LoRG 2

Yes Randidly asked

I I volunteer To be a guide The Frogperson managed Please donÆt take my spawn mate

Fine Randidly extended his hand once more this time using his metallic left arm It gleamed coldly as it was bathed by the strange half light RandidlyÆs Crown produced All you need to do is take my hand

Chapter 891

Zuek Tuan studied the crater that the Demon Prince had left as he had destructively teleported away after stealing away a young Frogling The blast radius was large enough that the nearby dwellings had been cracked by the force and collapsed in on themselves If the Demon Prince had not forced the crowd to back before teleporting away

Zuek shivered He had seen his own Toad Lord fight just once The mass of gore that had been left in his masterÆs wake still haunted him

This would have been just as bad

Zuek turned to his companion one of the three star generals that had served one of the two Toad Lords that had been killed by the Demon King After his masterÆs death the general had been happy to come work for ZuekÆs master Explain to me what happened again Slowly DonÆt leave anything out

The frog nodded hurriedly Although both he and Zuek were three star generals there was a large difference between their masters As such Zuek believed himself more than capable enough of wiping the floor with this frog ten Levels his senior

That was why Zuek had been dispatched It quickly became clear that the Demon King could sense Levels So agents that would slip by its notice were necessary Yet even if the Toad Lords didnÆt believe this interloper was a true threat they didnÆt doubt that the Demon King could handle run of the mill foes

So they started sending carefully groomed talents to infiltrate the situation

Well The former three star general began He arrived suddenly bearing that same crown that the Demon King wears Yet it was clear that this crown was different To look at it

The frog shivered Zuek held his tongue at the disgraceful reaction Normally he would have been extremely suspicious of the veracity of what this fellow was saying but Zuek had been in a distant part of that same crowd Before the Demon Prince walked among the Frogpeople he had seen the crown

ZuekÆs tongue coiled in his mouth His instincts screamed that the Demon Prince was not someone to fight against If this was what the Demon Prince inspired then the Demon King But then Zuek gestured curtly for the general to continue

Ah after that he walked in and selected his guide From what I understand another individual Shual volunteered in her place They are both still froglings but they were spawn mates

Do we have any information about him Zuek cut in

The general shook his slimy head Nothing concrete He attended a public academy and his performance was unsatisfactory Most of his instructors recommended expulsion but he was marred by infractions not lack of results

mm Zuek vibrated his vocal sack as he unpacked that Reading between the lines the kid was likely a capable troublemaker And due to poor performance unaffiliated with any Toad Lords interested in scouting him Which meant that more information about him would be hearsay and likely useless

Ah but after the Demon Prince seized Shual he gestured with his hand and said Stand backÆ When people werenÆt quick enough obeying his orders for him vines sprung out of the ground and forced everyone backward Hard Many were injured in the press of bodies

And then Zuek said curtly He couldnÆt care less about how many of these cowards were injured He needed to know if his lord needed to be worried about this new element

Then he jumped The general gestured helplessly at the shattered ground

He jumped Zuek repeated The ground was cracked and broken The force of this jump was enough to disperse all of the peat and reveal the tightly packed clay And then that clay had shattered revealing a crater several meters deep

It was a force that was difficult to quantify It was possible to disperse the peat beneath oneÆs feet with a sudden enough shift but to disperse it in a circle with a thirty meter diameter And to crack the clay underneath that

Strong Zuek was forced to admit Too strong to ignore

After piercing back through the cloud cover quite a distance away Randidly hit the ground and staggered wincing underneath the pressure his legs were forced to bear as they landed Unfortunately he would not be able to do that again Inspiration meant that the active use of Yyrwood Body of Yggdrasil would be impossible without Mana for the next twenty four hours

But the feeling of leaping off the ground with enough force to immediately break through the sound barrier was certainly a novel one The speed of the motion was like a heady drug of which Randidly could still taste the aftermath

And they had covered quite a bit of ground in that initial leap More than Randidly had expected So much so that Randidly realized with chagrin that they were slightly more East than he had intended

Although he hadnÆt used it in a while Inspiration was still overwhelmingly powerful Even more so as his Stats continued to rise It was a multiplicative increase in power so it would grow increasingly overwhelming in the future

Randidly set the cocoon of roots he had made for his guide on the ground and cracked his neck As he no longer had access to Mana he couldnÆt dismantle it nicely He would have to rely on Acri for that The plant creature slithered down from his neck and began to cut into the cocoon to free the guide

Honestly Randidly felt a bit bad for the guide that had been brave enough to volunteer in order to save its spawn mate Most likely a sibling of some sort But he had certainly been given a rough treatment since then Randidly hadnÆt bothered to explain himself when he had bound the frog person in vines for its own protection

He had simply done it and then leaped

And perhaps that was exactly the sort of thing that the Demon Prince would do Randidly thought sourly His Crown of Upheaval and Gloom continued to pulse above his head Hissing in impatience Randidly gestured at Acri to speed it up

If Randidly wanted to catch Roy he would need to hurry No matter how far they had traveled in that initial jump they were losing time waiting here Especially if the thrust had carried them off the course that Randidly had initially planned to take

The plan was to try and search for traces of EarthÆs Aether so Randidly could zero in on this dumb foolÆs location But although his SKill Level was very high there was a limit to his effective range he would need to be within a dozen or so kilometers in order to catch a whiff Once he caught that scent he would be on him in a second But

A dozen kilometers was a large enough span but in the space of a whole world it was cripplingly small Which meant it was doubly important for them to move quickly and reach the last known location of Roy Which would still be a day or two behind his actual movements but it was the best they could do

Finally the frogperson was revealed through the vines And the first thing it did was messily vomit up its lunch next to Randidly Not wanting to squelch his toes in vomit Randidly stepped to the side and surveyed his chosen guide

Young Even though the difference in species Randidly was able to see that Which meant that the kid would know less but might be easier to work with in other ways Not wanting to delay any longer Randidly cleared his throat

WhatÆs your name Randidly asked dryly feeling strangely awkward He was in a weird position that was a cross between a kidnapper and a managing supervisor for a new job and wasnÆt sure what sort of tone to take The young frogperson clutched his chest and dry heaved for several seconds his overriding nausea keeping him from acknowledging Randidly

Sighing Randidly stretched and prepared to wait for the long haul What was annoying was that his lack of Mana also meant that he couldnÆt use any sort of healing Skill to expedite this process And Randidly sure as hell wasnÆt going to waste a healing potion on nausea

Kid Your name Randidly said his tone a little rougher after almost two minutes had passed and the frog had been content to simply breathe and drool regurgitated stomach acid onto the ground What was most annoying about this was that Randidly could clearly see that this individualÆs Level was Fifty Three There was no reason for this exaggerated reaction

Well even Randidly had to admit the departure was a bit abrupt But the feeling of flying through the air breaking through the cloud barrier and seeing the breathtaking vista ah of course He wouldnÆt have been able to see He was trapped inside of the vine cocoon Hmm

Perhaps the FrogperonÆs journey had been rougher than Randidly had realized

Finally after almost five minutes the frog person straightened and wiped its mouth But then its eyes went as round as saucers as it pointed above Randidly Cloud Serpents We are doomed

Randidly turned Out of the hole that their descent had punched in the cloud layer three strange flying reptiles were descending hissing and spitting Altogether they seemed extremely unpleasant If Randidly had to describe them they looked most like alligators with large leathery wings instead of stubby little arms like most gators had

The lizards seemed fixated on the two of them and began to glide down toward their position They were respectively Level 69 Level 70 and Level 64

Randidly released a low whistle No Mana would make it difficult but these would probably provide quite a bit of experience Best start quickly because they had already wasted enough time

When Randidly turned around the frogperson was still trembling Hey Kid Your name

Ah The frogperson blinked He took several steps back IÆm Shual But we need to go Those monsters

Are my prey Randidly grinned His Crown of Upheaval and Gloom began to shine even more brightly Wait here IÆll show you what sort of man you have been chosen by

The Randidly looked upward toward the three descending lizards Even if Randidly was strong enough to take them all head on it would be difficult to ensure that Shual would be fine without relying on Mana Therefore it was best to take the fight to them

Six Phantom Half Steps burned through quite a bit of RandidlyÆs Stamina but it also brought him rapidly closer to the weakest of the three Sky Serpents They were all pretty similar in size perhaps ten meters long and as thick as a tree trunk

Unfortunately for the Sea Serpent Randidly had chosen its momentum carried it forward to within armÆs reach of Randidly before it had even realized that he had materialized before it

Raucous PhantomÆs Finale

His huge metal arm smashed into the monster’s snout shattering the cartilage of its nose It roared in pain which allowed Randidly to reach into its mouth with the same arm and grab its tongue His hand quickly contracted binding the appendage until it bulged as though it was about to burst The monster quickly smashed its jaws shut like a steel trap but even its Level 64 teeth struggled to find purchase on RandidlyÆs arm Only a few shallow scratches were left

You wonÆt find finer steel in all of Earth Randidly thought wryly He wondered if he could someone record a commercial demonstration of the product with something like this

Grinning Randidly flexed his other arm and Acri shot out to its straight form The two other Sky Serpents were twisting around to assist their weaker companion but Randidly was lightning fast as he slashed and severed the front two wings of his Sky Serpent

Immediately it began to keen in pain and fall directly out of the sky While it was stunned by the pain Randidly twisted his body and brought his legs up around the main body Then he used his leverage to shift his position to mounting the Sky Serpent his arm screeching as the monster refused to let go of his arm

Randidly grinned You are going to regret that

Randidly sat directly above its head his arm twisted around and stuck without the mouth of the beast Flooding the arm with Aether Randidly began to pull He could feel the Sky Serpent straining but it managed to resist him Barely

Two things happened in quick succession A flood of strength filled his arm that allowed him to snap the mouth of the Sky Serpent open A part of its jaw gave way from the abruptness of the motion Like most creatures the bottom jaw was on a hinge but the top was not

At the same time they crashed into the ground The Sky SerpentÆs head broke the worst of RandidlyÆs fall

From the cracked ground of their landing spot Randidly stood He flicked out Acri and thrust the point of the blade into the head of the agonized Sky Serpent putting it out of its misery Then Randidly raised his arms to the sky and laughed

WhoÆs next

Chapter 892

What is that

Uh Shual struggled to focus his gaze on the blurred countryside to pinpoint the location the Demon Prince was imperiously pointing Likely because the Prince was aware of ShualÆs inability to cope with the current speed he had slowed down somewhat But it was still far too fast for Shual to have a clear view

The best he could do was see a wiggly blob That ah a Wraithplant ItÆs a vile thing that can use shadow magic

Ah If itÆs only a plant The Demon Prince didnÆt even bother to finish his sentence as his eyes began to glow an eerie emerald Shual shivered

Then the duoÆs motion accelerated and they sped past the hill where Shual had seen something he believed was a Wraithplant Behind them they left the pained screams of the poor monster as the thing ripped itself apart

Currently Shual was clinging to a cramped basket made of sturdy vines that the Demon Prince had constructed for him The first day Shual had just been carried so although the current situation wasnÆt ideal it was much improved from the hellish twenty four hours that had started off this crazy journey It had been almost three days since they had left the portal and during that time the two of them had acted like more like an exterminator than a Demon Prince

Anything and everything the Demon Prince would kill it Shual wondered what Level the Demon Prince had reached Do Demons have Levels

Or maybe the reason that he always stops to kill things is because he enjoys the feeling of slaughter some part of Shual whispered to himself He did his best to squelch that thought before it gained traction It was difficult enough to not have a mental breakdown simply watching this walking death machine that was the Demon Prince do his deadly business

It would be quite another thing to admit that one day Shual or other Frogpeople would be the next item on the agenda for the Demon Prince As for what Shual would do on that day luckily he hadnÆt been forced to make that decision

Although Shual had volunteered to save a former classmate it now seemed foolish and distant Three days of being treated by a disposable tour guide had certainly strained Shual

So far however the Demon Prince had gone out of his way to avoid Frogpeople Both in numbers and individuals who were wandered the countryside Besides the Demon Prince seemed mostly concerned with rushing South

They had passed some obviously but they were moving so quickly that there was no interaction Which was good Because if they had time to interact with a group Shual would have been forced to consider whether he should call for help or not

Or if he should call out a warning for all the other Frogpeople to run away So many decisions that Shual would probably have to make someday but he was currently spared taking an action that he could not take back

Somehow Shual suspected that the Demon Prince would not take any disobedience kindly

During the journey basically the only things Shual did were answer easy questions about the world and watch the Demon Prince What surprised Shual the most about the Demon Prince was how reasonable he sounded when he wasnÆt ripping some monster apart with his bare hands His casual questions about the world and society from which Shual came were intelligent and Shual had no reason not to explain him So he went through the topics of the regional Toad Lords and the batches of spawn that were separated by potential and sent off to Academies to train

Shual even surprised himself by unloading all of the stress he had been compacting from his time in the Academy where an administrator had hated him to such a degree that the had purposefully suppressed all of ShualÆs positive results Due to that he had graduated and drifted around for almost three months unable to find any Toad Lord willing to allow him into its service

What happens if you donÆt find a Toad Lord The Demon Prince had asked

ShualÆs face was grim The Toad Lords control the Feed ItÆs given to spawnlings and those at Academy without any commitment of service but

Soon I will starve Shual thought bleakly There was obviously other sources of food but the Feed contained life energy Without it the Toad Lords wouldnÆt have been able to maintain such an iron grip over the countryside In all the years that the Toad Lords had ruled that number had never shifted from one hundred Toad Lords

Well there were brief variations when one Toad Lord warred with another Or strange incidents like the Demon King arriving and killing two But very soon Shual had no doubt that two more Toad Lords would appear able to harvest and create Feed

As long as these demons donÆt destroy us all

Around them the countryside was a blur as the Demon Prince bounded forward They were moving so fast that the small raindrops that hit them felt like needle pricks Shual crouched lower in the basket to avoid the worst of it but the Demon Prince endured it without comment As they ran it was easy to forget this being was a destructive Demon capable of killing Shual Instead it was easy to be lulled into a strange sort of calmness by the even sound of his breathing

Inhale Exhale

Inhale

And that

The blurring world slowly morphed into something recognizable as the Demon Prince slowed Shual peeked up from out of his basket Then he blinked I DonÆt know what that is ItÆs Level 70

I see that Came the sardonic reply Then Shual yelped as he was dropped into a rather large mud puddle The Demon Prince blurred forward his strange living spear stretching out and keening happily at being used

Shual shuddered Even the Demon PrinceÆs spear is bloodthirsty

The monster raised its head and roared again the sound booming out to the surrounding area Then it lowered its head and stared at the Demon Prince as he approached Above its head there were only question marks and the Level 70 distinction That intrigued Shual He had never seen a label like that before Why was its name hidden

The monster itself looked almost warped So much so that Shual shook his head and checked to make sure he wasnÆt suffering from motion sickness Or some weird extension of traveling too fast for far too long But the monster had a bone exoskeleton and looked like a giant boar that was the size of a small house Long prickling spears of bone spread out from its back almost three meters long Even worse were the four thick tusks that jutted out from just below its snout

Even from this distance Shual could tell how sharp those tusks were They were made to rip and gore the boarÆs prey

The reason that Shual believed it to be warped was twofold first because its body seemed strangely stretched and secondly a large and powerful arm of maroon bone stretched out from the right side of its body That maroon fist smashed the ground spraying mud everywhere Then the beast leapt to meet the Demon Prince

Despite its strange longness and lopsided build the monster moved almost as quickly as the Demon Prince Even Toad Lords would hesitate to challenge a Level 70 monster that they didnÆt fully understand so there was a glimmer of excitement in ShualÆs heart as he watched the two monsters smash into each other

Even if he is evil he possesses strength ShualÆs eyes never wavered from the clash That strength I wonÆt be able to achieve it like this waiting for scraps from a Toad Lord

But then the rest of ShualÆs thoughts were blown away as the Demon Prince crashed into the boar

Even moving at a speed that was impossible for Shual to follow the Demon Prince parried the tusks stabbing toward him and brought his spear crashing down against the skull of the boar There was a screech of spear on exoskeleton and then a moment of strange stillness as the two struggled against each other in close proximity

Growling the boar bunched its body to prepare to overpower the Demon Prince But it was a hair too slow

Before the boar could gather itself on the muddy ground the Demon Prince switched his grip on the spear As he did so the spear wiggled like a serpent and slithered below the monsterÆs jaw With practiced ease the Demon Prince pressed upward with his spear and popped the monsterÆs front half off of the ground

Even as the boar reared back to escape the Demon Prince accelerated toward the monsterÆs revealed belly

The boar was thrown backward from the collision but Shual couldnÆt detect any real wound on its stomach Mostly because the combatants were moving too fast but Shual believe he would see something if the Demon Prince had inflicted a fatal wound

With a grim purpose the Demon Prince chased after the flailing boar But as the monster spun awkwardly down on its legs to the side its maroon arm was finally brought to bear Fully half of the size of the torso of the giant boar by the time Shual recognized the threat it already smashed into the Demon Prince

Despite himself Shual gasped in fear

You want that monster to live Some portion of ShualÆs mind was incredulous at his own natural reaction

But ShualÆs practicality answered in the affirmative If he dies wonÆt that boar eat me next

The Demon Prince was thrown sideways and hit a shallow lagoon like a bomb detonation throwing water everywhere But as the boar took the few seconds of space to right itself the ground beneath it seemed to opened and huge gouts of emerald flame were spat upward

Screaming in pain the boar stumbled to the side even as the rain around it was immediately evaporated into steam by the high heat creating an eerie blanket of fog over the battlefield Suddenly everything was quiet the only thing Shual could hear was his own heart

There was a low growl and then a light splash But everything was covered by that steadily spreading fog Most of it was dispersing but the area where the two were located was thickly draped

Shual could only huddle lower in his basket and hope for the best

Chapter 893

Grimly Randidly peered through his water vapor at the monster that had managed to get a sucker punch in on him I suppose thatÆs what I get for underestimating something that had surmounted Level 70 But what the hell is up with that arm

Being punched had hurt but it wasnÆt to the point where Randidly was seriously injured The reason that Randidly was hesitating now was that his scan with Aether Detection ended in failure When he saw that the name was hidden Randidly initially didnÆt care much But after seeing how quick and powerful that extra arm was as well as how hard its exoskeleton was Randidly was intrigued So he activated his Skill with the monster as the target

Yet he found himself blocked when he attempted to scan it Well blocked was the wrong word

It wasnÆt some runic construct in the way like occurred with Ajax but instead it was somewhat akin to driving on a familiar road home and suddenly encountering a minimall directly in the middle of the road There was clearly something there yet it shouldnÆt be there

Randidly could get some information from it but it was arranged in a format that he didn’t recognize Information was flooding in but he couldnÆt recognize what it was And because the information was arriving at a strange place Randidly wasnÆt sure how to follow the information deeper to its core

To do so he would need to stop fighting it and study the flow of its Aether

The Aether scanning was done mostly by feel and the feeling was strange and unwelcome And with this huge deluge of information screening his way deeper into the monster he couldnÆt find the information he was used to locating

