LoRG 1

If nothing else she could challenge Drak Wyrd to a streetfight How had he really been able to escape her notice Why hadn’t she been able to sound the depths of his power There was something fishy here but Randidly was willing to look the other way while he benefitted so obviously from it But it made him extremely wary He knew far far too little here in a way that wasn’t at all like how he felt back on Earth There were too many big established fish for him to be comfortable

And annoyingly Shal continued to be absent Divveltian was practically pulling out his hair at this point and even Claptrap had been motivated to speaking privately with some individuals greasing a few palms to ensure that any information in regards to Shal would make its way back to their group

The whole situation just left Randidly feeling bitter Why now when he was so close Why after two years of training Was this really just a whim for Shal Why had he seemed so sure of it when he had called Randidly from his own world to this one

Almost on cue there was the sound of footsteps below Sighing Randidly hopped out of the window of his room and dropped down Dian stood there slightly surprised Every morning she had continued to come demanding to speak to Shal Each time Randidly could only helplessly turn her away saying he had left

Honestly the only real result of this was a lot of Randidly’s tension dissipated It was hard to worry about a fight when your opponent was pestering you every day

Hoping to get ahead of things Randidly said He still hasn’t returned You’ll have to talk after the tournament is over

But Dian’s expression didn’t change she just gave Randidly a very long look He shrugged helplessly It wasn’t like he was lying There was nothing that he could do for her Shal was gone

Something seemed to crack in Dian’s expression and she released a long sigh Then I suppose I must talk to you

Randidly blinked Uh excuse me

The tournament is dangerous but Deardun takes certain steps to ensure that other dangers are kept at bay But afterwards or should I lose Dian’s expression turned bitter I don’t expect to live through the month But before I die I must perform a task

Her eyes flashed as she gazed at Randidly And if I can’t tell my secrets to Shal you will do as a substitute Come

Chapter 239

Randidly looked around the street suffused with predawn light It all struck him as a little surreal All week she had been coming to speak to Shal and now suddenly she was willing to speak to him He supposed it did make sense if she was worried about her safety after she lost but this almost seemed like a tacit admittance that she would lose to him in the next match After all this training was victory really going to be this easy

But that sort of feeling wasn’t in the air Dian didn’t feel as though she had given up just that she was nervous about something There was a great anxiousness to her even now as she waited for his response

I assume you won’t just talk here Randidly asked somewhat lamely

Dian’s lip curled No Follow me

Curious and feeling like there was truly something worth learning from this woman Randidly gave the inn behind him one final glance and then followed her She led him through the winding streets of Deardun crisscrossing between alleys and thoroughfares Very quickly they had traversed the city and ended up in one of the more poverty stricken areas

Only after they had dropped down into underground tunnels did Dian stop and then only for a moment to listen Then satisfied she continued

The whole underground tunnels vibe was interesting in a way but in another way it made Randidly doubt very much that he had made the right decision by following Dian to talk Perhaps he should have insisted on a location But finally she stopped in front of a dark opening and gestured to Randidly to walk through

He gave her a very skeptical look She sighed dramatically You come all this way and you don’t trust me

Randidly didn’t bother to reply but instead his gaze turned from skeptical to withering To her credit Dian laughed and waved a hand then pressed her palm against the wall Threads of light emerged tracing strange runes around the doorway and illuminated the inner room which was simply that a small room

These are runes to hide us from the tournament officials’ attention You are familiar with some Engraving are you not Feel free to check them She gestured as if checking strange runes was some perfectly easy activity that anyone could do on a whim based on a small familiarity with Engraving

Which Randidly supposed it might very well be But based on most of the reading that he had done it was NOT that simple Perhaps if he could sample the energy from the runes themselves but he wasn’t sure how to do that without shorting the whole thing out In addition the books seemed to imply that the meaning of the same rune could be very different between two different individuals But there was apparently a lot of controversy over the issue

Perhaps the explanation was something to do with Aether and how the runes in a place drew their meaning from somewhere Theoretically the same runes could mean different things but they never could find two different sources of meaning in one location likely due to the System’s influence

Either way Randidly had no way to check the runes So either she was bluffing or completely unsure of how runes worked or or something

Randidly scratched his head and walked through the door It had really been a long 2 days of training and he wanted to get some more calming relaxation done before his own match This was not exactly stress free

Besides Dian had been very convincing that she genuinely needed to talk to Shal For whatever reason he was inclined to believe her and decided to take this one on faith

Luckily nothing happened when Randidly entered into the room Dian simply pressed a few more things on the wall and followed him in The runes glowed brighter perhaps now active

However when Randidly turned around Dian’s expression was serene and solemn very different from the prideful and direct Dian he had encountered in the past In fact her gaze on him seemed almost sad as she studied him for several seconds Then she shook her head

It shouldn’t be like this But I suppose it must be I fear that I am too late Straightening she put her arms behind her back and began to speak in a more considered fashion as if she had practiced this speech previously Greetings spear user I must admit I have been dishonest in the past I was raised in the Central Region and am from an offshoot of the Endless Heat Style Since Aemont’s involvement with our beloved daughter Alycassia we have watched him

I come to you today because there are several complicated issues regarding Aemont and therefore Shal Things that the wider world doesn’t really know A very powerful seer foretold that in the future the next man who could (#( a Calamity would be the son of the Spear Phantom For that reason Aemont’s appearance was the subject of bitter debate when he sought a match with Alycassia We delayed as long as we could discussing the subject with other Styles but they were young and strong and eventually overcame our hurdles But we didn’t realize how extreme the methods Aemont used were at first

Randidly held up his hands Wait a second does this mean you are not associated with Haelthing at all Are you just trying to hide the fact you are from the Central Region from the tournament staff

Dian shook her head her expression so calm It was truly slightly off putting after seeing her glare for so long No This was never about the tournament staff All of this is for the sake of hiding things from the Eternal Witch the Genie Lucretia

The Genie Lucretia Randidly muttered frowning

Yes She is so named because she will always grant a wish by giving you three gifts Do you not know of her I would think Then Dian seemed to realize something and smiled bitterly Of course the compulsion Ha We were quite foolish it seems

Then shaking her head Dian seemed to come back to the present and began to speak to Randidly directly Legend speaks of how the first people on our planet were hunters who traveled around through the System completely naked with only their spears sleeping under trees and wrapping themselves with leaves for warmth One unlucky man encountered Lucretia who had erected herself a dwelling After looking on with envy for a while the man wished aloud that he would have such a home

Lucretia appeared and told the man how to hunt and skin animals gathering their skin The man tried this and basic clothing was developed The next day she arrived and gave them tools making the skinning easier and teaching them to harvest the trees and create dwellings Soon they did this but some were more affluent better hunters and their houses were much larger Envy was widespread and there was much discontent over those that monopolised the housing

Dian’s smile was bitter They were simply low wooden huts but it was enough to drive these people crazy Fighting ensued and the man who made the wish had his house destroyed That day Lucretia appeared again and taught him how to harness and create fire With the heat from fire the man and his family were kept warm at night but he craved more So he created a small hidden house with a low roof and encased the whole thing in mud so it was difficult to spot For warmth he placed a fire pit right in the middle After lighting the fire the family laid down to rest

Only he woke the next morning coughing from the smoke There was of course no ventilation so his sons daughters and wives were dead from the smoke filling their lungs He was able to escape but the fire had started to burn through the house and spread to the surrounding forest By the next morning the entire forest had burned down and everyone in it was either injured homeless or dead It seems extreme to us now and we don’t exactly believe this occurred or that Lucretia is that old but she has definitely spread this legend and defined herself this way and whatever else you believe about her she will definitely give you three gifts if you find her and make a wish

Aemont found her Randidly said less a question than a statement

Dian nodded Yes Needless to say the powerful Styles in the Central Region were concerned when we realized that this man was the most likely father of our next Hero to defeat the Calamity and also had made a wish with Lucretia And already received two of the gifts An image given to Aemont by Lucretia which let him rise quickly to power And of course a rune of the Devourer which by the way the things played out she gave directly to Aemont’s first son Pronto

Randidly slowly absorbed this information In the story that he had heard back in Qtal Aemont truly did leave heading away for a time and returning stronger with a skill that let him succeed on the battlefront Supposing what Dian said was true about this Rune of the Devourer’ The original story was that after Aemont had obtained his skill he was finally strong enough to accomplish the goal set by the Elders to marry the woman he loved but when he returned with proof the elders moved against him killing the woman and driving Aemont and his two sons away Then they fled to the Northern Region Once there Pronto went to Haelthing while Shal went with a smaller local Style

What is a Rune of the Devourer And when did this happen Randidly asked slowly It was hard to know why Dian would bother to lie about this but it was also hard to see why she was telling him this especially now

Dian nodded This is something that we have all wondered But we are not too sure what the Rune of the Devourer is Based on our information it is an Engraving but a living one that can be moved across mediums As for when we believe that the kills of Aemont’s love as well as the related attacks were all done by Pronto under the influence of the rune For that reason Aemont fled North to seek out Haelthing who

For the first time Dian stumbled her face scrunching up Who although it was only a cover for me to be his disciple was my uncle who raised me after my parents were killed on the frontlines Haelthing contrary to popular belief specialized in stealth and suppression He was widely regarded as a crackpot in the spear user community but Aemont seized on it as a chance a way to perhaps restrain the rune which had driven Pronto to murder his own mother

Sighing Dian’s eyes focused back on Randidly her gaze bitter It seems that the people found it easier to believe that Haelthing was studying dark methods to gain power rather than ways to restrain himself which was why the rumors about it spread so quickly It was seen as more honorable’

Chapter 240

I Randidly started then he changed tactics Why are you participating in this tournament

I’m following Shal Dian corrected her face twisting into a grimace Or I was through you But you I believe have complicated things Although his chances of doing so are small even with the prophecy about the Spear Phantom our true fear was always Lucretia’s 3rd gift for Aemont She would not let his death stop her from giving it

There are a few dozen theories in the form it will take Some believe that she will give Aemont a second life by using Shal’s body Another is that she will create a fake version of Aemont and present it to Shal After all her first two gifts were an image and then an incredibly powerful rune that can allegedly devour the strength of others With these worries in mind some of the Masters of the Central Region put a few geases on him Other’s worried this would weaken his will lessening his chances of becoming the one who could L(&() the Calamity but a master engraver perfected Haelthing’s work creating a rune on Shal’s heart that would hide him from Lucretia’s gaze

And you coming here now Randidly said slowly an inkling forming in his mind

Because several months ago Shal began acting erratic where he had been content to stew in his anger before Because of you Dian confirmed Since he’s now moving I was dispatched to watch him Imagine my surprise when he produces a disciple of the Spear Phantom Style and one from another Cohort at that

Randidly stiffened Not that he necessarily kept it a secret But his skin color and lack of a third eye weren’t unheard of in this world For them to know where he was from

Are you surprised

Saying nothing Randidly turned and tried to focus on something else His eyes traced the lines of the glowing runes that protected this room So this was another ploy All to protect Shal from receiving a gift Yet somehow his presence had galvanized Shal into moving which exposed him to

Probably whatever was currently happening to Shal as he hadn’t been seen in days

Randidly looked up at her About what

That I know of your origin

Randidly waved a hand dismissively ignoring the question It seemed more like a show of force to intimidate him than a conversation topic that would be useful Do you know where Shal is now

No and I was hoping you had some more information Dian said lightly but her body language shifted to something closer to a fighting stance Randidly just frowned saying nothing After several long seconds Dian relaxed

Hmph you don’t scare easily do you I suppose you would have to to inherit part of the moves of the Spear Phantom

So why are you telling me this Randidly said willing to ignore her silly posturing again

Like I said for some information Dian said her eyes scanning Randidly Anything you can tell us about what you did to animate Shal to this extent will be helpful Anything you saw him do that seemed suspicious Any of the people that he has associated with We will take care of everything and perform the necessary investigations

Randidly pondered it for several seconds throwing his mind back Times that Shal had been suspicious It’s not that there weren’t such moments he had suspicions about Shal but usually they made more sense as time went on Besides Randidly had his own secrets too and would be quite miffed if someone had gone around speaking of them especially because it seemed that Dian was a representative of the establishment

In terms of his own interactions with Shal Randidly couldn’t’ really know what influence he could have had He supposed she meant their initial contact in the dungeon But that had been coincidental and Shal had really only saved Randidly so he could be used as a punching bag for the Shamans After that Randidly had been summoned by Shal on some hairbrained quest one that he had almost completed before Shal became increasingly erratic

Well Randidly supposed it made a certain amount of sense that Shal wanted to preserve the honor and integrity of the Style which was why he was now fighting Shal had even passed the diary of Aemont on to Randidly so the Style could continue even as he seemed to harbor quite a lot of anger towards his father

Looking back on it though since Randidly had been summoned Shal’s actions had become slightly erratic First coolly training him to participate in the Qualifier then after his victory becoming more aggressive killing their way into a prison for the benefit of the time and then killing their way out In order to cover that he had sold himself after the tournament and then he had become alternately furious and unreliable disappearing for a few periods

It was hard to think of this most recent disappearance as anything other than an extension of those previous times but Dian seemed pretty sure that it was the result of influence by Lucretia based on Dian’s presence

Randidly sighed But still He didn’t want to share this problem with someone who he couldn’t really get a grip on their motivations So he ultimately chose to say nothing

I don’t think anything comes to mind Randidly said mildly Which brings us to my real question after speaking like this what do you intend to do in regards to our match today

Dian was silent for a long second Then she said Are you sure you don’t have anything to tell me about Shal’s behavior

Randidly’s smile curled upward His mana flowed outward naturally There was nothing for him to say to her

I see Dian said finally If you choose this path I don’t believe there will even need to be a match today Right here

Randidly controlled the roots he was connected to flexing slightly As he destroyed the path of energy flowing through the runes they flickered and died throwing them into darkness Instantly Randidly activated Spear Phantom’s Embrace and moved smoothly backwards and out into the tunnel

Dian’s shout seemed more distraught than angry and she didn’t appear to pursue him After gaining some distance Randidly stopped and looked at the dark doorway

Wait Dian said plaintively and Randidly summoned his spear pointing it towards the doorway but staying still In the doorway nothing moved which if anything made Randidly more cautious

But Dian was apparently being honest because she calmly walked out through the dark doorway unarmed If you insist we can fight on the platform but I will defeat you My instructions were very clear Investigate Shal’s behavior watch for Lucretia and prevent the Spear Phantom Style from maintaining its rank I cannot let you win here and enter the top 8

Randidly frowned That seems rather petty Dishonoring a Style just because they are cursed

Aemont brought it upon himself and his ilk by consorting with Lucretia Dian snapped her eyes burning But there did seem to be some hesitation about her as if she understood how insisting on this would run counter to Randidly and make him unwilling to help her But she likely didn’t understand how THIS and only this had been his goal the past two years and had all been leading to this one victory

Make the top 8 Preserve the prestige of the Spear Phantom Style for another generation This was what it had been all about The long days the exhaustion the wounds the vicious battles and fights it was all for this

Randidly tried to control his rising temper at the thought of Dian taking the moral high ground Well it didn’t matter He would crush her one way or another If anything his talk today didn’t change much but make their rivalry more simple There wasn’t any complex master rivalry between them making Randidly hesitate This was a person whose stated goal was to prevent Randidly’s stated goal Someone he would grind to dust

As he turned away Dian spoke again Please You don’t understand the danger that Shal is exposed to For a long time he has been the hope of our

But you put a geas on him to alter his mind Randidly interjected You’ve controlled and monitored him without really talking to him about what he might represent Is the prophecy about Shal being important to the Calamity even true Or was it something one of the Central Styles made up in order to protect the son of one of their disciples

There was no answer from the darkness so Randidly kept walking feeling slightly sick to his stomach Even if it was a combination of both motivations That didn’t justify their methods

It took him some time but Randidly found his way out through the tunnels and into the sun It was warm especially after the cool underground With extreme care Randidly breathed in and then breathed out

For the first time in a long time Randidly felt motivated Not just the determined motivation that he attacked most goals with but Randidly was filled with a vicious surety that he would crush Dian A pointless individual moving to the beat of someone else’s drum couldn’t defeat him especially not now At this moment his emotions and Aether filled him making him burn

Still Randidly would need to address the things she said eventually Shal’s disappearance might not just be something that happens periodically and in fact be related to something more troubling in relation to this woman who always seemed to make Shal insane Lucretia

It might be a gift from Lucretia

And with the strange phenomenon that Bertarn spoke of There were too many things going on at once It gave Randidly a headache So for now time to focus on the goal directly in front of him

Defeat Dian

Chapter 241

Shal floated in the darkness surrounded by fuzzy silhouettes They waved and blurred falling in and out of focus their bodies huge and balloonish one moment and then twig like and strangely monstrous the next

But he knew they were speaking for sure by the way he could see their mouths moving They were speaking to him trying to communicate something What they were saying however was not anything that Shal wanted to hear Sighing he closed his eyes trying to just return to the sleep It was better to just let all of this flow past without dwelling on any of it If he were to struggle against it now it would slowly wash him away His Willpower just wasn’t high enough for this

Thinking this was a mistake Shal knew immediately because suddenly in his vision a face appeared of his student glowing softly emerald Although his figure was twisted and distorted he was still clearly recognizable Firm stubborn foolish earnest and so so young

From his chest a voice whispered You must get up My strength is yours you only need to take it

Shal rolled over banishing the familiar voice and the image of his disciple He was tired so fucking tired Tired of being pulled in different directions by his emotions for reasons that he couldn’t articulate to do things that made no sense Shal had had some success burning through that haze with his fury towards Lucretia but

The air around him seemed to hum and the strange silhouettes became more frantic swinging their arms and twisting their bodies reaching their hands out to touch him Frowning Shal kept his eyes pressed more tightly shut but his awareness of them seemed partially inward because their shapes remained present pressing insistently against him

But now he was tired of the fury too because it got him nowhere Now that the finally found peace he would not willingly give it up Peace was something he had searched for most of his life Peace was everything The ability to lay down and rest Not bewildered not confused an honest rest This was the ultimate goal

Isn’t ’ another part of Shal thought the ultimate goal following the spear Finishing off the Style we made with Pronto Earning honor for the family apart from that asshole ’

As he had this thought one of the silhouettes resolved itself twisting and curving until it became his brother looking much different than he remembered but very clearly being him His eyes were sunken and his cheeks hollow and his eyes were filled with a defeated look But his gaze was firm and solemn and the spectre that impersonated his brother opened its mouth and spoke

Shal this is all already yours You just need to reach out and take it

Welcome back folks Finally back in the action Claptrap announced with relish Are you all ready to watch some fights

