LoRG 1

Still information from the front lines were hard because it was on the other side of the Skeleton Knight’s forces Who knew what the state of things actually was

After the drill was over Simon barely managing to keep up with his other pledgees Simon collapsed in a heap For a moment he considered using his Astral form on break again but Simon hesitated For the past several days Simon had wanted to talk to the Ghosthound

He understood why the older man had hid his identity It was just

Simon rolled over and stood up annoyed It was just that he had felt

Toto walked over and nudged Simon softly distracting him from an extended teeth grinding session Simon sighed throwing his hands up in the air His emotions were a mess constantly sliding between tired and annoyed and a deep sense of betrayal

Every time he used his Astral form and watched the Ghosthound his urge to visit him had faded So now if he wanted to settle this

Simon’s stomach gurgled unhappily He would wait and this evening go and see the other man And get his answers Or something Rubbing his head furiously unable to make heads or tails of his emotions Simon angrily sat down determined to relax and rest

20 minutes later he got up huffing and stiff returning to the practice under Anthony

The whole evening passed in a blur of dissatisfaction until he stomped out of the final practice of the night his body sore and bruised and whisked his way over to Thea’s tent It seemed that the look in his eyes was enough because the usually brusque Thea just nodded and followed along behind him

The area that the Ghosthound was staying at was well known It was the spot that there had previously been the small field for growing the magical fruits Some animals used to hang around the area sniffing for bits that people had missed but the area had already been picked clean Now too everyone was scared away from the deep cavernous hole in the earth and the deep troughs carved into the ground by the flailing of the Raid Boss the Ghosthound used for a mount

So it was silent and dark as they walked towards the Ghosthound’s hut No one even knew what he had been up to in the last several days staying in the small shack of woven roots he had created for himself Rumor had it that some of Donnyton’s special forces showed up to report to him because strange figures were seen moving back and forth around the hut but no one was willing to move close enough to investigate

There was even a thickness in the air that Simon felt as they walked with Chrysanthemum and Toto towards the house For their part the animals seemed supremely unconcerned growling back and forth to each other It was cheery in a way but it also meant that the only noise on their trip was animal growls

When they arrived at the small fire next to the hut the Ghosthound was standing outside of it a tall rack filled with spears that appeared to be made of roots He held one in his hands staring intently at it drawing a pen across its surface At his feet there were several spears some of which were covered in glowing runes others which were broken and burnt seeming

As they approached the Ghosthound didn’t look up which Simon at first thought meant that he was so lost in his work that he couldn’t hear them but then as they approached and he still didn’t move Simon realized with a slight chill that it wasn’t that he didn’t know he was there but that he realized they were there far far before they noticed his location

His Perception just how high was it 100

Finally with a hiss the root spear in his hands cracked the middle disappearing before Simon’s very eyes There were strange blue flames that ignited from the remnants licking at the Ghosthound’s hand But he just huffed in annoyance and shook his hands the flames slowly dissipating

Then he turned to regard them his eyes strangely bright and green in the darkness His gaze was intense and curious but overall weary Simon tensed up mirroring the Ghosthound’s stance but without any of his confidence

This why was it like this

So you were Randidly Ghosthound the whole time Thea said breaking the awkward silence Simon just stood there clenching and unclenching his hands He had wanted to say that but more but more something Just a certainty that he held in his heart that he wanted to include in the question but his mouth

His tongue flopped back and forth like an awkward slug

The Ghosthound nodded slowly and as he did so his giant bone wurm appeared sliding across the ground like it was grease The wurm flailed trying to stop itself but then it just began to roll forward carried by its momentum towards the house With a sigh the Ghosthound stepped forward stopping the wurm with a dull bang

Even that casual action Simon squinted his eyes together

The wurm righted itself Thank fast is hard

Shaking his head the Ghosthound said It’s thank you But at least you are making progress

The wurm nodded happily as the Ghosthound turned to Thea and Simon Yes I am the Ghosthound I guess you’ve heard of me

If anything his hesitation only served to make the ball of emotions in Simon’s chest more tight Almost unable to control himself Simon took a step forward and said But why

The Ghosthound tilted his head to the side and Simon continued as if a balloon in his chest popped Why lie Why hide it Was it because you were injured in a strange place Was it because of my age My skills Did you just not connect with me I thought we spent all that time together just trying to get you better

Trailing off Simon couldn’t find the words to continue Every single trick that the fake person David had taught him every edible plant and way to start a fire Every way of tracking monsters every gesture and mannerism that Simon had only been happy to adopt finally learning from another man he admired it was fake

What was worse was that it wasn’t a betrayal really After all the true person under the mask was the Ghosthound probably the most powerful person in all of their Zone So he couldn’t be angry that he had imitated him But it felt dirty

Was this really the way the people at the top behaved Was this just the way the world was

In a corner of his mind Simon knew he was being melodramatic but after those weeks together after being finally convinced to leave his spring where he was safe after forsaking a powerful sounding Class at his direction

Wasn’t Simon owed some honesty

The Ghosthound scratched his neck His lips were pursed not in annoyance but rather as if he was weighing two options Finally after several long seconds he said It was because I was afraid I’m strong but my enemies are stronger

After a moment of stillness the Ghosthound moved and now that Simon was aware of it he could see in the strange unnatural smoothness of his movements that this man was not truly human not all the way He had improved himself becoming more than that Very quickly the Ghosthound returned holding a small object

His eyes were bright and sad as he looked at Simon then he offered Simon a glove An apology For all the trouble I’ve caused you and the fact I lied

Simon just felt everything drain away leaving a wariness Because he felt something more difficult to bear in a completely different way the Ghosthound was running from something some powerful enemy something worse far worse than a Tier III Raid Boss

M r Ghosthound Thea began but the Ghosthound interrupted her

Call me Randidly Or even David if you’d prefer

Alright Randidly Thea said her voice high and nervous I just want to know what kind of enemies do you have to run from

Chapter 327

As they rode towards the boundary of the Refuge Randidly twisted around and gave the woman sitting behind him a stern look

Stay on your best behavior Randidly said hating how much he sounded like his own father I’m not going to watch your every move But if something were to happen

The girl nodded her close cropped curly chestnut hair bouncing with the motion I know I know but some of the riders they are so stuffy I’d rather be like this out under the sky Besides until my companion is grown I’m stuck with walking most of the time And I’ve never ridden a giant wurm before

Me never ridden a wurm Neveah interjected apparently aghast at this oversight on her part Will soon

Randidly rolled his eyes trying not to pay attention to the fact that Ten’Malla the Wild Rider probably the most wanted person in the entire Zone was nonchalantly riding behind him on Neveah’s back

Three days after Simon and Thea came over and Randidly had done his best to apologize and assuage their woes Randidly felt prepared to leave and that Neveah was able to handle herself and asked for a guide to take him to the Refuge

To his surprise both Simon and Thea volunteered Although they didn’t speak much to him about the lie or what he had said generally about the Creature they appeared to not mind being around him

Which was good

Randidly sighed He hated the interpersonal drama Plus the Wild Rider didn’t really feel the need to tell Thea and Simon of her identity so at first they were just giving Randidly weird looks He was rather morose about the issue

First Jemma and now this random teenage girl Ten Did the great Randidly Ghosthound have a thing for teenage girls

Randidly buried his head in his hands for most of the first half of the trip to the Refuge

The goal of the trip was rather simple for Randidly Obtain equipment Of secondary important he wanted to ask around for Sydney and Ace Based on what he knew from his visions Sydney was likely nearby to the Skeleton Knight Based on that East End Village seemed the more likely location Still better to ask while he was in a rather peaceful situation

Of course asking about Ace and Sydney made Randidly come to the rather strange realization that there were probably people out there perhaps people he had class with before the System arrived that heard his name in the Zone and remembered the old him It was somehow the most terrifying and embarrassing thing that Randidly had realized since everything had happened

Other people probably thought that his name was made up that no one would ever destroy their child’s future prospects like that but the people that knew Randidly would shake their heads and tell their compatriots that no that really was his name It was the mark of having grown up with Randidly that they knew that He could picture it now happening in some washed up bar that survived the System

Randidly continued to hold his head for basically the entirety of the ride

Other than that Thea had also received a mission from the riders around the Wild Rider to trade for certain supplies If nothing else the pelts that the riders possessed were of high enough value to persuade the apparently standoffish Refuge to deal with them Simon accompanied them as a reconnaissance type rider joining the three person convoy

Everyone was surprised when the Wild Rider showed up without her Regalia

Randidly straightened looking around His senses were sharp enough that he could basically feel the forest around him perfectly for about 20 meters but it was still better sometimes to use your eyes

Not that there were any real threats Neveah happily ran over or devoured any monsters that were unlucky enough to encounter their group

Won’t they be upset when they notice you are gone Randidly said trying again

The Wild Rider waved her hand airily I took care of it

Sighing Randidly settled back into the ride But it was only 5 minutes later that Thea motioned for the group to slow down It’s right up ahead welcome to the Refuge

Ahead of them the forest cleared out and then the small hill that took its place was abruptly stopped by a sheer wall of rock stretching upwards about 80 feet Above them Randidly could clearly pick out buildings towers and people looking down at the approaching group It seemed that the Refuge was a natural fortress sitting up above the surrounding area giving a natural view in every direction

Undoubtedly it made surviving the monster horde for the first week very simple That in turn could very easily lead to the group becoming rather insular and the type that preferred to isolate themselves from the world hiding away rather than training

As it turned out the first part of that was true but the second

Was completely wrong This was a primal place of public brawls and rather barbaric and violent ritual And it was all held together by the force of will and power of its Village Founder Dauntless

Well let’s go say hi Ten’Malla said cheerily

Rose Callaway made a small notation in her notebook and looked up her eyes skeptical Brute stood at her elbow his arms folded the overt threat where Rose was the silent one At first Rose had been against bringing the towering bronze skinned wall of muscle that was Brute around with her to meet with other powers but Dauntless insisted

Having a mute bodyguard was one of the prototypical signs that you were a supervillain Dauntless insisted It made Rose want to tear her hair out

Still it made situations like this much more simple

There were 10 men arrayed in the room around her They were not natives to the Refuge most of them instead having obtained a Class at Star Crossing or the East End One was even Classless They had come to the Refuge to trade with their small wares to sell as well as they could Some were farmers others were tailors others were miners

Honestly Rose wished she could recruit them to her side and have them become a permanent part of the Refuge’s force In fact if it were up to her they would have been allowed into the city without issue They had however been unable to pass the test

These were not strong individuals

Our rules are there for a reason Win against a one star warrior and you can enter this city Rose said slowly The outer slums are here for you to stay in the meantime You may freely set up stalls and sell there with no issue

Then very deliberately Rose turned to Brute Even she didn’t know his name not really but the man had come hand picked by Dauntless Plus he was definitely smart Instinctively when Rose was playing a role Brute could sense it and played his part perfectly with just the right mixture of force and finesse It was honestly disturbing to Rose

Although she was confident in her own strength there was something unfathomable about the way that he followed her so closely Was there a skill there

But of course there wasn’t or her skill would have instantly noticed it

Are our rules not clear Brute did nothing and Rose turned back to the assembled men allowing the silence to sit there for a while Then she said So why did you have the gall to demand on audience

A tall burly man crossed his arms You are the one who found it necessary to meet with us Our points are valid

Rose made a note An Intimidation skill Interesting but not unique

Another slimy looking fellow interjected Look we don’t want to be unreasonable We just think that you need to be understanding of our position We are merchants The rules

Another note A Persuasion skill but a low tier one of the dozen or so Rose had seen Nothing to really worry about

Letting the men talk Rose’s eyes moved to the figure sitting in the leftmost position in front of her He was short average looking face brown hair The figure seemed profoundly disinterest in what was happening around him but Rose’s very sharp senses instantly keyed on him the minute he walked in the door This was the man that gave these small fish their confidence

Rose did have to admit that Dauntless was an asshole and was not able to run a city but he could deal with problems effectively sometimes a hammer was the best way to eliminate a problem

Brute perhaps you could remind these people why they are not allowed in the city Start with this man on the left

Brute stepped forward the man looked up his innocuous eyes narrowing at the implied threat There was a knock at the door Brute turned and looked at Rose Rose rolled her eyes and shooed him urging him on then stood walking over towards the door Her heels clacked on the ground barely covering up the sound of grunts and impacts

Due to habit Rose removed a small piece of paper and made several notes High level martial art skill and strength boosting skill that would be Brute A healing skill That would be the brown haired man So he was a mage

Rose’s eyes widened as she noted down a kinetic energy manipulation skill She even noted it down as a C grade skill Interesting was that where all his confidence came from

Unfortunately

By the time Rose reached the door there was only silence behind her She opened the door A two star warrior nodded to her glanced at the room behind her lost interest and then said A group wants to come into the city They are Rider people Two of them are unwilling to take the test without their mounts Another has volunteered to stand in their place But no one over 3 star is on duty

Rose nodded and turned to Brute speculatively It would be somewhat rude but well they could attempt again after they recovered from their injuries What was most annoying about the situation was that Rose’s own callous reaction meant that Dauntless was rubbing off on her Annoying that

Rose turned back to the individuals in the room who were still conscious Gentlemen I hope this emphasizes our attitude on the matter The test is everything to us Don’t waste my time again Brute Let’s go see the sights

Chapter 328

Rose was at least pleased that the group had at least waited until she Brute and the two star guard returned not making any trouble That either showed they were weak and were intimidated or that they knew something about the Refuge

After all it wasn’t difficult to fight the people who guarded the edges of the city But once you got into the city proper even Rose would be hard pressed to keep herself safe if she had to force her way into the Refuge Which of course was a direct result of her actions in building up the fortifications in the city not that anyone would thank her for it

The group was small but Rose’s eyebrows rose as she looked at their mounts There was a bear an ox and most intimidatingly a giant bone wurm which seemed to be looking around curiously That thing was truly a monster

Although Rose understood intellectually that the riders could basically tame any monster that acknowledged them in practice they were usually pretty normal animals This monster however

There were four people a skinny young black girl a chubby and nervous boy another young girl wrapped in thick furs and finally a 20 something young man with long black hair to his shoulders As Rose and Brute approached the man looked up slowly his eyes flashing emerald The look in those eyes was placid almost curious but firm

It would be the latter option then these people understood the Refuge and they were willing to wait and take the test They had confidence in their strength Rose almost felt bad that she had brought out Brute to crush them

Generally Rose wouldn’t be contacted with handling this sort of issue It was far far below her station and even a bit below the work that most of the warriors thought she did But this was a two star guard she knew well enough and he preferred to approach her rather than returning to the city proper and recruiting a four star warrior off the street trying to drag them away from whatever they were up to

Without the threat of violence most of the warriors above 3 stars refused to wipe their own ass

Rose produced a notebook and held it at the ready Hopefully she at least got some new skills out of this group Welcome travelers to the Refuge I assume you understand the rules

She glanced at some of the nearby two star guards They nodded The boy and the little girl will not be tested The furred one passed her test At the end of the short report the guard made a hand gesture one that indicated he suspected her to have the strength of a 3 star warrior

Interesting If a four star warrior had really been fetched their leader might have a pretty good shot at winning if he was stronger than that girl But unfortunately

Monologue Dauntless’ annoying voice reminded her

How brave As you are shouldering the responsibility of two others the requirements for entry grow The first is one extra star the second two As such you need to have the strength of a 4 star warrior to walk with them under your protection Rose smiled at the man who continued to regard her impassively Its for your own benefit you know Violence is not prevented in the Refuge If you don’t have at least that much strength you will not be able to protect them

Still no response and no notes No scanning skills perhaps

Rose continued to speak The challenge thus is to defeat a 4 star or greater warrior Unfortunately due to personnel concerns no 4 star warriors are available You may either wait perhaps for 6 hours when the next shift ends or if you agree fight against Brute here who is above a four star warrior

Brute stepped forward After giving Brute a glance the man nodded and flourished his hand producing a spear Rose’s eyes focused instantly her hands frozen She had felt at least 4 skills there flickering not even really activating with that motion So it wasn’t the production but just the physical movement that was the skills she sensed That meant he had an interspatial ring

But the quick flash of skills wasn’t enough for her to catch so they faded away Her hand relaxed Still it was annoying More knowledge would help

Not that it really mattered The one thing that Brute did not fear was physical fighters

Well then feel free to begin Rose announced excited to watch the fight The spear in the man’s hand was weird seeming to be made of some sort of woven wood but that wasn’t enough to give her pause

In an eerily similar fashion the two men walked calmly towards each other When they were only a meter apart both blurred

There was a strange noise of a ticking

Rose’s hand sprung into motion Then it spasmed as her skill wanted her to write almost 15 skills at once as both men activated them Very quickly she sorted out Brute’s skills doing her best to dig through the other man’s

There was a Physical Fitness skill and what looked like Empower and Haste In addition

Again Rose froze even as her hand continued to write What Her skill gave this man’s skill an A rating Aside from Dauntless this was the first time

As the two stopped using skills her skill stopped pestering her halfway through her note Very slowly Rose looked up Brute stood very still the point of the other man’s spear at his throat

The spear was lowered The two men shook hands The black haired man looked questioningly at Rose who could only nod weakly swallowing Welcome to the Refuge

After the other group had left and Rose had calmed her breathing she walked up to Brute who stood extremely still remaining in the same spot from which he had surrendered As she approached Rose opened her mouth to speak but saw a small crimson bead on his neck and instead just looked on slack jawed

Brute remained there with his eyes closed as Rose struggled to run through possibilities

With the sheer volume of skills that the other man had activated it had been too difficult to pick apart exactly what happened But even still Brute should have no trouble winning he had an almost unstoppable trifecta of skills

Brute’s most dominant skill was the ability to stop the momentum of any attacks on him in a certain area The Stamina cost was so prohibitive that it could be used only a few times in a fight from full Stamina and if burned constantly about two full seconds but the battle had been about that amount of time There was no way he should have lost

In addition Brute had a short range teleportation skill and an absolutely fearsome ability to absorb Stamina from any person he laid his hands on With these skills combined he could fuel his momentum control Skills almost indefinitely or until the opponent ran out of Stamina Combined with a life before the System filled with martial arts training trying to imagine the way for a close combat specialist to overcome Brute was a bit

More than anything Rose was filled with annoyance and a small speck of fear Because her abilities which she had trusted to feed her the weaknesses of an opponent had turned up nothing Was the other obscuring her somehow That amount of passive skills though what Class

Brute opened his eyes his expression placid

Rose frowned Your ranking should be about an 8 star warrior Aside from Dauntless and myself there aren’t more than 3 people stronger than you here Yet you lost

Turning Brute’s gaze followed the direction the group had left Still he said nothing

