LoRG 2

Xia shook her head at LeÆs question Nothing that is above Level 61 And generally the items are Uncommon or Rare It seems those three early successes you were right A fluke

Le nodded absently Nothing good comes from relying on others in a world like this it is your own hard work that you need to rely upon in order to build a future

XiaÆs gaze sharpened So you agree that we shouldnÆt take these tools Do these amount to a threat

Ann rolled her eyes Whaat They are just chairs

They are Thrones Xia hissed Then she sighed IÆm sorry itÆs just they fit us perfectly Too perfectly That means

That means it might be Protagonist Correction Le remarked still circling her Throne

XiaÆs hands tightened into fists But she forced her anger down I thought we were past this We performed the experiments No special power appeared when we left you alone in front of monsters There exists no Protagonist Correction in the System

You saved me In a way you could be considered the correction Le pointed out Ann began to chuckle even as Xia wanted to tear LeÆs hair out This was a conversation they rehashed over and over every time some chance happened to go their way

But to XiaÆs surprise Le then sighed but there is another explanation we arenÆt the protagonists Which means I think I would quite like to meet this Randidly Ghosthound

He didnÆt make the chairs himself Xia pointed out waspishly Then she shook her head and walked over toward a small table She picked up a teacup filled with hour old tea and took a long sip The bitter flavor danced across her tongue calming her immensely That was how long they had been stuck here frozen by indecision

An hour An hour was a long time for a country

There is no point in getting angry Caution is practical Balance is desirable Temerity is dangerous in this new world Like all others I am flawed and can be mistaken

Since she was nearby Xia examined the final Throne given to them by Donnyton her eyes tracing the curving jade

The Jade Throne to be Coveted and Never Held Lvl 65 A throne made by combining elemental energy with jade shaped by a master craftsman This Throne will never have an owner although all may covet it Those that view it will be able to partake in its strange and wondrous energies The more individuals who view it the more the effect received is diminished When viewing individuals can receive +1000 in Health Stamina and Mana regeneration Bones of the Earth III Object of Desire II Secrets of the Ancients VI

Bones of the Earth III This Throne cannot be ever seized but it will provide some defensive bonuses to those who grasp at it +35 Endurance In addition it is easier to gain Skill Levels in earth related Skills

Object of Desire II All who view it for a prolonged period of time will come to covet this Throne

Secrets of the Ancients VI Hidden within the elemental energies of the throne there lies a powerful secret After sufficient study a viewer will unlock Paths that will lead themselves closer to power

The most confusing and most dangerous of the Thrones LeÆs throne certainly had some very strange functions Besides opening up Paths for her it would allow her to train almost constantly Who wouldnÆt desire such a totem when the Regeneration boosts were so ridiculous

ItÆs dangerous Le finally said with a sigh tracing the lines of the throne with her soft fingers This will be a hard cross to bear

So Xia prompted The attack

After a brief hesitation Le shook her head IÆm against it We need more information We should open an embassy both in the Peerless Capital and in Donnyton Use that to find out how this sort of construction is possible

If its a tie I vote no attack Ann commented

Xia sighed Fine Then letÆs establish the embassy But I get to pick the personnel We canÆt have any mistakes

The other two women nodded Each one of them was consumed by their Throne and the possibilities it opened for them

Xia hoped they wouldnÆt regret this

Chapter 908

Before Randidly started his image training in earnest he had something he needed to do that he had waited quite a while to get to spending his PP He hadnÆt earned enough PP to unlock the next batch of PP he siphoned off from the denizens of his Soulskill but he had certainly earned quite a bit

Again most of his growth was due to the fact he simply had so many Skills that were slowly increasing in proficiency Although chunks of it came from things like Spriggit Tinkering Visualization and Riders of the Baleful Wood which grew over five Skill Levels each much of it came from his already high Level Skill that increased by one to three Levels

There were a few notable exceptions however

Aether Detection had grown by 10 Skill Levels which wasnÆt insignificant considering how it had already broken through level 100 Likely it was due to the constant searches Randidly did to find Roy Plus his high speed scans of the interference that a Fate had on his senses probably helped

The biggest growth by far was Ignition of the Emerald Essence which grew by 20 Skill Levels putting it at Level 99 His image and power with it were growing at the rate that it was becoming one of his most versatile weapons to use against distant foes

Plus it grew along with his relatively diverse group of Skills related to using it Reach of the Jade Slag Ignition Bolt Verdant Nova and Eruption of the Blazing Leyline Because it touched all of those Skills it was easy for it to grow quickly and increase all of their individual power by raising the quality of the flames

The Crown of Upheaval and Gloom was another Skill that gained ten Skill Levels His usage during his time in the Frogpeople world was almost constant It would be surprising if he hadnÆt grown it by a fair margin

And of course much to RandidlyÆs chagrin another large gain was in Child of Rain which had grown by 12 Skill Levels Although the pitter patter in the world of the Frogpeople had ended up being exceedingly obnoxious it honestly constant experience Randidly couldnÆt complain too much

Overall Randidly ended with 312 PP Which was more than enough to finish up his Ashen Aura I Path

Congratulations As your way forward becomes clouded with sulfur and ash you have not faltered You walk forward passing through the deep darkness of the air to emerge on a higher plane Yet as you continue a fraction of that chaos you have walked through clings to your figure Around you Ash will always follow Willpower and Resistance +10 Control +20 You have learned the Skill Aura of Ash

Congratulations Aura of Ash has been absorbed into the previously held Skill All is Ash New functionality added For a small cost conjure an aura of Ash around yourself This Ash can be formed and shaped Effect increases with Skill Level

The stats were nice but Randidly would need to test how much the added functionality was worth Because he hadnÆt gained any sort of Stats during the Path itself the reward was surprisingly low

To the point of being disappointing

But havenÆt you been thinking about the limits of Stats lately Randidly thought sardonically But then he shrugged That didnÆt mean they still werenÆt useful So instead Randidly turned to the choices for his next Path

Heretic XXIX 0/ Nexus Traveler Cohort 5 0/50 Experimenter I 0/50 System Transgressor 0/1 Friend to Humanity 0/100 Mantle of the Patron 0/500 Metallurgist 0/300 Advanced Mana Engraving 0/400 Aether Convergence II Perfect Soul Bond 0/1000 the Bell of Doom Tolls 0/600 Growth of Yggdrasil III 0/2000 Fiery Sharpshooter 0/350 The Ashes of Ulaat Patron of Ash 0/1000 Order Ducis Font of Guidance HumanityÆs Torch 0/500 Bearing of a Teacher Puppet Master 0/100 Mana Lich 0/500 Ashen Aura II 0/

Of the choices a few held his attention Metallurgist Advanced Mana Engraving Aether Convergence II Perfect Soul Bond Growth of Yggdrasil III and The Ashes of Ulaat Patron of Ash

Metallurgist and Advanced Mana Engraving appealed to Randidly because they would give him an edge within the two fields of production that Randidly was going to focus forging metals and Engraving Both were probably Paths that Randidly would take eventually assuming that he had almost infinite PP coming his way from his Soulskill

Which Randidly was trying not to get overexcited about but his anticipation was already growing

Aether Convergence and Perfect Soulbound were also related by motivation Randidly wished to increase his understanding and talent with Aether which meant strengthening his connection with Neveah who seemed born into it Especially after seeing the tightly knit constructs of Aether that were used by the System to create Patrons Randidly was intrigued

The final two options were much more significant PP commitments The Ashes of Ulaat Patron of Ash would give Randidly some insight on the journey that Ulaat took In addition it might give him further insight into the Second Calamity Finally it would also give him an extra boost to his image of Ash

Compared to the other images Randidly had much less experience shaping his image of Ash If anything it was him that had been forcibly shaped by that image after it had been dumped into his core Therefore it was difficult for Randidly to know how to proceed with Ash Some guidance would do a lot to advance his power

And of them all Growth of Yggdrasil was the Path that Randidly wanted to pursue the most Somehow Randidly knew that following that Path would let him be able to break through the limits of rarity that he was pressing up against currently Although he didnÆt know what was waiting beyond that limit breaking through would help Earth

But like a challenge the finishing cost of 2000 hung heavy over him Bearing his teeth Randidly considered that number 2000 isnÆt a short amount of time Perhaps IÆll get a big chunk of that from my Soulskill but if I donÆt

Other options were safer RandidlyÆs lids lowered until his eyes were half closed It was all a matter of choosing the option that would bring him the most benefit now

Ultimately Randidly picked Advanced Mana Engraving 400 was a large amount of PP but manageable especially considering he would soon challenge Donnyton then fight against the Judgement Likely after those two trials he would have the requisite PP to finish the Path and move onto another

Perhaps Randidly would even then have time to focus for a longer period of time on Mana Engraving or metal smelting It would certainly be a change of pace to have some downtime while they waited for enough Zones to connect to Earth to move on toward the next phase of the System

Besides he had gained a lot in terms of Visualization and images from his practice in Mana Engraving Since that was the focus he was working toward at the moment any small bit of additional efficacy would help

RandidlyÆs remaining 184 PP was enough to put a fair dent into the Path as well And earned him 1 Wisdom and 1 Focus every 10 PP placed into it Randidly grinned This is more like it

Then he took a look at his own status

Level 44 (81%)

Health(/R per hour) 5046/5246 (2531)

Mana(/R per hour) 3986/5661 (1999)

Stam(/R per min) 4713/5069 (820)

End 285

Agi 604

Perception 578

Resistance 468

Willpower 695

Wisdom 437

Control 867

Focus 440

Skills (Soul Skill) Figure of the Alpha Cosmos Lvl 1184

Combat Spear Mastery Lvl 201 White PhantomÆs Half Step (Un) Lvl 95 Heavy Blow Lvl 115 Iron Skin Lvl 47 Dodge Lvl 112 Fighting Experience (Un) Lvl 159 Block Lvl 77 Phantom Onslaught Lvl 42 Calculated Blow Lvl 105 Roundhouse Kick Lvl 77 Idiosyncratic Cut (Un) Lvl 120 Stalemate Breaker Lvl 70 Talon Strike Lvl 90 Counter Lvl 86 Flowing Momentum Lvl 9

LoBW Class Skills Grasp of the World Seed Lvl 225 Spray Holy Sap (Un) Lvl 27 Sharpness Lvl 116 Earthquake (Un) Lvl 48 Invigorating Call (Humanity)(Un) Lvl 14 Reach of the Jade Slag Lvl 106 Erode Image Lvl 30 SpriggitÆs Tinkering « Lvl 96 Aether Understanding Lvl 71 Aether Infusion Lvl 47 Volatile Ash Lvl 36 Visualization « Lvl 190 Fruit of the Planting of Enmity Lvl 31 Absolute Timing Lvl 63 Cycle of the Gloomy Wood « Lvl 34 Riders of the Baleful Court Lvl 55 Lantern of Harsh Truths « Lvl 19

The 7 Kata of the Ashen Spear The Spear Advances Ash Trails Lvl 108 As the Sun Stills Lvl 80 When a Shadow Departs Fireflies Dance (Un) Lvl 65 All is Ash Lvl 102 Frigid Ash Extinguishing Storm Lvl 59

The 6 Signs of the Spear Phantom « The First Sign The Inevitable Phantom Arrives Lvl 120 (Un) The Fifth Sign The Wild PhantomÆs Embrace Lvl 197 The Sixth Sign The Breath of the Spear Phantom « Lvl 84

Aether Skills Aether Detection Lvl 132 Aether Manipulation Lvl 124 Living Aether « Lvl 112 System Interference Lvl 40

Spells Yggdrasil Soul Seed « Inspiration « Ignition Bolt « Lvl 108 Verdant Nova (Un) Lvl 81 Burning Footsteps Lvl 23 Touch from Beyond « Lvl 37 Influence of the Molten Core « Lvl 87 Eruption of the Blazing Leyline Lvl 88 Ignition of the Emerald Essence Lvl 99

Crafting Potion Making Lvl 73 Farming Lvl 34 Analyze Lvl 29 Refine Lvl 72 Extract Lvl 58 Mana Engraving Lvl 197

Yggdrasil the Tree of Upheaval Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil Lvl 135 The Golden Roots of Yggdrasil Lvl 163 the Emerald Sap of Yggdrasil Lvl 153 the Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil Lvl 179 the Deific Mien of Yggdrasil Lvl 149 the Cruel Indignation of Yggdrasil Lvl 149 Crown of Yggdrasil Cataclysm and Gloom Lvl 113

Auxiliary Sneak Lvl 56 Acid Resistance Lvl 22 Poison Resistance Lvl 21 Pain Resistance Lvl 92 Fire Resistance Lvl 109 Sewing Lvl 11 Digging Lvl 5 Cooking Lvl 77 Clockwork Mastery Lvl 26 Aether Connection Lvl 21 Soul Bond Lvl 115 ChefÆs Palette Lvl 33 Nether Resistance Lvl 20 Child of the Rain (Un) Lvl 59 Chosen of Ash Lvl 135 Engineering Savvy « Lvl 114 From Darkness Genesis « Lvl 16 (Domain) Crossroads of the Alpha Cosmos Lvl 54 Connection to the Alpha Cosmos

Randidly cracked his knuckles Honestly he felt sorry for Donnyton

They wouldnÆt even know what hit them

Chapter 909

Roy clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth in displeasure Or rather he simulated the sound a tongue clicking would make It burned through the last dregs of his Mana and ultimately left him quite disappointed

After wall tongues were the first thing to go when you became a skeleton And probably the thing Roy missed the most The human body in general was an extraordinary thing with great capabilities To be stripped down to just the bone frame was rather difficult But of all the losses the tongue was the one that struck Roy the deepest

But it is appropriate I have seen truly the darkness of the world but I have lost the tongue to speak prophecies of the doom that waits for us all

Roy felt this loss especially keenly now because his Mana had been depleted from the continued attacks from Randidly forcing Roy to remain as a little spider carrying a skull He certainly didnÆt pull any punches the determined and aggressive sort of hero huh But not much I can say HeÆs got the guns to back it up

Nearby the rowdy elemental smashed its maroon fist into the ground Or rather the Fate that rode the elemental grew restless as its confusion didnÆt dissipate over time There were no foes to fight and that worried the Fate It would continue to act out until it found a way to spend the wild energy that was rising up in its chest

Roy sighed ruefully and bobbed his skull To think I would become a babysitter Well if I have to do it

Roy paused Sitting on the hill above him peering over the lip of a basket was one of the Frogpeople For whatever reason Roy hadnÆt even noticed the Frogperson until now Yet now all Roy could look at was the young frogling

As Roy watched the basket began to smolder and smoke Like a frightened bug the Frogperson scuttled to the side and fled up away from Roy His speed was fast for the Frogpeople so perhaps this one wasnÆt as young as he had initially expected But that didnÆt matter In the end a child was still a child in every culture There were certain lines society taught them not to cross

Hey kid The Frogperson froze Roy smiled

Very slowly the frog turned around to face Roy despite his earlier terror That made Roy chuckle but he tried his best to keep his skull in an amiable expression Such a feat would be much easier if he had enough Mana to cast an illusion but sometimes heroes were forced to reveal their true face There was value in sincerity after all

But letÆs hope this child does not have eyes enough to see For I know better than all others that my gaze only reflects darkness Roy narrated ominously to himself He couldnÆt help but feel a sliver of excitement forming in his bony skull

What sort of face would this frog make if he knew what I truly was

I have a few questions for you Roy said easily Then Roy was the one that froze as a stifling aura drifted down over him

A long shadow was cast from the apex of a hill There an absurdly fat Toad Lord sat looking down at them both with eyes that glowed yellow Again Roy couldnÆt help but wonder how long the Toad Lord had been there Was his Perception really so restricted by this form

The Toad Lord was smiling the rest of its body extremely still When it spoke the voice seemed to come from everywhere around them Actually I have questions for both of you

A neat trick speaking like that Roy admitted But even though it was just a figment of his imagination Roy could feel the beat of his heart quicken as he surveyed this obscenely fat TOad Lord

For the first time since Roy died he felt a sharp spike of anxiety in his chest But that was swiftly followed by excitement

Do you worst Toad Lord Because the HeroesÆ Toils never cease

With his Control Randidly was able to maintain almost a dozen root avatars and move them quickly through the motion of sparring with each other He wanted to use more but all attempts to do so quickly petered out Honestly Randidly felt that his Intelligence was what was holding him back from making an entire army he had the tools to control more but he didnÆt have the mental capacity to do it

But this was already enough With a large group Randidly was able to engage in an extremely efficient bout of training to familiarize himself once more with the totality of the power within his two very different Skillsets

The Spear Phantom was a Style that focused on mobility and counter attacks It excelled at using the opponentÆs strength against them and striking quickly RandidlyÆs individual variation on that prospect involved emphasizing the wild and aggressive tendencies within the Style further losing some of its elusiveness in exchange for power

This Style was born of AemontÆs burning desire to overcome an insurmountable gulf in stats Motivated by a longing for the love of his life Aemont had willed himself into developing an answer It culminated in the Skill that would suppress the breath of everything in the surrounding area and bring victory by slowly starving opponents out

In essence it was a fighting style that concerned itself with controlling distance and timing

Which it could be argued all fighting methods attempted to do But the energy the user expended was directed toward controlling rather than attacking It was a reactionary style that corralled an opponent

The Ashen Spear was very different It was totally focused on power Not Strength not exactly but rather the power of the Skills An overwhelming and vicious strain of power that stemmed from the dominance of ash It embodied destruction and corrosion loss and inevitability

Which perhaps wasnÆt exactly a logical way to group Skills Randidly reflected But the power was clearly there in every Skill especially since the Patron of Ash supercharged his image with its own burdensome chunk of regret and violence Although Randidly had managed to get past the dangerous side effects of that image it didnÆt mean he totally understood the image he had inherited

Likely because of this it was something of an exploration every time Randidly used his Ashen Skills He was still discovering the way they interacted with each other and with the world around him To Randidly his Ashen Kata might have been the first Skillset he had but other forces had conspired to slowly warp it from what he had originally mattered

Although that doesnÆt mean I cannot use it or that I havenÆt benefited from all of the hitchhikers along the way Randidly thought with bared teeth

His root avatars flourished their spears and clashed against each other in tireless blows Human bodies might buckle and dull but these would not Several duos stuck and parted and dodged and danced around the tip of the otherÆs spears in a grand waltz that slowly began to take on a series of rules that Randidly could barely understand

The whole while Randidly sat with his eyes half closed His Mana was flowing cleanly through him to animate all of the avatars At the same time his mind was spinning at its highest speed it could manage to cope with the flood of information from each avatar After examining the brief snapshot of information Randidly sent a response and moved onto the next bundle

Honestly it was easier to train like this with more avatars active at once If he had more time to think when presented with the information Randidly might be overwhelmed from hesitating too long on a single bit of information and allowing more to pile up But now each burst of information came with a sharp bite of necessity Without able to consider the situation Randidly could only react

Slowly time passed Damaged avatars were flooded with Mana and repaired The sun peeked over the edge of the horizon and floated up into the lightening sky Clouds flowed like water driven East by an invisible wind high above All the while a headache slowly bloomed behind RandidlyÆs eyes

