LoRG 1

“We were always told that a Fate was a person’s own personal style and Skills condensed to physical form because they had reached a certain level of strength ” Lucretia said with a frown “This was why so many people train right before reaching Level 50 so their condensed Fate is larger or denser due to a higher quality Skill and image In retrospect this seems incredibly foolish why would a Level suddenly mean their strength should crystallize It shouldn’t the strength should be dependent on the image if the image is the real impetus for it happening

“Normally a person who reaches Level 50 without any understanding of what was going on would acquiesce to the voice of God or more accurately the System and they will condense their Fate But because they had no warning or understanding it would be sloppy ” Shaking her head Lucretia slowly walked across the top of the mountain to a snow covered boulder She gestured to it

” often the person would be the rock and their Fate the snow Without a shape to guide it the Fate grows like a fungus on the head arms and hands It is powerful as a weapon but it is still a crystal And although the amount of the exposed Fate can be shrunk with training there is something about the touch of the Fate that permanently scars flesh Before they control it the first owners of a Fate are like golems and afterward they are shunned for their disfigurement by wider society It usually requires a show of the Fate’s power to establish oneself in society That’s why we are trained to establish a start point on our bodies then control the rest of the Fate to grow away “

To demonstrate Lucretia stretched out her hand Slowly her “Fate” shrunk back until she was just left with a bare palm And in the middle of that palm was a small patch of crystal still affixed to her skin about a penny in size

“How powerful is a Fate Does Alana have a Fate ” Randidly asked some of his hostility ebbing away

Again Lucretia seemed annoyed but she humored him ” well it is strong It is condensed images yes Your personal images So your own Skills that use those images receive a boost As I stated earlier the power of the images affect it but usually the boost is around 20% In addition there is a cumulative effect As you grow with your Fate oftentimes you earn slight increases in Health or Mana boosts per Level Some people even obtain an additional Stat point As to whether Alana has one “

Lucretia shrugged and then frowned “Based on what we know to have actually happened she should Or at least she should have something that is even superior to a Fate Or on the other hand perhaps what happens is you maintain a higher potential for growth Perhaps the Fate is just a short term power grab It is hard to stay we will have to study “

Randidly rolled his eyes

Lucretia eyed him as she continued to speak ” in order to gain any more information you know that Now that was what I have always been told As to what actually happened The System was forcefully excluding the person’s images and they were compressed until they exploded Without your interference because she rejected the System the images would have exploded likely following her own imperative that the System’s influence be destroyed Of course the closest thing to it was her own Class which as a target “

“Not ideal ” Randidly grunted rubbing his chin “So why does it happen then And happen at Level 50 Why doesn’t the System let people use images “

Randidly expected Lucretia to give him one of her exasperated looks he had asked this question on purpose to annoy her After all they had spent the past month trying to create a Class Sure it was based on a very intricate and profound System but there were also some very strange and seemingly arbitrary decisions made by the System in how things should function Everything was very artificial and controlled

He had listened to enough thought arguments between Lucretia and Neveah to know that this would annoy the shit out of her But to Randidly’s surprise Lucretia actually smiled

In fact I have a theory Not as to why but Lucretia tapped her chin Not a why to this question but to a larger why Why certain things happen Why the System speaks in such delighted ways even when it pushes us towards paths to kill us Why someone like you continues to be labeled as a Heretic yet are allowed to exist

Randidly raised an eyebrow He really had always been curious as to why a Path was put in place for Heretics And what it did So you can explain what being a Heretic means

No nothing that grand Lucretia said shaking her head her lavender hair swaying However I believe after careful study that there are really two Systems one on top of the other A System that actually governs everything through a set of strict rules and a more flexible System on top of it that is a glorified translator It moves everything from forces to understandable phenomenon It creates the Stats and the Statuses and the quests and the items

Randidly pondered this for a second Then he shook his head helplessly That could make sense but that really doesn’t help us at all does it

Oh but it does Lucretia said her eyes bright now You wouldn’t know but when you reach Level 50 a voice speaks to you demands that you give in to them and in exchange they save you from your images If this was the voice of the System it certainly would be unsettling because it is a powerful voice A malevolent one

Noticing that Randidly was just looking at her Lucretia shrugged again you haven’t heard it so you wouldn’t understand BUT If this was the other System and not the translator the raw usually silent one that governs all of the actual happenings then some things click together

Lucretia pondered for a bit then gritted her teeth and said I cannot say much about the System but only those who have condensed a Fate have qualifications to appear before the Calamity Fates are frozen images Level 50 might be arbitrary but that is a line drawn by the System for the Calamity dealing with the Calamity

Humming softly Randidly fell silent It always seemed to come back to the Calamity didn’t it Or rather Randidly’s worries always spun around in a circle until they landed on the biggest baddest guy that he knew of heading straight for Earth Even now Randidly wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do or why

Based on every clue there was a battle aspect involved in it but it seemed like there were more parts to it than just that It was the final transformation of the world Randidly surmised just like the Villages the Raid Bosses and the Champions were ones But the final one was special somehow

The Calamity would change everything it seemed

So we need to find out whether Alana counts as condensing a Fate Randidly finally said frowning Although he had definitely saved her life or at least her ability to utilize the System the fact that there might be some side effects annoyed him

Lucretia nodded Plus investigate whether there is any lingering ill will from the System from being rejected I suspect that it is too large a behemoth to notice tiny actions like this which is why things like the Heretic System exist but

Basically Randidly summed up they still knew very little But at least now they were starting to see the shape of things What he still wondered though was why the System demanded that they submit to be saved

What changes occurred in those who agreed to it

Chapter 430

Now with dozens of ancillary thoughts swimming around in his head Randidly found it something of a relief to return to the relatively simple issue of what Path to choose Not only did he have complete control over this portion but he also would benefit basically no matter what

Although the effects would be different all Paths led forward giving him more power It was a heady feeling Randidly once more skimmed over a list of his most likely choices

Frustration was all Randidly felt as he looked at all the Yggdrasil Skills though Ultimately Randidly decided that if he was going to do one of the three he would begin with the one that took the least amount of PP at least then he could get an idea of what the purpose was relatively quickly Perhaps his decisions would be much simpler afterward

Lavamancer was another new addition and it sounded very cool Perhaps even walking down that path would lead to Lava Mastery and he would be able to spew lava out of the ground a lot like he was able to do with his Roots and now basically all plants now

As cool as it was it wasn’t something that would be able to increase his current strength very much The potential damage there was much higher than anything else that he had but it would take a long time to get the Skill Level to the point where Randidly was willing to use it as one of his bread and butter Skills Right now he had so much invested in other things it was better to rely on those and look for avenues that would increase his strength overall quickly

After all he had a duel with the Creature soon

Just thinking about it made Randidly bare his teeth but then Randidly snorted and shook his head Better save that aggression for later Road to Mastery was long likely too long Especially for now Which left Phantom’s Embrace the First Legend and the Seed of Yggdrasil

The First Legend could possibly be long as well but it was a guaranteed reward Path Although it might be an inefficient use of PP it would still bring back a large return

Randidly’s eyes flashed And that was exactly what he wanted right now a large return He dumped his remaining PP into the First Legend Path and was rather lukewarm when he found out it was 300 PP It would still take quite a while to reach the end of it and receive a final reward that would likely be the real kicker but it wasn’t 500

And he received 2 free Stats every 5 PP so there were benefits to going this route

On the way he also received another Blessing and this one was altered too it was the Blessing of the Fetid Growth but he received +10 in Control and Resistance and then a huge +50 in Health Regeneration Randidly didn’t recall the details of his previous gains but they were slightly different than this It made him worry but there really wasn’t much he could do

Randidly idly wondered if he should take this time to intervene more directly in his Soul Skill world After all he was approaching another rotation soon so he should be ready to upgrade it a bit However there just wasn’t time Now that he was in the Raid Dungeon and there were so many moving pieces around him

Helplessly Randidly shook his head His attention couldn’t be anywhere Randidly wasn’t sure what it was but if he figured out which Stat would give the biggest bonus to multitasking he would dump a shit ton of points into it so he could handle situations like this much more easily For safety’s sake he resolved to bump his Intelligence and Wisdom up a bit with these extra bonus Stats

After emptying his PP pool Randidly looked at his Status screen

Level 10 (39%)

Health(/R per hour) 3001/2420 (+730) (928 (+165

Mana(/R per hour) 1960/2545 (415 (+9

Stam(/R per min) 2499/2522 (+60) (306 (+45

End 128 (+20)

Agi 272 (+24)

Perception 233 (+20)

Resistance 182 (+45)

Intelligence 216

Wisdom 154 (+9)

Control 343

Progenitor’s Influence 730

Skills (Soul Skill) Four Shaded Clockwork World Lvl 1997

Combat Spear Mastery Lvl 156 White Phantom’s Half Step (Un) Lvl 52 Heavy Blow Lvl 74 Dagger Mastery Lvl 10 Iron Skin Lvl 47 Dodge Lvl 80 Fighting Proficiency Lvl 120 Block Lvl 54 Phantom Onslaught Lvl 42 Sweep Lvl 54 Spear Deflect Lvl 10 Calculated Blow Lvl 78 Roundhouse Kick Lvl 41 Idiosyncratic Cut (Un) Lvl 70 Pierce the Skies Shatter the Earth Lvl 39 Body Control Freeze Lvl 27 Stalemate Breaker Lvl 29 Talon Strike Lvl 38 Counter Lvl 1

PoFE Class Skills Plant Dominance ® Lvl 78 Spray Holy Sap (Un) Lvl 2 Sharpness Lvl 13 Call Grove Defenders ® Lvl 20 Earthquake (Un) Lvl 1 Invigorating Call (Humanity)(Un) Lvl 11 Four Shaded Domain Lvl 9 Phantom’s Lantern (Un) Lvl 12 Grasp of Lava ® Lvl 12 Erode Image Lvl 2 Vengeful Bloom (Un) Lvl 1 Galant Intervention (Human) Lvl 1 Spriggit’s Tinkering ® Lvl 1

The 6 Signs of the Spear Phantom ® The First Sign The Inevitable Phantom Arrives Lvl 85 (Un) The Fifth Sign The Spear Phantom’s Embrace ® Lvl 163 The Breath of the Spear Phantom ® Lvl 26

Aether Skills Aether Detection Lvl 76 Aether Manipulation Lvl 87 Living Aether ® Lvl 85 System Interference Lvl 8

Spells Spearing Roots Lvl 73 Mana Bolt Lvl 28 Mana Shield Lvl 32 Arcane Orb Lvl 22 Fireball Lvl 30 Magic Missile Lvl 4 Healing Palm Lvl 12 Pollen of the Rafflesia Lvl 20 Summon Pestilence Lvl 54 Wall of Thorns Lvl 29 Soul Seed ® Inspiration ® Incinerating Bolt Lvl 80 Circle of Flame Lvl 55 Plantomancy Lvl 35 Hammer of the Dawn Lvl 37 Burning Footsteps Lvl 23 Ashes to Ashes Lvl 24 Touch from Beyond ® Lvl 22 Gravity Affinity Lvl 1

Yggdrasil Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil Lvl 102 The Golden Roots of Yggdrasil Lvl 105 the Emerald Sap of Yggdrasil Lvl 103 the Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil Lvl 112 the Indomitable Spirit of Yggdrasil Lvl 103 the Cruel Indignation of Yggdrasil Lvl 106

Auxiliary Sneak Lvl 46 Acid Resistance Lvl 22 Poison Resistance Lvl 21 Pain Resistance Lvl 61 First Aid Lvl 16 Pathfinding Lvl 18 Fire Resistance Lvl 23 Sewing Lvl 11 Cutting Vegetables Lvl 2 Manual Labor Lvl 6 Digging Lvl 5 Cooking Lvl 53 Clockwork Mastery Lvl 16 Aether Connection Lvl 3 Soul Bond Lvl 80 Chef’s Palette Lvl 24 Nether Resistance Lvl 4 Child of the Rain (Un) Lvl 3

Randidly appreciated his Status screen truly it was much easier to gain strength after you received a Class Especially his attributes were shooting right up giving him increased growth in the short amount of time they had spent in the Raid Dungeon Well it was bordering on two weeks now so not necessarily short but

Then Randidly’s expression hardened and he left the cave where he had been working on his Paths There was one last activity that he had to accomplish today It was one that was somehow both very much looking forward to and very much dreading

His mouth in a firm line he walked over to the fire the rest of the team had made while he was recovering to speak to Aratta Only Aratta Rose and Lucifer were there the rest of the team must have gone off with Alana to test how she was in the wake of reaching Level 50 If he hadn’t been in hardass mode Randidly would have winced He hoped there were no lingering side effects of his interference

As if they were waiting for him all three of the others looked up as he approached Randidly coughed lightly and then said Now that we have saved you I’d like an explanation

Sure what did you have in mind Aratta replied her smile bright

Randidly glowered at her You murdered children and stole their Aether Why

Almost unconsciously he released the Indomitable Spirit of Yggdrasil Those suspicious wisps of Aether that floated out from behind the cloth on her eyes were blown away by the blast of pressure from it and Aratta shivered Both Lucifer and Rose reflexively stood taking a step away from him

Randidly burned with his fury seething with it With Indomitable Spirit active it was much easier to feel the effects of the other Yggdrasil Skills They were connected resonating even if it was a small combination right now

As Aratta soldiered onward doing her best to keep her smile in place Randidly upped the pressure It took about 30 seconds for her body to sag defeated and she said We had no choice There was no other way to survive If we hadn’t the other monsters

How could killing children increase your strength Randidly began feeling the flow of rage but Rose gestured at him and he forcefully suppressed his wrath

The other monsters Rose asked her eyes narrowing

Aratta nodded Yes I didn’t mean to hide it but we we’re all monsters We cannot receive a Class We grow with Level too but it’s slow Mostly we naturally Level as we age There are myths of the time our people came from a land where we had Classes but

And if you cannot Level You need Skill Levels Or more powerful Skills Randidly said slowly hating himself for understanding the basics of the thought process even though he couldn’t see how this was the only option But why did you

You have to understand it wasn’t like this always Back then Zith was just the gem of our people a normal woman leading us But then the monsters

Start from the beginning Rose interrupted pulling out a notepad The entire history of your people Don’t leave anything out

Chapter 431

“Legend has it that in the past we were part of a wider world But because of a great sin of our people the Dintan we were exiled from our home and sent here to this purgatory Although the area we are allotted is quite large and the climate here is mild ” Aratta shook her head her hair swishing back and forth ” it is known amongst us that this is a lesser life But with our options restricted we focused on the only real thing we could control Skill Levels “

“Although we Level naturally as we age honing our Skill Levels does give us some measure of control over our strength and our own pride For generations we existed in harmony split amongst 20 or so villages in our area and if we were not content we were at least surviving But then a change came

“Originally our main opponents were those creatures we call the Death Cultists They are much less focused on Skill Levels than we are but their bodies are almost impossibly powerful They were our perfect foil But then the monsters came The monster hordes that you have fought with great success I might add If our warriors were at the level of your group or even close to it ” Aratta sighed and looked at the ground Randidly couldn’t see her eyes due to the cloth but he assumed she was lost in her strange melancholy

“One on one or two on one or even five on one we would be fine But against 100 per each villager In a blink we had lost half of our villages Originally the Dintan leaders suspected this was a plot of the Death Cultists some strange ritual of theirs unleashed upon us but No they were just as surprised and devastated pushed back by the waves and waves of monsters “

“After a month of being pushed farther and farther back consolidating our people into fewer and fewer villages a young woman with golden hair and a wicked smile appeared at the edges of our village Clearly an alien but also an enigma She offered us a secret method that would boost our power giving us the ability to fight back against the monsters All we had to do was to sign an oath that we as a people would owe her a great favor to be called in at any time It would be bound to each individual through our bloodlines Once we agreed the woman warned we could never escape that debt until it was paid

“It did not feel as though she meant to be threatening with how she delivered her offer but many people did not trust this strange golden haired woman She came out of nowhere in our hour of need and coincidentally offered a solution No this had to be a scam For three days and nights the debate raged before the King and Queen of the Dintan By the end the Queen was swayed yet the King remained firm

“‘What about our children ‘ the Queen famously asked tears pouring down her face “

“‘Exactly ‘ the King said his face firm “

There Aratta stopped speaking for several seconds just looking at the ground The fire crackled Or at least Randidly assumed she was looking at the ground the more time he spent with Aratta the more he learned to annoyed by the presence of the cloth over her eyes But with the strange Aether fluctuations that were coming from it

Randidly was almost positive laying beyond that innocuous looking piece of cloth was a trap laid by the Creature although he couldn’t figure of what kind or why So for now it was fine to just leave it there untouched

Based on the modus operandi of the Creature the choice would be taken from him eventually and he would be forced to face her influence From Aratta’s story it was clear the Creature had a heavy hand in moving the dungeon towards the current state of affairs She had shown up probably using the form of Lyra and offered these people a method to power

The Path of the Heretic

And Randidly didn’t want to spoil anything but the ending of this story The images of those twisted frail bodies buried haphazardly in the dirt were at the forefront of his mind

Aratta looked up The King sent the golden haired woman away What followed were the hardest in the Dintan history at least the history we have of this place But after two years of struggle of shrinking down to only 6 villages there was an equilibrium The Dintan’s champions had grown so strong that they could push back the monsters In addition to that

Now a shadow crossed Aratta’s face In addition the Death Cultists were taking the brunt of the monster’s assault Because they had accepted the gift of the golden haired woman They had become Heretics Luckily it seemed that there was a tacit agreement that we would not go back to a war between the Death Cultists and Dintan not as long as the monster hordes kept appearing

Time and time again our best and brightest would investigate the origins of these monsters to no avail they sprung up from random places in random amounts filled with violence and bloodlust The first villages that the horde would encounter would struggle for the first several hours before assistance from nearby could arrive lessening the pressure It was a stressful system but one that worked

Then about 3 years after the monster horde’s appearance there was a change Aratta looked up her eye cloth pointing towards Randidly Mixed in within the mix of monsters that generally had Levels between 40 and 46 there started being higher Leveled monsters 48s and 49s For monsters too it takes a great deal to get above 45 And each Level is a qualitative change By the time they reach Level 50 they will have completely evolved

With the higher Levels appearing the pressure increased Of course with increased pressure there was an increased danger but also increased gains Our warriors our warriors were forces of nature almost unstoppable when they appeared Even against the higher Leveled opponents until they began to grow sick the great hunger gnawing away at their insides