Rose lowered her voice How were you injured so quickly I felt you activating your skill

I can only steal the momentum away from my opponents Brute said slowly closing his eyes There is nothing I can do about my own momentum He gave me no choice but to impale myself on his spear to avoid his other attacks

Rose’s eyebrows rose Then she opened her mouth again but closed it annoyed Perhaps this had just rattled her because it was the first time in a long time that her skill had been useless Truly it was unexpected Even the Raid Bosses that they found didn’t trouble her like this They could be seen through

But Rose didn’t want to give up If she had another shot

If Dauntless returns Brute said slowly he will be crushed That man is the most monstrous thing I have seen since the System arrived If Dauntless returns they must be kept apart

He’s already back Rose whispered feeling unwilling but oddly fearful Even in the face of overwhelming odds Dauntless would not back off like Brute would He would throw himself closer to the fire unwilling to cede his stance as the strongest It was reported while we walked over He’s just wandering throughout the city

Instantly that little bit of shock that remained fell away and Rose Calloway once more felt her mind begin to whir Although there was a strong opponent that person was not necessarily an enemy And if possible it would be best to keep it that way But if it ended up going the other direction

Rose would dismantle the foe that stood in Dauntless’ way Like she did every time

Chapter 329

The group stopped as a huge hulking man who must be 7 feet tall lumbered past them giving them a sideways glare Randidly tried his best not to yawn A large body like that might be more of a liability than anything else now that the System arrived even if it was intimidating After all ability lay in skills and stats Perhaps there was some small amount of bonus from size in terms of reach but

Then again Randidly’s own Soul Skill increased his size so maybe it was for the best to not be too harsh on body size problems Not that it was really noticeable It was at about 3% 4% right now Randidly supposed he felt a little bit larger but

Where are we going Ten’Malla asked with a bright expression Randidly could only shrug and look at Thea and Simon Simon seemed similarly unsure and quite uncomfortable when Randidly gazed at him so Randidly moved his look to Thea who was glancing around

The people around them all walked with a purpose talking to each other casually exchanging a few greetings but generally walking in every direction moving quickly Basically there were no hints from their movements about which direction was an area where people would gather

Honestly Randidly was just more enjoying the novel feeling of standing on concrete again While most of the buildings around here were slightly worn or damaged by monsters it still was an area of a pre System neighborhood There were small shops with apartment buildings over them and even the remnants of stand alone fast food chains This town had largely survived although it looked like everything here had been repurposed into housing

It’s that way I think Thea said her voice light Ten’Malla instantly began striding that way with a grin looking around at the buildings curiously

Ah of course The Wild Rider wasn’t from Earth so this would be rather new for her Shaking his head Randidly followed very aware that Simon waited a few seconds before following Neveah rolled along happily leaving a trail of rock and stone in her wake

Inwardly Randidly cursed himself bringing his mount here might have been a slightly thoughtless action She was just so large even when she stayed on the ground In fact perhaps the real reason that no one was paying attention to them was that they were traveling around with a huge bone wurm which took up half of the street

Luckily it seemed like Thea’s instincts were still on point because the group walked up to what used to be a large baseball/softball sports complex with overgrown fields and half destroyed scoreboards dotting the large area But people here had repurposed it turning the area into a large open air market and arena

There were loud cheers from the East side where a crowd of people seemed to be watching something Stalls were everywhere and right up front was a huge bar Nothing compared to the sort of setup Claptrap had by the end as there were only 4 beers or so but it was still pretty impressive that they managed to have any after the arrival of the System Randidly wondered how good it was The beer in Shal’s world had been oddly bitter and not to his taste but perhaps this

Speaking of Randidly felt abruptly guilty for not trying to contact any of the people from Shal’s world Belatedly he brought up his friends screen and searched for them Helen would be furious so not her Shal would also be dismissive perhaps Divvet

Abruptly Randidly saw it again Divvet falling to the ground blood on his neck Marco Polo standing there his eyes focused unwaveringly on Randidly How had he been there Why did was Divvet dead

Instantly the tenor of Randidly’s search changed and he found Divvet’s name It was grey and nothing happened when he clicked on it His interest becoming more desperate and pointed Randidly decided to screw his earlier plan and moved to Shal’s name But it too was unable to be clicked although there was a small notification this time

Warning the recipient’s world is currently transitioning in the System As such communication will be unavailable until this event is resolved

Randidly’s frown was sharp Just a coincidence or was this somehow related to everything But there simply wasn’t enough information available to him Perhaps Lucretia would know but again sealing her seemed like the more intelligent course of action especially for now Always best to increase his own strength further

Something wrong It seems like you are on another planet right now Randidly Ten’Malla’s face was inches from his own her dark eyes curious Randidly jerked backwards shocked How had she

But he supposed it shouldn’t be too surprising that she had some skills hidden away He hadn’t seen the Champions in action but they were definitely not someone to underestimate with the full force of the System sitting behind them

I’m fine Randidly said pointing to a stall as he calmed down They probably have what I need there let’s go

There were two reasons that Randidly wanted to finish this quickly One was to return to training and the other was to get Neveah out of here It was adorable in a way but only for him to watch her curiously looking around with a smile on her face at the surrounding people

Of course they only saw a huge wurm of bone and twisted muscle fully one and a half meters thick looking at them with its mouth open revealing row upon row of teeth They were swiftly turning into something of an attraction and not in a good way

Still Randidly reflected better here than other places The Refuge definitely was a place where the most revered trait was strength because rather than withdraw people were drawing closer Still giving the wurm a few meters of birth but they clustered outside that zone their eyes on Randidly and their group glittering with calculations

When they arrived at the stand it seemed that everyone in the area was aware of them and the stand owner was sweating as they spoke with him The merchant a teenage boy really who seemed to have an even worse time with his fears than Simon quickly made excuses and closed down right in their faces

Randidly sighed eyeing the surrounding area There were other places but the raw materials here were definitely the best

Then a short woman stepped forward with a rather large belly for someone who lived in the System Y’all are pledged to the Rider right So that’s your mount

After a few seconds of silence Randidly nodded slowly The woman seemed very excited by this and said Wonderful wonderful

She ran up and began to knock on Neveah’s body poking and prodding Neveah giggled excited at the attention her tail lashing back and forth in excitement sending people stumbling backwards fearful of the huge gashes left in its wake The ground was torn up like tissue paper

Finally the woman turned to the group again We’ve been wanting to run an impossible creatures event in the arena where challengers try and complete tasks while a monster stops them but none of the Riders we see have this much star power

Randidly would have face palmed if he thought this would help the situation

Star power Ten’Malla and Neveah said almost at the same time

The woman was nodding rapidly Yes yes Just look at the creature It could

She Randidly said reflexively

She could rule the arena All would fear her strength Now the woman was on a roll her eyes were glowing I’d like to play around with different tasks see how she

Play Neveah said excitedly rocking slightly back and forth

Play Ten’Malla said her grin impish Randidly sighed So this was just a glorified vacation for the Wild Rider Maybe she was just a kid

Well Randidly would do anything to end this sort of very public interaction so he nodded If you want to go play with the woman feel free I’m just going to purchase some armor But no killing alright

Neveah nodded seriously looking at Randidly No kill Play

Excellent The woman said her smile wide genuinely looking excited at the prospect of playing with this giant bone wurm which could crush her body to paste The woman Neveah and Ten’Malla filed away drawing the attention with them which allowed Randidly to relax

After a second Thea followed them saying I can’t just let them go unsupervised

That left Randidly and Simon Randidly glanced over at the boy opening his mouth If he didn’t say something now

But Simon just walked forward past Randidly following the rest of the group He didn’t even look up at him Randidly’s mouth slowly closed

If there was one thing that Randidly had learned from his father it was that trying to force a problem out of people was counterproductive Best to just wait and let it come out on its own Although it was a little strange it really seemed like the fact he had lied about his name was a huge issue for Simon

Whatever they had before now to Simon it felt invalidated But that was a problem for another day Randidly turned and began to walk through the crowd heading for another stall

Chapter 330

But Randidly never made it to the stall he was aiming for ran by a balding man that honestly reminded Randidly of Sam Instead he froze halfway through the crowd his eyes widening

Ace

The word came out as a whisper because Randidly couldn’t believe his eyes When he first saw he almost thought he was wrong because because it had been so long because his friend looked so different leaning up against the wide bar flirting shamelessly with the pretty bartender who poured his drink

But no That was Ace the same easy confidence The same muscular body although he was even wider and more toned now after the System had exacted its toll His hair was short but turning blonde likely from exposure to the sun His eyes were dark and full of laughter as he smiled at the young woman her face going quickly red

He wasn’t in armor unlike most of the people around him which was strange but from his build he clearly was used to it In fact a lot of people were giving Ace strange looks But Randidly didn’t doubt that he was strong just that now was a casual time where he tried to sleep with a bartender Typical

Randidly was moving and he didn’t even remember starting to move He was moving too quickly Randidly knew so much so that some people had to stumble out of his way shocked by the force and speed of his advance

Then he was next to them behind Ace who was saying coyly no but really Look at me Is it that hard to believe I have the strength of a four star warrior I bet your boyfriend isn’t that strong

The woman’s smile widened just a fraction I actually don’t have a boyfriend right now

Again Randidly felt that familiar compulsion No one could make him leave his shell in which he lived avoiding awkward situations and overmuch interaction but somehow around Ace Randidly always found himself doing these sort of things in spite of himself

So Randidly found himself stepping forward and saying Oh you’re single Can I throw my hat in the ring

Both of them froze shocked to be interrupted now Ace spun around his face very even but a hard glint in his eye But then he too froze because he turned around to find Randidly standing there a goofy and awkward grin on his face

Holy shit Ace said Then he just stared at Randidly for a few seconds slack jawed before saying again and louder HOLY SHIT

Hey Randidly said unable to think of anything else to say and the two just stood there for a while staring at each other The bartender looked at both of them for a second before muttering

Sorta ruins my joke but I actually have a girlfriend who I am very loyal to so I’ll just leave you two to it She proceeded to walk away down the bar

They continued to stare at each other even as Ace’s face flitted from one emotion to another Shock happiness sadness confusion hurt glee

Randidly extended a hand I really missed you When the System hit I thought

Ace stepped forward wrapping him in a huge hug squeezing him with the strength that could probably throw a car Which to Randidly was oddly comfortable

Seriously man after all this time I thought you got hit by a two headed rhino and died Ace said mumbling into his shoulder Randidly felt strange He remembered being a size with Ace when they were together and even a bit smaller because he slouched most of his life To now find himself a bit larger

Randidly supposed the body growth from the Soul Skill was actually a thing

I’m sorry Randidly said slowly a great icy sadness in his heart

Ace pulled back looking him up and down No worries man you made it You’re here and now we

Not about this About before About Sydney About never telling you about acting like I was able to hide something that big from you I

Ace’s face fell and Randidly trailed off But instead of getting angry Ace just sighed and then smiled in a small way Don’t worry about it I was mad for a bit but I had a strange dream and Well anyway I’m over it none of us handled it well It was a hard thing Let’s forget it eh

Randidly felt so strange Relief flooded his chest but also confusion After all this time all this hurt all that fear and weakness he had felt was it really this easy Did communication really solve everything

But as Ace stepped back and smiled at him his face twisting into that old let’s get into trouble’ grin Randidly suddenly sensed it wasn’t just that It wasn’t just that they communicated it was something larger and older

It was because they were best friends

So Ace said turning once more back to the bar Want to celebrate by getting wasted

Ace looked in awe as Randidly drank down another beer seemingly heedless of the amount of alcohol that he was imbibing And this was the hard stuff The most cringey nail polish removing vicious swill they could find They had to to make drinks like this sense the System arrived Anything else would dissipate harmlessly when it hit somebody’s system

Randidly lowered the glass and burped a dumb smile on his face a slight flush to his features Not even drunk then just tipsy

Ace studied his friend They were sitting in a bar area of the nicest restaurant in town where there were a dozen or so men and women who had came back from monster hunting looking for some time to relax In fact everyone was watching Randidly now His ability to drink that fucking rot gut without any outward reaction was so impressive that everyone noticed it

Ace couldn’t believe that Randidly looked this capable His body which used to be gangly and innocent now was tightly wound filled with corded muscle He was nowhere near a bodybuilder but definitely a Swimmer or a gymnast or something stretchy and athletic

Almost instinctively Ace scanned the crowd noticing the way that some of the female’s eyes were studying Randidly It wasn’t jealousy he felt necessarily but possessiveness over those eyes But Ace shook that feeling off

His best friend was back And almost instantly they clicked again Well not the same but

The fear in Randidly’s eyes the lack of confidence that was gone Now he continued to follow Ace’s lead but that might just be out of habit

Ace shook his head doing his best to clear away his thoughts Now wasn’t the time for threat assessment Better to just enjoy the moment

So how did you survive Ace asked moving to a subject that he was curious about but unwilling to bring up easily After all if Randidly would explain his story Ace might need to explain his

Uh Randidly seemed to think about it very hard for a few seconds Then he shrugged it was weird by some twist I was in the underground walkway right And so I spawned directly in a dungeon Trained next to a safe zone for a month a person from another world came and taught me to use the spear and then together we beat the dungeon boss What was really difficult was that we were stuck in the dungeon until then so I didn’t have a class

What the fuck are you talking about Ace said with a laugh What level are you now

I still don’t have a class Randidly said his face that peculiar brand of serious that he always got

Hahahahahaha Stop fucking with me What’s your class man Mine’s super cool its But then Ace trailed off because Randidly continued to give him that solemn look

Oh shit He was being serious

You don’t have a Class Ace said slowly Then how did you get into the Refuge I mean non Classers can be strong but

Randidly just shrugged gesturing for another drink The bartender looked between the two of them and then at the dozens of empty shot glasses on the table between them Ace could see the waiter doing some calculations about the amount of liquor both of them had imbibed and how high that made their Physical stats

Apparently everyone else was doing the same thing because they gave the two of them a wide berth Ace leaned back enjoying it the edge of fear The confusion in their eyes as the people wondered how strong they were It was clear they were both super powerful but the fact they couldn’t see how much just made that gap between them and the crowd seem so much larger

Ace’s happy thoughts were abruptly cut short as he leaned forward Randidly had drank more than him Without a Class

Oh thank god I found you Ace turned happy for the distraction but a little less happy that Rose was pushing her way through the crowd Not only because she would undoubtedly say something extremely boring about running a city but also because she possessed NONE of the bearing of a super villain How was their powerful mystique supposed to survive if she insisted on looking like a librarian all of the time but

Ace supposed he couldn’t be too annoyed He after all hadn’t worn his armor of helmet out but

Earlier today someone came into the Refuge Powerful enough to defeat Brute in a physical contest Within seconds Rose eyes were serious locked onto Ace

Ace leaned back his fun old persona falling away the implacable will of Dauntless rising to the surface Interesting

Not that the strength was the interesting thing although it was curious that this stranger was so strong but was really most interesting to Ace was that Rose would tell him Because she must know that he would then immediately seek that person out Why would she tell him

Ah Ace saw it and a deep buried fear and pain reared its ugly head She doubted him Doubted him as their leader Doubted that he would be able to find and overcome this threat like he had all other before it Which made Ace wonder how exactly a single person could intimidate her like this With her skill shouldn’t seeing through that be easy Or at least seeing through enough to know whether victory was impossible

After all she never would have come if victory was out of reach This ambiguity was disturbing

Well after I finish here let’s pay this individual a visit shall we Ace said slowly leaning back to the bar

Ah no need Randidly said turning to them both from where he had been finishing his shot It’s me she’s talking about me

Rose opened her mouth Opened her eyes wider Then she shut her mouth

Chapter 331

Really Ace said leaning back in his chair looking between Randidly and Rose What’s the issue did he like make a mess on the way in

I did bring a giant bone wurm into the city Randidly allowed feeling the warm glow of alcohol in his body It was a strange thing allowing himself to get drunk His absolutely monstrous regeneration was practically begging him to allow it to remove the impurities from his system But there was a certain joy in the lack of control

Ace looked shock Putting his hands on his hips he glowered at Rose This is all about a pet You Well wait is it just shitting everywhere

Randidly shook his head setting the world spinning around him Instantly his system began to demand more directly that he allow it to intervene but he pressed that down At least things like this weren’t too much of an issue now with his higher control I don’t think she shits at all

I should get a pet Ace reflected looking at his reflection in his drink Something impressive How big is your pet

Randidly tried to think of a good way to describe Neveah To the side he noticed that the Rose woman was opening her mouth closing it and now frowning furiously and studying him It made Randidly somewhat uncomfortable

But luckily Randidly was around Ace right now Like always that strange energy that Ace produced was still in the air opening up things that were usually closed Randidly leaned forward regarding Rose closely Why do you keep looking at me like that It’s fine I’m really not causing trouble Oh she’s sorta like a a really long roller coaster car

Nodding sagely Ace rubbed his chin I think I’d want a dragon Or at least a dinosaur One of the benefits of the System is how cool things can be sometime maybe with flaming wings

And it breaths darkness Randidly added helpfully following his statement with the rest of his drink

Clearing her throat Rose gave Randidly a sharp look The problem is not your pet but rather your ability to defeat Brute within seconds With so many skills that I cannot parse them apart This is about power Mr Ghosthound

There Rose paused Her face became drawn and brittle Ghosthound As in the Ghosthound of Donnyton

Randidly scratched his neck Ace leapt to his feet

WHAT Ghosthound As in Randidly Ghosthound He began to rub his chin vigorously I can’t believe I never realized that dumb nickname was actually your name this whole time

Randidly rolled his eyes Rose liked she was going to be sick your best friend’s name was Ghosthound legitimately and you never even mentioned this

Guess I just never put it together Ace said with a smile Then he punched Randidly’s arm But also you only know him now that he’s got all suped up by the System This guy used to be twig skinny Like unhealthy shit

Randidly gave Ace an annoyed look but said nothing Better to not interfere at the moment because from Rose’s expression Ace’s dismissive comments of Randidly’s strength didn’t even register with her It was actually the first time that Randidly had been so openly disrespected in a while The Engraving Guild representative in Shal’s world had been similarly overbearing but on Earth

It both bothered him to be disrespected and also bothered him how quickly he was bothered by it In his heart Randidly sorta hoped that he had reached a level of maturity where he could let that flavor of comments slide off of him Although he was arguably the most powerful person on Earth right now he abhorred the idea of letting that power corrupt him But his reaction seemed to indicate that a small amount of arrogance had seeped into him

Well arrogance and self confidence might appear similar and Ace was being pretty disrespectful

