LoRG 1

Why had Aemont allowed The Devourer to continue to exist when he had the care of his son He even had taken advantage of the isolation formation to develop his own Skill Set Was it possible that

The war hero Aemont the Phantom had sold his son to a monster in order to gain power This is how most of the people seemed to think It made Shal want to laugh but at the moment he controlled that urge

Selling his son for power No Aemont was a much more calculating and sinister man than that Shal wanted to tell them Aemont had sold his entire life for power and didn’t even have the human decency to apologize to Shal after all the lies and evil that he grew up breathing like it was second nature Even Shal’s name was nothing but a lie

Shal grunted shutting that thought process down very quickly Now was not the time to worry about truth Now was just part of the journey In the darkness Shal’s eyes opened very slowly It would be a gamble But this wasn’t about making it out of the casino with enough money to cover his costs

This was about burning the place to the ground

As Shal laid on the ground he began to consider likely locations The level would have to be low and the distance short If it were on the way to Deardun

Shal smiled wanly The first place that popped into his head was the most likely answer although Shal detested the coincidence of it It was an extremely low level dungeon only built for people at the high teens level And it was the place Aemont had taken him that week before he went with Pronto to see Haelthing

The male spear attendant had furiously challenged Teliph the first time in the wake of the mocking due to the material dumping

He woke up several minutes later wondering what was happening Under Divveltian’s amused guidance he trained for 3 hours and promptly challenged Teliph again The man had simply snorted

This duel lasted slightly longer and at least was saved in the male spear attendant’s memory banks Mostly due to the fact it was more torture session than duel Eventually Helen grew tired of his whimpers as he lay slowly bleeding out on the deck and came over to lovingly feed him a health potion

She of course did this by putting the open end of the bottle in his mouth and then smashing the rest into his mouth with her heel but the male spear attendant wasn’t offended by the cuts in his mouth from the broken glass Instead he was touched that she took the time to look after him

The training session that followed that duel was longer and lasted until the dawn as the male spear attendant struggled to get the wild Aether in his chest to flow in the image he wanted Tirelessly he attempted again and again

Divveltian in a rare show of rest was lounging on a futon looking mat As Divveltian watched the male spear attendant he could only sigh and shake his head Fool you are better off spending your time working on your form not your image The image will follow

But the male spear attendant ignored him attempting again and again to refine the image for his Bulwark of Iron that he had created It was still a fuzzy thing and he struggled incessantly with it

Midway through his training the male spear attendant stopped frowning at the deck Some very strange almost ripples were coming up from below disturbing his image They were very very weak and that was why they were difficult to ignore He didn’t sense them coming and then pressed lightly up and around him like ocean waves on toes But they demanded attention in a strange fashion

What is that The male spear attendant asked his expression twisted into annoyance What was even more annoying was that Teliph and Helen continued to train stoically frantically perfecting their own technique Helen’s sensual movements continued without pause her curvaceous body possessing more and more hidden power to the male spear attendant’s eyes

Teliph continued to be a mystery His strikes were direct and short but the air seemed incredibly turbulent in the area around him

Divveltian just snorted at the question and rolled over For a long time they just stood there the male spear attendant growing increasingly annoyed that no one was answering him Finally he received an answer but it was from the new spear attendant with the cloth tied around his eyes

He the Ghosthound is at the door of the Artisan level Those ripples those are his image beginning to be visible to those not on the receiving end of the skill

The male spear attendant’s mouth formed into an O but Divveltian was rolling over and snorting While technically true don’t get ahead of yourself Like I said to this spear idiot it’s better to focus on skill level than the image He like you is working on the image too early Just he’s good at it In terms of power

Divveltian’s face became thoughtful perhaps he could pass the Artisan test if he kept working on it But It would be mostly in name not in fact He does not yet possess the skill in his movement and basic spear ability to equal any who are legitimate Artisans Probably

Still worlds ahead of us Helen said her voice strangely dark The beautiful woman continued to frown as her body flowed and twisted

Teliph nodded and swiftly began training again Doing his best to ignore the strange ripples emanating from below the male spear attendant began to train But unfortunately they continued to lightly press up against him almost tickling him The strange light touch was too much to bare

God fucking damnit The male spear attendant yelled throwing his spear to the ground Helen giggled which was gratifying but both Divveltian and Teliph seemed content to ignore him But what was even more humiliating was that at that moment the ripples stopped

The male spear attendant felt his heart grow cold Had the Ghosthound heard

Sure enough soon there was the sound of approaching footsteps on wood and the Ghosthound climbed onto the deck looking around The male spear attendant was almost shivering but kept his back straight Although he might get punished for this he wouldn’t back down After all in a way it was very rude for the Ghosthound to create those ripples while people were trying to train The male spear attendant would calmly explain the situation and it would become clear that he wasn’t in the wrong

After glancing around with a frown the Ghosthound walked over towards the male spear attendant Hey uh You

The male spear attendant prostrated himself on the ground Please forgive me it was a small mistake I won’t ever dare breath in front of you again

The Ghosthound just stared at him seemingly dumbfounded Then slowly he looked at the others and said What’s up with him

He hasn’t developed a backbone the little fucker Helen said sweetly and then she winced as if scared of something and hurriedly threw herself back into training

The male spear attendant peeked up to check the Ghosthound’s reaction After all as with all things the male spear attendant was profoundly gifted in subterfuge and misdirection although he hadn’t yet fully developed his innate potential in those areas But in terms of raw talent

But the Ghosthound was just standing there his eyes following the lines of Helen’s body as she trained After a few seconds he almost unwillingly dragged his eyes back to the male spear attendant

Yes well I just wanted to try a skill You have a defensive skill you created right

Slowly standing the male spear attendant nodded He picked up his spear and adopted a defensive stance watching the Ghosthound nervously The man removed a small bone spear from his ring and settled back and then thrust

Whereas before there had been only small ripples now there was a constant ticking a stream of low female laughter almost hysterical at the edges a strange suffocating blackness a sense of weakness and frustration of overwhelming power and the floating image of a smiling almost apologetic woman as she floated closer with her arms spread wide

It did not crush his Iron Bulwark or rip through it but rather just slid cleanly forward moving through his defensive image like it wasn’t even there It was heavy and inevitable but when it struck the male spear attendant’s chest it was simply a stiff jab sending him several steps backwards

All of the male spear attendant’s confidence deserted him and he felt himself be seized by fear and a growing relief

A relief that he had started following this man before he had fully transformed into the monster that he would become

Chapter 178

Randidly frowned confused That had been way too easy Why had the man not even blocked Well it wasn’t that he hadn’t blocked but the block had been rather

Divveltian slapped his knee laughing It’s not worth your time to practice against that idiot He’s challenging you directly with images And your Battle Intent is to the level that his can’t even touch you You should

But then Divveltian stilled and he looked out across the boats well nevermind It seems we have company Move to the side this is no longer a probe It seems your absence has made them become serious

A group of 7 ran off of nearby boats and leaped aiming for their boat Divveltian’s face tightened and it seemed for a moment he was locked in an internal struggle But then he gazed at Randidly and his gaze softened

I suppose it really is time to stop playing around He muttered and then he raised a finger With a delicate motion he waved it back and forth

That strange music filled the air and spears condensed moving back and forth to a strange rhythm These spears smashed against the leaping seven spear users But before the spears could land there was a soft tinkling of laughter A woman with a long dark pink dress with sleeves that covered her hands stepped up on the far boats

Don’t you think your reaction is a bit too violent Divveltian

An image of a spear growing upwards like a vine out of the earth appeared in the air smashing into the musical spears Raising his hand Randidly hid his shock at how powerful the shock wave between the two moves was Was this the power of Adepts

The seven were buffeted by the winds but the leader seemed able to disperse most of the force However the momentum of their leap was destroyed and the leader was forced to produce a small boat that they landed on bobbing up and down on the water

For several seconds the woman Divveltian and the 7 spear users looked at each other It was a long dragging silence Then Divveltian cleared his throat

To dare attempt to board a boat without permission That sort of behavior is best nipped in the bud

The leader of the seven’s face darkened You fool You usurped that boat from Uncle Izzie a close personal friend Those who dare behave like thieves should not complain about the decency of others You even sabotaged his enterprise by dumping his wares This will not stand It is the opinion of the First Spear of Qtal

If the First Spear had such an opinion Divveltian drawled Then why hasn’t he appeared and made it known Do not casually use the name of your betters boy

The man flushed His boat began to slowly drift forward towards their boat Divveltian folded his arms behind his back and spoke quietly so only Randidly and his 3 spear attendants could hear Listen very carefully That man is Jacktat of the Thunder Hammer Style He is a kept spear user of the Merchant Association here but before he sold out and lost his edge he did have the legitimate power of an Artisan Shal will be busy with his training and I

The woman in the dark pink dress waved brightly at the group as if she knew exactly what was being discussed even across the water

have an old friend to deal with I will not be able to assist with these seven Divveltian tilted his head to the side and squinted his eyes I do not know any of them aside from Jacktat which leads me to expect that they are simply common bullies But it will still be 2 v 1 for you three Be careful

Helen smiled wickedly Teliph just snorted The male spear attendant just stood with his jaw hanging open his eyes wide

Randidly breathed in and out very slowly clear on what Divveltian was saying If Shal really was occupied then that meant the pleasure of entertaining Jacktat fell to him He spared a glance for the woman and her long pink sleeves Who was this that it made Divveltian with the power of an Adept so serious Why were so many Adept level people squirming out of the woodwork

As the truth seemed to hit the male spear attendant he asked but how can we manage 2 v 1 I can’t even

Divveltian sighed Fool stop comparing yourself to the spear users you train with Helen has a grace that is almost genius Teliph is implacable and methodical Randidly is unrelenting and is willing to brutalize his mind and body for power You are just a spear user with an average amount of talent But talent doesn’t mean everything Where you train is often the more determinative factor in terms of outcomes Be confident Now quiet They are arriving

Randidly smiled at the compliment and even Teliph seemed to lightly flush at the praise Unfortunately the male spear attendant didn’t seem to understand what Divveltian had said to him and his face twisted in horror and panic could be seen at the edges of his eyes But Randidly shrugged inwardly The man would either realize the truth of Divvit’s words or he wouldn’t

The seven climbed regally onto the boat glaring around Behind Jacktat there was a large man with extremely thick arms a pudgy man a wispy looking fellow two women whose similar features marked them as family perhaps twins and a grim faced man who carried at least 6 spears on his back

Jacktat leveled his spear at Divveltian Now old man prepare to eat your fucking words I’ll make sure you fucking repay every cent that you owe Uncle Izzie

Ah you are confused I get it your rampaging teenage hormones Divveltian said breezily shooing Jacktat away But I won’t be bothering with you Perhaps you should fight one of the younger generation so it’s more fair

Randidly stepped forward summoning the huge obsidian spear that he now knew had belonged to Haelthing Glancing at it he admired how regal and imposing it was but he couldn’t wrap his mind around the image the story had given him of Haelthing in comparison with the spear Sure it was dark and dangerous looking but it was the danger of a mountain path sunk in shadow It was not an evil thing just a brutal one

Randidly’s reverie was interrupted by vicious laughter What ahahahahah Fine I’ll crush this bug and then drag you out old man You know what Let’s crush them all Gang up on them and make them all pay boys

The disciples spread slowly their smiles thin and evil With a lecherous grin the huge man and the pudgy one walked towards Helen The wispy guy and the man with 6 spears walked towards Teliph The male spear attendant supressed a dumb little smile as the two female twins slunk towards him

Don’t die quickly Jacktat hissed I want them to see every second of your pain and regret letting me break you Randidly of the emerald There is a modest bounty on your Tassle too in the right circles so I’ll enjoy this

But Randidly wasn’t really listening to his words though It would just distract him Instead he just focused on his breathing reaching inside himself and touching on the Aether that waited there Slowly as Randidly pressed with his will it began to slowly flow like the deepest part of a frozen stream in winter The movement was small but it would make upping the ante in battle easier

His heart rate increased

It was strange but Randidly was nervous He had fought many people in his 2 years in prison but that felt different somehow Isolated from the world And it was a wild and informal thing those brawls Done more for survival than anything else

Here however there were rites and rituals different ways of speaking This was a battle for honor and respect And as soon as Randidly thought that he smiled his nerves broken He fell into a fighting stance That was why this felt strange Even from Jacktat’s words although he wanted to crush Randidly there was never any hint of killing intent The purpose was to humiliate him and strip him of his Tassle

When the stakes were so low it was hard to get serious Like Divvit said this was a man who had been bought and long ago lost his edge But that was just in the way he acted and fought Skill Levels didn’t decay as far as Randidly knew so there would be within him still a hint of the man who seized the title of Artisan

Randidly was pleased by the surprise in the man’s face when Randidly attacked first activating Haste Empower and Mana Strengthening to leap forward and use Sweep smashing into Jacktat’s defense All around Randidly’s move seemed to serve as the signal to attack and his three spear attendant’s rushed forward in unison with him

Jacktat grunted lightly and took a step back but it seemed more from surprise than anything else His powerful thrust that he launched in reply proved that It smashed Randidly backwards and ripped a chunk of flesh off of his shoulder Randidly’s eyes narrowed He had been far too careless attacking him directly It was an old bad habit left over from his earliest fights when the system arrived

But he had spent two years learning how to fight in different ways and it was time to show the world how much he had changed And not just the world but himself too To prove that he had the strength to stand up against the powerful youth he would be forced to fight in the regional tournament That he had the strength to crush them

So as Jacktat rushed forward his blows heavy not Shal level of heavy but still clearly powerful Randidly began to use Spear Phantom’s Footwork and moved around the attacks getting in shots where he could This seemed to annoy Jacktat but he just growled and attacked more wildly

Which of course was exactly the wrong sort of thing to do Jacktat might be powerful but he was not as powerful as those Randidly had trained with and that was all he had power He had none of the grace and speed of Shal and none of the impossibly perfect attacks that Marco Polo used combinations based on years of experience

Randidly’s eyes began to glow as the Aether flowed more freely in his chest

He could do this He could defeat an Artisan

Chapter 179

Helen felt her eyes drifting closed as she fought even as the two men had their expressions change from lust to something much more serious Helen’s grin was wicked

Fucking perverts She said laughing inwardly as she swayed between their admittedly powerful but rough attacks Although they were both fine spear users they had no concept of teamwork between them so their overall utility was heavily inhibited by each other Their skills and methods were not complimentary at all Soon their serious gazes turned into annoyance as they were as much foiled by each other as Helen

The large man rushed towards her slashing diagonally towards her with her spear Helen pretty easily swayed under the blow and the pudgy man sprung forward executing a fearsome thrust

She pirouetted to the side the thrust ripping a small gash in her leather armor but the attack also made the large man who was rushing towards Helen’s exposed back hastily jump to the side to avoid the blow The two men glared at each other for a second then grudgingly turned back to Helen their eyes once more regaining a lustful tint as they traced Helen’s curves

Normally Helen would be infuriated by the flagrant disregard of her skill as a spear user and even now that was annoying but the dodging the flowing moves something was coming alive inside of Helen It was a cool icy electricity a lump of spinning stardust in her chest that seemed to be animating her whole body Tingling streams flowed outward and she felt strangely alive

Several small bits of information came together in her head The energy released by Randidly in the past The way her mother always recommended that Helen find a man who could complete dungeons and sleep with him immediately after he returned from a victorious dungeon It was pretty common knowledge that a man’s seed contained some fraction of the Aether that he had in his body and a woman could take from for herself with her body

Which at the time disgusted Helen Not that she had any interest in sex especially with the leatherworkers she had grown up around but it was repugnant to her that she would effectively trade her body for a night in exchange for a bit of Aether She already obtained some from her class what was the point in having more

But now with this wondrous energy coursing through her practically sculpting itself according to her will Helen’s heart rate was skyrocketing but at the same time her vision became strangely bright and pristine It was like the two men in front of her were slow moving monkeys trying to catch her

The huge man rushed forward smashing downward with a powerful blow Helen flowed around it her spear flicking out to hit him in the side sending him stumbling The pudgy man blanched seeing Helen approach like a swift death but he was still a spear user He raised his spear in a defensive posture and thrust forward to meet her advance

Helen breathed very deeply the stardust in her chest now exploding outward like a levy bursting and unleashing a flood She had to hold that breath because the strange feeling made it impossible for her to contract her lungs It was a strange stasis but to her surprise her senses continued to sharpen to a point every detail of the pudgy man appearing before her eyes

Congratulations Your Skillset The River’s Three Bends (Un) can undergo a change Would you like to allow this to happen

Warning this will require a large quantity of energy If you possess insufficient fuel weakness or death may result Do you wish to proceed

Of course Helen didn’t even think about it She didn’t know of anyone who truly was willing to pass up the opportunity to have their own created skill set or to expand it Because it was a path to a future that you forged for yourself Helen thought yes and she was filled with a rush of inspiration

Congratulations Your Skillset has become The River’s Four Bends ® You have learned the skill The Fourth Bend Surging Rapids (Un) Lvl 1

With blazing eyes Helen surged forward passing the thrust of the pudgy man and her spear ripped upward knocking his weapon upwards so it was pointing towards the sky and the pudgy man’s body was completely unprotected His eyes widened in horror

The huge man launched an attack towards Helen’s back but she was already bursting forward filled with the strange ferocity of her Fourth Movement Surging Rapids She brought her spear across and smashed the pudgy man so far that he hit the railing of the boat and tumbled over

Fucking perverts Helen said gleefully turning to face the larger man whose expression was quite ugly

Wincing Randidly once more dodged to the side His spear flicked out and ripped a small gash in Jacktat’s cheek but the man was a furious god of war now ignoring the damage and smashing forward with his spear once more It was appropriate that this man had a thunder related style He definitely had the power and delivery to back it up

Also Randidly’s earlier statement that he had the strength to stand up against an Artisan was slowly becoming more and more hollow Sure he had survived and he had inflicted quite a few small wounds but It was becoming increasingly clear that he couldn’t stand up to the power of Jacktat’s strikes and the opposing spear user had enough rhythm to make it very difficult to land any hits that would inflict real damage

