LoRG 2

Was this what Randidly had in mind Tatiana wondered dully

Shaking her head Tatiana forcefully roused herself Helen had dragged a dead body into her office and she needed to deal with it Helen ah search him But more than that did you have any proof of his activities

Snorting Helen folded her arms Do you think a scavenger canÆt recognize a bottom feeder And scum like this dick wouldnÆt come here on his own He smells like a trained dog

Just what sort of nose do you have TatianaÆs mind was screaming But her face only twitched Such was the depth of her Skill as an acting CEO that her inner turmoil didnÆt surface in the least Abruptly Tatiana missed Vye She was exactly the type of person who would be able to help Tatiana figure out what to do in this situation

Well If I frame it as this is an individual who Randidly trusts I suppose it is fair to take her word as correct Therefore someone dispatched this man in order to cause trouble for Erickson Steel The implications of that truth caused Tatiana to clench her jaw Although it hadnÆt happened yet I knew it was only a matter of time until this happened We couldnÆt keep our hands clean forever

Then Tatiana had a small heart attack Her eyes went wide

You didnÆt Tatiana couldn’t even force the words out of her mouth

An interspatial watch was still on the dead manÆs hand Which if he truly was dispatched by some foreign power to weaken Erickson Steel meant that the other party was probably using the watch to keep tabs on its agent

By recording all the audio that the watch detected for example

Audio of Tatiana and Helen casually speaking about the dead body

TatianaÆs mind immediately went back through their conversation hoping they had kept their sentences vague enough that there was nothing truly incriminating present

You you just killed him

Yup

Tatiana flicked her wrist and destroyed the watch with a steel needle It buzzed and popped but it brought Tatiana no comfort For the third time in two days Tatiana walked over to her private cabinet and poured herself a stiff drink So stiff that the bottle was emptied For a long time she was silent and simply poured the amber liquid down her throat

Sighing she twisted to look at her cabinet She regarded the empty glass bottle sourly This was supposed to last me for a month Randidly Oh god we fucked up this time

WhatÆs wrong Helen asked in confusion

Tatiana wondered where to begin

After listening to the recording Evan Crane was grinning from ear to ear Already he had used his contacts to mobilize the nearby police bureau Now it was just a matter of waiting an hour or two for them to make an appearance at Erickson Steel and watch this infuriating card castle come tumbling down

And after everything is over I suppose it will be only me who is capable of picking up the pieces Evan released a puff of smoke that he carefully shaped into a ring The ring slowly drifted across the room Evan pressed his lips together more tightly and blew a second ring

The second ring shot out and pierced right through the first one without disturbing it Although it was almost impossible EvanÆs smile stretched even wider Today was a very good day

But just as Evan was savoring the addicting scent of his victory the communicator on his interspatial watch began to ring Coughing lightly Evan did his best to martial his face into a serious expression Then he accepted the call Senator Heathridge I assume youÆve heard the news

Of course There was a slight pause on the other end of the line Evan imagined that the Senator hadnÆt heard the news and was now scrambling to find out what Evan was talking about But very quickly that fantasy was demolished by the SenatorÆs ruthless competence IÆve been trying my best to gather information on the movements of Randidly Ghosthound before I contacted you

Ah you noticed it too Evan asked with a wide grin From what Evan had been able to gather Randidly had been seen leaving Erickson Steel at an extremely high speed earlier in the morning And now without his leadership the company was falling to pieces

A perfect opportunity for a true leader to step in Evan Crane was almost salivating at the prospect Then the new engraving style for trains and the processing for Erickson SteelÆs new line of high end steel alloys

Heh youÆve surprised me Evan I thought you would have been dazzled by this perfect opening to have noticed it Senator Heathridge chuckled But no I thought it too that this is too convenient They reveal their big secret steel project on us and then make a blunder as vast as casually killing someone This must be a trap

EvanÆs jaw worked soundlessly for several seconds This is a trap

Even I havenÆt been able to figure out their angle but there is no doubt that this whole scenario has been crafted to lure us out But even so The sound of the SenatorÆs sigh came through the line It would be playing into their hands but the chance is too juicy to pass up I assume youÆve already contacted the relevant authorities

Of course Evan Crane said reflexively His mind struggled to cope with the arrival of these new facts All of this was a trap They were simply playing into Erickson SteelÆs hands by trying to get them arrested for murder

But how would that even work

Please observe what happens when the authorities arrived If you notice anything strange about the way Erickson Steel reacts I might be able to figure out what tricks they have up their sleeves Contact me when you finish

Then the Senator hung up

EvanÆs face twisted into a scowl Gone was the boyish excitement about owning Erickson Steel In its place a stubborn resentment had planted itself in his chest Despite the fact that Evan had previously been toying with the idea of going to watch Erickson Steel interacting with the police the SenatorÆs order to do so sucked all the joy out of the activity

Now it just seemed like a menial task

And where the hell does he get off acting so surprised that I noticed this was a trap Evan thought furiously His thoughts bubbled and multiplied quickly filling his entire being with negative emotions while he waited for the police vehicles to arrive It was almost a full hour later when the two vans drove down the road toward the front gates of Erickson Steel

Although he might be inwardly furious Evan was not careless in his disguise Once more he casually perused the small series of stalls outside of Erickson Steel while the police approached Seemingly without any real goal Evan rubbed his fake beard and wandered to look at the different discount metals that were for sale

Two rather muscular men in police uniform stepped out of the van After adjusting the holster of their manatech pistols they sauntered up to the gate with grim expressions

Senator Heathridge might be inwardly fearful this was a trap but Evan delighted in the look of shock and fear that came over the guards as the police informed them why they were here Unfortunately it seemed like they were successful in convincing the police to wait because the two officers didnÆt attempt to go into Erickson Steel

Then again if they had I wouldnÆt be able to watch this

See something you like sir

Evan blinked The owner of the stall smiled at him and pointed down to the ingots that Evan was inspectingÆ

Oh Oh yes of course IÆd like to have two ingots of this variety Evan said casually After he had paid he moved several stalls over looking for less friendly merchants

By the time Evan had another spot an attractive young woman walked out of Erickson Steel and frowned at the police officers

MaÆam based on the evidence we received there has been a murder on the Erickson Steel premises The older officer said gravely We would like to ask you a few questions

What Why is it any of your business who I kill The woman asked She sounded genuinely confused why the police would care

Both of the officers seemed to have caught her tone as well MaÆam are you saying you are aware of such an incident

Yep I kill him Why

The air around the gate turned strange Evan wasnÆt the only person listening The fact that this young woman so casually admitted that she killed a man drew the attention of quite of few of the surrounding Erickson Steel customers

maÆam you will need to come with us so we can figure out the details of this incident Please But as the one officer produced handcuffs the woman resolutely shook her head

No If thatÆs all please leave Then she turned away

The police officers paused Then they looked at each other Their eyes hardened MaÆam if you donÆt come willingly we are permitted to use force

She swung her spear twice so fast that Evan couldnÆt follow either blow The first shatter both of the younger manÆs knees in a wicked low horizontal strike The second attack seemed to have rendered the older man unconscious The two police officers collapsed without being able to put up even a token resistance

Snorting the woman turned around and walked back into Erickson Steel headquarters

Chapter 975

It seemed that luck was with Randidly today Which honestly wasnÆt a phrase that Randidly thought very often After only three hours of scouring the countryside he was able to find a Dungeon that satisfied most of his requirements in a low valley surrounded by constant mist

Luck might have been less of a factor than the SystemÆs foolishness however If not for the constant mist Randidly probably wouldnÆt have given the area a second glance

The Dungeon Level was 67 so Randidly wouldnÆt have any problems Leveling or gathering monster bones of sufficient structural integrity for his forging experiments Rather briefly Randidly glanced around at the mist filled valley Hopefully visibility wonÆt be this poor within the Dungeon

Then he stepped through into his new training ground After blinking for several seconds Randidly raised a hand and shaded his eyes from the intense sun that hung low and fat above him The drone of insects and the harsh calls of birds filled his ears In front of him a low slow covered with lush ferns led downward to a field of bright flowers

Beyond that lay heavy jungle thick with vines and humidity

Aether exploded outward from his position giving him a general feel for the surrounding area Although the location wasnÆt particularly mountainous within the Dungeon were several cracked and ancient hills that Randidly could spot As there was one nearby Randidly began to dash through the thick ferns grinning evilly at the rather loud noises the ferns made when shifted

Already the surrounding jungle was beginning to quiet down It seemed some predators had finally noticed his presence

From just a casual exploration when he arrived at the mound Randidly again wondered if his luck was finally coming through for him The mounds were strangely uniform but they were also oddly corroded as though there were monsters with acidic properties in the surrounding area Randidly tucked that tidbit of knowledge away as he inspected the corrosion Against all odds within those areas of corrosion there was copper

Not just copper A copper that was unnaturally hard to the point that Randidly would be confident using it as a substitute for iron Scratching his head Randidly looked around Somehow this jungle there was a feeling

that this Dungeon seemed very familiar

RandidlyÆs attention was dragged to a nearby tree when a Level 67 howler monkey pounded its chest in fury calling its fellow monkeys from the depths of the surrounding jungle Randidly unleashed another casual pulse of Aether Although there were dozens gathering from the surrounding trees there werenÆt so many that they would be able to swarm him

But what cemented the feeling was that Randidly detected several acidic toads perched on a boulder some distance away Although they lazily raised their heads at the monkeyÆs calls they ultimately settled back into their respective holes to doze

I suppose this isnÆt impossible but Randidly reflected as he reached up and snatched the howler monkey from the tree with a Reach of the Jade Slag This seems to just be a higher Level version of the same Dungeon where I started this strange journey underneath the System Too much to be a coincidence but I can feel my karma with this place By the time I returned to Earth from there I was ready to tackle all the changes that had occurred when the System arrived When I return this time I wonder how I will have changed

As more Howler monkeys gathered Randidly used Acri to scythe through them without difficulty He was nearing Level 48 but he was a little leery of gaining the final two Levels he was willing to gain in the Dungeon quite yet Although he had been previously distracted by the ore golems into killing them himself Randidly knew it would be better to feed all of the experience to Acri until he had the chance to give his Class a thorough checkup

Based on his estimates of the flow of Aether out of the Dungeon the time dilation between here and Earth would be extraordinarily high So much so that RandidlyÆs possible one month before the Judgement would descend could be stretched out to a dozen or so years

And that was on the conservative end of the estimation The problem of Aether Sickness generally kept people from abusing that function but Randidly didnÆt have any such qualms Unfortunately Randidly didnÆt intend to use the entire month for training

Lyra would come seek him out in six days Naffur and the Order Ducis would hopefully arrive at Erickson Steel headquarters around that same time bringing Nathan Randidly hadnÆt yet decided if he would try and condense his Fate before the fight against the Judgment but he certainly wanted to understand the details of a Fate as soon as possible Then he would be much better equipped to make that judgment call

Randidly sighed Strangely he missed the days where Lucretia was looking over his shoulder rolling her eyes at his occasional bad puns

Still RandidlyÆs understanding of Aether wasnÆt so exact that he could tell the exact difference in time And as his Absolute Time couldnÆt be extended to a different place it would only be able to tell how much time he experienced Therefore it would be rather cumbersome to determine the exact difference in time It was much easier to estimate and then make an educated guess on when to return

So Randidly set himself a time limit that made his mouth twist one year One year within this jungle based Dungeon would be all the time that Randidly allowed to refine himself and to build the foundation for his imagined version of Erickson Steel Less time than that wouldnÆt give him enough of an opportunity to truly grow familiar with his evolving images In addition that time would be plenty to thoroughly strip this Dungeon of all of its natural resources

More time than a year would be wasteful not only would Randidly eventually reach limits in terms in how he could refine his images without new outside inputs but also the threat of the Calamities cast a long shadow over him They could happen at any time

Randidly wanted to be on Earth and ready for when the new threats arrived Plus he wanted to have the chance to push Erickson Steel to the next level before that time In order to accomplish this Randidly would likely need to work tirelessly on Earth for quite some time There was only so much he could do for Erickson Steel from within the Dungeon To make them the wandering supplier that he imagined their forging abilities needed to shoot sharply upward

Still all of that was for later For now he needed to grow familiar with his new home

Randidly spread his arms wide savoring the feeling of the thick humidity that filled this place His fingers rubbed against his sweaty palms As he did so Randidly released thin pulses of Aether that mapped out the surrounding area in his mind His first goal would be to establish a base somewhere while he figured out his specific game plan for improving himself

Very soon he found an appropriate location next to the largest of the nearby mounds In addition to the mound a tall stone monolith with vague facial features stood directly in front of the mound like a guardian The ground around the mound was completely clear of grass There were about five meters of space between it and the thick greenery of the surrounding jungle The howls and squawks of the surrounding area were surprisingly muted here It was a place that seemed isolated from the surrounding chaos and strife

Yet it wasnÆt the mound that was the source of that feeling it was the monolith Rather solemnly Randidly walked closer to the monolith and dragged his fingers across the stone that had been worn smooth by wind and rain There were slight indentations at the base that might have once been carvings but now they were just differences in texture that even RandidlyÆs extremely sensitive fingers were barely able to detect

All these Dungeons were once worlds Randidly thought with a sigh ItÆs easy to forget that That if we fail to triumph over the System Earth will just be recycled and used as fertilizer for other possible images Will humans become the denizens of a Dungeon someday in the eighth cohort

RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed Not if I can help it ThatÆs why IÆm here

As a sign of respect for those that had been conquered and devoured by the System Randidly kissed his knuckles and pressed his palm against the stone monument Just as he was about to remove his hand his gaze sharpened

It was faint but Randidly was immediately shocked he hadnÆt noticed it before This whole area was suffused with an ancient image that was why plants werenÆt growing in the surrounding area The passage of time had eroded the image to the point it was just an air of solemnity but it continued even though the meticulously carved statue had been worn smooth RandidlyÆs gaze drifted upward to the stone in front of him

It was now but a tall pillar The hints of facial features were so slight that they would only be noticed by the peripheral of your vision Yet the feel of it felt cool and refreshing to Randidly The flow of water out of a spring it pooled in this small area

It was a valuable image Randidly abruptly realized The World Tree especially would benefit from exposure to this image that seemed so timeless Yet the reality of the situation twisted RandidlyÆs face into a horrible grimace as he proceeded past the monolith and began to clear out the interior of the mound

This image was so strong that it has persisted within the time accelerated world of the Dungeon During its heyday could I have stood against an image like this

And yet this world became Dungeon fodder Which means it was only able to defeat the first Calamity Ultimately it was consumed by its own darkness

In the face of that grim reminder of the very real danger that faced Earth Randidly began to work in silence The mound itself was about ten meters tall and about twenty meters in diameter As Randidly dug deeper into the structure it was swiftly apparent that this wasnÆt a natural phenomenon

The mound was essentially dozens of incrementally larger domes stacked on top of one another Seeing the way that the copper ore had managed to corrode and emerge from within the inner portion of the domes Randidly had been operating under the impression that there were valuables stored within the dome that transformed the surrounding materials into copper So he dug deeper hoping to find the source of the strange ore

Despite his hopes the domes revealed no reward for digging through them aside from a significant amount of the copper ore Instead what Randidly found at the center was somewhat more disturbing a disc of stone that was heavily reinforced with runic engravings

Scratching his head Randidly released a sigh I really wanted simply build a base here Yet suddenly this has become quite complicated If this area around this monolith is covered with engravings it would be safer to move elsewhere

Yet he didnÆt yet pack up and leave for another mound one without this strange monolith Because from what Randidly could see the runic engravings he could sense were just there to maintain the integrity of a drawing that was carved into the stone disc Perhaps a worthy pursuit in most cases but what he found on the non engraved portion of the stone disc made Randidly frown

Rather clearly the drawing left there was an arrow

Based on its direction it pointed East toward a thick stretch of jungle and beyond that to the plateau Randidly cautiously moved closer to the disc examining it carefully Although the engraving on the stone disc was rather clumsy to RandidlyÆs eyes the maker had clearly wanted to keep the stone in place at all costs As the runes clearly still had power it seemed likely that it still pointed unerringly toward its objective

Even after frequent scans Randidly could discover nothing strange about the stone disc It was exactly what it claimed to be Cautiously Randidly approached

With infinite care Randidly rapped the knuckles of his metal arm against the stone disc Nothing happened Frowning Randidly proceeded to dig down a meter into the ground beneath the disc Very soon he discovered that the stone was attached to a metal pillar Although Randidly dug around it and cleared the surrounding ground it still stood firm

For several seconds Randidly regarded the strange arrow atop the metal poll still determinedly pointing to the East Then Randidly shook his head and began to sort out the rest of his new base As he had cleared out the ground and found no addition engravings it was likely that this area was safe for him to use In addition he still believed that the image hanging around the stone monolith would be extremely useful to him if he submerged himself in it for a time

Although he was confused by the presence of the strange arrow Randidly thoroughly scanned it and couldnÆt find any trace of runes that would make it more than a peculiar compass So he instead focused his attention on the structure around him

The fact that this mound was a series of domes was somewhat awkward for Randidly because he had broken through each of the layers to get here Therefore the overall structural stability was somewhat diminished In addition Randidly would need to clear out the inner domes to make room to work on forging and his images His space requirements were rather high

In an ideal world Randidly would only need to maintain a single dome over his base But time had been quite cruel to the outer domes They had slowly been broken down by the elements It was only after you went a few domes inward that the entire dome would be mostly intact So Randidly carefully cleared out domes from the inside out looking for the first signs of instability

Ultimately that instability came too quickly Although the domes were quite thin the instability started showing up when Randidly had only opened up about eight meters of space for Randidly to work with His mouth twisted RandidlyÆs entrance had been altogether too rough

Therefore he had no choice but to dig downward And since he was clearing out a large space anyway

Randidly figured he might as well take some time to add some of the trappings of modern civilization to his year long home

Chapter 976

After six hours of pouring through the ground with Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil Randidly had cleared out an area that was roughly the size of a city block and was divided into three sections Lit by emerald fire his base seemed the perfect lair for an evil demon to plot its terrible plan to destroy the world

The first section was a wide open training ground that was about half of the total area of the underground base This would be the room that Randidly would spend most of his time training his spear Skills and images While building this area Randidly sighed sorrowfully that he hadnÆt thought to pick up the Skill that let the Squaders of Donnyton reinforce the ground It would have been invaluable in strengthening the floor enough to resist the Grim Chimera

The second section was a very rudimentary room for forging It was so basic that most of the elites from Erickson Steel would likely feel stifled by the lack of equipment But for Randidly this seemed like the perfect amount to truly force himself to get his hands dirty in the forging process