But that was just how they always joked wasn’t it

Rose interrupted Randidly’s quickly darkening thoughts We have had meetings about the possibility of encountering the Ghosthound and his people for months And yet you literally never thought to mention that person might be your best friend At your directive we are training an assassin as we speak to kill him

Are we Ace seemed rather uninterested instead gesturing the bartender for another drink I really don’t listen at those meetings Oh Randidly careful we might try and kill you

Randidly shrugged Threats at the level of a newly Classed individual didn’t really scare him Although that might be a bad habit to get into It only took one unexpected skill to strike somewhere weak and then he would lose everything

Again Randidly found himself oddly morose looking at the table feeling the influence of the alcohol on his System He grimaced It was hard to reconcile the two lives that he had lead sitting here at the table with Ace listening to a woman berate Ace In one he was like a shadow floating through life Kind and popular in a way based on his listening and friendship with Ace but

In this other life he was the Ghosthound He trained for 2 years against some of the worst criminals Shal’s world had to offer And he was truly geared to be a mage rather than a close combat user with a Control stat that was approaching 300 He was one of the top young fighters in that world and he returned to Earth which was just developing

And no one here could stay in dungeons long enough to catch up to him due to Aether Sickness although they would have to discover that piecemeal There was no one here who could hold a candle to his raw stats Which was why Randidly thought that the battle against Brute ended so quickly Maybe if they were on the same level the man could bring his skills to bear whatever they were But right now they were in different worlds

Shaking her head Rose turned to Randidly Ah well we will obviously call off the program Anyways it is a pleasure to meet you Mr Ghosthound I am Rose Calloway and I handle most of the administrative matters here at the Refuge I also spend the most time talking with Kirki our Village Spirit because Dauntless

Ace gave her a pained look because having a flowery hippo is exactly opposite the sort of vibe we are going for here at the Refuge We are talking darkness breathing dragons Not flower hippos it’s disgusting And he refuses to change his form

Randidly coughed up part of his drink He

Spinning around Ace pointed his finger at Randidly mock aghast That’s not a very progressive thing to be shocked about Randidly You have magical fucking powers And yet the flower hippos gender is what gives you pause

Randidly opened his mouth then closed it Best to not argue with Ace while he was like this

And like that he was already beginning his next rant We have made great strides here in the Refuge making everyone have a mean and imposing demeanor Soon all of the north is going to fear those trained here due to the disturbing rumors And yet HOW CAN WE EXPECT TO BE TOUGH WITH A FLOWER HIPPO

Are disturbing rumors really that important Rose asked joining them now at the table but she had a small smile on her face As Ace continued to rant saying more and more ridiculous things Randidly smiled too

But the alcohol was gone from his System wiped out with a thought He could feel Rose’s attention on him constantly even while she teased and prodded Ace onward with small comments feeding into his momentum She was sharp

Randidly’s eyes narrowed But of course the people behind him were even more so Even with a strange skill that she seemed to have to identify skills she was far from being the opponent of someone like Mrs Hamilton when it came to planning and awareness

Well Randidly didn’t know that for sure But he did know that no matter what plans were laid in front of him he would wipe it out of the way with pure power

Randidly continued to listen to the talk but didn’t say much The headiness of seeing Ace was slowly ebbing as more pressing concerns came back to the fore of his mind The first was how to deal with the Champions making trouble in the North Although perhaps Randidly was just a little bitter at Ten’Malla hoisting herself on him during this trip and the answer was rather simple

To move against the Skeleton Knight Even Randidly felt some excitement at the thought of facing that foe It might be at the level to be a real battle After Drak Randidly had basically been an invalid for several weeks and then a rather crippled person for several weeks more only able to rely on his physical stats Which was a good way to blow off steam but it wasn’t satisfying

But the mood was too light right now with Ace ranting to bring that up Instead on the tip of Randidly’s tongue sat another question What happened to Sydney ’

Yet Randidly couldn’t bring himself to ask it at least not now His instincts told him that if he did something would change Some of the light heartedness would fall away Because Ace knew how close or rather how connected Randidly and Sydney were Yet he hadn’t spoken of it

And Ace wasn’t afraid of talking about anything Or he used to not be

So for now Randidly just watched a small smile on his face A time to relax like this was good every once in awhile

Chapter 332

Simon watched the nonsense occuring in front of him partially amused and partially extremely concerned What was perhaps more telling was that most of his reaction was mostly amused even though the people around him were very close to receiving life ending injuries There were healers on standby and Simon was decent enough himself but

Unfortunately the woman Lily who had asked for Neveah’s help was only becoming more and more excited The stunt doubles who were practicing with Neveah were hobbling off grimacing but Lily just became even more intoxicated with the possibilities

What they were doing right now was trying to figure out what game would be the best to play to keep the audience entertained The original idea was to have an individual who could make pillars of stone form an obstacle course that people would run through away from Neveah Neveah simply bowled everything over not slowed at all by these pillars of stone

This time the pillar maker reinforced them using 10 minutes for each pillar making sure they would have the sturdiness to withstand the force of a tractor trailer rushing towards them

Neveah didn’t even pause There was only a pile of rubble allowed to remain the air thick with debris The pillar man slumped his efforts for naught

The next idea of Lily’s was to have a footrace Neveah was basically a bus on a high at any point rushing forward with deadly momentum just based on being in contact with the ground A man’s hand was literally turned to mush by her lashing tail as she sailed past too fast for anyone to even register for several seconds

Thank god the System at least advanced the field of medicine to absolutely ridiculous degrees Simon reflected

For her part Neveah was having the time of her life bobbing her huge bone skull to Lily’s every word determined to play the games as best as she could without breaking the rules Which she failed at every time but it wasn’t that she really worried about losing she was just enjoying the movement and speed she could move at working together with Lily

Neveah also didn’t really seem to have many chances to interact with many people aside from the Ghosthound and was chatting wildly with everyone involved Which really seemed to disturb most of the stuntmen who were knocked brutally to the side everytime she moved But Lily ate it up soon entering into a brainstorming session with the former Raid Boss turned mount

Unfortunately Neveah didn’t appear to have many ideas aside from things she had heard from the Ghosthound

Lily then suggested having an object that Neveah would have to protect and the goal for the other side was to crack it Which everyone agreed would keep Neveah from being able to bring her superior physicality to bear on the situation

The entire arena was left a wreck in the wake of that experiment the body of the unlucky test man broken so much that they had to bring a specialist over to heal him Neveah seemed to understand that she had done something wrong because in her broken English she apologized to the man This only served to freak him out further and Lily had to pull the giant wurm away

Simon sighed It was hard not to feel for Neveah to understand how lonely it might be to be so large and powerful and to not have anyone give her the chance to listen and let her innocence and kind heart shine through

She’s so pure Simon said to Thea who had ignored most of the fiasco in front of them and had just been taking notes I almost feel bad that she’s so dissimilar from her rider

Neveah Thea said almost reflexively her eyes making it clear that she wasn’t really listening Which hurt Simon but he just clammed up unwilling to reveal how much it really hurt Unfortunately he would not get his desired peace

Really Do you think they are dissimilar The small tan girl named Ten’Malla asked appearing next to Simon as if by magic So sudden was her appearance that both Simon and Thea jumped which Simon disliked from the shock but also because it brought to the forefront of Thea’s mind that she just ignored him

Uh It took a few seconds further for Simon’s brain to move and process what the girl was saying Yea Neveah is so pure like a child While the Ghosthound is more

Simon trailed off unsure of how to frame what he wanted to say That Ghosthound seemed more callous and cold That this creature didn’t have an ounce of subterfuge in her body But it was hard to construct the sentences while Ten’Malla looked at him her brown eyes gleaming strangely

The girl was something of an enigma She simply appeared out of nowhere and insisted on coming with them But from the way the Ghosthound acted he knew her although he seemed annoyed by her presence She didn’t appear to have a mount but the only reasonable explanation was that she was related to the Wild Rider perhaps as a support staff or without the strength to actually become one of the Riders

Still her eyes seemed strong and unfathomably deep as she stared at Simon Interesting I would say if anything those two are a perfect pairing

Shrugging Simon hunched his shoulders ready to let the conversation pass The feelings in his chest continued to swirl but in a way that just dragged his energy levels down And there was no way he was willing to let them escape him while Thea was here

You know Thea said cutting off Simon’s thoughts You’ve really held a grudge Simon about his name Why is it such a big deal He didn’t do it to hurt you he just had his own baggage Give him the benefit of the doubt I mean I don’t know if he’s much like Neveah but

Simon’s hands curled into fists his nails digging into the soft skin of his palms They are nothing alike Neveah is full of kindness and joy The Ghosthound the Ghosthound is someone who has learned to kill and he is callous He would rather remain silent and let people suffer around him then

Ten’Malla’s laugh was small but it echoed strangely filling the air around them carrying so that both Lily and Neveah looked up from their most recent plan individually both turning and seeking the source of the noise Even Toto emerged from his usual calm stoicism tensing somewhat and moving to stand next to Simon It was a strange gesture one that made Simon feel out of his depth

But his emotions were carrying him now and he glared balefully at Ten’Malla who continued to chuckle

You you don’t understand them at all Ten’Malla informed him her smile condescending Simon’s expression twisted

Neveah Ten’Malla said turning to the wurm some 40 meters away But even though she spoke in a low voice the sound carried clear as day If Lily were to become Randidly’s enemy what would you do

There was stillness for a second and then Neveah moved slowly uncoiling her body rising to a height of about 8 meters With the sun behind her Neveah’s face was in shadow but still Simon could see the spot on her face where her eyes were visible by the deep blackness

There was however a deeper blackness stretching wider and wider as Neveah looked down at Lily A mouth no a maw A boulevard lined with teeth that would lead straight to hell In front of that opening Lily became nothing but a shadow a memory a shade and then that too was gone sucked into that blackness leaving nothing remaining

There was only a wild hunger and those two sharp eyes

Eat Neveah said her voice still gleeful but now cruel and dark her sincerity apparent Thea slowly stiffened next to Simon but Simon was just gaping

How could she change so fast Was there two personalities How could this icy mercilessness

Oh my god Lily said looking up wide eyed her breathing quickening That’s amazing We should incorporate that into the trial Perhaps if they pass the first test

Fun fun Neveah agreed lowering herself to the ground so she could be eye level with Lily’s body grinning in her strange monstrous way But even that smile was irrevocably changed in Simon’s eyes twisted and broken Simon shivered

You see Ten’Malla’s voice returned to its normal cadence You were thinking about this all wrong To you all is purposeful But these two they have a great weakness in the way they interact with people That makes it difficult for them to understand your sensitivity All they know is what needs to be done

Morality to them it has become meaningless The System makes it unnecessary What remains is utility Now though her eyes once more deepened fading to a glowing black abyss If you treat them like plotters and planners you will be deeply mistaken They are beasts that hunt on instinct and communicate with as much sophistication

You are perhaps correct what he did was insensitive But don’t you see that was his own weakness He does not speak well at the best of times and his soul was sundered For him to lie when so many speak of him seek him can you not see how the enemies that chase him are far more deadly than you could understand This was never about him was it Simon This was about yourself

Simon opened his mouth to respond to yell to tell her she’s wrong but he couldn’t speak There was no air in his lungs to speak words But it wasn’t about him not really it was about it was about how everyone near him turned away from him How Simon always found himself ostracized alone

And in the wake of the System he had thought he had found a friend but even that

Even though he knew that the Ghosthound could have died had he not hidden himself until he had recovered still Was this really selfish of him to think this way

But the spell of reflection was broken as a group of people appeared suddenly the air around them heavy with anger The Ghosthound led the way flexing his fingers as he looked at Ten’Malla of all people

The Wild Rider’s host was attacked They were routed He said shortly his eyes burning emerald The Wild Rider herself appears to have been captured along with her Regalia

Chapter 333

Clarissa checked her timepiece If you could make the decision quickly that would be for the best

The three members of the Executive Board of Star Crossing exchanged glances In the corner their Village Spirit petted a small dog which appeared scared out of its mind but also was unwilling to vocalize its fear It was just a small toy in the Village Spirit’s hands

It was distasteful but applying pressure would be the best way for them to stay on schedule And based on the predictions they had received from Lyra they were unfortunately a bit behind schedule in terms of timeline Restraining her urge to click her tongue in annoyance Clarissa watched them

We understand the need for speed but this request The man said looking between the two people around the table with him Is it really necessary for us to decide immediately There were even reports that the third Tier III Raid Boss

No agree to it The Village Spirit interrupted looking up from the pet in its hands The creature was good at hiding its nature Clarissa supposed but it was still a monster The greed in its gaze was clear when it looked at what they had offered The group around it seemed to want to haggle which was fine although their bargaining power had dropped precipitously now that the agreement was almost completely made

Still Clarissa allowed them this small bit of pride The connection would go both ways after all no reason to antagonize them now

Clicking her tongue Clarissa checked her timepiece again Closer to schedule now but still behind They would need to move fast

How soon can we expect the building to be completed Clarissa asked the Village Spirit

It thought for a minute before answering At top speed maybe three days Will that suffice

That was quite impressive all things considered It will be within acceptable parameters Glad to finally be working with someone with a sense of urgency

No no The Village Spirit said smiling widely The pleasures all mine

Randidly looked down at the butchered komodo dragon monster with most of its body filled with bone arrows There was very little flesh remaining on its frame the rest having been flayed from the bone Neveah growled next to him and then slowly moved to start devouring the creature

It seemed she ate mostly bones and as she hadn’t yet eaten since she had become well herself she was hungry Very quickly the entire thing was gone leaving only the shattered body of Kirk alone on the ground Randidly considered the body dispassionately Not only was this guy somewhat arrogant but also Randidly didn’t really have any particular relationship with him As such his death barely made Randidly blink

His lack of reaction disturbed himself somewhat but the death itself did very little

Meanwhile the rest of their party seemed more ill at ease Ace and Rose had come accompanied by Brute and two women with long braids They were twins and referred to themselves simply as Left and Right Everyone but Ace paled when looking at the devastation

Randidly surveyed the area around them Perhaps the worst was not the dead bodies of the Riders but rather the sea of bones that caked the ground around them Sure the Riders had been routed and slain the Regalia and the Wild Rider lost but the enemy had paid a heavy price to achieve that Even though their skeleton recruits were cheap they weren’t free

Perhaps complicating the image in the people’s eyes was the fact that once she developed a taste for it Neveah swiftly began to suck the ground clean of bones devouring them It didn’t add much reverence or meaning to the view

How could this happen Thea asked her face blank Chrysanthemum stood solemnly beside her a sentinel to protect her from the world

That’s the way of the world Ace said hollowly his eyes moving quickly around from the situation here to the nearby geography likely scanning for possible ambushes Death unless you are strong

Randidly’s focus narrowed centering on Ace He had wondered why there was a spot of darkness in his friend his one time friend It remained to be seen whether they could find a new way of fitting together now that Randidly wasn’t willing to be constantly belittled

But that could wait until later For now it was enough that Ace took this seriously The man was not the goof ball that he had been before the System arrived

It is how this story was always to go Ten’Malla said quietly looking around at the ground The Wild Rider must run and flee with the cold hands of the Skeleton Knight searching for her

Well that’s royally fucked isn’t it Simon said bitterly The Wild Rider is probably dead by now

No Randidly’s voice was soft Everybody looked his way He looked at Ten’Malla his eyes dark Although few things made Randidly angry the callous way she had handled this was starting to really get under his skin

No it wasn’t the callous manner she reacted it was the fact that her reactions indicated that she knew exactly how this was going to play out She left Jemma here knowing that the girl would be captured by the Skeleton Knight She was just a child Yet this monster just tossed her into the maw of the beast without a single ounce of guilt

That was Randidly’s mistake this time He had treated her like the child she resembled as she asked to accompany them on the trip to the Refuge To him it had just seemed like a whimsical decision But of course it was not This creature did not become the Champion Wild Rider because it was foolish

Underestimating her was not something that Randidly would do again

Mr Randidly is technically correct Ten’Malla said smiling as if she was amused by a child’s antics I am the Wild Rider I left the girl Jemma with my Regalia while I was away and it appears that fate was not kind to me Rather than being here to help repel the skeletons my animals were butchered while I was gone

Not that I would have been able to help much The Wild Rider said turning to look at the wide eyed Simon and Thea My strength is still weak as Traefalgr is in his growing period There would be very little that I would be able

She paused trembling mostly because Randidly had focused Anguish into a tight ball and hit her with it as hard as possible Every single bit of his frustration and fury was tied up in that small area his refusal to accept her version of events

This was her fault All of it if one hair of Rhaidon’s head was damaged if Jemma was broken by this

His fury was hot and sharp but after hitting the Wild Rider with the Anguish for several seconds he withdrew it One because the focus of keeping it from spreading and hitting the rest of them was more difficult than Randidly wanted to wrestle with right now but also because he owed her a debt When he was injured she had provided him with a path forward

With a huge effort of will one that consumed almost all his Willpower in that moment Randidly dropped the issue and forgave the Wild Rider But all of the good will that had been built up between them disappeared along with it Once more Randidly was alone

Not alone Us Neveah reminded him looking up from her buffet Randidly smiled in spite of himself

Yea Us

There was another reaction as Randidly acted Rose gasped her eyes going wide as she looked at him Randidly scratched his ear awkwardly He had forgotten about her ability to detect skills Based on her reaction it wasn’t just that she could read a skill’s name but perhaps she could sense its strengths or some of its effects Which was an incredibly powerful effect and it would probably cause more problems than Randidly was willing to deal with if she would see some of his other skills

Anyway The Wild RIder said after she had recovered She nodded toward Randidly acknowledging what happened That sickened Randidly even more that she would accept his attack gladly as payment Her brutal calculus of life was too much for him to handle This level of forces this could only happen if the battle in the South concluded It appears that Donnyton is no longer tying down 3/4ths of his forces We need to be on our guard and run

We will be returning to the Refuge Rose interrupted She shrugged in a manner that was supposed to seem apologetic but was clearly not If this many skeletons are coming up we need to make some preparations

The Wild Rider simply shrugged She hadn’t been counting on them to begin with but she would have accepted them Randidly couldn’t figure that out As more meat shields Or

But then the Wild Rider spared him a glance and he got it The Refuge simply was another lever she could use to bind him to her A convenient coincidence for the Wild Rider had it gone right Randidly’s blood went even colder his heart slowing

Sure sure Ace said affably waving his hand He turned to Randidly and opened his arms wide and embraced him You are welcome to come back with us We could use your strength Together

I’ll come back after this is over Randidly said quietly But someone I know was taken in this attack The look alike for the Wild Rider I need I want to try and help her

Hahah When did you become such a hero type Ace asked frankly his eyes scanning Randidly You aren’t particularly religious or moral Or is that just an excuse Are you looking for battle Do you have that lust in your heart