Aether Sickness Rose supplied her eyes narrowing

Aratta nodded There are many names for it But such was the weight of their strength that their physical bodies could no longer sustain them however that was just the surface level of the problem Within our small world here life works in a cycle There is but one pool of energy and everyone takes a pinch of it when they are born When they die that pinch returns to the pool When these warriors became exceptionally strong not only were they taking larger pinches but the pool itself was being depleted Some of our children

Aratta fell silent Randidly was frowning Although he had never seen that in person or heard of it it wasn’t hard to imagine how twisted and weak a being born without any Aether at all would be It would be more husk than person

It’s fascinating however Lucretia commented This Creature the more I learn of it the warier of it I become It is effectively manipulating the Aether ecosystem in the Raid Dungeon to push the people towards the Path of the Heretic Those floods of monsters based on what this girl is saying they are not from inside the Dungeon right So as she increases their strength the Dintan have no choice but to get stronger or die

But why ’ Randidly wondered back

Lucretia seemed to shrug and started thought whispering to herself Shaking his head Randidly refocused on Aratta

Of course the golden haired woman wasn’t unaware of this she once more approached our people In the equilibrium era we had once more expanded to 12 or so villages But to suddenly find out that we had effectively lost the ability to bear children She was aware of this problem and could not solve it but if we agreed to her terms at least she could beat back the great hunger from our warriors and ensure the safety of the living In a show of good faith she even explained the process the consumption of other life to fuel your own Aratta trailed off

And if the children were dying anyway Lucretia said softly Again the vivid shape of those twisted bodies in Aratta’s flower garden appeared in Randidly’s mind Instantly his expression hardened It was difficult to recall but she was just like them For her own existence she was willing to sacrifice the lives of others It was almost as if she didn’t notice the contradiction in her current regretful stance

It was almost like she had become so numb to the act of consuming another’s life that she didn’t even notice

Still the King stood firm refusing The Queen begged and begged but was unable to sway her husband Even when their only child the Dintan’s greatest warrior fell to the great sickness becoming completely bedridden he did not falter Following his lead the head warriors agreed

However one among them the holy Zith felt a deep sense of responsibility and resolved herself to approach the King in private to ask him to reconsider While they were speaking there was a noise from the Queen’s chambers the two rushed into the room fearing a monster attack but only found the Queen Her lifeblood was draining out of the slit in her neck

She had taken her own life Aratta stood slowly standing Then she turned her face upward and looked towards the overcast sky In the wake of that the King crumpled He was a shell of who he was Zith took word to the golden haired woman and agreed that the Dintan be bound to a single favor in return for the method

So you took it and became Heretics You started stealing life so you could live longer Rose said

Selfish Lucifer simply said shaking his head

Aratta just sighed and smiled at them her expression so brittle the hairline cracks from age were visible on her skin How easy it is for the young to imagine ways around old problems Let me give you a hard truth it is the new problems that you will need to deal with not ours not the ones that have grown clearer in retrospect And when that day comes who knows how deeply you would be willing to sell yourself to the devil for his hand

Chapter 432

Aratta’s story ended very soon after that In a much more muted tone she explained how the methods were spread out and the Dintan were able to grow in strength and beat back both the monsters and the great hunger

Under Zith’s leadership a great central village was made and 6 satellite villages around it like spokes of a wheel Population controls were put in place and immediately after birth children would be taken away from parents and fostered in another village so too much sentiment wouldn’t develop Every 2 years the youth would rotate around the outside of the wheel

In the final rotation they would be taken to the central area And on their 15th birthday they would be judged the powerful would be assigned to the village As for the weak

For almost 400 years this had continued until the current day When Randidly pressed for why things had changed now why the village was heading back towards the central region and why she didn’t accompany them Aratta could only shake her head She refused to answer Or she didn’t know Either way Randidly was left frustrated

The group fell silent and remained that way until the rest of the group returned with food and the lay of the land When she returned Annie signaled to Randidly with her eyes and the two of them walked off leaving the others to watch Aratta

So are we taking her with us Annie asked gesturing back towards the blind woman I don’t trust her She enjoys playing the damsel too much

Randidly gave Annie a look She laughed flapping her hand at him They both knew that Annie herself had played the damsel for weeks luring and wooing Dozer It was only after he was well and truly loyal to her that she had started being more open about her own physical capabilities which were not minor

After her laughter subsided Annie’s face got much more serious The rest can tell you more about the Eyrie to the North if we choose to go after that quest I went and followed the villagers South What you put into the group chat is true it’s not just this village it looks like all 6 of the satellite villages are returning to the center About the same number from each so it looks like the population control thing checks out Not a single teenager or child

They both were silent at that Randidly thinking of those bodies Annie probably considering the fate of her own newly born baby had she been born into this Raid Dungeon Probably also she felt the pang of absence of being away so long from this creature she had grown within herself Randidly didn’t know much about parents and his own were lousy but anecdotally he had heard about healthy affection and Annie and Dozer seemed like the protective type

Anyways Annie coughed then continued The central village is basically a giant hole in the ground I couldn’t get too close because the guards there know their shit but they have a much grander amount of carvings around the hole Maybe to keep out their Judgements

Maybe Randidly said rubbing his chin Where was the Creature’s hand in this It pushed for the strength of monsters forcing the people to turn to the Path of the Heretic And then it just sat back It allowed the world to run its course

Randidly doubted it

So Annie asked What do we do now

Alana eyed Aratta After hearing the second hand version of her story of this Raid Dungeon Alana was filled with distaste She did not condone the actions of these past warriors because life forced hard decisions on the weak But inwardly Alana resolved herself to focus on growing stronger so that she would never be forced to make such decisions

Strangely Aratta had decided to go with them after the group had decided to ignore the problem of the villages for now and seek out the Eyrie Not only were they able to receive experience there but there remained the problem of finding the Key of Death Although there was the possibility that they would be forced to go to the central village and search for the key it was better to test the easier nuts to crack first

When Alana wasn’t scanning the horizon for monsters she was either glancing at the Ghosthound or consumed in her own thoughts Immediately after the Ghosthound had intervened preventing her Class from exploding or whatever was occurring within her Alana had been profoundly weak But once she woke up her Vitality and Endurance did its usual job of increasing the speed of her recovery and very soon she was able to walk without assistance and then move easily

And then of course she wanted to fight

She was delighted with the changes she discovered On the one hand the amount of experience she needed to Level hadn’t increased but simply stayed at the absurd amount required to move from 49 to 50 On the other hand the performance of her two new Skills was above expectations

Crimson Ire surrounded Alana with a crackling crimson energy that provided smaller boosts to strength and speed But what it did do was massively boost her reactions and also gave all of her attacks a splash effect So after she rushed forward and stabbed with her spear the energy was stuck to her on an elastic band and followed her to attack and explode nearby in the area she struck

The damage couldn’t be considered too much at the moment and the Skill only lasted for 5 seconds with a 10 second cooldown and a 500 Mana cost but Alana knew these things would improve in time Plus in a tough situation surrounded by monsters the Reaction boost more than made up for it

Earlier when she had been testing it she had made 6 giant tarantulas looked like statues as she weaved between their many bristling legs Without even much effort her spear had flicked outward and impaled four of their brains leaving her panting but with only two opponent’s remaining after a single usage And those two had been knocked off balance from the remnant energy of her attacks on the others as it splashed outward

The rest were rather simple to mop up As the effectiveness improved Alana shivered God she would be almost untouchable in a larger melee The effect of the splash would be much more muted in a 1 v 1 situation but the Reaction would make up for that for sure Inwardly Alana had a very strong impulse to challenge the Ghosthound with her new Skills but she was somewhat shy about it

After all he had been the reason that she had obtained them It would be somewhat rude to immediately use them to bully him

Hiding a smile Alana remembered the even more intimidating effect of her Avatar Form Skill When it was activated a crimson energy similar to that of the Ire Skill exploded outward However this time the energy spread and shaped itself into an Alana shaped golem Her real body remained in its core at the center but the energy body formed around her It was about 150% of the size of Alana and had the strength and top speed to match

Of course her short term quickness was proportionally reduced but often monsters are much larger than people anyways The Avatar Form would give Alana the strength to go toe to toe with these larger monsters without putting her own body in danger

It only took her a few attempts to figure out how to leave her real body somewhere while she controlled the Avatar Form from afar Of course her body had to remain completely still to keep her control over the Avatar Form sharp if she didn’t stay still both bodies were at half strength and basically useless

Unlike the Ghosthound she didn’t have the effortless ability to control 100 roots at the same time she was a real human woman But if it could be arranged for someone to watch her body while she moved it would be easy to scout dangerous areas without any risk to the team The increased size however was an issue for that

And based on the reading of the Skill the size/strength/speed boost would increase with Skill Level Alana tried to image reaching Lvl 100 in Avatar Form and being able to control a form the size of a building walking casually next to a mountain range stepping over small rivers with a single stride Alana could only shake her head helpless

It was strange but the Ghosthound’s presence made it very easy to forget how her own baseline for normal’ was probably miles and miles away from most of the other people that lived in Donnyton He had always acted as a rock even to their sense of reality

But reaching Level 50 seeing how her growth rates jumped receiving these new Skills

These were not the moves of an average person Alana had always known she was stronger than most but right now it truly hit her how far she had come How being near the Ghosthound had transformed her from a hardworking track and field star into one of the most powerful people in the Zone if not the World

Even still Alana had been initially disappointed in her Class based on the name but Lucifer of all people had comforted her when she had spoken aloud of it in front of him

Valkyrie of the Red Dust Lucifer had asked in that deep rumbling voice of his Alana had nodded not thinking much of it There was no real reason to hide it from him

He had considered it for several seconds tucking some of his long red hair behind his ears Then he had simply said That’s almost religious

Then he had walked off Curious Alana had followed him to ask why but he had just shrugged Ace of all people had commented seeing her confused expression Heya don’t you know where people come from

oo a biology lesson from Ace Rose said snidely rolling her eyes

Ace just laughed and continued Like in Christianity what are people From dust to dust’ and all that It’s the base form of all The Mesopotamians believed that humans were made of clay mixed with blood red clay That’s what you are the Valkyrie of the dried blood

Or more poetically Rose said frowning at Ace The Valkyrie of Birth Or Humanity’s Genesis Don’t let him tease you

Ha Alana said breathing slowly looking up at the sky No worries That sounds much better than what I was thinking

Chapter 433

Randidly frowned looking at the Levels provided to him by the rest of the group In particular he had to decide whether to take action in regards to two specific individuals Clarissa Lvl 47 Lucifer Lvl 46

In regards to this there were two things he could do Based upon Lucretia’s expertise which Randidly was dubious of but had no choice but to trust he could inform those two how to receive a Fate in the typical way where their meaning would be forcefully expelled from their body and somehow transformed into a crystal in the wider world Based on what Lucretia said they still received a good boost of strength from it and also possibly some Stat gains

But had Lucretia had a physical body her jaw would have hit the floor when Alana explained her increased Level up gains Even Randidly whistled softly although it couldn’t be denied that his Level ups were higher still although most of that came from his Path rewards

The other option of course was to create an Aether connection between them or to try and use Aether Donation to simply give their bodies the Aether Randidly would need to help them reforge the Class Which Lucretia pointed out might not be possible

The reason you managed it so quickly was because strands of your Aether ran through the entirety of her Class Lucretia reminded him She had access to your Aether from the beginning Because of that there was a scaffolding for you to work from There is the chance that if you attempt to do the same thing with someone who hasn’t had your Aether connection for a long time there will be a negative reaction You remember how badly the Aether we took from the Creature’s construct reacted at first when they were mixed

Randidly frowned but he couldn’t deny that Lucretia was probably correct in this instance And there wasn’t an immediately clear route for him to take to avoid this He really didn’t want to have them condense their Fate in a typical way as an outward crystal It would be much better to keep the images inside so they could continue to strengthen them If nothing else this was clear from the Alana example

Perhaps in Clarissa’s case Randidly would try and force the issue She belonged to Donnyton and understood the risks associated Randidly would be able to handle it if things went wrong and her Class was completely shattered into pieces

Although maybe his second attempt would up the efficiency of dealing with the images while it was raging There were also shapes of Classes and strength of images that would likely affect the outcome

There were too many moving parts to plan well for Randidly could only make a decision that he thought was best and live with it

At the moment the group was walking farther North heading to the Eyrie of the Death Cultists There were a few monsters that they had encountered but largely it seemed that this area was devoid of all life Aratta assured them that this was work of the Death Cultists who seek death for all things including themselves Apparently their name was not a misnomer or a misguided attempt to classify them as Heretics they truly worshipped death

But they hadn’t yet seen any of the fearsome Death Cultists Instead all they had for company was the rather constant drizzle At the very least Randidly reflected sardonically He had gained 2 Levels in Child of Rain from the walking

They weren’t going fast but that was largely out of caution It might even be unnecessary Both Randidly and Annie had high Perception enabling them to spot other forces a fair distance away and Rose could sense the use of Skills within 100 meters Even when Randidly activated the twilight ability of his Bone Cloak she had still sensed him and the Skill regardless of the fact she couldn’t feel where he was in relation to her

Which was interesting because it meant Rose really needed no physical evidence in order to notice a Skill being used Just the proximity was enough to reveal them Randidly filed this information away for later Although it might not become relevant if Donnyton was forced to attack the Refuge

So these Death Cultists Ace said lazily sparing Aratta a look How strong are they

Randidly’s gaze immediately focused on Ace and he reflexively reached out with Aether Manipulation to snip the few thin strands of Aether that had formed between Aratta and Ace Although it was annoying as long as the problem of these connections was simply solved Randidly was unwilling to force the issue

Besides the more he had an opportunity to see the strands form between Aratta and another eventually forming the strange illusion filled fascination that afflicted Ptolemy the more it seemed familiar It was almost like this Skill was one that he had seen before Something extremely familiar

But Randidly thought himself in circles and couldn’t figure out what it was So he doubled down on his surveillance hoping for another clue that would reveal it for what it is Perhaps something like what Raina had But no that didn’t feel right

Strong Aratta replied wiping some of the raindrops off her forehead before they fell down into her eyes Not so strong as the Dintan not now But that is mostly a matter of numbers and because we allow strong youths to grow up while those that age without pulling their weight are fed to fuel their growth As far as we know everything in the Death Cultist clan is based on seniority

Ah So it’s the rheumy eyed ones that you need to look out for Ace quipped and Aratta turned and frowned at him

Of all people Randidly wasn’t sure why he bothered to sever the threads to Ace From experience Randidly knew that the more that Ace liked someone the more he would tease someone And it was very clear that his teasing caused Aratta to withdraw within herself Although she had been more talkative and kind since telling them the story of the Raid Dungeon she had withdrawn inwards more as if she were profoundly tired

It was as if

Trouble Rose announced Annie calmly knocked an arrow

A screech tore across the sky and Randidly looked up sharply Floating above them zooming down towards the group were 3 bats There were giant leathery bats with larger more powerful legs that ended in sharp claws

As Annie raised her bow to point it at the sky Lucretia gasped and Randidly half turned to see what the issue was Alana had reached up towards her face her expression grim and her hand had flexed almost instinctively And when she did so a helmet grew out of her hand a black/red beaten and dented thing

There were two long squares for eyes and a nose guard But the most eye catching detail was that two wings wrought of the red iron stretched backward from Alana’s head giving her the typical valkyrie helm In a clean movement she settled it over her face and drew her spear

Frowning Randidly stared intently at the helmet Had Alana had this before Was it an equipment that he hadn’t noticed in the past Because although his System assisted memory was sharp he would miss things that he wasn’t looking for Could she have just had a secret helmet locked away that conveniently matched the Class that she had recently received

What convenient luck

But what really gave it away was that immediately after putting it on Alana started and then patted the helmet several times It was like it was more reflex than anything else and she had done it completely instinctively without even understanding what was going on

Well not that Randidly really could understand what was going on either

Is this the true form of a Fate Then I Lucretia whispered her attention swiftly moving inward

Randidly ignored her there were more pressing issues He drew his spear moving to stand next to Alana His presence brought her attention back around and she stopped feeling the helmet But Randidly did notice that she didn’t remove it

In a smooth motion Annie whipped her bow upwards and loosed an arrow It streaked across the sky but one of the bat monsters spun out of the way dropping lower And as it did so its speed seemed to increase as it sped on its low flight path towards the party

Unfortunately for this creature Annie was not the type to file only a single arrow And she had back up

Three more arrows darted forward two dodged again by the low flying bat but the third struck it in the shoulder eliciting a roar of fury Meanwhile Clarissa sent bolts of Chain Lightning upwards making the two remaining high flyers swerve back and forth as they attempted to close in on the group

Randidly waited calmly until one of the higher bats did a barrel roll to dodge a lightning bolt and shot an Incinerating Bolt upwards towards its blindspot In addition to traveling in a straight line at a much higher speed and being highly concentrated the Incinerating Bolt contained none of the crackling noise of the lightning bolt It soundlessly sped forward slamming into the monster’s gut knocking the wind out of it

Randidly frowned Yes only the wind was knocked out of it because its leathery skin was able to withstand the force from the Incinerating Bolt

With a crash it fell to the ground around the same time that the low flying bat attempted to dodge one of Annie’s arrows and simply hit the ground beginning to skid over towards the group The third circled once calling down to its compatriots then turned and glided away

Randidly considered firing more Incinerating Bolts but even if he could take it by surprise there didn’t seem to be any point in killing the escaping enemy If it went and warned the nest so much the better if these would gather up more of themselves for the group to slaughter

Careful these Death Cultists are thick skinned Usually we rely on binding them or poisons to subdue large groups Aratta announced In a 1 v 1 match none of you are its match

Chapter 434

Thea showed her teeth the fury of battle already riding through her veins driving her forward towards the Death Cultist that the Ghosthound’s Incinerating Bolt knocked to the ground She would be the one who had the honor of proving this pointlessly gloomy blind woman wrong

The Death Cultists’ wings and arms were one and the same which gave them a very strange body shape They had tiny wastes although their legs appeared very strong and ended in sharp talons But their arms were long and had an extra joint growing thicker as the appendage approached the torso Near its broad shoulders the arms were almost as thick as a dinner plate but they narrowed to as skinny as a teenage girl’s arm near the end

The thing staggered to its feet somewhat disoriented from the fall right as Thea arrived Without giving it a chance to catch its bearings Thea slammed her hammer down towards its head But to her surprise the thing brought one of its tiny 4 finger hands up and caught the hammerhead with its long fingers

It grunted and sagged to the side thrown off balance but otherwise ignored the damage

The other arm windmilled upward and slammed downwards towards Thea and she was forced to roll forward out of the way Luckily this was one of her favorite new moves and as she straightened she whipped her hammer around striking it in its ribs But her hammer rebounded off of its strangely elastic bones