Some larger pieces of equipment such as the vacuum chamber and the different sized ingot molds were brought in RandidlyÆs interspatial ring But ultimately Randidly wanted to shift his style of forging away from the very finicky style that most of the people in Erickson Steel currently had Hopefully his time forging here would give him a better idea of the process he wanted

Above all most of the saved space came from the fact Randidly didnÆt bring any sort of heating equipment After all he didnÆt need a typical furnace Ignition of the Emerald Essence would provide plenty of heat to his forging

The final section and the smallest contained a small kitchen and hot springs that Randidly had created after he discovered a source of water rather close to the bottom of his base Honestly most of the time he had spent preparing his base had been Randidly struggling to not flood his newly formed abode after he stumbled onto an extremely frigid underground river

After that it was simply a matter of diverting an appropriate amount of fluid upwards installing runes so that one pool would be extremely hot while the other was left extremely cold and finally arrange for the water to filter back down and be gradually replaced by fresh water

Feeling quite pleased with himself Randidly treated himself to a brief soak in the scalding water of the manmade hot springs Taking a deep breath Randidly readily inhaled the thick steam that wafted upward from the heated water For the first time in a while Randidly felt himself slowly relaxing

The whole experience was rather enjoyable until he noticed that floating corpse of some sort of mollusk right in front of him For several seconds Randidly just stared at it More than anything else he was shocked that it somehow managed to sneak into his base without him noticing Randidly had kept a pretty constant buffer of Aether around the edge of the dome above

With a sense of trepidation Randidly got out of the scalding pool and looked over at the pool he left at the original frigid temperature Sure enough there were three mollusks within cautiously exploring their new environment

Randidly sighed I guess it was foolish not to think about filtering any living creatures that were within the underground river but at least they are only at Level 6 WonÆt be a problem to clear them out later Still they might be an interesting food source No harm in letting them develop in the cold pool

After carefully installing a runic filter in the passage that led to the scalding pool Randidly returned to his training hall and began to work No need to walk toward his hot tub one day and find that it had become a salty mollusk stew

The first thing Randidly did was sit down and inspected his Class for any lingering damage after it had been slowly nurtured by energy from his Soulskill over the past day

During a fraction of time that seemed pitifully small Randidly had briefly been on the receiving end of attention from a dangerous being peering out from the depths of a vast crystal Like a bug unknowingly in the way of a car RandidlyÆs Class was savaged while that being turned its attention to the connection that the Creature had maintained with Randidly

Perhaps the most fearsome detail of this interaction was that Randidly had no idea whether it would recur At any moment the focus of that being might come back to him Had that being found the Creature Would it remember that it used Randidly as a stepping stone to find the Creature Would that being feel compelled to return its focus to Randidly for any reason

To silence him perhaps

And if that being couldnÆt find the Creature in a short amount of time would it return to Randidly to dig out every bit of value it could gain from him

Randidly had been frantically throwing off Aether since the damage to his Class had occurred slowly wiping away the lingering chunks of Aether that had remained afterward as Neveah had recommended Whereas RandidlyÆs Aether shared quite a few traits with liquids the extremely calcified Aether left by that being possessed the tenacity of a fossilized cockroach

Even now operating at a volume of Aether that left Randidly extremely worried he would fall into that mindless cycle of energy release Randidly had removed only one tenth of the remnants clinging to him The only good news was that the rate of destruction was speeding up as more and more of the hardened Aether was washed away Those exposed flaws could be used to accelerate the process

When Randidly entered into the Dungeon he had seriously considered slowing down the rate at which he was producing Aether But for two reasons Randidly ultimately decided to keep on his current pace First he didnÆt know if the Aether remnants he was trying to wash away would recover if he let up the pressure And Randidly had no intention of finding out

In addition the ambient Aether in the air would benefit the metals that he created And as creating the vast quantity of metal that would propel Erickson Steel to a mobile fortress was one of the reasons for RandidlyÆs extended time here it was a valuable bonus

Randidly did worry that the overly abundant Aether would lead to a mutation amongst some of the nearby monsters but that might also be a positive outcome for him If the monsters grew significantly stronger Randidly could test more dangerous Skills against them and receive more meaningful training experience

Shaking his head Randidly refocused His mind was wandering right now he needed to carefully consider the state of his Class

After about an hour of examination RandidlyÆs worst fears had been slowly confirmed The strain that beingÆs attention had on RandidlyÆs Class was just as dangerous as he had believed On a very surface focused examination the damage to RandidlyÆs Class had been completely repaired The ambient energy of his Soulskill had nurtured the damaged areas allowing new substance to grow over the wounds The threads of his Class that he had so painstakingly chosen and woven together were once more glimmering and bright

A deeper analysis revealed this miraculous recovery to be a pretty lie

Ultimately Randidly was deeply glad that he had allowed himself to gain a few Levels after having his Class wounded He suspected that without the new growth of those Levels he wouldnÆt have been able to definitively say that he was still injured In fact he might have decided that the injuries were light enough to continue toward condensing his Fate

Because those new Levels were the only clear evidence of the persistent problem Because those two Levels were flawed

They mimicked earlier Levels very well seeming to be the woven of the same basic ideas and Stats as the previous Levels were But it was like comparing a flower to a painting of a flower No matter how talented the painter was artistical it wasnÆt a flower It would never be a flower

It was a subtle thing However Randidly had made this Class by hand He hadnÆt been as skilled with images then as he was now but the feeling was one he knew intimately Although he didnÆt fully understand what form his Class would shift into as it grew he did understand the different elements that propelled his Class forward

So after Randidly really scrutinized the two newest Levels he had received it quickly became clear that they were stitched together copies of earlier Levels There wasnÆt the faintest hint of an extension or growth of his Class within the Levels Those elements of his Class were regurgitated but all of the forward momentum had been lost

Randidly grimaced Although the energy could heal the surface it seemed the driving image and focus of his Class had been eradicated by the brief moment of attention It was an extremely bitter truth to handle that he was so comparatively fragile to that strange being

Although it had been a while since he went through the process of upgrading his Class Randidly was still pretty confident that his Class had been extremely strong So strong that no one on Earth possessed its equal

It had been crushed by a glance

No use being upset about it If thatÆs the case IÆll just need to strengthen it even more this next time Randidly thought as he examined the five supporting pillars of his Class Now when he focused his attention on them he could sense that they had become hollow A slight breeze could blow them over But now I have images After my year long process of mental refinement here I refuse to believe that the Lord of the Baleful Wood wonÆt have an image so concrete it cannot even withstand a glance no matter how powerful the viewer

Honestly Randidly was surprised he had gained even a single Skill at Level 45 due to the extensive internal damage to his Class Some part of Randidly felt a deep bitterness about it If not for sustaining that damage would not his Skill be even more powerful

But that sort of mindset wasnÆt helpful at all Randidly had learned something valuable from this loss It was no use trying to have the best of both worlds

Randidly looked up and bared his teeth to the dirt roof of his training ground But that didnÆt mean he would let the other party off easily for dealing him such a significant blow without even the hint of an apology

Next Randidly muttered as he stood Carefully he individually cracked each of his knuckles After inspecting my Class IÆm feeling pretty pissed I suppose itÆs time I work off some of this tension

Without Randidly even consciously thinking about it that vicious ferocity that he unleashed toward the surrounding monsters was transmitted by the sea of Aether with which he had flooded the Dungeon That amplified killing intent spread like the plague Across the entirety of the Dungeon the monsters shivered with an inexplicable fear

A predator was coming

Chapter 977

Randidly didnÆt want to Level so as often as he could manage it he executed the monkeys with Acri But the method that Randidly had decided upon to work off his tension was to thoroughly test the limits of his combat Skills

For the past year or so Randidly had basically possessed and used all the Skills that were now his tried and true methods to attack his enemies Between his spear the roots and the different manifestations of the Ignition of the Emerald Essence fire Randidly had so far used a different Skill based on the type of attack pattern he wanted to use

Which was useful but it gave him little to no guidance when there was no ideal attacking method After all Randidly was unable to answer what his most powerful attacks were He assumed it was his new Grim Chimera Skills but he had never really taken the time to fight against the same enemy with all of his Skills to determine which were the most effective

So as more and more monkeys rushed toward him Randidly approached the whole issue very scientifically

Ignition Bolt didnÆt do much direct damage but its greatest strength lay in its fast speed and ability to pierce through most common varieties of armor The monkeys poison frogs and giant snails that Randidly found on his casual tour of the Dungeon were all transformed into honeycombs by the sharp bolts In addition Ignition Bolt had the added benefit of aiding RandidlyÆs accuracy at a long range likely due to bonuses he acquired from his Skill Level

There was a small amount of assistance in the form of prescient instincts that Randidly didnÆt experience with any other of his long range Skills

Meanwhile Verdant Nova contained a much higher concentration of explosive power if less direct killing potential When Randidly was right next to a snail the explosion from Verdant Nova was enough to hammer the hard outer shell to pieces The remnants of its body were then blown away in a concussive sweep of the nearby area

Usually monsters survived but it did appear that the explosion was so sudden and powerful that most were left stunned by the experience Monkeys were sometimes so mangled by the force that they went limp

In terms of heat no other Skill held a candle to Eruption of the Blazing Leyline Plus this Skill possessed the advantage of lasting the longest Randidly accidentally roasted two monkeys alive before he realized that a direct attack from this Skill would kill the Level 65 Monkeys in a single attempt

Unfortunately this Skill also seemed to grow only slightly in the area of effect as the Skill Level increased but much more rapidly in temperature of the flames As such it would never really grow to be something that was useful against a group of enemies But those with a large body could be easily inflicted with extreme amounts of pain

The final of the Skills in this area Reach of the Jade Slag was ultimately the one that impressed Randidly the most It simply did a lot of things very well First of all the attack itself was quick As soon as RandidlyÆs will stretched outward the stone underneath the ground would gather up and erupt

Second the molten jade claw that erupted out of the ground was hot enough to provide quite a bit of damage just by pressing against the skin of high Level monsters Third the claws had grown much longer since he had Leveled the Skill and were able to slash out and rip off the limbs of several nearby monkeys

Plus even after the initial attack finished the molten jade remained Randidly left quite a few monkeys miserably waiting to be finished off by Acri simply by allowing the molten jade to collapse cool around their bodies in a rough sort of bondage

In comparison to his flame based Skills Cruel Indignation of Yggdrasil possessed a fraction of their killing potential However it more than made up for this in the amount of area that it could affect Plus prolonged exposure greatly increased the mental strain of the victims without changing RandidlyÆs costs at all It scaled extremely well with multiple targets over a long period of time

Randidly cracked his knuckles Dozens of enthusiastic monkeys obligingly surged out of the nearby jungle swinging through the air and flinging their bodies toward him Next he would test the Skill that had become the core of what he was

Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil was not RandidlyÆs most used Skill for no reason it generally only wounded the enemy but it could wound as many enemies as Randidly wished With his extremely profound new understanding of Control it was childÆs play to turn a stretch of woods the size of the Erickson Steel headquarters into a graveyard

Diligently Randidly gathered up the corpses of the monkeys who attacked him If nothing else he would later melt away the remaining flesh with Eruption of the Blazing Leyline and collect the monkeyÆs more valuable bones

Still Randidly perhaps underestimated the killing power that resulted from several roots stabbing upward through a body at once There were a rather panicked few minutes after Randidly cut the attacking monkeys to pieces where he was sprinting across the jungle to finish off the monkeys before they bled out Luckily he ultimately didnÆt gain another Level

Spear Skills were the hardest to judge against these rather unimaginative monkeys Even with a training spear Randidly was able to cut them apart with ease It was clear that the Descent of the Grim Chimera pushed his killing abilities to a ridiculous degree but Randidly still carefully proceeded through all but the last of his Skills

By the end of it Randidly was wearing a satisfied smile Without a doubt his spear Skills were extremely powerful

Of all his Skills Randidly spent the most time trying to understand Sigil of an Approaching Fate

As he had predicted the Sigil did a significant amount of damage if left upon the body of a monster These monkeys were relatively hardy but ten minutes of bearing the weight of the Sigil had them crawling on the ground and moaning piteously The flesh in the area around the sigil began to spasm The veins became starkly visible as the blood appeared to be necrotizing and turning the surrounding vessels black

It was not it seemed a painless way of dying

But still the Mana cost was very high Hopefully after some Leveling it would become a more reasonable amount of expenditure

On the other hand I should just be happy that I have enough Mana to fuel it Randidly thought rather bitterly If anyone else had obtained that Skill god only knew how long it would take for them to grind it up to a reasonable Level

As it was he reached Skill Level 15 by simply applying the Sigil and allowing the monkey in question to flee from him in fear Slowly Randidly could feel the specificity of his sense of direction was slowly growing Even at Level 15 he hadnÆt earned another Sigil But Randidly figured it was only a matter of time before he could maintain two at once

But again the Mana cost Randidly winced Two at once would be a serious drain

With most of RandidlyÆs frustrations from his damaged Class satisfied he returned to his new base And once he was there he briefly brushed his knuckles against the monolith and then returned to the strange stone circle that pointed East For almost twenty minutes he simply stared at it and carefully probed the surface with Aether

If it really was a message it wants me to head up to the Plateau Randidly wondered aloud He had also heard that sometimes Dungeons involved keys or puzzles So perhaps the arrow was somehow related to that If this really was like the low Level Dungeon Randidly had been in previously the boss would wait within the black lagoon at the heart of the plateau

But these mounds hadnÆt been present in the previous Dungeon And Randidly and Shal hadnÆt ever had a time where they couldnÆt find the final boss of the Dungeon Although the area that the high Level Dungeon covered was almost ten times that of the original Dungeon why had these arrows been added

Perhaps the true reason that Randidly was leery was that the engraving at the core of these mounds was so amateurish Rather than the System it seemed like an intelligent being that lived within the Dungeon had made the arrow

Somehow the idea that there was a being within this place that was able to Engraving reminded Randidly of the CreatureÆs attempt to live within EarthÆs Raid Dungeon It seemed strangely sinister to him

There will be time to investigate it later I suppose Randidly said With an effort of will he moved some of the debris from the domes back into place Although it was much more damaged than any of the other mounds were a casual inspection would be fooled into thinking that everything was well with the mound It was only if someone was familiar with the mounds themselves that it would be possible to notice the fact that something was amiss

Rubbing the back of his neck Randidly couldnÆt help but shake his head But perhaps IÆm being unnecessarily cautious This interaction with that being really reminded me why I need to be so careful here And why I need to improve

And with that all of RandidlyÆs focused to a point The air around him rippled and warped for several seconds like the surface of a pond after a stone is dropped into it Then the World Tree appeared tall and resplendent Its emerald leaves rustled softly like it was laughing in amusement

I know I know Randidly said softly He closed his eyes and let that timeless image soak into his body Slowly that hint started to appear in the luminous bark of the tree I canÆt be thankful for the image here and also suspicious of the strange arrow at the core IÆll take this gift gladly

There was a rumbling sound as the roots of the World Tree sunk into the ground Randidly still with his eyes closed couldnÆt help but grin a tiny bit There was a strange sense of release as Randidly let go of the focus on his body and simply became a mote of light floating through the endless cycle of energy absorption that fueled the natural world

Sunlight moisture oxygen energy all in an endless cycle all being processed through Randidly and his image on a scale that was somewhat mind boggling Huge rivers of all of the inputs and outputs spiraled beneath the observation of light mote Randidly

For now he was content to watch The rumbling continued to grow

Slowly but surely the roots of Yggdrasil spread out farther and farther as he fueled the image with his whole being Slowly but surely the image was growing

Chapter 978

Vye looked down at the certificate on the table It glimmered dully in the warm glow from the fireplace It had sat between them for almost a full minute before she could bring herself to address it With great reluctance Vye straightened and shook her head Thank you so much but I cannot accept this

I came here for freedom Vye thought as she struggled to calm the rabbit quick beating of her heart But did Randidly accept charity to earn himself his capability

Wilbur smiled expansively Just as Vye remembered Wilbur had one of the most charming smiles she had ever seen His exposed teeth were uniform and pearly white even with just the illumination from the fire Plus he possessed this sort of beaming positivity that was extremely difficult to resist It seems like a lot but believe me itÆs not so much For an old friend this is nothing

Twisting her lips Vye didnÆt respond to that The real reason that she had come to the Orchard had been because she wanted to achieve so many things but had no realistic concept of how to go about it Strength freedom independence these were the words that seemed to keep sleep from coming easily to her But they werenÆt just beasts she could encounter in the wild They had to be cultivated

And Vye knew very little beyond the fact that she wanted them

After all Vye had spent most of her 6 months since being released into the post System world protected by Erickson Steel She had heard reports about how the world was developing but it was another thing entirely to see it for herself It was another thing entirely to suddenly find that her choices had proliferated to the point that she couldnÆt pin any of them down long enough to choose them

It felt like she was clawing at mist with her bare hands She could find no purchase Nothing was real and there was no one around RandidlyÆs lantern bright emerald eyes had been left behind a whole Zone away

Truthfully Vye and Wilbur hadnÆt been particularly close to one another before the advent of the System They had both attended the Western State but never moved in the same circles or gone to the same parties It was only when they were both hired for a large tech conglomerate that they became anything more substantial than acquaintances

Perhaps even more damning for their relationshipÆ the Wilbur in VyeÆs memory might have possessed an exceedingly charming smile but that was ruined by healthy doses of sexism and entitlement To the point that she avoided extended interaction Although he had sometimes made a pass at her at work happy hours Vye had been exceedingly careful to brush off his every advance

And yet here I am calling him an old friend and coming to visit Vye thought in wonder It was strangely easy to forget who he had been and accept that he was an easy excuse to get out of the smoky cage that had been Erickson Steel Vye looked down at the ticket to the OrchardÆs Lottery on the table between them Another path to escape the mire of their insubstantial relationship Just as strangely he welcomed me with open arms and provided this invaluable ticket

As if sensing the train of VyeÆs thoughts Wilbur chuckled I also want to say that you are overvaluing these lottery tickets Sure in the beginning they were extremely valuable and people would fight over them with tooth and nail We were all refugees after all moved here from different collapsing communities An escape a dream thatÆs what we were all craving

But now itÆs been almost a year Everyone who really wanted to leave the Orchard has already left And those that stayed Wilbur had a sardonic smile as he patted his belly He had gained perhaps fifty pounds since Vye had seen him last We have grown comfortable We own businesses we have lives that are starting to take root here Would we casually leave even if offered a job in Donnyton

Vye nodded it certainly made sense But still there are probably people who would pay for this In fact I bet you paid to acquire this for me I donÆt

The words I donÆt want to owe you anythingÆ caught in VyeÆs throat She already owed Tatiana more than enough That was why she had stayed to the point of drowning in Erickson Steel Even the memory made her long to pop a chocolate into her mouth Now as she scrambled around her mind to find a more polite way to explain that sentiment Wilbur chuckled again

