LoRG 2

They were more popular in Zone 1 but the other areas didnÆt really see the need to reconnect into the worldwide web

Those memories and emotions of SimonÆs seizure of the seat of Champion set the surrounding hills to trembling once more Wincing Randidly forced himself to calm down Slowly the rumblings ceased That was in the past Time did a lot to give her perspective on the experience

It was those sudden impulses that shaped history Rather than being upset Randidly now felt indifferent

Simon sighed I can understand what you are feeling Even through your dreams it was clear to me that you were still angry about my actions I can do nothing but apologize you were right It was a dumb decision I didnÆt understand how difficult this role would be And I started out very poorly there were times I didnÆt understand the power I now wield

Randidly remained silent feeling at the fuzzy edges of his mind with detached fascination But he willed Simon to continue talking he was right so far there was nothing on which to comment

Luckily Simon obliged Which is why I came to you right now I havenÆt felt your dreams for well ever And your dreams are very powerful so I could come here in my entirety We need to talk about Earth

Randidly frowned Even with the fuzz of the dreamscape numbing him that made his hackles rose Why was Simon the one who wanted to come to talk about the fate of the Earth Randidly supposed his ability was uniquely disposed to allow information gathering to be a breeze Randidly was wary of SimonÆs interference

More sudden impulses from different sources

Too many self righteous cooks spoil a pot Randidly thought sourly But on the other hand he wasnÆt aware of much that was going on across New Earth Alana had told him some things but he had informed her that he would stop by Donnyton on his way through to join Neveah Therefore he advised her to just wait for that debriefing

Were there other problems just as pressing as the ogre invasion

What do you wish to talk about Randidly said softly

SimonÆs form was slightly amorphous in RandidlyÆs dream but he could see the younger man press his lips together You donÆt trust me I suppose thatÆs understandable But I wish to talk about something that I believe is a problem In our current world with the System we are heading toward a time where those with political power possess personal power as well

The leaders of our world are capable and by the same token charismatic ThatÆs one of the benefits of a meritocracy the leaders are respected But I see laid out in front of us a slide from a meritocracy toward an established oligarchy of power Aging no longer holds the promise of death that it once did it is likely we will die eventually but Stats extend that time frame

You donÆt need to beat around the bush what are you asking for Randidly said slowly But he could guess what Simon was getting at

They will not listen to me but the will listen to you Simon said Currently the power in Donnyton is held by a privileged few Most others are moving up beneath them rising in position and influence simply because the influx of population is scaling up the entire organizational structure But that influx will soon cease The wildlands exposed to us now possess no people or if there were people the monsters were too high a Level for them to survive What will these capable assistants and managers do when suddenly they find no other ways to advance

They will suffer for a while but then they will begin to harbor dark dreams I have felt the rumbles of it already So I ask you to encourage those at DonnytonÆs head to step down To create elected positions that run Donnyton To give these dreamers hope

For several seconds Randidly considered SimonÆs proposal Without baggage Randidly examined the proposal He was somewhat hampered by his limited mental capacity in the dream but he could understand where Simon was coming from There was a certain sort of internal logic to what Simon said

Seeing the resemblance to truth inside of the statement but being unable to consider it fully in the dream Randidly answered IÆll think about it

Simon frowned You arenÆt taking me seriously are you I guarantee I have sensed these dreams

Simon Randidly interrupted looking at the young man Truly he was a child wearing the mantle of dreams fit for a man But there was nothing that Randidly could do sometimes fate thrust people into weird roles I understand what you are saying I think you make a fine point about preparing Donnyton for the future But all choices have costs

Because he could see in SimonÆs comments that although unintentional Simon was aware of the importance of an image of Donnyton moving forward That was something that Randidly had given some thought to and this other perspective was valuable to shape what Randidly understood about Donnyton But this this shift that Simon suggested possessed just as many problems as the future he warned against

Besides continuity and stability were more important now than ever They were preparing to face the Calamity and that should take their full attention

IsnÆt that always the excuse of those in power Some snide part of Randidly commented That change must be made but it cannot be now the risks are too great If not now when will the change occur

The main issue Randidly said interrupting his own thoughts The hills were once more rumbling as Randidly shook off the trappings of sleep Is that part of this plan is based on the assumption that capable individuals who are disappointed will begin to conspire to take what they believe they deserve regardless of rule of law I would counter that even this plan will just shift the cohort of individuals who are disappointed there will be just as many losers with an election system as there are now

But they would have a chance Simon insisted

Randidly felt strangely tired hearing that His Crown buzzed in disappointment People may dream about the things they wish to have but people mourn the greatness that they almost seized most of all Perhaps even more damning for your proposal eventually there will be a response from the elected officials Rather than being capable the winners of the election will be those that are capable to those that have Skills related to being elected

Simon winced I remember some of the world leaders before the System arrived But I think

Worst of all and the reason that I will not suggest it Randidly finished Is that inherent in view of the future is that people are petty children that will spoil from disappointment Maybe some change should be made to DonnytonÆs command structure but it will not be premised on some worry that capable and respectable people will sour over time It will be made to shift Donnyton into an entity capable of meeting the threats that continue to pile up So

There was a dull crack and the world exploded

Randidly woke up Then he sneezed and shook his head

Seriously Losing an argument isnÆt a reason to blow up a world even if it is just a dream

Chapter 855

Before Helen and AlanaÆs party left Randidly pulled Alana Dozer and Annie to the side and had a brief talk with them Luckily it seemed that whatever Dozer had done to Annie after carrying her off had vastly improved her mood she was practically beaming while Randidly explained some of the messages he wanted to pass on to Donnyton

I shouldnÆt be more than a week but it’s hard to say Randidly admitted Then he frowned in frustration he wished Neveah would be more specific but she had been rather avoidant since he returned to Earth She just demanded he check in on a few places before proceeding to join her in the South So if I take longer pass these things onto Donnyton as much as possible we should be focusing on creating high end weapons and armor and moving for the Danger Zones

They all nodded

Dozer folded his arms across his check It is known but there has always seemed something more pressing But we will let them know to focus on it

The experience boost to everyone would be a godsend Alana added Plus DonnytonÆs squads view it as a point of shame that they havenÆt been either of the cleared Danger Zones

Another Danger Zone was cleared Randidly asked with a frown

After a hesitation Alana nodded I assumed you knew Yes the World Crater to the South We arenÆt sure who exactly did it but they selected all the benefits for themselves That is I believe what Neveah is handling right now From a report from Drake to East End the Undying Hero was active in the area So he is the prime suspect

Randidly grunted Even with triple stats Randidly had a hard time that anyone from Earth would be able to rival Neveah she had higher raw stats than even he did Why then was she so dodgy and unresponsive

RandidlyÆs memory of the Undying Hero was rather fuzzy He knew that Ace was fascinated with the man for whatever reason and had somehow revived him They had also crossed blades once Randidly had won without much effort Yet somehow the lack of impression was more disturbing than if the man had been more overtly evil

It gave him a bad feeling

More than ever he resolved himself to hurry and meet Neveah If there were any real issues she wouldnÆt be so silent on the matter but

Alright fine In addition Randidly scratched his cheek This message is somewhat selfish but tell Sam that IÆll be heading back to Donnyton soon and I need new armor just no foot coverings If he has any requests for materials just send them to me I can gather them on the way

They spoke about some other small things and then the group split off from Randidly Very quickly he accelerated to the North and West The first task given to him by Neveah was checking in on a certain individual she had informed him that she had named a peculiar boy to RandidlyÆs Order Ducis and he had performed admirably since then But the kid tended to get into trouble beyond his depth so Randidly should check on him

What made Randidly grind his teeth was that she was decidedly vague just that he would be around the Northwest above the monster city So Randidly just blurred across the landscape scanning the countryside

It was mostly rolling hills with thick pine forests It did not make it easy to search Still the temperature was somewhat brisk To the point that the cool air felt wonderful after loping across the countryside

He didnÆt find anyone who looked like this Naffur but he did find dinosaurs

While passing through the area West of where they settled the ogres Randidly encountered a herd of Level 62 Wild Raptors He didnÆt really consider them much of a threat so he ignored them and simply continued to search But the group of scavengers responded with a few short chirps and within seconds they began to stalk him

Randidly stopped abruptly Fine then itÆs your funeral

They came at him like a bolt of lightning on a clear day without any sort of small noise giving them away Honestly their stealth was rather impressive even if the attack pattern they used was a bit predictable

But they picked the wrong individual to ambush

The ones that attacked Randidly from the front were seared by Eruption of the Blazing Leyline No sooner had they leapt snarling out of the brush that the Skills exploded beneath them The emerald flames ate away at their legs and melted their scales Screaming those raptors somehow managed to push through the pain and tried to slam into Randidly

Randidly bared his teeth If nothing else their commitment was admirable But foolish Acri sliced two in half and the third

slammed into RandidlyÆs chest He blinked then frowned like a thunderstorm was brewing behind his eyes He had meant to reach up with his left hand and throw the other to the side but of course his left arm wasnÆt there anymore He had just reacted without thinking

IÆll need to work on that Randidly noted

Acri made short work of the one who had body checked him pointlessly and then Randidly turned to the four raptors that had attacked him from behind They gnashed their teeth in futility while the roots and vines constricted around them Unwilling to extend the process any longer he snapped their necks

And he was rewarded with a Level Up

Congratulations You have reached Level 40 +8 Stats distributed between Vitality Perception Resist Intelligence and Control +20 Free Stats +1 Stat to a Mental Stat +1 to a Physical Defense Stat +1 to a Mental Support Stat +2 Control +36 Health +40 Mana +40 Stamina +3 5 to all Regenerations +1 to Health and Stamina Regeneration

Due to Guidance of the Wraith Adder +4 Agility and +2 Bonus Stats

Congratulations You have learned the Skill

Synergy detected Recalculating

The Skills Summon Lava Golem Plantomancy and Call Grove Defenders have been absorbed Bonuses to Skill effects have been included due to absorption You have learned the Skill Riders of the Baleful Court Lvl 1 You have learned the Skill Lantern of Harsh Truths « Lvl 1

Riders of the Baleful Court As the Lord of the Baleful Woods all within owe you fealty You may summon some of the ancient order of riders that serve your court These beings are lesser things based upon your own attributes They are comprised of ash and fire that ride beasts of stone and old plant life Their stats grow with Skill Level The number you can summon grows with Skill Level Mana cost decreases with Skill Level

Lantern of Harsh Truths « There is an aura about you that casts light upon those nearby It is something you cannot control and will constantly spread from you However it is a harsh light It is easier for those nearby to be aware of their strengths and weaknesses Those near you will receive slight buffs to Focus and Control Groups of individuals within the sphere of the aura will work more easily together Size of aura increases with Skill Level Focus and Control buff increases with Skill Level The harshness of the truths individuals realize about themselves will increase with Skill Level

It was good to Level up and grow stronger but that second Skill It seemed dangerous Not to other people but to his ability to form relationships with people Being the one who pointed out your flaws under a harsh light was not a way to make fast friends

Seriously making people aware of their own strengths and weaknesses Teaching them about their strengths was one thing but very few people would enjoy the experience of understanding their own weaknesses

And the truths they realize will grow more harsh with Skill Level

Perhaps that most obnoxious part was that it was not something he could control it was simply was a constant presence When he looked at his Class it was probably from the Lighthouse of the Boundless Worlds portion Which made a certain amount of sense but Well at least it gave a buff to teamwork Focus and Control

And although he would love to rip that Skill out and destroy it Randidly remembered OctaviusÆ warning about any more actions interfering with the System Would this fall under that category of activities

Either way it was obnoxious Randidly wasnÆt willing to risk being reported to some shadowy administrator in order to save people from their own truths If he could deal with it so could they

Shaking his head Randidly looked at the other Skill Shrugging he activated it and summoned a Rider of the Baleful Woods Randidly hadnÆt relied on any of his summon Skills very much in the past and that was a mistake Now that the scale of enemies he was fighting against was rising he should focus more on such Skills They would give him numbers to orchestrate with his impressive Control This was the perfect opportunity to begin to Level one up

After all the Second Calamity would involve fighting a whole world so

The ground in front of Randidly cracked and a bubble of shimmering red lava ballooned upward In spite of himself Randidly took several steps back The bubble reached probably four meters in height and then popped spraying globs of molten rock into the surrounding area

Looking at his rider RandidlyÆs eyebrows rose The individual on top was a being of twisting grey ash and flickering emerald fire The figure was slender and tall holding a wicked looking obsidian lance It nodded at Randidly after spotting him hefting the lance in something of a salute

But RandidlyÆs eyes went to the mount Because it was the weirdest cross of a camel a rhino and a spider that he had ever seen

ItÆs four legs were long and spindly but every joint was adorned with a curving horn Its body was covered with grey chitin and wrapped in fading green vines Its main body was thick and heavy making Randidly wonder how those thin legs supported it and sported two humps The rider sat between the humps Its head was on the end of a long neck and possessed the largest of the horns a viciously sharp thing as long as RandidlyÆs forearm and made for goring

Randidly and the mount stared at each other for several seconds Its glossy black eyes didnÆt even appear to be animated they glittered like precious stones not like a living creature Eventually Randidly shook himself

At RandidlyÆs order the rider moved with remarkable swiftness around the forest For all that its legs were thin they possessed uncommon strength which enabled the rider to move dexterously through the trees Randidly wished to see how strong the legs were in response to an outside force but he didnÆt just want to break the thing’s leg

So he shrugged and ordered his rider to follow him Hopefully he could encounter more monsters to test it against

Chapter 856

Randidly was very annoyed Because he couldnÆt find this Naffur and had spent a few hours summoning riders and sending them against monsters of various Levels At Skill Level 1 his Rider had about as much strength as something who possessed a Level in the low 30s At Skill Level 20 he gained the ability to summon a second one which made them at least capable of harassing these above Level 50 monsters if that monster was alone

For a while at least Ultimately the Level 50 monster could absorb the wounds to break out of the encirclement likely crushing one of the riders in the process Having them capable of fighting Level 30 monsters was already a good start but Randidly suspected that was due to the Skill absorbing other Skills

If it hadnÆt he might have a little baby summon on his hands

But he couldnÆt just grind this new Skill all day he finally asked Neveah more directly how to find Naffur Her response was why the main reason Randidly was annoyed

Just follow the Aether connection I gave him one

Which of course made Randidly check his Aether connections It was immediately clear that two were very near to his position One must have been Naffur while the other was Arbor

Part of the reason Randidly was pissed was that Neveah hadnÆt told him to check the connection but he was also annoyed at himself for not thinking to use his Aether Detection He had just assumed that it wouldnÆt be very helpful because he was looking for an individual and not one like the Creature that would have an easily identifiable energy signature Turned out that was wrong

So Randidly immediately made a beeline for Naffur During that time Randidly looked at his Skill Levels

Overall he had another large haul But most of the gains were from a few concentrated Skills Erode Image Crossroads of the Alpha Cosmos Riders of the Baleful Court and Cycle of the Gloomy Wood The last two were due to the few hours Randidly had spent farming monsters for likely looking materials in case Sam needed them

It ended up being 136 PP Which unfortunately didnÆt finish off the Ashen Aura Path that Randidly hastily had chosen during the fight against Aegiant Even more damning there still wasnÆt any benefit from pouring PP into the Path Still Randidly enjoyed his new rider Skill His two new companions had some independent thought but seemed very content to ride behind him on their strangely rocking spider rhino camels

In spite of himself it was amusing for Randidly to watch So Randidly allowed them to slow him down and continued to dash forward As he did so he took one glance at his current Status screen

Level 40 (46%)

Health(/R per hour) 5046/5087 (2513)

Mana(/R per hour) 3986/5492 (1967)

Stam(/R per min) 4713/4900 (802)

End 281

Str 542

Agi 588

Perception 546

Reaction 592

Willpower 685

Intelligence 621

Control 839

Focus 410

Skills (Soul Skill) Figure of the Alpha Cosmos Lvl 872

Combat Spear Mastery Lvl 200 White PhantomÆs Half Step (Un) Lvl 93 Heavy Blow Lvl 113 Iron Skin Lvl 47 Dodge Lvl 111 Fighting Experience (Un) Lvl 156 Block Lvl 77 Phantom Onslaught Lvl 42 Calculated Blow Lvl 102 Roundhouse Kick Lvl 76 Idiosyncratic Cut (Un) Lvl 120 Stalemate Breaker Lvl 66 Talon Strike Lvl 90 Counter Lvl 86 Flowing Momentum Lvl 5

LoBW Class Skills Grasp of the World Seed Lvl 222 Spray Holy Sap (Un) Lvl 25 Sharpness Lvl 110 Earthquake (Un) Lvl 47 Invigorating Call (Humanity)(Un) Lvl 14 Reach of the Jade Slag Lvl 104 Erode Image Lvl 29 SpriggitÆs Tinkering « Lvl 94 Aether Understanding Lvl 65 Aether Infusion Lvl 47 Volatile Ash Lvl 36 Visualization « Lvl 183 Fruit of the Planting of Enmity Lvl 25 Absolute Timing Lvl 56 Cycle of the Gloomy Wood « Lvl 27 Riders of the Baleful Court Lvl 24 Lantern of Harsh Truths « Lvl 3

The 7 Kata of the Ashen Spear The Spear Advances Ash Trails Lvl 106 As the Sun Stills Lvl 79 When a Shadow Departs Fireflies Dance (Un) Lvl 64 All is Ash Lvl 100 Frigid Ash Extinguishing Storm Lvl 53

The 6 Signs of the Spear Phantom « The First Sign The Inevitable Phantom Arrives Lvl 117 (Un) The Fifth Sign The Wild PhantomÆs Embrace Lvl 196 The Sixth Sign The Breath of the Spear Phantom « Lvl 82

Spells Yggdrasil Soul Seed « Inspiration « Ignition Bolt « Lvl 108 Verdant Nova (Un) Lvl 79 Burning Footsteps Lvl 23 Touch from Beyond « Lvl 37 Influence of the Molten Core « Lvl 85 Eruption of the Blazing Leyline Lvl 76 Ignition of the Emerald Essence Lvl 60

Crafting Potion Making Lvl 73 Farming Lvl 34 Analyze Lvl 29 Refine Lvl 72 Extract Lvl 58 Mana Engraving Lvl 174

Yggdrasil the Tree of Upheaval Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil Lvl 132 The Golden Roots of Yggdrasil Lvl 161 the Emerald Sap of Yggdrasil Lvl 152 the Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil Lvl 174 the Deific Mien of Yggdrasil Lvl 146 the Cruel Indignation of Yggdrasil Lvl 141 Crown of Yggdrasil Cataclysm and Gloom Lvl 100

Auxiliary Sneak Lvl 56 Acid Resistance Lvl 22 Poison Resistance Lvl 21 Pain Resistance Lvl 91 Fire Resistance Lvl 107 Sewing Lvl 11 Digging Lvl 5 Cooking Lvl 77 Clockwork Mastery Lvl 25 Aether Connection Lvl 21 Soul Bond Lvl 112 ChefÆs Palette Lvl 33 Nether Resistance Lvl 20 Child of the Rain (Un) Lvl 45 Chosen of Ash Lvl 133 Engineering Savvy « Lvl 113 From Darkness Genesis « Lvl 13 (Domain) Crossroads of the Alpha Cosmos Lvl 31 Connection to the Alpha Cosmos