The crowd cheered wildly Claptrap’s eyes glowed with greed as he noticed almost everyone had mugs decorated in the colors of their favorite contestant Filled with ale from Claptrap’s numerous affiliated breweries Among the crowd moved his concessions people now almost two weeks of training under their belts moving with much more professionalism and efficiency

There were still the imitators too of course But Claptrap’s giant C that symbolized him was the dominant force among the crowd He had been at the cutting edge for too long and was starting to outpace those that tried to imitate him with his superior revenues

I’m your host Claptrap joined by my friend Roger

But he was interrupted as someone teleported onto the small side stage where Claptrap and the male spear attendant were sitting Huhuhuhu this certainly looks fun Allow me to join

Aethon Thai gestured producing a large ornate mahogany chair appeared which allowed him to join the two others at the desk Aethon and the male spear attendant clinked their mugs together enthusiastically

With burning eyes Claptrap continued Joined by the vice leader of the Steel Feathers Style Aethon Thai Fans you can be sure that with his sharp judgement we will faithfully catch every second of action and report it to you

Aethon nodded sagely sipping his beer He gestured and a concessions person hastily leaped over the wall and onto the dirt around the arena to run over and take his order After they had figured out the logistics of getting what he wanted everyone was much more satisfied Then Claptrap stood

And now without further ado we have the first match of the day Drak Wyrd of the Radiant Dawn Style versus Derrick Flan of the Cutting Wind Style

The two warriors slowly ascended from the underground arena climbing the stairs up onto the arena Drak was calm his hair short and dark his face studiously blank his dark eyes bright and focused Derrick was a flamboyant looking man with long golden hair Producing his long spear with a flourish he almost immediately pointed the spear at Drak

For the peace of the Northern Region I will stop you here Derrick yelled only earning him a cool glance from Drak

What a declaration from Derrick Claptrap said excitedly very willing to fan the flames of drama between the two contestants It seems that this match is more than just a matter of honor The very peace of the Northern Region is at stake Aethon what do you think about Derrick’s chances of winning

None

The word was like a heavy weight that hit Claptrap mid thought making him falter The crowd felt it too and began to whisper amongst themselves Sure everyone believed that Drak was the favorite to win it all destroying all competition in his way But previously it had been somewhat heroic that he could face everything and overcome it all But from the way that Aethon spoke there seemed to be a baleful finality to it

Drak was a simple looking man but now from Aethon’s reaction they were able to see some of the monstrous strength inside of him It seemed to gush out and fill the silence The burning strength of the Radiant Dawn Style expanding to fill the arena like a bowl Claptrap was frozen his eyes locked on the man

Was there was there really no point in him being here to announce

Huhuhuhu The male spear attendant laughed already partially drunk When there are predictions like that it is the best time for an upset Nothing in this world is sure

Kukuku too true too true Aethon said nodding

The ice cracked and broke and the crowd began to cheer once more slightly reserved at first but then with more energy as a referee talked individually to both contestants checking their status They both nodded their affirmations and assumed their own individual version of ready stances

Drak’s was relaxed holding his thick unadorned iron spear loosely Derrick held is silver spear high above his head light reflecting in dazzling patterns off the intricate metal work that composed it

They both moved Derrick dazzling Drak dazzlingly fast blurring towards his opponent Derrick instantly paled lowering his spear to a more reasonable stance his spear flashing forward But there was an innate light to Drak’s attacks a glowing brightness that made them extremely hard to discern

While Derrick’s defense flashed due to his spear Drak had an innate light

Drak Wyrd has reached the Artisan level Aethon said with conviction finally filling the silence as everyone stared open mouthed at the fight Not only are his individual strikes likely based on powerful images but his Spear Mastery has also had this image of the Radiant Dawn imbued into it This cannot be considered a freshly grown Artisan any longer he is experienced For that reason there is no chance he loses if he wills it

Drak struck smashing forwards using pure force to send Derrick sprawling The disparity in strength was clear and with a calm gait Drak walked over towards the desperate opponent

You filth Derrick began but he went silent as Drak unleashed another barrage of attacks pushing him slowly backwards Injuries began to pile up as the attacks continued slowly growing in speed and complexity

That control that technique Claptrap said audibly for the benefit of the audience Aethon stayed silent grim faced as he watched the fight

It was only after a small delay that the male spear attendant spoke nodding slowly That that’s the ability of a champion Look at that skill with a spear Not even I can do that

The audience seemed to become animated again at that comment laughing and chatting while watching the remainder of the match It continued as expected In every way Drak slowly overmatched and crushed Derrick facing him in a variety of ways giving Derrick every chance to choose the battlefield to highlight his strengths But still Drak annihilated him

By the end Derrick slumped over dropping his spear The crowd’s attention had turned away to the male spear attendant who was extolling his own strengths and Aethon Thai was laughing along with him Claptrap couldn’t take his eyes away from Drak Wyrd standing silently over the broken spearman This was the man that the Ghosthound would need to face in the semi finals

With a serious face Drak looked up meeting Claptrap’s gaze Then he smiled wolfishly showing his teeth

Chapter 242

Randidly walked slowly up onto the stage after they called his and Dian’s name still pondering the discussion that happened earlier Dian claimed to be an agent sent by the Styles from the Central Region to watch over Shal who was foretold to be the next person to do something with the Calamity Specifically she was going to watch out for Lucretia and prevent the Spear Phantom Style from achieving a Top 8 finish and have it fall from grace

As he ascended to the stage Randidly scratched his head He never really bothered to ask about the different strata and what they meant aside from them being related to the colors they could use and the strength of the founder So Shal could no longer maintain his light blue skin if they fell from grace But other than that Randidly wasn’t even sure what the consequences would be

Perhaps these actions would make more sense if he knew because as it was it was positively silly Setting the issues of the arbitrary restriction on the Spear Phantom Style’s prestige why would they place geases on Shal if they thought he would become someone who could contend with the Calamity Wasn’t that shooting themselves in the foot Based on the story Dian had told the people of this world greatly feared Lucretia who was something of a Devil figure but how widespread was that belief and was she really that bad

Well she did spread about the rune of the Devourer but that was another thing that Randidly didn’t have much of a grasp on There was so many different variables moving around that were difficult to pin down

In the end though it wasn’t something Randidly would concern himself with He produced his spear with a flourish The large monstrous spear of obsidian glimmered dully in the noon sun His fingers slid down the shaft steadying himself He raised his gaze and looked at Dian who stood there holding her whip spear her scarlet hair falling down her face

Seeing her here Randidly abruptly realized he could see the lines around her eyes the small imperfections on her skin that could only come with age the dull cynicism in her eyes Randidly’s eyes narrowed Truthfully the only limit on entering the tournament was a level cap If she had been below Lvl 25 it didn’t matter how old she was how long she had watching Shal

But before Randidly arrived and would defend the honor of the Style they couldn’t possibly know that he would appear he came from another Cohort Which meant that they either needed a person under Lvl 25 for a reason Randidly didn’t understand or or they had one on the off chance that something similar to this would happen

Which brought Randidly back to the relative importance of status If there was an extra benefit associated with it it perhaps made more sense that they would plan so comprehensively to knock down the Spear Phantom Style

Either way it meant that this would be a lot more difficult than Randidly would have expected It would also explain why Dian had increased in skill so quickly even more quickly than he had It wasn’t that she had increased her skill so fast but that she had that level of skill all along and was slowly revealing it

His expression serious Randidly lowered his spear and nodded when the referee came over to him He had made a promise to Shal He owed a debt that he had worked towards slaved over for two years and he would be damned if he let it all fall to pieces here even faced with the twisted machinations of two strange factions he didn’t understand

Dian’s expression was still mild Must you insist on this I’m sure you have realized by now

Welcome all We have a special match for you now Claptrap yelled A personal friend of mine Randidly Ghosthound will now face Dian a woman raised by Haelthing the Devourer who was defeated by his master Shal This is truly a predestined battle How do you see this one going

Randidly saw the male spear attendant opening his mouth to answer but a low chuckle cut him off Heh this one even I cannot see through it

The man who had awarded Randidly the belt after the preliminaries leaned forward his piercing gaze running over the two participants both have been hiding their cards eh Then this will be good To see what we really have I’m looking forward to it

Claptrap seemed thrown off by this and the crowd began to mutter but Randidly just looked at Dian Everything else was just a distraction A very huge nerve inducing distraction One that reminded Randidly so much of the very agonizing teenage years Randidly had spent absolutely stupefied by crowds But his experiences since the System arrived had mollified that somewhat

And what it hadn’t made him numb to it had given him the stats to forcibly ignore it focusing his attention on the task at hand There could be no mistakes Not now

Begin The referee announced

Hissing Randidly activated the Spear Phantom’s Embrace and blurred off to the side because Dian was already moving her body moving with a fluidity that he hadn’t seen before Randidly could have lashed out with a spell harrying her but he suspected that was exactly what she was waiting for While she had never shown this speed before Randidly guessed that she wasn’t the type to go all out unless she had to

Playing off that Randidly would start a little below his max speed as well

Or at least that was the plan but

Her fluidity was on par with Helen’s but her speed and execution was a world above at the line of an Artisan In addition to the powerful movement her strange vicious devouring energy billowed outward moving to engulf Randidly His immediate response was to retreat but he had seen how that ended for the people she faced So gritting his teeth Randidly stepped forward and raised his spear

Her whip spear disappeared slashing left and right very quickly Only with Haste and Empower on top of the passive boost from Flexibility of the White Hunters did Randidly squeak through unscathed and he immediately used Idiosyncratic Cut That seemed to catch her off guard and she backed off but now Randidly was just sitting in her pool of vicious energy

Still he would not retreat With his eyes glowing emerald he flexed his will spewing energy of his own out into the air neutralizing the damaging energy by flooding the air with his own Battle Intent Vaguely he could tell that he was on the losing end of the energy battle but for now it was a loss that he could handle as long as it blunted the other energies corrosive effects

Although Randidly was curious how his Vitality boost from Golden Roots of Yggdrasil would contend with the corrosive energy but this was a match he couldn’t afford to lose Not time to get scientific right now

As Randidly closed in Dian seemed to shift gears her speed going up by a tick Randidly countered by speeding up as well using the active form of the Golden Roots of Yggdrasil to smash through her defenses This seemed to catch Dian by surprise because she seemed momentarily at a loss

Yet there was a strange tickling on the back of Randidly’s neck that made him hop backwards in spite of the fact that his offensive momentum was lost

Just in time too because a wave of energy exploded from Dian scarlet where her usual energy was maroon and much much thicker and more caustic It ripped through the ambient energy that Randidly had produced and made his grasp of the Spear Phantom’s Embrace fuzzy just by brushing against it

Frowning Randidly raised his spear and considered his opponent Dian was definitely breathing hard after that expulsion and she looked at him with narrowed eyes It was something that took effort then and not just another tool she had held back thus far But still it seemed that this was a much more concentrated version of the same energy which was extremely dangerous at all times The powerful force it created devoured images and skills Flesh as well

In the face of that Randidly needed to overmatch the energy with his own as well as overwhelming Dian with his physical capabilities and spear skills Which considering her abrupt reveal of her true strength was something of a headache

Still no time like the present Besides truthfully Randidly never intended to rely solely on his spear skills in this one Her strength was too varied and smooth If she was comfortable

But of course Randidly wouldn’t allow that Reaching down Randidly put his hands on the ground channeling mana through him Instantly a dozen or so Root Spiders sprang into being and then began to skitter forward towards Dian’s legs their root fangs at the ready

Obviously this wouldn’t be effective on their own But after watching how Dian used her energy it seemed that it was pretty thick and acidic at the height of a human and would eat its way through armor and weapons But it had never eaten away at the ground disturbing her own stance Which meant that it was strangely selective or that she controlled the amounts around her in different locations

So after letting the threat of the Root Spiders register in Dian’s mind Randidly rushed towards her spear raised Her eyes flashed upwards and she decisively lashed out with her whip spear destroying several of the Root Spiders

Which was exactly what Randidly was waiting for As Dian struck Spearing Roots ripped upwards aiming for her unprotected back Although the tips of the spears began to sizzle and disintegrate more and more came and Dian twisted gathering her weapon back to herself Which she managed but only just in time for her to block Randidly’s Sweep which knocked her backwards a few inches

But again Dian upped the tempo twisting and shimmying her way out of the way of most of the deadlier Spear Roots and scoring a long cut across Randidly’s forearm before she made it away from him weaving through his strikes It was infuriating but

He did inflict three cuts with his spear where Flesh Eating Virus would begin to activate And the Root Spiders had arrived

Chapter 243

Still Dian’s gaze was cool and focused She scanned through Randidly the ground around her and then the skittering Root Spiders Then her whip spear blurred and she struck left and right annihilating the nearest spiders and steadying herself in time for Randidly to arrive his huge spear crashing downwards

As Randidly expected she used her strange elusiveness to simply deflect his strike but staying close enough for her energy to continue to take small bites at Randidly’s will by eating away at the ambient Battle Intent that he filled the air with Which of course was the game she wanted to play

Dian was perhaps an ideal candidate for a tournament like this She was designed to destroy images and skills with her own strange energy and had excellent defensive skills and mobility She could prey on her opponents when they tire

Randidly’s lips twisted into a grin Warm thick strands of energy were flowing up through the ground into his bare feet revitalizing him Not at the speed to make him have any positive regeneration but it was more than enough to survive for now Besides it was time for him to change up the tempo

To set this up Randidly had spent the first part of the fight using mostly Sweep to attack It was a skill he used to rely on quite heavily but it was a rather direct if powerful strike that was predictable So predictable that most spear users at the level of the Region Tournament would see it coming so far in advance it wasn’t worth the time to strike

There were still some situations where Randidly used it now mostly on basic opening strikes and on strikes where he wanted his opponent to block where he was confident on winning a contest of strength And also in times where Randidly wanted to convey a very certain style of fighting

Now Randidly lashed out using Empower and Haste simply striking forward As she had previously Dian twisted out of the way and lashed out towards him slicing Randidly’s shoulder But of course her eyes narrowed and Randidly’s blow veered just slightly with his Flexibility of the White Hunters catching up to her and took a large chunk out of Dian’s shoulder

And this was the exact moment that the remaining Root Spiders arrived leaping towards Dian’s ankles They used their legs to launch themselves forward aiming for the area above Dian’s boots Randidly’s smile slowly became wider and wider It might be crazy but He wanted to crush her where she was most confident

Around him Randidly could hear Claptrap and the male spear attendant raving and the powerful man who had awarded him the powerful belt speaking calmly The crowd roared but it was far away Again his eyes were only for Dian who scanned around looking at the the different attacks and strikes measuring and weighing them

Randidly lashed out again an unorthodox strike that was even a hair faster than his previous one with less control But the point right now was to keep pushing Dian backwards If he did that enough

Dian’s eyes hardened Randidly’s face finished its transformation into a cheshire grin

The wave of fire exploded outward just as the scarlet energy billowed outward from Dian Most of the energy slid downward to engulf the Root Spiders but there were several tendrils that shot forward aiming for Randidly and his weapon But those tendrils were met with only fire

The two forces passed through each other heedless Whatever the strange energy that Dian produced was it wasn’t something that could interfere with temperature Those flames smashed into Dian knocking her backwards and burning her severely earning a small mew from the normally stoic Dian

But as Randidly leveled his spear recovering his stance after the lashing strike earlier those tendrils ripped forward towards him two taking him at the edge of of his shoulder and one going through a little deeper in his flesh under his collar bone Instantly his skin boiled and then evaporated Roaring Aether exploded in protest rushing forward to the spot of the wounds

Within his chest at the spot of the Aether Crossroads and the world that strange otherness that existed in the core of him began to rumble its fury evident Very swiftly the Aether absolutely eviscerated Dian energy but not before Randidly’s shoulder was gore as though he had been stabbed three times with a short spike

There was anger in his grin now It only took a split second to defeat it but it was still a pretty serious wound that would slow him down in an extended match But only in an extended match

Randidly’s spear became level The Spear Advances Ash Trails

His body blurred as Randidly ripped forward towards a reeling Dian She didn’t see it coming at all Randidly’s huge obsidian spear which once belonged to Haelthing the Devourer took her in her side with enough force to rip almost all of her intestines out of her body blood spraying wildly around the arena

Randidly’s eyes softened as he landed at the completion of the technique but it was not enough to sway his heart Dian represented an organization that had thoroughly layered controls over Shal for reasons that Randidly didn’t understand and came to him with threats and half truths demanding his cooperation Perhaps if she had shown more respect but

To his surprise when he turned around Dian was still standing hunched over blood pouring out of her side And out of her body a flickering steadily growing amount of scarlet energy was forming

Amazing The Ghosthound struck with fire and now with spear crossing the arena like a lightning bolt Dian is incapacitated She’s bleeding out And with that But then Claptrap fell silent because contrary to what he expected Dian didn’t fall She was clearly sporting a wound that would kill her if the match didn’t stop

Aethon leaned forward This is dangerous That woman

Dian swayed The air around her shimmered becoming strangely crimson Then she slowly straightened removing her hands from her side allowing more blood to pump out onto the stage The cheers of the audience slowly died drowned out by the sound of that blood splashing onto the stone

Can’t you see it Dian said gesturing wildly Her seeds are everywhere Can’t you hear her She whispers Even to me The nerve of that witch she whispers even to me

Around Dian the energy grew thicker and more wild The ground underneath her bubbled and frothed thick and viscous The Ghosthound stood very still pointing his spear towards her

With a clang that carried across all of the arena Dian dropped her own spear The referee walked over towards her speaking low under his breath to her but she ignored him her gaze locked onto the Ghosthound

Even me I could reach out and take it and with that strength I could crush you Don’t you understand You need me You needed me And now I after so long

She became a pyre of that crimson energy burning before their eyes

I choose freedom

Her flesh melted into nothing before a silent crowd

Lucretia couldn’t help but laugh leaning back against the tree The head of the Yeti and Shal lay around her in the shade of the tree The small glen around them was picturesque Anyone could wander over It was an open area One wouldn’t believe that one of the most wanted women in the Spearman School would rest here

What a foolish child So twisted by the energy she cultivated and the long years she spent keeping tabs on my dearest Shal Did she think that the only gift I can give his power

Lucretia flexed her fingers opening them showing a small glowing orb of energy Within it Dian’s face floated its eyes closed Humming to herself Lucretia began to trace complicated runes into the sphere As she did so Dian’s face came into sharper and sharper relief and the face began to twist into a frown

I can give all sorts of gifts to all sorts of people They need only ask for them I could even hear the silent plea of a very sad girl who just wanted some wiggle room in the geases laid on her by her masters so she could just accept her death on her own terms

