in the air

Time flowed forward Occasionally the various parallel thought processes either were stumped or believed that they had completely captured the correct feeling so they would peek at a neighboring hand Usually what the hands found sparked off some heated debate and two arms would merge into one to resolve the issue They would combine the best of both Engravings to create a new streamlined version and then peek once more at a neighbor

Soon there were only two hands Engraving Then when both were prepared they examined each other�s Nether Engraving To the shade�s delight both had essentially come to the same final shape

Of course that sense of accomplishment didn�t last very long now came the most difficult portion layering the three significance Engraving But the shade wasn�t too worried it had plenty of time It adjusted its grip on the body and on the emotional tether and got to work

In the silent shaft time moved steadily forward Spectral fingers traced Nether in the air

The shade didn�t feel exhaustion or any sort of mental fog It seemed to be constantly experiencing epiphany after epiphany as it tackled the problem of Nether Engraving Occasionally it would peak at the Nether Gatekeeper below it to examine some of the principles there Other times it would refamiliarize itself with the significance of all three images to see if it had missed anything in the Engravings

When the Nether Gatekeeper below it stopped being helpful the shade looked farther afield at some of the other Nether Gatekeepers it had examined before Then when those weren�t enough its Grim Intuition fished downward for more Bit by bit the difficult problems of layering the energy flows were resolved With its own Nether Nebula the shade tested the patterns of significance and discovered that they were extremely effective As it combined all the different elements there was an overwhelming qualitative change to its existence that the shade somehow felt ill equipped to understand

The more the shade practice the more powerful its Nether Nebula became The knowledge came like a bolt from the blue if the shade was willing leave this limp body behind it would be able to escape from the pull of the significance below These patterns that the shade had created generated a self contained energy field that was impervious to the current of significance

The only shackle holding him here was responsibility

However soon the shade realized that there was another problem Between its continued practice it began to cast its eyes around very seriously what physical item was appropriate to use as its Nether Core

The dark shaft did not provide any easy answers

Chapter 1583

In a place that was mainly defined by its stillness a change occurred

The meditating Nether Gatekeeper was rather surprised when the strange being above its head began to drop at a speed that was visible to the naked eye Although that being had rather rudely stared at the Nether Gatekeeper early in its arrival to this place the Nether Gatekeeper was also clear that this being was not in its right mind There was something mentally deficient about the new arrival

Even for a being of Aether its behavior was unusual

And unlike the usual fools who came from above that being was not immediately dragged downward by the inexorable current of significance It clearly had some mastery of Nether Since all those trapped down here were basically laboring under the same curse the Nether Gatekeeper ultimately decided not to mind this strange being�s behavior

Besides that being had persisted in this place for nearly three years Just for that accomplishment alone the Nether Gatekeeper was willing to show some respect for it Most arrivals who made it that long were here to stay those that lacked conviction were quickly eliminated

So the sudden descent was confusing And as the Gatekeeper looked up at the approaching creature it only grew more confused

It seemed that the thing�s mental schism had worsened since last the Gatekeeper had checked its situation At this point most of its psyche appeared to be asleep within the body while a remnant will utilized Nether to support both itself and the body The Gatekeeper immediately assumed that this strange separation had gone too far and now it was weakening but to its surprise the Nether surrounding the remnant will was lively and thick

Even thicker than the Gatekeeper�s own This remnant will�s capability was somewhat frustrating

The Gatekeeper�s expression shifted toward a frown as the remnant will slowed its descent speed with the body and very obviously approached the Gatekeeper Did it want to continue the study of its Nether Core The Nether Gatekeeper considered this It supposed that it was somewhat flattering to be an inspiration for the next generation regardless of how unusual such an examination was

Before the Nether Gatekeeper had decided exactly how he felt the other arrived Then rather inanely the remnant will smiled at it

Greetings The Nether Gatekeeper said awkwardly It wondered when was the last time it had conversed with another

