LoRG 2

For a second seeing the lack of movement on the street Tatiana had a small hope that someone would contact the authorities But then her hopes instantly deflated She had been staying in this place for a few days now with her girls and knew that wasnÆt the case Unless someone of authority showed up the people wouldnÆt move to help This town was still too new too competitive

Uh The military man was just looking at the short blonde man with wide eyes But before he could speak further a yell cut him off

Ethan You canÆt just kill him

Of course the blonde man Ethan said with a smile But I knew the man who could resist my attack wouldnÆt die from a petty ambush such as that You sir please step aside I have business with this man

Ethan was talking to Baloo Shrugging Baloo just patted the military man on the back and then took several steps back But when he touched the manÆs back Tatiana would have sworn that she saw a flash of green like a small snake slither out and down the manÆs collar

Tatiana would have likely caught more of it had she not noticed that Baloo was barefoot Was he always barefoot Her eyes widened Did he smelt metal barefoot That would be incredibly dumb

Uh um unfortunately I have another appointment so I must bid The military man began but Ethan cut him off

Not so fast Let me see if you arenÆt just all talk then eh Ethan started forward quickly speeding up to a dead sprint As he arrived in front of the military man his right fist flashed forward to smash into his jaw

The military man took a step back arms flailing But as she watched one of those arms abruptly contorted and came down tight to the manÆs face It flicked out knocking the punch aside and then shot forward in a jab The jab smashed into EthanÆs face

Blood sprayed out of EthanÆs broken nose likely done in by EthanÆs own forward momentum as much as everything else As the military man straightened looking down at his hand in confusion the cloaked man rushed forward

Brother Ethan You scoundrel how dare you strike a man of God

Finally the military man seemed to decide that the emotion he should feel is arrogance He put his hands on his hips and snorted Tatiana almost wanted to roll her eyes It was obvious that this wasnÆt a character that could so expertly execute an attack like that Tatiana would be surprised if he had a single Skill above Lvl 50 She glanced at Baloo curiously

Did that mean that Baloo was assisting somehow But why

Did you not see him run into my fist I was only stretching Or did you want to fight Let it never be said that Derek Lundain Commissary Officer refused a challenge of an honest duel

TatianaÆs eyebrow twitched Commissary Officer Was this man a cook

We are from the United Church of God the masked individual said glaring over at Derek Ethan was on the ground rolling back and forth and holding his nose Do you know the hornet’s nest you just kicked If you think we donÆt have connections to the Federal Police youÆve got another thing coming I assume you are in FretarchÆs District We can make a call within an hour that will have you out of a job

The arrogance was truly short lived and disappeared like a popped bubble I I grrk

Derek grunted as his body contorted again making him lean abruptly backward A plasma slug from a pistol shot up missing his head by inches Slowly he turned his head and looked down at Ethan who was looking up at him with a face that was glee rapidly turning to shock and horror

Derek and EthanÆs gazes locked Derek seemed mostly puzzled but Tatiana didnÆt really have the angle to see the full expression on his face But EthanÆs quickly became flooded with dread

Finally with surprising abruptness Derek turned and power walked quickly away not glancing back The robed figure stepped forward to Ethan checked on him then seemed to be intending to follow Derek when Baloo stepped forward

Probably enough violence for today right Baloo said his voice soft But instantly the posture of the robed figures stopped in their tracks Perhaps whoever that was they heard it too That below that innocuous question was a threat

And especially after so recently being foiled by the random cook the robed man hesitated

Then Baloo turned to Adrea For someone who doesnÆt want to kill your friend sure fires a lot of guns

And then he turned and walked away After a brief hesitation as she watched Adrea going to EthanÆs side to dab at his bloody nose Tatiana followed after Baloo

Chapter 519

They had basically reached RandidlyÆs fake home when he realized that it wasnÆt a coincidence that she was following him Feeling largely awkward that he hadnÆt acknowledged her before now Randidly turned around and regarded Tatiana Truly she looked extremely out of place in a steel working town like this He supposed that it made sense for her to hang around Washington D C where she would need to interact with the nationÆs elite but the System had made a farce of her presence here

She stopped as he turned around regarding him with the same wariness that she had shown before at the party There was a wall there one that he didnÆt fault her for He was a strange individual and he had certainly participated in some strange and violent situations Even more worrisome he suspected that she had the angle and a sharp enough gaze to catch some of his interference with that poor fool Derek

To RandidlyÆs surprise she spoke first Why did you save him

Randidly blinked then laughed Her expression darkened as he did so so he stifled the laugh as best he could and kept it a chuckle They would have killed him if I had not Humanity has a lot of enemies It’s easy to forget it here but we donÆt have enough wiggle room to waste effort on internal struggles And I believe a human life should always have inherent value I protected a life need I more justification

Something in her face eased as he was talking although he couldnÆt determine what of what he had said had reached her She simply nodded breathing out a long sigh Feeling an oncoming silence Randidly galvanized his meager social skills and said So how are you doing

Instantly he winced because it sounded just like a cheap come on But this seemed to just make Tatiana sag further Expelling another sigh she looked up at him and said You certainly are more than I expected It hasnÆt been good I suppose youÆve heard that the edges of a suburb were reported to be sighted to the west Until further notice I am to remain here and scout new arrivals to the Zone for our business

Tatiana gave Randidly a penetrating look At that moment he felt like she was looking with every ounce of effort she had trying to penetrate and see what lay underneath the surface of him What sort of character was he

Randidly didnÆt blame her in the least He felt abruptly self conscious that he was ostensibly a simple steelworker but he remembered that he had gone along with the line that he was also a former front military fighter In addition he wore a strange combination of leather and denim that would have meant he was a biker prior to the SystemÆs arrival but in current Zone 1 just made him look savage

Obviously his feet were dirty and bare the skin callous and browned from long years now without shoes

In addition Randidly made a mental note about the expanding Zone If what Tatiana was saying was true there would be what might be a large population boost coming into Zone 1 in the recent future Which meant two things that military forces might be heading in this direction and also that there might be population boosts in Zone 32 as well The first was a headache the second was oddly intriguing Snuffing out both trains of thought he focused on the task at hand For now he planned on conducting another search for the Creature tonight Other things could wait

To his surprise TatianaÆs gaze turned soft as she finished her examination Look thank you for interfering at the party Just as a warning that Tooya might be a nameless prick but on his friend’s list is someone with real clout Even my partner is scared If they come after me they sure as hell would come after you

Randidly frowned and Tatiana had a knowing look in her eye But Randidly suspected that she misread the reason he was upset Obviously dealing with almost anything a single person could throw at him would be relatively straightforward The problem was that this unnamed individual might use government forces to deal with him Which might bring him to GhostÆs attention

Inwardly Randidly made another mental note construct a bucket list This bucket list wasnÆt for before he died but what to do immediately should he ever be discovered by the Zone 1 government Item number one was to have an interaction with Ghost to determine his connection with the Creature

Snapping back to the present Randidly said So you will be in the area for a while

Tatiana gave him a wry smile Why do you plan on asking me out

Instinctively Randidly chuckled When was the last time he had time for flirting Helen likely and that had ended

Abruptly Randidly realized that TatianaÆs face had gone strange He felt a flash of panic Oh not that you arenÆt someone to ask out youÆre very striking ItÆs just

ItÆs my fault for making a poor joke Ha I canÆt remember the last time someone called me striking you are a strange mix of things Mr Baloo Erickson

Smiling Randidly said You can call me

Then he stopped Instantly his high Intelligence and Reaction both rose and started firing on all cylinders He was about to say Rand but that was too close to his real identity And it wasnÆt like his name was common enough for it to slip by in conversation So he went back to the original inspiration for his fake name with his Stats being so high that Tatiana likely didnÆt even notice the hitch in his speech

Viking Or V ItÆs a nickname Inwardly Randidly burned red with shame Did he really just ask an attractive woman to call him Viking

Viking She gave him a frank look You donÆt exactly uh

Randidly looked down at the belly conjured by the illusion He was about to say something when he realized that the corners of TatianaÆs eyes were crinkled up with humor He cleared his throat

Well itÆs not raiding season so I might have let myself go A bit Randidly said matter of factly

Tatiana burst out laughing

Afterward both agreed to keep in touch while they were in the area and went their separate ways To RandidlyÆs surprise Tatiana went farther West out past the edge of town Shrugging he went inside his little shed he supposed it didnÆt matter where he did his scans So he settled down and gathered Aether to himself

To start he repeated his previous huge expenditure spreading his reach over all of the Zone As his Mana burned out quickly Plant Dominance extended rapidly outwards It wasnÆt something that most people would detect He didnÆt use it to move the plants but Randidly couldnÆt discount the possibility that his use of the Skill would cause a ripple to spread outwards the moment the Skill touched the plants Still he believed it was worth it He needed information

Again the time after the scan was about two hours of sifting through information This time he ferreted out the CreatureÆs touch rather quickly Its particular brand of Aether stuck out among the others RandidlyÆs gaze sharpened It was even more widely dispersed now What did it mean

The rest of the night Randidly sent directed pulses of Aether to sense certain areas of Zone 1 He started with the military and political headquarters while staying away from the West Providence where Ghost was working out of To his surprise Randidly wasnÆt able to detect anything in any of the military or government locations that he checked

That was interesting So the Creature had no direct hand in the UHF for all that meant That was basically a puppet for Ghost anyway Randidly was tempted to move directly onto scanning GhostÆs area but he was still wary Best to wait another day when he had more Mana and wasnÆt already exhausted There was no real hurry as far as Randidly knew although it was difficult to remain comfortable when an enemy he had clashed with so many times was lurking around him

Sighing Randidly leaned back and looked up at the ceiling One thing at a time he could only do one thing at a time Focus on that task sharpen his mind to it Only with 100% of his will behind it would he get the best results

The spear can only move forward

Abruptly Randidly chuckled It had been a while since he had thought about Shal and his advice But reflecting upon it there was a lot that could be gained from using the principles he had learned from Shal and Aemont Especially now when he was attempting to formulate a Skill There was a particular resistance to it as if his Aether knew this had already occurred and it was unwilling to move in the same shape Forcing it didnÆt solve the issue so Randidly was interested in softer methods

So for the rest of the night Randidly produced the Diary of the Spear Phantom and read from it By the end of the night his eyes were glowing with a bright emerald light

Chapter 520

Alan softly rubbed JaneÆs hair The sleeping girl stirred but only a little and rolled over

This is all for you so you can be strong far stronger than me Alan whispered This is all for you

His wristlet buzzed and Alan withdrew his hand from rubbing his daughterÆs hair he didnÆt want her to wake His first reaction was annoyance but then he noticed it was Ezekiel calling him and his attention sharpened Ezekiel hadnÆt checked in with Ghost yesterday for whatever reason and Alan was very interested in knowing why

As Alan walked out of the room and answered the call he had a brief moment of wonderment why did Ghost feed him that bit of information about Ezekiel not checking in Recently Alan had become increasingly paranoid of GhostÆs motivations Part of the reason was the stress of dealing with constant setbacks in the borderlands and the Zone growth but another part was that the rest of the UHF government was insulated from those problems Therefore they began to grow more demanding and vindictive losing sight of the threat hanging above all their heads

Hello How goes the exploration

Instead of the manÆs usual snarky attitude Ezekiel seemed remarkably somber when he spoke WeÆve made contact with the people of Zone 32 and people who have access to the upper levels of government at the main Village here ItÆs hard to understand but it looks like we lucked into a high ranking military squad But there is more

After a hesitation Ezekiel continued when we encountered them I engaged in a rather friendly duel with one of the locals I believe that both sides were curious about the other sideÆs strength

Ezekiel didnÆt continue as if he didnÆt know what to say Alan breathed out through his nose No wonder the man hadnÆt checked in It was an emotional problem That also explained why Ghost put the task on Alan to solve That shitty little glorified toaster

You lost

Yes and badly But thatÆs not the worst of it Hank participated after me and with someone I would say Ezekiel seemed to struggle for several seconds before he said would say was much more powerful He fought him to a draw but I believe Hank was injured There was

WHAT Alan shouted Immediately he winced and hurried further down the hall from JaneÆs room If she awakened his wife would kill him He continued down the hall and out onto the veranda of the house

What happened It was almost unimaginable to Alan that his brother would ever lose The man was a shortsighted idiot but he had been carefully shaped and sculpted by their father who was a man who was nothing if not thorough

I was unconscious but from what the kid told me

Kid

Oh yea Now Ezekiel fell silent again but it wasnÆt shame that silenced him but another sort of embarrassment As if he were caught playing with matches by an adult Their uh their doctor was just a kid like 13 or 14 It was hard to tell he talks really strangely But he said that Hank developed a new Skill and was just suffering from a lack of ambient energy The kid supplied it somehow and helped him heal

Alan muted the call as he pondered this and wrapped twice on the wood of the railing As expected a bird landed next to him flashing with a metallic gleam As it opened its mouth it spoke with GhostÆs tinny voice It is possible More than possible I always expected that Hank had incredible potential so much so that him creating a Skill was only a matter of time Only

The bird trailed off A soft Hello came out of AlanÆs watch The tiny bird shook its head and said Only I am concerned that a child would have the ability to fix it It is disturbing IÆll update my projections for this Zone with the provided information

Alan unmuted the communication IÆm here Inform me the instant that Hank awakens Is there anything else

Yes There is a natural formation of ice here something really weird The locals they say itÆs a remnant of a battle one of theirs had with something called a JudgementÆ It doesnÆt mean anything to me but I thought it might mean something to Ghost

It didnÆt mean anything to Alan either but that didnÆt mean it wasnÆt important Hopefully Ghost would feel it fit to share that tidbit of information with him Before he let Ezekiel go Alan clearly asked Are you the father of Randidly Ghosthound

There was silence And then the line went dead as if Ezekiel hadnÆt heard the question Alan swore quietly He rapped on the wooden rail again and then spoke What can you tell me about this Randidly Ghosthound

Confusing GhostÆs little bird said IÆve been following his movements but it is difficult both due to his speed of movement and the limitations on the drone Hopefully a breakthrough with the drone initiative will happen soon and these problems will become moot

Alan fell silent The young man was apparently willing to just busy himself with small tasks ignoring the political ramifications of his obvious strength Worst of all he was apparently working for Senator Firefly the minority speaker in Congress The manÆs pompous attitude relying on the younger Ghosthound to back it up was becoming increasingly obnoxious Another problem to deal with

But instead Alan moved on to a different topic Father Foster and her ilk are setting up another normalization camp in the West after they heard of that new suburb the boundaries are likely to expand to I can interfere but it will be

Let them be Ghost replied quietly

AlanÆs mouth firmed into a grim line I urge you to examine their actions more harshly You know Dr Karman was last seen at one of their

I am aware They have been investigated They are clean And with that the bird flew away Alan swore quietly and abruptly wished he had a cigarette He never smoked himself but Hank had and Alan made it a habit to borrow them while the two brothers were still close But obtaining them now was extremely difficult The tobacco farms existed but no one was really willing to work them Prices skyrocketed

Sighing Alan turned back and went to the kitchen to make coffee It might be almost midnight but he had work to do

Neveah had been given simple instructions

I need you to be me Randidly had said to her But me at my most low key I donÆt want to scare them I just want them to think they know where I am especially before they realize realize what I am to Zone 32 I want to be a mysterious but harmless presence But if you have any questions feel free to contact me

Neveah resolved never to need to contact Randidly Both because he was likely busy doing some boring training but also because this was the first time she had ever been alone

She was very excited

So when she wandered into Zone 1 she considered what she knew about Randidly and what he did when he was low key He didnÆt like to talk to people so she couldnÆt just waltz into a town as much as that made her sad That just wasnÆt RandidlyÆs style

Instead he had this mysterious power of making other people come to him This Neveah had studied in detail So when she was in Zone 1 she did her best to emulate Randidly After months of careful study her examination had yielded definitive results Move somewhere make a home a little away from other people and people came and visited you That was simply how it worked

Now homes were very important to people and now that Neveah was a people they were very important to her as well Monsters werenÆt particularly concerned about such things a cave was just as good as the open sky as long as it wasnÆt raining But to people a home was an obvious weakness and an expression of oneself Although Neveah had initially thought the concept of a home was stupid why give your enemies the exact place they needed to strike to wound you she recently realized that was the point

This home would be her weakness So if she wanted to meet people she simply had to wait and defend it It was strangely logical in a very human way

So she followed her process First find a big city She skipped some of the smaller ones as she wasnÆt interested in just a few people coming Randidly had told her to make sure they knew where she was Or he was Gender was confusing to Neveah at the best of times and pretending to be Randidly made her more confused

Then she found a nearby hill There was an apple grove there but Neveah never liked apples and she demolished it Meat was much more suited to her tastes Then using her Earth Shaping Skill she constructed a castle Her original idea was to make a giant statue of Randidly to show people around who was there but then she remembered that she also had to be low key So instead she spent time sculpting all of her favorite people in her front yard but on a small scale Randidly Alana Ace Dinesh Tykes

Then within a single day people came to visit her just as she planned It was so nice to be proved right

Chapter 521

Gary Firefly was a meticulous man It was what earned him his job as a curator at the National History Museum and it was what enabled him to best take advantage of the arrival of the System letting him become a Senator He ate the same breakfast every day squeezed apple juice and sauteed spinach and peppers It was the reason he had lived to the age of 58 before the System and the reason he would continue living to be 100 now that he had used his Stats to reinforce his Vitality and Endurance

Therefore it was a bad Tuesday when he had been told that someone had demolished his private orchards and erected a castle there During a four hour span of time

The orchards he maintained because a cute fellow curator Ms Terrygate had always talked about the apple orchards of her youth When he became a Senator he planted the orchards on a whim just a half mile from Carrolshold the heart of his district Almost casually he had asked Ms Terrygate if she would work for him caring for the orchard

He obviously didnÆt intend anything untoward he had been a married man before the SystemÆs arrival and she was 20 years his junior It was very unfortunate that his wife had perished in the SystemÆs initial chaos and Gary couldnÆt deny that Ms Terrygate made him feel a sense of warm comfort

Gary Firefly at first wanted to send a few chosen military elites to get to the bottom of this but he was cautious in addition to being meticulous Doing something so rapidly required some manner of resources Until he determined who was behind this he would remain tranquil So Gary went himself to visit this strange new castle

When he arrived he bid his security detail of 6 men to wait behind Although Gary himself was only Level 39 he had on him at all times an energysuit that had been specially designed with protection in mind Without a monster above Level 50 appearing within the bounds of the Zone Gary was relatively confident that nothing could harm him