Lucretia lifted the sphere grinning at the soul held in the palm of her hand now contained by the runes I wonder what the second gift I shall give to you will be Perhaps even a new body a new purpose in life The irony of it drives me crazy hahahahahahah

Standing Lucretia gestured sharply and a dull eyed Shal stood with her gathering the Yeti head Then as Lucretia continued to hum Shal followed after her Looming above them was the heavy mountains upon the base of which Deardun is built

I really want to see him now Shal you know This strange boy who keeps driving people I thought out of my reach into my arms and others away from me Lucretia called over her shoulder Randidly Ghosthound I wonder what gifts will he require of me

Chapter 244

Randidly winced as the referee in charge of healing looked at the wounds on his left shoulder The woman was no nonsense and frequently prodded the wounds making interested noises at the lack of response to the potions she had given him and only a small amount of responses to her healing skills

Well it does seem like your natural Vitality is working on it You will likely be fully healed in three days before your next match She eventually announced leaving Randidly quite annoyed with the whole proceeding After she had departed ostensibly to go watch for injuries in the rest of the matches of the day Randidly switched to the active form of of the Golden Roots of Yggdrasil pulling up strength and using it to fuel his regeneration

At the same time he was forced to intermittently Meditate to keep his mana high After almost an hour most of the three wounds had healed themselves in and most of his range of motion was restored There was just a persistent ache

Still Randidly wanted to get a move on for the rest of the day There were so many things to do so many skills to train so many questions he needed Claptrap to investigate

But before any of that Randidly just sat to himself and smiled He clenched his fist He had won in spite of the fact that Dian probably had more overall strength than him Randidly was just specialized in a way that neutralized her and she wanted to hide most of her cards for as long as possible If she had gone all out using that scarlet energy from the beginning

Then Randidly’s expression soured But she had died taking her own life It left him very confused as to her motivations Still it seemed that she had been profoundly unhappy Taking her own life was not something that she did lightly Right However there was always the chance that there were some cultural differences in this world that Randidly hadn’t really understood

He had killed people both in battle and by allowing them to die in the collapse of the tower So although it wasn’t as sickening to him as it would have been fresh after the arrival of the System it still made him profoundly uncomfortable to see There was the knowledge that he had apparently driven Dian to this decision which

Shaking his head Randidly turned his attention back inward The match hadn’t been long but Randidly still had some gains perhaps even emphasized by the time spent healing afterwards He had gained an impressive 9 skill Lvls of Golden Roots of Yggdrasil 2 Lvls in Haste and Empower 3 Lvls in the Spear Advances Ash Trails 1 Lvl in Spear Mastery and the White Phantom’s Half Step 2 in Dodge 3 in Fighting Proficiency 2 in Flesh Eating Virus and Battle Intent 1 Lvl in Struggle and Spear Phantom’s Embrace 3 in Grace and Bacterial Regeneration 4 in Flexibility of the White Hunters and Superiority 2 in Root Control and Spearing Roots 1 Lvl in Mana Strengthening and Circle of Flame and 3 in Meditation and Plantomancy

Randidly’s grin was wide and slightly nervous Perhaps it really was a better than average haul Because he had relied on so many skills that were now below this spear based skills he had gained a lot But now with this PP

It was time to become an Anointed of Ash

Randidly placed 5 of his newly acquired PP into the Initiate of Ash II Path also earning another full rotation of his Soul Skill in the process receiving a Blessing of Devouring Ash and the following notification

The world of your soul skill turns The denizens of your inner world evolve The growing matriarch continues to persuade others of your existence The discussion has spread from solely the White Hunters and now all of the people on your inner world wonder about you Their eyes remained fixed on the sky while others begin to search the world for proof of your works

The Earth Golem tribes continue to war refining their martial arts and skills Several great chieftains emerge vying for power

The Great Weave created by the Weavers is coveted by the other races The White Hunters urge for it to be shared so information on the world can be known The Swamplings however remain reluctant

Upon the mountains the Spriggit cities continue to grow expanding outwards Trade and art begins to flourish

From the small animals brought into the world by Arbor and Thorn have grown and bred While the small animals become more common larger more powerful variants begin to emerge

It has been two cycles since this world’s creation Would you like to add anything to the world (Warning the added qualities will be taken from a skill A single skill level will be consumed in the taking Other side effects are unknown)

After thinking about it over a few seconds Randidly wasn’t sure what to add It seemed like a waste not to add something And the loss of a single Skill Level wasn’t very intimidating although the very general other side effects are unknown did give Randidly some pause

But what seemed to catch Randidly’s attention the most was the fact that most of his little Soul Skill creatures seemed interested in him their creator It was simultaneously adorable and creepy So Randidly almost wanted to give them some sort of proof Something to confirm he existed and was aware of them But he was rather mystified over how to go about it

Based on his previous experience Randidly decided to use only a few skills he chose to add Hammer of the Dawn and Superiority But he concentrated both of them to an incredible degree causing all of the energy from his additions to be forced into a single physical form one for each skill

The Hammer of the Dawn naturally formed into a hammer Superiority condensed into a scepter The two split and descended into the world as comets one crashing into the great river that ran across his world while the other smashed a mountain peak

Immediately after doing this Randidly felt a sinking sensation in his stomach Ah they are probably going to fight over those aren’t they I should have done 4

Still it was too late now Randidly felt his skill shifting changing in new ways The Swamplings began to investigate the hammer while both the Spriggits and the Earth Golems moved to see the crater of the scepter That would definitely end up being a war if they both arrived at the same time

Maybe the fighting would strengthen his Soul Skill But something told Randidly that wouldn’t be the case

Randidly had 1 more PP required to finish the path and he took a deep breath before he put it in Then he released that breath and steadied his gaze He didn’t’ feel great about doing this with his left arm still sore but it shouldn’t impede him should he be required to fight In the menu Randidly added the final PP to the Initiate of Ash II Path

Congratulations You have completed the Initiate of Ash IIPath You have ascended to the top of the mountain and you find a face carved of molten stone and burning flame It smiles at you

Randidly felt a familiar tug at his stomach and the world around him warped After a second the twisting stopped and Randidly stood on the flat top of a mountain that gigantic living lava face hanging over him lava dripping out of the corners of his mouth and pooling on the ground Around them in the distance there was only ash dust volcanoes and plumes of lava It was truly a world of ash and destruction

This is simple enough even for one such as yourself without a class The Patron of Ash said slurring its words Randidly solemnly looked up at it Based on the information he had obtained earlier he had expected to contact the Patron of Ash but not be teleported back to the world of ash Every resource he or Claptrap could find was very clear on that

And yet he was still brought here That was slightly alarming

Standing at the edge of the platform Randidly was prepared to once more fight the lava golems What he didn’t expect was for the ground around him to slowly fall away in rings The space where Randidly was standing was safe but the rest continued to descend Then a ring nearest to the outside stopped then the next nearest to the outside stopped which continued until a large coliseum was formed

But the central area continued to sink revealing a crimson and black sphere The colors swirled and as Randidly continued to watch it it seemed that it was in fact a crimson crystal filled with a black liquid that squirmed around inside the sphere Immediately as the sphere rose into the area the temperature rose

At a speed that was slightly alarming the lower levels of the rings began to glow red and then slowly melt

Your task is to proceed to the third innermost ring The Patron of Ash intoned floating down towards Randidly Randidly spared it a glance

It was truly strange to be back here after so long But being back here brought back some memories This mother fucker was definitely going to try and kill him Even though Randidly was clearly aware of that the stated goal was rather simple so there was no reason why not to aim for it Especially since the temperature appeared to only be increasing due to the presence of the sphere

Randidly almost wished it was going to be Lava Golems If they were at a similar level to what they were previously it would be child’s play to defeat them But somehow Randidly suspected it wasn’t going to be that easy

Chapter 245

Randidly hopped down to the next level of the rings There were 10 in total and Randidly needed to get down to the 8th the third innermost ring And the innermost ring was already beginning to turn into a red color

But immediately upon hopping down the temperature shot up to something that was quite uncomfortable Sweating profusely Randidly jumped down to the next one hoping to get the whole ordeal over with as soon as possible This was one of the rare moments that Randidly regretted not wearing shoes

Blink

Randidly what are you doing Tessa asked rubbing her eyes as she leaned upwards the covers slipping down to reveal her shoulder and the white skin of her breasts Randidly winced he was hoping that she wouldn’t have noticed him coming home But then he started to get distracted by a profound sense of wrongness

It was like he had forgotten something

Were you meeting with Sydney again Tessa asked her voice carefully neutral

Randidly frowned Sydney was probably dead and Tessa

His eyes snapped open and Randidly once more found himself standing in the slowly heating up circles of stone He was now standing on the 2nd circle and based on the fact that the bottoms of his feet were starting to get uncomfortable he must have been standing there for several minutes

Randidly turned and glared up at the Patron of Ash whose smile only spread wider the craggy rocks grinding against each other as its grin spread

You should also know because this is a trial related to the System only a short amount of time is passing in the real world Feel free to take your time overcoming the illusions

Randidly’s smile was vicious Without hesitating Randidly tossed himself down into the next ring of heating rock The distance was only about 2 meters or so but Randidly felt strangely light as he dropped down toward the next level almost as though he was floating through the air drifting

Oh OH Oh OH OH OH Yess right there Derek fuck me

Randidly sat in the darkness of his bedroom hiding in the closet He had ripped out the stuffing from the teddy bears and animals his mother had given him and had made a bed of sorts out of their innards where he curled up He clenched his eyes shut

If it was going to be another long night like this

For a second he wished for his father But then he crushed that feeling That asshole didn’t care about him When he was a burden he left breaking his mom and turning her into this thing

OH OH GOD

It’s fine There is nothing wrong with a sad woman seeking out sex Randidly whispered out loud his eyes regaining clarity She was just grieving in her own way It’s that right

At his words the world twisted and a phantom floated forward half human half skeleton bearing his mother’s hopeless face

Randidly stepped forward on the 3rd ring only pausing for a few seconds before he continued He was prepared now and knew what was coming so it was a rather simple thing to brute force his way through it with his Battle Intent Randidly also saw notifications that his Fire and Pain Resistance as well as his Mental Strength were increasing so it seemed that this would be a valuable experience Which was just what he needed

Before the next round Randidly hoped to sharpen his Willpower to a sharp point ready to strike at his opponent Best to continue quickly though before the heat continued to build Even as he stayed on this same platform Randidly could feel how the temperature was rushing upwards He shuddered to think how bad the temperature would be at the 7th circle It looked like the stone was starting to turn the red of cherries

Randidly leapt to the next platform

Randidly was in a clearing and he paused looking around This didn’t seem familiar Shal was sitting against a tree on the far side his head against his chest Cradled in his arms was

Randidly gasped It was the head of that fucking Yeti And on the ground next to the two of them was a sphere with a face in it Dian’s face

Well well well Who is spying on me now

Randidly spun around surprised to hear a voice so near to him The person behind him had the body of a woman but her face was blurred out swirling with strange colors so it was just a mess of colors But she was tall and slim with light purple hair

Ah that’s smart You can’t see me I can’t see you A clever way to do it Looking for my location Looking for my dearest Shal But still even if I don’t know who you are I can still hurt you

The woman reached for Randidly her hand beginning to glow a frosty blue white color But before she could touch him Randidly snapped back into the rings breathing heavily

For whatever reason that had given him the strangest sensation of danger What sort of memory was that He had never seen Shal and the Yeti together and Dian was there Maybe it was some sort of dream

What what did I just see

The colossally big face floated closer so much so that Randidly began to worry that it would seal the strange coliseum of stone rings but it began to shrink becoming simply the size an asteroid would need to be to cause a catastrophic loss of life when it descended to Earth This allowed it to float marginally closer and it seemed to breathe deeply opening its huge maw wide and sucking in air ruffling Randidly’s hair

It was honestly somewhat pleasant because the breeze at least cooled him off for a couple of seconds while the temperature climbed ever higher

Kakakaka The Patron of Ash rumbled Interesting These test you strike at your inner demons your weaknesses You need to be purified in a way to become my Anointed What you saw is an outstanding weakness of yours

What does that even mean Randidly growled but the Patron of Ash continued to just chuckle in its odd way sucking in air occasionally getting some sense of what Randidly saw

Still it left Randidly’s mind racing He could be self reflective enough to admit that Shal probably was a point of struggle and weakness in Randidly’s psyche probably because Shal fit so perfectly into the disappointed and distant dad role that had been open for years Even thinking it made Randidly grit his teeth with bitterness

Then that image was related to purifying that weakness Or overcoming it Or was it showing him the state of that weakness right now

Because that image definitely had a different feel to it than the previous ones It wasn’t trying to immerse him and drown him like the others with familiar images or emotions It was trying to show him something A name rose unbidden in Randidly’s mind

Lucretia

Shal had left but where had he gone Divveltian seemed to think that he had been behaving weird but to Randidly he had simply shrugged and accepted it because he had been conditioned on mentor figures leaving in his life But perhaps he should have been more skeptical of the leaving After all so far Shal hadn’t done much to abandon him

Aside from beat him berate him constantly refuse to acknowledge him and then leave him without a clue what to do and head off to a dungeon

But setting most of those things aside the only real abandonment was heading to the dungeon Was it possible that already at that point he was under the influence of something else Driven and manipulated by his hatred of this woman to rush towards her In a way it reminded Randidly of what the Creature had done to him

But where the Creature was a master of runes and Aether this woman seemed to use more traditional means of emotional manipulation

If this was the case and that was a big if But it also explained Dian’s sudden strange suicide on the ring If she had been pushed by Lucretia Again only an if

The temperature continued to rise and Randidly gritted his teeth He couldn’t just sit and think He needed to proceed forward So with a step Randidly moved towards the 5th ring of stones descending dutifully towards that crimson and black sphere

Chapter 246

Randidly looked around and then he froze because he knew where he was he knew this memory

I’m dying Sydney said looking at him with her usually joyful eyes now with heavy bags under them

Uh Randidly stuttered but the images were already rushing forward This was months before the System arrived the day his friendships began to fall apart

I can’t tell Ace We will graduate in the spring The doctors say I have a year at least depending on how the cancer responds to the treatment I just need you to cover for me Drive me to my appointments Keep Ace distracted

I

Please Sydney implored leaning forward her hair swung down from the place she had tucked it behind her ears to frame her face There’s no one else I can ask No one else I can trust You are we are

connected Randidly whispered He remembered when he had really been here when she had said that to him How much it had made his heart swell with joy But then how the more he thought about it how much it had destroyed him in the coming months

Slowly over time Randidly had realized that the connection was only a sort of weight that Sydney couldn’t shake How the more moments they discovered in their past were in common the more it made Sydney tired and sad How his existence was a necessary evil Even through the months of chemotherapy treatment as her condition stabilized and then slowly frayed away at the edges as Ace and Tessa grew resentful and suspicious he could sense how much even Sydney hated she needed to use him for this

Yes connected Sydney said her eyes glowing strangely as she looked at him That’s exactly what I was going to say How did you

No I reject Randidly said firming his face twisting with fury All of this this whole mirage I was weak and let this happen once but not again I REJECT

A ripple spread outwards from Randidly shaking the world But this illusion was much stronger than the previous ones perhaps due to the fact that it led to one of the deepest wounds on his heart or perhaps he was approaching the innermost rings But the increase in strength was a big thing

Just as Randidly was preparing to lash out even further with Battle Intent ripping the very fabric of the world Sydney said something that she never did in the past

Are you refusing

Randidly paused a fresh influx of confusion muting his fury for a second Without any real understanding of what was going on Randidly simply looked at Sydney taking in her short hair her bright eyes and the strange look of helplessness on her face

I get it I’ve been a bitch Sydney said bitterly I always push you away But that’s because because It’s always just been too easy between us right Don’t you hate how expected it was Born in the same hospital on the same day your mother cheated with my father and both marriages ended we were tied by fate

Sydney’s expression began to grow more heated I hate that word Fate I’d kill myself to break that word if I thought it would break me away But fate always pulls me back Now you are rejecting me

A tear ran down her cheek even while she looked her face scrunched up in frustration and fury and years of pent of tension

But then her expression broke I should be more happy I guess I never expected this in 1000 years We would always move closer I thought if I let us To have you say no it should make me happy I’m surprised and for the first time it seems like the fate that pulled us together is fraying That’s good right But I just feel so profoundly cold

Randidly just looked at her His anger dying away This was a conversation he had never had with her in the past He had always suspected that she had been avoiding him for some reason teasing him and mocking him ignoring him even while she dated his best friend He had also known that they had gone to the same places as children but

Being born in the same hospital on the same day And his parents marriage his mother had cheated on his father And not vice versa With her father

It felt so distant now But the small child inside of Randidly froze and began to tremble If that was true then his dad

His dad left but maybe it was because he was the broken one And in his fury and resentment and need Randidly had never given him a chance after that Slowly his father had adopted that persona giving Randidly harsh lessons in life all the while ignoring that Randidly always took his mother’s side

Sighing Randidly looked at Sydney with pity in his eyes Were these things true Had she been struggling against this fucked up narrative she had in her head their entire friendship Was that why it had always felt so weird and unnatural and why out of the blue she forced this immense burden on him hiding her sickness which would destabilize both their relationships

You should have told Ace Randidly said his voice breaking Then he turned away

Randidly wait

But Randidly was back in the 5th stone circle and the illusions faded away leaving him with nothing but a deep melancholy It had started as a memory but it had gone very different than he had expected His influence had a palpable effect there and shifted the events Were the things she said true

It would explain a lot In a lot of ways But perhaps it was just his mind trying to fill in answerless questions

But what it did do was fill Randidly with a burning fury The Aether in his veins began to vibrate rising to follow the pitch of his emotions This place was fucking with him It was time to start fucking back So Randidly used Haste and Empower leaping forward just throwing himself through the air heading deeper into

The images hit him like a truck making his head spin but very quickly Randidly oriented himself finding himself in the back of the car They were going to visit his mother in the hospital Randidly remembered He was 7 at the time His father was in the front of the car his hands locked on the steering wheel in a death grip

In the past Randidly had sat in the back confused and scared saying nothing the entire ride He wasn’t exactly sure why From his memory his father had been home alone with Randidly for a week or so very tight lipped and strict Although it was strange to think of this as unusual this was the first instance of Randidly seeing his father’s true colors his bitter and cold indifference

In fact his parents would probably be divorced within the next two months

Still if he was brought here by the trial Randidly wasn’t sure whether to believe the things he saw but they all felt true They all felt like they were real things he hadn’t witnessed Times in the past where he had refused to take action and let himself and those around him walk down a path into a deeper darkness heedless