Honestly it seemed like this monster had another entity entirely taking root in its chest

Well it will be much easier to investigate after I kill it Randidly thought

His feet blasted the water in the surrounding area away as he accelerated directly toward the boar monster Surprisingly it seemed to detect him by sound and twisted slightly so the side of its body with the maroon arm was leading So it favored that arm Something to remember

Spear Advances Ash Trails

RandidlyÆs speed rose even further and Acri thrummed in glee as they shot forward toward the foe Before it could even respond RandidlyÆs charge crashed against the boarÆs side

The force was deafening even for him Grimacing Randidly avoided the long bone spikes from its back and sidestepped around to avoid the maroon arm Plus the counteract came quickly as well Even if it wasnÆt blessed with troublesome Skills this defensive barrier was more than enough to leave Randidly frustrated

He had left another crack in the bone exoskeleton but it was so small that it would be easy to miss if you werenÆt aware of what you were looking for It would be difficult to pierce through to the vulnerable parts within without targeting one area several times in a row

That vicious arm smashed its fist downward where Randidly had just been standing The wave of dirty water from the blow was about as high as Randidly was tall but with his Aether Perception he could ignore his screened vision Even though he didnÆt understand what Aether Detection was telling him he could still feel its presence

Instead of advancing again Randidly raised his hand and fired off several Verdant Bolts Again the emerald flames pierced through the water with soft hisses cracking into the monster without any warning The boar screeched in pain and stumbled backward as the heat penetrated through the exo skeleton and to the vulnerable flesh beneath

It was a roundabout method but at least it was showing results

Activating Eruption of the Blazing Leyline Randidly lowered his stance and carefully watched the boar Huge gouts of flame belched upward submerging the boarÆs body in fire Once more it danced to the side to avoid the flame that came out of the ground but it was a bit too slow for RandidlyÆs taste

Frigid Ash Extinguishing Storm The freezing flecks of energy spun outwards chilling the surrounding water Then Randidly put his image behind it and pushed Advancing rapidly toward the boar Randidly aimed to slow it to the point that he would be able to really smash a hole in its armor Then perhaps he could get a handle on what the Aether was telling him

Despite the restrictive nature of RandidlyÆs Skill and the previously inflicted fire damage the boar nimbly danced to the side Quickly too which put Randidly directly to the monsterÆs right The maroon limb clenched into a fist and swung to meet Randidly At this point there was little he could do so he gathered Mana to himself for the counter attack and braced himself for the impact With his determined glare Frigid Ash Extinguishing Storm seemed to spin out even more quickly

Small raindrops froze as they fell closer to Randidly causing small snowflakes to spin away from him in a mesmerizing pattern If the temperature had fallen that far there was no way that the Skill hadnÆt begun to work on the boar Yet at the last second

The boar stepped to the side and Randidly and the maroon fist passed cleanly by each other Randidly was shocked enough that he stumbled

Immediately Randidly swore inwardly This thing was smart He readied himself for its follow up blow but it looked like the maroon arm was furious It flailed left and right and then slapped the boar upside the head stumbling the monster Blinking Randidly considered this

The boar shook its head and then gave Randidly a long look As if seeing something within his shocked gaze it turned and blurred into motion as it retreated out of the mist and zipped across the countryside As the boar fled the maroon arm seemed to realize what was happening and switched its target from its boar carrier to Randidly

As the strange being disappeared out of sight the fist shook itself in fury at Randidly visibly swearing its eternal enmity Although Randidly believed he could have overpowered it if he forced the fight Randidly let the strange monster go There were too many mysteries associated with it Plus

The look that the boar gave Randidly at the end was very clear I do not want to fight you

The boar was intelligent And smart enough not to want to fight But the arm had Fascinating Perhaps it was some sort of parasitic monster And that was the reason that he couldnÆt read its Aether Were all monsters that reached Level 70 intelligent

Questions for later For now we need to keep moving

As Randidly pondered it he returned to Shual Alright we are leaving

Shual poked his head out Randidly almost felt bad to see how relieved the young frog looked Oh you killed the monster

No I didnÆt Randidly remarked Then he turned and stared after the monster His face twisted into a frown

The direction it had fled was South A coincidence

Two squirrels paused on the long branch of a nearby oak tree and considered this strange human Ignoring them Sam cracked his knuckles and ran his hands lovingly over the marble and gold table that made all of this possible

Workbench of the Dawn Smith Lvl 64 The seat of power for the Dawn Smith A workbench that sits in the open air that will absorb the sunÆs rays and grow in power After a sufficient number of dawns pass it is possible for the item Level to increase While working on items on top of the workbench the items will be enhanced by a fraction of this workbenchÆs power Will slightly increase the chance of creating items at a higher rarity Adds an extremely small chance to include bonus stats in an item Control and Focus +20 Fixture Array II Dawn Cocoon III Toward the Final Sigh II

Fixture Array II This workbench is part of an array that will absorb an extremely small amount of energy from the surroundings Effect increased on energy from the sun As such power in the surrounding area will concentrate here

Dawn Cocoon III While the Dawn Smith makes use of this Workbench some of the gathered energy will fill the surrounding area and create a warmer and stabler environment Adds a bonus 3% to crafting Skill Levels while using the Workbench

Toward the Final Sigh II Always dawn will come until it wonÆt This item will possess an increased resistance toward outward attacks that will grow until the sun no longer appears in the sky Each Dawn sees its Endurance increase a minuscule amount

The secret that Sam had discovered while testing out Form Function and Image as the correct approximation of the categories was thus they had thought too simplistically about their ability to create equipment

Furniture could give options too

And the only reason he stumbled upon this delight was that Sam struggled for a long time to identify items that possessed various forms and functions It was hard to think of weapons that varied overmuch from a central shape for reason other than material constraints Well that wasnÆt true Yet Sam felt bound by his own perfectionist nature In his mind there was one way to make the best longsword Another way to make the best lance

What he needed was an item that could be made with different forms and still have the same function And these variations couldnÆt be due to what the main material was And he also didnÆt wasnÆt to simply add superfluous additions to a perfectly good weapon What he needed was something a little different

Which was why Sam eventually arrived at furniture Furniture was an area that had seen of innovative explosion immediately prior to the System A lot of those designs had survived demonstrating their value And often the function would remain constant

At first Sam was dubious that he could create a piece of furniture that could possess stats But he couldnÆt for the life of him figure out why he believed that was true It seemed like the only reason was that it hadnÆt been done Plus all of the System buildings that assisted forging had special focuses that were all pieces of armor or weapons No word of a carpentry station

Likely this truth would have been discovered eventually as the supply of furniture they were able to harvest from old warehouses around Franksburg ran dry But that might not be for a while

Which meant that Sam had an edge on the whole Earth Likely even on Randidly He was the only person who knew this possibility

It is a good feeling Sam said smugly rubbing his hand lovingly over the workbench he had created It was in an area a little bit distant from his usual workshop in a deserted clearing that Sam sometimes wandered to in order to think It stood in the midday sun glowing greedily as it absorbed the energy in the surrounding area and grew more powerful

It was a squat and heavy thing made of carved marble with gold accents Overall it was relatively simple almost austere It was covered with simple engravings that would increase its resistance to physical blows so the marble could actually withstand forging of more troublesome metals Sam wasnÆt as adept as Randidly but he was probably the best Engraver in Donnyton at the moment Creating the engravings hadnÆt been a problem

And it seemed that his plan to attach the array to the surrounding area to power the workbench was a success hopefully it would grow fast enough that Sam wouldnÆt catch up to its capability to withstand force

Humming to himself Sam reached into his interspatial ring and seized the elemental incarnations that had been sent down from East End Now that he had the capability and the materials Sam supposed it was time to show off a bit

We may not be the strongest but you can bet we will catch up No matter who attempts to triumph over us Sam thought as he massaged his shoulders and sat back down at his workbench

The array instantly activated and a warm veil of light spread to cover his position It felt extremely comfortable within that light So comfortable that Sam laughed with delight Then he coughed awkwardly and glanced around

Luckily no one was around to notice his unfiltered glee

Thank god Sam thought darkly If Ed saw that I would never live it down

Chapter 894

Knock knock knock

Sam blearily opened his eyes With a grunt he sat up and rubbed his forehead After almost three days of constant experimentation regarding the limits of his workbench Sam was extremely satisfied

And exhausted No matter how much the System empowered the body there was a limit to how long a human could remain totally focused That time had increased with the System but even Sam still needed breaks It gave him a headache to think about RandidlyÆs ridiculously fiddly Engraving sessions

Alas that was not SamÆs Path Not today

Knock Knock

IÆm coming Sam grumbled Regina had already left so he couldnÆt even send her to try and shoo away whoever the fuck was bothering him at almost the exact second he had finally fallen asleep But then again since they hadnÆt barged into his house it wasnÆt Donny Ed or Alana And those three were the most difficult for Sam to deal with although for extremely diverse reasons

Hopefully this could be kept short then

In addition it meant that perhaps this individual could be bribed to say that they hadnÆt found Sam at his house Sam had some spare items that he wouldnÆt mind parting with and as long as this individual wasnÆt too high on DonnytonÆs totem pole

Sam opened the door Mrs Hamilton smiled sweetly at him

Groaning inwardly Sam nodded gravely Ah Mrs Hamilton What a pleasure so early in the morning

Early in the morning You must be joking The Dawn Smith sleeping in It must already be 7 A M Do you take days off Mrs Hamilton asked playfully SamÆs tired attempt at respect crumbled and he simply scowled at her

Chuckling Mrs Hamilton continued with a more serious expression We canÆt delay them any longer the representative of Zone Seven will be getting their teleporter Which means that our political dance needs to happen now Were you able to use the materials sent down by the East End

For the first time in almost twenty years Sam felt like an absolute fool He blinked When was the last time he got so excited about something that he had completely forgotten about his responsibilities The foolish night that was the last nail in his relationship with his ex wife The summer before training camp where he did nothing to ready his ass to earn his keep on a rugby scholarship

Mrs HamiltonÆs expression immediately turned sharp

Sam cleared his throat It wasnÆt

What did you do She asked her voice frigid

That caused SamÆs hackles to go up Although he had perhaps been hasty in his use of the materials he surely wasnÆt empty handed And he wasnÆt some child for her to chide He glared at Mrs Hamilton The Level wonÆt be what I wanted but I guarantee it will send a certain message

Mrs Hamilton nodded slowly Hopefully it will be enough

Nodding shortly Sam followed after Mrs Hamilton while covertly rubbing the sleep from his eyes Hopefully Zone Seven wouldnÆt mind receiving furniture as a counter gift for their extremely valuable weapons

Randidly considered the sight in front of him It was obviously a deep lagoon but from their vantage on top of a nearby mountain it was clear that Frogpeople were coming and going freely into the water Many were carrying waterproof sacks that appeared to function exactly as briefcases People were clearly commuting to work within the lagoon The area surrounding the water was lined with those sturdy and squat longhouses in which most of the population seemed to live

They were overlooking the suburbs with the city center hidden from view

This is a city Randidly asked skeptically

Shual bobbed his head as he sat on a rock and checked himself stretching his limbs after being confined to the small basket for so long A Deep City Only those Frog Lords allied with Frog Lord Tisha understand the trick to making them others have tried for generations and only achieved failure But in this area they are pretty common Having the city underwater means that transportation within the city is easy And the buildings are quite beautiful I hear

Transportation is only important if you donÆt have access to interspatial rings Randidly thought idly Truly the Aether that he sensed on this world sparse Already the connection to Earth was reviving the world in some ways but they clearly didnÆt have access to the advantages that the System offered Plus the FrogpeopleÆs skin likely made movement underwater quite simple And let them breathe oxygen easily

Not that the breathing was anything but a mental problem with the advent of the System

Plus anything is better than feeling the constant drumming on rain on your head Randidly thought darkly It had been a long two and a half days of running South But based on RandidlyÆs communication with Neveah someone who had been sent from this city had just arrived at the portal to investigate

It was someone Level 52 but after hearing about the varying qualities relating to Feed from Randidly they both agreed that she should be much more thorough in scanning those who arrived at the portal However Aether was transferred there were clearly varying qualities And when Neveah knew what to look for she quickly found those who emitted an unimpressive amount of Aether but seemed to be using it much more efficiently

Whatever the setup on this world was it was a little different from what they encountered before Which meant they needed to be careful Because it seemed clear that their opponent would use Levels as a screen to trick them

So RandidlyÆs mission here was two fold to get information from the Toad Lord here as to who informed it of the presence of the portal and weakness of Earth and also to understand this feed Shual knew a little but not any of the valuable information Nothing that would tell Randidly what exactly it was

So it was time to get some answer Randidly preferred the peaceful method but he had also just run two days under the barrage of constant rain It shouldnÆt have gotten to him but he was profoundly annoyed by the whole experience

LetÆs go He said shortly Shual nodded meekly and hopped in the basket

Some part of Randidly wondered if Shual would make a break for it when he was busy with other activities but it wasnÆt like Randidly was willing to put more permanent restraints on the Frogperson He was just a kid in the wrong place at the wrong time

Probably a lot of those people that Neveah was forced to kill were just like this Randidly thought bitterly ThatÆs why we canÆt just sit still and let the System rule our lives It will push us to fight until it has wrung every ounce of value it can from us and then devour the remains

But even if he chose the peaceful approach Randidly wasnÆt going to be subtle He didnÆt have time to waste infiltrating the city So Randidly jumped high enough into the air to cause Shual to squeak and let nature take its course

They arched upward and forward to hang over the edge of the lagoon As gravity gripped onto them their passage upward ceased Then they accelerated faster and faster down toward the ground the air whistling past

With his high Perception Randidly heard Shual gulp

Randidly laughed Honestly he quite enjoyed the feelings of vertigo he experienced especially after the past few days Because all he was doing was running for long stretches of time Randidly was experimenting with methods to make himself go faster to push farther with each step One method was lowering gravityÆs effect by using Influence of the Molten Core another was making small steps that threw him forward with footholds of vines

It took quite a bit of practice but that was all Randidly had The effect was some novel ways to make Randidly go very very fast And the reason that he could dedicate himself to fully to the task for these days was that he found in himself quite a bit of an adrenaline junkie Chasing that speed kept him motivated

Randidly landed in the shallows of the lagoon sending up a powerful spray of water that knocked an innocent family backward with the concussive force Although they didnÆt notice it in the chaos a lone vine thrust upward out of the ground and slashed to slip the wave and lessen the force

Even with his interference his arrival was forceful enough to clear a space The surrounding people were knocked away leaving Randidly standing alone on this bustling shore of the lagoon Randidly slowly spun grinning around at them all to search the eyes of those near for any hint of recognition Had they seen humans before Would he be able to confirm the location of Roy here

All he saw was a blank shock But he supposed these dozens of average citizens of this world werenÆt likely to know much So Randidly opened his mouth and spoke IÆd like to speak to the Toad Lord that rules this city Now

The Crown of Upheaval and Gloom was still active above RandidlyÆs head He had kept it there for the past three days simply allowing it to grow steadily from feeding off his focused pursuit of its goal Yet that wasnÆt all it absorbed some part of this worldÆs Aether became woven into the fabric of the Crown

A tool is only what you use it for Randidly thought lightly And I was here in this strange world destroying every monster that I came across regardless of the consequences If that didnÆt have an effect I would be surprised

The only question is how that effect would manifest itself Only time would tell

After a few beats of silence where the adults covered up the mouths of children and kept them from screaming at this strange monster that demanded immediate entrance to the city there were bubbles from below Two nervous looking Frogpeople wearing armor surfaced looking warily at Randidly

The Demon Prince arriving at our city of Athan What an honor One guard said woodenly as though not seriously believing he was saying the words he had been given

Instantly the surrounding Frogpeople who were muttering in confusion to each other went dead silent

It seems everyone has heard word of NeveahÆs exploits Randidly thought grimly At the very least it means the people will be against antagonizing Earth In that respect she certainly succeeded

Please follow us The other guard said with a bow She gestured to the lagoon behind her Our Lord is expecting you

Chapter 895

Despite RandidlyÆs misgivings about simply following the servants of the Toad Lord down into an underwater base there was no vicious ambush waiting for him beneath the surface of the water Just a long causeway of shells embedded into the settling mud that stretched off into the depths of the lagoon

In addition it looked rather well maintained Rather bemused Randidly gathered some algae and plant matter from the surrounding water and attached it to himself to form a rather effortless propulsion system Because he created thrust by rupturing the cell wall of his algae he had to continually replace it But within such a lagoon continually gathering the requisite plant matter was extremely simple

Which gave Randidly time to consider his surrounding

When Shual had said that others had attempted to reproduce what happened in these Deep Cities to no success Randidly hadnÆt quite understood the difficulty Because he had just been picturing barebones buildings that frogs swam into and out of with impunity

As Randidly and his guides drew deeper into the lagoon that wasnÆt what he saw Instead each building maintained a bubble of air within that allowed people to behave as though they were on land even underneath thirty meters of water These bubbles were often wider than they were tall and included dirt and mud to create a walkable surface within

Strange semi living vines snaked up from the buildings to lily pads that Randidly could sense above allowing recycling of the air within Honestly it was a pretty impressive engineering feat even if it was slightly ungainly to look at Yet even so the strange bubbles filled the underwater world with color and life

ShualÆs second statement also came true the buildings that dotted the Deep Sea were beautiful

Randidly floated forward through the water without apparent effort and he studied the city If he believed that he had witnessed the suburbs on the shore of the lagoon he was dearly mistaken The trickle of people he had seen back out on land was barely a drop in the bucket that was this city Under the water people were buzzing back and forth flitting quickly with powerful strokes of their legs through the water

More than that the group of them was approaching a blimp like bubble of algae that held within it a living and breathing park It was rather dim down here and the entrance seemed to be a complicated series of sequestered bubble spaces but within there were trees and paths and playground equipment

Small Frogpeople hopped gleefully in play unaware that a powerful being from a rival world was floating down past them in order to speak with their leader The whole thing set RandidlyÆs teeth on edge somehow He didnÆt like this side of things It was easy enough to focus on a powerful enemy that was taking advantage of you But to fight against a populace that was largely innocent

Strangely his Crown pulsed calming him down immediately Such was his Path There was no point in quibbling with himself about it

As the neared the city proper there were even more of these strange bubble spaces Most were arranged in elaborate chains that extended upward almost like a strange underwater equivalent of apartment buildings And at their base strangely luminescent choral twisted upward varying between shades of red dark orange and green

Without light from the surface the choral slowly grew more bright by contrast Proceeding deeper took them further away from the light above but it also adjusted their eyes to the alien light emanating from below

Likely due to the constant cloud cover above the Deep City was awash with shadow This deep place was a domain of shade And surrounded by the strange semi darkness Randidly felt his mood shifting to something more focused Was bringing him deep into the Toad LordÆs territory supposed to cow him

Am I supposed to be impressed Randidly thought sourly as his guards continued to slowly swim forward They displayed none of the speed that he had seen some other Frogpeople possess especially when an individual was in their path and recognized the armor worn by these guards