But both looked toward the door as WilburÆs wife Marry walked through into the warm light of the fire MarryÆs smile was as wide and perfect as WilburÆs as she beamed at them both Can I get either of you anything I was just thinking of making myself a snack and thought IÆd offer

Wilbur rolled his eyes Marry

But VyeÆs reaction was much more violent She almost leapt to her feet and hurried over to Marry Marry please Let me help You are eight and a half months pregnant thereÆs no need to be on your feet so much

Ah shoo Marry said with irritation on her face but she let Vye take her hand and guide her into a wooden chair by the table IÆm not afflicted with consumption Besides with the SystemÆs help a lot of the pangs of pregnancy are severely diminished I honestly find it rather disturbing that you would take WilburÆs side in this abhorrent babying

VyeÆs smile was sly as she recognized the jab was aimed more at MarryÆs husband than her Even so YouÆve taken such great care of me with every meal these past two days let me help today What sort of snack would you like

As the topic of food came up MarryÆs eyes began to sparkle She leaned back in her chair and tapped her chin I was thinking of a deep dish pepperoni pizza

Shaking his head helplessly Wilbur asked With what ingredients We havenÆt had time to go grocery shopping recently

Bah itÆs like you donÆt even notice when I leave I went to the grocery store yesterday Marry sniffed

WilburÆs face twisted as he did his best to suppress a chuckle Marry that was a week ago You went to the grocery store a weak ago

Determined Vye stepped forward while Marry blinked and tried to decide how she should respond to that I can handle that too IÆll go to the grocery store and the start cooking when I get back

Even if itÆs just a small thing this is something I can do

With clear gratitude in his expression Wilbur passed Vye some cash to pay for the groceries Vye had half a mind to reject it but also acknowledged the fact that she didnÆt have very much cash on her Most of her money she had already traded for armor and camping gear for her journey that she hadnÆt yet made the first decision about

However a phrase from Marry stopped Vye just as she was about to walk out the door Oh Vye what Level is your Cooking Skill

Vye blinked I donÆt have the cooking Skill But I grew up cooking a lot so it shouldnÆt be much of a problem

Marry and Wilbur exchanged a long glance MarryÆs eyes were heavy with meaning as she gazed soulfully at him Wilbur winced MarryÆs eyes remained cold

Coughing lightly Wilbur turned back to Vye Uh actually why donÆt we just order take out It will be so much simpler

Hours and a dozen pizzas later Vye and Wilbur were once more alone after Marry wandered off to recover from the veritable feast that she had just inhaled Wilbur was bubbling like a shaken sprite Did you see her face when you said you didnÆt have the Cooking Skill Who knew marrying a chef would have made her so entitled

Vye pressed her lips tightly together They didnÆt even trust me to make a pizza I handled TatianaÆs entire schedule at Erickson Steel When needed I was trusted to fill in every step in the forging process People begged me to be more involved And yet now

Casually Wilbur pulled the ticket for the lottery out of his pants pocket and put it on the table between them

I want to earn this I donÆt deserve this gift Vye said through gritted teeth Immediately afterward she was mortified

She hated the sleazy way the phrase had sounded especially after spending so much time with the couple There was not a chance in hell that Vye was willing to sleep with this man It was just the least insulting version of the fact she didnÆt want to owe him anything and her mouth moved faster than her filter She also hated that she had to say it to Wilbur who had been such a vicious flirt in her memories She hated saying it after having such a fun time with Marry

But Wilbur just released his charming smile and didnÆt comment on the phrasing Instead he simply said I admire your spirit I felt the same when I started my first restaurant in the Orchard We should all start out with such a bold ambition But it was only after I had really gotten my feet under me that I realized how many people had helped me without me realizing it

Whether it was acquiring funding speaking with the patient architects and builders who were willing to listen to my constant demands for the layout or negotiating with the administration of Orchard allowing for a unique method of tax collection I couldnÆt have gotten here alone The people with power I met looked at me and gave me the chance to prove myself Without that support my small restaurant would have failed And thatÆs I think why I fell in love with the Orchard Everyone here is working together to build something worth having

Now I have four locations and one of them is in the running for best restaurant in the Orchard I achieved that honor because I gave a kid without the Cooking Skill a chance when he was fresh out of the time freeze At the time I had more pull than I knew what to do with But I still remembered how close I had been to failing To such a determined kid could I refuse the same chance I received

But I didnÆt do it alone The workers in this district back when it was just scaffolding and a sketch in the dirt had to walk a half mile back to the closest restaurant at which they could afford to eat But because of the distance they often had to skip lunch or let someone off early and carry it back

I didnÆt have any money for a building when I came here The next best thing I could buy was tables I just came out to the place where people were working all day and set my tables up in the muddy paths they called a street

Then Wilbur winced And man if you could taste what I served then as food I had to make such large batches that the process really lowered the quality of the taste But I was the one who came to give them what they needed So they were loyal when I finally could set up shop in an actual building For the longest time they were my only customers No matter how low my Cooking Skill was they still ate it

Now itÆs hard to say which of us needed the other more Wilbur slapped his cheeks But we both needed each other There is no shame in that

Vye just looked at Wilbur as she slowly digested what he said

His smile lessened somewhat I get the desire for independence More than any other time the System has made it so that there are threats that will end our lives as quick as breathing But even the Ghosthound received help to become what he is today

I thought the Ghosthound was the one who helped everyone else Vye asked quietly She remembered RandidlyÆs burning emerald eyes surveying the entirety of Erickson Steel

Maybe but he also worked closely with Senator Firefly for quite a while He made the big push for the Orchard The two are really close Wilbur shrugged With monsters surrounding us humanity needs to band together ThatÆs the only way we can win over this fucked up System

Very slowly Vye chewed her lip But why me Why help me LetÆs be honest we werenÆt that close I donÆt even know why I came to visit ItÆs just

itÆs just that we to each other are the only people that we knew from before Wilbur said quietly I wasnÆt in the original batch of people but I was one of the first rescued There will people waiting to assist our escape And still everyone else who was there with me died

With a sigh Wilbur pushed the ticket across the table toward Vye Nostalgia is a strange thing Even though we werenÆt close you are the only living link to my previous life Vye IÆm about to have a son in this fucked up world HeÆs going to need to live here and IÆm going to pray every day that he doesnÆt piss off the wrong Level 50 Barbarian or wander into a Raid Boss nest

WilburÆs hand clenched into fists If I help you now someday you might be able to help him And then he will save someone else and humanity

Shaking his head Wilbur seemed abruptly exhausted by his previous emotions Well I donÆt know much about humanity But you remind me that things were once better and that can happen again So think of it as an investment in the world for my sonÆs sake You always had too many ideas to just be buried on the project team of some corporate schmuck We need people like you Vye Out there given wings to make the world a better place So this is just me with paste and feathers

After ten seconds Vye nodded and took the certificate Her hands were trembling What ah have you picked out a name for your son

WilburÆs wide smile made a sudden comeback Heh Marry isnÆt such a fan but I really want to name him Wilbur Jr To preserve the noodle shop legacy

Vye eyes tightened as she resisted an urge to groan audibly You are still such a douche

Chapter 979

Randidly sat cross legged in the training field portion of his underground base Around him a rustling sea of leaves seethed Whereas his previous World Tree images were only composed of a single large tree now Yggdrasil was surrounded by millions of inferior trees all with their branches twisted up in worship

From the green canopies of the lesser trees that gnarled and luminous trunk of Yggdrasil emerged a towering pillar that was so wide it was difficult to imagine its true size

From beneath him in the depths of the ground a terrible rumbling roar echoed upward in contrast to the serene swaying of the trees RandidlyÆs eyebrow twitched as he struggled to stay focused on his image in the face of the noise The second layer of his base that Randidly had constructed seemed to be possessed by an infinite spirit of wrath constantly bellowing the liquefied fury of its existence directly upward toward Randidly

Training in the face of a distraction must be helpful Randidly thought rather tiredly Honestly the noise was a rather unfortunate side effect of another project altogether And at this point it seemed a waste to stop that project just so Randidly didnÆt have to deal with a noise which wasnÆt exactly incompatible with his World Tree image So Randidly just buckled down and focused

Randidly had been training within the Dungeon for almost a month now While he remained at the base bands of a dozen or so Riders of the Baleful Court roamed farther and farther afield to slay and return monster bones to him

Which was also because the monsters had been driven away by the god awful rumbling At first Randidly had been worried about the capabilities of the Riders as his Skill Level was only 89 but those fears proved groundless

Not only did the Riders become increasingly adept at combat the longer that they were summoned but they were quickly settling into ranks Of the thirty two Riders that Randidly currently had within the Dungeon seven were at what Randidly associated with the Lieutenant tier from Tellus They served as aides to the main leaders with extreme ease

And of these leaders there were two Their mounts were even longer and more unusual looking than their fellow Riders as they galloped with their slender limbs covered in wicked horns of obsidian They wielded two lances with preternatural grace and were constantly attempting to make the other look incompetent

Sighing Randidly shook his head It had become something of a problem He wasnÆt sure where this competitive drive came from but both groups of sixteen Riders had taken one of the nearby other mounds as their personal base The only reason that Randidly allowed it was to harvest the special copper and to see if there was an arrow at the core of those mounds

As it turned out there was an arrow at the core of every one all pointing in the same general direction This didnÆt do much to improve RandidlyÆs mood but he simply resolved himself to investigate it after he had accomplished the main goals he had in coming into this Dungeon

But the Riders didnÆt care about his growing irritation Thankfully they competed by bringing Randidly increasingly high Level monster bodies or special flowers fruits or ores that they found by wandering through the surrounding area So it wasnÆt as if he gained nothing out of the arrangement

As a reward for these brave activities the only thing the Riders ever requested was for Randidly to modify their base to be larger or more prestigious looking than the opposing group of Riders Finding himself suddenly thrust into the role of architect Randidly did his best

With RandidlyÆs small and carefully repaired mound was in the center two guard outpostsÆ emerged that dominated the nearby area of the jungle Some distance to RandidlyÆs North was a tall and sprawling medieval castle complete with banners that the Riders had somehow sewn from the skin of the slain monsters The Riders had taken to taking their mounts up onto the battlements gazing cooly out into the surrounding canopy that completely blocked their vision

To RandidlyÆs South was a more amorphous dwelling composed primarily of the dyed silk of some spider monster that the Riders had miraculously domesticated Their billowing multicolored tents and bonfires seemed a much weaker defense than the castle but Randidly had casually scanned the area with Aether and had been horrified by the complexity and number of traps that lurked within the campÆs boundaries

Seriously why am I the only one who seems to be focusing on training while we are here Randidly sighed Unfortunately the thundering roar from below smothered the released air Shaking his head Randidly set everything to the side and refocused on the image of Yggdrasil

With great care Randidly floated through the lower trees to stand right next to the World Tree When his hands caressed the bark that familiar understanding and warmth flowed into him Sighing Randidly spread his image even farther allowing the edges of it to disperse into the surrounding area Including that ageless monolith

Like an infant after eating a meal Yggdrasil cooed in pleasure as it slowly absorbed that air of timelessness RandidlyÆs smile was sharp ItÆs taken a while but IÆve finally found the Path forward

The current training facility had been transformed by his presence here for the past month Perhaps more than anything else the constant presence of Ignition of the Emerald Essence had flooded the training area with the nurturing energy that plants craved Already the walls were covered in moss and mushrooms In the area directly around Randidly many luminous flowers had begun to grow in order to absorb the radiation he naturally threw off while he was deep in the image of the World Tree

Although the plants possessed no true intelligence they stretched upward yearning to be closer to the World Tree It was due to that reaction that Randidly felt a grim sense of satisfaction So day after day he let the Grim Chimera wait while he worked on Yggdrasil

The more Randidly pushed the more Randidly felt close to pushing his image of the World Tree to the next Level As he had learned from Skarch on Tellus images could be strengthened in many ways But the most reliable was familiarity and specificity However Randidly’s past month of training had not been simple

For almost the first two weeks in the Dungeon Randidly had worked hard to improve both of those two criteria

It soon became apparent however that familiarity was a dead end for him

Unlike Skarch Randidly couldnÆtÆ simply take out his spear and run his hands across it in order to understand how his image should be formed Familiarity was hard to come by Although he had been informed by mythology ultimately he was using his own imagination to create something There wasnÆt any ideal version of the World Tree that Randidly could examine in order to check the progress of his image

Meanwhile if Randidly spent time in his images he could refine their specificity with relative ease His image was growing so large that there were plenty of areas he could improve The more attention he gave to the details the more sharply defined the image became Every day seemed to see Randidly improving his images with specificity while familiarity didnÆt see even the slightest bit of improvement

In fact the more Randidly had tried to familiarize himself with the image the more he had a growing sense that what he pictured was unrealistic Which Randidly realized in horror likely was weakening his image

So Randidly had a decision should he abandon familiarity as a way to refine his image and focus on specificity

Two weeks ago it had been a long night as he considered how to proceed

Currently in the training hall the rumbling roar from below was so powerful that all of the plants in the training area were vibrating Randidly would be too had he not used the moss beneath him as a casual buffer that would absorb the vibrations In fact the moss was growing so well even without the light of the Ignition Essence Which made Randidly wonder if it had somehow evolved in a short period to feed off of the vibrations

Like that silly fellow Randidly thought casting his gaze down through the ground toward Sulfur who was in the thick of the thunderous rumbling Even from here Randidly could sense the pleasure it felt from absorbing so much ambient kinetic energy If nothing else both his armor and weapon were exceedingly predictable

Randidly closed his eyes again When he had been faced with the choice and because he had a year in a Dungeon to work on his basics Randidly had ultimately decided to not abandon familiarity Because him being inept at that method right now was not a good enough reason for him to abandon a Path that might make him stronger

Some things took more work than others That was just life

For a while it was really rough Randidly attempted to bring a tall tree down to the training area for him to examine as an aid Unfortunately it didnÆt go so well without Mana constantly keeping it healthy When that method failed he ordered the Riders to surround a particular tree with Ignition of the Emerald Essence torches and then hoped it would grow into something that looked like a World Tree

Afterward Randidly went to the surface to investigate and seek a concrete image from it

Of course this weakened his image even further The more Randidly focused on regular trees the more that Randidly hadnÆt been able to find out how the image of timelessness of that stone monolith could be injected into a tree

It was going so poorly that for the first time his World Tree image had shrunk

Faced with the fact that Randidly might have earlier made a mistake Randidly had ceased his other training and thought about this issue for an entire night A second night of absolute stillness while surrounded by darkness to assess his failure to improve He swam through the image pondering what he was doing wrong And then he had an epiphany

It isnÆt that I should make my image like these trees the image is already there and was already heading in the right direction No itÆs that these real concrete trees are trying to become something akin to the world tree They are not my aspirations they are aspiring to be the same thing I want my image to be

So Randidly watched trees He watched them grow He looked at their branches their leaves their bark He used his powerful senses to trace the routes their roots carved through the ground When that wasnÆt enough Randidly had a whole jungle that he submerged in Aether As part of his daily training he let his Perception spread and cover the whole of the jungle

Even the smallest vein on a falling leaf was carefully scrutinized With his high Intelligence Focus and Perception he practically buzzed with the flood of tree related data flowing into him

When one tree wasnÆt enough he looked at a hundred When a hundred wasnÆt enough Randidly looked at ten thousand

Slowly RandidlyÆs knowledge of vegetation as a whole grew Randidly could always use his Skills to control it but now Randidly simply observed the way trees grew when he didnÆt interfere at all By watching the independent instincts of ten thousand trees Randidly could sense the edge of what the trees were truly attempting to be

That was his World Tree The Platonic Ideal beyond the mortal world

As these general principles of the efficient distribution of roots the reasons for leaf size and shape the idea thickness of bark all filtered through Randidly his image no longer shrunk Now it only grew heavier

It grew more familiar

Randidly inhaled and then exhaled Beneath his seated form the moss and surrounding flowers shivered in pleasure As Randidly was continuing to throw off vast quantities of Aether his breath was like a blast of airborne fertilizer for them They wiggled in delight as though the sun had given them each a sweet lemon candy

Then he cracked his neck and stood The phantom image of a vast tree rising above an ancient forest that had filled the training area dispersed What was left was just the rumbling moss and flowers

Randidly released a breath Probably about time to work on spear moves

Below him Randidly ceased exercising his formidable Control Ten thousand roots holding one thousand forging hammers paused in their constant labor There was a few clangs and then silence Influence of the Molten Core which had been whirling constantly below to move the bits of partially smelted metal to all the right places paused and drifted toward the ground The superheated metal of the core slowly cooled still humming with reverberations from the deafening cacophony of a few seconds ago

After stacking up the hammers next to the anvils Randidly had made earlier the vines that had held them slithered back into the ground The rustling noise of roots faded to silence leaving not a single sound in the lower Level Currently there was only mass waiting there

Rising above the anvils were four piles

Two were rough and haphazard Thousands of corpses had their flesh burned away to leave only the bones and now stood like the dreadful warning within a lair of a dragon Next to that was a thick mound of ores of different varieties

The other two piles were gleaming and neat One was made of copper ingots while the other was steel These four piles took up almost one third of the area within the second level which was ten times the size of the first So about six of the football field sized training areas were filled with ingots neatly stacked to the height of three meters

Randidly scratched his head as he walked outside Gonna need to find another big ore vein to keep up this production and I feel like Influence of the Molten Core is close to changing somehow too just a bit more

Then Randidly patted his stomach Huh well I can practice spear Skills later Maybe spend a bit of time working on my Cooking Skill

Mumbling to himself Randidly yawned and wandered outside

Chapter 980

Only a week later Randidly had a new headache to deal with the mollusks that had taken up residence in his cold bathing area were on strike

It wasnÆt enough that they swiftly developed enough intelligence upon exposure to RandidlyÆs Aether that he didnÆt really have the heart to try and eat them So he had expanded the cold pool to give them more space and just watched with mild curiosity as they brought increasing numbers of shells from god knows where to make a crude village And besides Randidly hadnÆt really been very appetized by the thought of eating snails anyway it wasnÆt a big loss to let them do whatever they wanted

But now they had created small signs with driftwood and were demanding something Although they possessed intelligence and the System would translate their whistling speech the strange trails of ooze on their signs werenÆt enough for Randidly to intuit what they wanted But they had begun sending their old and weak to die in RandidlyÆs hot tub Which they very well knew Randidly did not like

Nothing was more obnoxious than sitting down for a soak in a hot tub after a long day of training and realizing that it smelled like old dead snail Randidly immediately wanted to clear the rest out so it was no longer a problem

Randidly thought through the ethics of eliminating the tribe of mollusks quite seriously They had grown from Level 6 to Level 15 and there were now about a hundred in his expended cold water pool but it would have been simple to just shove them back into the underground river