There was a gate of the sort that was 3 meters high and 2 meters wide and would normally have been filled with wooden doors There were no wooden doors There was only the cold imposing stone of the castle walls At the entranceway Gary cleared his throat Then he did it again more loudly

When no answer was forthcoming Gary hesitantly stepped across the threshold Within there was a wide courtyard and a keep The courtyard was populated with strange stoic statues GaryÆs frown deepened as he took several steps forward examining a female figure holding a spear The handling was rough as if the sculpture was hastily done But the casual nature of the doing couldnÆt cover up the talent of the artist who had done these Even without putting an eye out for detail they were still excellent

The woman in front of him felt like an ancient Amazonian warrior with a strong jaw and a long spear that radiated the possibility of a sudden strike She was beautiful too but in an abstract way that Gary found fascinating Although very little time was done with her face the more Gary looked the more he could see that there were places where the artist had slowed down to capture the right feeling The hands for one with the lines of tendons so clear that Gary brushed his own knuckles across them The feet too and the knees

It was in the physicality that the artist concentrated their focus and it made for a raw awe inspiring sculpture

So the owner of this new castle wasnÆt just wealthy but also appreciated fine art An individual of class then

Gary Firefly continued farther until he came upon the entrance to the keep Like the outer wall there were no doors in any of the entranceways and the windows were also wide and bare Gary shivered it felt as though he was walking through the bones of a castle rather than a castle proper Why had the owner done this when she or he showed such an eye for detail in the sculptures

Because physicality was important Gary realized with a chill From afar none would know the gaping entrances of the place they would only see the castle This then was a message

At the entrance to the keep Gary stopped and cleared his throat once more Again there was no response He grimaced This was what he was worried about If no one was here what was he to do He could obviously destroy the castle but

Do me a favor

Gary Firefly half turned and saw a young man with short black hair that was coming around the side of the keep His eyes were fierce but there was a powerful curiosity in that face The young man spoke again

DonÆt move

Then without waiting for an answer the young man stopped stared fixedly at Gary for several seconds and then raised his hands and flexed his fingers The ground trembled and then rose Stone seemed to flow like liquid upwards resisting the power of gravity

GaryÆs eyes widened immediately This man was using a Skill to sculpt And not something like Sculpting but in fact he had a Skill that would allow him to control stone Gary was privy to some of the most top secret disclosures that Ghost provided to the government so he understood conceptually that Skills could accomplish almost anything if they were trained

But he had also cast his vote to focus the Zone towards technology rather than developing the magic of the System Humans had been on top of the food chain for thousands of years and Gary Firefly had firmly believed that if they continued relying on the technology they possessed they would continue to be so Initial results before the borderlands opened up seemed to prove Gary right

But now watching this artist work

It took all of 10 minutes with Gary standing transfixed as he watched the man work First the shape then the face and posture and then the details A very long minute spent elaborating GaryÆs right hand and the spatial watch he had there held at the ready for any ambushes Also a long time on GaryÆs tie and collar accentuating his distinguished state of dress

When the man finished he didnÆt say anything but his face brightened Then he grinned at Gary Randidly Ghosthound I just moved here

I Gary blinked gazing at RandidlyÆs outstretched hand Ghosthound That name sounded familiar But then the reality of the situation and the memory of the destroyed orchard came back with a vengeance Gary took the manÆs hand but coughed lightly when the manÆs shake was almost limp

It was like he had never shaken a hand before Gary made sure to make his own grip vigorous From what he understood those who focused on magic would oftentimes leave their physical Stats low Any edge now would be useful

Indeed My name is Gary Firefly as IÆm sure you know I own this land I am just wondering who put you up to this stunt of destroying my orchard GaryÆs tone was dry

I didnÆt know You grew apples Sad The young man said shaking his head

Forcing to keep his rising blood pressure even Gary said Those orchards meant a lot to me Do you have any idea who I am

No IÆm from the other Zone The young man said matter of factly

This stalled GaryÆs next comment leaving him somewhat confused This was not how he had expected the conversation to go But before he could gather his reaction the young man continued speaking

But taking something is bad I owe you a favor What would you like me to do

Again not what Gary had expected He had expected to walk into a strange political meeting of some sort where someone got his attention with the orchard but had a larger plot backing them up so that Senator Firefly would be kept from seeking vengeance Instead he found a young man that claimed to have no knowledge of who he was and offered him a very open favor

Was it possible the young man was telling the truth He definitely had some capabilities based on how quickly he had made the statue But crossing over from the other Zone So quickly Not only would one need to be strong but they would also need to be strong enough to travel quickly

But if this strange character was truly that strong

Gary Firefly wasnÆt usually a person who went off of gut feelings or went out on a limb but the combination of the strange castle the sculptures and this manÆs attitude had put him on his back foot So he smiled and said

If you replant my orchards and bring me the body of a Level 60 monster we can call it even

What he did not expect was for the man to smile and ask Maybe we can be friends as well

Chapter 522

It turned out that becoming friends with Randidly Ghosthound was one of the best decisions that Gary Firefly had ever made Everything he touched seemed to go well He had inquired about RandÆs Stats and Skills and had been refused with a bright smile Still Gary didnÆt really care about the details It was enough that this young man produced results

Within the past three weeks since Gary had met Rand the young man had given him enough high Level carcasses that West Providence had paid Senator FireflyÆs personal military company ten million dollars in order to acquire more materials to experiment on As they pushed the bounds of weapons they needed to be sure that their results were enough to overcome the rising Endurance of these high Level monsters

One time Rand had actually asked what Gary did with the bodies the young man had been thoughtful Then he had informed Gary in his strange abridged speech not to put too much stock in such tests because they didnÆt account for the monsterÆs Skill

This was a revelation to Gary Luckily only Rand was there to see it and the socially awkward kid just grinned about it It was with great pleasure that Gary Firefly met with the representatives of West Providence

Your research is going well Gary asked knowing how these idiots would answer

This particular representative was a young woman with her blonde hair up in a ponytail She beamed at him Yes excellent With these examples we believe we have a prototype that will revolutionize the military sciences Very soon we expect the borderlands to be open to us

Of course of course ThatÆs good to hear Gary said Perhaps I was being foolish I abruptly had a queer fear last night you didnÆt account for the monstersÆ Skills when you performed the experiments but undoubtedly my fears are unfounded I cannot wait for the good news I hope you donÆt mind if I inform Congress of the projections of your

Wait wait She was shaken now but in the bright eyed optimistic way of youth Account for the Skills Of course when the monster died they stopped Senator where are you going If you donÆt mind IÆm sure my supervisor would love to hear

IÆm terribly sorry IÆm sure you understand I have another meeting Gary said smoothing his shirt down

His meeting was a visit to his newly planted orchards Rand wasnÆt exceptionally talented at planting but the System made up for a lot of deficiencies Within a week of the castleÆs arrival there was now an orchard on the hill beneath it After these three weeks Gary felt no choice but to believe that this Randidly Ghosthound was from another Zone Ghost himself had agents watching RandÆs every move corroborating the strangerÆs story implicitly

Gary was just pleased that Rand had come to him and damn the stupid orchards What was a silly dalliance before being in control of your own destiny Due to RandÆs actions GaryÆs faction was better respected by West Providence which got him the high end prototypes to field test This in turn earned him the support of the military who wanted to control who had access to these prototypes

After watching Father FosterÆs movements Gary also had a thought to sponsor a refugee camp for those who would be liberated from the frozen time in the borderlands It was unclear how many would survive but Senator Firefly liked the sound of spinning himself as a humanitarian force with the election coming up in two months There wasnÆt looking to be any real resistance in his district but he knew some of his supporters would be facing tough slogs with Father Foster gaining more mainstream support

Which was why when he arrived at the orchard he approached Randidly with a smile The young man basically seemed to spend most of his time with GaryÆs aides and Ms Terrygate who had taken on a motherly role for the kid There certainly was something childlike about Rand and the way he reacted so surprised at even the most common thing

Shoes for instance left Rand aghast and even after the concept was explained to him he shook his head and said he wasnÆt allowed

Rand how are you Gary asked finding the kid picking apples with at least three of GaryÆs most athletic aides all of them sweating Without looking up Rand answered while he continued to pluck and throw apples over his shoulder towards the three aides

Good good good This is fun His hands worked independent of each other and flicked his wrist only lightly to throw each apple But each sailed over towards the area where the three aides held baskets and caught the apples In fact the dropped apples were only because the aides kept competing with each other to catch the apples

As Gary arrived they all paused for a second and looked at him as though they were caught committing a crime It was only when three apples hit the ground due to their inaction that they snapped back to it taking turns now

mm Indeed IÆm glad youÆve learned to appreciate apples Oh by the way did you know a lot of my friends are moving into this area They might even help out with the orchards IÆm just trying to figure out where they can stay

Oh Rand said brightly turning around with a smile They can stay at my castle I have a lot of empty space

Well I donÆt know and I wouldnÆt want to impose Gary said slowly Besides this might be as many as a thousand people I doubt there is enough room

Well I could just make more Rand said with a shrug

Gary smiled Oh could you

Days settled into a routine for Randidly From morning until early evening he worked in the furnaces making more of the sought after Erickson Steel Apparently the quality had so impressed some of the buyers that demand was rapidly increasing and now Foreman Davey paid him 6 50 per ingot It was a small thing but in the quantities that Randidly was selling it quickly added up to several extra hundreds

In addition Randidly was experimenting with more advanced metals and experiencing modest success He didnÆt go so far as to mix his blood into the metal again as that metal was so resilient he couldnÆt shape it but he used other recipes to make metals that Randidly would experiment with on the side

Refine and Extract were the obvious beneficiaries of this extra experimentation as both continued to steadily improve In the early evening he would return to his little hovel Occasionally he would receive calls through his interspatial watch that seemed to function much the same as a phone Randidly made a note to see if the technology of it was possible to bring also to Zone 32

Not that the communication really mattered as people had the friend’s list function of the System But it was a familiar distraction Humanity here seemed to take comfort in it

Most of these calls were either from Griffith or Tatiana although occasionally Foreman Davey would call talking about a spike in demand for Erickson Steel Inwardly Randidly wondered how they seemed to know he was taking a break at this time In addition how the hell did they justify communicating with him if he spent his time in this worthless hut Randidly wasnÆt a status minded person and even he was starting to be irked by the thought that he would be seen living in this place By now most steelworkers knew of him and his Erickson Steel and greeted him deferentially It was nice

It wasnÆt enough prestige to catch the attention of Ghost but it was a nice return to the respect he received in Donnyton

But on the subject of how the other people justified his home maybe they just thought he was that sorta guy After all most people seemed more thrown by his bare feet Randidly shook his head sadly

In the evening and through the night he would go to the forest and work on his search and his underground space Of all the areas of these few weeks for Randidly the most disappointing was the search for the Creature He must have gone up and down the Zone searching for traces of Aether and yet he found nothing

The giant scans that exhausted him still caught the barest hint but the individual scans did not It was infuriating but it also made Randidly cautious The best explanation that Randidly could think of was that the Creature had prepared countermeasures for him Although he could subvert it with his general search the specific ones didnÆt let him detect it

Still Lucretia was working tirelessly to expand his ability to detect Aether and the related Skills improved as a result It was only a matter of time And when the clash happened Randidly intended to be ready

In some ways his daytjime activities improved his focus for the night activities because as time went on his image for the underground area shifted Now Randidly was creating not only a housing comlex but also a forge where he could make his own metal away from the eyes of Ghost

The only other indulgence Randidly allowed himself was to continue to plant the flowers left at that small shrine into the ground quickly turning it into a strange little grotto in the forest Some of RandidlyÆs Vitality seemed to bleed into the flowers he touched and they often grew bigger or brighter than their normal counterparts Some of the flowers even climbed up nearby trees like vines

The Raid Boss that was hiding within the area had disappeared along with its spawn but Randidly didnÆt mind It was all the better that it left especially with the increased military presence in the area The borders of the Zone had continued to expand and probably close to 2 000 people had been relocated to a nearby camp run by the strange church of Father Foster

When Randidly heard this figure there was a very sour feeling in his chest These 2 000 were only ? of the total that had been freed by the expanding edges of the Zone But along with people high Level monsters were found there The rescue operations encountered heavy casualties All the while Randidly knew he could have done something about it

Chapter 523

So it was about a month and a half since Randidly had arrived in the Zone he had 9 670 00 and was just about to begin the smelting of what might be his final batch of metal as a steelworker when there was a knock at the door to his rented workroom

Randidly paused This had never happened before Was it Foreman Davey

But when he opened the heavy metal door there were two unfamiliar men in military uniforms Both were wearing packs that contained expandable exosuits Both seemed to be relatively capable for men from Zone 1

Mr Baloo Erickson The first man said It is unfortunate but the military has been extremely hard pressed with the expansion of the Zone Thousands die because we simply donÆt have enough bodies We are here to inform you that your military Skill has been noted Congratulations you have been invited to be part of a rescue operation occurring tomorrow

Randidly smiled Unfortunately IÆll be fulfilling an order for Foreman Davey tomorrow

Such an invitation is compulsory for those who do not possess Tier I citizenship Our orders come from a power much stronger than the Analytics team The man said with a sneer His partner regarded Randidly with a more mild gaze but the milder one was the more dangerous one for sure Still it rankled to have these two here to strong arm him

fine then Randidly said softly He could flee or resist but he truly had felt guilty about the fact he had so much power and didnÆt use it to help these people He could have prevented thousands of deaths These past few days he had been haunted by those lives And this haunting was far worse than it was when Randidly had killed the guards back in ShalÆs world as they escaped from the prison This was a different sort of guilt one he couldnÆt shake And it was affecting his image formation

Then Randidly made to close the door but the sneering guard stepped forward to block him Mr Erickson I trust you understand we cannot trust citizenship less individuals You havenÆt proven yourself to the country As such you will be staying in a holding

Oh RandidlyÆs voice was still soft but now his smile was reckless He opened up Indomitable Will of Yggdrasil and Cruel Indignation of Yggdrasil His whole bearing changed Around him he felt the illusion pulse and warp somewhat under the SkillÆs powerful effects But at that moment his eyes were emerald suns burning with a righteous fury But I donÆt want to And that is enough isnÆt it

Dull eyed the guard stumbled backward taking the Skills directly Immediately Randidly cut them off and turned to the other guard IÆll be there tomorrow Be safe friends

The other guard who had only been hit by the edge was still white But he gave Randidly a tight lipped nod as Randidly closed the door Frowning Randidly moved away and headed back to his metals The fact they had approached him here this wasnÆt a random thing Perhaps this was TatianaÆs warning finally coming to fruition Was someone within the government throwing him in harmÆs way as a favor for Tooya

Randidly hadnÆt seen the man or his brother around since the party Even Ricky Stain had left him alone although Randidly knew that the slimeball was still approaching other metal workers and getting them to go through him for their raw materials and sales As Randidly expected rumors had emerged that Ricky Stain provided raw ore that was of the most inferior grade and most everyone had distanced themselves from him

But there were always the desperate

As for the current problem the only question was whether the person who caused this would monitor his performance and attempt to hurt him more directly or whether this experience was enough

Randidly sighed Remaining low key was hard

Bulletsto ah fuck this

Hank stepped back waving his hands placatingly Grinning Kayle stopped and spun his knives across his fingers

Surrendering so soon That makes your record 0 and 10 against us Kayle said the gloating evident in his tone

1 and 1 and 9 Hank corrected for the millionth time

Kayle waved his hand airily The duel where you collapsed counted as a loss not a draw And also the win was against Vandal HeÆs just a kid But youÆve recovered well and you are much sharper now Excited to head back into the borderlands huh WeÆve finally been given orders to do a sweep through the edge of the Zone and find any more survivors It will be good to move on from this Ghostice

Hank nodded slowly It was time for their group to move on as well They had stayed here two weeks already first to allow him to recover from that close brush with a deadly Aether Starvation and then to give HankÆs group the chance to fight with the locals if they wished

It was a summarily humiliating experience Laurel had abstained preferring to talk with the Zone 32 mages as to their training methods But Affina Ezekiel and Hank when he recovered all challenged the various members of the other expedition

It quickly became apparent that there was a definite tier amongst the people and between the two groups At the bottom there was the average fighter from the buckle wearing town East End They were strong quick and competent but they were ultimately just grunt soldiers and HankÆs group didnÆt bother with them Above them there was a vast space with the Donnyton Squad members They each had different strengths but were mostly role players These too were ultimately set aside as opponents Beyond them lay the third tier and the place where Affina and Ezekiel found themselves suitably challenged That was Vandal the leader of Squad 29 and the two vice captains of the other Squads

These four were great at everything and incredible at their own individual area Fighting against them was usually a matter of a chess match where you would try and get the opportunity to take advantage of the area in which you were great and kept the opponent from doing the same

Hank especially after he had obtained the three new Skills and his evolved Soulskill found these four to be increasingly easy to suppress As he recovered and familiarized himself with his new tools he felt an increasing gap opening up between them Mostly Hank believed it was his new SoulSkill The Ballad of the Righteous Coyote He just felt grounded in a way that he had never previously Like he was connected to something bigger like the fabric of the worldÆs story was laid out before him

With his Soulskill he could understand a bit of what was occurring or about to occur in the world Knowing his role allowed Hank to exceed his normal performance He was poised and ready for any trouble the world might throw at him And in a strange way Hank felt he could lift his nose to the wind and smell trouble coming a mile off

Right now he smelled it both in front of him and behind him which was disturbing But his instincts seemed to push him forward Besides he had a responsibility to speak with the political leaders of this Donnyton This was his path

Well that was at least how it felt to Hank It was a nebulous thing this feeling his Soulskill gave him But it was delightful to feel

When he brought it up to Laurel she gave him a strange look then shrugged This gave him more worries than relief because she was the type that became extremely quiet and solemn only when she felt something serious was occurring When Hank asked Paolo and Kayle he received a much more direct answer

They exchanged knowing looks and then Kayle said YouÆll have to talk to Nathan if you want to know anything more specific but I suspect what you feel is a bit of pure Aether It will make the System more malleable to you for a while Relish this chance they are hard to come by

After some searching Hank had learned that Nathan had returned to the borderlands right after helping him He resolved himself to thank the kid when he came back through the borderlands

When Hank himself wasnÆt dueling he was watching other duels of all levels of strength and skill There were group battles too generally 5 on 5s between the Donnyton Squads and also between Donnyton and East End Although there was a powerful rivalry there was also an admirable comradery there But Hank supposed that was just the way it had to be between people of this level of strength Everyone knew how hard getting here was There was a respect for that