It seemed that this Toad Lord was not a kind ruler

Unfortunately the one problem with being underwater was the fact that he really didnÆt have any way to communicate At least communicate non aggressively So he couldnÆt make conversation and he couldnÆt urge the Frogpeople forward Randidly simply had to endure the slow speed and allow the guards to lead him as they wished

After almost fifteen minutes they arrived at a large dome that stood in the center of the bubble chains Whereas the other bubbles were semi translucent allowing some vision of what was within this dome was completely opaque Algae grew thickly along the surface granting a strange fuzziness to the extremely large building

Just as soon as Randidly paused to study the dome in front of them the guards moved With a sudden burst of speed they surged downward to a tunnel that led beneath the dome They hadnÆt even gestured or indicated that Randidly was to wait here They had simply bolted

RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed I knew they were moving slowly to show off

But if they also didnÆt tell him to stay he could casually ignore their attempt to ditch him and have plausible deniability about it later Grinning Randidly swept up handfuls of the thick algae covering the dome and used it to torpedo himself downward after the guards into the tunnel

Within they were in almost complete darkness The two guards continued to accelerate and Randidly chuckled to himself His little micro organisms redoubled their efforts and soon he was effortlessly keeping pace with the frogs However they seemed completely oblivious as they swam through the darkness Likely they didnÆt possess anything like his auxiliary Perception abilities

Eventually the tunnel turned upward And they emerged into the air Randidly came up slowly and suspiciously not daring to take in a breath until he could ascertain the area was safe Not that poison was really that much of a concern but still Traveled from air to water was when he felt the most vulnerable

Certainly the interior of the dome was at least well lit There was even a strange apparatus installed on the ceiling that provided a light source that felt an awful lot like sunlight But the area was still annoyingly swampy to RandidlyÆs eye

At least itÆs out of the rain Randidly thought dourly

Apparently his ascent to the surface of the water was so well controlled that the two guards still hadnÆt noticed his presence as they leapt out of the water Immediately they saluted toward a large weeping willow esque tree that dominated the nearby area and said Sire The Demon waits outside for your pleasure

Fools

The word was spoken with such vehemence that the ground trembled A large well toad hopped out from under the willow tree and surveyed the guards Then its gaze shifted to Randidly If he is awaiting my pleasure outside who is behind you

In typical lackey fashion the two guards spun around and gaped at Randidly Their shock was so visceral that Randidly had a hard time believing it was genuine With narrowed eyes he slowly stepped up the staired tunnel and onto dry land The ground squished pleasantly beneath his bare feet Was this song and dance done for his benefit Or

The Toad Lord which looked like a grey toad the size of a bear waved one of its forelimbs Before RandidlyÆs eyes the two guards withered to nothing within a second and two small glittering spheres were ripped out of their desiccated corpses to fly toward the Toad Lord Without batting an eye the Toad Lord opened its mouth and its tongue shot out and snagged the orbs

Not a song and dance then Randidly thought as he distastefully regarded the corpses Just foolish guards

Randidly looked up to find that the Toad Lord was studying him waiting to see how Randidly responded to the casual show of power To see whether Randidly would balk at violence Randidly responded by not commenting at all simply walking past the bodies and inclining his head You must be the Toad Lord of this city I am the Demon Prince

If it was confused by RandidlyÆs lack of reaction the Toad Lord didnÆt show it Its mouth opened into a wide expression that was likely the frog version of a grin Ah of course I am Nirfik Welcome welcome Come through to sit with me in the mud and talk

Curiouser and curiouser Randidly thought as the Toad Lord turned around and lumbered back beneath the shade of the tree Before he moved he spared a glance for the dried and consumed corpses Because what had just happened had been interesting and likely informed him slightly as to the nature of Feed

He pulled the Aether right out of them Randidly thought as he walked forward to the tree I could feel multiple claims to that Aether and his was strongest But how did he leave such a powerful mark on the Aether And that Willpower he used

Also wasnÆt the Toad LordÆs response to Randidly too amicable He had come peacefully but he hadnÆt expected to walk in so easily After all Neveah had opened this game with the Frog People by killing two of their ruling class Or was this a game of chicken to see which of them would flinch first

Shrugging Randidly followed after the toad to the tree He was surprised as he walked into the screened area because he instantly stepped into knee deep mud Very warm bubbling mud that appeared to be connected to some sort of hot springs As he moved the ground beneath his feel sagged and slid guiding him deeper

Without any real sense of urgency the Toad Lord hopped deeper while spraying large chunks of mud until it sank almost completely into the mud Then it turned around and grinned at Randidly with only its eyes and mouth above the mud

Please follow me to the deeper portion of the mud It is extremely beneficial for the skin At my age there is no such thing as being too careful

Vanity Definitely posturing then Randidly thought He grinned right back and waded after the Toad Lord His metal arm flexed Even if the Toad Lord planned on using this mud as an opportunity to attack Randidly he would be sorely disappointed Woven all throughout the mud were small bits of algae and plant matter Even now those gathered to form a protective halo around Randidly

Randidly was in his natural element

As Randidly sank down up to his waist the Toad Lord Nirfik continued to speak Tell me about your journey Has traveling through our world been comfortable

I appreciate your welcoming attitude Randidly cut across the Toad LordÆs speech before he could build up a head of steam Wasting time here wasnÆt an activity he needed to engage in But I am in a hurry What did you wish to speak with me about Nirfik

NirfikÆs yellow eyes regarded Randidly completely inscrutable Hooh Did you not come here to speak to me I simply thought to display my generosity by guiding you to my humble abode

Randidly pressed his lips together Fine then LetÆs try the direct method I came to fetch someone who is spreading rumors to your Toad Lords I believe you have spoken to this individual I would appreciate your cooperation

Someone that IÆve spoken to Well it is possible But it seems in bad faith to sell out a business partner What will the other Toad Lords say of me

Randidly remained silent just looking at the Toad Lord known as Nirfik

Perhaps sensing the shift in RandidlyÆs mood Nirfik said If I refuse

The Toad LordÆs grin grew even as it continued to sink into the mud Randidly could feel its legs spreading beneath the surface finding a comfortable position to consider Randidly Deeper and deeper it sank its body slowly devoured by the grey black mud Very quickly all Randidly could see were those eyes and that leering mouth

Then everyone in this Deep City will die Randidly spoke in a monotone voice as the Crown above his head grew increasingly heavy To wear the Crown is to choose the Path And to be bound to follow the Path you have chosen

Thea cracked her neck as she looked across the plains to the plumes of smoke rising up on the horizon Donnyton certainly was as peaceful as ever

Her eyes scanned sideways regarding the four figures with her I suppose it’s about time we got started isnÆt it

No one answered They just smiled

Chapter 896

Han Yazhu was exchanging a few quiet words with Donny when Sam and Mrs Hamilton caught up to the group The expedition from Zone Seven had been able to fly beneath DonnytonÆs radar only because there were only five people including Han within the group Therefore none of the patrols they had passed made not of them

Which was unfortunate because that meant that they were caught unawares by this arrival From his conversations with Mrs Hamilton part of the reason that they had come was to be present in case Donnyton had a response to the weapons that Zone Seven had sent ahead of them

And if they failed to return the goodwill with an equally valuable gift From what Sam understood it wasnÆt good Something like a pride thing Which Sam identified with very strongly He didnÆt want to lose

Not in forging Not to anyone

The inscrutable diplomat looked up and smiled when he noticed Mrs Hamilton approaching their small group Ah Mrs Hamilton It is unfortunate that I will not be able to speak with you further Some of the theories advanced by Donnyton in your library certainly extraordinary Another time we will need to exchange pointers

Mrs Hamilton smiled Indeed Zone Seven and Donnyton certainly have much to give each other Mutual growth is for the best

Nodding shortly Han said Exactly so Well then I must depart

Just a moment Sam growled He cracked his knuckles absently to hide his nerves and said Donnyton still owes you a gift for those beautiful weapons that you brought from your Zone Leaving without paying you back wouldnÆt that be rude

How generous HanÆs face shifted lightning fast to barely controlled shock and then settled back onto placid observation Certainly he hadnÆt expected Donnyton to possess anything worthy of being the equal of those weapons which was exactly why those weapons had been given away for free

Yet Han Yazhu recovered from that shock almost instantly He certainly was a cold fish But I couldnÆt possibly accept any more hospitality from Donnyton Besides our great Zone has more than enough weapons

They arenÆt weapons And I insist Sam said shortly Then he bared his teeth Mrs Hamilton had given him a little background on Chinese culture so he understood the need to push past the initial rejection of the gift It was only polite to refuse at least once to take a gift after all Please if not from Donnyton accept a gift from myself a humble craftsman who admires the work of your Zone

For several seconds Han Yazhu was still His stiff expression didnÆt shift at all as he weighed the options available to him Finally he smiled slightly Alright but only as a symbolic gesture between our newly interconnected economies

Without waiting for him to change his mind Sam waved his hand and used Shape Stone to make three clean and flat areas to display the furniture Then he removed the items from his interspatial ring and placed them on display for this foreign dignitary to inspect

The first was something that had been inspired by a common canvas chair but Sam had added some extra details in order to examine the effect of Form on the item Instead of canvas Shal had used some of the finest golden silk that Donnyton produced to form the body of the chair The color was rich and metallic giving it a regal and sophisticated feel

The chair itself was large with the glittering silk draping over the sides to form a golden halo on the ground around the chair itself The back of the chair was elongated and from the top streamers of gold hung down sparkling in the sun With the cascading gold color grabbing the eye it was very difficult to sense exactly how flimsy the chair itself was

With careful engraving Sam had worked in some empowering runes into the armrests that caused constant breezes to circle the chair The effect of which was that the chair constantly sparkled and glimmered like and uncovered diamond But the movements were generally small preserving the illusion of a shimmering golden throne

Sam believed it wasteful but he wanted to move as far away as possible from the form of an average chair And this was what he had created Originally he had planned on giving it to Donny but already Sam had a headache imagining how insufferable the boy would be if he got his hands upon it

The second chair was also ornate but was SamÆs attempt at mastering Function Rather than an actual chair this was a jade sculpture that used engraving and careful carving to look like a chair from every direction However the arrangement meant that anyone who attempted to actually sit on the chair would find not enough space for comfort

Some of the Earthen essence sent from East End was used in this chair Harnessing that power the chair would shift very subtly to trick the viewer constantly In addition the chair possessed a powerful grounding effect A useless piece of furniture that instead provided strength to the surrounding individuals so that they wouldnÆt need a chair at all

A chair that would never work as a chair lined with beguiling engravings that drew powerfully from the Champion of their Zone Simon It was a chair in all but form And for his effort Sam was rewarded with an item that was labeled as a jade throne

The final chair

Sam would have preferred to make something more flashy for his attempt to play with the Image component of the furniture but it hadnÆt worked out like that Creating an original image wasnÆt something that was easy to do Instead Sam had spent almost four hours slowly carving names into gears Common gears that he had borrowed from a watchmaker friend

Thousands of gears Small bits of copper and brass and badly smelted iron Nothing sophisticated just pieces that would assemble an image that was not his

Then he had painstakingly assembled those gears in meticulous order to be a clock in the shape of the chair Included in the construction were panes of glass so that the inner machinery could be seen and yet wouldnÆt be bothered so the ultimate result was a bronze colored clockwork chair The clock face was part of the chair back so it would be impossible to sit in the chair and read the clock but Sam designed it so there would be a tactile shift in the armrests that could be used to read the clock

It ticked incessantly a testament to the intricate clockwork that served to animate this strange machine

But of all his chairs it was the clockwork one that Sam was the proudest of After all due to the time taken to write individual names he had achieved his goal the third chair included the option Unity of Ten Thousand III It wasnÆt exactly the option that was included in all of the Zone Seven equipment but it was close enough that Sam was pleased with himself

To copy that image was the goal he had set for himself It was meant as a test because he hadnÆt recalled at all that he needed to prepare anything as a counter gift He was too caught up in experimentation to stay focused But it turned out to be a delightful bit of serendipity to give such a chair to them

Plus the chair had reached the Legendary rarity Which was enough for him to raise his head high in the face of Zone SevenÆs Level of weapons

Han Yazhu looked at the three chairs which had been so ornate to receive the designation of Throne from the System Time ticked past There was something strange in the air Han reached out and touched each one in turn examining their effects As he did so his face visibly became increasingly pale Each brush against the three thrones that Sam had created seemed to steal a portion of HanÆs Vitality until he was as white as a ghost

Sam frowned Was this yuppy dissatisfied Bah There isnÆt anything like these on Earth Be satisfied prick

Just as Sam was about to open his mouth and demand an answer Sam felt Mrs HamiltonÆs hand on his shoulder Very casually she shook her head But her eyes were gleaming with barely controlled amusement

That made Sam even more confused Why was Mrs Hamilton so happy

Without a word Han Yazhu stretched out his hand and gathered all three chairs into his ring Then he turned and headed toward the portal But Mrs Hamilton did not let him off easily

Han

Is there anything else Came the hissed response from Han Yazhu As he spun to face them his face was now beet red Even Sam was taken aback by the sudden animosity

Mrs Hamilton just smiled Three is such a lucky number DonÆt you think

Han didnÆt answer He just spun on his heel and walked toward the portal His companions followed

What was that about Sam asked completely bewildered

Mrs Hamilton just shook her head No idea Perhaps something he ate

Before Sam could lay into her for feeding him something that was obviously a lie there was a pop above them A firework had gone off Both looked up immediately SamÆs mouth went dry

It hadnÆt been a firework it had been a flare Which now hung red and fizzing above their heads slowly drifting lower over Donnyton It only took a second from the moment that they saw the firework to when the alarm bells began to ring

Although they had drilled until their actions in such a situation came without thinking there was still a moment of shock as both attempted to cope with the news that was hanging above their heads glowering down at them from an otherwise clear and blue sky

Donnyton was under attack

Contrary to RandidlyÆs expectations the Toad Lord simply chuckled as RandidlyÆs bald threat No need to be so serious I was just teasing teasing Actually I will tell you a secret we also wish that you would handle this wild element contacting Toad Lords

Pursing his lips Randidly said lightly Oh

Nirfik nodded emphatically We Toad Lords we have ourselves set up pretty well Perhaps if your world was weak even I have to admit that things would be different We are not a kind people But despite their questionable quality your Demon King killed two Toad Lords Due to that obvious strength it is not an easy thing to antagonize the Demon King if he does not force our hand We have lived comfortably for quite a long time if possible we would like to keep it so

Grimacing Randidly said So you are claiming that you would prefer that our worlds keep from interfering with each other

Exactly Look at me my youth has fled I no longer hold bold dreams of conquest now I just want to retire and manage my estates Such is also the feeling of the leader of our faction Toad Lord Tisha Scrambling after riches is not what we want at all Then Nirfik paused But of course there are some younger Toad Lords who will be swayed by this interloper’s words

That focused RandidlyÆs attention He wasnÆt quite sure if he believed NirfikÆs statement that there was very little interest among the Toad Lords in the new world but Randidly certainly wanted more information on Roy So can you tell me what you remember about the one that came and spoke to you

For the first time the Toad LordÆs eyes flashed It was surprised that he knew it had spoken to Roy Then did it think he had simply wandered South

Ah well He spoke to one of my administrators but I received a description of what he said The Toad Lord opened its mouth and belched then continued to speak Very emphatically he told us about the rich energy of your Earth Spoke of the politically fractured States Described how easily we could overwhelm your defenses Ah actually I have a question Why is it that you look different than both this emissary and the Demon King They are both creatures of bone You are a fleshy thing

Randidly chuckled in surprise at the sudden shift in the discussion topic It was true he had wondered when someone would point out his differences from the Demon King Well thatÆs not wrong

After considering it for a moment Randidly shrugged Nothing much wrong with explaining some version of the truth Most people from Earth are like me At least in look The Demon King is a very special existence Not in power but in form and temperament

The Toad Lord nodded sagely Which is why he so hastily invaded That sort of decisiveness suits a Demon King Just like the bravery to so casually enjoy my personal hot springs suits a Demon Prince

RandidlyÆs smile was razor sharp But largely he ignored the threat He was still confident in his ability to defend himself Instead he considered the confirmation that Roy was traveling through the area as a victory Yet Randidly was puzzled why Roy was revealing his natural skeleton form and not using illusion to seem human

Did the constant rain interfere with the illusion Was that also why Neveah used her natural form

Before Randidly could decide where to move to next the Toad Lord spoke again And this emissary The wild element Is he also a bold and groundbreaking existence

This time RandidlyÆs laughter was caustic Despite him not activating it Deific Mien of Yggdrasil activated as he gritted his teeth and envisioned catching Roy Heh In a way yes He is a being that has died before And somehow he crawled his way back into existence Let me assure you that the mistake will not happen a second time

Although NirfikÆs expressions were difficult to read Randidly was able to catch a flicker of unease as he listened to Randidly So this was the limit of your nerve Nirfik It seems there was less to fear than I had thought

Randidly shifted Thank you for the information IÆll go take care of this issue immediately

Yet immediately the mood shifted Underneath the mud NirfikÆs legs tensed But he did not move He simply watched Randidly as the younger man stood and calmly worked his limbs free of the grasp of mud Some part of Randidly was ready to wash this shit off in the lagoon

Then the Toad Lord laughed When it spoke its voice was low and smug Hehe I doubt you will be leaving soon My poisons have no doubt entered into your porous skin at this point It was a mistake to jump so quickly into this mud Brave but foolish IÆm afraid I will not provide the antidote until you answer me about the state of Feed in your world I am quite curious

After blinking Randidly began to laugh Poison Did this fool mean the organic compounds in the mud that Randidly had steadily gathered to use as a defense against an ambush from the Toad Lord Although he had brought them in close proximity to himself he didnÆt casually let any be absorbed into his body

Not that it would matter What could the poison do once it was absorbed into his body RandidlyÆs blood was one of the most destructive substances that he was aware of Combine that with his images of ash and fire

Randidly didn’t believe that his Images Resistance and Skills would totally inoculate him to poison But from every scrap of evidence he had been able to gather from this Toad Lord this being wasn’t one who would be able to overcome him Even if this shifted to a fight Randidly remained confident

I donÆt fear poison Randidly said languidly He stood and stretched Then he turned and walked out of the mud pit

Behind him he could feel the waves of fury rolling off Nirfik In the depths of the mud the Toad Lord’s legs drew themselves together preparing to spring

Randidly continued to walk forward grinning I’m so glad you chose to do things the hard way

Chapter 897

Toad Lord Nirfik launched itself toward RandidlyÆs back in a rather refreshing manner Such a direct advance it was rather bold to challenge Randidly to a contest of Strength Spinning Randidly could barely contain his laughter When the opponents just fought with Randidly it simplified things immensely There was no thinking to be found there was only instinct and violence

It was true that Randidly wanted to figure out the process of creating Feed that allowed the Toad Lords to dominate this world but catching Roy was a much more pressing issue On the balance it was small potatoes compared to protecting Earth

Staying here to talk peacefully with Nirfik wasted too much of that time Even if the Toad Lord was somehow willing to share the secret of the Feed which he clearly wasnÆt And Randidly was not the type of individual who had a good track record of convincing others to help him Most of the time he just fought things

