LoRG 2

Not that he had truly sought to prevent it but now the forces of Donnyton had crossed the sixty or so meters that separated them to begin the match With the remnants of frost and strengthening in the ground RandidlyÆs Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil were still weakened in the area surrounding him If he wanted to thin their ranks he would need to use other avenues

The next phase then letÆs see how far you can go Donnyton Randidly thought as his Crown began to brighten Above him the image of Yggdrasil became even more distinct A powerful wind swirled around the tree its branches were alive with malice toward these transgressors IÆve harried you with Skills but now you need to truly face the might of two images Are you prepared

Like physical weight Randidly released the last vestiges of restraint he kept over YggdrasilÆs aura The golden letter brightened and the power it released began to climb upward Seeing some of the weaker individuals who remained pale Randidly knew that this would give them a reason to pause their rapid advance

Of the initial fifty or so individuals that had joined the fight against Randidly sixteen had been eliminated With nine moving to handle Helen that meant there were a little less than thirty people gathering around Randidly

Before Yggdrasil that seemed like an incredibly small number

GRaawwhh

Chuckling Randidly considered the two headed bear that was bounding toward him Alright fine thirty people and a bear A bear that doesnÆt know when it is far beyond its depth Tragic creature allow me to teach you fear

But the bearÆs charge seemed to be a signal Donny moved forward his armor glowing with warm energy In their wake the rest of DonnytonÆs forces spun closer Most simply threw ranged Skills at Randidly to distract him but they were steadily increasing the pressure on him Mrs Hamilton and Sam moved forward aiming for RandidlyÆs back while he was forced to face the freight train of a monster that was charging toward his front

Truly all of DonnytonÆs strength was gathered here and they moved like a well oiled ballista to strike Randidly down out of the sky

Above his head the Grim Chimera clicked its tongue it had received this sort of reaction for its entire existence This level of rejection could not shake its foundations To live as the Chimera is to be persecuted It would have been more surprising if they had not moved to kill him and revealing his identity

Baring his teeth Randidly shifted his emphasis from Yggdrasil to the Grim Chimera Using the World Tree let him weaken the projectiles but for what came next he would need the more offensive image Yes this is exactly right Struggle Exhaust yourselves I am no longer your hero my existence has become your Tribulation Despair Donnyton because I do not need blades to strike you down

As the attacks neared Randidly he slowly blinked His heart began to once more pump loudly in his chest The ChimeraÆs grey body twitched and twisted Along its strange limbs the bones popped and fractured Its muscles were flooded with blood and mucus as it shifted morphing into something else The process was painful But since the Chimera was born every breath had been painful to the point that living was a slog through the grey and bleak agony That was the price of its power

Yet despite that grim price the Chimera paid it Because no joy was more intoxicating than the truth of existence To simply revel in the moment was a victory against countless foes that beggared themselves to end the Chimera To spite them all Chimera would continue to savor the sweet nectar of life that it possessed

In the surrounding air grey blades of malice and rejection formed They seemed to absorb the surrounding light able to be seen only in the absence of existence that could be witnessed against the backdrop of the surrounding battle

A thought from Randidly sent them spiraling outward toward the surrounding elites of Donnyton Perhaps due to their darkness some people didnÆt even notice their approach Very quickly those blades ripped through the best armor that Donnyton could forge and brought the victims to a dead stop

For a second no one seemed to have understood what had happened Well no one who had fallen prey to the blades Then Ptolemy hurried forward but too many were hit too quickly Blood sprayed out of a dozen life threatening wounds collapsing the advance toward Randidly

Curse your Fates because I do not need shields to defeat your feeble attacks

There was a sharp uptick in the volume of RandidlyÆs heartbeat and the spasms racking the ChimeraÆs body increased But around it bleak darkness slowly gathered In it were all the frigid images of ash that Randidly had worked so tirelessly to form so he might find balance

At a speed visible to the naked eye thin tendrils of the mist snaked outward Toward the many Skills that were shooting toward Randidly these tendrils seemed disdainful They reared upward and forcefully smashed that attacks to nothing A shower of bright sparks was the only gravestone to the defeated volley

Fall silent because your champions will be slaughtered

The ChimeraÆs terrible mouth opened revealing a dark funnel to a perpetually empty stomach RandidlyÆs gaze was locked upon the two headed bear

Man is Proud but the Chimera Takes

RandidlyÆs body blurred forward shooting toward the spectral creature summoned by Glendel As Randidly raised his spear all the terrible fury he held in his chest spiraled toward the tip of Acri That horrible darkness condensed into an infinitely small and sharp point with an intensity that set the air humming as he thrust forward

Its eyes dazed the two headed bear staggered backward two steps The flesh of its shoulder was mangled with a hole in its side that seemed to indicate that the bear had been struck by a howitzer rather than a spear

With glowing eyes Randidly set his feet and thrust Acri quickly upward toward the bearÆs face Around him those struck by his grim blades hadnÆt even hit the ground yet Their bodies were still buckling under the force of the attack Those that threw projectiles watched wide eyed as their attacks were dissipated and Randidly teleported to rip a hole through the two headed bear

As one the arena held its breath

The Grim Chimera raised its open mouth to heaven and cackled Without an image Randidly was completely unmatched as he romped among them After he struck down this bear

Donny wielding a golden shield that illuminated the surrounding twenty meters with light interposed himself between Randidly and the bear Very quickly Randidly switched his target and slammed his spear against DonnyÆs shield knocking the man backward

But that second of stillness was enough for Donnyton to make its decision it would fight Around Randidly the elite of Donnyton struck Randidly couldnÆt help but grin If you hadnÆt chosen this I would have been disappointed

Sam reached Randidly first His azure hammer smashed toward RandidlyÆs back But rather than the blow the real damage came in the form of the aura of cold that blasted outward Very quickly Randidly could see that this weapon of SamÆs was extremely powerful Although the materials probably werenÆt superior to RandidlyÆs new items this was the true masterwork of Sam This was what he had poured himself into

In the area around the freezing aura RandidlyÆs body simply shifted Like a ghost he floated through the area affected by the aura without being afflicted by its chilling cold Slowly RandidlyÆs grin widened So it really could be used like this too

Molten Fang of the Pariah ripped forward in a counter forcing Sam to bring his buckler shield around to deflect RandidlyÆs attack But Sam wasn’t prepared for close combat It had been too long since he practiced against real enemies with any consistency With brutal efficiency Randidly adjusted the trajectory of his thrust The blow skittered upward across the shield and laid open SamÆs forearm the burning heat cauterizing the wound painfully just as quickly as the gash had been opened

Cursing Sam stumbled backward and almost lost his grip on his hammer But before Randidly could follow up Paolo and Kayle struck one high and one low

Snorting Randidly activated ReaperÆs Mantle of CatastropheÆs The dark grey aura blasted outward hitting both Paolo Kayle and the surrounding people who moved in to follow up while Randidly was distracted Adding to that Randidly pressed his Willpower against the image rapidly raising the efficacy of the restrictive effect the Skill possessed

The air chilled as an effect much more poignant and immediate than the cold provided by SamÆs hammer gathered More than that the real advantage that RandidlyÆs Skill possessed was that the cold wasnÆt strictly spiritual it would also directly affect an individualÆs ability to use Skills Such was the chilling despair that Randidly wielded

He felt both Paolo and KayleÆs nascent images struggle to resist the frigid touch but soon RandidlyÆs gaze filled with emerald fire This isnÆt nearly enough The Chimera Weeps as Man Mourns

Dozens of blows shot outward inflicting several deep wounds on both Paolo and Kayle But neither flinched in fact both pressed forward With a flick of the wrist Acri smashed outward Both men were sent tumbling away

Curse of Weakness Mrs Hamilton shouted There was a stinging on RandidlyÆs right arm and he looked down to see a tattoo slowly spreading outward Immediately he felt Stamina begin to drain away

Chapter 943

Rather than getting upset Randidly simply used Aether Detection to inspect it for a split second Unfortunately it was not something that he could simply unravel with his understanding of Skills not without a great deal of time And for all that Randidly had an advantage that wouldnÆt last if he had to let this Curse of Weakness continue its effect on him Even now its influence was rapidly growing

Truly Mrs HamiltonÆs Skills were more dangerous than he expected There was an immediate noticeable debuff to his Physical Stats If this kept up even Randidly would be worried that Donnyton could catch him even through the veil of his image

As they say Quantity has a Quality all its own Fighting this many people who are above my Level and have a Fate is difficult But I still think

Donny had regained his footing and dashed back toward him attempting to hit Randidly with a Shield Bash Shaking his head Randidly simply raised his left arm and used Raucous PhantomÆs Finale He could feel that the energy within the arm was running low but that didnÆt matter right now

RandidlyÆs physical stats were simply too high He didnÆt need the Skill to add any extra oomph

The punch to his shield stopped Donny dead In fact the young man stumbled a half step backward trying to regain his balance after abruptly having his momentum dispersed Instead of following up Randidly simply looked down at the growing tattoo on his arm

Before his very eyes RandidlyÆs flesh rippled like the surface of a pond in a rainstorm Slowly the speed that the tattoo was spreading slowed Then as the ripples concentrated around the tattoo on his arm the black lines slowly shrunk

Three seconds later the Curse of Weakness was gone Acri struck left and right smashing arrows and mage Skills out of the air He had made it through the process whole and swore to himself not to allow the Curse to happen again

Unfortunately Randidly had ripped through a huge chunk of Stamina in order to utilize Chimeric Avoidance in that way But with the tools at his disposal that wasnÆt nearly as debilitating as it used to be

Cursed Appetite of the Wraith

The Grim Chimera hovering over Randidly opened its mouth and a huge wind sprang up The armor of the wounded around Randidly rattled as he pulled Stamina and Mana toward himself in a huge wave Empowered by the oppressive image that was surrounding the Donnyton forces this time he absorbed almost four hundred of both Attributes in a split second gulp While this amount was relatively small compared to the size of his pools it did give him enough capital to play with for now

After all his monstrous regenerations would take care of the rest from here Provided of course that he wouldnÆt blow through his Stamina in the next few minutes

Seeing her curse disappear and feeling the strength pulled her body Mrs HamiltonÆs expression darkened No more holding back Hit him with everything weÆve got

Instantly the expressions of DonnytonÆs elite hardened Sam raised his arm and simply threw his hammer toward Randidly The air around it began to slowly spin as the strange energy contained in the hammer exploded outward Very quickly it became clear why Sam had taken that course of action the energy released by the hammer interfered with RandidlyÆs images

Like a storm the cold winds surrounding the hammer rose up Yggdrasil pressed downward on the hammer but its passage through the air seemed to activate some passive ability of it The more it moved the more chill air gathered around it

Yet that wasnÆt enough The Grim Chimera roared its dominance and the aura produced by the hammer slowly shrunk Ambient energy was effective against Randidly in the broader sense but that was only when it wasnÆt faced with a condensed image As it was the Grim Chimera reached out and slashed The hammer was smashed to the ground its energy dispersed

Another wave of those dark grey blades shot outward cutting through those individuals that barely had managed to withstand the previous wave of assaults Of course there was a cost to lashing out like this DonnytonÆs true heroes had another second to gather themselves

But with more blood on the air Randidly knew that Helen would become even more troublesome for Alana to deal with Even now he periodically used Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil to strike at their legs But as DonnytonÆs attacks against him grew more concentrated he spent more and more attention making sure to track all the threats surrounding him

At that thought RandidlyÆs gaze slid sideways to that distant battlefield The combination of Dozer and Alana was trouble even for him Although Helen couldnÆt face them directly her empowered Domain gave her enough mobility to avoid their debilitating strikes But what Randidly didnÆt understand was why they werenÆt using those two to pin him down

RandidlyÆs gaze tightened If they donÆt want to reveal their tricks IÆll just force the issue They wonÆt be able to hold out forever Man is Proud but the Chimera Takes

The ground beneath RandidlyÆs feet shattered as he threw himself forward The two headed bearÆs paw smashed the ground where Randidly had been standing a split second later enlarging the crater in the arena Roaring in fury the bear raised both of its head and attempted to locate the evaporated Randidly

Instantly after moving Randidly appeared before Ptolemy Once more that point of terrible cravings and resentment swirled around Acri forming an irresistible weight However unlike the bear PtolemyÆs body had none of the resiliency necessary to handle this strike without being obliterated immediately

But once again Donny appeared bringing his glowing shield up to smash toward Randidly It seemed that Donny possessed Skills relating to saving others because there was no other way to explain the sudden bursts of speed he displayed in the last instances right before Randidly was going to strike

Yet Randidly just smiled Taking Ptolemy out of the fight would certainly make it easier to pick off DonnytonÆs fill ins but that wasnÆt such a big deal But Randidly had been sure that Donny would move himself to block Ptolemy if he struck In DonnytonÆs mind likely the value of a combat medic was extremely high

If you think his Mana pool matters against an image you are a fool But on the other hand RandidlyÆs eyes once more pierced through to trace the strange shapes of Aether around Donny that he couldnÆt understand ItÆs much safer to take you out now DonÆt blame me for being rough

The Chimera Weeps as Man Mourns A dozen blows curved outward in a dense web not toward Donny but toward Paolo Kayle and the three more elite Classers that had moved to surround Randidly as he struck at Ptolemy Truly they wouldnÆt allow him to have time to isolate and strike at any single individual But it was time to test the limits of their ability

This time they all acted defensively in response to his blows But still Acri traced several deep gashes across the arms of the elites Yet with their experience Paolo and Kayle were able to endure and stepped forward to attack again Small amounts of energy gathered toward their strikes as they mimicked RandidlyÆs ability to use images in an extremely crude way

Ignoring them RandidlyÆs left arm blurred into motion Instantly DonnyÆs shield whipped upward to block Yet when Randidly used the metallic arm to seize the lip of DonnyÆs shield he could sense the younger manÆs shock

Randidly whipped around physically throwing Donny in the air toward the edge of the arena Kayle and PaoloÆs blows were strong but Chimeric Avoidance meant both smashed against Sulfur almost harmlessly And then Randidly used Man is Proud but the Chimera Takes to blast past them and arrive before the airborne Donny

Donny twisted midair and raised his sword eyes blazing Randidly sensed a dozen individuals moving to stop him but he had simply moved too quickly For this exchange it was just the two of them

Blow of Reckoning Donny bellowed as he swung his sword to meet RandidlyÆs thrust

The blows met each other and Donny was smashed downward against the arena ground Perhaps due to the significant strengthening that the arena experienced but the ground only cracked and Donny bounced almost five meters off the ground to float back upward toward RandidlyÆs position

While DonnyÆs expression was stunned Randidly raised his spear Acri began to glow cherry red as he prepared the Molten Fang of the Pariah

Yet as he moved to finish Donny off the sound of a dozen arrows cutting through the air made Randidly grin Too late DonÆt forget there are still two images here that you need to contend with

The cracked ground split as Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil finally had a weakness it could easily exploit The arena split and revealed the bounty of the Earth Those thorny roots whipped upward and smashed the arrows to the side Inwardly Randidly was surprised how powerful they were but it wouldnÆt be enough

Grimacing Randidly twisted and unleashed his Molten Fang of the Pariah upward There hadnÆt been any noise his ears could catch but the ripples of Aether gave away the fearsome nature of the attack

I knew your fangs were longer than this Annie Randidly gnashed his teeth and smashed the arrow to the side Even though he completely overpowered it he was knocked down by the force Compared to her previous arrows this one was about three times as powerful and moved double as quickly Without Aether Detection he probably would have simply been smashed by that attack

It wouldnÆt have killed him but it certainly would have inflicted a deep wound To know that Annie had saved such a silent attack just went to show how seriously she took this challenge

Abruptly Randidly reversed his grip on Acri and stabbed backward Unfortunately Donny had used the moment Randidly was distracted to regain his focus and now moved to smash Randidly with his shield

Perfect Disengage Donny called Even though RandidlyÆs spear clearly contained the superior power DonnyÆs shield seemed to be just as alive as Acri as it twisted to the side knocking RandidlyÆs hyper sharp thrust to the side In addition Randidly felt some part of his airborne momentum stolen

As he floated through the air Donny landed perfectly on the ground and began to sprint back toward the others Even now Paolo Kayle and the two headed bear were bounding over toward Randidly

Eyes flashing Randidly manipulated Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil Although Donny initially used his sword to scythe through the roots they were more numerous and tenacious than Donny could reasonably account for Very quickly he was slowed to a walk as he swung his sword and cursed

As soon as Randidly touched the ground he had crossed the distance to Donny But Mrs HamiltonÆs voice cut across the arena from behind Randidly Donny Do it now

Lightning fast Donny produced something from an interspatial ring and tossed it toward Randidly Without even thinking Randidly brought Acri upward and bissected the sudden projectile to disperse its force Yet what truly surprised Randidly was how easily the item was ripped in half

His eyes focused

It was

a mutated groundhog

ItÆs a corpse Randidly thought His eyes narrowed

Despite the small size of the corpse the explosion set dark energy and bits of gore included quite a bit of concussive force With Chimeric Avoidance Randidly didnÆt take any damage but it did mean that he missed the Aether signature of the next attack until it was too late

Howling with fury the Grim ChimeraÆs image pulsed with power Yet when RandidlyÆs body finished twisting and he finally landed there was a deep gash in his arm Blood gurgled up and spilled down over his new gloves It was with sharp eyes that Randidly considered the man in front of him

Decklan licked RandidlyÆs blood off of his dagger with deliberate glee His eyes were somewhat glazed as though he was inebriated by the experience That same terrible bitterness was still present but now it was pressed to the side so a manic sort of glee could fill Decklan What did you think I would miss this

RandidlyÆs gaze shifted to Mrs Hamilton Can you imagine the look on his face huh Æ

Around him DonnytonÆs Classers continued to circle like hyenas licking their wounds

Chapter 944

Alana how much longer Mrs Hamilton asked through party chat

hard to say Soon But as you expected sheÆs trouble

Now that they were forced to reveal Decklan so early they couldnÆt afford to keep allowing Randidly to pick them off one by one It was time to drag this monster down while they still had spare manpower DonÆt hold back Even if one of you gets injured we are going to need you to keep him still long enough for Beryl to use the Skill

Got it Came AlanaÆs bland reply

Mrs Hamilton clicked her tongue The fact that the woman replied at all in the middle of the fight was a testament to how annoyed she was Although Mrs Hamilton fully understood that frustration it didnÆt matter right now They needed to get rid of Helen before they could corner Randidly

Decklan spun his dagger expertly I must say I had to stay almost five miles away before Mrs Hamilton was satisfied She was worried youÆd be able to sense me from any closer than that So I havenÆt seen these images of yours in person IÆve only heard about them But now that IÆm here are they really that powerful

Randidly didnÆt reply Although the gash on his arm was deep she felt a sinking feeling in her chest She had wanted that blow to be debilitating not just cut away a chunk of RandidlyÆs Health

His expression remained inscrutable as he studied Decklan His emerald eyes seemed to glow and Mrs Hamilton suspected that he was directly viewing the recipientÆs Skills somehow It wasnÆt infallible based on RandidlyÆs continued intense stare at Donny but it would still give him an idea what to expect with Decklan

Besides DecklanÆs first strike would undoubtedly be the most damaging Without the element of surprise it would be much harder to bleed Randidly once more The Shadow Teleportation that Decklan had used to move immediately to Mrs HamiltonÆs side had an extremely long cooldown or else this part of the fight would have been much easier