But Randidly was in this Dungeon to train This might be weird but this could be considered a test run for his leadership abilities If he wanted to lead Erickson Steel he would hopefully have enough charisma to handle some snails

After chuckling dryly at how strange his life had become Randidly dunked his head underneath the water of the molluskÆs pool in order to hear their language

Immediately he was inundated with their high pitched voices

Let us sleep

More shells

Oozeless one will listen

Kamiumi

Very soon they noticed Randidly and one rather large mollusk with several long tentacles drifted up from the shell village to speak with Randidly Great Oozeless One We demand that you cease with your rumbling punishment The eggs of our young are too weak to withstand your the great sea thunder

Randidly frowned This was a profoundly strange experience But at least they articulated a concern that Randidly could actually do something about How long do you need for your young to grow strong enough

For several seconds the leader mollusk was silent Then it said Three full cycles

Randidly pressed his eyes closed Perhaps he should have expected something like this to crop up How long is a cycle

This seemed to throw the mollusk Well a cycle is how long it takes for the rumbling to start then stop then start again Obviously a cycle is a cycle

which means about a day Randidly translated inwardly I guess it makes sense they only developed enough intelligence to understand concepts like time after they came here and by then I had already started using Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil to forge But itÆs actually good timing IÆm basically out of ore to forge anyway

It will be done Randidly said majestically Then he thought of something a produced an item from his interspatial ring It was one of the interspatial watches produced in Zone 1 and possessed the added bonus of being waterproof After dropping it into the pool Randidly explained the basics of how to tell time to the mollusks

Immediately curious dozens of small mollusks began swarming the object Randidly had added to their shell village with obvious interest Relieved Randidly pulled his head out of the water and pushed back his dripping hair He scratched his beard

Maybe I should take some time to shave

But a mental probe from his Riders pulled RandidlyÆs attention away RandidlyÆs shook his head and threw water across the surrounding stone ground and then softly padded toward the entrance to his base Why do I have a bad feeling about this

After slapping his cheeks to restore his spirits Randidly walked up to meet the Riders outside of his dome

Because Randidly had a weird nagging intuition that if he created more Riders a third faction would form he had kept their number at thirty two The two groups of sixteen faced off against each other right in front of RandidlyÆs mound derision and pride radiating off of both of them Beside the two groups were two large corpses of monsters

Level 70 monsters

Randidly twisted his mouth They are hunting Level 70 monsters now And also why are these monsters so weird

The medieval castle crew had brought him a large wolf with crimson fur But strangely three miniature wings were growing from the wolfÆs back Meanwhile the silk canopy trope had brought Randidly an emerald eagle that had six tentacles growing out of its chest Although there had always been strange monsters in Dungeon these seemed a bit

mutated Randidly thought with a grimace Probably my fault IÆm just adding so much Aether to air so quickly But still they probably have very valuable bodies

So you both want your reward Randidly asked aloud The leader of both groups nodded But then they each sent a very confusing mental message to Randidly After struggling to decrypt it for a few seconds Randidly blinked and realized what was being asked of him And the content of both messages was essentially the same

Randidly rubbed his temples You want me to name your groups Both of you

They nodded Randidly thoughtfully chewed on the inside of his cheek Truthfully Randidly understood where this was coming from As soon the Riders had displayed intelligence and growth he had generally expected something like this to happen After all the name of the Skill was Riders of the Baleful Court And they emerged from his own Class

Court likely in the older style as in a court of nobles RandidlyÆs suspicions were confirmed when they began to split into factions without an outside threat of any true capability They were ultimately loyal to Randidly as their Lord but that didnÆt mean they had to get along with each other And if they were separate factions from each other they would need identifying names or banners to tell themselves apart

For a noble as with a spear user of Tellus their coat of arms and pride was almost more important than their own life

So Randidly had already spared a few moments to these considerations between his intense image and physical training sessions Nodding slowly Randidly opened his mouth He turned toward the medieval castle group first Alright Henceforth you will be known as the Legion of the Unbreakable Bulwark

A bruised and miserable figure briefly appeared in RandidlyÆs mind When his emerald gaze focused on the leader of the new Legion RandidlyÆs smile became bitter And as their leader you need a name From this day forward you will be Kingsley

Then Randidly turned to the other group And you will be the Legion of the Unavoidable Pivots Your name sir will be Trap

Although RandidlyÆs first visit to Tellus was one that was filled with bitter training and bloodthirst there were a few moments of extremely precious interactions that Randidly treasured to this day No matter how the both of their Paths diverged from his own Randidly missed the simple days of beating up Roger and exchanging Earth business ideas with Claptrap

At the moment those spirited days truly felt like a different lifetime

Then Randidly nodded shortly IÆll be gone for some time finding a new mine Make sure you keep the monsters thin in the surrounding area

Before anyone else could bother Randidly he rushed off Flexing his fingers Randidly signaled Acri to slither up his arm and form into a spear For all that he had practiced combat Skill every day for the past month it was still somewhat suffocating to spend so much time thinking about images and usage

Sometimes Randidly just wanted to let loose and lose himself in the thrill of exertion Let loose his tight grip he kept on his skyrocketing Stats and simply run wild Which was exactly what Randidly planned on doing now

Due to the arrows pointing ominously toward the plateau Randidly avoided that area for now But this high Level Dungeon was large enough that there were plenty of portions of the jungle that even RandidlyÆs zealous Riders hadnÆt yet raided Randidly headed South and East until he found an area that was infested with extremely large chameleons

They came at him with remarkable aggression for a species that had natural camouflage abilities Their sharp claws emitted a high pitched keening as they cut through the air toward him Grinning Randidly flexed his fingers and welcomed their valor with the infinitely sharp tip of Acri

Randidly didnÆt stop pushing roughly through their domain until even Acri was sated with experience A trail of broken trees and charred bodies was left as a testament to his passage Feeling rather refreshed Randidly closed his eyes and spread out his Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil while enjoying the even beats of his heart searching for any sort of ore within the ground

It took several hours but Randidly eventually found a rather impressively sized silver mine into which he quickly dug Although silver was much less suited to combat and industry it had its own sort of appeal For currency jewelry and for more delicate pieces of technology silver was an acceptable substitute Plus it would serve as a good test to understand how effective RandidlyÆs knew smelting process really was

He had been working with iron and the queer copper found in the mounds so far Silver would help broaden his understanding of how his process impacted the metal

Satisfied Randidly returned to his base almost twenty hours after he had departed One day of his promise to the mollusks down Which would likely give him time to move the forging area farther away from his image training Still that relative peace didnÆt come without cost the Mana drained by the vast forming apparatus Randidly had cobbled together would skyrocket as the distance increased Even with RandidlyÆs ridiculously cheap Skill the number of roots he was manipulating would quickly add up

Feeling rather pleased Randidly took his time returning to his base Yet when he encountered the patrols of his Riders on his way back Randidly stopped dead He blinked several times to confirm that he was currently seeing clearly

Overnight both groups changed Or rather their mounts changed

The mounts were originally a strange combination of a rhinoceros a camel and a spider They had four spindly limbs the hump and lengthened neck of a camel and their joints and forehead were covered with the wickedly dangerous horns of a rhino Their skin was uniformly a dark grey

Today however someone had fiddled with those knobs

The Impenetrable Bulwark Legion now rode on something much much closer to a rhino The legs of their mounts had shortened and thickened In addition the rhinoceros horns had grown increasingly large and long Their skin had become almost pitch black As they moved they left only trampled jungle in their wake

The Unavoidable Pivots perhaps appropriately had chosen to up the spider content of their mounts The legs were the same size but now there were six spindly legs instead of four Long fangs jutted out from the mountÆs mouths The skin had shifted to a hard shell which was a deep navy blue

Ultimately Randidly shook his head and walked past the patrols without a word of comment Better to focus on my own training

Chapter 981

Today we have an extremely special guest participating in our monthly lottery The tall bearded man said with a confident smile As the MC of the event there was some onus on him to inject life into the process of the Lottery But it was clear that at the moment his excitement was genuine Let me introduce you to Naffur Suite Knight Errant of the Order Ducis and acting leader of the most influential Order on Earth

Around Vye people broke out into thunderous applause Some of the mild mannered competitors that she had been standing next to looked up with burning eyes She cast her gaze around slowly while bringing her hands together as one more inconspicuous fish joining the sea of applause

From there the noise rose to an even higher volume Besides the thirty or so people who were on the ground level to participate in the Lottery there were almost two hundred individuals in the upper level looking down toward the participants Even if these people were there for the same reason as Naffur Suite they still perked up when the Order Ducis was present

These prestigious individuals were the representatives of companies and governments from across the Earth A particularly large delegation from Franksburg were all wearing sharp grey uniforms with gold trim Conspicuously absent was any group from Donnyton

Other Orders were here but even they applauded for the Ducis After all they all wished to curry favor with the Order Ducis in order to strengthen their own position amongst the lesser Orders

To Vye it seemed oddly sad Whereas Randidly basically went wherever he wanted Naffur had to stand as representative of the Order Ducis and handle all of the attention that the true leader of the Order Ducis brought The flood of positive emotion must be suffocating Honestly if Vye was standing in NaffurÆs shoes she might have preferred that the recently burned delegation of Donnyton was present The fact that Donnyton had pulled out for the first time since the genesis of the Lottery was rather telling

It seems that whatever challenge occurred between Randidly and Donnyton wasnÆt exaggerated How powerful does one have to be in order to cow an entire town Vye wondered

Her gaze shifted to the extremely young man who stepped forward during the introduction As soon as she saw him Vye clenched her fists and stopped trying to mimic the applause surrounding her

Because Naffur to Vye was a bridge to a life that she had craved for too long A life where she could control her destiny If Vye wanted to pay back all the heavy debts she owed to the people who had helped her get here there wasnÆt a better way than joining the Order Ducis And as the Order Ducis wasnÆt commanded directly by Randidly it would be a way to truly feel free

Of all the Orders the Order Ducis was all the most mysterious But when the monster village was discovered the Order Ducis was the first to intervene When the Danger Zone cleared by Randidly began to spew out ogres the Order Ducis was at the frontlines pushing the monsters away from the vulnerable cities of civilization

The first impression that Vye had of Naffur was that he was young and tired But his eyes gleamed visibly from this distance At his side stood a tall inhuman cockroach coolly regarding the barely disguised disgust on the faces of other groups At his other side was a pre teen boy smiling widely at everyone in the arena

VyeÆs determination receded slowly as she looked at the lonely silhouettes of these three figures Her lip curled upward What is with everyone and possessing glowing eyes The pupil should only reflect

And now The bearded MC for the lottery turned back to the assembled people Remember do your best ThereÆs no punishment for failure

Except being stuck in this city for your whole life bound by chains of relationships and expectation tighter than any physical jail

and the rewards for success are unimaginable LetÆs commence the Lottery I am positive that you all will find Paths to your dreams today There are forms on the table to fill out should you be willing to reveal your Skills and Stats These will be distributed to the representatives during the following cocktail hour Feel free to mingle and introduce yourself as much as you want After the talking is done there will be a series of duels to demonstrate your abilities

The bearded manÆs face twisted into a sardonic smile Although it is not a pretty truth our world has been transformed by the presence of the System Without strength we can accomplish very little Still for those of you who arenÆt gifted currently in martial might the point of the duels is not to see how much you can accomplish now It is to show these influential organizations that you would be an individual worth cultivating To that end

If I may

A mild voice cut through the bubbling excitement of the arena The bearded man turned in surprise to look at Naffur It was the young manÆs cool voice that had cut across him right as he was heading toward the crescendo of his speech If it wasnÆt for VyeÆs experience reading people she would have missed the subtle tightening of the lines around the bearded MCÆs eyes Then the bearded man nodded and gestured for Naffur to go ahead

The young man was thin and pale but he raised his head and spoke confidently to the room As he spoke his spine straightened and his shoulders seemed to spread out behind him like extending wings Vye almost couldnÆt believe her eyes How did his physicality change so drastically in such a short amount of time It was like he was a different person

When he spoke now NaffurÆs voice was low and persuasive Nothing is as important as spirit and dedication Nothing is as important as that precious inner drive that propels you forward That image you hold in your chest for your own future thatÆs what I hope you show us in your duels Give us a hint of the ideal you present in your heart The You that has succeeded The stronger that feeling you can project is the more we the Order Ducis will be moved

We intend to allow ten individuals into the selection for the Order Ducis Nine of those spots will be filled but for one of you perhaps your fate will change today Good luck

After a short nod Naffur Suite turned around and stiffly marched back to his companions Some of his solemn air was completely dispersed when the young boy who had accompanied him enthusiastically grinned at him and pounded on his shoulder in a job well doneÆ kind of way Blushing Naffur coughed into his hand

But Vye stood frozen The image I hold in my chest for my future

Her gaze sank toward the ground Around her the participants began to whisper to each other in excitement

I just I just want to be free I want the sky to stretch endlessly above me I want to never need to be in someone elseÆs debt I

Without waiting for Vye the people around her surged toward the table prepared to reveal their Stats and Skills in order to catch the eye of someone in power

Although the three day agreement with the mollusks had expired yesterday Randidly hadnÆt yet resumed his forging of metals In fact underneath the star filled sky those other concerns seemed to slip away Inside the Dungeon it was easy to feel distant from the other concerns and live in the moment

Randidly currently held a rather hastily created metal forearm bracer in his hands With incredible delicacy Randidly flicked the piece of armor and listened to the sound of its resonance

Randidly stared at it for a long time measuring the shape of it carefully calculating the curve of its structure In his head a meticulous 3D image of the bracer was slowly being constructed With his new capabilities after he reached Control of 1000 it didnÆt take very long for the model that Randidly made in his mind to reach a satisfactory level

Sighing Randidly raised his right hand The pointer finger began to glow blue as Mana concentrated into a razor sharp point When his hand moved a blue trail lingered in the air for several seconds before slowly dispersing into glittering motes of ambient Mana

Randidly pressed his finger against the bracer and began to Engrave

The great trick of creating an engraving that possessed the ability to Level was to create a symbol that made sense at both the micro and macro levels The micro levels would slowly be filled with energy while the Skill contained within the equipment would Level The Macro Level was the worldÆ constructed within the equipment where the Skill would actually exist

This relationship would continue in theory to the point where the micro image became the entire world However none of RandidlyÆs previous experiments had made it to that as of yet

A powerful Skill was very possible to make with Engraving Already Randidly had thought about several variations of his metallic left arm that he could make that would improve his combat ability The current Skill in his left arm was slowly being left behind by the capability of his Descent of the Grim Chimera Skillset and image At this point there wasnÆt much of a benefit to mixing it into his fighting style

Better to forget it and wait for the opportunity to improve his metallic arm

But again Randidly was still fascinated by the possibility of creating a Skill in a piece of equipment that could grow with him Ideally a Skill that would fill in some of the gaps in his own abilities so it wouldnÆt just serve as a redundant alternative

Although as time passes it feels like I have less and less glaring deficiencies in the way I fight Randidly reflected Then he imagined ShalÆs amusement and the subsequent brutal training session if he would realize that Randidly had that thought But who knows if that’s just from fighting rather weak enemies for too long

The Level of the monsters in the Dungeon was slowly ticking up as Randidly released Aether but it had become clear that the Level increase didnÆt do much to actually increase the monsterÆs strength They were inflating like a balloon but the substance of what the monsters were didnÆt change much

Randidly suspected that there might be some more qualitative evolutions eventually but at this point it was just increased Level and weird extra limbs

Grimacing Randidly felt a pang of worry for Shal What did Lyra know

With another sigh Randidly gritted his teeth and forced those thoughts to fall away He was in the Dungeon far from those concerns He had time to prepare and think through his actions His finger still glowing with Mana was poised over the bracer Once his mind was clear once more Randidly continued with the process of engraving

One thing at a time Randidly thought to himself

The image he chose this time was a twisted claw somewhat based on the Descent of the Grim Chimera It was a swirling series of twisted lines that was relatively simple to draw and that mixed well in high numbers to make a mesmerizing whirlpool of lines that drew in the eye

Humming to himself Randidly casually went through the process of engraving With his new skill with Control Randidly was having a much easier time maintaining a uniform level of depth to each of his strokes of the Engraving Because he didnÆt attempt to push the depth very far the ultimate limit of the SkillÆs growth wouldnÆt be too impressive but this was an exercise in consistency

Randidly believed that what he needed right now was more experience successfully understanding the process of creating a Levelable Engraving He had time nine and a half more months of remaining within this Dungeon in which he could further work on creating the product he would be able to use for quite some time

Now was the process of building his foundations

After about an hour of engraving Randidly grunted in satisfaction and tossed the bracer to the side It clattered into a meter tall pile of similar bracers laying scattered next to them Each glittered with the tell tale glow of a powerful engraving Each was covered with a different rune that skittered spider like across the whole of the bracer

Next to that pile was a smaller pile filled with cracked and partially melted bracers RandidlyÆs failures

Not all of RandidlyÆs attempts so far had been successful but his current success rate was about 75% at this point And considering that each of these attempts was made with a rune that Randidly had never worked with before Randidly was quite satisfied

Randidly produced another bracer and studied it for a long time When he had finished constructing the mental model Randidly looked upward and chewed his lip as he considered what sort of Skill to try and create this time

After a few minutes passed in stillness RandidlyÆs emerald eyes began to glow A thin kernel of Mana condensed on his finger and he began to smoothly draw

Chapter 982

Within the Dungeon time flowed onward without pause while Randidly immersed himself in training

It had now been four months since Randidly had entered into the Dungeon In the areas of Skill usage image integrity and Skill Level Randidly experienced rather constant improvements Although he hadnÆt had much actual combat with any sort of opponents that could be considered a true challenge for him he still hadnÆt hit the wall of plateauing in his growth

Which Randidly reflected spoke to how many difficult challenges he had fought through in the last several months without having time to really internalize the lessons he had gathered from those conflicts

Every time RandidlyÆs focus was drifting away from the task at hand AegiantÆs cruel smile would appear in his mind Or a cold fist of ice would grip his heart as Randidly thought about Donnyton attempting to fight against the Calamity with their shallow images Or jagged daggers of fear would slide between RandidlyÆs ribs as he thought about Octavius warning of individuals from the Nexus watching him or Lyra knowing what had occurred with Shal in the strange trial after the Second Calamity

The constant state of half anxiety was slowly settling but for now those emotions were his frequent companion

Those thoughts would force Randidly to push himself even further testing the edges of his Willpower He endured he overcame he absorbed he accepted Time flowed past and Randidly tirelessly refined himself Soon these moments occurred much less frequently

The only real change that occurred in the last month originated from the mollusks After Randidly had given them a watch they became altogether obsessed with time and its keeping Now most well to do mollusks had figured out how to produce their own relatively primitive clockwork timepieces Several strutted around with a barely functioning watch attached to their shells as a strange display of status