Randidly had opened his mouth to answer Ace but then he continued speaking and Randidly began to frown Perhaps I certainly don’t act like a hero But this is transactional She did me a favor in the past I’m paying her back

Laughing Ace moved back and the strange twisted heaviness of the moment passed Perhaps Ace had more demons than Randidly had expected That would be something he looked out for next time they met For now Randidly turned to Simon and Thea Randidly noticed how although Simon still kept his distance his gaze wasn’t quite so icy as it was previously Which was good because their options were limited

I’m heading for the Skeleton Knight Randidly said bluntly It might be safer for you to stay with Ten but god knows that might not be much safer But if you come with me we need to figure this out

Randidly stood still trembling inwardly He winced just remembering it God he couldn’t believe he just said that And despite every part of him that wanted to curl up and look away he found himself staring straight at Simon

For several seconds Simon was just looking at the ground Then he seemed to notice the gaze and looked up Their eyes met There was something there something dense and emotional and confusing

Randidly would rather fight Drak again His stomach roiled unpleasantly The seconds seemed to crawl past as they just held their gazes But being with Ace reminded him of the old days of the way he could be if he had the right energy Where he needed to steal that from Ace before Randidly knew in his heart that he could create that too especially now

He had grown strong Strong enough by far to communicate

Or at least try his best Simon opened his mouth slowly seemingly ready to speak but they were interrupted

Randidly turned annoyed Ace had walked over to Rose and now turned and regarded Randidly with a grin I’m done with you but

Very slowly deliberately Ace removed a grey mask featureless except for two eye holes from his bag and put it on That does not mean Dauntless will remain silent

His voice didn’t change precisely but it gained weight Randidly narrowed his eyes There was definitely an edge of madness here and honestly he wasn’t willing to put up with this shit right now If he could find a way to settle this

But now Ace was settling into his role and his voice boomed as he spoke Randidly Ghosthound You came to my town As we were friends and I am a respectful host I did nothing But now If you insist on leaving my influence I must first test you Let us own a wager If I win I demand your soul Fight for me for all of eternity If you win you may take your life and slink away For I am Dauntless and there is nothing I dare not do

Generous terms the Wild Rider said not even bothering to hide her smile

Randidly felt strange After all this really

True the Ace that Randidly knew was competitive to a fault wild reckless and stubborn But this was to a whole different level This was a self destructive recklessness combined with a satirical amount of hubris But another very real part of Ace was his deadly seriousness when he set his mind to something

Things had slowed down a lot since he came back to Earth as he recovered explored the strange new wrench in the System and tested his new knowledge But now that he had a concrete purpose and wanted to move forward

The world resisted

What did it matter though He would break the world that wouldn’t bend for him And every idiot who thought his hovel was a castle Randidly cracked his knuckles and smiled

Chapter 334

Rose knew this was mistake Both for tactical strategic and personal reasons But that recklessness was also the reason that she followed Dauntless As she gazed at his back she slowly sorted out her feelings And found to her surprise that even if this man lost here she would still follow him

That realization and the one that she thought he was going to lose made her heart sink

The Ghosthound didn’t even accept the challenge but simply walked forward the air around him crackling with violence It was a strange thing how one man could somehow embody so many different forms of strength

Unfortunately she hadn’t had her notebook out but Rose still felt a certain amount of dread when she remembered the oppressive presence of the skill that he had used on the Wild Rider to stop her dead Pain and regret and an extremely high combat rating and the control to lash out without anyone else being the wiser If Ace were to deal with that

There were so many things that Rose wanted to say to warn him to suggest as ways to test the Ghosthound but in front of those burning emerald eyes she could find no strength to say the words They disappeared sliding through her mental fingers escaping like ghosts

Which Rose knew was probably for the best Understanding was never Dauntless’ game He was all instinct while fighting And the things that Rose could tell Dauntless about the Ghosthound if anything it would only distract him from the real valuable information that his instincts fed to him

In a smooth motion Dauntless took off his jacket then ripped his t shirt off leaving only his bare chest He beckoned the Ghosthound who continued to walk with heavy footsteps They were two men who had been friends who became titans

To Rose’s surprise Dauntless moved first rushing forward with his hands raised Which was another reason that Rose knew this was not going to go well Dauntless generally had the attitude of a boxer who held the title belt waiting for the challenger to make the first move But based on this turn of events even Dauntless considered himself the challenger in this bout

Left Right and Brute stood eyes locked on the figures

We are probably going to remember this for a long time aren’t we Rose asked weakly Brute nodded Carefully Rose produced her notebook and sat down cross legged so she could write more easily

Although that skill that the Ghosthound displayed was fearsome one of Dauntless’ two great skills was Anti Magic Body which severely decreased the effectiveness of any skills against him Combined with a Resistance of over 50 basically all magic of this level was unable to put any serious pressure on Dauntless

But the Ghosthound did not lead with magic but a simple hand strike followed up by a kick in a combo These were even skills that Rose recognized Talon Strike and Roundhouse Kick These were common basic skills that even trained to a high level couldn’t really display all that impressive a power

Coughing up blood Dauntless stumbled backwards swiftly overwhelmed by the stats that backed up these two skills Rose’s mouth tightened Higher stats that was not an easy boundary to overcome But what was more confusing was how the Ghosthound had stats so much higher than Dauntless What level could he be

Instantly Dauntless’ powerful regeneration kicked in mending the more minor wounds and lowering the debilitating effect of the major ones Righting himself Dauntless tilted his head to the side and regarded the Ghosthound Truly this was fate For us to be friends and for the System to come Do you see it Our violence

You are still an idiot The Ghosthound interrupted stepping forward Instantly Dauntless’ body language changed his glee turning to fury There were a lot of effects of the mask all of which were simply in Dauntless’ head But one of them was the capricious nature of Dauntless’ emotions and his insistence on committing to these larger than life characters Now that the Ghosthound had refused that

Once again the Ghosthound stepped evenly forward his Talon Strikes lashing forward smashing into Dauntless’ guard But this time although Dauntless trembled his guard did not break Instead when the kick came Dauntless twisted out of the way of the kick and brought his elbow around in a vicious blow towards the Ghosthound’s temple

The move was so fast that Dauntless probably couldn’t even process information but his body instantly gathered and categorized information giving him knowledge of the space he had to work with The skill that made Dauntless almost invulnerable Adapt flared to life giving him the insight he needed to react much more effectively this second time around

Adapt might be a relatively simple skill but it was a skill of growth With that skill as long as the fight continued for long enough

Interesting The casual word weighed a ton dropping on Rose’s heart She watched the Ghosthound drop his kick which had been a feint and slap the elbow strike to the side as one would turn aside a fly I figured you’d be this sort of type Unfortunately I trained with someone who does the same thing and she does it much much better

For the next 30 seconds Rose watched dispassionately as the Ghosthound calmly and methodically broke Dauntless’ wrists elbows and shoulders and then knocked him out With great care he laid the body on the ground The eyes of the Ghosthound were conflicted as he looked down at the man who had been his friend

He will try again you know The Wild Rider said frowning at Dauntless And he might be weaker than you but for a man he has good potential If you let him go

I’m not killing my best friend The Ghosthound said and then stood turning his back on the group from the Refuge without a word Rose lowered her head and gestured Left and Right forward to pick up Dauntless’ body She had assumed that the Ghosthound would address them give them a message to give to Dauntless when he awoke

Which would be absolute hell because it would drive Dauntless insane and he would chase the Ghosthound down But he said nothing Perhaps they were more deeply related than Rose had suspected and their connection was a lot more genuine than she had expected Which might be troubling

As I was saying The Ghosthound began but he was interrupted

No I’m sorry I want to come The young boy said his eyes bright his hand on the strange dull eyed ox that followed him around I yea I want to come

The Ghosthound nodded slowly and looked at the other female rider who snorted and mounted her bear

After they had left Rose looked in the direction they had went still slightly in awe The whole time only Talon Strike and Roundhouse Kick And yet Dauntless was made to look like a hapless baby That level of strength clearly demonstrated how unnecessary using his spells against them were

Strangely though Rose felt only a tremor of excitement Because everytime Dauntless was defeated he came back stronger than ever She couldn’t wait to see how his new reincarnation would grow It was a good thing she supposed to have rivals

Good luck Rose whispered then turned and returned to the Refuge And as she spoke she spoke partially to the Ghosthound but also

Part of the message was for the fool that had earned the ire of the Monster of Donnyton

Randidly rode on Neveah’s back lost in thought

He had had what he thought was a communication breakthrough actually confronting Simon asking them to work out there issues Only to be interrupted by Ace have him forced to beat Ace up and then to find Simon no longer wanted to talk about it considering everything resolved So not only did he have a strange amount of anxiety regarding whether Simon actually forgave him or not and confusion over what was the real issue BUT also Randidly now had to come to terms with the fact that next time he saw Ace the idiot might force them to engage in another battle

Or worse want to talk about it

Or worse worse not even acknowledge that it happened

Randidly rubbed the back of his head and then shook himself a bit Better to focus on other things

Randidly opened up his status screen The past few days he had gained 2 Skill Levels in Dodge and Fighting Proficiency 4 in Mana Engraving 5 in Talon Strike 2 in Empower and Roundhouse Kick 5 in Aether Detection 2 in Aether Manipulation and Living Aether 1 in Mental Strength 2 in Mana Strengthening and Haste 3 in Anguish and Calculated Blow 4 in Physical Fitness and 7 in Soul Bond

With a bitter smile Randidly showed his teeth to the air Which gave him just enough PP to finish off his fourth blessing and let the world inside of him turn time jumping forward For a bit he hesitated but even with Neveah’s brutal pace with Toto and Chrysanthemum lashed awkwardly to her back with Randidly’s roots they wouldn’t be able to make it to the likely location of the Skeleton Knight for a few hours He had time in case something went wrong

And Randidly truly wanted to deal with the time bomb ticking in his chest

First though

He focused his attention narrowing his focus raising his awareness to a pinpoint With his attention inward Randidly gathered some of the floating prayers increasing his Influence by 11 Then he checked how everything was proceeding

Peacefully but it was the fragile peace of a nation sleeping before a great war Randidly chuckled in spite of himself Hopefully this wouldn’t destroy them all pointlessly

This time Randidly was prepared thinking about different scenarios that Lucretia could cause and how he would respond And he also knew his ultimate goal removing her from his Soul Skill But that would have to wait until she could go somewhere that wasn’t Earth Both because he wasn’t sure she could be at this place which was a later Cohort and because imagining Lucretia amongst these people was a bit

Randidly opened his eyes Then he fed his PP into his Path bracing himself for the consequences

Chapter 335

Congratulations You have received the Blessing of Devouring Ash Strength +8 Willpower +9 Focus +5 Your body temperature increases Your immune system grows more robust resistance to all status ailments and debuffs increases by 1% Free stats +6

The world of your Soul Skill turns The denizens of your inner world evolve As the more pressing concerns of state rise to the forefront the religious infighting withdraws to the shadows growing more vicious and cruel At its heart lies the existence of the mysterious woman and the personality of the Progenitor who sent her to this world In the darkness more extreme views begin to brew

The Monster King has returned riding a great tortoise and bearing great power He has launched a crusade against the other races pushing far into the Spriggit Territory The solitary Earth Golems have joined the struggle and even the Weavers begin to move against him binding his power They worry that he will be the next coming of the previous emperor who conquered the world

The Spriggit Thief ultimately cannot resist the urge to take up the request to steal the spear and has performed the greatest heist in history stealing the holy relic Tragically she was unable to make it away unscathed as the Weaver defenses are not to be trifled with Her lifeblood bleeding out she trembles and looks at the stars wondering what the point has been

The religious infighting and the death of the thief was something that Randidly knew might be trouble going forward especially if the spear was simply left there on the ground where the Thief had crawled off to but it was nowhere near the surface of his thoughts right now Instead his senses instantly spread out as well as he could over his inner world and very quickly he found what he was looking for

To his surprise Lucretia was rather still standing over the dying Thief Randidly concentrated bringing the entirety of his being into a concentrated spot near them It was still a flimsy thing without much substance but instantly Lucretia smiled not looking up from the Thief

Good morning Mr Ghosthound You seem ill at ease Is something wrong

Randidly frowned looking at her But as she seemed content to sit in the silence he followed her gaze and looked at the Thief The girl was young far younger than Randidly would have expected perhaps only 15 or 16 wrapped in the powerful cloak that he had made with his Grace Skill Her breathing was uneven and her eyelids fluttered as her blood poured out staining the cloak and spear

The stars really were brilliant here Randidly thought

Let’s not beat around the bush I’m not comfortable with you being here Randidly said bluntly Leave of your own volition or I will eject you

Lucretia smiled a little bit wider but shrugged I cannot at present You bringing me here has effectively weakened me a great deal Unless I recover for a time I will be unable to survive in my own Cohort let alone here

Randidly snorted With the level of strength here I hardly

You forget Lucretia whispered The cardinal rule of the System One may climb towards the source but you may never allow the current to carry you downstream The System will devour you If I wasn’t isolated like this inside of you the very Aether around would poison me slowly

After opening his mouth to respond Randidly slowly closed it Although he wasn’t exactly sure of the methods of such things Shal seemed to imply something similar So in this case he would have to believe her He really wasn’t sure of Lucretia’s motives but he could be sure that if he tried to kill her she would respond with similar deadly force As he mulled this over Lucretia spoke again

You shouldn’t worry too much you know Just like the Village Spirits and Champions that have come down to your Cohort from higher places need to be within a Cage’ of rules in order to have the toxic Aether filtered it’s the same for me You are just an incredibly interesting filter with your own private world Harming you would be harming myself Rest at ease

Of course Randidly would not rest at ease especially after he was told by Lucretia to relax but there was little he could do about it For now he simply said Then what do you want

A transaction of course She said with fake cheer Because we both know that gifts are dangerous

Randidly’s face stayed impassive but he acknowledged this In addition gifts were unpredictable His trap of three gifts had been effective at removing Lucretia from the picture giving him time during his fight with Drak to focus on other things but there were still consequences from his perspective After all she was now living inside of him In addition

The Aether connection between them existed still Aether traveling cleanly back and forth He had restricted it as best he could making sure it wouldn’t swell to the size of the other connections that he had but there seemed to be little he could do to sever the connection

So I propose that I pay rent’ while I’m here In addition as a gesture of goodwill I’ll tell you a secret about Ten’Malla My view of the outside world is limited to your perspective but you are wondering what her endgame is yes I believe I have the general idea

What sort of rent Randidly asked ignoring the obvious bait Following the direction that Lucretia wanted you to focus on was extremely dangerous And his every instinct was sharpening as the conversation continued and she remained amicable with him who effectively trapped her here in this strange inner world

Assistance Lucretia’s voice was oddly seductive and her eyes glowed She raised her hands pointing to the ground beneath them To their side the Thief coughed blood staining her lips With understanding this world You have the skills but you don’t know what is at this world’s core yes No offense but you don’t seem to have the artisanship to create such an exquisite work I believe I can help you understand and harness it

Now that was a disturbing offer Randidly knew he couldn’t just let it sit there especially when there would be intermittent mentions of the composition of the clockwork world changing perfecting itself and moving forward If it were to transform into something unrecognizable while he watched without him understanding it it would be a disastrous blow to his Soul Skill

And yet the prospect of Lucretia getting her hands on it

On the other hand it’s not like he could really even stop her if she tried to work on it He simply didn’t have enough Progenitor’s Influence to intervene in the world Even just talking like this was only possible due to Lucretia’s abilities rather than his own presence in his Soul Skill

If he didn’t give Lucretia the go ahead she would likely do it anyway and would be out of the loop But there would be no benefit to agreeing if she simply lied to him

It made Randidly want to scratch his head in frustration But he was distracted by a small voice from the figure in front of him

Are you proud of me The Thief on the ground seemed to struggle for a second then realize that it was impossible and slumped back on the ground her breathing heavy Randidly frowned and Lucretia folded her hands

I’m the best Thief this world has ever seen I’ll die like this And the legends about me will spread But I’m so sad They won’t ever ever know my name you know I’m sure I’m sure you understand Is it hard being only the Progenitor to them You you you have a name too

The Thief with a supreme effort of will rolled the spear off of herself and reached up to the sky straining for something

My name’s Tatilia You will remember it at least Won’t you

Randidly pressed his eyes shut unwilling to watch as the Thief strained further reaching for the sky

I can Lucretia began but Randidly cut her off with a harsh gesture his eyes hardening as he opened them and looked closely at the small body on the ground Of all the outcomes here Lucretia’s influence was the most dangerous Better to keep her uninvolved Then the only decision remaining was

But it was an easy decision She was a fool and had effectively been the lever that freed Lucretia but she was still a person of his world bearing one of his gifts She surely had a great will inside of her and a great destiny ahead of her if she were to accomplish so much at such a young age If she was to burn brightly and then die out she would become a legend but if her life was saved and that light was allowed to continue the world might change

Randidly gave a level of his Bacterial Regeneration to bring it to the world giving another dose everywhere but concentrating half of it in the body of Tatilia Immediately she gasped as her wounds began to slowly come together her bone marrow going into overdrive to produce more blood to replace what had been lost

It was a long and painful process but after about 15 minutes Randidly comforted himself with the fact that she would live Her light had not left his world Almost bemused he wondered what she would do next

Chapter 336

As the breathing of the Thief became a little less ragged Randidly turned to Lucretia So what’s your game

Although her eyebrows rose Lucretia said calmly As I stated previously I simply want to recover here and to be transported

No with her Randidly gestured to the Thief You chose meeting here I sincerely doubt that you care much for her life if there wasn’t some effect on your own What’s your game Answer honestly or there can be no deal and I will dedicate every ounce of my effort to crushing you

Lucretia stilled her smile frozen Then she relaxed chuckling Do you really think you would have the spare time for that if you fight with a Champion

Randidly said nothing staring at her

Waving her hand Lucretia continued Relax I honestly thought you wouldn’t notice but I don’t mind sharing I wouldn’t have beaten around the bush if I knew you were something other than a spear head It is perhaps just a result of spending so much time alone on my own world but I digress I brought you here as an indirect gift to her because I knew you would save her After her third gift I give her I very much expect she will surrender the heavy weight of her destiny to me in order to find peace

Randidly gazed at Lucretia while she gazed wolfishly at the slowly breathing form on the ground Eventually Randidly looked away first feeling oddly cold Sometimes it was easy to forget that such an attractive and charming woman was just a mask that a monster showed to the world around her