Just as Naffur finished the knighting ceremony a chill wind swept across the clearing Leaves rustled and then simply stilled Naffur looked around wildly his instincts suddenly screaming something was coming

There were about fifty people in the clearing Naffur the three kneeling in front of him and then the four dozen or so individuals that had answered the call to defend against the ogres creeping around in the hill after the broken body of a monster child had been discovered They were mostly monsters but about a fourth of them were humans

The humans were individuals who didnÆt mind the new forms of the monsters and had agreed to come up and assist in the search when the Knight Errant of the Order Ducis had decided to lead the search for the culprit

Naffur hadnÆt realized ogres were involved at the beginning He likely wouldnÆt have said anything if he had After all what had ended up happening was three weeks of high stress guerilla tactics against vastly superior foes There were times that he couldnÆt breathe because the wrong noise would alert the enemy to their position

And as they quickly figured out fighting directly against the ogres only meant one thing death For all the group had been lucky there had still been losses Those losses had been gruesome

Naffur believed he would never stop having nightmares about some of the bodies they found

There were a few exceptional people in the crew that made a real difference These were three individuals who had been able to if not hold their own delay an ogre long enough for others to escape Which was why after great consideration and confirming with Neveah it was alright Naffur decided to exercise his ability induct people into the Order Ducis and Knight these brave individuals

Neveah had told him he could choose five if he so wished But Naffur was too nervous about making too many waves to use all those spots After all he had witnessed the deference with which people treated him just because he was a member of the prestigious Order Ducis He didnÆt want to ruin that by letting the wrong individual into the Order

Because Orders were growing rapidly in popularity and because Order Ducis meant the Ghosthound Naffur was the face of the most widely respected Order in existence Mostly that manifested as fascination because the Order Ducis was the least present of the Orders due to its low member count

Hopefully this would help with that

But when that cold wind came across the clearing Naffur froze Behind his Ghosthound mask he began to sweat The temperature didnÆt matter this was something instinctual

It seemed that the crowd sensed something as well because they began muttering to each other Only the three kneeling figures seemed oblivious content to savor the honor of being named to the Order Ducis

A branch snapped at the far end of the clearing and then three figures walked out into NaffurÆs line of sight The people at the edge of the crowd turned with a frown at the interruption then gaped in shock Like the red sea before Moses the crowd parted and an aisle between Naffur and the figures opened up

Naffur sucked in a breath because looking critically across the clearing at Naffur was his hero in the flesh the Ghosthound

Perhaps most intimidating of all he was flanked by two well Naffur didnÆt know what to call them An honor guard of emerald flame and sharp horns The two riders were the stuff of nightmares and moved completely silently behind the Ghosthound as he walked quickly across the clearing

As soon as he approached the muttering in the crowd ceased There was something in the air around the Ghosthound that simply stilled the talk It was almost an inner illumination that filled the clearing Besides considering that what was happening was that three individuals were being named to the Order Ducis it made a certain distant logical sense that the Ghosthound had shown up

Had Neveah told him What was his response

Perhaps the crowd assumed that they were witnessing history The Ghosthound descending to add his mark of approval to the appointment Meanwhile Naffur was horrified that the Ghosthound was here to reprimand him for his choices Or or

NaffurÆs gaze was held by those burning emerald eyes And a strange and slightly surprising thought emerged in NaffurÆs mind The reason he became the Ghosthound is focus What holds his gaze holds his full attention That energy and ability to throw himself into any activity before him at the expense of all others that is his greatest strength And I donÆt have that

The Ghosthound stopped at the front behind the three kneeling figures Suddenly the three seemed to realize something was amiss because they twisted around One thing that Naffur found interesting was how different the threeÆs reaction was The leftmost kneeler Arbor immediately leapt to its root legs and threw itself at the Ghosthound for a hug

The rightmost kneeler Madelyn the scaled lizard person whose fire breath had saved several peopleÆs lives stood slowly and bowed to the Ghosthound Her excitement and nervousness were obvious and seeing her so flustered helped Naffur calm down After all at least he was wearing a mask No one could tell his thoughts

Could they

The central kneeler noticed who it was and froze

The GhosthoundÆs chuckle broke most of the tension in the clearing in spite of the looming presence of the two monstrous riders behind him He hugged Arbor warmly Did I hear correctly YouÆve joined the Order Ducis

Arbor let go of the Ghosthound and hopped excitedly from leg to leg gesturing wildly its assent Naffur noted with relief that around the Ghosthound Arbor didnÆt at all fear that its fire would burn the man Likely part of that was due to the fact the Ghosthound apparently created Arbor but Naffur also liked to think his talks with Arbor about fearing things less had helped

IÆm not the Ghosthound Naffur thought slowly But I have friends Hopefully thatÆs enough

The Ghosthound then turned to a trembling Madelyn And you are

Madelyn ah Sir She bowed twice more and quick succession I promise to never fail or waver IÆll be an exemplary standard of virtue for the Order

The GhosthoundÆs smile cut through NaffurÆs nerves it was incredibly sad Do your best But donÆt fear failure Perfection doesnÆt exist

Then the Ghosthound turned to the kneeling figure Ajax And his face changed into something grim and ominous Because his back was to most of the crowd they couldnÆt see the fury that tightened the GhosthoundÆs emerald eyes Arbor wilted just being near it and MadelynÆs smile faltered

And you the Ghosthound said derision clear in his tone You too have joined my order

Ajax slowly stood his antennas twitching Although he looked like a giant cockroach Ajax had always been at the front of the harrying efforts It was only due to his tracking Skill that they were able to find the ogres and successfully pull off the harrying campaign Yes And I can assure you that my intentions are pure Whatever you think I am where ever I was spawned from I have risen beyond that I am my own person

The conversation clearly indicated the two had a history but Naffur couldnÆt figure anything out from their worlds If Ajax knew the Ghosthound why hadnÆt he mentioned it before Madelyn especially always liked to talk about the GhosthoundÆs accomplishments but never had Ajax said a peep about meeting him

For several long seconds the Ghosthound stared at Ajax Ajax didnÆt move

Finally the Ghosthound sniffed Then he seemed unhappy but said IÆd like to believe that And everyone deserves a chance to prove themselves One chance Welcome to the Order Ducis IÆll be watching you

Then turning on his heel the Ghosthound walked back out of the clearing

Some of the solemnity of the moment was spoiled by Arbor waddling after the Ghosthound dancing to and fro

Chapter 857

In spite of himself Randidly couldnÆt help but grin and spin around to tackle Arbor when they were out of sight of the solemn faced group beyond the treeline Ever since he acquired the Crown of Cataclysm and Gloom it was slowly dawning on him what possessing such a crown would mean but he had largely ignored it

For all that he was slowly acquiring the tools to influence a larger group that didnÆt make him comfortable using them

He was much more comfortable feeling the comfortable interplay of Aether between himself and Arbor They play fought wrestling around in mock struggle for almost a minute The two rolled around in a scuffle Randidly feeling largely overwhelmed due to his single limb

RandidlyÆs two riders stood to the side He could sense in them their curiosity toward him and the status of this thing he struggled against but Randidly had made his will clear so they left him to it

It was a small thing that he noticed just in passing as he considered the watching riders but it almost appeared that their intelligence was slowly improving the longer they were summoned Was that his imagination or were these riders capable of growth

Very quickly however Randidly lost that suspicion as he allowed himself to be carried away by the joy of interacting with Arbor

How have you been Randidly asked with a grin Flowing back from Arbor was warmth and happiness

Nodding sharply Randidly asked And Naffur What is he like

This time the flow of images from Arbor was more complex But it boiled down to two distinct concepts The first was of barely controlled mirth and not a little concern Something that combined equaled an adjective like silly or clumsy And the second

Friend

Okay then Neveah Randidly thought with a wry smile I suppose Naffur was a good choice

As if he was a devil to be summoned by his name Naffur hesitantly walked up to the spot where Arbor and Randidly were playing Some part of Randidly wanted to cease the struggle against Arbor and appear distinguished before this member of the Order Ducis After all this was someone who obviously looked up to Randidly and wanted to emulate him

But Randidly valued this rare moment to relax and spend time with a plant born of himself too much he would rather sacrifice something of his dignity to savor it

He had too few moments like this on Tellus and somehow Randidly suspected that the impending threats hanging over Earth would make such breaths of release even more difficult to come by here

Finally he allowed Arbor to pin him to the ground and sighed in defeat Arbor chirped happily and hopped off dancing around his defeated foe It made Randidly laugh loud and long watching the pure glee in ArborÆs movements

Moments like this are why I fight Randidly thought as he stood and turned to Naffur Although most of the joviality drained away he was still in a good mood

You can take off your mask IÆd like to see what you look like Randidly said casually

Naffur flinched but nodded Slowly he reached up and removed his mask revealing a pale faced teenager Strangely the uncertain worry in RandidlyÆs eye made him reminisce about the origins of the System Donny had looked at Randidly in a very similar way as he had been told to lead the village

So young Even younger than Simon Randidly thought but he said Nice to meet you Naffur IÆm Randidly Ghosthound Did you have something else to say Or questions IÆll stay here for an hour As the leader of your Order I suppose itÆs my responsibility to offer you what advice I can

This revelation hit Naffur hard he stammered for several seconds Finally he coughed into his hand and said I well it seems like you know Ajax Is there something wrong with him During the fights with the ogres he was the bravest of us all So I hope you can forgive him

It clearly took a lot of nerve for Naffur to speak his mind and he immediately wilted afterward Randidly had to suppress a chuckle there was no need to embarrass the kid with how amusing Randidly found him Instead Randidly considered the question

Ajax was an enigma to him The Creature had been duped in Zone 1 or allowed itself to be duped for a purpose that Randidly couldnÆt glean from the information available The CreatureÆs soul had been used as an Aether power plant granting electricity and energy to the terrible experiments performed on humans by the Church crossing them with monsters

When Randidly shut down the power plant he had watched as the CreatureÆs soul was extinguished This had only been another avatar but the conscious portion of the Creature had been eradicated Which left a body A body that had escaped while he attempted to trap it

That body was the being now calling itself Ajax

It was a certain sort of irony that Randidly couldnÆt resist chuckling at that Ajax was a cockroach because that was very close to the way Randidly viewed him But when his eyes landed on Ajax he had scanned the body furiously What he had found was confusing

It was like being told your least favorite spice was part of a dish but your nose was unable to detect the scent of the spice Randidly could see that AjaxÆs Soulspace was engraved with Aether runes that prevented him from peering more deeply into his Class and Skills After leaving the suppression prison Randidly had grown a knack for feeling out otherÆs information by probing them with Aether

These runes prevented that

Now it was entirely likely that these runes were made from when the Creature inhabited the body And it was possible that its ability to produce Aether had been lost when the CreatureÆs soul was immolated After all there wasnÆt even the faintest whiff of the CreatureÆs Aether flowing out of Ajax But there was no proof Everything lay behind those obscuring runes locked away

So Randidly had decided to trust this Ajax There were two reasons for this First because people are often who you expect them to be Your attitude shapes how people act If you treat a child like a delinquent they will act like a delinquent Perhaps giving Ajax the space to grow and know humans will curb any untoward attitudes that he retained from the Creature

But the second reason was perhaps the less idealist and more realistic motivation The runes that Randidly had seen on Ajax were incredibly complex The CreatureÆs superior ability to shape Aether still wasnÆt in doubt To actually push through the runes and crack what was going on inside of Ajax Randidly suspected it would take him a few weeks at least perhaps even a month

And with his high Intelligence Randidly had memorized the shape of the surface runes he had seen He could begin to discuss with Lucretia and work on countermeasures for the future

Which in a way was putting off the eventual decision Randidly would have to make was he willing to risk eliminating an innocent individual to stomp out the possible threat of the Creature To rifle through the soul on a chance albeit a reasonable one that the Creature hid within

For now after wrestling with Arbor and considering the naive faced Naffur Randidly let those issues slide away from his mind Ajax The context I met him in previously was compromising It made me suspect his involvement with the Church experiments But I never saw any evidence that he was guilty And to know that he worked so tirelessly that he has been named to my order Everyone deserves the chance to prove themselves

Naffur nodded uncertainly

Randidly tilted his head at the teenager So Any other questions I can help you with Things about Skills Classes the System

Normally Randidly would have offered an Aether connection especially considering how important Nafur would become for the image of his Order The Order Ducis wasnÆt something he particularly would focus on but it couldnÆt hurt to have a positive influence on the world But Neveah had already given the kid that So he could only offer some guidance

And honestly now that he was missing an arm it was high time that other people viewed him as a font of wisdom

After a brief hesitation Naffur said Well I can hold my own well enough in battle but if you had any tips or tricks

Immediately Randidly thought of his time with Shal He couldnÆt help it the memory of training with Shal in the Dungeon the start of this whole adventure brought a smile to his face Ha if itÆs just that I certainly can help with that in an hour Alright letÆs spar a bit let me see what youÆve got

Chapter 858

Arbor Ajax and Madelyn crouched around Naffur who was vomiting noisily into a metal bucket

This is my fault Ajax said with a shake of the head A miscalculation on my part I had not predicted he would appear And to take his frustrations out on you

No Naffur managed to speak in a few seconds of time where he was simply dry heaving I I asked for this

Ajax and Madelyn seemed confused Everyone except Arbor who only shook its head sorrowfully There was a reason that it had never asked its creator to teach it to fight It could be seen by how weird Thorn had turned out how dangerous such a request was

MadelynÆs friendship with Naffur warred with her undying devotion to the Ghosthound What did he do

Naffur winced at the memory Sparring

The group considered this word

But Naffur added feeling compelled to give Randidly his fair due I did gain 50 Skill Levels in an hour

Arbor crossed its arms clearly indicating it wasnÆt worth the obvious suffering Ajax rubbed his mandibles in consideration of such a trade It was clear from the excited clicking that he had decided such a calculus of pain and Skill Levels was right up his alley The worshipful gleam returned to MadelynÆs eye

Incredible to achieve such results in so short a time She whispered

Naffur vomited noisily into the bucket

Feeling rather invigorated from their all too short spar Randidly headed South and West Although he inwardly wanted to pull his hair out of his scalp at NeveahÆs second and final request she could sense his actions and would know if he skipped it

It was Randidly decided profoundly annoying to be so intimately connected to another Especially when your wishes ran counter to theirs

But for Neveah Randidly would go to some politically and tactically inconsequential flower garden and care for the plants Despite how inane it seemed

For all its inanity Randidly also planned on contacting Ghost while he was there And the task itself wasnÆt likely to take longer than twenty minutes meaning it was a relatively short diversion in the Orchard

Besides Randidly was curious about the Orchard one of the few places in Zone 1 that wasnÆt either a manicured gated community or an industrial ghetto It tiptoed that line but felt real enough that Randidly didnÆt mind

What surprised Randidly the most was how big the city had gotten In the six months since he had passed through it seemed the city had swollen to double its previous size Part of it was probably the constant need for cheap labor that the city used to throw up new buildings and part of it was the fact that it was one of the few places in Zone 1 that was willing take in the refugees while the influx was at its height but Randidly could feel something else in the air as he passed into the city limits

The people he saw on the streets as he walked through the outskirts were gruff and dirty and hard at work It was the sort of population that cultivated a very particular outlook When enough of those people gathered together it became a contagious ethos

Randidly suspected that over time such an attitude would morph into an image

The scaffolding and steel shells erected at the edges of the Orchard looked like the bones of some ancient gods rising out of the ground under the mid morning sun It was clear that this portion of the city had been carefully laid out and soon would be an excellent area to live

Unfortunately the middle part of the Orchard was less impressive Much of that powerful outlook was lost as Randidly proceeded deeper into the city The frontier region of the Orchard swiftly became the inner city where poverty and crime ruled The main thoroughfares through the area where frequently patrolled by police but Randidly could sense some of what was going on in the darker alleys and he wrinkled his nose at it

One of the less savory truths about the System was that its protection against diseases meant that HIV was a thing of the past It took with it a powerful inhibitor against rampant injection based drugs and sexual promiscuity Not that Randidly was particularly against these activities on principle they simply seemed like a waste of time

Besides none of the people partaking seemed to be doing well enough in their lives to tempt Randidly

It was something of an interesting question of whether drug use related Skills would be possible to develop Randidly saw no reason why not Was there a Drugdealer Class

During his time in the seedier part of the Orchard Randidly saw several people eyeing him and wondered whether someone would attempt to mug him It didnÆt end up happening and Randidly was somehow disappointed But when he looked at his dirty leathers and bare feet he supposed that they couldnÆt be blamed

Honestly though what did Randidly have on him worthy of robbing Acri and Sulfur were one of a kind but they were rather nondescript when not serving their function Acri was currently a belt and Sulfur just looked like a thick grey bulletproof vest

His ring was filled with rare metals monster bodies and training spears And some engraving notes which he supposed were valuable enough to the right people Likely invaluable to Ghost But those were the sort of things that were impossible to spot

So Randidly proceeded deeper into the city moving from the more destitute areas to neighborhoods with flower shops and small houses with cramped little lawns Luckily or unluckily for Randidly his city streets event was coming for him just not in the form that he had anticipated

Sir we donÆt allow begging in this neighborhood A gruff police officer said He and his partner had made a beeline for Randidly as soon as they saw him peering over the low walls around the houses in the inner part of the city It was clear from his tone that he didnÆt believe for a second that Randidly was in the area for begging But rather that he was here for a much seedier purpose

Namely that he was casing the houses to rob them

Scram His partner added barring the naked threat that the other police officer had the decency to hide

Randidly suppressed his urge to laugh A quick Aether probe gave Randidly a great deal of information about the two in front of him The bad cop was a Level 17 Brute likely the more junior of the two The good cop was a rather respectable Level 35 Constable With a Level that high this man must have served some time in areas where he actually encountered monsters

Or the Orchard had a high Level Dungeon that it allowed its officers to farm Randidly supposed Both made a certain amount of sense to recruit police from soldiers It meant that they would have discipline and training to survive the dull days and the physical training to survive the rough encounters

But Randidly didnÆt want to lose his guise of anonymity and neither did he want to disrespect the police They had a hard job Doubly so considering most people could be hiding strength enough to kill them easily The System made people a lot more dangerous

It was also somewhat amusing to Randidly that the bad cop had the same Class as Dozer But there was no resemblance between this small minded man and the brick wall of muscle that had the job of enduring HelenÆs tireless challenges for a duel

Besides Dozer had obtained a new Class from Nathan did he not Randidly somewhat regretted not scanning Dozer during their time together to figure out what it was

In order to defuse the tension Randidly smiled and said Look I know I donÆt look it but IÆm a soldier IÆm not here to rob anyone just to do a favor for someone very special to me IÆm supposed to go to this address and take care of the garden