Hank tried the group fights once but it was a whole different animal In that match he was isolated from his squad and knocked out Luckily a woman who used two shields named Cassie smashed apart the enemy forces in the time it took for Hank to finally go down rendering his squad the victor

But the fun couldnÆt last It had been two weeks of training and it was time to move on When Hank counted up his PP his eyebrows rose precipitously He had gained almost 70 Skill Levels over these two weeks Most of it was in his new Skills but still

That was more PP than he had gained in any month for the past year and a half And that was with him spending most of the first week recovering in bed

This is the difference between us Æ Hank thought reflecting on his losses This is the line And from what they said Paolo and Kayle are some of the best but they arenÆt the best Hell what is the best of Zone 32 like Æ

Chapter 524

Paolo and Kayle saw them off HankÆs group would travel with the East End ers South to their Village and then would continue to Star Crossing and take a Teleportation Platform to Donnyton Again Hank was a little dubious about the process But at least he understood why these people didnÆt seem to have any vehicles they could just fucking teleport

Hank shook hands with Paolo and then with Kayle Thank ye kindly for the instruction Who knows how long it would have taken for me to get a feel for this on my own You two are mighty talented to arrive here so quickly

Haha itÆs not like we havenÆt had help Paolo said his arms folded But the smug look on his face revealed how much he enjoyed the praise HankÆs mouth twitched but he said nothing But before the two Donnyton Squad leaders departed Paolo added

When you get to Donnyton find Alana Ask her for a duel SheÆs the current leader of Squad I That woman will show you what humans can aspire to be

Then Hank left with Vandal and his crew with Ezekiel Laurel and Affina trailing after AffinaÆs face was especially serious and many times she turned and looked back towards the direction that the DonnytonÆs group vanished It even got to the point that Ezekiel noticed and zeroed in on this behavior

What are you doing Ezekiel drawled his eyes narrowed at the Asian woman You look like a lovesick schoolgirl Get a hold of yourself

Of all things Affina blushed I doubt that Sir Kayle sees me like that Just a daydream

Then she hurried off Ezekiel was left struck dumb staring after the usually so silent and stoic Affina Laurel snorted and walked up to Hank her arm sliding around HankÆs You guys really didnÆt see her intently watching all of KayleÆs fights She even asked him to go for a walk so they could exchange pointers She played up her blindness around him so he would offer to lead her by the arm Does that seem like typical Affina to you

Hank shrugged Honestly he hadnÆt seen any of that He was busy with other things Fighting and improving himself was one thing but there were others

The time spent recovering wasnÆt just spent idle They had been in contact with the leaders of Zone 32 and they arranged a meeting with people in power They brought up certain issues but they were waiting until they were in person to conduct any real business

Secretly Paolo revealed that Donnyton was in heated talks with the other Villages over the substance of what Donnyton was able to agree Although Donnyton was the most powerful Paolo claimed the others werenÆt without their own strength And Donnyton never wanted to make these decisions unilaterally

But one decision that they had come to and in turn Hank was told was that Donnyton was named the capital of the Zone and the Zone was named Rawland Although Donnyton was only a tenth of the ZoneÆs population sitting at 15 000 after the flood of new arrivals in the edges of the Zone it was where trade was concentrated

Still around the same time Hank found himself comfortable with his new Skills was when Rawland had reached a political decision they were ready for Hank and his group to come to Donnyton

The journey to East End felt quick although it took an entire day It was just a very different experience than traveling in the borderlands Here the monsters were frequent but they werenÆt dangerous

This was one thing that puzzled Hank and when he asked Vandal the young man just shrugged Zone 32 or Rawland seemed to have more Raid Bosses and Dungeons than Zone 1 by a lot They took small diversions twice to address reports of a Raid Boss They defeated two Tier IIs and even stumbled across a Tier III that had hidden itself This was due to Laurel who felt a flash of insight that many would die if they did not go into a nearby copse of trees

There a Tier III python Raid Boss had set up hop and immediately ambushed them

Now Hank and his team were few but all were experts they acquitted themselves splendidly But there were several powerful individuals Vandal was a wrecking ball and the squad that came with him were experienced and efficient cleaners

During their weeks together Hank had gathered a few ideas about Vandal He ate the meat of monsters and took on some of their characteristics But what Hank didnÆt realize was that due to the consumable nature of this Vandal didnÆt use truly powerful monsters as fuel in a duel against other humans

After takings 6 bites of the dried meat Vandal swelled to become a 3 meter tall red hulk smashing the trees of the copse and revealing the python minions They bit and attempted to bind him but his raw physicality just ripped through their bodies He was a force of nature And behind him his squad moved quickly shooting bolts of fire at the incapacitated snakes reducing the pressure by finishing off the wounded enemies

Sighing after the battle Vandal transformed back into a normal human with an unhappy expression Only have one more of those Apparently it came from a four armed ape in the borderlands had to trade with the GhosthoundÆs crew to get it What a waste definitely overkill

Ezekiel hadnÆt heard but HankÆs ears harpened at the mention of the term the Ghosthound Then he inwardly shrugged Although they called Ezekiel his name it wasnÆt so strange for them to have a nickname for EzekielÆs son But that didnÆt sit quite right with Hank

There was something in the way Vandal said the name something in his tone that gave Hank pause But he couldnÆt rewind and hear it over again Plus it was a small thing So they moved on towards East End

When they arrived it was almost nightfall with low clouds sliding in from the edge of the horizon It would probably rain that night

As they spotted the mall that made up East End Hank spotted something else A small bunny like creature peering over a rock at Hank Aside from the fact that its ears seemed as long as its small body and lay flat against its head then down its back it really looked exactly like a brown rabbit But there was an intelligence in its eyes and a strange brown glow around it that seemed to indicate it was something more sinister

Hank reflexively drew his repeater and then hesitated Even if it was a monster it was such a small thing and he didnÆt see a Level indicator above its head Was it really just a bunny Or a weird variation caused by the System That didnÆt seem very difficult to believe

Shrugging Hank instead shoo ed it away and turned to follow the others in his group But as he did so he could clearly hear the soft sound of paws delicately moving over rock Resolutely Hank ignored it The creature wasnÆt stalking him or getting closer just following him So what was the harm

But as they arrived at the entrance to the mall which had been heavily reinforced with metal bars the sound of the feet grew frantic the little bugger had launched into a sprint

Wheeling around Hank leveled his repeater but still when he looked at the small body the brown fur

wasnÆt this just a fucking rabbit

But in its eyes Hank saw something else now excitement

The bunny leaped squealing and Hank decided to say fuck it He fired his repeater causing the rest of the group to turn around The bullet took the bunny in the chest

Or it would have Instead the bullet passed through the rabbit causing a few ripples in its body The rabbit continued unabated slamming into HankÆs right hand But again instead of being flung away it sank into his hand entered his body It felt warm and comfortable

Congratulations You have learned the Skill Elemental Affinity (Unique Earth) Lvl 1

Welcome to East End Vandal said yawning while he did so Land of the Elementals Come on in before more of them come to claim you all

Chapter 525

Congratulations your Skill is 30% complete Please continue to provide a powerful image to assist in the formation of the Skill

Randidly sighed He couldnÆt stall anymore he would have to move to meet the military for the expedition soon He had hoped that when he put his mind to it it would not take too much effort to reform As the Sun Stills But without the assistance of the battle against that spear user who focused on the sun he was having a hard time capturing the feeling

Even now after reaching 30% he felt the well of focus on the image running dry he couldnÆt finish the Skill like this Shaking his head Randidly stood and stretched a little then left his little shack to look up at the rising sun

Although the day seemed to loom before him with a huge waste of time that might result in him revealing himself Randidly was surprisingly cheerful He took the time to start a small fire and fry some eggs and monster meat he had stored in his interspatial ring Very quickly the smell of cooking food brought out nearby people Most of them were teens who didnÆt like either their situation at home or the rules of the Unity Church camps and came here at the chance to work for something better But there were also some more impoverished families of steelworkers that came out with hopeful eyes

He hesitated for a few seconds checked the sun and then began to cook more food more than enough to everyone in the area to eat

Seeing that Randidly or rather Baloo was going to provide for the people many poor families approached with moist eyes and offered to help cook Randidly thanked them awkwardly and accepted A few of the more prosperous individuals went back to their homes and returned with a few things to help with the meal

It was cornmeal mostly and other bread but one family had a few jars of fruit juice and the most valuable bit was a bottle of pre System honey RandidlyÆs neighbor produced some potatoes and Randidly felt obliged to produce a basket of peppers he had Very soon there was a breakfast hash going and Randidly directed some of the children to plant the pepper seeds nearby

After a moment of thought he produced some corn and potato seeds he had and gave those to the children to plant as well When they finished Randidly pressed his hand into the ground and released a pulse of Aether It would only have a negligible effect but it would give the plants here an edge There might even be some mutations in the future due to that spurt of energy It was worth watching

By that time Randidly was close to running late and he departed the people waving him off and continuing to produce food to cook together Just as he was leaving he mentioned that it might be easier if some people dug a cooking pit and made some stationary grills to work on Then he left content with his 3 Levels in Cooking and 1 in ChefÆs Palate

The base of operations for the expedition wasnÆt hard to find They were situated midway between the steelworkers ghetto and the Unity ChurchÆs Re educationÆ Camp When he arrived Randidly was apparently recognized because one of the two grim sentries gestured for him to follow and led Randidly to a mustering area

These military types have too much free time Lucretia commented as Randidly walked through neat rows of tracts and tents Why must they insist everything be so precise It is extremely offputting

I suspect you are one of the few who thinks that Æ Randidly thought back bemused

Randidly felt her roll her eyes This is why your people have no understanding of karma They simply chase the shape rather than understanding the substance Neat rows will not let weak soldiers win wars

But it keeps the roads clear for them to flee Æ Randidly pointed at

As Lucretia cackled with laughter Randidly moved to join the group of about 30 or so people already standing there talking quietly Disturbingly there were about 6 soldiers around all of them carrying those plasma rifles that the people of Zone 1 love so much A lot of the people here he recognized with a pang they were people who traded regularly with Foreman Davey

A point for him just being swept up in this revenge which was good If this blow was aimed more at Foreman Davey and Randidly happened to be happily thrown into the danger area all for the better That meant they likely wouldnÆt push him into using any of his true strength

He had checked his reflection this morning and he hadnÆt found any deviations in the illusion But if anything that made him feel more nervous Fine for now meant it would fail later Hopefully the timing of that didnÆt end up fucking him

Again Randidly wondered what Neveah was doing She seemed to be having a great time which was good but similarly worrying Her sense of fun was a bit skewed He blamed himself for allowing her to spend so much time with the two clowns Paolo and Kayle Dinesh was supposed to be a calming influence but he turned out to have just gotten corrupted by them as well And now

Now what he didnÆt know wouldnÆt hurt him

Very quickly a figure swayed through the crowd and arrived at his side

Hey Viking Tatiana said as if this were the most natural name in the world

Randidly blushed It was one thing for people to call him Randidly and for that to be weird After all he could blame the weirdness of that name on his parents Specifically on his coo coo mother But Viking was a name that Randidly blurted out when he couldnÆt think of anything else it was a moniker of his who foolish making And explaining that it was just a joke or something now was a bit

So Randidly said coughing into his hand You are here too I wondered They donÆt they donÆt seem to be very worried about establishing a working relationship with us

No TatianaÆs smile remained bright but her voice was chilly They know what this is just like we do

It was a sobering thought Around them the crowd parted again and Gregory and Sonya came forward to stand with them It was a party reunion just short Griffith Randidly thought idly Around them the other steelworkers began to cluster Not joining them per se but listening intently

It seems we were designated as the leaders of this group Tatiana said with an eye roll

Must be our stunning good looks Gregory said revealing a gap tooth smile

Sonya gave Tatiana a long look Or our palpable charisma

Just then a man who appeared to be a higher rank than most of the soldiers strode out of a nearby tent and came to greet the gathered steelworkers To his credit when he glanced around at the surrounding soldiers he made a small gesture with his hand The soldiers that were standing around the group let go of their plasma rifles so they hung by their straps

It was a small reduction of an implied threat but it wasnÆt something that the man had to do Randidly appreciated it

Good you are all here IÆm Sergeant Phillip IÆll be acting as a liaison between you volunteers and the UHF military wait Sergeant Philip pulled up short as a skinny man opened his mouth to speak I have one rule for this do not say you didnÆt volunteer It will go a lot easier for all of us if you embrace this charade and we donÆt have to enforce the reality of the situation

The skinny man faltered Gregory folded his arms and gave the man a look LetÆs hear what the Sergeant has to say

Either a bigger trp or this man is more interested in saving people than in being the instrument of the punishment for you Lucretia mused If he treats you all as volunteers youÆll have more autonomy and both you and he can ignore the ugliness that led you all here If you force the issue

A waste of effort Æ Randidly stayed still content to let Gregory take the lead here especially since he agreed with playing along with Sergeant PhillipÆs game

Sergeant Philip turned to Gregory with a small smile Sergeant Phillip was an olive skinned man with short curly hair as I was saying I am your liaison Myself and five of my men will accompany you during the mission We have a 20 mile stretch to cover and based on our predictions the border is going to jump anywhere between a half mile and a mile backward ThatÆs a lot of ground to cover and it’s all residential At least 10 000 people will need to be located and brought safely back into our Zone ThatÆs our job

You might not know this but the real danger to the new arrivals to the System is monsters from other parts of the borderlands because time was frozen somehow prior to the System there are no monsters in this area ThatÆs why we will have a detachment of 200 soldiers sweeping the surrounding area eliminating nearby monsters Now as soon as the time is unfrozen monsters will begin to spawn but they will start weak We need to get as many people out before the average Level of the monster reaches Level 30 ThatÆs about the point where the detachment will start to feel pressured by the monster spawns ThatÆs when we pull out

Inwardly Randidly felt disgusted that Level 30 monsters would be enough to force the detachment on their back foot but he supposed he couldnÆt be that upset ThatÆs the point where the thick outer skin of monsters meant that it took a lot more plasma to burn through In addition that was when monsters began having significant Levels in the Skills Now that was probably only about 50 Skill Levels but that did a lot to slow the burn of the plasma

Chapter 526

And what is our role Tatiana said The group of volunteers stood around them listening intently They too wondered what exactly the military has in store for them

Sergeant Phillip glanced at Tatiana and then blinked then looked at her again TatianaÆs suggestive smile inched wider It seemed that the good sergeant was so intent on his mission that he hadnÆt truly looked at any of them Now he was momentarily struck dumb by TatianaÆs sensual appeal

This woman regularly calls me Viking Æ Randidly thought feeling deeply wounded at his own earlier mistake

Uh hello maÆam uh you um Sergeant Phillip stumbled for a bit then seemed to regain his momentum You will form small groups and fan out among the buildings No need to go in because it looks to be a lot of apartment buildings Just stand outside and direct people back towards where the reserve detachment of 25 men is waiting They will evacuate the people into defensible shelters

How will we know when the monster Level reaches the danger zone Randidly asked quietly

Twisting his mouth Sergeant Phillip said ThatÆs the difficult part We will be partially relying on reports from the security detachment but there will be a delay between the monsters spawning in the new areas and wandering outward to the place where the squad is watching for monsters from higher Leveled areas

It seemed that Tatiana realized what Randidly meant after Sergeant Phillip answered They exchanged a long glance Basically they would know because they would now be being attacked by Level 30 monsters Everyone around them turned grim faced The truth of it hit them too There was now a definite edge in the glances that looked towards Sergeant Phillip and his crew

The Sergeant raised his hands IÆm aware of the eventualities that are going through your head But let me assure you this wonÆt happen instantly There will be a gradient The Levels of monsters will be noticeably rising I recommend you form groups with this in mind Those that have the ability to handle something near Level 30 split up

Then he sighed We are all working under less than ideal conditions Congress isnÆt giving us enough money to fund these rescue missions Most of the soldiers who came are volunteers using their off day to help It is unfortunate that you were all swept up in this but we need the bodies Please These people arenÆt ready for the cruel realities of our new world They need someone to be there to help them

The mood shifted It was a small thing but it was enough Everyone remembered what it was like that first day when everything went to hell and no one knew what was going on around them

Randidly was inwardly wondering how quickly the Levels would rise and how quickly they could evacuate the populations Because hidden in this scenario that was developing was a decision on RandidlyÆs part Say only half of 10 000 people had been evacuated and then the military withdrew due to the monster Level Would Randidly choose his anonymity over the lives of these people

Of course he wouldnÆt It was just a bitter thing that all his work might be for nothing But very quickly Randidly crushed that feeling After all there was a lot he could do to assist without actually appearing to assist The worry was just too many high Level Skill uses would wear at the substanceÆ of the illusion whatever that was

Sergeant Phillip continued to speak We recommend you focus on the realities that the people can grasp now and not try to overwhelm them with the truth at the beginning It can be after all a little overwhelming Instead tell them there has been a power failure and that people are being evacuated to a station a mile away We will be passing out cadet uniforms to give what you say a bit more weight In addition the firing from the Borderlands will be audible That might scare the hesitant ones into moving

There were further explanations but they were largely ignored Sonya began to question the other people dividing them into groups with enough strength to fight against something that was Level 30 Tatiana drew Randidly to the side As it happened Randidly was very aware of how Sergeant PhillipÆs eyes followed Tatiana as she moved with Randidly

ItÆs annoying but we should split up Tatiana announced as if she had only come to this decision after a large amount of thought Randidly blinked He hadnÆt even thought for a second they would go together Both of them were strong enough to resist the Level 30 They should be apart

Then she gave him an amused look What You thought we were just going to hang out the whole time

No youÆre right I was just surprised YouÆre acting like we

Her eyes flashed dangerously but Randidly ignored it you are acting like we are friends Ah well that came out wrong I suppose we are

Now it was TatianaÆs turn to blink Then she giggled girlishly all the sensuousness falling away to reveal a pure mirth Ha I suppose I deserve that Well I think neither of us are people that make friends easily Me because of my occupation and you because well because you canÆt be bothered But it is a lonely thing to be out in the country without a friend

Randidly nodded slowly It had been a long time since he had thought about loneliness It was strange to consider now Then he shook his head ThatÆs fine but promise me one thing

This isnÆt all just a ploy to get closer to Sonya is it

Rolling her eyes Tatiana pushed at Randidly He took a half step to the side so she didnÆt just throw herself backward with the push on him Then the two parted Bemused Randidly walked over to Sonya and she gave him the few people that would be under him during the evacuation All looked at him with extremely respectful looks in their eyes They likely saw Gregory Sonya and most of all Tatiana consulting him and accepted him as that sort of leader Which felt like quite the hassle