I could kill her now and foil that Randidly pointed out Lucretia just laughed They both knew it was a bluff because Randidly could intervene in other ways ways that would hopefully shift the narrative of the gifts and the girl could have the opportunity to meet that final choice in an unexpected way And also after saving her killing her immediately seemed a little spiteful even for him

Instead Randidly pressed forward Why do you want her fate

Because the System is all about patterns patterns that you cannot escape Lucretia said finally turning her attention away from the Thief and looking up at the sky Randidly said nothing

Laughing Lucretia said I know what you are thinking that you are one who is not bound by the patterns of the System which in a way is true But in another way I think you will discover you are bound even more tightly than the rest of us

What do you mean Randidly said slowly forcing his posture to remain relaxed It was extremely difficult to not take everything that she said as an overt threat

Gesturing around Lucretia said Because the patterns are what is important You might not need to follow them but you make them Every rule you break sends a ripple through the System and it adjusts in your wake For example Ten’Malla and the Champions generally

I have never heard of a rule that allows a third party to take the two Regalia’s and have a third party wear them to ascend and become the remaining Champion Lucretia said slowly Yet in this world it is clear both from narratives and the construction of the cages around the Champions that this is eminently possible In the past did you steal something that didn’t belong to you

Randidly frowned but said nothing Lucretia continued to speak

And from that opportunity I bet that someone was able to usurp another position that shouldn’t normally be possible Just through lack of other options I’m guessing someone from your world stole the role of Village Spirit That is profoundly fascinating

Randidly had never thought about it in that way but he had stolen the Aether Spring from Turtletown’s Tribulation And because of that their Village Spirit was just a little weaker when fighting against Donnyton’s Tribulation which had the opportunity to invade Turtletown after Randidly had acted In that small disparity in power and through the element of surprise Lyra had managed to seize control with her own unpredictable strength

There is a precedent and almost intuitively Ten’Malla can sense it Lucretia continued What she wants is to assume someone else’s role a cage that wasn’t designed to hold her powers Like you have been creating your entire time in the System Even just by looking at the structures here I can sense it the world is waiting with bated breath Randidly what will you change next

There was a long moment of silence The Thief’s breathing became even now her eyelids pressed thankfully closed Inwardly Randidly began to examine all of the past events fitting them together figuring out where his influence had shifted things and what that could mean for the future But very quickly he became helpless He didn’t have the sort of methodical and categorical mind to carry out such an analysis

So he simply filed it away for another time There were others that would be able to do more with this information For his part he considered one last fact Should he inform Lucretia of the existence of the Creature

Because ultimately while Randidly was the tool by which these shifts were made they were really engineered by the Creature Without her influence none of this would have occured Although he had no proof the more Randidly experienced the System and heard other people’s stories it was very strange that he had spawned in a Dungeon to start No one else claimed such a genesis

Of course that might be because everyone who did had died But more than that it was a Dungeon where Shal was present At first Randidly had attributed this to Shal himself and wondered how he had gotten into a Dungeon on Earth But when released from the Dungeon Randidly had spawned in a strange spot with no Dungeons around it

If it wasn’t Shal that had moved perhaps Randidly himself was in a Dungeon in another world Of course there were perhaps flaws in the System but it was a stretch to believe that such a huge convenient flaw that had given him such an advantage was present and hadn’t been addressed But if it was the actions of someone else

The downside of telling Lucretia about the Creature was obviously the chance that she would betray Randidly and receive assistance from the Creature But the more Randidly thought about it the more this worry faded Of all of her flaws Lucretia was not dishonest That was what was so shudder inducing about her She would tell you very directly how she would fuck you and you would let it happen and not realize how your life was collapsing until the last moment

There is something I need to tell you Randidly said slowly True I am the agent of such change but there is something monstrous pushing the pieces on the board around I call it the Creature It can assume anyone’s shape and can create using Aether The reason I grew strong was due to its prodding

Lucretia just watched him her eyes glittering a small smile growing on her mouth And Randidly felt it too a strange reversal of their previous interaction He was being dragged forward by her dark karma pulled into speaking

And really he didn’t care because the depth of his resentment and fury towards the Creature overpowered all else The core of this world you want to help me understand it was a weapon designed by the Creature I am willing to allow you to stay here but I don’t just want understanding I want your assistance to kill her Or at least remove her influence In exchange I’ll remove the limiters on our Aether connection in addition to letting you stay here Deal

Hopefully the additional bait of the connection would be enough to get Lucretia more actively interested in giving assistance In addition although it made Randidly vulnerable to her in some ways that he didn’t really understand fully that was swiftly changing as his Aether related skills grew And Lucretia received those same vulnerabilities and she didn’t have the benefit of skills

If it came down to a direct confrontation Randidly was confident that he could overcome her given enough time Although it did scare him a bit that she always seemed to choose the right moment to strike He could only suspect that there was a part of her skill that gave her near perfect timing to accomplish her goals which was a disturbing thought

Her light purple hair fluttered around her as she smiled It is a deal Randidly Ghosthound May we be bound until both our goals have come true

Something shifted Randidly felt between them Like suddenly two puzzle pieces clicked into place their individually powerful wills coming together The fact that the shift was felt though was a little unexpected and it made Randidly profoundly wary even as he could feel his instincts no longer recognizing her as a threat

Something to watch out for

I’ll begin investigating the mechanisms of this world Lucretia said turning away Try not to jostle me around too much You can feel it here you know when you start drawing too much Aether

Oh and one more thing She said You shouldn’t fear betrayal so much especially from me it will make you miss the detail we bargained for that will benefit me so much more than you And that wouldn’t be very much fun now would it

Chapter 337

Scouting is so boring Leviathan complained lazily doing cartwheels Drake said nothing categorically ignoring the boy while on assigned missions It made sense to pair them because Drake would accomplish all the normal objectives while Leviathan would be able to detect any abnormal changes in the situation with his enhanced senses but it was still a rather droll experience

They were walking quietly through a copse of trees or at least Drake was while the boy acted like an olympic gymnast in what would likely be another typical patrol They only had to do this every two days but still Leviathan wouldn’t let it go

It’s just unnecessary He continued to mutter even as Drake coolly dispatched a small monster wreathed in darkness Drake would say this of the opposing Champion at least the creatures that she had caused to increase spawning weren’t the stuff of nightmares It really would be rather hack to spend the rest of his time in the System killing ghouls and liches

The patrols were important now especially since their team had joined up with the 2nd Legion of Bone and hit the Wild Rider’s forces taking heavy losses but managing to subdue and take the Wild Rider as well as her Regalia It was a shame but there was no sign of Traefalgr who was really the dangerous one of the two of them

If that thing had time to grow even the Skeleton Knight himself was wary of the beast But as their host slowly moved Southeast there was nothing A strange quiet which had the hairs on the back of Drake’s neck standing up

Donnyton’s forces were what concerned him most In terms of strategic influence there wasn’t any single individual that could rival a disciplined group If those forces ambushed them and recovered the Wild Rider Drake grimaced Sydney would be very annoyed

When Leviathan looked up his eyes wide Drake almost felt a relief

We have to get back The boy sputtered The base

And so they began to race back covering the distance at a full sprint Leviathan slowly creating distance between the two of them It was only after around 10 minutes of this as Drake was nearing the limit of his Stamina that he became aware of the noises A low rumbling a crash then silence

Then more rumbles

After another 3 minutes they reached the edge of their picket lines where the 2nd Legion of Bone was stationed The land was eerily still but what they found there stopped Drake dead

As Leviathan tore farther forward moving out of sight Drake looked slowly around Absolutely covering the ground was a thick layer of bones crushed and shattered It looked like the enemy whatever it was simply walked up to the front lines and bulldozed their way through while they were swarmed with skeletons

Whatever it was it was massively powerful

When Drake finally proceeded deeper he very quickly reached areas with scorch marks and football field sized areas where there were thousands of roots sticking up from the ground thorny and powerful surrounded by the powdered remains of skeletons It was an absolute slaughter

Leviathan’s roar sounded out snapping Drake back to the present Had to focus on goals He moved forward quickly crossing the strange battle grounds to find Leviathan transforming into a strange scaled monstrosity rushing up the hill to the back of an individual with black hair to his shoulders who was facing off with Iznock

The man turned and looked over his shoulder his eyes flashing emerald Drake stilled This fucker again

Instead of moving the man just turned back to Iznock and flicked his hand a spear made of roots rising from the earth to his grasp while a strange shadowy monstrosity rose above him glowering down at Leviathan

Strangely the monster reminded Drake of a monster from a game his son had loved before the System A giant wurm golem made of stone its wide open mouth lined with teeth But upon closer inspection it appeared to be made of bone

Snarling Leviathan refused to shift his path building up momentum while he charged towards the monster The monster just grinned then moved so fast that it blurred smashing like a comet down towards the approaching figure

Swearing quietly Drake began to sprint once more Copper appeared next to Leviathan gesturing wildly curses shooting towards the monster But although they landed the approach of the monster didn’t slow at all After all at this point it simply needed to rely on its momentum to turn them into powder and mush

At the last moment Leviathan screamed not a scream of rage or hatred as he usually did but one of pain and his body morphed further growing even more monstrous A tail appeared from his butt and small wings emerged on his back even as he grew to the size of a small house his eyes incoherent more animal instinct than human

Coppernicus began to backup continuing to throw curses and hexes and the two giant monsters met

The world was briefly a rumbling numbness as most of Drake’s senses failed and he tumbled to the ground It took him several seconds to reorient himself finding all of his limbs in order and staggering to his feet

Leviathan was on the ground flailing hissing in rage and pain his right shoulder ripped to shreds being chewed on by the monster which seemed completely able to hold him down Coppernicus must have righted himself almost instantly because he was once more throwing hexes but the monster’s tail came from nowhere as a blurr lashing out at the skeleton mage who barely managed to throw up a Mana Shield in time

Even still the shield shattered and Copper was thrown across the battleground rolling down the hill

Feeling profoundly overmatched Drake drew his sword and began to walk closer Even if there was no hope he was a soldier and he had his orders

Where is she Randidly was almost surprised how delicate his voice sounded as he faced off with a familiar skeleton with a flaming skull

You think I would just tell you that The skeleton asked its jaw clenched together It appeared it had witnessed Randidly and Neveah’s approach through its forces and knew how it would end Good Hopefully that would make this whole process easier

If you don’t I will end you Randidly stated eyeing the creature as he produced a root spear Casually Randidly glanced behind him at some people who were trying to interfere but as an extension of his will Neveah baleful and hungry rose to meet them stopping them dead

He turned back to the skeleton

An eternally bound existence is intolerable without honor The skeleton stated seriously some of its fear and intimidation falling away It took a moment for Randidly to understand this but then he realized that the skeleton never viewed him as the threat but Neveah

Perhaps an obvious one but still a mistake

Randidly stepped forward instantly activating Spear Phantom’s Embrace It had been quite some time since he had really let loose with his spear skills and it felt good to lose himself in the feeling of the physical fighting It was a rarely experienced treat and Randidly intended to savor it today

Instantly the skeleton produced a large bone mace from the ground somehow and moved to meet Randidly with large swings Comically large swings and way too slow to have enough force to slow Randidly down

After deflecting a swing Randidly moved closer but was forced to stop as the skeleton used the deflection to increase his speed whipping his mace around with even more force Randidly only chuckled and deflected again and again and again and again Now the skeleton was practically a cyclone whipping around leaving large troughs in the earth where his mace smashed

But it was a retreating cyclone as Randidly continued to casually advance deflecting the increasingly powerful blows and moving forward True these were probably past the point where Randidly could afford to block but if they were going to be this rough there was no need to block them He only had to move through them

It seemed the skeleton sensed this because his blows got more frantic but also more unpredictable and sharper Annoying but it wouldn’t be enough

This time when the mace whistled towards Randidly’s face he did not dodge He felt that force and he followed it allowing it to spin him around throwing him forward

Instantly he had to activate Haste Empower and Mana Strengthening to withstand the physical strain on his body but he appeared behind the skeleton’s back with the other still twisting around in the other direction unsure of what had just happened

Almost casually Randidly reached out and grabbed his spine Then he crushed it to dust

Chapter 338

Sydney and Ace crouched in the shadow of a fallen building doing their best to keep their breathing even The shuffling and sniffing of the wolves was one of the loudest things that either of them had ever heard To his surprise Sydney had a death grip on Ace’s hand slowly squeezing the life and blood out of it

But he didn’t really mind After all it was one of the rare moments that he had ever seen her care about something Aside from Randidly of course

They both knew that this would only buy them a few minutes With his free hand Ace gripped the fire poker they had been able to scrounge up in the few hours after the System arrived It was a poor weapon against the monsters that hounded them but it was more than nothing Sydney sat her eyes pressed closed focusing as well as she could on Meditating so she could recover enough Mana to use one more Ice Shard spell

The silence around them was deafening broken only by the sniffing Which was why they both jumped to alertness when the sniffing stopped

A wolf padded out of the darkness in front of them not the lean wolves that you saw on National Geographic but a hulking motorcycle sized creature that breathed out in long foggy breaths Sydney hissed between her teeth and Ace stepped forward interposing himself between them

But at the same moment two more wolves appeared at the other end of the opening to their small impromptu cave The eyes hung in the eye glowing golden A small promise of death

With a sinking heart Ace realized that all of the excitement he had for the game like System and his special skill called Adapt was completely unfounded Sure it could someday become extremely powerful But for now it was barely any advantage at all

And in the face of Lvl 6 monsters they needed an advantage Any advantage

As if by unspoken agreement Ace and Sydney began to dash forward towards the lone wolf If they were going to survive this they would need to break through this wall of muscle and teeth It sat on its haunches waiting for them When they arrived Ace took the lead fainting high and then swinging the poker like a baseball bat aiming for its knee joint

If they could reduce its mobility even a little

But of course the wolf moved rushing forward the blow hitting its shoulder but barely throwing off its stride It leapt tackling Ace and sending him sprawling He had poured most of his spare stat points into Strength but it was barely a candle to what this Level creature could bring to bare

Luckily at the last moment it yelped and scrambled to get off him its claws leaving long but shallow gashes in its chest Sydney was pantining her eyelids fluttering barely able to stand but there was an ice shard through the wolves right eye

With a grunt Ace pulled a spare kitchen knife from the hastily made sheath at his side and rammed it through the right eye

Now the wolf was truly howling but it stumbled back blind and hurting As fast as he could which wasn’t fast at all Ace got to his feet He picked the poker back up staggering to face the two other wolves who undoubtedly would have caught up with them by now But the attack never came

Instead framed in the opening to the outside world from this collapsed building was a figure standing over the two corpses of wolves

Are you two alright A voice asked a warm voice and the figure stepped closer becoming less a silhouette and more a person It was a tall burly male with an affable smile and a rather untrimmed brown beard His arms were wrapped in what looked like black iron gauntlets which just rounded at the front making his arms appear longer but without fingers

Ace looked at Sydney who swayed barely standing He wanted to reach out and give her assistance but from that almost dead look in her eyes he knew from experience that in the face of this stranger she would refuse even the smallest sign of weakness So he let her sway and instead stepped forward

Who are you Ace meant it to sound intimidating but it just came out as weary and helpless which was very much how he felt

The man’s smile grew wider I’m Roy And I’m going to be a Hero

Sydney’s eyes flashed as she looked at him Why are you being stubborn You know I detest the man but this is about humanity as a whole We helped each other with our Tribulations why are we allowing his idiotic whims to endanger hundreds of lives

Ace folded his arms Because you know he will refuse help

And you know he needs it Sydney said mirroring Ace’s stance He can’t do this alone

The Class he has is Hero It’s the most powerful we have ever seen Ace reminded her almost helpless Sure he would love to help Roy but He had taken a man’s stance and he had his pride He refused to force Roy to give up his dream that had carried them so far up until now The dream of justice The dream of fairness The dream of a happy ending

The dream of a hero

A tribulation comes for your weaknesses They will not fight him If it comes with a pretty face Sydney left the rest unsaid

Ace’s face twisted into a frown Those women are probably exaggerating

Sydney said nothing but gave him a look that just reminded him how far apart they had drifted in the last 6 months Hell how far they had been drifting apart for years since she was diagnosed with cancer But that was her fault and now Ace knew very well that he was pushing them farther apart

And although he was dismissive outwardly Roy’s excesses were not unknown to him But for the sake of the dream but for the sake of the hope he had felt that first day hidden in the wreckage of a destroyed building ready to die Ace didn’t mind ignoring a few small flaws

Life was too cheap these days

If you insist on this Sydney said breathing deeply I will kill you one day

What Ace blinked unable to comprehend what she had said Instead he just stared at her for several minutes And then several more as she simply turned and walked away saying nothing more

Refugees are already arriving Rose reported viewing the clipboard dispassionately Fighting is happening in the Village heavy fighting And based on the numbers fleeing

Ace’s hand’s tightened into fists So Sydney had been right Roy had lost Their hero had fallen

A couple dozen even arrived here and we

They need to be eliminated immediately The village spirit interrupted a very tall and skeletally thin man Their bodies will begin to transform shortly if their town really has fallen Into monsters Monsters of a strength that will damage us

Rose blinked looking at the Village Spirit But they are people

They are a liability then Ace said slowly surprised at how empty his voice sounded He lifted up the biker helmet and placed it over his head He was so tired of this So tired of everything There really was no justice no perfection People were shit and they struggled and then they died

The world was only shaped by strength and without it everything fell to anarchy What you needed was not a hero then no

But a power A power strong enough to wipe away all others The ability to burn the rest of the world to the ground if it dared threaten you And to Ace

That sounded an awful lot like a villain

Ace we should Rose began to speak but again she was interrupted

When I have the helmet on I am only Dauntless Ace said dispassionately all the human elements of his voice muffled by the plastic I will remove the liabilities

Ace blinked coming awake Then he winced Then he chuckled looking at the ceiling Rose was at his side looking down at him with concern Brute Left and Right were at the far while their spines ramrod straight looking at anywhere but him The small doctor clucked her tongue and began explaining how and when to take her potions over the next two days to fully recover

Apparently Randidly had did a number on him

So I lost Ace said shortly The doctor fell silent

Grinding his teeth Ace said as quietly as his voice would go I gained 10 Levels in Adapt in 1 minute of me being destroyed it’s laughable Why

There was a tear in his eye but Ace crushed it pressing his eyes closed so tightly it was grinded to extinction Why is that power not mine

No one spoke For the weak the world had no answer

Chapter 339

Your mother is a cunt The flame skull spat out at them rolling on the ground

Cunt Cunt Neveah said happily rolling around Randidly who stood over the skull which very quickly caused the skull to stop its rolling One accidental roll and it would be crushed beneath the huge bone wurm