Gritting her teeth Thea hopped backward but wasn’t able to dodge the creature’s arm which came around like a whip smashing her sideways with enough force to knock the air out of her lungs

It opened its mouth and spoke some gibberish waving its arms hatefully and an arrow slipped into its open mouth and sunk into the soft flesh at the back of its throat This certainly got the Death Cultist’s attention and it began to frantically claw at the arrow trying to pull the shaft out freeing up its airways

This was not an opportunity that Thea was willing to let pass

Now that she had been hit in the battle she could feel the heat pumping through her making her faster stronger angrier But she didn’t even care she simply growled and threw herself forward her hammer smashing back and forth aiming for its more vulnerable leg joints They were thick but not as unnaturally overdeveloped as its upper torso

The first strike hit the side of its left knee and made it stumble somewhat but then it quickly identified the threat and brought the other arm down to block the strike against its other knee Again her blow rebounded off its arm almost as if she had struck rubber sending her back a step and she looked up to see the monster staring hatefully down at her tears of hatred in its eyes as it forcibly chomped down on the arrow shaft

She spat in its face for good measure then thrust her hammer into its face hearing a satisfying crunch as she broke it pointed nose

It reeled back in pain and two arrows shot forward ripping through the muscles of its leg making it topple over Thea raised her hammer but it was a fraction of a second too late

Chrysanthemum barreled past her and within a second it had grabbed the monster’s head in her jaws There was an audible crunch

Almost annoyed Thea huffed and let her hammer drop to her sides Then she walked forward and rubbed Chrysanthemum’s head As her bear began to feast on the body using her paw to hold it down as she ripped off large chunks of flesh Thea turned and looked towards the other Death Cultist Alana was standing over it cleaning blood off of her spear

I can see why you fear them Alana said casually as she inspected the blade of her spear It’s skin is thick It takes a great deal of force to penetrate its skin Thea how well did blunt force work

Thea just grunted trying to act casual as she picked a bit of imaginary hair off of her own hammer It wouldn’t sound very cool to admit that her damage had been rather minor until Chrysanthemum moved in and crushed its skull

Poorly Annie answered for her with an annoying bout of cheering Penetrating sensitive areas is still better But these would be annoying in larger groups Anything Rose

A Rare Rarity physical constitution boost high Level too Rose mused walking over to one of the bodies the one Chrysanthemum wasn’t determined to rip into thin rags Basic Fighting Proficiency but no other Skills it’s hard to believe that this is all they have Oh and a pretty powerful general Magic Resistance Skill

I noticed Clarissa said sourly folding her arms

Ace leaned over towards Lucifer tapping the other man’s large sword Would be nice if we had something to talk about eh

Lucifer just snorted and folded his arms But it was in such a way that it looked very similar to Clarissa’s pouty stance Ace burst out laughing Thea wasn’t sure if Lucifer had done it on purpose so she only smiled slightly watching his response He barely even seemed to notice however

Ghousthound’s mouth twisted and then he looked at Aratta How many of them are there

Aratta was sitting down shaking her head Thea grinned Apparently the shock of seeing them so easily deal with them had shaken her a little Which she supposed was fine but it was a little insulting After all their party was 10 people 11 including Aratta If two of them could suppress them then what was the point of even going to their Eyrie

If that were true the level of difficulty

There are about a thousand per Eyrie Aratta looked up but her voice sounded determined now These are just the foot soldiers there are powerful Red Death Cultists and then above them the Shadow Cultists It’s rumored that each Eyrie has a White Death Cultist leading it surveying the area gathering all the treasures within its purview

Everyone even Thea perked up at the mention of treasures After all they still needed to find the Death Key before they could depart from this place It was easy to forget but outside of the Raid Dungeon the rest of the Zone was slowly starving the very Aether seeping out into the void If they didn’t move quickly

But Thea anxiously hoped they still had time Considering the time difference it shouldn’t have been that long since they came in here right And during that time there would first be Aether Sickness so even if it was uncomfortable

Idly she wondered what Simon was doing Whether he was laying somewhere curled up worriedly watching the rest of the Zone Even though there was very little he could do and watching only would make him more upset he was the type of boy that would look anyway

Shaking her head Thea tuned back into the conversation occuring in front of her

So we just break down the door and charge right in How unique and inspired Ace was saying chuckling slightly Still you know I don’t mind I love a good entrance

You must be extremely careful Aratta warned The Cultists most of their physical strength comes from the forbidden rituals that they perform If they realize an attack is coming their leader will begin a very powerful ritual Once you are within the Eyrie you must rush to the central chamber If they are allowed to complete it

The blind woman looked down her fingers flexing a hundred times No Two hundred times the strength of the basic warrior Their bodies will be like a god’s

Thea wanted to roll her eyes and was pleased to catch the Ghosthound smiling like a wolf So it wasn’t just her then that felt the presence of a challenge as something incredible The chance to feel the burning heat of battle to lose yourself in that pure ecstacy

Thea shivered

Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it Rose said looking around at the group then up at the sky with a frown We’ve still got a fair bit of ground to cover before night then let’s camp there Tomorrow

If you do not rush they will come to you Aratta said urgently

Rose just smiled helplessly Lucifer chuckled and began walking forward Ace walked over to Aratta and patted her back a sinister smile on his face

That’s what we are counting on Ace said And then he stood and walked forward heading North towards the Eyrie Thea clicked her tongue and Chrysanthemum walked over towards her She patted her partner’s side and hopped onto her back following the rest of the group

Chapter 435

Ace cursed twisting out of the way of the bat monster’s swipe For all that their bodies were effectively made from bits of plastic and titanium they were also unnaturally quick Not nearly as quick as Alana or Randidly themselves bless their hearts They had raised the standard for quickness in battle

No they were a good few hairs slower than that but that didn’t mean it was easy to avoid their strikes Especially when

The second Death Cultist gargled in its strange language and stepped forward slashing at Ace from the side Catching the arm Ace pivoted and used its own momentum to throw the monster sending it sprawling across the ground From his previous experience his normal strikes basically did nothing to the beast and its joints were stronger than he was

It’s a blessing and a curse to have hands that are deadly weapons ’ Ace thought looking down at his hands because that means you have no use for other weapons ’

Still Ace hoped that people would eventually spread rumors about his strength and his intrepid nature using only his fists as a weapon There was something profoundly chivalrous about it Ace thought and although he didn’t generally like knights there were enough evil knights in the human zeitgeist that Ace didn’t mind the associations

So he was in a stalling pattern while the others fought against their own opponents Around Ace there were yells and flashes in the darkness as the 10 person Raid Party fought against the 30 person squad of Death Cultists Even now Ace could hear the dull rumbles as the Red Death Cultist fought against Randidly both of them moving at a speed that was hard for the others to handle

Well Ace amended Most others After a few minutes of sparring Ace’s Adapt would kick in giving him the boost he needed to keep up It was just a matter of surviving long enough to catch up with them But he could understand why the rest of the vision less schmucks who were part of the group were intimidated and also leery of what the two higher tiered versions of the Raid Bosses would be like

As the enemy Ace didn’t throw charged at him Ace surprised it by stepping forward and smashing his knee into its face Thea had discovered that the most vulnerable spot on the monster was its nose which could be rather directly broken inflicting a high amount of pain in a short amount of time

And as that Death Cultist was stumbling away Ace tripped it adding insult to injury and spun around to face the other one which was standing

And there Ace paused because two Death Cultists were just finishing helping Ace’s thrown Death Cultist to his feet

Ace’s eyes blazed and his mouth widened into a grin A pinch And only in a pinch would his true power show through

Heedless to the opponents Ace threw himself forward laughing aloud If it was a life or death struggle they wanted it was a struggle they would get

Lucifer’s large sword smashed downwards out of the darkness cutting halfway through the thick arm of the Death Cultist Noticing its arm was cut off it began to scream flailing to knock Lucifer away The other two rushed forward to assist it but Ace almost regretfully interposed himself striking them in their less well defended stomachs giving the other man a few seconds to finish his business

Which was more than enough The second sword descended severing the head of the monster This seemed to spook the remaining two who started howling towards the sky A few moments later several howls came back but much much fewer than had howled immediately prior to the attack on the group

The Death Cultist’s face twisted into something that was recognizably similar to despair Ace cracked his knuckles feeling the dark emotions swirling around him almost flowing into his body filling him with strength

He was almost there he was so close He had cultivated this persona for so long and finally the System was beginning to feel it If he could push the envelope a bit more if that dark negative energy could become a tool for him

Let the rest go Randidly said in chat

Ace snorted meaning to personally walk forward and break the neck of the two frightened monsters but Lucifer removed his swords and stepped aside calmly walking back towards the group’s fire Although Ace could overpower one two of them at once both trying to flee

Depressed and annoyed Ace slumped his way back to the fire Honestly Ace knew logically that he should be pleased that he was doing this well against the monsters They were basically designed to counter him The durable long lasting types were always the most difficult for a well rounded fighter like himself To be able to easily hold his own against opponent’s that were physically superior It was clear that his Skill Level had improved

And it definitely had but he hadn’t been able to connect to that negative energy although each day he could feel it more strongly with the Dauntless helmet on In his heart Ace knew it was so close and once he did he would finally transform

He would no longer need to follow Randidly’s orders Ace’s mouth twisted wryly at the thought

Apparently Ace wasn’t the only one annoyed with the order because when he returned to the fire Thea was stomping towards the Ghosthound Instantly Ace’s mood lifted It wasn’t often that Thea was willing to stand up to anyone let alone the Ghosthound due to her inherent kindness and the fact that she was still basically a child It was hard to overcome that belief that your elders were your betters

So now to see her moving so directly to challenge Randidly

Show me your certainty Randidly ’ Ace thought eyes gleaming Show me if you are prepared to bear responsibility ’

Why did we pull back Thea asked her voice sharp as she pointed at Randidly

Randidly bless his heart seemed confused and tilted his head to the side as the girl approached him

Why didn’t we kill them all Thea repeated They they sacrifice their young for strength They are despicable and we are stronger So why

I guess you are right about the Heretic part I wasn’t even thinking about the possibility they could rush back and have children to sacrifice for their own strength Maybe I didn’t want to believe it That’s my mistake Randidly’s eyes were large and green like a freshly mowed lawn But isn’t this too easy These opponents They are weak Why bother with them They do not seem like the type to flee so if they return to base they will probably gather up more of their kind to fight

If we are going to wipe them away isn’t doing it once that much simpler

Thea opened her mouth then closed it Then she flushed turned on her heel and rushed away going over to rub her giant bear mount

Ace grinned Very nicely played Randidly although you probably don’t think of it as playing The these opponents are too weak for me to even bother’ card But when it comes to you perhaps

Within a few seconds Rose had returned to the circle of firelight looking extremely calm Ace immediately felt a sense of relief then stifled that feeling Emotions weren’t part of the plan With his easy grin on his face he walked over towards Rose

When he arrived very casually the two chatted about nothing and walked over to the side and erected a tent Ace knew that everyone especially Randidly wondered whether the two of them were involved So Rose had suggested that they use this method when they wanted some time to talk alone without suspicions Because they would be too busy considering the social implications of their meeting rather than any other ulterior motives

Did you watch the fight Ace asked immediately after they had set up the tent and entered it

Rose shot him a disapproving look then laid down her Sound Ward Skill Only then did she speak I did It is as you suspect Across the board he probably has a dozen Runic or Ancient Skills and at least one that is Legendary Because of their substance it’s hard for me to figure out what each one does but they all are general boosts towards combat abilities Just in different manners

Perfect Ace said his eyes gleaming This is perfect Only with a true monster can a hero arise

Pursing her lips Rose gave him a look Now you are going the hero route I suspect it’s too late for that

It’s just a narrative arc shape I don’t actually intend to be a hero In fact I might be the traitor in this case Ace said grinning

There was a pause and then Rose said timidly Do you truly intend to do something before we finish the Raid Dungeon If something goes wrong

It won’t Ace said simply looking up at the sky He could see it now feel the dripping blood from his wounds feel the broken ground since the shock Randidly felt to be beaten by him even now he was savoring it although Ace didn’t know how long it would take I don’t mind waiting I’m not endangering our whole Zone for the sake of a point of pride But sometimes you can’t even control yourself

Rose’s frown darkened and Ace chuckled softly leaning back on the sleeping bag he brought Instead of correcting her mistaken impression that he simply had weak willpower he said nothing But Dauntless opened his eyes and stared intently at those strange threads of binding that Aratta had been working on him

Then amused Dauntless closed his eyes After all tomorrow would be a long day

Chapter 436

Randidly cracked his neck and then looked behind him The constant drizzle had kept up through the night and the Raid Party looked especially bedraggled this morning Well specifically Chrysanthemum looked like a much less fluffy version of herself with her fur soaked to her skin

Which in a way made her more terrifying Because without the fur there it was easy to see just what a monstrous creature she had begun evolving into Her size was on par with a small SUV at this point although she wasn’t as tall as one on four legs But when she stood straight up she positively towered over most normal enemies The monsters that were foolish enough to attack them were annihilated by her extra long reach and powerful muscles

We have our groups Randidly asked looking at Rose

She nodded Thea Clarissa and Annie Then Ace Lucifer and Ptolemy Finally myself Alana and Drake And I assume you will go on your own

Randidly snorted lightly Then he turned to gaze up at the Eyrie in front of them

Truly it was a wonder It looked a little like an impaled blackened lung slowly growing and then shrinking depending on what direction the wind blew Apparently there had once been a giant tree here all across the area a leftover from before But after this land had been transported here all that had been left was a husk

Over time the Death Cultists had climbed to the top torn off all of the branches and covered it in leather and canvas creating a strange almost living seeming building It was also gargantuan the tree must stretch at least 20 stories high and some framework had been erected for the main part of the dwelling creating more width to it Quite a bit of width in fact so that it looked like an entire football field could fit comfortably on one of the levels while the wind was blowing the Eyrie open

A fragile hideout perhaps but it would be just as fragile as footing for any attackers And it seemed relatively low value Aratta had warned them that many times the Eyrie had been burned down but the trunk of the ancient tree was extremely hard to damage so the Death Cultists had simply waited until the attackers left and then rebuilt the thing

It made Randidly wonder how the village had so easily gone and captured Death Cultists earlier especially in the numbers that Annie reported Was their strength that much higher than he expected Although about 40 people went to fight against the Death Cultists they had returned with just as many prisoners that meant that they defeated at least that many more likely double that to capture so many

The only person Randidly had seen among them that even seemed like they were capable was Cyndra Yet

Randidly’s battle last night against the Red Death Cultist had been illuminating Fighting against it was similar in Randidly’s mind to his battles against some of the finalists in the tournament in Shal’s world Their strength was incredibly impressive but they didn’t have the skill to make true use of it And the difference in strength wasn’t so much that they could use it to oppress Randidly giving him free reign to harry them and slowly drag out the fights

Of course at this point Randidly didn’t even need to take such roundabout methods he had improved by leaps and bounds since the tournament Especially in his support and spells The damage that he could produce with his Plant Dominance was about five times as much as he could have done with his previous Root Manipulation

Alana especially with the edge given to her by her Fate could pretty safely defeat it in a 1 v 1 situation Hell even if it had some support she would take it down with a bit of effort and the use of her new Skills

Then Randidly winced Thinking about Fates made him remember that he was swayed by Lucretia’s argument and just basically told Lucifer and Clarissa the process for condensing a Fate in the manner the System wanted But he would be flooding both of them with Aether as best he could prior to their Level up

Yes I will be going alone But it seems that we won’t have to barge right in Randidly said his mouth curling upwards at the edges Because above them the Eyrie stilled Then all of a sudden dozens and dozens of black shadows flew outwards filling the surrounding air with the sharp flap of wings

Randidly’s eyes narrowed as he looked up at the slowly increasing number of bats There was one issue a familiar one but one that made him profoundly wary of the Death Cultists like with Aratta he caught faint whiffs of Aether around them At first when he felt it on them as well he had assumed that it was the influence of the method the Creature had taught them to be Heretics but the more he had studied the Red Death Cultist in the fight

That wasn’t correct it wasn’t there constantly It seemed only to activate when the Cultist was using Skills which was even more foreboding Could she have somehow boosted the strength or Rarity of their Skills Something to look into to be sure If it was possible to replicate what had happened to Thea

Finally the bat horde seemed to reach critical mass and they began to swirl around flying in a spiral Everyone drew their weapons Randidly just tightened his hands into fists and grinned It was time to let loose

Instantly he activated the active version of Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil and launched himself upward heading directly into the throng of bodies gliding around in the air screeching at each other By the time Randidly produced his large spear he had arrived in front of the first Death Cultist who was stupidly turning to face him

It hissed at him in fury and his spear slid cleanly into its skull spraying blood in the air He had taken it easy last night testing out the boundaries of the Death Cultists’ strength both for his own benefit and to make sure nothing would happen to his companions if he would go ahead After all if the Red Death Cultists were too powerful for the others to defend

An explosion partially of fire but mostly of concussive force shattered the air in a dozen or so meters around him sending quite a few Death Cultists spiraling downward The effectiveness was partially based on the surprise factor but Randidly’s Intelligence had also increased to the point where an average enemy wasn’t even worth his time

With a screech that was taken up by a thousand bats they descended most aiming for him some going for their fallen companions but a good chunk gnashing their teeth and rushing towards the rest of the group They would be fine Randidly reassured himself

The force of his jump carried him forward arcing towards the mid levels of the Eyrie his Bone Cloak clinking madly from the rush of wind A Death Cultist rushed towards him aiming to smash him to the ground with its powerful legs but Randidly swung his spear activating Idiosyncratic Cut to lop off its head

But luckily or unluckily one of the passives of the well forged spear activated and an explosion of solar energy blasted outward burning away half of the victim’s body Howling in pain it fell downwards eventually crashing to the ground But the force of the solar explosion also altered his aim and Randidly barely crashed into the bottom quarter of the Eyrie’s levels

The canvas and leather that made up the outside were surprisingly hard to manage as he ripped through it and crashed into the wooden ground He felt the material beneath him crack but the floor held Huffing Randidly stood and ripped everything off of him And when that didn’t suffice for getting rid of all of the materials he bared his teeth

Again fire smashed outward immolating the canvas that bound him but also setting the Eyrie floor ablaze Randidly considered the flames for several seconds before he shrugged Burning it down would accomplish his goals and probably faster than him moving on his own Easier to just burn out the final boss than stomp all the way up to the top of the Eyrie and drag him out

Randidly was standing in a strange low roofed area that seemed to be a messy nest of some sort As he peered around he realized that there were no walls only floors and ceilings and everything else was just hanging fabric most of it ripped and rotten So there was a profoundly creepy vibe as the cloths fluttered around him fire beginning to creep in all directions