The time pieces they produced were almost comically bad But they were working with bits of shell and small amounts of scrap metal that Randidly had donated to them so it wasnÆt strange that they were having difficulties creating something that would stand the test of time

The watch that Randidly had given them was hung from the leader molluskÆs house Which given the population boom after Randidly stopped forging for a few days had now become a rather towering building

At first Randidly had a headache as he considered expanding the pool even further but the mollusks turned out to be happy enough to do all the work themselves if Randidly gave them toolsÆ So Randidly took all the failed Levelable Engravings and any other scrap metal he possessed and made a large pile next to the molluskÆs pool

They dutifully crawled out would grab anything that they needed then pull it back into the pool at a painfully slow speed

Still Randidly wasnÆt there most of the time so he spared himself the torture of watching the relatively inept creatures struggling to move a chunk of burned metal that was often two times their size Rather casually Randidly went one night with Acri and cut the bracers down to more manageable sizes

What watching the queer mollusks did do was finally wake Randidly up to how strangely warped his sense of time was getting After all Randidly had initially been preparing for a Judgement that should descend upon him within a monthÆs time Yet he used the Dungeon to trade a few days into a year without much difficulty

As his sense of urgency slowly left him Randidly wondered why the System made such an invention as Dungeons

Of course most people couldnÆt have done what Randidly was doing Without their own personal supply of Aether they were exposing themselves to a huge risk by staying in a Dungeon longer than a month or two Randidly was already at double that limit With the dense Aether of the Dungeon most peopleÆs bodies would rely less and less on the Aether connection with the Village

Then when they left the Dungeon the weakened connection would be abruptly forced to handle an increased amount of Aether to support the individual That demand on the withered connection was the source of Aether Sickness and why most people had to carefully consider how much time they should remain in a Dungeon

Randidly didnÆt have this problem And it was with some amusement that he realized that if he had brought a group of people into the Dungeon with him his constant explosion of Aether would have exacerbated the problem of Aether Sickness immensely With the current density of Aether in the Dungeon perhaps normal individuals could only stay within the Dungeon for a week or two before their connection to the Village began to atrophy to a dangerous point

But Randidly quickly discovered a much more insidious and dangerous problem of the time dilation one that he couldnÆt avoid perspective shifts

After all Randidly had been driven to train because of two looming threats that would arrive in relatively short order He had also had to deal with the mental turmoil of being struck by a casual glance while some powerful being locked onto the scent of the Creature LyraÆs offer weighed heavily on his mind Those things reminded Randidly of his own inadequacy and mortality

Yet four months had passed and nothing bad had happened in this warped swirl of time Although Randidly still was doing a good job of maintaining his mental edge at the moment likely due to ShalÆs brutal training early in his System experience he could feel some part of himself relaxing

At least while he was in the Dungeon Randidly felt safe

It had taken Randidly this long to realize what the feeling was because he hadnÆt felt that way for so long But within the Dungeon as his Riders basically burned down the surrounding jungle for materials Randidly had no real sense of tension He was free to grow as he wished without external threat

What happens to a person when they realize they can simply slip into a Dungeon and immediately have the time and space to train to their way into solving any problem resolvable with time Randidly wondered It was a question he didnÆt really know how to answer

RandidlyÆs immediate instinct was to rush toward whatever secret lay in the direction indicated by those strange arrows he found in the mounds in order to introduce an element of danger to his existence here but he restrained himself Instead of returning to the constant state of near panicked reaction that Randidly had existed in for almost three years Randidly just observed himself for a week as his training continued Before he understood the effects he wouldnÆt act hastily

By this point his constant production of Aether had finally dislodged the many remnant pieces of Aether left by that beings observation Still Randidly didnÆt slack off his production of Aether It was extremely likely that the other being possessed a fineness of observation of Aether that Randidly couldnÆt duplicate Therefore he continued to throw out waves of Aether to dislodge even the smallest bit remaining

Carefully making notes of his own progress Randidly continued to train

In the mornings he would use his hands to carefully refine his personal forging process He added more pressure and heat straining the materials before empowering them with his GhosthoundÆs Touch Then when he was satisfied with his progress he would attempt to expand that method to his ten thousand root forging process There were obviously issues but Randidly found that so many perspectives on the process helped him further think of small adjustments to make for tomorrow

Because of that every day was a step forward

After that Randidly would practice spear Skills He would perform each of his basic Skills one hundred times without any target letting his high Level Skills rip through the open air During the performance Randidly would force his body to relax and truly experience the Skills in their entirety

Then he would perform each Skill one thousand times this time by simply relying on the image of each Skill for the action Slowly but surely his understanding and potency of his attacks climbed upward

Then Randidly would return to the room holding his increasingly impressive store of refined ingots and practice his World Tree image Randidly had no real proof of this but he believed that the constant submerging in the understanding and supportive image of Yggdrasil would slowly alter the metal for the better

In the evening Randidly would take a small break and cook himself a sumptuous meal His Cooking Skill had only improved to 97 over the past four months after constant use but Randidly felt rather pleased with his ability to prepare food

Looking at his Status screen Randidly shook his head sorrowfully A Skill Level under 100 is enough for me maybe I really am losing my competitive edge Shal would eat me alive

Once the meal was done Randidly checked on his area of influence within the jungle He made sure that the Riders werenÆt getting into trouble and the mollusks werenÆt running amok He also scanned with Aether looking for any sign of whatever might have placed those carefully engraved arrows

Yet Randidly found nothing unusual

At nights Randidly returned to his base and worked on Engravings Most of it was dedicated to Levelable Engravings but Randidly also worked on his basics He returned to the animalistic inspired Engravings that would boost a single Stat and focused on improving his ability to produce each one After careful practice Randidly created Engravings of that type at the tier of VII which granted almost one hundred stats with just the Engraving

It was a time consuming process but RandidlyÆs understanding of Engravings slowly deepened Through the night he worked under the emerald light of Ignition Essence and continued to explore the ancient encyclopedias he had been given on Tellus His second time reading through them was perhaps even more inspirational than the first

As he proceeded to learn about the study the strange perspective based meaning of Engravings Randidly felt doors in his mind opening Connections that Randidly hadnÆt made in the past were slowly emerging Just like with all the battles that Randidly fought his haphazard and frantic Engraving left him with a lot of half learned lessons As he gradually solidified his understanding those unrefined benefits naturally emerged

A week had passed since Randidly had noticed his gradual relaxation The entire while a portion of RandidlyÆs focus was occupied by monitoring himself His great fear was that without the constant presence of a threat moving closer RandidlyÆs progress would stagnate His internal ambition would dull and stall out

If his body grew too used to peaceful training he wouldnÆt be prepared to return to the real world where the threat of the System was very real and very dangerous Even the smallest stumble before the SystemÆs test would doom the Earth He couldnÆt afford to slacken at this point in the process

What Randidly found ultimately made him shake his head wryly I should have expected this ItÆs the mental equivalent of exercise Too much exercise the bodyÆs resources cannot be replenished in time which leads to stymied growth The exercise loses most of its benefits

Only after a long rest after the body restocks its resources can more muscle be efficiently created But of course too much rest leads to fat

Right now my growth for the forging and Engraving related Skills are exploding because that restored mental resources finally has let me make connections I had been blinded to see previously But without the constant threats spurring me forward progress in combat related Skills has somewhat slowed And that will only get worse

Scratching his head Randidly stood and then stretched Just another thing I need to balance Most people canÆt overindulge in Dungeons as I can but IÆll have to be aware of the possibility in the future

Chapter 983

Next up The bearded man announced as two janitors were using large brushes to scrub away the stain of blood from the arena floor Jerrick and Aldo

Vye released another small sigh Although there were barely any participants left who had not been called her name was not announced Not her turn yet She still had time to prepare More time to struggle against the question of what her image would be

I still have time

Vye looked up toward a wide window at the side of the arena and out into the cloudless sky At her core she yearned to be out there moving frantically in a mad dash toward the horizon Chasing after the setting sun That ThatÆs all I want Does that count as an image

Jerrick turned out to be an extremely muscular man carrying two heavy axes that looked like they had seen frequent use Aldo meanwhile

When seen out of the corner of her eye Aldo seemed to familiar that Vye jerked around to look at him But on closer inspection Vye was left rather nonplussed why Aldo had seemed so familiar to her

He was tall but not too tall Muscular but not too muscular And honestly he was altogether extremely messy His hair was sticking out in several directions and his jaw was covered in a few days worth of stubble His clothes were worn through an extended period of heavy use But most of all

Then Vye blinked Aldo was barefoot

Aldo casually brandished a spearÆ Which was in fact just a branch that appeared to have been sharpened to a point Blinking several times Vye realized why he looked so familiar when you barely looked at him at all and let your focus narrow solely onto his bare feet

He certainly had a certain surface level similarity to Randidly Ghosthound

It seemed that Vye wasnÆt the only person who noticed the passing resemblance The bearded man seemed torn for several seconds after Aldo casually walked onto the arena and then hesitantly said Aldo are you sure you donÆt want any foot protection for the challenge

Aldo looked over coolly to the bearded man some secrets you canÆt experience until you expose yourself to the world Some primal powers are too raw for the fearful to grasp through gloved hands

Everyone fell into a slightly awkward silence for several seconds Then the bearded man shrugged helplessly Well it is your decision

Without waiting for any more strange comments from Aldo the bearded man swiftly signaled the start of the duel Despite the fact that none of the earlier fights had done anything but make her more nervous about her own time in the arena Vye found her attention being dragged to the messy and barefoot man with a branch for a weapon

Compared to JerrickÆs brutal axes a branch seemed unable to do much to alter the outcome of the fight And Jerrick wasted no time rushing forward to close the distance and ensure that he could bring his superior weapons to bear

Aldo barely even seemed to notice With narrowed eyes he calmly walked forward to meet his foe

And as Vye watched the subtle movements of his feet her jaw dropped

There certainly was something powerful about the way Aldo was moving toward Jerrick AldoÆs leg muscles were clearly flexing and pulling but he kept his bare feet on the ground the whole time But he continued to zig zag lazily forward to meet his foe More than anything else it reminded Vye of the slow and graceful movements of ice skating

But how could Aldo skate across the dirty and pitted ground of the arena without any trouble

Beware if I use my full strength I cannot guarantee your safety Aldo bellowed JerrickÆs eyes tightened in fury but he didnÆt say anything in response It seemed that he was competent enough that he had noticed the strange movements of Aldo as well His mad charge slowed down as he considered the unpredictable movements

As they neared the moment seemed to stretch Then as if due to some hidden signal both individuals accelerated toward each other But Aldo moved so quickly in those last moments that Jerrick seemed to be standing still

By spinning around JerrickÆs slash Aldo built up a fearsome momentum His spear swept outward only to

VyeÆs jaw popped from hanging open for too long When AldoÆs spear struck Jerrick the sharpened blade didnÆt even pierce through the skin Like an ordinary twig the spear cracked in the middle and shattered into several pieces

Without missing a beat Aldo flipped the broken spear shaft in his right and brutally stabbed it into JerrickÆs bicep Although the blade wasnÆt sharp enough for a slash it seemed that the broken wood was sturdy enough to be used as a dagger At the same time Aldo stretched his left hand out into the air and produced another sharpened branch from his interspatial ring

Bellowing in fury Jerrick seemed to transform into a tornado of steel and bloodlust But Aldo calmly weaved through each of the strikes cracked his weapon over JerrickÆs body and then methodically stabbed the broken pieces into his opponent

After about twenty broken spears and there were a dozen short wooden shafts were leaking blood out of JerrickÆs body the muscular man clearly showed signs of nearing the end of his Stamina His exhales were huge explosions of compressed air his chest erratically rising and falling as he struggled to recover his energy

You you Jerrick spluttered through gritted teeth

Shaking his head sadly Aldo regarded his exhausted opponent Do you see Unless you remove your boots and experience the baptism of the EarthÆs natural energies in what world could you have defeated me

YOU Jerrick roared and rushed with his axes raised For the first time all fight AldoÆs foot lifted off the ground He unleashed a high kick that moved so abruptly that Vye saw nothing but a gleaming flash like sunlight off the barrel of a gun

With a groan Jerrick collapsed and Aldo walked calmly back toward the buffet table Shaking his head the bearded man returned to the arena with his two helpers to mop away a few gallons of JerrickÆs blood While they worked the bearded man raised his head and smiled upward toward the area where the Order Ducis was standing And now Vye Our final challenger

Vye frowned After a few seconds she began to walk up onto the arena They didnÆt call a second name

The bearded man continued to speak As Vye moved nearer to him the man looked much older There were dark bags underneath his eyes and his face was covered with wrinkles Unfortunately one of the contestants was forced to withdraw from the Lottery so there is an odd number of individuals who participated Therefore

The bearded manÆs face split into an even wider grin I suppose that I Roland will be your opponent Miss Vye Please rest assured victory or defeat doesnÆt matter Just use this opportunity to display your capabilities for everyone thatÆs watching To show that ideal version of yourself to the Order Ducis

Vye felt a sinking feeling in her chest I only have one question Why me

You are a Meticulous Technician correct Roland asked with a polite smile We read the information card you submitted As such you are one of the few non combat Classes in this Lottery In order to allow everyone else to have the chance to display their own talents it’s best for the combat Classes to fight each other

Which means that you had to step forward VyeÆs eyes grew increasingly cold as she glanced to the watchers above Or did you think bullying me in front of the Order Ducis would give you a springboard to apply to join their Order Is that how our match will allow everyone to display their own talents Either way

Rather than angry Vye just felt her muscles and bones shiver and crack as her vicious focus crawled through her veins and chilled her blood into a sluggish and poisonous ooze Hyper aware of every movement Vye produced a pen and a stack of high quality paper She watched Roland smiling up toward Naffur Suite as though waiting for him to intervene

Naffur looked at Vye Their eyes met and such was VyeÆs cold fury that she didnÆt feel any need to look away And whatever Naffur found there when he looked away he didnÆt raise a hand to stop the fight

The image of the wide sky she had been struggling to grasp receded like the tide In its place the twisted and beaming face of Roland remained I might not know how to seize for myself the ability to be truly free but I sure as hell know how to deal with self important cocks like you LetÆs all display our Very Best

Without waiting for a signal for the fight to begin Vye began to drag her pen elegantly across the paper

For several seconds Roland watched in amusement Are you prepared to begin

Vye ignored him She could transcribe her talismans quickly enough that she didnÆt need any extra time at the beginning but that didnÆt mean she wasnÆt going to enjoy seeing Roland face after she made use of that time to smash his smug grin into the dirt For her talismans the difficult portion was creating the paper Once the paper was refined it took only a split second for Vye to use calligraphy to put one of the four rituals she had learned thus far onto the paper

It wasnÆt a series of Skills she learned from her Class but was instead related to the Ritualist Path she had taken on a whim Therefore many people tended to underestimate her when she revealed what her Class was RolandÆs reaction brought back too many familiar memories to Vye

It took about ten seconds for RolandÆs patience to wear thin His smile became somewhat strained as Vye continued to scribble on her rectangles of paper without acknowledging him Unfortunately you wonÆt have an infinite amount of time to prepare in battle Therefore IÆm

With a flick of the wrist Vye threw two dozen recently complete charms into the air The carefully processed pieces of paper had enough weight that they cut through the air easily and surrounded Roland As he opened his mouth in shock Vye spoke dismissively

Ignite

The two dozen attack rituals activated at the same time Rather than any sort of flame what they produced was much closer to small bombs of energy that zipped forward toward VyeÆs chosen target and detonated on the first object they hit In this case that unfortunate target was the rather surprised Roland

Although the destructive force of each individual Ignite ritual was small two dozen added together to be the most destructive attack that had occurred in the Lottery thus far No smoke was released by the ritual but the burned clothes and singed hair of Roland filled the hall with a distasteful muskiness

You Roland bellowed his acidic indignation as he ripped the charred remnants of his robe off to reveal a rather muscular chest

Vye winked at him Hard to show off before the Order Ducis when your beard is on fire huh

Chapter 984

In the face of VyeÆs taunting Roland didnÆt back down He spat out a thick glob of blood and phlegm that was thick enough that it didnÆt spatter very far when it hit the ground For several seconds Vye studied it before looking back to his red face Then Roland released an angry breath through his nose producing a hissing noise reminiscent of a kettle about to boil

A strange golden energy began to gather around RolandÆs eyes Sparks zipped across his brow quickly growing in frequency Within a few seconds a crust of crystal began to form over his eyes swiftly becoming a shallow covering over his eye sockets VyeÆs confident smile completely disappeared

He has a Fate That means heÆs over Level 50 Why the fuck is he picking on ME VyeÆs hands flexed Some part of Vye regretted attacking him so aggressively but another part of her stubbornly dug in her heels with this new bit of information Roland was asking for it so she gave it to him No matter what Level he is he doesnÆt have free reign to ignore the rules of basic human decency

But based on the Fate itÆs one of the high quality ones Although there was a palpable energy surrounding him RolandÆs fate just became a golden crystal covering his eyes And from the way that his head was still pointed toward her it didnÆt seem like the crystal would block his vision at all

VyeÆs eyes flickered from Roland to Naffur And to get those sorts of Fates you need to visit with the Order Ducis or Donnyton

As more and more people had reached Level 50 there was an explosion of knowledge that was spread around regarding the Fate that you condensed as you passed through that threshold At first most of the information was nothing but rumors but recently the Order Ducis had led a large crusade to spread out accurate information about the process

Because as the original rumors ominously warned of if you messed up condensing a Fate you could die This the Order Ducis confirmed There was a real danger to reaching Level 50

However Donnyton possessed a concentration aide that allowed individuals to condense a Fate with a fraction of the trouble For a small fee it was open to anyone to use Plus the usually erratic Fate would focus its crystal manifestation in a much more restricted area if you utilized DonnytonÆs service Whereas there were urban legends about a Fate immobilizing a whole leg DonnytonÆs aide allowed these crystals to be smaller and easier to handle

A high quality Fate had the added bonus that it would be so small it was practically invisible when it was not in use It was only when you summoned its energies that it would grow to form its disruptive form

The Order Ducis also possessed this capability although Vye was less clear on the means they used to achieve it But then most of the activities the Order Ducis involved itself in were rather mysterious

A lot of people might have ended up deciding Fates were not worth it had the Order Ducis not made one fact abundantly clear condensing a Fate increased your growth rate Both in Stats gained per Level and the rate at which you gained Skill Levels related to your Fate obtaining a Fate gave individuals an edge

Drawn by these tantalizing benefits most high Level individuals had recently pushed past their fear and began condensing Fates Immediately their boosted strength with which they were endowed proved that the decision to listen to the Order Ducis had been a prudent one