Finally he sighed and let go of the root avatars They collapsed into piles of biomass that would eventually reduce themselves to ash but for now they lingered around like fallen corpses

For the first time in several weeks Randidly recalled the image of the fallen Tellus warriors on the banks of the Hallat Their bodies lay on the ground without any real sense of propriety they twisted as they fell and the owners of the body had no more strength to correct the posture They were draped and exposed to the elements

For a while he could only stare Then Randidly pressed his eyes closed and released a breath through his teeth That canÆt happen here I refuse to bury the people of Earth against a foe that we could have prepared for

Despite the growing headache Randidly reached out again with his Mana and possessed the roots on the ground once more They shuddered and then slowly stood They stretched out their plant hands and spears emerged from the ground in pristine condition It was as though those spears had always lived in the Earth and had only been waiting for these brave warriors to take them

Once more they began their tireless dance in complete and utter silence

The trick was combining the actual fighting styles Honestly it was easy for Randidly to imagine the two images being merged into one There were plenty of common points that could be used as stepping stones to make the Phantom a phantom who spread Ash and fear in equal measure toward foes

But that callous power of Ash was extremely different from the cautious and methodical approach that the Spear Phantom utilized How would these two divergent forces merge into a cohesive whole

It was not something that could be understood easily And since he had little time Randidly was attempting to brute force the issue With enough repetitions perhaps a path forward would emerge from the chaos

Randidly kept his eyes closed Time and time again the two styles dueled each other There were times that he attempted to slip a blow from a different style amongst them but almost always that ended in failure Those that didnÆt end in failure were more likely a fluke than any real sort of answer

But this was one way of slowly reaching the goal As the duels mounted up more and more information would accumulate in RandidlyÆs mind Interactions memories coping mechanisms counters stratagems fatal mistakes all those things were tirelessly generated by the root avatars running off of his instincts

There came a point likely close to 10 AM where Randidly realized that his mind was slowly catching up with the duels Even though he had pushed through earlier and was now really feeling exhausted from the constant mental calculations as his familiarity with the moves grew he could more easily respond by instinct

So Randidly upped the number of duels by two Instantly the strain began to press against the edge of what he could handle But Randidly gritted his teeth and forced himself to continue onward

Fighting between the different avatars grew more intense Yet also they became increasingly imbalanced RandidlyÆs usage became haphazard His mind was fuzzy from the constant strain of his attention being split so many ways so sometimes avatars didnÆt react in time at all

There were other avatars that became more central in RandidlyÆs mind Those few became the real fights while the others were just noise

RandidlyÆs consciousness began to drift even as the number of real duels dwindled down to two His root avatars clashed and responded and ignored their wounds to continue fighting

Finally only one duel was left Two avatars faced each other each armed with the accumulated experience from the dayÆs training Ashen Kata and Spear Phantom clashed time and time again the stances and movements in stark contrasts with one another

All the while RandidlyÆs emerald eyes blazed With narrowed eyes he stared at the ground right in front of him

Almost there just a little more

Chapter 910

Ultimately Randidly didnÆt find that answer before lunch Or maybe it was immediately afternoon It was hard to tell And at that time he needed to take a long deserved break

His original plan was to use some time between his spear practice experimenting with some of the Aether constructs that he had learned from the Mantle of a Nemesis but his throbbing head quickly ruled out that possibility No this sort of tiresome practice had made an honest man out of Randidly Ghosthound

Today he would need to take it a bit easier

So for the first time in quite a while Randidly lay down for a nap letting his eyes shut as the winds over Donnyton swirled tightly above

I donÆt have much time Randidly thought with a sigh but he was also frustrated because there seemed too much to do There were a thousand small tasks that he needed to see to so that he was somewhat infuriated by his current options

Yet at the same time that lack of sincere goal could be considered a blessing After all the type of thing that would usually be treated as his main goal would be something that could threaten Earth

Not having an obvious threat of that caliber was a positive thing for the world It just complicated RandidlyÆs course of action immensely Options taken would mean other objectives unaddressed resulting in consequences

Consequences Randidly thought idly That was the word that he couldnÆt get away from His Crown hummed in sympathy

But Randidly quickly refocused himself as he took in several deep breaths to calm down his overtaxed mind First IÆll plant the seeds here in Donnyton by showing them the direction in which they need to improve Then IÆll handle this Judgement and use any time leftover before the First Calamity arrives to work on Engraving and metallurgy

Yet that wasnÆt all RandidlyÆs head went up and pressed against his right temple But that also I need to leave time to work on more Danger Zones and keeping the people of my Soulskill happy

the political situation with Donnyton and the other Zones

Need to keep an eye on the Ogre Gorge too

plus there was the warning about someone from the System interfering with my Judgement

Very quickly Randidly was scowling at the ceiling of his hut His eyes flicked open in annoyance After releasing a breath Randidly did his best to let go of all of his worries Instead he simply lay with his eyes closed and sank into darkness

There he found the familiar prison which was the location where his images took that definitive leap forward to the realm of Pontiff Being there was almost nostalgic even if this prison was just one of his own making This place would always symbolize something close to rebirth or evolution That was how changed Randidly had felt after emerging

The inky blackness was familiar and welcoming Without senses all that remained was images So Randidly stewed in the darkness until the images came rising out of his chest to fill the air around him Many of these so called images that emerged were actually just snippets from his fight with the Nemesai or from his training today in spear styles

Randidly continued waiting The images that were the first to flee out of his mind to the surrounding world began to warp and bleed into one another Soon the color was sucked out of them and they were slowly devoured by the darkness

Very quickly it was like those images had never existed at all No mark remained to prove their existence Still Randidly waited alone in the darkness

Next came Helen of all people Scorched and lightly wounded she held a spear aloft and glared into the middle distance like she was staring down a dictator She was provocative and proud confident against all comers Hers was the type of beauty of capability that refused to be ignored

Chuckling Randidly let that image pass too What had been between them it had passed due to his actions When Randidly had won that duel in the under 25 Tournament he was forced to face the realization that he was moving on to participate in a higher realm

Therefore a romance between them

Randidly sighed and soaked in the tepid darkness

His core images were slow to emerge so RandidlyÆs mind wandered The throbbing pain in his head slowly departed gifting him with renewed clarity and understanding

Aside from his encounter with Helen almost hell was it two years ago now Randidly had largely gone without any sort of romantic interest There was the initial thing with Lyra but that swiftly gave way to suspicion as Lyra chose to ally herself with the Creature Therefore Randidly had been alone for quite a long time

Maybe these powerful images have a cost Randidly thought bleakly With them my ability to feel something like passion has

Luckily the thought seemed to summon the images that he was waiting for right before Randidly was prepared to finally examine the growing loneliness in his chest

But right on cue the skeletal Spear Phantom appeared strolling out to join Randidly in the darkness The skeleton smiled at Randidly or tried to But its jaw bone clacked awkwardly against its skull Randidly watched impassively ItÆs not just you that I need To handle the image part of this you will both need to work together

The air in the darkness began to taste sour as a burning ember appeared next to the spear phantom Ash flaked away falling like flower petals from tall trees in spring They burned briefly and brightly in the darkness adding some small illumination to the room of images But Randidly didnÆt bother to look around His eyes remained fixed on the two images as the slowly drifted closer to each other

The distance continued to shrink until there was only a meter or two between the images Electricity crackled and spat conjured from the edges of the images rubbing against each other Instantly Randidly felt the strain of keeping both images coexisting near each other Because they werenÆt related they instantly began to wear at the fabric of each other

Grimacing Randidly redoubled his efforts to find a way for the two images to coexist in the same spot If he could combine his two most offensive images

Yet at one meters distance the smoldering piece of ash had started to glow with a blinding light and the spear phantom had begun to clack its jaw constantly Both seemed like a warning although Randidly couldnÆt tell if it was to him or to each other

Either way Randidly let the pressure drop and sighed His eyelids flickered for a second before he could leap from the deep darkness of the prison to his hut once more The brown wooden walls looked surprisingly drab after the vivid world of images Sitting up slowly Randidly took stock of the situation

At the very least his head felt much better than it had previously A lot of the strain had worn off But Randidly could tell it would come back quickly if he pushed himself right now RandidlyÆs smile was sardonic he had gained quite a few Levels in Visualization and in the two spear based Skillsets but he had made no progress on his actual goal

As such Randidly couldnÆt help but be disappointed It wasnÆt like he could miss either of the two unities either Both were necessary He needed his Skills to be complimentary so they could be used together And the images needed to be united so he could shift between them quickly

Missing either of those prerequisites would be enough to sink this plan altogether and make it a rather large waste of time

Shaking his head Randidly stood and stretched His shoulder popped lightly and his back cracked in a very satisfying manner Then he calmly strolled over to his workbench for Mana Engraving

Randidly had a strange idea as he lay in the darkness waiting for his images to arrive earlier What if he could unite Mana Engraving with one of his images To empower his ability to engrave without relying on Mana And also give him some assistance in the finer details of Engraving

Likely either Yggdrasil or Ignition Essence would work but Randidly was leaning toward Yggdrasil It made sense that the emerald energy would be the one to actually inscribe the engravings but then Randidly had this image that the entirety of the World Tree was covered in extremely small golden engravings that

Randidly paused and looked up from his work Then his face split into a grin

Sam was early

By the time Randidly had washed his face and walked out of his hut Sam had made it up to the hill and was waiting This time SamÆs smile was filled with easy confidence IÆm early but more practice is better Here there are four pieces One for each of the Blessings you gave out to us

With a flourish Sam produced a box That set Randidly to chuckling it seemed like Sam was in quite a good mood Then his attention turned to the lovely oak box It only took a touch with Grasp of the World Seed to reach into the wood of the box and ease it open to reveal the pieces of equipment laying within

As promised there were four pieces of equipment The first looked like a white grey hoop of charcoal The second piece was two gloves made out of spider silk with a long draping sleeve The third item was a belt that burned golden even in the afternoon light

The final item looked like a pair of greaves that spread down from just above the knee to the top of the foot but left the bottom bare The metal was the color of moonlight and several long blades ran along the side of the leg equipment

RandidlyÆs eyes scanned back and forth The gloves were Mrs HamiltonÆs Blessing and the belt SamÆs That meant the greaves were AnnieÆs and the hoop AlanaÆs

SamÆs eyebrow quirked up Something wrong

I donÆt know which to examine first Randidly said Despite the fact that he hadnÆt actually seen the stats for any of them this equipment already felt very different from the formless blob that Sam had presented with him previously Each of these was a piece of something

Each of these pieces of armor had a story woven into them And for that they were powerful

Snorting Sam waved a hand Fool this is not such a magical thing Just pick any And if you insist on being troublesome why not start from the top

With a small smile Randidly reached out toward the hoop of charcoal Upon closer inspection it was clear that there were some reinforcement struts on the sides Rather than a hoop it was a piece of defensive equipment that would wrap around the head and provide vital defense for the brain

Mostly a hoop Randidly thought with amusement But with some other bits thrown on for good measure

Ancestral Circlet of the Broken Ridge Lvl 69 A defensive equipment of the highest quality worn by a legendary warlord With his strength the warlord was able to unify the entire surrounding area and ruled for one hundred years It was not until his death that his empire fractured into pieces and his treasures were lost Even now descendants of his loyal valkyries wander the plateau seeking a sign that the WarlordÆs successor has come Health +300 Vitality and Endurance +20 Without Flinching IV WarlordÆs Knack III Heritage of the Broken RIdge V

Without Flinching IV Many called the Warlord a fool when his only defensive equipment for his head was a few pieces of a strange charcoal like metal that wrapped around the forehead and temples Yet not even God can argue with results The Warlord didnÆt look away even at the end Resistance +40

WarlordÆs Knack III Although the defensive bonuses arenÆt anywhere near that of a true helmet the Warlord made up for that by having a sense for ambushes and sneak attacks While wearing the Circlet Perception +20

Heritage of the Broken Ridge V As this was one of the core items used by the Warlord to wear this circlet is to inherit a fraction of his will As such Paths will open to you that were previously closed Strength Agility Reaction and Willpower +25

Randidly slowly blinked Three hundred Health Two hundred Stats

And this was just the first of four equipment

Chapter 911

With the Stats of just the first equipment already so impressive Randidly couldnÆt help but a glimmer of excitement for what Sam had whipped up for him His focus shifted to the other three pieces of equipment For his next choice RandidlyÆs hand stretched out toward that brilliant belt The entire time he struggled to keep his breathing even

SunÆs Teardrop Belt Lvl 68 A belt made of three sunstones of condensed solar energy Legend has it that every night the sun sheds a tear when it rises over the horizon to find that the moon has already left These special gemstones are extraordinary precious and can absorb the sunÆs rays to grow more powerful over time Stamina +300 Stamina Regeneration +50 Solar Binding III Three Wishes V Celestial Longing IV

Solar Binding III The powerful cosmic energies have been forged together by a master artisan into a belt Within each is a pocket dimension capable of storing a small world Objects in the individual pocket dimension will not interact with others Life can be stored and grown within the pocket dimension

Three Wishes V Once per day each of the three sunstones on the belt can be used as a source of energy to fuel the use of the Skill Some of the SunÆs righteous fury will be included in that Skill Depending on the Skill it fuels results may be unpredictable Warning until the sunstone is recharged it will be impossible to access any other functions of the sunstone

Celestial Longing IV The Sun is internally lonely yet continues on its predetermined route through the sky Like clockwork it rises and it sets Such is the SunÆs resolve and duty Wearing the belt you can feel some of those stalwart feelings seeping slowly into the fiber of your being Willpower +40 Willpower per Level +1 as long as the belt is worn The gains will not disappear if the belt is removed later

Randidly rubbed his chin He would need to experiment with the Three Wishes function of the belt And the spatial storage But it seemed based on the wording that he wouldnÆt be able to access the spatial storage if he used one of the stones for a wish

Three wishes huh Wishes made on the tears of a celestial body Randidly frowned down at the equipment The same thread of narrative that was present in the circlet was also part of this equipment Was it a coincidence or And if it wasnÆt

Next RandidlyÆs attention moved to the gloves

IradakÆs Tinglesilk Gloves Lvl 70 « The Great Spider Iradak spent its entire life attempting to disguise itself as a human It made a robe to walk like a human gloves to touch like a human and a face to smile like a human Yet Iradak was caught and killed and its blood has soaked into its three Tinglesilk items warping them beyond recognition They still possess the delicate touch that Iradak was hoping for yet now they also bear the truculent power of IradakÆs Grudge Strength +20 Focus +30 Long Sleeves Stretching Shadows III Touch of Iradak V Along Came a Spider IV

Long Sleeves Stretching Shadows III The sleeves of IradakÆs gloves were made longer to cover the many legs of a spider but when a human wears the gloves the long sleeves fall over the hand obscuring its movements Opponents will find it difficult to predict how the user will move Agility +15

Touch of Iradak V Despite its best efforts Iradak could not escape the fact it was born a spider After the gloves were soaked with IradakÆs blood those feelings became an insidious grudge IradakÆs gloves are soaked in a numbing agent A single touch of a finger against another living being will soon reduce an entire limb to a limp and useless appendage The effect dissipates with time

Along Came a Spider IV Iradak planned and plotted for a long time Although all those moments in the shadows led it toward its own death that does not mean that the calculating spirit of Iradak was completely pointless Intelligence Willpower Wisdom and Control +15

Randidly raised his hand he had been stroking the gloves with feeling a sense of wonder as a tingling numbness spread up his fingers to his hand and then his wrist It was about that time that Yyrwood Body of Yggdrasil noticed what was happening and flooded the entire arm with warmth Slowly the numbness receded forced out of Randidly by the dominating power of his World Tree image

But it was worth remembering that the effect was strong enough for even him to be affected albeit briefly If that weakness had been in the middle of the fight those few seconds where his arm wasnÆt able to move would have been a dangerous opening Certainly Alana would not let him get away with it

RandidlyÆs eyes went to the final item laying in the box the open bottom greaves The gloves had a story that he had never heard of before as well If what Randidly suspected was true there was a pattern here that well dangerous was too strong of a word It was a pattern that meant something larger was at play than Randidly had been expecting

But it was clear that Sam was creating these pieces of equipment in the mindset that he was creatingÆ a context for them It gave them power sure But where did these images of these creatures come from

No offense to Sam but he was not really the type to create an entire fantasy world as a backdrop for his items He would be meticulous and creative in his designs but he was a straightforward man The preparations for the forging would focus more on the process itself than a history of the item

Yet there was a clear history written into some of these items Sam stated that the inspiration came from the blessings that Randidly had given to the four of them all that time ago but

it seems a bit much to come from those Blessings either Randidly thought to himself Unless those Blessings came from the huge warehouse of images that the System had gathered in the past Does that mean Was I drawing on the SystemÆs images when I gave those blessings

Shaking his head Randidly looked at the final piece of equipment

White Steel Greaves Lvl 65 A masterwork created for one of the finest hunters in the Assembly forged the metal that was the lifeÆs work of Monyt the Vizier The great hunter who wore the White Steel Greaves was never known but that legacy has lasted millennia Due to the tireless efforts of the White Steel Hunter the Assembly has endured to this day Agility +100 Bladed Wings IV Glittering Blur III Heritage of the Great Hunter III

Bladed Wings IV It is said that the Great Hunter moved so quickly that he appeared to be flying during his hunts For his prey these wings also turned into an executionerÆs blade The greaves effortlessly could strike down weaker foes simply by passing nearby Strength and Reaction +20

Glittering Blur III Such was the speed of the great hunter that many would not even notice his passage Under orders from the Assembly he would crisscross the vast land fighting for the safety of the people All movement related Skills will experience a slight boost in Skill Level growth

Heritage of the Great Hunter III It is said that the great hunter might have laid down his White Steel armor but he still lives and appears before those who bear a portion of his burden If the wearer continues on this path it is possible that the gaze of the great hunter will turn to you

Randidly blinked Well that last line was certainly ominous

Clearly there was a lot of implicit history in these items A history that Sam couldnÆt have simply made up More likely he was drawing on blueprints pulled from somewhere Yet the System as the source seemed counter to its previous aims

Even if these images came from actual worlds within the Nexus it didnÆt seem likely that the System would allow them to casually touch Earth and interfere with its growth Randidly frowned and stared down at the items as he tried to recall the Blessings how they felt

That was before he had connected the Blessings to the Aether Spring he had obtained from killing the Tribulation His Skill with Aether was basically nonexistent So were his sensing ability Yet it was clear that the images that came from the Blessings were constructed of extremely pure Aether Although there was a guide to the image growth it wasnÆt hardened like TellusÆ Aether had been

If that wasnÆt the case the four recipients of the Blessings would never have been able to use them The Aether would have dominated them completely

Yet the System clearly had pathways for this malleable images to slip through to lower Cohorts

Did that mean there were exceptions to the embargo on images But what was special about these images

Was it possible that these images came from more successful worlds

Randidly shook his head There wasnÆt a real answer to this question to be found in his memories Randidly would need to keep his eyes peeled going forward in order to figure out the details Yet RandidlyÆs teeth were set on edge by the thought that the System had managed to slip this by him And a more worrying possibility occurred to him