Roaring Jacktat advanced smashing back and forth with his spear Randidly retreated using Phantom Half Step and Footwork of the Spear Phantom to maintain a pretty solid grip on the distance between them Once more Randidly slashed outward hitting a few glancing blows on Jacktat’s arms but that didn’t slow him down at all in fact it seemed to incense him further and he rushed forward his heavy spear raised

Grimacing Randidly leapt to the side He definitely would have preferred to have a lighter spear at times like this when he was completely eclipsed in terms of power Someday Randidly vowed to himself someday he would bully others with the power of his strikes But for now

His control that approached 200 was making itself very known in the way Randidly was able to easily maneuver his body to where he wanted keeping Jacktat from being able to find his footing in his attacks Randidly knew he could probably get an advantage and pressed forward with it with spells but he was hesitant to use any of them while everyone was fighting so chaotically on top of the boat His fire spells could burn the thing to a shell of itself and Randidly didn’t want to create a root that would eventually trip up one of his spear attendants

After leaping to the side and rushing under Jacktat’s guard slashing his spear and ripping a pretty sizable gash in the man’s side Randidly glanced around looking for the status of his spear attendants

Helen seemed to have already beaten one of her enemies and the second one was retreating away in a very sorry state With a pleased smile Randidly looked at Teliph who had also defeated one of his opponents the man with 6 spears and was now clashing in a flurry of blows against the wispy man who had a strange unpredictable style of fighting Although it seemed that this battle was less settled than Helen’s it was still even and Randidly wouldn’t have to worry about them gaining victory anytime soon and harassing him

But the male spear attendant Randidly sighed He really should just learn the man’s name because he was no longer the only male spear attendant he had but Randidly just had this weird suspicion that asking the man his name would end up encouraging him to go on a long monologue about himself when Randidly simply wanted something else to call him

The risk was too great the benefit was not worth the cost of failure

A smashing overhand blow from Jacktat caught Randidly by surprise due to his meandering thoughts and Randidly was forced to block it directly His arms trembled and the planks of the boat underneath him groaned from the force

Following up quickly Jacktat twisted and brought the spear around in a horizontal sweep Randidly made to dodge but just staggered barely managing to get his cramping legs to obey him It wasn’t just strength it was also a mild paralysis effect to Jacktat’s attacks that made it very dangerous to continue to fight directly against him Randidly was forced to use Phantom Half Step and blow quite a bit of stamina to fuly dodge the attack

Randidly instantly sucked all the stamina he had stored in the rings on his hands replenishing his stores very quickly But his chest was still heaving and only now was feeling slowly working its way back into his legs

Jacktat sneered All you can do is run This is a disgrace You still dare claim you have the strength to resist me

All you can do is swing wildly at the air Don’t act like your successes are anything but the result of blockheaded repetition Randidly snapped He immediately regretted engaging Jacktat mostly because of the interaction with such a detestable stranger but the words did seem to fit another purpose

Jacktat’s face because twisted his eyes somehow narrowed and overly opened at once so his eyes looked wide like a goats Good Good good good

Then Jacktat rushed forward a strange new energy crackling around his body So far Randidly had simply dealt with the man’s superior skill levels and likely stats But now

Randidly had a feeling that he would find out what the man had used to earn himself the title of Artisan

In the darkness of his cabin Shal breathed slowly So slowly that there were several minutes between breathes He did not do this because he needed to breath his Vitality and Endurance were far above the levels where it was necessary to engage in such things Shal continued to breath in order to keep time

He had sensed the clashes beginning above and he had sealed away his senses so nothing would distract him Even that much was a small burden on his pitiable amount of Aether which he couldn’t afford It was a frustrating situation

So Shal continued to breath counting the minutes passed He had to have patience Necessarily Shal couldn’t accomplish this himself That was why he had even allowed this to happen Randidly would be carrying most of the weight in the next portion he would need to make it to the top 4 of the Regional Tournament After that

Then then was when Shal needed his strength For now

He simply breathed waiting for the Regional Tournament

Chapter 180

Helen snorted raising her blood covered spear The large man who was so lustily looking at her body minutes ago had collapsed in a puddle of his own blood the large wounds that Helen inflicted on him completely robbing him of his will to fight

Unbeknownst to that man Helen too was very close to her limit She felt a creeping weakness in her limbs likely an aftereffect from creating the new move for her Skillset But even though standing without the support of her spear was difficult she was filled with a manic excitement To improve a Skill Set’s rarity was exceptionally rare Usually an individual would create the Skill Set while they were young train for years and only once their body had a significant enough amount of pure Aether embedded in it would they enter an isolation chamber and cause their Skill Set to evolve But of course Helen hadn’t done that

She had simply consumed that small ball of Aether that the Ghosthound had left inside of her It made her surprisingly hot and cold at the same time She was strangely turned on by the prospect of some fraction of him remaining inside of her but cold because what it meant about the Ghosthound and the purity of the Aether that he had inside of him already Where did all that Aether come from

Not only had she increased the rarity of the Skill Set but she had also added a move which was more common but the two combined made it that much more likely to be successful in the future Hell if people knew she possessed this level of Skill Set and if she was a talented teacher Helen could probably create her own Style with a nice amount of success especially in an area like Qtal

But that was for later For now Helen looked around Teliph was wounded but the wispy man was worse and their attacks were growing increasingly sharp and desperate The male spear attendant was still getting beat to shit by the two female twins but it seemed that their attacks were getting shallower and shallower

Or if it wasn’t just Helen’s imagination his created skill was becoming increasingly powerful and sharp the more he was abused He seemed to thrive on it to which Helen felt no small amount of disgust But she supposed she shouldn’t complain that the fool was finally finding some measure of strength for himself Less weight for Teliph and herself to carry

Helen almost unwillingly turned her attention to the fight that was centerstage with Divveltian behind him glaring over at the woman with long sleeves the Ghosthound clashed against the man called Jacktat

Although Divveltian had no trouble smashing Jacktat and his group to the ground it seemed that the Artisan owned by the Merchant Association wasn’t a pushover As Helen watched the air around the man seemed to ripple and Helen paled This was it The strength that could suppress others below the Artisan level Why the categories had more meaning than just honor It was a demarcation

As Helen watched bolts of lightning began to gather and spin around Jacktat’s spear becoming increasingly dense and crystal clear losing the ethereal quality of an image and seeming to become reality

I have no quarrel with you but You do not know your own strength Prepare to die to your own foolishness Jacktat intoned Then he spun his spear lazily for a second and then rushed forward moving so quickly that he seemed to blur

To her surprise the Ghosthound simply stood there then he glanced meaningfully side to side The female twins were brutalizing the male spear attendant but they were far away Teliph and the wispy man were on the opposite side near the stairway down to the cabins

There was much space around them The Ghosthound had nowhere to run to Strangely Helen became strangely relieved Because that was not the face of a man who feared the future

The Ghosthound smiled wickedly raising the huge obsidian monstrosity that he so easily manipulated like a light spear Roots sprung into existence around Jacktat moving incredibly fast whipping up and grasping his limbs holding him still But Jacktat just roared ripping through them

The Ghoshound accelerated forward moving to meet Jacktat who was still wreathed in lightning

Fool Sky Breaker Storm clouds swirled above the two battling individuals and a thick bolt smashed downward hitting the tip of Jacktat’s spear which began to crackle Humming with power Jacktat slashed forward towards the Ghosthound’s figure

But the Ghosthound excelled at handling direct attacks He surged forward in a burst of speed then seemed to melt away like an ice sculpture on a hot beach appearing on the other side of Jacktat’s spear

Jacktat hissed but the spear still bursting with power reversed direction and swept over towards the Ghosthound who was now cutting down towards Jacktat’s forearm Jacktat’s face contorted into a grin

Competing in speed Hehe well huh

And Helen gasped too because the Ghosthound’s spear seemed to teleport forward a short distance and then ripped downwards into Jacktat’s arm cutting to the bone and dislodging that arm’s grip on the spear

You

But by the time Jacktat had recovered the Ghosthound faded backwards creating some distance Jacktat’s eyes bulged but then now seemed to have heavy dark bags under them as if this long fight with the Ghosthound was exceptionally trying

Helen felt a presence to her left and turned to find a pale Teliph Teliph just nodded to the side and Helen looked to see the two female twins on the ground exhausted with the male spear attendant standing above them Looking more like a disheveled pincushion than a person but monologuing enthusiastically about his strength to the depleted women

Rolling her eyes Helen turned back to the Ghosthound and Jacktat A win was a win she supposed It was still fucking cringy that he had the nerve to be so pompous about what was effectively an endurance contest Even if he was shitty with a spear his dedication to punishment was real

Although the Ghosthound had inflicted a serious injury on Jacktat the Artisan’s eyes were not those of a defeated man Instead they were now deathly serious It seemed he was finally starting to realize how this would end if he allowed things to continue as they were right now

This is the greatest outrage of my life Jacktat said quietly and something about the way that he said it made it seem exactly the opposite of that His voice was no longer wild and vicious it was cold and calculating The Ghosthound said nothing simply adjusting his stance and waiting

Did you think this would be enough This level of skill this level of playing Again Jacktat spoke with an exaggerated casual tone But still the Ghosthound remained still waiting One thing Helen knew for sure from overhearing Teliph talk about the Ghosthound during his time in the prison was that there was one thing that the Ghosthound exceeded all others that was in recuperation time He was inexhaustible And although Jacktat’s attitude had become more serious

There was something odd about him About the increasingly dark bags under his eyes and the way his face was growing pale About the way all the small scratches on him had become red and inflamed and some were producing thick yellow pus

The Ghosthound just watched his eyes cool The energy continued to crackle around Jacktat soft lightning jumping from arm to arm skipping over the large chunk missing from his one hand He kept adjusting his grip but he simply wasn’t able manage it with that much of his tendons and muscle mass missing

It would heal eventually but he did not have that sorta time

Growling Jacktat produced a potion Quick as a whip a root ripped upward from the boat expertly smashing the glass to pieces dumping its contents on the ground even as Jacktat saw and tried to move

Slowly a dozen or so more roots twisted up out of the deck to look towards Jacktat in askance The Ghosthound’s eyes were a vicious emerald His face was still but there was something about it It was the look of recognition a wolf gives to a lost sheep

You fucking None of you fucking take me seriously Jacktat raised his spear glaring manically down at the deck

Shal cannot be disturbed below Divveltian said suddenly The Ghosthound’s eyes narrowed Again the roots whipped forward wrapping around Jacktat’s arms but after a second of struggle he ripped through with brute force and brought the spear filled with a crackling energy downward

The Ghosthound materialized before the blow and swung his hug obsidian spear to meet the attack The explosion was accompanied by the crackle of electricity and although most of the energy was dispersed the Ghosthound’s body began to twitch and seize

Gleefully Jacktat jumped forward swinging his spear again To Helen’s surprise she didn’t make it in time but the male spear attendant did That pincushion was there his spear raised defensively

He was summarily smashed into the ground the planks beneath him splintering slightly Not to be outdone a second time before Jacktat could take advantage of the blow Helen was there trembling even as she attacked The weakness was real and pressing but if she could just

And yes as she hoped Jacktat dodged to the side clumsily grimacing It seemed he was more wounded than she realized Which was good because even with her newfound confidence in her skill set To fight an Artisan while barely able to stand

Heh hehehe to think that

The root spears ripped up from the planks and through Jacktat’s legs and torso silencing him He spat out a gulp of blood and swayed He swung his spear but it just sunk halfway into a root not managing to sever it

Why I feel so weak Jacktat mumbled looking at the ground He dropped his spear

It’s because you already decay Just give in and rot I do not like to take your life but The Ghosthound stood his face strangely pained Then he shook his head and his resolution returned It is necessary

Jacktat opened his mouth then closed it Several more roots ripped upwards riddling him with holes With a sigh the rest of his life passed from him leaving a body slowly draining of blood standing on the deck like a grotesque scarecrow

Chapter 181

For a long time Randidly looked at the body hanging there It was frustrating in a way Shal claimed to be able to differentiate when or when not it was necessary to kill And in his heart he admitted that this was possible to an extent and perhaps Shal was even more skilled at it than he Most likely more skilled even Randidly admitted to himself

But now This man would make trouble for them Randidly knew that the man this Jacktat worked for had a deep feud with Claptrap He was also arrogant and petty and the reason that he had allowed Randidly to inflict so many wounds on him utilizing Edge of Decay to slowly weaken him was that Jacktat couldn’t see past the fact that he was not an Artisan

He was just a young disciple And perhaps Jacktat hadn’t even bothered to learn that This was just another mission for Jacktat A routine job of intimidation and retribution

This brought up another reason Jacktat was not a good person It was perhaps a flimsy reason but it was a reason still

He would make trouble in the future he threatened their lives and livelihoods he was not a good person

Was this enough

Was this motivation enough to take a life

Shal remained silent below remaining stuck in training of some sort Or as Randidly actually suspected dealing with the Aether Starvation that he had mentioned earlier If even Shal was reduced to this sort of state by this perhaps it was more troublesome than Randidly had feared

Divvet glanced at the long sleeved woman across from him who winked and flounced away leaving them in peace Then he sighed and turned to Randidly

Congratulations It was a well fought match That is the level of those I expect to be the contenders in the regional tournament Although this man was beyond level 25 that is the type of opponent you will face Are you prepared

Randidly nodded trying his best not to stare at the corpse that remained on the boat bleeding out Divvit followed his gaze and sighed sorrowfully Then he walked over to Randidly and clapped him on the back

Shal will be training for the next few days We will need to leave in a week if we are to arrive in Deardun in time You have already trained long hours in the Prison why not take a break Find your center The Regional Tournament is long Prepare yourself

Then Divvet turned away and glared at the male spear attendant who was struggling to his feet Oy foolish training dummy clean up this mess And stop making such an aggrieved face you may have outlasted your opponents in perversion but that does not make your performance satisfactory in my mind Not at all

Randidly glanced around Both Teliph and Helen were sitting with their spears beside them breathing slowly After a moment of hesitation Randidly walked to the far end of the ship and took all the extra mana from his rings so he could summon a Weeping Cloud

It was nice for a while To just enjoy the cool feeling of rain Relieving too after all of the pointless drama of the past half hour This was just a random flailing of the merchant that had tried to take over their boat Randidly’s mouth tightened at the thought of a serious organization moving against them while Shal was occupied like this Divvet was strong but it was clear that one person alone was enough to deal with him

That or that mysterious woman was very very strong

But Randidly supposed that Divvet already knew about Shal’s condition and wasn’t willing to risk a full on confrontation while Shal was recuperating Randidly grimaced It just demonstrated how weak he was that his fight didn’t matter There were much larger fish to fry than him

On the other hand he had done it Held his own against an Artisan Although washed up and idiotic as he was it was an accomplishment What chilled Randidly’s heart was that Divvet seemed to think that level was what the Regional Tournament would be at If Jacktat had been a little more intelligent with his moves or responsive to Randidly’s strategy

But no it wouldn’t do to think overmuch on it What happened had happened Randidly had taken the man’s life

Something inside of Randidly was on fire consuming his emotions and creating a surging heat that acted like an emotional smog blinding him to the consequences But for now Randidly wasn’t willing to take the time to parse it apart It was enough that he was somehow invigorated furious and numb

Randidly looked up surprised to find the male spear attendant had approached him

Here His Tassle was with him so

Randidly blinked It was a soft yellow Like honey mustard Randidly took it in his hands and felt the rich material He smiled bitterly perhaps the better comparison for the color would be the gold of merchants But it was a much cheaper and shallow color than that

You rip off a strip The male spear attendant said helpfully his bruised and swollen face turning into a dreamy smile You can tie them to the pole that holds your Tassle Someday it will be like a rising sun or a rainbow or

Randidly ripped off a strip and silently handed it all back to the man then turned away his mood somehow turning even more sour As the male spear attendant drifted away Randidly brought up his status screen It was still blurry because it had been less than 24 hours since he had taken the potion but as he focused and concentrated it slowly slid back into a more legible form

This part was sort of disturbing about the potion Why did it also influence his status screen and why did focusing on it help alleviate the effects

Either way Randidly had gained 1 Skill Level in Spear Mastery 3 in Spear Phantom’s Footwork 2 in Eyes of the Spear Phantom and Phantom Half Step 1 in Fighting Proficiency Block and Haste 2 in Empower 7 in Edge of Decay 2 in Idiosyncratic Cut 3 in Struggle 2 in Spearing Roots and Root Control 4 in Bacterial Regeneration 1 in Superiority and 3 in Second Wind

Randidly hesitated for a while but it was better to do it now than wait until he had more PP built up He put the PP into his Weeping Cloud path earning himself some more Resistance and Willpower and also some stats and chest pain from his Soulskill

The addition again caused the rotation speed to increase to a level that was physically painful and it took around 10 minutes for that to subside Then Randidly sighed and closed his eyes drifting closer to the Soul Skill seeking his visualization of it

There it was a barren plain now as the grass was devoured by the strange emerald crystals glowing with eerie power The rot and ash came and went but did nothing but strengthen and refine that strange substance further coating the ground and thin layer of crystal that was constantly growing The world inside of himself Randidly realized had died Why he wasn’t really sure but it was no longer the robust changing world it had been previously

Opening his eyes Randidly considered his next steps He had several days off Well that was nice but

He smiled sardonically He was very bad at taking a day off It wasn’t in his blood at least not anymore The question was just how to spend this time Some of it would be spent Engraving which was a mana consuming activity and therefore useful but that wouldn’t be all that he did Other than that

There was also the diary left by the Spear Phantom What was that strange face underneath the cloak Was there a secret hidden inside those final two moves of the Spear Phantom that Shal was unable to master

Learning a story and a distant one like they received from Artisan Dwei from people who weren’t involved with the situation was kinda off putting in a way After hearing it Randidly had quite a few questions for Shal How much time did he spend with his father Was the man really that bad Although he had been away from Shal most of Shal’s life Randidly had also experienced that His father was rarely around And he didn’t have the strange anger that Shal carried everywhere with him

Plus Randidly knew that if he went to Shal and asked he would be met with some dumb answer like If you know so much about it why have me tell you more Get to training Or If a wise and learned disciple like you thinks so who am I to disagree Why do you even need a teacher when you are so wise You may as well train on your own

All in all questions would only lead to training Perhaps he should ask Divvit then But after glancing at Divvet and seeing the strange way he was moving his fingers Randidly had the strangest sensation that asking him now would end poorly for him There was a danger to those finger movements