If she hadnÆt believed it was necessary Mrs Hamilton would have preferred not to use Decklan Both because the fact he wasnÆt listed as one of the participants or standing on the arena at the beginning of the match was extremely misleading and because of the strange darkness Decklan had carried since Tera had died

Meeting Randidly had done some good to even him out but it was clear that Decklan was not in a healthy mental state Yet they couldnÆt afford to lose here This was the strength of Donnyton If Randidly wanted to call them weak he needed to do that after enduring everything they could throw at him

If he wanted to complain or call her a liar he could do it after the match was decided

So letÆs Decklan began but Mrs Hamilton cut him off With the most recent round of casualties their numbers had fallen to barely twenty They simply didnÆt have time for any of this

Less talking more attacking Mrs Hamilton ordered You know his Regeneration if you wait too long he will simply heal all that damage back Move everyone Glendel Stop being cute

Got it Came GlendelÆs short reply Rather than continuing to charge his two headed bear pulled up short As it stood to its full height of seven meters it opened its mouth and gathered dozens of glowing motes of light Very soon those bits of light had condensed into an egg that blasted out a beam of concentrated energy

Even seeing that attack Mrs Hamilton felt a hint of loss in her chest That beam was the reason it had been so dangerous To that beam two of DonnytonÆs finest had died

Before the bear had even begun to gather energy for its blast Randidly began to move But Mrs Hamilton had prepared for that Her steel wires tightened around him like a garrote aiming to cut into his flesh Further Annie used two more of her precious Slaughter arrows pinning Randidly down

In order to make double sure he stayed in place Sam had retrieved his precious hammer and pointed it at Randidly A blast of concentrated cold short forward frosting the ground with its passage

Yet Randidly cut wildly severing most of Mrs HamiltonÆs wires Those few he missed were caught by the damned roots Mrs Hamilton tightened the wires but the roots were remarkably resilient It bought Randidly more than enough time to turn toward the blast unleashed by SamÆs hammer

In the face of the cold that terrible monster above Randidly howled His body rippled and the cold just passed through him Without blinking Randidly turned to face the beam unleashed at him by the two headed bears RandidlyÆs living spear cut forward to smashed the beam

For a second her breath caught in Mrs HamiltonÆs chest HeÆs going to face it directly Then there was a flash of light and a shockwave smashed Mrs Hamilton in the chest Gritting her teeth she forced herself to stay on her feet and continually monitored Randidly They couldnÆt afford for him to escape encirclement Luckily Decklan had used that moment to move closer and struck at RandidlyÆs back

Did you think I wouldnÆt take this chance DecklanÆs bitter comment cut through the smoke and dust

I was banking on it Randidly replied his voice completely calm despite tanking the attack that had killed two people while the two headed bear was alive

Both blurred into motion activating Skills that gave them multiple high speed attacks Yet as that monster twisted above Randidly Mrs Hamilton knew in her heart which one of them would end up on top

Coughing DecklanÆs body was riddled with six holes as he fell backward Meanwhile Randidly only had two relatively shallow cuts on him in addition to the large gash that Decklan originally inflicted It wasnÆt much but it meant they were catching him

In addition RandidlyÆs expression twitching as Decklan left another corpse floating in the air near him Simultaneously Donny produced another corpse and threw it at RandidlyÆs back

Right before she detonated the corpses with Corpse Explosion before RandidlyÆs spear blurred upward or the roots shot out of the ground to seize the corpse Donny threw at his back Randidly twisted his head and looked across the arena and looked at her His eyes were very very green

Corpse Explosion

Even as the force of the Skill rocked the surrounding area and filled the air with more debris Mrs Hamilton used hand signals to inform Donny and Glendel of the abrupt change in plans If IÆm not wrong it seems he finally views me as the biggest threat Good That will make the next part of this much easier

But contrary to her hopes Randidly didnÆt attack her immediately Instead another wave of those unpredictable grey blades formed Except this time it wasnÆt just a handful Almost two hundred gathered above the spot where the aftereffects of the Corpse explosion still lingered Without any warning they exploded outward to rain on the grim faced troops of Donnyton

Perhaps even more annoying was the fact that Randidly hadnÆt even had the decency to simply rely on numbers to inflict damage It seemed he actively controlled the blades to weave together in unpredictable patterns striking in tight clusters at the survivors While heard the pained cries of her men Mrs Hamilton moved her hands and brought her steel wires up to defend herself

Unfortunately these blades appeared to be more powerful than the previous waves As it was even she was unprepared for the full barrage Cursing Mrs Hamilton raised a hand and used Healing Touch to rapidly close the gash on her arm It was with a sort of bleak helplessness that she saw that PtolemyÆs leg had been ripped open in that wave as well

It seemed that perhaps Randidly had concentrated his fire more than Mrs Hamilton would have thought Casualties were mounting

Immediately Randidly appeared before her with his spear aimed at her heart Although he was clearly disheveled and bleeding the intensity in his eyes made Mrs Hamilton shiver

At times like this I wonder why I ever thought we could win she thought bitterly

Luckily Donny and Glendel didnÆt appear to have as much difficulty in enduring the blades as she had Both of them arrived next to her only a small fraction of time after Randidly While Glendel conjured a powerful Earth Golem spirit Donny used Aura of a Leader to boost all of their Stats a small amount

Heedless Randidly swept forward like a force of nature

The Earth Golem raised its arms but it was simply too slow After smashing one of its legs Randidly flowed around it like a playful spring breeze Donny had moved in RandidlyÆs path but Randidly avoided a direct confrontation and seemed to used that horrific Skill of his to not even need to dash around Donny Instead he ghosted through him and thrust his spear toward Mrs Hamilton

Releasing a breath Mrs Hamilton held up both hands before her and focused her attention IÆll only get one chance Where Force Fails the Invisible Hand Moves

It was incredibly inefficient to use her Skill on herself like To the point that her entire remaining Stamina pool was consumed to move only a small distance to the side Yet she dared not use the Skill on Randidly what if he could avoid its effect too

Plus her timing was good enough that what should have killed her simply passed almost immediately next to her The force of RandidlyÆs attack knocked Mrs Hamilton backward in a tumbling sprawl It was without any grace that she scrambled to her feet struggling to breathe as she felt Randidly sucking in their strength again

For a split second Mrs Hamilton feared that another blow was about to fall But when she looked up Decklan Paolo and Kayle were around Randidly harrying him

Decklan was too weakened by his wounds and was quickly smashed to the side but Kayle and Paolo both moved with grim intent Her earlier order removed the limiter she had placed on their Skills enabling them to use their true bread and butter Skills

From RandidlyÆs expression he immediately realized that they had saved a few tricks for this challenge Still he dodged KayleÆs slash without missing a beat Then when Paolo used Domineering Finisher Randidly simply endured it releasing nothing but a grunt

Paolo grinned like he was impressed

Mrs Hamilton sent a message to Alana We donÆt have any more time Get over here now

Chapter 945

AlanaÆs forehead creased with a frown If it were really that simple to subdue Helen we would have beaten her already Ultimately I misjudged her she is not a berserker SheÆs an endurance fighter

Although at every turn Helen chose to clash head on she excelled at making use of the collision to steal momentum and slip out of their encirclement Very quickly Alana realized that Helen could use their own attacks against them Pinning her down was almost impossible hearing that reminder of her role from Mrs Hamilton rankled

But Alana accepted the necessity and moved smartly toward the elusive Helen The blood red currents around Alana sought to bind her but a brief explosion of her own image was enough to shove those currents away Over the course of the fight Alana had grown much more familiar with utilizing her mental energy in this way It was clear why Randidly was pushing them toward this it was undoubtedly powerful

Even still her improvement left Alana bitter A small consolation prize for those who lost Randidly Ghosthound

Unleashing three quick thrusts Alana attempted to force Helen backward toward the Cortez siblings Unfortunately the other woman moved like a ghost along the unpredictable lines of the currents avoiding all of the strikes Both IsabellaÆs Shield Bash and PanÆs Unerring Thrust met only air

Growling Dozer swung his club from the side to cut off HelenÆs path of retreat Instantly the crimson currents spiraled downward to condense on his limbs

Of them all Dozer was the one with the most difficulty handling the currents Perhaps due to his physical size he was pushed and pulled in multiple directions constantly unable to exercise his complete strength Rather than an asset Dozer had become a liability he simply gave Helen too much cover when she escaped behind him

DonÆt conserve anything Alana said shortly We are finishing her now

Hissing Helen lashed out at Alana but Alana didnÆt even blink She cut downward aiming to inflict a blow even as Helen would hit her At this point such a trade would be ideal Of course Isabella quickly inserted herself between the two women protecting Alana

Helen was forced to spin away even as DozerÆs eyes took on the red hue of his berserk Skill For the next five minutes he would display physical stats that would make even Alana careful about challenging him to a direct fight

With a roar he stepped forward and forcefully ripped his way through the surrounding currents As they were ripped in half the Domain around them swirled without any direction The small shackles around Alana disperse quickly In that opening Pan appeared in a flash and thrust his rapier at Helen

Her parry was decisive quickly overpowering him But before she could follow up on the strike Alana blasted Helen in the side with a wave of fire It wouldnÆt wound her seriously but the small strikes would begin to add up despite how difficult to catch Helen was

Besides even if we havenÆt finished her yet sheÆs failed AlanaÆs gaze flicked to the side where Clarissa was performing some elaborate ritual Circles of Mana appeared around her in a tight cluster connecting her with the three other mages that stood with closed eyes around her For now this will need to be enough Mrs Hamilton Those four certainly been dutiful about chugging Mana potions

Then AlanaÆs sharp gaze turned back to Helen But back to business

The light coming from ClarissaÆs ritual slowly grew Around the arena a low wind began to pull at the edges of their clothes

Randidly gritted his teeth and paused in his frantic battle scanning around

On the ground in front of him the two headed bear moaned piteously Inwardly Randidly wondered what sort of existence it truly was It appeared to experience pain even though its soul had been subdued by Glendel Did that mean it could it experience other emotions Could it grow

Paolo and Kayle had backed off for the moment while Donny supported by Mrs Hamilton and Annie were continuing to harass him But that bearÆs beam attack needed to be stopped Although Randidly could endure it it forced him to set his feet and meet it each time During the second and third attack that the bear had unleashed Randidly had earned a deep wound on his right thigh and left calf Mrs Hamilton and Annie hadnÆt missed a chance to pincer him between their attacks while he was defending the long range strike

Which meant that the small wounds on his body were slowly adding up His Health had decreased by almost a third and his Stamina by half Even the enthusiastic Sulfur was starting to grow timid under the constant concentrated fire Even if Randidly blocked the reverberations from attacks were starting to get to him

But Donnyton was running out of Attributes and bodies to throw at him If he continued to thin out the nameless mobs that could endure his attacks and distract him

Then Randidly looked sharply upward Sighing Randidly took the time to crack his neck Above the familiar swirl of black clouds was beginning to gather It seemed that Helen had been pinned down enough that Clarissa could cast the spell

Although Helen was my first countermeasure donÆt you think standing there without moving is rather foolish

Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil surged upward and encountered strong resistance quickly revealing to Randidly that the surrounding ground had been empowered by the earth mage But that just made Randidly grin Although it cost him more Mana to rip up through this stopping this annoying wind Skill was more than worth it to him

He didnÆt have time to play with the elements right now He had an image to impress upon an entire town And this was a perfect chance to do that

Above leave rustled softly As Mana filled the roots they rapidly expanded in size to the point that the wickedly sharp thorns that curved up from their sides were almost as long and thick as the spade of a shovel The roots themselves were as thick as RandidlyÆs thigh When they ripped upward they punched directly through the hardened ground and slithered up toward the vulnerable mages

On cue Kayle Paolo and the ten or so remaining melee Classers from DonnytonÆs Squads surged forward to strike at him Randidly also felt a silent arrow shooting toward the back of his head With annoying predictability Mrs Hamilton flung two corpses through the crowd of bodies toward him The tumbled comically seeming to cartwheel midair

Do you think this is enough to stop me The Chimera Weeps as Man Mourns

A dozen sharp thrusts ripped in every direction cutting into the surrounding bodies Once more Paolo and Kayle chose to accept the sharp attacks and intended to inflict damage as compensation It was a bitter trade at this point but Randidly had no choice He had to knock away the small corpses back toward DonnytonÆs troops keeping Mrs Hamilton from detonating them

Those explosions were the source of most of the damage he had endured Letting that ambient curse energy pile up around him again was not a smart idea It seemed to leave a mark that allowed Mrs Hamilton to use Curse of Weakness In addition Randidly quickly realized that dark energy decreased all of his Regenerations Which at the moment was becoming increasingly important

PaoloÆs strike glanced off RandidlyÆs metallic shoulder and Kayle cut deep into his thing Chimeric Avoidance made it so the blows were small but he also felt the mental strain accumulate

However Randidly wasnÆt finished yet Chimera Weeps as Man Mourns Chimera Weeps as Man Mourns Chimera Weeps as Man Mourns

It quickly burned through his remaining Stamina but Randidly didnÆt care He struck outward again and again against DonnytonÆs Squads and then against the shadowy figure of Decklan who appeared behind him after the first Skill had finished But all of them were soon riddled with holes as Randidly just continued to lash out in every direction Kayle and Paolo endured the strike and attacked again

The Grim Chimera roared and condensed smashing AnnieÆs arrow off its course A sharp pain of metal strain made Randidly wince but he did not let up Across the battlefield the roots pierced up through the assistant mages and threw their flimsy bodies to the side But it was immediately clear that Clarissa had already absorbed their Mana and now floated ominously several feet off the ground as the wind around her intensified

Kayle and PaoloÆs blows made Randidly wince He had absorbed PaoloÆs strike directly with Sulfur while Randidly cut sideways with Acri to deflect KayleÆs attack

Unfortunately KayleÆs attack was sharp enough that some part of the Skill projected forward and cut a long gash along the side of RandidlyÆs face A flesh wound but it was another sliver of Health gone Meanwhile his whole body trembled as Paolo hit Randidly directly in the ribs with a fist that felt like a lead brick

Need to slow these two down TheyÆve fought me for too long they are getting good at it Randidly thought grimly A flick of the wrist had Acri spinning around RandidlyÆs arm Instead of using the spear Randidly simply stepped forward and reached out toward the two of them

After tossing the bodies aside RandidlyÆs roots bit toward Clarissa like a snake and encountered a glimmering barrier that flared to life around her Lashing out the roots found no weakness in its defenses

RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed he had missed the notes of Aether in the air because he had simply too much to watch but now that he knew what to look for RandidlyÆs gaze jumped to a slender young man standing next to Mrs Hamilton

Snorting Randidly set aside that issue for now and stepped forward His hands were like talons aiming for Kayle and Paolo

Paolo took the bold approach and ignored the strike Meanwhile Kayle seemed to recognize the unseen threat more directly and took a step back Rather than pulling back his knives Kayle simply flung the two he held forward and drew two more in a glimmering arc

Another powerful blow from Paolo struck RandidlyÆs ribs Something cracked even if it was just a fracture ThatÆs gonna be painful Meanwhile Kayle slashed at RandidlyÆs left wrist his knives skittering off the extremely dense metal The thrown knives scraped against his neck leaving thin wounds

RandidlyÆs eyes glowed With their responses expended the Talon Strikes smashed into them

More than that RandidlyÆs Whispersilk Gloves hit both of them Kayle was hit in the right shoulder as RandidlyÆs fingers piercing as easily through his leather armor as blades would cut through the material Immediately KayleÆs right arm trembled and then collapsed at his side as the numbing agent was injected into the surrounding muscle groups

Paolo was struck in the face The damage was less but very quickly his eyelids fluttered and closed Drool began to leak out of his mouth as his face was completely numbed

While both were struggling to cope RandidlyÆs leg flashed out and smashed them backward Then he leapt upward aiming for speed In his wake his greaves ignited and spread a wave of white blades cutting into the surrounding members of DonnytonÆs Squads They struggled and fell unable to handle their sudden wounds

In the sky Randidly slowly turned and regarded the darkening clouds with a serious expression As his headache built he began to focus

Chapter 946

RandidlyÆs exhausted Willpower let go of the image of the Grim Chimera for the moment The release was immediately and long overdue Maintaining both images at a level where they could affect the battle was a chore It was a relief to focus instead on only one image Yggdrasil

Annie fired some arrows upward during his ascent but Randidly was moving too quickly Most of DonnytonÆs elites below could only look up helplessly as he shot upward In the sky no one could touch him

As Randidly streaked up to the cloud cover the many branches of Yggdrasil seethed and flowed inward to fill the air around him as though a tide had come in and blown an endless sea of foliage toward Donnyton As more and more branches came the rustling of leaves grew louder And although it was quite dim the golden lettering that spiraled across every branch and leaf added to a constant wave of light that spread forward to embrace Randidly like a long lost child

That light stood in stark contrast to the dark clouds that had gathered above Clarissa The howling wind was already becoming audible Soon she would create another wind creature

DonÆt want to drag this out Randidly released a breath Deific Mien of Yggdrasil

That golden light that was surging abruptly shifted in tone While it remained the same base color all the warmth was instantly sucked away The golden light became cold and austere Under those rays of light the crowd paled and murmured almost unwillingly to each other That light was not something that most people could endure stoically

Deific Mien of Yggdrasil as a Skill was strange It was an aura but it didnÆt have any real offensive or defensive capabilities It caused others to respect him more to give his words more credence but it wasnÆt a charm based Skill it worked more on respect It didnÆt attempt to compel anyone to act it only forced people to acknowledge him

For the longest time Randidly didn’t really understand the usage of such a Skill But now that he had spent so much time enriching his own images Randidly realized the true purpose of such an aura it could be used to forcefully heighten the weight of the image to others

As Randidly spent more and more of his remaining mental strength that light that forced others to acknowledge his image grew increasingly bright and demanding And as it did so Randidly raised his right hand into a jagged claw

Once more his mind split into two In his right hand all of the vicious indignation that he felt for being forced to this point gathered His eyes were wide open as he crammed more and more Cruel Indignation of Yggdrasil into the tight space of his grip All the suffering he wished upon Stan became a ticking bomb in his white knuckled hand

Below roots smashed again and again against the barrier that surrounded the Mana flooded Clarissa Even with the deadly thorns Randidly wasnÆt able to make a dent He could feel a large flood of Mana ripped out of the slender young man to maintain the barrier but it didnÆt seem like it would fall quickly The young man continued to chug Mana potions

Randidly could have struck at him but he couldnÆt help but notice how tight Mrs Hamilton had layered her wires around the kid Of all the people right now the most dangerous to attack would by this barrier mage Plus Randidly had an idea

As the air around RandidlyÆs right hand continued to warp and ripple underneath the reality bending agony of Cruel Indignation of Yggdrasil Randidly pointed with his left hand toward Clarissa Time to open up the path

Three Wishes number two Reach of the Jade Slag

All the Hardens in the world couldnÆt stop the twenty meter jade claw that ripped out of the ground behind Clarissa Veins of gold traced thick pulsing lines across the claw An aura of power swept outward followed by a wave of heat As soon as it appeared Randidly felt Mrs Hamilton rapidly passing Mana potions to the man next to her

RandidlyÆs emerald eyes measured them all Then the claw smashed downward on the barrier