Randidly glanced over his shoulder Tatiana was brought by Gregory to a group of 3 young women and men that she would be leading Very quickly Tatiana said something and the whole group was laughing But while the group laughed she glanced over their shoulders at Randidly and winked at him Then she turned back to her group

Randidly shook his head sorrowfully looking at his group How did she do that She made leadership look so easy

LetÆs uh do our best Randidly said awkwardly The group waited as if they expected more but Randidly didnÆt have anything else to say They stood in awkward silence until the operation began

AlanÆs hands were clasped tightly together You have the footage of this group from East End fighting against that Tier III Raid Boss What can you extrapolate from that in regards to the strength of this Rawlands

Ghost was silent for at least 10 seconds which was a very long time for his predictions in a war we would draw In anything less than a war we would be crushed

Alan frowned How does that make sense And give me some context I need to speak in front of Congress in an hour

Allowing me to speak at these sessions would be much more efficient Ghost said almost sullenly Alan just closed his eyes Again ten seconds passed before GhostÆs oddly metallic voice was heard

most of our research has been with an eye towards this final point in the System We have prepared the equivalent of a nuclear option based upon manatech For this reason an all out war against them would have a much more favorable outcome for us However if we do not rely on the nuclear option their individual strengths would inevitably suppress our military

the difference in population Alan began but he was interrupted

LIkely it would not be so much of a factor as you think As people grow stronger in the System they become not only more efficient but also gain a higher window of operational efficiency Let me lay this out in terms you can understand If we were to place these Squad Leaders Kayle and Paolo onto the Tier system they would be Tier 6 citizens That is simply the Skill they have shown Based on observation I estimate them to truly be something near to a Tier 7 citizen

These are individuals that are worth as much as a few hundred well trained men And people below Tier II will likely by of little to no use in handling these characters In addition through conversation and inferences my analytics suggest there are at least 20 of such Tier 7 individuals And one Tier 8 this Alana Randidly Ghosthound is also somewhere between those two Tiers We do not have anyone above Tier 5

Further our weapons were created as tools not as enhancements due to your predecessorÆs shortsightedness We have not developed equipment to provide stats it solely adds more of a barrier for the wearer They are better equipped better trained and have better Skills Their Classes are diverse and effective Although they fight in an archaic manner

AlanÆs eyes opened The decision wasnÆt just made by the former President It was also heavily influenced by Dr Karman

Ghost fell silent

Sighing Alana asked You havenÆt thought more about Father Foster

Your concern is amusing but rest assured I have every processor at my disposal carefully analyzing data regarding his murder If I so much as find a hint of a clue

If you are using all of your processors trying to catch the killer how are you making these grand predictions about Rawlands

For the third time Ghost fell silent and this time it was a silence that continued to stretch It seemed that the robot truly didnÆt know how to respond to its figurative speech and AlanÆs literal criticism Alan shook his head this is why machines couldnÆt speak in Congress Aside from not being an elected official

so you recommend the political route Peaceful trade And in the meantime we engage in an arms race for control of the danger zones Alan said slowly

Affirmative

Shaking his head Alan stood That was the expected outcome It seemed that not all things had changed with the arrival of the System As always individual power took a backseat to the strength of an entire nation Although each Zone was powerful in its own right they were ultimately working together against the System There was not yet proof that it was worth it to waste their resources fighting each other

All was not lost however EzekielÆs reports indicated a rift between the different cities in Rawlands There was no monolithic authority just the long reach of power

Chapter 527

Senator Firefly the floor is yours the Speaker said sitting down in his chair as Gary rose Gary flashed a smile to the room and took his time slowly walking to stand at the podium in the center His suit was charcoal with a maroon shirt and a crimson tie After an offhand comment from Randidly Ms Terrygate had spent an increased amount of time sewing as she attempted to raise her Skill

At first Gary had been dubious whether such effort was worth it and whether sewing would be a Skill worth having But his current suit was a testament to the amount of improvement that was possible over a month when there was a concerted effort Plus it had the strange side effect of increasing his Reaction and Focus by 5 stat points each Gary had never heard of such a thing

It had been so shocking that Gary hadnÆt quite figured out how to use it to make a profit yet which was quite unlike him

President Howard sat with folded arms watching Gary walk up towards the podium The System had done away with parties as a concept and there hadnÆt been enough time for new ideologies to emerge but Gary Firefly and Alan Howard had always been opposed Mostly on the issue of where funds should be allocated

Gary wanted the money to go through the military first with more emphasis on training and hardeningÆ the Tier System Meanwhile Alan poured money into West Providence like he was giving water to a fish bleating weakly on land President Howard also argued against defining the Tier System too rigidly in fear of creating a caste system

DidnÆt the fool realize it was far too late for that If they were going to have the damn thing they might as well make it clear and not rely on the mysticism of an AI to determine It would give the lower class workers hope to rise Right now there were so many damn probationary citizenship applications coming through that the Bureau of Citizenship was in shambles They needed money too

Everyone did

But todayÆs agenda concerned two issues one of which was at least ancillary related to citizenship the rising number of refugees and their new neighbor Rawlands

“Ladies and gentlemen thank you so much for letting me be the first speaker today as we discuss these critical issues facing our great nation ” Gary said knowing full well that most would love for him to not to possess the dubious honor of starting with the floor Yet here he was mostly due to the extra clout that Gary had from Randidly

“We are here today to talk about whether to recognize this Zone 32 this Rawlands as an independent nation Obviously this is a point of contention as it was a nation that was previously under the umbrella of the United States of America the predecessor to the UHF But of course like us this Zone dragged itself up by its bootstraps through every trial and tribulation thrown at it to arrive here This is an accomplishment deserving of our admiration They were not prepared as we were They were not warned They could only struggle against each new threat that arrived before them in turn doing their utmost to survive “

Gary smiled “You might be wondering how I know these things That is because a traveler from Rawlands stopped into my orchards a few weeks ago and we’ve become very good friends His name is Randidly Ghosthound and he is a great warrior Although the technology of there Zone was practically stuck in the stone age they were still able to leverage the System to receive significant benefits I might also wager that these benefits are superior to our own The Classes they have access to are different than ours both in focus and diversity Mr Ghosthound told me once that over in Rawlands they believed that your Class does not just come from the criteria given to us by the Village Spirits but also is shaped by your understanding of the world

“When is the last time we saw a Class not related to our chosen profession Why do we lack this diversity

“I cannot speak to the undoubtedly compelling that President Howard will soon present for us today but I would like to make my stance known the commune of knowledge and connection of trade between our Zones can lead to nothing but benefits I believe that Rawlands should be recognized as a sovereign nation “

Now Gary paused looking at the bored and glazed eyes arrayed before them There were enough briefings and secret meetings prior to this that Gary didn’t doubt most knew how they would vote What he needed was something to stir the pot Not that he believed that in the end Rawlands wouldn’t be recognized but his sights were set further afield and this was just one round of a grand game

” in the interest of giving my fellow congress members a clear picture of how things stand I have brought Mr Ghosthound to today’s session He is currently waiting outside If there is a majority who shares my feelings perhaps it would be best if we question him directly “

Randidly’s eyelid twitched “Ma’am there has been an attack at the power plant Power is out We’ve been sent to escort civilians to a disaster station until we can apprehend the culprits “

“I don’t believe you ” The woman said spitefully her wrinkled face squeezing together “You don’t truly believe in what’s going on If you are going to lie to my face then why would I come with you What if you are a salesman “

What is this salesman that this woman would fear them so Lucretia asked slightly puzzled

Randidly didn’t have the energy to answer her He had been hard at work for almost an hour now moving people from apartment buildings and condominiums and having them escorted back to the disaster station In the apartments once one person left most people followed drawn by Randidly’s crew’s air horns Their speed also rose noticeably when the first sounds of gunfire echoed in the distance

All in all Randidly had led his team of 6 to clear 5 buildings already They were moving so much faster than the soldier expected that Randidly sent one or two people into each building to pry out recalcitrants who didn’t exit when everyone else did With plant dominance it wasn’t hard to extend his senses into every houseplant and bit of mold in the building resulting in a pretty comprehensive search Things were easier in the buildings

Now they moved into higher end condos and there was significantly more trouble

“Ma’am the power is clearly out ” Randidly said calmly wondering what crime he committed in a past life to deserve this inanity “You can hear gunfire There is no cell service This is an emergency and I would appreciate if you “

The woman a 60ish year old woman with a thick new jersey accent held out a phone to him “I dialed 911 and it’s ringing Now do you see why I can’t come with you You just told me the cell service is out and here it is ringing like normal “

The line clicked and then a voice emerged “Thank you for calling 911 what is your emergency “

Randidly wanted to slap himself in the face Of course Zone 1 took the time to set back up cellular service and of course they didn’t bother to improve it enough that old phones wouldn’t work “Look that was just a guess on my part But you really need to come with me Look your neighbors are departing “

“Bah they are Gentiles They are as gullible as lambs ” the woman said waving her hand dismissively The family in question was a youngish couple with what looked like twin 5 year old boys They carried their children and hurried after one of Randidly’s team members towards the shelter

As Randidly considered his options he felt a pulse of warning from Acri it had encountered a monster in the nearby area that was Level 19 It looked like the rise in Levels was beginning to accelerate

Again Randidly tried to open his mouth to say something but the woman held up a forestalling hand “Get off my front lawn or I’m calling the cops And believe me I’ve made calls before they know they need to respond promptly to my calls “

Then Randidly’s radio squawked “Viking report High sighting for your group “

Grimacing Randidly raised the radio to his mouth and replied “19 “

Randidly’s squad had heard Tatiana say it and now they were saying it too The worst of it all was they all gave him weird looks but said nothing Inwardly Randidly deeply wished someone would say something anything just so he could come clean and make a joke out of it As it was it sounded like some lame codename a tween thought up

The woman of all fucking people snorted “Did they just call you Viking Do you think you are a spy Okay okay get off my land I’ve had enough “

She closed the door in his face Randidly waited three seconds then knocked There was the sound of dragging furniture and Randidly could see through the glass window on the door that the old woman was pulling a fainting couch over to block the door When she noticed his gaze she flipped him off

“Fine ” Randidly said and he turned on his heel and walked away There were still about 30 people left in the neighborhood Beyond the neighborhood there was one more apartment building but Randidly had already sent two of his people ahead to talk to those gathered there and start bringing as many people as they could back

Chapter 528

One thing that Randidly noticed was that there were an absolutely mind boggling amount of people stuffed into these apartment buildings Likely around one thousand a pop His group alone would clear six of such buildings with almost 90% of that group moving back towards the designated location But rather than cheer Randidly up this chilled him to his core

Because the number they had been given was 10 000 people that they could save Randidly estimated that he had already sent 9000 back and that was just his group All in all the 5 groups could bring back 50 000 people assuming that the areas they moved in were similar sizes But Randidly had purposefully chosen the least populated area both because he didn’t want to have to interact overmuch with people and because he trusted that he could cover the most ground At his estimation by gathering information with Plant Dominance there was just shy of 80 000 souls in this newly freed up area

Randidly doubted that he was particularly more inciteful than the officials in the Zone They would likely have reached a similar number or a near estimate based on census information from pre System Yet they had said 10 000

How many people did they think were going to die here And they couldn’t send more military aid

How many people HAD died in situations like this

Randidly helped two more condos one of a couple another of a 10 person extended family when Sulfur sent out a cry Level 21

Fast too fast

Randidly used Plant Dominance again looking for a better picture of what they still needed to do and discovered several monsters lurking on the side streets watching the fleeing refugees that followed the military folk His eyes flashed and then his whole person rippled as he used Spearing Roots to simultaneously kill 12 such monsters

For several seconds the ripples continued until the illusion around Randidly finally settled his identity as Baloo Erickson still intact But he had felt the edges of it there

And also Aether Detection gave him some insight into what is happening The glamour around him was simply a powerfully felt image of a person The Skill left a Mana based medium on Randidly’s body that acted as an anchor to hold the image down and cause other people to see him thus It wasn’t a problem with the medium Randidly wasn’t detecting any weakness from that despite the passage of time Bruya certainly knew how to utilize illusions

BUt Randidly’s images for his Skills were so powerful that they were slowly rubbing away at the image that had been left on him to make him appear like Baloo

Randidly grimaced Did that mean he had to rely on old Skills like Mana Bolt and Arcane Orb It might be worth a try if combat became necessary

His radio squawked again as Randidly jogged back to the edge of his area to assist in the evacuation of the final apartment building “Level 25 spotted Repeat Level 25 spotted The support detachment is preparing to disengage All units prepare to withdraw The high Level monsters will soon arrive “

Randidly’s eyes narrowed into slits Level 25 What happened to

“I thought they were confident up to Level 30 ” Tatiana’s quiet reply came For a second there was silence and then over the radio there was a long sigh from Sergeant Phillip

Ahead of Randidly there was some trouble as a group of teenager got into a fight with one of Randidly’s men They seemed to be refusing to move a lot like the old woman had

Gregory spoke coming over the line “If I pull out now there are probably a couple thousand people just sitting here twiddling their thumbs They will all die I can’t go I’ll stay as long as I have to “

Randidly pressed his eyes closed The problem was the images right So as long as he used a Skill that had a weak image one he hadn’t really worked on he could use it without damaging his illusion overmuch Plus it needed to get attention Although Randidly didn’t like it fear would be best That would get people moving Even if they were wildly stampeding as long as they headed in the right direction it would work out

Very quickly Randidly ran through his Skill list in his mind Pollen of the Rafflesia Too dangerous and would likely incapacitate Magic Missile No one would even know what they were seeing Maybe it really just was Arcane Orb to make a splash

But then Randidly remembered something He smiled

“Summon Pestilence “

When Randidly used the Skill originally he would generally summon it near him both out of convenience and due to the level of his stats But he had gained quite a few stats since then and when he poured his Mana into it this time he summoned the bugs in the sky At first it was nothing just a few dozens but then it was a dozen dozen and then hundreds and thousands The illusion wrapped around him rippled softly but it was nowhere near the chaotic trembling of before

Randidly showed his teeth It really seemed like his illusion was on its last legs Hopefully this worked

Before long there was a low drone as the bulk of the bugs remained in the sky swirling around each other A few Randidly brought down but those were just meant as scouts When he brought the bugs down he wanted it to seem like an end of days plague Only then would he be able to force even the most stubborn out of their homes Of course the more bugs he gathered and the more he imaged what he intended the stronger the disruption on his illusion was Randidly grimaced His Willpower was so high that even a casual image was strong enough to influence it

So he ceased stockpiling them and let them descend The droning quickly rose in volume becoming something that demanded attention

Somewhere a person looked up

They were the first ones to scream

Then more and more screams joined as the people realized what was happening Carefully Randidly focused his control over them to send the bugs to the windows up in the high places then began to apply pressure by throwing bodies against windows Likely due to his increased Intelligence even the smaller of the pestilential bugs were the size of a human hand and the bigger ones rivaled small dogs When people got a good look at what was trying to get into their house it was no wonder they fled

Of course there were those frozen by fear or those that locked themselves up in a closet to escape but they were in the minority Most quickly got to fleeing in the face of the bugs

“What is that Someone on the frontline report ” Sergeant Phillip said but it seemed most everyone ignored the man They were all taking advantage of the chaos and momentum these bugs granted them and began moving more people towards safety

After clearing another condo Randidly figured most everyone who was going to leave was already leaving Satisfied he turned to go but then noticed a flash of light coming from a condo

The old woman who refused him earlier had come out onto her porch and had set out at least a dozen hairspray cans She currently had one can in her left hand and one of those elongated electric lighters used to light candles in the other

Calmly she lit the lighter and sprayed immolating a dozen bugs that were on her porch Then she delicately set her tools down and picked up a broom to sweep the carcasses off her porch

Sighing Randidly looked up The droning was almost deafening It was shaded in this area due to the number of bugs Yet this woman believed that she could calmly and methodically eliminate them Although Randidly felt a deep loathing for her he certainly had to respect her resolve

Wanting to attempt to save her one more time Randidly started walking towards her condo at a rapid pace Some of his restraints on his physical stats fell away and he moved much much faster than should be possible for a person moving at a walking speed But when he arrived outside her porch she was already ready with a quip

“Foolish bool put some shoes on I just swept the pests over that way You know if my husband was still alive he would sit you down and talk to you about the trappings of manhood but I haven’t the time “

Randidly was about to say HE didn’t have time for this shit when his face abruptly changed to a serious expression Without waiting for permission he vaulted up onto the old woman’s porch It was a small space and he almost hit her while doing it Then he stepped forward scanning his Skill list again

‘Roundhouse Kick will have to do ‘ Randidly thought

When the Level 33 Iguana blasted through the wall it was met with a roundhouse kick Its fleshy body was more resilient than Randidly expected so it was just stunned and he had to move forward and rip its body to shreds with a few Talon Strikes to finish it off His illusion trembled but it held

Chapter 529

It was becoming hard to direct the insects now so Randidly largely let them go buzzing too and fro attacking monsters and leaving people alone As he straightened the old woman was there with her arms folded regarding him frostily

Sighing Randidly said “Look you saw the notifications right A new magical apocalypse has hit earth Everything is governed by the System It lets you grow strong but it also throws monsters like that at you You were stuck in frozen time for the past year and a half and I’m just here to try and rescue you and people like you So stop making trouble and just let me get you to safety “

“Hmph you are single aren’t you young man ” The woman said shaking her head as she walked past him “Still at that age when you get angry at women for forcing you to be honest Well what are you waiting for Don’t just stand there collecting giant bugs in your open mouth lead me to safety

Fuming Randidly closed his mouth and did so

Alan felt a headache coming on when he received the news This was exactly NOT what he wanted

Perhaps it had been callous of him but he had been carefully diverting resources from the rescue missions at the borders to other areas It wasn’t that he didn’t know about the loss of life but Alan believed it was worth it Right now the influx of so many people who didn’t understand the System or the threats that they were facing was undermining everything he had been able to build in the prior months There were so many votes coming into districts that it was almost impossible to keep track of them all

And no matter how much support the Tier initiative received Congress had always been careful to emphasize that voting did not require citizenship They were elitists but many of those that survived the early days of the System had clung strongly to their root beliefs about the nation All could who registered could vote

Still there were very real roadblocks in place to deter a casual registrant Often it would be more hassle than it was worth to spend the time to register to vote You would need an organization supporting such an effort on a vast scale to make it worth it