Besides he still had time Randidly would ask later then For now work on his three goals Engraving perceiving the words in the diary and

Randidly grinned He might as well indulge in one rest like activity His third activity would be Cooking

Chapter 182

Helen wanted to be sympathetic but just couldn’t find it in herself to So she just tilted her head to the side and asked Still sick

Teliph glared at her briefly then suppressed the uneasy expression keeping his face blank Unlike your exhaustion from earlier Aether Poisoning doesn’t just go away after rest Leave me in peace

Which of course made Helen want very much to torture him but she decided that she was in too good of a mood to bother with the stoic brute After all she also wanted to work on her own new moves

But as she settled into her stance she saw a small boat bobbing over towards their boat and felt a flash of anger There was only one person on board but still

These motherfuckers Helen muttered eyes scanning around Divveltian was still sitting with his eyes closed waving his fingers The male spear attendant was rolling over to the side fiddling with Tassles It didn’t seem like Teliph would be able to get up soon So with a great sigh and a bit of worry that she still hadn’t recovered from her Aether shortage Helen walked to the edge of the boat

For a moment she considered throwing something to upend the tiny thing but then she recognized the soft looking individual who was leisurely paddling towards them

Ah Clappy Helen said lazily almost disappointed Sure another fight would have been hard but she felt strange exhilarated by the thought of it especially with her new Skill Set evolution She tried to quell that urge because it would likely get her into a fight she couldn’t win someday but she didn’t try too hard After a life of having her mother breathing down her neck it was nice to feel on top of the world

It would be even nicer to be on top the Ghosthound’ Her mind commented slyly in her mother’s voice She shushed it and focused on the approaching merchant

His face brightened visibly when he saw her Oh You are the woman who knows so much about leather Good I came to see the Ghosthound

He’s fucking busy Helen said her voice chilly the delivery abrupt It was an effort of will not to grind her teeth This fucking merchant showed up and what did he do Instantly ruined her mood by reminding her of all those years with her hair and clothes permeated by the disgusting smell of the tannery

It was impossible to breath in her childhood without catching some whiff of the occupation of her family Some bore it as a mark of pride but those fucking asscocks were not the type of people she wanted to associate herself with She had finally managed to shake that feeling of connection to that dirty small minded place but this piece of shit brought it all right back

Oh Claptrap seemed to wilt slightly and then glanced to the side where the Ghosthound was very clearly engraving His face transformed into a look of horror He’s engraving RIght here where anyone can see

Helen shrugged They all knew academically that the Engraving Guilds were an issue but it was very hard to focus on them as threats when other groups were actively attacking them It was a matter of priorities Although Helen was no longer sure why the Ghosthound so incessantly was Engraving She wasn’t sure what he was doing with it but it was pretty clear that he didn’t need the money

It was surely useful to train a skill and gather PP from it so you could go though your chosen path But this seemed to be more than that

The two of them hand been standing in silence for 30 seconds her and Claptrap so Helen added He fucking likes the feeling of the rain while Engraving Is there a fucking problem

Uh ah no um Okay well please let him know that there will be a market day in two days and I would appreciate if he could Or have you bring me any finished pieces he has made I made an agreement with the Crashing Wave Style and we will be selling some pieces publically So well yea

Goodbye Helen said simply enjoying the indecision on Claptrap’s face It felt nice in a way to be so dismissive of him

But then Helen realized with a start that this was exactly the petty small minded way of dealing with things that her mother would always employ Flattering to her superiors cold and disdainful to her inferiors Helen’s anger rose up viciously and she had to grit her teeth to throttle it down

Uh yes I will tell him Eventually So don’t fucking worry It’s annoying but uh not a problem Helen said lamely almost blushing at herself She had trained for years to handle things delicately controlling her language and temper Even if she had always raged on the inside outwardly she was perfectly controlled But these weeks with the Ghosthound and his teachers had ruined that Her explosions had become more public And admittedly less caustic and destructive but

She watched Claptrap leave and then settled back into her stances

Claptrap had a heavy heart as he walked to the market day He had just come from visiting the ship of the Ghosthound He was very leery about actually approaching the ship again because he had heard the rumors that numerous smaller Styles had challenged the ship the past few days aiming to lower the Tassles hanging proudly above the vessel

It seemed that the group had been victorious but when Claptrap had arrived hoping to find more engraved armor he had simply found an old man sitting on the boat who ignored him at first and as he asked more direct questions had emanated such a vicious Battle Intent that all Claptrap could do was yelp and run away

Honestly Claptrap had held back some armor from the Crashing Wave Style for just such a situation where he couldn’t contact the Ghosthound But he hadn’t wanted to use it so soon and it was some of the higher efficacy armor that he had been saving

Claptrap’s current funds were very high so much so that he was almost dumbfounded by the amount that Dwei had given him for the previous batch that he had transferred So much so that Claptrap felt confident he could work out strategies and inventory arrangements that independent of the Ghosthound could wipe Izzat off the map The seed money he had always craved he finally had Qtal was too small a pond for him anymore

Based on the amount of money it was clear to Claptrap that not all of the armor or even a majority of it was being used by the Crashing Wave Style They were selling it likely at a markup to someone much larger and more influential Which was both good and bad Good because that meant Claptrap’s worry about how much demand this one Style could really have wasn’t an issue Bad because a bigger entity meant that more people would know about the Engraving And although the exposure was worse using the Crashing Wave Style at a front meant they didn’t have an equivalent power to fall back on

If the Engraver Guilds came

And that was the other truth that was starting to hang over Claptrap’s head With this much volume it was not a matter of whether it would happen but when Very few people connected the Ghosthound the spear user with the Tassle a color considered obscene by most with the Engraved equipment On the other hand Claptrap’s name was all over it and on the wagging tongues of the fellow merchants

They would likely come for him first And he had none of personal backing that the Ghosthound seemed to have

Still Claptrap climbed up through the coliseum eventually reaching the larger chamber towards the top of the ring which would once again serve to house the market day As he checked his stand’s location he was relieved to find that he had a much more sizable area to set up

But what he found when he approached his area made his jaw drop

There was a huge winding line to the stall next to his It wasn’t just merchants either It was merchants and jostling warriors from rival Styles proudly holding their Tassles aloft glaring at each other

One person at the front received a package and stepped to the side breathing deeply the smells from the strange bag The spear user pulled some sort of foodstuff out of bag and bit deeply into it his eyes closing in a strange sort of rapture

When the man moved Claptrap could see that there was some strange apparatus set up behind the stall and the new spear attendant of the Ghosthound a man named Teliph was standing with his arms crossed at the front of the stall

What is your order sir His voice was dry and bored but carried a hint of power The spear users who stepped up looking confident blinking examining Teliph more closely He definitely gave off the vibe of being a powerful spear user So why was he selling food

Claptrap shook his head and walked around behind and walked through the merchant’s alley to get around the aisle and get to his stall When he arrived he was once more flabbergasted A huge pile of Engraved armor was left on the ground like it was spare leather just sitting in his stall With trembling hands he looked at once piece and then another and then another All over 60% efficacy

This this was just as big as the batch he had given to Artisan Dwei a few days ago The Ghosthound so quickly made more

Dissatisfied Claptrap jumped and spun around Hiding behind Teliph and Helen who were at the front of the counter the Ghosthound stood wearing an apron and using strange metal implements to manipulate the sizzling apparati that produced the food He was Cooking

Claptrap’s mouth worked soundlessly for several seconds but then the Ghosthound’s question hit him Ah no this is perfect Thank you so much

Don’t worry about it The Ghosthound said turning away and working on other things Claptrap blinked and then got to work sorting and piling everything on the counter in a more attractive manner After all he couldn’t dump treasures like these so wildly although the Ghosthound was content to do so It would be disrespectful

Ah one more thing Do you know what these are I’ve been extracting them from the meat and they work pretty well as seasonings but

Turning Claptrap found the Ghosthound offering him several glowing grey crystals Claptrap choked and began coughing wildly The Ghosthound raised an eyebrow but waited patiently as Claptrap struggled to reclaim his voice T that Those are monster essences How did you It is rumored that it is only possible to refine those through a complicated process which is controlled by the Alchemy Guild

Chapter 183

Randidly rolled his eyes Of course there was another guild monopolizing something Although this world was incredibly advanced in its martial arts if a little backwards about insisting on using spears they certainly weren’t very good at resisting monopolies Economic power was very concentrated Not Randidly supposed that his own world was probably doing very well about that since the system hit Or perhaps even before

But of course the complicated process was simply the use of the skill Extract on the beast meat that Randidly had bought Some of it didn’t have it the cheaper meat but the more expensive meat was strangely thick and resistant to cutting possessing a strange sheen of energy that resisted the cooking

Frustrated at his early failures at making a good cheeseburger with the expensive meat Randidly had tried various things In fact Randidly had completely forgotten about Extract He had used it once or twice to experiment and for drawing minerals out of rocks but he hadn’t sat down and used it enough to understand how it could be used

But after Randidly used Refine on the meat to no effect he saw Extract and shrugged What the hell might as well try it And the meat suddenly became much much more tender and these tiny glowing grey rocks were produced They had a strange heat to them too a weird cross between alcohol and cayenne pepper which Randidly was only too happy to add to his different recipes He nibbled a bit himself and had no ill effects for a while so he didn’t think serving it to other people would be a problem

Claptrap his eyes at first shocked then fearful then glowing with an avarice that made Randidly shake his head told him that Monster Essence could be taken from the flesh of monsters level 25 and up with the likelihood of the body possessing some increasing with level Of course the Alchemy Guild bought all monster corpses above the level 25 although for a pittance so very few people took them up on it and claimed to be able to refine the Monster Essence from all of the bodies

Monster Essence Claptrap continued could be used in potion making and crafting empowering the effects of weapons and armor even further Although he admitted he had no idea how either was done it was too far above his level

Randidly stored this information away for later For now it was good enough that the Monster Essence was a spice substitute in a world that seemed content to just eat meat raw

Still Randidly sent Helen to go buy so more monster meat especially of high level beasts This left Teliph alone at the register but honestly with how male spear users lingered to chat with a Helen even when she was shooting off flinty glares they wouldn’t lose much efficiency without her And grinding another skill might prove useful

This also inspired Randidly to experiment with using the 4 potion ingredients as spices too which yielded positive results The blue was minty and numbing the red was savory and rich the green was sour and acidic and the purple was bitter and lingering

Slowly his small stand offered more types of burgers Not that the spear user customers really cared Honestly they usually just said they got in line for the smell and to give them whatever the person before them got So Randidly made burgers with different spices and condiments watching their reactions tweaking his recipes

It really was enjoyable The past few days of cooking engraving and diary reading had been a nice break for Randidly It had been a while since he had a physical break like this Cooking was strangely fulfilling and not only his Cooking skill grew but once more his Grace experienced gains that he wasn’t able to reproduce just by fighting

As Randidly’s food stand attracted more and more attention and customers more people were lingering around which led to a very robust business for Claptrap Their eyes inevitably wandered to the wares which they picked up likely assuming it was exceedingly low quality

Then they saw the engravings They seemed shocked at first then fearful then they decisively bought the Engraved equipment they wanted casting their glances around fearfully as if they were scared that the Engraving Guild was going to appear and confiscate it all

Randidly looked down at the little grey crystals and grinned as he used the mortar and pestle he obtained long ago to grind them into a salt like powder that he could rub on the meat Now he would have the Alchemy Guild out for him too perhaps he should ask what other guilds there were and use that to extrapolate other useful skills he should learn After all he had to leave this world eventually anyway

Randidly’s smile faded somewhat Although it had only been about a month for Donnyton Randidly had been away for over 2 years Everyone at the town felt so far away although in a way it was his baby In his chest the Aether connections still were strong so they were all still alive He could send messages through the friend system but Randidly was still uncomfortable with the idea of too much interaction

Better to just wait and speak to them when he returned There was a thread of guilt in his heart too especially after Helen and he

And now they moved about their day as if it didn’t matter at all although there was some long looks sometimes from both of them But Randidly didn’t know how to bring it up and Helen didn’t seem to want to and also Randidly had no idea what he wanted So he let the issue drop inwardly a weird mix of relieved and disappointed

The sounds of angry voices attracted Randidly’s attention and he looked up from his sizzling patties

Make way Make way Merchant’s Association coming through

Two burly women followed by a squat fat man who waddled like a penguin more than walked pressed their way through the line to the front of the cheeseburger line When the arrived the man gave Claptrap a dismissive glance and then sneered at Teliph

Hehehe we are here investigating allegations that you bribed the resident official to obtain a stand even though the don’t have a merchant’s license

The penguin man made this reveal as though it were a revelation from the heavens but most of the people gathered just seemed annoyed and confused glaring at the penguin man with folded arms Honestly Randidly mused the only person who seemed scared was Claptrap who instantly paled

As such this stand is violation of the Merchant Association rules and it must be shut down Turn over your err Wares and profits if you wish to leave peaceably

The two burly women stepped forward producing jagged spears with strange spikes Teliph turned and looked at Randidly Although the man had bandages around his face Randidly instantly understood him but he had no idea what was really going on But then Randidly laughed aloud and nodded to Teliph

The only path for a spear was forward

Teliph calmly stepped around to the front of the stand and produced his spear Then he beat the two women bloody smashing them into the ground They were likely perfectly capable spear users but in front of Teliph’s brutal offensive within 30 seconds they were both broken on the ground Time in the prison environment produced a much more capable spear user

Unfortunately this exertion was already pushing a strained Teliph and he was then forced to return to the back of the stand and meditate controlling the tremors and weakness of Aether Starvation Which left the other male spear attendant as the only person to deal with customers while Helen was away fetching more meat Which wasn’t ideal due to his arrogance but he at least followed orders relatively simply

So the male spear attendant stepped forward and beckoned the next customer who stepped over the body of one of the burly women like this was the most natural thing in the world Perhaps violence was more common than he thought Randidly reflected

After staring at his two flunkies with bulging eyes the penguin man shouted that they would pay in a very cliche fashion in Randidly’s opinion and then waddled away in a hurry leaving the two women to groan on the ground

Claptrap breathed in and out his eyes wide Do you do you really need to offend so many organizations The Engraving Guild the Alchemist Guild maybe and now Qtal’s Merchant Association Maybe a little bit of diplomacy

Randidly snorted If there’s one thing I learned it’s that all most conflicts come down to power anyway Let’s skip the crap and just be honest about it Besides

Flipping a patty onto the bun he wrapped it up and handed it to the male spear attendant before saying Besides it’s not my fault they have such unreasonable rules If they weren’t just a bunch of bullies there wouldn’t be any problems would there

Randidly was surprised at how heated his voice had become and he paused For Claptrap’s part the merchant could only give Randidly a strange look then shrug helplessly turning back to his own customers

Perhaps it was foolish but Randidly refused to negotiate with these people who wouldn’t display even an ounce of respect and civility

Setting those issues to the side Randidly turned back to his cooking his lips curling up in a smile Humming slightly he made himself a burger and took a big bite Then he spat it out shaking his head That spice combination was definitely out Then he gave the people who were buying experiments like this a withering glance

Truly this world didn’t know fine cuisine All the better for him Randidly supposed Made for quite an easy way to grind skills while making money

Chapter 184

Shal sat up slowly carefully conserving as much energy as possible As if sensing Shal’s movement Divveltian appeared in the doorway looking down at Shal with glowing eyes

I need a favor Shal’s voice was light and breathy as he attempted to conserve energy anyway he can

Divveltian snorted Don’t you always From the day your father dropped you off with the Endless Heat Style to the day you came back to us bearing the spear of the one they called the Devourer you have always needed my help And I have helped you as much as I could because it is what my niece would have wanted

Shal’s eyes tightened If the woman Shal considered his foster mother Dorotyh hadn’t gone looking for his father finally fed up with the fact Aemont went to confront Haelthing and failed to return for Shal Shal might still be living peacefully with that Style content to forget about the father who pushed him and ignored him in equal measure But she had her own feelings and had gone

So Shal had pushed himself to the limit to train and then followed her The spear of the Devourer might be the most widely known treasure that Shal obtained in the dwelling of Haelthing but it was by no means the heaviest That honor went to the wizened and drained body of the woman who raised him

The silence stretched between them Shal unwilling to expend his energy to speak more Divveltian seemingly content to brood in his thoughts Luckily for Shal Divveltian eventually looked up fire in his eyes

I know there are many things about what you found in the lair of Haelthing that you are hiding Divveltian began slowly And I’m not going to demand answers But you must tell me Why are you pushing yourself so You seemed content to let yourself waste away in the aftermath I let you because I knew it was just how you needed to grieve but now what changed

A letter Shal whispered forcefully remaining loose and relaxed his body even as every muscle wanted to clench in fury at the memory From Lucrecia

Who is Lucrecia Divveltian’s eyes were serious and lined at the edges but there was something in his voice

Shal blinked slowly That sad note in his voice Shal had always known that Divveltian had adventures beyond the limits of the Spearman School’s land traveling through the other Schools learning his peculiar moves abroad But what that strange note told Shal now was that Divveltian recognized that name

He knew Lucrecia

Shal grinned his hatred overflowing so much that he couldn’t care about the Aether expenditure Lucrecia is a woman I must kill She cursed the fate of my family and made us all into monsters

Daital stood dutifully next to his father wondering what they were even doing

As a 14 year old man his father allowed him to accompany him when he went to the market day It was a very important day for his father because ever since they had earned the ire of Uncle Izzie his father’s business hadn’t been doing well and Daital had been forced to spend less time working with a spear and more time helping around the shop

This was somewhat of a conundrum for Daital whose friends continued to train diligently with a spear and began to make snide comments about how Daital was becoming a soft and weak merchant

He argued that strong men help their parents but his friends didn’t seem to understand they were all related to a local Style and none of their fathers were merchants Daital’s mother was the source of strength and prosperity for the family but she was on a rotation at the front lines which made Daital’s father extremely nervous

But they were a family and Daital worked to help out where he could minding the store learning his father’s merchandise taking care of his little sister so his father didn’t need to Although he didn’t have time to work so hard on his spear skills Daital had gained several other skills like Cleaning Bargaining and Cooking in the meantime