Instantly the ground shook all across the arena The force of the claw smashing down into the ground around Clarissa split the nearby earth into large shuddering shards Those cracks quickly spread outward as the blow skittered off the barrier and impacted the ground

Randidly supposed that it was his fault Those cracks quickly spread outward Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil had riddled the ground with holes No longer could the quarry withstand the continued structural damage that he inflicted If he wasnÆt careful the whole thing might just collapse into the surrounding water

The arena at the center of the water filled quarry was large but Randidly could now sense hair thin cracks running across the whole of it

But what surprised Randidly most of all was that Clarissa managed to endure the attack Although the black clouds had shrunk to only half of their previous size the barrier had held long enough for her to summon the being of wind directly on top of her position Wind blasted outward from her forcefully resisting the huge jade claw that attempted to crush her Rings of wind whirled at a speed so fast that even the heat was dispersed

But the barrier had broken All that she had now was wind

Randidly reached the apex of his leap and brought his hand holding the Cruel Indignation of Yggdrasil forward The headache in his temples was building It was one thing to use Deific Mien of Yggdrasil to enhance his image but it was another to condense all of the Cruel Indignation of Yggdrasil that he could into his hand Even worse Randidly forced his will into it enduring the agony and insisting that it travel along a straight line

His Willpower became a barrel his Indignation the bullet

As a trail of blood came out of his nose Randidly unleashed the blast There was no nose But before anyone could react it had devoured the distance to Clarissa and hit the side of her head Immediately her gaze became glazed The wind around her became sluggish and then dissipated

Without the wind Clarissa collapsed Then the heavy jade claw fell downward losing its power and simply becoming solid rock

But the attack didnÆt end there From Clarissa a wave of condensed Cruel Indignation of Yggdrasil spread outward Because they had interposed themselves between Helen and Clarissa AlanaÆs group was hit hardest of all The two Cortez siblings were blasted away by ragdolls unconscious And while Helen used their larger bodies as a screen Alana and Dozer both were hit with the abrupt mental damage stalling them for a split second

In that opening Helen inflicted a deep gash on DozerÆs chest and then struck at Alana Unfortunately Alana recovered in time to block And then Alana unleashed a blistering counterattack that had Helen scrambling backward

But as Randidly began to fall downward he was satisfied with this much The whole reason that he had accepted the significant extra mental strain was to strike a surprise blow at AlanaÆs group Even Randidly was taken by surprise by the difficulty of controlling so many image intensive Skills at once but if Helen was liberated by it it would be worth it

Once more Randidly looked at DonnytonÆs forces With the last few attacks the number of enemies he had to deal with had fallen to ten

Mrs Hamilton Annie Donny Sam Paolo Kayle and Glendel glared up at him Ptolemy was still active too healing the slender young man next to Mrs Hamilton Decklan was nowhere to be found but Randidly didnÆt doubt he was still active licking his wounds

Randidly grinned unexpectedly Hopefully your own blood is a little less spicy than mine eh Decklan

With the addition of Alana and Dozer there were only twelve people remaining who could stand against Randidly And those that remained were not well off Everyone was sweating and wounded Yet Randidly was as well

Randidly marshaled the remainder of his strength as he descended Time to finish things

Mrs Hamilton looked at Beryl ThatÆs too long We wonÆt be able to keep him still for a full second

Beryl paused in his rapid chugging of Mana Potions to glare at Mrs Hamilton From his trembling hands she could see how far beyond his comfort zone Beryl was Well then I canÆt help ItÆs going to take a full second ThatÆs the reality of my Skill Level

Over the past sixth months Beryl had risen through the ranks to become her right hand man Like the Cortez siblings Mrs Hamilton was grooming him to be the next generation of leaders in Donnyton Unlike the Cortez siblings however Mrs Hamilton made Beryl aware of the full suite of activities she took on DonnytonÆs behalf

It was a calculated bet to exposure him to the cruelty of reality because Beryl was a relatively timid person despite his brash manner of speech Hopefully he could learn when to use the soft approach and when to simply roll up his sleeves and eliminate a dangerous threat

But that was for later For now BerylÆs ability to create various barriers and arrays was one of their trump cards Mrs Hamilton looked across to the people gathered around How much gas do we have left

Plenty Annie said brightly But everyone else was too dirty and tired to answer

Mrs Hamilton nodded sharply Glendel we need some bodies Donny There isnÆt any choice Can you tell her to get ready

Glendel nodded with an expression of exhaustion and produced two spectral werewolves They were Level 62 and stood at almost three meters Donny shook his head but Mrs Hamilton knew he would do as he was told He understood why this was so important

HeÆs wounded Kayle said lightly as he looked up toward RandidlyÆs rapidly approaching form HeÆs weaker than before ThereÆs a light at the end of the tunnel

My blows broke his ribs Paolo bragged shamelessly Twisting his torso should be agony for him right now But I suppose you served as a fitting distraction

How many times would you have died without me taking the brunt of the focus Kayle said dryly

How dim would you be without my comparative brilliance Paolo replied easily

Kayle rolled his eyes likely knowing it was pointless that being next to something bright would in fact make him seem dim Also Kayle knew that Paolo knew that and was just trying to draw a response out of him The two quickly settled into their old habit as if they werenÆt in the most precarious fight Donnyton had ever found itself

Mrs Hamilton would rather they breathe and spend these few seconds recovering than bantering but she knew it was a losing battle Besides their light back and forth brought determination back into everyoneÆs eyes

Did no one hear me I have plenty of gas Annie said sourly Then she threw up her hands Dozer would have laughed

Then Randidly hit the ground like a comet and everyone pounced forward

Chapter 947

Kayle controlled his body as well as he could considering that cloud of dust and shattered arena that was produced by RandidlyÆs arrival Yet he did not dare hesitate Randidly had proven himself too powerful a foe to give him more than a second to prepare

Even with the rapid advance Kayle felt that deathly sucking gather toward Randidly once more stealing a small fraction of KayleÆs Mana and Stamina as well as his breath Kayle grimaced The actual amount stolen from me is small but considering he is stealing from all of us he will not run out of Attributes before we do Combine that with the mental pressure of having your breath stolen

Before Kayle arrived GlendelÆs two werewolf specters crashed into RandidlyÆs body Bits of spectral gore flew in every direction as Acri took its due but the specters did not have the power to resist the geass that Glendel placed upon them They cast themselves forward physically using their bodies to hold Randidly down for a short amount of time

Kayle didnÆt hesitate to cut through one to strike at Randidly But as he struck vines immediately sprung out of the ground to tangle up KayleÆs feet Kayle grinned Although his right arm was still hanging uselessly at his side his left arm activated Dance of Blades instinctively Very quickly slashes rained outward and cleared a path through the roots that his strike could follow

But the resistance in cutting through the roots Kayle felt set his teeth on edge If his slashes had this much difficulty cutting through the plant matter then some of the others

Before Kayle could finish that thought before he had even struck the werewolf in front of him sighed and dissipated There was abruptly a space where there had once been a screening body Randidly glanced slowly to the side his emerald gaze holding Kayle captive for a split second once they locked eyes

RandidlyÆs black hair was short but it was difficult to see where it began due to the spray of gore and dried blood across his face No part of Randidly was unscathed after the battles he had participated in today A trail of fresh blood dripped out of his right nostril and six large gashes stood as a testament to the many attempts to inflict a deadly blow on his neck that he had stoically endured

He glowed slightly in three places one of the gems on his belt was golden the strange runes that covered his left shoulder rippled with light and also the flaming circlet he wore around his forehead released a steady green illumination Long open wounds covered his arms There were also small gashes that could be partially seen under his grey armor but they were smaller and less serious

He was the pillar of Donnyton come to force them to evolve or die He was wounded

Kayle cut aiming for RandidlyÆs throat like so many before him

With a clap of thunder the monstrous image that Randidly created reappeared above him and howled Kayle could quickly feel a creeping chill spread up his limbs Due to their close proximity the spread of it was immediate Worse Kayle already only had a single limb

Slashing its claws without a care for its life the surviving werewolf managed to draw RandidlyÆs attention It was only for a split second but that was all Kayle needed

Clink

Kayle blinked as his attack was stopped RandidlyÆs spear had twisted mid air like a snake and smashed away his strike Turns out this one wouldnÆt even earn a gash across his face Then Randidly followed up with a brutal punch that was aimed at KayleÆs head

Curse of Weakness

As Mrs Hamilton cast her spell Randidly spun away His body rippled to avoid the curse and his spear ripped the werewolf to shreds Even before he set his stance RandidlyÆs emerald eyes were scanning for threats

But Donny was there immediately aiming to hit him with a Shield Bash Just one successful hit would give them a moment to breathe as Randidly was stunned Yet Randidly didnÆt even blink as the Skill approached Once more he aimed to grab the lip of DonnyÆs shield At the last moment Donny scowled disengaged the Skill and instead cast Aegis A blast of golden light hit Randidly full in the face But he still leaned back to avoid the blast of cold that Sam produced from his hammer

In addition the area around Sam exploded with sharp vines in retaliation As Kayle was already too chilled to face Randidly directly he moved wordlessly to SamÆs assistance But before he could arrive a wave of mental agony swept across the arena Everyone rocked on their feet struggling to remain standing Grimacing Kayle straightened out of the way of a root that aimed for his throat in that moment of weakness

Seems like Randidly finally is taking off the kid gloves Attack like this might kill Kayle shivered as he watched a roots slice through the muscles around SamÆs knee Breathing heavily he continued over to Sam to try and salvage the situation

As Donny yanked his shield backward to avoid the grab Randidly settled on smashing Donny backward with a kick Paolo arrived behind Donny to slap his back and disperse the momentum and then charged directly toward Randidly From the spot that Paolo and Donny touched a golden fire began to spread across Paolo

Narrowing his eyes Randidly avoided two of AnnieÆs arrows and raised his spear toward Paolo Paolo grinned like a maniac and dived forward

From below Kayle yelled but it didnÆt matter Paolo likely knew It was because his body could be of use this way that he had thrown himself forward with DonnyÆs Skill blazing around him

But like Paolo would never stop throwing himself into danger Kayle would never stop warning him of his foolishness That was just their way Which was why what followed was extremely painful to watch even for Kayle

A dozen roots ripped upward and punctured PaoloÆs stomach Blood and stomach acid spurted out hitting the ground with an audible cascade of thwaps Even that tank of the man went pale Immediately the roots wrapped themselves around PaoloÆs torso Rather than squeezing they simply dragged themselves across his flesh leaving deep furrows in his muscled limbs Paolo groaned collapsing almost immediately and sliding along the thick roots

Blessing of the Wanderer Healing Ptolemy yelled A beam of light shot downward causing a ripple to pass through the giant tree above them When the beam hit Paolo his flesh began to knit back together at a speed visible to the naked eye Very soon Paolo straightened and began to rip at the roots penetrating him

After clearing the roots attacking Sam Kayle drew and threw three knives in quick succession toward RandidlyÆs back Before they could cross half the distance a root slithered out of the ground and slapped them all out of the air Grimacing Kayle looked down at his vest

Three knives left

Mercilessly the roots riggled and continued their grim work before Paolo had managed to even get through half of them They ripped PaoloÆs flesh off in long strips that fell to the ground like apple shavings Donny arrived in a concussive blast of golden power cutting Paolo free in a single brilliant stroke But Randidly was there as though he had been waiting for Donny to move Quick as a flash he used the Skill that struck out a dozen times In order to protect Paolo Donny had no choice but to endure the strikes with his shield and armor

Or at least he attempted to But RandidlyÆs strikes were fast and accurate

There was a series of sparks as every edge of DonnyÆs armor was tested But before RandidlyÆs Skill ended there was a long moment as Donny was knocked sideways looked wonderingly toward the perpetrator

Even if this will help us did you need to go this far Kayle ground his teeth together

A Paolo illuminated by golden fire had shoved Donny out of the way RandidlyÆs spear was now in his chest even as blood pumped out onto the ground from the deep wound in his stomach Both of PaoloÆs calloused hands wrapped around the shaft of the spear

Annie unleashed a wall of arrows filling the surrounding area with silent approaching death Kayle drew a knife and stalked closer Mrs HamiltonÆs wires circled around Randidly then tightened toward his throat

But Randidly leapt forward pushing his spear deeper into Paolo and carrying his body with him Like a ghost the limp Paolo who was not hit by several arrows and the vicious Randidly who was ridden by that terrible monster materialized before a pale faced Glendel The blow was already streaking forward

Although Glendel attempted to dodge he was only fast enough that the trust took him in the side rather than the chest The impact shook Paolo and Kayle could tell that his rival was unconscious already

Unconscious Kayle repeated to himself

As the golden light around Paolo broke into pieces Randidly tossed both bodies off the stage and turned to fix his gaze on Mrs Hamilton But almost immediately the line of sight was blocked by Donny

VENGEANCE Donny roared The energy that was swirling around his sword was now pure white rather than golden shining so brightly that it was difficult to look at the weapon directly But even as Donny swung downward Randidly disappeared

In a flash he materialized by Mrs Hamilton and Beryl But rather than Mrs Hamilton RandidlyÆs cherry red spear was pointed at Beryl

Nothing personal kid Randidly grunted even as he thrust an attack that would likely kill a defensively weak individual like Beryl But halfway through the strike his spear faltered Randidly rocked forward vomiting a fist sized globe of blood that splattered onto the cracked arena floor like a crimson Rorschach

Wonderingly Randidly brought a hand to his chest It came away wet

Mrs Hamilton didnÆt bother to explain Do it now Beryl

Beryl paled but immediately began to chant A magic circle appeared beneath him and Randidly linking the two of them

Vengeance of course was one of the few Skills Donnyton had discovered that was impossible to dodge There were quite a few prerequisites however First the light that Donny had given Paolo would only last for a few seconds Second the damage had to be over half of the recipientÆs life Finally the damage could only be returned to the target who had inflicted it

In addition the conversion of damage wasnÆt perfect So in order to hurt Randidly he needed to do quite a bit of damage in only a second or two so that he would be shaken when that damage was returned It was only with the full heal provided by Ptolemy to Paolo possessed enough Health to inflict a serious blow

And even then the result of PaoloÆs agonized few seconds was not as effective as they had hoped

Randidly straightened Although he was initially shocked his blow continued forward But then a body appeared in front of Beryl and deflected the thrust away

I suppose itÆs finally my turn Annie said with a grin as she held two long arrows like daggers with the obsidian arrowheads pointing downward

Growling Randidly released another of his flurry attack which Annie blurred to match In a half second they crossed blows a dozen times neither giving an inch There was a second of silence as RandidlyÆs Skill ended and she was unharmed

AnnieÆs expression afterward was smug I guess this is my

Punching her directly in the face Randidly immediately silenced her Kayle shook his head sadly That left arm just moved too quickly to catch if you werenÆt ready for it And based on how hard Randidly hit that might have knocked Annie out immediately

But Kayle and Decklan were there striking at Randidly even as his fist was still pressed against AnnieÆs face

RandidlyÆs spear flailed like a whip behind his back striking at them both Neither paid attention to the attack going all out to inflict damage here Lightning fast Kayle struck three times with his left arm Then RandidlyÆs blow smashed him to the ground immediately making him groggy On instinct Kayle groped at his vest

Ah no knives left

But what his hands did find was a deep wet groove that ran from his shoulder to his hip It was really warn even as Kayle felt abruptly cold

I guess thatÆs it for me

Unwillingly Kayle relaxed his vision devoured by darkness

Chapter 948

Mrs Hamilton gritted her teeth as Annie Decklan and Kayle all collapsed around Randidly His propensity for eliminating the sharpest and most powerful warriors on Earth was staggering These losses were a bitter price to pay for only a few tenths of a second of keeping the man still within the swirling geometric patterns of the magic circles that Beryl created

And of course doubly bitter because it wasnÆt enough

But just as Mrs Hamilton raised her own weapons in a foolish attempt to buy time for Donny to move into position Sam appeared there in front of Randidly with his glowing hammer raised A minuscule blizzard raged around him swirling its cold tendrils to slap into RandidlyÆs face and pull at his armor

RandidlyÆs eyes were twice as cold as that condensed frost as he considered Sam his meaning clear from his expression This is not your battlefield Sam You are not a warrior If you donÆt yield now you will fall

Despite the obvious provocation in that split second of connection SamÆs shoulders didnÆt bow Despite the flaws in his form Sam still raised the hammer high over his head and brought it crashing down in a violent arc Despite the fact that it was perhaps a futile strike still Sam swung And in that Mrs Hamilton saw SamÆs firm answer

You do not know all of me Randidly Ghosthound

Blurring into motion RandidlyÆs spear shot upward to meet the attack But before it could arrive Sam twisted his wrist sharply and flicked the hammer downward The cold and momentum that he had built were shattered exploding like a grenade between the two of them Shards of ice and frost were the deadly shrapnel piercing toward Randidly and Sam alike

Perhaps in an even more bitter twist the force of the twitch was such that the head part of the hammer pressed downward and fractured the shaft the weapon itself breaking Undeterred RandidlyÆs thrust crashed into the freely floating hammerhead as it aimed itself toward SamÆs chest

However Randidly had underestimated SamÆs resolve or perhaps his own strength When he hit the hammerhead the strange runes that covered the azure hammer were already dimming Much of the animating force that Sam had lovingly crafted into its nature was broken now that the head had separated from the intricately carved shaft At the moment it was simply an extremely rare hunk of materials

Unstable materials that had previously bound tightly by SamÆs will

Cold swept outward in a nova covering both Sam and Randidly with a thick layer of frost Just as soon as Mrs HamiltonÆs eyes gathered this information Sam collapsed and Randidly shattered the frost around him with a viciously determined expression Binding of that level could barely hold him down for a fraction of a second Above Randidly the magic circles continued to turn and multiply

I need more time Mrs Hamilton thought bitterly Her mind scrambled to find any leverage she could use to keep him still But in terms of power without any tricks she

And in that second Donny was there lashing out with his shield Almost on instinct Randidly unleashed that vicious left punch with his mechanical arm This time however Donny was prepared for the abrupt attack

Steadfast He shouted crouching to strengthen his stance and raising his shield in his own defense In that same moment someone stepped out of DonnyÆs back like it was a trap door that was flipped open

Even with the Steadfast Skill Donny was smashed downward by the punch A fist sized indentation was left in his shield After falling to one knee he struggled back to his feet even as the ground beneath him cracked But he managed to straighten into a battle stance by the time RandidlyÆs emerald eyes shifted to the individual who had just emerged from DonnyÆs back His shield once more smashed forward toward RandidlyÆs face

Bodyguard was a Skill that Donny had obtained by happenstance a Skill that gave a minor boost in stats to the user while protecting someone More than that it was discovered that leveling the Skill gave an incredibly benefit for a few seconds you could absorb the individual you were guarding to prevent them from being harmed

And the time limit of this effect greatly increased with Skill Level

RainaÆs eyes flashed as she considered RandidlyÆs wounded and scowling form Even although they had thrown everything Donnyton possessed at him Randidly still stood tall and proud He had a circlet of emerald fire and a crown of pale metal His wounds were visible but his stance was clear he would be the victor on this day

RainaÆs abilities were strong but overwhelming a rested individualÆs Willpower was almost impossible Only after pushing him to the edge was Mrs Hamilton willing to use this blade against Randidly After all there was a secret fear in her heart that Randidly would have too much left in the tank and the Skill would rebound and injure Raina