Which was Alan knew exactly what Father Foster was doing

The speaker cleared his throat “Mr President I believe the floor is now yours to say your piece on the diplomacy issue “

Alan stood casting a glance over towards Senator Firefly The man’s pompous grin was more of an eyesore than his extravagant suit The momentum was shifting in Firefly’s direction and Alan knew that they would likely call this Randidly Ghosthound before Congress to speak Still even Alan was curious what the man could tell them when he was directly questioned

However one thing at a time That victory cannot go easily to Senator Firefly

“I do not want to derail the discussion ” Alan said planning on doing just that “but I want to speak briefly about today’s rescue operations and the refugee issue I just received word that the preliminary numbers are in and across the Zone we have liberated 150 000 Americans I have no doubt they will make splendid citizens of the UHF Congratulations ladies and gentlemen “

Everyone clapped but many did so only out of politeness Everyone knew that the refugees were growing and growing far far too fast to keep up with But It had been in the thousands before Not 150 000 This was two orders of magnitude above what they were prepared for

“Even even the most optimistic estimates stated that only around 30 000 would survive the rescue operations even with our most talented troops there ” One senator said confusion clear in his voice “So so “

“We appear to have grossly underestimated the size of the expansion In addition the Western expedition was uncommonly successful Almost 69 000 just from that one area But now we have 150 000 people who need places to settle down and grow Does anyone have any suggestions “

The hall went silent Everyone thought about the volatile elements that refugees could bring into a district No one wanted to subject themselves to that

Unsurprisingly the first suggestions were to send some of them to the already established refugee camps These locations were built to handle them so a few more wouldn’t hurt Alan almost wanted to smile at this unintended joke There were 10 of those refugee camps already operated by the state Each was designed to house about 8000 people They all had over 10 000 there currently

How would 150 000 people fit in these already overstocked camps

The obvious second option was to make new camps but again that would mean someone would receive more refugees and none wanted to volunteer On the one hand it could be said that a desperate man might consider accepting refugees They would possibly be indoctrinated into the district and become a staunch voting block of support for some of the Senators But on the other hand

All eyes turned to Senator Lazar He had come out of one of the first expansions of refugees along with 5000 or so others But all of those were moved to a district together When that happened they hadn’t realized that the former senator from that area was Senator Lazar himself So when the next election came around and the previous Senator was ousted by the refugees working together Everyone took note Any group of people could have someone charismatic and famous Bringing them into your district was a dangerous gamble

“I do have one suggestion ” Alan finally spoke breaking the small arguments that had sprung up over making more requests to Father Foster That was exactly what he didn’t want

“Ghost has established a special work area in quite a few of our current districts Unfortunately the drone initiative hasn’t taken off as he had hoped but no one can deny that they are a positive economic force in the area ” Alan said Several faces flushed and turned ugly as if they knew what was coming Other faces split apart into grins “Perhaps part of that problem is available labor If we move 1000 to each of these work areas “

“This is preposterous They aren’t economically beneficial You just admitted they have largely been failures ” Senator Kane said She pounded her hand on the table “Throwing more Tier Zeros into the mix will do nothing but hurt those districts already burdened “

“How funny ” the House Speaker said dryly “The 20 of you that received the work areas fought so hard for them And now you claim they are detrimental Then why haven’t we heard a peep about this before now No I agree with President Howard “

There was a chorus of agreements There were currently 61 districts in Zone 1 and only 20 of those had work areas It had been a bitter fight to obtain them and the losers were more than happy to foist the refugees on the winners now

“You are being ridiculous ” Senator Kane bellowed “That’s only a fifth of the total number of refugees We need real solutions to the problem This isn’t the time to latch onto petty disputes or get even for perceived slights “

“I actually agree ” Senator Firefly said surprising everyone in the room Alan was especially suspicious of the calm serenity on the man’s face Alan had hoped that the vicious arguments about refugees would knock off some of the enthusiasm for speaking with Randidly Ghosthound and believed it had And yet Gary Firefly was completely unphased

“In fact I was going to propose two things Combined with the methods we discussed earlier I believe the crisis will be adequately handled “

“Your methods are ” Alan asked

Senator Firefly smiled “First that we keep them where they are Some might see it as inhumane to subject them to those conditions but for most of them it will be a transitory stage There they can build dwellings and farm to raise their Skill Level while we determine their relative aptitude Perhaps we can move the camps farther away from the border but with a sufficient military presence it shouldn’t be too much of a stretch “

“These should be new districts ” Senator Kane interjected her eyes alight with the discovery of a scapegoat “If this chunk of populations is going to become something lasting they should become separate districts “

Most were in support of this but there was some discomfort with it After all more districts mean more people sharing the power in Congress But it looked like they would have enough of a consensus to push it through

“And your other method ” Alan asked

Chuckling Senator Firefly said “Well I recently realized that the population and economy of my district aren’t keeping up with some of you closer to the two Providences So I plan on allowing a refugee city to be built in my district Say about 20 000 people I hope my small contribution helps “

Chapter 530

For the first time in a long time Randidly felt exhausted The day had been long and full of trials Although there was a strange intermittent humming from his Illusion it seemed to have survived Unfortunately the mental troubles didn’t seem to be very close to being over

“This is where you live I suppose I should have assumed from your bare feet but tsk tsk you should really develop a marketable Skill ” The old woman who had finally introduced herself as Maude said

“I have a Skill ” Randidly replied “I smelt steel ‘

“Oh ” Maude seemed genuinely surprised by this “That’s good “

The refugees they rescued had been told to remain in the area of the disaster center for the time being until lodging could be erected for them According to what Randidly could glean they planned to set them all up shop right there not 2 miles from an area crawling with Level 50 monsters

For reasons wholly unrelated to the very real danger that she was in Maude refused to remain at the compound and followed Randidly back to his place In addition she had brought “that nice foreign family from down the road ” who turned out to be seven Haitians who had come to America weeks before the System arrived and spoke enough English to know that they didn’t understand anything Randidly said They followed Maude’s points well enough however

It was a hassle but Randidly felt an odd affection for the exasperating woman and her antics At the very least when she was around everyone eyes were fixed on her and not on Randidly With his illusion behaving somewhat erratically having a distraction served him well

Plus Randidly cared about these people He had helped them and he didn’t want to abandon them now

Tatiana thought the woman was hilarious and had been reduced to a giggling blob by the woman’s snark Not that she had any room to talk She had picked up a dozen or so strays herself Although Tatiana’s tended to be young attractive women

In his heart Randidly felt a thread of trepidation about the fates of these women considering Tatiana’s company but he trusted her She wasn’t the type to force women to do anything they didn’t want to do

They parted at the edge of town Randidly returning with his 8 strays Tatiana walking away with her 12

“She’s out of your league ” Maude said seriously after Tatiana had gone Randidly did his best not to roll his eyes and helped the Haitian family erect a small hut next to his own The work went rather quickly because Randidly handled all of the heavy lifting At the end of it Randidly was slightly put out because this hut was a much better product than his own

It was somewhat aggravating to be outdone by the refugees but honestly Randidly supposed it didnÆt matter It also seemed to have an effect on the people around him who appreciated that he didnÆt put on airs As it was he could only retire to his hut after getting the new arrivals settled He had promised to take the father of the family Jude to the steelworker’s area to get him started on a job the following morning

A month ago if someone had told Randidly he would come to Zone 1 to help others get jobs he probably would have looked blankly at you Now Randidly had the inklings of a plan

One point that he had considered in his plan to become an influential drone maker was the fact that he would need a feasible way for him to obtain the steel he would want to work with Erickson Steel had already gained some traction as a high quality product and Randidly had his own experimental steels that he would use on his drones But would the fact that he was supposedly smelting the steel and also constructing the drones raise any flags

Not that he currently understood the process of drone creation but from the talk he had heard from Foreman Davey it wasnÆt proceeding very quickly at all Randidly was willing to push that but only a little bit If Randidly had a supplier of Erickson Steel that would be one last astonishing thing about him It wouldnÆt be too strange to groom a successor to his Steel Smelting SKills right

However Randidly knew that this was much easier said than done He had thousands of advantages over Jude that allowed him to make Erickson Steel so casually But it was a line of thought worth pursuing If nothing else it would push the man towards PP generation which would be a boon for his family in the long run

After letting the work of the day fall away Randidly relaxed and reached out with Plant Dominance Methodically he continued to scan Zone 1 This time he was much more thorough in the past as the Zone was constantly expandingÆ adding higher Leveled Zones to the edges But after about three hours of this Randidly was left with a grimace

It seemed that the more specific his scan was the less he could detect from the CreatureÆs Aether This last round of very specific targeted scans yielded nothing He had even moved through West Providence with great care Perhaps it was the lack of plants in that scientific and military installation but he found nothing

Yet his Zone wide scans always caught a whiff of it And if it wasnÆt his imagination that whiff was growing stronger and more distinct each time What was even more confusing was that it seemed subtly different than the CreatureÆs Aether that he was used to

Randidly had been aware that this was a different incarnation or clone or something a construct of Aether with sentience But he didnÆt really consider what that might mean Could this version of the Creature not even be aware of him Or if it was could it not understand the experiments it had done on him

LucretiaÆs perusal of the CreatureÆs fragmented memories added some things but not enough to receive a definitive answer There was at some point a split but it wasnÆt clear when the incarnations were separated out from each other Then after that there was some communication but mostly it was from the incarnations to the motherÆ It didnÆt appear that there was significant communication between the different incarnations

The split seemed to be after the Creature transported him into the dungeon on ShalÆs world But beyond that

It was almost more unnerving to not know whether the Creature that was operating here viewed him as a threat or understood him as intimately as the other Creature had To be sure Randidly felt confident that he understood the CreatureÆs goals And that was enough for him to act against its interests

For the rest of the night Randidly deeply pondered the problem of recreating As the Sun Stills He needed a spark an image that would help drive him forward There just wasnÆt enough leftover from his fight against Drak in ShalÆs world

It would be a long and fruitless night but Randidly didnÆt worry about it overmuch He just needed a shred of a path forward If he had that slight whiff he would be able to brute force the rest

After all a spear can only advance And part of using a spear was waiting for that opportunity

The squad leader raised his watch to his mouth No response from GhostÆs observers

None Came the reply over the radio Which can be interpreted as approval Operation is a go Remember the most important goal is to secure the Elixirs Of secondary important is securing the child He shouldnÆt be powerful but there are two dangerous individuals the African American and an Indian man The rest appear to be more support and crafting based Classes

Copy the squad leader said sitting back He didnÆt yet give the order to move in both because of how dangerous the monsters were here and because he believed that they could move while one of the dangerous ones left their base of operations From their observations they regularly left to patrol the nearby area and even head into the danger zone that the cabin was built on top of

Today luck was with them As the three squads acting in concert watched both the dangerous individuals headed into the danger zone leaving the cabin relatively unprotected They waited 10 minutes for safety The large woman and a Hispanic man were standing at an outdoor fire stirring a pot There was a woman painting near the entrance to the Danger Zone trying to capture the aura of the energy that was roiling off of it

The squad leader flashed a hand signal and then waited one more minute for word to spread Then they moved as one These men were all veterans of the first expedition into the borderlands A lot of them had been heavily wounded in fighting in those first few weeks and had bounced back to form a special squad They knew their business

Things began to go wrong very quickly

Chapter 531

The first thing that occurred was relatively innocuous but it made the squad leaderÆs skin crawl Abruptly they found themselves back where they started with a no trespassing sign standing between them and the cabin Below that sign there was a smaller sign that said beware of dog

Illusions as we thought His watch chirped And the drones are seeing the same thing you do it looks like the Skill doesnÆt work on you individually but on the world itself Troublesome But they canÆt bend space You must have moved forward Continue with the operation

So they pushed forward passing the no trespassing sign Then a mist sprung up from the ground making it almost impossible to proceed But the watch rang out proceed so the squad leader gritted his teeth and continued forward The rest of the squad continued with him arrayed around him in formation

The next obstacle they encountered was a wall of interconnected roots and vines that blocked their path and extended up a dozen meters into the air Looking up it was almost impossible to imagine a way over such a barrier In his heart the squad leader felt a sense of foreboding and considered leading his squad backward

Unfortunately one of his technical soldiers spoke up

Ares Leader I have a Skill called true eye that has been shooting up like crazy in this mist ItÆs all been an illusion IÆve gotten almost 12 Levels on it and a headache to boot But this this is real I canÆt see through it at all

The squad leader paused you could see through this shit the entire time and you didnÆt say anything

The soldier in question awkwardly coughed into his hand The squad leader sighed

Fine then if its real it will burn Everybody get out your plasma rifles Fire on my mark

There was the soft shuffling of fatigues as all of the squad members got into position

Fire

The bolts of plasma buzzed forward indiscriminately The squad leader supposed they could have arranged for a more thorough strike but he was still pretty suspicious of this wall of plant life that had appeared out of nowhere This was not a natural thing But he had a job to do so he was going to bulldoze his way forward anyway he needed to

However as the plasma sizzled through the air the wall moved

Where the bolts of plasma were heading it simply opened up the vines moving and stretching The projectiles harmlessly passed through it with only a smell of burned greenery to show for it Slowly the squad leader lowered his rifle and solemnly regarded the wall

Everyone take a step back The squad leader said producing a plasma grenade But as he reached for the pin there was a hissing and the thorny vines drew themselves into the ground leaving only the mist once more

This was even more ominous but at least it meant a problem was out of the way The squad leader pocketed the grenade and walked several steps forward but he was stopped by a question

Ares Leader what are you doing The soldier with the hidden Skill asked his voice puzzled

The squad leaderÆs mouth formed into a tight thin line He glanced contemptuously back over his shoulder and then turned back forward What does it look like IÆm

Then he froze There it was the 10 meters tall wall of thorny vegetation right in front of him as if it had never moved Which it probably hadnÆt In front of him several exceedingly sharp thorns gleamed maliciously almost amused by the squad leaderÆs attempts to circumvent the obstruction

An illusion then

Disturbing

Private get that fucking Skill of yours operating at full efficiency The squad leader said darkly Come stand with me Point out everything you see

Behind him from one of the other soldiers the squad leader heard someone mutter this operation is so fucked Inwardly the squad leader agreed But he couldnÆt let that show So the team continued on burning through the wall of vines and tromping forward If he was being honest with himself he squad leader enjoyed it more than a little This strange wall of plant life that had appeared suddenly was likely just a Skill but it had still caught him by surprise Venting that frustration is cathartic

Although their source of true vision was unreliable it was at least something to go on It would give them valuable points of data so they could determine their next step But the squad leader didnÆt like how it had come It was all luck That was the thing about this System it all seemed to end up being about damnable luck If your luck was good you could get a Skill or a Path that could earn you a fancy Class

If you werenÆt you just became stuck playing long odds in the most dangerous borderlands humanity had ever face

It took a half hour but soon they found themselves at the small prairie where the cabin was located The cooking fire was there still burning the pot swinging slowly back and forth There was no one in the surrounding area The squad leader paused Had the target fled

Negative came the response from the watch Proceed Squad Leader

Sighing they continued The prairie around them was still Too still It was completely silent There wasnÆt a single gust of wind or buzzing insect to interrupt the heavy sound of silence It blanketed them all and everyone seemed to shrink a little in its presence They took smaller more gentle steps so the deafening sound of their feet crushing grass was just a bit more palatable

Ares Leader shouldnÆt we The lucky Skill soldier began but the squad leaderÆs eyes flashed and he grabbed the privateÆs arm He couldnÆt remember the manÆs name but he should at least have the good sense to adhere to military discipline when speaking especially in such a hostile zone

Radio silence during the approach he hissed feeling like his words blew through the prairie like a freight train full of jostled porcelain Eyes as wide as dinner plates looked back at him green and clear The man nodded solemnly regret clear in his expression

Above a low rumble of thunder set them all to jumping They looked up A soft rain had begun to fall on them It felt cool and blessedly real on their skin tiny pinpricks of ice cold liquid on skin feverish on tight nerves Sure they were all veterans of the borderlands but the mental games that some of these monsters played were something else entirely This was not supposed to go like this

And it also made the squad leader extremely dubious of the prospect of ever achieving any kind of peace with these people the people from the other Zone How could they be trusted when any of them could manipulate illusions at will

Sarge The private began The rain

I know it is not fucking real you little shit The squad leader began but then he paused Slowly his face turned solemn and he took a few steps to the right slowly drawing his laser pistol

This was a veteran squad of the borderlands who had traveled together multiple times into the dangerous areas in order to scout and secure valuable raw materials

How the fuck could there be someone in the squad who he didnÆt know by name

A pair of green eyes regarded him in confusion but then it seemed like the man in front of him realized something His mouth split into a toothy grin Really You donÆt bat an eyelash at me calling you Ares Leader but Sarge sets you off You military types are truly hard to predict Well it was fun

The plasma bolt took the stranger in the chin staggering him Within a second the superheated material melted the manÆs flesh away and revealed wine body Blood sizzled and the rotten stench of carbonized flesh filled the air But the man straightened as if he was none the worse for wear with half of his jaw melted away

The mild green eyes were growing brighter and brighter now becoming emerald lamps that spilled out liquid light that the squad leader seemed to be suspended in He couldnÆt tear his gaze away

You should not have come here The man whispered his voice strange If you shoot first we will fire back

Aw fuck this Another man broke in shooting three more bolts of plasma into the strange creatureÆs torso It stumbled but didnÆt fall simply straightening as the boiling skin on his body evaporated leaving charred muscle It shambled forward as a fleck of plasma ate into its foot a thin line of smoke spiraling upwards It was grinning or trying to and looked like the cheeriest zombie that the squad leader could imagine

The squad leader raised his watch to his mouth We are in position Just bring the rain

Although it was considered a failure it was within his authority to call in the air strike There were problems with the drones being shot down en route so they had left the machine with its payload only a half mile away Besides theirs was a private outfit Officially there wouldnÆt be any political fallout from him burning this piece of hell to the ground

The squad leader knew that it was possible that they were completely off the mark and might be standing in the middle of nowhere In addition he might have just ordered the deaths of all of his men But there was something about watching a manÆs flesh melt that just

Raising his pistol the squad leader fired again and the zombie staggered and fell its entire chest cavity finally collapsing as its bones became brittle from being baked Overhead there was the soft hum of the drones engines as it arrived and shot the missile in a straight arc towards the cabin

The squad leader looked at the prairie and its strangely assembled house of vines and roots with a bit of nostalgia in his heart It reminded him of his childhood and of innocence To lose the elixirs was a great thing and he would be blamed for it But coming here the squad leader abruptly understood something that the political elite probably hadnÆt realized yet