At the mention of being a soldier the Constable scanned him again His eyes lingered on the stump of his left arm Apparently he was satisfied by what he saw so he nodded in respect of one fighting individual recognizing another Unfortunately the BruteÆs gaze only seemed to get meaner In a way Randidly understood it this man was resentful of soldiers because he felt inferior to them

A soldier therefore was a chance to prove himself

WhatÆs the address The Constable asked even as the Brute chewed on his lip

Randidly gave the address given to him by Neveah Instantly the faces of both police officers changed and Randidly realized his mistake The Constable grew almost pitying while the BruteÆs face twisted with glee

But still the Constable gave the Brute a look and asked as if hoping for an affirmative answer do you have any proof that the owner of this address would know who you are

Of course NeveahÆs house was in a very rich neighborhood It was likely enough for these policemen to see the street name and know that it was highly unlikely that Randidly belonged there Especially due to his wound and current dress Which was somewhat insulting to Randidly

I really need to get shiny new armor from Sam Randidly thought sourly

In an attempt to add some levity Randidly said IÆm just surprised you recognized the address Who knew I was rubbing elbows with royalty

Everyone in the Orchard knows where Tia Alexandra lives the Brute said nastily immediately reaching for the baton at his belt And one of my favorite parts of my day is getting read of the sickos like you that stalk her

For several seconds Randidly couldnÆt place the name It was familiar but

Then Randidly froze And his annoyance with Neveah quintupled

She was seriously sending him to prune the garden of that pop singer The one Neveah had been engaged to using his name and the very same one that refused to continue their engagement when Neveah revealed that she wasnÆt him From what he could tell their relationship remained amicable and Neveah continued trying to pursue the girl but this was fucking ridiculous

The Constable sighed Look in consideration for your service how about we just escort you out of the area Without proof itÆs not our call we canÆt let you near the property

Some part of Randidly urged to say Try and stop meÆ and then proceed to wipe the smirk off of the BruteÆs face But ultimately Randidly overrode that impulse For all that the one partner was a bully that didnÆt mean Randidly had the right to be a bully back And at this point Randidly didnÆt think they would believe him if he told them his real name

So he smiled selected a person some distance away and used Phantom Half Step Before the two police officers could move he was gone

For all his anger Randidly proceeded to the house in question and scaled the wall careful to avoid the sensors of the hover drones and cameras Truly it felt like he was breaking into the compound of a celebrity from pre System Earth Deep within the winding maze of outbuildings and walls Randidly found a garden and even though Neveah hadnÆt described it in detail he instantly recognized the work of her hand

Sighing RandidlyÆs annoyance melted away Instead he walked up the garden and rolled up his sleeves Or meant to But with one hand he couldnÆt really roll up his one sleeve So he sent a mental command to Acri and got it to do it for him And then he pulled a root out of the ground and grew it into an arm that he could use for the gardening

The garden was filled was different strains of colored chrysanthemums and leaning lilies They were arranged artfully hand selected and planted from the look of them From his own experience with plant growth related to his Skills Randidly had seen wild things this was not wild It was curated

At its center of the garden was a tall grouping of pale lavender roses The color reminded Randidly of LucretiaÆs hair

Without any context Randidly asked a question mentally to Neveah confident she would respond Is there a meaning behind lavender roses

As he expected the answer came instantly Love at first sight

Randidly sighed and rubbed his forehead Great his intimate connection was with someone who was at least one fourth a fool But he had made a promise so he got to work

Chapter 859

It had been a while since Randidly had used his hands rather than his Skills to work with plants Part of him felt somewhat strange at first digging around the plants and pulling out weeds pruning the dying stems from the flowers Idly he flicked the odd bug from the underside of leaves

But the more that he did so however the more he began to experience a strange sense of connection to the flowers All things fed into images For a long time Randidly had understood the growth and power of plants Their ever present ubiquity in our lives But this was a different side of plants The fragile and foolish immortalization of emotions in a garden The naive pursuit of an immaculate flower

Chasing perfection in an unknowing entity that simply wished to grow and proliferate

Sir please step away from the flower garden

Randidly looked up idly his hand and his plant hand continued to work smoothly in tandem to feel every stem and leaf and check for imperfections The two police officers were there but both were staring nervously at his plant arm With them were two drones Not ones of his make but variants they were around the size of bobcats and likely designed for private use

Randidly returned his gaze to the flowers Ghost I assume you have a microphone I meant to contact you while you were in the city

There was the sound of static and then an answering voice Yes It pleases me greatly to hear from you I have waited with much relish to see the body you promised me

Grinning Randidly said I left the plans at Erickson Steel headquarters Hopefully all the parts are made by now If they havenÆt been able to finish the engraving themselves IÆll come and finish it personally

Hey you fucked up plant stalker The Brute interrupted I donÆt care who you are but

He GhostÆs slightly tinny voice interrupted Is Randidly Ghosthound And I suspect that there are none in the entirety of the Orchard that could keep bar his path ThatÆs enough officers IÆll take it from here

Although he didnÆt look Randidly could sense the Brute wavering between disbelief and fury If that man is the Ghosthound IÆll eat my giant black baton HeÆs missing an arm for Christ’s sake

Truly peculiar but then Mr Ghosthound was never normal Ghost drawled One of the two bobcat drones prodded the Brute Miss Alexandra was informed of the situation and has requested that the officers be escorted off the premises This way please

Before they departed Ghost called back I will be waiting Mr Ghosthound

Randidly nodded idly running a finger along the stem of one of the lavender roses He closed his eyes and savored the sensation Images are built from small truths If IÆm here I might as well take what nuggets of meaning I can

Despite his initial misgivings Randidly found himself spending almost an hour amongst the flowers And when he stood and allowed his plant arm to fall away he was immensely satisfied His right hand was covered in dirt The garden before him already looked greener despite the fact he didnÆt use any Skills directly Ignition of the Emerald Essence seemed to have found a way to invigorate the garden

It didnÆt possess the loving precision that it had previously but RandidlyÆs touch certainly made it glow with life

You are not Neveah

Randidly turned calmly to face the new arrival The lovely young woman was wrapped in an oversized grey hoodie her perfectly sculpted brows scrunched into a frown As Randidly rubbed his dirty had against his pants he grimaced

This is why people think you are a beggar find a sink or something

Then he turned to Tia Yea IÆm the actual owner of this face Randidly I believe we met before briefly

Tia nodded The two looked at each other Tia with much more intensity than Randidly

Finally Tia said You know IÆm sorry you got dragged into the thing with the police and that you had to come here to work on the garden I never I honestly didnÆt think Neveah would keep up with it when she promised to always care for it

Randidly agreed immediately it was a foolish promise One made from a strange being to an honest and bright young woman who fascinated her But despite how foolish it seemed to him it was a promise that Neveah fully intended to fulfill As tiring as that truth was Neveah doesnÆt make empty promises

To that Tia sighed Can you tell her something from me

Randidly finally realized the strange feeling he had in his chest as what he was it seemed like he had somehow stumbled into the middle of some far flung soap opera for the System era Were they being recorded

But in spite of that weird bemusement Randidly assented with a nod

When she gets back from wherever she is IÆll meet her for dinner As friends of course But

After saying a short goodbye Randidly departed And this time he made a beeline for Donnyton He actually hadnÆt spent much time with the two tasks given to him and he certainly learned something from both of them But that didnÆt mean he now wasnÆt very curious as to what Neveah was dealing with that was so pressing that she couldnÆt spare a few hours to do these tasks herself

Besides Randidly wanted to talk to Sam His experience with the police officers left him slightly bitter After all for all that he was dressed well as a dirty wounded soldier he was Randidly Ghosthound It was the modern world shouldnÆt everyone recognize his face

His faux vanity aside Randidly couldnÆt help but wonder when he would completely lose touch with normality He couldnÆt deny that already his life was probably far from most peopleÆs daily existence After all once Randidly departed the Orchard and joined up with his two riders be began to streak across the countryside with such speed that he was gaining ground with the train he was running parallel with

These days most of his activities were training or addressing impending threats Very few moments were like his time wrestling with Arbor ones that allowed him to simply enjoy living Not that most people lived in some idyllic sort of wonderland where these peaceful moments were pedestrian everyone had their own struggles

But RandidlyÆs struggles were a bit less personal as a rule And a few orders of magnitude higher on the ladder of capability

Oftentimes Randidly did his best to avoid thinking about his own growing capabilities but his memory of challenging DonnytonÆs Squads brought it back to the fore of his mind

If he did it again would he be able to overcome them

He was inwardly torn He had obviously seen some of AlanaÆs fight against the ogres Although he missed most of it he had a fair assessment of AlanaÆs strengths from what he had seen She was weaker than Helen was back on Tellus but not by much Most of what she was missing was a powerful edge to her images

Randidly had impressed on Donnyton the importance of images but that wasnÆt enough to teach the way the upper echelon of Tellus could wield the simplest image like a blade to sever the lives of those weaker than them It was something that would take a while to get the hang of but AlanaÆs strength would increase by leaps and bounds if Randidly trained her for a time

Her high Level and Skills would see to that All that was missing was the proper application of the mental component

But a squad of 25 people working together With all of the strongest of Donnyton working together against him

Randidly surprised himself with how much he was looking forward to the prospect Even though at the back of his mind he almost worried more that he would win What would the population think when their worshipped squads were defeated by a single person

What would it mean for Donnyton

what would it mean for the common person to know he held so much power

Then a weird truth occurred to Randidly Instantly his thoughts back to Earth Not because of the reactions from others but because of one factor which he had forgotten to consider Helen

Randidly sighed There is no way that she would let such a large fight going down without insisting on being a part of it The only problem is which side would she be on

Then Randidly shivered as something else occurred to him Better not let her back into the Soulskill for a while If Azriel finds out

Chapter 860

Randidly arrived in Donnyton more like an unpopular aunt than a celebrated hero he arrived silently while bearing his own luggage Several times during his approach he saw patrols or passed through small country villages that dotted the surrounding area but he never allowed himself to be seen The hassle didnÆt seem worth it

In the coming days he would stand before DonnytonÆs population and be known as the Ghosthound but he didnÆt need to deal with such attention now

Keeping the riders concealed was a bit more difficult but RandidlyÆs plant based Skills gave him a very accurate idea of where other people were With that forewarning it wasnÆt impossible to avoid the strangely outfitted riders being seen just slightly obnoxious

After ditching them because bringing them further into the city seemed pointless Randidly arrived at the Northern end of Donnyton slowly walking into an area that looked remarkably quaint There were candle shops and shoe stores and pubs with wide window displays as well as street lights and benches There were clearly paved sidewalks and the streets were cobblestone

The place was a weird mixture between an 18th century village and a shopping outlet It stunk of civilization and commercial success

Taking a deep breath Randidly spun slowly Even now he could feel LyraÆs touch over the town That made his mood dim somewhat but Randidly pressed his eyes closed and shook his head It was a meeting that he would need to have but that didnÆt mean he would need to have it now Plus it had been a long time since Randidly had been in Donnyton he deserved to savor how much this first Village had grown

So as a treat to himself Randidly approached a small tea shop and bought a crepe To his surprise it was honestly one of the best foods he had eaten in a long time So he bought a whole tray Although he wasnÆt much a fan of sweets there was something strangely compelling about the nutella and banana within the thin wrapping of sweet dough

The owner a middle aged man gave Randidly a knowing look Good right

Grinning Randidly nodded

The owner shook his head sorrowfully My wife and daughter make everything in the shop Enchantresses both of them I keep saying that we should put up a sign advertising the best desserts in Donnyton but they donÆt like the idea of it Too ostentatious they say

Then he leaned conspiratorially forward and winked at Randidly But you know what would come from such boasts Income Money flows well enough when the Squads gather for drills but when they are out patrolling just a bit too slow for my taste

After finishing off his crepe Randidly said to the owner Just a tip but I suspect there will be a big influx of Squads soon Get ready for it

Then he walked out of the shop and glanced around It was still a little before noon and there really werenÆt very many people out and about Likely they were performing whatever task they treated as their job in the post System world

Which made Randidly wonder how the economy worked for the average person under the SystemÆs influence Although the owner had haggled a bit he had accepted an ingot of steel for a tray of crepes Probably he had to due to the close proximity to SamÆs production enterprise

Even from here thick columns of smoke could be seen wafting up into the air Due to the air flow some of it was blown in this direction leading to thick low clouds overhead

But Randidly appreciated this man and wanted to give him a little something in order to repay him for such a treat And because Randidly would like to think that those who encountered him would be better for it

So Randidly reached out and touched the entranceway to the little sweet shop and closed his eyes One of the positive results from studying the basics of the engravings that grow was to find some general patterns that could contain a scalable image It wasnÆt just Skills that could be put in such patterns Of course the image was suitably basic to be contained in such a medium but it was still tangible

So Randidly selected the image for positive emotions and carefully traced it upon the door frame Ignition of the Emerald Essence burned the pattern deeply into the wood first then Randidly quickly filled the space with Mana All the while Randidly focused on the calming and positive image of contentment and layered it with Mana

Image Mana Image Mana

For speed Randidly let some of his specificity drop but his broad rough strokes across the doorframe were remarkably deep and even

In a few short minutes Randidly opened his eyes A strange emerald and gold pattern seemed to sparkle its way across the whole of the door the doorframe and part of the surrounding wooden wall Very quickly that flashiness faded to nothing merging with the building All that remained was a barely visible geometric pattern on the door

Nodding to himself Randidly moved deeper into Donnyton When he arrived at the Production District proper the quiet of the suburb gave way to the pounding of molten metal and the shouts of sweating individuals The area had both grown and cleaned itself up since Randidly had been here last

No more were there simply forges spilling out onto the roads most everything was contained in one of the large warehouses that constituted most of the production district There was also extremely helpful signage by the door of each detailing the name and parameters of the group housed within

It seemed like it was encouraged to simply walk into the area if you were looking for a specific type of equipment or weapon Randidly noted with bemusement So Randidly wandered around until he found an area that looked familiar and then proceeded to SamÆs work area

Most of the surrounding area was clear likely as a show of respect for Sam There were just a few groupings of trees below a handmade wooden hut Or at least a building that possessed the facade of a wooden hut The back half was clearly a sprawling metal beast glowing with the heat of a dragonÆs fire but it still retained that rustic exterior

The building was on a low hill As Randidly climbed up to the upper portion he couldnÆt help but look to the East and see a deep valley between two other hills that would provide a beautiful view of the sunset every morning This place would be bathed in dawnÆs rays every morning

Much to RandidlyÆs amusement he found Sam cutting down trees with a handaxe when he approached For a split second Randidly felt himself sliding back into the past where both of them were just pragmatic people trying to cope with the wave of changes that the System had brought

Randidly stopped a few meters behind Sam who was calmly chopping up squat logs of wood WeÆve certainly come a long way from where we started Do you remember protecting those actors and actresses

I remember doing my best Sam growled He brought his handaxe down and split a cord of wood into two pieces I remember one particular headstrong girl sneaking off to make googly eyes at you rather than avoiding monsters It was a hassle

Sam straightened and looked over at Randidly And then he immediately snorted Ha So itÆs true you come back to me like a beggar asking for equipment Do you have nothing remaining

I swam in lava for a while Everything just melted Randidly said flippantly

With sharp eyes Sam measured RandidlyÆs response Then he helplessly shook his head Swam in lava huh I suppose you misplaced your arm in there too Bah youÆre too reckless There are slower methods to accomplish things you know ones that donÆt expose you to as much danger

I donÆt seem very good at choosing those prudent paths Randidly admitted Then he waited to speak as Sam approached

To his surprise the older man simply embraced him He raised his arms and wrapped Randidly in a bear hug The motion almost took Randidly by surprise SamÆs sort of affection was a far cry from ShalÆs But it wasnÆt a bad sensation SamÆs palms were warm and calloused

So making a plant arm Sam asked with a grimace as he pulled away from the embrace and glanced toward the stump of RandidlyÆs left arm

Randidly was still touched by the intimate gesture but chuckled Nah I have enough plant parts I was thinking of designing something of metal

Good man Sam said He gestured for Randidly to follow and walked toward his hut Plants are useful and adaptable but I wouldnÆt trust them half as much as I trust solid steel Oh Erickson Steel is good stuff by the way I donÆt suppose you would be willing to give away their secret

Why does there need to be a secret Randidly teased CanÆt it just be good steel

Sam shook his head in disgust opening the door to his hut and stomping into the workroom Good steel doesnÆt have that coloration or that ability to shape and set like Erickson Blood Steel Takes good to crafting method too itÆs very easy to create an item with extra bonuses with Erickson materials Expensive enough to make a man piss though

The interior portion of SamÆs workroom was densely packed with hanging leathers and plate armor They were laid across tables and hanging from pegs Randidly was mildly impressed just to see the vast scope of armor that hung on the hundreds of wood stakes along the walls The variety was overwhelming

But Sam continued past these hanging pieces without comment so Randidly followed into the forge portion of the building There wasnÆt any wall delineating the shift but it was very clear when the wooden paneled ground shifted to concrete that they had entered into another world Now the wall wasnÆt lined with armor but warped bits of metal of all varieties

Aside from thick tables dotted with scorch marks and solidified metal there were more trinkets adorning the walls But these were different

Some of the pieces were shiny metals hammered into thick globes others were sculpted into delicate brass flowers The pieces along the wall struck Randidly less as Sam testing his own limits as the man compassionately take the time to test the limits of each and every material that appeared before him

It made sense Before you could really use a material you would need to understand its strengths and weaknesses Therefore everything Randidly saw here was just practice Which was somewhat a humblebrag considering how understated the vast sea of metal workings was

Have any thoughts on armor I get a sense of your images from you but it’s fuzzy Easier if you have an idea what to make This set will be on the house as long as you wear it in front of everyone once or twice Time to show the other Zones what Donnyton can do Sam said

Randidly pondered briefly He had some thoughts but a lot of those were quickly reevaluated when Randidly saw the breadth of SamÆs work Perhaps he should be a little more ambitious with his request

So Randidly Ghosthound opened his mouth and told Sam what he wanted

And Sam started to laugh

Chapter 861

With a sizzle the power running through the iron bracer proved to be too much After dancing with sparks of electricity for a second the entirety of it split in half with a sharp crack

Randidly grimly looked down at the sparking remnants on the wooden table Seriously fuck this

It gave him a certain grim satisfaction to take the metal piece outside of the cabin and drop the remnants into a fire pit Then he opened an Eruption of the Blasing Leyline below the metal and melted all of it to the point that there was mostly just a puddle remaining

For good measure he used his Frigid Ash Extinguishing Storm to cool the molten metal back down crushed it into a ball and threw it as far as Randidly could manage off the nearby hill to the thick forest below He considered screaming then but it seemed slightly childish

So he just glared for almost a minute

Feeling much better Randidly returned to the small living quarters he had made for himself to the Northeast of Donnyton and considered the details of creating a growing Engraving within the heavy leather bound book he had received from the Willow Tree Spear Style Not only was the reality of creating such an engraving more difficult than he had expected but it also was an incredible time sink

Randidly released a breath Then in spite of his barely controlled fury he began to work again