As for Vye fighting against someone with a condensed Fate The difference between them wasnÆt just at least thirteen Levels It was also between Vye whoÆs eclectic gathering of Skills had no real focus and this man who was talented enough to host the lottery And even so

Randidly Ghosthound would do it

At her instinctual thought Vye wanted to tear her hair out in frustration Who was she trying to kid aspiring to be Randidly Ghosthound

But before she could berate herself for unrealistic comparisons Roland bared his teeth at her His words were waspish and spat out like another thick glob of phlegm Do forgive me for underestimating you Miss Vye Worry not the rest of the challenge will be a great deal more difficult so your talents can be made abundantly clear

Remembering RandidlyÆs rather mild gaze Vye did her best to imitate the casual acceptance that she had seen in his emerald eyes She couldnÆt be sure that Roland could see through the crystal covering his eyes but there was no way in hell she was going to show even a hint of fear to this man Breathing in Vye pictured Randidly as she had first seen him walking barefoot to the Erickson Steel headquarters

Do you have any proof of your identity

She released a breath with that same unflappable confidence Perfect IÆm not here on vacation after all

The lines around RolandÆs face tightened Seemingly pushed beyond the reach of human civility he raised his hands and blasted two beams of concentrated golden light toward Vye

Although they moved extraordinarily quickly Vye reacted in time Her hands flicked out and four Reject rituals met the beams of light From the sizzle crack as the two Skills encountered each other Vye could tell that her RejectÆs were very close to being overpowered The fact that Roland was able to throw two of those beams at once would make this duel very

Sneering Roland spread his arms wide Eight beams of light blasted outward in curving arcs toward Vye

The graceful curves meant that the light beams took a little bit of extra time to travel to Vye but she also had to contend with four times as many vectors as previously Even though her hands were fast they werenÆt that fast

Still Vye blurred into determined motion This time she threw out her Rejects in a careful formation Five of them together combined to become a more powerful version of the same ritual allowing five of the Rejects to block three of the light beams So after throwing out fourteen pieces of paper she had neutralized his attacks

Barely The Rejects groaned and cracked Ambient energy refracted downward slicing into the ground with a prowling sort of stymied ill will VyeÆs heart rate gradually began to increase and her palms were slick with sweat Using that small moment of peace she earned she hurriedly wiped her writing hand on her shirt so her grip didnÆt slip

Roland slapped his hands together A beam twice the width as the previous attacks ripped forward toward Vye After the previous arcing almost lazy attacks Vye scrambled to track this one with her eyes

Goddamnit why canÆt that fucking crystal block his vision Struggling to control her breathing she raised a single piece of paper Mirror

Yellow eyes glowing Vye carefully watched the beam roaring toward her chest Even now she could picture vividly the blood mess it would make of her torso if she didnÆt act From seeing the refractions hitting the ground Vye knew it cut like a blade She would be split open like a rotten melon her organs mashed and reduced to pulp

This was not an attack meant to test It was thrown out with deadly intent Yet even as VyeÆs heart rate climbed ever higher her gaze did not waver

Right before it was about to strike her she activated the Mirror ritual Of her rituals Mirror was the only one that would require additional Attributes to fuel it Therefore it was the one she had the least experience using With a small thought Vye activated the ritual As the beam continued to blast toward her VyeÆs Mana began to drop precipitously

But immediately in front of Vye the beam of light disappeared Thin ripples of energy spread out like a casual goodbye wave from the domineering attack

Luckily the light beams moved quickly VyeÆs Mana held out through the entire attack She had survived and now held an ace in the hole should the situation spiral out of control

Before Roland could realize she was unhurt Vye threw out another dozen Ignite rituals into the surrounding area They exploded and careened toward Roland However he now understood their power and was able to smoothly side step the frequent energy bombardment With his attention completely focused it was childÆs play to avoid attacks like this

Which was more than enough time for Vye to press four Donate rituals against each hand and foot Power flowed smoothly into her limbs giving her the capability of someone who put most of their Stat points into Agility and Strength

Pressing her foot down with all of her strength Vye cracked the ground and charged toward Roland Although this completely depleted the one Donate it was worth it to see RolandÆs expression His eyes widened like a dead fish as he looked up at her blurred figure

But he wasnÆt completely without a response With a sharp gesture a brilliant aura surrounded his arm and he cut out with the back of his hand as if it was a butcherÆs knife toward VyeÆs neck

Using the energy in her other leg Vye side stepped smartly Now both of the Donates on her feet were consumed Her neck tingled slightly at the highly charged attack that zipped past her exposed skin Then she slammed one of her empowered hands into RolandÆs chest The Donates would not last long so she needed to take advantage of each limb while she could

A brilliant armor of interlocking plates of light sprung into being around RolandÆs chest Her hand had the weird sensation of punching a trampoline it was all elastic nylon and strangely unsatisfying But Vye had another hand that hammered in from a different direction Under the pressure from the two separate attacks the plates of light buckled and split

While his Skill had bought him a few seconds Roland flicked his hands out and sent out ten beams of light that looped up in the air and shot downward like an artillery shelling on the location where she was standing

Quick as a flash Vye felt the grim satisfaction of his bones shuddering from her punch and then pulled backward She slapped a Donate on her right leg threw six Ignites around Roland and then tossed two Rejects up into the air to buy her some time While the Rejects flared gallantly to life a split second against the rain of light beams Vye stopped her foot and retreated rapidly backward

The brilliant light beams cracked and smashed the arena between them sending up a cloud of thick dust VyeÆs heart pounded in her ears but she took this chance to relax and steady herself She looked downward at the papers she had pulled out earlier there were only two remaining Although she had some emergency sheets in her interspatial ring she likely had demonstrated her talent well enough

When the smoke cleared she would

Luminous Bombardment A cruel voice slithered out through the dirt and debris between her and Roland Ion Bolt

The dust exploded like a grenade designed to maim with molten shrapnel But the beams of light that pierced through bent and twisted a dozen times a second It seemed less like Vye was being attacked and more like someone was creating a labyrinth toward her But the terrible humming in the air revealed just how dangerous those light beams were The ambient static in the arena made the hair on the back of VyeÆs neck stand straight up

And in the middle of those sharply twisting beams of light there was a silvery sphere sliding silently toward VyeÆs chest

Almost numb Vye marked her last few papers with Reject and tossed them out to slow the assault Her initial instinct was to make two more Donates in order to dodge out of the way but the more she watched those wild bending light beams the more horror bubbled up in her heart It was clear that this was a technique designed to surround and hem in mobile targets

With no other option Vye also released the Mirror she had made blasting a thick light beam out toward the silvery Ion Bolt that was coming toward her While she struck out with the light beam her few Rejects were overwhelmed in a cascade of twisting beams Worst of all the blast of light she unleashed didnÆt slow the Ion Bolt in the least

The attacks are going to land Vye thought Her skin seemed to crawl in abject terror For a split second she froze For that second the attacks surged closer without her responding at all By the time Vye snapped back to herself the attacks were so close that she wouldnÆt have time to remove the emergency papers from her interspatial ring and then perform the rituals

Feeling profoundly afraid Vye looked down at her hands One empty one holding a pen Without paper

VyeÆs gaze sharpened If I want my freedom I canÆt keep running These hands these hands need to be enough

Chapter 985

NaffurÆs face twisted into a frown as the fool Roland lost his cool and unleashed an attack at his full strength Immediately he barked out Ajax

On it the giant cockroach man buzzed as his wings carried him down from the viewing platform to the arena below Naffur had been aware that Roland dearly wanted to be a part of the Order Ducis since the man had seen the Fate that Ajax and Madelyn had been able to condense with NathanÆs help Naffur just hadnÆt realized how deep the manÆs greed went

Inwardly Naffur felt an incredible amount of anxiety at the moment If this talented woman was seriously injured or even killed now he wouldnÆt be able to deny that it was his fault Despite knowing Roland was an unstable element Naffur had allowed them to fight He had seen VyeÆs unwavering will in her brilliant yellow eyes and had to admire her bravery

Under the influence of his second aspect the Aspect of the Wandering Knight NaffurÆs gaze remained passive He was the face of the Order Ducis and had been for several months He could not let this throw him no matter how unfortunate the outcome was

That was the heavy weight that Randidly had given him to bear

With these hands The woman Vye bellowed More quickly than even Naffur would have been able to mimic her hands surged into motion Right before the Ion Bolt and light beams arrived at her her left hand was glowing with a piercing brightness Without protecting her torso at all Vye swung her gleaming hand in a vicious cut toward the Ion Bolt

NaffurÆs eyes twitched For a second around her

But there was too much light so it was hard to confirm The attacks crashed into each other and after only a brief pause Vye was smashed backward Ajax arrived just at that moment his one hand steadying Vye while his other hand struck out and ripped apart the beams of light that pursued Vye

Naffur was gratified to notice that whatever Vye had done it had dispersed the Ion Bolt totally Even if she was knocked unconscious by the effort it was not a small thing

Coughing lightly Naffur said Ahem Congratulations Roland It appears you won the final duel of this yearÆs lottery Thank you so much for your hard work

RolandÆs face was extremely pale as he looked numbly at the crumpled and bleeding form of Vye that Ajax brought up toward the waiting Nathan Sir Knight Errant I

No need to speak Naffur hissed I believe we have all seen enough

Flushed with stymied ambition RolandÆs mouth moved wordlessly for several seconds before he simply nodded and walked off of the central arena Two men with mops moved up onto the broken ground and began to wash away both of the contestantsÆ blood

While Randidly was in the Dungeon he intermittently visited the Alpha Cosmos to track of the developments within his Soulskill Because it was now based exactly on the time he experienced the Soulskill would also go through a one year jump before he returned to Earth

Which basically didnÆt matter much to anyone but Helen who would benefit from RandidlyÆs increased understanding of the connection between his body and the Alpha Cosmos As he spent more time with it active the bonds that limited her power would gradually loosen Which honestly gave Randidly a headache

It was too easy to imagine Helen growing bored and making trouble around Erickson Steel It was better to immerse himself in his Soulskill and do his best not to think about it

The Monster PrinceÆs interim government continued to integrate with the nearby kingdom to avoid an all out war between the new arrivals and the original inhabitants of this strange continent It seemed that things would proceed peacefully for now but Randidly didnÆt want to be blindsided as he had in the past once a week Randidly would head into the Alpha Cosmos to have a discussion with Lucretia

While he was there he would also check in on the progress of the youth from the Willow Tree Spear Style Honestly Randidly was endlessly impressed by his determination Despite the grueling series of tasks that Lucretia had set for him he stubbornly continued to Engrave past the point where he had a sufficient amount of Mana to accomplish the task It was somewhat endearing so see him so feeble that he could only stagger away from a test unsuccessful and exhausted

Randidly sighed inwardly I suppose it’s unrealistic to think that ShalÆs brutal training methods wouldnÆt rub off on me

Lucretia and Randidly sat in rocking chairs on LucretiaÆs engraving complex while they watched the kid struggle The tall shadow of LucretiaÆs ranch style home rose behind them RandidlyÆs fingers danced across the wicker arms of the chair idly looking over the problems that Lucretia had set for her apprentices Only after he had solved them all to his own satisfaction did Randidly turn to Lucretia Anything worth reporting

Nothing over in the political sphere but IÆve continued to investigate the lighthouses present in the wider continent per your request Lucretia took a long sip of a drink made from the pulp of the sanu a sour fruit indigenous to the area that tasted kinda like pomegranate She licked her lips in satisfaction and tilted her head toward the pitcher in askance

Randidly shook his head None for me thanks So what did you find

Although the lighthouses existed before the didnÆt work in a straightforward manner most people couldnÆt get a Class from them Lucretia frowned down at the red violet drink To them the arrival of the refugees from your previous Soulskill and from Tellus is less a cause of what happened than a symptom of a larger change in the world There are some religious organizations here that predict a time of judgment is approaching

Quite accurate actually Randidly muttered

Lucretia had spent enough time with Randidly not to be dragged into his asides but the larger point was that the mainland doesnÆt have as much of an advantage as we thought when it comes to fighting strength A few exceptional individuals had previously been able to activate the lighthouses at great cost but by and large the Levels of our two groups are comparable There are just about ten times as many of them

Sighing Randidly leaned back in the rocking chair until his center of gravity shifted backward If we assume that these people are the accumulated subconscious influences from those IÆve encountered itÆs still somewhat worrisome that IÆm only one tenth of the population inside the world that is somehow my literal body

A ghost of a smile flitted across LucretiaÆs face Honestly how much of that remaining one tenth isnÆt also just influences of other people I think itÆs pretty impressive that you had direct control equalling ten percent of the rest of the realm

Randidly regarded Lucretia mutely Lucretia couldnÆt resist the urge to chuckle IÆm just being realistic How much of ourselves is truly us and how much is just the environment

Waving a hand in irritation Randidly said I donÆt want to have a nature versus nurture discussion right now This world is my body I need to have some semblance of control

Then Randidly blinked His grin was then wolfish Ah of course You are saying the number doesnÆt matter much Ultimately it is the ten percent that has the images that is what matters Have there been any hints of my images spreading

Lucretia nodded There are a few places that IÆve seen concrete knock off image but most are fuzzy and malformed Apparently whatever sort of status existence this world endured previously didnÆt allow any real images to develop The country we have allied with Noran has already employed several of the individuals from Tellus who can use images as visiting scholars for their military college Which ultimately means we bear increased influence in our ally but also increased exposure to political trouble

And although I said there was nothing overt Noran has been pushing its military college very aggressively these past few years I would be shocked if they didnÆt make a move in the near future If we want to prevent war we need to intervene soon But to do so IÆll require some time to gather more information Lucretia said seriously

Randidly opened his mouth and then paused His immediate reaction to conjure a group of Riders for Lucretia here in the Soulskill so she would have a group of reliable troops But the more Randidly thought about it

At that moment Randidly could feel his two images on his separate shoulders Nurture and growth from the World Tree Destruction and entropy from the Grim Chimera Releasing a breath he followed both of those paths forward in his mind attempting to predict the outcomes of the different stances he could take in regards to his Soulskill The entire time Randidly could feel the fragile feeling of security that he had finally managed to develop over the past four months shaping his perspective

The longer his gaze followed the branching paths leading toward a series of political interventions in his Soulskill the heavier RandidlyÆs emerald gaze become His mind drifted back to the sordid and twisted series of covert operations that the United States green lit in South America and all of the far reaching consequences that resulted

With RandidlyÆs Control Focus and Intelligence he felt reasonably confident that he could predict the broader consequences and costs of what Lucretia was suggesting Which was perhaps arrogant But RandidlyÆs Crown seemed to resonate as he calculated the lives they could save by preventing a war between the countries present in RandidlyÆs Soulskill

The fragile feeling of security flickered and shrunk Was what Randidly was considering protecting the people of his Alpha Cosmos or simply babying them We donÆt have time for careful calculation or soft solutions

Lucretia studied him Then she blinked in shock as RandidlyÆs face settled into a grimace You you donÆt think we should intervene to stop the coming war here

In this land I wear no Crown Randidly said quietly He could see the unmarked graves of his fellow soldiers along the Hallat even now In the dark space of his mind when it wasnÆt populated by images that was the scenery that was conjured What right do I have to impose my will upon these people

Lucretia just looked at Randidly

Helpless he shook his head Do I possess the prerogative to save them from their own foolishness And more than that should I

This is your body for good or for ill Lucretia waved her hand in the air But her eyes stayed on RandidlyÆs face But I can see well I was always wondering how the SpearmanÆs vision would affect you If this is your body then this war will be a refining process for the unconscious images that you’ve collected You would benefit greatly from the war in a sense

Randidly opened his mouth to say something but Lucretia raised her hand I didnÆt mean it as a criticism As it happens I totally agree that the best course of action is to allow things to resolve themselves But I suppose I assumed you would find the truth of this situation distasteful

I cannot be gentle Especially with myself Randidly replied

Grinning Lucretia said Ah perfect This is what I wanted to point out to you She spread her hands to indicate the world then brought them together toward Randidly You cannot have things both ways These lives we are talking so casually about are both you and also separate individuals It is not an either/or DonÆt hide from the ethics by only considering the definition that is convenient for you at the moment

Randidly playfully punched LucretiaÆs shoulder Alright alright I get it No more lectures please I donÆt need them

Really Lucretia raised her eyebrows

Randidly spread his mouth wide but his expression was not a smile Her disbelief was clear so it was time to remind her of his growth The Crown of Upheaval and Gloom manifested above him and the air began to tremble LucretiaÆs fingers tightened around the arms of her chair while Randidly spoke Even if they are just the accumulated unconscious figments that IÆve gathered do you truly believe their deaths cause me no grief

After a few seconds Randidly released the Crown and the air settled back to normal Slowly Lucretia straightened They returned to their observation of LucretiaÆs apprentices for almost ten minutes

Then right before the air returned to normal Lucretia spoke Alta would have been happy here The original Alta I mean This land relies heavily on chivalry and unspoken etiquette to get by Alta her favorite stories as a child were about bands of heroes

Randidly looked upward toward the overcast sky Heroes are just the shards of a broken society that refract the most splendid light Their edges will cut you to the bone LetÆs hope my Soulskill wonÆt need a hero for a while longer yet

Chapter 986

We cannot press the charges Senator Heathridge said over the phone Overhead a thunderstorm boomed noisily On the line there was a thin whine of static

Evan Crane couldnÆt believe his ears They they were foolish enough to publicly assault the police of Zone 1 They refused to comply with an investigation in the face of a court order More than that that monstrous woman enforcer they hired made it abundantly that Erickson Steel has no intention of respecting the police force of this country There is no way the bureau will let this go And with them on our side

Which is why we will force them to drop it The Senator said quietly Then he sighed for several seconds an unwilling admittance of a bone deep weariness that wafted out of the phone terminal between them For the first time since they began working together Senator Heathridge seemed like he had given up It is out of our hands I was completely blindsided Erickson SteelÆs plan perhaps Randidly GhosthoundÆs itÆs I

The other man trailed off into silence

So just like that we are giving up Evan Crane clenched his hands into veiny fists Every time that Erickson Steel barely managed to avoid falling into his grasp Evan had gnashed his teeth but he had been able to ultimately control his anger After all Evan knew that this was only a short term avoidance With the support of Senator Heathridge and Evan pulling the strings from the shadows there was no way for Erickson Steel to resist falling into his grasp

It was even finally looking up for their plan They had painted Erickson Steel into a corner They had several tricks up their sleeve but they had been forced to blow those tricks in order to escape EvanÆs traps But now

But now in the SenatorÆs voice Evan heard defeat

I will never let this go Evan thought his eyes twitching as he glared hatefully at the terminal

ItÆs honestly the most exquisite thing that IÆve ever encountered Truly this spells doom for our original course of action Suddenly there was something very strange in SenatorÆs HeathridgeÆs voice But since we found out his ultimate goal so early Well itÆs not like we have no avenues available to us