And as he was still 14 and hadn’t gone through the ceremony in a village that would grant him the class of Spear User at 15 Daital could have as many skills as he could manage Of course there was a corner of Daital’s heart that hoped he would achieve a variant class something like Strong Spear User’ or Agile Spear User’ but it was unrealistic

By and large everyone in their world received the class Spear User There were only some exemplary individuals who were destined for greatness that managed more than that

Of course where there was exemplary there was also the untalented Classes like Lazy Spear User’ manifested themselves from time to time Which was why Daital was becoming very worried about his lack of training for the past few weeks

But he still had a year he assured himself He could make up this break Working with his father didn’t make him any less of a man

The crowd around them shifted and Daital and his father were able to move forward

Some of the magic of the Market Day had rubbed off after Daital had to come here to help out with business but it was still a wild place filled with powerful warriors and powerful weapons and armor This was a place where everyone was looking for an overlooked masterpiece Which was of course unlikely but Daital still found himself scanning racks of spears for one that would catch his eye

And slowly but surely they moved forward in the line A fellow merchant friend of Daital’s father had told them that something strange was happening over here at this stall A man was selling some amazing food in a convenient and portable form that set the whole of Qtal’s merchant population on fire The Merchant Association had even tried to shut it down and steal the secret of it but the workers had casually rebuffed the strongwomen sent over to ease the transition

And then the stall had continued doing business like nothing happened Whereas the convenience and simplicity of the food had captured the attention of the merchants the casualness of the strength displayed by this action earned the respect of all of the spear users in Qtal Daital included His heart beat fast and he stood on his tiptoes struggling to get a view of this strange stall

Ah Claptrap His father said good naturedly gesturing for Daital to stay in line as he stepped out and went to the stall next to the food stall Daital’s eyes swept over the messy set up of this stall where only a few average looking pieces remained on the display area

Daital had to restrain his sneer It seemed that this merchant was quite down on his luck despite his happy expression

Kaitan Wonderful to see you How have you been Did you see the prices the caravans were charging for dyes Monday

It’s price gouging Ever since the Merchant Association agreed to those concessions with the Trade Guilds

You’d think that big Styles would protest their monopoly but noo it’s always the customer facing sellers that get shit on

Holy Fuck These are Engraved Daital’s father gasped his previous conversation with Claptrap derailed as he finally took a speculative glance at Claptrap’s wares

Even Daital blinked and looked back over Claptrap’s smile was a little bit smug now Yes It’s very dangerous and I don’t think I’ll be selling them for much longer but I made a reliable connection The profits

Daital’s father’s eyes swiftly became calculating The cost per unit

Minimal Claptrap lowered his tone and looked guilty but couldn’t help but gloat a little About a 20% markup of the cost of an Unengraved piece of armor at retail And I charge 50% more That 30%

I heard that A frosty female voice said Daital blinked and turned to step forward because the line had moved some while he hadn’t been paying attention The most beautiful woman stood there at the food stand scowling over at Claptrap who was coughing into his hand

Just a misunderstanding

Oh Claptrap Daital’s father said You know the owners of this stand They are making quite a stir I don’t suppose they would be willing to come work

Fuck off The beautiful woman said sweetly showing her teeth to Daital’s father who took a step back surprised by the aura of violence that the woman abruptly produced Daital’s heart began to pound faster and faster

This was this love

Then the woman turned and greeted the next customer in the food line with a beautiful smile Daital’s father and Claptrap moved to the far side of Claptrap’s stall and began to whisper fearfully to each other glancing over at the beautiful woman

When it finally came time for Daital to step up to the counter he gulped barely able to breath But to his disappointment as he stepped forward a man with sharp eyebrows and a showy face stepped forward This talented one shall take your order What are your desires

The beautiful woman turned away to speak with the man who was working over the fire creating the food

As his heartbeat continued to rise Daital pulled out all of the allowance he had been given for a month and slammed it on the counter The best money can buy

Daital was extremely gratified when the woman turned and looked at him her eyebrow raised

Chapter 185

The man seemed confused by Daital’s request Err this one has infinite understanding but your request Look at this menu what

The best Daital repeated relishing the woman’s gaze Then the woman snorted in derision and turned away and Daital slumped to the side wishing he could die What had he done wrong

Uh hey little one are you well You have become slightly tilty The man said still extremely confused

With dull eyes Daital looked up at the man then down at the money he had slammed on the counter A thin trickle of life made it back into his eyes and he straightened One thing his father had taught him was never to take back money you have placed down for a deal It offended the honor of a merchant or a warrior You were only as good as your word

So while simultaneously regretting his decision and wishing that the Spearman himself would appear and slaughter him Daital asked Well what do you make

Ah These things The man said proudly pointing to a list on counter

Well yes I get that Daital said getting annoyed at the block headedness of this man Was he really even a merchant What are they

Food The man said seemingly congratulating himself for having the correct answer so quickly

Daital rolled his eyes Well obviously What sort of food How is it made What is a cheesesteak What is a Hot Sausage sandwich

The man opened his mouth then closed it Then in a very deliberate decision that Daital could almost see playing out on the man’s face the man decided to get angry at him Now listen here you inferior swine

Do you want to come back and see

This voice was low and reasonably quiet but it carried a strange heaviness to it that instantly cut off the now angry idiot before he could even begin The slim man who was working on the food in the back stepped forward looking mildly at Daital His eyes glowed a strange green color like fresh grass

Daital nodded decisively The beautiful woman was back there and closer to her was better even if she had humiliated him previously After all perhaps with proximity would come understanding of his charms He hadn’t quite given up on her yet

So in the fashion of a teenage boy Daital simply leapt over the counter landing lightly behind it abruptly finding himself in a much hotter environment The strange apparatus the green eyed man was used to cook the food produced a lot of heat

And then for what must have been at least an hour but swiftly became an exciting blur to Daital so much so that he forgot about the woman the green eyed man explained the operation He showed Daital how the meat was prepared How some meat was soft and juicy while other meat was tough and spongy

The man demonstrated how to cook each and how each could hold flavor He pointed out the different spices that he had and had Daital try them all There were flavors and sauces that Daital hadn’t even seen before and he had to gulp down water to wash away because some of them were quite strong and overwhelming Then there were the french fries

French fries Daital decided were the greatest thing ever invented And Daital found himself swiftly consuming handfuls at a time even when they were fresh from what the green eyed man called the frier’ All the while the man just watched Daital with a small smile and moved onto the next thing

Soon the man was explaining recipes and flavor or consistency combinations in the food and he showed Daital the different toppings that could be added to the different foods The whole concept of the strange things that the green eyed man was doing with bread to make the food portable was incredible A way to transport juicy and greasy meat as well as flavorful sauces all the while complimenting the meal with a fluffy softness that was extremely appetizing

Then the green eyed man showed Daital how to wrap and package everything and then he started showing him how this could all be done fast Unbelievably fast Which they needed to because the earlier explanation had caused the line to build up quite a bit for people waiting for food So Daital abruptly found himself working making the food carefully measuring the spices wrapping things up

What was perhaps the most surprising thing was that he gained 7 levels in his Cooking skill and gained the Skill Grace which was a pretty difficult passive skill to obtain but would be infinitely useful to Daital once he became a spear user

Some of that excitement was dampened by the realization that he again wasn’t training with the spear but cooking like a woman but Daital tried to ignore that part of him that whispered things

But very quickly it was all he could think about So much so that in the middle of adding cheese to finish off the cheeseburger’ Daital blurted out But isn’t doing all this a waste Isn’t it better to just be strong

For a moment everyone in the stall stilled There was the beautiful woman the showy man the green eyed cook and also a man sitting in the back that Daital hadn’t noticed until he came back and began working They all grew very still and looked at Daital

And then everyone but the green eyed cook began to laugh Daital flushed crimson specifically because the woman was laughing at him slapping her thigh and muttering Funniest fucking thing I’ve heard all year while turning back to the customer

But the cook with green eyes didn’t laugh Instead he nodded seriously and then set down his metal cooking utensils seeming to think very carefully about the question

Yes perhaps this is a waste There are more efficient activities I could be doing But what is strength The power to resist others Or even the power to kill The green eyed man’s face darkened and he shook his head Or is power the ability to do what you want I do not know But I do think living without regrets takes strength And I want to do this so I will do it and I will not regret it

Daital opened his mouth but already more food orders were coming and his thoughts were already so jumbled he couldn’t sort through them So he just allowed himself to be swept away lost in the routine of the food preparation

That continued until a voice cut through the air Who dares offend the Merchant Association

A tall man pressed forward surrounded by a dozen or so spear users He had huge bushy eyebrows and Daital recognized the man immediately He was Gerel the man who was the cudgel of the Merchant Association He was only at the cusp of achieving Artisan status but he was completely controlled by the Merchant Association unlike the legitimate Artisan’s who were only paid to be on retainer by the Merchant Association

Gerel raised his spear a heavy blunt headed thing and guffawed What Such a tiny stall Such skinny wrists you all have all the better to feature in the kitchen

The beautiful woman snorted leaping over the counter and drawing her spear The rest of the crowd seemed more annoyed than anything else and moved to the side keeping their place in line The meditating man made to get up but the green eyed cook waved him down and delicately removed his apron

Two spear users laughed and moved towards the beautiful woman with lewd eyes but her movements abruptly changed becoming impossibly fast and smooth and she wounded them both knocking them to the ground

But Daital once more was distracted from the beautiful woman Because after the green eyed man removed his apron he seemed strangely bigger Bulkier More vicious The air seemed to dance with strange ripples as if power was constantly coursing through his body

You Gerel bellowed glaring at the beautiful woman who gave him the middle finger Growling Gerel rushed forward

I don’t know what strength really is or even when to use it The cook said tiredly strolling forward leaping lightly out past the counter But I’m seeking it that knowledge and strength Seeking it is really all you can do And sometimes you find it in unexpected places even in cooking Do not underestimate the world

The cook’s hand flexed and huge spear of obsidian appeared there But Gerel didn’t even hesitate he simply switched his targets and rushed towards the cook

For his part the cook seemed unworried and unhurried and slowly took a deep breath then adopted a fighting stance and then thrust forward with the spear with surprising slowness It wasn’t that slow but considering all the talk Daital couldn’t help but be disappointed

But then Diatal noticed that the ripples in the air grew stronger much stronger so strong that the air around the cook seemed to warp Then it clicked

This man was almost an Artisan

And sure enough when his spear crossed with Gerel the larger man’s face tightened as he was smashed backwards But more than that his eyes were filled with fear

You you are the Ghosthound the disciple of the Spear Phantom Shal

The cook the Ghosthound just smiled and began to walk forward his steps even and heavy the tip of his spear dragging just slightly against the ground

Daital didn’t know if he had ever seen something so cool in all his life

Randidly returned to the boat pleased with the day

He wasn’t sure why but he really enjoyed teaching that kid how to cook He reminded Randidly of Donny in the faux arrogant way they held themselves and even though he had hated those types when he was that age Randidly was now past the point of taking their posturing seriously

What Randidly didn’t expect was to return to the boat to find it once more deserted

He lead his three spear attendants down below where he found the Spear Phantom’s diary and a note in Shal’s room

Gone ahead to handle some issues Don’t wait for me Registration for the Regional Tournament is in 5 days

Don’t disappoint me

There wasn’t even a signature Randidly was deeply puzzled Something was very strange about Shal recently The Shal Randidly encountered in the dungeon was laid back but powerful in a restrained way This new Shal he had assumed the increased violence was part of the training but now with him abandoning him so suddenly when their stated goal was so close without any guidance

That seemed irresponsible At best

Chapter 186

So with very little else to do Randidly and his three spear attendants set out for Deardun even though it would only take them two days to reach the other city at their normal pace Or at least that was what Claptrap assured them who was also coming

At first Randidly was slightly hesitant to allow Claptrap to join them mostly out of worry that he would slow them down but Claptrap seemed insistent and honestly it was convenient because Claptrap was the only one who had traveled often to Deardun before Helen stated that she was from a nearby area but she quickly became quiet as Randidly pressed her eyes glinting with some of that explosive flintiness that was one of the first things that Randidly noticed about her

As their relationship was still strange what with neither of them speaking of what happened Randidly let it go and graciously accepted Claptrap as a guide

It seemed that more than just staying around Randidly and selling more of his Engraved armor Claptrap had another motivation for returning to Deardun but Randidly couldn’t bring himself to care There was the strange worry about being effectively alone in this strange world and there was also the raw fury he felt towards Shal still What the fuck was he doing

So they set off but Claptrap wasn’t their only extra traveler the wispy man who Teliph fought and defeated also came with them After recovering from his wounds he came and threw himself at Randidly’s mercy asking to be his spear attendant Randidly instantly refused He already had enough of these people He didn’t want a whole parade coming following him around

Unfortunately the man promptly turned to Teliph and asked to be his spear attendant and Teliph accepted Which Randidly supposed was for the best because Teliph was still struggling with his Aether Sickness which was slowly growing worse Apparently the severity of the sickness was determined by a few parameters like exertion skill levels and stat levels But stat levels earned the lion’s share of the Aether consumption just a little behind exertion Although Teliph had been in the prison longer than most he had not leveled in there just vastly increased his stat levels As such as long as he kept his exertion low his weakened Aether connection was still enough to support his increased stat levels

Which would explain why Shal’s problem seemed much more severe And everyone seemed to understand that they didn’t bring up the fact that Randidly didn’t seem affected at all by Aether Sickness It was just a fact of life for his spear attendants and Randidly didn’t want to dwell on it for too long

Heretic ’ Randidly brooded as the group looped around a small trail through the woods above Qtal departing Then he shook his head and sighed There was something strange going on with that and with the Judgement There was a way to do what Randidly had done somehow that was something predicted by the system although seemingly discouraged And it involved taking Aether from other people But the details

But they continued to travel and Randidly put those thoughts to the side As he worried Claptrap ended up being the limiting factor on their speed By midnight Claptrap was already trembling and exhausted barely able to continue Helen sneered Teliph snorted and the male spear attendant looked haughty but Randidly decided to stop so they took a three hour break

Claptrap was incredibly relieved and thanked him profusely but that just made Randidly more uncomfortable and he waved him away Then during the break Randidly removed the next volume of the technical encyclopedias given to him by the Willow Tree Spear Style reading carefully

Randidly had to read carefully It was like the authors of the books assumed that not only had the reader thoroughly read the first volume but also possessed an uncanny level of mastery and understanding of the concepts contained within Randidly was familiar with them because he very seriously studied the text but he was well below the level the second volume demanded But rather than quit he simply got out the first volume and used it as a reference slowly plowing through the pages Eventually he got fed up and went over to a still exhausted Claptrap

Paper Do you have some And a pen

Randidly’s words were sharp as some of the frustration he felt from the material showed through Claptrap gulped and nodded

So almost two years later Randidly created a makeshift desk on a stump and began to take very thorough notes on Engraving as if he was studying it in class The similarities towards his late night study sessions in college brought him some amusement although he had never sat out under the stars like this and studied Which was a shame There was a life and a vibrancy to the outdoor world that didn’t distract but rather

The sights and sounds it all crystallized a hot contentment at life and living in the moment And a great hunger to continue living Although Engraving wasn’t a direct skill that would help Randidly couldn’t help but believe there was a great secret hidden in it If it really was somehow connected to the Aether constructs within him

If the Engraving hinted at a larger universal language of the system

But the more that Randidly read the less likely that seemed Because the second volume was making clear that the meanings of the symbols seemed completely independent of the shape Although there were certainly technical adjustments you can make between different geometric shapes in the connections in order to make the Engraving more efficient the Engraving’s effects couldn’t really be predicted by the shape

Some of the discussion of this became extremely esoteric Like one philosopher hypothesized that rather than a language Engraving was a vast map of understanding Engravers only used tiny bits of the map at a time conveying a specific meaning but the meaning didn’t stem from the specific shapes but rather from context

This was criticized on the grounds that there was no real proof or even a shred of evidence that this was the case but it was widely heralded as an important theory for advancing the study of Engraving

The other big subject was just that the History of Engraving Years were listed in the book and after checking with Claptrap it seemed that something happened around 50 years ago that had caused the study of Engraving to cease at least publically This was probably around the time of the formation of the Engraving Guilds and it was frustrating because Randidly didn’t want to take the time to understand this information only to find it was completely dated

But Randidly continued because that was the only way to improve and move forward After 3 hours he packed up his books and gestured for the others and their journey continued

Twice more over the next 24 hours they were forced to stop Claptrap completely exhausted and each time Randidly would study the encyclopedia slowly working his way deeper Although it was incredibly rough going there were several tips and information bits about Engraving that were incredibly useful and Randidly carefully inscribed them making a note for the future For now he was satisfied but Randidly knew that he wanted to attempt the Shadow IV rune soon

Perhaps he would have time before the Regional Tournament started perhaps he wouldn’t but he definitely wanted some items to give himself an edge But thinking about the Regional Tournament just got him thinking about Shal and Randidly shook his head disgusted

It was around 3 in the morning when they arrived Most of their journey was across a wide plateau covered in a sea of tall grass They encountered the occasional monster but they were usually around the level 25 and were easily overpowered by Randidly’s party But eventually the tall grass ended and they found themselves at the base of an enormous mountain The mountain was so large that Randidly was briefly stunned

To be fair he hadn’t really grown up in a mountainous terrain but the sheer size of this They had been approaching for quite a while with it looming ahead but it still appeared incredibly distant The speed they traveled was not slow even with Claptrap To still have it be so incredibly distant

The Great Spear Your first time seeing it Fucking a sight right Helen said looking up at the mountain with a wistful expression It is said that the Spearman ascended that mountain to face the Calamity and save us all

And yet the Calamity returned right Randidly said almost instinctively looking up at the mountain

Helen glared at him and spoke her voice frosty Not all worlds have a Spearman smartass

Then she turned and walked away towards Claptrap who was pointing to a glowing circle on the base of the mountain still some distance from their position which was Deardun But Randidly wasn’t listening to their discussion He wasn’t even dwelling on the anger tinged conversation with Helen

Instead his wheels were slowly turning

Not all worlds have a Spearman

Randidly’s initial assumption was that it was just another weird example of the worship this culture had for this man but what if it wasn’t What if she meant it more literally Like they faced another Calamity not because it was supposed to happen but because