RainaÆs smile threw off enough voltage that it was immediately clear why she could become a pop idol Then she spoke her gaze never leaving RandidlyÆs Be Still

Randidly froze his eyes glazing over slightly Mrs HamiltonÆs breath caught in her throat Time stretched as the magic circles continued their glacial revolution around RandidlyÆs head Slowly the Skill came closer to fruition This was the edge they needed the last trick they kept in order to land this blow against Randidly If this failed now

A half second passed before there was any change The Skill was almost entirely done Joy came unbidden to Mrs Hamilton surprising her with its intensity She hadnÆt truly realized how desperately she wanted to win

Then the spell was broken Unfortunately the one to move was Raina

She coughed then collapsed Blood was streaming out of her eyes ears nose and mouth Immediately Mrs Hamilton grimaced Although she caught Randidly by surprise it was clear that his mental strength was still far from something Raina could suppress for long

As RandidlyÆs gaze focused once more his expression had changed to something feral For the third time this match his gaze cut sideways to Mrs Hamilton Fury had housed itself in that emerald gaze with enough intensity that Mrs Hamilton felt a formless pressure against her psyche even from this distance

I know how much you hate mental attacks but that is part of our strength Mrs Hamilton said annoyed at herself at needing to vocalize these reasons when it was only herself she was convincing with the explanation Besides that half second was enough YouÆve lost

Isolate Beryl shouted

There was a flash of light as the magic circle around Randidly erupted with brilliance Almost immediately that light disappeared and revealed a furious Randidly still glaring at Mrs Hamilton The pressure from his eyes smashed into her fresh as a spring dawn Willing her heartbeat to slow down to normal levels Mrs Hamilton stepped to the side so that Randidly was no longer glaring directly at her

RandidlyÆs gaze did not follow her Instead it remaining fixed on the spot where she had just stood Mrs Hamilton released a breath and then sent a message to Alana

ItÆs time

AlanaÆs reply was not what Mrs Hamilton wanted to hear If I leave now Helen will likely overwhelm Dozer

Mrs HamiltonÆs fingers were moving as fast as she could move them gathering a net of strings around Randidly But defeating him is the win condition Regardless if Dozer falls all of this is over if we can hurt Randidly now Hurry before

The ground around Randidly cracked as he threw himself directly up into the air Cursing Mrs Hamilton tightened her net but he had reacted too quickly He shot directly upward escaping her web before it could even be woven

Mrs Hamilton could only stare grimly up at Randidly Then she prepared for his descent

The abrupt return of darkness to RandidlyÆs life was shocking and not what he had expected from the drawn out cast of a Skill He had been curious about the magical formation that they were attempting to work on him but confident that he could it even to the last moment he had been completely surprised by the emergence of Raina from Donny

So that bundle of Aether was another person wrapped in a Skill Randidly thought bitterly Even now he gritted his teeth at the thought of RainaÆs abilities Extremely dangerous will warping abilities That Mrs Hamilton used them against him

But that brought Randidly back to the problem at hand He believed he was gritting his teeth But there was actually no way of knowing whether he was Rather than the previous darkness he had encountered in the prison this new darkness was total It was less darkness and more oblivion Rather than not having access to light Randidly didnÆt have access to the information from his eyes

Or from his hands or ears or nose or skin There was nothing around him The last thing Randidly remembered was the word IsolateÆ and then everything was cut off In this oblivion he was stranded

Alone with his thoughts surrounded by the remnants of his enemies

However he still had access to his inner world which allowed him to see his Stats and Attributes It seemed he wasnÆt affected by any other unusual states or wounds and his Health hadnÆt decreased at all Therefore it seemed likely that he was simply denied access to his senses he hadnÆt actually been hurt or moved

So he immediately leapt upward to buy himself some time to figure out what to do next

Without the feeling of his body or the air touching his skin the sudden series of commands he sent to his unresponsive body felt extraordinarily strange More than that Randidly had to focus his already taxed mind in order to remember how he had been standing exactly before he had been cut off from himself

If his understanding slipped even a little he would just be a sitting duck flailing around on the stage But if his powerful Control could perform perfectly

Randidly grinned A setback sure Long term Randidly would lose if he could not finish this battle quickly Even his Control and Intelligence would slip up eventually But Randidly had already been born again in darkness He did not fear the demons that emerged without the veil of the world

In fact Randidly was now counting on them

What is within without What is without within

Images bloomed around him The sound of the Grim ChimeraÆs heavy breath came from above him From this close proximity Randidly could even feel the immense amount of heat radiating from the ChimeraÆs cursed body and hear the labored breaths that revealed how much pain it endured just to survive

But Randidly also felt something else as the Grim Chimera raised its head in the darkness His grin widened

In the oblivion around him as the Grim ChimeraÆs aura spread outward it eventually encountered obstructions Areas where its aura couldnÆt easily penetrate

Other individuals who resisted

Individuals who used images One in particular was walking directly toward him throwing off the scent of wind and battle and glory and victory A glittering valkyrie riding to slay the monster

Well hello

Chapter 949

As soon as Alana pulled away from the fight Helen loosened the tight control she had kept over her movements Her Tides of Blood Domain spiraled around her dark and thick The pressure it exerted on Helen was enough to make sure she didnÆt forget how deeply she was proceeding into her own image At this depth even she was in danger

Yet she needed to utilize that strength now while she had the chance to make a comeback

DozerÆs roars had slowly fallen away over the course of the fight so that his red eyes were now simply fixed upon her The only noises in their fight were the noises of their breath and the fearsome whispers of their weapons ripping through the air

Even as Dozer brought his huge club across toward Helen she danced backward out of its effective range Which was quite a long dance due to the horrendous size of the thing Then she hopped onto a current of blood and flowed around to the side of Dozer fast enough that she left a series of after images in her wake

But Dozer had seen this trick a dozen times before and was still under the boosting effects of his Skill He kicked toward her chest forcing her to twist awkwardly and leave the current before it carried her directly into his strike

Even if he knew that trick of hers Helen wasnÆt one to let such a wide opening go without punishment

HelenÆs harpoon sunk deeply into DozerÆs leg as she passed With a loud grunt Dozer yanked his leg backward and then used his hand to pull Helen toward him His Strength practically ripped her shoulder out of its socket Gritting her teeth Helen accepted the pull and allowed herself to fly toward Dozer

He immediately dropped his club and his hands shot out like projectile steel traps ready to grip and crush her limbs But HelenÆs eyes glittered as she made her skinning knife dance across her left handÆs fingertips Did you think that this much would be able to slow me down

Pressing herself to the limit Helen drew them deeper and deeper to the world of her Domain Around them large shadows began to circle curious about these two strange beings that suddenly emerged in their sovereign waters But Helen didnÆt have time for them now Instead she began to unleash a blistering series of slashes toward DozerÆs arms

Dozer endured the attacks stoically choosing to sacrifice his limbs in order to catch Helen With the amount of blood in the air HelenÆs speed had reached the point that Dozer wasnÆt able to catch up to her under normal circumstances And as long as she could continue to dodge

But DozerÆs eyes were sharp Helen wriggled out of the way of one of the hands and found that the other jumped abruptly forward toward her chest Time seemed to slow as the currents spiraled downward giving her the slightest edge But it wasnÆt enough

With raw force Dozer blasted through the bindings of those currents

Narrowing her eyes Helen refused to retreat I will beat him For weeks it was for this moment this chance that I struggled against RandidlyÆs fucking Domain

Like a lightning strike HelenÆs hand blurred outward and severed DozerÆs thumb The small appendage fell Seeing the difficulty in grabbing her without a thumb Dozer opted to simply smash Helen directly backward with his attack

Choking Helen was smashed into the ground and rolled lightly back up to her feet was still partially stunned Her head was still spinning when Dozer appeared in front of her again his club cutting downward to crush her into pulp

Instincts kicked in forcing her dazed body to yank on the chain of the harpoon still stuck in DozerÆs leg It was nowhere near enough to shake his stance but it did give Helen the momentum to tumble down between DozerÆs legs Such was the difference in their physical sizes that she passed under him easily slashing his calves for good measure

Unfortunately Dozer was not the vanguard of Donnyton for no reason

Even though DozerÆs attack simply struck the ground the surrounding area buckled and seethed Even as Helen was leaping to her feet the stance she had was shattered as the ground gave way beneath her Luckily DozerÆs weight made his situation even more precarious as his attacks split the ground his legs pierced into the ground almost up to the knee before the shattered ground managed to stabilize

As both twisted and attempted to face each other small aftershocks made the surrounding ground tremble Horrified and fascinated Helen stood stock still as she could feel the ground underneath the arena shift and collapse on itself To her left Helen saw a portion of the stands groan and crack as the ground beneath it began to slide down into the surrounding water

Immediately members of DonnytonÆs Squads surged into motion As the people in the cliffs over the quarry watched Donnyton forced those who were on the actual island of the challenge to evacuate

Her gaze flicked to the sudden flow of intimidated bodies away then back to Dozer A cracking rustling sound came from the ground warning them that its protestations were not finished At almost the same time Helen and Dozer recovered from their lack of balance and leapt toward each other Even if the ground collapsed beneath them their fight would continue That was their resolve

DRaaH Dozer bellowed unleashing a blast of noise that slapped Helen face with a physical force Immediately she could feel her own Strength ebbing somewhat Apparently the yell was some sort of Skill

IÆLL KILL YOU Came her immediately caustic response At that moment all Helen saw was the disapproving face of her mother

I only want whatÆs best for you Her motherÆs specter seemed to say It will be much better for the family if you just settle down

Dozer swung his club downward toward Helen Helen yanked on her chain ripping her harpoon out of DozerÆs leg in a spray of blood that left drops splattered across her torn and ripped armor One drop even landed on her cheek

Why canÆt you be more like your cousin HelenÆs mother complained

IÆm a knight mum Helen mumbled She straightened and rushed forward aiming to get closer to Dozer before he could fully smash her to bits But her current speed wasnÆt enough Even now after she had obtained Level 50 and a Fate she could still feel the tight bindings of RandidlyÆs Domain holding her back As long as she wasnÆt of this world

As long as she was an outsider

Why do you struggle

DozerÆs eyes possessed no hint of malice or excitement They were a vast expansive of brown dispassionately observing her as she attempted to kill him The tip of HelenÆs harpoon slid upward Although she was unable to reach DozerÆs throat easily his heart was well within her spearÆs range

Yet she would not be as quick as DozerÆs club She would be shattered before he could be skewered

IÆm his knight Helen wheezed through gritted teeth In her mind a dark silhouette with burning emerald eyes and a pale crown stood behind her His hands floated downward and touched her back with the lightness of a feather The feeling of every finger was clear on her shoulders His hands were warm

IÆm his knight and he is my lord In a way we are one

He gave her a nudge forward

The constraints of the Domain loosened just slightly So slightly Helen thought she might have imagined it But for the first time Helen wasnÆt an otherÆ She was his vast left arm that bound this world to the world inside of him She was the knight of Randidly Ghosthound She was a spear

She was a bridge

RandidlyÆs Domain rustled and trembled Helen stepped forward

When DozerÆs club struck her it shattered her femur and sent her tumbling to the side Such was the force of the blow that it had imparted upon Helen enough momentum that her eventually crash into the ground hurt more than the initial strike had Luckily he hadnÆt struck her exactly in her center of gravity and much of the force was dispersed by the spinning

Otherwise

Even still Helen had lost her weapon and she felt her Domain slowly breaking apart As the connection between the worlds faded those deep monsters that were watching the two fight simply remained passive observers mystified by the sudden appearance and disappearance of these small beings

The sky above was dark and overcast No stars could be seen But the ground below shifted Biting her tongue to stay conscious Helen sat upward

Dozer stood there a harpoon sticking out of the middle right of his broad chest He looked at Helen and grinned A good fight

Then he toppled over leaving the panting Helen alone

For several seconds she just coughed trying to gather herself She released her Fate unwilling to simply let the harpoon remain in DozerÆs insides Already a team of DonnytonÆs medics was scurrying outward to Dozer even as the evacuation of the stands continued By this point over half of the stands were empty

Below them the ground continued to shift Helen regarded the thick cracks uneasily At this rate the arena wouldnÆt last through the end of this rung

Abruptly a sharp wave of mental pressure made Helen looked sharply upward Floating in the sky Randidly seemed to burn like a solar eclipse The edges were blinding but the core was infinitely empty and black And as she watched RandidlyÆs form slowly twisted and changed

His left hand twisted and cracked audibly its elbow and fingers extending into long dagger like blades The skin rippled shifting to deep grey scales in a heartbeat On RandidlyÆs right arm his hand twitched until a long spur of bone emerged from his palm crimson with fresh blood

Very quickly that bone extended forming a spear like shape even as his fingers withered to ash and bone dust around the newly appeared weapon Dark veins spread across his body as two long bone tails emerged from his neck and tailbone That pale crown he wore continued to burn but his features faded away as a thin layer of skin grew to cover him Then all that could be seen were two dark smudged that indicated his eye sockets and the dark gulf that was his mouth

The Grim Chimera is actually manifesting Helen thought in shock as she stared upward HeÆs using Skills to create an image and then using that image in a way that should be possible only with Skills this form is an independent manifestation

Which means Helen thought in awe Randidly Ghosthound is touching upon the Master level

And to meet this monster at the location of its descent a woman surrounding by the hot orange wind walked slowly forward In her too Helen could sense no animosity or hatred Like Dozer she did not fear the approaching fight

No as Alana moved forward the only emotion she was projecting outward was joy

Chapter 950

As Randidly dropped toward the ground Mrs Hamilton continued to weave a web of razor sharp wires around the spot where he would land She was somewhat nervous witnessing his strange monstrous image take over his body but even so he was bound by BerylÆs Isolate This was the best chance for them to strike and Mrs Hamilton wouldnÆt let a chance of this magnitude slip through her fingers

Even without any more aces up her sleeve she could

With heavy footsteps Alana moved to stand beside Mrs Hamilton For several seconds she was silent Then she grinned and looked at the slowly falling form of Randidly Ghosthound in his new form You know sometimes I wonder who tricked who with this fight

Mrs Hamilton looked up sharply You think we will lose That this form of his means he has broken out of BerylÆs Skill

No heÆs still trapped Alana replied almost helplessly But yes I think we will lose You probably canÆt feel it Your understanding of images is still growing Instead of working at it youÆve been orchestrating every twist of this fight

But after being submerged in HelenÆs image for so long I can feel it How something about him just changed All this time Randidly still saw us as Donnyton The Donnyton he founded and nurtured Perhaps unconsciously he held back Or his most dangerous instincts were sleeping But now you took away that sight His limiter was removed All he sees now are enemies

For several seconds Mrs Hamilton considered Alana Perhaps forcing her to the task of wearing down Helen was more mentally exhausting than Mrs Hamilton had anticipated Finally Mrs Hamilton spoke to the other woman in a rather dry tone to try and draw her back to concrete issues you know he canÆt see anything at all right

Is that so The corner of AlanaÆs mouth twisted upward Then a wave of orange light exploded outward from her Impossibly bright silver armor condensed around her body illuminating the surrounding area The wings on her helmet grew longer and more lifelike until they were beating softly over the two womenÆs heads and producing dozens of pearly feathers that fluttered down around them

Before Mrs Hamilton could even process the fact that Alana had been able to successfully manifest an image another change dragged her attention sharply upward the head of the monster version of Randidly snapped downward locking onto AlanaÆs position Even as he fell his gaze remained fixed upon her

He can feel the image Alana said softly You can cut out everything else but the power of the human spirit can invent things that arenÆt even there ItÆs magical really

Narrowing her eyes Mrs Hamilton considered how to reply to this Ultimately however she let the implicit criticism in AlanaÆs tone pass so she could focus on the positive You created an image Excellent While I distract him you need to

I understand why you are still missing it so IÆll say it bluntly you donÆt have the capability to interfere in this last part of the fight His kid gloves are off If you attempt to interfere The incandescent valkyrie turned and regarded Mrs Hamilton steadily I will not be able to protect you

As Mrs Hamilton froze Alana continued to speak

I do not believe in fate or destiny But I think part of what Randidly was trying to tell us was that images become a self fulfilling prophecy once they exist they spread themselves endlessly and warp the world Once he made this challenge about images all of us would move toward that end even if we struggled to avoid it

That finally shattered Mrs HamiltonÆs shock and gave her something to hold onto Great as he is I believe we both know that Randidly Ghosthound doesnÆt have the patience or the interest in manipulating such a large scale event to such a fine degree He had no plan

Sighing Alana turned back toward the accelerating monster Of course he didnÆt mean to do it But what he was showing was that images infect everything they speak with a universal language that we implicitly understand They move through lines of emotion culture and symbology to exist By seeing them we are shaped Which shapes the world which shapes the image We step into an endless cycle Without owning and understanding our own image we propagate we are destined to be victims

Mrs Hamilton just looked at Alana This is surprisingly philosophical stuff coming from you

“I had a lot of time to think wasting time with Helen for so long ” Alana scratched her head Ah hell itÆs hard to put into words IÆll just say this I think that there were a lot of lessons in this fight You learned that tricks and shadow plays sometimes werenÆt enough Donny learned that he cannot protect everyone The Cortez siblings probably learned how far they really are from being able to stand at the pinnacle of Donnyton I bet their confidence will be shaken by how casually they were knocked out

Clarissa saw some hope of her dream of utilizing the elements Decklan saw that Randidly could truly bleed just like the rest of us Paolo and Kayle both learned that the other isnÆt invincible

And you Mrs Hamilton asked

This obviously Alana gestured at herself in her brilliant splendor Which is the strangest of all I could not have formed this image without spending so much time under the pressure of HelenÆs Domain Was it inevitable that I fight against her this whole time to maintain my strength

Then she shook her head Or is this just me wishing to be have been chosen and that this all was just a roll of the dice Either way please step back Take Beryl with you

But his Skill

AlanaÆs eyes were a brilliant tangerine as she fixed Mrs Hamilton with a sharp stare This isnÆt your fight The time limit of the Isolate Skill wonÆt become relevant I doubt this will last longer than a single clash Two at most

Mrs Hamilton wanted to say no She wanted to deny what Alana was saying was true But also Mrs Hamilton was tired and running low of Stamina and Mana The ground beneath her feet was cracked in pitted And the brave young man she had sought to protect for so long had already on this day been betrayed and now fell from the sky wearing a guise of a monster

It was a mask they had given him A mask of envy and awe and isolation

Sometimes itÆs okay to feel old Mrs Hamilton thought sadly Then she turned away from the fight and used her wires to pull away the remaining wounded from the fractured arena

When Randidly hit the ground the arena proper collapsed into a pile of pale rubble It also set off a chain reaction on the island in the middle of the quarry sending bits of stone tumbling into the water Alana stumbled from the impact righting herself almost instantly as she prepared for his attack But he hadnÆt moved

The dust cleared and revealed him standing on a platform of densely woven roots amongst the fractured arena Even as the ground continued to shudder and give way Randidly simply looked over at her The monstrous black hole that functioned as his mouth curved into an arc

Weak

His monstrous gaze made his reaction to her clear And it was an accusation that Alana couldnÆt deny after today Now that she had felt the edge of what an image was she could sense the depth of time and emotion that Randidly had put into refining this monster he now displayed How he managed to move through his daily life without breaking under this weight was beyond Alana