Sure he was a skull right now but he was animated by an unholy fire that could reform his body should he have access to enough unclaimed bones If that fire was extinguished however

Sighing Randidly gestured for Neveah to back off Although Neveah’s accidental jostling wouldn’t hurt him he didn’t want the skull to be accidentally smashed Well perhaps it would be better to just purposefully smash the thing because it refused to give him any useful information regarding the Skeleton Knight Jemma’s location or whose forces the other group belonged to

Because aside from the flaming head Randidly had also subdued a squad of 10 humans and a captain as well as the strange transforming kid and a weird skeleton that based on his use of Aether manipulation was not a monster but a human with a Class Of those the squad seemed scared witless watching Neveah roll around with wide eyes the captain appeared surly and the monster kid was still knocked out

That had been Neveah’s doing and it had not been gentle Honestly she had just been excited to play Since finding herself in a new body she hadn’t really been able to rough house with a creature her size She simply bulldozed everything out of the way So she had been very enthusiastic about the prospect of this strange monster that grew to her level of size even if it had been dwarfed by her in terms of power

And the callous dominance she had displayed had etched itself in the squad’s hearts for sure They couldn’t stop trembling Even Simon and Thea kept their distance standing with their mounts and Ten’Malla

So driven by a need for information and curiosity Randidly went to the Skeleton Man Immediately the man pushed up his glasses which Randidly wasn’t even sure if they did anything Plus the gesture was extra awkward as his wrists were tied Of them all Randidly was most wary of this skeleton because he remembered being affected even through his high Resistance and Vitality by the other’s curses

My apologies for not recognizing you in our earlier meeting Mr Ghosthound It’s a pleasure

Randidly was also quite surprised by how normal the skeleton’s voice sounded although he supposed it was possible that the System translating software covered infernal bone speak as well A pleasure

Of course The skeleton said sounding very much like a socially unaware nerd It was almost like listening to himself speak from a few years ago Although in this current theatre of war we stand opposed however you have done more for humans in our Zone than any other individual bar none For that alone it would be strange not to thank you

Randidly blinked then laughed It had been a long time since he had been taken by surprise by someone And this was certainly a surprising reaction to him one that made him loosen up his guard almost in spite of himself

But if this skeleton man was speaking the truth Randidly supposed it made sense He extended a hand towards the man and with a deft movement of his fingers cut the cords binding the skeleton’s hands True he was the most dangerous of the captives but that didn’t mean that danger was all that real or present

Call me Randidly He said extending his hand The skeleton shook the hand

Coppernicus He said with very precise inflection I appreciate you untying me but really this body feels no pain It was not a bother And if it makes your men feel more comfortable

Randidly waved a hand but his smile slowly faded and he examined Coppernicus more closely his senses scanning along the Aether constructions through him Something was definitely off about this guy but Randidly didn’t have a delicate enough touch to tell exactly what was occuring People and their Classes were still a little bit outside of his pay grade

To make conversation and also to tease the other somewhat Randidly asked are we not opposed at this point I plan on killing the Skeleton Knight at this point You pledged to him Won’t that mean

Randidly didn’t know how to finish the question but Coppernicus shook his head

As I’ve been led to understand there aren’t necessarily any downsides to pledging While that Champion is alive you can gain increased Skill proficiency and experience Should they win those gains increase and become more permanent If you lose you lose access to the possibility of that bonus Of course you also might be hunted down and slaughtered as an insurrectionist but that is left to the discretion of the Champion

Randidly snorted Then honestly the Skeleton Knight sounds like the more attractive option to pledge to the Wild Rider doesn’t have the dedicated attention to hunt down and punish everyone who pledged to the other side Your Skeleton Knight on the other hand he certainly seems like the type to hold a grudge

Bobbing his head Coppernicus said Yes he really would I believe that went into Sydney’s decision for our East End Village to side with him in this fight It has certainly made human relations difficult but is something wrong

Randidly just looked at the skeleton man trying his best to keep his breathing even Sydney Your village is led by Sydney Does she have any connection to Ace from

The skeleton seemed to wince Well yes you could say there was a relationship there at some point I believe they were involved before the arrival of the System But now their relationships has soured somewhat

Randidly’s mouth firmed into a line So it was Sydney then Although he wasn’t sure what had transpired between Ace and Sydney whatever it was probably explained Ace’s extreme behaviors So then that was another thing that Randidly would need to do visit Sydney But one fire at a time first he needed to pursue Jemma

Turning to the Skeleton Man Randidly opened his mouth then paused somewhat puzzled What did it say about Randidly that he had spent a few months with Simon and Thea barely talking and now he had encountered this strange reanimated man and he basically had no compunctions with speaking In fact this might be one of the more relaxed and easy conversations he had had Aside from Ace it was probably the easiest and Ace had the benefit of a rapport

Was it the lack of humanity in the others eyes Was it the sorta detached pragmatism Either way something to think about Well another problem for the pile Although he had somewhat settled into his reserved and anti social persona it was slowly shifting That was enough for now

Do you know where the Skeleton Knight is Randidly asked slowly knowing that this might destroy any trust that the two of them had Still he owed a debt to that girl and he would protect her

However Coppernicus didn’t seem bothered by the question at all He thought for a moment and then said All I know is that the Skeleton Knight will only ride towards the capture of the Wild Rider once she is located Normally he remains in his castle but now

He’s heading directly in this direction to intercept Randidly muttered his eyes flashing Thank you After we depart you and your men are free to go Ah we will be taking the skull with us

After a moment’s hesitation Randidly continued You have no worries that your condition is related to the Skeleton Knight and if he falls

Oh no I was like this since the System came Coppernicus said dismissively I’m not exactly sure but I believe that I was on the threshold of life and death at the exact moment the System arrived Just like it cured most illnesses it appears to have cured me of death It is perhaps a lonely existence and a strange one But as more people grow used to the System I don’t get quite as much of the strange looks as before

They shook hands one last time and then Randidly left getting Simon to scout ahead with Astral form while Thea and Chrysanthemum clung awkwardly to Neveah’s back

That settled it she definitely had gotten a little bigger because the bear on her back was still quite oversized but it no longer looked as ridiculous The flaming skeleton head that continued to berate them went to the Wild Rider who volunteered for that pleasure with her usual cheer That was slightly suspicious but upon entering her hands the skeleton creature immediately went quiet so Randidly was willing to overlook it

Still he kept an eye on her After all she appeared to be taking the loss of her Regalia in stride It seemed the Lucretia had been honest about that at least She had another game here only Randidly was having a hard time seeing what it was right now

And honestly it was hard to care If she stood against him he would crush her like he would everything else

Simon arrived back in his body sitting up abruptly David err Randidly Trouble There is an army ahead

Randidly showed his teeth Neveah looks like we will give you another good meal I hope you are hungry

No no no Simon said shaking his head his eyes wide It’s a human army I think I think it’s the Squads of Donnyton

Chapter 340

Dinesh Captain of the 23rd Squad of Donnyton folded his arms a headache already forming between his eyes Of all the people to be assigned with why did have to end up with these two

Kayle who was the current leader of Squad II holding his dual long knives raised his voice to carry over the battlefield We will hit em fast and escape clean men We need surgical precision and a willingness to cut our losses if we get drawn in too deep They do not tire and we do

Hmph foolish and short sighted Paolo Captain of Squad III snorted putting his hands on his hips his Brawler gauntlets clacking The flashy golden steel alloy synthesized by Sam was impressive even when it was used in such a petty way We possess so much more frontal power than these schmucks Better crush them from the front drive them into the dirt and never relent That way

That way you end as Captain of Squad III Kayle interrupted dismissively rubbing fondly at the dinosaur leather vest he wore It was a strange material that was scaly yet had leathery qualities that the leather workers of Donnyton had managed to make into an absolutely glittering fusion of style and substance Better follow my superior tactical

Lucky shot we will see next time

Kick your ass

Your mouth hole will

Dinesh sighed again He wasn’t worried about the two men’s Squads they were professionals They wouldn’t take the talk too seriously and when they got to their business they would slaughter the skeleton forces What Dinesh was really worried about were the 40 or so irregulars that had been assigned to the flank with their three Squads who seemed profoundly shocked to see the two very exalted individuals like the Captains of the II and III Squads bickering like children

Donnyton had decided to cap the number of Squads at 50 so everyone beyond that who wanted to fight was considered an irregular They had Squads but they were numberless Squads nothing more than practice groups really For a lot of these people this would be some of their first real battlefield conditions combat The Raid Boss groupings and the higher tiered Squads had done most of the fighting while they were marching from Donnyton

However Lyra had suggested an alternative plan They couldn’t get the Skeleton Knight to commit his forces in a way they could directly smash them so it was better to stop playing the grinding game which the Skeleton Knight would win Instead they would send a force North and bribe a Village up here with enough points in terms of resources and treasures to establish a teleportation array

Then they could shift their main force and march from the North It was a happy coincidence also predicted by Lyra that the Wild Rider would lose and be captured Now as the Skeleton Knight’s forces fought to protect the group that had captured her they had to stand their ground and take the beating from Donnyton’s Squads

The Wild Rider was being taken through a narrow valley and Dozer and Decklan’s Squads were hot on their tails ripping through the defenders Soon if they didn’t want the Squads to catch the Wild Rider they would be forced to commit some lieutenants to slow their advance and Donnyton could finally draw some real blood instead of just harvesting cannon fodder

Helping Donnyton was the natural geography in this case The valley simply wasn’t wide enough to fit all of the Skeleton’s Knight’s forces They were packed into a thin area

However if the skeletons flanked around the side and started pressing from behind even Donnyton’s Squads would be hard pressed to win in an extended conflict with the skeletons They would just tire them out

Not even the Ghosthound could avoid wariness

So their group was in charge of watching the left flank while there was another on the right In his mind Dinesh knew that Paolo and Kayle were actually great at working together and they were just firing up the spirits of their Squads as everyone was rather disappointed they hadn’t been chosen to join the main force chasing the Wild Rider But still did it have to be this

Your mother

Just fuck your

With my knife

Toad nosed

silly

But then at the same time both of them fell silent turning Their Squads on unspoken command began to check their weapons and armor The irregulars began muttering to each other and Dinesh opened his mouth to restore order but Paolo’s sharp bark cut him off

Dinesh Magelight high and left As big as you can

Might as well make it two at 9 45 and 11 00 Kayle added grimly This isn’t something we’ve heard about yet

Startled at the seriousness in their tone Dinesh shot two bundles of Mana high in the air as directed When they exploded they fell apart in streaming flares It was just past sunset and vision was starting to decline This was when the skeletons preferred to attack so they had been prepared But as the light illuminated the low slope below them Dinesh could only let his jaw drop

Moving like a bullet train zigzagging back and forth over the terrain bulldozing over any smaller obstacles was a huge wurm made of bone which seemed to just slide forward without any need for it to move It even left a sleek shiny surface behind it as if it was reconstituting the very earth underneath it

Irregulars Any long range mages Dinesh asked his mouth finally remembering what it was supposed to be doing A few hands were raised and Dinesh gestured bringing them to the front

Aim for the figures sitting on its back Although we’ve tried to avoid hurting humans Kayle’s voice trailed off somewhat soft

Paolo just grunted And as Dinesh watched he could clearly see several forms on the monster’s back looking up at them In his heart there was a part of Dinesh that was very hesitant to start acting violently against their fellow man Although the System had done so much damage to humanity it had also united them against the common enemy of monsters

Dinesh felt his heart sink as he realized that the System starting with the Champions introduction was starting to move to divide them He supposed it was present even before with the very fine divide between different Villages but that was more of a rivalry than anything else which perhaps could go South should the threat of monster hordes from nearby dungeons ever leave But this

Fire He said quietly

Mana Bolts and Fireballs and Nether Bolts shot forward heading towards the figures on the back of the bone wurm Most of them shot towards the figure at the front a man with dark hair who only cocked his head at the sight of the incoming bolts Then he waved his hand and the air distorted

The projectiles crashed against the Mana Shield the man had erected but they ripped through only after a few of the attacks hit Dinesh grimaced Although it was admirable the man had that level of Mana Shield it wouldn’t be enough

In his heart Dinesh said a small prayer for the man

But then his eyes widened because there was another Mana Shield underneath the first Dinesh’s eyebrows rose Simultaneous casting But even if he could produce multiple Mana Shields

The second shield broke the third shield broke the fourth shield broke all the way to the 7th The 8th shield did not The figure didn’t even seem angry he just peered up at them tapping his chin He said something to the creature and it instantly increased in speed rushing towards them knocking trees and rocks out of the way on its journey

A heavy hitter of our own on the way Paolo said with remarkable cheer We just need to keep em here long enough to arrive

Alright boys Raid Boss contingencies Kayle said his eyes narrowing Survival first damage second Contain and control

But the wurm was already there rearing up high above them its mouth open row upon row of teeth glistening in light from Dinesh’s Magelights It seemed to be taunting them hanging high in the sky over them its mouth wide and infinite a portal to the deepest pits of hell

Just as Dinesh was opening his mouth to order the mages gathered around him to fire another salvo and as he prepped his own Arcane Orb a figure dropped from the wurm Light and gentle the figure landed resolving itself to be the lead rider on the wurms back His hair was long and dark as night his figure lean and muscled to the point of looking like a professional athlete Although the System changed a lot it didn’t change people’s willingness to work You didn’t get to that level of fitness without an unreal level of determination Stats or no

But what was most noticeable was his eyes large and emerald piercing even in the twilight The words lodged in Dinesh’s throat

Because because he recognized this man

Men of Donnyton who dares bar my way The figure said slowly standing with his arms held casually at his sides Dinesh trembled and wanted to collapse relief sweeping through him

Fuck Paolo said wiping a tear from his eye

There there Kayle said patting his fellow Captain on the back Someday we will learn how to make an entrance like that Welcome back Ghosthound

Chapter 341

Orders are to pull back a little Decklan said casually stepping effortlessly around the first strike of the Skeleton Captain and shattering its spine with the hilt of his dagger Keep them in sight but stop engaging them so seriously

Dozer just grunted leveling 8 skeletons with a single swing then stepped forward and did it again But based on the time they had spent together Decklan could sense that there was more of a questioning lean to this grunt

Apparently we have something big planned for this group All we need to do is keep them slowed Decklan said his skepticism clear in his tone Apparently a big hitter is showing up

Again Dozer grunted but this time after annihilating another portion of the skeleton army he put the large club he used now forged out of the thigh of an ogre against his shoulder They considered the fleeing skeletons before them

The group had been annoyingly well trained and had managed to keep the combination of Dozer and Decklan’s squads from just ripping them to shrewds Usually the mix of decisive power and shrewd strikes would chip away at their opponents’ resolve and ability to resist but the Skeleton Knight’s forces were all so replaceable that there weren’t enough pieces that they could strike at to break them

Plus the enemies with group were a high enough level that they gave Decklan’s squad paused and it was simply too hectic to press through here Morosely Decklan once more wished that Thorn had agreed to come North with him If that guy was here these skeletons

So we wait Dozer’s voice was flat

We babysit Decklan said echoing the sentiment They both gave the orders and their men continued to harass but stopped pursuing so directly Bored Decklan spun his dagger across his fingers watching the skeletons recognizing the difference in treatment and slowing almost to see what was going to happen next There was clearly someone intelligent at the center of the formation moving them around

Decklan showed his teeth If he had a few more minutes well it’s too late orders were orders Now Decklan couldn’t wait to see how Mrs Hamilton was going to pull a victory out of this one Especially since

They were now reaching the edge of the narrow valley and more and more skeletons were pouring down filling the mouth to blockade the pursuit Although Dozer would undoubtedly be able to make a hole there was basically nothing that could stop the man in a direct charge at this point there would be a huge amount of numbers that would drown them out past that mouth

So how

Decklan stilled The ground was rumbling In a way that for a moment made him believe that Thorn was here But this vibration wasn’t the same more shallow but swiftly increasing in volume His eyes flicked to the side as he noticed a new message

Clear a path Decklan said in a low voice his eyes narrowing as he looked behind them from the way they came where the rumbling was coming from Dozer heard the words and repeated it and the squads moved to the side

Decklan did his best to sharpen his gaze pushing his skills and Perception to the limit but the twilight was fading to true darkness and it was impossible for even his System augmented eyes to find what was coming

Then all at once it was here

A huge monster a thick traincar almost that resolved itself into a bone wurm was sliding down the valley almost as if the ground was iced and greased Instantly his instincts screamed to dodge but it was simply too fast and it was upon them within seconds roaring forward the ground shaking with the momentum of their passage

But out of the corner of Decklan’s eye he saw a hand reaching out stretching for him Decklan blinked

Almost against his will he reached out his hand in return The jolt of force as he was grabbed and pulled twisted his shoulder almost to the limit of his body but abruptly he found himself sitting on the back of the wurm The wind was howling past keeping Decklan from being able to get a grip on what was happening but then abruptly the noise cut off and there was a relative amount of silence

Mana Shields work well enough but they break after a few seconds Just need to keep them on rotation so we can talk A voice said low and deep and almost awkward sounding

Dozer’s grunt brought Decklan back to himself And also focus his attention to a point fixated on that voice Even as he removed a potion from his pack his eyes were gazing at the man sitting at the head of this bone wurm

He was sitting casually as if they weren’t moving at over 70 mph Long unruly black hair to his shoulders Bare feet A spear made of woven roots Piercing emerald eyes The Ghosthound

You Decklan said almost at a loss for words Luckily it seemed Dozer retained more of his sense and was able to speak

Welcome back Then as if this covered all of the emotions that one would feel after a 6 month reunion with the man who had saved all of their lives Dozer continued What’s the plan boss

Forward The Ghosthound said turning around Better brace for this because they have some of those big fucks Neveah Rip em to shreds

The bone wurm underneath them vibrated with glee in a way that again reminded Decklan of Thorn Suddenly they were at the mouth of the valley and the ranks and ranks of skeletons were there waving their weapons and buzzing with fury

When the bone wurm hit them they simply exploded reduced to dust The Ghosthound gestured left and right and hundreds of spears made of roots shot up out of the ground ripping through the bulk of the forces at the mouth of the valley that hadn’t simply been annihilated by their passing

Just like that the formation of skeletons collapsed folding in on itself as its heart had been ripped out With that wave of his hand the controllers seemed to have fallen too because the remainder just seemed to be wandering around

But then their speed continued to carry them forward and they left the skeleton army behind His and Dozer’s squad would be more than enough to mop up the rest of the stragglers More than anything else though Decklan had so many questions as he stared at the Ghosthound’s back

Where had he been What had he been doing Where did this huge monster they were riding come from And