Even if the System wouldnÆt let these sort of images connect to Earth there were no such protections in place for his Alpha Cosmos If as according to RandidlyÆs theories these images related to the Blessings had previously been implicit and invisible now they have fully emerged in his mind Randidly had no doubt that there would be ramifications for his Soulskill

But that could wait

For now he looked up at the expectant Sam The man was smirking at him Speechless

Definitely Randidly said with a laugh He did a few mental calculations as he looked through the four pieces of equipment Idly Randidly wondered how much one would have to pay in order to obtain another set of equipment like this About five hundred Stats and Attributes And boosts to regeneration and Skill growth If everyone in Donnyton had equipment like this

Luckily I think thatÆs impossible Sam said with a chuckle Then his face turned more serious I used most of the valuable materials I had on had to make these It will take me about half a year to build up that many quality ingredients again And

Sam trailed off seeming to struggle with what he wanted to say Finally he simply said I somehow felt connected to you The ideas for what the different items should be were my own but once I had them the designs just came to me fully formed I had to make some allowances based on materials but

I get it Randidly said with a slight nod his expression revealing none of the foreboding that he felt It seemed that he had taken those Blessings in the past too lightly He should have known there would be an eventual cost for that power

Hopefully it was one that he could afford to pay

Chapter 912

After presenting the equipment to Randidly Sam hurried back to the weekly dinner When he arrived everyone was there including someone who generally didnÆt bother with such gatherings

Clarissa did you finish the investigation already ArenÆt you tired from hurrying back from Zone Eleven Sam asked in surprise

Clarissa smirked Her hair was sticking up in every direction but her face was beaming with pride Ha you should see my new Cloud Steed Skill Finally IÆm as mobile as Annie I bet if we dueled right now

Chuckling Mrs Hamilton said DonÆt let Annie hear you say that She would challenge you immediately Alana probably would too

That took a lot of the color out of ClarissaÆs face For several seconds she was silent as she scowled at the table Really just because they have a slight edge on me they always take every opportunity to bully me IÆm not specced for duels And yet they always insist LetÆs take it to a large scale battle and then IÆll show them how I can

As Clarissa continued to grumble to herself Sam shook his head and took his seat The food was already served so Sam helped himself to the crab bisque that had been laid out for him After a bit Sam grimaced it was cold

But then sometimes they served dishes like this cold on purpose didnÆt they Sam scowled down at his unsatisfying and tepid soup Regina passed him the croissants and butter With a wolfish grin Sam applied a liberal amount of the butter to the still warm baked good

Whoever they get to do the baking here is damn good Sam thought as he gobbled the croissant down in three bites

Eventually Donny coughed lightly and said By the way Clarissa what is the situation like in Zone Eleven We understood that it was filled with people who had embraced the System elements as something akin to Dungeons and Dragons but where is the political power located

Clarissa looked up with a serious expression her previous grumbles forgotten Most of the power is concentrated in four Villages However they spent most of their gathered points on defenses so all of the Villages look like castles Well I shouldnÆt say it’s pointless It’s just campy you know ThereÆs this whole etiquette thing

Then Clarissa shook her head But each village has a head Talking to them will be pretty easy as long as you get used to the strange names theyÆve made for their version of Peerage And besides the nobility there are just the Classers

Within the Villages most everyone is affiliated with a party that they adventure with Right about the time that they connected to New Earth they were discussing whether it would be possible to create something like an AdventurerÆs Guild but I think they have enthusiastically chosen to adopt the Orders as the vehicle for that

Then Clarissa paused Of the four Villages the most powerful is Shiro a Village built on top of a mountain It was their party that cleared the Raid Dungeon and are the major force outside of the VillagesÆ combined strength But all four Villages are reasonably strong and have at least one party that would rival the strength of a Donnyton Squad between 5 and 9

Everyone at the table considered that Between 5 and 9 would mean that they werenÆt any other exceptional individuals but it would be a group where every individual was over Level 50 A team of that caliber could pretty reliably clear out monsters around Level 60 And once they start gathering more of those monsters their Levels will rise quickly to the higher Levels where the Skills earned were extraordinarily powerful

But that didnÆt mean difference makers would necessarily appear And without them a Village would be forced to accept a slide toward mediocrity

That was something that Franksburg was struggling with even now They had plenty of satisfactory military personnel but aside from Lucifer and a few others there was no one that could pull out a surprise victory amongst their troops

It was to avoid the same problem that East End was spurred toward focusing so much of their development toward fostering Elementals and the Classes that were related to them And so far it seemed to be working out very well

Before Randidly arrived the leaders of Donnyton were somewhat at a loss as to why certain individuals were simply better at utilizing the System Their Skill Levels came more quickly and at the same Level they could utilize a power that others wouldnÆt be able to touch with each Skill use Although the Donnyton Leadership didnÆt want to admit it it seemed that there was a talent component to the System

And it just so happened that Donny Mrs Hamilton Annie Dozer Decklan Sam Glendel Clarissa Paolo Kayle and Ptolemy all possessed it In terms of talent Donnyton had a definite edge over the rest of New Earth

That wasnÆt even considering people like Raina and Regina Northwind whose Skills wouldnÆt really ever be used on a battlefield

RandidlyÆs answer to why Donnyton had the advantage wasnÆt much easier to swallow than talent he said it was their strong images that gave them an advantage But once that perspective was pointed out it certainly appeared to be a reasonable explanation for what was happening The individuals that showed this edge often had a very specific Class and embraced the special flavor of that Class Part of it might just be compatibility between the early Paths they had chosen and their character but a clear image also seemed relevant

It was a natural confidence that came from accepting what you had become

For several seconds after Clarissa described the military strength of these Villages the table was silent Already Donnyton was moving to push individuals into Classes that were easier for the holder to imagine themselves using with its most recent batch of NCCs ready to take a class but everyone had doubts if this would materially affect their power

Four more Villages with at least one Squad with that level of strength wasnÆt a lot but it would also shift the power focus across Earth With more assistance coming from this new ally Zone 1 would be able to rely on DonnytonÆs controls less

Which would then free up Donnyton to use its military resources for other projects but it would mean they were losing political power

Mrs Hamilton clicked her tongue to bring everyoneÆs attention back to the current conversation And Zone One Is everything still peaceful

Now Clarissa grimaced Well itÆs going to be rough in the next three months The Senate has been doing alright after President Howard was found to be a vegetable but elections are coming up A lot of people are waiting to see if the Senator who built the Orchard is going to run

Mrs Hamilton nodded absently Sam scratched his chin in irritation Although he wasnÆt very much interested in these discussions it was good to keep abreast of current affairs And Sam could tell now was not a good time for DonnytonÆs political power to be waning

Donny leaned forward Anything out of Ghost

Nothing much Clarissa said with a shake of her head Since the Senate passed those privacy laws Ghost was forced to really curtail his observation drones But there have been a lot of talks between Erickson Steel and West Providence ItÆs clear that they are preparing to roll something out Maybe a new Drone model

I hope that means the old models will be cheaper Sam grumbled He was always fascinated by the drones but there just didnÆt seem a point to spending the exorbitant sum that Erickson Steel demanded for them Better to just purchase the raw steel

But that didnÆt mean Sam didnÆt want to get his hands on one any less

Finally Donny spoke in a low voice He folded his arms Were you able to get anything from inspecting the energy traces left by the Winged Serpent

A bit Clarissa said with a frown The formulae were complicated but that was until I realized that all the component parts drawn with energy were actually 3 D figures imposed upon this plane

Clarissa Donny sighed

Clarissa jabbed her finger at him Very few other people would have thought of it IÆm just explaining so you can appreciate what I do for all of you But yes Nothing specific but the origin is clearly East of Donnyton Likely somewhere in the unexplored North part of the sea

Sam grimaced If it was in the sea they would need to rely on the locals in order to get there As a landlocked entity Donnyton didnÆt have any navy And the only real port they had access to was in Scant which was a bit

The Royal Sea Mrs Hamilton said with a curl of her lip That is what their king has taken to calling it The Royal Sea

Ed who had blessedly been quiet until now snorted loudly That man certainly has some balls on him now doesnÆt he

He can back it up Mrs Hamilton said calmly As far as we can tell that Zone is almost five times the size of ours Even now the edges of it continue to expand although we have been stuck at our current size The Royal Sea itself is about as wide as the rest of New Earth combined Even if he doesnÆt have the natural resources now as his population grows he will inevitably become rich

Why Most of the sea hasnÆt been explored They canÆt claim to be using it Alana said bluntly

With an elegant gesture Mrs Hamilton shrugged Maybe but I donÆt want to be the first Zone to claim a portion of another ZoneÆs land Besides there is a lot that we can still do here to improve Donnyton

We arenÆt claiming their land right now Alana said with flashing eyes We are tracking down these fucking Nemesai and putting them down Even if the Ghosthound killed two that still leaves

He killed two Ed said completely aghast Sam sighed inwardly The poor fool didnÆt realize how out of his depth he was

Not that I think he wonÆt postpone but we still have the challenge against Randidly in two days Mrs Hamilton pointed out ignoring EdÆs digression We also received word that we have been cordially invited to the first meeting of Zone Leaders in the Peerless Capital of Zone Seven

Pretty bold of them to send out invites for the first world meeting after so recently joining New Earth Regina said quietly EveryoneÆs expressions turned grim

All except Mrs Hamilton She simply shrugged Honestly someone had to And I didnÆt want it to be us Because whoever did it these sort of resentful feelings would have emerged toward us We don’tÆ need that right now Better that they take on this thankless task

Ah thereÆs one more thing Clarissa said Everyone turned to her After taking a long gulp from her glass of water she spoke It wasnÆt confirmed but Ghost did say that he believes that another Zone connected Southwest of Zone 1

The table went silent for several seconds The distant pressure of the System that they had been aware of for quite some time suddenly loomed over them

Which means Mrs Hamilton finally said That only one more Zone connecting means the First Calamity will descend

Chapter 913

Randidly emerged from his Soulskill with a curse As he had suspected he only had to wander the streets within his Soulskill for a second to hear that a great portion of the mist nearby in his Soulskill had been cleared

And within that new open space there were cities Filled with people With economies and connections to each other as they hadnÆt just emerged from the mist An entire continent with political factions and armies and individuals who would be frankly shocked to be told that they were currently existing within another entities Soulskill

Randidly had rapidly gone to investigate only to confirm that these strangers had never encountered the System before although he did learn that the Class giving Lighthouses had appeared across the land

What was slightly amusing was that these people treated the original denizens of RandidlyÆs Soulskill as the weird ones because their land appeared out of nowhere next to this fully fleshed out world Basically the mist to the South and West was completely gone replaced by this world

A world that had the legends and history referenced in the armor Sam had given Randidly

How did it happen I couldnÆt detect any of the System Aether so these places really were already there although they were dormant until now Could so much information really have been stored in those Blessings

Yet Randidly didnÆt have any real way of investigating what was occurring in his Soulskill For now he simply allowed his people to intermingle with the beings that had appeared in his world and hoped for the best He urged caution from the Monster Prince and Allica

And he promised that when they had more information Randidly would return and investigate as best as he could

Sighing Randidly looked up at the moon It was midnight and Randidly had a little over 32 hours before his challenge against all of Donnyton And there were still so many things to do

After slapping his arms to get some blood flowing through his body Randidly returned to the open training ground and reached with Grasp of the World Seed The ground rumbled and six root avatars straightened out of the soil and looked to Randidly for guidance

With half closed eyes he considered his creations After the exhaustive practice the previous day Randidly had a few ideas for how the Styles could be functionally merged into one It was a matter of maintaining momentum

The Spear Phantom controlled and borrowed momentum The Ashen Kata possessed and created unstoppable momentum If those two powers could be united by focusing on a Style that was completely about momentum and maintaining that power through some very abrupt and sudden movements

But ironing out the details would take some time So Randidly planned on lowering the number of duels going on at once to three so he could give each one a larger portion of his focus With a thought he created a soft disc of grass for himself and sat down cross legged Then his Mana began to burn through the root avatars and push them toward one another to fight

With dispassionate violence battle between the different avatars was joined They struck with brutal efficiency aiming to cut each other down immediately

Something like mixing Wild PhantomÆs Embrace with Frigid Ash Extinguishing Storm is actually quite simple

then Spear Advances Ash Trails would likely go to the Inevitable Phantom Arrives

Clang Clash

A root avatar was split in half and then healed to full within a single second Without missing a beat that avatar leapt forward and sought to avenge its previous loss The bodies blurred together united in a deadly waltz

hum I wonder if As the Sun Stills could become part of Breath of the Spear Phantom

Well then most of the offensive power of as the Sun Stills would be lost

The ground where the duels were occurring slowly began more ripped up and muddy Powerful spear blows left long scars in the earth With the empowerment of RandidlyÆs Mana these root avatars had enough Strength that the stone and dirt couldnÆt keep up with them And as the ground gave out their individual spear moves needed to be sharpened further so they would not slip

A constant refining process Only then could Randidly find the answer he was seeking

Pressing his eyes together Randidly slowly brought his will to bear on the root avatars With Grasp of the World Seed he could sense every inch of their bodies He could control every single twitch They were extensions of his will

As much as possible Randidly kept the root avatars moving in a manner that was similar to humanity There was an increasing sense of unity between the two styles of spear use But that just meant that he found a shape that seemed to fit What became more important from there was to determine whether that shape fucking worked

The main problem with maintaining momentum through such violent movements was that the human body was limited by what it could withstand The System raises those limits but Randidly carefully monitored the body of the root avatars as they experimented with these movements

It couldnÆt just be good enough Otherwise Randidly would just consider this a failure and toss the experiment aside No Randidly wanted to create a new Style for himself that he could perfect as he grew even more powerful

Time lost meaning to Randidly as he allowed the root avatars to strike at each other and counter over and over again It had been a long time since he had thrown himself so wholeheartedly into the spear and so there was a bit of time where Randidly struggled to remain focused

But eventually that overwhelming one mindedness that carried Randidly through his brutal time in the prison with Shal once more reared its head His attention narrowed to a point The moves began to blend together as the strange momentum focused style of fighting took shape Always moving Always seeking more speed

And from speed power

While one root avatar in the duel continued to use the hybrid of the moveset Randidly began to fight with the original movesets with the other avatar Relying on images Randidly was able to reproduce some of the effectiveness of his Skills in the root avatars Most of the time the original movesets dominated But Randidly didnÆt give up hope

The stars slid across the horizon and after a long night of rest the sun yawned and strolled upward into the sky

Sighing Randidly leaned back and cracked his neck There was progress but it wasnÆt enough The combined style was too flawed It certainly combined the offensive power of both Styles but it lost a lot of the defensive capability from both of the originals Although Randidly could still borrow the momentum in a capacity with the new Style it wasnÆt as complete of a feat He could not always avoid harm

Now at this point Randidly had quite a bit of Health so he could create a Style that relied heavily on his high Attributes but

Randidly looked up sharply to see someone was walking up the path toward his hut The figure was cloaked in a heavy coat that seemed to ignore the warm rays of the sun but it only took a small sample of the otherÆs Aether for Randidly to sense who it was Helen

Then his eyebrows rose Holy hell Helen pushed all the way to Level 50 since weÆve arrived in Donnyton And she

There was a clear flavor in the air A Fate hung over Helen RandidlyÆs focus rapidly shifted to the woman slowly walking up the path toward him

This one quite like the one that Alana possessed was formed totally out of energy that she had taken from him And unlike the Fates given by the System it did not bind her Aether in a way that made it entirely unrecognizable to Randidly

Randidly remained silent as Helen moved quickly up the path She clearly had something to say because she trudged up the hill with her head down An aura of contemplation filled the air around her urging silence of the surroundings

When she arrived she looked sharply up at Randidly and spoke Randidly Back from your vacation

Likely Helen had meant that comment as a jovial way to break the ice but her clearly anxious mood made the comment sound extremely scathing But despite that Randidly laughed Ha Yea IÆm back I assume I know why you are here

Baring her teeth Helen nodded The challenge Fighting against all of Donnyton I want to be part of it

Why

Helen blinked It seemed she had expected Randidly to reject her out of hand so his casual question appeared to have thrown her for a loop She blinked several more times as her mind scrambled to find an answer

Obviously HelenÆs immediate response was something like it seems like fun to fight so many strong peopleÆ For all that the final image Shal used to ascend wasnÆt focused around chaos and death it did glorify violence And Helen was born and bred on that wartorn planet of the spear

But Helen was also sharp enough to know that such an answer wouldnÆt be enough to sway Randidly if he really didnÆt want her to fight

As Helen struggled with her own thoughts Randidly settled his

Some part of RandidlyÆs pride didnÆt want to allow Helen to participate but she had clearly exhausted herself in an endeavor to power up enough to participate Due to her actions both her own Level and the Skill Level of RandidlyÆs Domain had moved steadily upward Those actions alone earned her merit enough that Randidly was willing to consider her participation

Yet there was another motivation factor Helen also had a powerful image

It was one thing for Randidly to demonstrate his personal strength in this challenge But what he wanted to impress upon Donnyton was how influential images were It was possible that his ability to suppress them might be written off simply as his own overwhelming strength but both of them acting in tandem would prove to Donnyton how important images are

Or at least that was the hope

Even though it seems like Sam has already picked up what images can do Randidly thought with a grimace What would the older man say if he found out that his items had created a whole new continent in RandidlyÆs Soulskill

But there were two prerequisites for Helen participating in the Donnyton challenge The first was sheer power Randidly would need to make sure she had the oomph necessary to fight by his side against Donnyton A weak image would just muddle his message

Not that he believed HelenÆs image was weak But it might still be overly restricted by the bindings of his Domain

And the second reason

Finally Helen seemed to come to a decision After releasing a breath she looked Randidly directly in the eyes and said Because IÆm your knight If you fight then it is my duty to fight as well

RandidlyÆs eyes flashed Exactly You need to be strong to fight at my side But for this fight we also need to be connected by a concrete image

Fine Randidly said lightly

If Randidly thought that Helen was blinking before this flutterstorm of eyelashes put her previous shock to shame Uh what

You can fight Randidly said again with a nod provided you can help me with something important

Behind Randidly the root avatars tightened their grip on their spears Randidly had pushed the solo training as far as it could go in a short amount of time It was time to test out the merged styles on a real opponent

Chapter 914

As the root avatar twisted out of the way of HelenÆs blow the substance of the roots ripped from the torque applied by the sudden shift in direction Flecks of plant matter sprayed sideways in an arc as the root avatar struggled to recover

So rather than hurtling forward into the blow or dodging it simply fell forward

Both the root avatar and Helen were surprised by this and paused in their battle A moment of shared confusion hung between them But then the root avatar struck upwards in a vicious thrust and Helen slashed sideways with the knife she held in her off hand The blow was so quick that the second RandidlyÆs instincts screamed it was coming it had already cut toward the root avatarÆs arms

Randidly smiled ruefully with the avatars there was a split second of lag in movement It wasnÆt a lot but against someone of HelenÆs caliber

The knife knocked the spear to the side and with a deft motion Helen spun her chain around the tip of the spear Which allowed her to pull the weapon further down and spear the root avatar through the chest with her vicious harpoon