Because there was a Calamity elsewhere that wasn’t defeated Something like a Tribulation only on the scale of the world

Randidly’s expression turned grave He had great confidence in his own power especially now against enemies back on Earth But if there was something coming that was so strong that it could rival a whole planet And it was often too powerful to be defeated by even the Master class here

It also made the story about the woman who possessed the emerald Tassle before Randidly make more sense Why would the powerful individuals not just defeat the Calamity but send their youth to fight it Perhaps there were some hidden rules but if that person had to go to another world another world that had been turned into a giant dungeon It made more sense why they would hesitate

The frontlines then were places where the worlds were connected possibly

Randidly shook his head and then looked with clear eyes towards Deardun He didn’t know why but the system hadn’t edited away his access to the information And that made him suspect that it wasn’t that the system messed up but this information wasn’t the important part So Randidly put it out of his mind

After all his goal right now was very simple Make the top 8 at the Regional Tournament

Chapter 187

The first thing Randidly noticed about Deardun was its size Not only did the walls tower above them as he approached but there were tents and lean to’s lining the road to Deardun where people had set up shop and were happily living The whole thing had a very festival air to it and Claptrap whispered that the people were here to witness the Regional Tournament

Randidly felt a sour feeling in the pit of his stomach He knew academically people would be watching this tournament And there were even people watching the qualifier But at the qualifier they were away and above mostly out of Randidly’s awareness If this was a more classic style battle with stands packed with people

Already Randidly wanted to vomit It was not that people made him nervous but the possibility that he would have to interact with that many people or even just interact in front of that many people

But as best he could Randidly reassured himself that he had been fine in the qualifier Before he thought about the issue of spectators And also when he had been so angry that he had just started lashing out

Complicating matters Randidly had spent most of the past two years just sparring and training perhaps exacerbating his people issues There had been a lot of people at market day but not many people paid attention until after he fought Gerel because he was the cook And that acknowledgment of his capability while making no attempt to engage him was exactly the sort of attention that Randidly preferred

As they walked further toward the towering walls more and more spear users were milling about shouting and laughing some even sparring right along the road Almost instinctively Randidly scanned them and didn’t find anyone who he believed was that impressive but he supposed that was to be expected no one worth their chops would be fighting out here

Hey A burly spear user said turning around The male spear attendant had been looking around with wide eyes and walked into the man knocking him off his balance The male spear attendant recovered and frowned

Who the fuck do you think you are rushing around like that

Heh I’ll have you know that I am the spear attendant of the Ghosthound with the most dedicated work ethic My name is

As a group Randidly Teliph Helen and even the new spear attendant of Teliph exchanged a glance and kept walking largely ignoring this incident After all giving it any attention would just be a waste of time

As the shouting increased in volume behind them the group continued very quickly arriving at the gates where several guards were standing Randidly produced the token he had received from the qualifiers and the whole attitude of the guards changed but not in the way Randidly expected it too

If anything they shifted from bored to sneering waving the group through while exchanging knowing glances

They underestimate you because you had to enter through a qualifier Teliph rumbled his countenance stormy

But Randidly only chuckled Helen glanced at him sourly Why do you not demonstrate your own prowess It is dishonorable Don’t be a fucking pussy about it

This made Randidly shift uncomfortably but he said nothing just continuing to walk Helen snorted

Do you know that 90% of individuals who make it to the Regional Tournament through a qualifier are fucking humiliated in the preliminary Do you just want to be another number

Somehow Helen’s words sparked Randidly’s temper He grinned and then began to walk forward with a much straighter spine I will not be a number

Hmph Helen snorted And Randidly spun slowly and gave her a long look full of primal fury and the desire to kill he had honed in the prison She faltered a tiny bit of fear showing in her face

Rather than bringing him joy the fear just made Randidly feel extremely sad and his posture shifted back Mulling over the person he wanted to be It was not fury but it was also not placid or content Strength without inherent violence although a willingness to perform violence Calm but not passive The ability to distinguish what was right and what was necessary

His lips twisted wryly as they finally finished the walk through the long tunnel of the huge walls and emerged into the city Immediately they were assaulted by the yells of merchants from all sides and to Randidly’s surprise Claptrap stepped forward his expression easing Instantly he barked several answers to the merchants shooing them away and the group was able to proceed without being harassed

They followed Claptrap who stated that he knew a place they could stay The buildings in Deardun appeared to be what Randidly thought of when he pictured a medieval city Brick and stone between wooden beams but it appeared that the buildings here were of two varieties Normal buildings that stood squat with 1 or 2 floors and strange buildings reminiscent of mushrooms that were normal at the bottom but rose higher past the normal buildings and had a large upper floor

Randidly supposed this must be used for spear training which was a rather space intensive activity which might come at a premium within the city

Due to a nagging in the corner of his heart Randidly glanced at Helen Although he hadn’t realized it at the time he had probably powered that glance he had given her by his Battle Intent which was slowly growing in level It was not something that he should use on a compatriot

A friend

Again Randidly’s mouth twisted Helen was just staring at the ground appearing thoughtful She probably had already forgotten about the look he gave her Why had he gotten so strangely aggressive about it But Randidly knew It was a male thing To be emasculated is never a fun feeling even when it is partially in play

But of course Helen didn’t play so much as harass

They passed restaurants and vendors and armor sellers and Randidly watched with interested eyes He still wanted to obtain some equipment of his own He had some haphazard pieces that he had gathered on whims back on Earth but he was looking forward to seeing the quality of armor here on a planet that had had the system for a long time

Still that could wait

They finally arrived at an inn type establishment where Claptrap knew the owner and they were all given rooms While Claptrap hurried away to check on the exact start date for the Regional Tournament and to contact some locals Randidly was finally left alone in his room He grimaced slightly and opened up his status menu

He hadn’t been looking forward to this but it was probably best to do it before the Regional Tournament started Based on what he had been told the difficulty would be such that it would very quickly drive up his Skill Level And doing too many PP at once

Over that past 5 days Randidly had gained 7 levels in Battle Intent 1 in Struggle 2 in the Golden Roots of Yggdrasil 1 in Root Control 3 in Weeping Cloud 7 in Extract 4 in Cooking and 2 in Grace

Dutifully Randidly poured the points into the Weeping that Falls like Rain path moving him slowly closer to completion It wasn’t a large jump but it was helping The addition of the PP caused his soul skill to stir slightly making his chest feel decidedly uncomfortable But there were no other ill effects

Struck by a sudden notion Randidly closed his eyes and pictured himself in the world of the soul skill as the rot and ash still spun and the ground was thick with those emerald crystals containing a strange energy Then he reached down and tried to use a skill in his Soulskill world He used Extract targeting the crystals

After first there was nothing Then slowly as if an engine was turning on Randidly felt the skill inside of him flicker and engage as if it was initially unsure of what he wanted but was slowly getting the hang of it Randidly felt his spirit blaze around him his will pressing holding in his mind a very clear image of what he wanted

Remove this energy from the stones Purge the Soul Skill He could figure out what to do with the energy later but for now he just wanted to see if this was possible He was only focusing on a tiny shard of emerald crystal in a veritable sea of it But it was hard incredibly hard as if he was reaching through thick wool with his fingers It was hard to focus the skill to the small shard

But Randidly struggled and pushed narrowing his eyes and finally he had it and the skill engaged Randidly’s whole body trembled and he ripped a thin wisp of the emerald energy out of the stone The energy wiggled contentedly spinning around his finger and Randidly felt a strange pleasure coming from it The emerald crystal darkened becoming a strangely heavy and empty stone

Then Randidly felt a strange trembling and then a vicious rushing and then blinking he found himself back in his room no longer in his Soulskill Hurriedly he looked inward and found the Soulskill was still there but now it was locked

By a golden lock with a small bell

Chapter 188

Randidly’s hands tightened into fists This fucking

But then something distracted Randidly something that helped defuse some of the aggression he had in his chest Even though his Soul Skill or the strange image Randidly produced of it was locked to his view zooming around his inward world stopping to examine all of his skills was that strange wisp of green energy

When Randidly re entered his inward world it noticed and flew over to him to fly around him excitedly It was much easier to let go of the tight ball of anger with an adorable seemingly alive energy creature flitting about But that didn’t really stop the gears in Randidly’s head from spinning wildly

How was this possible Who was doing this And why didn’t they want him to be doing this

More interesting though was that the skills weren’t just an outside phenomena Randidly could use them in a meta fashion like within his Soul Skill This There were definitely implications but Randidly couldn’t really think of anything Most of his skills were combat related He sincerely doubted it would be a good idea to use them upon his visualization

But on the other hand now that he had been effectively forbidden from doing it he wanted to try it And he knew academically that it was probably a bad idea but then the impression of foolishness was quickly overridden by the overriding anger that the strange being that was interfering in his body was taking away options from him Randidly valued independence highly He wanted his decisions to be his own

And lately in regards to paths they hadn’t really been

Randidly held out his hand and the wisp of emerald energy landed on it calmly hopping back and forth It was a combination of a christmas light and a wisp of smoke and it felt strangely warm on his palm

Randidly briefly opened his eyes and could no longer feel it sitting in the inn but closed them again and visualized his inner world where his skills sat and it was there warm and real Frowning at it Randidly noticed for the first time that there were very dim notifications floating in front of him

Randidly’s frown deepened He hadn’t taken the black potion in a while why were they

Narrowing his eyes Randidly considered the black potion It somehow interfered with his perception of the system Also he couldn’t remember being influenced in quite the same way as he was now before he was taking he potion Were perhaps those same annoying locks with bells hiding away his notifications Was he perhaps allowing some other creature’s skill to act on him by taking the potion It was a chilling thought and one that made a weird amount of sense

But it was also possible that the forces were acting on him now because he was a much more powerful individual than he had been in the past and because of the Aether Spring he held inside of himself Those were likely not unrelated details A series of strange coincidences that led to an individual that desired power and had an Aether battery inside of himself that could do it An Aether much more pure than the Aether that others had access to

Which didn’t make sense to Randidly Why should his Aether be more pure when villages also had Aether springs What was different

Also Randidly had his doubts that his strength was on the level that the entity that could manipulate Aether in his chest would want to control him too directly

The emerald energy vibrated furiously against Randidly’s hand and he blinked Palpable in the air around it was annoyance that he was so distracted from it Laughing and shaking his head Randidly proceeded to grab at the strange emerald energy which flitted happily from side to side dodging his attempts

The energy itself was extremely strange There seemed to be some actual substance to it but Randidly was unable to get his hands well imagined hands on it It was a slippery creature full of glee and animal cunning It also seemed extremely well disposed towards him although perhaps that was just because he was the only one here

After a time of playing the energy seemed content and Randidly opened his eyes and returned to the small room This was a strange development It seemed that the energy possessed its own life independent of him It was a basic life form of some sort Well Randidly wasn’t really sure about the details but if his soul skill was somehow refining life

Which seemed slightly ridiculous a proposition but Randidly suspected that there was some complication to the whole Aether Spring situation that he had missed What was Aether Some form of energy The language and hardware of the system perhaps

Stretching slowly Randidly set this most recent issue to the side and tried to rid himself of his smoldering anger He made a mental note to ask Claptrap to purchase him some meat from high level monsters Then he also reminded himself to ask Claptrap what exactly the Regional Tournament comprised Was it going to be a strange sort of tournament like the qualifier Or a more typical 1 on 1 single elimination tournament

Randidly went to his window and opened it Below many people with varying shades of skin walked around talking laughing shouting bargaining with each other Here not everyone had skin with a red tint More were orange or yellow denoting their higher status There were even a noticeable group with pale green and light blue skin colors Deardun truly was a tier higher than Qtal

Which didn’t necessarily translate into higher skill levels but rather superior skills and resources

Randidly chuckled There was so much he didn’t know about this place and yet he was thrown here rather directly He really had to work on his bad habit of being so focused on his task that he forgot to ask questions So many problems could be solved if he were simply willing to talk more directly with the people around him But his bad social habits still remained He preferred not to ask a question when he figured the answer would arise naturally over the course of normal interaction

Claptrap had stated before he left that he had chosen this inn due to the training facility on the roof and sure enough when Randidly stuck his head outside and looked up it was one of the strange mushroom buildings Smiling ruefully Randidly left his room and wandered the halls for a few minutes before he found the stairs

He arrived in the training hall to find it a wide brightly lit white bulb around the size of 4 basketball courts There were even several other people diligently training glistening with sweat and what seemed like a youth training course where an old man was bellowing at a half dozen youths There were wooden dummies to attack and even foldable partition walls to spread if you wanted privacy with your training

All the partition walls were taken so Randidly went to the far side of the training area where there was a straight stretch of space fairly open and pulled out one of his last bone spears made for him by Sam

He took the time to feel the smooth shaft that fit so well into his hand smiling at the memory It would be strange though to return to Donnyton and act so nostalgic when it had only been a month or two from their perspective Although he supposed that the squads were constantly going into the dungeons so time would be rather extended for them too And Randidly knew that the Tier III Raid Boss had descended attacking the town and their neighbor after he had left But it was hard to be worried The town was strong Not just because they had learned from him although that was part of it

The town was strong because they wanted to be because they were willing to put in the time and sweat to earn that strength Things would change later as some of the novelty of the system wore off but for now everyone was so caught up in the changes that there was peace and internal consistency within the town

Hoping that would stay the same Randidly began to move through some basic stretching exercises As he did so he couldn’t help but overhear the words the elderly man was yelling at the youths for they were the closest group also using the training ground

Sharper With more force Do you think an enemy is going to just let you take turns striking You need to overwhelm the opponent Use our hips The old man’s eyes were bulging wildly as he shouted down at the youths and dutifully they struggled to fulfill his expectations It was adorable in a way to Randidly but also confusing Because it was so far from his own experience being instructed by Shal

Shal did not try to explain a problem he exploited it until Randidly learned his mistake with his body and naturally sought to rectify it As a method it achieved an incredibly efficient result although it required an amount of violence that perhaps was unpalatable to some

WIth a sure grip on his spear and with the warming streams of energy flowing up through him from the soles of his feet Randidly began to train in earnest focusing on basic spear moves All the while his will was pressing as hard as he could attempting to impress on the air around him that like time his spear moves were an irresistible force He would continue to flow forward regardless of resistance

He activated Spear Phantom’s Footwork and teleported several feet to the side No area was outside the reach of time It claimed all touched all ended all Time was an agent that had been called many names even including death But it was more than that and it was grander than that I was the continuum that we all existed upon as we struggled futilely to avoid our end

And just like all things time would someday come to an end taking us all with it

Randidly lowered his spear tightened his grip and used the Inevitable Phantom Arrives His spear moved not slowly but surely not quickly It was a speed that seemed perfectly aligned with the state of the world like it was just one more force of nature It was a thrust that one could look at and fear but doing so would bring you face to face with the fact it was impossible to avoid

Such was the strength of the blow that the air rippled lightly after completion spreading a small amount of distance It wasn’t much but the elderly man stiffened and paused in his tirade and then turned and gave Randidly a small look Almost imperceptibly the man bowed slightly Taken slightly aback Randidly bounded slightly in return

Then the man returned to shouting and Randidly felt strangely relieved In some ways this world was a much simpler place than Earth That man sensed his strength acknowledged it and then returned to his previous activity The lack of interaction was such a relief

Humming quietly Randidly returned to his training slowly using the methods and exercises employed by Marco Polo to push his body to the limit

Chapter 189

Ciel Claptrap’s former co worker frowned thinking very deeply Well she hasn’t been here recently But that’s because she’s preparing for the Regional Tournament isn’ it She can’t take time to shop when she’s got the hopes of the sect riding on her She didn’t really come back much after you left anyway

Claptrap’s stomach did flips as he cleanly disengaged himself from the conversation with a clerk at the former location Claptrap managed and hurried outside Instead of all of the rather pressing matters Claptrap could have handled he had proceeded directly here to ask about the woman who had changed his life It seemed she was well

She didn’t really come back much after you left anyway

Probably just a coincidence Claptrap thought all the while sporting a shit eating grin Since it seemed that Ciel was still doing well he could investigate some other leads So Claptrap hurried away checking his old merchant contacts talking business the price of materials the new methods of leather refinement etc

And then to the contacts he trusted the most Claptrap let slip that he might have access to a non Engraving Guild made piece of armor and distributed a few examples Most were shocked at first or fearful but as they examined the armor more closely greed rose up and washed away all of their misgivings There certainly was something reliable about merchants that wasn’t true about anyone else their motivations were rather clear

But what made Claptrap sick was that one of the informants made a satisfied sound when he made this pitch and said Ah I’d heard about this So you are the one who has the hook up

It was one of his earlier visitations and it was impossible that news from the other informants had already traveled all the way to this location There was only one explanation that someone in the city was already leaking the news

The Engraving Guild wouldn’t be so sloppy to spread the news of it if it was planning to act so the news must have come from a relatively friendly’ party It had to be the Style that had a deal with the Crashing Wave Style It was extremely likely that this Style was a local powerhouse with a high amount of influence

So strangely after all of Claptrap’s social calls had been made he found himself standing opposite the local branch of the Engraving Guild Although Deardun was the capital of the Northern Region it was the most sparsely populated if largest regions and therefore the Engraving Guild had a relatively smaller presence But it still was an ornately decorated building stinking of money

It was hard to keep his breathing steady as he looked at it This was the enemy he was making by selling the equipment Engraved by the Ghousthound for profit It was an old and powerful enemy with deep connections to the most powerful Styles of the Central Region And yet And yet he didn’t regret it Because although Claptrap was timid and relatively reasonable there was an edge of madness to his actions For Ciel

He would do anything to capture the attention of that woman No matter what enemies he had to make or what devils he was forced to befriend

Claptrap The voice was high and melodic the tone gay Absolutely frozen stiff Claptrap spun on his heel turning to find a woman standing there A woman in form fitting leather armor and a soft pink skirt to add some feminine flair to the otherwise utilitarian outfit She had large azure eyes and her brown hair cascaded down past her shoulders interspersed with thinly spun threads of gold I had heard you left the city I’m so glad you came back I missed my favorite merchant

With a wildly beating heart Claptrap had to admit to himself that he had just come face to face with Ciel and he was nowhere near prepared for it Maybe if he had time to jot down a few lines for their reunion