In addition Alana admitted that it was also true that the brilliant image she was currently displaying wasnÆt truly hers much of the emotional weight she wielded to craft her shimmering armor and her wings were borrowed from DonnytonÆs sorrow Tens of thousands of individuals had clasped their hands tight and wished for DonnytonÆs victory That was the blade she now wielded

Even as the watchers fled they sent her their hopes and prayers

A Valkyrie was born of that emotion burning with the raw power of their belief She raised her spear considering the twisting and hideous visage in front of her

Perhaps the most shocking part of this all was that even with her Perception Skill Hawkeye Alana was unable to find any flaw with the illusion that Randidly had created His image had become him and it was out for blood

We werenÆt the only ones to learn in this challenge were we Alana thought sadly Sometimes things must be broken for us to grow So letÆs finish this And hope that afterward we can still speak as friends

Above all Alana had learned to rely on the basics while fighting She had spent hours polishing her abilities in Donnyton repeating the same seamless motions Every blister was a hundred thousand thrusts bound together and given a physical presence on her body That was the reason that she had reached the apex of Donnyton Alana Donal would not take shortcuts on the road to power

So as she surged into motion she combined her most reliable three Skills into her bread and butter attack Heavy Blow Herculean Strength and Sun Strike The spear became a flare and exploded into motion

As though he was a terrifying inverted image of her the grey wraith like form of Randidly raised his left arm and met her attack directly on top of the of rubble the arena had left in the wake of its demise At that moment image and reality stopped mattering

The terrible monster hated by nature was real The determined valkyrie was real Then those stopped mattering too as they smashed into each other What was left was only the thin boundary where their two existences encountered each other The Valkyrie roared and the monster howled

Both craved victory But only one seized it

Alana survived the first strike simply because the ground beneath her feet gave out almost immediately as they crossed spears Instead of actually challenging Randidly directly what ended up happy was she had thrown herself toward him like a baseball and he had smashed her backward

As she straightened stone support pillars collapsed around her Even with her wings slowing her speed it hurt to smash into the stands Luckily they were completely abandoned at this point but Alana rapidly realized that the hole she had created in the middle of them destabilized the structure more than she had anticipated

Rather than ceasing after her momentum was dispersed it appeared that the collapsing was accelerating Soon huge chunks of stone fell down toward her position

Worse when she blasted her way out of that death trap by rapidly expanding her wings she found herself faced with a sliding and fractured battlefield The concussive force of their meeting had cleared out a wide space that seemed relatively stable but the rest of the island was suffering for it

Behind her the ground where the stands had pressed against the edge of the pond was already sinking into the water of the quarry Cracks as thick as her fist crisscrossed the area in front of her toward that central area Perhaps even more disturbing the water of the quarry was disappearing The water level was falling at a visible pace

Alana gritted her teeth We arenÆt just sinking this island We opened up a fucking sinkhole below the whole arena

But for now she ignored this impending crisis Instead she lowered her spear and rushed forward Energy began to howl through the connection Randidly had established with her all those years ago As she advanced Alana felt a Skill forming around her coming into being fully formed ValkyrieÆs Charge

Her arms began to glow with bright orange power The layer of wind and dust around her thickened as she strengthened her image bit by bit

WEAK

Their spears clashed again The Valkyrie ran up the hill and cut with the broken wind of a wasteland while the crowned monster coldly regarded her approach The dark hole of its mouth widened and tasted her fear and Stamina Then it struck

Alana survived the second strike because her spear snapped like a twig after only a split second of pressure from the wickedly long claws of RandidlyÆs hand Both were surprised by this and sped past each before they could recover

Or at least Alana had assumed so The speed at which they were operating was far beyond any fight that she had participated in previously

Yet as she straightened her glowing armor flickered and shuddered The thickness of her image dropped to the level that it only maintained its power a small distance away from her skin In horror Alana looked down and realized that her left shoulder had almost been torn off The jagged marks of RandidlyÆs claw made it look like a shark had taken a giant bite out of her

Thin lines of blood wound up the choppy ridges of her flesh and flowed down toward her twitching left hand

AlanaÆs mouth firmed into a line Even as the image she had inherited from the peopleÆs will began to fall to pieces she smashed those remaining prayers with her will and created a gleaming spear Before she could regret it her gaze found RandidlyÆs Tangerine eyes locked onto dark empty sockets

As she pressed further and further the image around Alana recovered A Valkyrie but one questing with a very specific purpose To guide the king who refused to die finally to Valhalla The Skill she had previously used reacted immediately rising to her need After it evolved she used Blitz of the Wayfaring Valkyrie

Their spears met in silence this time

If HelenÆs image was the sea and AlanaÆs image was a suit of armor RandidlyÆs image was a sharp blade bared to the sky He had condensed it into a physical form As they moved again to strike at each other he easily cut through her orange winds and met her spear

The Valkyrie started this journey at the behest of her duty but now she simply sought to give this cursed king peace

The monster was a child crying alone in the dark as the world burned to ash around him The force of the impression hit Alana like a physical weight

RandidlyÆs image was simple and vast The child and the ashes of a collapsing world There were no true answers in the image but there were not questions that needed to be answered so that it could be understood It simply was

In the face of that powerful image Alana couldnÆt help but soften Is bearing this horror the price you had to pay for your power Randidly I I would

That softness was the reasons Alana survived the third strike

The quarry did not soften and therefore did not survive Land and water were split in half and then sucked into the deep darkness of the EarthÆs embrace

Chapter 951

Han Yazhu knew it was petty of him but he secretly wished that the sinkhole that had opened up beneath the quarry would have continued to spread After witnessing the challenge he realized more than ever that Zone Seven needed all the help that they could get

DonnytonÆs Squads those pinnacle experts that fought against Randidly Ghosthound They had left a deep impression on him Until some other group was able to field a comparable team of experts in battle Donnyton would remain an unshakable power on Earth

As it was Han would need to be satisfied that the gulf of blackness that abruptly opened up in the wake of the final explosion consumed the entirety of the quarry The nearby cliff collapsed down into the darkness of the hole but the mountain on which DonnytonÆs residential district was based was ineffable In the face of oblivion it stood firm

From what Han could tell there was some small damage to the North portion of the production district but it was all slight Some of the lands had sunk about a foot or two but more people werenÆt swayed by that They only felt fear over the possibility of this event occurring again in the future

The shockwaves of battle had weakened the bedrock under the town and healing such wounds were difficult But most people couldnÆt believe that the battle above could have really caused such deep damage below More likely there was already structural weakness that the battle exacerbated

Yet when Han used his Perception Skill to view deep within the whole he saw a series of inexplicable tunnels

Or the network that would be created by a vast tree Han reflected inwardly But he didnÆt dare vocalize that theory If it were true

During the course of the few hours that Han observed the hole the strange rock mage that Donnyton employed was revived from the dead by Surgeon Northwind and given gallons of high quality Mana potions He then proceeded to dutifully reinforce the area around the sinkhole and investigate how deep the damage to the ground went

Han dispassionately watched the man run ragged circling the crumbling edge of the sinkhole It was an unenviable time to be a rock specialist in Donnyton He turned to Xia We should not be this close It is still dangerous If something were to happen

Frowning Xia didnÆt even bother to turn and face him as she spoke You know as well as I that we both have enough mobility to avoid anything dangerous But canÆt you feel it There is something in the air around this sinkhole It carries a trace of him If we return we must carry with us a hint of that trace

Han kept his face neutral even as he was cursing his luck inside Of all of the three pieces of Xiang Le it was his own rotten luck that saw him babysitting Xia She was the most willful and unpredictable of them making it difficult for Han to toe the line between giving her the respect she was due and preventing her from getting herself killed

She did not seem to realize her own fragility Even now Han suspected that her low strength made her unable to understand how disastrous the power displayed in that final fight was to Zone SevenÆs hopes of becoming a superpower

In this case Xia was likely correct on both counts It appeared the spread of the sinkhole had reached its high water mark In addition several of DonnytonÆs Squads were nearby preventing them from approaching any closer No one wanted someone to go into the hole unprepared for how deep it might be There would be no imminent threat of danger to them today

In addition Han could feel it too Part of Randidly GhosthoundÆs image still lingered here Yet Han Yazhu did not believe that copying that power would be easy

The System gave people power but it was still a small thing before the might of a whole world

What Randidly Ghosthound was able to do was to capture the power of a world the power of a story It could not be earned through special actions The System would not provide that mastery

It is a power one has to bleed for Han knew

As for the feel of the air HanÆs expression stiffened It was heavy with blood and humid air The huge hole seemed to breathe producing a strange vibration that sounded like faintly audible from their current distance Likely it was almost deafening when one stood right next to the hole

Rather than a natural phenomenon it almost seemed like this whole was a scar inflicted upon Donnyton by Randidly Ghosthound Similar to this sinkhole Han recalled the empty blackness of the monsterÆs maw covered by the thin layer of skin Shivering Han turned away I believe we have gathered all that we can Is there any more meaning to remaining here

Xia ignored his question and asked one of her own What is DonnytonÆs stance on what happened Will the final rung of the challenge still occur

Han shook his head Donnyton has announced that this rung was RandidlyÆs win However due to the arena being destroyed they had no choice but to postpone the final rung Therefore the status of the challenge sits at an indefinite draw

A draw Who are they kidding XiaÆs tone was bitter No one who watched that battle believed it to be a draw

It is surprising she understood enough to see that Yet she has no fear of the future of our Glorious Zone Han wondered Then he inwardly shrugged Truly the actions of Xiang Le were unpredictable They were the head while he was just a lowly ambassador Perhaps there was no need for his earlier panic

Folding his arms Han considered the teams of Donnyton elite moving slowly to the edge of the sinkhole It had been a few hours since it appeared meaning that it was likely around midnight Yet they were already making preparations to explore this new arrival If nothing else Donnyton certainly was tenacious

And Randidly himself Xia asked If possible I would like to arrange a meeting with him Considering the status of his relationship with Donnyton

But Han shook his head The woman he fought alongside Helen went to speak with DonnytonÆs leadership But from all of our spies in Donnyton there has been no sighting of Randidly himself After the final attack he unleashed it is like he vanished off the face of the Earth

Xia rapidly tapped her fingers against her leather belt If that is the case I suppose there is no more reason for us to remain here We must return as quickly as possible and begin research on images Were you able to capture the essence of this technique

HanÆs expression became aggrieved Capture the essence of this technique The people who executed it are barely capable of being described as human How could understanding it be so easy

Even now air rushed out of the sinkhole and filled the air with a faint moaning Han gritted his teeth I have witnessed this technique and IÆm sure our brightest minds will be able to do something with the knowledge we obtained

Xia gave him a sidelong glance but said nothing to that She likely understood that this was the best he could do

After being healed by Regina Alana sat alone in a dark tent with her gaze fixed upon her hand

The feeling was something like this

Her gaze on her hand intensified She gritted her teeth The thin muscles of her jaw stood out in the dim light of the tent The air around her hand began to ripple Faint swirls of orange air gathered around her fingertips before vanishing almost immediately AlanaÆs gaze sharpened and she pressed harder

The air around her hand shook a little Then there was nothing Like a broken down car engine revving but unable to start

With a sigh Alana sat back in her canvas chair

I didnÆt realize how much of what I had managed to achieve was due to circumstance Alana thought bitterly as she regarded the wisps of an image that she was able to manifest If I use a Skill I can easily empower the effect by wrapping my image around it But to actually have the image without a Skill

That was what still floored Alana even hours later Had Randidly been using Skills in that last portion of the fight Those final three strikes they werenÆt like the ways he had attacked earlier The image of the Grim Chimera as Helen had informed them it was named had completely replaced his body When it struck

he had to have used a Skill right Those werenÆt just strikes of pure image

Alana stretched and stood Helen had informed them that Randidly was isolating himself to recover before the next rung which was a fine bit of irony after the Skill Beryl had used against him and would be ready whenever they wanted to finish the HoundÆs Ladder Mrs Hamilton had the good sense to play dumb in the face of the threat and say that it would be entirely impossible to continue at the moment

Not just because no one would have the heart to try that again Alana thought Without the surprise most of what we can do became moot And my ability to use images

As the final rung needed to include all the previous rungs together Mrs Hamilton had insisted that they needed a suitable space for the battle to occur Helen asked them to name the time and the place Donny begged HelenÆs understanding in this instance because they needed to devote time and resources to addressing the structural stability of the town in the wake of the challenge

For now the final rung was indefinitely postponed

Alana knew it was rather pointless to attempt again while she was completely exhausted and shocked from the events of the challenge but she couldnÆt get her attention to shift away from the details of that fight Once more she focused on the feeling of that bitter wind blowing the iron rich dust in waves across the wasteland

If she wanted to follow Randidly up to the next tier of strength she needed to build her image One detail at a time

A glimmer of orange wrapped around her fingers illuminating the tent Narrowing her eyes Alana pushed harder The light brightened shifting from a firefly to a candle

In the final three strikes Randidly had moved and the sky had darkened His entire body had become that of the Grim Chimera And yet now without the support of Donnyton her image had to struggle to produce a bit of light

Not that RandidlyÆs attacks had been perfect but they had shown fulfillment They were from a point on this path that was immensely more advanced than AlanaÆs own Their charm had been obvious

He had left Donnyton a Path And a sinkhole to remind them of the cost of straying from it

Chapter 952

Alana closed her eyes Even now she could see those three attacks When Randidly moved that first time

A knock came at the tent flap causing her eyes to snap open The voice was low and relaxed but just slightly hoarse Are you ready

Politics right now Donny ShouldnÆt we just sleep Alana asked

Donny chuckled quietly and then fell silent As the silence dragged on for a few seconds Alana recognized that he was likely just as affected by the challenge as she had been Maybe he used those few seconds to fantasize briefly about his own bed Perhaps But after being shown our limits we canÆt just avoid the other Zones too many people saw what happened

Alana quietly dragged a brush through her hair to remove any bits of scorched ground and debris Honestly she needed a shower after the fight she had just isolated herself and attempted to improve her image She wasnÆt ready to meet with a delegation from another Zone

Yet what choice did she have

After putting on some high quality armor for appearance sake she quietly laced up her boots Although her main pair had been destroyed in the fight Alana had several identical pairs made so she wouldnÆt have to go without They fit snuggly and would provide excellent footing on any surface Then she walked out to join Donny Who is it

Zone Eleven Donny grunted Without any more explanation the two walked through the dark night toward the center of Donnyton They passed the many whispering Squads and civilians doing their best to ignore the long stares

No one spoke to them They just watched Donny and Alana Likely they were waiting to see what this meant for Donnyton After all Donnyton had lost

As they approached the wide oak doors to the Village Center AlanaÆs heart seized Really the only thing Donnyton lost was the support of Randidly Ghosthound

Within the front room four individuals were waiting

I guess we are all here Sam said sourly

Alana did her best not to grin Despite SamÆs understanding of the necessity of this meeting he was the most unreasonable of the assembled group As such he didnÆt bother to hide his irritation that he had been dragged away from his studies for a political matter Likely he had done almost the same thing as Alana had except SamÆs focus had been on forging If he had been given a few more hours Alana had no doubt that Donnyton would have a few more high end weapons to test

Mrs Hamilton and Donny looked tired but their faces were studious neutral Perhaps correctly they believed that right now was a time when Donnyton needed defending from political damage more than anything else ReginaÆs expression was mild as though she hadnÆt just dragged back a dozen people from the brink of death

Likely the reason that the meeting had been delayed this long after the challenge was because she refused to participate until everyone that could be healed had been seen to

Ed wasnÆt present but Clarissa was quietly nursing a strong cup of coffee that Alana could smell across the room It was clearly spiked with rum With these six they had the clout necessary to speak with the representatives from another Zone After a few quick glances to check in the five walked through into the ornately designed library where the delegation from Zone Eleven waited

There were three individuals in the room All three immediately registered as minor threats to AlanaÆs Danger Sense Skill A fiery hair young woman was spinning the expensive globe on the reading table looking profoundly bored She wore long leather boots that were practically designed and had a golden sword strapped to each hip As DonnytonÆs group entered she looked up at them and then back down

Not the one with power then

A teenage boy with large spectacles leapt to his feet as soon as the group entered Then he blushed and sat back down next to his tall bow He toyed with an extremely small dagger seemingly unnerved by the sudden arrival of DonnytonÆs group

Not him either So

The third individual was sitting with his fingers steepled on the comfortable leather couch that was pressed up against the one wall not lined with books His bearded and tanned face immediately split into a grin as the group from Donnyton entered

Thank you so much for meeting us on short notice The bearded man rumbled His voice was so low that Alana could hear it resonating in her chest as he spoke I donÆt want to waste your time as you deal with the aftermath of that battle so IÆll make it quick

The man pointed at the woman with two swords SheÆs Melanie His finger moved to the bespectacled young man ThatÆs Kirk

Standing the man offered the group a short bow And IÆm Warlord We are here to request assistance with a certain matter After seeing the strength of Donnyton well I think that there is no one more qualified to help us

Unless we just asked the Ghosthound to help The swordswoman Melanie turned away from the toy globe and graced them with a smirk

Mrs HamiltonÆs face twitched but she easily smiled at Warlord in the next moment It might be a chaotic time for us but we are all individuals struggling underneath the suppression of the System Tell us what kind of assistance do you need

Military force Warlord said with a sigh As IÆm sure you know new Zones are assigned certain random magical benefits for lack of a better term as well as Danger Zones To encourage expansion From what I understand Donnyton was given a mine filled with very rare ores The carrot and the stick provided by the System

However our Zone received a very strange random benefit WarlordÆs face twisted Instead of a mine or a forest or an enchanted river we received something dangerous

Kirk straightened his glasses A Dungeon We received a Dungeon

Warlord studied DonnytonÆs group for reactions Alana realized he was waiting to see if they responded at all to his words Ultimately his gaze fixed upon Clarissa Because from the moment he had mentioned a Dungeon she was beaming with excitement

Warlord continued to speak slowly enunciating every word clearly An Epic Dungeon it calls itself An Epic Level 75 Dungeon And every week a wave of Level 70 monsters explodes outward WeÆve resorted to building physical impediments to guide them away from our cities but the Zone is close to filling with the runoff We were hoping that Donnyton could help us deal with this problem

Roy moved his jaw slowly from side to side enjoying the loud pops the bones made as they slid in and out of place The Toad Lord that had been assigned to guard him had looked up at the noise at first but over the past few days it had largely grown accustomed to the skeleton manÆs strange habits Now it just ignored him

Roy diligently continued to practice popping his fingers in and out of their respective sockets Then because he was bored into the wrong sockets

To these frogs I am a monster but for all of the wrong reasons Roy couldnÆt suppress the thrill in his chest from that strange irony but knew better than to try and explain the humor to his jailor Theosmum had made it quite clear early on that the interactions Roy had started with the various Toad Lords that hung around this swamp bottom would trigger commiserate punishment

So Roy sat in his damp cell with thick strands of algae wrapped around his hands His jaw popped mechanically and then was replaced with popping from other joints Mostly this was just a distraction from the constant din of noise from next door

DrakeÆs pained screams echoed out of his own cell and into RoyÆs That Drake was screaming could mean only one thing the daily delight of seeing Theosmum directly would soon be upon Roy

But still Roy frowned There was no consciousness to Drake at the moment but still Theosmum diligently visited Drake each day in order to pry more information out of him Despite the lack of results Theosmum did not tire of his pursuit In fact he seemed to grow more enthusiastic every day