After releasing a sigh at the loss Randidly nodded his head thoughtfully ThatÆs enough for now Thanks Helen

Anytime Helen panted as she wiped some of the sweat from her forehead Randidly hid a smile as he turned and allowed the waiting root avatars to dissipate Although Helen was undoubtedly powerful her Stamina usage couldnÆt keep up with RandidlyÆs hyper efficient Mana expenditure with the high Level Grasp of the World Seed The last eight hours had driven Helen to the edge

Of course she would recover to full strength much more quickly than Randidly would But he could tell from HelenÆs shocked expression that she couldnÆt figure out how he managed to exhaust her like this while still seeming so at ease

Truly his Mana pool was on another level entirely

Not that this was easy for Randidly either but he simply had experience hiding mental strain After all fighting against Helen meant he had to use images the entire time to keep up with her But since Randidly just had to focus his Willpower on a single root avatar fighting at the same time it wasnÆt more than Randidly could bear

After all basically all of his training projects these days involved forcing his mind to the edge Slowly in a way that wasnÆt quantifiable by the System Randidly could feel the limits of his will grow increasingly more vast

Are you Helen searched for the word she was looking for evolving your Style

Something like that Randidly said softly He reached up with his right hand and enjoyed the feeling of the warm sun dancing across his skin Today was a beautiful autumn day Hopefully tomorrow would be just as clear and bright

That way the supreme power of a dominant image would be that much more clear to the audience It would be so sharp and stark that it would darken the sky

Helen frowned ItÆs a dangerous Style Flawed too

ItÆs not a Style I plan on teaching to anyone else Randidly said to reassure her To be fair Helen was right The current blend of the two Styles was still not a balanced thing The physical strain it put on the root avatars was enough that they often broke down after only five minutes of fighting Which meant that RandidlyÆs body would need to endure that sort of exertion in order to use it effectively

Some part of him was looking forward to it RandidlyÆs instincts told him that if he forced his way down this Path he would find a powerful Skillset waiting for him But it still had to be a considered way forward The Style needed to go through a few more rounds of refinement before he would be satisfied

Luckily he had several groups of capable training partners lined up for tomorrow

But still Helen said quietly as she wiped away a smudge of blood that had spread outward from a small cut ItÆs frightening

Yes isnÆt it Randidly answered with a grin

Helen chuckled I fucking feel bad for Donnyton Are you going to take it easy until the challenge

Shaking his head Randidly said No but working out the moves was only half of it I need to work on images for a while

Nodding Helen said goodbye and headed back toward Donnyton Randidly watched her go It was nice to see that she had become much more agreeable after he stated she could participate in the challenge Honestly he should have started training like this much earlier The gains from the last eight hours were double that of the previous solo training combined

Mostly it seemed that because Randidly was controlling both participants in the past he had allowed some flaws he hadnÆt noticed to grow larger and larger without addressing them Helen had no preconceived biases and attacked those flaws maliciously

Which put Randidly immediately on the back foot at the beginning of the training sending his mind scrambling to cope with the barrage of attacks It was from those emergency instincts that the bare bones of his new Style emerged And although it was an imbalanced skeleton that he had made it was at least a complete skeleton One with the power to compensate for its relative danger

so All is Ash was the Skill to combine with Breath of the Spear Phantom huh

Randidly grinned at the ground By merging the two together it lowered the Mana expenditure immensely while now costing a small amount of Mana Stamina and Health to compensate And it was exactly the sort of move that could demonstrate its oppressive power against a large group of enemies

Well anyways better take a break before I work on the image

So Randidly returned to his small hut while whistling There were a few things that he wanted to try out before the challenge against Donnyton Some part of him considered Leveling up further but all Randidly would obtain was another Skill or two He didnÆt want to let himself be distracted by a shiny new toy before the challenge

Another part of Randidly suggested heading into a Dungeon and training his new Style up to a high level of proficiency before the challenge He would have plenty of time then But there were two reasons why he didnÆt

The first reason was that the pressure of a time crunch spurred him into desperate motion If he had more time he would take longer to test things But somehow Randidly sensed that careful testing was not the way of this Style This was a monster born to grow on the dangerous edge of battle

The second reason was that he wanted to send a message to Donnyton And nothing would send that message more critically than if they could watch him forge an image of great power in the middle of their fight

Besides Randidly had planned to head into Dungeons after this challenge to prepare himself for the descent of his Final Judgement

But the first thing Randidly needed to do right now was accustom himself to moving with all of his new equipment

With all the equipment worn Randidly certainly looked strange His circlet was an ashy grey while he had a glowing golden belt His glovers were a dark almost liquid seeming purple grey Meanwhile his greaves looked like brightly condensed moonlight luminescent white and flawless

But altogether Randidly grinned as he looked at the combined Stat bonuses he received

Health +300 Stamina +300 Stamina/R +50 Vit +20 End +20 Agi +140 Str +75 Perception +20 React +45 Resistance +40 Focus +20 Int +15 Willpower +80 Wisdom +15 Control +15

Certainly a fair amount of Stats from this especially with that boosts to agility puts me up to almost 750

Then to test how the bonuses felt Randidly moved through some basic Skills and movements Immediately Randidly discovered several things that hadnÆt been immediately clear from simply reading the item descriptions

The first and most obvious realization came from the greaves Sam had woven leather padding into their constructions so they were extremely comfortable And when Randidly moved faster than a certain threshold pale blades of moonlight spread out behind him leaving deep cuts in the ground and trees that he passed

It seemed like the one option provided by the greaves simply created an area attack whenever Randidly moved fast enough to activate it Which was an extremely useful skill considering the violent nature of his combined Style he was slowly creating

The second thing was how light and deceptive the gloves were As stated in the description the long sleeves of the gloves were much longer than Randidly could use so they hung down over his hands billowing in an invisible wind There was a slit along the side so they hung down back over his gloved hands like a long banner It seemed as though the gloves themselves purposefully shited to cover whatever Randidly was holding in his hands

Now it wasnÆt very effective if Randidly was holding onto a spear but if Randidly was holding a handful of Emerald Essence

Which led Randidly to the final discovery When Randidly used Ignition of Emerald Essence a certain amount the ambient energy in his body would ignite the ashy grey circlet like it was made of charcoal Suddenly his forehead was wreathed in emerald flames

Randidly stared at himself in the mirror It sorta looked like there was a halo of fire hovering around his head And when he condensed his Crown of Upheaval and Gloom above it

Randidly grinned at his reflection This will certainly be a fun challenge

Which left one last thing to test with the equipment Three Wishes Eruption of the Blazing Leyline

Randidly chose to detonate this Skill on a hill further Northeast of his current position away from Donnyton But even still Randidly had a sinking feeling that someone would complain to him when he saw the white hot eruption that ripped out of the nearby hill

The ground immediately shattered underneath the force of the spell A plume of flame about ten meters tall erupted upward Rather than its usual emerald color it seemed that the infusion of the sunÆs wrath caused the flames to be a lime green wreathed in golden swirled of fire The heat quickly melted the top of the hill and parted the clouds above

After ten seconds the flames slowly faded away leaving a pool of molten metal RandidlyÆs Grasp of the World Seed senses slowly recovered in the area and surveyed the extent of the damages Randidly grimaced it seemed that this Skill ran much deeper than the regular variety

Honestly if he didnÆt know better

Randidly walked closer right up to the lip of the lava pool The molten liquid below him bubbled expressively as if greeting its father And as Randidly stared at it with his emerald gaze and scanned the depths he couldnÆt deny that his Skill had marked the Earth so deeply that it legitimately created a passage for lava to come to the surface

Randidly had made a small volcano

Sighing Randidly returned to his hut and tried to justify the fact such a small volcano couldnÆt possibly be a danger to the town He quickly returned inside his building As they say out of sight is out of mind

In terms of power the Skill was about five times more powerful than the regular version while costing the same amount of Mana And at RandidlyÆs Level an improvement of five times was quite a lot Enough to form a small volcano Even if it was only three uses per day it would be more than enough

Chapter 915

After checking the performance of the equipment Randidly removed the Tinglesilk Gloves and stored them within his new belt He kept brushing the sleeves against himself and giving himself a dose of the numbing poison which was extremely inconvenient right now

Perhaps at some point Randidly would have time to try and give himself paralysis immunity but Randidly didnÆt really have the time right now to grind that Skill

His next order of business was experimenting with the new ash manipulation component of All is Ash Especially since ash as an image would be injected into his entire spear usage Randidly wanted to test the edges of what this ash could do

When Randidly activated the Skill Randidly could feel his Mana begin to trickle away But it was a very manageable amount Slowly waves of ash began to spread outward from his current position filling the air like desolate waves of sorrow

Randidly gestured in a grasping motion and the ash spun happily to his call When he gripped it he could feel the hunger and the emptiness that animated the ash Ash as an element was very different from the natural order of plants that Randidly touched It also was divergent from the Emerald Essence that was RandidlyÆs fire

Both of those two images were focused upon growth and possibilities Yet to ash Randidly closed his eyes

What I feel from it most is wistfulness A longing for the past An all encompassing remorse over what has been lost

Which Randidly could use to his own benefit Ash spun around his figure gathering to him and creating an armor that was marshaled from a hundred thousand motes of ash RandidlyÆs Mana continued to trickle away and more and more waves of ash spread out from him Slowly his armor became larger and more imposing Spikes and heavy plates formed transforming Randidly into a walking fortress

But that remorse could also be transformed into envy and hate With a simple motion Randidly cut forward with his hand

The ash craved And what it craved it took for him

A three meter blade of ash slashed forward shooting forward twenty meters to cut down a dozen trees before dissipating

RandidlyÆs eyebrows rose What ended up limiting that attack was not the attackÆs limits but that RandidlyÆs Mana expenditure had escalated and he had ended up cutting it off before it could suck away too much Mana from him

It seemed that the cost was increased by moving the ash under his control further away from where he was standing He passively lost Mana to produce a constant supply of ash but the actual manipulation of the ash within the surrounding area cost basically nothing at all Therefore

With a bit of pressure from his Willpower Randidly surrounded himself with a dozen blades of ash spinning them rapidly around his person When this didnÆt test his mental or Mana reserves at all Randidly doubled the number of blades When that still seemed manageable Randidly focused on the image of Sharpness to up their attack power

At this point he began to feel a hint of strain But someone standing outside of the circle wouldnÆt even be able to see Randidly all they would see is a dense forest of rotating grey blades And this was without even applying his images to the process

Randidly dismissed the ash All at once Randidly was standing alone in a wide space that had been cleared of trees Kindling and scrap lay on the ground around him in a thick covering Grinning Randidly once more returned to his hut doing his best not to glance over at his little volcano

Randidly did his best to assure himself that the fact he could continue to hear its constant bubbling was only due to his high Perception

After eating a quick lunch of monster meat stew Randidly turned his attention to engraving He really wanted to spend an hour or two considering the possibility of merging his Mana Engraving Skill into his Yggdrasil Skillset

Ever since he had the idea it had been sitting in the back of his mind demanding his spare attention

The trick was making it so that Mana Engraving was the language of the World Tree Or rather the World Tree was only Yggdrasil because it was covered in these extremely intricate engravings Yet the functionality of these engravings was what wasnÆt clear to Randidly

What were the writings

Were they the source of the treeÆs power

Were they a recorded history of those who had lived with the world tree grown into mythic proportions over time

Or where they another natural phenomenon a portion of the ancient power of the tree made physically manifest

The gravity of the issue lay in that this decision would have powerful ramifications for what the Skill would become Depending on what Randidly chose the evolution paths for his Mana Engravings would go in very different directions More than that what his Mana Engraving could accomplish would change

Randidly tapped a finger against his jaw considering There was a low line of stubble there reminding Randidly that he likely needed to shave But he ignored that for now and focused upon the Engraving

It was doubly important to determine this now because he was finishing up the Advanced Mana Engraving Path Although Randidly couldnÆt be sure that it would matter having the image present before he finished the Path would likely affect the reward

And of the choices

Making the Mana Engravings on the World Tree the source of its power would likely make the Skill the most powerful but it was also dangerous Randidly was worried that it would weaken his World Tree Skills in the long run

Meanwhile making the Engravings constitute just a history was a bit bland And with his most recent experience with a strange continent appearing in his Soulskill Randidly was a little leery about allowing another obvious path for similar shenanigans

Which just left the Mana Engravings as a natural expression of the laws and powers held within the World Tree Also a bit worrying because it meant that the Mana Engravings themselves werenÆt necessarily powerful But it did mean they were intimately connected to the powers held within the World Tree

It would just be a matter of figuring those out

After quieting his mind Randidly focused his efforts toward imagining the concrete image of what this was

Infinite strength a powerful and boundless lifeforce communicating with the world with these ancient symbols That was what Mana Engraving was It was a language of energy speaking of things beyond the understanding of most mortals

It was the oldest language in existence So old that no one even remembers who first spoke it

To seek to understand the symbols was to approach godhood Because those symbols had the ability to channel the natural forces of the world

Randidly felt the vast tree its golden roots spread through the world He felt the beat heart of the planet aligned with this towering tree The bark was deep and rutted having endured the weather for millennia But when one looked closely at the deep brown bark they would see glimmers of gold

These glimmers could be seen when looking up toward the vast canopy of the world tree when sunlight filtered down through the verdant leaves Tiny motes of gold seemed to dance on the undersides of the leavesÆ veins

These motes then were infinitely small engravings made by the natural laws on this tree

Although RandidlyÆs eyes remained closed his vision in the dream world expanded The whole of the world seemed to be before his vision the spinning air currents and ocean currents and geothermal energy and solar waves and drifting tectonic plates

Everything was slowly moving There was no true stillness in the world All things were in a state of change Such was existence

Yet when Randidly looked at the tiny lines along which these powerful forces move

He saw small glimmers of gold The writing of the future the channeling of the great forces directing everything like an unseen conductor

But to call the Mana Engravings a conductor was wrong It was more akin to the force of destiny upon the world It was the karma of each bit of energy A promise that it would not betray its nature and act outside of its purview

Something shifted in RandidlyÆs chest as the image slowly coalesced For almost an hour he sat simply savoring the sensation of his image of Mana Engraving shifting and settling into what it would now be There were rumbling changes from his Yggdrasil Skillset but these were much less comprehensive

Finally Randidly opened his eyes and stretched He had another headache but he was very pleased with himself

It was a small thing this shift in image But Randidly believed it would guide him in a new direction somehow

Coughing lightly Randidly stood He must have been shifting his image for longer than he had thought because the sun was sinking behind the horizon Deep maroons and mauves crisscrossed the sky seeping slowly into royal blue

I guess all thatÆs left Randidly said lightly Is to create my Ashen Phantom

Chapter 916

Randidly was rather surprised when he walked down the path into Donnyton on the morning of the challenge and saw the absolute sea of people milling about There were so many people talking and laughing in the square that Randidly was able to slip into their midst unnoticed After all very few of the average people of Donnyton knew him well

He was just a normal traveler here for the challenge In that this entire crowd was united in purpose

Plus he wasnÆt wearing any of his new pieces of equipment and stored Sulfur and Acri within the space of his belt He was a simple individual dressed in worn leather and wool like everyone else Randidly had a small worry that if he walked up to the gates of the arena dressed like this he would be asked to pay for admission

It was somewhat bemusing to walk through the crowds without anyone caring about his presence at all It settled RandidlyÆs heart

There was a lot of pressure on Earth Because Randidly had seen both sides of what could happen to the planet with his association with Tellus and also with the Patron of Ash It was a constricting fear that was deeply planted in his heart At all costs Randidly wanted to guide people toward the Tellus end albeit in a much more efficient fashion

Today would be the first steps on that path

So Randidly passed through the crowds meaning to head toward that quaint bakery he had stopped at when he arrived at Donnyton While walking he listened to the talk Most of it was centered around RandidlyÆs challenge of the Squads of course Popular opinion on the outcome was mixed Those that supported Randidly argued vehemently that he was the cornerstone on which Donnyton was based Randidly Ghosthound could never lose

The detractors pointed out that he had lost in the previous challenge Randidly thought that wasnÆt really a fair assessment but couldnÆt deny that he had conceded rather than using deadly force against the Squads of Donnyton

The previous challenge had made Randidly realize that he couldnÆt keep protecting Donnyton It needed to grow on its own

This challenge was to make the Squads realize that they wouldnÆt be able to protect Donnyton if they stayed on this path Images had that much power especially at the high end of the spectrum They needed to start to build the base image for Donnyton now

The grim specter of Aegiant laughing as he evaporated fucking lava to force Randidly out into the open was a hard sight to forget

Randidly reached up and pressed his hand to the leather bindings that wrapped around his metal left arm Although RandidlyÆs figure wasnÆt really associated with a metal arm he had still covered it up for good measure But the loss of his arm was the price he paid for the power to escape from that painful pool of lava He would probably carry that grim truth with him to the grave

When Randidly arrived at the bakery he blinked Gone was the sleepy square with only a few squad members loafing around Sure he had come at a later hour than he had previously but could things really change so abruptly in a few weeks

Gone were the seemingly closed shops Instead there were about a dozen fenced off areas filled with tables People laughed uproariously and ordered food that professional looking waiters quickly took back to the main buildings Street performers stood outside the gates dazzling with the breakfast eaters with System assisted tricks

Honestly Randidly felt like he was standing in the middle of a tourist destination

Squished in between all of these affluent cafes was the familiar bakery Although there were people flowing in and out of the bakery itself it was a pittance in comparison to the vast crowds that were frequenting the surrounding cafes

Somewhat bemused Randidly pushed his way forward and entered into the bakery A familiar face without a mustache looked up sharply then went abruptly pale Without addressing him the man turned and rushed into the back room leaving a teenage girl working alone to satisfy the five or so other customers in the shop

Randidly smirked after Ed Certainly your decision to retreat is pretty decisive are you still afraid of me revealing your identity I can sense almost every one of the nearby owners is also using an illusion

Not that it really mattered Randidly wasnÆt here for any more complicated reason than getting some of the baklava from the shop

His task finished Randidly left the shop while munching on his purchase Then he allowed himself to be swept away by the flow of bodies toward the great arena in the area North of the Production District

Already thousands of people had arrived so there were extremely long lines for seats that stretched backward up into the surrounding hills There were also stands built on the ridge above the quarry allowing those with high Perception to sit without being so tightly packed together And with the advent of the System there were a lot of people who had the requisite Stats to be able to observe from afar

Randidly finished his breakfast with a grin Which would be fine if we were going to be moving at the speed that most of these people could follow at all

Eventually Randidly slipped out of the line and walked alone into the hills Rather than waiting to get in Randidly thought it would be more appropriate to simply pull himself out and appear right before the first challenge

Such was the prerogative of being Randidly Ghosthound

It didnÆt take long for Randidly to clamber into a crack in the stone wall of the quarry and find himself an overlook where he could view all of the press of bodies that were lining up in order to witness the spectacle today As he scanned the crowd he didnÆt see a single person he recognized it seemed that the important players shared his plan for the event

Randidly looked up at the sun It was getting close to the promised time The HoundÆs ladder would begin within the hour

The first rung would be the easiest but easy didnÆt mean that he wouldn’t need to try His first fight would be against all of the Donnyton Squads numbered 100 81