Of course he failed once more within ten minutes Randidly knew rationally that half of the problem was precisely his own piss poor attitude but he couldnÆt help but be frustrated by the monotony and relative ease with which the base portion of the growing engraving was made It was deceptively designed to relax the creator into making a mistake

This time Randidly had Acri chop the remnant bits to little pieces He was about to start again on another attempt but this time he forcefully stopped himself This wasnÆt going anywhere He hadnÆt even gained a Skill Level in the last few attempts Sighing he stood and left his basic shelter Hopefully the fresh air would do a lot to take the edge off of his temper

The level of difficulty if not the specific cause had been expected Yet somehow it got under his skin Randidly carefully reflected on the past few hours as he approached and sat under an old oak tree What he hadnÆt expected was how particular the requirements for the growing Engraving were Because the problem was not one specificity and skill but of consistency

The base pattern for the growing Engraving had to be exactly the same through the entirety of the pattern across the equipment Randidly believed he had understood this But he hadnÆt truly understood how difficult it was to warp the pattern to fit the item

For example it was quite easy for Randidly to create the base pattern on a flat sheet of metal Rather time consuming but very doable However if that sheet of metal was bent into a ring the entire pattern had to be subtly twisted in order for it to fit on its new medium Otherwise the pattern not only wouldnÆt match but it wouldnÆt join cleanly with itself on the other side of the material

It was a weird sort of mental muscle that involved three dimensional space and fidelity to reality that Randidly couldnÆt quite manage currently

Which made Randidly realize the real power and frustrating quality of the process it took experience with variables beyond even the normal ones by a fair margin His Mana Engraving Skill was quite high all things considered but this was even beyond that He was mentally sore in ways that he hadnÆt understood were possible

Breathing out through his nose Randidly leaned his head against the pitted tree bark behind him After speaking with Sam about his armor he had bid farewell and found a place outside of the city to gather himself before he met with everyone else With a message to Donny Randidly set up a date in a few days time to greet the leaders of Donnyton and some special talents they wanted him to meet

In addition Randidly had planned to suggest the Squads duel against him at that time But he really wanted some time to begin setting the groundwork for his metal arm before he did that This growing engraving was a part of that

Although Randidly had a nagging feeling that he should head to the Southeast as soon as possible Neveah was much more willing to communicate once he finished the tasks that she had set to him According to her another portal had opened to a foreign world full of monsters in the wake of a Danger Zone being completed She had her hands rather full keeping the lid tight over the pot

Apparently the population density in this new world was quite a bit higher

However Neveah claimed all she was doing was eliminating those that wandered through the portal to keep word from spreading therefore RandidlyÆs presence would make it easier but not solve the problem So he didnÆt necessarily need to drop everything to head down to assist

So he had time So he practiced He aimed to improve

Ultimately Randidly had come to one conclusion he likely would need to upgrade his mechanical arm multiple times as he improved with it He originally hoped that the could create something with a powerful growth aspect now and allow it to grow into something capable for the future But it seemed that it was unreasonable to expect such an aspect to be easily produced Instead

RandidlyÆs expression turned stormy as he thought about the broken bracers

To distract himself Randidly walked down the hill into the Production District His riders he left at his hut willing them to do whatever amused them in the surrounding area Below he ran into a problem he had planned on purchasing more materials but the people here didnÆt want to barter They required cash

So a vexed Randidly considered all the ways he could make cash relatively quickly

The easiest way was to find one of RandidlyÆs old friends who basically controlled the economy of Donnyton No doubt they would be able to fund him But that struck him as profoundly unsatisfactory and would not set the tone right for some of the planning talks he wished to have about how Donnyton should be governed in the future

Instead Randidly made a call to his Head of Operations at Erickson Steel

Ah you’re back Tatiana said Randidly could hear the smile in her voice ItÆs been almost six months you know Several people have tried to buy us up You are lucky most of the core employees like you otherwise you would have come back to find yourself muscled out of the business

That made Randidly grin Muscling me out huh Who

Ricky Stain of all people He made quite a bit of money acting as a trader between the Orchard and the Monster city Probably wanted to get back at you too for ruining his party Tatiana said

After listening to a status report of the company and offering a few solutions Randidly cut to the chase Look IÆm in Donnyton currently is there any way you can send some of my assets to me here to use Quickly

Assets Tatiana seemed amused You told me to reinvest your cut into the facilities and research for the company ThatÆs what I did Plus you didnÆt want to be paid a wage if you werenÆt going to be around Very admirable that Probably why the employees like you But anyway you donÆt have any assets to speak of

Randidly blinked What I own the company that makes the best steel in the world I talked to Sam not four hours ago and he was full of praises for it And he was sure to grumble about the price

Yea there is profit And that was reinvested Maybe check back next quarter Perhaps your investment portfolio will have a better rate then

Randidly felt vexed but he knew he had to let this run its course He had been gone for quite some time and he didnÆt doubt that Tatiana was being honest about the takeover It couldnÆt have been easy to stand firm when the amount of time Randidly had been gone slowly continued to grow This teasing was a small revenge Small enough that he didnÆt mind it

Tatiana Randidly finally said

Yes Mr Ghosthound She replied impishly The smirk was clear in her tone

There isnÆt anything you can do

Well I suppose I could move some things around Through the phone receiver Randidly could hear the sound of Tatiana typing on a keyboard Likely counting up petty cash stores There should be an Erickson Steel distribution center there right IÆll make a few calls Man in charge is named Nick he will give you enough to manage until I can ship you some hard currency Will you be in Donnyton long

At least a week Randidly said unsure of how long he would actually be in the town And Tatiana Thanks

No problem IÆm glad you are back Randidly DonÆt be a stranger The phone line went dead

Very soon Randidly had his cash Several stops into shops later RandidlyÆs expression was even worse than when he had left his work area for a distraction Without thinking Randidly had paid the quoted price for materials at the first location he went to When he proceeded to the next and saw he had given almost double the market price for very barebones equipment he had wanted to experiment with Randidly was furious

He had half a mind to rush back and demand a refund but Randidly hoped he hadnÆt grown that petty Instead he just secretly memorized the name and promised himself to never ever shop from such an individual ever again

And so he returned to his hut his ring filled with base equipments to attempt the growth engraving After splashing water on his face Randidly got to it

It really was soothing in a very monotonous horrible way It was the careful and considered drawing of a shape onto an armor The only important bit for this portion was making sure the entire thing was completely symmetrical Not only in shape and size but also in the depth of Mana engraved into each portion

The latter mistakes wouldnÆt ruin it now but would become a dangerous liability when the Skill hidden within began to grow

Randidly tskÆd with dissatisfaction as he leaned back from his most recent attempt This one too was a failure although not to the degree that it would smoke and split when filled with energy like some of the others But as Randidly stared fixedly at the minute flaws in the pattern he had a strange epiphany

By drawing this pattern IÆm adding a dimension to the item that the Skill can inhabit The reason it has to be so uniform self contained and specific is because what you are essentially doing is creating a world for the growing Skill Engraving to live in

That gave Randidly pause Because sometimes the right image was all you needed And Randidly knew a thing or two about creating a world from scratch

Chapter 862

Dozer scratched his head looking at the rather empty parade ground Not much to look at now but when the Squads are all gathered well it’s impressive Very moving to see everyone drilling in unison Alana lectures sometimes and draws a thousand people

Helen nodded absently Surely the large flat ground surrounded by low wall and outbuildings was impressive but it wasnÆt anything compared to the Colosseum of Hastam where the under 25 Tournament was fought It honestly seemed to be rather hastily erected And constructed of wood rather than heavy stone

Instead of focusing on the background Helen was fascinated by the dozens of people training on the grounds even now Although Dozer spoke dismissively of the people here it only took a glance to see that they were all very competent with their weapons And some people with weapons that Helen had never even seen

From what she could understand this Donnyton held a very important place in the heart of this Earth It was with pride that some of the people in AlanaÆs squad boasted that they were the strongest army on Earth

Perhaps not due to numbers but simply looking at complexity and fluidity of movements Helen could believe it while watching these Squads practiced

Groups between five and twenty five moved together and toward each other It seemed that there were several practices going on concurrently in the area There were more Helen struggled not to say spellspears spellcasters likely about ten two to each group Although they were not the core of the Squads that Helen saw they were definitely important To see that they made up such a large part of this worldÆs armies was a shock

When Helen had heard Randidly talk casually about tactics during his first visit to Tellus she had a difficult time understanding him It was true that the spear wasnÆt infallible but it was the greatest weapon ever invented It was used by the Spearman to save the world It was in her blood to worship the spear

After being exposed to RandidlyÆs energy and straying some from her home planet Helen was able to finally grasp how the Spearman had shaped the world with his spear Not necessarily to TellusÆ detriment but there was a cost by the excessive focus on the spear

It only took a spar each with Annie and Ptolemy to realize how costly abandoning all other weapons truly were Against Annie Helen could do practically nothing the other woman was able to fire off a string of deadly projectiles from a distance without giving Helen a chance to approach With the Domain restrictions on her strength keeping her speed down she had no chance to close the distance

Ptolemy was a more manageable matchup but his cantrips and Skills often left Helen infuriated So much so that she had unleashed a diatribe of filth so overwhelming that he had hurriedly put an end to the spar believing the anger to be real

Well it was real Helen admitted But it would only have lasted until I smashed his face into the ground

ItÆs Helen opened her mouth to respond to Dozer but the emotions were too tightly wound in her chest The strange exhilaration of seeing the world that birthed Randidly A frustration that the passage to this world had so restricted her strength Wounded pride that she hadnÆt won a single spar against Dozer All of it conflicting and exacerbating each other until Helen didnÆt have a nameable feeling remaining within her chest but simply the seemingly endless beat of her own heart

Again Dozer scratched his cheek YouÆve got that look

Trying to play off the growing kernel of excitement in her chest Helen casually shrugged But that kernel of heat was dangerously close to igniting those compressed frustrations she held in her breast Huh DonÆt project your emotions onto me

This thing you do isnÆt cute Dozer grunted I can see it on your face You want to spar

For several seconds they held each otherÆs gaze Then Dozer looked away He whistled Hey Clarissa You in the middle of something important I need some help putting someone through the HoundÆs Ladder

The two larger groups that were fighting each other with brutal efficiency the moment before slowed and peacefully disengaged from one another It was incredible to Helen that they were at each otherÆs throats one moment and then peaceably laughing the next

There is a comradery to the violence they wield Helen realized It held none of the brutality that she had learned from her mother or the stern disapproval that was the attitude of most of Tellus No this this way of viewing fighting itÆs the same acceptance that Randidly shows

One of the mages at the back of the group walked out leaning against her tall staff Her hair was frizzy and greying at the edges Nothing important here just helping a lower thirties Squad by letting them practice with us But this will be fun for them too Who’s the sad victim You want a go Dozer

Dozer jerked his thumb at Helen Never again This one A masochist Brought around by Randidly Wants it more than has it but possesses a lot of potential

Helen wanted to curl up into a ball and die while simultaneously beheading Dozer It wasnÆt that she didnÆt have it it was that Randidly had deprived her of it with his stupid Domain

The mage eyed Helen critically Then she offered her a wide smile as if some invisible test had been passed Alright but make sure you put us through our paces These fools need the combat experience

Randidly paused in his work to glance subconsciously at his left arm For whatever reason he could feel Helen practically yanking against the bindings of his Domain A seed of a headache was slowly digging into the area above RandidlyÆs temple

Closing his eyes Randidly considered his Domain It was already Level 43 meaning that it had risen by twelve Levels over the course of the last few days And Randidly would be lying if he said that it had anything to do with him He was doing his best to isolate himself so he could familiarize himself with one arm fighting and learn his new Engraving Mostly it was HelenÆs stubborn refusal to back down against the bindings of her circumstances

It was truly admirable Inspiring even

Randidly wished she would fucking quit it

Gritting his teeth Randidly returned to his engraving and did his best to ignore the strange sensation of tugging on his Domain Perhaps it was due to the outside influence but Randidly moved quickly through the rest of the pattern His focus was razor sharp and when he finished he was surprised to find that the energy flowed easily through the pattern

After half closing his eyes Randidly felt the new world he had created within the breastplate It was a thin and flimsy thing unable to hold much That was due to how large Randidly had made the pattern This gave him more room to correct the pattern across the contours of the armor but it reduced the amount of space that the Skill growing within would have to grow

This portion of the manual on engraving was a bit more amorphous You had to prime the pattern for accepting the Skill The understandable portion of this was you needed to ensure that the Mana depth for the engraving was uniform This was important because any flaw would cause an imbalance that would lead to the destruction of the armor

Randidly checked quickly and found a few places that were too shallow or too deep Grimacing Randidly carefully deepened the entire pattern Making a mark too shallow wasnÆt that big of a deal Randidly realized You could simply deepen that portion to match the rest

But if an area was too deep the entire pattern needed to be deepened in order to match it The deepness didnÆt refer to anything physical but simply to the amount of Mana stored in each line And the deeper the Mana was within the lines the easier it was to overlook small flaws in the construction of the engraving It increased the difficulty of uniformity exponentially

A once over ensured that the pattern was mostly complete This time as well RandidlyÆs energy pulse to check the small world for the Skill to grow also came back successful Somewhat bemused Randidly sat back in his chair

Acri raised its head to consider its master Randidly waved a hand showing that he was fine In fact he was happy

But then thinking about Acri

It had been a day since he had seen his two riders He was so caught up in his Engraving that he hadnÆt even thought about it Where had they gone

Could he just leave them wandering around They did look a bit like monsters

Fuck me Randidly muttered as he looked down at his nearly engraved breastplate There wasnÆt any specific statement of such within the book but Randidly couldn’t imagine it was good for the engraving to have a cooldown period between when the energy was inserted into the equipment and when the Skill was added Likely the energy would begin to react strangely when it wasnÆt put immediately to use

He sent a mental command to the riders to return but the distance meant that the connection was extremely distant It didnÆt seem like anything could go through their mental communication He could unsummon them and then resummon them but he was still curious about whether they could grow in intelligence So Randidly just threw up his hands and simply pulsed Mana along the connection to them

They would definitely feel that and hopefully return to investigate But for now that would have to be enough

After all what was the worst that could happen

Chapter 863

The HoundÆs Ladder Helen came to understand was an exercise based upon something that Randidly had done previously It was a reduced version of course but it was a training exercise designed to show hotheaded recruits that their individual strength mattered very little in the grand scheme of things

Before a cohesive squad an individual could only struggle and fail

It was a series of ten fights increasing in difficulty until the final fight where you essentially fought all of the previous nine groups of opponents at the same time Most people were so unsuccessful in the earlier rungs of the ladder that they gave up before the end

After the details of the fight were explained to herself Helen resolved to not give up no matter what

She seriously reconsidered that after having her nose broken during the first rung

The first fight was against three people all from the Thirty eighth Squad of Donnyton Quietly Helen asked what the numbering meant and was informed that this meant that there were thirty seven groups of ten people better than this Squad in the town And that didnÆt even include those individuals who were apparently strong enough to have their own Raid Squad

The whole system seemed a bit confusing to Helen but she surmised that these were simply run of the mill fighters and not the elite Therefore she took them rather lightly

That was a mistake

Their formation was simple They had two warriors with sword and shield and one spellcaster behind them Although Helen found the range of the sword extremely short she couldnÆt deny the efficacy of their rather large shields When the fight began she was immediately wary of the spellcaster But an entire minute passed with him standing passively at the back allowing the two sword and shield users to edge out and pressure Helen from an angle

They were efficient and brutal with their sword strikes but they had no image behind them Helen was able to knock them away effortlessly However all of her counter attacks were simply endured and deflected by the broad side of the shield It was infuriatingly easy for the shield to endure her attacks because her Skills were vastly reduced by RandidlyÆs Domain

Helen could only rely on her images to strengthen her strikes She felt some give but With the constant threat of the caster looming Helen was unwilling to risk an all out attack to try and break through

Time crept past Very soon Helen grew impatient Time to test their edges She lashed out powerfully at one of the two melee fighters

She had enough strength to stumble him with two powerful follow up attacks but the other hustled in to slam his shield into her side Grinning Helen spun around him and outside of the twoÆs encirclement so they were in a line and unable

Lightning Bolt

As soon as Helen moved apart from the melee fighters the waiting spell caster shot a bolt of cobalt electricity through the air Instincts took over and Helen scrambled to the side The spell cracked past her leaving the smell of ozone in its wake As she righted herself she found the two melee fighters moving closer with a grim purpose

HelenÆs Domain exploded outward and she used pure speed to slip between them With her spear raised she rushed intently toward the spell caster As long as they continued to interfere this would be almost impossible

Flash

For almost a second Helen wasnÆt sure what was happening Her vision was simply white Blinking she abruptly realized that she had been briefly blinded She spun around and leapt to the side to escape any danger and smashed face first into a shield As she fell on her ass a flat piece of metal was pressed briefly against her cheek

It was so so cold before it dragged its chill metal across the skin and away

Slowly Helen forced her gaze to return to focus

That counts as a loss Dozer said You ready for the next rung

Helen reached up and wiped away the blood that was dribbling out of her nose Fuck yea

If the world that the pattern on the equipment made was the imageÆ that the Skill should follow the energy and shape that Randidly injected into it next was the energyÆ Without both the Skill wouldn’t exist and therefore couldnÆt grow It was only by combining both that something special would be born

All things possess duality The interesting part is in the details

As Randidly slowly traced the shape he wanted into the pattern the metal began to hiss and steam Frowning Randidly reached out and carefully felt the Mana Engravings that conveyed the energy through the equipment Immediately he hissed in annoyance there was a small flaw that was allowing Mana to escape

Ignoring the heated metal Randidly crumpled the low Level breastplate into a ball and threw it across the room toward the trash can It would have gone into it but it bounced off of a dozen similarly crumpled failures from his work earlier in the day that were already piled within the basket

Glancing out the window Randidly confirmed that it was still a reasonable portion of the day Dinner time would be soon and that meant that he would have only one more day that Randidly had to sit still and work on his engraving After that came becoming the Ghosthound for the people of Donnyton

His progress with Engraving was worse than he had anticipated Then pattern portion was nearing a 50% success rate but that was an inherently flawed figure Because every one of his successes had small defects in the Mana uniformity that led to energy escaping and quickly made any previous success pointless

Humming Randidly stood and walked over to his hastily erected forge It wasnÆt complicated but it would be enough to heat and shape the base metals he had obtained from Donnyton Without much care he produced a dozen or so pounds of iron ore and dumped it into the furnace

These he heated quickly relying on his Ignition of the Emerald Essence rather than more natural fire He quickly realized that fineness of his senses toward the Engraving was vastly improved when it was imbued with his image already so he now forged almost exclusively with the vivifying emerald fire

It made the forge somewhat spooky but it was still possible to see by once you grew used to the coloration

Randidly had another thought but he hadnÆt it tested it yet Perhaps part of the reason that he was so poor at sensing the flaws in the uniformity was that he didnÆt understand the pattern that he was using as implicitly as he should These were the simplest templates given by the text but the reality proved that he didnÆt have the delicate touch necessary for such work yet

This could only be earned with time But Randidly suspected just like forging with this fire helped a bit relying on his own images for the pattern would also give him an edge