It seemed that despite TheosmumÆs professed hatred for change he quite delighted in the new arrivals to his kingdom Perhaps his curiosity about the other world was stronger than Roy had expected

That and he had developed a taste for causing them pain of course DrakeÆs hoarse shouts and howls were the constant proof of that

If you continue to torture Drake so painfully Roy looked up at the ceiling of the cell doing his best to convey the depth of regret that he felt in his largely imaginary heart The packed mud was a poor audience but it would have to do WonÆt I as a hero be forced to take up the cause of breaking us out of here

It took almost an hour but Theosmum eventually finished with Drake The screams abruptly cut off After experiencing it himself for several days Roy knew that Drake had been thrown into a pool of ice water

It was a brief oblivion but the poor fool deserved it

Roy shook his head sadly as he continued to pop his jaw in and out of place Truly it is a tragedy that Drake has to endure so much ah if only I could travel back in time perhaps my comments about being useless to East End were poorly timed He was already so distracted with struggling to cope with the bonus Stats from clearing the Danger Zone and condensing a Fate at the same time

Such ambition he had Such hope And how twisted he has become The small spots of fire in RoyÆs eye sockets brightened slightly But if I want to use Drake to draw Sydney out to play IÆll need to handle this Boss first

With a high pitched whine the metal door swung open and revealed the extraordinarily fat and flabby body of Theosmum Roy as always enjoyed the rather revolting sight of TheosmumÆs saggy body Strange mosses and mold covered him giving him a slightly motley appearance It seemed like the head toad of this world had been patched together from spare cloth

A costume befitting a jester not a Boss Roy thought sourly But this was the lot of a hero Constantly forced to face off against deranged and distasteful villains

Roy Theosmum croaked as he did every time he paid a visit to him Submit to me and allow me to manipulate your life energy Otherwise I will create unending pain

Roy sighed unable to believe what he was hearing To ask for quality discussion with this motley toad was a pointless endeavor But Heroes never gave up ItÆs like you havenÆt taken our talks to heart Threats are woven from thread not violence If I donÆt have a shred of hope and if you donÆt subtly make me realize why my hope will not come to fruition ah I simply canÆt gather any sort of tension about fighting you A terrible villain Are you sure you arenÆt being manipulated by someone else

IÆm simply an old toad that would like nothing better than to be left alone Who else would there be Theosmum chuckled softly Its legs carried his vast body forward with remarkable grace After a few steps it settled down next to Roy studying the skeleton carefully ThatÆs why your presence is so worrisome I would like nothing better than for that Demon King to successfully keep all of you people out of this world IÆm comfortable here But will that really happen I think not

Undoubtedly some evildoers would eventually allow greed to blind them of the dangers of antagonizing you Roy said helpfully It was truly a tragedy Roy reflected that he felt compelled to be unfailingly honest As long as it wasnÆt a verbal exchange You really are rather dull in that regard

So no answers The toad asked quietly

Roy shook his head fearlessly Unfortunately my life has already been given to protect the Earth I will not be swayed from my eternal mission even in death

Bringing its hands together Theosmum concentrated very intently on the space between its palms Truly this is my first time encountering a being that has gone beyond the veil and returned I suppose I shouldnÆt be shocked that normal torture hasnÆt been able to sway you But that just means I need to become more creative

A violet flame emerged between TheosmumÆs hands

Roy stilled looking at that thin flame very intently

ItÆs not that I cannot learn Theosmum said slyly Just that it has been a long time since IÆve needed to For hundreds of years I perfected my mastery of life energy to the point that it became the tool I use to rule this world Without my Feed this world would collapse I am the spine of this world

After gaining control I was content to play With the tools I had I had reached the limit of my mastery So I indulged in the small comforts of rule Yet now your presence is an unspoken threat to the way of life I have cultivated And you bring with you new life energy in strange flavors It reminds me of the old days when the System sought to suck us dry

Theosmum considered the flame then looked at Roy Then its vast mouth opened revealing rotten and stinking teeth Now Reveal the information about the Demon King I require Or I will burn away your soul

Chapter 953

When Randidly awoke he felt an abrupt sensation of deja vu seize him Time seemed to stutter and skip leaving him stranded on the lush layer of grass The soft bubbling of the creek was so familiar and poignant to him that he felt outside of himself The memory was so vivid that Randidly believed that he was watching a movie of his past peering through time to rewatch his own genesis

How similar How different

Very quickly the sensation passed and left Randidly alone with the feeling of dappled sunlight caressing his skin through the surrounding tree canopies As fall finally came to New Earth the colors of the leaves were beginning to shift from green to orange and yellow When he looked at the color Randidly couldnÆt help but think over the repercussions of the past day

Things are changing Randidly thought not without a healthy scoop of sadness But not even the eternal present has the power to destroy the past Even if my relationship with Donnyton has become warped it wonÆt diminish what we have been for each other

Shaking his head Randidly sat up Around him the familiar scene of the natural spring where he had encountered Simon was as pristine as ever For him it was a place of healing In the wake of his first visit to Tellus he was forced to recover her for several weeks before the pain of his broken Skill subsided Even remember the pain now was difficult It was almost too fresh to bare

Releasing a sigh Randidly leaned back once more and let his eyes unfocus

Just a few hours ago after overcoming the last rung Donnyton had tested him with Randidly had very nearly lost himself in the violence of the Grim Chimera He had submerged himself for power but it was not a simple thing to surface It was only due to HelenÆs timely intervention that he had recalled where he was and what he was supposed to be doing in the arena

Even as his head throbbed from a long day of creating something from nothing Randidly was able to pull himself out of the spiraling images and disperse his marshaled strength

Honestly it was a bit like his injury that Simon had treated He was very close to losing himself in the pain But this time a reminder was all he required to save himself

With HelenÆs help Randidly had moved himself a few kilometers away from Donnyton to recover as much as possible in a short span of time More than any physical damage the strain of maintaining a physical form for his images for so long really had depleted his Willpower to the point that another rung was an intimidating prospect That combined with that extended physical manifestation of his image in that last duel meant that his tank was empty

At the time Randidly had resolved himself to the fact that he would likely need to use NeveahÆs Mana pool or Inspiration in order to handle all of the groups at once To challenge them with just his body and his weakened images would be beyond foolish

Luckily Helen had informed him that Donnyton was delaying likely permanently Helen had been extremely disgruntled by this fact but she had clearly understood that this answer was exactly what Randidly wanted to hear Even if Helen was relishing the change to test her limits Randidly tired of striking at the best and brightest of Donnyton

Rather than remaining near the Village Randidly had immediately moved North eventually finding and resting at this spring

Some part of Randidly whispered that if he didnÆt face the final rung now the lesson he spent so much time beating into Donnyton might not take Still Randidly was exhausted more so than he had ever been in the past Emotionally mentally and physically he had pushed himself to his limits in the battle against Donnyton

He needed a break He deserved it

And he had shown them the power of images Even now from so far away he could feel the stirrings along the channels of Aether that orbited the world As images formed they would insidiously spread their influence by competing with each other Randidly had started the process early but this was all in preparation to handle the Second Calamity

Initial signs indicated that the goal that had motivated the whole initiation of the challenge had been accomplished There would be many times that Donnyton could stray from that Path or squander the chance he gave them but that was a problem for later

A light touch of RandidlyÆs fingers against the ground was enough to throw himself a meter into the air and settle gracefully into a standing position Without much sense of propriety Randidly scampered over to the pool underneath the gurgling spring and used his hands to bring several ice cold gulps to his mouth

Immediately Randidly felt himself slowly relaxing Some of the numbness that filled RandidlyÆs heart began to twitch and revive finally giving life to the emotions he had felt as Stan encouraged Eli Iron to attack before the round had started Some of his own horror at being isolated and therefore striking without any reservation at Alana made itself known

The Grim Chimera was power But it was powerful because of the weight it carried

But IÆve never been a light traveler have I Randidly thought with a sigh His mind drifted back to those guards he had killed in the Tellus prison Not just blood but expectations and dreams too

Unwilling to let any ball of tension or loneliness or betrayal escape this cleansing Randidly followed up his gulps by dunking his head underneath the glassy surface of the water Even though RandidlyÆs Stats were monstrously high the cold stung when he opened his eyes and peered around at the poolÆs inner workings

Several finger sized Level 20 Crayfish waved their claws menacingly at each other and began to duel below RandidlyÆs head oblivious to the calamitous individual who peered intently down at them Fish swam around algae coated pebbles moving abruptly for several seconds and then not at all Light danced across the bottom of the pool warped by the uneven surface

Underneath the water the sound of the creek was much deeper Rather than tinkling bells it sounded like a mother humming as she cooked a childÆs favorite meal It was another world one of lightness and chill clarity

That thought made Randidly close his eyes He released a long stream of bubbles attracting the ire of the crayfish What is without within What is within without

The roiling bitterness in RandidlyÆs chest that had been spinning at half speed even after a full nightÆs sleep finally settled down Perhaps Randidly could have moved on without addressing it but he still didnÆt fully understand what he had done to become the image in those moments of isolation It had something to do with that vicious resentment and rage that had been spinning Before he understood how that manifestation occurred he planned on carefully monitoring his internal situation

Right now Randidly aimed for a total reset Only after that could he begin to move forward

After seeing the might of both Randidly didnÆt dare try and let the Grim Chimera and the Yggdrasil images bleed into one another He had already counted on his luck for too much in the last week

With a soft splash Randidly pulled his head back above the water After shaking his skull to dislodge any loose liquid Randidly moved to the small clearing immediately adjacent to the spring itself It was in this area that Randidly and Simon had spent several weeks as Simon attempted to nurse him back to health

So easy to forget his guileless kindness after he seized the role of Champion for himself Randidly thought distantly But he has a good heart ThatÆs why he felt compelled to act even then Foolish beyond belief but a good heart

Still A wave of RandidlyÆs hand created a whip of vines that gathered logs for a fire A point of his finger ignited the wood the flames fading quickly from emerald to the more mundane variety Am I any different The edge of experience with the System I have is a small thing in the scale of years It will eventually become meaningless Plus the image of this world will not be mine Just like Simon others will lead Earth to the future IÆm now just a watcher

So itÆs time to focus on what I want to do

What are my goals

Randidly shifted into a cross legged position and closed his eyes The small noises of nearby animal life wind through the drying leaves and the babble of the spring faded away He no longer possessed the Meditate Skill but it had become part of the Yggdrasil Skillset

Taking great care to control the image so it didnÆt manifest itself physically Randidly felt the myriad golden roots spreading downward from his position He then felt the invisible Emerald Leaves springing from his body to gather the energy of the sun that drifted overhead With his body as the core an invisible tree made of humming Skills formed around him

Moisture flowed upward while energy flowed downward His extremities gathered air and purified it Guided by his Skills three threads of energy wove themselves together inside of Randidly As he allowed natureÆs cycle to play out through his body Randidly tasted a hint of something powerful

Profoundly powerful So powerful that Randidly felt immersed in it for several seconds without even noticing it It was an intoxicating and vital energy even as it was composed of exceedingly dense images

It was only a faint whiff but immediately Randidly had to suppress the urge to follow it back to the source Time for a reset not time to follow this natural connection

With a sardonic smile Randidly allowed his meditation to end Looks like I brushed against the image of EarthÆ humans hold Being able to observe it would undoubtedly be helpful to images but not right now

Instead Randidly considered the things that he felt he had to do

Prepare to meet the final Judgement due to him because he had been labeled a Heretic by the System

Figure out how to subvert the designs that the System had on the Earth

Create a countermeasure for when the Creature inevitably came back to interfere with the Calamities

It was ultimately a short list but one filled with problems that were difficult to grapple Just the lack of information was debilitating enough but Randidly also had to fight against the forces that actively wanted him to fail

Beyond those few goals there were several things that Randidly wanted to do

Grow stronger

Understand the warning given to Randidly by Lyra that someone inside the System became aware of his ability to subvert Cohort Five

Foster a certain type of images on Earth

Address TatianaÆs continued complaints about competitors buying up suppliers to forcefully buy out Erickson Steel

Build that promised body for Ghost

Check in on the Order Ducis

Find out what had happened after Shal had proceeded through that portal

Maintain stability in his Soulskill

Understand what significance Citizenship in the System had

Very soon Randidly was chuckling to himself The more he thought the more the list of things he felt he should accomplish grew Even with his capabilities it would be difficult to manage so many disparate goals Yet Randidly believed that he would be able to accomplish several of these at once if he arranged his schedule correctly

Mostly it seemed smart to temporarily locate himself in the area of Erickson Steel headquarters While he focused on forging and Engraving Randidly could definitely grow stronger and build the body that he owed for Ghost Plus he could call that kid Naffur to bring the Order Ducis troops down Randidly doubted that he would have to personally act against the businesses eyeing Erickson Steel of the Order Ducis threw their bodies at the problem

After all if the people trying to isolate Erickson Steel had any real power they wouldnÆt have been so simply defeated A rich fool was dangerous but not difficult to handle

Activities within the Soulskill could occur anywhere so keeping a watch on those developments wouldnÆt be the problem But it was just a matter of how much time Randidly would put into it Which made Randidly wonder how much longer he would be staying here

Sighing deeply Randidly used his Domain to check where Helen was Immediately he could sense that she was within Donnyton proper likely delivery the farewell gift Randidly had decided to give Donnyton

What you do with that gift thatÆs up to you But I cannot help you more than this

Saying goodbye was a hard thing Randidly reflected After the heat of anger and battle had faded he didnÆt even have the heart to go give the news himself

Then his emerald eyes flashed with intensity Still he had other business to attend to

At long last Randidly looked at his Skill growth that had occurred over the last several days

Chapter 954

Despite Randidly growing rather numb to his constant growth he couldnÆt help but chuckle when he saw the sea of PP that he had gathered preparing for and during the Donnyton challenge A lot of it had come from the most recent rung but there was also some leftover PP from the several days of intensive training that Randidly had gone through to prepare

Honest he was glad he did it turned out that Donnyton took the challenge just as seriously as he did In total Randidly had earned 483 PP

Again the monstrous growth was a function of the number of Skills he possessed that were able to operate simultaneously over the course of a fight It wasnÆt just that he had a lot of Skills Part of the speed of his growth was because his Control let him use almost a dozen Skills at the same time

From RandidlyÆs combat Skills including Spear Mastery Dodge Fighting Experience and Stalemate Breaker none surpassed 8 Skill Levels of growth Most were clustered around 5 But even these few Skills that formed a minority of his growth still provided 47 PP Although they werenÆt determinative in the fight they constantly gave Randidly a series of small boosts

Then there were other areas that experienced big increases Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil grew 10 Skill Levels Sharpness grew 11 Visualization grew by 14 Skill Levels Riders of the Baleful Court jumped up 20 Skill Levels likely due to the continued activity of the Riders with Neveah Ignition of the Emerald Essence also got 16 Skill Levels due to the multitude of Skills based on it that Randidly made use of

Yyrwood Body of Yggdrasil grew by 21 Skill Levels pushing RandidlyÆs physical fitness to an even more ridiculous base state Cruel Indignation of Yggdrasil shot upward 28 Skill Levels The other Yggdrasil Skills maintained a growth between 8 and 12

Yet the area that Randidly had improved most of all was obviously in his new Skillset Descent of the Grim Chimera Although the Skills he had acquired had joined together to form an extremely high Level set of Skills those were benefits from the materials Randidly had used to form the Skillset They didnÆt truly describe how skilled Randidly was in using his newly acquired abilities

Once Randidly started using Skills he grew more familiar with them and experienced a marked jump in Skill Levels And it might even happen again to a lesser degree when Randidly had the chance to really think about his Skills and practice them

Cursed Appetite of a Wraith increased by 13 Skill Levels From a single use All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth grew by 19 Skill Levels MonstrosityÆs Appalling Intensity grew by 14 Man is Proud but the Chimera Takes and The Chimera Weep as Man Mourns both improved by 20 Skill Levels each ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe improved by 10 Levels and Molten Fang of the Pariah moved upward by 17

Finally Chimeric Avoidance increased by 32 Skill Levels And when Randidly checked the amount of Attribute and damage avoidance provided by the passive portion of the Skill increased to 9% Slowly but surely his already ridiculous capabilities were climbing upward

Which brought Randidly to 483 PP in total

When he saw that number he blinked several times Then he checked his Soulskill and he immediately suppressed a flash of nerves With this huge amount of PP IÆll get to 1500 in my Soulskill and trigger the absorption of more PP

Considering the PP I gained last time and the fact that the amount I absorbed increased doesnÆt that mean that when I reach that milestone I basically have the capability to finish any Path that I want

It was an intoxicating thought But Randidly took a deep breath and focused on the task at hand With his huge amount of PP Randidly easily finished off the Advanced Mana Engraving Path

Congratulations You have completed the Advanced Mana Engraving Path Engraving is a method by which your will and energy can be recorded on a single item for generations to come By continuing to advance toward the summit of Engraving you begin to understand how small your previous understanding was You walked a dirt road a stone road an iron road and now a road of meaning Yet the road leads ever onward Soon you sense that continuing forward will lead to a great change in your understanding of Mana Engraving You have feet to walk eyes to see and hands to make Do not let even one of these idle

Congratulations Your Mana has increased by 400 Mana Regeneration has increased by 40 Willpower and Focus has increased by 25 The effect of Skill Levels on the effects of Mana Engraving has increased

Shaking his head Randidly wondered why he even bothered to try and get Paths these days Unlike the early days the rewards they gave now often just whispered of the further rewards that Randidly could obtain if he used MORE PP Those messages seemed to imply that he was very close to moving toward end game content but they were also slightly disheartening

In addition the usual sorts of benefits no longer held as much meaning to him Even if Randidly were to acquire a Skill now it would take quite some time to Level it up to the point that it would be useful Time that he could be using to push his current quiver of Skills or images even higher

Yet another part of Randidly wondered if he wouldnÆt finally have that time soon One more Zone would start the arrival of the First Calamity but it was unclear how much time that would take In fact Randidly had a very real fear that the Zone they were waiting on to finish New Earth would take too long

The lessons that he had spoon fed Donnyton could fade very easily given enough time Without an external threat it was easy to predict that humanity would weaken itself beyond repair

The most pressing current issue was the looming Judgement but Randidly felt very confident that his usage of images had vastly increased his strength over the last month He had finally grown to the point that he would feel confident in normal situations even in Cohort 5

The only detail that made Randidly wary was the warning that came from Lyra regarding some influence on this Judgement But again Randidly wasnÆt sure how much stock he should put in her words Lyra to him was a confusing bundle of emotions

Confusing because of her intelligence and her betrayal but also confusing because of the effect of being the sword and sheath of Donnyton and having the System push them toward each other Idly Randidly wondered who was the current sword and shield of Donnyton Did that effect continue throughout the entirety of the System

Randidly shook his head slightly disgruntled at how quickly his thoughts were derailed He focused once more on the possibility of obtaining a Skill from a Path Either way Randidly was in the midst of preparing but he likely would have some spare time before dealing with the Calamities to train up a Skill But it would definitely need to be a powerful Skill that would provide a tangible benefit to the fight And after Randidly had created his own Skill beyond the Legendary Rating he felt like he would be somewhat more difficult to impress

After finishing the Path Randidly was still 100 short of reaching trigger for the next wave of PP from his Soulskill As such he would start the next Path without knowing exactly how much PP he would receive