Most of these individuals would have arrived at Donnyton after Randidly left for the first time They had been raised on the stories of DonnytonÆs frantic struggles against the early monster hordes but they wouldnÆt have actual experience with him

To them this was undoubtedly an exciting day The day to prove to Randidly Ghosthound a man who had steadied then entire 32nd Zone that they had grown strong

In his chest RandidlyÆs Crown of Upheaval and Gloom was breathing deeply of the air of excitement that covered the battleground It was not something that he enjoyed doing but Randidly couldnÆt deny a certain sick fascination he felt as he imagined crushing all these people with the reality of the situation they would be facing

In fact Randidly felt downright smug with his superiority He quickly pressed that feeling down It was that sort of thought that would cause him to underestimate them Because for all that these were the lowest of the Squads they were still the worst of the best Earth currently had They wouldnÆt just roll over

To face 20 Squads meant that Randidly and Helen would be fighting against two hundred and twenty trained Classers Classers that had been on the frontlines of DonnytonÆs efforts to keep the entire Earth safe They were not inexperienced in battle The last year of their lives had seen them rapidly working to improve their capabilities To the point that they had earned the right to wear the insignia of a Squad of Donnyton

As the sun rose higher in the sky Randidly felt the squad memebrs gather their bright eyes and excited faces more feed for his Crown They congregated at one end of the arena slowly stretching and warming up RandidlyÆs Crown pulsed sucking in their energy

Truly this Crown is only good for destroying things sometimes

But that wasnÆt such a bad thing There were a lot of terrible organizations in this world that Earth would be better off without The Skills to destroy might be a simple application but it was enough also a necessary one for this life

The crowd slowly made its way into the stands More and more people arrived cramming themselves into an extreme tight space There were Classers with telekinetic Skills shouting offers for food and drink and floating the concessions up toward the extremely tightly packed customers There were cheers and flags

There was so much pride in that noise So much surety and optimism

Eventually Helen appeared swearing and shoving her way through the crowd until she could walk out onto the arena proper Seeing her there Randidly was reminded of their fight in the under 25 Tournament The venue this time was much smaller but there was a completely different air of excitement hanging over it all

Helen raised her head and closed her eyes seemingly tasting the image of confidence that was hanging over the arena Good It seems she can sense the same thing that I can

At exactly the opponent time Donny appeared strolling out onto the arena Instantly the crowd erupted into a sea of cheers

Randidly closed his eyes So much noise

Welcome one and all to the HoundÆs Ladder And the reason that this attempt is special is the man attempting it Randidly Ghosthound himself

Following that pronouncement the crowd started howling like beasts raising their heads up to the sky and shrieking their enthusiasm To them Randidly was an idea A celebrity To see him in person ready to struggle was something of a cathartic experience for these people

This is what they are here for Randidly realized They want to see me fail and be reassured that IÆm human Everyone has their secret dreams and inevitably you are less than you believe you could be That deep frustration they need a symbol to share that They need a great hero to be sacrificed so they can accept their own insecurities

The stadium rumbled with such noise that Randidly could feel the shaking in the stone of his hiding spot But Randidly just grinned down at the shouting people

IÆm sorry but I canÆt give that to you Normally it would be fine to just be yourself but RandidlyÆs emerald eyes narrowed We canÆt afford that Not now Not with the System breathing down our necks

ItÆs time someone reminded you how dangerous this world truly is

Assembled here we have Donnyton Squads 100 through 81 Donny continued when the noise died down enough for him to be heard And standing opposed to them

Donny turned and regarded Helen quizzically She just snorted

Randidly leapt activating All is Ash as he did so He streaked across the sky fueling the Skill with a fist full of Mana until a cloud of ash the size of a pool gathered around him in an ominous swirl Screened from their view Randidly took his equipment out of his ring and slipped it on

Acri and Sulfur

SunÆs Teardrop Belt

White Steel Greaves

Ancestral Circlet of the Broken Ridge

IradakÆs Tinglesilk Gloves

When Randidly hit the arena he was surprised that the ground was well made enough to endure the concussive force Only a few tiny cracks emerged from the collision But that just made RandidlyÆs smile widened IÆll get to you later

The ash billowed outward obscuring himself and Helen from being seen They exchanged a look From the anger and ambition in HelenÆs eyes it seemed she was prepared Then Randidly looked away and waited allowing the ash to slowly blow away in the wind

When the crowd saw him they fell silent Which gave Randidly space to speak

Have someone on standby to help the wounded off the stage Randidly said bluntly And also someone to shield the crowd This challenge I wonÆt be pulling my punches

Chapter 917

Is he being serious Glendel asked tilting his head to the side to peer toward the stark figure of Randidly Ghosthound

Alana nodded grimly as her eyes were locked onto RandidlyÆs face ThatÆs not the posture of a man who is joking The air around him is full of violence

Glendel shook his head Then he looked from side to side They were sitting in a rather small box at the base of the stands effectively the front row of the audience Although the box was large they were the only two who had arrived so early Although it was likely to be soon Glendel couldnÆt be sure that Mrs Hamilton and Sam would likely show up soon

I supposed that means we are the ones who need to protect the audience Glendel said while sighing The audience members behind them were muttering to each other also unsure what RandidlyÆs proclamation meant Alana just smirked

At the moment when Glendel was gloomily considering the fact that he might lose another one of his monster specters just while spectating which was especially troubling after having one destroyed and two heavily damaged in the fight against the Nemesai Mrs Hamilton and the Cortez siblings arrived

Mrs Hamilton gestured elegantly to the siblings as Glendel and Alana turned to face the new arrivals IÆm sure you both know Isabella and Pan If my suspicions are correct they will be the first real difficulty that Randidly will face As such I thought they could benefit from being present in our booth for the earlier rounds

Alana laughed sourly but both the siblings nodded with serious expressions They werenÆt the top tier of DonnytonÆs Squads yet sitting at Squad 25 but that was mostly a matter of experience When it came to growth these two were at the top of the pile

Mrs HamiltonÆs smile was gentle We canÆt run things forever Alana You know that

Alana just grunted and turned back to the arena Mrs Hamilton chuckled a bit and Glendel couldnÆt resist grinning as well Alana wasnÆt a huge fan of the siblings largely because their claim to fame was currently that the two of them could hold out against Alana longer than any other duo in Donnyton

Even Glendel himself teaming up with Clarissa couldnÆt beat their record

From what Glendel understood the incident had occurred mostly due to a perfect storm of coincidences Alana had returned from training in a Danger Zone and decided to lead her weekly training session anyway The sister Isabella had gained a powerful new defensive Skill that took Alana by surprise And for just this moment both of the siblings had been hiding their true abilities

While the sister excelled at battlefield awareness and enduring the opponentÆs attacks the brother possessed a rare Skill that reduced the opponentÆs Stamina when his strikes landed Once Alana realized what was going on her Stamina pool was already reduced to something close to zero

Of course AlanaÆs tension instantly shot up and the battle slowly went against the siblings But that twelve minute match remained the standing record for a fight against Alana To the point that other people had stopped trying to challenge it And what was endlessly frustrating to Alana was that the harder she trained and the lower she pushed the other times the more that one time stood out

Yet somehow Glendel believed that the GhosthoundÆs actions today would make a mockery of that sort of record After all the first half of the duels would be against 200 people Would each match last twelve minutes Somehow Glendel couldnÆt believe that same Ghosthound he had remembered turning back the hordes of monsters would need that much time to finish things up here

Feeling a tingle of anticipation in his heart Glendel focused on Mrs HamiltonÆs words to Alana

You were right about it being impossible to keep a lid on this It seems like everyone who is anyone knows about the challenge HankÆs here with a few people from Zone Eleven and I was just speaking with the ambassador from Zone Seven His tone is much more respectful these days It seemed they liked SamÆs gifts

Alana opened her mouth to say something but then seemed to glance at the Cortez siblings Instead she just grimaced I donÆt like it Them being here Both because they will see what Randidly can do and they will see what we can do

Is he that strong Isabella asked while finding a seat next to Glendel Her brother moved to fill the other free seat next to her As the older and the more extroverted of the siblings she was the one that led their Squad Pan sat next to her content to rest his chin against his knuckles and study the Ghosthound

Both Alana and Mrs Hamilton had strange little smiles on their faces in response to that question The silence stretched to almost ten seconds as Isabella looked back and forth between the older women Even Glendel was unsure how to respond to that innocuous question

HeÆs at least stronger than any one of us probably any ten of us Glendel thought as he gazed out toward the arena That strange grey ash Randidly had arrived with seemed to be dissipating but now it was swirling calmly around his feet likely due to a Skill ThatÆs why we are here thatÆs why we had to agree to this We all want to know how strong we are in comparison to him

he wasnÆt the first to get a Class but he was as strong as a person with a Class even before getting one And after well heÆs had to travel to address various threats Alana finally said her eyes still never leaving RandidlyÆs face

WhatÆs his Level Isabella asked

Mrs Hamilton shrugged We never explicitly asked him about it but he hasnÆt gotten a Fate yet When you have a Fate well you can just sense others with a Fate So I suspect it’s the high forties

While Isabella frowned and folded her arms her brother finally spoke

How many Skills does he have

There was another pause there but this was one where Alana spared Pan a look of admiration Because this was the key to Randidly GhosthoundÆs success and why none could duplicate what he had accomplished

More than you can imagine Glendel said simply Then everyone focused on the stage because the Ghosthound finally began to move

Instantly the two hundred Squad members formed up into a series of three squares They had plenty of time beforehand to plan so they had established an internal hierarchy Immediately the outer two squares spread to the sides to hem Randidly and Helen in while the middle group marched forward to engage

Fireballs and Ice Spears began to fly intermittently toward Randidly giving the close range troops cover to approach

Randidly calmy stood while Helen a motivated woman who Glendel had never actually spoken to asked a very sharp question From this distance GlendelÆs eyes could see the supple softness of her lips as she spoke and read the words

I suppose a knight should lead the way for her Lord

But Randidly shook his head sharply As the spells thrown toward him approached he didnÆt even raise his spear to defend himself

What the hell Isabella mumbled There were tight lines around AlanaÆs eyes as she watched the beginning stages of this battle that was being entirely ignored by the one side GlendelÆs spirits turned restless which put him on edge

Often those spiritsÆ senses were sharper than his own

As the projectiles whizzed closer he still didn’t move But the ash swirling around at his feet they transformed into sharp blades and cut upwards knocking the Skills out of the sky When the ash blades and the Skills clashes the Skills were summarily extinguished After each collision the blades just drifted downward settling around RandidlyÆs feet seemingly unaffected

Not a single attack was able to pierce through that defense The air around Randidly was filled with the clash and fizzle of fire ice lightning and poison The ground around the Ghosthound began to crack and warp as the effects were discharged there leaving the central figure himself completely untouched

And these werenÆt just one or two Skills Almost a half dozen arrived every second shooting out from the three groups to keep Randidly under control

Noticing they were ineffective the leader of the Squads instantly sent out the hold order The flood of Skills stopped giving Glendel an unimpeded view

The GhosthoundÆs lips moved And the line said to Helen at that moment made GlendelÆs blood run cold

Some lessons need to be taught personally

After he spoke the whole arena seemed to change There was abruptly a darkness that swept across the sky Confused Glendel looked upward It was a cloudless day The sun was hanging above them releasing constant warmth

Yet why was it suddenly so cold and dismal

First team The leader of the Squads barked The front twenty or so members of the middle squad started into a dead run rushing toward the GhosthoundÆs position There were monsters that resembled this manner of operation occasionally Ones that could perform a powerful wide area ritual Often the best response to that was to directly engage and overpower the opponent while the ritual was occurring

Considering the wide effect of whatever the Ghosthound was doing Glendel could logically understand why the leader had chosen this tactic Based upon his experience the Ghosthound would likely use the most effective means to strike down this mass of people That is he would rely on powerful area Skills to reduce their fighting strength and then pick them apart

Therefore following this logic striking before that happened was the best response The spirits inside of Glendel rustled uneasily

But what GlendelÆs instincts were screaming at him right now was to do the exact opposite Wait Watch This isnÆt something weÆve seen before

Why do I feel like they are going to get massacred Isabella said slack jawed

Alana hummed her agreement Are you starting to get it If the Ghosthound couldn’tÆ handle this much Donnyton wouldnÆt even exist Now watch closely HeÆs about to move

But it wasnÆt Randidly that moved not at first Even as those Donnyton Squads were sprinting at him decreasing the distance between them to only a few meters Randidly remained still Instead the sky above him seemed to tremble

Then slowly like a wooden door swinging open in a horror movie a dark portal creaked open and something strolled down to tower above them all

It was a skeleton with bones the dark grey of cast iron floating downward into position above Randidly Every second its bones seemed to be disintegrating causing a small smog of grey particles to waft outward into the air around its body Somehow it also seemed to be breathing sending rippling billows of that smog outward from its torso to surround its limbs

The skeleton was human except for two details

The first detail was its hands which ended in long knife like blades With that grey smog obscuring most of its body all that could be clearly seen of it were the intermittent flashes of those blades

The second detail was perhaps not something that made the skeleton inhuman But it made its visage chilling to look at it didnÆt possess the bottom part of its jaw Its front teeth stabbed crudely downwards crooked and broken hanging in the air

With great care it surveyed the charging squad members who were so intent on Randidly that they likely didnÆt even look up to see this terrible specter Then it moved and with it Randidly moved too charging directly toward his opponents

Chapter 918

The Ashen Phantom was howling silently as Randidly rushed forward toward the melee fighters in front of them Its hunger and glee was clear there was prey right before it and the Ashen Phantom was hungry

Even while sprinting they stayed in pretty good formation which was honestly rather impressive RandidlyÆs mental respect for the training of Donnyton went up several notches He had always understood that it was a really grueling process but he had never seen any tangible results of that To be here watching these lowest ranked Squads working in tandem to fight him gave Randidly a sense of what Donnyton was capable of

Not enough Randidly thought sadly Although they did their best Donnyton couldnÆt prepare their Classers for what was to come

But Randidly would readily admit that his idea of normalÆ training was a bit skewed

Again the Ashen Phantom raised its head and howled causing more and more anguish and grudge to rise up out of its body and flood the air The cloud of ash in the surrounding area darkened to a foreboding slate The vicious regret that plagued the Phantom became condensed ash filling the air around RandidlyÆs body

RandidlyÆs eyes went to the lead individual a tall man in plate mail and wielding a mace All he needed to do was break through the first individual and this first round would be his

Not knowing that he was the focal point of this whole fight the man raised his mace and brought it down with lethal force toward Randidly The spikes on the mace seemed to glimmer in the dim light that was filtering through the oppressive image of the Ashen Phantom Image and vicious intent gathered in RandidlyÆs chest as the blow curved downward toward his shoulder

Too slow Spear Advances Ash Trails the Inevitable Phantom Arrives

Although his Skills hadnÆt yet merged as cleanly as had his images and moves Randidly still was able to cobble together both Skills into a powerful single Skill As his momentum jumped sharply upward Randidly tore a hole through the side of the man charging at him lowering his spear at the last second to leave his right arm hanging onto his torso by a small amount of shredded muscle rather than amputating the arm altogether

Behind the first man were a dozen more left unable to react due to the speed of RandidlyÆs acceleration Their gazes stared blankly forward intent on their duty In their eyes Randidly saw fear and excitement

This isnÆt a game The System isnÆt here to make our lives better RandidlyÆs expression twisted ItÆs here to work us until we break If we forget that the entire Earth whatÆs left of the Earth

Then Randidly activated All is Ash and allowed the swirling ash around him to form into blades that cut left and right ripping deep holes in the armor of these Squads Sharpness and the weight of the image created a blade with almost double the power that could be expected from the All is Ash Skill

When Squad members began to fall down blood spurting out from their wounds RandidlyÆs momentum had already carried him further His eyes were creased and filled with an old memory

The bodies stacked in piles the soft splashing of the river The sound of RandidlyÆs shovel repeatedly digging shallow graves next to the Hallat

The ash spun after him dissipating and reforming into a new set of blades that ripped their way through those that stood behind initial wave of felled individuals

Such was RandidlyÆs momentum that no sooner had he blinked than the last line of melee fighters were toppling over bisected by his ash blades If no one was going to challenge his dominant image of ash he would simply rip these people apart His Skills were already superior enough With an uncontested image this challenge wasnÆt fair at all

In front of him the long range fighters realized something was wrong as Randidly punched through the front lines and appeared before them There was still about ten meters of distance but Randidly was eating up that space very quickly Acri hummed with pleasure

The two groups on the sides wheeled around forming up to face Randidly while struggling to decide what to do next It seemed that whoever was in charge couldnÆt believe what they were seeing They had Randidly surrounding but with the speed at which he was moving it was difficult to know how to respond effectively

Randidly was perfectly happy to take advantage of that opportunity

Not that he planned on being predictable about it

Now that Randidly had pushed past the front lines his trailing ash gathered back to Randidly covering him in a vague haze Then he narrowed his eyes The next part was the most difficult of the tricks he had developed against Helen

With every bit of strength that Randidly could muster he planted his right leg and pushed himself to the left All of the forward momentum Randidly possessed transitioned through the tendons and muscles of his knee forcing his motion in an abrupt new direction

Such was the suddenness of the movement that RandidlyÆs ash cloud continued forward unable to keep up with his abrupt change of momentum The roiling smog continued further rapidly slowing as the connection between them stretched and tightened Which was the entire point

RandidlyÆs Mana expenditure shot up as his body and the entire world around him became ash Yet suddenly the elastic connection that had been stretched to its limits between Randidly and ash was suddenly pulling on a much lighter version of Randidly A Randidly that was just a few motes of ash in the endless sea

A Randidly that was much lighter than the thick cloud he had built up

With a soft sound Randidly disappeared The extremely tense Squads of Donnyton blankly looked at the swirl of ash he had left in his position

Careful A voice from the left group shouted out Although Randidly disappeared he had been rushing right toward them Some brave soul who had been able to follow RandidlyÆs movements warned the rest of them of his impending arrival

The motes of ash that were the remnants of Randidly smirked

Randidly appeared in the right group blades of ash popping into existence and slicing through all of the mage Classers that were nearby Randidly took special care to rip through the two healers that he identified after briefly sampling the Aether of the group

They fell screaming even as their faces were covered in confusion

By stretching that connection between himself and his ash to the limit and then transforming himself into motes of ash Randidly was able to launch himself along the vector between himself and his ash cloud And even quite a bit past it if Randidly spent the Mana to remain as ash for that long He could dissipate the ash that started the tension and untether himself There was an extremely high burden on his knees to withstand the initial cut but it made him almost unbelievably mobile

After all if Randidly didnÆt want to be flung to the side he could just have continued rushing forward Once the elasticity reached its apex the ashen aura would have just been yanked back to his body

Because this challenge wasnÆt just to show off It was a chance to try out his Skills on real opponents

Well barely real opponents Randidly thought almost sadly Even as he stayed relatively inactive the Ashen Phantom above him continued to slash widely with its dagger hands creating blades of ash that cut down everyone from the right group who was struggling to turn around and put up a guard

In terms of Stats Skill Levels and image Randidly dominated everyone here Such was the difference that they couldnÆt even defend