There was a crash and Randidly leaped forward dodging out of the way of the being that came downwards through the ceilings It hit the ground with a growl lashing out with a claw that was a full second too slow to catch Randidly

It did not stand but stalked forward bent over like a beetle its red fur especially bright with the color reflected from the fire Randidly found it somewhat amusing that they had built the ceilings so low that the larger Death Cultists couldn’t stand up to their full height but perhaps crawling like this was more comfortable The Red Death Cultist certainly seemed confident in its victory as it growled and crawled towards him

Although Randidly preferred this immensely because it couldn’t make use of its rather intimidating reach while it was on the ground

Two more Red Death Cultists hopped down through the hole adding their growls to the symphony that assaulted him Randidly just grinned and pointed his spear at them

Sorry guys I don’t have much time to play with you this time He whispered beginning to move His first slash was dodged but it was mostly a feint so that the leftmost cultist would back off and the rightmost would leap forward aiming to strike while Randidly was off balance

Of course he wasn’t and the spear ripped backward in a huge strike destroying the skull of that foolish rightmost cultist The middle one recognizing both the danger and what was happening threw itself forward desperate for an advantage

Randidly let go of the spear with his left hand and activated Touch from Beyond Instantly the temperature cooled somewhat and the nearby fires flickered uncertainly Then he used Talon Strike to crack the cultist’s skull sending it reeling Already Randidly could feel the slow damage the Skill did to his body so he stepped forward striking again piercing the monster’s torso and ripping out its heart

Then he deactivated the Skill and shook his hand frowning Strong Skill just uncomfortable The center cultist slumped to the ground joining the right cultist The left cultist was bound to the ground by vines and roots and its organs were ground into nothing from pressure

Satisfied Randidly clicked his tongue and leaped up through the hole they had created in the floor

Chapter 437

The second time the Red Death Cultists decided to challenge Randidly they brought numbers 12 of the fuckers swarmed out of holes that emerged from both above and below Randidly sneaking through his blind spots created by the cloth walls to strike at him But honestly Randidly wasn’t sure why they even bothered

The fire once again smashed outwards causing the attackers to screech in agony In addition the ground around Randidly ignited adding to the slowly growing conflagration of the Eyrie around him In the wake of the explosion Randidly moved swiftly approaching the downed enemies and striking them ripping huge chunks of their bodies off with his swings

Even though he could penetrate their leathery natural armor it wasn’t easy And slashes were quite a bit less effective than simply stabbing them They jabbered and waved their arms in anger glaring at him but Randidly just looked back at them impassively cleanly dispatching them

A notification that he reached Level 13 popped up and Randidly grinned The one good thing about fighting these Death Cultists was that they gave a pretty huge amount of experience per kill Which made sense because they were far and above the most powerful enemies that Randidly had faced in the Raid Dungeon thus far Of course hopefully the difficulty had another tier above that

It’s been a while since I have felt some real struggle Randidly whispered to the ash filled air his eyes glowing Can you satisfy me White Death Cultist

Waving his spear Randidly ripped a hole in the roof and went upwards moving onto the next level He was taking his time moving upwards for the express purpose of finding all of the lurking enemies and milking them for experience Mostly because Randidly was slightly frustrated by how long it was taking for him to Level

He had quietly asked around and found out that his Class appeared to take almost 4 times as much experience to Level as the other Classes on record Mrs Hamilton had warned him that there were slight variations in experience requirements for each Class but the highest they had noticed was 1 2 times Randidly hadn’t thought to really check his when he obtained it but now it was becoming frustratingly clear that his path to 50 would be extremely difficult

More than that he had such a smaller share of the experience than everything else that they gained Levels basically at a speed only half as fast as he did And because there were 9 of them that meant that 4 of them would Level every time he did Their Levels would count towards the Level total of the group and four of them would get a slightly larger share which meant that his increase in proportion was effectively wiped out An exercise in futility if he had ever encountered one

What was so frustrating was how easily this could have been avoided if he had taken the time to Level a bit in one of Donnyton’s kept Dungeons which both Donny and Sam had advised him but Randidly had been too focused on the task at hand to heed their words

As such

When a Red Death Cultist lashed out with its arm towards his chest Randidly swayed to the side letting it rip past Then Randidly stepped forward and activated the Inevitable Phantom Arrives a ghastly apparition appearing behind him Although Randidly hadn’t used the Skill in a while its application and image were still very familiar to him like the embrace of a mother

Randidly’s lip curled upward and he felt the skeletal image of his mother mirror his smile

The attack ripped directly through the shoulder of the bat its flesh forcefully smashed backward by the power of the attack By the time it opened its mouth to scream its hate and rage Randidly’s second attack had slashed downwards through its neck Blood spattered down Randidly’s front and onto the ground

Shaking his head Randidly stepped over the body and continued on his footsteps echoing on the wooden floors It was so strange how easily Randidly could kill now at least in terms of unintelligent monsters It came naturally to him It was almost tragic how the System had changed him But

It’s not like there was anything he could do about it And Randidly would choose becoming a monster over letting his friends and family die a thousand times Although this path was littered with carnage he did not regret stepping onto it

The heat in the Eyrie was rapidly rising as more and more of the bottom levels were engulfed in flame Plus the heat was rising and very rapidly the fire was catching up to Randidly in his advance Grinning Randidly leaped up another level punching through the wood of the floor and lifting himself up into a large room

Jackpot

Rather than the strange flat areas with cloth walls this was a large egg shaped room with a spiral staircase at the center At the base of the staircase about 40 Death Cultists were standing whispering to each other

Or at least they had been before Randidly had punched up through the floor His eyes sharpened as they all turned to face him looking at the two figures in the center There were two Death Cultists standing there One was a deep rich grey and the other was a much lighter grey but still obviously grey

Randidly tsk’d audibly Not yet huh

Upon seeing Randidly the lighter bat turned and began climbing the spiral stairs with its long arms choosing to just reach up and pull himself to the next level rather than walking around in a circle Randidly didn’t blame it he would likely do something similar when he ascended the stairs

The other 39 Death Cultists 10 normal foot soldiers 28 Red Death Cultists and the Grey Death Cultist began rushing towards him Their arms were raised and these even had a strange metal shoulder pads on that stretched the length of their arms Eyeing it Randidly realized that this was likely their version of weapons Luckily he hadn’t seen any of those who had flown out of the Eyrie already with them or else his companions might be in trouble

Watching the Grey Death Cultist climbing up towards an upper chamber he growled Out of my way and activated Cruel Indignation of Yggdrasil and Indomitable Will of Yggdrasil It was a dangerous combination at the best of times but when there was such a structure underneath him

The spatial distortions rippled around him curving the way light moved towards him Although he hadn’t gained very many Skill Levels in the Skill since he had learned it his usage had sharpened to a large degree Not in a useful sense not in a way that would actually improve the Skill But his familiarity made it increasingly fatal for those around him to be near him

His head throbbed with a mirrored pain but his eyes gleamed with a verdant mania There were few foes that had the Willpower to go toe to toe with him

From the back he saw the Grey Death Cultist make a gesture and Randidly suddenly felt weighed down immensely Blinking he very easily felt how he was slowed The Death Cultists seemed to speed up in equal measure to the slow which made sense because it was only his perspective that was shifted

Roaring Randidly stepped forward and he sensed the strange limiter on his speed shudder under his raw physical strength The pain and the slow together merged and spiraled upwards driving Randidly’s rage to new heights but as he opened his mouth to end the dozen or so Death Cultists that had arrived in front of him the Grey Death Cultist’s second spell arrived and nothing came out of his mouth

A chill went through Randidly as he realized his Yggdrasil actives had disappeared A silence

The passive side of Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil Emerald Sap of Yggdrasil and Golden Roots of Yggdrasil combined for an explosion of physical force that easily ripped apart the remnants of the slow that had stayed after the Grey Death Cultist had shifted his focus The world’s speed snapped back to normal and Randidly could see through the press of bodies that the Grey Death Cultist was manipulating a rune standing very still in a circle of energy

Randidly’s eyes glowed as he smashed his Willpower against the prohibition against using active Skills feeling it shake But the Grey Death Cultist had set the base for this Skill much more carefully and it resisted him

By that time the Death Cultists had arrived and Randidly’s fury was palpable as his spear swept sideways bisecting 10 of them at the waist their bodies falling to the ground with a clatter The other two continued onward heedless of their comrades’ death their hands stabbing towards Randidly’s torso

Snorting Randidly’s spear came back a glinting messenger of death destroying both of their skulls annihilating their brains in flashes of solar power By that time the Red Death Cultists had positioned themselves around Randidly and rushed him all at once

Randidly narrowed his eyes Although he didn’t like to admit it this would be much more challenging The Red Death Cultists’ skin was thick enough that it wasn’t an easy thing to cut through multiple at once And in their eyes Randidly saw that they would not stop from fear or persuasion Only death would still their wild hatred

Grinning at their guttural cries Randidly raised his spear and prepared to receive them

Chapter 438

The first Red Death Cultist to reach him was smashed sideways by the butt of Randidly’s spear sending it careening into its buddy both of them stumbling at the sudden force With a quick spin of the spear Randidly positioned himself to stab twice very quickly right into the rib cages of two other Red Death Cultists ending their lives

But as the second thrust was withdrawn one of the swiftly dying monsters desperately reached out and latched onto the spear using its body weight to delay Randidly’s move by just a split second Five more Red Death Cultists approached in that space rapidly closing the distance between them and Randidly

Randidly’s hands tightened on the spear shaft These fuckers

But at the same time Randidly’s pride burned bright and hot keeping him standing in the same position holding his ground before their assault If they wanted to bet it all on this moment of weakness he would show them their folly Even though his spear was delayed it still had plenty of time to make it back into a serviceable position and begin to lash outward

Once twice three times almost 9 times his spear slashed in front of him causing a spray of hot blood over the wooden floorboards And each time the Red Death Cultists would scramble to grab his spear holding it still or would just jostle the weapon but each time they came just a bit short

Until Randidly thrust at a particularly large and ugly member of the race aiming for its heart and a smaller Red Death Cultist leaped not towards Randidly but in the way of the spear allowing it to impale him gripping tightly on the shaft Taking advantage of the small opening the ugly fucker ducked around and swung its huge arms to crush Randidly

A swift twist and shake weren’t enough to dislodge the small Death Cultist that had sacrificed itself to buy time which caused Randidly to grimace There were still too many of the surrounding Red Death CUltists for him to waste time on this Again he smashed his Willpower against the strange prohibition he felt against using Skills and felt it crack just a little

But then the big fucker was before him and Randidly expertly flipped the spear to put his smaller bodied fellow bat in the path of his attack This didn’t even phase the big fucker and if anything he howled and attacked faster a murderous gleam in his eye

It didn’t help Randidly that four other Red Death Cultists were coming at his sides seeking to strike while this apparent crisis consumed Randidly’s attention Hotter and hotter Randidly’s rage rose consuming all other emotions that were in his chest until that heat was the only remaining sensation that he could feel The base emotion of Wrath made him blaze intensely and his passives all activated pushing his strength to its current limit

Do you think this is enough ’ Randidly thought every syllable cast in molten metal and fire

The big fucker’s strike descended ripping through the body of the impaled Death Cultist killing him It continued downwards and Randidly shifted his weight forwards then shrugged his shoulder knocking the blow harmlessly aside Although he couldn’t use the Skill he smashed the slightly off balance Red Death Cultist with a roundhouse kick throwing his body aside

Then the spear blurred flicking back and forth reducing the four other attackers to ribbons The final 10 or so Red Death Cultists bellowed and all of them rushed towards Randidly at once their eyes making it clear that they were betting it all on this final attack Randidly’s wild grin curled upwards Perfect

For the third time Randidly smashed his Willpower against the silence and this time he felt it shudder and shake knocked from its moorings But just as quickly the Grey Death Cultist forced it back down keeping him from unleashing any of his Skills The bodies had thinned out immensely and Randidly could now clearly see the Grey Death Cultist standing there about 30 meters away

Around his feet a magic circle glowed Mana revolving rapidly around where he was standing keeping the Skill active and in place even as Randidly struggled against it But apparently the struggle was not without cost to the Grey Death Cultist It swayed on its feet and a thin very visible trail of crimson fell from its mouth dripping on the fur of its chest and stomach

Randidly’s smile stretched reaching as wide as was physically possible his intent clear I will break you

The Grey Death Cultist seemed profoundly weary and closed its eyes We already knew we two couldn’t both leave this room alive Why speak of it now

Swinging his spear Randidly killed the first 5 Red Death Cultists attacking instantly reducing their numbers by half The fiery warmth of violence had Randidly quite pleased with himself but then his senses screamed at him and he twisted to face the ugly fucker who had stood back up from the kick and was now spear tackling Randidly

Roaring soundlessly Randidly brought his spear down like a hammer The big fucker was faster than he looked and had gotten within the range of Randidly’s spear but Randidly didn’t pull back Instead he just slammed the weapon down more viciously hitting him with the pole The strike took the big fucker in the collarbone which cracked with a satisfying snap

Still the monster’s eyes were animated by hatred and the weight and momentum kept the body moving slamming into Randidly Such was the force that even Randidly grunted and swayed on his feet his eyes narrowing As he went to raise his spear the big fucker flailed grabbing the shaft holding it still

Randidly’s face fell One of the attacking Red Death Cultists reached him and stabbed him with their sharp claws Emerald blood spurted outward

There was a dull recognition of pain numbed somewhat by Randidly’s repeated exposure to the Cruel Indignation of Yggdrasil but it plunged Randidly’s burning rage into frigid waters It was an extremely surreal experience To realize that even here a single mistake meant death Yet he had challenged the Death Cultists on their terms

It was only a flesh wound to his shoulder but

More than that the strangeness of the situation was compounded by the fact that emerald blood burst from his shoulder spraying the attacker Instantly the attacker withdrew its claw and howled in pain as every spot where Randidly’s blood had touched him began to smoke the ichor of the Tree of Enmity ate its flesh

Randidly’s Willpower slammed for the final time and the Skill holding him silent shattered The Grey Death Cultist swayed and collapsed falling on its knees before finally letting its face hit the ground with a dull thunk

I’m done playing

Cruel Indignation of Yggdrasil expanded rapidly reducing the survivors into a screaming mass Very quickly the attackers were dispatched until everything around Randidly was still except for the slowly expanding pools of blood on the ground around him In the time it took for him to slaughter the remnants of the Death Cultists the flow of his emerald blood dried to a trickle and the wound began to scab

He smiled bitterly at the ground where a few drops of emerald sizzled disintegrating the red blood around it I’m really no longer human am I

Randidly had never really thought much about what it meant to be human nor what the recent changes to him meant Even now faced with this reality he couldn’t’ really find it in himself to feel one way or another about it He just felt tired

But he still had a job to do

After walking slowly over the Grey Death Cultist he flipped the creature over with his foot checking it To his surprise it was still alive and it actually smiled at him after he flipped it over It began muttering in its strange language and thin wisps of Aether floated upwards Randidly took a step backward fearing another spell but the creature just continued to look up at him and murmur

Then something occurred to Randidly and his face twisted with something much colder and more vicious than fury Gently Randidly reached out and followed the thin wisps of Aether cautious but with a growing sense of foolishness As he followed them they led upwards and outwards outside of their current dimensions settling on something just around their dimension that seemed to govern the world

There it was very clear that those wisps connected to something that had been added to an incredibly complex system of Aether Calmly Randidly smashed it to pieces freeing up the original Aether device that was there

Instantly the monster’s words shifted and Randidly could understand it

it was truly an honor to be slain by you Messiah It has brought great honor to my family Please free us

What do you mean Randidly snapped some of his inner hatred and helplessness spilling over into his voice but the Grey Death Cultist simply sighed and then died leaving Randidly in silence There was no sound around him save for the sizzling of his emerald blood

Chapter 439

Contrary to what Randidly had thought earlier when he went to the staircase he walked up to them in silence letting the quiet sound of his footsteps on the wood echo The bodies remained where they were laying hacked to pieces by Randidly’s monstrous spear As he was ascending the fire below just around gathering up a howling momentum that would soon consume the bodies to feed its bottomless need

So filled with violence that he was completely still Randidly walked up to the next floor his face twisted He had been tricked But he couldn’t understand the nature of the trick at all The Creature had clearly created that bit of Aether on the System translator function keeping them from being able to communicate with the Death Cultists But why What secret were they keeping

And if the same sort of traces were on Aratta

The Aratta who had told him to kill all of the Death Cultists as soon as possible

Randidly’s expression became grave He sent a message to the group telling them to disengage and fall back making sure to capture Aratta After all it was possible that someone else specifically the Creature was using Aratta as a mouthpiece The Aether wisps were just the Creature using the translation function of the System to translate the language into whatever it wanted to say

Which meant that it clearly wanted Randidly to come here and kill the Death Cultists Which it turned out was exactly what they wanted as well That Grey Death Cultist had even called him Messiah Randidly’s lips tightened into a firm line

When he reached the top of the staircase Randidly looked around He was in a small wooden chapel and at the far end the light grey Death Cultist was standing in front of an altar IT was muttering and moving its hands and Mana was thick in the air Slowly that Mana was condensing and it seemed that Randidly had already missed quite a bit of the ritual because the condensation was almost complete

Resigning himself to wait Randidly simply watched the rhythmic deep movements of the Death Cultist as he controlled the energy If nothing else Randidly could learn much about the manipulation of Mana from him based on the proficiency that Randidly was seeing this Death Cultist would be able to Engrave the Shadow III rune without much difficulty at all

The difference was in the treatment whereas Randidly has always considered Mana a liquid the Death Cultist’s ritual was making it clear that it shared quite a few similarities with gas too except instead of expanding to fill a space it expanded to fill a meaning

Which made sense because everything in this world responded to life and meaning why would Mana be any different But it wasn’t a perspective that Randidly had encountered before He filed away that information content to wait until he had a proper opportunity to experiment with the consequences of this realization

Within 10 minutes the Mana had concentrated in a point and with a pop formed into a solid black item Reverently the Death Cultist took it Then equally reverently it turned falling to his knees and holding it up towards Randidly

I believe this is what you seek Messiah

Randidly frowned His steps were once again the only noise as he walked across the ground of the wooden chapel his bare feet slapping to stand before the Death Cultist Gingerly still somewhat suspicious he took the item from the creature’s hand which was shaped like a plus sign with a circle around it

Key of Death Lvl 50 A special key condensed from the secret methods of the Death Cultists rather than forming naturally after an individual slays enough monsters Inserting this Key of Death into the lock will result in a successful completion of the Raid Dungeon Afterward the energies of the Key of Death will sweep outwards ending all life in the Raid Dungeon transforming it into a regular Lvl 50 Dungeon