Which was why Randidly felt a bit dirty at his current tactics

Still I canÆt deny that what IÆm doing right now is baiting him Randidly thought almost sadly as the huge grey body rushed toward him He watched with a detached fascination as Nirfik opened its mouth and launched its tongue toward Randidly with enough speed that even Randidly was impressed

This was a dangerous attack Nowhere near the killing potential of AegiantÆs spear but this Toad Lord hadnÆt gotten his position by skimping on the basics Even after his poison failed he had Skills enough to back up his attempt

And what IÆm going to do next is kill him His Crown flared to life an acknowledgment of the path that Randidly had chosen

Rather than striking at the Toad Lord physically Randidly reached out for the bubble around them both He touched this strange underwater building that made the Under Cities possible Even now he couldnÆt quite figure out what the material was that formed this barrier But one thing was for sure a portion of it was made out of biological materials At its base it was a modified version of algae

Therefore it was a plant

Therefore it was RandidlyÆs

Even as the tongue blurred toward Randidly he simply smiled faintly He was after all currently acting in the role of a Demon Prince To finish it thusly would send a large message and likely involve no one but the Toad Lord in front of him No innocent lives would be lost From there he could move on South as fast as he could

Randidly reached out to the membrane that formed this bubble and squeezed

The membrane shattered Before the tongue could arrive Randidly used his impossible high Control to funnel that organic matter into a thousand spikes Moving at a speed incomparable to the tongue that was surging toward Randidly those spikes were yanked inwards as if they were metal dragged by a magnet

With a soft squelching noise the spikes of algae turned Nirfik into a honeycomb They hit him with enough force to spray blood in every direction as they ripped the grey skin apart Its eyes widened trying to process what was going on Its tongue lost its vigor and sailed harmlessly past Randidly

Then with a crash the water claimed the space that had been NirfikÆs personal swamp washing away the corpse of its one time master

Ed felt sweat bead and drip down his neck In fact he was so flustered that his illusion that hid his mustache from his face faded to nothing He couldnÆt maintain the concentration and his mustache surged back to bushy relief

Take a step back Regina barked and Ed was happy to comply although his body was stiff and sore from the several seconds where he had been completely frozen He stumbled over the shattered remnants of a wrought iron table that had been shattered by the obsidian manÆs passage

After all she had just summoned a barrier to block the strange obsidian man in front of the two of them If she had not intervened Ed would have died Smashed aside like a bug before a car Like the two grotesquely twisted corpses twitching behind the obsidian man

The obsidian manÆs face twisted in an expression that was obviously amusement He raised his hand and checked his knuckles Oh To think the average Level in Donnyton had risen so high that any riff raff off the street could stop my attack IÆm somewhat disturbed Dear me IÆll likely have nightmares

Riff raff No Simply a doctor Regina barred her teeth in a naked show of aggression against the obsidian man before her The two considered the other carefully Ed glanced between them It was clear to him at least that Regina was the one of the two that was much more willing to wait The other cafe goers had largely all fled the square moving in hushed silence in every direction away from these attackers

They were within Donnyton proper after all Help would come

Unable to stop himself Ed took several more steps backward away from the two of them His breath came in pants and it seemed like not enough oxygen was being gulped down by each mouthful of air Some part of him knew he should run but he was also one of the leaders of Donnyton Even if he couldnÆt fight very well he should be here

Earlier this morning he had only been worried about the two new cafes that had sprung up in what people were not referring to affectionately as the breakfast quarter Then before he could even react there was a scream and a crash Ed had looked up from the table where he had been examining his accounting books to see a dark figure rushing toward him

A figure with as much size and momentum as a battering ram rolling out of control down a mountain

Ed was many things but a man of action was not one of them His rise in Donnyton had everything to do with the addition of modern lifeÆs amenities to the post System world Therefore Ed had seen that figure and faced the truth that he was about to die And he had been very sad about it

At that moment he wondered what Bekany would do without him She was better with finances than she let on and likely had a fair amount of money squirreled away But if he wasnÆt there to pamper her who

Well it wasnÆt worth thinking about now But if Regina hadnÆt stepped forward in that split second and conjured a barrier

Even as EdÆs shocked mind was rehashing the events of the last several seconds the obsidian figure surged into motion Clearly he wasnÆt willing to simply wait until reinforcements came He spun around the side of the translucent hexagonal barrier that Regina had summoned and thrust his arm forward

Then to EdÆs disbelief the rest of the towering obsidian manÆs form seemed to rapidly shrink while the arm extended like a drill toward ReginaÆs side It hummed unpleasantly aiming for a point high in her chest

Faster than Ed could follow Regina stepped to the side and let the attack slide past her With a deft gesture she brought her hand down in a karate chop tower the extended drill arm that the obsidian man had aimed at her Flawless Incision

There was a sharp crack and a deep gash appeared in the obsidian armor that covered the arm Regina frowned

The obsidian man laughed Oh YouÆve got teeth

In a quick motion Regina hopped forward and brought her hand down against the thigh of the obsidian man Emergency Amputation

This time the obsidian man howled in pain as his leg was hacked off The limb just seemed to fall to the ground the obsidian armor on it shifting into goop and bubbling away to nothing Unfortunately Regina didnÆt get away unscathed

As she sidestepped to create some distance a dozen spikes shot outward from the obsidian manÆs body Several penetrated into her shoulders and midsection It was with a pale face and unsteady gait that she backed toward where Ed was standing

You fucking bitch The foe hissed and as he did so Ed realized that a giant serpent was slithering up behind the obsidian man at a rapid speed When it arrived it stood straighter lifting its sinuous body off of the ground As it did so Ed could see two rather small pairs of wings that dotted its back

DonÆt waste time proceed deeper The serpent hissed If we wait in one place for too long

I kill who I want to kill ThatÆs how this fucking thing works The Obsidian man glared at the serpent for a second then spat a mouthful of blood on the ground Slowly he began to spread his arms From him several long inky black tentacles grew The Ghosthound is gone what is there to fear in Donnyton

Regina snorted Ignorant fools

Hah After you are begging for mercy I want you to think long and hard about this moment The obsidian monster sneered but then he yelped and hopped hurriedly backward as a spirit roc crashed to the ground in the spot where the obsidian man had just been standing

With one leg he was barely able to maintain his balance The roc stalked forward slashing with its talons But now the obsidian man brought his tentacles to bear He blocked the blow and used the tentacles like spider legs pulling him several meters backward

Ed gaped at the new arrival that had so intimidated the obsidian man It was almost transparent but also as large as a small plane The spirit creature raised its head and shrieked sending a blast of sound out that knocked away the nearby cafe tables that remained The plastic and wood skittered and slid sideways clearing an area that the roc could beat its wings

Suddenly serious the obsidian man and the winged serpent considered the new arrival And then the clicking giant lobster and brontosaurus spirits walked forward to stand next to their companion

Good timing Glendel Regina said lightly Sweep through them

The spirits roared in acknowledgment And then they surged forward toward the two foes that stood in front of them Quickly responding the strange winged serpent spat out cobalt bolts from its mouth that careened toward the spirit creatures The brontosaurus surged forward absorbing the attacks with its body In a small area around where the bolts hit the brontosauruses body slowly began to freeze But because of its sheer size it continued rumbling forward

With a cry the Roc leapt up into the sky and began to circle rapidly above the winged serpent Underneath the cover of both of its companions the lobster skittered forward with gleaming claws

Shit fucking I canÆt believe I let my guard down The obsidian man muttered Then he grunted and the obsidian around his body pulsed Quickly some of that black armor on his torso flowed down to form a leg He straightened just in time to block an attack from the lobster Then his arms shifted into ax hands

Quickly the participants on the battlefield spread out giving themselves space to move Honestly they had to the strength of their collisions was enough to crack the ground and knock each other back several meters If they would stay close to each other it would be very possible to interfere with an ally without meaning to

The serpent held both the roc and the brontosaurus at bay with its breath attacks and quick body while the obsidian man squared off against the lobster and a very quickly recovered Regina However this time the obsidian man kept his arms long to make sure Regina could come close

To Ed it felt like he had been watching this fight for almost an hour But when the signal flare burst above his head and the bells began to ring he realized that it was probably more like ten seconds

From peaceful cafe to wartorn ground it had only taken ten seconds And from the look of things these battles wouldnÆt end

But just as Ed began to think that a huge shadow surged from the ground bounding toward the battlefield Blinking Ed was just able to recognize a giant wolf before it smashed into the obsidian man from the side sending hit rolling across the plaza

Shit LuÆelleth call for backup The obsidian man snarled as he tumbled and popped back onto his feet The wolf leapt forward again but the obsidian man cut wildly back and forth with his axes keeping it at bay

The serpent seemed to consider this The roc struck to pin its tail and it wiggled effortlessly out of the way of the strike Then the winged serpent nodded Understood It appears that your warnings about this Village were well founded Commencing teleportation

The spirit roc soared downward to strike again at the winged serpent but before it could do so there was a loud noise and a flash of light Abruptly the winged serpent was not where it should have been And in its place stood a flaming skeleton larger than any two of the spirit beasts put together Which was impressive because each of those was as large as a shed

This being was the size of a house

Chrysanthemum Regina mumbled taking a few steps back The skeleton bearÆs burning eyes slid sideways considering Regina Then almost casually its paw flashed out and cracked the spirit Roc like an egg Spectral energies dispersed in every direction as the apparition faltered and then ceased to exist

Silence fell over the square Then the giant flaming bear began to walk forward

Chapter 898

In a way the slow advance of the flaming bear was quite a bit less scary than the sudden appearance of the obsidian man This was a threat that Ed could see coming after all If he had a mind to he could turn and run with a reasonable expectation of escaping

In another way this was much scarier Whereas Ed didnÆt have time to move before now he had no idea what to do There wasnÆt even a single idea for how to handle this threat that came to his mind

The flaming bear raised a paw and swung toward the spectral lobster which was rapidly backing away Grimacing Regina stepped forward and conjured a barrier in front of the apparition But the shield only slowed the bearÆs swing by a split second Instead of being ripped in two the lobster simply lost one of its forelimbs Keening sadly it continued to retreat

Growling the burning bear took several steps toward Regina

I should help Ed thought idly Almost distantly like what was happening wasnÆt occurring feet away from him

But before he could move two figures cut across the square slamming into the flaming bear Surprisingly the bear reacted quickly it sent out two quick swipes of its paws The figures responded to this threat differently

The first hopped upward touching the top of the paw and then spinning up to the torso to inflict several long scratches against the flaming ribcage The second individual simply smashed into the paw taking the force on directly The impact was so strong that even Ed stumbled

Roaring the bear could only stagger backward several steps in order to regain its balance

Ohoho Truly sir how remarkable That you were only a hair slower than I A rather muscular man with elaborate gloves said to the other new arrival stroking a rather large mustache A very familiar mustache

Tut tut to think you would mistake my impeccable timing for lateness I suppose your lack of vision isnÆt your own fault but a result of deficient talent As a fellow owner of a cafe in this area I am concerned about the state of the neighborhood The other man replied as he hopped away from the burning bear and considered the surroundings using one of his long knives to stroke his entirely identical mustaches

The burning bear roared drawing the attention of both back to it Without a word both surged into motion For all that they were borrowing EdÆs mustache they certainly knew how to fight If Ed didnÆt know better it almost seemed like these two were even more powerful than the spectral beasts

When they struck bones cracked and shuddered underneath the assault Likely the burning bear could overpower them but the bear continued to try and protect the winged serpent which had appeared some distance away and was now rapidly drawing runes onto the ground

As those two steadily drove the giant bear backward Regina took that opening to close the distance to the obsidian man and land another short blow on his body Now that the winged serpent was distracted the wolf and the brontosaurus circled around him as well launching attacks at the obsidian man from several angles

Very quickly the entire square was covered in movements too quick for Ed to follow With a cry the brontosaurus that had been already slowed by the patches of ice on its body was struck down by the obsidian man Groaning the spirit collapsed and dispersed Ed took several steps backward and would have likely continued to retreat if not for the sudden hand on his shoulder

Ohoho is this perhaps a neighborhood association meeting for our Breakfast Quarter Æ Ed spun around and found his own mustache busily twitching on another personÆs face Mrs Hamilton winked at Ed To think I Mr Greene a founding member of such a quarter was not invited truly you new arrivals have no respect

Apologies Mr Greene The muscular man kicked sideways off the back of the flaming bear and landed next to the pair of Mrs Hamilton and Ed with an immaculate bow I donÆt believe we have been introduced I am Don White I use they/them pronouns

Of course Don White Mrs Hamilton flicked her hand and a bolt of something that Ed couldnÆt even recognize shot sideways and slammed into the bear Its roars had become decidedly less fierce under the combined assault of the two arrivals and Mrs HamiltonÆs interference pushed things over the edge

Damnit The obsidian man roared shooting out several spears toward Mrs Hamilton Then he brought both hands down in a hammer blow on the head of the wolf stunning it briefly To EdÆs surprise Mrs Hamilton simply plucked the spikes out of the air and returned fire with several sharp bolts of energy

Retreat The serpent asked as it summoned a wall of ice that separated the burning bear from the man with the long knives After a split second of hesitation the obsidian man nodded The serpent then began to wiggle strangely Step back Commencing transfer

With an impossible amount of dexterity the man with long knives scrambled up the sheer face of the ice wall and reached the top in a flash Then he flicked one of his knives end over end until it sank deeply into the right eye socket of the serpent even as a wave of cobalt energy covered the three enemies

Then with a pop and an infuriated hiss they disappeared

The knife wielding man hopped down off of the slowly melting ice wall and began to brush the soot and dust off of his leathers Mr Moon here A pleasure to meet you all I suppose we should get this Neighborhood association meeting started

One of the tables that had been knocked into a haphazard pile of debris wobbled and then toppled forward revealing a singed and bleeding Slugworth He staggered forward barely keeping his feet But the entire while he straightened his sport coat As Mr Jones a fellow cafe owner

Please Slugworth this isnÆt the time Mrs Hamilton said curtly Ed twitched and turned around only to see that his mustache was gone from all three of the other peopleÆs faces They looked serious as if there hadnÆt just been several jokes made here But there was a distinct twinkle in Mrs HamiltonÆs eye

But her face was creased with lines She turned to Paolo and Kayle Did you speak to Alana

Yes Kayle answered This was the distraction Or they had multiple goals and this one stalled out when it encountered Regina Thank you by the way We wouldnÆt have been able to catch up otherwise

No worries ReginaÆs face was pale but she grinned at the other two After all I couldnÆt just let Ed get turned into roadkill could I

Indeed Mrs Hamilton said Then she cocked her head to the side with her eyelids half closed Listening to messages from others likely

Alana stopped Thea who appeared to be heading toward the teleporter Perhaps to interfere with the ambassadors from Zone Seven Luckily they left so quickly that even we werenÆt ready for it No way the Nemesai could catch them out Gods that would have been a political disaster As for the third group

There was a breath of wind and then a gentle looking young man was standing next to them When his gaze met EdÆs Ed was slightly shocked for several seconds the young manÆs eyes were completely white

Simon you are awake What a pleasant surprise Mrs Hamilton said

Simon made a cutting motion with his hand I know I messed up NowÆs not the time for it That Nemesis from Zone Seven the Winged Serpent is a master wizard There is a large array set up for teleportation some distance from here I cannot track Thea but I can sense that it is gathering power right now to send them far away IÆll delay them as long as I can but

Mrs Hamilton shut her eyes Shit Kayle Paolo Take your Squads follow SimonÆs lead What are they waiting for I wonder Why strike

Her words trailed off to mumbles

All eyes turned instantly upward Another flare had emerged this time to the East of their position toward

Shit The Orders Regina muttered

Mrs Hamilton grimaced Shaking their faith in us would be hurtful but not

Then Mrs Hamilton froze Faith

Ed literally had no idea what was going on He spared a glance for the disheveled Slugworth The other man was clearly out of his depth and was looking between the other people like a drowning man looking for a neon orange floatie Ed coughed into his hand and stepped forward All eyes turned to him

Even if what he said wasnÆt exactly right just to make Slugworth know his lack of worth Ed needed to speak decisively here They never bothered with many guards in the Religious District

and assuming they donÆt just want to destabilize us there is only one person with tactical relevance in the Religious District Mrs Hamilton had real fear in her eyes Fuck That stupid fool girl Regina

GlendelÆs already there ItÆs the cathedral is collapsed It was in the middle of the service Regina trailed off panic in her eyes

Suddenly Ed very much regretted interfering with the conversation

What did you just say Zuek Tuan said gripping the belt of the frogling in front of him and dragging him closer Their eyes were only a hair apart from each other Furious Zuek peered into this foolÆs soul attempting to sniff out any subterfuge

But the frogling in front of him just trembled in fear It was a young thing talented but less than twenty rainy seasons old As if it were the only lifeline it had the frogling repeated its prior words

Nirfik is dead And as far as we can tell the Demon Prince walked out without a scratch No one saw how it happened but

Fuck Zuek tossed the frogling to the side Then he stormed out of the longhouse and into the rain Almost unwillingly he raised his head and looked at the ominous castle on the mountain high above their current position

Even through the rain a palpable aura of death radiated off of the stone ramparts They hadnÆt realized it at first but the longer they spent in the shadow of the castle the deeper the darkness it was able to cast over their hearts Especially when the Demon King within was so inscrutable Zuek gritted his teeth

Nirfik wasnÆt one of the strongest Toad Lords but he was old and wily He would not have acted without sufficient preparations so why

There was a possibility one that Zuek didnÆt want to admit His master believed that the hyper aggressive demons were acting this way because they were deeply afraid of the Frogpeople Therefore this was a perfect opportunity to allow them to run wild and observe their capabilities

Why did Toad Lords keep dying

Chapter 899

After finishing off Nirfik and fruitlessly searching the remnants of the facility for any sign of Feed Randidly exploded out of the lagoon and rushed to the Northern bank Not that he had really held out much hope but there wasnÆt even a hint of that strange Aether that he had sensed Nirfik exert control over

Which found him quickly fleeing the chaos of the Toad LordÆs personal bubble being popped Literally Randidly had done his best to limit the damage but he wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible Much to his amusement he found Shual there on the shore standing awkwardly next to the pile of ashes that had been his basket

And when Randidly appeared next to him ShualÆs expression brightened I didnÆt know what I was supposed to do and then the basket turned to ash so I thought maybe Well were you hurt

Is this StockholmÆs Syndrome Randidly thought to himself Then he shook his head It wasnÆt like he was going to harm Shual so the kid would probably be fine after they parted The strange attachment Shual would develop for Randidly after a prolonged period of time with power over Shual would be useful Especially if Shual content to not run away

With a quick gesture Randidly conjured roots out of the ground and formed a slightly more spacious and comfortable basket We are moving

Where now And what was the Toad Lord like Shual asked with remarkable cheer as he climbed into the basket He now had handles on the inside to hold which he took much delight in prodding and pulling

Randidly pressed his lips into a line South And quickly so hold on as best you can

Once Shual was situated and Randidly picked up the basket he flooded his body with the vivifying energy of Yyrwood Body of YggdrasilÆs active They bounded away from the lagoon even as Frogpeople began to swarm up from the waterÆs depths clearly panicked and worried about further terrorist acts