Decklan gestured behind them On the back of the creature farther behind them there was also a teenage boy holding onto an ox a girl petting a grizzly bear and a preteen holding a flaming skull Decklan sighed inwardly Truly the Ghosthound’s greatest skill was his ability to collect weirdos But Decklan didn’t for a moment doubt that in their individual fields each of these people was powerful in their own right

Slow Neveah This part is delicate The Ghosthound said his gaze forward Decklan leaned forward to peer in that direction The group of skeletons that had the captive and the Regalia seemed to realize that they weren’t going to be able to escape in time so they were forming into a defensive formation to repel them a squad of skeletons who held long pikes pointing towards them

But even with their speed slowed they would arrive far before the other had anything more than a handful of skeletons set up And more than that

The bone wurm underneath them didn’t slow at all when faced with the previous enemies Decklan had a hard time believing that this would be any different

The Ghosthound turned to them as they rushed towards the enemy and said something that caught Decklan and even Dozer by his expression by surprise

On whose orders did you come up here

There was a hard edge to his voice too and his eyes glittered dangerously Decklan instantly reevaluated his past encounters looking for some sort of political maneuvering between the Ghosthound and another one of Donnyton’s leaders Perhaps Mrs Hamilton Donny

No it couldn’t be either of them they were his most steadfast supporters That basically just left Sam

Ah perhaps it was that Decklan thought his eyes softening Mrs Hamilton had commented recently that Lyra was acting strangely perhaps related to the Ghosthound’s departure Had there been some bad blood there There was always a bit of sexual tension there and if that soured

Still

Mrs Hamilton who was acting on a tip from Lyra Dozer supplied interrupting Decklan’s train of thought Apparently there is a fat prize waiting after this Champion nonsense is done if we

The Ghosthound waved a hand but there was definitely tension in his shoulders now He gave them both a searching look Decklan felt something very cold in his heart under the scrutiny If it hadn’t been clear before now before the full force of the Ghosthound’s attention it was clear that something had changed His eyes were harder the air of violence absolutely palpable the natural strength oozing off of him

The Ghosthound had grown far far more dangerous

Thank you Well for now The Ghosthound said turning his attention to the front Let’s cut down the Skeleton Knight shall we It seems like everyone has arrived

A trumpet sounded And over the far hill a great host of undead began to crawl forward These were bigger and tougher looking and they began to scramble down the slope heading for their caravan with the prisoners

And upon the hill sitting upon a grey horse was a skeleton that wore a suit of cast iron armor starkly dark against his bones His eyes burned copper The gazes of the Skeleton Knight and the Ghosthound met They both smiled

Chapter 342

Randidly was sure that there was some plot afoot here that he wasn’t seeing arranged by the Creature But he still couldn’t figure out what it was Which only made him more worried

Because the only reason that it hadn’t intervened was that things were going exactly how it wanted them to There were some hasty steps that Randidly could take to forcibly shift the game and perhaps force the Creature to show itself but Randidly had no end game after that He still had no way of counteracting her although Lucretia was feeding him some very interesting information about the Aether construct in his Soul Skill

Nothing useful as of yet but their agreement was currently still young

Not that he trusted her either

Randidly had a headache

Better to focus his attention elsewhere Right now Jemma was in trouble and in trouble because of him For that he would save her regardless of whether or not it would be exactly what the Creature wanted Debts need to be paid and responsibility needed to be taken

Neveah

Yes gentle Soft crush

Randidly chuckled Yes that’s fine soft crush

Either way they would be arriving before the host of the Skeleton Knight It appeared this mad dash of Randidly’s was for the best Now they could seize both Regalias for themselves which would hopefully mean that the Creature would approach on a venue he could handle

Randidly grimaced Yet that was still so dangerous it drove him crazy but what else could he do It had Lyra That was another debt and more than that Randidly shook his head letting the thoughts fall away All of that for later For now soft crush

Turning around Randidly began to speak Thea cover Ten and Simon Simon keep me informed of the Skeleton Knight’s movements Decklan Dozer you’re with me Let’s see if you can keep up

Both Decklan and Dozer seemed slightly insulted but had the good sense not to say anything about it Even if both of them had used the time dilution effects of dungeons their lack of an Aether Spring would mean that they needed to pull back at some point or suffer from Aether Sickness At most optimistic they might have stretched out their 6 months to a year of training since he had seen them which would be a little more than 1 third of the time Randidly had spent training in Shal’s world

And the people in Shal’s world were very very good at what they did Better by far than monsters you could find in even a Lvl 35 dungeon

Fun

Yes let’s Randidly said simply

Instead of charging into them like she had done previously Neveah sharply decelerated letting Randidly Decklan and Dozer hop off and then raised herself up to her full height As Thea and Simon got themselves in position Neveah methodically began using her mouth and tail to rip the skeletons to shreds treating them like they were paper dolls

Randidly moved unwilling to let her steal the show Immediately upon setting foot on the ground he used Phantom Half Step to cross the distance and began to use the Phantom’s Embrace powered up through Empower Haste and Mana Strengthening to move among them like a ghost stealing their lives and leaving only piles of bones

He was really burning through his stores of Mana and Stamina but he had a few rings filled with enough to restore him to full if there was a pinch Plus the better this situation was in hand by the time the Skeleton Knight arrived the faster this would end

These were perhaps the elites of the skeleton forces but they were nothing special in Randidly’s eyes Behind him he could feel how Dozer and Decklan began to follow his lead and break through both in their individual ways He spared a glance for each of them sizing them up The Creature had them under its thumb for a while It was hard to know what he should be suspicious of or not

Made him want to tear his hair out facing this opponent he couldn’t predict and balked at facing directly It was making him question too many things So much so that a skeleton almost managed to land its weapon on him

Huffing with annoyance Randidly stepped past them meeting a giant minotaur looking skeleton which bellowed its defiance protecting a small group of people

Dozer

A grunt came in response and the man exploded into motion forward swinging a club that was about the same size that he was The creature yelled again and they crashed together Randidly used Phantom Half Step covering the distance to the group of people which turned out to be 4 glowing skeletons a lich looking creature and a bound and gagged girl in the Wild Rider Regalia

Jemma

As the lich opened his mouth to start casting a spell root after root rushed upwards sliding between the bones and then curling around them and pulling them apart piece by piece making sure to snap and crack every bit that he could get his hands on

Decklan whistled softly as the 5 skeletons were swiftly reduced to dust but Randidly just moved again arriving at Jemma’s side He ripped off the bonds and then removed the Regalia He tried to place it into his interspatial ring but couldn’t which was strange But it seemed some part of its magic kept it from being stored Interesting in a way but annoying in another

Jemma gasped looking up at Randidly with tear filled eyes Mr David Where

It’s okay you are safe now Randidly said his hands curling into fists a beast composed of fury forming in his chest as he thought of how the Wild Rider had allowed this to happen Encouraged even But why Was it really just to escape her fate as Lucretia suspected Or

So many secrets and motives Randidly couldn’t keep track of them all But for now protecting her was something that he could do We need to

But she interrupted him Where where is Rhaidon He’s wounded I can feel him near He’s in so much pain surrounded by darkness He

But then she trailed off pressing her eyes shut Randidly berated himself for not thinking about this and glanced around Mostly he could just see intimidated skeletons eyeing them up and other skeletons being slaughtered by Neveah As for where that metallic dog could be

Decklan Scout the area Look for a large metallic dog It should have been captured by this group perhaps they stashed it somewhere on the way

Got it And the man slipped away moving with such stealth that even Randidly couldn’t help but be impressed The speed and suddenness of that departure were almost Batman levels

But then Randidly felt something ripple and his hackles rose Of course it would be like this His attention flowed inward and he communicated briefly with Lucretia before straightening and looking at the person in front of him

It’s been a while Lyra said her smile wide and kind It almost broke his heart how hard it hit him the memory of his strange emotions in regards to her whether real or caused by the System These 6 months had done a lot for her and her face had matured growing into her sharp cheekbones her sharp nose fitting her face Where she had previously been lovely now she was stunning and her smile made every other source of light flutter and dim

All of this without any skills Just pure blessed genetics But of course that was not her wearing that face

After the amount of time Randidly had been gone Lyra would not have kindness in her eyes

Further proving that this was not the human this purported to be was the fact it was holding the huge metallic dog by the scruff of the neck the creature struggling feebly but largely slumped to the side

Creature Randidly said simply glaring at it It smiled widely giving up Lyra’s bright grin for something more like the Cheshire Cat turned serial killer

Ah there’s that fire But honestly why do you hate me so I’ve always wanted what was best for you humans and you keep just refusing to listen to me Down this path only lies Calamity and it will break you like it has broken all other planets before yours

I will not sell our freedom to you for a false peace Now return Lyra before I

Before you What The Creature asked clearly amused Lyra’s eyes crinkled as it waited for his answer But something else distracted him

Randidly you know ’ Lucretia’s voice was soft almost in awe but she hesitated for a moment before saying That thing is completely made up of Aether She has no physical substance ’

Randidly kept his face blank And that means ’

Well ’ Lucretia seemed stumped by that question It honestly felt good to have the sadistic woman who had caused him so much trouble to be completely lost for words Well what can you use to destroy Aether Basically nothing I suppose But ’

The Creature laughed aloud Is this it then Silence and stubbornness What a weapon you have found How do you expect to beat the Calamity if I am too much for you to handle Hand over the Regalia I give you my word that my actions will provide humanity with the salvation that you are incapable of

Randidly ground his teeth in frustration and remained silent But more than that

Wasn’t the Creature acting extremely strangely today She had always been on about protecting humanity and using his Soul Skill for it previously but she had been meticulous and brutal trapping him and isolating his power leaving him practically helpless If not for the Aether Crossroads in his chest he really would have fallen that day

And yet here she was monologuing like a bad supervillain It almost reminded him of Ace’s antics What was going on that he was missing She was

Stalling ’ Lucretia whispered But it helps us too Because I figured it out although we can’t destroy Aether the one thing you can do with it is dirty it If you use the spear ’

The Creature flashed out of existence and in her wake stepped a tall skeleton swinging a sword that would have bisected Lyra in half The metallic dog dropped to the ground whimpering

The Skeleton Knight looked around lines of his frown clear on his face Randidly locked eyes with the thing for the second time this day Was the Creature’s goal really so simple as to allow the Skeleton Knight to win But no then why

Well it appears that all that remains The Skeleton Knight said slowly looking around again finding nothing and regarding Randidly directly is to settle this like men Let us duel Mr Ghosthound

Chapter 343

Randidly blinked thinking furiously He couldn’t think up a good reason why NOT to which was exactly why he was hesitating But maybe that was what the Creature wanted

Arrghh Randidly bellowed throwing his hands up to the sky A spear advanced that was it All of this double thinking it was useless He had a weapon against the Creature now maybe thanks to Lucretia They had found Rhaidon who appeared to be in no immediate danger

That was positive The Wild Rider’s Regalia was behind him and the Skeleton Knight brought his Regalia to him There was nothing to think about Use absolute power and crush them all

Yes let’s Randidly said listening as the sounds of battle grew more intense as Neveah Thea and Dozer ripped into the Skeleton Knight’s personal retinue But none approached the two individuals standing in the center

At first Randidly expected that there would be some sort of ceremony to it but as soon as Randidly agreed he felt something in the air something change A dampening of the noise a great barrier around them Not isolating them but pushing everything farther away Randidly’s eyebrows rose This was

The Skeleton Knight nodded You have good senses It cannot prevent interference but it discourages it Now then Let us continue until both of us are dead

The Skeleton Knight looked expectantly at Randidly who could only shake his head Was that supposed to be a bad joke

mm perhaps The Skeleton Knight conceded as he walked towards Randidly I have spent precious little time conversing with you humans and your customs are mm not sophisticated but rather devious in terms of humor Hard to get a grip I think I’m doing admirably considering the circumstances If I am to rule you people I must understand them

In order to rule us Randidly said slowly as he moved to meet the Skeleton Knight in single combat You need to beat me

Simon focused his will channeling it through his Soul Bound companion feeling his Astral powers growing stronger A giant claw formed and began to rake through the charging skeletons around them that threatened to overwhelmed them

Or at least Simon initially assumed they would quickly overwhelm them They were tough enemies high above the level of the skeletons they had faced in the past Already Simon had gained two levels in the course of the fight just crushing the weakened ones left by the other people around him

But as the fight dragged on it seemed that Simon had vastly underestimated the scope of this battle simply put his teammates were unreal

Perhaps it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that as the fighting intensified Neveah became increasingly wild lashing out in every direction and leaving only wreckage In her brief moments of respite she ate the bones around her her body trembling and slowly but surely increasing in size It filled Simon with awe

This was a Raid Boss This was a creature that had reached Level 30 by relying on its Stats and meagre Skills alone And now it had the benefit of inheriting a portion of the Ghosthound’s strength It would be more surprising if it wasn’t monstrous

No what really shocked Simon was the performance of Thea and the one the Ghosthound referred to as Dozer

Dozer of course was someone they had heard about in the North He was the siege breaker of Donnyton a man whose huge strength could crack any armor break any formation And although his size wasn’t immediately as impressive as his myth’s the huge club that he wielded like it was made of plywood was exactly what the rumors had spoke of

Before him the skeletons were nothing Even Neveah’s tail couldn’t move with the brutal speed of that club Bodies were reduced to powder with a methodical efficiency of a surgeon The whole time Dozer’s face was rather placid his eyes scanning the battlefield flicking over to the spot where the Ghosthound was which was currently obscured by a weird mist

Simon frowned at that but before he investigated he spared Thea his attention

He had never seen Thea fight before but since learning that their ages were relatively close to each other as compared to the Ghosthound he had assumed that she wasn’t as powerful as he had initially expected her to be based on her gruff exterior If anything Simon learned he should have adjusted her in the opposite direction moving her towards the upper tier of anyone he had seen before

There was a ferocity to her a wildness to her that Simon could never remember seeing a brutal strength as she dual wielded hammers knocking back skeletons while Chrysanthemum knocked the bulk of the forces off their balance

Chrysanthemum too was more beast than rather stoic bear that she had always seemed but Simon was beginning to suspect it was due to the very strange plants that he had seen the Ghosthound feeding to Chrysanthemum those few times they had played with each other Simon had seen the desire that had filled the animals in the Wild Rider’s test as they looked at those fruits

Her fur too seemed to be changing with flecks of red and grey turning her fur more dusky and desolate But it was hard to see in the dim light and even harder during the day when her typical gold showed through But Simon trusted his instincts at this point and had learned that of everything the Ghosthound was he paid his debts

Just like he had helped Simon as much as he could giving him advice pointers for his Skills and introducing him to several powerful people It left a slightly bitter taste in Simon’s mouth

Perhaps the Wild Rider had been right The Ghosthound was just like Neveah pure and violent But that didn’t make the betrayal any easier to swallow even if the fires of his emotions had dimmed somewhat at this point The man wasn’t a monster he was just awkward if anything

Which made his actual level of strength all that more intimidating to think that a real human with human weaknesses was wielding it His mom spent her entire life campaigning against just that sort of political and personal power being focused in single positions like President and Governor due to its possibility of corruption

It was strange now to see the reason for her work personified and to feel slightly helpless in the face of it Because in Simon’s mind what other choice did they have but to allow it Avoiding it was impossible

The strange fog cleared and Simon’s senses flooded forward the force stopping them gone Simon frowned or at least mentally frowned because when he scanned the area only two people stood there the Ghosthound and the creature that appeared to be the Skeleton Knight Which was weird because right before the fog sprang up he would have sworn that someone else had been there

Strangely a new energy emerged around the two and although Simon could sense and see them very well he somehow knew that interfering in that fight would be difficult Not just working up the nerves to do it but because there was a strange fabric of energy wrapped around them isolating them somehow

His investigations were interrupted as he felt a swift touch of that strange numbing mist from earlier blacking out a brief area But then it was gone Worried Simon came back to his physical body sitting up

The Ghosthound is fighting the Skeleton Knight Everyone alright Simon asked feeling somewhat lame

Dozer spared him a glance not even batting an eye as he destroyed a dozen more skeletons Fine here

Fine Fine Fine Here Neveah repeated grinding the skeletons around them to dust

Also fine How’s the fight going Thea said taking a brief break while Chrysanthemum rushed forward She looked at him and wiped beads of sweat from her forehead Feeling abruptly flushed Simon turned away towards Ten’Malla the Wild Rider

But then he paused because she wasn’t there Feeling slightly confused he spread out his Astral senses leaving his body behind Still nothing She had departed and taken that flaming skull with her

Still if anything that was helpful One less liability like him Simon looked towards the fight his attention fixed upon the two fighters After exchanging a few words the two approached each other weapons raised

It was a strange pairing the Ghosthound barefoot and holding a spear of roots the Skeleton Knight in his cast iron armor holding a greatsword that flashed silver But when they moved it was clear that these two were of one kind

The force with which they collided was so great that Simon was almost jolted awake in his actual body jostled by the shockwave Both stumbled back their eyes scanning the other

Excellent A true duel The Skeleton Knight said his voice oddly distant This is much different than I expected being paired against the Wild Rider Nothing more than chasing rats in a wine cellar But you you will not run will you You will die with honor

You remind me of someone you know The Ghosthound countered considering a deep divot in his root spear which had been cut by the weapon of the Skeleton Knight With a simple flourish the Ghosthound created another and squared off against his opponent Arrogant perfect martial form told from birth he was the best but I beat him

You are unlucky then that this man and I are very different The Skeleton Knight replied slowly raising his sword Because as I will show you I was never told I was the best Everything I am now I took from those who underestimated me Be wary for I am coming

Chapter 344

Randidly’s eyes were narrowed as he considered the Skeleton Knight who was rushing towards him Truly this bastard was strong More so than anyone he had fought but Drak True Randidly had grown a lot since his fight against Drak but

Drak had let him seize the momentum Something told Randidly that the Skeleton Knight wouldn’t do the same

That huge sword of his flashed out traveling faster than a weapon of that size had any right to Luckily or unluckily Randidly moved on instinct raising his spear to block the weapon But again the edge of the blade dug deep sinking into the spear making the weapon shudder

This time however Randidly was ready for it He let go of the first spear and grabbed the other already formed to his right and struck out The Skeleton Knight’s counter was smooth and Randidly was forced to sidestep hissing

Immediately Randidly activated Haste Empower and Mana Strengthening moving at his top speed to lash out at the Skeleton Knight’s knees It remained to be seen whether Randidly could do any actual damage with these spears considering how powerful the armor appeared to be As he expected the tip skittered off of the metal leaving barely a mark

Randidly tsk’d spinning away avoiding the extremely rapid stab that aimed for Randidly’s follow up strike Not only was the Skeleton Knight powerful stat wise but he also had excellent fundamental skills An annoying but effective combo