So Randidly spoke to the father he would grow to hate and resent so much over the next 15 years Or at least he tried to He opened his mouth but the words seemed to escape him They were beyond him His whole body was trembling crushed by the brutal weight of the silence of the car In the same way that the steering wheel was being crushed so too did it feel like his father’s vice like grip was around Randidly’s neck keeping him silent

Safe

Randidly’s chest vibrated even here in the illusion and he felt the tight grip of the mood loosen The Aether in his chest hummed its concern Shaking his head in wonder Randidly raised his small seven year old hand and pressed it to his chest That strange voice inside of him through the Aether perhaps it was the Spirit of his Soul Skill The Soul of his new world

Either way it gave him the support he needed

What’s wrong with mom Randidly asked

Hearing his voice Randidly’s father seemed to crack sighing and slumping back in his chair I don’t know kiddo She’s been gone for a while and won’t I just don’t know yet That’s why we are going to see

The silence continued and Randidly was somewhat at a loss of what to say After all his experience with his father they were extremely limited After this point he might see him once a year for a day And most of that was clouded by his own anger towards the man so

But it seemed like the silence still bothered his father because he continued to speak after a long pause She just left for a while and wouldn’t tell me why

Randidly opened his mouth then hesitated and closed it Honestly he didn’t’ remember that his mother had left for a bit but in the grand scheme of things it was swiftly covered up by the divorce and its aftermath

Then in a move that shook Randidly to his core his father turned around and said to him Rand I hope you know that I will never leave you like that okay

Chapter 247

As his father turned and straightened back looking towards the road Randidly was frozen stiff He he would never leave him Never Fucking leave him

Do you Randidly said his voice raspy and hoarse his teeth clenched so tight his jaw ached Do you really believe that That you would never leave With how bitter and brittle you are

The words coming from Randidly’s 7 year old form probably sounded ridiculous but either way his father flinched causing the car to swerve Where where did you hear that Did your mother tell that to you

Randidly remained silent grinding his teeth but his father didn’t need him to say anymore beginning to rant wildly Maybe I am brittle but at least I’m strong At least I do my best to work things out in a marriage and not just fuck around

Then he seemed to come back to himself and breathed in through his nose out through his mouth Then he spoke again his voice much calmer No I might break and leave too And for that I’m sorry But Rand no Randidly You know I love you right That won’t ever change You are my son no matter whose No matter our real relationship

Randidly was lounging in a beanbag chair the night the System arrived Ace his hair trimmed short lay on the bed looking at the ceiling Sydney had just left heading downstairs to get the pizza The treatments Randidly had taken her to over the last few months hadn’t had the desired effect but she still kept her hair and was able to live a mostly normal life She currently only became short of breath very quickly but she was never a very athletic person to begin with so it was easy to hide

But for some reason she had decided to volunteer to go get the pizza and it had taken her a VERY long time to return After all she probably had to set the box on the ground and take breaks every 10 or so steps

Which gave Ace and Randidly time to sit and hang out like they used to like they had a lot over the past few years

But these last few months things had been extremely strained Just like Randidly’s memory Ace spoke his voice cold Maybe its best you head back for tonight You aren’t a big fan of Starship Troopers right And haven’t you and Sydney spent enough time together today already

Randidly tensed up just like he did in the past After all he took her to the clinic earlier in the day and thought he did an excellent job of hiding their excursion In the past he had immediately nodded said an excuse and fled panicking But now in this world that meant nothing

Ace there is something I need Randidly began but he was rapidly interrupted

Yea man I know you are just being a good friend Ace said dully

No listen Randidly continued There was a burning curiosity in his heart wondering what telling the truth would change Ace Sydney is dying I’ve been taking her to the hospital

But then Randidly stopped speaking Ace rolled over on the bed and gave him a long look It was a strange look filled with fear rage and hurt But no surprise

You knew Randidly said genuinely shocked Then small pieces clicked together How Ace would always know with eerie accuracy when they would be gone The strange comments he made How disappointed Ace had been when he looked at Randidly even when Sydney wasn’t there The strange looks

And the whole reason you were upset is because we didn’t tell you no Then it hit Randidly and his eyes widened in shock It was because I didn’t tell you

Ace snorted and leapt up from the bed Yea you fucking asshole I knew what I signed up for with Sydney beautiful as sin flirts with manic pixie status and as inscrutable and opaque as mud But you man I thought This is life changing LIFE ENDING And you won’t even tell me Out of respect for me Or out of self preservation Sydney’s made of tough stuff man but you Has anyone commented how tired you look lately You float around like a fucking ghost To fucking protect ME Pisses me the fuck off

And Ace walked up to Randidly and threw a punch It bounced harmlessly off Randidly’s cheek Apparently his increased stats were present here even in this dream world

Fuck Holy shit man what are you fucking made out of

Randidly scratched his cheek awkwardly He supposed it made sense that he wasn’t really teleported to the past and maintained some of his strength It was honestly super amusing for the very fit Ace to rebound off of his strike so obviously But it wasn’t something worth getting bogged down over

It was her secret Ace Randidly pointed out I couldn’t just tell you Shouldn’t you be more mad about her failure to disclose You aren’t being very reasonable

Being unreasonable is my prerogative Ace announced recovering from his injury and pointing towards the ceiling Then he lowered his hand and extended towards Randidly Because we are best friends

Yea Randidly said and he felt choked up for a second as he took Ace’s hand and squeezed it lightly Randidly hadn’t realized how much of a weight that he carried because his last interaction with Ace had been so laden with resentment and anger that he didn’t even understand But now now that he understood it all fell away

Ace winced Holy shit man maybe you haven’t gotten any sleep cuz you’ve been slamming weights in the gym How fucking strong are you I mean you look good but and fucking how didn’t you know that I suspected it I’ve been giving you stink eyes for weeks

Randidly shrugged awkwardly I thought well Tessa made me think you both assumed we were err

Cheating Ace said his face twisted in a disgusted expression Like I get she has a nice ass but I really don’t know why you put up with Tessa’s jealousy Plus there’s no way in hell that Sydney has a chance with you

Randidly burst out laughing No way she has a chance with me The girl you said was beautiful as sin’ I’m parking ticket beautiful at best

Ha You always were so dumb with the things you say That’s why I keep you around to make my phrases look smart Ace said throwing his arm around Randidly You see friend those things you think you will never have Generally those are simply the things you don’t reach for

Randidly stood in a small room where a woman lay slumped against the wall her hands bound up to the ceiling by chains

Blinking his eyes focused on her the same time she looked at him She lifted her head up suddenly animated

Lyra Randidly said rather uncomprehending at the whole conversation

She gave him a sardonic smile Look I’m doing my best damsel impression Now you just need to get off your ass and be the hero Got it

Drak Wyrd stood in front of Randidly raising his spear Then he began to move swinging slowly through what Randidly knew was just a training progression But it was at such a level that it had Randidly rooted to the floor His spear danced and spun moving so quickly and so fluidly that it seemed to bend and twist writhing mid air like a living creature

Then Drak switched gears moving from flowing strikes to rapid brutal ones The air hummed with the passage of his spear The rare power contained in the strikes even his basic skills were trained to a level that left Randidly in awe

Was this a current vision Because otherwise and even then he could slow him down with spells but Randidly would eventually be forced into a close confrontation with him And at that time his current spear skills weren’t going to be able to stop Drak for long

Then Drak’s spear blurred moving with pure speed as the goal Randidly narrowed his eyes Even with his skill level and his high Perception This was beyond him It was barely even registerable with his senses So this this was the strength that made even Aethon Thai unshakably sure that Drak Wyrd would win the tournament This level of perfection

But after the training Drak dropped the spear his hand trembling Falling to one knee Drak shouted Liam

A door opened and another man ran into the room Master you know you can’t train now Your skills are already pushed to the limit This is the result of keeping your level so low for so long If you gain anymore skill levels the Aether Starvation

Liam quiet It is necessary Drak looked up at the ceiling his eyes narrowed Everything is necessary to open a path for my family to return to its former glory

Chapter 248

Images of Drak and his associate Liam disappeared and Randidly found himself deep deep within a strange viscous black There was only darkness all around and the cage The cage couldn’t be seen but Randidly knew somehow instinctively that it was there blinding him

Time seemed to flow past and Randidly was carried around and the thin stream of energy he produced was syphoned off elsewhere This continued and continued until the day that the cage broke This brought Randidly a great joy but at the same time the cage had kept him from sinking deeper into the darkness Without it he began to slip down and away

But at the last moment he saw a pinprick of light in the black and reached for it They touched

Suddenly Randidly was syphoned away and found himself in a new blackness This place was smaller in terms of space at first but it was constantly growing Randidly fed his energy into this new blackness filling it even as it grew demanding more and more Luckily now that the cage was gone the limitations on Randidly releasing energy was gone and he created more and more

Too much Very soon the black space was full and the energy began to pack downwards condensing into a liquid energy form And then it filled up around him even the liquid more compact form still being too much for this space It was expanding far too slowly

So Randidly was submerged in his own energy and began to feel profoundly sleepy His eyelids drifted downwards The pressure It closed in on him slowly sealing off his sense of this black space and leaving only

But then something brushed up against Randidly A current An eddy in the liquid energy His eyelids fluttered

The flowing began again more insistent more volume of energy moving And with that movement Randidly struggled and found the strength to open his eyes He saw a wide darkness and to his surprise himself sitting in the darkness his eyes closed Other Randidly had an extremely pained face and opened his eyes slowly too

You must give to others

Randidly blinked in surprise He remembered saying this in the darkness created by the Creature And the thing that was speaking

Yes here Give

Randidly’s chest vibrated confirming that the other that was connected to him had witnessed everything too and knew what needed to be done here Then why

Ah Randidly smiled ruefully So he could see from the perspective of the creature that was in his chest That it really was something with intelligence That it knew it was stuck inside Randidly and was overall very thankful

The dream Randidly nodded slowly To connect us all

US

Randidly snapped awake his skin absolutely burning feeling like it was on fire He tried to straighten pushing himself up off the ground but it seemed that the skin of his cheek had melted fusing to the molten rock of the ring beneath him His whole body was screaming in agony and waves of pain crashed down on him The heat too was an oppressive weight physically grinding away at him

As he tried again to move Randidly realized that he was much weaker than he realized he wasn’t sure how long he had been out but it had reduced his health to around 25% through sheer heat through that time

Instantly he activated Golden Roots of Yggdrasil feeling that energy from the core of this world flowing up into him healing him as rapidly as his body could manage Bacterial Regeneration was working as hard as it could but seemed to be largely neutralized by the high heat

With no other choice Randidly ripped his head upwards long chunks of skin lying on the ground burning and sizzling He was on his hands and knees and those weren’t much better Only after 5 minutes and several ripping agonizing struggles did Randidly manage to ascend to his feet The bottoms of his feet instantly began to scream in protest but Randidly had no time to bother with them

While manipulating Living Blood as best he could to heal the worst of the damage in any small way Randidly looked around He was already on the 9th circle his leap apparently carrying him one deeper into the trial than he needed to go With more effort than Randidly would have believed he raised his gaze and looked at the floating face of lava and stone

I don’t suppose this is where you say I didn’t technically reach the correct ring Randidly asked wryly

The giant face above him slowly twisted its mouth After several seconds it was clearly a smile

No this is acceptable But the challenge is not over You must withstand such a heat for an hour only then is your body at an acceptable level to become my anointed Hmm hmm I suppose since you are closer the time can be shortened to 45 minutes

Randidly’s skin continued to sizzle bubbling and burning The bottom of his feet were slowly being ground away by the vicious burning of the semi solid rock beneath him Waves of heat wafted upwards warping the appearance of the ground around him Shivering Randidly had quite a bit of difficulty just with standing even with the thick streams of energy he absorbed through the ground energizing himself

All the while the temperature continued to rise the air being lit on fire by that strange crimson and black sphere

After using Absolute Control Freeze to suppress the worst of the weakness Randidly began to walk towards the center of the arena his steps stuttering None of his spells would really help here his Healing Palm was at too low of a level to accomplish anything As it was he was currently regaining some of his strength very slowly but it was hard to imagine that he would be able to keep that up as the temperature continued to rise

No the best way

Randidly’s mouth stretched wide

The way that Randidly somehow knew would grab the attention of the Patron of Ash just because of how insane it sounded Because that was the type of character he seemed to be

and if I touch that sphere Randidly whispered

Above him the Patron of Ash heard his words and its eyes began to glow But it said nothing as Randidly walked forward trudging as quickly as he could manage The heat was a physical weight at this point far beyond the ability for a human before the System to withstand Sweat evaporated before it even left the pores and Randidly’s skin began to wither and flake awake

It was hot and dry to an unbelievable degree Randidly looked down at the final ring in front of him grimacing This was the part that might be hard And Randidly took the step and hopped downwards into the next ring

Randidly

The room was dark making it impossible to see But the air was cool and Randidly gasped sucking down large lungfuls of cool air It probably hurt him because this was just an illusion and out around him the heat was still present But for now it was a much needed break

But then he straightened because he recognized that voice no matter where he was He had just heard it albeit in an illusion The deep darkness parted and slowly shapes became clearer around him A dark bedroom in a classical style 4 poster bed writing desk large mirror on the far well a tall bookshelf

A figure got up out of a bed stepping carefully not bothering to dress herself She was just wearing a shift The only light in the room came from the nearby window but the drapes were pulled so only a bit of reflected luminance was able to shine around

But it was Sydney thin and pale even in the darkness her normally short hair grown out to her shoulders She gave him a long look then sighed

Is this a joke To think I fell for it even for a second Then her eyes firmed and she raised her hands Well whatever sick sort of joke Ace had planned I still refuse to meet with him Die

Randidly felt a strange chill and it was more than just the strange sinking feeling in his chest he felt as Sydney waved her hands at him in a threatening manner Thick daggers of black ice shot forward aiming for his chest

In that moment Randidly was frozen shocked both that Sydney would attack him the mention of Ace and the fact that she was clearly using skills that would have come only after the System arrived Did that mean

They were alive All of this time

Chapter 249

Suddenly Randidly’s eyes snapped back to focus and he activated Spear Phantom’s Embrace almost effortlessly moving past the projectiles even though he had been frozen for several seconds This was just the difference in levels and stats Attacks of this level couldn’t even come close to scratching Randidly

Sydney seemed just as surprised that Randidly didn’t instantly fall as Randidly had been when she attacked him because she just stared at him as he appeared in front of her taking a step closer

Sydney you were alive Randidly asked reaching out towards her Your cancer

Guards Sydney yelled snapping out of her shock and creating a thin wall of ice between the two of them Randidly smashed it to pieces with a single hand and then grabbed her hand as she stabbed forward with another dagger of ice pulling her close

Randidly frowned at her Sydney

The doors burst open and a tall skeleton with a flaming skull for a head walked in Randidly simply blinked once again shocked The skeleton’s jaw clacked in amusement

Hehehe Countess you seem to be in trouble My master’s offer still stands If you The skeleton began but he was quickly shut up as wave after wave of Spearing Roots ripped up into his bones picking him up and carrying him into the hallway

Will you just listen Holy fuck were you always this stubborn Randidly growled

Well how the fuck am I supposed to believe you when you are doing shit that seems IMPOSSIBLE especially for Randidly Sydney said twisting away from him Randidly let go afraid that he would break her wrist as she struggled It was a strange reminder One that he hadn’t had since Tessa that he was on a different level and had a responsibility not to hurt people around him

Who else would I be And what is that supposed to mean especially Randidly I

Randidly found himself strangely back in the rings but everything was monochrome His foot lightly touched down as he arrived in the final ring Strange shockwaves spread from the spot his foot touched moving through the jelly like rock His bare foot sank into the stone but there was no pain The heat waves continued but they were just visual phenomenon without any real meaning

This is ash

A loud voice echoed different than the Patron’s but somehow Randidly knew it was him a deeper purer voice not coming through the mouth of a giant monstrous glob of lava but his true body

If you continue you too shall be burnt to ash Endure that is the only path available to you

Randidly felt it now still Not the heat but the weakness Although this strange state meant that the heat was not crushing him as it was his body still was crippled by it But by a supreme act of will Randidly stepped forward reaching out towards the sphere He took a step then another step He was only about 2 meters away now when abruptly the heat began to rise It was though the area around the sphere was a line that divided Randidly from the real world where he was slowly being annihilated by the real heat

After all the way heat decayed meant that the closer you came the sharper the increase would be And after not feeling the heat in this strange monochrome world the pain the absolute agony the anguish

But Randidly just smiled his eyes twinkling and took another step forward

You you walk forward to become naught but ash endure and

Shut the fuck up Randidly said or tried to because the words just emerged from him like a sigh formless and running together But he refused to sway from his path

Whether or not it was purposeful going through the strange illusions taught Randidly a lot Some of it was about his own weaknesses some of it was perhaps speculations on his past but what it definitely showed him is that nothing would happen without acting In the past there had been moments where he had remained still and he had lost something dear because of that

There were probably times where inaction was for the best but for now

Randidly took another step forward even as the ground sunk beneath him The heat continued to rise slamming back against his body going beyond its previous levels In his body the weakness was systemic and he could barely continue So he leaned forward and just let his momentum carry him

If the only way forward was to become ash so be it Because he refused to back down

Only 1 meter away Randidly just leaned forward stretching his arm out as he slowly began to fall towards it his hand reaching His skin then his muscles and tendons caught fire and burned away and a vicious insane pain ripped up his arm But Randidly couldn’t stop now

Still when he tried to control his arm to grab the sphere there was no response the physical necessities for movement had burnt away So he simply fell forward slowly

This his eyes began to glow emerald

This streams of blood protected by a dense layer of Battle Intent ran up his arms taking the bones of his hand and wrapping around them His head throbbing Randidly continued to force forward with his will pressing and pressing and the blood hurried wrapping more and more completely around his hand

At the same time the pain in his head grew more deadening causing the edges of his vision to blur And the Battle Intent around the blood controlling his hand

But he reached disregarding all else If Sydney was alive if Ace was alive

He would pay the debts he owed to people here and then return to Earth For now at least Sydney seemed fine although the fact she was consorting with skeletons

As with all things to accomplish his goals he needed strength more and more Because hanging over Earth was still the Calamity If they had lived this long he wasn’t letting some monster of the System end their lives

Stretching Randidly’s hand extended and his hand

Above the Patron of Ash watched silently as the hand landed on the sphere and a wave of burning heat exploded outward a heat far beyond what it had previously released annihilating the boys flesh and leaving only the bones As the Patron watched the bones fell a bit but were then engulfed by a strange burning energy