Randidly kept an eye out for any who were looking around as though searching for the culprit but it seemed like all were too focused on their own private panic to regard the dashing Randidly with anything but a shocked glance And indeed everyone that Randidly saw was a civilian They simply were worried about their lives They werenÆt part of RandidlyÆs private mission

With a silent pulse of the Crown of Upheaval and Gloom Randidly was gone from the area

`As they continued South Randidly used every small trick he had learned over the past three days to accelerate his movements to an even faster speed There were times that he didn’t even touch the ground because he was simply creating footholds of vines to avoid the marshy terrain below him Without the soggy give of the marsh his stride was that much more effective The timing was tricky but he had Control in spades

The overall impression that Randidly had of this world was confirmed as he hurtled South even if it was just to escape the rain the Frogpeople would eventually invade Earth There were times that the rain was so light you could barely notice but it was constantly raining It was not an environment conducive to mature and considered thinking

Aside from the periodic ravines and strange fast flowing and deep rivers that split the landscape there didn’t seem to be much of value here It was just a dim dank world ruled by these Toad Lords as though this were medieval Europe

Which perhaps was the reason that Nirfik had proposed that Neveah and Randidly simply withdraw and return to their own World Like how in that sort of archaic government the Toad Lords enjoyed the power that they had over the populace with their Feed Therefore they didn’t have much incentive to risk losing that influence and luxury just for some theoretical benefit The Status Quo was more than enough for them especially for those old Toad Lords that had lived like this for quite a while

Especially when Neveah and now Randidly had made the risks of moving against them quite clear

However Randidly couldn’t relax He couldn’t forget that indelible mark left on the Aether that Nirfik had summoned out of its two subordinates After their battle Randidly was completely sure that Nirfik himself couldn’t have managed that alone Nirfik had relied on poison and folded like a used piece of toilet paper when Randidly brought force

Collapsing the entire bubble on him might have taken him by surprise but he had no resilience at all He was a lazy old toad and that was that If he could manage such impeccable control over Aether there was no way that would have happened

Among the Toad Lords there was someone with an immaculate control of Aether Someone with better control of it than Randidly Perhaps not in sheer volume but in detail Randidly could flood this world with Aether but this shadow Toad Lord could make a fist sized bite of Aether that could be used by another and then ripped out of that person’s chest with a will by someone with higher authority

A Toad Lord that rules by threat Randidly thought grimly An almost godlike deity that reigned over the world Exactly because Randidly could flood the world with Aether he had something he could use as a threat against this Toad Lord but that didn’t mean Randidly would have confidence in a direct fight with him

Especially once the Toad Lord knew that Randidly could possible undermine his whole scheme After all wouldnÆt that individual then just want to eliminate Randidly to get rid of the possibility of the threat coming to fruition

Or perhaps this theoretical Toad Lord was just skilled at fiddling around with Aether Perhaps he had very little fighting strength

Randidly continued to dash through the marsh his expression thoughtful

Yea it doesn’t seem like this world would be a Danger Zone if that was the case Randidly thought with a grimace

“Something wrong You seem wrinkly ” Shual said suddenly “More than usual “

Slightly shocked Randidly glanced back toward the Frogperson he was carrying in his root basket Almost immediately the young frog ducked his head in embarrassment and hid his face behind the lip of the basket “Uh sorry I just Well I’ll just be here I guess If you have any more questions “

Randidly thought about responding but it seemed foolish to involve himself overmuch with any individual person Even someone so young as Shual After all those that he touched

luminous sapphire eyes looked at him out of a hunger panged faced “What’s the point Without money me and my brother Our lives mean nothing

“What comes next will be important ” Randidly said gruffly cutting off his train of thought “Especially if we want to avoid war with our two worlds For all that we are powerful a world is a wide place The human who crossed to this place must be stopped before something further can be incited “

While Shual mulled that over Randidly pressed himself even harder to the task of accelerating In his mind he imagined his Yggdrasil being planted with every one of his steps Golden Roots spiraled downward slowly crisscrossing and building a network to siphon energy up from this world and allow Randidly to shoot across the countryside in a flash

As more and more Golden Roots filled the world a grand specter of the trunk of the World Tree began to faintly appear in the sky Its bark glittered and its leaves spread open to the bare sky Likely no one noticed due to the heavy cloud cover but from that specter Randidly was able to draw more and more strength His speed increased further and further until he was going almost 50% faster than he had been previously

It was like that five hours later that Randidly’s almost constant Aether scans finally caught the whiff of a trace of EarthÆs Aether It was a small morsel but it was the first he found Instantly his direction shifted a little bit to the East

Very quickly it was clear that he was making a beeline for another Deep City Shual explained the relevance and history of the place glad to be given relevance once more But it all flowed past RandidlyÆs ears

Gritting his teeth Randidly began to slow People mean trouble Mean innocent lives that might end But when he arrived he was delighted to discover that the trail was already leaving the city And it was fresh

Very fresh

So fresh that Randidly simply grinned and accelerated toward the lagoon Such was the force of his momentum that he could see some people in the shallows look up in confusion at the noise of his passage With the amount of speed that he had he likely sounded like a roaring typhoon

As the Frogpeople’s faces split from confusion into abject horror Randidly leaped cresting a high jump directly over the lagoon and crashing to the ground with a wave of mud and water that soaked the unfortunate Frogpeople that were standing on the other side Just as they were on his prior arrival to a lagoon these people were helplessly washed away by the wave of debris he created

This time Randidly acknowledged that part of the issue was how sudden his arrival was He simply moved too quickly It wasn’t that these Frogpeople weren’t strong his scans indicated that the average Level here was in the Forties He simply took them unawares

Truly a war against this world would be difficult He had seen almost a thousand people in his rapid cross country trek and that was only the average citizens of this world Considering the fact that all of the Toad Lords likely had elites underneath them that could rival a capable group from Earth the frogs would not go quietly into this good night

And with the looming threat of this Architect Toad Lord that Randidly wasnÆt able to find on such short notice

Donnyton Squads would be able to hold the line against foes of this caliber and Randidly didn’t doubt that other Villages had tried their best in order to catch up to that Level But it was a numbers game he had heard in their talks that the current Earth’s population was likely nearing twenty million But most of that was from projections Mrs Hamilton had gathered from their Zone 32

If the refugee survival rate was vastly lower in other Zones it might be closer to five million Or if the population from the newly arrived Zones was much higher than Zone 32 which seemed likely it was possible that they had as many as fifty million Yet that was still a fraction of the population Earth had before

And most people would get a Class but not everyone would grow that way Most simply would get Skills related to their trade and focus on Skill Levels Which would unlock them Paths and further Skills but they wouldn’t experience as much Stat and Attribute growth After all there weren’t many people that could replicate the amount of Skills that Randidly had used in order to gain the stats he needed It simply wasn’t possible for the average person to earn that many Skills without having access to more Aether than was present in the air It would start mild but Randidly remembered Sam talking about passing out from Aether Deprivation

That wasnÆt a pretty sickness to go through It left the body exhausted and ravaged It was a diet that you couldnÆt stop until your Aether cannibalized itself

Randidly pressed his eyes shut even as he accelerated away from the lagoon and toward his goal More and more strength flooded downward from the image of the World Tree to accelerate him forward

Finish it now Finish it quickly

Chapter 900

It took only a half hour to catch up to the scent Once Randidly had the familiar tang of Earth’s Aether his eyes took on a whole new intensity Although his Crown of Upheaval and Gloom and been dim to that moment his fury ignited it back to full brilliance emanating cold light in the overcast world

A paradigm shift came over Randidly His strides lengthened the distance in front of him shortened Randidly wasnÆt sure what he was expecting but from a faint whiff came the definitive confirmation in a short span of time he had caught up to Roy the Undying Hero And he stopped because the lumbering figure was not one that he remembered

The figure was positively bestial a hulking thing that resembled a bone ape more than a human It possessed huge arms designed to crush and shatter It walked on its knuckles and bounded forward And there was a large bone dome covering its head that appeared to function something like a helmet Underneath a bone exoskeleton there didnÆt appear to be any real flesh just more bones

And Roy was loping forward casually seeming unaware of the possibility of pursuit Ape Roy ran across the countryside the dull noise of bone grinding against bone barely audible above the patter of rain on the soaked grassland Randidly spared a glance to the side and saw a familiar figure of the boar with the giant maroon arm

The presence of that monster slowed Randidly’s advance but only slightly His eyes narrowed Once more the arm was gesticulating aggressively at Randidly But the boar regarded him stoically almost critically Had it led him here

Randidly’s attention returned to the loping figure of Roy His gaze tightened Either way he would just beat down anyone that tried to stop him from accomplishing his task He had found Roy now was the time to bring him to heel All he needed was a moment to drop a yelping Shual and lower his stance

Like a bolt of darkness across the marshy fields Randidly streaked toward Roy’s back As he approached it wasn’t until the last second that Roy seemed to notice The ape like figure spun around bringing a brutal fist upward toward Randidly as though he had been expecting the attack the whole time It was a familiar and dangerous punch And yet

Not sharp enough

Phantom Half Step gave him a small advantage moving him a meter closer before Roy could respond RandidlyÆs spear thrust took him low in the right part of his chest ripping through the bone exoskeleton and piercing through to the core body Shards of bone were smashed away giving Randidly a shot at the vulnerable insides

Or at least Randidly hoped that was about to happen But his spear stopped dead as it hit an inner layer of bone that was much more structurally sound than the prior layers So much so that a brief hint of shock crossed RandidlyÆs face But then his face transformed into a crooked smile

So not all talk eh Roy I’ve been looking forward to seeing what tripling your stats can do If only just to confirm that focusing on image is the better method

Randidly’s eyes narrowed as thousands of roots surged upward out of the ground at his urging The slithered upwards and surrounded Roy on all sides even before the other man had been able to catch his balance from the initial strike Not that I’m giving you much time to make your case no hard feelings

Even as he could feel the boar bounding toward Randidly’s current position Randidly grinned Not going to get here in time Like hungry leeches the roots were swarming in the crack that Randidly had made in the exoskeleton seeking the body beneath When almost a hundred had dug into the wound and stuffed it so tightly that no more could intrude Randidly sent his roots a new command

Explode

As one the vicious roots developed thorns and rapidly exploded in size At first there was a moment of stillness as there was nowhere else to expand but Randidly continued to flood those roots with Mana Eventually something gave way against the irresistible tide of energy that Randidly was capable of producing

Even as Roy realized the threat and roared with fury it was too late His torso exploded into a huge wave of disintegrating bones that filled the surrounding area with dust and cracked shards With a python like viciousness those same vines that destroyed the exoskeleton quickly encircled and bound Roy’s body within There wasnÆt a chance to recover because the vines were already there Randidly had him

Smiling grimly Randidly continually tightened and empowered those vines even as his eyebrows rose at the strength of the resistance Truly this amount of Strength was far above what Randidly possessed Better to keep him bound than to

“He hahahah Ah Randidly it took you long enough didn’t it “

Randidly spun around only to see that the disintegrated bones shards that Randidly had ripped away were slowly coalescing into the familiar form of a skeleton Very soon the skeleton disappeared as an illusion replaced the guise of flesh that covered the bare bones A classically handsome middle aged man with a strong jaw stood grinning at him His brown hair was swept back and the manÆs smile was wide and impossibly white

Trumpeting its fury the boar rumbled closer Randidly’s eyes slid sideways from Roy to the boar then his Perception slid backward to the figure still struggling in the clutches of his roots behind him What was going on

Confused right Roy said blandly seemingly unconcerned with RandidlyÆs presence Well let me just say this bluntly you are the key we had to unlock to EarthÆs future

Randidly activated the Cruel Indignation of Yggdrasil and smashed that smug piece of shit with a bout of physical and mental agony Cursing Roy stumbled backward even as Randidly used Raucous PhantomÆs Finale and brought his fist directly into RoyÆs chest Seeing how easily that Roy had recovered from being ripped to shreds Randidly threw everything he got at him

At the last second Roy was able to sidestep out of the way and only have most of his left ribs shattered by the blow RandidlyÆs lips twitched Crafty But even as the dust was falling toward the ground time seemed to pause and float back upward to reform into a skeleton

After a bit of flickering the human guise returned Roy held up his hands Hey Slow down No good can come of senseless violence At some point IÆm going to run out of Mana and then

Acri crashed downward in an Idiosyncratic Cut splitting Roy from collarbone to hip Strangely the illusion of humanity was kept over RoyÆs face the entire time so that he was a fleshy head above a failing skeletal body After staggering for a single step the skeletal frame couldnÆt withstand it and collapsed

Heh will you be my second trial I wonder Roy muttered The boarÆs roar was almost deafening now Well donÆt say I didnÆt warn you Randidly my friend We are on the same side after all Who doesnÆt want to show Earth its perfect Path

Randidly didn’t even bother to respond to that He simply stalked forward causing another wave of roots to slither up out of the ground and wrap around Roy But Randidly stopped in abject shock as he felt the almost house sized mass of vines he had conjured up behind him ripped to shreds

Spinning Randidly turned and looked at the figure standings in the aftermath

RoyÆs laugh was long and loud ItÆs truly a tragic Fate almost as tragic as being a hero To be a blind deaf and mute tool only suitable to be used by your betters IÆve been keeping him under control as best as I could but now that my Mana is depleted

Randidly recognized the figure Or at least most of the features It was Drake SydneyÆs right hand man the main pillar of East End Yet his eye sockets were scraped and bare with a jagged series of maroon spikes surrounded by the popped and rotten remnants of the eyeballs that had been housed within From his mouth a spike of that same maroon crystal parted his lips just a little like a facsimile of a tongue

His ears were completely covered with the crystal giving him a strange resemblance to a science fiction villain from an 80Æs television show Other than that Drake looked exactly the same

Except for the dried blood across his face and hands that made it seem as though he had been crying and wiping away crimson tears Except for the deep circles under his eyes Except for his hunched shoulders and ripped clothes

What happened Randidly thought dazedly Almost as an afterthought Randidly reached out with his Aether Perception to feel him He had been so focused on locating Roy and EarthÆs Aether that he hadnÆt peered too closely at what he was looking at Now he regretted that decision

When he looked at Drake now he still couldnÆt get quite a clear view of what was going on because he was once more obstructed in the same way that his scan of the boar had failed And this time Randidly had a very good idea of what he was sensing

He was being screened by a Fate A Fate that had taken root deeply inside Drake and somehow warped him

What did you do Randidly hissed But Roy only laughed harder even as his body was tussled up and bound into the ground Because it was clear now that Roy hadnÆt been the one to clear the Danger Zone and achieve the triple stats

It had been Drake

After taking an unsteady step forward Drake paused Then his queer gaze drifted upward and locked onto Randidly The boar arrived its roars fading into a soft keening even as the maroon arm continued to smash the ground in vicious glee Those maroon forks that stuck up through DrakeÆs eye sockets remained fixed upon him

In his chest Randidly felt a slight tingle His instincts warned of the presence of danger In spite of himself his face split into a grin Oh

I Roy inclined his head dramatically even as he was surrounded by thick roots that prevented any real movement I simply served as a veil with my body surrounding him it confused poor Drake enough that his more violent impulses were suppressed Yet now that he has his gaze locked upon you

When Randidly squeezed with his roots RoyÆs illusion faded and all that was left was a bony grin despite the increasing pressure He will serve his purpose as a blade that slays the foes in front of him Ah but it is ironic isnÆt it to have gained such power but have lost the ability to discern friend from foe Tragic is it not A lesson perhaps for those who arenÆt so permanently afflicted

Growling Drake ripped forward toward Randidly conjured a bastard sword of bone With a short side step Randidly avoided the vicious blow But there was still enough strength from the attack to cut into the marshy ground and leave a deep scar

The tripled stats were the real deal The air pressure from the sword

After rolling his neck Randidly put both of his hands on Acri About damn time LetÆs test how well this arm works

Chapter 901

A Fate

What was it Why did the System intervene then and only then Directly into the lives of its users It gave Classes but that was a choice And as far as the System was concerned it didnÆt care whether you took a Class or not Because as the System slowly upped its game those without Classes would die

That was just how the System worked

It didnÆt interfere in your Skills your Paths or your Soulskills But at Level Fifty based upon your actions and your Class the System gave you a Fate Capital F You were forced to capitulate and then a decree was handed down to you Generally

When Randidly was involved there were always exceptions

Yet even at Level One Hundred from what Randidly understood of what happened to Shal you could choose your own Great Fate that would be used to overcome the Second Calamity The System did not force the issue It allowed you once more to fulfill its criteria or die But it would not directly kill you The circumstances around would just slowly grind you to mush and remorse

So this strange uniqueness of Fates didnÆt make sense to Randidly His main experience with Fates came from assisting Alana in breaking through to Level Fifty She had rejected the System and for that it had attempted to crush her Randidly had seized that energy and flooded her Class with it giving her a Fate in the form of the helmet that she now always wore in battle

According to her it gave her a slight boost in Level up gains In addition it could Level up which in turn would further increase the Level up gains At the time Randidly had been curious but not curious enough to really grill her on the details of it In addition at the time he didnÆt have the ability he did now to examine the structures of Aether

When he had seen Alana in Donnyton it was too late to ask about it

And now with this cruel and twisted Fate consuming DrakeÆs senses it was too late to ask

I wonder which came first the Fate or the stat boost Randidly thought idly But then he shook his head Time enough to find answers later After he beat this wild dog back into submission YouÆll have to thank me later Sydney

Once more the bastard sword sliced sideways to bisect Randidly The air hummed in rumbled But Randidly hopped lightly back and continued to evaluate Drake without any aggressive moves To RandidlyÆs surprise this time Drake followed up the dodge with a nasty riposte that clipped his shoulder

Hissing softly Randidly lowered his stance Then he used Wild PhantomÆs Embrace and followed the momentum of the next strike to dance around to DrakeÆs back and slash with AcriÆs long and sharp tip

It was a near thing too Randidly wasnÆt sure at first but now he was positive DrakeÆs strikes were getting faster But Randidly managed to ride the extremely sharp edge of DrakeÆs slash and return that force back at him The blow struck deeply into DrakeÆs back but stopped dead as it ran into the bones of DrakeÆs ribs

You had high Endurance didnÆt you Drake Randidly thought with a smirk even as another of DrakeÆs blows sent him spinning away to strike at another weak point

Again Drake stoically endured the blow and struck back at Randidly this time aiming for his waist His sword seemed to hum the swift passage through the air making a piece of strange music

As he dodged Randidly eyes narrowed in expectation And just as Randidly had been predicting Hank blurred into motion raising his hand even as a bone dagger appeared there and thrust it toward the spot where Randidly was about to dodge

If you want to learn from fighting you are nowhere near as horrifying as Azriel Wiggling around the blow Randidly raised his metallic left arm and pressed his fingers together Raucous PhantomÆs Finale

Randidly fist smashed into DrakeÆs face with a satisfying crunch He could clearly feel DrakeÆs nose give way beneath the unrelenting metal of his fist But Drake only took a single step back and Randidly became abruptly aware of a wall of bone growing from the ground to surround him