Still it was a valuable experience so

We concede A man said stepping out of the remnants of the middle group

Slowly the Ashen Phantom regretfully lowered his hands Blood dripped off of its fingers leaving small drips on the arena ground below it Although Randidly rationally knew that was impossible he couldnÆt help but blink at the sight Then he felt a surge of pleasure

As I thought it grows fastest like this

Randidly scanned the surrounding area Although the sudden concession came as a surprise he supposed he understood why it had happened Randidly was playing in a different league then these people There were one or two who were above Level 50 but no one was above Level 52 They couldnÆt cope

Of the first group that Randidly had broken through twenty three of thirty were laying on the ground slowly bleeding out Of the second group that Randidly had hit only a single woman was still standing the ashen blade that was cutting toward her dissipating instantly after the group conceded

Almost fifty percent of their fighting strength wiped out in an instant The remaining group might have been able to put up more of a challenge now that they understood RandidlyÆs moves but the leader was more concerned with saving those who were seriously injured than achieving any merit in the battle against the Ghosthound

After he spoke Randidly watched the man shiver and turn away from Randidly rapidly moving to help other people toward the healers that were streaming onto the arena

Randidly felt a flash of bitterness at the devastating familiarity of the awkward air of a battlefield I well it doesnÆt matter what they think does it This is a lesson they need to remember They

T thank k y y you for your g guidance

Randidly looked down A short woman who had been hit in the thigh sat up with a grimace Her hands glowed with light green energy and the wound mostly closed on its own When she looked up toward Randidly there was no fear in her eyes just awe

Randidly turned away He felt his face twist but he couldnÆt be sure what his expression was at that moment He spoke while looking back toward Helen who was tapping her foot impatiently On the battlefield you only have one chance DonÆt forget it

I wonÆt the woman whispered After she finished recovering her ability to walk she hobbled over to her squadmates to assist them

Randidly walked slowly back toward Helen not looking at the bodies laying on the ground along his path toward her

HelenÆs gaze was sympathetic The point of having a knight is having someone elseÆs hands to stain with blood you know

Randidly just waved a hand To them IÆm the great benefactor of this town No matter what theyÆve heard I need to show them what IÆve become in order to achieve that They need to see the Path the Earth needs to walk

Shaking her head Helen said That image ItÆs strong as hell But donÆt you think it resembles the SpearmanÆs image His original one

The violence Yea The thought occurred to me Randidly said quietly Both looked toward the horizon pointedly not looking toward the individuals being helped off the arena

Helen eventually broke the silence The rules are a five minute break between rungs Will you have enough time to recover

the next rung is yours Randidly said Blood dripping from its fingers that vicious hunger I think IÆm going to take some time to refine the image

Helen smiled like a wolf IÆve been waiting to hear that

Chapter 919

Randidly scratched his head looking at the raw anticipation on HelenÆs face It seemed like the act of watching Randidly had really raised her anticipation into something resembling obsession Ah by the way

Hmm Some of the hesitance in his expression must have cut through her excitement because Helen blinked and looked at Randidly with a frown What is it You already promised I could have the next one IÆm not fucking back down now

No itÆs not that Randidly shook his head But there is an hour break between matches not five minutes

What But when I attempted this they kept the breaks short so my Stamina Helen trailed off

Grinning Randidly just shrugged The benefit of being the Ghosthound I guess DonÆt wear yourself out getting excited too early

Helen ground her teeth so fiercely that Randidly heard the sound and winced

So what did we learn Alana said coolly turning to look at Isabella and Pan Both were inscrutable but Alana understood the female Cortez sibling a little better

IsabellaÆs face was split into a deep frown likely she knew exactly how dangerous RandidlyÆs mobility was In terms of tactics she was head and shoulders above Pan Although Alana felt somewhat bitter based upon how the siblings had used her for their fame she couldnÆt deny the other woman was damn good in a pinch

For the future of Donnyton polishing her was a good idea Despite how smug she sometimes looked about their record

Yet of the two of them it was Pan who Alana studied most closely His expression was mild as though Randidly Ghosthound hadnÆt flayed fifty people within an inch of their life within two seconds He was looking out at the arena quietly but Alana had no doubt that his mind was slowly rotating behind the scenes

In terms of strategy Pan was only below a single individual in Donnyton

fast Numbers donÆt mean anything to that sort of speed Isabella finally said Most of the members from lower Squads will just be in the way Even in our Squad there might be a few who canÆt follow his movements

Well itÆs not true that the numbers mean nothing Mrs Hamilton cut into the conversation with a smile Do you know why they end up being meaningless

They canÆt hit him his defense is too powerful If the mages were more powerful Isabella said bluntly

Alana shook her head slightly indicating that particular train of thought wasnÆt the most fruitful It wasnÆt that Isabella was wrong if they possessed someone with overwhelming power they would be able to crack open RandidlyÆs shield

But that wasnÆt how someone in charge of a squad should think Monsters were more powerful than people That was just how it was Strategizing to simply have more power than the opponent wasnÆt worth a damn

The silence stretched as Isabella frowned at her knuckles Finally Pan looked upward and opened his mouth

ItÆs that ash he has It didnÆt seem to be costing him anything It seems like he could defend against the Skills without effort Unless numbers are enough to overwhelm that having more people is meaningless Pan looked up at Alana his eyes bright

Much closer but still wrong Glendel said Alana glanced over at the gaunt man surprised Then again it made sense that he would understand the main reason that Randidly Ghosthound was so fearsome Glendel possessed the same natural advantage after all

The reason that Randidly Ghosthound is powerful enough to make numbers meaningless Alana said Is his Perception Whether it be by Skill or by Stats he can see everything that is coming his way and react to it He has the Intelligence Focus and Control to address everything in the surrounding area Numbers are meaningless because we havenÆt reached the point where he canÆt account for everything

Strength is something we can account for Alana continued We can learn to deal with his huge variety of Skills If we layer Skills I have no doubt that we would be able to defend against his attacks Yet he wonÆt let us his Perception means he sees everything that is coming his way Which is the most difficult sort of foe to defeat

Both Isabella and Pan stared at Alana somewhat mesmerized Alana cracked her knuckles as she watched the medics help up those that were most seriously injured Truly if the medics had been a little lax while moving to assist there might have been fatalities But it now looked like everyone would pull through

Good Alana thought grimly It would have been our fault if someone died arrayed against the Ghosthound when they clearly werenÆt ready

from the way you are saying it you make it sound like Perception is a super power Isabella said with a frown But thatÆs just not true We get shit on all the time because our Champion is always dreaming and has no real combat power ThatÆs why the Nemesai have been able to run wild in Zone 32 They even were able to attack Donnyton

Sorry girlie but you are wrong A rumbling voice cut across Isabella A tall man with a face covered in dark stubble walked up to their private box at the front of the stands wearing an easy smile At his hips he wore two leather holsters for handguns that were worn smooth with use They need to attack here Of all the ChampionÆs SimonÆs power is the one that can cross into other Zones If they would strike heavily at another Zone Simon could use his dreaming power to assist that other Champion effectively doubling the resistance

Hank you made it Mrs Hamilton said warmly What took you so long

Hank sauntered into the room and pointed the greasy brown bag in his hand Peanuts I didnÆ think Rand would finish so quick

He politely offered the open bag to everyone in the room Of them all only Alana took a handful of peanuts and began methodically crushing the shells and popping the nuts into her mouth Hank took the seat next to Alana casually removing his holsters and slinging them across the chair back

Isabella seemed annoyed at the interruption but Pan looked intently at Hank you Are the gunslinger right I saw you fight once when you came to Donnyton chasing after the Undying Hero Would you uhh sign this

With a gesture Pan summoned a repeater handgun from his interspatial ring Alana immediately covered her mouth with a hand to hide her smile

The gun was sparkling in the sunlight clearly the recipient of frequent cleanings and polishings In addition the repeater itself was an Erickson Steel product from the H series of handguns that they produced Which Alana knew were heavily influenced by HankÆs very high requirements for his guns Compared to the average gun on the market this model could handle an extremely dense and powerful amount of Mana within its bullets

That quiet Pan was secretly a cowboy fanboy Alana thought with amusement

Hank seemed surprised at first but then his face split into a wide grin He happily took the gun spun it expertly testing the weight with his hand Then with his finger glowing with concentrated Mana he quickly scrawled Hank Howard across the barrel

Pan accepted the gun back sheepishly a rare smile across his face

Well anyway Isabella said clearly irritated by both being told she was wrong and by her brotherÆs interruption Is Perception really that important It just seems wrong to say that is his greatest strength when he has that evil looking skeleton Skill

it wasnÆt a Skill Alana said with a grimace I donÆt have the same sort of ability of that secretary in the Refuge but I can sense Mana and Stamina expenditure That monster wasnÆt a Skill Using it didnÆt cost him anything at all

So that was an image Mrs Hamilton said wonderingly looking out at the arena All of the bodies had now been cleared and a team trooped out to inspect the arena and repair any flaws Very quickly the arena rippled and shifted to form a whole surface

So what did yÆall do to piss him off so much He seems a mite heavy handed Hank drawled

Alana laughed aloud at that glad that someone else shared her detached fascination with his attitude Ha Well I donÆt think it was us While Randidly was away he saw something Something dark Can you feel that heaviness around him

HankÆs eyes narrowed Everyone in the box looked out toward Randidly Ghosthound Helen was pacing in front of him clearly infuriated by something But Randidly himself was sitting quietly with his eyes closed He seemed to be resting gathering himself for the next fight

Hank clicked his tongue I donÆt suppose thereÆs any way I can join in this fight

Afraid not Mrs Hamilton said sardonically ItÆs against the rules

IsnÆt this a one person fight Hank said sourly He folded his arms Why does he get an assistant An sheÆs as lovely as the wide sky too

Mrs Hamilton shook her head but Alana privately agreed with Hank From what Randidly said HelenÆs presence on Earth was due to his Soulskill and Domain Therefore they had allowed him to bring her to the HoundÆs ladder But it was a little bit against the spirit of the challenge to have two people taking part

Still even if she spent the equivalent of a few months in the Dungeons can she really grow quickly enough to matter Alana wondered

She had seen Helen fight previously There was something extremely odd about her style of fighting Although Helen was quickly learning to cover for it it was clear that something strange had happened to Helen

Her body often jerked as it moved in an unpredictable manner It was as though she was used to being much more powerful and suddenly her body was restricted

Her mind and body were not in sync And as such she couldnÆt fight to her full strength Likely the extended time in the Dungeon was to address this But even if you recover your unity your strength shouldnÆt be enough to change the outcome of this contest

AlanaÆs hands clenched into fists It was one thing to teach the Cortez siblings what they should look for in regard to Randidly But the ugly truth was that Alana and Mrs Hamilton were doing the same thing

Because they were the final bosses waiting at the end of this series of challenges And they needed to be ready for anything

Chapter 920

Compared to the first challenge the second challenge took much much longer Yet Alana couldnÆt look way the entire time The fingers of her hand dug into the wood armrests of her chair What the hell is this

During the entire second rung Randidly didnÆt move Instead Helen was the only one who fought against the Squads of Donnyton While she didnÆt possess any of RandidlyÆs overwhelming power she was also able to fill the arena with a strange image of a sea of blood

Within that sea she moved like a sharp blade flitting back and forth and cutting into the surrounding Squads The surprising part was how often she seemed to be surrounded Yet she always moved at exactly the right time to escape certain death Even as Skills rained upon the ground where she was just standing Helen was already gone

At first Alana just rolled her eyes somewhat exasperated at how overexcited the Squads were allowing Helen to narrowly escape It seemed that although these were some of their more talented recruits they were still green

Yet as time went on and Helen continued to narrowly avoid disaster

The other strange detail was that there was always a too convenient hole in the SquadÆs lines that created the perfect opening for Helen to slip away One person was always a step to slow or too fast in moving into position

As the battle dragged onward the wounded in the Squads slowly growing AlanaÆs eyes narrowed So this is a controlling sort of Domain huh well if itÆs just to this level we shouldnÆt have a problem resisting it

But still Alana could tell that everything Helen was currently doing was just with an image If Alana wanted to fight against this she would need to rely on her actual Domain Which would require a serious amount of resources to activate and maintain

The power of image AlanaÆs eyes focused on the completely calm and still Randidly maybe we were thinking about it too shallowly

After thirty minutes Helen had been able to cut down enough of the weak links that the stragglers in the Squads were all removed Which left the group at three fourths their original numbers but they were now the best of the Squads from eighty to sixty one

Yet Helen only continued to accelerate Which made AlanaÆs expression even grimmer

She grows stronger the more wounds she inflicts Mrs Hamilton said quietly Alana nodded At this point the sea of blood had steadily darkened with the spilling blood of the Squads There was a crimson haze in the air continuing to restrict the Squads while allowing Helen to move increasingly quickly

As she moved more quickly the haze seemed to concentrate around her body Very soon she was less like a woman and more like a force of nature in the sea effortlessly piercing through the strange currents of that realm to harass the Squads

Hey Isabella said her expression blank as she stared at the blurred figure of Helen If the two of them work together donÆt you think

If both of them stick to what weÆve already seen for the later challenges heh wouldnÆt that be boring Nah someone like Rand will have something even more overwhelming prepared Hank said with a smirk The rest of the box stayed silent

Because they knew the bitter truth that lay at the heart of this challenge Randidly had more tricks up his sleeve But these initial tricks were more than enough to give Donnyton pause

So this was Image

Are they weak Xia asked studying the steadily growing pile of bodies dragged off the arena after the second challenge The wounded gritted their teeth and did their best to keep their voices from echoing through the wide arena

But after the second rung the crowd had fallen largely silent Every gasp and moan could likely be heard by the entirety of the spectating public

Han Yazhu shook his head in answer to her question But then he quickly returned to his constant scanning of the surrounding bodies in the crowd He had been extremely against the idea of Xia herself coming South to see Donnyton even in a disguise So much so that he was practically a mute his attention completely consumed with guarding Xia

Sighing Xia said Yazhu If it will make you feel better letÆs leave the crowd for now There will be another break soon This farce is almost done

That finally perked Yazhu up Yes of course your Greatn ah Madam Xia Let us get away from this rowdy bunch

They stood up and filed past the other spectators in their row squeezing through the press of bodies to make it out of the crowds Xia didnÆt know why Yazhu was so on edge most everyone was just looking grimly at the audience Even as the two of them pushed passed to get out the people of Donnyton didnÆt look away from the bloodsoaked stage

This was a battle they watched with a fanatical intensity

Xia understood the conflict in their hearts Donnyton had two great points of pride Randidly Ghosthound and their world renowned Squads To see the two at each otherÆs throats must be difficult

Even more so when one side appeared to be mopping the floor with the other

Very quickly Xia and Yazhu escaped the stands and were able to stand in a wide open avenue lined with food sellers who were busy preparing for the rush after this rung After all it would be noon and most everyone would likely take this opportunity to eat

Xia turned back to Yazhu I asked you a question Yazhu Are they strong They fell easily enough To a single woman no less

Immediately Xia regretted saying that The bitterness in her tone

But of course Yazhu answered without any change of expression As if her implicit statement was one hundred percent correct Well for a woman she is very capable In terms of her strength I must admit there are only a dozen in our service that would be able to handle her

XiaÆs eyes narrowed Undoubtedly he is being overly generous IÆve seen our side fight and compared to her even with my rather abysmal Perception I could tell So maybe only Huang Li

What about the Squads They lost to her Badly It took some time but that could be attributed to the difference in numbers Xia said simply

That silenced Yazhu for several seconds they are not weak In terms of power The Third no they likely could match the Second Blessed Brigade

Xia felt her tongue go dry these Squads were groups Eighty through Sixty one Are you saying that these men who are being picked apart by that woman are enough to fight against our Second Brigade But that would mean

Our Zone is undoubtedly the most powerful Yazhu said bringing a hand to his heart But this his face creased into a frown yet we cannot deny that our Path to greatness has seen us take some shortcuts Our industry was the main focus in terms of power we only invested in Sir Huang and his subordinates Concentrating power and advancing quickly has costs

They connected to New Earth more quickly Yazhu In terms of speed were we not fourth Xia said quietly

Yazhu had no answer for several seconds When he finally spoke he said thatÆs just how it is It will do us no good to deny the truth of the situation Is that not why you insisted on coming in person To witness the strength of Randidly Ghosthound and of Donnyton

Xia grinned in spite of herself It was an awkward grin from what little I could tell he was just as fearsome as promised Although having him as a looming figure is dangerous everyone is watching this challenge It will be good for Donnyton to take a few punches in the eyes of the surrounding Zones

But both of them knew that this was an oversimplification if Donnyton lost now it would show a hint of weakness in their impenetrable armor sure It would therefore be easier to push for Zone Seven to serve as the capital of the New Earth They could push for more economic concessions as they slowly seized control of the economy

Yet a weakness now would be shored up later Donnyton being struck down from its throne of strongest could only happen once If they wanted to seize the weakness again they would need to target the Ghosthound himself

Which was difficult just because he was a single individual who often moved around and even disappeared But also

The image of that terrible phantom appeared in XiaÆs mind It towered above the bleeding bodies howling toward the sky Whereas the woman Helen had methodically weakened the Squads until she could overpower them Randidly himself had simply broken their spirit in ten seconds

Two hundred people were forced to give up after only ten seconds of fighting against a single individual It was the difference between heaven and Earth One individual who could slowly wear down the strength of an army was a genius A man who could shatter the spirit of two hundred with a single action is a force of nature

The weight of the word Ghosthound was not an empty thing Especially not here in Donnyton the seat of his power

Well anyway letÆs get lunch Xia finally said What intimidated her the most was that this was just the appetizer The main course of the challenge was rapidly approaching Soon they would get to see the core strength of Donnyton

Yazhu bowed hurriedly Right this way Madam Xia It is a quaint place but there is a cafe in Donnyton that has become very popular recently Even I am swayed by its relaxing mood and palatable fare If you would just follow me

Chapter 921

Randidly stood after the one hour break Helen was still slowly applying bandages to her wounds Her body was crisscrossed with small little cuts that oozed blood Although she was able to suppress the strength of DonnytonÆs Squads she sustained significant wounds while doing so

And it was clear from her periodic twitches that she was deeply humiliated by this fact

You did well Randidly said lightly They were not weak And considering how difficult it is to transition through my Domain

You donÆt need to comfort me Helen grumbled I won LetÆs not dwell on the irrelevant details

Chuckling Randidly nodded Then he looked up at the crowds that were slowly drifting back to their seats after the break Only a few minutes remaining now

Compared to the noise they were making when the challenge started the people of Donnyton were much more reserved They moved quietly muttering to each other as they shifted into their seats They had full stomachs and heavy hearts slowly processing what they had witnessed in the earlier two rungs of the HoundÆs Ladder

RandidlyÆs eyes moved to the arena Once more it had been repaired but they hadnÆt thought to wash away the bloodstains that sprinkled the ground Most of it was trampled away but wide splotches of rust colored dried blood had begun to stain the arena