Humans it thought were profoundly strange creatures

The crimson glass cracked and most of the black liquid dropped back into the earth burning its way to the core but a small drop hovered there then began to float towards the bones It split up into innumerable smaller drops and then spread out going to each bone piercing in and settling in the marrow The bones very rapidly began smoking their color changing to a dull deep grey

But that didn’t mean they were unlikable

Randidly started awake sitting up promptly vomiting Grimacing Randidly straightened after his body was cleansed and then the trembling started resisting his every attempt to control Very soon he was seizing on the ground his whole body burning His whole body no the pain was concentrated in the bones slowly spreading out in waves flooding his whole body

He reached for his Aether and began to rotate it resisting the pain but it seemed like there was nothing to fight against the pain in his body So he could only lay back and allow the strange spasms and pains to continued gritting his teeth

The last he remembered he was on the final ring reaching for the sphere Did this mean he had touched it or Was this some strange backlash for failing to pass the test and become an Anointed of Ash

But his worries were unfounded After around 10 minutes the strange pain tapered off although the heat in his body continued if anything growing stronger After he could control his body Randidly straightened sighing and was met with several notifications

Chapter 250

Congratulations The Patron of Ash smiles on you +10 to all stats Your body was not refined by the Black Mercury but totally remade cast in ash and reconstituted You have learned the Skill Ashes to Ashes Lvl 1 The sun rises on you a changed man Go forth and spread the power of your Patron

Congratulations You have endured the Trial of Ash and become anointed By enduring the visions you have achieved a lasting inner peace and have seen your path forward Wisdom and Willpower +10 Do to synchronicity your skill Agony has evolved into Anguish (Un) All skill levels have been retained

Ashes to Ashes Your body has now been baptized by Ash As such in dangerous situations you can return to ash avoiding most attacks and reforming soon after High mana cost Range and speed of reforming increases with skill level Mana cost decreases very slightly with skill level

Anguish (Un) Produce waves of pain from your body Effects also now include extreme wariness and confusion The mental aspect of the damage is greatly increased from its original form in Agony Range and damage increases with skill level

Randidly began to laugh This this sort of boost as well as the two skills Although he hadn’t tried them out yet he could basically get the gist of them And overall all he could think was

Powerful Randidly whispered And he truly believed it With this level of strength he had come one step closer to being able to give Azriel what she needed The all around increase in stats were incredibly powerful and would hopefully give him an additional edge

But then Randidly grimaced Although now that he thought about that he remembered the vision he had of Drak The ability that he showed the oppressively high skill levels his ability that was pushed to the limit of those under Level 25

It would become an endurance contest He simply needed to push until the shallow layer of Aether he obtained through his class connection at level 25 was insufficient to support his strength For that Randidly needed to survive and resist for as long as possible or to simply strike forward and crush Drak

Randidly did his best to wipe his grin off his face One thing at a time In addition to the bonuses of stats and skills Randidly also had gotten quite a few skill levels just from his time in the Trial of Ash His Pain Resistance had increased by 3 his Fire Resistance by 9 his Mental Strength and Battle Intent by 6 Rejection by 3 Absolute Control Freeze by 2 Struggle by 4 and Living Blood and Superiority by 10

Which left Randidly with quite a decision because he now had 99 PP remaining and quite a few paths to choose from including some new ones

Heretic XII 0/ Nexus Traveler Cohort 5 0/50 Path of Control 0/200 Basic Mana Engraving 0/100 Journeyman 0/150 Experimenter I 0/50 Anguish I 0/125 Steps of the Godling I 0/50 Intermediate Battle Intent 0/200

Out of hand Randidly dismissed Heretic and the Nexus Traveler In addition both Basic Mana Engraving and Experimenter were probably interesting paths that would give him useful skills but Randidly was on a time crunch and what he needed was immediate strength

Aside from Anguish which Agony appeared to have transformed from both of the new additions were interesting Steps of the Godling immediately Randidly thought of his inner world and how they had a strange amount of worship for him If it was a path that gave him skills to interfere in his Soul Skill that was important but it wasn’t useful now Battle Intent would probably give him a large increase in power but it was difficult to see whether it would give him much in the short term And the 200 PP price tag

Which left Path of Control Journeyman and Anguish Path of Control Randidly had long had but he had been distracted by other paths in the meantime It also was the most expensive but if it provided quite a bit of boosts to his Control stat it was probably worth it After all the most workable plan about pushing Drak to the limit involved keeping him distracted with spells

Journeyman was one of the core paths and would probably give skills and stats rather easily But there was no proof of that and the main benefit was usually that stat per level gains As for Anguish

Randidly’s experience in the trial made him realize how necessary it was to strike with all weapons at his disposal Even if he were to hurt some people in the area it would be nowhere near the damage he would do to Drak And anything to cause him increased discomfort because that would deplete his Aether more quickly

It was also a weapon that Drak wouldn’t expect So Randidly put his PP into Anguish In a pleasant turn of events every 10 PP would earn Randidly 10 Health Mana and Stamina It was a nice boost to his base stats

Plus putting the PP in gave him both the blessing of Cleansing Rain and Murderous Cold And this time Randidly was sure that they were slowly changing because on the first one his concentration permanently increased by 2% and for the second blessing the amount of free stats he received was 8 Most of those free stats he put into Perception so he would be able to keep up with the attacks of Drak

After receiving everything Randidly looked at his stats

Health(/R per hour) 1322/1633 (+118) (643 (+27

Mana(/R per hour) 649/1627 (+5) (202 75 (+9

Stam(/R per min) 1233/1645 (247 (+9

Vit 179 (+9)

End 87

Str 132 (+17)

Agi 167 (+17)

Perception 133 (+10)

Reaction 158

Resistance 115 (+15)

Willpower 181 (+10)

Intelligence 119

Wisdom 85 (+9)

Control 231

Focus 178 (+4)

Skills (Soul Skill) Four Shaded Clockwork World Lvl 501

Combat Spear Mastery Lvl 120 White Phantom’s Half Step (Un) Lvl 50 Heavy Blow Lvl 66 Dagger Mastery Lvl 10 Iron Skin Lvl 47 Dodge Lvl 67 Fighting Proficiency Lvl 91 Block Lvl 48 Haste Lvl 78 Phantom Onslaught Lvl 43 Sweep Lvl 54 Spear Deflect Lvl 10 Empower Lvl 97 Calculated Blow Lvl 66 Roundhouse Kick Lvl 36 Flesh Eating Virus (Un) Lvl 57 Idiosyncratic Cut (Un) Lvl 65 Pierce the Skies Shatter the Earth Lvl 39 Battle Intent Lvl 105 Struggle Lvl 76 Body Control Freeze Lvl 19 The Golden Roots of Yggdrasil Lvl 54 Stalemate Breaker Lvl 15

The 7 Kata of the Ashen Spear The Spear Advances Ash Trails Lvl 27

The 6 Signs of the Spear Phantom ® The First Sign The Inevitable Phantom Arrives Lvl 83 (Un) The Fifth Sign The Spear Phantom’s Embrace ® Lvl 138

Spells Spearing Roots Lvl 38 Mana Bolt Lvl 28 Mana Shield Lvl 26 Root Control Lvl 97 Arcane Orb Lvl 22 Fireball Lvl 30 Magic Missile Lvl 4 Healing Palm Lvl 12 Pollen of the Rafflesia Lvl 20 Summon Pestilence Lvl 53 Mana Strengthening Lvl 65 Wall of Thorns Lvl 17 Soul Seed Lvl ® Anguish (Un) Lvl 47 Inspiration ® Incinerating Bolt Lvl 73 Circle of Flame Lvl 45 Plantomancy Lvl 32 The Weeping Cloud ® Lvl 64 Hammer of the Dawn Lvl 6 Burning Footsteps Lvl 10 Ashes to Ashes Lvl 1

Auxiliary Physical Fitness Lvl 83 Meditation Lvl 83 Running Lvl 39 Sprinting Lvl 19 Sneak Lvl 46 Acid Resistance Lvl 22 Poison Resistance Lvl 21 Pain Resistance Lvl 32 First Aid Lvl 16 Equip Lvl 25 Pathfinding Lvl 18 Mental Strength Lvl 23 Curse Resistance Lvl 15 Fire Resistance Lvl 23 Sewing Lvl 11 Cutting Vegetables Lvl 2 Manual Labor Lvl 6 Digging Lvl 5 Cooking Lvl 35 Grace Lvl 50 Bacterial Regeneration Lvl 93 Superiority Lvl 42 Mental Fortitude Lvl 45 Second Wind Lvl 55 Weather Affinity Lvl 43 Clockwork Mastery Lvl 16 Rejection Lvl 39 Aether Connection Lvl 3 Flexibility of the White Hunters ® Lvl 26 Living Blood (Un) Lvl 23

Bonuses +4% Concentration +3% hearing and vision range +1% size Immunity +2%

It was truly a level of stats approaching monstrous in Randidly’s own humble opinion Most everything was above 100 and a lot of things were nearing or over the 200 mark In terms of skills things were increasing nicely and he would definitely emerge from this tournament much improved The question was only whether he could accomplish for Azriel what she desired

There were also so many different forces at work Depending on whether Randidly was to believe the vision that he saw Shal might be under the influence of a strange powerful woman that Randidly strongly suspected would be Lucretia Beyond that Lucretia had taken some action to tempt away some of the other contestants as he had been warned by Bertarn

And perhaps Dian had somehow taken that and been imprisoned by Lucretia Which would make any fights against her Did Randidly even have the strength to fight against her

For now he put that aside although he should talk to Divveltian about it Out of everyone in the city he was the only powerful Adept level spear user that Randidly trusted Even still based on the story and how Bertarn made it seem like she was universally reviled in this world it was hard to know whether they would be able to do anything to her

Perhaps Randidly should contact someone from the Northern Region

But that reminded him that the Engraving Guild was watching him and the Styles here wanted him to stop associating with Azriel and Randidly did not listen to them Would they believe him or support him

Behind all of this there was this strange tension between Drak and Azriel that included strange political forces forcing them together Heavy in Randidly’s mind was the deal that Azriel made with Drak that she would marry him He wasn’t even sure yet why this was important but it was only due to that action that he had made it to where he was now After all if he was unable to understand Drak’s strikes now if he had fought him before

Sighing Randidly put all these thoughts aside and instead focused his attention inward There was so much to do but there was another match before he was even against that domineering opponent first Randidly would face Ciel of the Steel Feather Style

Chapter 251

Claptrap tried his best to hide his yawn behind his hand Although this talk show’ was definitely entertaining and was very well received by the populace it was just a really boring job He shouldn’t have taken on the job of host himself There were so many other details of his business that required his attention and he was stuck here listening to the male spear attendant waxing poetic on the grace of the Ghosthound

But the job wasn’t without its perks

And now without further ado let’s interview one of our top 8 Ciel Thai Claptrap announced smiling warmly Not that he hadn’t had any interactions with Ciel since she had fulfilled the role of business liaison to the rest of the Steel Feather Style but it had been incidental and honestly both of them had been very busy with the work they were doing in their respective roles This would give them the chance to finally sit and talk Claptrap’s stomach gurgled its glee

Admittedly the male spear attendant would be there which wasn’t ideal And Aethon Thai her father often popped in at random times like these just to amuse himself And there were thousands of people watching and talking excitedly amongst themselves really pleased to have the chance to see and hear one of the hot young talents who was also a beautiful woman talk about herself and her training

Admittedly much less than ideal But it was all he had and Claptrap was going to enjoy the situation even if it killed him

Thank you for having me Ciel said flashing a smile I’ve really been watching this program with interest Claptrap how did you manage to end up working as a clerk for so many years when you had ideas like this stored away

Claptrap felt a twinge of guilt in his stomach All of this everything was a product of the Ghosthound He could take credit for nothing He was just the face of the business But he had been doing this for almost a week now and covered up his nerves very well Haha that shop wasn’t busy very often and you know what they say about idle hands but no one here wants to hear about me right Deardun

The crowd cheered and again that guilt twinged uncomfortably They didn’t have to cheer THAT loud

Ciel you are the daughter of the Vice Leader of the Steel Feather Style The Steel Feather Style has been a staple of the Northern Region since the 4 founding Styles

Technically there were 5 families that founded the Northern Region The male spear attendant interrupted Claptrap But Claptrap just ignored him After all with the state of the Northern Region being what it was and Drak’s presence in the tournament

and they boast the highest number of victories in the Northern Regional tournament of any Style in history Claptrap leaned forward creating an intimate feel between himself and Ciel Her long hair was braided and fell over her shoulder emphasizing her long neck and smooth skin She was the model of the perfect daughter not one you would believe being one of the strongest young spear users Will you add another victory this year

Well I don’t know about that all of the final 8 contestants have their own powerful backgrounds It will definitely be hard But I’m going to try my best Ciel clenched her fist her whole body vibrating with controlled power

It was a beautiful thing

Claptrap was shocked back to himself after a few seconds of staring by Ciel’s laugh

Hahaha please Claptrap don’t look at me like that Is it so strange that I can both be a woman and a fighter Her tone was teasing but there was something lurking beneath the surface

Ah no Claptrap scrambled to answer a strange desperation in his chest It’s just you are very lovely Ciel I was thinking of the old days when you

But it seemed that Ciel wasn’t going to let him bring the topics back to the planned interview Again I must ask is it not possible for a spear user to be lovely Your friend Randidly Ghosthound has his own appeal There are many women who are eyeing him as a potential husband

Claptrap’s mouth worked soundlessly for several seconds trying to comprehend what was happening Unfortunately this gave the male spear attendant the moment he needed in order to stick his foot in his mouth

You are single and unpromised correct Ciel Your combined genetics would probably create another lovely baby regardless of gender The male spear attendant said earnestly as if he was trying to help Ciel

Ciel’s eyebrow twitched and Claptrap could detect some strange mutters among the audience Things were off the rails but in the past week he had learned to be a professional in all sorts of dumb situations

Ohohoho

Aethon Thai appeared on stage along with a chair crushing the wooden chair that he usually used while he came to the stage to splinters The chair he brought with him was a thick monstrosity of metal smelted to look like spreading wings behind him Each of his small laughs was heavy and filled with power causing the stage to vibrate dangerously

Marrying off my daughter I think not This Randidly is 1000 years too early

I’m just saying The male spear attendant interjected stopping Aethon making Claptrap’s blood run cold It makes sense

Does it Claptrap muttered slightly dazed his mind jumping from conclusion to conclusion But then he shook his head Even his insecurities couldn’t connect those dots

There is a history in the Northern Region Aethon began while the male spear attendant began to hotly contest his every word Claptrap leaned back unsure of how to intervene

You know what It does

To everyone’s surprise Ciel spoke All three heads twisted and looked at her confused She sat primly her hands folded on the table in front of them Probably the person who was the most shocked was Aethon whose jaw just dangled swinging slowly back and forth

Ciel shrugged in a very charming manner What can I say There is so much talk about my femininity and his strength these past few days how could I not be convinced Let it be known that should I Ciel lose to Randidly Ghosthound in the next match I will give up the spear and become a bride

The crowd erupted The male spear attendant and Aethon Thai immediately launched into loud tirades But for Claptrap that all faded away and he looked at Ciel After her statement she leaned back in her chair and just smiled some strange emotion playing across her face and body It was almost as if the crazy madness that had seized the surrounding people was originally all emotions that had been housed in Ciel’s body but she had somehow unleashed them on the surrounding people leaving her finally at peace

Claptrap didn’t think that this was as simple as it seemed After all Ciel was the prime disciple of the Steel Feather Style which was one of the big 4 Styles that had controlled Deardun and therefore most of the Northern Region for hundreds of years Her marriage would happen as a political thing cementing the legacy and legitimacy of the Style for years to come

Meanwhile although the Ghosthound had proven that he had a bright future and was extremely skilled he was from a small Style And of all the small Styles in the world the Spear Phantom Style was the one in the Northern Region still viewed most uneasily The exact details were unknown but it couldn’t be denied that they were heavily involved with the Devourer and the related disappearances

For these two individuals to marry it was impossible Their backgrounds were too different The kind of forces behind them were completely on different levels Again that familiar sinking feeling came back to Claptrap

And if the Ghosthound is too far below your league how could I even with money and fame how could I

The rest of the interview passed in a blur and everyone left unhappy Ciel wouldn’t shift from her position and her father didn’t seem willing to press the issue too much in front of the crowd As Claptrap shuffled away listless and with quite a lot of work to do he felt a hand grab his arm

He turned expecting to find the male spear attendant pestering him about some other programing idea the weirdo had but when Claptrap looked it was Ciel gripping his arm lightly her face serious her eyes sad At this distance he could smell her perfume soft and sweet His heartbeat thundered in his ears and he felt his face blush

I’m sorry Ciel began I didn’t mean to hijack your program it’s just

Do you Claptrap interrupted stammering slightly W want to talk about this over drinks

Chapter 252

Groaning Randidly sat up checking the most recent hole in his thigh He had managed to avoid Azriel’s original charge for the artery in his leg but her follow ups to his torso had distracted him enough for her pure speed and technique to overwhelm him even with magic support

That new technique is interesting And the upgrade to Agony Anguish you said These need polished Azriel announced tapping her lip as she stood over him Randidly dutifully used Living Blood to guide his broken body back together He felt Bacterial Regeneration kick in quickly increasing his health back to its maximum value

Of course Anguish’s upgrade had been as impressive as expected But more than that Azriel was right Ash to Ash was incredibly powerful Randidly still wasn’t sure that he totally understood what Ash to Ash did It definitely activated some energy at his core and he felt that was insanely powerful he just had no idea how to control it What he did know was if he was struck by a blow while he had Ash mode activated his body would disintegrate into ash and reform at another position very very quickly

The area where he reformed was currently random and Randidly had been unable to control it even after several attempts at experimentation Still the randomness also punished Azriel who would likely have been able to read and predict him had Randidly had control

Further complicating the training was the fact that to have that mode active cost almost 4000 mana a second Randidly had enough reaction to use it just for a split second but it still usually took around 1000 1500 mana each time

Randidly was filled with passives that could boost his regeneration but even with all of these it simply took too long it was better to focus on training up other skills and keep that back as a trump card Because like Azriel said it only worked once

It became more complicated because Azriel claimed that his eyes seemed to glow with an inner flame when it was active so she was able to use feints and pull back when she saw it to make it almost useless against her But still she insisted they practice

While Randidly was gaining mana he activated Anguish and used his will to learn to shape it concentrating it in an area and direction

Through all of these spells Azriel seemed largely unphased It further cemented Randidly’s fear of the System and also the looming threats of the Engraving Guild and the large Styles of Deardun She might be extremely talented but she was still under Lvl 25 Those monsters above that level filled Randidly with a dull sense of crisis Especially with Shal still gone