Which meant that he had a shortcut if one ignored the onerous prospect of creating a scalable pattern out of one of his images Plus there would then be no proof that such a thing was possible That at least was guaranteed by these templates from the leather bound book

As he quenched the newly shaped batch of breastplates Randidly considered the option of making his own pattern Of all his images the easiest to scale was probably the Emerald Essence itself Fire and chaos Ash as an image was a bit difficult to pin down The Spear Phantom and the Tree of Yggdrasil struck him as slightly too complicated

Of course Ignition of the Emerald Essence wasnÆt just fire But it seemed to Randidly that isolating the image to just the fire portion of it would be the rather simplest cut that he could make From there

Randidly walked outside and cleared a small patch of grass and plants Then in the dirt he began to lightly sketch out a simple pattern for the image Two mirrored tongues of flame leaning toward each other repeating infinitely

Several times he erased what he had done and began again and there were moments where he was struck by a sudden change he needed to make to the image So he slowly erased his entire thing and began again breathing life into the pattern

Again and again he erased and remade it For every iteration the next one came together slightly more quickly slightly sharper but always just off

The sun slowly slipped behind the horizon but Randidly didnÆt mind what he was doing was creating a world He shouldnÆt worry about the time spent developing the world

The more he worked the deeper the sun sank and the more that the sky shifted from light blue toward maroon and then finally to bruised plum As he continued to study and remake the pattern he painstakingly drew in the dirt Randidly reached out and felt those individuals who he had brought with him from Tellus

Their images flowed through his fingers and onto the ground carving out a world From them he felt their fervent belief in fire

When the light of the sky dimmed to the point that it was difficult to capture the feeling of what he was doing Randidly grew torches from woven grass and set them afire with Ignition of the Emerald Essence Underneath the glow of the light that spawned the pattern the whole thing seemed to sway and dance

Some part of Randidly realized that what was happening didnÆt make logical sense He should be having more difficulty in drawing now that the flickering flames around his work area were casting shadows across the pattern But the pattern seemed to flicker in response It was slowly waking becoming a world that could house a Skill

At some point the moon rose into the sky and Randidly leaned back on his heels He considered the pattern which continued to swim in his vision even as he focused upon it with all of his Willpower This shouldnÆt be working It was a dumb idea that didnÆt give proper respect to the uncountable years that the Willow Tree Spear Style put into its manual on creating growing Engravings

As Randidly looked down at the pattern he felt deep in his gut that this would work He knew this pattern and because of that fact he could intuitively sense the flaws in it It was a world that he understood

Releasing a breath Randidly turned around and went back into his hut It was useful the truth about the System that this success proved But it was also a dangerous truth

The more self absorbed you are the more the System responds to that isolationist image I only wonder is that because that is the type of image that the System is trying to cultivate or

or is it because that is the sort of image on which the entire System is built

Slowly at first Randidly began to engrave

Chapter 864

Ed was guzzling wine when Mrs Hamilton spoke to the group She needed to act quickly while he was distracted This was not a subject that he would normally have much knowledge about and therefore shouldnÆt offer an opinion Of course that meant he was all the more likely to say something

It was a balance these dinners with Ed But he was valuable in his own way So Mrs Hamilton ignored the sound of gulping and said I think itÆs time we all acknowledge a fact Randidly is back in town and he will very likely rile up the Squads for another challenge Even considering his prior failure I am worried

To her great relief Ed didnÆt seem particularly interested in this tidbit of discussion But around the table Sam stared at the glossy reflection of his butter knife Donny frowned down at his lap Alana meticulously tore small bits off of her roll and devoured them

And they will love him for it Alana commented lightly Like an eagleÆs talon she scythed into the bread and ripped herself off another piece Even I can feel my heart pounding at the thought Who will win I wonder

ThereÆs no way he can grow fast enough to keep up with an entire Raid Squad Donny finally said as he raised his head to look around the table Bekany tittered and poured Ed some more wine The man had the decency to hide a belch behind his hand but then continued to drink HeÆs strong Still the strongest Perhaps But against a whole group

He treated the Ogre Ironfist like a child Alana said He didnÆt even need to move to cow them he simply dispersed their Skills And he didnÆt appear particularly worn out by the whole experience At least in terms of scale he has the capabilities to handle a large group of people It would be better to think of him less as an individual and more as an established Raid Boss with Lieutenants that are just as dangerous as he is

What are his lieutenants then Ed cut across the discussion as he scratched his belly Everyone seemed rather surprised that he had spoken But Mrs Hamilton felt a great deal of relief One of the few things that she respected about Ed was his ability to accomplish a task Although few things struck Ed as appropriate enough to get involved in the man was a master of finishing things he started

So Mrs Hamilton had left out enough bait that he would be drawn into this very conversation Because under no circumstances could Donnyton allow itself to be dominated now by Randidly Ghosthound Their previous victory had preserved their honor They needed another victory to truly establish independence

Still it was a delicate balance to deal with Ed It would be very easy for him to lead the talk straight toward bickering

His Skills Sam finally said Mrs Hamilton felt something like pity for Sam She knew how much he disliked Ed for all of his practical uses Speaking up must have been difficult We are aware of his abilities with plants and fire But it would be too much to hope he hasnÆt gathered a few more tricks since we have seen him last

Huh Ed said Then he cut himself another piece of the cheesecake

Mrs Hamilton pressed her lips into a line Seemed like this wasnÆt enough to get him involved Well it was a long shot anyway Besides dragging Ed into the discussion she also wished to make sure everyone else understood how important this upcoming challenge would be Assuming Randidly would bring it up

But Alana was right Randidly would obviously bring it up It was in his blood to test himself It would feel nostalgic to Randidly to attempt it It would feel natural to seek his value against that of the world for Randidly He was young That was his prerogative

Yet Donnyton couldnÆt afford to have its title of strongest shaken at the moment

Donny leaned forward If we come at him together I doubt he would be able to stand it There are limits to human ability He might toe that line but he cannot cross it

Agreed Sam said Besides I could tell from his mannerisms that his lost arm is a recent development Even for the best warriors that will slow him down some His Skills are powerful but he is not critically weaker than he was previously If we bring it close he will have no choice but to be pressed onto his back foot

Alana looked at Mrs Hamilton Mrs Hamilton sighed Perhaps that may be true But you must remember that whatever place he went to previously saw him returning vastly improved in close combat Even with a handicap he shouldnÆt be underestimated In addition he now has a Class He has been Leveling DonÆt you recall the growth you experienced after obtaining a Class In terms of Stats I doubt anyone is close to his match

That silenced the table Bekany tittered Wow I canÆt wait to meet him IÆve heard so much about him

In agreement Ed thumped his fist on the table ItÆs high time that I meet the boy as well He basically founded the town right I need to give him a piece of my mind

As one Alana Donny Sam Regina and Mrs Hamilton rolled their eyes

Why did he choose a location so rife with limestone Does he understand how difficult it is to add sewage lines through ten feet of limestone If this was the world before the System Ed muttered darkly Like all things this somehow revolved around Ed and his work

After a suitable amount of time had passed Mrs Hamilton continued IÆve contacted Stan to talk about tactics But I simply wanted to bring the matter up so everyone was aware of what was occurring

Regina who had been quiet for most of the dinner sighed Not only is Sam refusing to come home at night but now IÆll need to ready the Surgery Division shall I I donÆt suppose such a challenge can be kept within safe parameters

Alana and ReginaÆs relationship was close enough that Alana didnÆt bother to suppress her low and throaty chuckle

Clearing his throat Ed spoke again with the red flush of intoxication infusing his cheeks Is such a fellow really worth all the time and attention heaped upon him As long as he is isolated I donÆt see why this is such an ordeal Simply tire him out and knock him down It should be almost impossible for one man to pierce the defense shell erected by Donnyton regardless of Skills

Unfortunately not Donny said with a sigh ThatÆs what makes our run ins with the Nemesai so dangerous every time Most of DonnytonÆs training is focused on making the soldiers ready for monster attacks Although they use Skills itÆs mostly a matter of physical superiority and size Attacks are generally powerful but predictable

Not so against people They have Skills they are mobile and they generally can the hard defenses and strike where you are weak For all that I think we will win Randidly wonÆt make it easy Donny rubbed his chin In terms of Agility it will be hard to keep up Trapping him would be a high priority and that will definitely need a plan

Alana drummed her fingers against the table WeÆve only really given Stan rather low stress engagements to control so far Things he has felt far away from With how nervous he is

Donny waved a hand We canÆt coddle him forever Besides his problem started with something Randidly said to him didnÆt it Perhaps a chance to redeem himself is exactly what he wants

Ed nodded emphatically in agreement Exactly A man needs to fight his enemies Perhaps not physically but in a direct fashion ItÆs only by facing your foe that you grow to understand him Take this Randidly character for instance Now I wonÆt obviously bother to force it to a duel but I will do my damnedest to stand up for my moral code He might waltz into town thinking he owns the place but

Yes yes Sam said dismissively But we havenÆt discussed the most important detail IÆll be creating armor for Randidly so I feel somewhat conflicted to be here

You arenÆt seriously suggesting that your armor would shift the outcome of the fight Ed scoffed On cue Bekany tittered

Regina sighed Oh he definitely is

To compare a well equipped man to a barehanded one is to compare a cannonball to a grape Sam growled his eyes narrowed and locked upon Ed

Mrs Hamilton sighed it seemed that all hope of a productive discussion had been lost for the night

Ed leaned forward and pointed his thick finger at Sam You need to stop treating this man like heÆs some sort of incarnate of god HeÆs just some punk kid that was at the right place at the right time Now sure heÆs stronger than the average maybe even currently the strongest person on Earth But how long will that last HeÆs just one man And probably arrogant to boot IÆm starting to rethink meeting him

Donny chuckled You donÆt have a choice Ed You might think you do but you donÆt ThatÆs just the type of guy he is As long as you remain in Donnyton he will creep his way into your life without you even noticing

At the crack of dawn Ed snuck out of bed careful not to wake his wife Not only to save himself from the nattering but because Ed had a secret life One that he kept secret from his wife not to keep her from finding out what he did but to prevent everyone else from finding out that the thing he did was done by him Ed

With a little application of illusion he erased his own mustache For several long seconds he stared sourly at his reflection in the mirror Without his fine mustache he just looked old And balding Shaking his head at the sacrifices he made for his love Ed snuck out of his home

This all was necessary because Ed had made his money creating the sewer system of Donnyton and then expanding it to Franksburg With all the shit flowing between two booming cities he established a super large waste treatment center between them His wife believed that he spent most of his days down South at that facility running experiments to make the conversion of human waste more efficient

That wasnÆt the case Because Ed had a dream

A dream that was wholly incompatible with the man who was known as the lord of shit

Humming softly Ed strolled across Donnyton toward the Northern portion of the city At this time of the morning there were a lot of individuals flowing down from the mountain toward their work Due to the steady flow of bodies he was simply lost in the throng

It was only outside his secret shop that Ed paused He twitched his invisible mustache Was there something different about his door

Ed considered it for several seconds Then he harrumphed Probably the contractor used cheap paint and the color was washing out in the sun ThatÆs what Ed would have done Tsking at being taken advantage of Ed unlocked the shop and walked into the store

After all he needed to get a start on the dayÆs baking For whatever reason there was an increase in customers for the past two days Perhaps that black haired young man was right Perhaps a change was coming to Donnyton

Chapter 865

Annoyed at the seemingly inexplicable trouble with this Skill Randidly looked up at the three recently created Riders of the Baleful Court They were slightly larger than the previous duo that he had created but he chalked that up to the fact that the Skill Level had increased since the previous two had been summoned

By a lot More than was explained by Randidly just having them active Whatever that damned duo was up to so distantly from him it was certainly earning him Skill Levels

But no matter how much he pulsed the energies of the Skill they didnÆt return Was the distant reducing the connection that much Yet it seemed too much of a reaction to simply unsummon them from a distance Still Randidly was not pleased that they were being so uncooperative

He raised his finger and jabbed it at the three new summons Follow the connection Find your two predecessors and then drag them back here ThatÆs an order As he said the word order he allowed his Crown of Upheaval and Gloom to briefly manifest above his head The figures of the riders bowed in understanding Then they set off

Which left Randidly standing in front of his little cabin smoke from the forge wafting upward Turning around he walked back inside

Waiting for him within was the buckler shield that he had been toying with for almost four hours His first success in creating a growing Skill within an engraving For his trouble he had earned ten Levels in Mana Engraving was enough to push him up to Level 196 He held a lot of anticipation for a new Path opening to him when he reached Level 200

Hopefully it would drastically reduce the hair pulling involved with this process

The Skill contained in the buckler shield was Emerald Barrier It was only a common ranked Skill and compared to what Randidly could manage on his own it conjured a positively wispy barrier of thin emerald flames After some brief experimentation it could barely block the attack of a monster at Level 9

Yet its a success Randidly thought as he suppressed a grin

Successive uses had raised its Level even as it depleted its store of energy At Level 4 Randidly waited patiently for the energy to come back while he continued to further perfect the curving flame pattern he had used to make it

One big breakthrough Randidly had discovered was that the speed at which energy returned to the item after the Skill was used didnÆt appear to be based upon the pattern or quality of the engraving at all Rather it was just based upon the materials The common metals that constituted the buckler had little to no Mana affinity and therefore the gathering of energy was rather slow Almost one use every four hours charged up

Which was why Randidly promised himself that his next attempt would be using more Mana sympathetic materials

That speed of recovery slowly increased as the Level increased but it was insignificant From his observations maybe the Levels already gathered shaved a minute off of the recharge time Likely if he hadnÆt thought to check before he had Leveled it he wouldnÆt have noticed the shift in recharge time

In addition the text of the Engraving made him believe that as the Level increased so did the number of charges that could be saved up up to the Level itself Which once the Engraving grew to Level 20 or so and was allowed to charge up would be extremely useful to those who acquired it

While Randidly waited for the buckler to charge under the midday sun he moved smoothly through his spear forms He practiced both the action the Skill and then the image for his Spear Phantom and Ashen Kata Skills

Randidly looked with pity at the circle of grass outside his hut where he practiced The alternating heat and freezing cold from his images had turned it to withered brown weeds Of course a few hours near him would invigorate the foliage simply by virtue of his continued use of Ignition of the Emerald Essence But Randidly felt somewhat bad he was a walking ecological disaster

When he finished moving through his spear forms his focus shifted Instead of combat Randidly practiced Mana Engraving where his goal was not to create a growing Skill in an item but simply imbue a Skill into the item For the sake of perfecting the shape and image Randidly continued to use Emerald Barrier

After about seven attempts Randidly held a tower shield in his hand and looked critically at its attributes

Sturdy Tower Shield (Un) Lvl 36 A tower shield that was made with quality ingredients It will hold up well underneath extended periods of violence Birthed in an Emerald Fire II Skill Lvl 36 Emerald Barrier (Skill Level limited by Item Level) Endurance +10 Health and Stamina +30

Birthed in an Emerald Fire II Strange energies were used to forge this shield Due to that the user will be invigorated by the vestiges of that birth Vitality and Focus +9

Randidly nodded shortly to himself He had tested this Skill as well and the conjured barrier really was about the strength of a monster at Level 36 Most humans could break it with Skills but against monsters it certainly served its purpose

Plus the greatest benefit was that it wouldnÆt drain the userÆs Mana pool Over the course of a long fight saving every pinch of Mana counted

Nodding sharply Randidly prepared to make another Engraved Skill attempt with a higher Level weapon but was distracted by the sound of someone walking up the path toward his hut He briefly cast his mind around for who it could be but nobody came to mind His meeting with the Donnyton leadership was tomorrow afternoon after all

Would someone come out to visit him early

Obvious he would sense if it was those damned Riders and he believed he would have sensed long before if it was Neveah or someone else who was touched by his Aether like Helen Perhaps it was Sam

There was a chill in his heart when Randidly walked outside because another option presented itself to his mind But no it was not Lyra that walked up the path toward his cabin It was a gruff man wearing the distinctive blood spattered leather apron of a butcher

Slightly bemused Randidly stood outside of his house and watched the man approach When he reached the summit of the hill the man nodded an extended a hand toward Randidly Well met YouÆre new in these parts right IÆm Jameson the local butcher

Erickson Randidly said slowly as he shook the manÆs hand It was a firm grip On a whim Randidly scanned the man with Aether he was Level 42 Meat Artisan

Inwardly Randidly whistled Not just the local butcher an advanced butcher Class huh And from the scars and calluses on the manÆs hands he didnÆt earn those 42 Levels by slicing meat It was much more likely that he had served on DonnytonÆs Squads for a significant period of time to reach that Level

Or he was around at the founding of Donnyton and had to go through that meat grinder No pun intended

Seeing that RandidlyÆs expression was friendly Jameson continued Saw smoke from your fire a few days back made a note to check it out As a butcher IÆm always looking for new sources of meat And if a man has enough balls to set up a homestead so far from Donnyton proper Well people like you are often the best sources for meat

RandidlyÆs eyebrows rose You are here to buy monster bodies that IÆve killed

ThatÆs basically it So Mr Erickson anything IÆd be interested in I generally buy things above Level 20 but as a show of good faith

ThatÆs no problem Randidly said as he thought of what was sitting in his interspatial ring The money sent to him from Erickson Steel had in fact been running low recently as he continued to experiment with materials to improve the regeneration rate of the Skills Engraved into the items Making a little extra money from these bodies couldnÆt hurt

One of the few paths that Randidly had never really taken the time to understand well enough to gain a Skill was butchering and extracting materials from monsters Mostly he had left it to Sam There were some exceptions but that was only when there was something obviously valuable from a corpse that Randidly had ripped off of it with brute force It barely qualified as dressing a corpse

Humming to himself Randidly produced a half dozen of the intact Raptor bodies he had encountered while searching for Naffur At the time he thought their scales might be useful but he had completely forgotten about the bodies after that For good measure Randidly brought out two Level 71 Shadow Reapers basically giant hyenas that he had encountered when he went to observe how the ogres were settling into their new habitat

The bodies tumbled to the ground like rag dolls the ring having prevented rigor mortis from setting in

Jameson blinked in surprise Well well Looks like coming up here wasnÆt a waste Let me just slice off a piece so I can get a sense of a fair price for the body wow these scales

In an expert manner Jameson produced a knife and crouched down next to one of the raptors His knife blurred as he casually cut at the chest of the raptor The was a soft hiss as the blade was drawn across the scales but nothing happened Randidly looked up toward the sky

Awkwardly coughing the butcher glanced up at Randidly then down at the corpse After a hesitation he simply reached into the wound Randidly had made in the raptor’s side with Acri and cut off a sliver of meat He examined the meat critically then popped it right into his mouth

Instantly his eyes brightened Good Damn good A little musky and sour but tender as hell Where did you get this

Up north Randidly said shortly watching the butcher with a bit of sadness in his eyes But if the other man wasnÆt going to ask

IÆm not sure about the poundage Jameson picked up a raptor experimentally and winced They were likely almost 300 lbs although most of that probably wasnÆt meat But IÆll give you twenty coins a head And these two bigguns they are even a higher Level arenÆt they