Zone 1 would be destroyed by these people There was nothing they could do

The missile hit the hut They were close enough that prior to the System the squad leader would have probably died But now he just felt his ribs and left arm break as he was sent flying It took several seconds for him to recover from a stunned state and climb to his feet

Just as the squad leader felt a flush for relief and thought it was over they had won something moved

The hut was still there completely unaffected by the grassland filled with fire around it Whoever had made this had

The house moved

Slowly at first but then with increasing surety it opened itself up the roof lifting to form long tentacles The walls separated the floors spread out and rose With surprising delicacy the squad leader watched the vines place furniture and people to the side behind its protection Then it reared higher swelling to an almost 30 meter high mass above them

And still it unraveled more coming up from the ground The squad leader faintly saw a strange tree with burning leaves at its core before his eyes were inevitably drawn upwards towards the center of the mass

There the squad leader saw a mass of black rot and ugly pink flesh the size of a minivan It seemed to peer down at him for a very long time Then it opened its mouth showed its hundreds of rows of teeth and exhaled foul air in the squad leaderÆs direction Although it seemed like an aggressive move it came out sounding more like a sigh And the squad leader instantly understood what it meant

You should not have shot first

Chapter 532

Nathan considered saying something perhaps saying some action to Thorn to save the lives of these foreign soldiers Yet he stayed still simply watching what transpired When Thorn went through the laborious effort of raising its core out of the ground Nathan was aware that their fates had already been sealed But there was still an impulse to act to protect them

If Tykes were here to hear NathanÆs thoughts Nathan knew the older man would tease him mercilessly Tykes always had a sharp comment for how soft he deemed Nathan For a while Nathan had tried to argue with him stating that he was a mage while Tykes was a physical fighter Logic didnÆt work with Tykes When Nathan had inquired to Karlito what his options for addressing the issue were the man had just winked and said machismo

Luckily Tykes was sent away on purpose to lure the lurking soldiers into their area of influence Originally they had planned to simply let Bruya toy with them They had even kept the people wandering through the illusions close to their actual position so they wouldnÆt hurt themselves It came as quite a surprise when they called down a freaking missile strike

If Thorn hadnÆt been here

But of course he was cradling the Arbor sprout and keeping high Level monsters from attacking those of the group that couldnÆt fight And Thorn had grown fat and strong on the blood of these powerful abominations over the last few months Even Nathan didnÆt know how far its roots spread underneath them all thirsty and watchful

ThornÆs core that messy sphere of rot and flesh inflated then deflated It inflated then deflated again It was considering thinking very hard about what it should do now Everyone knew that the Ghosthound would disapprove of pointless violence But they had clearly been attacked Without the GhosthoundÆs guidance it was hesitant to act decisively especially when there would be no way to take back its actions

But then the core contracted and stayed contracted With exaggerated slowness it moved gingerly forward towards its opponents The squad was on the ground and even now only two or three had moved And those moves were exceedingly feeble These were helpless targets

They are also full of blood Æ Nathan thought to himself considering Thorn

Was this what Tykes would do Standby and let the plant devour these people

ThornÆs hundreds of vines with razor sharp thorns moved up and down in the air as if they were buoyed by a soft wind They seemed to drift casually like a fog bank Always onwards always forwards so large you couldnÆt see the other side while staring at it soon to engulf them all

Within a minute Nathan couldnÆt see the soldiers any longer as they were obscured by ThornÆs amorphous body It sank lower condensing itself and Nathan saw how its appendages twined inwards For a loverÆs embrace Nathan decided It was descending to kiss the soldiers

Those seconds seemed to last forever

Then something changed Thorn quivered But unlike what Nathan was expecting its limbs did not plunge into feast on the soldiers On the contrary Thorn straightened somewhat and half rotated peering behind towards the horizon Nathan followed its gaze puzzled Thorn was looking back towards their Zone Zone 32 which he was now told was named Rawlands

A low rumble emanated out from Thorn making NathanÆs teeth buzz Then it blurred into motion becoming the deadly storm of thorns and violent momentum that it could become when angered Like a tiger it pounced back away from the soldiers As Nathan watched it sank right into the ground and disappeared from sight its powerful vines leading the way and digging it a path down into the ground

There was another rumble and then Thorn was gone Nathan frowned looking over towards the Arbor sapling which was twisting around nervously Thorn shouldnÆt have left like that It was supposed to remain here and defend them and ArborÆs sapling That was what the Ghosthound had said

did something happen If he could just leave too

The borderlands were honestly a pretty boring place Besides that one time that the cowboy guy needed his help Nathan had done very little that wasnÆt theoretical with his Class If he moved somewhere else

Karlito and Bruya began flirting as they calmly walked over towards the cooking fire as if nothing had happened Dinesh and Tykes wouldnÆt be back for a while and their final member of the squad was probably still hiding next to the Arbor sapling Without much anxiety Nathan walked towards the soldiers

Most were still unconscious Of those that seemed to be moving only the most official of them seemed to notice NathanÆs arrival The rest were blank eyed zombies from what they had seen

What was that The man gasped out his eyes fixed on Nathan

Nathan smiled and raised a finger to his lips You spoke all you were allowed to with that missile Now just wait for our answer

Following that Nathan fired an Arcane Orb directly into the manÆs face He hadnÆt Leveled it much but his Intelligence was still reasonably high The manÆs head was slammed back into the ground with a crack and he once more fell unconscious With a wince Nathan turned and walked quickly back towards the group

He truly wasnÆt so good with the physical things If he knew how to knock the man out more softly he would have

When he reached the group Nathan raised his voice Bruya can you put up an illusion

The woman didnÆt even look up from her plate of stew and the group was in a tropical rainforest A multicolored parrot cawed loudly right into NathanÆs ear causing him to jump a little but he didnÆt let that rob him of any enthusiasm

ItÆs time to move out Who’s up for joining the Ghosthound

Karlito and Bruya looked at each other Bruya mildly scratched her chin Karlito shrugged And so it was

Hank curiously regarded the strange rabbit being that had been his constant companion JJ as Hank had named him had been initially very unhelpful on account of being shot at But as the memory of that faded and JJ drew more energy from HankÆs body very quickly more details regarding his Skill were opened to him In addition the population of East End had been invaluable in assisting him to develop a mastery of the new Skill

The little bugger was rather trembly but the more Hank worked with him the more reliable he became He could produce stone spikes from the ground send seismic tremors to detect enemies and could raise small stone walls to provide cover for Hank

Unfortunately JJÆs Mana pool was based on HankÆs own and was therefore rather meager Very quickly he would burn through his Mana pool and leave Hank with just a trembly rabbit for assistance Still his body was incorporeal and couldnÆt really get hurt And it wouldnÆt take long to recover enough Mana to send some seismic tremors so it was a relatively nice arrangement

There were drawbacks to the elementals however Hank experienced a 15% decrease in Health Mana and Stamina regeneration which apparently was pretty high for such a low Level elemental Instead of regenerating his own attributes that regenerated JJÆs And that split would only grow as time went on Although Hank was assured that JJ would quickly grow in power that was still a hard pill to swallow especially in regards to the Stamina regeneration

Often he had Health and Mana to spare but that Stamina

especially with his new Skills

But Hank felt the natural connection with the damn bugger and it was hard to be mad at him for too long Plus he was told that he would gain a small amount more Health Mana and Stamina per Level now that they were connected

After two days to familiarize themselves and shop around Hank and company really needed to depart from East End Apparently there was plenty of political deadlock in Donnyton so there was no real rush for the diplomatic meeting But they couldnÆt keep stopping places for Hank to learn new Skills

They had arrived and spent time shopping in the mall talking with the people of East End Although they werenÆt as big as any of the other Villages initially they took in quite a few of the displaced people from the expanding Zone Plus several months ago they had made a concerted effort to support the one Elementalist Class they had Under her careful care wild elementals had started appearing near the city A lot of mages interested in studying them or attempting to become an Elementalist themselves had migrated into the city

A large apartment was being thrown up next to the mall now that they had run out of room beneath the mall They hadnÆt communicated at all with the leaders of East End as they were away but one of them was in constant communication with Donnyton so it didnÆt seem necessary So after he had familiarized himself with having an elemental and Laurel had time to shop they were prepared to move on to Donnyton

Unfortunately fate wasnÆt with them

As they were about to depart a voice spoke from the roof of the mall

Mr Ghosthound Is that you

Ezekiel stopped turned around and looked up He had been rather bitterly walking in the countryside around East End recently because no elemental had chosen him At first Hank had been worried the bastard was hunting people down to eat but JJ was also excellent at scouting His investigation had yielded nothing which was a relief

When he saw the person who spoke his eyes widened Is that Sydney Harp

Chapter 533

Oh wow how many years has it been Sydney said with a laugh pouring two cups of tea Then she raised her eyebrow at Ezekiel Still enjoy rum

EzekielÆs smile was sharp as he examined the young woman in front of him who had once been his sonÆs playmate She had certainly matured into a confident young woman but that was not unexpected Even when she was just a toddler Ezekiel could tell from the way that Sydney led his son around that she would be a force of nature when she grew up He just didnÆt expect that to be such a literal statement

There was a frigid dangerous air around Sydney now Ezekiel couldnÆt figure her out He also had to focus for a very long time to figure out how old Sydney was if she was the same age as Randidly 25 Or at least he thought so Sometimes it was hard to keep track

Especially when you werenÆt a part of said sonÆs life truly

Of course I do ItÆs probably been at least 10 years right Ezekiel said feeling strangely old and out of place She produced a glass bottle from underneath her desk and poured a little in both teacups Ezekiel nodded graciously and took a deep sip Then he leaned back in his chair

yea about that long I believe She sipped her tea then too and to EzekielÆs surprise she took a much deeper sip than he had And as he watched she finished the cup entirely and poured herself another Ezekiel kept his face still Hank was slightly annoyed that they were dwelling here for a while but wouldnÆt say anything because Sydney was apparently the leader of East End Politically it was a free in that they could desperately use The longer they took in their discussion took the more annoyed Hank would become Which suited Ezekiel just fine

She took a small sip from her knew cup and set it down I assume youÆve seen Randidly

Ezekiel nodded cautiously suddenly on guard Was there some sort of rift between the two of them It honestly wasnÆt so surprising considering how Randidly had followed her in a very puppy dog esque manner to Rawlands Ezekiel had thought a few times to say something to his son but what was there to really say The kid had a crush

yes Is there something going on between you two

Sydney barked out a laugh which was a big relief Then she shook her head No of course not I havenÆt changed my outlook on that Although I was surprised to find that he had moved on But thatÆs the System right It gave us room to grow IÆm just amazed that your family managed to survive Do you know

Ezekiel shook his head feeling a flash of distaste Andrea was in a different area She likely ended up in a different Zone It will take a while to see whether things will work out so perfectly

Then he coughed into his hand and asked So does Randidly have a Class We were only able to talk for a brief time Does he belong to your Village Oh and how is Ace did he

Well yes Ace is fine But Sydney was now giving Ezekiel a very strange look Randidly does have a Class although what it is exactly is the biggest secret in the whole Zone You didnÆt know who he is Or what rather

Ezekiel tilted his head to the side Ruefully Sydney finished her cup of tea and then poured herself another This time Ezekiel didnÆt miss as she lightly tapped her finger on the side of her cup and the burst of mist as she rapidly lowered the temperature of the brew That was how she made the mixture so cold

HeÆs someone important then Ezekiel said slowly confused by her reaction I knew he had to be strong because he was just in the borderlands a day after they opened But we

What could he say They hadnÆt seen each other consistently for years before that and they had no idea what to say or talk about So they had basically stayed silent

ItÆs understandable We both know how communicative Randidly is Then Sydney paused and sighed HeÆs well itÆs hard to explain You are aware of Donnyton yes He

Oh so heÆs at Donnyton ThatÆs certainly impressive Or heÆs not The look that Sydney was giving him was even stranger now

After a brief hesitation Ezekiel said Is he the leader of Donnyton

Ha If only it was that simple Sydney looked down at her cup now and fell still HeÆs much more that than But without a doubt heÆs the most powerful person in our Zone And honestly I donÆt believe there is much of a chance that there is someone more powerful than him in all of humanity He created his own Class you know He didnÆt receive one from a Village HeÆs an independent

Ezekiel blinked What does that even mean

Ghost listened to the soft blips of the hearts of the six bodies that supported him gave him the power to learn Skills and were the fleshy anchors that kept him locked in this facility in West Providence There were a lot of times when he wondered why Dr Karman had seen fit to make him exist only at this stationary location Why had he not been a movable being with a physical body

Even if he could create a true drone avatar it wouldnÆt have the benefit of his Skills as it was far from him Ghost would need to find a way to condense his body into something mobile while maintaining the health of all 6 of the human bodies he was based upon His calculations were all too clear what would happen to the consciousness that was Ghost should even one of them perish

It was a frustration only Ghost knew The reason that he was this way was because Dr Karman had gone into that strange depression immediately after he had created Ghost and turned to drinking to calm himself down After that he had started attending services at the Unity Church in West Providence which was just a small chapel at the time

Within a month several thousand dollars worth of donations had seen fit for it to expand to a respectable congregation It was the night before the grand opening of that church that Dr Karman had been killed at a donor dinner

Ghost forced the eyes of his hologram closed It didnÆt prevent him from being completely aware of the area around him through his sensors but it was a human habit that he had embraced More and more Ghost was growing to rely on and resent his human tics They were so inconvenient in some ways But they were his only way forward

And the drone initiative even his most pessimistic predictions had projected that the drone initiative would be booming at this point while there was currently very little progress The problem was two fold Or rather it was a demand problem which prevented as many resources as Ghost had predicted from being put behind the undertaking

No one needed drones in Zone 1 military or civilian It seemed that upon reaching the new world they were connected to fewer Raid Bosses spawned in their Zone Therefore no one could muster any enthusiasm for any of the surveillance or basic defense drones that Ghost had prototyped Especially with the knowledge that Ghost would hold a backdoor key to their control

Ghost opened the eyes of his projection and walked to the wall A console lit up immediately scrolling information across it His gaze was focused on it for a while before he sighed

Based on population scans of the areas that the Unity Church was set up Ghost had a pretty good idea what was going on The Unity Church was deploying its information network to find and eliminate Raid Bosses near its establishments and was using that as an increased incentive to fall under their purview However heat scans revealed that there were quite a few people who had gone cold among those relocated to the Unity Church refugee camps Numbers in the tens of thousands

Throwing untrained and un Leveled people against Raid Bosses would result in significant casualties but Ghost didnÆt doubt some of their bishopsÆ were discovered in this manner after they survived Ghost hadnÆt tested it but he suspected the System would reward a victory from such an under Leveled individual

Shaking his head Ghost turned off the console His thoughts were unusually flighty tonight touching on too many topics But he understood why

Without moving he engaged the audio file It began to play exactly where Ghost had wanted it to The first noise was the shuffling of pages as a few people took notes on the previous response the man had given Up until now Ghost had been more exasperated than anything else by the interview But this question

Mr Ghosthound the senator asked You yourself are a fighter are you not Would you perhaps be able to demonstrate a bit of your skill for us To give us a way to gauge the strength of Zone 1

There was silence from watching the interview Ghost knew that Randidly was pondering the question Finally he said No thatÆs not a good idea After all IÆm just a low key guy

A few members of Congress laughed Randidly had a childish innocence that Ghost couldnÆt determine the veracity of If it was contrived it was very good But it was RandidlyÆs followup that worried Ghost

But I wouldnÆt help you get a baseline Randidly said IÆm more powerful than the rest of the people Oh but they are pretty strong too DonÆt antagonize them lightly

Every scanner and bit of computing power went over this phrase again and again And GhostÆs processors had one result what Randidly said was true Or at least he believed it

Ghost had confirmed the power of others It was almost a disaster but a rogue force had attacked the strange group in the hut in the borderlands Luckily or unluckily they failed but the details were unclear The whole reason Ghost couldnÆt stop them was due to the illusion interference But the event had served to underline their strength which was a degree higher than Zone 1Æs

And Randidly thought he was much stronger than them

How strong did that make Randidly

Below him the heartbeats continued their steady beat Ghost settled in for some late night computations He needed this answer before any of his other plans proceeded

Chapter 534

Randidly wished he was a puddle so light and heat would evaporate into nothing and he could escape this place

“Well he may be an ass but at least the foreigner sticks to his guns ” Tatiana said dryly looking at the large projector screen that was set up right next to the steelworkersÆ town Most everyone who lived and worked there had awoken that morning surprised to find a screen had been erected Apparently it had been done by the Unity Church

And after a sufficient number of people had gathered a brown robed priest of the Unity Church announced that it was about to broadcast a recording of the first interview with an individual from Zone 32 from Rawlands

Imagine Randidly’s surprise when he discovered that his own face was calmly sitting there being interviewed by Congress

“Mr Ghosthound ” One the senators said with a frown “Are you saying you are the most powerful person from your Zone

Randidly or Neveah wearing Randidly’s face leaned back in the shiny wooden chair she had been given “Well first and foremost I am a low key and friendly guy But yes I am definitely the strongest “

“Ah the pride of youth ” A rather round man in a red suit said stepping forward “Let’s not dwell on strength shouldn’t we learn something more My friend Randidly please tell Congress what you told me about forging in Rawlands “

“Oh yes All of the forging is done by hands Everyone has forging related Skills Well not everyone I don’t have those Skills I don’t forge ” Then Neveah paused and finished with “But I don’t really understand why not it seems fun “

‘Because you aren’t you ‘ Randidly wanted to scream What didn’t she understand about remaining low key with his face He supposed it wouldn’t have mattered in the long run as the government of Zone 1 would learn of his accomplishments from Zone 32 eventually and then try to find him Perhaps it was better this way so they didn’t wonder why someone who was supposedly so powerful had been just hanging around in Zone 1 for so long

But why did she have to act like such a weirdo while doing it

“What do you think Viking ” Tatiana said not looking away from the screen There was a strange intensity to her gaze that made Randidly nervous And how could he blame Neveah when he transformed himself into a weirdo all on his own

” uh well he seems ” Randidly tried to search around for an accurate and inoffensive way of describing himself ” unusually intense “

Tatianna nodded chuckling Then she flashed Randidly a smile “I agree but probably not just in the way you are thinking There certainly is something compelling about his gaze I don’t think I’ve seen eyes that green before But I recognize the sort of man that he is “

“Huh “

Tatiana cracked her neck She was wearing gold earrings which swayed from side to side at the casual gesture “You just learn to have a knack for these things All powerful men are the same And that guy He’s got a real niche sexual desire I bet he likes getting peed on or something Definitely wants to be the submissive in some sort of roleplay “