Again Azriel announced in that imperious way she had and Randidly rose He still didn’t quite get why her plot to use him made sense but he was perfectly willing to take the opportunity to learn more skills The sky was high and wide and he wasn’t even fighting the monsters with the strength to endanger the entire world If these people couldn’t handle the Calamity how strong would it be

The spar started with Azriel moving so fast his eyes blurred but now Randidly had improved both in his Perception and Reaction due to the large boost from being refined by the Trial of Ash His spear moved to meet her relying heavily on Idiosyncratic Cut to make up for the distance in natural speed

But it wasn’t enough Azriel always seemed to accelerate further

Randidly split his attention summoning roots that ripped upwards in a randomized pattern which made her pause and in that moment he hammered her with the most focused Anguish he could manage By this point she had been exposed to it quite a bit and didn’t flinch but Randidly still used the chance to move forward slashing out with his spear

By the time the strike arrived Azriel was already gone blurring to stand behind him hissing through her teeth as her spear pierced his side Randidly’s eyes glowed with an inner fire a bright orange light that replaced his pupil while his iris became even more brightly emerald

Ash to Ash

The world returned to monochrome that Randidly had experienced when he had come out of the final vision at the trial Everything seemed flat and empty the noises dull and muted the colors sucked away As her blow landed on him Randidly’s world shifted as he swirled away and suddenly found himself standing behind Azriel

Color and sound slapped back into sudden prominence giving Randidly something of a headache and a great weakness came over him as he quickly ran out of mana He no longer had his spear as it was still dropping to the ground where he had disappeared but Randidly didn’t let that stop him as he unleashed a Roundhouse Kick towards her back

That leg was promptly filled with holes and he was knocked to the ground

Randidly groaned

It was frustrating in a way to train like this while he had suspicions that Shal was captured by Lucretia Based on what he knew Lucretia owed Shal’s father a 3rd gift and was willing to give it to Shal The Central Styles wanted to prevent that but Dian apparently hadn’t been doing too good of a job

Perhaps this captivity was Lucretia’s gift But Randidly didn’t think so Truly her gifts were meant to destroy and tear Based on the dull eyed Shal Randidly had seen she was just biding her time probably waiting to give him a gift to the moment it would destroy Shal Ultimately this worried Randidly more because likely what she was waiting for was something regarding him and this tournament

Well it was all speculation at this point But indulging the fact the visions were real made Randidly want to abandon this place and return home searching for Ace and Sydney However he was held in place by a vague feeling of guilt and responsibility towards Shal and also based on his promise with Azriel He hadn’t originally asked for her help getting him through the knockout rounds but she had given it and now he had taken advantage of her to help increase his skill

There was a debt there now and Randidly never wanted to be someone who forgot his debts

Again Azriel said impatiently

Claptrap almost choked to death on his first swig of ale slightly shellshocked and trembling based on the fact that Ciel had accepted so easily It was the most natural thing in the world in her mind to go somewhere more private and drink to continue their discussion As if they had a relationship of some kind As if they were friends

Maybe in her mind they were Claptrap wondered but then he squashed that thought That didn’t make sense her previous actions were definitely standoffish when she had met for the business deal So why

Um you are doing really well for yourself you know I see your symbol everywhere Ciel began tentatively Behind the Style I think your company right Is the most well known thing about this tournament No longer just a clerk huh

Claptrap nodded the guilt rising in his chest his throat souring Well due to the Ghosthound he was changing he was riding his ideas way above his place in life

Claptrap opened his mouth but wasn’t sure what to say so he closed it and then opened it again to take another sip of ale Ciel was staring at the table deep in thought Claptrap just grimaced In what world did he think

It’s inspiring you know The way you changed your life with your ideas It inspired me Ciel looked sharply up her clear blue eyes determined I want to do that reshape my life

It might be hard to notice but my life Ciel gestured slightly Has not always been under my control I am a female and it is hard to escape what that means That means it’s my responsibility to ensure the next generation of the Steel Feather Style has a leader And that inevitably means I need a strong man

Some argue that the path received from the father is very often irrelevant but Every heaven defying genius has an edge because of a skill they trained from birth from their mother and an avenue forward left to them by their father But

Now her eyes flashed and Ciel raised her glass and finished the entire thing in a second then slammed it down on the table Everyone talks about 3 names for the tournament Drak Wyrd and his epic duel against Azriel with rumors abound about their wedding And of course Randidly Ghosthound the mage spear user who worked his way up through the preliminaries through the qualifiers to get here sweating and struggling the entire way

I approached Azriel many times because I thought she would understand the pressures as the woman expected to inherit the dreams of a Style but she always seemed to look through me barely recognizing me I know I’m not like her I’m not naturally blessed in the same ways nor do I have such a monstrous understanding of the spear or instantaneous insight But I work hard I’ve always outperformed expectations

But here my name is never mentioned No one expects me to win the tournament Sure I’ll likely beat your Ghosthound friend no offense but it won’t be enough to rock the boat To make people look at me in shock That’s why I made the announcement before the crowd Only now only through drama about relationships Ciel struggled for a second before she could continue speaking a tear running down her cheek Only through this can I have their eyes on me can I seize control of my path with a shock that will set them on their back foot

Chapter 253

And it is all thanks to you Claptrap Tears were running down her cheeks now thick streams of emotion finally given a form in the light of day You were just a clerk a cute jumpy polite little clerk that I thought would be there my whole life amusing me at the shop with his antics Did you know that I came the day after you left looking for you And when the other clerk told me that you had left to change your life It was the most beautiful and tragic thing I had ever heard I was so afraid you would never return Not because we had anything special between us but because you were a part of my life and I’d never thought anything would change not so abruptly not so permanently

Is it perverse Isn’t it selfish Isn’t it childish But that’s how I felt I wanted you to stay because because suddenly you reminded me of all the things I can’t do But you came back And in a way I was happy And in another I was so confused Because you had all of this illegal armor made by a rogue engraver and you bartered with the representative of the Steel Feather Style as if you were equals You barely even looked at me and when we met you seemed so shocked like you had forgotten all about me You were changed

You were changed

Claptrap’s heart was a tornado of emotions He wanted to tell her immediately that he hadn’t changed that he was still the same old clerk that he had been picked up by a spear using equipment engraving idea creating food preparing monster that seemed to have no weaknesses used as a front for him so he could concentrate on the tournament But

But even as these things were true it was also true that this chance this opportunity to talk with her only occurred because he had accepted these things and passed them off as his own Otherwise he wouldn’t have an opportunity to learn so much about her to finally see that in her own way she valued him even then

So even as the bitterness in his chest twisted and spread Claptrap said nothing and allowed Ciel to continue

But you didn’t stop there did you No you had to revolutionize food and beverages and then these concessions and then the coverage and commentary for the tournament the memorabilia the interviews you became ubiquitous And now I look at you and just think what happened to the Claptrap I knew He transformed before my very eyes Ciel let out a breath that she had been holding her slender body wilting slightly Then she breathed back in her spine straightening

I want that too I need that But I’m still sorry I didn’t mean to ruin your show But I needed this

No don’t worry Claptrap spoke hearing his voice as if he was very far away Ciel admiring him I don’t mind I actually appreciate the extra intrigue Although your father

Oh him Ciel said waving her hand dismissively His bark is much worse than his bite He probably wouldn’t do anything to intervene even if the Ghosthound won He definitely can see the talent your friend has But I can’t let that happen

I have it all planned out you see Ciel continued leaning forward her warm and now alcohol tinged breath wafting towards him I defeat the Ghosthound and then face Drak in the semis As long as I put my life on the line I refuse to believe that he will be able to escape unscathed I’ll scar him weaken him Ideally we draw but even I know what a monster he is Just if I make it more difficult for him to win in the finals if I control that I’ll have made my mark in everyone’s minds Then I’ll

You really just want to hurt someone Claptrap said slowly almost believing that he had misheard

Ciel blinked and then nodded

The two exchanged glances for several long seconds Then Claptrap slowly said If you don’t believe you can win do you even think you can scratch Drak Wyrd

The question hung in the air for a long time silence slowly pooling under it

During one of their breaks when Azriel let him recover mana Randidly turned to her with a frown Can you explain to me this marriage thing between you and Drak

Azriel shrugged Not really It’s an old game that I’m quite tired of But it’s useful in that playing at it lets you predict how some other actors will move

Randidly snorted Although it was strangely endearing and refreshing to him Randidly found that Azriel’s relentless pretentious analytical drive was extremely counter productive in discussion For my sake then explain how other people view the scenario

Azriel gave him an unamused glance as if she had completely guessed his thoughts due to his response to her previous statement but then began to explain Before the Northern Region was reclaimed from the monsters and dungeons this was a wild area 5 families worked together and cleared the monsters founding Deardun and creating the Northern Region But at the last minute the greatest of the families who would grow to be called the Breaking Dawn Style were betrayed and ambushed Most of them were killed and only their heavily injured patriarch and his granddaughter were able to escape They considered giving chase but they had experienced their own losses in the clash and the two of them went out beyond the bounds of the Northern Region Assuming they would die they were let go

It was only 200 or so years later as the Northern Region expanded that the now entrenched 4 Styles discovered there was an area already cleared of monsters owned and controlled by that very Breaking Dawn Style They considered aggression but the Breaking Dawn Style seemed to be content to remain in its area and as such they were left alone

Fast forward to now of the 4 original Styles one has gone extinct while mine the Sleeping Moon Style is basically on its last legs with all its hopes on me The Steel Feather Style is still strong but Bertarn’s Toppling Mountain Style has not had someone inherit the full Skill Set in 100 years With more and more Styles sending feelers from the Central Region up here sensing weakness the heads decided better the enemy they know So they want to bind the still very powerful Breaking Dawn Style to them through marriage through me

Randidly scratched his chin

Which of course will be irrelevant when you make Drak Wyrd reveal his cards and I defeat him demonstrating that enlisting their aid is pointless Azriel said so dismissively that Randidly had to chuckle She glared at him Now you’ve had enough time let’s go again

Randidly groaned as he stood

Claptrap wandered the streets confused and angry at himself After he had told Ciel his opinion on her chances she had become extremely sad and bitter Very soon after she had left In his heart Claptrap didn’t want to apologize for speaking what he still believed was the truth but there was no doubt in his mind that he also wished the night had ended differently

He wasn’t sure how and didn’t want to think about it too much but

That hot jealousy that envy and bitterness the negative emotions and a new fear that he would be discovered as just an individual who stole from the Ghosthound riding his coattails choked him preventing any words from passing his lips as Claptrap left the bar and began to wander It seemed to harden in his chest becoming a hot core of negative that pulsed dragging him onward

As long as he carried this in his chest he couldn’t rest he couldn’t sit down he could only wander looking for something Some way to escape it Some way to not disappoint this woman he had loved and who now saw him as an example to emulate The irony crushed him grinding down his hope

So Claptrap continued his unsteady steps following the dark pulses from his chest seeking an answer It would be a very long night for him

The male spear attendant stood next to Helen as they both moved through the forms watching her out of the corner of his eye Although it was good for training his image it was not enjoyable to have her catch him checking her out and be beaten within an inch of his life Which she had done multiple times

Deciding to focus the male spear attendant had thrown everything into his defense abandoning any thoughts of actually beating Helen in a fight but at least hoping he could endure through her attacks But she defied his expectations yet again growing with leaps and bounds becoming stronger every day faster than the male spear attendant could cope with

He wasn’t sure when it had started but this growth was a relatively recent thing Since the start of the tournament There were even moments when the male spear attendant caught Helen looking at her hands seemingly in shock herself at the speed of her growth Which just confused the male spear attendant even more

Where had this come from

Like what you see Helen said twisting around in a way that made her chest flop back and forth but still the male spear attendant winced

Busted

But suddenly he was struck by inspiration She often became so pissed when he denied it what if

Yea I do The male spear attendant said flashing Helen his most charming smile Perhaps he had been going about this all wrong

Helen’s mouth transformed into a flat line and her eyes were dead and empty as she stared at him The male spear attendant sighed It was worth a try

Chapter 254

Randidly walked back through the darkening streets rubbing his neck Azriel had insisted they train for two days straight so there was only one more day remaining before his match with Ciel During this time he wanted to do a lot more with Engraving so he was forced to refuse to stay any longer and just leave Azriel aiming a frosty glance at his back

Paradoxically Azriel had not a single ounce of chill Randidly had always thought his will and Endurance was strong but now He realized that he had just never truly been broken down to his most base state The only explanation that Randidly could think of was that Azriel had a stronger will and work ethic than Shal and Marco Polo who had given him some breaks largely because THEY were tired or bored

Azriel had no such reactions She was always ready to go again It was a strange combination of aggravating and encouraging But it did mean that it had been a long two days

What was perhaps most annoying is that no matter how the the tournament matches turned out there was a very close deadline for Randidly finishing his preparations for what comes after At this point he wasn’t sure exactly what he would plan to do but there was much he could do in preparation for that giving himself more options when the time for the decision arrived

Most pressing was his research on Engraving Raising his strength for the tournament had been previously the highest importance but at this point there would only be marginal gains in his strength That didn’t mean that he wouldn’t use every second he could but it was worth mentioning that there were other things to do If Randidly’s speculations were correct the Shadow IV rune would give him the edge he needed to escape the aftermath of the tournament buying him some time so he could evade the Engraving Guild and the larger Styles There were some implicit and overt threats hanging around and Randidly didn’t’ want to give them time to consider which to carry through with

So Randidly returned to the inn and headed up towards his room planning on spending the next several hours pouring over the second volume of the Encyclopedia set But on his way up a figure was coming down Claptrap

Heya Claptrap How’s business Randidly asked lightly trying to keep the wariness out of his voice He had given Claptrap several ideas the past few weeks which enabled Claptrap to expand his business to a huge degree But there was an unintended side effect Claptrap generally nattered on for an hour anytime their paths crossed filled with questions about the origins of the ideas and how to expand

Fine Claptrap’s eyes flashed strangely and he seemed extremely preoccupied to the point that he simply grunted his answer nodded to Randidly and continued down out of the inn

Breathing out a sigh of relief Randidly ascended to his room and pulled out the encyclopedia After a few minutes spent making himself comfortable and giving himself pen and paper he began to read making notes where he didn’t understand a concept or wanted to summarize a longer page

For hours his eyes followed the lines as he pushed his concentration to the limits looking for clues in the words In a way he was successful for Randidly found himself making connections about the art of Engraving in his mind But in another he was becoming increasingly confused Most of the problem stemmed from the fact that the encyclopedia seemed to have been penned by several different authors

Based on his earlier assumptions these authors were all from different worlds in the 5th Cohort Because while their methods were similar the conclusions they came to was very different But once Randidly recognized that issues he was able to slowly parse apart what they were saying The only problem then was figuring out which of the systems described by the author would most closely resemble his own Aether channels

While this was going on Randidly was intermittently summoning Root Spiders grinding his skills up and activating Golden Roots of Yggdrasil and Meditation These skills didn’t improve by much because Randidly wasn’t devoting very much of his attention to perfecting them but they would slowly increase in proficiency

Small gains one level at a time

After about 6 hours he set aside the encyclopedia finally finished with the 2nd volume Then Randidly organized his notes as much as he could and stood stretching A small pain had formed behind his eyes after the extended period of studying even with his high stats and bonuses towards concentration which demonstrated how pointlessly intricate and demanding Engraving was

Randidly supposed that the only reason he had been able to learn it so easily was his initial high mana pool After all based on what he had learned by this point his initial methods was pointlessly wasteful when it came to mana expenditure Mana was still spent by Randidly while Engraving except in more subtle ways shaping the rune from the inside out rather than grinding away as he had previously

Cracking his neck Randidly considered heading to the roof for some additional physical training but dismissed that It was too time consuming and would be much less efficient than spending time with Azriel Better to focus now on things he could do alone

But there weren’t many skills that he could grind like this

Randidly grimaced Which meant that perhaps it was time to take a break and just think about a few issues Although it was not the most pressing Randidly had been ignoring the implications of his Aether Donation skill and it was perhaps time to address that

At its most basic Aether Donation could be used to give a set amount of Aether to another party a simple donation Perhaps the used could use this to overcome Aether Sickness or create their own skill but the donated Aether would be of a finite amount and run out after a while

The other option the one he had employed on instinct with Helen and attempted with Shal was to have a permanent ongoing Donation Which for a skill like Aether Donation seemed a bit counterintuitive It made Randidly all the more sure that it was designed to be that way because very soon after he created the connection and let it exist he could feel meaning flowing back through the connection informing his inner world and Soul Skill of the power and presence of rivers

What was even more disturbing was that although he had originally checked after making it and found it easy now closing the connection seemed almost impossible Just like allowing a real stream to flow through his land it would be easy to block off a trickle of water But now that it had grown into a river flowing both ways there would undoubtedly be consequences for both of them

The name was clearly a clever bit of misdirection the Creature had created a way for Randidly to create Aether connections almost exactly like people would do with villages with the only difference being he couldn’t provide a class But what Randidly could provide is a large amount of clean very unpolluted Aether at least for now Perhaps that would change as his own inner world developed or as he made more connections but

Permanence was something that made Randidly hesitate however A permanent connection filled him with a vague fear that almost made him smile sardonically he was a man in his early 20s after all

Then Randidly paused He supposed he was no longer really in his early 20s It was probably getting close to his 25 birthday with the time since the System arrived and his 2 years in the prison He just hadn’t celebrated any of them so he wasn’t sure if they really counted Besides the only changes in his body were changes that Randidly would associate with youth

Randidly walked over to the mirror to look at himself Since increasing his stats mostly Vitality he suspected his skin had become remarkably clear and soft His hair was still black but now had a strange luxurious richness that caught the light and made it shine rather than just devouring it It honestly reminded him of a shampoo commercial

His nose was straight his jaw sharp his lips stretched into a self mocking smile revealing white teeth His eyes burned emerald even as he looked at himself in the darkness slightly luminous This was probably an effect of the Aether flowing through him but his eyes were amazingly clear the color noticeable even from a far distance

Perhaps it was the result of his training perhaps it was the subtle result of his Soul Skill increasing his size in marginal amounts but Randidly had gained quite a bit of weight in muscle since the System arrived These muscles were packed on the same frame but it gave him a compact heaviness that he didn’t possess before Even to his own eyes his body looked coiled like a spring prepared and capable

Randidly shook his head and looked away and then began to stretch This was another important point that Azriel emphasized In direct conflicts Randidly was average at best which left him slightly miffed but he couldn’t dispute her So she wanted him to focus on increasing his flexibility but literal and figurative Which required

Stretching Twice daily Until his tightly packed muscles loosened up

Looking at his wiggling toes as he reached for them Randidly sighed All of this was decidedly tiresome He would much rather fight or study than just bend himself weirdly But he couldn’t deny the utility so did his best to ignore these thoughts and focus on the task at hand