The remnant will nodded cheerily in return and then began gesturing quickly First to the body it supported then to the Nether Gatekeeper then to itself and then upward The remnant will flapped its hands signaling freedom

The Nether Gatekeeper�s frown deepened You want me to support this body while you journey out of this place I refuse Besides do you take me for a fool You need to be at the tier of a Nether Prince in order to resist this

The remnant will offered the Nether Gatekeeper the body it was holding as though indicating that it could demonstrate its ability if it simply wasn�t burdened by this anchor any longer The Nether Gatekeeper hesitated and examined the remnant will�s state once more Its expression remained cheery And indeed the Nether flowing around it was extremely potent But even the Nether Gatekeeper who had been born inside of this shaft and had never seen the might of a true Nether Prince could tell the remnant will was incomplete

There was no core despite the will�s strength And due to that absence the Nether Gatekeeper felt a great deal of pity for the thing

The guardians will not let you leave The Nether Gatekeeper tried a different persuasion tactic You might not have seen them in the past but they are

It couldn�t continue talking because it was frozen by the expression of pure malicious anticipation that suddenly appeared on the remnant will�s face That expression loudly broadcasted the will�s affection for the guardians The Nether Gatekeeper suppressed a shiver Certainly this being possessed plentiful bloodlust and it was also more powerful than the Nether Gatekeeper itself

The Nether Gatekeeper shifted uncomfortably Maintaining its current situation while also conversing was an unfamiliar challenge so it took a few seconds to stabilize its own significance before the conversation continued Then after a few seconds of hesitation it reached out and took the body from the remnant will

It was an unfamiliar act of faith on the Nether Gatekeeper�s part

Immediately the Nether Gatekeeper grimaced Its fingers tightened on the body to prevent itself from dropping it The flesh was even more troublesome than it looked You truly how have you managed to persist with this Ah hey Wait a second

The remnant will had already turned its head to stare sideways then turned and rotated slowly It seemed to have some difficulty orienting itself But at the Gatekeeper�s words the remnant will looked back down and tilted its head to the side

The Nether Gatekeeper licked its lips The being�s trouble to determine which direction was up did not instill very much confidence But at the same time the truth was floating in the air above it clearly the remnant will was immune to the pull from below The Nether Gatekeeper�s heart fluttered If I do this for you what will I receive in exchange

The remnant will smiled again and gestured sharply The meaning was clear it would take the Nether Gatekeeper out of this place when it returned

The Nether Gatekeeper couldn�t help it it began to cry

Ultimately the only way for the shade to find its way out of the shaft was by waiting for a flow of emotions and simply following in those energies� wake Riding on the back of a violent wave of rage the shade accelerated upward The current of significance parted before it pushed back by just the basic form of the three layered Nether Engraving it had created The shade wondered how powerful it would be when it finally created its own physical core

With speed came the tingling sense of momentum in the shade�s body The sensation of freedom was intoxicating A previously undiscovered urge to explore the Nexus bloomed in its heart it wanted to run the gamut of this shaft to truly see if this was an enormous skeleton In addition it was curious about the Aether Refinery at the base of this location

But a steely and partially forgotten part of itself stopped the shade from straying it had a mission to accomplish first

So the shade rose through the darkness closely following the emotions After only a short amount of travel it sensed the familiar subsonic buzzing of the automatons during their internal communications The porcelain dolls immediately converged toward his location their detection capabilities were quite sharp

Yet that only made the shade even more excited

The shade reached out and seized a fistful of emotions Its incorporeal fingers began to stroke the energy refining it with one of the lingering images that it remembered More and more emotions spiraled together in its hands It would make these fucks pay for the disgraceful way he had fallen in the past

As though formally declaring a challenge to the shade one of the automatons screeched and shot at the shade from the left Although the shade still didn�t have an extremely strong ability to detect his foes his improvements with detecting changes in Nether allowed him to feel their approximate locations Just naturally these automatons suppressed Nether around them So where they were the Nether was weak and listless Those suppressed areas broadcast their presence to the shade�s sharp senses