The huge sword lashed out again as smooth as a lake on a cold day

This time Randidly met the strike allowing the sword to sink into the wood of the spear But instead of pulling back he pushed activating Stalemate Breaker grunting and smashing the Skeleton Knight backwards

This finally seemed to grab the Skeleton Knight’s attention and he immediately hopped backwards several steps creating some distance Although he knew what was waiting for him Randidly stepped forward to follow The counter was so sharp that Randidly almost swore aloud cursing that sword that must weigh as much as toothpick

But with a double activation of Phantom Half Step Randidly was within the range of the strike and smashed it aside with his shoulder Or tried to The strike was powerful enough to still push him back a little Not enough to stop the root spear which Randidly shoved towards the eye of the Skeleton Knight

Twisting the Skeleton Knight ducked under the thrust displaying a surprising amount grace for a skeleton in a giant suit of armor Randidly grunted as the Skeleton Knight’s elbow hit him in the gut His temper flared hot in his chest This fucking

Fine no more feints Channeling all of his passive skills Randidly began to summon more and more root spears to smash against the armor of the Skeleton Knight At first the Skeleton Knight managed to hold his own against the onslaught Randidly burning his Stamina for an advantage

The swordwork of the Skeleton Knight was flawless or it least it would have been had Randidly not destroyed the ground underneath him making him stumble Then Randidly began to really lay on the pain Slashing and Sweeping against the armor slowly leaving increasing amounts of scratches and dents

Very quickly the Skeleton Knight righted himself and adjusted to the tactic avoiding the unstable ground or at least trying to But there was only so much you could do when the attacks came from beneath the earth destroying your stance underneath you silent and invisible

After about 3 minutes of this Randidly withdrew his chest heaving taking the opportunity to catch his breath somewhat Immediately Golden Roots of Yggdrasil activated thick veins of golden energy flowing up through the ground into the bare soles of his feet At the same time in his chest Second Wind kicked up filling him with warm vigor

Although the Skeleton Knight’s face was fleshless his emotions still conveyed rather clearly through the bone medium Who no what are you You cannot be this strong not this quickly

Randidly grinned These were spread out across the armor but there were now dozens of long gashes in the cast iron armor that covered its body Its expression was grim as it considered Randidly Although he had stopped Randidly would be able to start dissecting the armor further now now that it was riddled with flaws Although the quality of the spears wasn’t initially high Randidly was learning how to focus his Mana increasing the strength of the root materials to a more damaging level

With that combined with his high Strength and repeated strikes to the same spot he was able to tear the armor to pieces It was fun this sort of fight Matching wits pushing the opponent relying on the unpredictability to push the other back and seize the momentum But just like Randidly had predicted the Skeleton Knight was good at quashing it as soon as it arose

Still his practice sessions with Azriel weren’t in vein in terms of learning to vary his tactics Randidly was probably a genius if only at applying the same skill over and over in different ways Through slight variations in timing and application Randidly could use the Skeleton Knight’s own responses against him clouding his reactions and injecting self doubt

But there was a limit to this effectiveness which was why he took a brief break Too much too fast and the Skeleton Knight would stop trying to internalize the timing and just shift to pure instinct And based on what Randidly had seen from him thus far those instincts would be difficult to deal with

still even with your strength The Skeleton Knight said straightening and holding his blade aloft You are still flesh As long as the moment comes where you tire your body grinding to a halt you will fall to me

Randidly just chuckled This time when the Skeleton Knight approached there was no hesitation no grace It was all brutal power and haste designed to press Randidly towards the edge of his exhaustion And honestly it would probably work too against a normal opponent

But Randidly was anything but normal

Raising his hand and pointing Randidly activated Incinerating Bolt The first three ripped out in quick succession clipping the Skeleton Knight’s armor and ripping large holes But the third through fifth bolts were devoured by the Skeleton Knight’s sword The blade seemed to leap to life curving and blocking them all Instantly the flames were devoured and consumed

The Skeleton Knight paused moving backwards Randidly narrowed his eyes gazing at the offending sword in his hand Glowing with a dim light it was clear that something had changed

Oh You use magic I would recommend you not do that again but it’s already too late My dear Mage’s Bane has your scent The light around the sword flared and Randidly could feel the Mana in his body tremble

This was dangerous Although Randidly couldn’t be sure the way it made his Mana feel reminded him of the way the Engraving Needle made his Mana tremble Which meant if the sword were to come in contact with him his Mana might flow out into that sword Which based on the light would grow stronger

Best to nip that in the bud as quickly as possible Still Randidly resolved not to use Inspiration because it was a weapon that was proven to work against the Creature in the past As long as it might be skulking around nearby it had to be held in reserve So for this it was time to show this world that not everything Randidly learned from Shal’s world was about spears

Huu I feel slightly embarrassed to have to attack while you are tired but eh The Skeleton Knight trailed off continuing to advance towards Randidly but slowing down In the air around them there was a thick layer of mist A soft ticking emerged in the background making the air vibrate

Randidly’s eyes burned emerald and his smile was sharp The aura of the Spear Phantom spread sliding over the ground His Battle Intent was thick floating out around them pressing down on them both giving Randidly a perfect view of them both

an image Extremely sharp too You certainly are a worthy opponent However Around the Skeleton Knight a powerful sharp edge of metal filled the air ripping through Randidly’s image But that only caused Randidly to bare his teeth more and his Battle Intent swirled and thickened further keeping them both shrouded in the mist

The Skeleton Knight could do nothing but slow to a stop as Randidly completely disappeared from his field of view Spinning slowly his copper fire eyes scanned the area around him You never struck me as the hiding type

I’m not Randidly whispered and the Skeleton Knight spun around leveling his sword which howled with glee finally having located its target As the blade slashed towards Randidly’s chest he met it with the Inevitable Phantom Arrives which seemed to hang in the air As the Skeleton Knight took in the exchange initially he sneered but then his face drastically changed

The thrust smashed aside his slash ripping through his armor and shattering several of his ribs Instinctively he brought his hand across in a punch aiming for Randidly’s chin but Randidly was abruptly nothing more than a Phantom blown away by the blow borrowing the force to twist around and bring his spear in for another attack slashing downward

This time the Skeleton Knight moved much more quickly bringing up his guard But Randidly’s cut jumped forward as the Idiosyncratic Cut activated and the blow caught the Skeleton Knight in the collarbone shattering it and sending him stumbling

You The Skeleton Knight whispered even as his sword howled

Randidly only grinned and stepped forward

Chapter 345

To his credit the Skeleton Knight moved instantly hopping back to his feet reaching behind and shedding his already shredded armor This he used as a projectile but Randidly easily moved around it and continued to approach

Hissing the Skeleton Knight gripped his desperate and wildly squirming sword and stood blatantly challenging Randidly Honestly his size was somewhat intimidating even without his armor a bit wider and several inches taller than Randidly But it wasn’t enough to phase Randidly at this point

This was fun The Skeleton Knight offered giving Randidly pause

Yes It was Randidly said almost said They held each other’s glances for several long seconds But it has to end

The Skeleton Knight said nothing but grimaced as the roots Randidly was controlling wound up around his legs binding him Cutting awkwardly the Skeleton Knight was able to give himself some measure of freedom but more and more flowed upwards gathering his arms and keeping them from cutting

Luckily for the Skeleton Knight it appeared that the Mage Bane was able to suck Mana from the roots too so the blade was vibrating and hot in the Skeleton Knight’s hand practically twisting on its own to cut through roots Annoying but that just made this part easier

As Randidly arrived before the Skeleton Knight the sword screamed swerving to slash at him But Randidly simply pointed off to the side and used an incinerating bolt aiming for the Skeleton Knight’s side

Furious and gleeful the Mage Bane twisted in the Skeleton Knight’s hand blocking the blow and absorbing it Activating all of his passives at once and using the Inevitable Phantom Arrives Randidly destroyed the upper half of the Skeleton Knight’s torso including its head The sword trembled screaming then flared bright then went dark and dropped to the ground

The bones collapsed and there was a brief moment of silence but then the strange dueling field around them collapsed and Randidly found himself at the edge of a battlefield or what had been one But after the Skeleton Knight fell the skeletons turned listless and then began attacking wildly even each other while others just collapsed

Randidly scanned around and was glad to see that Rhaidon was slumped over to the side where the Creature had stood and his chest rose and fell One less thing to worry about Randidly picked up the sword gingerly worried that it would still try to absorb his Mana but nothing happened so he turned his attention to

Randidly froze Lyra or the Creature parading as Lyra stood over Jemma’s body carefully removing the headdress from her As she did so she straightened and smiled at Randidly At her side two bodies were floating One which looked like a slimy gecko and another Ten’Malla The Wild Rider

Randidly’s hand tightened on the hilt of the sword

I’ve been thinking you know The Creature said continuing to smile at him while it stepped closer to him the two bodies floating behind her covered in chains made of pure Aether Your resistance is annoying but impressive And I fear seeing your strength now things have come too far for us to leave the System You are addicted to it aren’t you

Randidly’s eyes focused on her sharp and murderous In his chest he could feel Lucretia’s hushed explanation and the Devourer spear humming almost as if it knew what was coming Just a bit closer But Randidly couldn’t help but also notice that Jemma’s limp body was lifted off the ground by chains of Aether and bound behind the Creature

Grimacing Randidly weighed his willingness to act knowing Jemma would probably die She was so young But if it saved the world from this monster Both options left him with a deep shadow on his heart Hopefully another opportunity would emerge

He attempted to send a message to Dozer but his menus were all gibberish Interference Well two could play at that game Immediately he began to focus on the fluctuations of Aether around him slowly discovering the cage of Aether the Creature had made to isolate him feeling it out His skill levels ticked up But it was far far too slow

Do you refuse to admit it The Creature chided almost amused Randidly flushed but continued to say nothing

Well it matters not But you have made me imagine a new path where I am able to hide in the System in plain sight Inside the System but seamlessly blended It’s actually genius I’m surprised I haven’t thought of it until now

Randidly casually moved the Sword Regalia watching as the Creature’s eyes followed it So I suppose you will need this What will you give

Ahaha You have me all wrong Randidly The Creature chuckled taking another step closer Just two more steps and she would be within range Yes I want my chosen to be the Champion of this Zone and using their influence rise further but who better than you Randidly Be my Champion and all can be forgiven between us

With a casual flick that left Randidly flummoxed the Creature threw the headdress of the Wild Rider towards him Ten’Malla’s head lolled her body slumped and unconscious Randidly caught the headdress He resisted the urge to just say Eh ’ and instead stayed still unable to comprehend what was happening

Was this a trap A trick

Very clearly up until this point the Creature had been very anti System seeking to circumvent and avoid it Of all of the terrible traits the Creature possessed the one thing that Randidly and it had in common was their love of freedom and their resistance to the yoke of the System And yet now it was asking him to assume a role within it

Randidly bit his lip With Lyra’s face the Creature looked at him expectantly But at the moment he was stuck His mind was blank He truly had no idea what was going on anymore

His mind whirled as he tried to grapple with his understanding of what the Champion was of what it would mean for him And how would his being the Champion help the Creature

You will gain power Something close to immortality A long awaited Class it would give shape to your Aether The Creature whispered taking another step forward Only one more step Your might will be unrivaled on this world With your strength this world will receive a high evaluation from the Calamity With that I can dwell here as you serve the System for all eternity Not free perhaps but finally at peace knowing that they will not find me here It is fair yes With my assistance your skills might even

No Randidly said shortly He didn’t have enough facts but there was no other answer his gut would allow him No

You fool Can you not see how much I sacrifice for The Creature said furiously stepping forward again Randidly dropped the Regalia and flexed his hand the Devourer Spear appearing there flooded with Aether

The idea was simple flood the Creature a being of Aether with low quality meaning It was like throwing dirt into your tank along with the gas Hopefully the dirty and impure Aether would clog up her magic so much so that the whole engine would cease to run at least for a short while as she attempted to deal with the problem

That was Lucretia’s theory anyway which was the best one that Randidly had heard in a long time Of course it was still hard to trust Lucretia but that was an issue for another time

But as his spear ripped forward containing all of his will and hatred and frustration and wild fear for the chains and control she represented one of the bodies flashed forward blocking the way Randidly narrowed his eyes Sorry Ten’Malla

Or at least that’s what his instincts told him initially but then Randidly realized it wasn’t Ten’Malla that moved forward but the slimy gecko bound and gagged Well that was certainly the better option

The spear ripped through the gecko passing easily through its body Its natural defenses were high but they weren’t something that were designed to handle the Spear of the Devourer flooded with Randidly’s pure Aether It was naught but paper

But then several things began to happen at once

Randidly was frozen solid as strange Aether reverberations emerged from the gecko’s corpse even his Aether filled body jerking to a stop

Congratulations The Final Tier III Raid Boss has been slain Upon its corpse the site of the Raid Dungeon is now forming The Raid Dungeon

Randidly’s eyes were torn away from the notification as a wave of force knocked him backwards leaving the Creature smiling at him next to the flickering and glowing ball of energy that had once been a corpse Further at the feet of that corpse

The Headdress and Sword lay the two Regalia right next to one another

The Raid Dungeon has caused a great trial to descend upon the Zone If the Zone has open travel the Zone is now sealed While the Raid Dungeon remains unbeaten a blight will descend upon the land and the life energy that fuels this Zone will slowly depart After 30 days all ambient energy in the air will be gone

Roaring Randidly lashed out with Aether Manipulation trying to interfere with the process somehow Was it all a game then The Creature’s pitch A plot to confuse him and lure him into a false sense of security and then Somehow cause the Aether to slowly drain from the Zone Was she trying to blackmail him

Trying to get him to fuel the entire Zone himself with Aether

His Aether Manipulation found purchase and Randidly began to rip and tear away at what he found but still the force pressed him backwards In front of him from the ball of energy a tall tower emerged a curving thing of twisted silver

After 30 days all ambient energy in the air will be gone leaving this Zone a dead place Before that time a group of 10 must enter the Raid Dungeon as a party and clear the boss Should the dungeon be cleared the Raid Dungeon will settle down and a surge of ambient energy will fill the Zone fueling growth If not this Zone will remain sealed

Good luck

Chapter 346

Randidly finally settled to a stop no longer being pushed back He glared up at the tower as if that could contain the flood of emotions that roiled within him Strangely at this moment Randidly pictured Helen’s frowning face and he opened his mouth and said Fuck cunt

Then he chuckled and it was a forced thing but some of the tension left his shoulders

The force pushed him back about 200 meters far more than should have really been necessary but Randidly had been able to sense the strange series of machinations of Aether that twisted and folded in and out of themselves in order to form the Raid Dungeon before them As he was being pushed back he had lashed out again and again but Randidly knew he had only inflicted surface level damage to the Aether

The real engine that fueled it was shielded by the sheer size of the Aether construct It was actually intimidating how huge and smooth the thing was The more Randidly learned the more he felt a feeling of dread towards entities like the Creature or the one who made the System and their ability to manipulate Aether It was simply so far in scope and competency to force him to recognize how far he still had to go

Interesting structure ’ Lucretia remarked peering through his eyes to the settling Dungeon I’ve never seen such a thing Your Skills are incredibly useful mm if I had your body when I was younger ehehhee ’

Randidly knew that Lucretia was just teasing him in her twisted way but he wasn’t in the mood and he was not so foolish to get himself comfortable with jokes like that So he ignored her instead looking down at the stone in his hand

Stone of Genesis Lvl 49 A stone filled with possibilities An incredibly pure energy lies within allowing the user to shape it to their will creating a powerful Skill or a rare Soul Skill Only one use lies within But be warned if the energy within is insufficient to form the desired result energy will be taken from your body Death may result

A reward for killing the third and final Tier III Raid Boss which would have been a blessing in most individual’s hands was absolutely useless to Randidly The ability to form a Skill which he had or a Soul Skill which he didn’t need But it could be given to someone which was a less permanent version than establishing an Aether tether

So it was an interesting object of study but not immediately useful Not a reward that he desired

As Randidly approached the tower his face fell There was a low wall around the tower itself which had a gate that

The only description that Randidly could give it was that the gate was covered in spatial rips Large gaps of pure black that were slowly expanding His face fell further as Randidly’s gaze focused further his senses extending

It was hard to describe with words but the huge mass of Aether didn’t necessarily connect directly to this location but was twisted off of the world the Aether folding down to a single point that connected the huge mass that formed to the surface of their world The tower effectively was that twist that connected the two worlds Randidly suspected that this was also the way that the time dilution could occur by separating the worlds like this

Which was fine but Randidly realized that his struggles earlier had opened several small superficial cuts on the Aether construct Which on the larger Raid Dungeon did nothing but those rips suddenly became a lot more dangerous as the Aether construct was twisted down to a point

And the expansion was extremely disturbing Luckily Randidly was able to focus and manipulate some of his own Aether to clumsily sew the holes back together revealing the gate in the front of the small wall Which would solve the problem here but if there were more rips deeper in the Dungeon

Randidly went to the gate but was greeted by a familiar message

Warning You do not currently possess a Class Please proceed to the nearest Newbie Village and obtain a Class to obtain access to the Dungeon

Breathing slowly Randidly stepped back his forehead furrowed Jemma Rhaidon Ten’Malla and of course the Creature were all gone as well as the two Regalias Randidly assumed that they were currently absorbed within the Dungeon but it would be almost impossible to tell if the Creature really had wanted to hide its movements

Worse than that the Dungeon was a slowly tightening noose around the neck of Zone 33 After a month all ambient Aether will have been sucked out by it Of course the System did not threaten without rewards but it was the time limit that really had Randidly stuck in a bind

Plus these spatial holes

Randidly studied a small remnant of one Feeling extremely unsettled he created a root spear and prodded the hole Randidly wasn’t able to widen the rip with the object but that was mostly because that anything that went within the hole was ripped apart by a strange force and didn’t return None of that suction extended outside of the rip however

Curiously Randidly flooded the spear with Aether forming a membrane around it and prodded it again Behind him he sensed Dozer and Decklan approach followed by a humming Neveah but ignored them for now

This time when he put the spear into the hole it resisted for a while before his membrane ripped and once more the spear was obliterated Blinking Randidly sat back on his heels It was a close thing but

Meaning business Randidly weaved a shield of Aether taking great care to make the structural integrity his number one priority It took several minutes before he was confident and then wrapped it around a near root spear This went into the spatial rip and held Randidly kept it there studying its effects

It appeared his Aether was slowly unraveling under the influence of whatever was in that void If he focused his will channeling Aether Manipulation to its limit he could resist it somewhat slow it to the point that it didn’t really appear to be happening but it took a great amount of focus to do so And to Randidly that was disturbing