As Jameson examined the Shadow Reapers critically Randidly nodded his head in assent

Fifty each Which brings the total to 220 coins

That seems fine Randidly said after a short period of consideration He wasnÆt sure of the value of the bodies but he had practically forgotten about them so he didnÆt mind losing some value In addition 220 Donnyton coins was about half the amount that he had gotten from Erickson Steel

When a few coins could buy several high quality pieces of metal and processed wood it certainly seemed fair to give away these high Level corpses for ten times that

So what Level are they anyway Jameson asked casually

Randidly sighed No helping it now Level 62

kkgh Jameson steadied himself on the imposing raptor corpse then abruptly stood and idly rubbed his bloody hand against his apron And then these are higher

Level 71 if I recall correctly

Jameson choked on his quickly gathering saliva

Perhaps I should split their hide before you take them Randidly offered Although talented and an impressive Level for a civilian it was clear this man didnÆt have the ability to handle the meat on his own

With dull eyes Jameson nodded Randidly produced Acri and got quickly to work splitting them down the stomach so they would be easier to work with

Then as he finished a thought occurred to Randidly He turned to Jameson Any chance you would be in the market for engraved shields as well

Chapter 866

Azriel released her breath and slumped against the tall pillar behind her Her pounding heart sounded like the intense beat of tribal war drums in her ears but she pressed her eyes shut and forced the beating to slow

The battle is over Foolish body Why do you still fear this

Rejt sat down next to her Woo impressive No wonder you are a friend of Randidly Your ferocity is impressive

You were thinking intimidating werenÆt you Azriel said with amusement without opening her eyes DonÆt worry most men find me intimidating Even now

Pah I am Rejt The Scarred One I was marked by the Progenitor while he was still a god It takes quite a lot more than that for me to be intimidated

Azriel was barely able to exercise her control and prevent herself from responding He did not need her to pick a fight with the correctness of his words now They had cleared the area surrounding this unlit lighthouse in the basin only by working together Besides she was tired And it was not her role to correct this bold man

A tremor ran through Azriel I no longer know my role I am lost

That was the truth that Azriel uncovered as she explored the mysterious world inside of Randidly Her weakness was due to the fact that the image that had been given to her by her Master had been ripped out of her and destroyed But the reason she wasnÆt able to regain her strength very quickly was that the goal she had chased for her entire life repaying her Master was completed

Azriel felt

adrift

She opened her eyes and gazed up at the lighthouse above them A calculating light appeared in her eyes

Of course even though she was growing slowly in her mind she was still a step above anyone from this world Most of them were still attempting to understand Skills and Stats It was amusing that these people did not grow up within the embrace of the System but it also filled her with worry

Fear tightened its grip around her heart After so long fighting for another it was difficult for Azriel to think of her life as solely her own And vastly more horrifying Because soon the people of this world would understand what they were missing and their speed of growth would increase by leaps and bounds

If she continued at this rate their growth would surpass hers easily Very quickly she would be left behind

More than anything else Azriel feared that Almost as much as she was infuriated by the caring look of genuine concern in RandidlyÆs eyes Those eyes that said it was okay for her to be weak But that was not the way of the work

It was not okay to be weak

If she was weak she would be tossed aside

She still had her old Class but it was rotting She could feel it The passage of so many dangerous images through her it had warped her Class Although the weight of the images had passed the damage had not It groaned under the demands she placed upon it Very soon it would collapse

She had attempted to supplement that with the energy she obtained from Randidly However when she had stopped drawing energy from him briefly during her almost Ascension the bond between them had been weakened as well Filled with calcified images and strange eddies of meaning that polluted what transferred between them

Everything within her was broken and weakening Perhaps it would stabilize at some point but

WouldnÆt it just be better to clear it all out

I do not like the way you are looking at the Lighthouse Rejt said with a frown next to her Those are a national resource You cannot casually use one for your own benefit

Azriel laughed as she reached up and pressed her hand against the Lighthouse

Rejt sighed Damnit this expedition was supposed to be my chance to do that

The rest of his words were washed away in an explosion of crimson light

Fucking shit Randidly swore The smoldering pieces of his successfully Leveling buckler were spread out in the surrounding area like so much shrapnel from a grenade As he had been warned repeatedly just as the Skill reached Level 10 the buckler had exploded into three dozen pieces of flaming metal Randidly had to create thin whips of vines that exploded out of the ground between his body and his arm to endure most of the blast

As it was the only remaining arm was rather scratched up by the detonation To the point that he could sense SulfurÆs pitying I told you so from where he had hung the armor up inside the hut

Grinding his teeth Randidly ignored his uppity equipment and carefully gathered the broken pieces together and carefully examined them to determine the culprit for the failure At the very least he would find an answer to this

He didnÆt have to look far but the outcome surprised him He had not thought that what he had made was a perfect product but the pattern he made was sound enough that it had not given way No the real problem

was the Leveling of the Skill itself

As it grew in Level it required increasing Mana depth in the Engraving to contain the substance of what it was The world he had created for it had rapidly grown too small for his Skill As it reached the limit it forcefully and haphazardly attempted to pry open a larger world for itself only to shatter the equipment What was especially frustrating was that the limit for the Engraving was reached only at Level 10

Of course as Randidly had noted previously he had been attempting to make the Engraving as shallow as possible so there were as few flaws in the Engraving as possible As deepness increased there was also a sensation of wideness The deeper you went the wider the area that Mana had to fill And that extra area was more difficult to patrol for uniformity

Obviously Randidly could make the engraving somewhat deeper but that sort of improvement how many Levels would it add to the potential of the item Certainly not a meaningful amount And if at the end of the day all items would eventually explode

That couldnÆt be right could it

Frustrated Randidly turned to the Leather bound book he had received It was four hours later perhaps almost 8 PM that he set aside the book with a sigh

As expected itÆs a more complicated technique Randidly said with a grimace

Indeed as he had pushed deeper in the mystifying tome he found passage relating to the very issue that he encountered What followed was a dizzying series of layered engravings that one could make on an item in order to ensure that the Mana capacity of the item would grow along with the Skill

This slowed the rate of growth of the Level but it did ensure theoretically infinite potential But the reason that this technique was placed after the base technique was not just the increased complexity of Engraving Rather the infinite growth was predictable growth that would just expand downward from what was already there

Which meant uniformity from practice was necessary As the Skill grew the infinitesimal flaws that started would become magnified slowly until they destroyed the item Consistency was even more important The shortcut he had discovered couldnÆt solve this issue for him

Randidly groaned audibly It looked like he couldnÆt escape the truth that he would need to practice for a very long time before he would be able to use this technique reliably Which was so unfortunate He had quite a few dreams about creating a metal arm that could grow with him

In the midst of his thoughts a small noise grabbed his attention For the second time of the day Randidly paused and cocked his head to the side there were people coming up the path to his house A scan of Aether confirmed that one of them was Jameson the Meat Artisan once more The other was an individual he didnÆt recognize but the man was a Level 49 High Knight

High Knight huh Randidly said with a yawn He supposed it was very impressive to obtain such a valuable Class It probably had a much higher growth rate than even DonnyÆs Class Of course that difference was probably more than made up through Soulskills But the fact such a man was also at Level 49 proved that he was strong

Now why was the butcher bringing this man up to meet Randidly

When the two arrived Randidly walked outside of his hut and greeted them

Jameson was much more respectful this second time visiting Seeing the manÆs hesitation that masked his fear Randidly felt profoundly sad This perhaps was one of the worst effects of his power Ah Mr Erickson IÆm sorry to bother you twice in one day but Jerome insisted

Please Sir Instantly the High Knight Jerome was on his knees bowing before Randidly I was the one who purchased the shield you sold to Jameson Did you also perform that Engraving If so I beg you to cover my entire armor with it

Randidly blinked Then he frowned down at the High Knight He wanted another engraving

maybe On two conditions First the price will be 500 Donnyton coins Randidly announced Instantly shocked expressions covered both of the twoÆs faces Randidly winced Was that too much

But he continued on regardless his voice lowering an octave until it rumbled threateningly The second condition I donÆt really want to be disturbed here I assume you two can see to it that there wonÆt be a flood of people coming up to beg for equipment

Both flinched It also had the effect of rubbing the shock off of their faces Randidly was pleased with himself Good Hopefully that little chiding will make them more willing to shell out coins bah I wish I had more time to spend these coins though

It didnÆt take long for Jerome to make his decision Y Yes I agree

Chapter 867

Jerome and Jameson watched the door close as Mr Erickson took JeromeÆs armor into his forge to prepare it

Then they looked at each other

500 coins Jerome said as he scrunched his brow together

So cheap Jameson said with a sigh Like I said I donÆt think he has spent much time around people for a while

The so called Hermit MasterÆ Leaning back Jerome looked up at the dark clouds above

JeromeÆs precious Level 55 armor that he had passed onto Erickson was something that he had only been able to purchase after gathering 1200 coins over the course of almost 6 months During that time Jerome lived on gruel and water

With the armor Jerome hoped to be able to fight against higher Leveled monsters to speed up his journey to Level 50 As it was it was extremely slow going

But even with armor the rest of JeromeÆs Squad wasnÆt at a Level that they could keep up with him And these days it was very rare to find a monster that was possible for one man to tank The common groupings of monsters were either a bunch that traveled in a pack or a single entity that was two stories tall So despite the investment experience continued to trickle in at a very unsatisfactory speed

But when Jerome saw the shield that Jameson was selling there was one particular line that caught his eye

(Skill Level Limited by Item Level)

Eyes flashing Jerome pressed his hands into fists This man had killed beasts at Level 62 and 71 Likely he was part of a larger party but there were very few groups in the world that were so capable that they could casually toss aside the bodies of their victims for chump change Plus with the name of Erickson

Jerome quickly devolved into a daydream about summoning an impossibly tall wall of emerald flames in order to isolate his enemies into reasonable numbers Jamison wondered if he could obtain another windfall as he had earlier in the day while being filled with a deep fear of the manÆs burning emerald eyes when he had demanded that no more people come to bother him

But only 30 minutes later Erickson returned out of his hut with a confused expression as he looked at JeromeÆs armor For several long seconds the two men waiting outside couldnÆt understand what was going on Then they both came to the same conclusion

Instantly it was like the floor fell out from under Jerome He felt a flash of panic as he stumbled to his feet The fact that Erickson returned so quickly could only mean one thing

ItÆs done Erickson announced

eh Jerome blinked

Erickson offered him the armor and he took it almost reflexively Blinking slowly Jerome looked down at the armor

WasnÆt the short time frame more in line with a failure Jerome almost had a heart attack thinking it was possible that the Mana Engraving had damaged the armor There werenÆt many Engravers in Donnyton but there were enough that Jerome was familiar with the advantages and disadvantages

And for most people the benefit of twenty or so stats from the Engraving wasnÆt enough to outweigh the cataclysmically bad loss he would experience if the armor was damaged It didnÆt happen often but it was possible Just a few critical failures while the Engravers were gaining experience was enough to sour most of Donnyton to the prospect These days very few armors were engraved not by the maker of the armor

But the armor in his hands

Masterwork Plate Armor « Lvl 55 A powerful centerpiece of a suit of armor designed for a knight Increases the effectiveness of Knight related Class Skills Also vastly increases the wearerÆs physical resistance Purified Steel II 1001 Hammering Technique I Skill Lvl 55 Sea of Emerald Flames (Skill Level Limited by Item Level)

Sea of Emerald Flames « Lvl 55 Conjure a sea of emerald flames around the user The amount of flames conjured by the user increases with Skill Level(NA growth impossible) User can manipulate the flames to form both defensive structures and attacks Control and capability increases with Skill Level(NA growth impossible) Allies within the Sea of Emerald Flames will increase the Health Regeneration by a moderate amount Effect increases with Skill Level(NA growth impossible)

It isnÆt exactly what I set out to create but I did try to expand the effect Erickson said shaking his head You are a knight yea Hopefully this will help you reach Level 50 Now now the coins

JeromeÆs eyes were as wide as plates as he stared at the same notification that had been present in the other armor Skill Level Limited by Item Level Did that mean that this man had the ability to Engrave at Levels above 55

Then a crazy thought occurred to Jerome and he froze Slowly a picture began to form in his mind

Emerald eyes short black hair those training spears casually stuck into the ground

Transcendental crafting Skill here in Donnyton

Randidly Ghosthound frowned at Jerome What is it

Jerome whimpered

Feeling pleased that the strange High Knight had insisted on paying him double the quoted price for the result Randidly returned to Engraving For the rest of the night he continued through a routine of Engraving testing out his Leveling Engravings training his images and the Engraving solo Skills onto items

Unfortunately most of the equipment he made for himself in the hut was only in the high 40s or low 50s Without a specific blacksmithing Skill high quality equipment was impossible to just make out of thin air

Honestly Randidly suspected most people would be as shocked as the High Knight had been that he could just casually make items at the level Still Randidly clicked his tongue at this rather annoying limitation But he knew learning blacksmithing now was not the answer he had already wasted more than enough time working on his own engraving

Besides the morning meant a shift in his focus This had been a break After this he had to prepare for his meeting with DonnytonÆs leadership In addition this shift would mean the announcement of his presence in Donnyton

And that would mean that his movements would be restricted and travel made more obnoxious

Dawn was just rising over the waking town of Donnyton bathing it in a golden light Therefore Randidly planned on heading into the city and spending the money he had earned to get more materials After all things would change soon

But as he made to walk down the path toward Donnyton Randidly paused

One of his Riders had just died

It wasnÆt one of the original two that wandered away but one of the three that he had sent after the first two the prior morning In addition Randidly noticed that the Level of the Skill had crept up four more Levels while he had been working through the night

What the hell was going on with those Riders

But then he shook his head Well regardless of what happened he was gaining Skill Levels Hopefully they werenÆt marauding across the countryside for experience

So Randidly proceeded down the dusty trail through the outskirts of the Production District and then into the Northern portion of Donnyton

There he found a crowd of wide eyed group of people silently waiting At the head of the group was a certain very nervous butcher Randidly froze cursing himself inwardly Because his mind was on the deceased Rider he hadnÆt been scanning his surroundings at all It was only due to that he had walked right into this waiting trap

For several seconds the silence stretched Randidly considered his options Running just seemed immature But he knew that very soon

Mr Ghosthound A portly woman toward the front of the crowd said hesitantly I I donÆt suppose I can have your autograph IÆve admired you and Donnyton for as long as I can remember

At lunch Randidly recounting the events of the morning had Donny snorting into his meal Honestly IÆm more surprised you managed to keep your presence a secret for that long Three days Ha what a record

ItÆs just because so few recognize you Regina said with a nod But now your likeness is being spread everywhere I doubt such a thing could happen again

Randidly dourly stared down at the tender filet in front of him He sniffed it musky and sour yet extremely tender Then he sighed Most of his appetite was gone after awkwardly speaking with people the entire morning They continued to gather and mob him content to shake his hand and tell him their Class and touch Acri or Sulfur and speak about their dreams

It was strangely innocent almost childlike But Randidly could feel fragments of their images slowly sinking into him as they pressed closer to him Those small fragments gathered into the heavyweight of hope and expectation

Pressing his eyes closed Randidly finally released the tight fist of his unwillingness that had constricted slowly around his heart Although the morning had been lost he had truly gained something else

Something heavy and unwieldy but he knew that weight would come in handy someday He forced himself to relax and accept the gift given to him Slowly his body and soul complied

As his heart calmed RandidlyÆs eyes opened Time for business

Chapter 868

A cloud drifted across the gaze of the early afternoon sun and cast a shadow over the assembly The group of DonnytonÆs elites had met Randidly atop the Observatory which was the building that sat at the summit of the mountain that served as the main residential district for Donnyton The retractable roof was slid down and a single long table was set for eight Aside from those eight not a soul was present

Although they had been escorted up here by almost two dozen guards those guards all waited outside Randidly had thought it awkward but the meal had already been laid out and prepared on the plates beforehand

But still were the guards necessary for any reason at all After all no one who climbed to the peak of power was weak SimonÆs warning for the future of Donnyton held true

Randidly looked slowly around those in attendance At the head of the table sat Donny To his left was Mrs Hamilton to his right was Sam Beside Sam sat Regina Northwind Beside Mrs Hamilton was Daniel

Next to Regina was Alana and next to Daniel

Once more Randidly glanced curiously at the fidgeting man that Randidly had met in his little bakery as he had arrived in Donnyton When they had first locked gazes the manÆs jaw had dropped As the luncheon went on and the group conversed and joked with each other the man had remained mute Both Mrs Hamilton and Sam had clearly noticed but they didnÆt seem to understand what could have caused it

But indeed they looked with amusement at Randidly with expressions that said something like of course you would have already dealt with this problem Æ

But was this baker a problem Randidly was a bit surprised when he scanned the man and he was a Level 46 Laborer but it did seem like the manÆs bakery was a labor of love that he performed with his family rather than his main job Perhaps he was heavily involved in the construction of Donnyton The man had been introduced as Ed but no further explanation had been given

Donny had been too amused by RandidlyÆs situation this morning

Still it was a bit strange to Randidly that he was given a seat at the table especially when Randidly recognized all the remaining individuals Not that it really mattered It was just idle curiosity

Almost as one every individual at the table set down their silverware and pushed back their plates as that long cloud drifted across the sun Donny leaned forward and steepled his fingers So I suppose it’s time we talk about the real reason we came here Mrs Hamilton

Mrs Hamilton nodded sharply and turned to look at Randidly I suppose itÆs best to start with a little bit of background Since you have been busy with other projects Donnyton has grown immensely Due to a rather aggressive focus on military and industrial production Donnyton is the most powerful economy on New Earth

Special thanks to Daniel for the currency idea Donny commented nodding toward the chubby man Daniel flushed

Indeed Mrs Hamilton confirmed Zone 1 was established first but ultimately it was difficult to make the other Villages accept their currency We would have had a similar problem if not for DanielÆs idea make coins from materials that are exactly that denomination in value In this case metal It was difficult to choose the base value for the coin which led to some early instability but since then it had proceeded swimmingly On the basis of the monetary policy and the focus on military

Looking down Mrs Hamilton checked her notes Which struck Randidly as strange He knew Mrs Hamilton well enough to know that she had the numbers memorized He could feel it through the Aether that bound them together Therefore she was looking at her notes as either a cover for some other behavior or to make Randidly think a certain way about this presentation

How deep do your games run Mrs Hamilton Randidly wondered But he didnÆt have any idea why she would behave like this

It only took a half second then Mrs Hamilton looked up with a smile We currently have 100 Squads within Donnyton roughly sorted by power Each Squad includes 10 individuals so exactly 1000 Elites Plus the 25 person Squads given to Decklan Annie Dozer and Sam plus the 50 person Squads underneath Alana and Donny 1200 elites At this point even the lowest Squad has the ability to overcome a single Level 50 monster which we believe is an acceptable level of strength Moving forward all groups of people able to demonstrate that amount of strength will be accepted as an official squad of Donnyton