With a smile on its face the shade sidestepped the first charging automaton and ripped open its central body with its clawed fingers It didn�t bother to use either Neither or Aether simply taking advantage of brute force

Unlike the impression from the shade�s foggy memory it experienced no pain from the noise In fact it could grasp that opportunity more directly shooting forward and ripping through three more automatons in the surrounding area The shade�s Nether Nebula although it hadn�t reached the power of a Nether Core was still a dominant force in the areas of memory and connection Here it was near unbeatable

In this Nether rich environment the shade could practically teleport at will It wasn�t a matter of speed but all the connected space was within its reach

But these automatons obviously had dealt with Nether beings in the past In fact they were probably designed especially to combat rogue Nether elements more than force random fools in the shaft down to their deaths So while a dozen more automatons spiraled around to form a dense killing web around the shade they began to devour the Nether in the air Which as the machines created larger and larger voids masked the automaton�s position relatively well It�s ability to instantly bridge between separate space vanished

Still the shade grinned like a wolf Its had squeezed on the tight ball of emotions it had been steadily gathering and refining That ball began to glow as the shade mobilized its abilities beyond just Nether

That tiny core became a seed which bloomed and grew rapidly Wild rays of energy erupted from between the shade�s fingers Sharp emotional knives lashed outward cutting through the void and destroying the automaton�s bodies just as surely as the shade�s fingers had The machines stalled in the air confused The shade�s smile widened a beast of Nether could not wield emotions so well as it could

There was a hanging moment of confusion where the shade slaughtered all the close automatons

And as the shade had suspected the automatons shifted their strategy More flew closer ceasing their absorption of Nether to spin and smash him downward Those that were further away released pulses of energy that reinforced the reality of this place and dispersed the emotional bloom In response the shade spread its arm and released an enormous wave of Nether that replenished the energy in the air Again the spinning automatons stalled slightly The split second that the automaton�s recognized again they were fighting a Nether Beast the shade was among them reaping their lives with its fingers

The automatons had engagement modes for both Aether and Nether beings but they had no way to handle both at once

However the shade grew bored after destroying around a hundred of the automatons they continued to come endlessly flying out from some distant location on the walls of the shaft So when the next emotional current shot upward the shade followed it leaving the pursuing automatons in the dust

Still that shame and dissatisfaction in its heart had been finally laid to rest The shade was much cheerier after having its revenge

Unfortunately it was soon stopped again as the Nether content in the air rapidly dropped the shade felt increasingly numb and stuffy After having grown accustomed to the extremely detailed information it could gather with its senses losing those senses was somewhat disorienting Especially because it made the shade more reliant on its hearing

Still the shade had a mission It must find a place for its Nether Core So although it was uncomfortable it rapidly acclimated and shot upward once more The Nether content in the air continued to fall dipping under 50% and even going so low as 20% Here again the shade needed to stop and reevaluate itself After some meditation its senses began to compensate for the lack of Nether Sensation Its ears twitched and flicked

Gradually vibrations revealed the surrounding space just as well as vision and then Nether Sensation had Grim Intuition was extremely adaptable

Feeling pleased with itself the shade left the shaft It didn�t spare a single thought for the body it left behind

Chapter 1584

Truly the sense of freedom that spread before the shade was exhilarating In order to locate the requisite materials for the Nether Core the shade had very little choice but to leave his body behind and utilize the will that was buoyed forward by his nascent flows for his Nether Core

The shade had done some experiments with the materials it could gather from the body�s interspatial ring but it noticed something disturbing in his experiments the physical medium would begin to reject the Nether Engravings if the material wasn�t grounded with corresponding memories Or rather without the memories to protect the item it swiftly degraded underneath the powerful radiation of the Nether Engraving