But suddenly he stilled a forced casualness snapping into place almost instantly Very slowly naturally as if he had finished his stretch he straightened keeping his movements even

Someone was standing behind him

Chapter 255

Looking at the boy in front of her who so quickly discovered her Lucretia couldn’t help but laugh Ha You are truly just as unusual as they say Turn around so I can have a look at you

Lucretia kept her mocking smile in place as the boy slowly pirouetted to face her but her eyes glowed with curiosity There was something about him that had affected so many people around him moving them in directions that she hadn’t expected Whatever the boy had done had kept Shal from capitulating to her for a long time eventually forcing Lucretia to intervene herself directly The seeds she planted around him seemed to curl up and die unused

How could he cause so much trouble for her

But Lucretia wasn’t bitter If anything it simply excited her She had wandered around this world for a long time She had found a whiff of a path out of this world leaving the System behind allowing her to gain eternal life but even after years and years of experimentation and exploration she felt she was only barely progressing on that Path It required a monstrous 10 000 PP to finish but Lucretia was no stranger to subverting the system

Although she had already spent 3k towards that path she had discovered methods of using Aether given to her freely to take the place of that PP But she didn’t have much time remaining She was old very very old Aether was ultimately a source of life but she hadn’t spent many of her stats increasing her Physical Defense stats which would increase her longevity So although the fire that was Aether was still burning brightly the house of her body was starting to crumble from wear and tear

Which was why an unexpected element was profoundly interesting to Lucretia She wouldn’t know it but her thought process was very similar to that of Azriel who saw in Randidly not a path forward but a chance she couldn’t predict

But when the boy turned around entirely and their eyes met Lucretia’s face froze her mouth going slightly slack Because she suddenly realized why he could have so many profound and confusing effects Why he would fill those around him with enough hope to resist her seeds Why he was an influence she hadn’t been able to predict or calculate even after she had become aware of his existence

Why all of this had been worth it to meet him

His emerald eyes burned a rich pure untainted Aether flowing through them Although it was incredibly well contained in his body in a strange almost profound flow the rushing tides of Aether within him couldn’t be hidden before her eyes After all could any in the world boast that they were more experienced with Aether than she

She was the Eternal Witch Lucretia And although she didn’t know how this boy contained within him a vast amount of Aether so vast that she had her suspicions that it wasn’t a finite amount If he had a source

Immediately a vicious hunger rose in her chest and she almost reached out and ripped that source out of him by force But at the last moment she stopped herself biting off the tip of her tongue to silence her emotional outburst The path she had chosen that she had invested so much into was one of Dark Karma Although she was far from completing the Path she was already firmly on it and even she would not be able to suppress its effects

Any boon forcefully taken will one day be forcefully taken from you

So after a brief struggle she settled down and continued to smile at him wondering what of her thoughts had shown on her face in the past second

For his part the boy looked at her with serious eyes first beginning confused and slowly narrowing into certainty

Lucretia He whispered

Lucretia smiled while activating one of her most trusted skills Examine to see his status Unfortunately the thick confused mass of Aether signals that rushed towards her was so far beyond even her ability to comprehend that she took a step back a sharp pain emerging in her head His frown deepened and Lucretia cursed inwardly

The more she examined it the more it seemed that he possessed a prodigious amount of skills so many that she couldn’t contain her shock But the real problem with using Examine was that there was something absolutely monstrous and complex inside of him so much so that the white noise of its Aether drowned out most of the details of his other skills

Based on the shape she immediately discounted a class

Which was when Lucretia took another step backwards Because she could not detect the familiar trail of Aether from him away towards the source of his class He was Unbound by a village

Lucretia had achieved something similar but that was only by destroying the village she started at and performing some very grotesque Aether surgery on herself And even then the lingering ghost of the System stayed on her faint but present But this boy

Where He continued Is Shal

Ah Lucretia said smiling slightly her mind whirling at 1000 rotations per second distracted by all these developments Then her focus snapped back and she felt a profound sense of satisfaction She obviously had her own reasons for involving herself with Shal but having him also work as leverage was very satisfying He’s taking a nap Why do you ask

His eyes narrowed further and he regarded her silently for several seconds This was endlessly amusing to Lucretia because she could intuit that his immediate reaction was the same as hers to strike at the other immediately but he also stopped himself But for a completely different reason It seemed that he had enough sense to realize that the confrontation would not go well for him

I don’t believe it is that simple The boy said curtly

Lucretia laughed aloud Hahaha Perhaps your name is Randidly Ghosthound correct Perhaps we can come to an arrangement I originally came here just out of curiousity but I can see what’s inside of you my cute little Randidly How about giving me a bit of a taste You seem to have heard about me I’ll give you some gifts too to make it worth your while

Instantly his expression tightened and Lucretia instantly felt the conflicting emotions of irritation and excitement within her chest He did seem to be familiar with her and her gifts based on the unwillingness But also he didn’t refuse her outright and seemed to struggle internally so it wasn’t that he wasn’t thinking about it

The silence slowly stretched and Lucretia was content letting it do so After all she could slowly begin to parse through the flush of information that Examine gave her from him But as she began pulling apart that monstrous apparatus of Aether in his core he spoke

I won’t accept any gifts but if the stories were right perhaps a trade His words were slow and even and he seemed profoundly conflicted but he spoke Lucretia was instantly disappointed This would effectively avoid the talons of her Dark Karma path as it wouldn’t leave either of them with any lingering attachments unless one’s bargaining chip far outweighed the other But if it gave her access to Aether for her to experiment with

Well perhaps it was not the time to talk now Let him stew a little It seemed he was aware that Lucretia had Shal but clearly not the extent of her influence Then for now

Let’s part ways and think about it yes Oh but don’t let those pesky Styles here know I’m near or well Shal Lucretia said lightly backing away She didn’t even give him a chance to speak and phased off teleporting away

Back in her clearing she looked at the trapped soul the bodiless Yeti head and Shal’s dozing form Her smile spread wide She supposed she had enough bargaining chips at this point to deal directly with him All of her other plans were discarded well not discarded just moved to a lower priority

Sowing chaos and obtaining some gifted Aether in the process was interesting but this boy he was the motherlode She had never seen anything like it

Although her handling of him had been rather abrupt and hasty towards the end which she cursed herself for she couldn’t help it Seeing the Aether in his body it was exciting and enticing So much so that she just out and said what she wanted

It made her somewhat embarrassed that the Eternal Witch Lucretia had swooned from a mere glance from a boy

Well he’s not just a boy now is he My dearest Shal Lucretia murmured walking over and touching Shal’s face He’s much more to me than that After all he is your disciple

With the same sort of fearsome abruptness the beautiful woman with long purple hair was gone disappearing from Randidly’s room Sweat poured down his back and he let out a breath that he had been holding for a long while Lucretia’s appearance was certainly bewitching and Randidly could understand why someone would accept gifts from her She had a voice that reminded him of the Siren singer from Franksburg but Lucretia used no skill it was all raw charm and experience

But even so the fact that she had appeared just as he had been thinking about Aether Donation and asked for one

Just how had she known

Chapter 256

Randidly shook his head If she could truly read his mind that was a power even more intimidating than the Creature’s mastery of Aether That would mean she had access to all of his secrets at a glance

But upon review of the whole scenario it had all happened so fast and there had been several abrupt changes in her mood where her face twitched as she looked at him even though he hadn’t said much They couldn’t have been together for more than a minute but she had already proposed exchanging gifts while he countered with a trade hoping to avoid her cycle of disastrous gifts

The exchange wasn’t very well structured especially after Randidly’s thoughts had turned to marketing recently to help Claptrap She had just shown her cards immediately Which likely meant that she REALLY wanted the Aether that he had

Which also seemed to imply that she had been able to at least see it and notice its existence which was intimidating But it was nowhere near as fearsome a power as the ability to see his thought With that train of thought she had come for some reason that filled Randidly with apprehension but swiftly changed her mind upon seeing him and his Aether

Why had she come before something to do with Shal Or the tournament Or to tempt him as Bertarn seemed to imply was happening all throughout the tournament

Sighing Randidly sat down letting some of the tension drain from him So many questions without answers It was pointless to think of them

The only thing a spear can do is advance

So after Randidly went down to the kitchen and prepared himself a meal he came back up and continued with the 3rd volume of the encyclopedia set reading more information on Engraving The more he learned the more Randidly realized how much detail he was missing in his Engraving It was more of the creation of a 3D sculpture on the surface of armor than anything else

Which didn’t really make sense when stated out of context but was the only way Randidly could describe the process Deeper and deeper Randidly focused taking careful notes on what he read trying not to miss anything After all this was the only real option he had for an escape route after the Tournament

Perhaps though he could ask Lucretia for some assistance

But immediately Randidly shook his head It already slightly insane that he was considering giving her a flat amount of Aether in exchange for something to do with Shal He needed to think very carefully about what he wanted and what to ask In that regards he also had very little information about Shal and what was going on with him It was hard to know what to ask for

Randidly considered informing Divveltian but Lucretia’s threat hung heavy in the air Gritting his teeth Randidly sat back from his Engraving research There was just too many things going on at once All the while he needed to prepare to fight against Ciel

Bah Randidly bellowed throwing his hands up to the sky He probably wouldn’t get much more studying done for now so he stood and headed towards the roof Although it wasn’t effective some physical exertions were just what he needed to get all of the ancillary stuff out of his mind and focus on the task at hand

One goal at a time First Ciel

Why won’t you take it It was the ultimate gift my true strength It should below to you The shade of Aemont ask looking at Shal with crossed arms

Shal kept his eyes closed although in his spirit form it made little difference he could still sense the dreamscape around him Everything twisted and shifted but the face of Aemont stayed constant

For whatever reason the shade had begun speaking more directly to Shal a few days ago and now wouldn’t stop with its incessant chatter Shal was swiftly nearing the end of his patience his flinty temper sparking But in his heart he knew that the peace he found in this world was a fragile thing So it was of the utmost importance

Take it Takeit takeit takeit takeit

Shut the fuck up you dead zombie Shal bellowed leaping to his feet The dreamscape swirled dangerously around him and Shal staggered hit with a sudden wave of exhaustion Even this much was too much Better to just

Hmph why Who dares make me You The face of Aemont said dismissively looking Shal up and down You are far from my match Look at yourself you barely remain awake

You Shal growled forcefully resisting the waving of exhaustion and dizziness Now that he was up though he examined Aemont’s disembodied head It floated there ripples extending out from it to fill the air But as he watched the ripples seemed to shift around the shape of a body for Aemont even though it wasn’t visible

Shal had a lot of very negative views on his father and what he had done but one thing couldn’t be denied Aemont was strong If this was Shal being haunted by some remnant of his Battle Intent it would be very difficult to forcibly suppress it

Looking around Shal frowned He didn’t remember how he had got here and now he cursed himself for lazing about for so long His methods for dealing with this spiritual remnant were limited depending on what was happening around him If this was some sort of elaborate spell Shal needed to be careful If this was some sort of trial of spear intent created by this annoying remnant of Aemont he needed to pass the challenge If this was just a dream thrashing around should dispel it quickly enough But the fact that there seemed to be a mental component that Shal was weak to probably meant it wasn’t just a dream

Boy you still have that dopey look on your face Have your entire life Aemont snorted floating towards him Stop thinking and just do Do you hold in your hands an abacus or a spear

Shal’s temper ignited filling his body with heat You fucking ghost Stop haunting me and disappear

Shal charged forward the spear that had appeared in his hands raised above his head

Randidly breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth looking up from the table towards the window where the sun was rising After a brief series of exercises when Randidly had calmed himself down by thoroughly thrashing the male spear attendant he returned to studying Engraving

Luckily or unluckily it appeared Divveltian had left beginning to search the nearby area more directly for Shal so Randidly didn’t need to decide how much to trust the threat of Lucretia on that front But there was a nagging sense of responsibility in his chest over Shal

In theory giving Lucretia an actual donation of Aether was possible and didn’t have any drawbacks As long as Randidly didn’t establish a connection it was a one time thing that wouldn’t have any lasting consequences Except it enabled Lucretia to advance her agenda here but

That wasn’t exactly something that Randidly was too worried about even though Shal would remain here and Helen and Divveltian and his other spear attendants after Randidly left to return to his home world and Cohort They could handle themselves

Or at least he assumed so although Shal’s current absences

Which brought him back to the issue of what to bargain for It seemed to Randidly what was happening to Shal was something to do with the 3rd gift to Aemont from Lucretia So he should ask for that to cease and also for Shal to be released from her influences There were other details that were fuzzy but Randidly couldn’t pin them down Better to talk to her next time she showed up and try and weasel out more of the truth

Randidly scowled The one part of her that was good at selling was her sudden departure it but him on his back foot But he had worked through it And now for sure

Time to prepare for Ciel Randidly opened his menu and looked at his paths He had gained 9 Lvls in Ash to Ash 4 Lvls in Living Blood 3 in Bacterial Regeneration 5 in Physical Fitness 2 in Phantom’s Embrace Spear Mastery and Combat Proficiency 6 in Anguish 3 in Plantomancy and Meditation 4 in Flexibility and 1 in Grace and Mental Fortitude over the past 3 days In terms of his recent gains it was relatively slow but it was still a steady rise in his combat strength

His use of PP was enough to finish off the Anguish I path which was also a good sign He didn’t plan on using the benefits from it against Ciel unless absolutely necessary but it put him one step closer to being able to stand toe to toe with Drak

Congratulations You have completed the Anguish IPath Through pain you advance Through Struggle you are shaped Although you may appear beaten and bloodied your eyes burn with determination Health Mana and Stamina +50 Willpower/Resistance +5 You have gained the skill Torment Lvl 1

Torment Creates a field around the user where ghosts and spirits that haunts the user will appear based on the user’s subconscious Their power and forms increase and vary with skill level Mana cost decreases with skill level Only the user may see and interact with these spirits

Chapter 257

Was it just him or

Did this skill appear totally useless

Randidly tried to refrain from judging too hastily and used the skill Immediately in the room around him a light mist began to form on the ground Very soon these figures resolved themselves into images of his father who stepped forward out of the mist his face lined and serious

What can you offer me The man said simply looking Randidly up and down his gaze lingering dismissively on his armor Even after all of this time and all of this self improvement ’ you are nothing

Randidly dropped the skill his fist clenched in rage He breathed in slowly through his nose then out through his mouth Although he had addressed a lot of things in that strange purification process in the Trial of Ash he had not rid himself of the long years of hatred and resentment and hurt he had towards his father Besides what Randidly experienced in the trial was at best the ghost of the past It would have no bearing on the present

That father that he connected with in that moment existed no longer This father the one who was disappointed was the one who actually existed

Perhaps there were some uses for this skill after all training his mental state and maybe learning some assistance skills from it but Randidly didn’t want to bother with it right now Instead he entered a meditation state breathing slowly

After an hour of sitting like this his eyes flickered and then opened slowly It was time

Ciel sat in the underground room below the stage trembling slightly Ever since yesterday when she had had a long talk with Claptrap about seizing her potential she couldn’t stop She felt out of control somehow It was a wild ravenous hunger inside of her that wanted her to rip and tear her way to the top But

It threw off her mental focus It was a more wild and desperate desire to win than she was used to Whereas she had previously had a firm determination to make the proposal and then win now she wanted to destroy in kill cutting her way to a more perfect fate

But she was not the pampered daughter for nothing Although she had been powerfully incited by Claptrap and it had carried her to now she breathed calmly and her trembling slowly fell away The heat was pushed back as she focused on the issue at hand A single victory seizing the momentum by proving that she was more than just someone who would birth the next generation of the Steel Feather Style

The referee announced her name and Ciel stood gracefully walked up the staircase her nerves and strange fire from earlier disappearing She shook her head amused Why was she so concerned and fearful This was the spear And in terms of the spear

There was no one who could surpass her in mastery of the Steel Feather Style

Ciel stood and turned as her father cheered loudly from the announcer stand and looked at her opponent Perhaps what had shaken Ciel most of all was how Claptrap had changed so much and attributed it to the man in front of her The Claptrap she had known was sweet and somewhat shy but now he was capable and intelligent swiftly becoming the leading businessman in Deardun

Maybe in the entire Northern Region at this rate

Her opponent stood tall holding a thick and black spear made of heavy obsidian His hair matched the spear falling to his chin His eyes were focused and bright a brilliant emerald that seemed to grab the attention and wouldn’t let it go There was a feeling in the air around him too that made Ciel cautious She was also aware that in addition to being a rather accomplished spear user he was a master of spells and would use the combination of these to throw off her rhythm and strike

This was a daunting prospect but her father had insisted on spending the previous few days going over ways to counteract the mage’s ability to strike They hadn’t thought to discuss it before due to the the nature of the tournament rarely attracting the mage types but even her father admitted that when it came to utility there were few who could match the Ghosthound

But utility wouldn’t win matches he assured her Power and technique would Although she knew that the extra attention was likely due to the proposal bet it was still fun But for Ciel what made her the most upset and the most happy was suddenly how important her father seemed to regard her training her in the break

Happy for finally feeling valued and validated Upset because of how much she relied on him for support and validation Ultimately though none of his actions would matter Only hers were In this moment she could seize her own validation from this match

Ciel smiled

Randidly looked at the woman he would be fighting his blood pumping powerfully through him She certainly was lovely He could understand why Claptrap had gone to such lengths to grasp her attention But what had him the most interest in was her spear

It was long and grey and spread out in a fan of steel feathers on both ends of the shaft He hadn’t really encountered it up to now but he made a mental note that he would also need to watch out for the butt of the spear which would also contain a large destructive power

Are both fighters ready The referee intoned Randidly nodded Ciel did as well still smiling at him

Then begin The referee announced Randidly fell into a fighting stance his eyes narrowing Very quickly he rose onto his toes ready to move but at the last moment he stopped While standing still Randidly simply looked at his opponent

She was also still but raised her spear above her head and began to spin it slowly looking at him with curiosity They remained that way for several seconds sizing each other up Randidly wasn’t sure why he hadn’t attacked There was something about her that set his teeth on edge Some sort of trick or power that made him raise his hackles

If you won’t come I will She said simply her eyes glittering But still Randidly didn’t move watching her closely From him he began to release the oppressive image of the Spear Phantom’s Embrace which colored the nearby air but still he hesitated

Ciel shrugged The Shrike Glides through Low Hanging Clouds

Then she stepped forward and her body was whisked forward moving with an unearthly grace actually appearing as though she simply floated forward But floating was a misleading word because the distance absolutely disappeared as she rushed forward It was just so graceful and smooth that it was difficult not to stop and stare