What the fuck Randidly hissed This Was the creature pointing him towards the end of the Raid Dungeon But why

And afterward the energies would run wild and kill everything in the Raid Dungeon Randidly wasn’t sure what the Creature was up to but he sure as hell didn’t think it would waste its time in here warping the Aether ecosystem in such specific ways if it was just going to let everything die at the end of it Was it trying to create something specific then That it would take with it when it escaped

Randidly didn’t doubt that the Creature itself would have ways around the death energies but

Could it perhaps be even now laying a trap back at the giant cathedral they had spawned in That didn’t seem right however because the Creature was not a being that ever gave up the initiative It always moved only at the end when its plan had completely come to fruition That was why Randidly had struggled against it so much in the past He hadn’t known that anything strange was going on at all until the very end

Perhaps then the Creature’s plan was to have him kill the Death Cultists before they could condense a key thereby trapping Randidly and the group here But that was just stalling and flukey at best Besides according to the tooltip it would condense naturally after a certain number of enemies had been killed

Which was a bullshit way for a dungeon to function but was largely a moot point in this case

Randidly shook his head frowning even as the Grey Death Cultist remained kneeling in front of him This was Not right It didn’t feel like the Creature at all Better to shift backward and reset his outlook he was missing something

The Creature’s goal was to hide from the System and secondarily to strike blows against it Earth and Randidly were both just tools to it which it had found convenient but were becoming increasingly less convenient the more Randidly succeeded in growing in strength and foiling the Creature’s plans So it made sense if this plan wasn’t about them

But it was somehow using Randidly because he was a convenient tool the Initiating Action as Lyra had said Randidly narrowed his eyes And it seemed the Creature wanted to push him towards using this Key which meant it didn’t care about the Death Energies So did that mean the Creature wasn’t alive or

Randidly’s eyes widened Or or did it have Aether constructs that would prevent the energy from affecting certain areas Like there were around the different villages Annie had mentioned there were larger formations there So if the Creature could protect a Village

Then it needed them for a way to use the fact that a certain area would be unaffected to its advantage in a way that subverts the System The tools at its disposal

The Item

Laughing aloud Randidly slapped his leg In that instant it occurred to Randidly what the item could be that it would both given the Creature an unexpected benefit and also also convince the people in the villages to assist it That still left out several large whys but

The fire was eating up through the ground into the chapel but even as he was burned the Death Cultist remained differentially at Randidly’s feet Death Cultist huh did that mean that all this time this race of monster knew what was in store for it

Get up we are leaving Randidly grunted his eyes sparkling Let’s gather the rest of your people and then let’s go see what the Creature is up to

Ace was surrounded by 6 Death Cultists and they screamed at him in their harsh tongue Outwardly he grimaced sporting a small wound on his side that would hamper his mobility but inwardly he was rubbing his hands together Scheming was difficult against monsters without intelligence so Ace was delighted to find that although these weren’t particularly bright they did generally respond to feints and baits

It seems whatever fighting they did was a direct thing that relied more directly on brawn that any level of cunning Which was a pity because the villain was a player who knew that every battle was one determined by wits

When they came at him it was all at once their arms slashing towards him After leaning left and right to avoid the most accurate attacks Ace leaped up doing a backflip to avoid the charge from the Death Cultist behind him At the apex of his jump he brought his legs down around the neck of the hapless charger and then twisted torquing the Death Cultist’s neck with enough force to bend steel

Unfortunately it didn’t snap the beast simply gagged and was flung sideways by his leg through arcing beautifully into the air Ace sighed pleased with the display The other Death CUltists looked at him warily

Alana arrived on the scene rapidly dispatching two as she cut her way into the dance uninvited She gave him a look Stop playing with your food

Earlier Ace had elected to leave Dauntless out of this so Alana saw when he winked at her She had no response to that and adopted a workmanlike efficiency as she began killing the others Shaking his head Ace joined her It was for this reason that for all her power Alana would always be a henchmen She just had no vision

A notification flitted across Ace’s vision

Randidly Ghosthound Disengage and regroup Also keep a close eye on Aratta

Ace felt a tug at the edges of his soul

Chapter 440

Ptolemy felt his vision go black and suddenly he was somewhere else away from the battlefield

The blood seemed to drip right off his hands and into the ground the Death Cultist he was facing gone Now he was standing on a dirt road at the edge of a field of flowers

Do you like it here ’ A voice asked and Ptolemy turned to find Aratta standing and wearing a blue and yellow sundress He felt a strange tenderness towards her but Ptolemy’s eyes narrowed

You’ve done this before Ptolemy informed her cursing how polite he was even now My instincts tell me you are a liar I will not remain here I have enemies to fight

Her laugh was soft like the rustling of papers in a library her long dark hair a rich contrast to her caramel skin Even now Ptolemy waivered thinking about the curves of her wondering when the last time he had laid with a woman was But he silenced that

Ptolemy couldn’t deny his kindness made him vulnerable in some ways to this sort of illusion and trickery But he had not forged himself a position in Donnyton for nothing Shaking his head sadly he used the Skill Dispel Unfortunately nothing seemed to happen Ptolemy frowned

Ha this this is not an illusion per se It’s more of a provided location for the performance of a ritual Dispelling the location is useless you need to stop the ritual Aratta said matter of factly stepping towards Ptolemy You see I did not choose to be here but sometimes my orders aline with my baser needs I had something very precious taken away from me and now I use men to fill that gap Aren’t I a cliche And now that I have you alone you will break for me and

Am I too early I’d hate for my entrance to be an inconvenience

Both Ptolemy and Aratta turned to find a man standing there with a motorcycle helmet over his face

Aratta smirked Dauntless that’s what you call yourself yes How nice of you to join us I’d hoped you wouldn’t be able to resist It’s almost cute isn’t it how Ace thinks his insanity will protect him Why don’t you also

Break something yes And I have just the target in mind Dauntless said in his almost monotone voice stepping forward and cracking his knuckles

Aratta frowned her nose crinkling I’ll make you regret that

Instantly something in the air changed and Ptolemy gasped It was like 1000 hooks that he wasn’t aware of in his skin started pulling in either direction slowly ripping small chunks of him off Not only was the pain almost unbearable but it also spread this thick grey apathy through him causing his eyelids to drop steadily downward

Aratta beckoned them Come on then I need this to be quick That cunt Alana is chasing me very rapidly Tsk tsk she really hid her strength

A pity I’d hoped you would say that about me

The strong almost blasting voice gave Ptolemy a bit of edge and he forced his eyes back open Dauntless walked towards Aratta jauntily seemingly unaffected by the strange force that she had placed upon Ptolemy Was he not under the influence of the same thing or

Hissing at Dauntless Aratta raised her hand and pointed at him Instantly the vision of the dirt road by the field shuddered as the force of her ritual smashed through the transient mental location Ptolemy groaned his will buffeted by the collateral forces and even that was enough to bring him to the brink of unconsciousness Dauntless simply slowed for a second then continued walking as if nothing had happened

Aratta’s frown deepened This is impossible

Only the insane would argue with reality Dauntless retorted stalking closer

Aratta pursed her lips then forced out a laugh Fine I underestimated you so what What are you going to do about it

Ptolemy heard and felt it more than saw it because his eyes were slowly unfocusing under the influence of whatever Aratta was doing But Dauntless’ hand blurred and suddenly Aratta’s head was knocked backward her jaw slightly askew

You Aratta said soundly surprisingly shocked as she held her hand up to touch her bleeding mouth You would just hit a woman just like that Oh or are you one of the types that likes beating woman is that it Give in to me you broken freak and I’ll let you assault and rape ’

A gurgling noise came from Aratta’s mouth as she fell to the ground after Dauntless punched her in the throat And his next move surprised Ptolemy the man reached up and removed his helmet

There was an expression of pure disgust on Ace’s face as he sat on his haunches next to Aratta I’ve never understood the taboo around hitting a woman I suppose it’s an implicit cultural assumption that force is the most base and morally reprehensible of the methods to resolve conflict Combined with the admittance that generally men have greater strength especially in the upper body as compared to women Therefore to hit a woman is to flaunt you are superior in an ugly and immoral way

But you know Ace reached down and put his hand on Aratta’s throat Then began to squeeze Since the System arrived I realized that I care very little about what society deems morally reprehensible Because society collapsed from the strain of encountering something stronger than it Because to be strong is to make what you want possible And to be weak well

Ace stood keeping his grip on Aratta’s throat lifting her off the ground Setting aside your dubious right to claim the benefits of being a woman in Earth culture I would say that your more glaring sin was to forget that what you are trying to current do is brainwash us using the force of your need to overwhelm us Is that any less vicious

Ace Ptolemy said finally regaining his tongue but Ace was well monologuing now

Is it the brutality Or the obvious anguish that sets it apart Ace said his eyes glowing If this were a movie the audience wouldn’t be able to feel the visceral agony you were going through being brainwashed But look at you now I don’t think even the stoniest heart could resist feeling pity for you no matter how insidious your petty villainy is

Aratta’s face was turning red and her legs were kicking wildly as she struggled her hands scrabbling at Ace’s seeking a purchase to free herself Ptolemy felt his heart drop

You shouldn’t He began but Ace kept talking

True I’m taking other frustrations out on you but I just find you so mundane A short lived villain such as you give us a twist why don’t you Ace said shaking his head Then he turned back to Aratta his mouth firm You made two mistakes First was thinking Dauntless made me weak I hope you learned that was a gross underestimation of what the System can do with a powerful image The second was believing that your agony is greater than all others I have felt it scrabbling for purchase on my soul and found it wanting

Now as her face was turning purple her arms falling to her sides Ptolemy found his voice and bellowed at the other man Ace You are going to kill her

So what And when Ace turned and looked at Ptolemy Ptolemy saw nothing in his eyes Just a dead thick silence like the crawl space in an attic filled with corpses and bugs

A new voice cut through and the dirt road fell away If you kill her she can’t answer what’s going on here Which is a big issue Put her down Ace

They were back on the battlefield and the Ghosthound was there with his arms crossed staring daggers at Ace The rest of the group was gathered around Thea looked fearful Rose was pale Alana’s lips were pressed together in a thin line

Shrugging Ace dropped Aratta to the ground Just trying to educate an unwilling student You’ll forgive me if my methods were extreme

Alana snorted No one else made a sound as Aratta curled up on the ground coughing Ptolemy made to go assist her but the Ghosthound stopped him with a sharp gesture Then the Ghosthound himself went to stand by her side carefully reaching down towards the cloth that was tied over her eyes

When she moved it was with a speed that Ptolemy couldn’t follow All he heard was Alana’s hiss and Rose’s Watch out

And of course Ace’s I told you she was unwilling

When the blur of bodies had settled the Ghosthound had both of Aratta’s hands pinned behind her back and she struggled and gnashed her teeth at them Carefully he held her down and reached up and removed the cloth covering her eyes Instantly the cloth caught fire a strange emerald fire and burnt up

The Ghosthound frowned and spun her around Her hands remained at her sides and she largely just stood there looking extremely tired And extremely attractive Ptolemy admitted to himself After scrutinizing her for several seconds Randidly’s eyes widened You are

Ten’Malla the once Wild Rider yes Aratta said warily reaching up and rubbing her eyes Then she spat out a mouthful of blood and shook her head After a few seconds of stunned silence from the Ghosthound she turned to Ace and spat out How’s that for a twist

Chapter 441

Randidly lightly tapped the edge of the hastily erected cot where the Wild Rider was currently resting The rest of the Raid Party was sweeping the area cleaning up the monsters that were constantly spawning due to the Creature’s strange and almost ingenious plan for the Raid Dungeon itself

Next to Randidly the Grey Death Cultist stood deferentially simply waiting for his word During the time that Randidly had been impatiently waiting for the Wild RIder to awake he had spoken some with the Death Cultists and their version of history was illuminating

They received an offer from the Creature the same as the other race of people here but they refused Instead they relied on their powerful shamanistic magic that could utilize death as a source of strength Many brave warriors’ lives were lost but in exchange their race was able to rapidly grow to address the threat of the monster hordes With their high reproductive speed they were actually able to reach an equilibrium much more easily

Then unbeknownst to the elders of the Death Cultist someone snuck in among their people and spread a strange forbidden ritual that granted power It was of course the Creature and it spread through the lower younger ranks like wildfire When you routinely saw your friends and family sacrificed you would do anything for power

However the White Death Cultist who was their leader quickly sniffed out this plot and came down with fire and brimstone to eradicate these betrayers Through torture and interrogation they managed to extract the method without promising a favor to the Creature and the White Death Cultist thought it prudent to start utilizing it regardless

Unfortunately very soon after that there was a series of powerful attacks by a strange beast During one of those attacks the White Death Cultist was captured but the beast too was gravely wounded

After that the Death Cultist society almost collapsed as fear of more attacks such as that spread through the population In a twist of fate that Randidly found profoundly disconcerting they turned to religion and the words of the White Death Cultist who left numerous musings before he was captured In a diary he speculated at the nature of the location they were currently trapped and had investigated the whole area of the Raid Dungeon

What he found was the lock for the Key of Death and devised a way to create one Tragically it could only be used by an interloper from a distant land so the White Death Cultist spoke of the heroism and responsibility possessed by these saviors who would come to free them for their eternal torment Whether or not the White Death Cultist actually wanted to found a religion based on the forthcoming Raid Party was unclear but since that individual was no longer around to say anything

Should I wake her The Grey Death Cultist asked in its husky voice as it did everytime the Wild Rider’s eyelids fluttered As always Randidly shook his head impatiently

Inwardly Lucretia was hastily developing their first real Aether construct one that would handle the strange tentacles of Aether that kept shooting outwards from the Wild Rider If anything the cloth that had covered her eyes had regulated it somewhat making it much more subtle and much more useful In the wake of unmasking Ten’Malla she was throwing hundreds of illusion filled tendrils where she used to only use a handful

Of everyone only Clarissa and Ace had high enough Willpower to be near it without being phased The Grey Death Cultist as well which was somewhat of a surprise but he provided Randidly the company he needed for his unending vigil

Only seemingly unending Randidly hoped

But what was puzzling about the Ten’Malla situation was that it appeared that the action of extending tendrils was almost entirely instinctual More than that it was motivated out of fear and pain It was not the action of a chess piece but more likely a messy leftover that the Creature repurposed

Which shifted Randidly’s attention to how exactly the Creature been influencing Ten’Malla and what had been the Creature and what had been the now grown up rider What was clear was that the Creature could have used her fix on the translation software of the System to have Ten’Malla say almost anything to them But what was more worrying was that the cloth over Ten’Malla’s eyes were also thick with Aether constructs

Rather than investigating closely Randidly had thought it prudent to simply annihilate all of that delicate work with raw force Of course now he regretted that immensely He was wracking his brain to think of anything that the Wild Rider could have said to mislead them or set them up for a failure later but he couldn’t think of anything

But that didn’t make it any easier to stop dwelling on it

Besides this was just a way to kill time It had been about 8 hours since they had burned down the Northern Eyrie and after making contact with the Grey Death Cultist it had offered to contact the rest of their people and gather them to greet the great messiah Randidly grudgingly agreed only because he knew what came next might be complicated

If his assumptions about what the Creature was doing were correct it would be buckling down and fortifying Although its true goals weren’t clear Randidly began to wonder whether it was doing experiments with its Aether trying to bless some of the Dintan granting them Classes in the way Randidly was able to influence some members of Donnyton

The prospect was very intimidating The Creature had already made it clear that it was much more skilled than Randidly at using its Aether resources and an army of powerful Classes at its back would make it a much different kind of threat than it was currently One that Randidly likely wouldn’t be able to contain on his own

Randidly heard the soft rustle of grass and looked up Chrysanthemum lumbered over to them Thea on her back The duo quickly arrived and Thea hopped off

Randidly’s eyebrow quirked upwards Trouble

Thea looked directly at Randidly and shook her head Not trouble just there is a huge monster horde South of us Except it doesn’t seem like its heading for us But towards mm well Annie said you should know

Breathing through his nose Randidly leaned backward First of note was how directly Thea had been able to address him That was new and likely a good thing Perhaps the two weeks in here had done a lot to soften the blow his fury had done when she had chosen to upgrade her Skill rather than her Class or a Statistic

The second thing was the presence of the monster horde It seemed the Creature was moving more quickly than he had expected while not necessarily a bad thing if they didn’t move quickly it might become overly complicated to attack the Creature’s base Not that it was simply to attack it now while there was a huge monster horde around it but

Thirdly Annie also had intuited what was going on Or was it just a safe move to refer the information back to her How far could she see when scouting Honestly that was the most perturbing thing he had learned while in the Raid Dungeon that she had a very accurate gauge of a very large amount of land and she didn’t seem to travel at all or have any limit on the direction or timing of her knowledge

There was a Skill at work here and a powerful one Perhaps he should ask Rose if he could look at the copious notes she was taking on each of them to see what type of Skill Annie was using

Thea’s eyes slid sideways to the Grey Death Cultist then back to Randidly So we don’t need to fight them anymore

Randidly shook his head slowly It was unfortunate but fighting them seemed just to be beneficial as an experience grind and now that they were communicating it didn’t help that they seemed to worship him it reminded Randidly somewhat of the Cult of Arbor and he didn’t just want to put these people to the sword

Of course another part of him whispered that’s exactly what he would be doing by using their assistance to assault the Creature’s base and those that survived would be wiped out when he used the Death Key and cleared the Raid Dungeon

Then what are we still doing here Thea asked her expression puzzled Back home the people are without Aether right I heard all the stuff the governments were saying that short term deprivation of Aether won’t have any lasting side effects but it makes me wonder what short term side effects

Randidly raised a hand stopping her before she built up a full head of steam When Thea said that all Randidly could see were Simon’s soft brown eyes and the fear that other people would be hurt It was profoundly strange to realize that the person you are speaking to has more of a conscience than you did It was not an agreeable feeling

I know what you are thinking I won’t deny it we have the Key of Death and we could clear the Raid Dungeon immediately if that was all there was in here But there is more to do

Is there Thea asked her voice insistent her eyes glowing coldly Randidly almost smiled but controlled himself

Truly her upgraded Skill was paying dividends in her life Standing before him was a powerful young woman full of confidence in her own methods It was leagues away from the armored pincushion he had first encountered in Star Crossing But that didn’t mean she was right

Chapter 442

Randidly had thought long and hard about the issue of whether to just cut their losses in the Raid Dungeon and run But there were a few issues that Randidly wanted to resolve before they departed