Randidly considered the list of available Paths

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 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 Pain Immunity I 0/250 Raiments of the World Tree Physique of the Grim Chimera 0/1000 ChimeraÆs Grudge I

In addition to the familiar faces that Randidly had long had access to there were a few new arrivals One related to Pain Resistance reaching 100 one based perhaps on Yyrwood Body of Yggdrasil reaching 200 and then two relating to the newly created image and the growth of those Skills

Randidly currently had a little over 250 PP But it seemed likely that he would receive an almost intimidatingly high amount of PP So he was inwardly torn between the different Paths available Perhaps the most conservative method would be to choose a short Path like Fiery Sharpshooter and Mana Lich and then figure out the total amount before Randidly committed himself to an ambiguous or long Path

Randidly chuckled to himself and moved his fingers to Raiments of the World Tree From the name and context Randidly suspect that this would be an extremely long Path But right now one of the main goals Randidly wanted to accomplish before the Judgement arrived was finishing up his Yggdrasil Skillset Strengthening it with a Path seemed like the best idea currently

Immediately upon putting a point into the Path Randidly wanted to curse his earlier confidence The number 3000 was immediately burned into his gaze It sat like a weight against his spinal cord giving him an immediate headache from the towering pressure that number released

But although it was intimidating

If Randidly could finish it

Certainly I might have grandchildren faster than finishing this Path if I have overestimated the boosts from the Soulskill Shaking his head slightly Randidly put the next 99 PP into the Path Then he received a notification that left him shellshocked

As your Soulskill grows so too will you grow Your flesh is the substance of the Soulskill and the strength gathered by your Soulskill fuels your growth Although the exact details of the arrangement are currently in flux your body and the Soulskill are slowly merging into a more complete whole Warning you may experience slight effects as the synchronization continues

Congratulations PP from your Alpha Cosmos flows into you You have gained 7102 PP

Seven thousand PP Randidly said numbly He blinked several times As he had put this first 100 PP into this Path he realized that he received two free Stats every 25 PP he put into the Path It wasnÆt the greatest reward but it was certainly noticeable Especially considering that it would require 3000 PP Which meant that Randidly would receive 240 free Stats from finishing the Path without even considering the reward

With the same sort of dazed expression Randidly finished the entire Path in a single go

Congratulations You have completed the Raiment of the World Tree Path You have long planted the World Tree at the core of your being and it has grown strong within your Soul Yet the world tree is not simply a plant it is also a liege It is also an engine It is on the back of Yggdrasil that the world may thrive and grow The road here has been long and winding but to now finally come into your own is inevitable

Your heart is that of the World Tree To wear the vestiges of its divinity is to touch on a realm beyond humanity As your existences align your life experience will be warped Do not falter for to pause in the pursuit of power is to surrender control to the carrion scavengers that circle above

Congratulations Your Vitality has increased by 100 Your Health Regeneration has increased by 500 Your Stamina Regeneration has increased by 200 Your Resistance has increased by 100

Chapter 955

Why didnÆt he come himself Mrs Hamilton asked quietly Her hands were tightly folded in front of her and Helen had the distinct impression that the other woman was only doing that to hide a tremor

Helen didnÆt know what to say to the question She had some theories but sharing them would be more painful than helpful Instead she ignored the words and walked over to the long wooden table in Mrs HamiltonÆs workshop Helen had planned to grandly sweep every away but when she approached the things she found there gave her pause

Row after row of vividly colored liquid gleamed before her in streamlined tubes Only after staring for a half second did she realize that these were all potions Seeing so many varieties of concentrated potions was a little shocking even for Helen so she settled on carefully moved the fragile glassware to the side before depositing her precious cargo on to the table

Less dramatic but RandidlyÆs orders hadnÆt included any specifics Helen was just a courier

After waving her hand four ripe fruits sat on the table Immediately the air in the workshop changed dramatically In spite of herself Helen breathed deeply inward as soon as she saw the fruits Their rich aroma spiraled into her nostrils From just breathing in their released energy Helen felt a queer state of peace settle over her

If she had looked at her Stats Helen was sure that her Control and Focus had increased by a few points

Mrs HamiltonÆs brows scrunched together as she took several short steps to approach the table She didnÆt immediately attempt to inspect the fruits Instead she removed a small walkie talkie from her interspatial ring and spoke into it Beryl Make sure my private workroom is sealed

Got it Came the crackling reply In the next few seconds Helen felt another change to the air in the workroom the small flows of circulating air ceased

Helen raised an eyebrow at Mrs Hamilton She had seen walkie talkies and cell phones before but mostly they were used by low Level Squads Seeing Mrs Hamilton use it when the messaging function provided by the System was so much more convenient seemed rather strange

ThereÆs someone in Donnyton who can interfere and change with System messages Mrs Hamilton said lightly We are still trying to track down him or her but suffice to say there have been a few inexplicable disappearances of rare products recently Not enough to motivate a full scale investigation but we have our feelers out

IsnÆt it even more simple to overhear something using those devices Helen asked

Chuckling Mrs Hamilton nodded as she cautiously reached down toward one of the fruits True But then wouldnÆt we know exactly where this mysterious person was going to strike Anyways these are

A gift Helen said lightly Which was all the information Randidly told her to pass on to Mrs Hamilton Not that Helen knew much more than that but she had her own guesses after seeing RandidlyÆs pale face after he made these One she witnessed him condensed but the others

Randidly had already had those And based upon the energy that was wafting away from the original three these were a type of treasure that would grow more powerful as time passed Although they were just fruit Helen licked her lips greedily Undoubtedly eating them would be delicious

Of the four fruits the one Mrs Hamilton lightly touched was a brilliant emerald color Reflected by the thick energy around it it was one of the original three It was squat and plump like a tomato There was also a dusk colored banana a golden acorn and a crimson apple laid out rather casually around it

Rather than picking them up Mrs Hamilton took an action that mystified Helen she chopped sharply with her hand and split the emerald fruit in half Juice splattered on the table as the two severed halves rocked back and forth The sweet flesh of the fruit released an even more dense cloud of wafting energy The air was practically abuzz with it

But with glowing eyes Mrs Hamilton picked up the two halves and inspected them closely Curious Helen followed her gaze

So there are seeds Mrs Hamilton said softly Helen nodded Because as she looked at the two halves of the fruit she sensed a specific flow of energy in the flesh guiding energy toward those two seeds Under the nourishment of the fruitÆs energy those seeds were covered with densely packed golden runes too tiny and bright to read

Randidly doesnÆt casually give gifts Helen thought with a little bit of awe

With a wave of her hand Mrs Hamilton stored away the fruits Surreptitiously she then ran her finger along the juicy top of the desk and brought a bead of the fruit’s nectar to her lips After tasting Mrs Hamilton didnÆt appear happy In fact her expression became guarded and grim as she considered the messy work table

For several seconds Helen was somewhat at a loss of what she could do But then Mrs Hamilton spoke again

Make sure you tell him he is welcome to come back anytime What happened at the challenge is being dealt with It will not happen again

Shaking her head Helen walked toward the door With her mission accomplished here it was time she returned to RandidlyÆs side DoesnÆt something like this only need to happen once Mrs Hamilton

Randidly massaged his temples trying his best to figure out how to best utilize his large pile of PP that now filled his Path screen Even after accomplishing the 3000 PP Path Randidly still had a little over 4k PP to split between all his available Paths But completing the Raiment of the World Tree Path had added two new choices to RandidlyÆs available Paths Cleaver of the World Tree and Weakness of the World Tree 0/500

Things that come in sets of three have meaning They are bound by karma Randidly thought with a frown But while the Cleaver of the World Tree would probably give him a boost related to his offensive abilities like Raiment had boosted his defense it was difficult to justify putting points into Weakness of the World Tree

Because it was hard to see it as anything but a way to put a weakness directly into his Yggdrasil image Could you lose stats from a Path Could you obtain a passive Skill that impacted you negatively If not the former the latter was definitely possible The fact that it was part of a group bound by karma meant that it wouldnÆt be completely useless but

It was a dangerous prospect

Shaking his head Randidly looked again at the Paths he could choose

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 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 Pain Immunity I 0/250 Physique of the Grim Chimera 0/1000 ChimeraÆs Grudge I Cleaver of the World Tree Weakness of the World Tree 0/500

Heretic obviously would finish itself in good time so Randidly had no reason to put points into it But the rest of the Paths were on the table With so many PP at his disposal finishing off some of the easy Paths wouldnÆt require much at all Meanwhile at the other end Randidly was definitely looking at some of the higher cost Paths in order to improve his own personal power

Yet RandidlyÆs gaze kept returning to the tiny Paths that he had never taken even after all quite a lot of time of having them Specifically Nexus Traveler Cohort 5 Experimenter I and Metallurgist More than hoping for anything that would give him a powerful Skill they would provide Stats and satisfy his curiosity All told these three would require only 400 PP to finish and he would FINALLY know what rewards the provided Especially the first two

But still Randidly cautiously looked at the other available Paths There was no rush in choosing In terms of Skills Randidly suspected that he would get a useful harvest from Fiery Sharpshooter and Ashes of Ulaat Mana Lich was another possible choice for a new Skill but it seemed more likely he would just receive another large boost to his Mana pool and Regeneration Not that such a thing wasnÆt valuable but as RandidlyÆs focus shifted more toward images Mana had diminishing returns

Growth of Yggdrasil III still was greyed out but Randidly sensed that obtaining a couple hundred more Stats would open it up for him

That thought immediately made Randidly wince It seems IÆve really come far if suddenly obtaining a couple hundred stats seems like an easy feat but with the aid of four thousand PP it really shouldnÆt be difficult

Then Randidly shrugged If his goal was to at least to unlock Growth of Yggdrasil III and get a solid start on finishing it that probably meant he should save fifteen hundred of his gathered PP in order to dump into it Although it was a lot to ask for several hundred stats from a few Paths Randidly figured spending 2500 or so PP would get him there

So in order to satisfy his own curiosity Randidly finished the three smaller Paths almost immediately From Nexus Traveler Cohort 5 Randidly received one free Stat point every 5 PP spent which was truly a harken back to the good old days Experimenter I gave 1 Reaction every 5 PP which also fine Finally Metallurgist gave 1 Control every 5 PP which added quickly up after spending 300 PP on it

Congratulations You have completed the Nexus Traveler Cohort 5 Path Although you were born on a lower Cohort you have transcended your initial world to begin to explore the System Although there exists a strict hierarchy within the System such ambition will always be rewarded So continue to ascend moving on to higher places and larger rewards Above the Nexus awaits

Congratulations While on Cohort 5 you shall gather a small amount of bonus experience on every kill It will be slightly easier to raise your Skill Levels

Congratulations You have completed the Experimenter I Path By combining Skills and materials in strange ways you have been able to understand that the rigid structure of the System is simply a guide what you can do with it is only limited by your imagination This Path takes many strange turns but by the same token it reveals the secrets of this wondrous world Perception +20 You have gained the Skill CreatorÆs Luck Lvl 1

CreatorÆs Luck Lvl 1 When combining disparate elements there is a slightly increased chance of being successful Effect increases with Skill Level When combining disparate elements there is a miniscule chance of an unexpected reaction occurring Effect increases with Skill Level When combining disparate elements there is an almost nonexistent chance to create something truly special Effect increases with Skill Level

Congratulations You have completed the Metallurgist Path As the extracted bones of the Earth have been insufficient to meet your needs you inevitably began to modify and enhance the materials around you By walking this Path the knack for creating something truly special will slowly emerge Your familiarity with all forms of metal increases Wisdom Control and Focus +20 You have earned the (Unique) Skill Touch of the Ghosthound

Touch of the Ghosthound When you create a material it will be permanently improved based upon a percentage of your own stats The enhancements will be related to the type of material created The specific percentage of your touch displayed will be based upon the Rarity of the created piece of equipment when it is made Higher Rarities will bring out more of the latent potential of your touch Common 1% Uncommon 3% Rare 5% Ancient 7% Runic 9% Legendary 10% Mythic 15% Transcendental 20% Pinnacle 25%

Randidly twitched very slightly Immediately he was punished for waiting so long to go through the Cohort 5 Path The small amount of stats he gathered while finishing it was fine but the reward was practically useless to him at the moment Meanwhile since he had spent several years on Tellus in various forms the extra experience and Skill proficiencies would have been extremely valuable at the time

To get it now just felt like the System was taunting him

Meanwhile the bonuses that Randidly got from the other two Paths were more pleasant The CreatorÆs Luck didnÆt have any direct effect but it would likely help him as he returned to Erickson Steel to make metal or when he was working on Engraving And due to the text it seemed possible that it would also give him bonuses when adjusting Skills or perhaps even images

Considering that Randidly still was in the process of figuring out the exact shape for his Yggdrasil Skillset it would be valuable to push the Level of that Skill up some before he finally attempted to consolidate this core Skillset

The bonus from Metallurgist was even more powerful It had been quite some time since Randidly had received any Unique Skills so he was immediately excited as he considered the effects And since the bonus it gave was based upon his own stats

Although a Pinnacle Rarity item was probably a long way away it would mean that Randidly could create an item that would give the user an extra 250 or so Control Even if the item was the limit of SamÆs current abilities a Legendary item that was still a boost of 90 Control should the bonus be the Control variety That was in addition to any effects that the item would already possess

maybe I should spend more time working on creating metal in the upcoming days

Chapter 956

Randidly was about to go back to his Path screen and select what he would be receiving next but a figure approaching the spring gave him pause Sighing Randidly straightened and prepared to receive the guest

Lyra smiled like a mischievous fey as she stepped into the clearing Am I interrupting something

What are you here for Randidly asked doing his best to keep his annoyance from his voice Although he had made his peace with Lyra that didnÆt mean that he trusted her Just that he had believed they had an understanding that they would keep to their own business until the first two Calamities had passed They were not in the sort of relationship where a sudden visit was a good thing

Especially since she came immediately after his challenge against Donnyton In order to spend some time examining the growth of his images Randidly had been carefully suppressing his Willpower If she forced him into a fight right now

Lyra raised her hands I understand you donÆt believe I have any good intentions Because I rarely come without trying to get something from you But today I want to make a trade A fair trade Between equals

That immediately had RandidlyÆs hands tightening into fists It was clear from LyraÆs tone that something she had seen in the challenge had powerfully affected her Even more disturbing than this young womanÆs change of heart Randidly couldnÆt help but notice the nearby wind quieted There was a silence in the air as if existence itself was waiting for an answer

The babbling of the spring faded away The leaves were shaken by a strong wind and then faded to oblivion The air was cool and clear like inside of a snow globe Randidly frowned and scanned the area with Aether but he could detect nothing that was amiss The surroundings seemed completely normal

Yet who could deny that the natural world reacted to something that Lyra said

No gifts but a trade Yet this is certainly one aspect of our karma Randidly thought tiredly He considered calling Lucretia out in order to see her perspective on the strange natural phenomenon but ultimately Randidly suspected that she wouldnÆt find anything

Unbidden the memory of fate related Skill that Randidly had forcibly destroyed came into his mind For several seconds Randidly simply studied Lyra Today she wore a dark blue corduroy dress the front of which was covered in stitched pockets Rather than a being that had casually sold her soul she had the sort of presence that you would expect from a childhood friend from an anime all bright eyes and wide smile

That is aside from her overly pale skin and luminous violet eyes That part of her screamed villain

Like Randidly Lyra probably spent far more time in this new world ruled by the System than a calendar would indicate Therefore she stood slender and lovely as an orchid looking like she was in her early 20s Her tawny hair curled down her ears to her jaw As Randidly looked at Lyra he realized that she was looking at him just as intently

Seeing that Randidly had no intention of doing anything but studying her Lyra smiled awkwardly As you expected IÆm going to ask you to do something that should not normally happen But I assure you Octavius will not become aware of your actions Until IÆm ready I will not reveal what you have done

The hairs on the back of RandidlyÆs neck prickled Mentioning Octavius was not a way to make him feel relaxed The strange being that ran their Cohort was very clear what would happen if Randidly flaunted the natural order of the System again Is that a threat

Finally this sweetly smiling mask that Lyra work broke and she scowled at him Randidly I donÆt want you to die or be thrown in fantasy jail Without you even with the seeds youÆve just planted itÆs still slightly doubtful that the Earth can pass the First Calamity And being cut off from Aether and relegated to a doomed planet is not what I want Although most Village Spirits can just return to their original world how would that help me If Earth goes to shit IÆm fucked IÆm on your side

For now Randidly said softly But as Lyra pursed her lips in annoyance some part of his inner suspicion faded away leaving amusement in its wake IÆve spent so much time forcing my body to relax today to control my images IsnÆt it just like Lyra to show up and spoil all that hard work

Randidly chuckled as that amusement continued to bubble forth That caused LyraÆs frown to deepen

What are you snickering at She snapped

Randidly shrugged helplessly ItÆs nothing just been a long day So IÆll bite what do you want from me

I want a Class Lyra said with a dazzling smile Randidly snorted and ignored her blatant attempt to charm him as he unpacked that statement

Obviously Lyra couldnÆt obtain a Class the old fashioned way with her Status as a Village Spirit Therefore Randidly thought it was likely that it meant that outside of her very specific sphere of influence as a Village Spirit Lyra was lacking in capability Whether that was due to lack of Stats or Skills it wasnÆt clear But obtaining a Class would allow her to grow A more powerful Lyra was dangerous but Stats only could do so much Her natural affinity for Aether was much more dangerous and why she could become a Village Spirit

Was he missing something Was there another function that a Class could fill It could assist in the formation of images but other than that

Then RandidlyÆs eyes flashed A Class also leads one to obtain a Fate and if I were to give her a Class there would be another connection between us Those are possibilities Is the Class just a ruse in order to establish a firmer connection I could ask Nathan to do it but itÆs unclear if he would be able to simply based upon experience and ability I have no doubt that this wouldnÆt be a normal case of providing a Class

But also I suspect the fact Lyra came her after the challenge isnÆt a coincidence

As Randidly considered LyraÆs request she opened her mouth once more I can see from your face that you are thinking Thinking very hard So let me try and explain some details It is only due to my unique Path to this situation that I can get a Class Although I have infiltrated the role of a Village Spirit I still have a distinction under the System of once being human But since I donÆt have a human body itÆs just a matter of grounding the Class in a physical object that I can carry with me

What are you offering me in exchange Randidly asked Before he proceeded further he needed to judge whether entertaining this experiment was even worth it

Lyra held up two fingers IÆm offering two things The first is rather simple during the process of giving me a Class youÆll have complete access to my Soulspace With the defenses IÆve painstakingly gathered these past months youÆll be able to see and understand the structure of energy that creates a Village Spirit IÆll hold back the restrictive formation of the System to provide you this information Interesting yes

Randidly folded his arms Although he was idly curious about the shape of the Aether and had no doubt that it would be a significant boost to understanding the System itself it wasnÆt worth pointlessly giving Lyra another tool in her arsenal

As though reading his unwillingness Lyra sighed theatrically and shook her head At that moment it seemed as though all of lifeÆs toil and struggle were pressing down on LyraÆs feeble shoulders

The corner of RandidlyÆs mouth quirked up Sometimes he forgot that she had been a child actor until those moments where she indulged in meaningless theatrics Of all LyraÆs traits this was one that he didnÆt mind

Although you treat it so casually I want to stress again that this is not easy for me Lyra said tiredly In addition my Status as Village Spirit gives me a lot of information regarding the equivalent of Paths available to my affiliated entities I cannot speak of it due to certain limitations but if you were to view the levers of control I possess you would undoubtedly have some small amount of prescience