This place had been marked It would never be the same

Which was the point Truth was always a difficult weight to bear Facing the proof of your own weakness was doubly difficult to swallow More and more images slithered through the air to join with RandidlyÆs Crown of Upheaval and Gloom Slowly the weight that he was forced to bear was growing as he relieved the people of Donnyton of their feelings of security

Randidly closed his eyes Although he walked down a path that was similar to the SpearmanÆs Randidly did not fear it I will not be the monster that he became I do not think that IÆm any more perfect than these people No my opinions might be even more suspect With the Creature and my time on Tellus I have been warped

When RandidlyÆs eyes sprung open his emerald gaze was clear But they need to watch This time of building has softened their edge The people of Donnyton need to remember how desperate our position truly is The Calamities will not die as conveniently as we wish

Better I take that fear onto myself now than they need to learn it the hard way from a being who was designed to kill

IÆll be ready in time for the next challenge Helen finally said

Randidly waved a hand DonÆt worry about it You felt it right ItÆs easy to grow while struggling like this alone Sit out this one and we will work together on the next one

IÆm not a child Helen hissed I donÆt need you to baby me

The corner of RandidlyÆs mouth quirked up This was the Helen that he knew She had been altogether too accepting of his orders since he had agreed she could participate in the challenge It was good to see that dutiful glow was wearing off It was much easier to count on the vicious Helen than the quiet one

ItÆs not about babying You felt it too right That fight was close to your limit Randidly said calmly Take this time to refine your image Otherwise will you be able to help me against the later rungs

Well when they donÆt fucking come two hundred at a time Helen muttered darkly But she sat back down and began to meditate Very quickly the air around Helen began to swirl with dark currents Energy from the bloody arena flowed toward her pooling above her sitting form

With those raw materials Helen could begin to create for herself an even more dangerous and detailed image It wasnÆt as though the only benefit of the challenge was to protect Donnyton Randidly had no doubt that he and Helen would grow a significant amount from these perspectives

Randidly cracked his knuckles It was time for him to get prepared as well The Squads Sixty through Forty one were forming up into eight groups A quick scan with RandidlyÆs Aether Detection Skill made it obvious that these fighters were at a whole different level The air of competence around them was palpable

Smiling quietly Randidly stood before them stretching his hands and flexing his fingers The Tinglesilk Gloves draped across his hands leaving a familiar tingle as they brushed against his skin Honestly the constant feeling of numbness was relatively exhilarating It certainly meant that Randidly would never forget that he was on a battlefield

Acri crawled down from around his neck and straightened into his rigid spear form RandidlyÆs grip tightened on his shaft So far Randidly had only needed to rely on his new combined Skillset of the Ashen Phantom He hadn’t really even had the chance to showcase the new armor that Sam had made for him

But this group was on average about six Levels higher than the prior group And as everyone was past the Level 50 marker each Level was a struggle This then was finally the Squads of Donnyton that fought valiantly in the trenches Not those that shined but those that were dependable

This was the last bulwark of DonnytonÆs image Randidly could sense It floated above the entire arena clear in the tense silence that had seized the crowd

Donnyton had suffered losses in the past Grievous losses that left deep wounds The attack by the Nemesai only a few days ago was just another example of a setback that took the town by surprise

Yet there was a group that always threw themselves in the way of threats They were the true bulwark that created peace of mind for the average individual living in this world When you grew to the size of Donnyton you couldnÆt avoid taking punches

What really mattered was how Donnyton responded to the cheap shot These Squads had been that response for the past year

I donÆt mean to say you all must be warriors I am not the Spearman Killing is not the only path forward Randidly thought sadly as he looked out at the intent crowd How many people were here Ten thousand Twenty thousand And it seemed like even more were lining the space above the quarry as he considered the wide sea of people More and more people were finishing their dayÆs labor and hurrying over to see this historic day

But this isnÆt enough Threats from the Ogre World the Frogpeople the other Zones looking for weaknesses our enemies are mounting You need to wake up YouÆve forgotten that we will die if you donÆt keep moving forward

Maybe that was the reason that Randidly had decided to challenge Donnyton Because although he had this deep fear that even Donnyton wasnÆt strong enough he wanted to be proven wrong He would have liked nothing better than to come out here and be struck down by the Squads of Donnyton

Yet that hadnÆt happened yet

IÆm ready whenever you are Randidly said quietly

The overseer in charge of this batch of squads was a broad shouldered woman holding a greataxe She nodded respectfully at RandidlyÆs words and then barked out a series of orders Her voice seemed to cut through the whole arena immediately banish all talk from the stands

Everyone was intent on the action in the arena

First Position The woman bellowed

Instantly the eight groupings fractured into dozens of smaller groups moving apart into a specific formation The varying groups rotated around him a series of rings Skills rapidly began to rain toward Randidly as the long range attackers sought to keep him on the back foot with sheer numbers

As ash spiraled slowly around Randidly he watched the shifting formation in front of him with interest Honestly Randidly never had much experience with commanding troops Even during the genesis of Donnyton Randidly simply led by killing more monsters than anyone else He never had any real grasp of strategy or tactics So it was intriguing to see the different methods that they used to deal with him

Although Randidly might not have any experience leading Randidly had plenty of experience fighting against varying numbers of opponents Instantly his emerald gaze scanned the surroundings and arrived at a single conclusion insufficient

You correctly saw that my ash blades can only remain active within a certain radius of me so you split into almost forty smaller teams so it will take me longer to eliminate them Randidly thought with disappointment as the ash around him cut the oncoming Skills out of the air Ideally this time would allow you to tire me out

A fine strategy but will it really be me that tires out first Randidly barred his teeth at the opposing commander who measured him with a steady gaze The entire while she moved professionally with her small grouping protecting a relatively powerful mage who through slashes of darkness toward Randidly

A wind came then pulling small flakes of dried blood left by the wounded and gathering them into the air Slowly a darkness came across the arena once more It seemed their commander understood what was happening at least because she gave an order to increase the frequency of attacks

Globs of poison swords of darkness lances of light waves of frost bolts of fire huge masses of arcane energy empowered arrows and javelins bullets empowered with Mana Projectiles came toward Randidly like drops of water in a rainstorm The churning ash around him began to roil and seeth more and more forming as Randidly fed the Skill a thread of Mana Very soon it seemed Randidly was standing in the eye of a whirlwind of ash

As the projectiles increased so did the blades Randidly used in his defense He didnÆt move standing very still and looking out toward the arena All the while that strange wind continued to blow gathering the dried blood from those that came before

Slowly that dried blood spun upward and joined some of the dissipated ash from the blades Randidly used in his own defense More and more accumulated forming into a tightly packed ball of ash spilled blood and resentment

From that the Ashen Phantom was born

This time when the Ashen Phantom roared and exploded outward into its form the entire arena could hear the raw noise of it This time RandidlyÆs image was much more concrete As its hideous screams rocked the arena the rain of projectileÆs faltered

This time when it released a breath it spat out enough bloodlust that Randidly could tell the weaker spectators werenÆt able to breathe

Ash exploded outward in a wave Once more the iron grey skeleton condensed while a haze of ash kept its body indistinct Once more it did not possess a lower jaw and its upper teeth stabbed downward out of its maw Its dagger like fingers flashed tasting the edge of its ash cloud

This time however it was clear that the coloration of the skeleton shifted from the core toward its hands The change was gradual but the while the rib cage was grey the phantomÆs fingers were almost entirely maroon

This was an image thoroughly stained with blood

Rumbling clouds rolled overhead as the phantom bellowed again Those constant waves of ash soon filled the entirety of the arena Randidly grinned

All at once one thousand blades of ash condensed covering the entire combat space The leader of the Squad paled as she looked up at the darkly gleaming blades

Now do you get it With an image this is possible This will be much weaker than a Skill but

Without any warning the blades began screaming down toward the Squad members

this isnÆt something you can beat just by being dependable

Chapter 922

Ace sat transfixed staring up at the conjured monster that floated above the arena Its roars had enough force to shake him down to his bones He felt incredibly insignificant sitting before this wild beast that darkened the sky

And then it summoned almost a hundred blades of ash to scythe down toward the Squads that had dared stand before it

AceÆs heart was pounding It felt like the darkness in his heart had seen a kindred spirit for the first time since it had taken root there No it was even more monumental than that

His darkness looked out at this terrible spirit that Randidly could conjure and realized that it too could be physically present upon this Earth It was not relegated to a constant spiritual role With the proper preparation the image of AceÆs darkness could condense into something tangible and gain the ability to attack

The arena was covered in screams as the groups struggled to withstand the blades of ash Ace narrowed his eyes

Those nearby to Randidly were absolutely ripped to shreds their armor and Skills forcibly broken by the power of his strikes Yet Ace didnÆt miss that the nearby ash blades struck first It was only after the more distant groups witnessed those close to Randidly being decimated that their own guillotines began to descend

so itÆs not a limitless power huh but still Ace thought wistfully Still it was more than enough to warp the world And compared to what Donnyton could accomplish

It seemed that the leader of the Squads noticed the same thing that Ace did DonÆt waver Only the close strikes are powerful We can wear him down

But her warning came a bit too late Some of the surrounding groups were cut down as they panicked in response to the ashen blade Not a large amount but enough that another chunk of the SquadsÆ power was cut away by Randidly

Their blood splattered on the ground strangely vibrant in the gloom cast by the huge phantom that hovered over them all Yet now that Ace knew what he was looking for he could see small traces of energy spiraling upward to be absorbed by the phantom When it roared again the very air seemed to vibrate

ItÆs getting stronger Ace realized

Damnit we canÆt The leader bellowed Ace reflected that he should call jinx on her It seemed like their minds were following the same track Dev Something big DonÆt hold anything back

Got it The darkness wielding mage said grimly He raised his hands and began to gather motes of pure obsidian that condensed out of the surrounding air

Unfortunately for them Randidly also noticed this point of resistance Instantly his body blurred forward not toward them but toward the largest grouping of remaining troops the Squads had Cursing those melee fighters gathered together in a shield wall and lowered their stances Their weapons were poised ready to strike when they slowed him down enough to reach him

At the last second before Randidly reached the group he stepped sharply to the left and disappeared In a concussive blast he reappeared twenty meters to the right back in the direction of the leader and the shadow mage perhaps ten meters to the side

As Randidly appeared the leader had already lowered her shoulder and charged toward RandidlyÆs position with her wickedly sharp battleax Did you think we couldnÆt figure out your tricks by watching

To AceÆs surprise she was fast Much faster than he would have believed from her broad shoulders She had just about reached Randidly when he took another sharp step this time accelerating in the direction that he was already going Such was the speed of acceleration that the cloud of ash around him was left in the dust

The connection between them grew taut and then Randidly disappeared once more AceÆs expression turned very serious

More than the image wasnÆt this mobility something that was impossible to deal with

Randidly appeared back amongst the group that had gathered together to defend against him and then relaxed as he departed Catching them unawares both the melee range and the long distance Skill users were leveled before they could react

Thirty people were incapacitated in that whirlwind of blades

In the sky the phantom howled and brought its maroon dagger fingers down in a wicked slash The leader raised her ax to block and yelped as she was smashed backward She rolled for almost ten seconds struggling to control her momentum The attack also left extremely deep gouges in the surface of the arena

But at that moment the shadow mage raised his hands and unleashed an ebony blast of power up toward the phantom

With a screech RandidlyÆs terrible monster brought its claws down toward the blast of energy

The collision shook the arena waves of dark power reverberation throughout the area People screamed as a portion of the crowd was hit with the shockwave but a spectral snake appeared from the VIP section and dissipated the remaining energy with a swing of its tail

Glendel had to move huh Ace thought with a grin Honestly he quite enjoyed the feeling of that power smashing against him It was a like a light slap just enough to wake him up and get his heart pounding

If anything the main other effect of the attack was to darken the sky even further Whereas the ash RandidlyÆs phantom made seemed to have dissipated it was replaced by the shiny blackness that the shadow mage created

But very soon a gasp rose up from among the audience as the darkness faded and the great phantom once more condensed above them all It raised its head to the sky and roared again seeming to challenge all of Donnyton to come at it It was invincible They hadnÆt managed to wound it at all

And the audience had no answer to that

AceÆs eyes narrowed But itÆs not like we didnÆt learn anything from that right Donnyton I hope your next group shows us something a bit more interesting

It took a further five minutes of struggle before the remaining members of DonnytonÆs Squads were willing to concede The greataxe wielding leader was particularly determined ignoring her wounds and lashing out at Randidly as long as she could Eventually however her body gave out on her and she collapsed in a pool of her own blood

Which meant the current record for how long a group of two hundred people could stand against Donnyton was about six minutes

Did you see that Alana asked

Isabella nodded The Skill displaced his image It was so powerful that

Power this power that Alana waved her hand irritably Stop focusing so much on power This is not a fight where you should ever be challenging Randidly Ghosthound to a duel of power

IsabellaÆs expression was frosty I have the utmost confidence in defeating someone who relies on power

Hank chuckled and Glendel winced Alana just sighed inwardly Damnit I know some lessons you can only learn the hard way but Girl I donÆt want to see Randidly slit your stomach open and leave you bleeding out like a gutted fish

DonÆt worry Miss Donal Pan said He stepped forward and put his hand on his sisterÆs shoulder We know our business When it comes to fighting we wonÆt take any chances DonnytonÆs reputation is at stake

To that Alana could only grudgingly nod She had faced the two of them before after all She knew how capable they were Even though they hadnÆt yet crossed the threshold of Level 50 they were able to fight against monsters that neared Level 60 With their leadership and talent they were slowly gathering supporters amongst the Squads

Alana saw Mrs Hamilton beaming behind them hiding a smile behind her head I get it they are the next generation But you know

Alana turned and looked out toward the arena Randidly was walking calmly back to stand at his side of the arena sitting down to rest and meditate Do you really think that the current generation is ready to step aside And also

AlanaÆs hand formed into claws For just a second she unleashed that tightly controlled killing intent she held in her chest This was the first time she had ever unleashed it purposefully against a person but when she did Randidly only looked up and smiled

His gaze seemed to beckon her forward Even now he was dutifully making himself into a monster so that Alana could throw herself at him without worry of killing him And for that she was eternally grateful

And also IÆm not the strongest in Donnyton for nothing This sort of opponent Randidly Ghosthound IÆve been waiting for this DonÆt disappoint me by stumbling too early

Chapter 923

WhatÆs our play for this rung IÆm ready

RandidlyÆs eyes flicked open Helen was enthusiastically stretching It was clear from her vicious grin that she had gained much more than she expected from the meditation session The corner of RandidlyÆs mouth curled up

To think that we could gain so much for our images from something like this plundering the image of another Could it be that it didnÆt happen on Tellus due to the calcification of the images Or had these sort of incomplete images been all plundered by the time that I arrived

Randidly had expected that he would be able to obtain concrete practice with the images and be able to refine them over the course of the fight He had no doubt that the pressure of the Donnyton challenge would push him to new heights

What he hadnÆt expected was to actually feel strength flowing into his image while he began slaughtering the Squads It was akin to the feeling he had in his Crown of Upheaval and Gloom energy from his experiences seemed to flow into him constantly when he took certain related actions

Yet for his Ashen Phantom it was fighting that gave it strength As DonnytonÆs overwhelming sense of superiority began to fracture underneath his constant assault his Ashen Phantom devoured the broken pieces of that image and became more condensed So much so that the image itself seemed to be developing rapidly

letÆs both go Randidly said finally HelenÆs grin widened for a second and then she composed herself and nodded seriously

The group of Squads they would now face were those that numbered from Forty to Twenty one They had already arrayed themselves into one large group standing bolding in front of Randidly That made him raise his eyebrows It seemed like they wanted to challenge him directly

IÆll hit from the front you pick off the sides Randidly said quietly Helen nodded

As everyone made their preparations for the beginning of the next rung Randidly scanned them quickly with his Aether detection What he found made his eyebrows quickly shoot upward There were two very unexpected presences on the other side

The two of them stood at the front the woman clearly issuing orders to the surrounding group At her side was a slender Hispanic man testing the point of his rapier Both were under Level 50 The woman was Level 47 while the man was Level 49

RandidlyÆs eyes slid to the VIP box where Alana had sat back down He had noticed these two were with Alana Glendel Hank and Mrs Hamilton but hadnÆt really thought anything of it But looking back it was clear that these two were being groomed for something more than just being a Squad Leader

LetÆs see what the best talents of Donnyton can do Randidly thought with a wide smile Somehow he sensed that this battle would be different Although there was no one amongst the Squads that he knew personally there were many that he recognized These Squads were filled with people who had been in Donnyton since the beginning

If the previous group of Squads protected the sensibilities of the masses these Squads were the gatekeepers of DonnytonÆs elite Now that Randidly had leveled his spear at their pride they grimly rode forth to put him down

How fun

The thought was unbidden and completely honest Randidly laughed aloud

This will be fun

When the referee signaled that the next rung had begun Randidly wasted no time in charging forward The arrival of the Ashen Phantom above was increasingly brutal The sky trembled as a typhoon descended And riding it was the Ashen Phantom its terrible fingers wreathed in ash and hunger

Shoot The woman shouted quickly producing two long shields that she wore along her forearms extending an extra meter beyond the elbow With a step that cracked the arena she rushed to meet Randidly At her back her brother clung to her like a shadow

Randidly was slightly surprised to find that the Skills were arcing upward toward the Ashen Phantom rather than being aimed toward him As the Skills smashed into the Phantom it roared and the wide area influence it exerted over the arena waned

RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed Tsk too much to expect that you would miss that fact right

Helen the mages

Already there With a rushing noise the backside of the arena was blasted in a wave of crimson Currents of energy began to whistle widely about as Helen rushed toward the individuals who threw the spells Although this quickly put them on their back foot they had been instructed how to respond

Another volley of spells ripped outward this time targeting the substance of HelenÆs Domain But that just made Randidly smile

Small tears emerged in the Tides of Blood but the rushing currents quickly repaired those flaws even before the Classers could escape As they saw their efforts come to nothing they quickly paled and stumbled backward Helen rushed forward even as the ranks of melee fighters closed in around her

HelenÆs Domain is the real deal You have no idea how hard I worked to train resilience into it Randidly thought with amusement

Unfortunately it seemed that the opposing side knew that ultimately images were rather fragile things If they were uncontested they could exert extremely dangerous power But there was an extreme way to break an image even if you had no real images to use

That is you could use Skills

Every Skill had an implicit image in it That was where Skills drew their power In fact Skills could be viewed as tutorial images given to people by the System Which meant that the Squads could brute force something akin to an image by relying on the number of Skills but the difference in Attribute expenditure would mean that Randidly didnÆt mind the trade

Still it was a relatively unsatisfying way to win a fight

You need to The woman bellowed as she looked at HelenÆs rapid advance but then she was forced to direct her attention back to the front Due to her wild charge Randidly had already arrived in front of her The combination of the Inevitable Phantom Arrives and Spear Advances Ash Trails broke the sound barrier as it rushed toward her

She raised both of her arms and took the blow on directly

The force blew her body back almost a meter but she absorbed most of the impact with her legs Randidly blinked in shock and then twisted to the side avoiding a sharp thrust from the rapier wielding man Before Randidly could counter attack the man had withdrawn and once more hidden behind the woman