First and most importantly the issue of their Champion When the Creature had fled into the Raid Dungeon it had taken the two Regalias of the Champions of their Zone Apparently whenever a person would hold both they would transform into the Champion for the Zone and gain

Power Skills A learnable ability

Randidly wasn’t sure of the specifics but it couldn’t be denied that this was a gift of free power from the System and they had the means to bring it under their control You couldn’t always count on a genius like Lyra usurping control of the Village Spirit enabling them to had a glimpse behind the curtain of the System

Then Randidly grimaced because they hadn’t really obtained that at all All that really changed was that Lyra asked him to trust her more

Shaking his head Randidly dismissed that thought It would distract him from the issue at hand

The second issue was simply put to fuck up whatever the Creature was attempting to do in the Raid Dungeon currently Randidly wasn’t exactly sure what was going on but he wanted to put a stop to it as soon as possible before that sick being could twist it to suit its own needs and destroy countless lives in the process

It wasn’t a well formulated reason because Randidly couldn’t really quantify the future threat of the Creature if it could accomplish what it wanted Because it was primarily looking to hide from the System letting it live in the Dungeon had seemed like a deceptively attractive option but Randidly stubbornly refused to accept it

When it came to the Creature Randidly’s eyes narrowed

Which led very easily to the third and final reason Randidly wanted very much so to make that piece of shit pay for what it had done to him and also to others Just the fact that it warped the Raid Dungeon scenario like it had in order to drive the Dintan to being indebted to it was diabolical on a level that Randidly felt driven to salt the very earth it walked on to spite it

However those destructive tendencies needed to stay cautioned The Creature should never be approached in a fit of rage It would be prepared for that

But it would be hard to say all of the points and counterpoints in Randidly’s head to Thea so he simply nodded to her quest Yes There is more to do

To his surprise she accepted that nodding and turning away And so with one less thing to worry about for now Randidly turned back to the Wild Rider only to find that she was awake smiling weakly up at him

Still Randidly didn’t relax because her eyes were completely pitch black without a hint of light

You make for an interesting nurse Ten’Malla said a shallow imitation of the playful and callous monster that she used to be masquerading as a young girl When she spoke her voice quavered as if her strength failed her halfway through a sentence Randidly could only frown

What Nothing to say No questions No missions Ten’Malla raised a hand as if to brush her hair out her eyes but her hand just pressed against her forehead her fingers twitching slightly She grimaced and reached with her more functional left hand to cradle her almost useless right I might look like this right now but I’m still very powerful you know I could devour you all

Just because Randidly hoped that it was cut off these jokes Randidly snorted humorlessly Then he crouched down next to her his eyes scanning her as best as he could He would have preferred Rose to be here for this but he wasn’t afraid of Ten’Malla per se because her powers as Wild Rider appeared to be gone but she was a mysterious entity to begin with Even now her loyalties remained unclear at best

Which was why Randidly decided to make a show of good faith asking nothing in return

Reaching out Randidly held his hand over her head and dug his fingernails into his palm When the skin stubbornly refused to give he pressed harder And then harder again until several drops of emerald blood welled upwards He flipped his hand so his palm was facing upwards and allowed the blood to pool between his cupped fingers All the while Randidly focused on that blood emphasizing healing

It would be rather silly if his blood melted her to nothing but bones at this juncture after he had spent all this time waiting for her to wake up

Randidly offered her his hand Drink

She eyed him suspiciously her eyes flitting from his hand to his face and then back to his hand Then her eyes scanned around taking in the smoky battlefield around them the Grey Death Cultist standing at attention behind Randidly to the distant sounds of battle and movement

Randidly wasn’t sure at all what she was looking for then and whether she founded But she nodded and tried to sit up and lean forward

Instantly her body rebelled against her small spasms running through her and Randidly leaned forward quickly his arm pulling her body upwards towards his other hand so she could drink his blood Belatedly he realized that if she was going to ambush him in some way there would be no better time than when he was trying to help her

His eyes became emerald fire watching her like a hawk But as the spasms slowly ceased and fell away she simply sipped at his blood taking it inside of her Gently Randidly laid her back down backing a few steps away from her both for his safety and for hers

For several seconds nothing happened Ten’Malla opened her mouth then likely to make a comment about how nothing happened and then her eyes widened

Holy fuck that feels good Ten’Malla said her eyes wide Then she shivered Her chapped and crusty lips healed The small wounds on her body disappeared Her twitching right hand had one last desperate spasm and then settled somewhat in her lap Even the strange tendrils of Aether raised themselves to the heavens then curled back inwards on themselves slowing their expansion to about double pre removal of the blind

Sighing Ten’Malla leaned back and just let Randidly’s blood run its course Randidly watched immensely curious He had never really attempted to heal anything with his blood He wondered if there were any lasting side effects or short term stat boosts and whether giving it to her was a mistake How would the healing function Did the System invalidate blood types

Where had the Wild Rider come from anyway Was she a stronger being than him Had she been before

It was about 5 minutes of amusing himself with similar questions to these before the Wild Rider sat up again on her own this time Her eyes were bright and she considered Randidly directly no longer couching it in jest

You didn’t need to do that

Randidly’s smile was sardonic do you think I don’t know that

Ten’Malla shook her head slowly If you knew what I knew you would not help me This is partially my fault And your blood will only hold me together for a while Very soon the pain will rise again My body might be failing but

Randidly nodded slowly He had sensed as much One thing that was obvious now was that the cloth around her eyes both had the effect of controlling those tendrils and keeping her body working Because although she was not basically a shambling corpse there was nothing actually wrong with her body These were all effects of a much deeper much more personal ailment

As if she could see the suspicions in his eyes Ten’Malla pressed her face into her tight fists and said My companion was taken from me Ripped from my grasp

Which was what Randidly had suspected but was not a good thing to hear Especially with Neveah being in that strange stasis To see how powerfully it would hit him should she die But he supposed that was to be expected Their souls were bound together seemingly by Aether IF that was ripped away

A light went on behind Randidly eyes Those tendrils then were the ripped ends of that spiritual connection Then what was happening was she was instinctively reaching out for a bond But since it had already been destroyed the current attempts only accomplished perverting her soul further

Before I lose the will to admit this Ten’Malla said slowly then she stopped for several long seconds I that girl is still alive That girl I used as a body double so long ago but she’s made a name for herself now That’s why I don’t think you can forgive me for what I put her through Here she is known as Zith Jemma is Zith

Chapter 443

It was only several hours later in the pre dawn twilight that Randidly began to slowly unpack what it would mean for Gemma to be Zith an iconic figure in Dintan history The rest of the group were slowly gathering and Ace was currently doing his best short of violence to get the Death Cultists to admit that he was not their savior

First and least important that meant that Gemma had lived for at least 500 years perhaps more Randidly hadn’t ever been exactly clear on the effect that Vitality and Endurance would have on the human lifespan and if this wasn’t some Dungeon or Creature shenanigans this meant that they would live for a very long time He had some inklings in Shal’s world but largely Randidly had only dealt with those at his level It was only at the end when they came for him that the older generation revealed their fangs

Randidly blinked then looked down at his palm It was one thing to know you might live for 100 years and perhaps the System would keep you young looking for longer After all Sam had experienced an increase in youthfulness in the wake of the System and there were many other recorded cases Mrs Hamilton had been watching this issue very closely and kept him abreast of it

But now to know you might live for 500 more years

Randidly shivered He wondered how a person would change over 500 years time

Also this meant that there was no doubt any longer in Randidly’s heart that he had to go assault the Creature’s base Although that was where its strength was gathered if Gemma was there still under her influence Randidly refused to allow that to happen The only question would be how much of that he would reveal to the rest of his party

Finally it likely meant that Gemma was working together with the Creature or had worked together with her Zith had led the Dintan in owing a favor to the Creature They worshipped Zith as the great deliverer only for her relationship to the mysterious blonde haired woman of old

Randidly’s hands tightened into fists and his eyes flashed Just fucking fuck

Power That’s what he needed now So Randidly opened up his Path Screen

Through the course of the last few battles Randidly had gained 4 Levels in Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil 6 Levels in Circle of Flame 2 in Plant Dominance and Spear Mastery 5 in Aether Manipulation and Aether Detection 3 in Phantom’s Embrace 2 in Idiosyncratic Cut 1 in Golden Roots of Yggdrasil and Cruel Indignation of Yggdrasil 3 in Emerald Sap of Yggdrasil and Indomitable Spirit of Yggdrasil 4 in Child of Rain and Nether Resistance 2 in Touch from Beyond and 3 in Living Aether

It was a fair amount of PP in one go especially in a relatively short time period but he had let himself loose in the fight against the Death Cultists And he would again when he moved against the Creature Randidly grinned at the thought his smile all tooth and predation This time although he was going to the location she had prepared Randidly knew she would be there

That at least was different from every time they had previously fought In addition his Aether Skills had grown greatly over the course of the last two months both out of the Rain Dungeon and inside of it With it he was that much closer to clawing her down off of her condescending fucking pedestal

The other more mundane thing Randidly noticed was that he hadn’t really had time to level his Gravity Manipulation and Spriggit’s Tinkering At low levels both would be easy ways to increase his PP pool so he could burn through the First Legend Path faster Randidly made a mental note to do just that and then turned to his path screen

It only took a single PP moving his Soul Skill from Level 1999 to 2000 before everything began to go to shit

Congratulations You have received the Blessing of Devouring Ash Willpower +10 Resistance +10 You have learned the Skill Chosen of Fire ® Lvl 1

The world of your soul skill turns The denizens of your inner world evolve Although peace has lasted for a generation it grows increasingly strained The emergence of more and more Energy Wells across the surface of the planet has caught the eye of all of the political players But no sooner do the countries shift their resources to move when a great evil comes to the land

They rise out of the Energy Wells wounded and broken but as they slowly absorb the lives of others they grow stronger stealing their skills and even faces By the time rumors of the Skinshifts is known by the public it is almost too late for these clever monstrosities have penetrated into the highest level of government in every race

A great darkness came out of the center of this world and more are following it

Calculating

Randidly blinked looking at the notification There was again a shift in the Blessing this one giving him a Skill He quickly focused on it and received a basic description Grimacing Randidly considered whether he would keep it It only passively boosted his resistance and damage from and with fire Although a straight fire user build would love it it still took up one of his very valuable slots

Plus these notifications about his Soul Skill

Randidly left his Status screen and went to look at his Soul Skill But when he reached for it there was a dull sense of impact and he was rejected It was so strange that Randidly had to blink a few times to make sense of what was happening

He couldn’t intervene Then what was the point of having his Progenitor’s influence

Accelerating time within Soul Skill Calculating extent of degeneration approaching critical failure

This is not Randidly hissed his eyes blazing the fucking time to self destruct

But perhaps this was the plan all along another part of Randidly whispered He had after all created the Soul Skill based on the Creature’s strange weapon Was it strange that now as he moved against it problems were cropping up

The only problem was that it was triggered by PP and not by anything else he could see This would make it the 8th full rotation through his blessings since he had acquired the Soul Skill and to be fair his previous ones had lasted quite a bit shorter than this one Perhaps Soul Skills had a version of aging and his was approaching the end of its life

Randidly’s eyes narrowed And just like his previous Soul Skills there was a propensity towards volatility as it approached the end His cycle of Rot and Ash had begun to swirl so quickly that it was almost enough to tear itself apart At the time Randidly had to create a whole new Soul Skill so the thing wouldn’t fall apart taking a huge portion of his strength with it It made sense then that the core of his world would shift towards dangerous levels Awakening these Skinshifters to loose on his Soulskill

Likely a metaphor for the Creature moving into and through him aiming to absorb him and his Soul Skill Not a metaphor that Randidly appreciated

Lucretia trouble Randidly said taking a deep breath then focusing on the task at hand

It took him several seconds of silence to realize something was wrong Only two seconds after that was Randidly swearing viciously

Fucking cunt He began then stopped himself clenching his teeth You’re in the fucking Soul Skill aren’t you

Which was both intimidating and reassuring Reassuring that she was there and probably wouldn’t let the volatile forces run wild intimidating because she was out of his control and could do things outside of his ability to discover while the time acceleration process was going on

Growling Randidly formed his Willpower into a spear and slammed it into the side of the force that repelled him previously Unfortunately there was no real feedback just a strange ripple of dispersed force through his Soul Space Immediately Randidly realized what the problem was

There wasn’t truly a barrier he just wasn’t able to push through the difference in time It was academically interesting to think about what happened at the border between two separate speed flows of time but at the moment it wasn’t very amusing at all

Briefly Randidly considered using Inspire to brute force the issue but he didn’t like the prospect of leaving himself without Mana Skills not when he was waiting to go assault the Creature’s base It likely wouldn’t know about his weakness but Randidly also didn’t fully trust the Grey Death Cultist and he was currently gathering more of his people to form a host of which the Raid Dungeon had never seen

Basically his hands were tied on that front

Strangely however when he reached out to his Progenitor’s Influence it responded to him flowing across the time barrier and into the world He had 901 Progenitor’s Influence at this point from the levels and from his times investigating the state of the Soul Skill but that seemed pitifully small Minor Blessing was available to him at 875 Progenitor’s Influence but Randidly had no way of targeting it or

But his abilities instantly told him that was wrong He could target the races that he had created and the monsters too and even the Skinshifts as they were considered a part of his Soul Skill and it was still relatively stable He could even sense them great masses of lights signifying them Each light a life stretching before him

They were he couldn’t help but think beautiful

Chapter 444

There were relatively few Skinshifters but they grew ever brighter and the other lights around them were quickly snuffed out Instantly his fury blazing Randidly began blessing It was a minor thing a small increase in perhaps strength perhaps intelligence perhaps even intuition Randidly was not sure But it was all he could do Each Minor Blessing wasn’t difficult but it did take a small amount of mental strength to execute and Randidly had to focus on a single light

In a fit of fury he began to bless over and over and over again

It was draining and not in a way that he was prepared for About 100 Blessings in he blacked out losing focus on what he was doing He only regained consciousness a split second later as the Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil kicked in getting rid of some of the mental strain that Randidly had so brazenly undertaken

Gritting his teeth he pushed that Skill to the max and brought his Perception back into the Progenitor’s Influence screen There carefully he began to bless once more doing his best to ignore the fact that more and more lights were fading away Even taking his time going slowly one by one the strain began to creep back up on him

Sometimes his vision would swim for a second or two before his mental healing could catch back up with it But still he continued focusing There was a point that time stopped mattering and there was only the act and the deep righteous rage against whatever was moving within his Soul Skill

And the fear and frustration knowing that he was locked out of this struggle

It was almost a relief when he ran out of lights to bless and a notification popped up

Your Grace has descended upon the world and it has not gone unnoticed Calculating effects

The Weavers suffered heavy losses in the war against the Skinshifts likely because they were identified as the race that would be the easiest to subvert once its ranks were infiltrated It is anathema to move against the interests of the Weave and it took the Weavers a long time to discover the traitors in their midst The war to purge them was a bloody one and although the Weavers succeeded in purifying themselves they were unable to assist in the greater war

Aside from the Weavers the monsters were the most decimated The Skinshifts originally used the monsters as scapegoats for what was happening placing the blame on the monsters’ violent nature when the deaths became too numerous to hide Perhaps they would have become completely under the thumb of the foreign invaders if not for the Monster King Hearing of his people’s plight the King moved annihilating all traces he could find of their evil But his court was a gutted suspicious wreck of what it had been

The White Hunters were well off and had warned the Golems leaving both races relatively untouched They then turned their attention to the Spriggit crisis as the Skinshifts discovered and unleashed the mechanical war machines that were created at the end of the war against the monsters but never used

Working together with the Spriggit Thief one of the Chosen of the Progenitor two young Earth Golem women with martial talent not seen since the Emperor defeated the great mechs ending the internal threats

For a great prophet has arrived to the world a woman with lilac hair speaking of the crisis coming towards their world Only by banding together underneath the banner of the Progenitor can they survive Although most were originally skeptical the Blessing of the Progenitor descended upon them both giving them strength and by absence revealing the last few holdouts of the Skinshifts

When the first Blessings came the Monster King clenched his hands into fists and his halls echoed with his rage When the Blessing took him he began to weep silently and softly

But the invaders have not been idle The Skinshifts were the most insidious of their weapons but they were not the most dangerous Aether Thralls march by the thousands moving towards the remnants of civilization mobilized by the Two Headed Reavers And leading the host is a Decimator a hulking monstrosity that aims to devour the world

Time Slowing stabilizing

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

All at once the bubble around his Soul Skill was gone and he descended The sky was thick with Progenitor’s Influence to be harvested and Randidly wasted no time gobbling most of it up as he streaked across the sky searching Very quickly he could see the armies moving and couldn’t help but notice how even things were

It really could go either way And he didn’t want to know what would happen if his side lost the battle for his Soul Skill

He had 1200 Progenitor’s Influence by the time he located Lucretia and instantly he descended more like a comet than a person spearing his way through the ceiling of the building she was in ignoring the physical constraints of this place It was after all his world

Lucretia was speaking when he moved through the ceiling and continued for a bit because it took her some time to notice his arrival Although the forces are split we don’t have a choice They can move through the river and strike at too many soft spots we need to leave at least a ? of our forces

Don’t bother Randidly said interrupting glancing around the room There was a man in the corner with 6 orange horns the Spriggit Thief two Earth Golems one rather small Weaver and a White Hunter that was missing its arm The main part of the army is double timing it across those big plains towards the Weaver swamps

Lucretia whirled around The other people in the tent came to their feet pulling out their weapons looking uncertainly at him Randidly resisted the urge to awkwardly scratch his head Mrs Hamilton had reprimanded him on falling back on nervous tics especially in front of people he was supposed to be leading And these appeared to be the leaders of the army of his soul so

Where the fuck Lucretia said sagging with relief have you been I’ve been stuck in here managing this shit storm Then she cut herself off and took a calming breath

Randidly grinned I never thought you would be glad to see me

Consider it a one time thing It’s been almost a year what happened At first I thought you had A cloud passed over Lucretia’s face and Randidly abruptly realized she had thought him dead But she continued speaking so Randidly didn’t press the issue But then your Blessings at the right time god ha literally god Hopefully you can tip the scales in our favor eh

It was System shenanigans Not directly but they accelerated time here And I thought Then Randidly paused because everyone else was staring at him with so much intensity that he couldn’t let it continue without acknowledging it And as he shifted to look at them he felt them all somewhat falter looking away from him

His head ached The mental strain hadn’t had much time to heal he was just so flooded with adrenaline that he hadn’t noticed it And now the weight of their expectations it made him want to turn away run and hide But they would be the ones on the ground fighting for the control of his Soul Skill Although he had passed 1000 Progenitor’s Influence letting him appear before them it wasn’t enough to directly influence much