EvanÆs sea of anger parted A ray of light pierced through the storm clouds overhead and loosed its light over his body Coughing out his long held breath Evan stammered So then

But I need time to prepare our counterstroke Senator HeathridgeÆs tone changed Half measures will be useless And I have to admit it was only after investigating the movements of some of my fellow Senators that I was able to spot the trap that he had laid and it is certainly was so seamlessly woven into our offensive against them that I almost missed it

After a pause the Senator continued What ultimately tipped me off was how silent my enemies had been over the past several weeks I thought I had finally built up some momentum but even then they had been too passive I am not so prideful to give my enemies any opening so I did so research

And when I examined the facts one definitive possibility remained they were simply biding their time Because when I scrutinized the schedules of some of the neutral Senators well there was one commonality they had all visited Erickson Steel within the last week

well didnÆt they need to Evan asked slowly easing away from his anger Out of habit he picked up a cigarette and lit it As long as he was quiet there shouldnÆt be any way for the Senator to find out After Erickson Steel pulled their branches Hell I would want to come in person to confirm that the business wasnÆt about to fail Especially for the Senators who probably rely on a lot of industries that use Erickson Steel

Exactly ThatÆs why we missed the insidious truth Senator HeathridgeÆs voice dropped to a whisper slithering out of the terminal We were so focused on the costs that Erickson Steel would incur we never considered the benefits of such a bold arrangement Such as providing a convenient excuse for many important political figures to meet clandestinely with the leader of Erickson Steel

As the Senator continued to speak that strange trace in his voice grew and grew I hadnÆt put much stock in the news that the Ghosthound had returned to the business but in light of this brilliant plan I have no choice but to admit that IÆm dancing with someone far superior to me The man is truly a kingmaker it is no fluke that Senator Firefly has risen so sharply to prominence And now that Randidly Ghosthound has had private meetings with the neutral faction I can begin to see the shape of his plan Erickson Steel is just a stepping stone for him A convenient front

Erickson Steel is not just Evan Crane grunted but by this point Senator Heathridge was on a roll It was like the other man was so wrapped up in his explanation that he didn’t even hear EvanÆs interruption And it sounded like Senator Heathridge was starting to breathe heavily

This was never about the company this was about so much more than that Three of the most innocuous Senators that came here to speak about the steel had one very specific thing in common they were the ringleaders of the Western Coalition

You likely have not have heard but big changes are coming through for the political sphere of Earth Although Donnyton has been quiet Zone SevenÆs push for the governments to come together and name a world capital is gaining more and more traction abroad Most of the Orders have been waiting for the Order Ducis to make a move but they are leaning strongly toward choosing a location and centralizing authority It would simplify their jobs immensely

And yet Evan murmured Oddly the emotion that he finally recognized in the SenatorÆs tone was worship What does this have to do with Erickson Steel

Come off it Crane Senator Heathridge scoffed It might be the current leader in metallurgy but how long will that last We have squeezed their ore supply down to a trickle Even if they had a secret recipe for another metal that could revolutionize the current standard how long will it take for our scientists to crack their formula We already realize that the metal is made by mixing the bones of monsters into the alloy The rest is inevitable

ItÆs the center of everything Erickson Steel We always said that My my plan Now Evan CraneÆs voice dropped to a whisper Surreptitiously he lit another the cigarette and pulled as hard as he could His hands were trembling

ThatÆs why it was such a genius move of Randidly Ghosthound to sacrifice it Senator Heathridge hissed It sparked so brilliantly our eyes were fixed upon it But this whole time he was playing us for fools By placing the company directly in our crosshairs heÆs been able to hide all of his true moves in Congress If I hadnÆt gone back through the travel schedules of the prominent members of Congress hehehe itÆs such a bold stroke

While Senator Heathridge seemed to be caught up in some emotion halfway between awe and envy Evan Crane struggled to control his much more violent emotions He knew Heathridge although he currently was caught up in some fixation the man was still incredibly intelligent He simply wasnÆt seeing that Randidly Ghosthound wasnÆt the problem It was Erickson Steel itself that provided such value

But Evan couldnÆt just say that outright and point out how strange it was Heathridge was too arrogant to admit he was wrong Instead it was better to try and lead Senator there with guided logic

Pushing the cigarette smoke out through his nose Evan asked Perhaps this is just a ploy but what does Erickson Steel resisting the police have to do with other Zones trying to make a world capital Randidly Ghosthound possibly meeting with these Senators what does it all mean Do we have any proof of this

The proof is in the pure genius Senator Heathridge breathed All the pieces weÆve already seen from Erickson Steel we just didnÆt understand the shape We thought they were solving a puzzle but they were building a palace Even I until I received a bit of intel from the West The new Zone contact has been established They are currently under the protection of the Western Coalition After making the hundred kilometer journey on foot without any difficulty in only two days A journey that had them coming up South past Lake Apollo

Evan blinked slowly That was the direction that the Ghosthound was last sighted heading

So let me put it plainly for you Senator Heathridge ground his teeth at such an intensity that Evan could hear it over the phone for several seconds Only then with his deep frustrations vented did he speak The Western Coalition has been trying to convince the Zone Transportation Board to expand its network in the West for months to fuel industrial growth in the region We the opposition have opposed such a measure to specifically isolate Erickson Steel in the Western Region

Suddenly out of nowhere Randidly Ghosthound appears and allegedly within a night produces an Engraving pattern for a train car that revolutionizes the energy consumption After that Erickson Steel provides the schematics to the ZTB for no charge and they are suddenly the best of friends Without missing a beat Erickson Steel makes no use of this newfound relationship capital Instead they make the inexplicable decision to close all of their branches

We thought they were on the run or planning some sort of move But what this really did was drag some Senators in crucial positions to the Erickson Steel Headquarters Where Randidly Ghosthound met them and explained his proposition If they helped him with his true goal he would provide them the push to expand the manatech rails in their territory After all Erickson Steel now had the ear of the ZTB And what better cherry to sweeten the dessert than telling about the newly connected Zone

Then Randidly Ghosthound headed South For all that he has been a mystery no one denies that he is definitely a very high Level He has more than enough strength to assist the expedition from the new Zone in making it through the badlands to arrive at Zone 1 Where they are conveniently found and protected by members of the Western Coalition Picked up as if they had known they were coming the entire time

Evan Crane licked his lips But there is one thing that I donÆt understand I I can see the moves I can even see sort of how Randidly would offer these things to all of these different entities But but what does he want And also why did he choose to antagonize the police As long as he stays in Zone 1 that will come back to bite him

For several long seconds Senator Heathridge just laughed It was a low and throaty laugh of a man experiencing immense satisfaction at the confusion of another It was condescending and spiteful Evan lit up two more cigarettes struggling to control his temper Based on the abrupt uptick in laughter the Senator had heard him EvanÆs face burned in silent fury

All men want the same thing Evan Senator Heathridge finally said Power Is it really so strange to think that after Randidly went away for almost six months he returned to find that someone had taken the reigns of power he once wielded in Donnyton And that made him furious

Randidly Ghosthound famously has no interest in political power Evan said reasonably

Senator Heathridge laughed again Bullshit They took his power and he punished them for it Then he came here The Orders follow the Order Ducis who follows him He antagonized the surrounding areas fooling us into raising the foreign propaganda against Erickson Steel No one wants him here any longer He already had Senator Firefly in his pocket but now heÆs bought the support of the Western Coalition and likely he already has an agreement with this new Zone

Chewing on the cigarettes in his mouth Evan tried to slow the flow of the conversation to something manageable But

Senator Heathridge didnÆt allow Evan to finish So when Zone Seven pushes for a World Capital and Randidly Ghosthound steps forward and offers some of the extensive lands he owns around the Erickson Steel Headquarters will there be a unified enough resistance to stop the suggestion His is the most famous name on Earth

Evan Crane shook his head wordlessly Although there was a certain sort of twisted logic to it he just felt that this wasnÆt right This this didnÆt match the reports about Randidly Ghosthound at all

But the Senator clearly had been quite taken with this grand scheme He offers up a pitiable steel mill in one hand and he palms the world capital right out from under our noses Truly this is the first time that IÆve ever admired someone This is the first time IÆve ever truly met my match

Chapter 987

Yawning Randidly got up from one of his rare naps in the Dungeon Even if he didnÆt need the sleep sometimes it felt quite rejuvenating He stretched and scratched his lower back as he walked up to the surface and fresh air Immediately upon exiting the dome he had to raise his hand and shield his eyes from the hot sun

After staying here for a bit over five months the surrounding jungle had been completely devoured by the two antagonistic groups of Riders who were in a cold war of architecture against each other A few weeks ago Randidly finally forced them both to do their own improvements to their miniature castles This he had assumed would slow their mad expansion and mean he would no longer waste as much of his time

This was very incorrect as it turned out

The night Randidly had made the declaration they would now be forced to do their own construction he had felt a weight lifted off his shoulders The next morning two square kilometers of jungle had been leveled in their mad dash to gather their resources And if anything their building methods had only become more refined without his interference The ability to utilize the gathered resource was now one of the rewards for which the groups competed

Randidly shook his head sadly Honestly I canÆt wait to go back to Earth At least no one there has any expectation of me participating in these pointless political squabbles I wonder how much time has passed in Erickson Steel probably barely a day

Randidly walked over to the worn stone monument and pressed his hand against it He closed his eyes and allowed his will to flow down through his fingers and into the cool stone That pervasive aura of timelessness was like a familiar chair that he settled into quite comfortably The ambient image it contained was like spring rain spitting down to fuel his World Tree image

Over the past month or so the ambient image in the surrounding air had no longer been enough to fuel RandidlyÆs training with the World Tree It had grown too diluted by RandidlyÆs constant use So he was forced to proceed out to the monument itself and use it directly in order to achieve any benefit

This too would eventually lose its usefulness in a few months But even if Randidly knew that he was rather helpless If he didnÆt use this method his image wouldnÆt improve Even if he was caching in on a limited resource he would still do it to continually improve Part of RandidlyÆs growth needed to be focused on understanding the threats arrayed against him He had no space to be gentle with the denizens of this Dungeon and their monuments

After all Earth would become a Dungeon itself if Randidly failed to reach a sufficient level of strength

Every night before engaging in his Engraving training Randidly had been carefully sharpening his mental state by carefully thinking through possibilities for the future and ethical dilemmas One of the questions he came up against was whether he could live with the truth that he was killing other individuals to save the world

Perhaps a normal individual from Earth who had been able to survive the SystemÆs arrival would eventually grow strong enough that he or she could pick their fights and would deem it worth it to consider the ethics of their action But Randidly was raised by Shal Who made it very clear that it was only the winners who would have the convenience of discussing philosophy

I obviously wonÆt torture someone but I also wonÆt shy away from killing in order to protect the Earth Randidly felt his heart grow heavy Being a saint confined to a Dungeon would be tragic sort of irony

Randidly also constantly reminded himself of that strange being and his previous struggles against a Judgement to maintain his tension To balance those fears Randidly also reflected on the liberating emotion of being away from Earth with time to discover his own Path forward

With these two thoughts both grinding at RandidlyÆs mentality in different ways he continually pushed himself forward Because there were so many ways that Randidly needed to improve to truly be a worthy opponent for the System He couldnÆt afford to overlook anything while he had this time to refine himself

A snort brought RandidlyÆs focus out of the stone monolith Turning slowly Randidly faced the group of three Riders that were looking at him in askance He rolled his eyes and waved his hand ItÆs not the time to go to the plateau yet Please simply patrol the edges of our domain

The three nodded Then the three Riders turned and trotted off across the rather shabby looking plains that were left in the wake of the deforestation As they went the central RiderÆs mount unleashed a powerful spurt of thick spit that pasted a nearby flower against the ground as if it had been laminated

Randidly rubbed his head Since he had no longer provided architecture services he had been forced to broaden his rewards for the Riders The unanimous decision from the Riders was to ask for more Riders to be created So despite RandidlyÆs misgivings he had begun producing more Now there were almost a hundred Riders in the Dungeon spreading their conflicting ideologies

Strangely three of the Riders refused to join the two previously created Legions These became the Legion of the Marching Cadence who quickly evolved to ride a mount very similar to a camel These came from RandidlyÆs intermittent memories of Divvet who had been something of a stand in for Shal when RandidlyÆs master was busy with other things Above all else what Randidly remembered about Divvet was his patience

Although it’s possible that this was simply a response from spending so much exhausting training sessions with the short tempered Shal

Unlike the other two Legions the Marching Cadence Legion didnÆt care about the rivalry They instead requested permission to explore the plateau which Randidly had expressly forbidden Honestly the constant requests were becoming a headache

Their attitude is admirable Randidly shook his head But there is no point in sending them to antagonize something dangerous before IÆm ready to meet it Still if in a few months even this monument isnÆt enough for the image of timelessness

After giving the stone monolith a long glance Randidly returned to the depths of his base Although usually he would use this time working on his forging process Randidly did something out of character today he went to his kitchen and quickly cut up all of the ingredients that he would need to make breakfast

After about ten minutes Randidly had produced an omelet Which he then ate quickly cutting off large chunks and tossing them into his mouth

The omelet was fine The eggs were whipped and salted making the omelet itself fluffy and flavorful The monster meat core was tender and cooked throughout Not the best meal that Randidly had ever had but it was certainly satisfactory Randidly had no doubt that the could have set up a ramshackle stand in Tellus with these and made a killing

Then Randidly cleaned his dished and looked at the second portion of ingredients that he had previously set aside Cracking his fingers Randidly walked slowly to stand above them His emerald eyes glowed dangerously

I think itÆs finally time I tested the limits of this Randidly thought With infinite gentleness Randidly reached down and dragged a fingertip across one of the eggs he had prepared Then his eyes narrowed All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth

The air around him bent and twisted as though Randidly had hammered down on the fabric of the world with his knee The egg he was touching cracked and splattered everywhere but in slow motion Suddenly Randidly was spread across two versions of himself Then four Then eight His muscles flexed and spasmed He bit his lip so hard that a fat chunk of flesh was hacked off The taste of blood filled all eight of his mouths

After being cracked by his spasming muscles bits of that shattered egg continued to float outward slowly Time twisted and pooled

Then there were sixteen of him twisting and mutating and warping through the surrounding timelines The pain slowly built gradually upward His muscles were on fire Randidly was spasming so powerfully that his bones were shaking Then

The Grim Chimera raised its head and howled That tight skin across its skull grew taut showing the dark outline of its mouth Its arms spread and multiplied The limbs wove into each other slowly constructing something RandidlyÆs feet were locked to the ground in the base he had constructed but it felt like he could reach beyond his current location If he stretched out his fingers and truly wished for it

With a gasp Randidly collapsed His heart was pounding His right hand was covered in egg The horrible hammering filled up his awareness After being stricken by small tremors for so long he couldnÆt stay on his feet His breath came out of his nose as he kneeled on the ground and attempted to regain control of himself It took several minutes before his limbs were completely willing to follow orders

When Randidly stood his eyes were locked on the steaming omelet that lay on a plate before him Frowning Randidly studied the plate carefully He hadnÆt brought any plates into the Dungeon with him At least no plates this ornate looking When his hand was well behaved enough to use a fork he carefully cut off a corner and brought a bit of the omelet to his mouth

Randidly couldnÆt resist a sharp hiss Fuck thatÆs good

The process of eating the delicious omelet was relatively drawn out He thoroughly enjoyed every inch of the creation he had made by relying on the Grim ChimeraÆs strange ultimate Skill As he did so he reflected on what this experience had taught him

Wincing Randidly eventually stumped his way up to the surface and laid himself carefully on the grass The first thing that Randidly had learned was that despite his general improvement of 10 or so Skill Levels in all of his passive physical boosts this Skill still reduced him to a quivering mess Although it was annoying Randidly resolved himself to put more points into Endurance so he could withstand its use

It was slightly embarrassing that his Endurance Stat was at a measly 348 That would soon be rectified

The second thing that Randidly learned was that he was right about the function of the Skill The Grim ChimeraÆs ultimate move was an evolution of a sort But rather than directly evolving the Skill forced RandidlyÆs body to be split into several parallel worlds seeking a variation where Randidly had the requisite Skills to accomplish the tasks that he was trying to accomplish

Or at least that was a passable definition of what the Skill did The exact mechanism of the Skill still eluded Randidly especially because the Grim ChimeraÆs Skill could be used to accomplish so many different things It could give him anything he reached out for

In this case a high Cooking Skill

Randidly winced But the problem this time was much more draining on my body even though my request was relatively simpler Before I had wanted to strike down Paolo and Kayle in a single strike And I managed that while having enough Stamina remaining to walk away from the arena so why was this more difficult

But Randidly already had a hypothesis The pain he experienced was not the pain to make the desired act happen but it was pain he had to endure while looking for a variation that fit his requirements Which meant that the cost was likely related just as much to the complexity of the request as to how distant from his current self the required mutation was

Still what I donÆt get is how the distanceÆ of the mutation is determined Randidly thought with a frown But it does make some sense that it is easier to find a variation of myself with great destructive power rather than a master chef version

Shaking his head Randidly savored the feeling of the sun on his skin and soft grass on his back Even though Randidly had been pushing himself close to the edge in these several months this moment reminded him that perhaps he had still been going too easy on himself

This was after all the first time since Randidly had arrived in the Dungeon that Randidly was completely reduced to a blubbering mess from training Even the small headaches that Randidly developed after working for longer periods on Engraving were relatively small things in the grand scheme of RandidlyÆs boundaries

Randidly smiled up at the sun above him and licked his teeth Well that can easily be arranged I suppose we just need to kick things up a notch here

Chapter 988

One thing that had become abundantly clear in the following days was that the increased Aether density in the Dungeon was finally having an effect A profound effect

Although RandidlyÆs Riders had initially had no problem wiping out the hordes of monsters in the surrounding area that had recently radically changed Suddenly the Riders were plagued by the unified resistance from varying species of locals The groups had entered into some sort of alliance to resist the Riders During their patrols they now habitually encountered traps that were tailor made for each variety of Rider

Amongst the monsters of the Dungeon it seemed a KingÆ had been born Instantly everything had changed

Randidly hadnÆt taken the threat seriously at first He had given the order for the Legion of the Marching Cadence to investigate what was going on but that was the only proactive step that he had taken Randidly had simply assumed that his Riders would eventually find and eliminate the root of the problem Besides RandidlyÆs main focus was on his training

Riders having more difficulty meant that his Skill Level would grow faster Besides they would quickly learn more advanced teamwork of their own if they were harried by a determined intelligent opponent Randidly wouldnÆt baby his Riders just because they had hit a small snag in their rather childish architecture competition