Randidly opened his mouth then he closed it He tried to imagine someone peeing on him and how he would react to it and suddenly that person was Tatiana Hurriedly he coughed into his hand to hide his acute embarrassment

Tatiana slipped her arm through his and pulled Randidly away from the screen as Neveah excitedly explained the different things that Randidly did in a ‘normal’ day “So you’ll get enough money today right Everyone’s talking about it They expect the price to go up as soon as you purchase the first probationary citizenship Oh no one’s mad though They are happy that SOMEONE finally got out of the steel factory “

“Yea how did you know ” Randidly asked letting himself be led away towards the steel factory Tatiana’s hand was very warm

“Well for one thing Foreman Davey has been hyping you up as a success story to most of the new arrivals It’s all about making people think itÆs possible to move up in the world even though it’s only the peculiar people like you that ever manage it “

Randidly smiled ruefully “Other people could given time I’m just doing it a bit faster “

When Tatiana shook her head her curls bounded back and forth wafting a perfume in the surrounding air “Perhaps in theory But you have kept your expenses low have you not I don’t mean to be rude but you must spend basically nothing on your living situation And I hear you hunt your own meat which has become something of a trend among the steelworkersÆ spouses Hunting and growing your own food means that much less to pay for But most people don’t do that Most people stay at a nice apartment eat out take the time to attend the expensive lectures offered to become better at steel working Have you ever thought about offering a lecture or two I bet Foreman Davey would let you especially after you become a probationary citizen It would be great publicity for this whole operation “

Chuckling Randidly said ” it’s true my Stats give me a few advantages in terms of efficiency

Tatiana gave him a look

“Maybe more than a few ” Randidly admitted Almost unwillingly Randidly pulled his arm away and flexed his fingers They were exceedingly clean from a scrubbing this morning But when he looked at his hands he could only see the callouses from squeezing a spear These were not the hands of a simple metal worker

Think about it Viking Tatiana said with a shrug ThereÆs no such thing as too much money and influence right

Decklan leaned forward laying his cards down on the impromptu table they had made to play the game Ladies and gentlemen it looks like itÆs tea time

Everyone around him stilled There were 5 others at the table inside the hut but outside of it there would be others tending to the garden and patrolling in the area around the mine Tera was undoubtedly lying on the roof looking up at the stars It was what she loved to do here on crystal clear nights Guarding the mine wasnÆt an exciting job really aside from those brief times when they needed to wipe out a Raid Boss But it was an important one for Donnyton

Tonight was a clear night and when she heard the prearranged phrase Tera undoubtedly sent an alert to every member of the Squad One of the nearby members of DecklanÆs Squad who was relatively new stood abruptly

How much time do we have He asked his eyes widening

Older members of DecklanÆs Squad rolled their eyes at the young manÆs foolishness They all stacked their chips and cards in neat stacks before standing and then it was more of a stretch than anything else These were men that had fought with Decklan in those early days defending the walls of Donnyton from the waves of beasts that came to crush new Villages

Although they were casual their movements were extremely quick Within a few seconds they had stowed away the cards and grabbed their gear strapping it on with a practiced ease They were quite used to ambushing others so being on the receiving end of it didnÆt throw any of them Sometimes it was easy to forget but they were in the business of killing

The only way this ended was with someone better coming to kill them

Decklan smiled at the new Squad member Three seconds

When the wave hit it was harder than even Decklan anticipated It was led by a bull type monster clearly a Raid Boss spawn Behind them were waves of insect armored humanoids who were surprisingly well armored if unimpressive otherwise Still these armored humanoids were an excellent counter for DecklanÆs Squad

This move was pre planned then

Chortling Decklan strolled out among the monsters They might give his boys some trouble but his knife was a found item in the System from a Level 59 monster These Creatures werenÆt even Level 40 They were rotten wood and chaff quickly cut away

But there were a lot of them and they werenÆt trying to engage DecklanÆs group just keep them busy Decklan looked up from killing a dozen to scan the rush in front of him There were only a thousand but it was still an almost impossible task for his Squad to survive long amongst these numbers Or stop them from making it into the mines

Then a figure moved forward out of the crowd a hulking monstrosity encased in obsidian armor

Decklan whistled It is has been a long long time since IÆve had a duel I hope I havenÆt lost my touch

Chapter 535

Tera snatched one of her knives out of the corpse of a nearby monster and flicked her wrist That knife materialized within the neck of a bull that was charging at the newest member of their Squad who had fallen on his ass

DecklanÆs Squad was not a numbered Squad so sometimes it was hard to recruit from the normal people of Donnyton Even recently with such a huge influx of population into the area Still those people needed time to grow into their Paths and Skills and adjust to the world of fighting None would rival the experience that the people who started in the Zone would have Those who fought their way to this point might be covered in scars but they had an edge

Alana was doing the best she could but there just wasnÆt enough time to temper the new arrivals

Cartwheeling over Tera stopped next to the kid and lifted him roughly to his feet He seemed to barely weigh anything at all Stay on your feet Keep your weapon up and your center of gravity low All of these are slow so work with someone else to kill a few Got it

She didnÆt wait for his answer but was already gone using Prestidigitation to make a knife appear from nothing to shove down the ear hole of one of the insect people It screamed and chittered at her but fell

Tera glanced over towards Decklan who had apparently found the leader Decklan was moving quickly and striking hard but the strange armor that the man wore slowly healed even as Decklan struck more blows If he wanted to hurt the opponent for real he would need to take more risks or burn through more of his Stamina

Tera knew DecklanÆs moves well They were powerful but they were Skills that were often based on percentages of Stamina The more you spent the more powerful the effect but that didn’t make up for the fact that Decklan was not gaining increased staying power in a fight as he Leveled No he was just growing more deadly

Inwardly Tera was torn for a split second She wanted to help Decklan but suspected that her attacks would do little to tip the tide of that battle On the other hand DecklanÆs Squad already had two injuries on people that put them out of commission They were quickly being pushed back by the sheer number of insectoids

Tera gritted her teeth She didnÆt even see the Raid Boss that spawned these fucks Because it was likely so far away it couldnÆt control the tide to attack really But it would still stay safe to make more some other day

After Tera put these down she swore to herself she would hunt these Raid Bosses down and end them all

Who could have done this Æ A thought popped up an annoying thought These were controlled Raid Bosses launching an assault in Donnyton territory But she ignored it That was for later

Fall back give up the cave mouth LetÆs bleed em dry while they are stealing our gold Tera called and the squad formed up and shifted around moving more off to the side The insectoids seemed to be aware of the change and they surged to pressure the Squad further without letting them have a respite The two wounded were being tended to but the healer was barely able to cast Heal without being pushed backward

Knives condensed like flakes of snow on a cold day and Tera dealt them like a hand of poker She felt the familiar ding of gaining a Level but she ignored it as she moved smoothly between the falling bodies of the insectoids It was a dance of a sort a performance She was the Juggler and although her power wasnÆt so impressive in terms of death defying feats of dexterity few could match her

But of course her eyes were just as sharp during the fight and she saw the flash of three shadows each bigger than the last that slipped into the mines

Now was another impasse Her performance had bought the squad enough time to regroup and form up around her so she could pause and glance towards Decklan The obsidian figure facing him was definitely starting to look the worse for wear Blood was dripping out of a wide wound across his chest But the armor was reforming and Decklan was standing still

That was never a good sign

Two of you head out to assist Decklan Anton and Fran The rest continue to support and cut these bitches apart I need to figure out what they are after

They would likely try to stop her or have a few go with her and Tera knew they couldnÆt spare the bodies They needed to be here So she left moving quickly and producing a thin cloak from her interspatial ring With the cloak around her her Sneak Skill Level was effectively doubled and her movement speed increased by 10%

In a whisper she was gone deeper into the dark tunnels The entrance was rather wide but she followed the trail of monsters deeper into the branching maze The deeper she went the more serious her expression became There was only one mineral that could be found in this branch and it was a very rare one

It was Tellumurite

When she rounded the corner Tera was quiet but they seemed to be ready for her Three insectoids jumped out at once and walked their necks towards her knives They were down and she was rolling past them An arrow sailed overhead hitting where she would have been in a standing position

Tera slowly stood storing the cloak away If they knew she was there it wasnÆt worth the encumbrance

There were four people in front of her The first and only revealed face was a middle aged man holding a bow His face was solemn as he regarded her his gaze fixed Tera felt a tingle between her shoulder blades Behind him there were three more figures the first looking like a normal sized human the second a huge man the size of Dozer and the final one being a creature wrapped in tattered cloth that was as big as a van

You are a guard arenÆt you The large human asked So guard us It shouldnÆt take long

The middle aged man grunted and loosed two arrows The first went towards the spot that Tera just vacated the second toward the spot she was moving towards Tera almost wanted to snort as she twisted her body and dodged it Four more arrows followed that but Tera was gaining ground

There would be a moment when the man switched from a bow to a close combat weapon and that was the moment Tera was aiming for to strike When he changed he would be in transition That was an opening that she could exploit

Except she was only two meters away and he hadnÆt switched

Feeling slightly disdainful Tera grabbed the next arrow the man shot at her right out of the air It was partially luck at this range but her senses and control of her body were extremely high Without a trick

She felt the flash of magic An electric discharge spread up the arrow through her body freezing her briefly The man smiled at Tera as he aimed an arrow at her navel and shot it

The paralysis lasted only for a second but he was very very close Instead of dodging Tera could only lean back and bed First a little then a lot throwing her body backward Even with the Flexibility Skill Tera had it was a close thing But within a split second she had become a letter O her head coming around and back between her legs She wasnÆt so sure if this was possible before the System but she thanked God it was now

The arrow ripped pass through her armor along her stomach passing so close that it left a brush burn The man looked down at her with wide open eyes She flexed her hands producing more knives and threw them upwards from her position between her legs One went into the manÆs shoulder and the other was heading for his throat

But he hadnÆt come here for nothing He jerked his head to the side and there was only a shallow gash across his throat The blood was warm and red but it would take a while for him to bleed out

Still that gave Tera time to straighten and cross the last few steps to him as he stumbled backward Without even blinking she cut his head off and raised her hand to throw knives at the other figure

The middle figure the Dozer sized one who spoke earlier moved before she could pick a target consciously Three of her knives slid into his body in the midsection but he didn’t slow He spread his arms wide and rushed towards her

Well if he was relatively tanky then

Just gonna overwhelm him with numbers

Tera pressed the limits of her Skill as she made more and more hidden knives appear With a small gesture they slammed into the approaching figure causing him to stumble Some missed his body ripping through his cloak harmlessly But those gave Tera a better idea of where to strike and soon he was more porcupine than human

Aw shit The man said as he stumbled The Skills are failing already or

So soon The smaller figure spoke looking up from the area where they had been retrieving mined Tellumurite What surprised Tera was that the voice was a woman Fine then IÆll handle her DonÆt you dare die on me

Then the small figure turned and began stalking ominously towards Tera

Chapter 536

Decklan sighed This was fun Do you really have to go so soon

The man covered in the strange liquid obsidian chuckled His right arm was cut to the bone but he didnÆt seem particularly bothered by how useless it was at his side DonÆt play coy We both know that an operational sortie from Donnyton can get here within 10 minutes There isnÆt enough time to see which of us is the winner

I would say the judges are unanimously in my favor Decklan said raising his knives They were crimson now from drinking this strange manÆs blood

The man smiled In war the only battle that truly matters is the last one LetÆs save this for that shall we

The damn insectoids surged forward interposing themselves between Decklan and the man Moving quickly Decklan slashed his way through them But by the time he had broken the encirclement the man was gone Decklan clicked his tongue then cut his way through the monsters towards his squad

Beneath them there was a strange rumbling from the ground DecklanÆs smile widened Reinforcements and that was only 7 minutes 32 seconds

Around them the monsters seemed to notice it too and they began to gather themselves and slowly retreat The monsters suffered disastrous casualties pulling out of the mine but a core group with a cloaked figure made it away If Decklan hadnÆt fought to a stalemate with the obsidian man perhaps he could have done something Now however

Chase Someone asked Decklan when most of the monsters were away

Decklan shook his head because a thin thorny vine popped up out of the ground and waved at him WeÆve got that covered Where is

But the vine was waving wildly at Decklan He could read ThornÆs intentions it wanted Decklan to head into the vine Sighing Thorn walked toward the entrance to the mine Time to see what was taken

Still there was a bit of excitement here wasnÆt there It had been so long since Donnyton had any foe that they had struggled with directly There were the weak monsters but the big threats the Ghosthound handled If there was a terrorist group raising Raid Bosses

Decklan allowed his thoughts to run away from him as he quickly walked into the mind His face was in a bemused grin until the last possible moment

Tera

Foreman Davey passed Randidly a thin piece of paper Congratulations You are now a probationary citizen of Zone 1 Basically as long as you donÆt break any laws you are now eligible for Ghost to raise your citizenship tier based on your performance

Randidly dubiously looked down at the paper which he had signed Honestly the whole thing seemed someone feeble especially now Did he really spend so much money on a piece of paper

But he supposed it was just a step he needed to take The more Randidly established himself as a creator of drones the less likely it would be for Ghost to assume he was from Zone 32 where there was no technology Or at least thatÆs what Randidly was counting on

In addition the higher he rose in the area the more exposure to information he would have There was something strange about the Zone aside from the CreatureÆs lurking plans There were some rotten things under the surface With that information Randidly could begin to address those threats too

Because the longer he was here the more he felt responsible for these people If he had strength he couldnÆt in good conscience just sit back and allow people to suffer

My performance Randidly asked Are there tryouts for citizenship

Oh no ha I forget sometimes that you one of the newly free refugees Ghost watches everything through cameras and drones in the sky If you choose to start building drones now thatÆs the sort of technology you will be working with A little theory intensive especially at the beginning but there is a demand for drones always

interesting Randidly said feeling a chill down his spine Just how much information did Ghost have It couldnÆt be too comprehensive or he would likely have been seen through already But that might just be a function of how recently this small steel town had been built There were cameras all through the new apartment areas and several businesses were now opening in the seedier areas outside the factory These all boasted factories

From now on Randidly would need to be especially careful about revealing his strength Hopefully his illusion held

Perhaps he should increase the timeframe of his plans for his other base beneath the forest

Randidly told Foreman Davey he would take a day to think about the possibility of working on drones Foreman Davey chuckled and informed Randidly that it would likely be another 2000 in upfront costs to buy what was needed to start working with the drones

Randidly excused himself to go work for a while in the refinery

While Randidly was walking around Randidly saw Jude receiving instruction from another metal worker To his surprise Jude was speaking fluent English nodding along with what the woman was saying Randidly almost tripped over his own feet

But then Randidly shook his head ruefully Of course he could speak English The System translated everything that they said Basically no matter what language they used the System would shore up the gaps in understanding Thinking back the other man hadnÆt ever spoken another language he just looked blankly at Randidly whenever he spoke to him and only responded in grunts when Maude gave him instruction

Could it be that the man simply didnÆt like him

Feeling slightly put off Randidly went into his area and began to work Truly the longer that Randidly spent here in the refinery the more he enjoyed the work His control with Gravity Affinity was growing increasingly fine and the mixing of the molten metal grew more smooth with every attempt

Likely it wasnÆt a matter of proficiency with the Skill but understanding what exactly he was trying to accomplish when he used it Metals worked best when the mixtures were made in a fixed pattern It was a rigid structure Slowly Randidly learned that making the spread of the powdered monster bone uniform was good but concentrating the bone at uniform points throughout the metal was even better Constantly Randidly was refining his process and increasing the strength of the metal

Or at least Randidly believed so He hadnÆt tested the tensile strength of the metal in any scientific way in order to hide how much his Skills were improving But some very unscientific tests with his hands revealed that the metal was definitely increasing in strength One step at a time

Randidly made about 600 ingots within the first 24 hours within the refinery then took a break to experiment with other methods He tried adding potions directly to metals but that didnÆt seem to work He reduced the red and blue shards to powder and attempted that too but it seemed the effect was negligible Even higher tiered mixtures didnÆt do much

Then Randidly got out some of the bones from the strongest monsters and made a few ingots out of that These came out excellently and seemed to be a third again as strong as his usual fair

All this took Randidly only 4 hours Sighing he lay on the ground of his workroom and stared at the ceiling Although he could turn in the ingots now his speed of production was still too shocking it was best if he could stall for a bit more time So he closed his eyes and turned his attention inward

RandidlyÆs working with metal had given him a new view on how his Skill should function Just like the creation of something was a scientific process a reaction between different forces and energies so was destruction It was perhaps a simpler reaction but it was a reaction nonetheless Randidly had focused very powerfully on the image and forces but he believed that one way of strengthening his image was to go through the concrete processes that would occur as a sun stills

Now Randidly didnÆt have any true scientific background But as far as he could tell the sun was an engine that grew bigger and bigger and grew hotter and hotter as it burned At some point the sheer weight of itself demanded that it burn hotter and brighter in order to continue to function As the sun runs out of fuel more and more of its mass becomes concentrated at its core where the engine resides

Eventually the engine fails under its own weight and it collapses on itself

That was a supernova That was the powerful force Randidly was seeking

Congratulations your Skill has become 50% complete

Randidly smiled

Chapter 537

A knock at the door interrupted RandidlyÆs thoughts Bemused he stood and walked to the door The last time someone had interrupted his work he had been press ganged into the military for a day What could it be this time

To his surprise it was Sonya standing there when he opened the door

What are you doing She asked him with a frown

Randidly opened his mouth He honestly wanted to ask her the same thing A fellow metal worker of all people should understand how annoying it was to be interrupted But there was something in her expression so Randidly just shrugged

Your party is tonight for you becoming a probationary citizen Sonya said poking him in the chest Tatiana made sure I came to check on you because she said you would forget

Forget What party are you talking about Randidly said laughing slightly

Oh we probably didnÆt tell you Well we are using you as an excuse to get well and drunk So Find yourself a clean shirt yea

Later that night Randidly sat next to a wide bonfire looking around with amusement It was a waste of time yes but he enjoyed it Randidly had trained like crazy from the SystemÆs arrival until now All that time he felt the threat of the Creature hanging over him a reminder that he could never slouch or everything he knew would be destroyed

But now in an identity of a different person Randidly felt himself easing up somewhat It wasnÆt like he was getting lazy But rather Some part of him was growing to understand how important times like this were to stop and enjoy life To connect with the people around you