So he activated Indomitable Will of Yggdrasil and stepped forward

Tziech Exodus the Monster King lost himself in a memory as he stared at the Progenitor

This was before the strange Skinshifts before the great war before he was grown Originally Tziech was a baby that was abandoned due to the strange horns poking out of his head Contaminated by the Energy Wells people assumed and they were likely right But one haphazard bachelor had walked past the abandoned Tziech and picked him up on whim changing the fate of the world forever

Very few people even in his monster inner circle knew it but Tziech was raised by a Spriggit and a rather pious one at that Growing up Tziech wore hats to blend in keeping his head down trying not to draw attention to the way he was different But that didn’t work all of the time

After a particularly brutal incident where other kids had discovered his horns and wanted to use his head to carve their initials into the back wall of the school Tziech had come home crying Vallun his adoptive father was doing what he did most days sleeping off all the liquor he had drunk the previous night

Although generally Tziech avoided waking his father during these times he had so much fear and rage and slowly hate hate for the Spriggits doing this to him

Do they think they are better than me Tziech yelled glaring at Vallun I could

But his threats were cut off before they could even take form They don’t think they are better than you Why would you think that Vallun had asked scratching his stomach

Well Tziech paused Then he thought about it for several seconds and followed the fear to his deep inner core stemming from Vallun himself Tziech looked at the ground and said because the Progenitor made them But I’m just a mutation

And of all reactions Vallun had laughed Why does being a mutation mean the Progenitor didn’t make you Zeke The Progenitor made all things Some on purpose some not but always by giving of himself Don’t take away your own worth

Those words had stuck with Tziech for a long time making him stall in his violent vengeance for dozens of years

Those words had softly floated to the surface of his mind when the blessings from the Progenitor came down from heaven and one had descended upon him Something had shifted in Tziech then and he began to weep

And now standing before the Progenitor taking in his emerald eyes his strange ivory cloak and his conspicuously bare feet Tziech opened his mouth to say something But he could find nothing to say This was the being that he had spent years agonizing over Did he exist Was he out there Had he created the monsters

Some on purpose some not

Tears formed in Tziech’s eyes Then slowly and deliberately letting the strange almost palpable aura of the Progenitor wash over him Tziech got down on his knees The rest of the council followed him genuflecting before the Progenitor

After several seconds the Progenitor sighed and the presence was withdrawn as easily as it had arrived Get up There is work to do We will work together but I don’t have much time to spare for this issue Tell me what you need

Chapter 445

The monster in front of her was a bear of all things Before even Chrysanthemum could roar a challenge Thea leaped forward raising her hammer It was easier now falling into the melodic dance of violence It came almost naturally to her Although it had taken almost three weeks of intensive fighting she felt that her Skill was finally her own

It was almost anticlimactic when Thea moved so quickly that her hammer caved in the head of the monster in front of her ending the brief farce of a battle Chrysanthemum snorted expressing her pleasure and meandered over to rip away the choice pieces of meat from the body

Thea grimaced apparently cannibalism wasn’t a thing for bears

Looking around it was clear that everyone else was similarly bored by these opponents Say what you will about the Death Cultists they were a real challenge especially in numbers These monsters on the other hand

And these weren’t even the previous high Leveled monster horde although these were relatively high Level They were a monster horde of a much lower quality that emerged recently in the last week They were numerous sure but when they were only at this level of strength it was hard to imagine any serious fighter falling to them

Thea corrected herself to any serious fighter in their current group Because she supposed that being here for the three weeks had completely warped her ability to understand strength Compared to how she was back in Star Crossing the current Thea

She stopped herself before she could follow that thought process very far

Plus the monsters were moving in a direction away from the Raid Party group which was a welcome change of pace It was slightly like a vacation to not be at the center of the monster assault

Glancing behind her Thea shivered when she saw the strange apparatus the Ghosthound was riding Apparently something of great importance had happened in his Soul Skill last night and the Ghosthound was currently rushing to deal with it To that end so he wouldn’t be distracted he had created a strange spider like creature of roots that he was sitting cross legged on top of The creature had no real consciousness or senses but it would follow Rose who volunteered to stay in relatively safe places so the Ghosthound’s body wouldn’t be in danger of being attacked

Of course he didn’t completely shut the world out but he simply put a shade up dampening the noise from it Thea wondered what the problem was and why solving it was taking so long They had already traveled South for around 10 hours moving as fast as they dared But there were no ambushes just the weak flank of the monster horde And their huge group cut into it like a hot knife through butter

Thea gulped as she looked behind the Ghosthound Their group was huge because almost five thousand Death Cultists had turned up when they sent the call out 300 Red Death Cultists that were a match for the weaker members of their party and around a dozen Grey Death Cultists the strange casters that only the Ghosthound had fought

It certainly was a strange feeling riding at the front of a host of monsters the sound of their claws and growls echoing around you until there was just a constant rumble Thea herself believed that combined with Chrysanthemum they could handily defeat 3 or 4 Red Death Cultists But all of these at once even with the support of the group

And those Grey Death Cultists with their rheumy eyes and their broken fanged smiles those were opponents that only the Ghosthound could handle It even seemed that he respected them because when they had all arrived he had broken out of his trance and spoke briefly to them before they headed down a veritable host

More than external threats Thea would have worried about betrayal from the Death Cultists for all that they had provided the Death Key they needed to escape But it seemed that the Ghostound was determined to retrieve the Regalia from this place before they left Better to do it now than leave it to the lookie loos who would come next

Plus nobody said anything explicitly but it was clear from the tightness around the Ghosthound’s eyes that whatever was occurring within him was tied into the strange happenings of this Raid Dungeon

Penny for your thoughts Ptolemy said walking to stand beside Thea looking back at the Death Cultists

of all the people who would say that you would have been the last person I would have suspected Thea blurted out ignoring his question and responding from her gut The fact that he was trying to strike up a conversation in such an Ace like way Thea had seen them chatting a lot but to think it rubbed off to this degree

Ptolemy had the wherewithal to blush Yes well I just you seem to get almost taut to the point of breaking during a fight Like a guitar string So I just thought I don’t know

After scratching his head Ptolemy said Of all of the Ghosthound’s strong points his dedication to a task at the expense of his mental health isn’t one of them Just be careful yea Never forget that all it takes is one critical error for it all to come crashing down

Then he walked away

Randidly was slightly confused at the details but it seemed like some of the time acceleration in his inner world was maintained even while he was in it So even though he spent three days in his Soul Skill speaking individually with the different leaders of the races only a few hours had passed in the outside world

Initially he was quite excited about this until he realized that he didn’t truly have a body and was unable to grind any Skills while he was there All he could do was speak basically There was no substance or Aether to him which didn’t make ANY sense to Randidly as he was what composed the whole of the world

But there had to be balance somewhere so he could only sigh as he was stuck with this wasted time It wasn’t like there were many things to do except grind low Leveled Skills outside of his inner world but he felt slightly stressed about the fact he was just a puppet out there right now Still he had some confidence that the Creature wouldn’t make a move until it had to

So he stayed in the inner world and for the first time was a teacher in different ways to different people It was decided that he would dedicate 8 hours to each of the leaders to be used as they wished to improve their strength either their individual strength or the strength of their army It was strange especially because everything he had learned from his father or from Shal about teaching seemed inappropriate

Instead he adopted the attitude he cultivated around Alana that of an intimate superior offering pointers

The Golem twins were the easiest they simply wanted to learn his spear moves And although it was slightly selfish Randidly gave them his first self created spear move the Spear Advances Ash Trails It was a very basic brutal unrefined thing but that suited their powerful raw bodies much more than the Spear Phantom Style

They were delighted with it and within the first hour they had both mastered it For another hour they basically jousted with each other while testing their Skills and then they demanded to use it against him so he could feel it

Which seemed slightly pointless to Randidly but it was their 8 hours so

So he stood and was skewered over and over again the spears passing harmlessly through his stomach as they passed While it was initially very amusing by the end of the 8 hours they had absorbed his advice and were slowly warping the move to be their own To the point that their movements were so fast that Randidly had difficulty following it with the eyes of his strange projected body

Even if he were really here they might still be overwhelmingly strong

The White Hunter Champion Melody and the Spriggit Thief were both much more orthodox simply wanting his opinion on their fighting style The White Hunter was perhaps the easier of the two because she wanted to understand where his powerful Control came from He couldn’t just say high Stats so they started talking more nitty gritty over what it was to maintain awareness constantly to feel that constant tension

Then to separate yourself into 1000 component parts that simply had one action ingrained with muscle memory for simplicity and then have a central consciousness that reached out and touched each movement as it was needed It was a trick that Randidly had learned to make use of his monstrous Willpower and Control and the White Hunter was fascinated

By the end of the 8 hours Randidly didn’t know if it had helped her but she had bowed deeply to him before departing

To the Spriggit Thief he taught her as well as he could the Spear Phantom’s Embrace She was perhaps the most short tempered pupil very quickly becoming frustrated when she didn’t understand something but she was also oddly stoic about it turning her anger and annoyance inward

It was strange to Randidly too that of all the people here the Spriggit Thief was the oldest almost 60 according to her even if she looked only in her late 30s Not that Randidly knew much about how Spriggits aged but

He had watched her as a teenager almost die And this whole time while Randidly had been gaining a Class and moving into the Raid Dungeon she was living her life almost into the twilight of her years wearing his blessed weapons She even still had that special spear that absorbed meaning to produce energy or vice versa although that was given to the Monster King to use as he was the best in close combat

Chapter 446

The Weaver request was the weirdest The small spider brought Randidly to a cave filled with hundreds of its kin and gave an extremely strange request Please give us the history of this world so it won’t be lost

Are you sure that’s what you want me to help you with Randidly asked uncertainly looking around All of the Weavers were looping the thread around their arms as if they were ready to leap into action at the drop of a hat There are some Skills

It is true that our current predicament is a dire one The Weaver admitted But win or loss a people need a history to know themselves If we give up our truth to win the battle have we truly won

Randidly had some very choice things to say about whether the choice the Weaver presented to him was a fair one whether it was really that black and white but he acknowledged there was a lesson there one that he shouldn’t forget Knowledge was power If anything one thing Randidly should do to prepare for his battle with the Creature was to review their previous encounters

Just like that Randidly’s eyes brightened and he smiled

let me tell you my story then He said slowly So you can see my hand in the world every step of the way

The Weavers were fascinated to hear as he described his world broadly before launching into the System This took a bit more explaining not because they didn’t understand the System as they lived with some version of it (Randidly made a mental note to investigate the details of this at a later day) but because they didn’t understand life without it

But after that rocky start he took them on his journey His start in the Dungeon then the meeting with Shal and the escape The founding of Donnyton Turtletown then Franksburg Lyra and the Tribulation Moving from Green Spear Mastery to the Cycle of Rot and Ash The challenge against the renewed strength of Donnyton

The Creature and its insidious plots

The creation of his current Soul Skill the Four Shaded Clockwork World

Then there was his time in Shal’s world which spanned most of his experience with the System Tournament after tournament ad nauseum although Randidly didn’t bother to explain how tiresome their culture was and their focus on spears

Here he took some time to explain what he remembered of the rotation of the inner world and the changes and political upheavals that occurred Especially he mentioned the different times the Weave was lost in the past and for what reason

His great battle and his broken return Recovering with Simon Meeting the Wild Rider understanding Champions and Regalias The battle with the Skeleton Knight and the interference of the Creature The threat of the Raid Dungeon

The interlocking web that the Creature had made in the Raid Dungeon its twisted paradise The approaching battle both inward and outward against its marshaled forces

The Weavers moved furiously only a few listening intently the rest moving in a complicated dance that Randidly would have sworn was coordinated but he knew it wasn’t By the end of it almost 10 hours had passed and before him covering the wall was a glittering tapestry There was no clear discernible meaning that Randidly could see but it was condensed and filled with filaments from every shade of the rainbow

At the end the Weavers bowed as one thanking him

If the Weaver request was the weirdest the Monster King’s was the most awkward The man monster with orange horns introduced himself as Zeke or something similar sounding and then proceeded to demonstrate his forms with the spear

Honestly Randidly was impressed It wasn’t anything close to his own Style and he could still see some areas of improvement but it was well rounded and had very clear tradeoffs that appeared to emphasize Zeke’s strengths and minimize his weaknesses That part was fine and Randidly gave his advice as succinctly as he could manage

It only became weird when Zeke finished and looked at Randidly with hollowed eyes full of expectation

perhaps it shows my foolishness that I must ask but Zeke said slowly Why are you helping me

This question seemed loaded but Randidly would prefer to ignore the issue rather than digging into it It would just keep things moving in a much more productive manner To defeat the remnants of the Creature Now

No I mean The two and a half meter form all of rippling muscle hesitated then asked Why me

Randidly opened his mouth then closed it He couldn’t think of an answer that didn’t sound dumb It was tiresome but he should keep his role as Progenitor in the front of his mind at all times He didn’t plan on appearing like this very often at all because of how many people wanted to interact with him but while he was doing it

Because you are the strongest warrior we have Because you are one of the leaders of the allied army Because you need to be ready for what you don’t expect in this fight Because I can’t afford for you to lose

But while Randidly was pondering Zeke spoke filling the silence speaking increasingly quickly I’ve killed so many of your people Of the things you’ve created here I created the greatest war this world has ever known If I hadn’t caused such destruction we might have been ready for this attack

Zeke was working up a head of steam at this point and Randidly was content to hear it all before he weighed in The monster race that racial tension was the space the Skinshifts used to infiltrate initially The whole time as my race took the blame I just assumed it was the arrogance of the other people and ignored it locking myself away searching for my own meaning It was an abdication of responsibility For all my strength my people needed me then and I let them down Which is why which is why I can’t understand Why are you helping me Why are you making me stronger I I am a broken thing I shouldn’t be here

This time Randidly didn’t open his mouth but solemnly looked at Zeke There was a lot there False attribution guilt a vicious self of injustice and the hatred that spawned from it and also a deep deep loneliness One that was intimately familiar to Randidly

Sighing Randidly shook his head and then smiled You know someone close to me once told me that I was special not because of my strength but due to my very existence Because I was the Inciting Action’ But you know to me I could understand why she said that but it just felt like

Randidly reached out his fingers passing harmlessly through the wall He smiled ruefully pulling his head back It felt like everything I became involved in broke It fell to pieces or was warped by if not me events that I instigated Now let me ask you this Do you blame me for this war Knowing I created this world out of a very dangerous material

No Zeke said his eyes wary

Nodding Randidly said I don’t know much about what religion there is here or what you have been exposed to but I grew up learning about purposeful sins and sins by your nature I did not mean for this to happen yet my sin was possessing a nature that led inevitably to this point And that is not a sin I feel the need to burden my conscious with

In my struggles I have done many terrible things to accomplish my goals because I believed I had no other choice Perhaps I was wrong in that but never had I set out to take a life for the pleasure of it Randidly’s eyes went out of focus then remembering that one time immediately after they escaped the prison but then his gaze sharpened locking on Zeke Perhaps it is strange to say this but of you all I truly feel you are the most similar to me The most lonely the most tragically determined

After a brief hesitation Randidly reached out and touched both of Zeke’s hands Although this perhaps would have some dangerous fallout in the wake of the war against the Creature’s minions Randidly always believed that it was safest to concentrate power in one place in this case in the Monster King In his right hand Randidly placed the influence of his Skill Touch from Beyond In the Monster King’s left hand Randidly put a point of Gravity Manipulation that he had gained earlier while playing with the Skill

The Monster King shuddered his arms shaking as the power descended into him Especially his right hand with the Touch from Beyond began to spasm But Randidly weirdly suddenly had a physical body at least while touching the place of his Skills and gripped Zeke’s fingers with his own

Do not fear your own nature Your greatest strength is yourself there is no need to hide that Some might disagree but I believe that there is a definite line between victory and defeat If you had infinite time to repeat and experiment you could find the exact force it took to shatter a stone Any less and nothing would happen Any more and the extra power is wasted

Randidly’s grip tightened I feel like you are the person who will be closest to that line Zeke with these gifts take us past it

Releasing his hands Randidly took a step back looking up at the Monster King’s wide open eyes There was still hesitation there so Randidly spoke again If you stopped wearing the definitions that everyone else gave you what would you be It might be hard to see now but in my eyes I’m not a Progenitor I’m just trying my best And I need your help

Then Randidly turned and departed But not before he heard a soft whisper

Some on purpose Some not But always giving of himself

Chapter 447

Randidly content that all that could be done had been done was preparing to leave the Soul Skill and check the progress in the real world when Lucretia burst into the room She looked him up and down then sighed with relief

I was worried I wouldn’t catch you She said plopping down on an ornate wooden chair as she was used to such lavish riches We need to talk

She leaned back seemingly in no hurry to begin their discussion Instea d she sighed and rubbed her temples Even though she had clearly been taking advantage of the awe of the denizens of Randidly’s Soul Skill he couldn’t deny that he sympathized with her exhaustion For all that they were enjoying the most deferential treatment possible they still were scheduled to inspect and give opinions on every small detail that could possibly affect the final confrontation with the army of abominations moving towards them

Being effectively a Godling was hard His voice in the world even more so

Wrinkling his nose at the thought of Lucretia being known as his voice Randidly said What

We haven’t spoken of it directly but I’m sure you can sense it the same as me the Creature is effectively broadcasting energy to your Soul Skill to create this army Lucretia said her eyes still closed Unless that’s destroyed this is a problem that will keep cropping up But more than that I think we should talk about the possibility that we use this connection to strike back at the Creature

That had Randidly’s attention But it only took 10 seconds for Randidly to snort dismissively based on what we understand from the situation that is possible But it would require us somehow manipulating Aether better than it or sending a delegation back through the connection to strike at what is likely her Soul Skill A Soul Skill that is probably thousands of years old Although the people here are strong I doubt

True they would likely die Lucretia shrugged But this would occur after the battle is won at that point what do a few more deaths matter The success rate is very low but if they manage to succeed or even to communicate some of the details of its Soul Skill back to us

Standing abruptly Randidly released a little of his aura The longer that he spent in his Soul Skill the more he realized that Progenitor’s Influence wasn’t the only weapon that he had to use while he was present here The very air loved him as it was his As more and more time passed as he was here there was a strange almost magnetic effect of energy where more and more concentrated on his body giving him an aura that could be used to strike out

Of course it accumulated relatively slowly and once it was used it dispersed quickly But Randidly didn’t mind blowing through a bit of it in order to intimidate Lucretia And from the way her eyes widened immediately upon his usage it worked