Oh

Huge thorn whips as thick as a thigh smashed the bone prison to pieces even as Randidly backed away to open up some distance DrakeÆs strange bloody visage continued to remain fixed upon him Perhaps what Roy said was partially true Without his senses Drake only had the focus to lock onto one speck of life and then would do his best to eliminate it But Randidly would need a little bit more proof before putting any stock in what Roy had to say

Randidly glanced sideways at the boar The maroon arm was flailing about but the boar had used its bone spurs to wrap up the arm and keep it from striking it urging it into battle Instead the boar just stared intently at Randidly It was waiting for something some answer

This strange creature was DrakeÆs elemental then It was the first of two unpredictable elements that Randidly was afraid would make this fight more difficult At the very least it seemed like this Elemental was on his side

On the other hand Randidly grimaced at Drake The second unpredictable element is becoming troublesome There was a thick aura of blood that filled the air around Drake It wasnÆt present at the beginning likely because of RoyÆs suppression of his ability to sense another But now that Drake was focusing his will for violence upon Randidly it was starting to show real fangs

It was an image for sure and a dangerous one even at this amorphous stage There were similarities in it that brought Silo to mind But while Silo possessed the chaotic violence of battle and glory DrakeÆs was a quieter sort of pain It was resentment and aging rust colored blood and self pity There was something deeply wrong and dangerously flawed inside of Drake And perhaps that was exactly why Randidly was wary of the image that animated him

Drake can you hear me Randidly said slowly Not that he couldnÆt see the maroon crystal covering the manÆs ears but it wasnÆt a mistake to take to test the veracity of RoyÆs words And Skills could compensate for almost anything But DrakeÆs focused intensity didnÆt waver at all

Randidly tried to recall his time spent with Drake and produce something that he could say that would give the other man pause if he could hear the words But before he could land on an answer that horrible rust colored violence exploded in a wave

The ground in front of Randidly rippled and then dozens of bone spikes shot upwards to impale his feet It was such a novel sight that Randidly froze for a split second before laughed aloud With Grasp of the World Seed to feel every bit of bone that slid up through the plant matter in the ground it was easy to avoid the bones trying to stab him Drake this is a bad idea Even if your Intelligence and Control is tripled well let me just show you

For all RandidlyÆs teasing a good fifty meters of ground was densely packed with sharp protrusions of bone But RandidlyÆs eyes burned emerald as the ground in an almost one hundred meter circle aside from a small area left so Shual and his basket wouldnÆt be burnt to a crisp exploded in a series of tightly packed Eruption of the Blazing Leylines

It took almost half of RandidlyÆs Mana pool but it was worth it That thick emerald fire wrapped up around Drake and caused him to raise his head and spread his mouth wide as if to whistle But when the bit of crystal in his mouth bobbed up and down there was no noise The dismal rain turned to steam and the grey world was dyed a deep green for several seconds

Before Drake could recover Randidly followed up with Reach of the Jade Slag but Drake was done messing around apparently that last wave of spells did enough damage for him to give Randidly the acknowledgment of being a true opponent

Without even seeming to see the Skills Drake sidestepped through a slim gap in the jade claws and gathered a thick rust colored aura around his sword Randidly bared his teeth in response even as Crown of Upheaval and Gloom Deific Mien of Yggdrasil and Cruel Indignation of Yggdrasil surged to life The arm warped and rumbled small imperfections emerging in the world as his three auras blasted outward

That tower specter of the World Tree that Randidly had planted as he had rushed across the marsh rustled in pleasure sending thick tendrils of power down to Randidly Even then Randidly pressed harder his Willpower sharpening those images into a blade that he raised as Drake advanced

As that rust colored light gathered around Drake Randidly could feel it sucking the life and Vitality out of everything in the nearby area It was a self destructive vicious power As one who wielded Cruel Indignation of Yggdrasil he recognized a kindred spirit in that image that Drake held

Which was why Randidly rushed forward without a second thought Sometimes the best message was beating someone at their own game Acri sang in the air thrusting forward to meet DrakeÆs chest Drake brought his bastard sword down to deflect the strike and Randidly twisted his spear and pulled it back

DrakeÆs slash turned into a lunge and RandidlyÆs pullback turned into a sidestep The two combatants passed within a hair of each other and at that moment both gazes studied the other Their images clashed the weight of those destructive ideologies grinding against each other and physically churning up the marsh with their presence

But RandidlyÆs expression darkened It was a strange feeling but he was abruptly reminded of his image practice with Skarch Yet instead of himself he was now playing the role of Skarch DrakeÆs image was amorphous and poorly defined but Randidly could tell that the man who still lived believed extremely deeply in it Meanwhile RandidlyÆs image was well established and strong

Still that image that wafted toward Randidly was overwhelming in its tenacity Randidly didnÆt want to acknowledge it but the image that Drake had resonated with his Fate and seemed to multiply the substance of what it was

Were those images the role of the Fates then Which was why the System interfered so directly because of its strange fixation upon images

But those were thoughts for later For now Randidly needed to beat Drake Honestly everything Drake was doing right now reminded Randidly

Of what I would do if I faced a stronger foe Randidly thought Which means what comes next would be

DrakeÆs figure blurred as he launched himself forward and cut toward RandidlyÆs chest Almost lazily Randidly brought his spear up and blocked the blow Immediately Drake lowered his shoulders and began to press downward on Randidly

a direct contest of Strength Randidly thought as he gritted his teeth and resisted the push Yet Randidly found himself almost hopelessly overmatched in the Strength department It seemed that Endurance wasnÆt the only stat that Drake had poured his points into before he multiplied his Stats But Randidly wasnÆt going to be outdone

Stalemate Breaker brought them both to a stalemate Randidly on his back foot and almost off his stance altogether The Skill devoured his Stamina but the sudden resistance brought a little bit of uncertainty to DrakeÆs pressure The pressure eased somewhat and Randidly began to push back So you are conscious in there arenÆt you Drake Is it strange To know the heights of your stats and then to meet someone who exceeds you

Acri twisted up and seized one of DrakeÆs legs Before Randidly completely ran out of gas a sharp yank destroyed DrakeÆs stance and let Randidly push past the attack The bastard sword smashed into his shoulder but Sulfur could handle a deflection of that level

The first Raucous PhantomÆs Finale Randidly used was once more a hit to the face But Randidly had noticed that these didnÆt seem to phase Drake much He followed up with two more in quick succession depleting quite a bit of the energy stored in the Engraving Both smashed into DrakeÆs collarbone The first staggering him and the second knocking Drake to the ground

You know what the difference between us is Drake Randidly asked rhetorically His eyes flicked sideways to the mass of roots still restraining Roy by continuing to grind his bones to nothing then back at Drake It didnÆt matter if Roy heard this Randidly used the Inevitable Phantom Arrives to send a powerful blow crashing like a freight train into DrakeÆs collar bone then grimaced as he didnÆt get the response he wanted

We might fight the same such stubborn boldness But it’s the opponents we’ve been facing are what make us And while have been struggling for my life on Tellus This time Randidly activated Yyrwood Body of Yggdrasil and Spear Advances Ash Trails point blank The blow sent Drake tumbling backward

But the fucker hopped up to his feet in a split second raising his bastard sword in preparation Another Raucous PhantomÆs Finale knocked the sword away and allowed the giant fist of roots that Randidly had conjured to forcibly smash Drake into the ground No matter how much Strength he had he wasnÆt ready for the sheer mass that crashed into him

And yet even as his body bounced and it was clear even through his gruesome and warped face that he was stunned Drake managed to land on both feet and stare uncannily at Randidly Tenacity and determination burned in those still sockets

What have you been fighting Drake Randidly said softly DrakeÆs gaze remained focused on Randidly

Which was why he didnÆt see the refined and molten sphere of metal that smashed into his left shoulder from above Influence of the Molten Core was slightly ungainly but Randidly had simply held it up and let it drop While it was doing so he pressed as hard as he could with his Willpower so that more and more metal was pressed into a smaller sphere By the time it hid Drake it was about the size of a bowling ball

If mass didnÆt work Randidly would use density

As DrakeÆs left arm swung down at his side Randidly grinned

Chapter 902

Thea drew her fingers across ChrysanthemumÆs bony body Even though the entirety of it was wreathed in flames Thea didnÆt feel the slightest bit of warmth In fact she felt cold The strong bones of ChrysanthemumÆs torso were riddled with cracks The wounds bearing the brunt of DonnytonÆs resistance were considerable

While the examination continued Chrysanthemum stoically crouched next to Thea The lines around TheaÆs eyes tightened Even after all the fighting the bear didnÆt seem to feel a hint of discomfort And these sort of wounds would heal quickly

Was this a mistake Thea thought bitterly Her gaze turned to the other Nemesai and the unconscious girl held between them as the Winged Serpent set up two larger teleportation formations But if we didnÆt attack we would have just fallen further behind In order to survive

its really gone to hell hasnÆt it I know you canÆt hear me but Chrysanthemum what should we be doing TheaÆs gaze turned back to Chrysanthemum But of course the bear was silent As she had been silent the entire time since the CreatureÆs strange magic had revived Chrysanthemum

Worse than silent however was blank and unresponsive She followed orders but not much more than that There were a few moments where Chrysanthemum displayed a hair more liveliness but there was one detail in common during all those moments Thea pressed her eyes closed

Torment the Earth child The Creature had said to her Cause chaos Someday that fool boy will create enough connections with his Aether that he will give one to someone who is despicably weak Capture that person and bring them to the spot indicated on this map Then IÆll consider our debt settled

When Thea had asked if Chrysanthemum would regain her consciousness at that point the Creature just laughed

We will find out then now wonÆt we

Winged Serpent hurry Thea said with iron in her voice Her eyes shot open and she scanned the horizon A group from Donnyton is already heading in our direction We need to recover Roy and his new toy as quickly as possible Then we will head into your Zone Seven to see how stable that place really is

The Winged Serpent bobbed his head and continued to draw elaborate diagrams on the ground with its tail Some distance away the Obsidian Duke continued to sweat and channel his energy to recover his body Of them all he had suffered the most damage in this attempt Perhaps even more than Thea

Regina Northwind huh to think that even she is strong enough to fight against a Nemesis

Deep Horror the strange sea monster that was half crustacean and half octopus looked at the Obsidian Duke in concern Is Donnyton truly that powerful IÆm glad I was rear guard in that case

Bah I encountered no resistance worth mentioning Said the newly arrived Nemesai from Zone Eleven He was a tall muscular man closer to orc than human His skin was a grey red color and two large tusks jutted out from his lower jaw He called himself the Wildness

Fucking Nemesai and theÆs Thea thought darkly Just use your name We might die like this

The Wildness sneered at the Obsidian Duke Perhaps you are simply too weak No wonder you have struggled so long against the people of this world

Rather than reply the Obsidian Duke just glowered at his severed leg and continued to heal himself Thea also didnÆt bother to say anything the Wildness had been the one tasked with the kidnapping Of them all he had encountered the lightest resistance But there would be no point in telling him that

Someday he would learn that lesson the hard way

Thea pressed her eyes closed Soon Chrysanthemum Soon you will wake up You have to I know you are still fighting in there

It is ready The Winged Serpent announced

TheaÆs eyes flashed open Then pull him back here Pulling the Ghosthound was done perfectly I thought he was a fool but his plan worked Now we just need to get him out of there before the Ghosthound caught up

The Obsidian Duke looked up from his bloody work with a smirk ItÆs been five days It isnÆt that easy to travel from Donnyton to the World Crater and then search an entire world to find someone

Do you want to risk it Thea asked lightly The Obsidian Duke was silent They both remembered the fight with the Ghosthound in Lake Apollo Where he had fucking emptied a huge amount of space of water and then proceeded to rip the Doctor apart despite the NemesaiÆs interference

No Randidly Ghosthound was not a foe that they could fight directly And it was exactly that sense of helplessness that had both kept Thea frozen and planning for so long While no one knew where the Ghosthound was Thea didnÆt dare act on the CreatureÆs original request even though she identified two targets that were deemed easy

After all he could return at any time An absent Randidly was an ax hanging over her head And there was no real need to be hasty

No Thea would plan and wait until Randidly returned so she could be entirely sure that he wouldnÆt turn up at the wrong point and ruin everything So she had meticulously watched everyone that the Ghosthound had contact with and slowly developed profiles She calculated risks mapped out schedules

She recruited support from discontent groups in the different Zones and built up a following These individuals would never fight but they could feed information to the Nemesai They connected her to the growing underworld of Earth

And the two targets she had finally settled on were related they were siblings Nathan and Kiersty

Of the two Thea instincts told her to attack Nathan He was generally protected by a few high Level people but it was a much less intimidating option than going after Kiersty who stayed in the heart of Donnyton most of the time

Yet the other Nemesai had disagreed One problem with Nathan was that his Class was extremely strange Even the Nemesai recognized that his ability to give Classes to others probably gave him a few offensive Skills that would be extremely difficult to resist What if he could directly attack and hack into their Aether

In addition Nathan was always on the move Harder to predict even accounting for that too And he didnÆt seem willing to let slip information on where he was going None of TheaÆs agents were able to get close to him for very long

It seemed that Nathan was very sensitive to the NemesaiÆs energy because all attempts to draw out information regarding his power by ambushing with Raid Bosses were expertly avoided Time and time again Tykes simply took the young teen and escaped before danger could present itself and force him to act They always seemed prepared

Part of that could be blamed by Ptolemy being there to guide them but still it was an unknown risk that they hadnÆt been able to suss out over a half of yearÆs worth of attempts

And the final argument that the other Nemesai gave for choosing Kiersty was the most infuriating They should attack Kiersty because she was in Donnyton Donnyton was a symbol to this world Ultimately the Nemesai were present in a world in order to cause them to fail their Calamities And they instinctively knew that the best way to do this was to break the symbol of a world

KierstyÆs presence was also relatively predictable Which Thea was able to learn after watching almost identical days from the girl for several months while the details of the plan were slowly built through observation Best of all it was easy for agents to infiltrate the Cult of Arbor

So she had agreed grudgingly After all she didnÆt lead the Nemesai She was just acknowledged as the most powerful and insightful as she had been originally from this world herself She didnÆt quite understand the why but it was clear that all these other Nemesai had their abilities limited when they descended to this Cohort

But Thea could also tell that those limits were slowly disappearing as Earth grew more powerful It made her sad But also happy Because she would do anything to revive Chrysanthemum this time in her entirety And to do that she needed strength

The Winged Serpent spread its wings and the first of the two diagrams began to glow Shaking her head Thea focused on the task at hand When Roy and Drake were retrieved they needed to move as quickly

The portal had something of a homing function so it would appear near both of the keyed in individuals With a crackle of energy a small blue ball appeared over the formation There was a wooshing sound and suddenly the portal expanded to almost three meters tall and one meter wide A door to another world was standing wide open right in front of them

When the portal opened fully and nothing happened there was a moment of silence as no one understood what had taken so long HadnÆt Roy noticed the portalÆs arrival Was he sleeping Eating Or

Then a little skull scuttled through the portal on stubby legs that were clearly fingers its eyes glowing ominously Shut the portal Now

You cannot simply shut The Winged Serpent began to hiss It always hated when people demeaned what it considered to be an extremely complicated and sophisticated proceeding by demanding certain actions of its portals And it was very happy to argue the issue

But Thea cut it off If Roy was this injured God she hoped that small bud of fear in her chest wouldnÆt be correct Better to not risk it The Portal Close it

Did we not want the other The Winged Serpent asked in confusion

On cue a body was smashed through the portal like a rag doll The Obsidian Duke howled in pain as the body crashed into him even as he had almost finished recreating his leg out of polished obsidian

Shit Roy muttered To think that we would get involved in this sort of scenario

THE PORTAL Thea thundered as bleak confirmation dawned in her eyes SHUT IT DOWN

The portal trembled and then began to rapidly shrink From the size of a door it quickly dropped to the size of a chair and then to a basketball But before it could shrink further a single vine slithered through the opening and wrapped up against the top That single vine was soon followed by ten others that spread throughout the circumference of the portal holding it open

Ah this is unusual The Winged Serpent muttered to itself

TheaÆs expression became murderous even as she drew her battle ax and threw her body toward the shimmering portal None of them understood what was happening and everyone else was looking at her panicked expression strangely JUST STOP FEEDING IT MANA

The second before Thea arrived the portal shuddered and was forcibly pulled open to a one meter in diameter circle The roots flexed and the portal groaned further Her ax cut into the roots that were pulled the portal open but there were too many of them She couldnÆt cut quickly enough to slow the portalÆs shuddering expansion

ThatÆs why IÆm saying its strange The Winged Serpent said with audible curiosity in its tone I did cease providing Mana Yet those roots are producing enough ambient Mana that the portal is effectively powering itself I wonder

Does it matter We can just kill whoever walks through the portal Let them come The Wildness said with obvious disinterest He flexed his jaw his tusks extending forward in something akin to excitement Hopefully this foe

Fools Roy said quietly Yet Thea was surprised to hear how excited Roy sounded His jaw clacked in obvious animation A Hero is about to arrive and discover that youÆve kidnapped one of his own I donÆt need to explain to you that one of us is going to die right

The Crown came first through the portal a strangely luminous grey metal with no real adornment Then the short black hair the same sharp features a lean and muscular body A long leafy spear a strange charcoal body armor that covered his torso upper arms and thighs Bare feet

And of course emerald eyes that slid around the group measuring them Those eyes eventually settled on Kiersty

What the hell is going on Randidly Ghosthound said slowly

Chapter 903

Randidly felt rage It drummed in his temples and slammed its fists against his heart His first instinct was to attack immediately But ultimately seeing Kiersty lying unconscious in the strange sea creatureÆs arms gave him pause No it wouldnÆt be smart to rush in directly He needed to remain calm

Quiet down Randidly thought harshly One mistake leads to Kiersty dying Stay sharp

His Crown pulsed in response Small fractions of time ticked past as Randidly finished his step through the portal and swept his eyes across the assembled Nemesai Those that knew him were too shocked to move Those that didn’tÆ were confused

It was a good thing the Nemesai around him seemed to be just as shocked by his sudden arrival as he had been by the strange portal that Roy had fled into At the time he had assumed it was for him and Roy was just fleeing for no reason It was extremely obnoxious that Roy was able to explode what remained of his body to escape the vines so Randidly planned on chasing him down For good measure he had grabbed the mostly crippled Drake and thrown him through

It had worried him that the portal immediately began to sink but he was able to rapidly read the basic structure behind the Skill and flood it with Mana to keep it open It seemed to be a Domain type Skill that utilized the System itself to connect two distant points An interesting application but because it was a Domain and therefore connected to the world Randidly had enough room to slip his own Mana into the air and support the Skill

If it hadnÆt been a Domain

Well he would have felt like a fool for throwing Drake through the portal

The split second of indecision on the part of the Nemesai passed and Randidly watched like a hawk as their muscles tensed Time was slow as he deliberated on his own choice of actions The Crown above his head pulsed again joining the howl for violence They had taken Kiersty Likely they had attacked Donnyton That unavoidable fact was still a raw shock in his mind