Clang

The sound of their weapons smashing together quickly brought Randidly back to his highest level of tension because he lost out slightly in power against her Which was honestly quite shocking because at this point he had been confident his Strength had climbed to the level that he could go toe to toe with Bertarn

Still Randidly should have known better That was one of the great dangers of the system you could not tell what stats someone had invested into based on their appearance

After he blocked the first slash of her spear Ciel simply spun away around behind Randidly and lashed out again the blows a grey blur With this vicious attack heading his way Randidly finally acted the image of the Phantom’s Embrace surging forward to surround the area Ciel narrowed her eyes but otherwise didn’t respond

However her face became unsightly as her strike hit nothing but air

As he reappeared behind her Randidly’s eyes glowed emerald A ticking filled the air and his spear slid forward a vicious Phantom Appearing behind him arriving at Ciel back in a split second Randidly’s improvements to his stats and Spear Mastery had greatly improved the utility of the Inevitable Phantom Arrives by lowering its build up time

But Ciel vanished before his very eyes

While Feathers Flash the Shrike Hunts

There was a burning sensation in Randidly’s eyes and he was somewhat stupefied to look down and see a wide gash right below his armpit Immediately long experience with Azriel took over and his will clamped down on it gathering the blood that was spurting to the surface and pressing it back in One of the tricks that Randidly learned was that he didn’t need to control all of the blood just create a film of controlled blood at the edge of his body preventing anymore from bleeding out This way he wouldn’t get the bonus returned health for reabsorbing it but he also wouldn’t lose any health from bleeding

Then Randidly stepped twisting away and just in time because three lighting quick swipes ripped through the air right where he had been

Ciel truly deserved the praise he had received Randidly hadn’t even seen how she had moved to avoid his gaze and strike at his blind spot in that second She was too fast too practiced It was the difference of skill levels Perversely Randidly suddenly realized how sometimes higher stats weren’t’ necessary the best option After all the concept of a change up was very real

The boost in speed she received from her skills was such that Randidly’s eyes which had grown used to Ciel’s earlier movements simply couldn’t follow it He suspected that he could force her to slow down and go to his tempo if he used spells

Which was when Randidly realized why he was feeling so off There were so many open points on Ciel’s back and legs for roots to strike it was suspicious She must know that he also had mage abilities so why would she make no effort to protect herself It was either a very ballsy bluff or a trap of some sort

Plus Randidly was now annoyed that his own Spear Phantom Style had been outmaneuvered in close quarters quickness by the Steel Feather Style Randidly could almost feel Aemont’s Battle Intent shaking its head in disgust If she was holding a card back for when he used a spell she could hold it as long as she wanted But in the meantime he would demonstrate that in terms of speed at least

There were none more fearsome than the Phantom

Their spears clashed several times each time Randidly gave up a little more ground loosening his stance and allowing her strikes to knock him around positioning himself for the next salvo gaining some of the tempo back for himself But Ciel was clever and saw what he was doing She already seemed annoyed that her wound had swiftly seemed to seal itself and now he seemed so casually dealing with her strikes how could she not be annoyed

But she was cool and didn’t strike out in anger Instead she waited a few more strikes then when he let her push him back she switched up her attack immediately twirling and whipping the other end of the spear towards him

Randidly’s eyes narrowed This time they clashed and he used the active of the Golden Roots of Yggdrasil Haste Empower Mana Strengthening and Stalemate Breaker absolutely blazing through his stamina But in the process he totally smashed her attack aside setting her off balance

Her eyes widened in shock Randidly’s grin stretched wide as he stepped forward immediately activating Idiosyncratic Cut The blade teleported half a meter ripping through the air towards her with the tick of a clock Ciel gritted her teeth

While the Feathers Flash the Shrike Hunts

Chapter 258

Again Ciel vanished from his view but this time Randidly was ready His awareness fueled by the Phantom’s Embrace billowed out filling the surround 2 meters Every breath every twitch every muscle every spear Randidly could sense it and control it That was the vicious power of the Spear Phantom’s Embrace That was the monstrous genius of Aemont

As Ciel lashed out aiming for Randidly’s back he twisted away using the short shifting steps of the Spear Phantom’s Footwork to avoid the harm Then he twisted around bringing his spear across in a deadly Sweep aiming for her head

Eyes narrowed she disappeared again activating her skill Randidly shifted in response immediately striking Over and over they twisted and teleported moving around each other in a complicated dance of spearmanship Randidly was unable to figure out exactly how she was moving to make him lose his bearings for a second but he could find her once she returned to strike

Unfortunately this was not a sustainable path for Randidly and he was slowly growing more and more worried about it After all he had taken the initial momentum from Ciel but only when a huge expenditure of Stamina and he was now burning more than he was regenerating fighting with her like this It seemed that she was probably also paying a high cost for her repeated use of her skills but it was hard to know

This time when Randidly’s senses locked back onto Ciel after her disappearance he raised his spear for a powerful overhand strike and then simply kicked her in the side as her eyes rose to follow the weapon

Or at least that’s what he planned but Ciel saw it coming and the butt of her spear swirled around aiming to sever his foot Annoyed at himself for putting him in a situation where he only had one foot on the ground there was a split second of hesitation Immediately afterward Randidly surged into motion It was now clear that he couldn’t avoid the strike but

In that strange moment of hesitation Randidly felt something A powerful stirring within the skill of the Phantom’s Embrace Aether began to swirl through his body filling his whole body with a tingling strength

Ciel’s attack ripped downwards slicing into his flesh And immediately Randidly felt a strange momentum fill him Just as the blade cut him he found the power to spin away faster and more successfully than before throwing his unbalanced body into motion

His spear cut sideways at such a speed that even he couldn’t believe it It was so fast that Ciel didn’t have time to activate her skill but instead just hastily raised her spear and she was smashed backwards by the force of his strike sending her sprawling

At the same time Randidly’s chest was heaving the consumption of Stamina by utilizing the Phantom’s Embrace like that was enormous So he stood simply staring down at her as his monstrous regeneration began to kick in rapidly restoring his strength A small trickle of blood ran down his leg over his bare foot and finally settling on the stage

But even though he was tired Ciel appeared even more shaken From the ground she stared at him for a split second the scrambled to her feet

Your speed Ciel muttered The words hung in the air between them as Ciel searched Randidly’s expression for some answer He simply stood there his face impassive The only reason he allowed this brief break was because he firmly believed that her recovery was worse than his own Honestly if someone had as many support skills boosting them as Randidly did along with a class they would be unstoppable

Attack Ciel He’s just stalling for time Aethon Thai called pounding his fist on the table Randidly spared him a glance annoyed It seemed that the man had definitely chosen a favorite and although Randidly expected as much it was still strange that he would intervene so directly

Perhaps she would doubt his words

Randidly turned back to Ciel who had adopted a fighting stance and began to float over towards him He sighed That would be too good of luck huh But the 20 seconds he had given himself was better than nothing and had allowed him to return to even breathing

Her advance was if anything more imposing the second time around and this time she just ripped past him lashing out quickly before rushing around behind him and attacking at his back seeming to skate in a huge loop around him

Randidly grimaced This did lower the unpredictability of her strikes but vastly increased their power She continued to accelerate to the point that Randidly burst out laughing this style of fighting he knew it and he knew someone who had done it a lot better

Taking another gamble based solely on Ciel’s high strength after Randidly blocked her strike he simply threw his body into her path smashing into her without any real intent to attack They fell down in a tangle of limbs and Randidly having initiated the contact spun around first throwing Ciel’s body away

She skidded on the ground then jumped up gasping and wincing Randidly grinned Yes she hadn’t invested as much into Endurance and Vitality as he had But this was still another way just to throw her off Again Randidly was tempted to use spells but he still sensed some further power in the Phantom’s Embrace that he touched upon and decided to refrain

Instead when he stepped towards Ciel the image for the Phantom’s Embrace filled the air a thick cloying helplessness A powerful isolation from the rest of the world and your senses As the image approached Ciel her eyes remained bright and she stepped forward into it without a hint of fear

Her spear lashed out aiming for Randidly’s throat Again he made no move to dodge Inwardly his instincts screamed but there was something else here Something deeper Aether surged once more rotating very quickly through his system His eyes were ice cold his heart burning hot The world inside of him seemed to thrum and vibrate

Strangely a line at the end of the passage about Spear Phantom’s Embrace from the diary floated to the surface So long and sure is the reach of the Phantom that he dances safely in the shadow of the enemy’s weapon

Randidly’s eyes narrowed Just as the strike was about to rip out his throat Randidly moved riding the very momentum that Ciel struck with using it to fuel his speed past his physical limits blurring and twisting jaggedly dodging and smashing with his spear like a hammer barely able to control the borrowed power

True to her training Ciel responded and finally her eyes blazed with a final surety that Randidly recognized now was the time she gave up on waiting and unleashed

The Shrike Cries over a Barren Land

Ciel’s arms blurred and she twisted her spear 360 degrees at a speed Randidly couldn’t even understand From that movement a wave of force blasted outwards Immediately his grip tightened on the spear but there too seemed to be a whispering in the powerful wave that Ciel had created a whispering of Phantoms

So even with his body bursting at the seams with barely controlled powerful from the previously stolen momentum Randidly stepped forward arriving before the wave of force Then he hopped and the blast launched him upwards so quickly the world seemed to blur

When he finally could see again he appeared to be about 5 meters in the air reaching the apex of the leap Randidly released a breath then began to fall

Aethon Thai’s eyes narrowed as he watched his daughter struggle against this scion of the Spear Phantom Especially when he started using that absolutely abhorrent move that Aemont became famous for the Spear Phantom’s Embrace It was partly through driving the body to the edge of danger and having the instincts kick in there and half borrowing the force of momentum but it made use of both to propel one through the absolutely masterful footwork and strike back

Luckily the boy seemed rather inexperienced at controlling it and was only able to lash out wildly But still the power he could utilize was real

Aethon knew too why Ciel would choose to use her most powerful skill then that she had originally planned to use to neutralize the Ghosthound’s spells She didn’t understand what was happening what skills he was using From her perspective he simply increased the speed at which he was moving while increasing his power which was suitably intimidating To seize control of the match Ciel had struck

But in Aethon’s eyes the truth was so much more fearsome

The boy even borrowed the force of her area spell to leap up in the air where he was now hanging rapidly speeding back down towards the ground Ciel looked around wildly shocked that her opponent had disappeared before a whistling in the air drew her gaze upwards towards the descending figure

There was nothing that Aethon could do to warn his daughter Already he had lost his temper and intervened but now as the level of their demonstrated skills increased he dare not say anything even if his daughter had made the foolish pronouncement about marriage They were reaching the stage where they were transforming showing off the spear user that they would become

The Ghosthound was cashing in on the fearsome pedigree and potential he had growing used to the almost cheating technique of Aemont As for his daughter She needed to find what sort of Shrike she would be through this clash

With a huge crash the Ghosthound returned to ground shattering the stage throwing up a cloud of dust Without the slightest hesitation Ciel ran forward spear raised slashing left and right

Chapter 259

Randidly winced slightly sore from smashing into the ground Immediately warm thick threads of energy from the ground traveled up through his bare feet into him but he definitely took some damage from it that would not recover quickly But he righted his stance as best as he could and raised his spear facing Ciel

Randidly wanted to capitalize on the momentum he could see had taken based on the shocked look in Ciel’s eyes but his muscles were continually spasming and twitching It was a small thing that wouldn’t affect his overall movement but it would make a centimeter of difference So despite his desire to seize the momentum Randidly stood still pressing with his will to absorb that strength from the ground helping him recover At the same time Randidly activated Meditation drawing every bit of value he could from the moments of pause

Ciel seemed to slowly find herself and to Randidly’s surprise she didn’t seem upset any longer but oddly excited

Ahaha Ahahah Yea this is why you are an opponent worth beating This is why when I beat you with my own strength Then she trailed off for several seconds then leapt towards Randidly her body once more gliding smoothly over the ground It was a much slower approach compared to her previous ones but if anything that filled Randidly with even more caution

Her previous attacks were arrogant and curt almost dismissive But now Ciel floated over with bright eyes and a small smile and all he could feel from her is the pure joy that came from a difficult battle From an opponent worth giving your all to defeat

Which in a way only made his own desire to fight rise higher curling his own mouth in a smile But Randidly was patient as she floated inexorably towards him he sucked more and more Mana and Stamina into his body There were some definite side effects of using the Phantom’s Embrace in that way

What was most surprising was that the side effects were due to his body being unable to withstand the physical trauma of borrowing the opponent’s force like that Perhaps the efficiency that he would do it would improve as time went on but it was a disturbing state of affairs that his physical prowess ended up being insufficient

When the Wings Beat Feathers Dance

Randidly’s eyes abruptly narrowed as Ciel abruptly increased in speed and her double sided spear flicking out In that split second Randidly opted to meet her directly his own larger spear smashing outward Empowered aiming to cancel out some of her force As the spears crashed against each other Randidly immediately felt a twinge of regret It had been too heady being out of the prison fighting against those at or below his stat level he had grown slightly complacent

Randidly’s joints ached as he forcefully absorbed the strength from her overpowering blows getting knocked somewhat back on his heels Then Randidly stepped forward moving in the space between her strikes his eyes beginning to glow emerald A low mist appeared on the ground a slight distant ticking could be heard

Immediately Ciel hesitated her eyes narrowing The strength of this move of hers seemed to be a peculiar cadence and rhythm of strikes making use of the double sided nature of her spear But now she hesitated as it seemed Randidly was going to use the Phantom’s Embrace So she interrupted her previous move and raised her spear

The spear twisted around so quickly Randidly had to rely on just his instincts Immediately he dropped the feint of the Phantom’s Embrace a sly smile on his face The power of it was real but so was the strain and he wasn’t yet sure he could beat her with just this But it would be a good start

Randidly poured most of the rest of his mana into throwing up Wall of Thorns and Spear Roots between him and the force creating a thick dense mesh of plant matter It was a rather messy job but he only had a split second to manage it so it would have to do

Another thing the barricade had going for it was that there was some suppleness to it it couldn’t simply be cracked by the strange overpowering force form Ciel It would first bend absorbing some of the power before it would be obliterated

At least that was the theory

Randidly braced himself stabbing his spear into the ground

In a way it did work the benefit was just so marginal that it was swiftly swallowed by the blast of force Then that wave of force filled with root bits and thorns smashed into Randidly causing him to wince The force immediately knocked the wind out of him and threw him backwards his arms holding onto the spear stretched to the limits

Although the feedback from Phantom’s Embrace was bad this was almost

Randidly froze abruptly aghast The crack came from his spear And sure enough as he glanced quickly at the spear as he removed it from the ground the obsidian had dozens of spider lace thin cracks running around the upper part of the shaft right above the portion that thad been sunk into the ground

But then Randidly moved his eyes forward because it seemed serviceable at least for now And Ciel looked slightly haggard seemingly drained from her previous move open

Randidly’s grin stretched wide as he rushed forward raising the cracked spear He couldn’t breathe and it felt like most parts of his body were bruised but that was all to give Randidly this moment Fights were not easy They were simple but hard which was very very different

And that was why they were worth giving your all to and worth winning

But Ciel’s face simply tightened as if she were prepared for this eventuality Her hands which were still holding the spear aloft after her previous wave of force twisted repositioning herself but Randidly was moving forward with Haste Empower and Mana Strengthening so she had no hope of bringing her spear around for any sort of defensive posture She would have to

Again the spear twirled around so quickly that it was impossible to follow with the human eye and once more a wave of force ripped outwards Randidly’s pupils dilated He was rushing full tilt towards Ciel already and most of his mana was gone Even if he had the mind to do his previous barricade again he might not have time he might not have mana and he might not do it as well this time because he had been taken by surprise

There simply wasn’t enough time to do anything eloquent or reasoned So Randidly went with his gut on this one and did the one thing he truly knew how to do advance

The only motion he could manage is straightening his spear into a horizontal position pointing the large obsidian tip forward But before he activated his skill Randidly closed his eyes and felt the Aether within him flow that icy boiling steam ripping through his veins

One thing he noticed from watching Ciel repeat this move twice was the acceleration of the spear spin was instantaneous One moment it was still the next it was full motion There was a power in that a power that was somewhat similar to his own Idiosyncratic Cut

The second Randidly existed in was bisected again and then again and again until he had an infinite number of extremely tiny bits of time for his thoughts to flit back and forth examining this image

But hers did not manipulate time directly like Randidly’s did Instead it seemed her sheer power overwhelmed time warping it as it activated A sudden blast of force so strong that the bounds of time were rattled just for a few seconds Chains loosened although not cheated or broken

Power Randidly had gained especially in terms of image and will over the last several weeks What he hadn’t had was a focus to apply that power to Now Randidly could see its shape A way to rip through space and time with tyrannical power To dominate reality to purely rip through it

At Randidly’s core a strange heat began to emerge burning hotter and hotter a swirling small drop of black tar that existed in his marrow now vibrating with excitement It spread and grew his bones beginning to ache as their internal temperature rose But with all the other aches and pains that were assailing his body it was just another blip that was drown out by the feedback from his overworked nerves

His pupils glowed orange while the emerald in his eyes intensified even further becoming lantern bright His eyelids snapped open and he found himself face to face with a wall of air that was distorted with force

All he needed was a spark An ignition

Chapter 260

Ciel bit her lip doing her best to maintain her posture after she forced herself to use The Shrike Cries over a Barren Land twice in a row The burden on her body was extraordinary More so than she had anticipated Originally she had assumed she would still have some strength remaining enough to counter Randidly when he would use his strange Phantom’s Embrace skill to avoid her strikes

But now she would be lucky if she could stand afterwards

It was due to the short time in between uses There was an exponential increase in toll on her body Which was predictable but in the heat of the moment still nothing she could do now

The air around her changed abruptly So quickly it sent a shiver down her spine The grown became grey and cracked their air sulfuric and dry Ciel abruptly found herself on a barren wasteland but not the one she was always told to imagine while using the skill That was a barren flatlands type of desert with a waving mirage in the distance

This this was a dead world of fire choked with ash And in front of her

Randidly stood in front of a volcano his spear pointing at her his eyes this strange mix of emerald and orange

Suddenly he exploded forward filled with momentum the volcano erupting spewing death and heat and more ash filling the sky It was swirling and all encompassing swimming around towards her and Ciel felt very very afraid

But at the same time she felt excitement Because although there was a small voice in the back of her head that whispered she could overcome this if she would only just reach out and take the power offered to her Ciel had no intention of doing so

I want to win Ciel whispered her voice drowned out by the vicious explosion of ash and lava But I want to win on my own Not as a puppet to some other power