But Ciel already moved forward and spread her arms pulling him close into a hug and she was warm and smelled

Come with me we need to talk business Her whisper was soft and urgent and still kind but it was a different sort of whisper with none of the hollow warmth of her previously greeting Something deep within Claptrap’s heart trembled

As she pulled back her face was still smiling warmly but now Claptrap could see the edges of it it was a hollow thing And his chest slowly emptied of emotion What was going on

As she talked lightly about various topics around Deardun Ciel invited him for a drink to catch up and led him away leading him deeper into the area of Deardun monopolized by the larger Styles Then they entered into an inn and walked past the silent drinkers to a back room with extravagant chairs

It was strange This was what he always wanted to talk casually with Ciel like this To feel as though she was interested in him To feel connected to her And yet

After the door was safely closed behind them she stopped speaking and yawned draping herself across a chair She gave him an apologetic smile

Ah Claptrap I apologize about that oh you probably don’t even remember me do you My name is Ciel a disciple of the Steel Feather Style I used to frequent a store you clerked at To be honest I didn’t remember you at all for a while either but after a lot of thinking I did remember a certain clerk with an extraordinarily reassuring face thats you I understand that you have done very well for yourself out in Qtal

Claptrap remained silent struggling to process all the new information that she was dumping on him She frowned at him and asked Do you feel guilty for all of that profit Is that why you went to the Engraver Guild Branch

Still Claptrap remained silent and Ciel asked continuing Were you going to turn yourself in There is still a lot of profit to be made if your connection is still good

Finally Claptrap came back to himself feeling strangely guilty Had she thought that What No I just

Good because as I’m sure you’ve worked out the Steel Feather Style is very interested in what you’ve been doing If you wait a few minutes She was interrupted by the opening of the door and a man with a huge bristling beard walked through the door with a beaming smile

Ah good Ciel you’ve already brought him Welcome Mr Claptrap I am Harnor Tath the vice patriarch of the Steel Feather Style in charge of training Would you like something to drink some food

With the new arrival Ciel visibly withdrew leaning back in her chair in relaxing content that she had served her purpose Because to her their connection was just that A coincidental previous series of encounters that she didn’t associate with any particular emotion other than reassuring It was extremely Something Claptrap couldn’t understand even what he was feeling right now it was just a giant numb bundle that escaped his understanding roaring in his chest

But he was still a merchant And the whole reason that he had left was because Claptrap knew that was all he was to her even if he wanted to be more He needed to be more than just a clerk He needed to be a man and this was his chance And although he was strangely empty he squared his shoulders and focused on Harnor Tath to talk business

As he did so Claptrap grew very still He would not have noticed it a few weeks ago but there was something indefinite about Harnor Tath A potency to the air around him Claptrap did not have much of a concept of strength He simply didn’t associate very much with spear users in situations where they displayed their strength But recently Claptrap had spent a lot of time with the Ghosthound and his spear attendants He even had met the Ghosthound’s master who was the son of the storied Spear Phantom

This man was a cut above that level of strength The very air seemed to wiggle around him filled with a strange something As his scrutiny and shock became obvious Harnor simply smiled and laughed perhaps I’ve underestimated you Very few merchants notice But yes I am at the Adept level What you are sensing is that I’m at the cusp of being able to become a Pontiff But that cusp is a difficult threshold to cross

Ciel rolled her eyes Dad’s being generous The fact that he’s this strong at his age is very impressive It’s almost guaranteed that he will be named a Pontiff in his lifetime

Nothing’s guaranteed Harnor said calmly flashing a special smile at Ciel

Claptrap became decidedly light headed It was one thing to find out that the girl you had a crush on barely remembered you at all it was another to then directly be plunged into a business discussion with her father who was far far far far above you in terms of personal and political power He found his tongue thick and clumsy unable speak

Harnor then turned his attention back to Claptrap and began to ask more pointed questions about the equipment the connection the different runes available and prices After a time Ciel excused herself and left allowing them to continue the discussion in peace Watching her leave hurt but it swiftly made it much easier for Claptrap to speak allowing the discussions to proceed much more swiftly

Is it a money issue Harnor asked quietly with a frown on his face Claptrap had previously said that while the offer was generously he wasn’t sure if his connection would be able to produce much volume for a time And if it’s not the money why Ah that individual is in the Regional Tournament isn’t he Or she As my Ciel proves power isn’t dependant on gender

Claptrap flushed red He tried to think about a clever way to dismiss Harnor’s speculations but couldn’t find any easy lines for why he would come to the city now and why the flow of Engraved equipments would also coincidentally stop right now It was too simple

But at the same time Claptrap was deathly afraid of what would happen if the Engraving Guild could discover the identity of the Ghosthound If they did they would take action against the Ghosthound long before they would come after him Eliminating the supply of unofficially Engraved equipment was much more important than punishing the merchant that sold it or at least Claptrap hoped so

So all Claptrap could do was open his mouth close it and then shrug helplessly Harnor smiled

Well then that’s fine You have our offer If you have product you want to move come to the Steel Feather Style and state that you are a friend of Ciel’s I’ll have word put out to the guards that will bring you to the right people

Harnor got up to leave and then hesitated at the door before turning back around towards Claptrap Ah and one free piece of advice The preliminaries of the Regional Tournament this year Tell your friend that what is important is perseverance I hope to hear from you soon

Chapter 190

The start of the tournament was 3 days away and after signing himself in and claiming a spot Randidly didn’t really have anything that he needed to do in the city So he continued to train

Claptrap’s information about perseverance was somewhat useless to Randidly Perhaps useless was the wrong world It wasn’t something that could be focused on and improved in the short term and also Randidly believed that of all his qualities perseverance was the one in which he had the most dedication It wasn’t that his perseverance was all that impressive but it was a necessary part of his time in the post system world

Still this was compared to the elites that had made it into the Regional Tournament so Randidly did his best to temper expectations But still to his mind his great strength was his tenacity and recovery speed And these things directly impacted his ability to persevere It seemed that a higher power truly wanted to give him a chance in this tournament if this was the criterion on which he would be judged

So during that 3 days Randidly instead focused on prepping his mental state to be incredibly fresh and robust This mostly involved involved long periods of training with the diary of the Spear Phantom and then taking the time to sit in his Weeping Cloud Skill and allow those healing rain drops to flow over and through him cleansing him This repeated cycled did wonders for his Mental Fortitude which Randidly supposed was another quality that would help him persevere

Between training sessions Randidly continued to research Engraving in the technical manuals given to him Engraved a little on the side and also went upstairs to the area above the inn to train He mostly focused on activities designed to increase his physical fitness at this point rather than attempting to improve his Active skills and also used it as a chance to get some experience fighting with the Golden Roots of Yggdrasil

But the real reason that Randidly headed to the roof was to watch with fascination as the elderly man trained the youths in the art of the spear Part of his fascination was that the training style was so different than what Shal employed but Randidly also learned a bit about proper stance and form from listening

Truthfully these were things that Randidly had already learned with his body due to the brutal sessions with Shal and had internalized But he had never addressed them directly or systematically It was usually small things that Randidly had missed during his training sessions with the Root Avatars he had created But once he heard the small tips and tricks they made a lot of sense and Randidly’s understanding of how and why he did things grew immensely

As he spent more time up in the training area Randidly came to the conclusion that there weren’t that many powerful individuals who used it he didn’t even witness anyone who seemed close to the Artisan level training there But even though they were not particularly strong and their skills were basic most people trained with a dedication and zeal that took Randidly slightly aback

Some people even seemed to have quite low skill levels at the point where they wouldn’t be allowed into the Squads of Donnyton But for an hour a day they came and trained dutifully dedicating themselves to the pursuit of the spear

Feeling particularly foolish Randidly asked Helen about it She gave him a look like he was an idiot Well of course they would fucking dedicate themselves to the spear It is the only way to tap into the Aether you must know the feeling of a spear in your hands

Randidly frowned What do you mean

To use Aether You need a spear Are you mentally damaged Helen said testily and then walked away

Randidly pursed his lips but decided not to pursue it Instead when Claptrap stopped by to take some of the armor that he had Engraved recently Randidly asked him if he knew why this was Randidly believed that this would be a much more kind source of information

Are you not Well anyway It’s the same reason that everyone obtains a class related to the spear It is rumored to be different on other worlds but the Aether of this world is particularly inclined to the spear It has been since the Spearman defeated the Calamity It is believed that it is a direct result of that clash it shaped our entire world So if you have a powerful image about using

Claptrap frowned and thought hard for several seconds leaving Randidly rather confused before continuing Well like a kitchen knife I know it’s silly but imagine using a kitchen knife as a weapon Or a shield A shield might be easier If you have an image of using a shield alone it is very hard to create a skill even with your own pure Aether Because the Aether doesn’t take those sort of images well But if you involve the spear in your image even if it is a tenuous connection skill creation is possible

Randidly left the conversation with more questions than he had began with First it was slightly ridiculous to Randidly’s mind that most everyone had eerily similar classes here One of the great draws of the system was the potential to obtain a powerful class with different stat growth rates Was that just not available on this world Was it a difference of the Cohort like Earth obtained an updated version of the system

Second the fact that the Aether could be better suited to certain types of images for skill creation was disturbing Was it really just that the Spearman was such a powerful individual that he had changed the Aether of an entire world And what did that entail shifting the Aether like that From conversations he had overheard Randidly had gleaned that there was an Aether Spring at the core of the world that fueled growth here Was it a change in that spring that affected the world

But it did reassure Randidly that refusing the System was the right thing It was pretty clear that although the people of this world revered and embraced the change a lot of their potential was being restricted by the System itself and its insidious Aether Just like at this very moment within his chest his Soul Skill was still sealed off to his perception

The other thing Randidly did was learn some things about the strange emerald wisp of energy that had taken up residence inside of himself

When he turned his attention inward after an extended period of time training and studying he found that the emerald light had grown exceedingly dim and had faded to a tiny spec It also responded very lethargically to Randidly’s ministrations for a long time But the longer Randidly focused on it poking it and cajoling it it slowly revived itself burning with a slightly brighter light After a half hour it had returned to its previous bright self and danced around happily

Curious and with nothing really to do at 1 AM Randidly continued to play with it pushing it forward It grew brighter and brighter moving faster and faster around him becoming a sizzling burning line It was impressive and slightly intimidating

Also while his attention was focused within himself Randidly was able to confirm that the small locks remained around the cold energy he should have received for the Path of Carnage and the other drop of energy that remained from his Lonesome Spear Path In addition although he could produce a blurry image of his Soul Skill it remained isolated away from his influence

It was infuriating

Luckily the emerald streak was distracting or else Randidly would probably dwell on this issue and begin to brood on how he would get the person who did this back for what they have done As it was he was able to stay away from those thoughts barely

Then something very strange happened the streak stilled trembled and then split in half Randidly simply blinked

The light immediately faded and Randidly leaned closer to see what was going on But it just seemed like the wisp had really split in two and two very dim wisps floated around listless Rolling his eyes Randidly slowly touched and prodded again nurturing them back to health They were Randidly admitted to himself extraordinarily adorable as their droopy and dim selves slowly livened

Then to his amusement they began to chase each other around his inside world dodging through his skills Shaking his head he left and opened his eyes It was a nice distraction and he made a mental note to check in on them periodically but it was of secondary importance

Some of Randidly’s anger towards Shal abandoning him had cooled but it simply left him extremely confused Why had Shal simply left Sure he was likely trying to address his Aether Poisoning but wasn’t Randidly’s performance here just as critical Based on Shal’s attitude towards him Randidly was dubious that Shal had left because he was confident that Randidly could handle himself That didn’t sound like Shal at all

But there didn’t seem like there was any other option Perhaps something pressing arouse The more time Randidly spent with Shal the more he realized how fickle and intense his teacher was Not just in his brutal training style but also personally He was harsh and then he was laid back He was apparently so weak willed those shamans held him back in that dungeon and yet now he had the ability to fight against Adepts

Randidly did know that his all rounder capabilities weren’t the typical path people tread Each stat was valuable and Shal only had around 50 Willpower or at least he had when they were in the dungeon originally Shal also didn’t have room in his skill list for any mental skills so he could only rely on his raw stat totals to resist it And to be fair the issue wasn’t surviving the attack it was surviving the attack while withstanding the mental attacks from the Shamans

All these things Randidly knew It was just

Then he sighed and shook his head ruefully Who was he to judge Shal Randidly too had a problematic childhood and his was apparently very peaceful compared to Shal’s Besides although Randidly had a hard time believing that Shal trusted him in his mind

He really could succeed He would That was his promise for all the assistance Shal had given him which just seemed to grow and grow He was definitely transformed from what he had been previously For that Randidly would earn the top 8 finish and maintain the Spear Phantom Style’s high status

Chapter 191

Shal stood cautiously After staying in the dungeon for a week he was slowly absorbing the thicker Aether in the air allowing him to move around like a real person rather than an invalid He nodded decisively a spear user was truly only half a man if he was not in control of his capabilities

Then Shal frowned as he thought of his disciple wandering around attempting to succeed in the Regional Tournament on his own Gritting his teeth Shal forced down his frustrations with his disciple and his guilt over his father’s legacy and his bitterness that he had to rely on another

These emotions were not helpful And if he was honest with himself he had to admit that he wouldn’t be able to assist his disciple anyways as anything more than a last minute coach His actual influence especially in the preliminaries would be extremely small Perhaps when the actual tournament started his advice would be more useful but when Randidly was just battling against riff raff

Divveltian sat to the side humming and moving his finger like he always did Ever since he had been exposed to the Aether produced by Shal’s disciple Divveltian’s abilities had skyrocketed Shal had a sneaking suspicion that he had been able to improve his self created move and was even now refining it further

In his heart Shal was bitter that he had been so focused on stopping the wild energy emerging from his disciple that he hadn’t thought to absorb very much of it for himself If he had his and Pronto’s self created style

Pronto standing over the woman’s body still just a boy a guilty smile on his face It was necessary You’ll help me convince father won’t you

P you can’t keep doing this

Relax this will be the last time I can control it

A twig snapping brought Shal back to himself Marco Polo ambled out of the bushes carrying some of those poison spitting frogs hanging from a rope Although they had a very weird aftertaste their meat was rather tasty and Shal couldn’t complain about it

Marco Polo’s arrival of course was why Shal had made the decision to leave so suddenly Because Shal had told Marco Polo when they split up that he would appreciate it very much if he went to the border of the Spearman School’s lands and inquired after a certain individual

Shal sought information about the woman who had cursed his family Lucrecia And Marco Polo returned bearing news about her movements and location Apparently she had set herself up as a vice leader of a Style in the Heart School lands

Instantly Shal had known that he needed his strength to be at its peak higher than it had ever been in the past if he were to stand a chance against her Even in the past it seemed that she was an individual that Aemont didn’t want to challenge for in the lead up to Aemont and Pronto heading to see Haelthing Shal begged He begged them to go after that woman instead because Shal was so sure that she was the source

His father had given Shal a long look and then left stony lipped Shal needed to be stronger than his father He could not truly fill the Spear Phantom’s shoes as demonstrated by his lack of comprehension of the moves but there were some prices that he was willing to pay that would make up those deficiencies

For now however he simply needed to wait as his body adjusted itself The time dilation was much smaller in this dungeon than the prison so his Aether connection should recover a small bit Then clearing this dungeon would give him a pool of Aether that could sustain him for a while as he healed the rest of the way

One fact tugged at him however making him very wary

Marco Polo sat around the first laughing and smiling and began to cook the frogs

Although he had likely been inside the prison for the longest Marco Polo showed no signs of Aether Sickness either now or while they were outside the dungeon He seemed completely at ease

Whether it was a coincidence or something more sinister Shal wasn’t sure But it didn’t matter As long as this man could lead him to Lucrecia he would hold hands with the devil if he had to His goal was more important to him than his integrity

In the predawn light Randidly slowly opened his eyes He had checked on the two wisps and they seemed fine enjoying each other’s company They still slowly became dimmer without him but with two of them the process took a lot longer So at least he didn’t need to worry about that

Today was the day of the start of the Preliminaries Already Randidly was nervous but he tried to breathe those nerves away slowly inhaling and exhaling As he did so Randidly opened his status screen Due to his earlier suspicions he had ceased the black potion since they had arrived at Deardun but it did not appear that any changes had happened in his body

Randidly now basically could ignore the notifications anyway but the small golden locks in his body remained He still remained barred from his soul skill Perhaps they were related and perhaps they weren’t But Randidly decided that he would no longer take the potion unless it was necessary He believed that his two years with the notificationless system in the prison had done enough to change his mindset Now he was focused on improving his actions and skill levels would simply follow It was that simple

Over the past few days Randidly had gained 2 Skill Levels in the Inevitable Phantom Arrives 1 in Eyes of the Spear Phantom and Phantom Half Step 4 in Battle Intent 3 in Struggle 6 in the Golden Roots of Yggdrasil 2 in Body Control Freeze 3 in Physical Fitness 10 in Extract and 2 in Mental Fortitude

After a brief moment of hesitation Randidly gritted his teeth and put the PP in the Weeping that Falls like Rain Path His chest heated up and he viciously smashed against it with his Battle Intent Unfortunately the restriction on his Soul Skill prevented him from influencing the process so it spun wildly a strange force building up in his chest

Groaning Randidly got up and stumbled to the other side of the room where he knelt over a basin filled with water Slowly carefully as his body began to tremble he dipped his face in the water sinking into the cool liquid

The pain was vicious just as vicious as what happened the first time this occurred It felt like he would slowly be torn apart by it His whole body would rupture he would collapse

But Randidly knew deep in his heart that he wouldn’t die from this pain After all someone was directly influencing his growth and he had grown quite a bit to reach this point That person would not likely spite Randidly into dying just for extracting that strange emerald wisp from a crystal inside of himself

Or at least Randidly hoped that individual wouldn’t Because if they did there really didn’t appear to be anything he could do Although he had some ideas of how to spite the process for that individual when they tried to put it into action he wasn’t sure how to force the other to move other than finishing this path

Sure enough after a time the pain started to fade Randidly slowly removed his face from the liquid which had warmed quite a bit as he held his face there He grimly smiled if he had still been on Earth if things hadn’t changed he probably would have crushed the world record in holding your breath about 10 times over