However it only took a week for seven of his Riders to die Five happened in a large surprise raid where a single patrol had been targeted in the jungle That made Randidly focus on the problem with a razor sharp focus and the heavy weight of a debt of blood owed

Because it wasnÆt just that several of his Riders had died One of the lieutenants of the Legion of the Unbreakable Bulwark had been ambushed as he was returning to the base of operations for this Legion And he hadnÆt been ambushed in the field The monster resistance had planned an assassination on the threshold of RandidlyÆs Riders and gotten away with it

The tall bird warriors and the gleefully howling monkeys dashed toward the jungle avoiding pursuit and escaping with their lives

Not for the first time Randidly wondered if it wasnÆt something other than his Aether that had inspired the change Perhaps the creator of those arrows in the dome had finally made a proactive move

Right when Randidly was considering how to approach this problem the Legion of the Marching Cadence had returned to make the rather shocking report that they had successfully tracked the monsters back to their base

Blinking Randidly looked at the tall mount the Rider was on top of Certainly this variant of the Riders possessed an extremely high Endurance value and could pursue an opponent for miles Based on what Randidly had seen they were certainly extremely patient However the long legs and wide feet of the mount was a bit

Randidly coughed into his hand Ah how did you managed to avoid detection

The Rider looked at him with something that felt shockingly like pity to Randidly Then with exaggerated motions the Rider got down off of his mount He gestured to himself and mimed walking on foot Then he got back onto his long legged mount and gave Randidly a very long look

I suppose that makes quite a bit of sense Randidly finally said Then he speechlessly shook his head and gestured for the Rider to lead him With a nod the Rider wheeled around and brought Randidly across the jungle

About three hours later the Rider slowed down and hopped down off of his camel bug Then he carefully began to creep forward With the ominous silence of the Grim Chimera shrouding his body like a cloak Randidly followed after him Twilight was around them seeming to urge them forward with the soft whispers of approaching night

They crested over a low hill and saw a wide and fat river lazily chugging along to their North Along the river there were several elephant like monsters with multiple tusks gathering around a series of pools that bordered closely on the river Some of the elephant creatures were bathing while others seemed to be asleep Randidly looked in askance at his Rider but the Rider shook his head and gestured for Randidly to continue following

As night fell around them they quickly closed in on the large monsters It was only when they were quite a bit closer that Randidly realized there was a narrow crack in the hill below them that fed into the pools and then into the fat river And standing outside of the crack where two tall bird creatures carrying spears

Pausing Randidly watched the two of them closely He had received the description of the myriad monsters that were resisting the expansion of his Riders and these tall bird monsters were some of the most elite troops that the resistance had Although monsters that were basically mutated frog and monkey were the most prevalent the birds were the backbone of the resistance It seemed to Randidly that they were likely related to the appearance of the King

Randidly narrowed his eyes as he looked at the crack There are two probable options The first is that this force is receiving assistance from an outside source to fight against me either the maker of the arrows or the Creature or some other element of the Nexus After talking to Octavius it’s hard to know who all is out to get me On the other hand they could also have finally experienced a mutation based on the prevalent Aether and developed very rapidly over the past few weeks

If it is the powerful supporter theory this might be a trap to draw me out Then it might be better to gather all of my Riders for this battle But if it was just a trap why have a base out here not on the plateau Just so I let down my guard Or was this the location where the outside force might have arrived

Randidly clicked his teeth together Then he reached out with Aether Detection and scanned the area When that turned up nothing Randidly changed his methods Instead of just scanning he sent out drills of Aether shooting outward Even if they couldnÆt pierce through any sort of Aether defenses they would still experience feedback if there was any sort of barrier in the surrounding area blocking RandidlyÆs senses

But as far as he could tell there was nothing

Plus their actions so far havenÆt demonstrated that they are aware that IÆm present Honestly the defenses around my dome are practically nonexistent If the resistance here wanted to strike at me

Randidly rubbed his face furiously for several seconds The Rider looked at him in silent askance Almost helpless Randidly waved a hand and let the aura of the Grim Chimera drop Then he began to walk toward the crack where the guards were standing

No matter how much he thought about it Randidly wouldnÆt be able to figure out what was occurring without either being extremely patient or investigating directly And Randidly had learned his lesson about letting his opponents dictate the terms of their encounters from several painful failures in the past

Plus the first option was much less likely than the second option If a foreign power was truly intervening Randidly believed he would have sensed a trace of foreign Aether But it was only his energy that filled the air

When Randidly materialized out of the darkening night next to the guards they jumped almost two full meters into the air Randidly was honestly rather amused by their jumping ability as they tried to calm themselves He kept his expression neutral and studied the way they moved and the weapons they carried Even though it was slight he couldnÆt help but be interested to see they were using spears

While they were pointing their weapons at him Randidly smiled and said Good evening You can understand me right Please lead me to your leader We have business to discuss

Immediate understanding blossomed in their eyes as well as a strange kind of dread They immediately feared him RandidlyÆs grin became a bit more feral IÆve met monsters with intelligence but by and large they arenÆt willing to negotiate with me at all The Bone Wyrm that became a source for NeveahÆs body was the notable exception Yet these birds

Randidly studied the Aether around their bodies as the guards led Randidly deep within the crack Unfortunately the Aether of the System was still a little too delicate and intricate for Randidly to get the full idea in a short amount of time He could tell they had begun internalizing his Aether but it was hard to see what changes that caused

Within the ground they quickly reached a dozen branching paths Down some Randidly heard the sounds of talking Down others Randidly saw dozens of monsters training with weapons Down even others Randidly could sense the presence of a growing number of foodstuffs Clearly whoever had created this place was preparing for a great war

As they moved deeper RandidlyÆs touch spread to more and more plants They crept downward around the stone passageways a constant invisible companion Furthermore Randidly continued to sweep the surrounding area with Aether But the ground around him remained consistently mundane There didnÆt seem to be any sort of trap ahead of him

Finally they reached a large stone cavern with a tall chair at the other end Randidly was shocked to find that someone was already waiting for him as though they had been able to send word ahead Had they been watched

Or do these monsters have access to the messaging function of the System

Large torches on the wall illuminated the cavern A female bird monster was sitting on the throne with her scaled legs in front of her Although she was not as tall as the guards that had brought Randidly nor did she possess the same vicious claws as the four warriors flanking her Randidly would have recognized her immediately without the accouterments After all his Crown of Upheaval and Gloom hummed in recognition of a kin as soon as their eyes met

This one was a Queen

The leader of the bird monsters opened her beak in what was immediately identifiable as a grim smile I wonder who would be so bold as to march into my territory and demand an audience All of the remaining tribes have been brought under my banner There is no one unaccounted for Yet you didnÆt come riding the black monstrosities so I was curious

However my advisors did point out that there was one central location between the two scourge hives that was treated with great caution With something akin to reverence A residence that we have not had the opportunity to investigate

Her confidence was clear in her tone although it was also clear that she was treading carefully with Randidly The bird monster stepped down off of her throne Her legs were long and slender and extending for almost two thirds of her body In terms of form she reminded Randidly most of a heron Her beak gleamed dully in the low light of the room

My name is Ki Kunot War Priestess of the Silver Wings Now head of the Jungle Survival Crusade And you are master of the scourges

Chuckling Randidly straightened his spine His Crown of Upheaval and Gloom immediately condensed over his head as if it had been there the whole time The pale metal spikes gleamed darkly in the cavern as the flaming torches flickered

But Randidly refrained from releasing his Willpower as an oppressive force in the surrounding air He simply let a fraction of his aura permeate into the cavern as though he were adding droplets of ink into clean water Immediately Ki Kunot stopped smiling It seemed that she was sensitive to the question of Crowns and images

Which means I should handle this more delicately than I had planned Randidly thought with a bit of irritation If not with force how should I deal with this

Randidly blinked slowly At that moment his eyes were completely closed a world exploded before his eyes His whole Soulskill expanded rapidly and then shrunk to nothing in a single heartbeat RandidlyÆs eyes opened This wonÆt be a test to train my power but it will be a chance to reframe the image of my Class so I can heal the damage to it later

I have been known as Progenitor As Figure of the Alpha Cosmos Recently I have become Lord of the Baleful Wood whose Riders you have fought so desperately But I am also the Loyal Benefactor of the Weak Lighthouse of the Boundless Worlds Lodestone of the Black Wanting Lesson for those of Brittle Will and the Longing of the Banished Wind you

Randidly paused and smiled widely at Ki Kunot may call me Randidly Ghosthound I have come to accept the terms of your surrender

Chapter 989

Even without Randidly pumping out some of the many images he could use to pressure Ki Kunot the air around him was heavy In the past few years Randidly had stood on too many battlefields He had faced too many dooms When Randidly made no attempt to suppress that wafting darkness that still clung to him the air around him became humid and sinister When he released a breath his exhale came out as stormy grey mist

In spite of the weird subconscious image Randidly couldnÆt help but be slightly amused Is this truly the figure of a hero Of a King A CEO of a company ItÆs hard to say what I am these days

Although it was almost impossible to pinpoint the moment where he had reached this juncture Randidly could now recognize that it wasnÆt just the Crown that was an oppressive weight on the chest of these monsters that considered him The other part of it was him embracing his growing influence Seize the control that people offered him

Well perhaps influence wasnÆt the right word It was just an inherent quality of his growing stature Randidly Ghosthound cast a long shadow

No matter what Path he took forward Randidly had gathered such political and anecdotal capital on Earth that he couldnÆt escape his own story And that brand became a strange magnetism that could be used to grasp the world and guide it toward his will

unfortunately it would appear that we have very different opinions as to our relative strengths Ki Kunot said gravely Her dark eyes were very solemn as she studied Randidly They methodically examined every exposed inch of him If you believe that we would surrender we have nothing to talk about But I will extend to you the same offer surrender now while your precious scourges still run as rampant as locusts across the countryside By the time we finish with them your power here will be broken Randidly Ghosthound

Our homes have already been destroyed we are at rock bottom In this battle we arenÆt the ones with everything to lose

Randidly blinked Well certainly these fools have more spine than I would have suspected Are they hiding their true fighting forces somewhere else If those four guards she has are truly their elites Or do they truly believe that killing seven Riders was a sign of more things to come I almost feel sorry for these monsters

How could reef sharks recognize a bolt of lightning

From the monsterÆs perspective they might not even be aware that they are currently inside of a Dungeon and being exploited by the System As they were minding their own business suddenly Randidly and his Riders showed up and quickly began harvesting the natural resources available in their home And just as abruptly they discovered a growing clarity to develop ungainly tools to address the situations

But even if Randidly could empathize with their struggles he was not the sort to simply stop in his own plans to right the cruelties of fate Although he was powerful Randidly didnÆt have a god complex he couldnÆt save everyone EveryoneÆs karma was there own Whether this was sowing or reaping for the monsters Randidly would not take their plights onto his shoulders without sufficient payment

let me just say this once Randidly smiled at the broad shouldered guards that were standing around Ki Kunot What youÆve done is very impressive But we both know that your foundations here are relatively unstable And even if you think you can defeat the foes you are currently fighting believe me when I say they are just the tip of the iceberg

But if you surrender to me you will become my people I will protect you and fight for you Your world well there is a lot about your world that you donÆt understand If you agree to my terms IÆll take you out of this closed off area

A Path forward for them was the best Randidly could offer And as he considered how he would now have to manage another force Randidly felt a headache brewing Hopefully they wouldnÆt take as quickly to architecture as the Riders had

But of course this is just a flight of fancy RandidlyÆs gut twitched in distaste With the choice of phrase I employed is there really any chance that this woman would see what IÆm trying to save her from becoming

Ki Kunot regarded Randidly silently for quite a while before she spoke I have something of a sixth sense about liars But you youÆre not a liar are you You truly believe that we will be crushed by your scourges

Yes Randidly said simply For all that it would mean a lot of extra mental stress for me please let my authenticity be enough

Continuing to talk Ki Kunot walked several steps forward until there were only a few meters between her and Randidly Her guards stirred nervously but she waved them back In addition I can tell from your eyes that you believe that even if we would win you truly have no hope that we could defeat what waits beyond this place Even even about yourself you are unsure That is how terrible your foes are that have forced you here

Yes there are certain enemies that I donÆt dare fight right now

Ki Kunot took several more steps Suddenly they were only an armÆs reach away Looking at him she asked We are strong Stronger than you know In exchange for information we could assist you

It wouldnÆt be enough Randidly said softly I donÆt have time to wait for you to grow

In your eyes are we truly so weak Ki KunotÆs gaze turned sharp Then she slowly shook her head Even if you truly believe the danger that awaits us I still cannot surrender to you Nay there is no need to surrender to you at all

You might not understand this but these are my people Ki Kunot spread her arms wide We might not understand the wider world as you said but we know when to stand up for whatÆs right Your scourges are consuming our homes thatÆs not just No matter what boogie monster has you so frightened that you felt it necessary to hide here and recuperate it doesnÆt justify what you are doing So please IÆll ask one last time Surrender to me With your knowledge we can prepare for what is to come You might be right that we are recently evolved to this state but we sure as hell wonÆt stop until we control our own destiny Betting on us would be the best decision of your life

Randidly laughed

The bright light of determination and hope in Ki KunotÆs eyes settled down into grim resignation as she calmly listened to his laughter The two of them were still standing only an arm’s length apart although that distance seemed to stretch into a vast chasm

And in that chasm was RandidlyÆs long shadow It seeped out from him and filled the cracks and corners of the cavern dancing in those dimly lit locations that werenÆt protected by the light of the torches Randidly saw the hands of Ki KunotÆs guards tighten on their weapons as they regarded him with growing hostility

ThereÆs only so much you can do with idealism Randidly said quietly

Ki Kunot huffed out a deep breath And selling out your humanity can only earn you so much Randidly Ghosthound As a show of respect you can leave here peacefully But donÆt expect us to be so merciful again

How strange Randidly reflected Somehow I became the Creature and this valiant heron became the bold defender of humanity And yet now I firmly believe she is wrong even if I would have made the same decision faced with the same choices If I had been born to her Path I would likely have chosen to resist and make a stand here To them I am the ultimate villain

Still I am not the Creature I will not force them to choose to follow my lead

But neither will I let guilt cripple me because they wonÆt demonstrate even the slightest instincts in regard to self preservation

Of course Randidly acknowledged that he wasnÆt giving the monsters much choice in the matter But he didnÆt believe he had much wiggle room either Randidly turned around Fine A word of advice Ki Kunot War Priestess of the Silver Wings DonÆt let early victories go to your head You are deep within the food chain of this System Until you fight your own way out your people will suffer tragedy after tragedy

Oh and one more thing My Riders already know this location By this time tomorrow they will come in force to exterminate you I recommend you vacate this location by then

KI Kunot was silent She gestured sharply and two guards stepped away from the door to open a path for Randidly

As Randidly walked out of the room Ki Kunot spat out one more parting salvo It is the duty of those who wear a Crown to protect Mr Ghosthound I hope your desire to consume never eclipses your duty

Grinning Randidly looked back over his shoulder The almost liquid shadows that had dripped out of Randidly into that shadowy room flowed back into him If you donÆt carefully define who you owe a duty to Miss Ki Kunot the world will bleed you dry

Randidly moved quickly back to his dome and began to work on his forging process even though it was past midnight Strangely the talk with Ki Kunot made him realize a few things about his utilization of Grasp of the Molten Core

As he became more familiar with its ability to manipulate gravity Randidly became more adept at making the distribution of bones in the molten metal truly perfect As the uniformity and pattern in the metal became more exact the overall strength of his alloys improved With Ignition Essence Randidly could easily melt all of the materials down to liquid form But he had eventually hit a plateau in terms of material quality

But somehow this gave him the insight to understand why he had stopped improving recently

What he was quickly learning was that the longer he kept them as a liquid the weaker the final alloy would be The metal attempted to bond with the ground up bones during a drawn out process creating tiny inconsistencies Because Randidly was applying constant heat to keep the materials as a liquid during the process those attachments would be broken creating infinitesimal flaws

But the longer the metals stayed liquid the more of these piled up

Therefore it needed to be as perfect as it could be as quickly as possible

The work tables around him were covered with engraving bracers and ingots With a flick of the finger Randidly used Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil to clear a space and got to work Faster and faster Randidly whirled around his molten metal to form his ingots Then while those ingots were cooling Randidly would form the next batch Then he would test the new ingots let the new ones harden and then begin the next batch

By morning Randidly had created almost a hundred ingots of the highest quality It wasnÆt a perfect process but he was learning how to use his Skills to their limits

It was during just that good mood probably around lunchtime of the next day that the Riders brought Randidly the severed head of Ki Kunot to prove that they had accomplished the task he had set to them

Contrary to his warning the rebels hadnÆt left that base They had simply spent the last twenty four hours of their lives turning that area into an approximation of a fortress Unfortunately for them the deaths amongst the Riders meant that the two Legions grudgingly worked together on the extermination mission When the Riders arrived they were forced to march into a cramped tunnel filled with enemies and traps

Which of course the Riders did so without hesitation They were Riders for the Baleful Court But more than that they had spent the last five months tinkering with traps and construction Nothing that the rebels could manage in this cave system in only twenty four hours had any chance in hell of being able to stop them

Never mistake the result of an ambush for a predictor of what would happen in a direct confrontation Randidly thought as he stared at the bloody head of Ki Kunot Her beak was cracked and oozed blood But still he delicately took it from the Riders who had made the report ThatÆs a lesson I had to learn early And still I often make that mistake I could have taught you that I wanted to teach you But I wouldnÆt force the issue Your life is your own

Randidly dismissed the Riders and promised them a special reward for this But Randidly kept the head in his hands It was so light that it was easy to forget it was there Some part of him regretted taking the head from the Riders but another knew it was the right decision

Strangely Randidly knew he had more to say to it Although lessons meant nothing to the dead that didnÆt mean it meant nothing for Randidly to try and impart those lessons

Perhaps it is a harder thing than I thought to steel myself for the lives we destroy as we reach for enough power that we in turn are not destroyed Randidly raised his hand and touched his chest Then he shook his head and hefted the skull of Ki Kunot

Is this what I looked like to the Creature Well is this how the Creature thought I would end Randidly said aloud

The dead head didnÆt answer Sighing Randidly shifted his grip to the beak and carried it outside into the warm glow of the sun A sliver of Mana created a root shaped like a shover piercing up out of the ground Randidly took it and considering the surrounding area Finally he settled on a spot near to the stone monolith and began to dig

What makes us different except luck Randidly asked the air He stuck his shovel in the dirt tossed the loosened soil to the side and then repeated the process In the face of his single minded determination the ground slowly gave way If the Creature had been less interested in seeing how I would grow if the Creature had conspired to put me in a Dungeon with someone less exemplary than Shal if I had made a single mistake in dozens of situations if Aegiant had just dived into the pool of lava to kill me