Which meant that part of what the shade needed to do was gather some potent memories As it soared upward out of the shaft and saw some normal Aether beings utilizing the Web to move around the Nexus it could barely suppress its excitement

And that excitement lasted only until the shade realized that it was lost

However it could very clearly feel the tug of significance at its Nether flows The strongest pull was back toward the body that it left behind but the shade ignored that for now Instead it followed its instincts and began searching for both an object to become its Nether Core and for powerful memories it could gather

Its Grim Intuition was especially sharp at picking up on nearby threats which the shade instinctively avoided And around the cursed place it had escaped there were several horrifyingly powerful threats It was only by sneaking through the thin crack that the System allowed Nether that the shade was able to avoid detection As it wandered out into the vastness of space its vigilance eased those powerful beings didn�t come out here Due to the relative safety the shade accelerated

Following significance the shade shot across several galaxies and located a familiar planet Without understanding its actions it arrived on top of a familiar hill From the hill the shade could feel the vibrations of a river below The gurgling sounds of water over stone drifted up to it In addition the hill was studded with squat standing stones that faced the river as though guarding against an external threat The shade had to think for quite a while before the name of this place drifted up out of its subconscious the Hallat River

For the life of it the shade could not remember why this place was important to it However the significance wouldn�t lie The shade wandered over to one of the standing stones and pressed its fingers against the cool surface Next to the standing stone was an old spear that the shade touched gently

The spear was heavy not due to its physical properties but due to the memories contained therein The shade examined those murky impressions marveling at how familiar they seemed Despite its current circumstances it could feel its heart stir in response

But very quickly its attention was pulled away by a powerful reverberation in the sky The shade frowned upward because this was information that it sensed very clearly a powerful being of Nether was moving in the vicinity And now that the shade looked more closely it could see the way that Nether was beginning to spread in the vicinity of the planet

The shade carefully stored away the spear Unfortunately just as the shade sensed that being that Nether being sensed the shade After hesitating that Nether being turned and accelerated toward the shade on that low hill

The shade spared the surroundings a glance Deciding that there were no worthwhile items in this place the shade didn�t bother to stay and meet this Nether Being It had its own business Locking onto another powerful flow of significance the shade left the area as fast as it could Through the small passage left by the System the shade was just as elusive as a fish in water

Yet the pursuit continued leaving that planet and shooting across the surrounding galaxies While the shade moved gracefully the being behind it acted like a bulldozer forcibly spreading apart the Aether enforced structure as it gave chase

Honestly the shade didn�t mind this strange Nether Being But the real problem was that the steady destruction of the Aether scaffolding was drawing over the attention of some of those horrifying foes from the Nexus

The shade could sense several auras fixating onto its position due to the speed of its passage ahead of the Nether Being Pursing its lips the shade gathered together several handfuls of emotions and forced them to bloom in a burst of violent energy around its position With those emotions as cover the shade stepped outside of the thin layer of Nether and relied on its images to blend into the surroundings

Due to the distraction and the distance between the shade and those auras it rapidly shed the Perception of its followers It streaked across the surface of a frozen moon skimming across the icy surface When its Grim Intuition finally informed the shade that it was safe it moved back into the Nether layer and accelerated

Without much thought it followed the significance in its chest

The shade touched down at a new place feeling strangely content with its surroundings This was a familiar location Its senses could feel the warm sun flowing through its ethereal body hear the sound of birdsong A relatively well kept wooden shack sat in a low valley surrounded by a wooden fence Behind the shack were several large fields

It had once called this shack home A long long time ago The shade looked upward It was spring in this place and everything was blooming

Without fully understanding what the word spring meant the shade twisted and began to float more leisurely forward away from the house The memories lingering there were relatively weak Besides the shade was examining the surrounding area There were no threats here but it was an area rich in memory and emotion As the shade moved through these locations its tongue flicked out to taste the subdued but plentiful feelings in the surroundings