The woman grinned at him If you think

A scream cut her off It seemed that Helen had reached the long range Classers That was good Instantly Randidly resummoned the towering form of the Ashen Phantom Its empty eye sockets stared downward at the two individuals under Level 50 that dared challenge Randidly

Ash filled the air as Randidly prepared his next attack

The womanÆs gaze snapped back to Randidly forcing herself to allow the battle at the other end of the arena to sort itself out If itÆs just power IÆll handle it One day IÆll be DonnytonÆs impenetrable shield Today IÆll show you how light the name of Randidly Ghosthound truly is

how light my name is

Fury burst in his chest rushing toward the core of his being Instantly another image began to activate a terrible visage of a tree so old that it had achieved apotheosis But at the last moment Randidly gritted his teeth and suppressed the righteous fury of his Crown of Upheaval and Gloom

Not yet That image should be saved for later Spear Advances Ash Trails As the Sun Stills

Randidly spear became a blur spiraling forward in a thrust that strained the limits of even his own Perception The woman flinched and raised her shields but that moment stretched Somehow RandidlyÆs spear was still rushing toward her too fast to see But time slowly ticked past even as more and more weight gathered behind the spear

They were frozen each in their own space Nervousness condensed around the woman while Randidly slowly felt the dying heat of a sun shift to weight at the tip of his spear And in that great weight a gravity that could even warp time emerged

The Ashen Phantom shrunk until it was only about double the size of a man Standing behind Randidly it reached its hands toward the woman like a beggar pleading for coin The sadness and longing twisted in on itself as that desperate need turned to hatred

Isabella you need to But the brotherÆs warning came too late RandidlyÆs spear finally arrived even as the woman Isabella twisted her shield to the side

Her left shield shattered into pieces but Randidly rather bitterly realized that she had managed to disperse most of his attack The shoulder was probably dislocated but the damage wouldnÆt be serious

Still the force of the attack blew her backward into her own lines knocking several people over Randidly stepped sharply back to avoid a rapier that stabbed toward his throat Such was the speed of his step backward that his ash continued forward allowing him to activate All is Ash and fling himself a short distance forward

Randidly condensed behind the man surprised to see another rapier heading toward his current position It was a little off but the man rapidly adjusted his attack

Good prediction Randidly said honestly rather surprised

Better response the man said sourly The blade of ash Randidly created smashed the rapier to pieces before the manÆs attack landed He managed to step out of the wave of another thrust from Acri but then Randidly could step forward and simply kick the man in the chest With the Strength boost from his equipment and the blades on RandidlyÆs new greaves the man flew backward like a ragdoll

But before Randidly could follow up the bulk of the Squads arrived

Chapter 924

The problem Randidly rapidly realized was in a difference of attributes There were only five sword and shield wielding fighters that arrived to hold Randidly off while the rest redeployed but they were enough to buy a little bit of time The reason was Health

One man had his collarbone broken and his thigh slashed by an ashen blade but he still grimly stood and kept his shield between Randidly and the man with the rapier Another had been hit by almost a dozen stabs in a split second leading to liters of blood pouring out onto the arena Yet the man stood tall breathing heavily

Losing a lot of Health quickly came with some side effects Mostly dizziness and weakness So RandidlyÆs strategy thus far had been cutting huge chunks out of the opponentÆs Health and breaking through in that opening But these fucks had so much Health that cutting away about a thousand was something they could withstand

Not easily but they managed it Although the lead two were below Level 50 the rest were not They were veterans

Shaking his head Randidly stopped being gentle thorned roots speared into their legs and thighs from below Then Randidly smashed them into the ground for good measure As he looked up beyond these brave five a line of about a dozen warriors was already in place with two men throwing javelins behind that

It was a small force but they did obscure RandidlyÆs view of the two leaders Siblings They look similar and work together so well must be siblings

But his vision wasnÆt all that Randidly relied upon They couldnÆt hide their Aether so Randidly surged into motion heading directly for the two siblings Cut off the head and the rest of the snake will follow

Fuck Isabella said scrambling to her feet and cradling her left arm The limb twisted awkwardly sending a dagger of pain through her body How strong

But she didnÆt bother to finish the question With a grimace Isabella gripped her arm and shoved it into place For several seconds she bent over and suppressed the urge to cry as all the nerves in her shoulder screamed bloody murder But then they slowly settled down realizing that everything was back to normal

When she straightened Pan was standing in front of her ThatÆs why you donÆt challenge him directly

I know but Isabella said stubbornly I thought

Pan shook his head Alana was right you canÆt treat him like a person better to think about him as a monster

He fights like a person Isabella said waspishly as indignation rose in her chest But in her heart she knew that she was just trying to defend her foolish mistake Randidly GhosthoundÆs blows were anything but light

In fact Isabella had even been surprised that her arms were numbed by the first strike It felt like getting punched in the gut even when she blocked it She was trying to calculate how many of such blows she could endure when he had hit her the second time Much much harder

Grimacing Pan turned around and looked at the backs of the Squad that moved to protect them ThatÆs why heÆs so dangerous But we donÆt have time to talk HeÆs coming

If we retreat to But Isabella trailed off Their back lines were still engaged in a furious battle with the woman who summoned that strange red sphere And to their front huge whips of vines physically battered the twelve defenders to the side revealing a single figure

His black hair had grown wild sticking out over his head His eyes were emerald green instantly locking onto Isabella and Pan Although his body was covered in sprays of blood Isabella knew that none of it was his own In his hands was that strange leafy spear

Perhaps the most disturbing was the phantom behind him still reaching out covetously toward Isabella as though she was some object that the crazed monster sought to possess Isabella shivered in spite of herself

Were you talking about me Randidly GhosthoundÆs grin was wide and vicious Seeing him now it was easy to see how this man could have easily created the superpower that was Donnyton Even his presence was enough for Isabella to feel like he was suffocating Waves of ash spread outward darkening the nearby air

Isabella and Pan didnÆt participate in the early Zone trials they were frozen in stasis until the Zones connected to New Earth They were one of the first batches of refugees found and brought to Donnyton

During their training there was always this sense that they had missed out somewhat by being frozen All those who survived that time spoke of it in hushed tones When two strangers both learned they were one of the original members of a Zone there was instantly a knowing look they exchanged Both recognized the desperation the other had to go through

In a similar way all those individuals never spoke much about Randidly Ghosthound And when they did speak it was never casual His was a name that none of the original inhabitants of Donnyton would willingly bring up Most of the new members were either obsessed or dismissive of him thinking that his exploits had been exaggerated

Neither of these attitudes was enough to draw more than an expression of respect out of the original members

Isabella hated it She hated that she felt excluded because of something she couldn’tÆ control She hated that the original people of Donnyton treated Randidly like some secret that needed to be kept She hated how to them he was something more than a human

He was a man just like everyone else So Isabella had pushed and prodded until she found a man willing to speak at length about Randidly Ghosthound His name was Stan and he was the elected commander of DonnytonÆs army based on his tactical acumen

And all she had managed to get from Stan was the urging to stay away from Randidly Ghosthound and the following few sentences HeÆs not a fraud everything youÆve heard is real In fact I bet that bastard is twice the monster that people say But always remember this his favor is just as dangerous as his ire The people who interact with him never come away unscathed

Which of course was endlessly infuriating to Isabella Yet now facing him she understood why the people who had seen Randidly Ghosthound fight didnÆt want to speak about it

To know him was to face your own weakness And before him she was just

Bella Get your shield up Pan said smacking her back By instincts her left leg pivoted backward and she kept her right arm up as the only exposed portion of her body RandidlyÆs attack smashed her backward sending her sprawling

Daggers spun in PanÆs hands as he rushed to strike in the opening that Isabella created Scrambling to her feet Isabella righted herself just in time to see Pan cursing and cutting away at the ashen blades that cut at him from the sides All of the attacks concentrated on his legs seeking to seal PanÆs mobility

Isabella roared and rushed toward Randidly but he disappeared and reappeared behind Pan

Quicker than Isabella could believe Pan performed a backflip to avoid the spear thrust and flung something down at Randidly A blade of ash cut the projectile out of the air just before it was going to hit RandidlyÆs eyes

To IsabellaÆs shock Randidly was grinning at the still midair Pan You cut your own arm to get blood to blind me

Pan smiled uneasily at Randidly as he twisted through the air Well I havenÆt been able to get any of your blood so

Grunting Randidly gestured and produced thick spikes of plant matter that rushed up toward Pan Because Isabella could sense the roots and vines that ripped through the warriors that rushed to assist them she knew that no one would be able to get there in time

Sibling Bond gave her the burst of speed she needed closing the distance to Pan in a split second Two of the spikes she blocked with her shield while she was forced to slow the others by allowing them to pierce her side and thigh

Quick as a flash Pan spun and landed on her upturned stomach avoiding the spikes Then he pulverized her organs as he leapt forward toward Randidly who was only a meter away Go for it little brother

An ashen blade shot out to stop PanÆs thrust but his Aura Shield emerged and reduced the strength of the attack enough that his arm was just laid bare to the bone rather than severed

A sense of elation filled Isabella as she saw PanÆs dagger stab into RandidlyÆs shoulder But that feeling of pride was quickly transformed into confusion as both Pan and Randidly stayed very still allowing PanÆs Stamina Syphon to work

how Pan finally asked

You can drain me up to your Stamina pool right Well just this little amount I can eat the cost

His spear cut Pan open blood filling the air in a wide arc Slowly Pan toppled over backward Randidly looked down at them for a second considering Finally he said Before you get Level 50 find Nathan

Then Isabella passed out When she awoke she was told that they hadnÆt managed to beat the previous team’s record of lasting against Randidly Ghosthound

Chapter 925

Mrs Hamilton raised an eyebrow “It certainly took you a while to head down here But I suppose I should have expected that you would drag your feet Did you get lost “

“I was watching just from a ways away ” Stan frowned down at the relatively empty VIP box Alana and Hank were still sprawled in their positions but the rest of their group had gone Hopefully the Cortez siblings would recover quickly enough to watch the next rung but they hadnÆt yet returned “But you can’t be angry at me no one else is here either “

Hank cracked a nut loudly between his fingers Alana just shook her head in disgust as she continued to brood and stare at Randidly

“The rest are mostly doing their own personal preparation ” Mrs Hamilton said studying Stan closely “They will be here when we need them But we did want to make sure you had the chance to watch Randidly fight “

“Yes I saw him massacring the Squads ” Stan said darkly His face was thin and pale and the dark stubble on his chin and neck revealed that he hadn’t shaved in several days At the best of times his brand of self care was sporadic But RandidlyÆs presence brought out all of his fears and insecurities

You were too rough with this one Mrs Hamilton thought while hiding her sigh He cannot rid himself of the flinch you implanted in him

After scratching at his neck in irritation Stan gestured out to the arena “This is his element He’s feeding on us is in a weird way Challenging him here was foolish Rather than this direct confrontation we could have just “

“Too late now ” Alana pointed out

Bah Stan threw up his hands in disgust Then he folded his arms and muttered You want a miracle out of me

Mrs Hamilton shook her head slowly Nothing so precious as a miracle Just an opinion As leader of DonnytonÆs forces you have a responsibility One to face all the battles that come our way regardless of how afraid you are Right now we are fighting a battle against Randidly Ghosthound And it is not going well

Flinching Stan took a step back His bloodless lips pressed tightly together as he struggled to control the sea of emotions that was surging in his chest Emotions he helplessly absorbed from those in the surrounding area Right now more than anyone else could ever possibly understand Stan was feeling the weight of DonnytonÆs struggle with the challenge

Their loss of hope was much more dangerous than just a single man bleakly watching the Ghosthound rampage He was living DonnytonÆs reaction to the challenge played out in miniature

To see him so full of doubt was obviously a sign of how badly things were proceeding but Mrs Hamilton would have been shocked if it was otherwise That was just how thorough a thrashing Randidly was giving to the Squads

But aside from his mastery of strategy that familiarity with DonnytonÆs emotions was exactly why they needed Stan To goad Donnyton forward Randidly was striking at the hearts of the people of Donnyton Stan was a direct line to that battle

If he could be brought around to their side

Then it would become about momentum And I have no intention to allow Randidly to pass the 8th rung

For the moment Mrs Hamilton was satisfied when StanÆs expression shifted to studious blankness Rather than facing the emotions it was fine that he relied on his inherent Skills to numb himself Ever since Randidly had changed something inside of Stan shown Stan some truth about himself the man had become increasingly reliant on numbness to get by in his daily life

It was a dangerous reliance But right now Mrs Hamilton couldnÆt deny that this cold version of Stan was better than one rocked by bitterness and fear

Yet in the face of his continued success as a commander Mrs Hamilton had no reason to remove him from his position She regretted her passive watchfulness now but there was nothing that could be done at the moment Stan was necessary Which meant she would ignore his dangerous proclivities

When Stan finally spoke his voice was rough Fine I will stay here and watch But I cannot promise you the GhosthoundÆs head Just a possibility of catching one of his hairs

Alana chuckled darkly I mean right now even that would be an improvement

Stan clicked his tongue Perhaps But I suspect that Eli will not allow this rung to pass without striking an important blow against the Ghosthound

Eli is strong sure Mrs Hamilton said calmly And when you are unaware of his Skill you can quickly fall into his trap ThatÆs how he was able to seize the spot of DonnytonÆs First Squad for a week But Randidly is smart once you know EliÆs trick well it can be seen from the fact his Squad has fallen to Tenth

If itÆs just one battle and if the Ghosthound loses his cool It is possible for him to be tripped up by Eli Iron Stan announced to the room

Both women raised their eyebrows at that Almost guilty Stan shrugged Ah well I had predicted that our conversation would go about as it did so I took some action beforehand I ordered Eli to do something very foolish

Mrs HamiltonÆs gaze sharpened But Stan remained determined in the face of her ire His back was straight and she could tell that he reduced his reliance on his numbing Skills But that just made Mrs HamiltonÆs mood turn even sourer

This fool if he wasnÆt about to take an extremely dangerous chance he wouldnÆt be nervous enough to keep himself sober What the hell have you done Stan

Mrs HamiltonÆs regret was gathering together and forming a lead weight that pressed against her diaphragm

Stan gritted his teeth If we didnÆt start to change the pace now it would be too late by the time you all got out onto the stage In this challenge we need to make sure the illusion that Randidly Ghosthound is invulnerable is shattered

Randidly looked across curiously toward a tall old man that was striding across the arena toward him It seemed that the next group Squads Twenty through Ten had already arranged themselves in formation The next rung of the HoundÆs Ladder would be starting in a few minutes

Randidly gave Helen a sidelong glance Sensing his intention Helen shook her head sharply she wasnÆt familiar with who this was

So Randidly simply accepted this and passively watched as the man approached His grey hair was combed back from his head and tied up into a man bun making the man resemble a retired samurai Of all his hair only the manÆs sideburns were still thick and black He had a plain face that would be more at home in an accountantÆs office than on a battlefield

But Randidly could tell from the manÆs gait that he was a warrior through and through And the manÆs posture spoke of calm confidence as he walked toward this most recent battle against the man who founded Donnyton

When he arrived before Randidly he extended a calloused hand Hello Mr Ghosthound IÆm Eli Iron captain of the 10th Squad I fought in the first challenge as well although I was just a regular member back then so you probably donÆt remember me

Randidly looked down at the hand And then Randidly grinned Even if Eli Iron was over here just as a ruse to make Randidly seem more approachable and friendly to the watching public Randidly didnÆt mind that sort of manipulation Even if the introduction was completely a cover the aura that Randidly threw off was not so weak that someone with a half assed motivation could approach easily

This man had strength Which meant that Randidly would give him the respect he deserved

So Randidly reached out and took EliÆs hand Even regular members have a role And the fact that you grew to this position makes me doubt you were regular

Blinking RandidlyÆs first response was confusion For a split second he was so shocked by what he was seeing that he didnÆt react He felt Acri tighten its grip on his neck but still Randidly didnÆt move

It seemed to him that what he was seeing was incorrect Like a warped surreal monster that appeared and made one realize that they were within a dream The dull talk of the arena spectators stretched into rumbling drums Finally Randidly gave Acri his assent

Randidly blinked again as Acri slashed forward and cut off EliÆs hand The appendage and the clutched dagger soared past RandidlyÆs arm and hit the arena ground with a clatter Tilting his head to the side Randidly tightened his grip on EliÆs right hand Flecks of blood hit RandidlyÆs cheek

For a full second no one moved Blood spurted out of the stump of EliÆs wrist dripping onto RandidlyÆs White Steel greaves

To EliÆs credit he didnÆt flinch and had the decency to flush with embarrassment The arena which had steadily increased its volume to a murmur since Randidly had triumphed over the Cortez siblings instantly froze

RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed What the hell was that

When Eli spoke his voice echoed throughout the whole arena I suppose a sneak attack was a bad idea But still I hope you understand I bear you no ill will

The boneÆs of EliÆs right hand began to groan as Yyrwood Body of Yggdrasil instinctively activated RandidlyÆs grip tightened like a vice Did you really expect that to work No you must have known it wouldnÆt So why

Someone had to change the focus Eli sighed Even though the pain of his hand being crushed must have been immense his face remained entirely focused on their conversation You are coming at Donnyton with intent to destroy everything that Donnyton has worked to accomplish over the past few years And yet we still revere you as a hero IsnÆt it strange to respect you when you are threatening our livelihood with this challenge

Almost disgusted Randidly looked at Eli Iron He was also hyper aware that there were thousands of people listening in to their conversation The possibilities buzzed in RandidlyÆs temples You are one of the most powerful people in Donnyton You lead the Tenth Squad Setting aside the competition breaking the rules like this and trying to attack a guest has consequences

Maybe But I think I have a good read on you Still Eli seemed to be obvious to his twitching hand on the ground The respectable seeming old man looked earnestly at Randidly as though he were urging a student to put in just a little more work to pass the course This is still within the zone you can accept Besides you want to shatter the image of power that Donnyton has right Certainly my actions helped in that regard With this isnÆt Donnyton shattered

Fury coursed through Randidly veins Because Eli Iron was certainly right

But this isnÆt fucking about our challenge or my goal of getting Donnyton to embrace a new image Randidly fumed inwardly as he felt a bone in EliÆs hand shatter This has political ramifications That Donnyton was willing to strike at me to try and win a challenge that they were clearly losing before Even if it had no effect on the challenge the effect on DonnytonÆs pride

RandidlyÆs gaze swept sideways to the VIP box This was a politically idiotic mood It was basically suicide for DonnytonÆs global aspirations This single event if the viewers correctly grasped what was going on would result in the other Zones always having a bullet to the head of DonnytonÆs political credibility

The modern world couldnÆt function without trust in the institution Donnyton was the same the threat of violence could only carry you so far It was possible to be feared and revered but to change the world

It was true that Randidly was here to erase the mission statement of the current institution But he didnÆt want to destroy the whole establishment Images were his focus Yet this made the consequences of the challenge much more far reaching

If he had been able to figure out what was happening a bit more quickly but no how could he have been ready for such a poor executed sneak attack

Even now Randidly quaked with wrath as he considered it Mrs Hamilton would not have gambled so brazenly with DonnytonÆs credibility No this