There were more things that Randidly wanted to do before the tournament but they could probably wait He waited to attempt to create armor with the Shadow IV rune but Randidly didn’t think he had the technical skill the mana or the proper armor for it yet anyway He also wanted to immerse himself more deeply in the Spear Phantom’s diary moving towards the 5th skill but the mental strain even with the Weeping Cloud was such that he hadn’t attempted it too seriously over the past few days allowing his body and mind time to reach its optimum state

There was a knock at the door

Are you prepared For once Helen’s voice was low and serious Randidly stood stretched and gathered his items They had already been informed that the only thing you could bring to the Preliminary was a spear All other items had to be left behind One by one Randidly removed his rings He had wanted to create more of these too and focus on improving their efficacy But for now this would have to do

Randidly went with his spear attendants proceeding to the area of the preliminaries which had been surrounded by guards for months according to Claptrap The area was covered by a huge dome and only after he had said goodbye to his spear attendants and been searched for any other items was he let inside of it

His large black obsidian spear was given some knowing looks but the people running the preliminaries appeared to be professionals for they said nothing

Inside there was a series of what Randidly could only describe as half constructed buildings There were huge edifices of stone but they were surrounded by scaffolding There were also other areas where laborers appeared to be still working throwing up walls at a visible speed It all seemed honestly rather haphazard for the tournament that was the highest level tournament for the younger generations in the Northern Region

But Randidly was swiftly whisked away and brought to another area where he was weighed and measured Most interestingly he was measured not by pure height but height to his shoulders and then also to the tips of his fingers when he stretched his arms directly upwards Then he was brought to a room and told to wait

He looked around Over 100 men and women waited with him all meditating or stretching as more continued to trickle in There was an aura to the room too swirling of power and tension So this

This was his competition

Chapter 192

What is the level of your strength stat

Randidly looked up frowning One of the attendants was standing next to one of his competitors quite a distance away but all the competitors were going about their preparations in silence so the words carried

The man in question a rather bulky fellow with an orange tint to his skin squinted at the attendant who was a rather slender man as if he couldn’t’ figure out what to do The attendant stood there calmly looking at the bulkier man with placid eyes

Is this a joke The man said looking around at the other people for support He was summarily ignored Everyone kept their eyes closed focusing their attentions on keeping themselves in the most ideal condition possible You haven’t asked anyone else why are you

We shall ask everyone else The attendant interrupted You are simply the first to be questioned In a way it is an honor You are free to round the amount of your strength but you must tell me It is part of the preliminaries

The man seemed to puff out his chest then he examined the attendant’s official robe and hesitated He looked around trying to be covert but everyone had opened their eyes and focused their attention by now In the last hour more and more people had poured in until there was almost 1000 people crowded into this space All those gazes landed on the orange skinned man

To be first was to be judged by everyone else who followed

The man coughed into his hand 80 My strength is near 80 But my skills

Irrelevant The attendant made a note and then gave the man a small piece of paper This is your group number Proceed outside and other attendants will show you the way Next

As the man was led away people began to amble forward confident and ready to get out of this dumb waiting game In a way Randidly understood This was certainly not what he had expected when had come today for the tournament It would have been much more fruitfully spent time if he had been able to bring the Engraving encyclopedias into the arena At least then he would have been able to do some light reading as he waited

As it was Randidly had been simply playing with the green wisps in his chest which had once more grown brighter He had also tried to be as circumspect as he could as he had examined the energies inside of himself that were barred to him The cold death energy ash rot and now rain

It was slowly becoming clear that these were to become a cycle of seasons The small packet of energy of the Lonesome Spear Path was there and it appeared that the emerald crystals which were packed with the strange wisps also would play a role Ideally if Randidly could figure out before it happened what was going on he could frustrate it that much more effectively But he couldn’t figure out how they all fit together

More and more of the participants walked forward and gave their totals Most of the strength of the people ended up being around 90 with some as low as 60 and others as high as 140 It seemed that there was a lot of variance in the distribution Although it was clear that most people were lying The only difficult part was determining whether they were lying to raise their potential and appear imposing or to lower theirs and appear unassuming

Either way Randidly ignored it grappling with a much more disturbing question when had he started imbuing his images with time

It was clearly after he started training with Shal Time was how he interpreted the power of the Spear Phantom But was that image suggested to him somehow by a path By the skill itself Randidly didn’t doubt himself but those hands had worked some magic of Aether in his chest Had it subtly influenced his decisions even more deeply than he had thought

But in this respect at least Randidly already had some notions of how to interfere in the evolution of his Soul Skill which he suspected this was all leading up to He would test some things in the duels that were likely to come but Randidly was also worried about some form of surveillance on him It would be better to spring it suddenly

But he only had 34 PP until this Path was finished so it wasn’t like he would have much time to scheme So he played with the energies watching their emerald color sparkle and grow What was interesting was that the longer he played with them the more Randidly was able to differentiate between them His original one as he still thought of it was filled constantly with the urge to zoom about avoiding Randidly’s playful grabs

The second one which had split off from the first was much more hesitant and perhaps a little bit shy It would wait and look at what the first energy would do and then race after it as if hastily trying to imitate it The second one appeared to be faster in terms of top speed but its slow sputtering starts greatly limited its ability to keep up with the graceful movements of the first light

They also seemed to want something from him although Randidly couldn’t figure out what It was like a half heard whisper always making Randidly cock his head and frown He knew there was an answer but he just couldn’t figure it out It was just beyond his listening

Eventually Randidly was forced to return to his body and focus on where he was right now because the number of people had dwindled Glancing around Randidly didn’t see any familiar faces He wondered if Dian and Tartet had been here and he had just missed them There were so many spear users that it was almost impossible to remember even a fraction of them

Randidly slowly moved forward and eventually neared the front of the line In front of Randidly a rather short woman stepped forward and when she was asked her strength she proudly said 162

Although there wasn’t much noise in the room to begin with aside from the small scratchings the attendant made on his ledger everyone went even more quiet the gazes of the people present moving to this woman The attendant nodded as if this was normal and handed her a piece of paper

Looking about proudly the woman left Which allowed Randidly to stepforward

Strength The attendant asked in a bored tone

Randidly grimaced But honesty was probably the best policy in this case There didn’t seem to be any harm in revealing it Most of his Strength came from skills anyways 100

It was an above average but not shockingly so amount Probably just the sort of amount someone would give if they were trying to escape notice But the Attendant didn’t care Instead he gave Randidly a piece of paper with the number 7 on it and shooed him away When he left the room he was led to the location of group 7

Randidly was not pleased to find that the spear user who went first with his bulky frame and orange skin was standing there along with a few dozen or so other spear users They all eyed each other up looking for weaknesses

Breathing in slowly Randidly narrowed his eyes After all these were likely the people he would have to fight to proceed to the next stage

They were outside one of the half constructed edifices surrounded by scaffolding Upon closer inspection it really did have the number 7 carved into the side of the stone After briefly confirming that there really was no other distinguishing features of the buildings Randidly glanced around in the surrounding areas There were more of the same buildings and Randidly was able to make out a 6 on the one nearest to them where another similar group was standing around

well mostly similar

Randidly began to frown and then turned and examined the people around him Although in age gender skin color and relative fierceness the people were all very different There was one aspect in which most of the people around the 7 building were very similar height

And the people around the 6 appeared to be slightly taller Not so tall that it was intimidating but likely tall enough that it would make a difference in reach But it didn’t really make sense to Randidly Well it made sense why they were measured for their height but not why they would be separated into groups by height Although height gave some benefits in physical battle it also included some disadvantages as well Why would elimination be premised on your height brackets

The orange skinned man scanned back and forth with his eyes a deep frown creasing his face Finally he spoke very slowly talking to the group at large When you look at our group and at the other groups

Randidly began to nod slightly agreeing with what he was saying even before he finished saying it Until the man finished talking and Randidly froze hoping desperately that no one saw him nodding in agreement

Isn’t it strange that there aren’t any beautiful women I heard every one of the Steel Feather disciples was hot as hell speaking of which where are any of the disciples from the big Styles

The one woman in group 7 an imposing figure with a green tint to her hair which was shaved on half of her head simply snorted But now some of the other members of the group were paying attention to the orange man and muttering agreement

To Randidly’s relief they weren’t muttering about hot women but rather about the lack of the big Styles Everyone turned their attention to the attendant standing by their building who was a very very short woman She seemed to sense their gazes and looked up from her ledger surprised

The big Styles Where are they Orangy who Randidly now almost lovingly referred to him as grunted

The small woman shrugged The first part of the preliminaries isn’t necessary for those who have a requisite level of strength It is only for those of you who came in through the qualifiers Ah it’s time Come on in

The woman turned but Orangy stamped his foot That’s

Unfair The woman said simply So is being born weak Or to poor parents Or with a deformity Deal with it And follow me in You may of course remain outside but that is considered a failure And you will be removed from the testing grounds

Chapter 193

The male spear attendant folded his arms across his chest annoyed at this whole proposition Sure the Ghosthound had given him an occasional pointer Sure the Ghosthound had managed to get the better of him in their initial meeting Sure he was now the Ghosthound’s spear attendant

That didn’t mean he appreciated being treated like a cheerleader He was a powerful spear user with burgeoning potential

But Teliph was able to weasel his way out of sitting here in the viewing area due to his claimed Aether Sickness which the male spear attendant suspected was simply a way to get a few more minutes of training in Obviously the fool was spineless but smart enough to realize that with the rate the male spear attendant was improving it would only be a matter of time before he surpassed him The man’s fear was natural

Much more annoying was Helen’s reasoning which was that she was approached by far too many men as she sat politely in the stands These men brought with them mugs of mead and smiles asking her which of the Styles that she was supporting By the end of it she simply scowled and stomped off furiously saying that she would be back soon It had been 20 minutes and she had not returned The male spear attendant wondered whether she had taken the time to beat the shit out of some poor fellow who had the bad luck to try and strike up a conversation while she was in a bad mood

The male spear attendant shivered Perhaps it was better that she wasn’t here

Movement on the display area caught the male spear attendant’s attention and his eyes focused The stands were set up in front of an arena setting but now the arena was clearly empty This would likely be used for matches later but for now there were 20 numbered poles hanging across the area And from those poles the attendants began to hang Tassles The male spear attendant watched the group move quickly very soon draping 40 or so Tassles over each pole

A lot of them were a similar color that could be seen in the sky during sunset From oranges to bloody reds to warm yellows There were some clear bright blues and some neon lime greens but there was definitely one Tassle that was very eye catching

What made the male spear attendant worried was that it wasn’t even the Ghosthound’s It was a lavender color flapping lightly on the 14 pole There was a muttering in the crowd around him as it came up they too realized what it meant That someone who was related to the Patriarch’s Style the leader of the entire Spearman School was here

Afterwards the crowd went silent because immediately afterwards the Ghosthound’s emerald Tassle bright and bold with its gold lettering was hung For several seconds the silence lasted as people looked from one to the other and the male spear attendant could almost hear the gears turning in their heads Was this a coincidence or

A rivalry of geniuses coming out to the Northern Region to play

Of course they would likely be slightly shocked when they saw the Ghosthound He was clearly if not a foreigner a social imbecile Alternatively muttering and strangely mute powerful but laid back never wearing shoes but taking exceptional care with his shirts and pants

Very soon the attendants were finished and they straightened A man came to the front and opened his mouth and began to explain the rules of the Tarnak Challenge that would be the first half of the preliminaries

Alright you on this one and you on this one Alright that’s all of you The short female attendant clapped her hands Randidly stood on a small raised square platform with his arms folded He felt it bounce lightly as he shifted his weight a strange mechanism beneath him clicking slightly

All of the spear users were on similar squares making a strange checkerboard style set up Everyone was glancing around at those nearest holding their spears lightly still prepared to leap forward to battle But Randidly could only frown There was something

This will be the Challenge of Tarnak I hope you are all prepared The female attendant said with relish and quite a few of the participants gasped looking up with wide eyes at the low ceiling above them Randidly simply sighed inwardly

What the hell was Tarnak

You might be wondering about why we asked about your strength That is because the weight you will be bearing is the weight for all of you it is measured based on the strength you gave If everyone is honest it is theoretically possible to hold the weight up indefinitely should you be able to squeeze every ounce of strength out of your bodies

There are three ways to pass the challenge of Tarnak The first is to bear a weight that is 20% over what would be expected in a normal strength motion given the strength value that you had given to us The squares beneath you include scales If you bear enough weight the scale will record it and you will be excused The weight allotted to you would also be removed

The second way is to be one of the last 20% of the participants who are still within the trial Afterwards you may bow out or continue to experience the challenge

The third way is to be the final member of the group to be participating If the rest of your group is incapacitated you will move on to the second half of the preliminaries

There are a few more rules Some of you may have lied about your strength We do not care But know that the scales beneath you work both ways If you demonstrate 20% greater than what is expected you pass If you demonstrate 10% less at any point You fail

If the weight is pressed up too high for too long without anyone passing it will get heavier at a fixed rate Since the only way this could happen is if you lied about your strength the evaluation of all the remaining participants strength will rise accordingly If you all rush for the 20% passage too quickly hehehe well it is a bad idea Finally should anyone fail the number they gave for strength shall be divided evenly among the remaining making passage that much more difficult No matter the cause of their failure

Ah there will also be a reward for the first person from each group to pass and the last individual overall to remain These have been chosen very carefully and will be invaluable to spear users such as yourself So good luck

Randidly frowned mulling over the rules in his head It was a complicated series of relationships They each had scales beneath them Assuming there was agreement there would need to be at least 4 people working together to have a single person pass three people to allow their contribution to the weight to fall and a fourth with enough strength to press up and take up the slack But everyone would want to get out early by demonstrating that strength so they would push up trying to eat up that slack Probably to the point that the weight was too high and would slowly increase

So the 20% strength demonstration was just a prize to distract the group and turn against each other If they didn’t work together it was impossible to achieve And from the way they described the weight it would not be easy to hold So people would quickly turn to the second method of passing

Making sure that they were part of the last 20% by eliminating people around them

In this respect Randidly probably had a large advantage Most of the people here didn’t have spells and likely wouldn’t be able to do this as effectively as he But somehow

Randidly breathed in and breathed out Somehow he wanted to pass this challenge directly He wasn’t sure who Tarnak was but it seemed like a challenge similar to Atlas Hold up the world If your fellow participants failed you would need to bear their weight The only way to pass early was to explode at the beginning

But Randidly suspected that strategy would be very popular He just smiled rubbed his neck then slowly and methodically cracked his knuckles

What’s this isn’t this really simple The male spear attendant muttered to himself Just push up very quickly it’s as simple as that

Ha this is why you will always be the type who fails often

The male spear attendant turned surprised that the homeless looking person in a musky leather cloak had the voice of Helen She flashed him a stern look Your idea is fine If no one else has the same idea But if they do and people all push up you will push it up too high and the weight will increase Then suddenly not only the amount you need to pass has increased but the lowest amount you can maintain without failing And

Although the male spear attendant wanted to listen to what Helen was saying he simply couldn’t He waved at her desperate for her to stop one hand pinching his nose Please the smell of that leather did you dig it out from a pile of rabbit shit

Helen’s face contrary to what the male spear attendant expected did not darken Instead she smiled brightly After several seconds of this he smiled back hesitant but rather pleased all the while covering up his nose Did his natural charm finally win her over

After fiddling with the straps Helen removed her hood shaking out her beautiful black hair Then she grimly walked towards the male spear attendant the smelly and rotten scrap of leather held in her hand

Kekeke you fucking asswipe You think I don’t know how this smells This was my entire childhood Let me teach you a lesson about smelly leather

Noo grpk The male spear attendant tried to struggle but she was faster and stronger and swiftly caught him Some other spectators looked concerned but then caught a whiff of the smell of rotten leather and backed away leaving the male spear attendant to be slowly drowned in the smell

Chapter 194

Begin

Ahoo

GRaa

For the Kindred Mountain Style

As Randidly expected as soon as the challenge began and the weight was slowly lowered down onto their shoulders most of the individuals thrust upwards with all their strength frantic to reach the 20%+ mark When activated the scales underneath them had a panel which displayed a strange symbol

After Randidly looked at the symbol for a bit it swirled and resolved itself into a number that was quickly falling

0

1%

4%

Hastily Randidly pressed upwards pushing until his number once more settled back down at 0% Around him there was no cheer of success so it didn’t seem like there was anyone who was able to succeed

17% Just a little more Dig deeper Explosive Strength

No I will be taking that first finish reward Let’s goo

It seemed that two individuals formed most of the competition as most everyone else just tried to maintain their equilibrium Still if neither of those two had made it there probably was no one out there who was allowing their total to go far below 0 Randidly briefly considered letting his fall down to let one person out and get this process started but he hesitated After all there was no guarantee that those two would be the ones to absorb the amount

This was a 0 sum game after all in a fashion The one difference was what everyone was searching for was a percent of their total Due to this it would be much easier for an individual with a lesser amount of strength to pass this challenge because the absolute amount of 20% for them was much less

Having someone leave due to passing was a much better outcome than a failure too Because the weight of failures would be distributed but it wouldn’t for passing

Randidly grimly looked upwards His arms were trembling and a thin trail of sweat was dripping down his forehead This level of weight it really made him feel like he was being crushed But he hadn’t trained viciously for nothing these past two years This level of exertion was something that he could support perhaps indefinitely but that prospect was rather daunting even for Randidly who had a ridiculous amount of strength

But if they pressed up much longer

Randidly looked upwards He obviously couldn’t see anything but the large square weight that was pressing down against them but as he looked around he realized most everyone was pressing upwards their arms straight Which explains why they were separated by height this challenge wouldn’t be fair otherwise

And then the mechanisms above began to click Randidly bared his teeth as his hands trembled and his arms began to drift downward pressed by the increased weight

This Orangey seemed agast He was one of those struggling to reach that 20% early and now as the weight began to slowly increase the folly of his actions seemed to strike him Everyone We need to relax and discuss it calmly don’t’ struggle for the 20% above threshold You will doom us all

Asshole The female spear user Orangey insulted earlier hissed Do you think we are imbeciles If we relax you will simply press and seize the chance for yourself and the prize for being the first to pass Like hell we will let you

Obstinate bitch Orangey swore his eyes red If we do not cease this we will all be crushed and fail