But he set those feelings aside What mattered most was keeping a level head and

If you make the wrong move the girl dies The crab/octopus Nemesis yelled like some two bit villain moving his claw to surround her head in a position to smash KierstyÆs head like a rotten melon

But Randidly snapped first The violence in his blood sang with heat and adrenaline

Thea was already in motion to cut Randidly off so he tossed Acri like a javelin at her and used the motion from Raucous PhantomÆs Finale to cross the distance to the sea creature in a split second The punch smashed into the claw and Randidly felt a satisfying crack as the shell shattered

Randidly grinned Not as tough as Drake eh

But he didnÆt stop there As the NemesisÆ eyes widened Randidly reached out and grabbed the cracked arm with his metallic left arm His hand tightened until the could feel the shell trembling underneath the structural strain Stalemate Breaker

Even as the Nemesis howled in horror as its claw was mashed into a pulp RandidlyÆs right hand shot out and pressed against KierstyÆs arm What is within without What without within

With a soft noise Kiersty disappeared as she was spirited away to inside RandidlyÆs Soulskill He said a silent prayer that there wasnÆt some terrible emergency going on inside of him that would put her unconscious body in danger Then RandidlyÆs right hand continued further to seize onto the seashell belt on this fuckerÆs waist You wonÆt be able to dodge this Ignition of the Emerald Essence

Roaring emerald fire that exploded outward from him finally knocked all the Nemesai into frenzied motion The Nemesis in front of Randidly cursed and screamed unable to pull away as Randidly maintained his grip With a widening grin Randidly even pulled the monster closer to himself

Randidly felt the burn of the flames but the images were his He slowly began to channel them focusing on that moment of clarity brought to him when this emerald light emerged in that underground prison And from there Randidly began to bring heat

Thea cursed as Acri expertly weaved its way between her arm and bound her ax wielding arm to her back Which eventually forced her to seize Acri with her other arm and toss it off to the side keeping her at bay for several seconds

A strange man made partially of obsidian scrambled to his feet and shoved DrakeÆs body off to the side Then a wave of obsidian seemed to explode from his chest covering his body and crystallizing into the sleek mineral that glimmered in the midday sun

A floating lizard with wings belched a blue orb that seemed to chill the air around it Thorn whips popped out of the ground and instantly intercepted these projectiles Unfortunately the whips were largely put out of commission by a single strange breath attack but the projectiles were also rendered useless

Meet my blade A shirtless red skinned being roared Honestly he looked a lot like a boar head with a human body He pulled a huge jagged lump of metal from his back that was more akin to a misshapen steel beam than a blade and leaped toward Randidly with the blade raised

Randidly studied this attack then turned back to the Nemesis in front of him who was whimpering Heat was all Randidly focused on now Its struggles to escape were weakening as more and more emerald fire baked and dried the thingÆs body Behind him roots surged upward and snatched the boar head nemesis out of the sky and threw him toward a staggering Drake who had only now recovered

This his focus turned to his captive The octopus tentacles on the things right side had landed several savage blows against Randidly but unluckily they had largely impacted RandidlyÆs metallic arm The metal might need polish after smeared with this superheated goo but nothing else Randidly regarded this captive dispassionately Not fun to be taken eh

But his main focus at the moment was on the Aether constructs that animated the Nemesai Randidly wanted to understand the foes he was fighting a little better If Classes were a central pillar that peopleÆs Aether was built around then the structure of the Nemesis was like a shark watching cage lowered into deep water Within Randidly could barely make out something akin to a Class and Stats that he would recognize but that was limited by the bindings placed upon them by the System

Which in turn afforded them some protection

Randidly grunted and continually upped the heat in the fires he was producing He felt in his own flames the origin of a world Heat rising until the point that it broke through a barrier and became something more than heat It became a physical phenomenon thick and viscous Deep and wide enough for someone to drown

Genesis and by the same token oblivion

A tightly controlled ball of fear that Randidly had possessed since being forced into the corner by Aegiant exploded A part of him was surprised by the vehemence of the anger and insistence on heat but another part had expected it and accepted it As he had said to Drake the foes Randidly fought shaped him More than he would like to admit

It was from fire that people drew inspiration but the reason they were inspired was that it was a power they couldnÆt understand Something that filled them with fear Randidly eyes narrowed as the Nemesai largely righted themselves and prepared a second attack around him A power that defied their understand A horrible power that reduced everything to ash

The flecks of ash that were floating up from the ground grew increasingly thick as Randidly split his focus and began to spread his influence into the surrounding area Acri slithered along the ground toward Randidly Thea and the boar head Nemesis both took angles to come at Randidly and struck him from behind

A sigh escaped the lips of the Nemesis that Randidly held Through the cage of System Aether Randidly could feel his flames finally starting to have a permanent effect on the being within They werenÆt invulnerable or immortal just difficult to hurt

Difficult wasnÆt impossible Impossible was forging a world from nothing And that was exactly what Randidly had been able to do in the past

The heat grew to the point that the air around him was warped and shimmering Emerald light sparkled and twisted space as though it was a toy

As the two close combat attacks fell toward his back Randidly spun around and released his grip on the sea creatureÆs belt

Close that fucking portal and open the other one Thea hissed toward the serpent as she slashed at Randidly Randidly tilted his head to the side as his gaze slid to the serpent Without a care RandidlyÆs left hand shot upward and attempted to grab TheaÆs ax

Unfortunately that was a bit too bold Thea noticed what he was doing and twisted her ax out of the way Then she kicked at him in the side Which he was forced to take and grimace in pain as his attention turned toward the much more dangerous hunk of metal that was crashing toward him

YOUR HEAD IS MINE The boar head Nemesis bellowed Randidly just sighed and activated the Wild PhantomÆs Embrace His body blurred into motion as he rode the momentum of the strike but he had nowhere else to go but smashing into Thea Which was exactly what he wanted

Thea swore loudly even as Randidly grabbed her shoulders and twisted the two of them around so she was between Randidly and the blade howling down toward them The idiot was just guffawing orgasmically refusing to stay his hand even the tiniest bit as it ripped toward TheaÆs back

But in that tight window Thea moved decisively

Again Randidly was surprised by TheaÆs resourcefulness Although she was stunned as he bodily smashed into her which had given him an edge she swiftly recovered and conjured a dagger After wreathing it in spectral fire she thrust it at RandidlyÆs heart forcing him to twist slightly to the side and let the blade sink deeply into his right shoulder

Then she used the thrustÆs momentum to shove herself backward slipping under the boar head NemesisÆ attack and crashing into him Both of them were sent tumbling away and Randidly grimaced as he pulled the burning dagger out of his chest Whatever this was enchanted with it certainly hurt

ROaarr

Randidly twisted as a zombie Chrysanthemum who was forced to keep her distance due to her prohibitive size took advantage of the space around Randidly to charge him At the same moment Acri hopped up into RandidlyÆs hand

Grinning Randidly lowered his spear at the wild bear IÆm not going to play nice with you this time Chrysanthemum

Chapter 904

Alana crested the hill as an explosion like a skyscraper collapsing rang out over the battlefield The ground beneath her trembled and her frown deepened Were they too hasty in only sending fifty troops in pursuit If the Nemesai had something large prepared for them here

Had she just walked into a trap

But when she looked down she found something outside of her expectations Waiting in the valley below was a tree so tall that Alana couldnÆt help but be taken aback Her gaze followed the trunk straight upward into the sky The canopy of the tree was pressing up through the clouds existing at such a height that it seemed like a part of a different world

Without warning there was another rumble and AlanaÆs gaze focused on a different detail The huge body of Chrysanthemum was blown backward by this towering image As the bear was thrown backward the brilliant emerald leaves rustled and swayed with righteous fury

The tree seemed so real that Alana was confused at first when it flickered and disappeared Rapidly there was on the faint memory of that vast tree with thick golden roots dominating EarthÆs worst Nemesis And without the green foliage cover Alana was able to see a broader view of the battlefield

The Winged Serpent was dodging stabs of roots while attempting to finish a strange glowing diagram on the ground Thea and a weird tusk creature howled while running forward with their weapons raised There was a smoldering corpse covered in emerald fire and on the far side the battlefield

The Obsidian Duke was covering another body with a thick covering of his distinct obsidian wrapping which Alana had never heard of before Chrysanthemum whose body crashed to the ground took several seconds to stagger to her feet looking much the worse for wear

Standing in the center of them all of course was Randidly Ghosthound

Alana grinned Doubletime boys or else the fun will be stolen by the Ghosthound

WINGED SERPENT Thea shrieked as she twisted to avoid another thrust from RandidlyÆs infuriating spear The thing twisted midair scoring a deep gash across her shoulder It cut through the armor they had stolen from a convoy out of Zone Seven like it was paper Not just in technique but in equipment they were completely outclassed

Hissing Thea hopped lightly to the right as the Wildness unleashed a huge horizontal slash toward Randidly and almost hit her in the process For all that they were on the same side the Wildness didnÆt seem to offer her any warning of his attacks The best he did was not purposefully aim for her

Infuriatingly Randidly seemed much less obstructed by the attack than she had been He hopped up into the air and tapped his bare feet across the sword as he dashed forward and unleashed some Skill toward the WildnessÆ face A terrible darkness instantly spread over the area and the air above Randidly seemed to warp as a skeletal figure with ashen bones extended its hands longingly toward the Wildness

There was a haunting melody that was almost out of earshot calling the listener toward the void If you paused to indulge that strange sense of unease your life would end

The Wildness roared and twisted his neck to deflect the stab with his tusks Thea almost wanted to roar in frustration It wasnÆt supposed to happen like this If they couldnÆt get an individual with a connection to Randidly then Chrysanthemum would never

Ahh The WildnessÆ scream confirmed her worst fears with the weight of that terrible image behind it RandidlyÆs stab shattered the tusk and cracked the WildnessÆ jaw The fool stumbled backward spraying blood likely too shocked by his own failure to do anything but gaze wide eyed at RandidlyÆs momentum let him float above the Wildness

TheaÆs mouth thinned into a line Her body surged into sudden motion as she activated her Combat Intensity Skill and aimed to interpose herself between Randidly and the Wildness Seeing that the Deep Horror still hadnÆt moved Thea had a sinking feeling in her heart that the Ghosthound was going to remind them all that they were still mortal today

Randidly raised his spear Again the image of the phantom formed above them and this time its empty eyes were locked onto Thea Instantly a strange sense of helplessness settled over her Gritting her teeth Bestial Fury ripped up from the depths of her soul and eradicated that strange feeling of weakness But Randidly still thrust his spear downward toward her maintaining his position of strength

ThatÆs the difference Thea thought strangely dissatisfied He believes so fucking honestly and completely that he warps the world With his images itÆs like we are fighting both him and the very air around us If we had our own images like this but no Right now heÆs controlling even the environment

how can we fight this

TheaÆs Desperate Blow cut upward toward RandidlyÆs thrust even as it drew strength from how overmatched she felt And it was knocked aside as though it was a plaything The hands of that greedy specter reached down aiming for TheaÆs heart But just as all the blood in her body was freezing in fear ChrysanthemumÆs familiar roar cut across the battle sending an imperceptible tremble through the image

Although Randidly could do it if he put his mind to it it wasnÆt easy to deal with ChrysanthemumÆs bulk which was forcefully smashed into the image Unfortunately Chrysanthemum didnÆt come away from this clash unscathed

Those bones that were riddled with small cracks previously were crushed to powder causing ChrysanthemumÆs roar to echo out again this time furious Those two clashes against Randidly had left some gaping holes in ChrysanthemumÆs body So much so that TheaÆs heart broke as she gathered herself and considered her partner

Slowly ChrysanthemumÆs body shrunk the remaining bones shifting around with cracks to form a complete body this one only about the size of a van Which was only two thirds its prior size but that wasnÆt the problem Thea frowned She had never seen Chrysanthemum do that before

As she had thought the time where Chrysanthemum was the most alive was when

Finished The Winged Serpent yelped even as a root stabbed brutally up through one of its wings It hissed and spat out six bolts of frost in quick succession to buy itself some time

Fuck About damn time The Obsidian Duke grumbled immediately seizing DrakeÆs bound body and rushing toward the portal Thea nodded sharply and dashed to the side to arrive at the bit of charcoal that had been the Deep Horror Her hand brushed against its shell and came away flakey with ash

It seemed that Randidly hadnÆt moved because he had to it was because he was finished

Gritting her teeth Thea spun around to see Randidly dashing toward the newly opened portal as well even as the prior portal finally was allowed to close by his vines

Thinking of escaping I donÆt think so Randidly growled The Obsidian Duke safely made it through the portal with Drake followed by a squeaking Winged Serpent Which left her and the Wildness to push through

Even though she didnÆt like it Thea admitted that Chrysanthemum was the best matchup against Randidly If she bought time for them

Fucking man child pleased with your little bit of strength A grim voice cut across TheaÆs thoughts as a body interposed itself between Randidly and the portal The Wildness was steaming Long clouds of smoke drifted up from his body After spitting up a mouthful of blood he bared his gap toothed grin and raised his blade Try a taste of this

To TheaÆs surprise Randidly slowed to a stop and frowned at The Wildness You broke your own Nemesis binding Why How Without that won’t you be rejected

But IÆll have enough time to teach a welp like you a lesson The Wildness grunted His gaze went to Thea and he subtly jerked his chin Thea nodded and dashed past him You think you are the only one who can create something from nothing IÆll show you the pride of one who killed a whole world to become a Nemesis Our images arenÆt nonexistent We simply arenÆt allowed to grace your world with their majesty

I wonÆt let you go that easily Randidly thundered his burning emerald eyes shifting to Thea The ground in front of her erupted in bursts of emerald fire Gritting her teeth she could only hope for the best and plunge through the thick flames

It was not for nothing that the Deep Horror had been reduced to ash by this vivid fire but her brief exposure only left Thea with some superficial burns She pushed forward crossing the final few steps to arrive in front of the portal Vines were already rising to block her way and snaking up to grab her ankles with malicious precision

TheaÆs eyes narrowed and she began to cut her way forward

Behind her the sky rumbled and the Wildness spoke One Cut One Sacrifice

A peal of thunder rang out as a bolt of vivid red lightning struck downward toward their battlefield It hit the ground with a dull roar and Thea was surprised to see the vines that had been reaching toward her slow and pause in their attacks

Despite herself she spared a glance over her shoulder to see what had happened In that brief flash she saw the Deepness was raising his blade once more but what grabbed her eyes was Randidly That charcoal body armor he wore had been split open and there was a deep wound across his chest

There was shock in his eyes too but then his face split into a grin Ha Is this all an Upper Cohort can manage

Good armor The Wildness said grudgingly but then he hissed as Randidly blurred into motion and appeared behind him His blade swung around but Randidly was gone this time borrowing the strikeÆs momentum and appearing right next to Thea His spear was already halfway toward her calf

Fucking brutal Thea thought with a fair bit of respect But her ax took on a life of its own as it twisted upward in a Reaping Cut The blow smashed into that fucking metallic arm of RandidlyÆs even as he savaged her calf with a thrust as fast and poisonous as a viper bite She stumbled but the telltale sparkle of a determined spectral fire burned along the cut she had just made

There was a flash of relief in her chest It will have to be enough Spectral Detonation

The fire exploded sending Thea sprawling backward toward the portal Again vines rose like hungry snakes from the ground to snap at her but her ax cut sideways through them and opened a path Behind her she heard RandidlyÆs furious hiss but the Wildness had caught up with Randidly again and the Ghosthound had to choose between protecting himself and stopping TheaÆs crazed dash

He chose self preservation

One Cut One Sacrifice

Thea tumbled through the portal and sprung immediately to her feet Her leg was out of commission but she balanced expertly on the other foot The first thing she did was spin and bring the pommel of her ax against the Winged Serpent temple like a hammer The thing yelped and collapsed knocked out Then she brought another Reaping Cut down on the delicately arrange teleportation array shattering it

The portal flickered then rapidly began to fade

To TheaÆs relief Randidly was too preoccupied by the Wildness to stop it

Chapter 905

Thanks by the way Randidly said

The corner of LucretiaÆs mouth quirked upward Think nothing of it Perhaps it’s revealing my hand a bit to say this but for anyone who reads energy it is easy to sense when you enter and leave the world And when you entered and left so quickly Well I knew that there had to be a very compelling reason

Either way thank you Randidly said again Especially for that bit of information Was it a warning Well for now itÆs probably fine but it’s something to keep in mind

The two of them were deep within LucretiaÆs stone home in the newly established city of Radice in RandidlyÆs Soulskill This city was the first expansion from the starting location for these refugees and the camps underneath the various lighthouses that were slowly being uncovered It was a city made specifically to serve as a capital

After taking care of the Nemesai the first thing he had done was return to his Soulskill to check on Kiersty When he rushed back to her side he was already fearing the worst Luckily she was already being cared for

Apparently from sensing his arrival and departure Lucretia had gone to the spot and seen to providing Kiersty medical attention As such the young teen was only unconscious when Randidly returned her to Earth and put her into the very capable hands of Regina Northwind and her team of doctors Under their watchful eye Randidly could rest assured

After which Randidly returned to the Soulskill to speak with Lucretia Because they had received a big haul this time And not much time to benefit from it If it hadnÆt been KierstyÆs life that was at stake Randidly likely would not have waited this long

As if sensing RandidlyÆs change in mood Lucretia beckoned for him to follow her and they walked up the stone stairs to a rather large room on the highest floor of her house Randidly quickly scanned the area and took in the dozens of large slabs that were covered with intricate runic engraving There were so many covered in a densely packed script that his eyebrows rose YouÆve been busy

IÆve had a lot of time Lucretia said with a smirk throwing her lavender hair over her shoulder Then she proceeded to the central table and cleared a space

Without much fanfare Randidly produced the thing that brought them together immediately despite the fact that chasing after the Nemesai was perhaps the best current course of action The thing that Randidly had snatched up immediately after it had been discarded like an old snake skin The thing that was slowly disintegrating as the animating energy dispersed and unwound

A NemesisÆs Cage Lucretia said in wonder approaching quite close to the floating bundle of Aether The edges were frayed and wane and that unwinding process would slowly destroy the entire thing But that boar faced Nemesis had no other way to display his true battle prowess the weight of being a Nemesis was too tight

He had needed to cut his way out to fight image with image and left them a perfect piece of data regarding the System in exchange Randidly didnÆt like allowing the other Nemesai to escape but this was sufficient compensation for him to not dwell on it

Very quickly both Randidly and Lucretia were immersed in the process of examining the construction of Aether As the thing was slowly destroying itself at a visible rate both were unwilling to waste time Starting from the edges they worked their way inward pouring over every single inch

Despite its relatively small size the Aether was densely packed together Which was a benefit because it slowed the destruction but it also made it exceedingly difficult to understand Without any background knowledge of how the SystemÆs Aether was shaped neither would have been able to make any headway

But the two of them had now been studying this for years

All in all the process lasted about fifteen minutes Part of RandidlyÆs focus at the end shifted to attempting to slow the disintegration but no tricks he could manage worked The energy seemed like something from another world The best he could do was memorize what he saw now