Always more Squad crests to make Sam cut in with a groan

Mrs Hamilton continued her stream of information without stopping Aside from that we have groups of irregulars totaling almost 2000 that are various traveling forces generally from Franksburg East End and East Providence that are training on rotation underneath our trainers These groups have a similar level of strength to the mid tier squad between 60 and 30 Below that there are probably 5000 Classers that are training to become part of a squad that participate in the weekly war games for coins and recognition

In terms of weapons and armor production we dominate the high end end product portion of the market due to your activities Mrs Hamilton gave Randidly an amused glance Zone 1 has cut significantly into materials production However their drone activities run parallel with ours and increase the overall demand for metals so ultimately it is a wash There are other players in the materials market however Franksburg has set itself up as something of a powerhouse on the lumber and silk fronts most of the Weavers that you brought to Donnyton moved to the forests around Franksburg and now work in tandem with the government there East EndÆs elementals have enabled them to process materials in an extremely unique way so many enchanted gems and symbolically powerful materials flow from there Luckily the transportation lines are quite safe and quick so the money flows easily between our groups

If only the other Zones were so easy Donny sighed The island region to the Southeast still considers itself independent and only does small scale trade with us And the new Chinese Zone

Please stop harping on it Regina cut across She folded her arms across her chest They had a plan and it failed I have no doubt that they will reconsider and enter into negotiations with us soon

Their weapons are crap Sam snorted Regina threw her hands up into the air Donny leaned back in his seat and scratched his neck

Mrs Hamilton smiled at Randidly Well we will get to broader concerns later So there are generally 8200 fighting Classers under DonnytonÆs control at any one point About one half are present in the city at any one time due to patrols and addressing Raid Bosses Which doesnÆt include the Orders who each have maybe twenty to fifty members within Donnyton but they aren’tÆ really under our control

And DonnytonÆs population Randidly asked

A little less than seventy thousand Mrs Hamilton answered promptly after a glance at her notes Although there are a dozen or so farming hamlets in the surrounding area that are technically allied with Donnyton and thereby receive the protection of our patrols Puts us up closer to eighty thousand in the Greater Donnyton area

Randidly whistled That was quite a few people No wonder he saw basically no familiar faces in his time wandering through the North of Donnyton The city had indeed grown but Randidly really hadnÆt processed by how much just from the slew of unknown neighborhoods that popped into existence in the surrounding areas These numbers hit home what that confusion had not

They were big The most powerful economy on New Earth they claimed

Randidly looked to Mrs Hamilton with a tilt of his head

She shrugged If you have more questions I can answer them At this point we mostly export food weapons and liquor Oh and potions Most of our construction materials and furniture comes up from Franksburg Relatively speaking we have enough money coming in and out that the government of Donnyton could continue to function for almost a year even if we were all to refuse to take any personal action ThatÆs the weight of the momentum we have built ThatÆs why everyone understands Donnyton is the strongest in the world

Fine Randidly said He carefully looked around the table He appreciated the explanations but he didnÆt quite understand why he was on the receiving end of them Sure he valued the information But why were they providing it to him And without any context

The agreed upon reason for the meeting was to catch up When they said catch up Randidly had meant that he wished to inform them in person of the things that he had learned about the Calamities from Tellus Had they perhaps thought that he wanted to interfere more directly in how Donnyton was run

If they did then perhaps this was their way of telling Randidly that they were doing fine

That made Randidly smile wanly Yes Donnyton was more than capable of handling this level of hardship But ultimately the monsters they faced now were just environmental factors prodding them forward The only real opponent they faced during this time was the threat of infighting amongst the humans Was avoiding that so admirable

Perhaps so And Randidly couldnÆt deny they had raised Donnyton much more skillfully than he would have been able to Considering how his Soulskill recently went much more skillfully Yet he couldnÆt help but keep returning to an unpleasant truth

It wasnÆt enough

Randidly walked through these streets filled with peaceful people who told him of their dreams and passed on bits of their Aether to him The Crown of Upheaval and Gloom throbbed in his chest as he recalled the arduous process Randidly winced he wasnÆt the true harbinger of what was to come but he was the one who possessed the knowledge of the brutality it would cause

Underneath the weight of the Calamities those soft dreams would squish and collapse

On Tellus he had buried too many bodies due to the hubris of the world leader He recalled the stacks of the dead along the banks of the Hallat as the division Randidly was with was forced to gracelessly retreat If Randidly hadnÆt been able to stall the Wight advance across the river

Everyone was looking at Randidly expectantly Fine he said again But what does Donnyton want to be to the world

Hopefully the answer to this question would demonstrate to Randidly their resolve Because Earth would need them to be firm

Chapter 869

Donny exchanged a glance with Mrs Hamilton What does Donnyton want to be to the world What was Randidly really asking

are you perhaps aware of the push to name a global capital Donny said slowly RandidlyÆs face didnÆt change but Donny continued to speak with growing surety To receive that honor would be ideal but we believe that it would be much smarter to support another city and extract concessions for our support

He doesnÆt mean that Mrs Hamilton said with a frown That worried Donny Before the meeting he and Mrs Hamilton discussed many reasons for Randidly returning to Donnyton and wanting to talk

Of course the main one was to challenge Donnyton once more And after hearing Mrs HamiltonÆs arguments Donny understood the downsides to allowing it Other reasons were to heighten the training challenges of Donnyton or to teach them some new trick Both knew that Randidly would likely have information on how Donnyton had to prepare from his time in another world This meeting was to reassure him that they were on the right path

Donny Sam and Mrs HamiltonÆs plans were enough to keep the ship straight Randidly had issued a challenge to humanity to grow and they were doing it

Yet Mrs Hamilton was frowning And she only did that when she was thinking rapidly Her pile of notes sat forgotten in front of her

Then what do you mean Donny asked with a frown

Randidly looked around at the walls of the observatory and to the cloudy sky above Waving his hand to indicate the entirety of the building likely all of Donnyton Randidly asked This gathering all these things does that have meaning What does it mean to be Donnyton

are you saying Mrs Hamilton said slowly That you are asking about the image of all of Donnyton The entirety of it

Sam frowned and rapped his knuckles on the table What sort of image could an entire city have anyway

Randidly gazed around at every person at the table as if weighing them with his sharp emerald gaze Suddenly Donny thought that without the light of the sun the observatory was very cold

You are the leaders of Donnyton so I thought I would ask you personally Randidly said slowly This is the world we live in now image matters immensely First to the individual but soon to the society If we are to progress forward to face the Calamities we need to create a powerful unified image for our world

But what does that mean Sam cut across as he pressed his stomach against the table and stared intently at Randidly Donny blinked in surprise at the sudden show of emotion SamÆs voice was incredibly rough The blacksmithÆs rough hands gripped the table Why was Sam taking this so personally

I second SamÆs thoughts Regina added with a frown Could you explain

Mrs Hamilton remained silent her eyes studying RandidlyÆs movements

Well at some point it becomes an ethos rather than just an image Randidly said slowly When I was traveling through Orchard I felt a nascent form of it When an outlook becomes habit and self perpetuating but it was stumbling there as well And in Donnyton

Randidly raised his head and closed his eyes He breathed in slowly then breathed out Then he lowered his gaze to the people around him I can feel something like that here too Something that defines Donnyton more than anything else I just wanted to know if you were aware of what it was Well no you must know It is something I have no doubt that you cultivated carefully IsnÆt that right

Donnyton pursues strength Mrs Hamilton said smoothly

Donny nodded spread his hand to indicate the table This was earned due to strength That strength created respect and capability The food on the table From a Level 71 monster that was killed by the individuals of this town The materials for the plates and silverware Probably the best in the world They would be used as weapons in another Zone

That meat I brought it

Donny froze in confusion What

Randidly pointed at the plates His plate was picked clean except for the meat This Level 71 monster I killed it and sold it to a butcher He ultimately was the one who revealed my presence so I thought you knew A coincidence then

Stunned Donny leaned back in his seat without answering Randidly glanced around

There is an image here And you all support this Consciously too You are the leaders of Donnyton it is your prerogative to influence the zeitgeist of the Village What I am saying and the reason I am here is that your image needs to be refined What will come next will test that image push it to the brink It needs to be able to survive that stress

And whatÆs the image Daniel asked hesitantly

Randidly only smiled Mrs HamiltonÆs frown deepened

And then someone spoke up Ed who had remained quiet for the entire meeting looked around at the people at the table as if they were idiots Are you daft If itÆs us the image is obviously Donnyton is the strongest Æ isnÆt it

There was a strange reverberation at those words that Donny didnÆt expect As soon as the words were spoken Donny had a warm feeling in his chest He was the ruler of Donnyton and possessed the Soulskill that mirrored DonnytonÆs growth Therefore he could feel how true that statement was How it defined every aspect of their governance and life in Donnyton

Even hearing the statement Donny wanted to nod and agree That was the point wasnÆt it

People came here because they were the strongest People stayed so they could grow stronger NCCs came because that strength guaranteed safety And slowly those within grow strong under the protection of those that came before It was a self reinforcing cycle that would continually cause Donnyton to grow

After that realization hit Donny there was a strange phenomenon as waves of that image spread outward from his resonating chest The air began to hum Everyone around him pushed away from the table eyes wide

They felt it then The entire town believed in this fundamental truth There movements and actions seemed to sing it boldly toward the sky Donny bobbed in the sea of silent voices creating a symphony that seemed to govern the entirety of the town Even without knowing it everyone moved to the beat of this creed

Donnyton is the strongest

Exactly

The humming abruptly stopped as if cut short The energy in the air floundered for a second then collapsed Randidly smiled pleasantly around at them all I was thinking long and hard about this but considering DonnytonÆs image I donÆt think there is any choice That challenge against DonnytonÆs Squads how about I do it again

Oh come on now Ed began It seemed that finding his voice made it impossible for him to keep his mouth closed You are simply one man

But Randidly gave Ed a look and he stuttered to a stop and fell silent Donny wished he knew the trick to that If he could accomplish that at their weekly dinners the proceedings would be many times more smooth

Have you considered the consequences Donny said slowly Both of what would happen to your reputation if you failed and to DonnytonÆs reputation if you succeeded We arenÆt an isolated Village anymore Our actions have repercussions

But Randidly simply grinned At first Donny thought that Randidly was slightly embarrassed from the amused expression on his face but then Donny felt something The same way that the image of Donnyton inside of his chest had reverberated across the room and filled the air he now felt a slight trace of another image It was faint but as he reached out

It was like raising his nose to the sky and sniffing after an unfamiliar scent His mind meandered around to catch another whiff

Donny grasped at the air for several seconds unused to using this strange sensitivity toward images After a few attempts he managed to catch hold of the tail of the image that was emanating from Randidly

Instantly the scene shifted DonnyÆs eyes widened A pale crown of a light grey metal floated above RandidlyÆs eyes Ash emerald fire frost a cowled phantom and an impossibly tall golden tree filled the air around him Those images were superimposed upon each other merging and growing some in ascendance some in repose

More than anything else however was the weight that seemed to cling to Randidly At the moment the edges of DonnyÆs vision curled upward as Randidly Ghosthound simply sat and pulled everything toward himself Even now billions of small motes of light were fluttering in and out of his chest flowing in different directions Each time they passed through Randidly that terrible sense of weight grew infinitesimally more prominent

The world warped further And all the while Randidly just grinned at the people sitting around the table

How long has he been enduring this Donny was aghast

Suddenly that light smile seemed like an impossibly difficult act of rebellion against the weight that threatened to annihilate Randidly

It is precisely because of the consequences if I do not act that I believe the challenge between myself and Donnyton is necessary Randidly stated clearly to the room

Chapter 870

You are saying our image is weak

Mrs HamiltonÆs voice was low as she stared at Randidly Her words did not form a question but a statement

Randidly looked at Mrs Hamilton Truly looked at her Despite his concerns about her privacy he looked with his eyes that could detect even the smallest changes in Aether It took a little focus but after a second her Status screen spread before RandidlyÆs eyes

Miranda Hamilton

Class The Silent Maestro of Many Palms

Level 49

Health(/R per hour) 1280/1280 (403)

Mana(/R per hour) 1692/1692 (392)

Stam(/R per min) 1086/1086 (212)

Vit 93

End 102

Str 53

Agi 93

Perception 141

Reaction 123

Resistance 153

Willpower 108

Intelligence 206

Wisdom 60

Control 177

Focus 127

SoulSkill The Vast Web of Lengthening Shadows Lvl 2552

Class Skills Thread Spray Lvl 148 Invisible Trap « Lvl 99 Isolating Gaze Lvl 44 Silent Steps Lvl 150 Split Second Pounce (Un) Lvl 70 Virulent Infection « Lvl 23 Where Force Fails the Invisible Hand Moves Lvl 201 Evolving Exoskeleton « Lvl 31

Combat Skills Heavy Blow Lvl 16 Mana Bolt Lvl 45 Needle Mastery Lvl 76 Unexpected Movement (Un) Lvl 112 Sidestep Lvl 78 Poison Jet Lvl 78 Whirlwind of Anguish Lvl 34 Twin Fang (Un) Lvl 82 Animate Corpse Lvl 79 Curse of Weakness Lvl 93 Corpse Explosion Lvl 99

Crafting Skills WoodWorking Lvl 65 Construction Lvl 35 Labor Lvl 51 Potion Making Lvl 98 Refine Lvl 102 Glass Blowing Lvl 92 Extract Lvl 73 Synthesis Lvl 34 Corpse Dissection Lvl 61

Auxiliary Skills Hiding Lvl 88 Running Lvl 31 Soothing Speech Lvl 91 Effective Rest (Un) Lvl 59 Gentle Persuasion Lvl 160 Leadership Lvl 102 Misdirection Lvl 50 Manipulation Lvl 120

Randidly clicked his tongue Both Mrs HamiltonÆs Soulskill and Class were somewhat different than he had imagined Had he ever known them before Likely he knew the Soulskill at the very least But that was understandable considering how growth would see those things shift And Mrs Hamilton had spent plenty of time talking to Nathan

Perhaps the first reaction Randidly had to viewing Mrs HamiltonÆs Stats were how pitiful they seemed

In terms of raw numbers Mrs Hamilton only had a fraction of the points that Randidly had been able to distribute across his various stats His Control alone was almost half of her stats Now she wasnÆt the most powerful individual in Donnyton but she was strong Her Level and Skills showed that

But compared to him it was a bit of a letdown

It also gave Randidly a sense of what Mrs Hamilton in battle would be like Most of her usable Skill were focused on the manipulation of others poison and curses An annoying enemy that would slowly weaken you and then strike when you least expected it Someone who would lay down traps

Mrs Hamilton met his gaze with clear eyes altogether oblivious to the fact that Randidly could peer through the veil of her body and pick apart the Aether Abruptly Randidly felt uncomfortable for the information he was able to glean with his senses It violated the recipient’s privacy

IsnÆt it worth it to know that she had so many influencing Skills Some part of Randidly asked But that part of him was somewhat short sighted People with those Skills were necessary for society to function And those Skills were ultimately just tools

But that Corpse Explosion Skill what did it truly look like to see Mrs Hamilton fight

The number of Skills she possessed also small but she more than made up for it by having similarly high Skill Levels in those Skills she focused on

For all that Randidly wasnÆt going to judge her by the Skills she possessed he couldnÆt stop himself from tensing as he looked at her While he was in the area Randidly would watch how Mrs Hamilton utilized those Skills very carefully For it was all well and good to use such Skills when one was in the right

If that wasnÆt the case however

YouÆve built something here very carefully Randidly thought as he held Mrs HamiltonÆs gaze And now you worry that I am thoughtlessly breaking down parts of the web that youÆve weaved Well itÆs not like that isnÆt true But it’s not about us at all It is about all of Earth Our own individual feelings donÆt matter I donÆt think the current growth rate is enough But you donÆt agree yes

Not weak Brittle Randidly said simply

Mrs Hamilton didnÆt reply Her fingers mechanically reorganized her notes as she shifted the papers Her eyes were dull and unfocused as she gathered the threads to bind him to the purpose of strengthening Donnyton

Randidly knew that she and even Simon had the same purpose as himself They wanted to create a better future for the world The problem was that each possessed a very different series of premises on which their predictions for the future were based And in many ways those premises conflicted

Setting aside SimonÆs governmental demands Randidly knew that Mrs Hamilton was based upon a premise that he couldnÆt agree with that the System ultimately left a path for safe passage through its Calamities She believed that they could find a perfect answer and make it through with minimal losses

After his experiences on Tellus and being twisted around like a toy by the Creature Randidly wasnÆt so sure that was the case

We are pieces in a broader game played by individuals who we donÆt understand Randidly thought His brief conversation with Octavius Shrike flashed across his mind They are using us for something The System supplies Aether and takes images for itself But why Even I donÆt understand that The Creature didnÆt either Just that the maker of the System was seeking something It had use for our images

And if our world was broken while the System extracted those images would it care

Randidly didnÆt think so

So you believe proving the lie in that image would help Sam asked gruffly What about the spirit of the people here WonÆt that also receive damage

Do you really want to force me to use a forging analogy Sam Randidly asked Then he shrugged Besides I lost the prior challenge Why are you all acting like my victory is a sure thing

It was an unfair question Randidly knew They didnÆt understand why but sitting across from him Randidly knew they would be able to sense the changes in him If it was just his rapidly rising stats and Skill Levels perhaps Donnyton would have managed it No they definitely would have managed

But Randidly had discovered how to weaponize images and his high Willpower made that blade very very sharp

Enough to cut through the sheer number of DonnytonÆs Squads Well Only by testing its edge would he find out

And you DonÆt you worry about your pride if you should fail Regina asked

The question took Randidly by surprise So much so that he laughed aloud Pride Well I donÆt think thatÆs an issue

Feeling his body slowly burning away in the lava while Aegiant prowled above his Soulskill turning against him as he struggled to remake it Randidly was not proud of how deep in the shit he had allowed himself to fall But there was no other choice He had done what he had to and managed to eke out a win by relying on both the power of his new Soulskill and the leftover emotions imbued in VersaultÆs image

And then when he had neutralized Azriel it was more akin to sniping a wire to defuse a bomb than triumphing over something Make no mistake the images that Azriel possessed would have killed him if he had faced them directly For that foe Shal was forced to mobilize all of his existence and inherit the dormant image of Tellus

Randidly did not begrudge his master that role

We were obviously aware that this would come up Mrs Hamilton finally said She glanced at Donny And well considering you believe it is a good idea perhaps we should establish some rules for how the challenge will occur After all there has been a paradigm shift in scale since it last took place

Randidly nodded slowly Certainly Mrs Hamilton was adaptable under pressure I assume you had some thoughts prepared

She flashed him a genuine smile Of course As with the trial of the HoundÆs Ladder it would be a series of nine fights Otherwise the process itself would simply take too long Therefore you will be fighting all the Squads from 100 to 81 then 80 to 61 then 60 to 41 and finally 40 21 After that you will fight 20 10 and then 9 3 Then the first and second Squads of Donnyton After that the combination of the forces of Donny Dozer Annie Alana and Sam And then for the ninth trial you face them all at once

Fine but from the look in your eyes Randidly said slowly

Mrs Hamilton chuckled Yes Due to the numbers we need for the trial to be finished within a day After each battle you will be given an hour to rest But still even with your prodigious recovery that wonÆt be enough for you will it