Randidly shook his head Although he admitted to himself that he was rather antisocial that didn’t mean he didn’t have enough emotional acumen to not know swearing at those you were negotiating with is a bad thing The woman snorted and just continued to press upwards

The weight began to increase even further the burden on everyone growing increasingly more onerous A drop of sweat ran down Randidly’s neck and then down his back It had been only 1 minute since the challenge started Randidly almost wanted to laugh

This certainly would be a long challenge or perhaps a very very short one Thin tendrils of invigorating energy worked their ways upward through the strange mechanisms he was standing on to enter his body Although there wasn’t much of a boost it was still nice to feel the energy flows from the Golden Roots of Yggdrasil nurturing him

You know maybe being crushed won’t be so bad after all One spear user said sarcastically We only lose if we stop bearing our proportionate share of the weight based on our relative strength If we are all crushed into mush we might still make it past the preliminaries

Although his words did have a certain morbid logic to them Randidly could only shake his head Not only were the man’s words not true but they also were extremely unhelpful Orangey was standing in a square next to that man the distance between them being about a meter If Orangey was to reach down pick up his spear and strike out with it he could likely kill the man

In an amusing fashion Randidly watched that very thought process flutter across Orangey’s face and then the realization that it would be impossible to reach down and pick up his spear with him lifting the weight like this But if he lowered the weight some

Okay okay Here Orangey said laying off with some of the strength he used to lift allowing the weight to fall just slightly Everyone sighed in relief as the mechanisms above stopped engaging and the weight ceased to creep upwards

The female attendant chuckled evilly Well done You’ve resigned yourself of waiting around until your will gives out Good luck

Orangey glared at her and flexed again but then bit his lip even though his emotions were clearly bubbling beneath the surface Randidly’s arms trembled and he looked down +3% Breathing out through his teeth he slowly allowed his arms to fall a small amount so that the number settled down to 0 He hadn’t really even noticed that he was pushing up

For his part Randidly found himself becoming strangely excited by the weight It had been a long long time from his perspective since he had done this sort of training not since his time with Mrs Hamilton Although Marco and Shal had made sure that Randidly never slacked off in the slightest in terms of physical conditioning this was an altogether different animal And Randidly wanted to test himself

That was one reason that Randidly chose this course of action If he would have been satisfied for just passing he would just lash out with spells defeating at least 80% of those around him and moving on to the next part of the Preliminaries Which was fine in a way but he would miss out on the skill levels that Randidly knew he would gain by pushing himself like this And also

A prize specially picked out by the organizers of the tournament Randidly had never been one who found very much loot in this new system assisted world and Mrs Hamilton had once speculated that it was due to his lack of a class As though the connection to the Village gave shape to the prizes that you earn like experience and loot Not entirely of course But it assisted in the formation of loot

Randidly wondered what was considered a prize by those who lived on the 5th Cohort who had been here for at least 100 years based on what Randidly could gather Sure he could knock people out and pass but if he knocked people out their strength would be assumed by other people making it more difficult to obtain the individual who lasted the longest in this competition prize which Randidly believed to be the best

So for now Randidly bided his time His muscles bulged and strained starting to grow uncomfortable but not too much so Another minute slowly trickled past And then another And then another

All and all it had been 5 minutes since the challenge began Everyone around Randidly was sweating and their eyes were desperate Their rates of exertion seemed to be much higher than his Randidly looked down and noticed that his weight total was creeping slowly up to about +6% His lips twisted

We we need to talk You MUST let me get to +20% The female spear user began to babble sweat pouring down her face Otherwise if even one of us fails

If even one of you fails The attendant said sweetly Passing the easy way will be almost impossible You will be forced to wait until 80% of the other participants have given up or have been disqualified

The female spear user’s face went pale and the tiny female attendant laughed and slapped her knee Do you hear that It is the sound of spirits breaking It is my favorite

Chapter 195

Orangey glared around at the surrounding participants “Don’t let this delusional bitch sway you The only way for us to make it out is to let someone win Let me win and then take turns “

“We could just embrace the challenge of Tarnak ” Another participant near Randidly muttered under his breath Randidly glanced at the frail man whose arms were already trembling under the strain Even Randidly was starting to feel it really feel it feel the limit of his strength In a way that pressure was motivating When it pressed down grinding away at his muscles that huge monstrous stubbornness inside of Randidly’s heart rose up viciously flailing to resist the force He refused to be oppressed to go quietly under the influence of it

Yet at the same time he had to suppress that vicious angry impulse pressing it further down Because this was an endurance competition If he were to expend too much of his strength too quickly

The muscular female competitor glared at Orangey “I will never let you be the one to seize the reward for the first completion Your greed is clear “

Orangey was furious but there was a chorus of agreement from the other participants Like Randidly they did not have a very favorable impression of his words or actions For his part Randidly was mildly interested in keeping the outcomes positive for the group but also his eyes were locked onto the prize for the individual with the longest endurance

That was the one compliment that Divvit had given him that he had the mentality and resiliency to put himself through anything And god dammit if he wasn’t going to earn a reward for it

He still had plenty of reserves left remaining and he was only relying on Physical Fitness and the passive boost from his other skills to support the weight Randidly still had plenty of methods to withstand increased weight if he had to

Orangey was grinding his teeth “Well someone has to go first If it has to be someone “

“It cannot be you ” The woman intoned to nods of agreement Had his arms been free Orangey would likely have torn out his hair As it was he simply breathed heavily glaring at them all

There was one main drawback to this method Randidly knew although he was a little leery about admitting it The cutoff was 80% failure rate across the groups If that many people didn’t fail people would continually struggle just to survive where they would otherwise collapse relieved at passing the first stage of the preliminaries This would drag things out for him who was trying to reach the reward for bearing the weight for the longest

But perhaps that was wishful thinking There would no doubt be others with their eyes on the same prize Randidly knew And they would always be his true competition

“We should start with the people who are struggling the most ” The scrawny man near Randidly said Randidly almost snorted aloud at the foolish man but he didn’t even need to Orangey gave the man a scathing glance

“It is too late for that fool Can you really increase your strength output by 20% Just obediently act as the pillar you are “

“You “

The muscular woman coughed lightly “It should be me I will then direct the rest of the passage of this trial “

Orangey’s eyes bulged dangerously but everyone else seemed to agree and they calmly nodded their heads Well almost everyone

“No I need to pass now if I don’t ” The scrawny man had begun to shake His eyes were red around the edges and his whole person reeked of desperation “If I have to go back to that place “

The muscular woman snorted saying nothing Slowly everyone else turned away looking at the ground rather than at the struggling man Then the muscular woman gave orders and most everyone lowered their physical output making it easier for her Orangey didn’t like it but seemed to accept that he wouldn’t be able to force the issue so he complied

Randidly maintained his current level of support mostly just for consistency of the workout but he was just one of many so he didn’t think it would affect the outcome overmuch They were still far below the level where the weight would increase

“No no no ” The scrawny man muttered to himself his eyes becoming hollow and empty In a way Randidly felt sorry for the man But at the same time this was due to his own insufficient preparations Randidly had to imagine that reaching his own level of strength in a short period was much easier with access to the dungeons It was only due to his own classlessness and Shal’s insanity that they had been forced to go through such dire straits

Then Randidly blinked because a slight figure seemed to float past It was the short female attendant who was walking along the divider between two individuals with an unnatural grace She hopped lightly crossing an entire checker square and arriving at the scrawny man The muscular woman’s face was red and she roared slowly lifting the weight higher Her contribution ticked up from +17% to +18%

The female attendant held out her hand and the scrawny man’s eyes focused “That is “

“Yes a drop of pure Aether ” The attendant whispered so quietly that Randidly had to strain to hear If an individual’s Perception was below 100 they likely would have missed it And it seemed everyone nearby was missing it unable to notice while they looked at the muscular woman with hope ” to have it you simply must reach out and take it “

” but ” The man was hyperventilating his eyes locked on that small object in the woman’s hands Randidly frowned but said nothing It made no difference to him but it was truly disturbing that this was occurring It clearly demonstrated these people’s desire for them to pass through the preliminaries

“When has anyone ever bothered to think about how their actions hurt you Let go “

Almost sobbing the man did reaching and taking that small object from the female attendant’s hand

Immediately the weight increased just slightly as the scrawny man forfeited and his weight was added to the rest of them Randidly’s frown deepened The muscular woman was bellowing and her contribution fell from +19% to +16% She struggled and flexed and was able to get that number up to +18% again but was stopped there

With everything on the line with all of the fellow participants watching the muscular woman fell short With trembling arms she lowered the weight no longer pressing with all her might But it was hard to recover from that expenditure of strength Her chest was heaving and her contribution swiftly fell to 7% Everyone was silent for a long time

Orangey’s anger dissipated He looked at the scrawny man who was led out of the area with a disgusted look “No matter what prize they offered you is that enough to overcome the fact you gave up What hope do you have of strength “

Trembling the man turned back and looked at them all struggling under the weight There were tears in his eyes “You’re right There isn’t much hope But you know this world There isn’t much other choice either “

Shal’s world was a brutal and martial one for sure The weak and even those that didn’t choose the path of the spear were widely derided and mocked If you could not accept that weakness you were forced to struggle desperately often thanklessly embarrassingly But it was better than the alternative

Everyone began attempting to do the same activity that the woman failed but Randidly largely ignored it Closing his eyes he focused his attention inward Here swirling inside of him were the two green lights

They had again grown once more becoming bright lines burned into Randidly’s spiritual retinas as he followed their movement They were fast and slow and wild and pure It was oddly soothing to watch them especially after dealing with the surrounding participants in the trail for 10 minutes

Randidly grimaced 10 minutes It had felt so much longer than that Maybe he had underestimated this Tarnak character To bear this kind of weight was not an easy thing

But for now he put those feelings aside and just looked at the lights playing with them as they flitted and danced

It took a while but very quickly one of the lights stopped trembling It was actually the second light the more reserved and hesitant of the two It trembled and then split into two very dim wisps Excitedly the original light vroomed around them drawing a halo of emerald light around them It was almost as if those two new wisps were waking up cajoled into movement and life by the bright movements of the original emerald wisp

Randidly smiled and shook his head At this rate soon his entire soul was going to be lousy with those things

Chapter 196

As he watched their independent movements their wild freedom and swiftly developing personalities it was almost as if they were alive

Randidly hesitated Were they alive he had assumed they were somehow part of himself but if they were some of sort of life or some form of sentient energy Maybe they were Aether itself The actual form of it Was his Soul Skill creating Aether That didn’t make much sense or Soul Skills would be even more in demand than they were already Were they perhaps refined Aether

But for what purpose And also why would a Soul Skill work as a crucible to refine Aether

This made Randidly muse briefly on the larger question of what a Soul Skill actually was but he didn’t think that he had the requisite materials to answer that question yet Instead he let himself relax somewhat playing with the two freshly born wisps as they discovered the wide world that was the inside of his soul

Helen held the male spear attendant in a headlock for a long time but she eventually loosened her grip as her focus shifted on the presence of the Tassles hanging on the poles For around 10 minutes nothing happened

Then rather abruptly a few Tassles came down from the poles Very quickly after that on the poles where a Tassle had already come down more and more fell until those afflicted only had 5 or so Tassles remaining One of the poles even fell to completely 0

So when a Tassle on the Ghosthound’s pole fell Helen felt her heart seize

She had never assumed that the Ghosthound was powerful enough to win She knew those geniuses from the main Styles even in the Northern Region were absolute monsters but she had

Yes she had wanted it Perhaps it was just a way of paying the Ghosthound back for the extra bit of Aether that he seemed to have imparted upon her But

She wanted him to win All of it Everything To stand above the nurtured youths of the world with his piercing emerald eyes and his frowning face So she continued to watch squeezing her hands together But it seemed that her worry was for nothing because after one Tassle fell from Randidly’s group nothing changed

Helen released a breath that she hadn’t really even been conscious of holding The difficulty of this exercise was that there were no punishments to the group at large for a successful passage but there were many many punishments for a member of the group failing Once one failed the group would need to support larger and larger amounts of weight

Very quickly that weight would grind away at the hope of the remaining individuals as it became clear that they no longer have the ability to pass by the +20% rule They were struggling even with just this amount of weight how could they increase it by 20% Instead they could only hope to pass by making it to the final 20% of participants

If one group managed to have the whole group pass the more people that passed through the 20% rule the less could be still struggling when the failure rule applied

“Crn uff et meerghoo ” The male spear attendant said from her armpit Helen blinked and then looked down at the man in disgust For someone who specializes in defense he truly was way too weak Although she supposed it wasn’t really defense that he practiced but being on the receiving end of abuse In this he was truly the number one individual that she had ever met

Helen released him and then blinked slightly It was strange She had been so physical in the past And now well Not only had she well um engaged in physical activities with the Ghosthound but now she was roughhousing with the male spear attendant In her mind she had always attributed her disgust with physical affection to the terrible smells of the tanneries of her childhood but here she was now wearing leather and stinky leather at that as a disguise

Then Helen shrugged Life is fucking weird

Her attention was pulled back towards the poles because another Tassle fell off Randidly’s pole His still flapped brilliantly the gold letters catching the light but

As she feared 5 other Tassles fell within the next few minutes The crowd of people who could bear the weight was quickly thinning For a few seconds Helen wondered how she would fair if put in a similar situation holding up a crushing weight for an extended period of time But then she shook her head again These fucking thoughts were pointless

But you know what’s really fucking pointless ’ Another part of her snapped That you are sitting here fucking watching basically nothing You can’t even see him Better to spend this time training What if that Aether inside of you fades even further away ’

Helen tried to ignore that voice Inner her snorted

Fine deny it all you want I’m just saying that you know we have a fucking shit sized bundle of feelings to sift through in regards to him What if it also turns out that taking that D is what gave us the Aether Would we do it again And if we do is that wrong That we are just using him for Aether ’

Helen frowned annoyed at herself even though she knew it was something she would need to address eventually People use villages all the time for Aether That’s not a bad thing ’

In what ways are a person similar to a village ’

Luckily her thoughts were put on hold by several poles having Tassles drop off like flies The most notable was the fact that the pole numbered 19 had only a single Tassle remaining A rather bland red without any notable markings The Reflecting Pool Style it said

Helen’s eyes went back to the Ghosthound’s pole and grimaced Not only was she annoyed by his flagrant disregard for his Style by refusing to put it and instead putting his name in bold on the Tassle but she also felt a thread of worry as two more Tassles fell to the ground Only half of the Ghosthound’s group remained and about the same overall Of all of the participants it seemed that only 3 had passed This didn’t include the last remaining individual of the 19th pole who seemed to be aiming for the overall length prize rather than taking the passage for being the final individual in that group

Around 30 minutes had passed and as the crowd muttered watching the poles nothing happened for a while Only when the time had reached closer to 50 minutes did a few Tassles begin to drop once more Slowly but surely like browning leaves from trees in fall the Tassles drifted away

The Challenge of Tarnak the full experience was a 24 hour experience It could be seen from the fact that so many had failed before the 1 hour mark how difficult a bar that was But to be fair it also demonstrated something else about the challenge if you could make it through the first parts you can make it for a while more It ultimately was not about Strength at all But Willpower

And in her heart of hearts Helen could see the eyes of the Ghosthound burning brightly like ignited salt That was not a weak willed man

There was some commotion away from the stage and she was surprised to see that the source of the commotion was Claptrap pushing a cart On top of it were pastries and sandwiches wrapped in wax paper prepared in the manner demonstrated by the Ghosthound from his homeland Although Claptrap was initially very skeptical about Cooking and unwilling to dedicate one of his last 3 skill slots to it he was brought around by the ridiculous amount of markup on the price that people seemed completely willing to bear for the convenience and taste of the Ghosthound’s food

The prices that Claptrap was yelling were enough to purchase bottom tier armor and would not have earned him a sale in Qtal But this was Deardun and there was a different clientele here A lot of the disciples of the larger Styles whose strength had been vouched for and they didn’t need to participate in these preliminaries were here to see their competitors and had some amount of spending money

In addition wealthy armor sellers and merchants were here pandering to the upper tier Styles and also looking for a destitute challenger from the preliminaries who they could give their armor to for free publicity These facts combined with absolutely mouth watering scents wafting from the food made it so a few curious individuals wandered over

More than that all in all this was exceedingly boring to watch This extremely novel idea (imagine bringing food around on a cart ) attracted some attention of a very bored crowd

And once they tasted it

Very quickly Claptrap had sold out and he began taking out the materials to set up a permanent stall to make food during the attraction People were milling around pointing their greasy fingers excitedly and the merchants had taken notice and were sidling up to Claptrap asking him some pointed questions He just smiled and shook his head and they left disappointed

But they were intelligent men and women after all They also tried his wares Although they weren’t sure of the recipe the seed of the idea had been planted in these very enterprising heads Over the course of the next few months no non combat individual was more sought after in Deardun than the Cook

But for now Helen just smacked the male spear attendant What the fuck are you doing Go help

Why me The male spear attendant whined But as Helen advanced towards him a gleam in her eye he scrambled to his feet and hurried down to help with the stand Helen sat down with a pleased expression Although the leather workers back home were wary of her they didn’t have the same fear in their eyes that the male spear attendant did It truly set her heart at ease to see him scurry to work like that

Chapter 197

Time slowly drifted past More and more Tassles fell away until only 30% of the contestants remained Helen wasn’t sure whether it was a good or a bad thing but the Ghosthound’s group was relatively resilient around 40% of their group remained The food stand was set up and Claptrap even provided some standing tables so people could cluster and chat while enjoying their food

It had been the Ghosthound’s idea and Claptrap had been dubious but the Ghosthound had just shrugged in that way he had when he was done arguing with you and despite everyone else’s inability to see what the draw would be they had done it

Needless to say the tables were packed and people had to wait for the use of that space Claptrap had also contracted with a local brewer to bring casks of ale to the event Ale was typically seen by the people of Deardun as relatively low class and useless but it truly complimented the flavor of the greasy food greatly

Plus the sun was hot overhead and a cool beverage was refreshing no matter the flavor To the brewer’s shock within a half hour her stock of ale was sold out Yelling in a frenzy she sent all of her 4 employees rushing back to the brewhouse telling them to bring everything

Absolutely everything The woman bellowed at their departing backs