Afterward both were thoughtfully staring at the ground in silence There were a lot of things to be learned from what they had seen and each was mulling over their personal lessons Lucretia had brought over a few slabs and was working on some little experiments when Randidly finally spoke

you saw that core array right So why then does the System give us Stats

Lucretia pressed her lips and paused in her experiments But she said nothing in response

Because itÆs clear that this whole thing could function without Stats They He trailed off and Lucretia remained silent

Randidly hadnÆt expected her to answer honestly Perhaps it was being stuck in Tellus for so long but LucretiaÆs ability to take the tricks they learned with engraving and turn it into insight wasnÆt her forte She could solve a problem She couldnÆt use the SystemÆs solution to figure out what the problem was

The array had been intricate and elegant And it had something that left Randidly exceedingly puzzled After chewing on his lip in thought for several seconds he straightened and looked again at Lucretia That array had a way of converting the powerful images that the Nemesai brought and converting them into raw Stats Dumbing down the energy as it were Emphasizing Stats for the Nemesai There were restrictions based on the average Level of the world but Why would it give them Stats

What else would it give them Lucretia asked indifferently finally lifting her head

That made Randidly pause His mind continually spun moving them forward Well their images The SystemÆs goal is to create and extract images is it not So by giving Nemesai their images the people will learn how valuable images are Plus the point is that the Stat System is completely irrelevant to that goal Why not simply empower the images themselves if what they wanted was to increase the challenge

Lucretia rapped her fingers against the stone of the experiment tablet she held in front of herself Hmm there was a rather common custom in the Death School while I was active that I believe is an appropriate explanation for this question The Death School did not put much stock in blood all they cared about was the power of the young spear users To that end the did something extremely unusual to choose their inheritors of the great Styles They gave a group of children spears without informing them how to use them and forced the young women and men to kill each other Often with about one hundred to a cohort

The rationale was that the Death School broadly already had many ways to kill someone that worked well enough They didnÆt need someone who had been well trained Lucretia continued But what they were searching for was someone born to kill someone It became a numbers game As more children died they uncovered more killers

And I have to say Lucretia added Oftentimes those of the cohort that already knew well enough how to use the spear and mimicked remembered images would die early Because it was never about learning a Style it was about killing

Those imitators simply werenÆt powerful enough They became a reflection of what wasnÆt theirs and their images suffered for it Although the victor of these battles would often by somewhat limited in their strength the clarity and density of their image of killing was beyond reproach

Randidly considered that so rather than guiding us forward we are treated more like monkeys at typewriters seeking Shakespeare huh

Shakespeare Lucretia asked

Randidly shook his head A reference from my world But I wonder are you saying that images arenÆt the goal That there is a specific task and the System is looking for the appropriate image for the job

Lucretia shrugged Very quickly she was becoming absorbed in the small runic experiment that she was tinkering with on the table

There Randidly paused One thing that the System wanted to avoid was contamination from the previous CohortÆs Skills Which was why likely the motivation for setting up the System so that people from the upper cohorts cannot descend In addition the System was assisted by an overlay System which provided numerical representations of the Stats that they were given

It was one thing to feel yourself growing more powerful as you train It was quite another to be shown the satisfying numerical progression of your own Stats It was very easy to fall into the trap of pursuing that growth as a goal If one did that it would be easy to get drawn in by the temptation of tripling your own Stats

Which was why it was so confusing for the System to emphasize Stats like this If the SystemÆs goal was what Randidly thought it was the System was shooting itself in the foot

Because that was a purposeful trap that the System seemed to set with Stats Early Stat growth was refreshing and rewarding Yet as the Levels of the foes you face grew stats became harder and harder to rely on in order to triumph The same went for Skill Levels although Randidly suspected that this was a relatively weaker association Because after all Skill Levels essentially just gave you a way of adding extra Stats to certain specific actions

Thinking very reductively giving Stats and drawing attention to them was akin to teaching everyone how to punch very hard and telling people how hard they could punch Some would learn different ways of punching but ultimately everything was still a boxing match

Over time the System would provide increasingly competent boxers as hurdles for these individuals swept up in its influence To the point that it was impossible for someone who relied on boxing to win If they didnÆt cheat that is

And it was clear that this happened in Cohort 5 as well Aemont had fought against the Propagators to no avail They were a hurdle that couldnÆt be cleared with Stats and Skill Levels He had done as much as said so during the strange dream Randidly had experienced after finishing the Ashes Path associated with Aemont

So he had been faced with the ultimate choice that the System presents those whose lives it seizes evolve or die

Then is that moment of clarity what the System is after To guide you down a Path with a dead end to force you to jump ship while your life was on the line

Because the scaffolding for evolving beyond yourself was always in place The System just never told people about it It lectures on Stats Skills and finally Classes but those are all just ways to convince the people under the System that they are in a box

They are crutches you rely on so that the System can rip them away and you can be overwhelmed with fear

But no one is in a box Because the System also gives people space to create images And with those images itÆs possible to warp the entire world around you Randidly could clearly feel it in the fight against the Nemesai Without images they had to accept his vision of the world Ash Emerald Fire the World Tree and the lustful Phantom became the truths of that battlefield

Images had the capability of becoming truths They ruled the surroundings In effect RandidlyÆs ease of fighting opponents thus far could be explained by him cheating he didnÆt fight the way everyone else did

It was like the world had agreed beforehand to a series of rules that were extremely favorable to Randidly before the fight had even begun And no one would say anything as Randidly brought increasingly elaborate weapons to the boxing matches Until the boar head sacrificed his life to display comparable power

However Randidly felt very little lingering pleasure from the battle against the Nemesai It was clear to him that his advantage was so absolute that he should have been able to prevent Thea the Serpent and the Obsidian man from escaping But he just hadnÆt understood exactly how much of an advantage he had for most of the battle

Until the strange boar head man countered Randidly with his own images With that sense of restriction Randidly had another realization When there were two images that fought for dominance over a space the way to spread your imageÆs influence was by relying on the Skills that evidenced them

But when the opponent had no images that meant you could use that image to do anything Skills no longer bound it

As long as it was within the purview of the image there were no bounds to what could be accomplished with an image

Suddenly Randidly was very much looking forward to the Donnyton challenge

Chapter 906

Before Randidly departed LucretiaÆs lab he had one more question to ask Do you know how large each Cohort in the System is

Lucretia shook her head No But I can follow your train of thought Undoubtedly it is much larger than each of us would ever suspect After all the System has the ability to create a mirror world for the Second Calamity for each of us That speaks to a large background And a vast array of energy and images at its disposal

Humming Randidly considered that for several seconds sometimes I wish I could have spoken with the Creature Truly spoken as equals It knew so much and all it did was torment and manipulate us If I had that knowledge

I wonder think about this then Lucretia said That knowledge made the Creature take those terrible actions the truth about the System just how terrible a weight must that knowledge have

Randidly glared at Lucretia who simply shrugged

He didnÆt like that sort of perspective but he couldn’tÆ deny it might be true Each locked in their private thoughts the two did a few experiments with Mana Engraving before parting and returning to their respective responsibilities

Helen rammed the harpoon deeply into the skull of the sea beast in front of her The skull cracked and split as her viciously sharp weapon bit deeply into its flesh She brought the palm of her other hand up and slammed it into the but of the weapon driving it even deeper

Just die you fucker

The roar that the monster released caused the water in the surrounding area to vibrate and bubble With two strong kicks Helen swam upward allowing the long chain attached to the end of the harpoon to stretch and give some distance between them while keeping the weapon inserted in the body of the sea beast

Somehow even as the bubbles frothed upward and obscured her vision Helen knew that this long test was drawing to an end

As though it had been waiting for Helen to create some space the seabeastÆs long tentacles slashed outward toward her like whips cutting through the water They moved so quickly that they left long trails of bubbles in their wake

But Helen simply twisted her body to present as small a surface area as possible and seized the chain With a huge pull she rapidly dived back toward the beastÆs skull cutting those meters into nothing In her left hand she twirled a wickedly curved dagger that was almost as long as her forearm A chain was attached to the base of this too forming the counterweight to her harpoon

The tentacle attacks slowed as she neared its body and she kicked brutally to swim down toward its face

The wicked dagger blade stabbed forward with the speed of a bullet biting deeply into the beastÆs eye Again in roared and the thing spun the water extremely quickly as it tried to throw Helen off But she planted her feet on its scales and held both ends of the chain near the weapons it was connected to

She rode that bucking seabeast while gritting her teeth Blood pumped up through the wounds she had inflicted dying the water in the surrounding area a deep red The blood and bubbled mixed into a strange froth that made this corner of the sea look like hell Slowly Helen smiled

Hurry up and die fucker IÆm hungry This Reaper needs to eat

Again and again it struck at her with its tentacles and fins but Helen always clung close to its relatively much larger body Systematically she stabbed her weapons into its side using their curved blades to make them extremely difficult to remove

More and more blood pumped out of the seabeast into the surrounding sea so that it was impossible to see what was going on within that huge sphere of blood Helen could sense several other scavengers of the Blood Sea coming closer interested in the powerful tang of blood But when they recognized the seabeast that was in its death throes they paused

What being would hunt a seabeast in its own habitat

HelenÆs smile widened further as she saw her fellow scavengers simply watching

Sit back and watch This is my prey

Finally with a heaving sigh the seabeast died Instantly Helen felt something inside of herself shift and click into place All at once she woke from the strange dream she had found herself in for almost a week After a blink she was back in Donnyton standing next to the portal into the Level 50 Dungeon

Her eyes slid sideways searching and suspicious Yet from looking around it was clear that only a few moments passed

Helen grinned and looked at her hands There was a flicker and then a bone Harpoon and dagger appeared in them connected by a fine chain So this is my Fate

Randidly returned to his cabin at nightfall He needed to think and think quickly about how to spend his remaining time

The challenge against Donnyton was in two days Sam promised Randidly that he would be bringing over a whole new type of equipment for him tomorrow night And this time there was a deep fire in SamÆs eyes as he said it so Randidly had a certain amount of anticipation for what the older man had cooked up

Besides those two things the rest could wait For all that the Nemesai should be addressed it could wait a few days Clarissa was still trying to trace the remnant energy from the teleportation to track down the destination anyway

So what mattered now was what Randidly would do with these final two days of preparation Some part of him wanted to continue working on Mana Engraving but that was a long term endeavor Two days wouldnÆt affect that much either way It could be used as a break from his main goal but Randidly believed his time before the challenge would be better spent on refining his images

After his fight against the Nemesai Randidly realized he had been underestimating the influence that images could inflict on others If anything he imagined was possible

Refining his images was one thing but there was another path that Randidly felt like he should consider combining his images

A flaw that Randidly had felt in that fight was that he had different images for different uses and it was extremely difficult to maintain power enough in more than a single image to dominate enemies at the level of the Nemesai That was why Randidly had frustratingly been unable to sufficiently destroy the energy array the Winged Serpent had set up while also fighting against the others

Not that combining images would be easy but it seemed to Randidly that it was one of the easiest ways to create an extremely powerful effect capable of showing Donnyton the changes they needed to make to survive with the System

A sudden thought occurred to Randidly According to the System someone like me who learned of images in another Cohort arenÆt I spoiling their unbiased method of forcing individuals to evolve due to threat of death

Well that was exactly what Randidly intended He would take the risks so the people of Earth could get out in front of the trials that would force them to either evolve or die Hopefully such a transition would be much healthier with that extra forewarning

And yet suddenly Randidly could see why the System chose to force everyoneÆs attention toward Stats rather than explaining images Even though he would show Donnyton the difference in strength between them Randidly couldnÆt give them any real guidance other than that

Images were difficult They took a strong will and a powerful imagination Without both the images would end up being insipid and lackluster Which would make them almost useless against a foe of any real power To those sort of images Stats were barrier enough

He was breaking their current mindset which could have two results They could recover or they could fall to pieces from the shock

Randidly hoped they would choose to grow and evolve but not everyone would take the unshakable power of Donnyton being broken well

Then Randidly chuckled Heh if people knew how sure I was that IÆm going to win they would think IÆm delusional

Randidly smiled ThatÆs exactly the point ThatÆs exactly why IÆll be able to overpower them all ThatÆs the sort of world this has become Madness transforms into a source of strength ThatÆs exactly why individuals like Roy are so hard to deal with

But then Randidly shook his head Roy was a curious one because Randidly honestly had no idea where he disappeared to It was possible but unlikely that Roy had a Skill that would enable him to move far away very quickly And Randidly had been watching the Winged Serpent and its new portal closely Roy hadnÆt proceeded through that

No the only reasonable possibility was that Roy had fled back through the portal to the dreary Frogpeople world Was that on purpose

RandidlyÆs eyes tightened Would he continue to encourage people to invade Earth Or was he heading there to capture DrakeÆs elemental who had remained on that side of the portal

Again Randidly could only shake his head and let it go HeÆd already informed Neveah of his suspicions and he would let her handle it for now After all her anticipatory violence had worked well so far despite RandidlyÆs misgivings The answer would come by itself soon

So to combine images The matter at hand

In RandidlyÆs mind he had his four images World Tree Yggdrasil his variation on the Spear Phantom the emerald Ignition Essence that brought heat and inspiration and finally Ash Of the four two seemed obvious choices for combination the Spear Phantom and Ash

Both were related to the spear and it seemed as though Phantom and Ash would be relatively complimentary Plus maybe by combining these two Randidly would finally be able to create a complete Skillset between the two spear styles

Then Randidly grimaced That was the rub His Ashen Spear Style and the Spear Phantom Style were quite different Part of aligning that image would be bringing the spirit within those spear moves into harmony

Which was why

Sighing Randidly spread out his Mana and conjured about a dozen root avatars in the area surrounding his hut Time to go to the basics practicing moving through spear moves with root avatars

Chapter 907

The residence of Xiang Le the glorious elected leader of the Final Republic of Earth was wide and spacious The compound was about the Peerless Capital of Zone Seven surrounded by layers of guards barbed wire and finally marble Within an outer compound was the inner housing facilities where the dozens of servants who kept the compound running lived

Often these families never left the compound Words exchanged the servants were related to work never Xiang Le directly and were often quick and quiet It as on these quiet backs that the huge area actually used for living by Xiang Le was balanced

It was a dream of many within Zone Seven to be invited to visit and speak with Xiang Le in an intimate setting Mostly Xiang Le only spoke during the daily broadcasts announcing the glorious direction that the people will proceed in for the day

Today there were no guests The huge halls were empty So much so that it was a wonder that a single person would need a home so large and opulent

But their house needed to be extremely large after all Otherwise they wouldnÆt be able to disguise the fact that Xiang Le was actually three very different women

Xia stared at the throne sent by Donnyton that was clearly intended for her It was a clockwork thing with an intricate and beautiful clock face as the back of the throne Despite her suspicion she loved it The brass the copper the moving parts

Yet she kept her face carefully schooled into a neutral expression How did they know

Neither of the other two women standing with her answered Again as she had countless times in the past Xia examined her throne

The Throne of Clockwork Precision Lvl 69 A throne made with common materials by a master craftsman A throne that is extremely uncomfortable to sit on yet is a seat of power nonetheless Only one can claim this throne at a time While nearby the owner of the Throne will gain +30 Perception Reaction Focus and Control Inexorable Time III Panopticon IV Unity of Ten Thousand III

Inexorable Time III The powers that animate the chair will always march forward As such the chair brings the promise of growth Increase the experience and Skill Level gain of the owner of the throne by 9%

Panopticon IV The seat of the throne is important As long as the owner of the throne is within a certain distance of her seat of power she may monitor the actions of all within a four kilometer area Perception +40

Unity of Ten Thousand III Many parts have joined together to make a cohesive whole That strength flows through the throne to the owner Strength and Willpower +15

Xia hissed in annoyance This was an extremely useful item For many reasons So useful that it would seem wasteful not to take advantage of it Especially the Panopticon function she would finally be able to sniff out the agents of the Nemesai that were active in their Peerless Capital

Huu Well I like it Ann said as she grinned at her own silk and gold throne

Xia pressed her lips into a line Of course Ann would like it The androgynous featured 30 something was the face of Xiang Le Despite the arrival of the System theirs was a culture where the male heir was expected to lead They were already dealing with so many incessant problems it had seemed at the start of their revolution too much to also handle the dismissive backlash for their genders as well

So Ann had become their male enough face She also served as a tiebreaker when the other two women couldnÆt agree on how to proceed

Your throne certainly is lovely Xia said forcing her tongue to behave itself As if sensing XiaÆs internal struggle Ann laughed Xia examined the description of AnnÆs throne as well annoyed by how useful it will be

The Throne Moved by Wind but Unaffected by Truth Lvl 67 A throne made with no expense spared Opulence and class emanate from the valuable silk construction Only one can claim this throne at a time While nearby the owner of the Throne will Experience +30 Vitality Resistance and Willpower The Touch of Silk II Beguiling Sparkle V Strength in Fragility II

The Touch of Silk II This throne is a thing of finesse and light touches When speaking while upon the throne the first sentence you speak to an individual will leave the strongest impression on their mind Willpower and Control +10

Beguiling Sparkle V Such is the allure of the throne that those that attempt to peer at the owner of the throne will instead find themselves carefully examining the throne To the owner of the throne the glittering silks will become their symbol just as they become glittering silks All Skills relating to deception and subterfuge will experience a Twenty Five Level increase in efficacy

Strength in Fragility Should the owner of the Throne ever need to fight their first attack will give them +10 Strength and Agility

Forcibly Xia suppressed her frown There was no point in wasting emotion on these things It was disturbing how well each one was tailored to each of them but that could be rather easily explained by an information leak Would Han Yazhu have betrayed them Or purposefully leaked the truth of their existence in order to obtain such useful thrones

But no he wouldnÆt If he had he would claim responsibility for these very appropriate gifts He wouldnÆt have returned shaking and immediately spoken out about Donnyton as a potential threat

So Xia finally said We must vote I say we make preparations to attack immediately Nothing overt but damage their interests They have a magical mine do they not Striking there will shake them and prove we shouldnÆt be messed with so casually

Ann harrumphed in displeasure as she threw herself on her new throne She stretched her legs upward lounging across it Immediately the air around her seemed to shimmer and Xia found herself blinded by the strange movements of the silk chair But isnÆt it a good gift They certainly have proven themselves worthy of being an ally

To XiaÆs disgust it was only by relying on the Panopticon function of her throne that she was able to pierce through the glittering illusion around Ann and see the other womanÆs pleased expression Indeed it was a valuable lesson in the power of crafting given in exchange for the finest weapons we were able to make Honestly considering the rarity of the Thrones I cannot help but feel our gifts were insufficient Which is why

The final of the three women finally spoke Have we had any other successes from the forges

Xia turned to look at Le the youngest of the three that were Xiang Le Le was standing in front of her Throne that was not a Throne considering it from every angle Le was a rather bookish and reserved girl who had spent her time before the System arrived obsessively reading Web Novels

Strangely that time that so many considered to be a waste ended up being the greatest weapon that Zone Seven possessed It was Le that taught them about Classes and min maxing in a fantasy world She was the one with the grand plans while Xia injected rationality into their governance Ann served as the necessary tiebreaker between them