Randidly considered the question Health and Stamina wouldnÆt be a problem both would refill within an hour from zero But he would only regain a little less than half of his total Mana during that time If he was ever forced to expend all of his Mana during one of the battles he would be out of luck

It wouldnÆt happen during the weaker battles but it was possible that it would occur toward the end Still this consideration wasnÆt necessary Randidly suspected that his regeneration was on an order of magnitude higher than they expected

It did make some sense How could they not be confused Randidly was nine Levels lower than Mrs Hamilton but had five times the Mana recovery That sort of ridiculous difference wasnÆt something that you could just plan for

perhaps not in the later stages Randidly said easily He needed to teach them a lesson And part of that lesson was that Randidly wasnÆt the only existence that could crush them Based on the way this conversation was going Randidly guessed they would bring out the rope he wanted to hang them with

Donny snorted

Well it didnÆt matter to Randidly if they underestimated him He was here to sharpen them not coddle them

Then I have a suggestion Mrs Hamilton said You have a portal within yourself that houses warriors correct We see no reason why you canÆt bring a squad of them out to fight on your side That should balance the scales somewhat

Randidly chuckled

Chapter 871

After the meeting Donny and Mrs Hamilton returned to Mrs HamiltonÆs study Both werenÆt exactly upset but the presentation and arguments that they were prepared to make seemed almost inappropriate to bring up when Randidly didnÆt even mention Level or the training methods used to prepare the Squads

The outcome was as I expected honestly Mrs Hamilton admitted as she released a long breath At the best of times Randidly is difficult to predict In a way if things didnÆt end with us scrambling to grasp the paradigm by which his mind works I would have been disappointed But to think his focus is on the image of the town

Leaves very little room for us to argue especially when it was something that we hadnÆt considered Donny said grimly Yet how could he argue with his senses Even now he could picture that crushing weight that Randidly had produced by just sitting before the assembled leaders of Donnyton Those images the innumerable motes of light

Without a breath the air around Randidly had shuddered from the force of only the GhosthoundÆs thoughts Only his thoughts What could an ability like that do over the course of a battle

The memory of it had Donny shivering despite the warm fire on the far side of the room Even though he was intimately familiar with the concrete strength of DonnytonÆs Squads after all this time that weight and persistent chill diminished his hopes of a successful challenge against man

Randidly Ghosthound The man who had the strength to plants seeds for Villages while everyone else was struggling to survive And over the last six months while everyone else was building what exactly had he been doing

He makes a good point though Donny admitted If we werenÆt afraid that we would lose there isnÆt a reason to argue so forcefully against the challenge

mm while thatÆs partially true There will be consequences I think the figure of Randidly Ghosthound is more ubiquitous than you think Mrs Hamilton said slowly Then she shook her head helplessly The Order Ducis is just a symbol yet all recognize it ThatÆs due to the long shadow cast by Randidly Ghosthound

Because the Order Ducis is at the head the other Orders had the grounds to develop legitimacy People were able to put their trust in a higher power whether it be a transcendent individual or an institution Even though Donnyton has the name of the strongest in the world there is a hint of magic associated with the name Ghosthound I worry that defeating him here would diffuse that magic

And without that magic you worry about the course of humanity Donny said with a nod It was a conversation they had a lot recently Of how to straddle the line between stability and coasting forward

Precisely Randidly Ghosthound is a man who can create miracles Even though monsters have invaded our world humanity has once more found its footing In a way we are returning to how society was before Aside from one important point we have had a very harsh lesson that sometimes the unthinkable happens That sometimes the world is more than we can handle and something that defies expectations occurs

I believe that Randidly for better or worse is the living symbol of that lesson For he demonstrates that just as an apocalypse can come so can a font of hope A man who transcended the limits of what we believe it is to be human He provides a path forward that the Orders seek to emulate

Mrs Hamilton shook her head Yet because he has such an important role there is nothing we can do but accept the demand

Donny sighed Will he even utilize the option to have a Squad of his own for the challenge Why offer such an option

again I cannot predict how this will play out Mrs Hamilton said with a frown But I suppose thatÆs exactly why he holds such an important place in our hearts These images that he believes are so important even now arenÆt we looking to him to know how we should feel

No youÆd just be dead weight Randidly said with a wave of his hand Just because IÆm allowed to bring a Squad to the challenge doesnÆt mean I will exercise that right

HelenÆs hands tightened into fists You cannot know for sure thatÆs the case IÆve grown stronger on the world I grow stronger every day AND what I do know for sure is that even you cannot overcome the number of Squads alone I have seen them IÆve trained with them Even if they are unrefined that doesnÆt mean they are weak

I guess I just have to be overwhelmingly strong then Randidly said mildly He looked at Helen and frowned I have two weeks while the Squads gather That is plenty of time for preparations to be made

The two were sitting outside of RandidlyÆs hut HelenÆs fury hissed and spat in her chest She wanted to berate Randidly but she couldnÆt find fault in what he was saying More than anyone Helen understood that she was currently severely limited in what she could accomplish Due to the limits of his Domain her strength was still a fraction of what it was

If she had her full strength perhaps she would be able to hold out against the combined might of this Village named Donnyton With the limitations It was a joke

Yet if there was plenty of time for preparations to be made

There were so many things about the situation that drove her crazy Perhaps the worst was that the limitations imposed by passing through RandidlyÆs Domain were so all encompassing It hit her stats it reduced the efficacy of her Skills and Skill Levels and it also blunted her images Helen wasnÆt able to keep a single one of her advantages on Earth

Whoever had designed the Domain seemed to be entirely focused on screwing over those who pass through RandidlyÆs Domain Helen almost had just as much pity for Randidly who had been given a sloppily made Domain as she did for the poor sops that followed him within his Soulskill and were limited for it

Which wasnÆt accurate Helen was much more pissed about being reduced to an unimpressive spear wielder

Well unimpressive aside from her personality Helen was somewhat proud that the vicious aggression she held in her chest had even given Dozer a headache

In the face of his rejection Randidly had nothing to say Except that it wasnÆt fair

I came here to be your knight Helen thought bitterly remembering the fight between them in the under 25 Tournament In her mind she could still see the moment when Randidly had touched the edge of being a Pontiff and left her in the dust To fight your battles To defend your honor A return to being a spear attendant And yet

even now is there truly so few things I can do for you

Like a pool floatie with a puncture hole Helen leaned back and sagged into the ground as she allowed her breath to seep out of her in a bitter whistle Again she was useless She felt as she had before her scheming mother A body without any redeeming qualities than bearing a name and the possibility of children The clear blue sky above did little to soften the reality of this situation

It wasnÆt her fault

But that didnÆt really matter did it

Randidly looked over at Helen and chewed on his lip Well itÆs not like there isnÆt a way to accelerate the process of the Domain but that onus will be on you Only you can strain the limits of the Domain IÆve tried various methods but developing an image for the Domain cannot be forced

For several long seconds Helen just lay against the warm Earth and breathed Underneath her the soft carpet of grass was so cushion y that some part of her wanted to take a nap Around Randidly most plants were like that compliant and inviting His aura vivified nature into becoming habitable for civilization

Sometimes Helen wished that same aura would bring some order and contentment to her life

This was not one of those times

Her eyes narrowed to slits as she leaned upward You mean

Training Much harsher training than this Closer to the edge of your ability to handle Randidly said slowly He was studying her as if trying to understand if she would survive the path that he was offering her She hoped that she had proved herself in their battle despite the fact that she lost

The image of the Hellfin Reaper came upon her Muted as it was it still colored the surrounding area with crimson undertones

Randidly chuckled Yea I get it I would be chomping at the bit if I were you Fine On Earth the Dungeons are much less controlled than they were on Tellus I believe that even Donnyton has two that you can requisition to use Or if you prefer I

No need Helen said coolly Already she leaped to her feet and prepared to rush toward the Dungeon but RandidlyÆs voice stopped her

She turned to face him tilting her head up A Crown floated above his head The grass around Randidly GhosthoundÆs feet fluttered in a nonexistent wind I was shaped by my experiences in a Dungeon far above my Level I cannot deny it is fitting for the same to happen to you But I was lucky I suspect you will get the benefit of none of that luck DonÆt bite off more than you can chew

Helen nodded His emerald eyes bored into her She could tell that he understood that she had no intention of heeding his words Still his gaze lingered on her searching for an answer to a question that only he understood

There was a test in his gaze but Helen didnÆt understand the criterion

It wasnÆt that Helen wouldnÆt like to stay relatively safe while she grew stronger But they both knew that sufficient growth within controlled conditions wasnÆt possible Only exposure to the unpredictable world would encourage growth sufficient to ensure a smooth future

At the cost of a dangerous now

When Helen heard that Randidly had challenged the Squads to a competition to be held in two weeks she hadnÆt needed to ask why The Squads were growing stronger sure Their drilling and teamwork exercises would definitely provide tangible benefits It was that bedrock of training that had allowed Donnyton such an edge in the struggle to be the strongest in the world

But that edge was only sharp enough to be a threat against other human organizations The System didnÆt even notice those small threats Even the accomplishments of Earth had stalled out with this growth plan Other than the two already cleared Danger Zones none had even come close to being able to defeat the enemies within

No rather being unable to the high Level Classers simply hadnÆt attempted it Helen found it baffling They concerned themselves with other things Although they likely wouldnÆt notice for a while Helen had no doubt their growth would stagnate because of the choice to focus on economic rather than martial pursuits

And the threats that were looming werenÆt just their fellow humans Soon Donnyton would need to defend its title of strongest against something on the level of the Wight threat

Suddenly the Crown above RandidlyÆs head faded ItÆs just a spar this challenge DonÆt risk yourself needlessly Good luck

Although he knew she wouldnÆt listen to him Randidly still said nothing more than that Slowly Helen turned away and proceeded down the Path Once she arrived in the outskirts of Donnyton she quickly made a beeline for the Village center

It struck her then how difficult it was for the one who wore the Crown Randidly had his own battles to fight so his time could not be dedicated to assisting Helen She didnÆt begrudge him that He had marked her and ultimately what she did with the energy he provided to her was her own business

He could only watch and give advice that he knew wouldnÆt be followed Yet he had to give it because he knew it was the safe Path

Yet wasnÆt the whole point of this challenge to push Donnyton off of the safe path And so he did not stop her It was an unspoken understanding that this was the only method to climb upward in strength

Shaking her head to dispel useless thoughts Helen continued to the portal to the Dungeon Toward the Level 50 Dungeon that Dozer had dismissed as more trouble than it was worth

Chapter 872

Randidly was frustrated A two week time limit was more than he had expected Which meant that he both wished that the fight would occur more quickly and that he had more time to prepare It was a time limit that tantalized him with two separate series of benefits while providing him wholly with neither

Which was its own sort of benefit but Two weeks meant that it was more than possible for Randidly to begin and likely finish an iteration of his replacement left arm

Which made him upset because refining his other images into patterns worthy of Engraving on the arm would take far longer than the two weeks he had And the mastering of the growing Engraving was an even larger task

Should he just use Mana Engraving to add to add flat Skills to the arm

Sighing he produced several valuable metals and set them on the table of his forge and considered his options What he wanted was to be able to fight with his full strength with two arms for this challenge But he needed to both have the capacity to perfectly control it with Aether engravings and design a functioning metal appendage in those two weeks

And if he couldnÆt rely on the arm and it failed him during the challenge against DonnytonÆs Squads

So Randidly decided to outsource it Or rather insource it After closing his eyes Randidly concentrated and fell into the world of his Soulskill

With a pop he appeared on a low ridge above the capital where the first Class Lighthouse was located Humming a spritely tune to himself Randidly traveled through the different groups in search of the remnants of the Spriggits

It was somewhat reassuring that there was a great deal more talking and laughing out on the streets than there had been during RandidlyÆs previous visits Much of the fear of that strange sickness that had overtaken a significant percentage of the population had passed when no new cases arose In its wake there was only the nervous fear of wild beasts and the bartering of commerce as natural resources flowed back toward the capital

Thank god because Randidly didnÆt think he was ready for another political disaster like had previously occurred within his Soulskill

He found the Spriggits in a hill to the South of the capital They had cleared out some sort of enlarged rodent monster and claimed the animalÆs burrow for their own uses As it was the rather cramped and twisting passages suited the slender and deft bodies of the Spriggits well

Of all of the groups within his Soulskill they were the only ones that were content to remain where they were without sending out very many groups to explore Their focus turned inward instead Already they were experimenting with the effects of the System and what sort of Skills could be learned

Luckily Randidly was known by his look and stature and was swiftly brought before the head engineer that had seized control of this small colony after the transfer to this new world to explore Only by this engineerÆs leadership were the Spriggits able to form a cohesive whole to face the other developing factions with the united front

You want what The woman asked wrinkling her nose in confusion

Randidly was surprised to find that the head engineer was a woman then chided himself inwardly for being so surprised But part of that surprise was also that she was young Probably only a year or two older than himself Maybe even his own age

It was honestly hard to tell how old he was these days however

There was a moment where Randidly thought it was somewhat strange for such a young woman to be placed in charge but then he admitted to himself that this was rather hypocritical After all he was likely younger and the maker of such a world

Putting his closed minded reaction to the side Randidly slowly explained once more A fully functioning arm IÆll use runes to mobilize it but I would like it designed with sophisticated joints and joints so that there is almost complete articulation As capable and limited as a biological arm would be

The Engineer considered that so the challenge is not really developing a unique design but of faithful construction Ah not worth our time I apologize but we have other avenues that we need to pursue

Randidly blinked then he laughed He was surprised to be so flatly rejected but it was somewhat refreshing I can make sure you are fairly compensated

The Engineer appeared to consider this She eyed him critically What do you think riches will change my mind We are founding this worldÆs first research institute We will pull apart the strange rules that govern the world In the face of all illuminating research you wish to tempt with physical possessions

Randidly simply smiled The EngineerÆs frown deepened But Randidly could see that behind her eyes the gears and cogs continued to click and whirr

fine but there is only one compensation IÆll accept The Engineer announced You must provide us with a Class Lighthouse Unused so that we may experiment on it prior to activating it ourselves

Is there any meaning to obtaining access to a Class if you didnÆt earn it Randidly asked with a small smile

The Engineer raised her eyebrows Do you feel clever spouting shit like that

There are benefits to having touched upon godhood Randidly responded cheerily For whatever reason Randidly liked the Engineer And it was amusing to respond so flippantly

This set the EngineerÆs teeth on edge but Randidly could tell she was calculating how far she could push him without him responding by forcing her hand more aggressively LIkely she was also calculating what he could really do to force her hand

Apparently she didnÆt trust his self control very much at all because she eventually hissed through her teeth and bought some time by looking down at the stacks of papers that were scattered haphazardly across her desk

I donÆt dislike the arrogant types the Engineer suddenly stated But this is simply too basic of a problem to dedicate any resources toward

Then think of it as a challenge Randidly responded easily Complete it quickly If i is as simple as you seem to believe and the end product is flawless IÆll owe you a favor And trust me I pay back all the interest owed on my favors

For a split second Randidly recalled AltaÆs face twisted and burnt as it was before her fireÆs consumed her entire body

In contrast to that hideous visage Randidly looked at the woman in front of him now The EngineerÆs eyes were light brown like warm honey It was somewhat strange that the two Spriggit women united by their genius and leadership abilities could meet such different ends The Engineer considered Randidly for fully five minutes The two sat silently in her office locked in a contest of stubbornness

However at the end of five minutes Randidly smiled

Fine The Engineer extended a hand The nameÆs Wendy Vuss DonÆt forget about that favor Mr Ghosthound

Pleased Randidly returned to the real world With that problem hopefully addressed he could focus his attention on the delicate minutia of the mechanical arm the control runes and the specific Engravings he would use

After careful consideration Randidly felt like he had almost no choice but to set aside the possibility of creating a functioning Engraving that could Level He simply didnÆt expect himself to get lucky enough to manage it even with him being intimately familiar with the images that he would have to use

He already had a pretty firm handle on the Ignition of the Emerald Essence portion although he was well aware that it could use further refining That was a worthwhile endeavor but ultimately Randidly chose to focus most of his Engraving time on another image

There were two reasons for this The first was that Ignition of the Emerald Essence likely wasnÆt extremely impactful in this type of fight Unless he created an overwhelming offensive Skill The second thing was that honestly it was hard to image something that could be placed in an engraving that Randidly couldnÆt do anyway with his Skills

Instead he wanted to focus on an image that he had spent the most time refining yet were the least weaponized of the Skills he possessed

Namely his Phantom image

RandidlyÆs fingers flexed it had begun with an image of his mother but as ash and fire had invaded and shaped it into something even more dangerous In that image was all of the hate and implacability that he had inherited from his distant mother and Shal

Yet before he could begin Randidly leaned back from his work table with a sigh Someone was coming up the hill But his expression abruptly brightened when he realized who it was Sam was making the slow trek up the hill

And there was only one reason that Sam would come to see him

His new set of equipment was ready

In spite of himself Randidly was excited He already possessed Acri who continued to grow toward becoming sharper as a plant than any metal could equal and Sulfur who thrived off of dispersing and absorbing force

But that left most of his body uncovered by equipment Many times on Tellus his arms or legs were covered in gashes as the opponentÆs strikes were able to tear at his flesh Because of that it was easy for Randidly to receive small wounds that sapped his Health and Stamina over the course of a fight

Of course his monstrous regeneration was enough to smother such small concerns But his last few fights in Tellus had taught him a valuable lesson in how important those small wounds add up to be If he could avoid those losses he should work toward doing it It was slowly perfecting the small details that enabled one to grow to a new tier of ability That was what Randidly was seeking

The Earth would need it soon

In typical Sam fashion the manÆs face was locked into a constant state of disinterest even as he walked calmly up the hill toward Randidly Randidly couldnÆt help but roll his eyes Certainly Sam wasnÆt one to be swept away with emotion but shouldnÆt he be at least a little excited to reveal his new creation to Randidly

When Sam arrived he simply nodded Then he waved his hand and produced a chest Open it The thing functions as a set so youÆll receive bonuses for wearing more pieces Oh also donÆt tell Clarissa I can add set bonuses She will drive me crazy pestering me for the how when I have already informed her that I do not know how to make a magicianÆs wand or staff

Interesting Randidly thought excitedly as he opened up the chest Within he found an extremely heavy and dense curtain

Confused Randidly carefully reached in and pulled out the inky black curtain It was only when he felt the material between his fingers that he realized that it was an extremely fine sort of chain mail with extremely small and thin bits of metal looped through each other

Grunting Randidly lifted the chain mail out of the chest To his surprise it was much heavier than he was expecting So much so that it would even affect his movements while wearing it But for all that

RandidlyÆs hands flexed as he gripped the metal links The material rippled and flexed but didnÆt distort Randidly raised his eyebrows He applied more strength drawing on the Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil There was still no response from the metal even as RandidlyÆs hands began to tremble from the exertion

Not that he believed he would be able to simply crush a finely wrought armor But to think the thin bits of chainmail didnÆt even warp