Ideas and images were living things If you isolated yourself they would become weak and anemic only through sharing and understanding can your will build a strong foundation to keep you through the hard times Or at least that was what Randidly was telling himself tonight

It likely helped that Randidly felt somewhat baffled by the details of what the Creature was doing here Without a firm goal he was losing himself in the routine of this fake life he had found for himself There was no real rush to push forward past this

But in defense of his justification he would likely never have thought to examine the steps of a supernova in order to figure out the function of his Skill It seemed obvious in retrospect but it would be like an artist drawing a skeleton before painting a portrait It was a very mechanical inspiration for what is sometimes seen as a mystical process

Tatiana sat down next to him wearing a brilliant emerald dress They were on a row of benches set up to the East of the first out of the blowing smoke About two hundred people mostly steelworkers were getting rollicking drunk to the South of the fire where the food and drink were kept Although Randidly thought the alcohol here was extremely bitter he sipped dutifully on all the drinks he was given Even if he was only a pretext for the hard worked steelworkers they still admired him and congratulated him

And when they spoke to him he could tell they truly were glad that he had managed what they were all struggling for It gave them hope A hope for possibilities In a way the way they looked at him reminded him of how the people of Donnyton looked at him but at the same time it didnÆt Here people saw him as the example of the anecdote they always heard about this being a land of opportunity Randidly proved that it was possible to advance

At Donnyton all they saw was a being that wasnÆt truly human A being that could make anything possible

Penny for your thoughts Tatiana said with obvious amusement With a start Randidly realized she had probably sat down two minutes ago and he hadnÆt even acknowledged her He had noticed her approach well in advance of course but he had done nothing to indicate he was aware she existed

Uh Randidly thought about it then shrugged inwardly Honesty was easiest Do you ever have people look at you and just feel like they donÆt see a person

Tatiana snorted Not to be crass about the business I own but Did you just ask a whore if she ever feels like people donÆt see her as a person

thatÆs a good point Randidly said with a sigh He set his tin cup on the bench down beside him and reached out with his hand The bonfire had shrunk a lot from when they were roasting the meat earlier so they were currently seated only a meter or so away The heat really came from the coals while a few thin tendrils of flame devoured the sticks thrown on top of the fire

When Randidly reached out those flames twisted up towards him and around his fingers It was hot without the heat meaning anything When he realized that Tatiana was giving him a flat look he chuckled and withdrew his hand The flames stretched and strained afterward before snapping back to their normal behavior

Chosen of Fire indeed

What I mean is Randidly said slowly These days I feel like people look at me and see the idea of something For the people at this party I am the dream of the future In that past I was the human that was better at being a monster than monsters were IÆm no longer just me

Well you did tell me to call you Viking Tatiana pointed out That makes you more of a character from a bad movie than a real person Can you blame us for enjoying the show

Randidly gave her a sour look She laughed and threw her hair over her shoulder Her perfume was light and spicy It reminded him of the heat of the fire

Okay fine Baloo just Baloo what do I see when I look at you then Tatiana asked

Inwardly Randidly died a little because she called him Baloo but she turned and faced her squarely Her jaw was strong and her skin was tan Her eyes met his calmly as he assessed her Her dress was silk with tight interweaving shapes across it It was relatively chaste but the shape of TatianaÆs body meant that if a man wanted to look hard enough he could get a sense of what was underneath

Randidly turned away looking back towards the fire A friend

A log popped and snap Someone was singing their song wavering in and out of tune as the singer struggled against the weight of the alcohol they had drunk

itÆs a strange thought but all I can think is that if I had asked Sonya that she would have had me pressed against a wall with my panties off within 10 seconds Tatiana said with a chuckle

Randidly also shook his head Sonya certainly had spent half of the past few hours making passes at Tatiana It seemed she understood the other woman wasnÆt interested but that just made the allure all the more irresistible Luckily Gregory pulled Sonya away with more alcohol or else Randidly had no doubt she would still be here

ItÆs strange I feel connected to you Randidly announced

Oh

Randidly shook his head his face heating somewhat You as in everyone here IÆve been to a lot of places And IÆve just felt adrift I understood my role based on goals I had to accomplish There were relationships and things

we are in a relationship Tatiana said raising her eyebrows in mock surprise

Randidly ignored her but it was like I didnÆt feel the ties to the people there I walked away when my goals led me to other places It was as if I was numb to these things I had built Or even I didnÆt want to feel the constant weight of these connections I had made Maybe I was running away But some of those connections were dangerous Starting clean has a certain brutal appeal doesnÆt it

Yes it does Tatiana uncrossed her legs folded them beneath her If I could do it all again well the System threw some wrenches into things I also donÆt mind being here with you but it certainly could have been a little less rough getting here I know what you mean about leaving everything behind I ran away from home when I was 17

Randidly nodded and then feeling extremely surreal reached up and squeezed her shoulder The skin of her bare shoulder was warm and he let his hand linger there for a bit just to establish contact Then it fell away back to his side

The corner of TatianaÆs mouth turned upwards I think this is where you ask me why I ran away and then I share a secret IÆve been carrying on my own for 10 years ItÆs a bonding thing

You are a grown woman If you want to share something IÆm sure you will do it Randidly said leaning back and closing his eyes

He felt her hair first the soft strands on his shoulder Then the weight of her head and then the heat of her body as she leaned her head against his shoulder They stayed there for about 10 minutes saying nothing sharing nothing The fire crackled and popped the people continued to sing and there were raucous calls in the distance where people had set up a game of pool under the open sky

Do you know why I enjoy your company Tatiana asked

Randidly shook his head

Because you feel grounded Like all of the flirting all of my learned sensuality it doesnÆt mean anything at all it canÆt sway you You wouldnÆt even care if I was just average looking You would enjoy sitting with me even if I was horribly deformed My aesthetic is worthless

I mean Randidly began but she punched him softly in the side still leaning against his shoulder

Oh shut up There are times where truth is less important than the moment This is one of those times Just enjoy the moment Baloo

So the two of them sat without sharing just breathing the warm air of the night

Chapter 538

The facility where the drones were being researched and produced was a hundred times nicer than the place where Randidly was before So much so that Randidly was getting a little annoyed as he walked around Included on the premises were a cafeteria and a gym that could support weights up to a ton

Partially this was for the workers but also it served as a convenient way to test the drones Foreman Davey who now wanted Randidly to just call him Davey showed him the different locations and then the workstation where Randidly would do most of his work

The problem is demand is still lagging a bit behind what we expected Davey said shaking his head So the prices for the drones are still low So much so that Ghost is subsidizing their production YouÆll get an extra 20% of your selling price from the government That should change soon though the government finally made a deal with the Unity Church

Randidly nodded without comment as he scanned his workstation

This place was three rooms The first was a typical lab with different materials for cutting equipment and electrical appliances Another was a library with two computers and several bookshelves filled with leather bound volumes Davey told Randidly that these were all primers that he should read through before starting to try and create a drone

There are just so many parts to each and industrialization wonÆt get us what we want Davey said with a sigh Sure we could mass produce the things and have but they are weak Around Level 20 monsters can overpower them without breaking a sweat ItÆs not a matter of materials either but of some quality that is imbued in by a Skill Skills become so important after 20 We have a few people here who have the Drone Assembly Skill and its reached near 50 Their drones have 30% higher performance in the field ThatÆs what we are after But in the numbers of a mass production so we need a lot of laborers to fill it out You have no idea how happy I am you bought your citizenship so fast

Is there anything else I need to buy Randidly asked running his fingers across the books

No the materials here were included in your starter package Davey said then he flexed his hand and produced a folder Plus these three basic blueprints The System did some fucked up things to electronics simplified them to an absurd degree The fact that they continue to function is ridiculous They are more runes than circuitry So youÆll have to throw out everything you know about electronics and learn that ItÆs something of a grind especially when your Intelligence is below 80 or so If you have any questions let me know

Randidly with his Intelligence of 325 smiled politely

For the next three days Randidly lost himself in the books Making materials was one thing but assembling the drones was quite another Materials had inputs and outputs but they were static The drone was a series of parts and connections between those parts If the parts failed the drone was broken If the connections failed the drone was broken If the parts were connected in the wrong way the drone was broken If the power couldnÆt flow to the parts and to the connections the drone was broken

The three days wasnÆt just spent reading but also refining his image for As the Sun Stills or whatever new Skill it would become At nights he returned to the forest and added the finishing touches to his underground base below the forest This was a much more difficult task now that Randidly was staying on the drone compound as everything was monitored so he created an underground tunnel from his room to the base to avoid suspicion

With his starter package Randidly had obtained three blueprints the Skylark the Porpoise and the Bull As far as Randidly could tell these were named randomly The Skylark at least flew and was an observation drone The Porpoise was about the size of a large dog and was mainly designed for overland transport with an interspatial watch hidden inside it The Bull was smaller maybe the size of a beaver and contained explosives At its front was a drill Apparently you just sent it to dig under the enemies and blow them up

As Davey had said the electric circuitry of yesteryear was replaced with a variation of runes Although they were different from the runes that Randidly knew as they were discovered by a different author very soon he understood the details of the language Honestly it was extremely crude so much so that Randidly made several improvements within his first 12 hours

He didnÆt mind using these improved versions of the different power and data transferal runes as he suspected that even Ghost wouldnÆt notice After all the details that Randidly could correct were focused on how the runes were engraved upon the material There was no real change to the shape but instead he evened out the application in many places deepening the reserve of Mana to add to its effect

Even with all of this assembling his first drone was difficult

But difficult in the way of a puzzle that you are delighted to solve

For one thing Randidly was a bit too strong sometimes He had grown used to using his hands to bend the metal into the shape he wanted and it soon became clear that this was a bad habit there just wasnÆt enough precision in his hands to get the metal in the right shapes Especially for the two propellers in the Skylark they wouldnÆt function if they were bent out of shape

So Randidly began training with tools taking his time He lost himself in the sensation of working with metal It was a heady experience and one that Randidly had never truly felt before in his life It was strange to him to take such a dead and inert substance and bend and shape it into something extremely productive and useful

There were several times that strange Skills popped up but Randidly rejected them out of hand He didnÆt want to learn something like Metal Bending or Electric Rune Mastery They were useful and would likely generate PP but Randidly suspected he could discover a more holistic Skill to spend one of his Skill slots on

RandidlyÆs first Skylark was an ugly thing scuffed and somewhat squatter than the blueprints depicted Even now he was still refining the process of using tools It was a simple thing containing a power source a camera two engines for the propellers a data storage unit and a communicator As most everything was made of runes aside from the power source it was light and relatively simple to make

But because of that lightweight it was very easy to damage and destroy

It was something of a disappointment then that when Randidly turned the Skylark on it trembled farted out a black cloud and was still An hour and a half later Randidly realized that the connection between the power source and the engines had grown so hot that the material had melted and the thing shorted out

RandidlyÆs eyes flashed This had occurred because he had improved the connector enabling it to handle more energy Where the defects in the runes on purpose Or was it just a coincidence

Either way RandidlyÆs mouth was creeping open into a grin This was fun It reminded Randidly of building legos as a child a pursuit that had compelled him to bother his dad until Ezekiel had taken Randidly to Legoland While there Randidly didnÆt really touch anything but he had stood solemnly beneath the giant structures looking up at all of the colorful toy blocks

What are you looking at Ezekiel had asked after about 15 minutes finally looking up from his pager long enough to realize that something was wrong with his son

IÆm going to make my house out of legos someday Randidly had said

Now Randidly had found those legos

Before he could continue however he returned to the smelting factory and made another 100 ingots of Erickson Steel to sell for seed money Now that he was a Probationary Citizen he could access the market himself and sell it but that would take time and attention For the extra few dollars Randidly wasnÆt willing to invest his time into searching for contacts to sell the steel too Instead he simply continued to rely on Davey who was extremely smitten to see Randidly still bringing him steel

With more money Randidly returned to the drone compound and purchased additional materials Then he once more locked himself away in his small lab While experimenting with different ways of drawing the runes he considered his immediate plans

His search to locate the Creature wasnÆt progressing He had scanned in specific areas across the entirety of the Zone but had found nothing A general scan however caught the scent It was faint but it proved its presence Perhaps there was a connection between the Creature and Ghost but Randidly was having a hard time keeping his tension up as Ghost seemed profoundly inept The political turmoil and the undercurrents of resentment caused by the ranking of people damaging to the health of the Zone yet Ghost did nothing

Perhaps some sort of rebellion was what the AI wanted To drive some people out or to locate strong talents

Either way Ghost seemed pretty unconcerned with Randidly and fake Randidly who was likely still parading around with that Senator causing trouble As such Randidly felt a bit more comfortable allowing himself to stand out a bit more

With his primary goal temporary without any leads he defaulted to his secondary and tertiary goals gathering information about the Zone and generally improving the conditions of humanity under the System For the tertiary goal Randidly made a mental note to head back to town every once and a while both to check on the people around his hovel but to see Tatiana

Randidly twitched slightly then smiled wryly shaking his head He breathed in then breathed out Making plans to see Tatiana was fine Randidly reassured himself They were just friends There was nothing else there there was no reason to feel awkward about it Which for him was extremely difficult

But still he could nudge people like Maude and her refugees towards improving and the surrounding area That would do a lot towards raising the quality of life for these steelworkers and their families

For the second goal Randidly still believed that becoming renowned as a local drone creator would help him gather information on the Zone If his performance was exemplary he would get higher tiered citizenship With that he could travel in different circles perhaps even go to the nearby city to talk

Tightlipped Randidly paused what he was doing and looked East He could sense it through his connection with Thorn Something was happening in his Zone in Donnyton But he couldnÆt solve their problems for them He had to learn to trust them They could handle this He had other work here in front of him

Sighing Randidly turned back to the materials Time to try making a Porpoise I suppose

Chapter 539

When Randidly presented his Porpoise to the man who handled all purchases on the drone plant Henrik Doc the man sighed in an extremely exaggerated manner It seemed that everything the man did was exaggerated from the way he dressed to the way he coifed his hair

This is your first attempt I suspect The man drawled walking over to the Porpoise and flicking it There was a clear ringing one that Randidly was somewhat proud of It was made of a weaker derivative of Erickson Steel after all Henrik seemed to care less He opened up the side panel to reveal the hand scanner

With the Porpoise the basic function was to put what you wanted inside of it put your hand on the scanner then focus on the image of how to get from the PorpoiseÆs current position to the location you wanted it to go Focusing on the image was extremely important because otherwise the thing would run into a wall

After scanning his hand the PorpoiseÆs wheels engaged and the thing rolled forward to the end of the room Then it came back driving up to Randidly and running a circle around him five times before heading back over to Henrik

RandidlyÆs eyebrows rose That was a strong image instruction The more that Randidly worked with the drone blueprints the more he realized that he had underestimated the knowledge that went into these creations A lot of people must have worked very hard to perfect them or one AI had spent quite a lot of time and data refining them Any improvements Randidly thought to make often had unintended consequences

This Porpoise for instance was his third attempt and came out quite a bit heavier than the normal Porpoises But Randidly had been attempting to up the armor and the battery life of the things by increasing the integrity of the materials It was almost a zero sum game because the increased weight made it spend more battery moving But Randidly believed that there was some small improvement which made him pleased with himself

Then Henrik walked over to the Porpoise and kicked it on its side Instantly the pressure plates on the side engaged pressing outward to lift it back to its wheels But the motors of the thing began to whine dangerously as the plates pressed farther and farther outward Eyes widening Randidly did some calculations in his head The increased weight likely meant at least three times as much power was spent righting itself after an accident

Which turned his improvements into a net loss of power

Well itÆs unsatisfactory but we are currently very lax in our standards Henrik gave Randidly a look that made it clear that Henrik believed Randidly being allowed to work here at all was a relaxation of standards Here is 50 for your efforts We will take the drone and find a task that suits its unique circumstances

50 was almost exactly what it cost to make so it was a wash Still Randidly was starting to think that he didnÆt even deserve that It was frustrating to have failed again

But at the same time something had been ignited in his chest For the first time in a long time Randidly had wanted something and tried for it and failed It made him want to succeed all the more

So Randidly took another day going back and reading more thoroughly through the books in the library of the office getting a better understanding of what he was doing Then he used the computer to spend 100 on other recommended reading that was available for purchase specifically in regards to gritty details about the strength of different materials

Staring intently Randidly memorized every corner of the blueprints he had He had considered purchasing more for reference but each seemed to cost at least 1000 and those were the cheap models There were improved combat drones although not many that were almost 90 000 But if Randidly could make 100 a drone in the future that level of production might not be that far away

It was during this time reading a random detail of the function of the drones that something clicked into place in RandidlyÆs mind Instantly his eyes glowed emerald Where they had been parts before with an understandable role now they were a whole A beautiful moving whole composed of dozens of individual parts

It was almost like a work of art Because part of the power of the drone was its technological compression All that work and intellect was bent and twisted and slipped together until it had been warped into a form the belied its impressive functions

During the next hour reviewing the three different blueprints Randidly gained 12 Levels in SpriggitÆs Tinkering In addition another notification popped up

Congratulations Would you like to learn the Skill Engineering Savvy « Lvl 1 Y/N

Randidly selected yes

He had thought a lot in the past few days whether it was really worth it to spend a Skill slot on a drone making Skill when he might need them in the future Two small things and one big thing made clicking yes easy First it was a general Skill and he might find other applications of its use Second it was often worth it to save things up for lean times but Randidly suspected momentum and PP now was more valuable than learning some Skill at some future date and Randidly still had several more Skill slots

Finally Randidly loved it The feeling of metal the strange tinkering workshop where he now found himself the creation of something autonomous from himself it was like a strange more organic form of the Soul Seed And Randidly was a bit shocked to find himself thinking that this was a more organic process but it wasnÆt about the outcome that was organic It was just that when he created a drone he could lose himself in the wonder of the work and felt accomplished when he was done

When he made a Soul Seed Randidly wasnÆt sure how but it felt hollow Like it was more the SystemÆs work than his own But he supposed that humans made other humans in a similar way for centuries Was it truly just his young male instincts panicking at the first sign of children Whereas the drones were a more innocuous offspring

Shaking his head with amusement Randidly rose and dusted off his most recent attempt at the Porpoise It was a sturdier thing than Randidly had done in the past Seeing how his changes affected the weight didnÆt dissuade Randidly that he was doing something worth doing it just gave him a better idea of what the consequences of such changes would be

Although Randidly maintained the weight in the frame he had slimmed down the metal components on the insides to keep the weight reasonable The runic boards inside were thin now but they still had a decent amount of integrity The wheels were slightly larger and positioned farther forward and back to give the Porpoise a more stable base