That made Randidly pause Although the language is flowery sheÆs basically saying that she can see the future possibilities for Donnyton Or Villages generally It could be another false lead but she has been relatively straightforward about the benefits offered in deals with her in the past She shared that trait with the Creature Is there some secret about Villages generally hidden there

But the reason she can be so honest about the benefits was that the consequences were so deeply hidden As it was with the Creature so it will also be with Lyra

Randidly unfolded his arms in no hurry to speak Only when he saw LyraÆs mouth twitching in annoyance did he finally open his mouth And the second thing you are offering me

Once more LyraÆs beaming smile returned Information regarding your friend Shal He finished ascending and has returned to Tellus If you help me IÆll tell you what I know about he endured and his result

CanÆt I just ask him directly if he finally finished Randidly asked wryly But when LyraÆs smile didnÆt waver he knew something was wrong After sending a quick message to Shal Randidly realized that the problem was larger than he had assumed

Warning Contact with the targeted planet is currently cut off while the Third Calamity occurs If this contact is related to an emergency please contact the Cohort 5 Overseer so your request can be considered

Randidly I would never offer you something worthless Lyra scoffed But with my connections I can obtain information that you canÆt our Paths and reach are very different ThatÆs why there is no one else but you that can help me

Feeling a stirring in his chest Randidly reflected on his past interactions with Lyra Always demands and teasing never trades But also no true gifts had been exchanged As such the karma between them was complicated Which meant that there wasnÆt a forced gift in either of their futures but it also meant that the outcome of their interactions felt extremely messy

Just like my parting with Donnyton became messy Randidly thought while twisting his mouth Then he shook his head and asked Lyra Why do you want a Class If you give me the honest answer IÆll think about it

IÆm sure youÆve already guessed it at least partially Lyra said as she wrinkled her nose ItÆs to have access to images As a Village Spirit we are extremely limited as to releasing our own images To prevent a higher Cohort from spoiling a lower Cohort I imagine I was confused for a while why you would ride so roughshod over Donnyton you know But then I noticed that spear mark you have After making some discreet inquiries I learned that it prevented your images from being used for Earth to ascend

You might have started as a farmer but youÆve become a warrior No matter how many seeds you spread now we need more assurances for Earth And I have no doubt that when you learn more about the System and the Nexus youÆll be too busy preparing for grander problems to push EarthÆs images to the next Level And like I said I donÆt want the Earth to fail before the Third Calamity So giving me the ability to use images myself is a win win

More than that giving you a Class gives you the ability to condense a Fate And later I have no doubt that you will attempt to complete a Great Path Randidly immediately realized

What do you mean IÆll be busy preparing for grander things Randidly asked

Lyra shook her head That information is part of the reward youÆll get for helping me I won’t sell it cheaply to a pretty face

Randidly ignored her joke Then he gritted his teeth IÆm sure you understand my unwillingness to give you another weapon IÆll need some time to think about it Come find me in a week Hopefully IÆll have made a decision by then

WonÆt you have left the area around Donnyton ItÆs difficult for me to travel so far you know Lyra pouted

Randidly didnÆt bother to respond

Seeing that her emotes didnÆt sway him LyraÆs face became serious I understand your CrownÆs Pride will not want to give others control over EarthÆs fate But we are small fish being tested in a pond After your travels IÆve no doubt that youÆve seen that And IÆve seen the ocean that is the Nexus as a Village Spirit We need this We need every weapon we can bring to bear Even you cannot manage everything alone And like I hinted at thereÆs something that only you can accomplish If you donÆt realize what that is in time it will be too late

Then Lyra disappeared Her energy signature dissipated quickly dwindling to nothing as Lyra moved her projection away from him After waiting a few seconds Randidly released a blast of Aether clearing the lingering particles out of the air

Even her words as she was leaving sounded like half a threat

Yet Randidly didnÆt dismiss her concerns out of hand Truly he knew too little about the System itself let alone the Nexus and the various powers that gathered there and competed against each other to indoctrinate new worlds into the SystemÆs ways

The question was whether that information was worth the price of handing Lyra a way to directly influence the Earth RandidlyÆs immediate answer was no but the ambiguous pressure he felt from not knowing what would happen prevented him from refusing immediately

Randidly scratched his head Truly this wonÆt be an easy week

Then he released a deep sigh to exercise all of the stress that the meeting with Lyra had injected into his previously cleansed psyche As the sounds of the spring and the wind slowly returned he sunk back into his peaceful state Then he returned to his Path screen intent on spending the remainder of his PP

RandidlyÆs immediate instinct was to move onto Fiery Sharpshooter and Mana Lich but a newly released Path gave him pause Experimenter II 0/250

Well I suppose it wonÆt hurt to just grab these three midsized Paths all at once if the Experimenter II Path improves the performance of the Skill I obtained so much the better

So Randidly rapidly dumped away another 1100 PP From Fiery Sharpshooter Randidly obtained 1 Perception and 1 Intelligence every 25 PP From Mana Lich Randidly received 100 Mana every 50 PP And finally from Experimenter II Randidly once more received 1 Control every 5 PP spent

Congratulations You have completed the Fiery Sharpshooter Path Through combat and strife you have honed your ranged abilities to an explosive deadliness In terms of destructive power your Path is unrivaled As you head toward the summit your existence will become increasingly fearsome Congratulations You have obtained the Skill Offensive Array (Un) Lvl 1 You have obtained the Skill HellÆs Lance « Lvl 1 You have obtained the Skill Agonizing Heat « Lvl 1

Synergy Detected Offensive Array has been absorbed by Ignition of the Emerald Essence Performance of the Skill slightly improved HellÆs Lance has been absorbed by Ignition Bolt Performance of the Skill marginally improved Agonizing Heat has been absorbed by Ignition of the Emerald Essence Resulting flames slightly improved Skill Levels have not changed

Congratulations You have completed the Mana Lich Path At this point the very structure of your body has become accustomed to the flow of Mana Energy has become a part of you in a way that cannot be underestimated In the future all Skills relating to Mana will be cast more quickly Your ability to gain Skill Proficiency in Mana related Skills has greatly increased Your ability to understand Mana has become as simple as seeing Mana Regeneration +100 Congratulations you have obtained the Skill Mana Physique (Un) Lvl 1

Mana Physique (Un) Lvl 1 All damage you receive is slightly reduced by your current amount of Mana Reduction increases as Mana increases Effect increases with Skill Level

Congratulations You have completed the Experimenter II Path Your curiosity knows no bounds From the mundane to the intangible nothing is safe from your piercing gaze As the Path begins to veer from the well established Path the benefits you received become sparse But those few gems that you are able to locate completely warp your worldview The performance of each point in Perception is slightly increased The Skill CreatorÆs Luck Lvl 1 has evolved into CreatorÆs Knack « Lvl 1 All prior effects are slightly improved

Chapter 957

Randidly shook his head sorrowfully when looking at the rewards from the Fiery Sharpshooter Path Basically everything but the stats had been completely devoured by the Ignition of the Emerald Essence series of Skills Although it wasnÆt quite a Skillset it was certainly a powerful tool that Randidly had relied on to get to this point

But I suppose itÆs worth spending some time to figure out if it can become a Skillset Randidly thought as he rubbed his chin With these absorptions the power should increase a small amount

Immediately Randidly conjured the Emerald Essence and looked deeply at it for almost ten seconds But after casually summoning a fistful of emerald flame Randidly was unable to see any real difference As before the fire burned In terms of damage it dealt it would be difficult to figure any shift out without an opponent on which to test the flames

The rewards from the Mana Lich Path were marginally less disappointing because he did obtain a Skill and several passive boosts relating to Mana based Skills But the Skill was a defensive one that only had a passive element It would add something to RandidlyÆs repertoire but it wasnÆt very important now

Plus with how quickly Randidly could blow through his own Mana Well his initial Mana pool was likely extremely high compared to his contemporaries so perhaps he was underestimating its effect But the reward was just somewhat of a letdown after the reward given by the Mana Ghoul Path Even if Randidly immediately could clearly see the lines of Mana than ran through his limbs

Indeed perhaps what Randidly noticed most of all from his time manipulating Ignition of the Emerald Essence was his immediate ability to see the branching lines of Mana that fed into the flame itself Randidly wondered whether he would have just a transparent a view on the genesis of a Skill in other individuals

Of the three Randidly supposed that the Experimenter II Path rewards were the most valuable The already interesting CreatorÆs Luck was transformed into a two Rarity higher CreatorÆs Knack Randidly never struggled to obtain Skills with high Rarities but he understood that a portion of his power was due to the high Rarity of his bread and butter Skills

Or rather considering the fact that many of these Skills were self created the System had given his Skills a high Rarity precisely because they were so powerful As long as he maintained a certain level of poignancy and drive his Skills would receive extremely high Rarity grades

So it was with a bit of expectation that Randidly opened up his list of available Paths and took another look at what he had available to him Immediately Randidly smiled at the new option available to him

Friend to Humanity 0/100 Mantle of the Patron 0/500 Aether Convergence II Perfect Soul Bond 0/1000 the Bell of Doom Tolls 0/600 Growth of Yggdrasil III 0/2000 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 Pain Immunity I 0/250 Physique of the Grim Chimera 0/1000 ChimeraÆs Grudge I Cleaver of the World Tree Weakness of the World Tree 0/500 Experimenter III 0/500

The question was whether Randidly wanted to use a further 500 PP in order to finish the next Experimenter Path and upgrade the CreatorÆs Skill even further Likely the next batch of training he participated in would benefit from this Skill immensely after all Randidly planned on spending quite of bit of that time working on his metal making and Mana Engraving

Both of these tasks would be boosted by the Skill Plus Randidly had some plans to push the state of the art for metallurgy a few steps forward Randidly didnÆt have any sort of special knowledge about metal but he was confident that his ability to test and combine things wouldnÆt be casually rivaled by anyone at this point in time

But Randidly currently only had 2859 PP to fulfill a half dozen of his desires Of that amount RandidlyÆs intention was to save 1500 of it to throw into the Growth of Yggdrasil when he unlocked it Which left 1359 PP If he took away 500 for the next experimenter Path the remainder was less than 1000 Which was the amount that Randidly was primarily concerned with at the moment

Because he had assumed there would be a middle step between his next Path and Growth of Yggdrasil III

Ashes of Ulaat Perfect Soul Bond and Physique of the Grim Chimera all required 1000 PP

It wouldnÆt be such a big deal if I saved a small amount less than 1500 for the Growth of Yggdrasil Randidly reflected Since the total Path was only 2000 he would be capable of getting through that amount of PP in a few months Considering that the was about to face the final Judgement that loomed over the Path of a Heretic he would likely gather a huge chunk of that PP very quickly over the course of that fight

As long as the Judgement isnÆt a pushover

So the question then became was having the improved Creator Skill worth slowly down finishing the Growth of Yggdrasil Path Although Randidly found it an incredibly close question the ultimate answer in his heart was yes

The Yggdrasil image is what drives my personal Strength but Lyra is right about one thing Randidly thought bitterly I canÆt help the Earth with my images any longer But if the metal that Erickson Steel produces is of sufficiently high quality SamÆs people can make weapons more than capable of making up for missing out on my images

So Randidly threw 500 PP in the Experimenter III Path gaining 2 Perception every 25 PP spent

Congratulations You have completed the Experimenter III Path Your desire to uncover the secrets of the world leads you ever higher in pursuit of knowledge As you climb the steep slope in front of you your view is severely limited But there exists a certainty in your heart that the summit will lead you to something far beyond your limited understanding For with a view comes perspective and from perspective comes the power to determine your destiny Focus and Willpower +50 The Skill CreatorÆs Knack « Lvl 1 has evolved into CreatorÆs Aptitude Lvl 1 All prior effects are slightly improved There is now an almost nonexistent chance to channel the spirit of the origin of a crafting material while combining for an exceedingly impressive result

The amount of Stats he gained while completing the Path was slightly less than Randidly had hoped but he received the evolution of the Skill he wanted plus 100 Stats as a bonus For now that was more than enough compensation for the 500 PP he spent on the Path

Of course Randidly could only shake his head wryly when he saw the Experimenter IV Path sitting in his Path screen costing 1250 PP He had the PP but he knew that this was all the investment he was willing to make in the mysterious Creator series Skill that he hadnÆt had the chance to test yet Besides the next price tag was a little rich for his blood Maybe the next time I obtain a huge amount of PP from my Soulskill IÆll be able to be even less discerning with the ways I spend my PP

Then his focus shifted to the next decision between Ashes of Ulaat Perfect Soul Bond and Physique of the Grim Chimera which was the best Path to improve his current power If the Experimenter Path was an investment in the future these three Paths were all culminations of moves he made in the past All three seemed likely to give him various advantages moving forward

Perfect Soulbond would improve his synchronicity with Neveah which definitely would not lead a bad result UlaatÆs ashes would likely put him through a trial that would familiarize Randidly with UlaatÆs strength and images The Ashes of Aemont had been instrumental in obtaining Breath of the Spear Phantom And Physique of the Grim Chimera seemed like another way that Randidly could give himself increased physical prowess and use him Grim Chimera images more fully

Randidly looked down at his hand with a frown Especially after that final move I used against Paolo and Kayle it seems like there is something fishy hidden within the makeup of this image Maybe I put it there but if it was a portion of an older image that I used to form the Grim Chimera I cannot be too careful

But itÆs unclear whether working on the physique lowers that danger or exacerbates it

All three also had obvious downsides improving the bond with Neveah might mean that more Skills would be subverted like his Riders had been immediately going to her aid if she needed it Ashes of Ulaat probably would involve some sort of trail that he would pass which would consume a portion of RandidlyÆs valuable time Meanwhile the Physique of the Grim Chimera would only benefit his physical fitness and his one image when Randidly planned to use this time to mainly work on the Yggdrasil Skillset

Ultimately the sound of someone approaching pulled RandidlyÆs attention upward before he could make a decision LIke a ghost Helen landed in the clearing and gave Randidly a speculative look Do you have any more of those fruits

The corner of RandidlyÆs mouth quirked upward No but I can make more Do you want one

Shrugging as if she hadnÆt been the one to bring it up Helen casually walked closer to Randidly They were clearly a rare treasure It seemed somewhat out of place for you to give them to Donnyton now After what happened

Some part of Randidly shared that same sentiment But at the same time Randidly mirrored HelenÆs shrug without elaborating the nuances of giving those fruits away In fact the fruits werenÆt difficult to produce just time consuming He made another three earlier today as he considered the Path situation But he also included some aged fruits in order to give Mrs Hamilton some perspective on what they could become

Plus the gift of the fruit was an insurance policy that Randidly was taking out now to lower the risk that Donnyton would become aligned with LyraÆs goal after he distanced himself If he never had to cash it fine Randidly didnÆt mind allowing Donnyton to benefit But it was better to prepare for the worst

If they eventually turned against him the fruits would become a weakness he could exploit

So now what Helen asked

So now what Randidly thought as he looked at his available Paths

Now I think we set other things aside and head over to Erickson Steel Randidly said to both himself and Helen SomeoneÆs been trying to pry the formula for the metal out of them and theyÆve become increasingly aggressive about their methods It seems that the protection of the Ghosthould doesnÆt mean much in the business world

Helen snorted Ha how quickly after the news gets out about the challenge will they show up to apologize The cocks might even beat us over there to settle accounts

Randidly looked around the clearing Everything looked as unnaturally pristine and untouched as when he had arrived Even though fall was arriving this clearing appeared to be in full vibrant bloom YouÆd be surprised what greed makes people do Besides great deeds overheard from some distance lose their sting

ThatÆs why most Styles stayed away from business pursuits on Tellus Helen said dismissively Inevitably they bit off more than they can chew with the endeavor And they would often forget that a rich man is just as killed by a spear as a poor man

RandidlyÆs smile in response to that sentence was feral Hopefully this is an issue that can be eradicated as easily as a life

Evan Crane tapped his cigarette against the ashtray and released a smoky breath Although the cloud cruised slowly forward to impact the other manÆs face Evan made no attempt to shift the direction of his exhalation The act of dominance brought him more than a small amount of pleasure So

His subordinate was sweating but the man stubbornly continued to repeat his prior point Apparently the direct blast of smoke hadnÆt conveyed the message Evan hoped it would Some of our partners are nervous They say that Randidly Ghosthound fought against fifty people

And it ended in a draw Evan took another long drag on his cigarette The shaft of nicotine was reduced in size at a pace visible to the naked eye Only after three seconds of strong inhaling did Evan release another smog like breath toward the sweating man Do you know what a draw means in politics It means the result was fudged

But still it was fifty people The subordinate began but Evan silenced him as with three sharp gestures against the ashtray

Tap tap tap

A wonderful PR stunt Evan shook his head in admiration That the almost mythic hero that founded Donnyton was able to appear immediately prior to the talks about the world capital I might add challenge DonnytonÆs strongest Squads to a fight and then end up drawing against them Against fifty people

Evan inhaled for several seconds Then he exhaled

With these actions the Ghosthound proves how powerful he was by fighting fifty people to a draw Donnyton demonstrates its power by having substantially the same strength as the man who is generally agreed to be the most powerful person on Earth Evan spat a fat wad of phlegm onto the tiled floor of his office in front of the subordinate

The phlegm was entirely transparent and clear like spilled filtered water Evan smiled in satisfaction No matter how often I see this I still canÆt believe how well the System works IÆm smoking almost three packs a day and my body is still as strong a horse

Evan looked up his pleased expression disappearing immediately Why are you still here

When the subordinate spoke it was in a tone close to a whine The partners just think that it would be prudent to decrease our activities in the short term At least until Randidly Ghosthound can be located and evaluated

Then we disagree Evan leaned back in his chair Abruptly he wished that he had thought to obtain some cigars before now It would paint a much clearer picture to those second guessing him And guess what IÆm currently in charge because IÆm funding this project And ultimately

EvanÆs hands spread out and felt the thick weight of the wooden desk at which he sat money makes the world go round Now get to work

Chapter 958

When Randidly and Helen arrived Erickson Steel was bustling with activity like a beehive in springtime

The small tract of land that had originally been the safe space for the many escorts that Tatiana helped ferry out of their prior lives was still there but it was a tiny blip on the densely packed landscape Thick pillars of smoke wafted up out of the deep valleys that had dug into the ground Randidly had previously cleared quite a bit of space for the metalworking to expand but it seemed that his vision hadnÆt been ambitious enough

With the expanded foundry forges furnaces and the additional small housing complex to service Erickson SteelÆs employees the area was almost five times larger than Randidly remembered It sprawled South moving out of the forested area and toward the small river that meandered down to Lake Apollo

In addition to the main buildings there were also countless warehouses and testing facilities that acted as a halo around Erickson SteelÆs businesses Beyond that central area to the South there was also a small park and a series of inns to handle the flow of people buying and selling Erickson Steel product

There was even a small pair of steel rails with several hand carts sitting next to the small waystation

So you own all of this Helen asked with a frown and your business is in trouble

Randidly carefully looked around the bustling area Apparently so We wonÆt know for sure until we can talk to someone important

The two of them were standing on the lip of the vast dug out space looking down at the complex network of interlocking industrial buildings From this distance Randidly saw almost a hundred people carrying materials toward various places but he didnÆt see anyone that he recognized