How She began sounding completely bewildered but that’s when it hit her knocking her backwards off of her chair and onto the ground Although he wanted to convey his anger Randidly didn’t want to offend her overmuch even if his anger called for a much greater retribution so he kept it as a slight amount of force

Let me make myself very clear Randidly said dropping the pitiable amount of aura he had used Even though it was small it was still fully one half of his stored up power so he didn’t mind blowing it here rather than saving it to interfere in the upcoming fight They are not on our same plane of existence as us that is true But they have lives and they should not be treated casually They listen to you I have no doubt that you would be able to convince them it was in the interest of the greater good for them to sacrifice themselves but that is not what I want They are admittedly a large source of power for me

As Lucretia straightened her smile was all teeth Do you think I don’t know that Hmph you are trying to play softly with them when it is convenient for you but you have no problem forcing them to fight against this invasion

Because it’s necessary Randidly hissed frowning at Lucretia If it could be any other way

It’s this way because you built their homes on top of a bomb you don’t understand Lucretia countered her eyes red And while you were blocked shall we say I was holding down the house And yet now you throw tantrums and have the nerve to lecture me

An energy began to condense around her then faintly lilac with thin shimmers of gold within its depths Now it’s become obvious that there is something strange about that world of Shal’s there is a subtle influence that pushes one towards violence and extremes Out of its influence I have lost much of the more sinister aspects to my nature But do not for a moment forget what I am what I have been what I could be

When she spoke hundreds of thin filaments of gold spread out the lines of fate she had drawn between herself and another And honestly 80% led directly to Randidly She flashed a cheeky smile but that faltered when Randidly’s face stayed impassive

Because while she was here he had a strange ability to utilize her Skills too and tugged back on those threads demonstrating that these things didn’t just go one way For a full minute they both stood silently looking at each other sizing the other up

To his surprise Randidly relented first sighing think long and hard before you send a force through the conduit It won’t be a token resistance they encounter there The Creature is not me

Tight lipped Lucretia nodded To Randidly’s surprise he was abruptly reminded of Sydney And in a flash he understood her deep frustration towards him Because no matter how difficult it was to accept at this point Randidly and Lucretia seemed bound so tightly that he knew of no easy way to extricate them Although there were probably Skills that could accomplish it Randidly didn’t even know where he should start looking for such a thing or what Paths he would need to go down to accomplish it

He had always wondered why Sydney was so infuriated yet strangely weary by his presence but now

And to his surprise he laughed aloud This time Lucretia was even more bewildered but he didn’t say anything just vanishing from existence inside the Soul Skill and returning to awareness in his body After all the Soul Skill was just one of many moving pieces to this fight with the Creature There were other portions that needed his attention

So Randidly came to back in his body and opened his eyes To his surprise they had stopped And what he saw in front of them was not the final base of the Creature as he had expected but instead it was a sea

A sea of monsters Screeching and roaring growling and grumbling And more than anything else just milling around as if lost

Seeming to sense that he had awoken Annie stepped from behind him to stand shoulder to shoulder with him We were wondering how long we should let you sleep before we woke you up We’ve got a problem I’ve run the circuit of the thing it’s 5 miles wide just filled with monsters Mostly pretty weak barely Level 30 but with many

Randidly grimaced They were relatively well behaved right now but that was because the monsters’ attention was facing inward towards whatever was drawing them towards the center and they hadn’t noticed the Raid Dungeon group or the creeping army of Death Cultists behind them Which meant that whatever was pulling them inwards was unbelievably strong taking almost all of the monsters’ attention

But what Randidly couldn’t figure out was why they were here 7 days should have passed And yet there were so many monsters here As if the monster hordes they had seen hadn’t been able to get near the Creature’s base and were instead stuck out here just standing around in a circle

Randidly cursed quietly It wasn’t really that powerful of a barrier against him but it was annoying and he could just imagine the Creature’s smug expression

So Prompted Rose moving to join the other two on top of Randidly’s root monster mount Closing his eyes Randidly took several seconds to breath in and then out through his nose Then he turned looking behind him The Grey Death Cultist that had created the Death Key who apparently had no real name but only a long series of unintelligible clicks was standing there Randidly beckoned

Chosen Messenger of Death The Grey Death Cultist said with a bow How may we accomplish your goals

Upon hearing Randidly’s rather abbreviated explanation of his determination to eliminate the Creature this is what the Death Cultists had begun calling him They seemed rather stoically ambivalent at the thought of launching a crusade to destroy the other main race of the Raid Dungeon but the prospect had a likelihood of their deaths so they assented easily After all they believed that only through their fated natural death could their souls find release from the cycle of torment in the Dungeon granting them freedom And Randidly was the Messenger of that final death

These monsters are in the way Randidly said warily I would like you to clear a path But give me a moment prepare your men in the meantime

Nodding the Grey Death Cultist withdrew and after a short whispered conversation with the other Grey Death Cultists they returned to the larger army hooting with glee

Doing his best to ignore the strange sounds of their language Randidly pointed and activated a Skill that he had never really had the occasion to experiment with yet

Earthquake

Instantly the ground beneath Randidly’s feat began to rumble ominously When the Skill was used Randidly had a brief sensation of feeling the shape of the earth beneath them and projected the Skill as much as possible in front of him towards the bulk of the monsters Those monsters as the shaking started seemed to still something instinctual taking over in the face of a force of nature

Then the ground began to shudder Then the first crack appeared and the group buckled rising in some places as the forces of the ground smashed together sinking in others The monsters responded by fleeing in every direction their eyes filled with fear Randidly frowned Sure it was an impressive Skill and as it Leveled it would be powerful but it was currently only Level 3 well 7 now that had gained a few Skill Levels and its destructive force was rather underwhelming

Messenger by your word The Grey Death Cultist said rubbing its claws together excitedly

Go

The Grey Death Cultist smiled as best as its strange bat face could and then barked out an order Behind Randidly the Red Death Cultists began using their superior strength to throw the regular rank and file soldiers in the air where they began to glide forward ominously heading towards the panicking monsters By the time the Earthquake ceased the Death Cultists had arrived and they gave their fellow monsters no quarter

Chapter 448

It was a bloody fight not because it was difficult or even that they struggled but because the sheer number of monsters they killed meant that the ground was soaked with blood by the time they had arrived at the central location Plus when they started antagonizing the monsters the whole 5 mile block of monsters had surged into motion running desperately to strike at the targets they finally found

It took almost 12 hours which made Randidly grit his teeth but there was no other choice The Creature had the support of an entire race and if he wanted to be able to penetrate towards it he needed to do the same

When they arrived at the central area it became clear why the monsters had been milling around There was a stone wall about 5 meters tall but the whole thing was covered in sparkling runes the violet glow of Aether clear A small glowing barrier was erected around the wall and when they took a monster body and threw it at the barrier the thing disintegrated

Sniffing Randidly said nothing But Lucretia who was oddly even more chatty after their previous argument waxed poetic on the effectiveness of such a barrier

So Randidly knocked on it once feeling the hostile energies sizzle and burn his skin His frown deepened He knocked again harder

After trembling for a brief moment the barrier dissipated and the runic engravings that had controlled the Aether into a barrier cracked Randidly shook his head sorrowfully Truly he had lost all concept of his own strength to so easily destroy a sophisticated barrier like that

Lucretia snorted Stop patting yourself on the back If this was all the Creature were capable of you wouldn’t have had so much trouble with her in the past ’

His expression turning seriously Randidly motioned for the Raid Party to circle around him

Before we go in I want to explain a bit about what I think we will find Randidly began wondering how much to reveal to the group gathered around him He looked slowly around making eye contact with each one of them until Randidly’s eyes finally settled on Ace who was contorting his face into a gruesome grin displaying his gums and flaring his nostrils

To Randidly’s surprise the ploy worked and he snorted with laughter breaking some of the tension that he had been carrying with him The group around him was curious at first then turned to Ace and rolled their eyes By this time after almost a month inside the Raid Dungeon together Ace’s antics had involved everyone as a victim at least once

It was that willingness to involve himself in other people’s lives even as an annoyance that helped Ace make friends back before the System arrived Randidly reflected And also what let him cover up for the monster that he had become now

Some of you may know this but there is a powerful being that has been interfering with our Zone that I call the Creature Randidly began Although it is hard to admit part of the reason I had the chance to become as powerful as I am is because of its interference But before it could complete its plan I broke away from its control

There Randidly hesitated remembering being left alone in the darkness and how it was only due to his connections through the Blessings that he was able to escape Then he shook his head and continued But it hasn’t stopped its operations Its main goal is isolating itself from the wider System which I expect is what it is trying to accomplish here By hiding inside a Dungeon I expect it’s trying to avoid detection

I have a question Rose said frowning at the ground Randidly winced inwardly The more questions they asked the more trouble he would get into Because a lot of what he was about to say was mostly speculation If it truly wanted to isolate itself why pick this Dungeon We need to beat this Dungeon to survive If it had hidden in another Dungeon

Also the Regalia Alana interjected folding her arms across her chest The advancement of our Zone was stalled because of its interference it must have known that we would move against it

Randidly felt a flash of relief At least for these questions he had an answer There are a few reasons the first is that I think the Creature needed us to help it although I’ll get to that later Second it wanted to force us into a position to attack it that’s part of its plan Third to go along with that this is the highest Level Dungeon there is harder to manipulate these forces but once it does they will be better weapons against us

Ah Annie said pounding her fist against her open palm It wants us to fail

It seriously wants us to just be depleted of Aether and fade into nothing That would certainly isolate it Ace said rubbing his jaw

Rose shook her head frowning at Ace But that doesn’t make sense It would suffer then too right The life energy is leaving the Zone Can it survive without that life energy

We know that Dungeons are like a lake of that energy and you steal some of it when you clear the boss Alana said shrugging Maybe it will live off that

With the difference in time between the two the amount of time it could survive is likely negligible Rose argued

Randidly raised his hands You are both right and it’s a little more complicated than that Based on what we have seen Classers felt the lack of energy in the air much later than the NCCs which means that it wasn’t that the Villages had stopped producing energy just that it was getting sucked out of the atmosphere making people expend their energy faster But the Dungeon is like a little bubble sealed up because of the time dilation

Still Randidly continued Eventually the Creature would run out of Aether Unless it had a Village created and founded inside the Raid Dungeon which would provide a source of Aether

Everyone looked at Randidly shock clear on their faces He flourished his hand creating a small golden coin one of those used to create Villages He hadn’t discovered it here but it was from a long time ago right when Donnyton was started and he helped clear monsters for Donnyton It was also a time that the Creature’s influence over him was at its strongest

I discovered some things when I talked to Lyra about Golden Coins just in passing Randidly said remembering a passing conversation they had had back before he was pulled into Shal’s world I asked why we stopped finding them Lyra told me that it takes two things for a coin to spawn a Leader type monster needs to be killed one that possesses minions And the killer needs to be under Level 10

Randidly’s hands clenched into fists and although the coin was System strengthened he had moved past the point that a cursory level strengthening could resist him Besides the strengthening was designed to resist a normal person under Level 10 Against Randidly that stopped being sufficient long before he had even acquired a Class

Which is why we’ve basically seen nothing but horde type monsters Rose said her eyes flashing And if our Zone is discarded from the new Earth for failing to pass the Raid Dungeon and just descended into oblivion

The Creature would just sit here in its bubble having a backdoor to Aether Randidly confirmed

Still wouldn’t they notice Ace asked scratching his head That Aether is just flowing to what should be a dead Zone

After a brief hesitation Randidly said I think that the System functions largely independently with only a minimal level of oversight Also isolating itself is just a short term goal for the Creature I believe its ultimate goal is to hurt the System somehow Buying itself time as our Zone is forgotten about and multiply that by whatever dilation is in place here

Still seems foolish to have taken the Regalia Alana said again shaking her head She hefted her spear and gazed at its sharp metal tip How could it not know that would make us send our strongest against it

To that Randidly said nothing for two reasons The first being that the Creature didn’t consider them a threat at all and it might be bad to tell the rest of the group that now And the second was because it was likely at the stealing of the Regalia was likely bait for him specifically After all if Randidly stayed outside in the Zone unwilling to go into it he could likely find ways to use his Aether Crossroads to support the entire Zone

His experience expelling all that Aether from inside of himself had taught him the dangers of losing himself in that sensation but it was theoretically possible Randidly just hadn’t dedicated any energy to discovering more because it hadn’t seemed necessary when he could just go into the Raid Dungeon and kill the Creature

That now struck him as slightly arrogant but there was no point in worrying about it now

For the first time Clarissa spoke up so it just had all these carefully laid plans and gambled that you would come in here under Level 10 and kill the right sort of monster and it would drop That seems like a pointless gamble

Randidly grimaced He was hoping that no one would comment on that I believe it knew that I still had a leftover gold coin from earlier If I hadn’t caused one to drop it would just try and kill me and take it

Ah so you are the reason it antagonized us Alana said chuckling Randidly flushed

Thea tapped her hammer to her breastplate And it must have dropped while we did that quest to defend those people while they attacked the Death Cultists That’s why they left so quickly

Everyone else nodded at that and as it seemed there were no more questions Randidly spoke again That’s about it I also just want to stress that if you can avoid it don’t fight the Creature it will not fight fair and without my abilities

Randidly said the last part very slowly looking around at everyone but they all nodded seriously accepting this Randidly breathed a sigh of relief That was one thing that he didn’t want to worry about others being corrupted by the Creature

So we go in then Ace said with an easy grin

So we go in Randidly replied his eyes flashing as he turned towards the cracked wall in front of them

Chapter 449

Randidly wasn’t sure what he was expecting but when the air warped and shifted in front of him his face immediately turned grim On the other side of the wall they had only seen a small grassland and a house looking building at the center Which was curious but the Creature’s antics had already done enough to convince Randidly that it was on another level so he didn’t think much of it

But as soon as the air started to ripple blood rushed from his face and he thought of 100 ways that this might have been a trap and it would have been better to prepare longer or to plan more elegantly than just breaking down the front door Then again Randidly’s success rate with such plans wasn’t very high

After a second of worry Randidly’s frown deepened because the air in front of him resolved itself to the same sloping grassland except now there was one of those giant cathedrals they started in at the center His eyes scanned the surrounding ground but nothing seemed to stick out Even when he extended his Aether senses he couldn’t feel anything strange aside from the normal currents of Aether When they had broken the wall there was a large formation that had stuttered to a stop and collapsed but Randidly wasn’t sure of what effects it might have

If anything Randidly hoped it would make their advance somewhat easier

Lucretia as if she had overheard his thought snorted He mentally poked her to express his annoyance which transformed her amusement into a full laugh

Easy there she thought back at him It’s hard to maintain myself both helping your little soul spirits and looking through what her formation did Give me a few minutes

Feeling that caution was perhaps the better part of valor Randidly contented himself with sitting while the rest of the army behind him filed through the visual glamour that hid the cathedral The Raid Party seemed rather bored but when the Grey Death Cultist came through it hissed in distaste

Anathema A monument to the Eternal Coward It said shaking its head The rest of its people seemed to agree looking at the giant cathedral with obvious hate

Lucretia finished her examinations even before the entire group had crossed the barrier Hmm complicated but I think that’s just because this Raid Dungeon is complicated It served as an Aether divide isolating this area from what was going on in the larger Dungeon for example if you had used the Death Key it would have been stopped by that barrier But

But relatively fragile I think I get it’ Randidly said grinning It was based upon the principle that these two sides weren’t meant to meet repelling Aether Aether flowed rather naturally around people and basically no one but Lyra seemed able to manipulate it at will while not being special

I E Randidly

So the group continued heading across the grassland to the cathedral This too mostly to make himself feel better had its door busted down in a powerful kick empowered with the active of Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil The boost was enough that the 10 meter tall doors were blasted off their hinges crashing into the huge empty space beyond Although it was built on a grand scale the cathedral itself was only made out of mundane materials which took some of the satisfaction out of the strike but only some

But what Randidly saw beyond the doors destroyed the rest of it

Rubble Piles and piles of rubble The Cathedral was laid out differently than the other that the Raid Party had been to before this one being much more circular with the large pillars at the outside and a wide open space in the middle There was enough space there to fit a football stadium but it was filled with broken wood and metal in strange misshapen piles

His annoyance mounting Randidly walked over to a nearby pile while Ace and Annie flitted out content to explore Eyes narrowing Randidly picked up a steel girder and bent it into the shape of a small bird This fucking rubble was fresh Someone had destroyed something here

Burning through his Mana without a care Randidly reached out and dug up thousands of roots with his Plant Dominance The plants wound their way up and through the debris and began dragging it off to the side His eyes burning emerald he pumped all of the stress and nerves into the spell fueling it all The rest of the Raid Party watched wide eyed as the entire screen of rubble that had been in front of them was visibly moving seeming to shift to the sides before their very eyes

Randidly didn’t mind the eyes on him he understood how it must look But at this point it wasn’t important to him for the others not to know the depths of his abilities He had subconsciously and sometimes consciously refrained from going all out in front of the others mostly because this group was the closest thing Randidly had in terms of peers with a similar amount of power But after watching them it very rapidly became clear to Randidly that there was a marked difference between the top ends of their strength

Perhaps given time and Randidly fucking taking a huge nap they would catch up But for now

The process was over in minutes and Randidly stalked forward prepared to find out what other curveballs the Creature had prepared to mislead and disguise her goals Still even if this was exactly what the Creature wanted Randidly couldn’t afford to allow it to have a place of safety where it could grow stronger and develop its own minions

His hands tightened into fists The type of minions that the Creature was using to invade his Soul Skill If it could create those in the actual world and not just through the Soul connection

Fuck Ace swore leaning back and stepping to the side allowing Randidly to move past him When Randidly realized what it was and what it probably meant he shook his head wordless How much fuckery did the Creature have time to make in this Raid Dungeon More than ever he was committed to hunting it down now while they were at the same time speed

In front of Randidly was a hole There were about 25 meters of stone rocks and dirt but then below that there was a light As Randidly focused his eyes he could see that there were clouds down there even if thin ones and below that a forest probably a kilometer straight down

Almost as if the Creature had made a hole to a land before time

I bet there are fucking dinosaurs down there Clarissa said echoing Randidly’s thoughts and sounding a dozen times more cheery about the prospect than Randidly felt

Tziech folded his arms in front of his chest considering the 6 persons in front of him Speak what are your worries

The predawn filtered down through the banners towards their group standing alone in their main camp Today was the day of the battle against the spirit invaders which is what they began calling the other army so no matter how much Tziech wanted to send his minions away and continue practicing with the gifts given to him by the Progenitor he needed to assuage their worries Without them managing the army would be difficult

Not just in terms of numbers but because they each had a legion of children behind them which formed some of the core units of the Monster Army