LoRG 2

Best leave that to the professionals however Randidly was here to finally see what the upper crust lived like After all for all the months he had spent here he had never been actually into the nearby city of Tonna It was a Tier II city which meant it couldnÆt rival the East and West Providences but neither was it a border city People with power would be here if just in passing for the charity dinner

It was apparently a big ordeal So big that they had invited celebrities

Luckily Tia and her new fiancee Randidly Ghosthound were forced to cancel After all the news was reporting that Senator Firefly was the subject of a kidnapping attempt and only through the heroic actions of Randidly was he able to escape

Honestly the thought of criminals trying to get past Neveah to strike at someone was somewhat amusing There were some rumors floating around that the methods Randidly Ghosthound had used in the defense of Senator Firefly were brutal to say the least However no pictures surfaced and as such the statement didnÆt make much of a dent in the public consciousness

But still Randidly felt a thin jolt of pity When Neveah fought she was absolutely vicious

Sirs and madam we are here The driver announced

Annoyed Henrik looked up from his small laptop What Oh yes the dinner Well I suppose it canÆt be helped Come on in

They got out of the car Randidly glanced at Tatiana who was looking up at the building with tight lips It was a tall building in RandidlyÆs opinion but that was because it was at least 20 stories Buildings like that didnÆt survive in Zone 32 outside of Franksburg Will you be alright being here

Yes but it might get a little ugly She gave Randidly a toothy grin I hope you donÆt mind if I use your reputation a bit tonight I have a feeling my partner will be exquisitely disappointed to find he missed the chance to get an introduction to Baloo Erickson drone maker

Randidly reached up and gripped TatianaÆs upper arm As he did so his eyes burned into hers ItÆs not a big deal but be careful I tried to warn you before There will be a fallout around me eventually I wonÆt stay as a drone maker forever The more you are implicated with me

Tatiana stepped up on her tiptoes and kissed him

This was very very different from the last time a woman surprised Randidly with a kiss Tia was a child basically Tatiana was a woman and very good at kissing

It was light and purposeful and it left Randidly burning Tatiana pulled away and smiled up at him

How implicated am I now Baloo Erickson

Mrs Hamilton coughed lightly She knew the girl heard her entry into their strange cathedral but manners were a fiction that two people indulged in to make it work One of KierstyÆs followers stepped towards Mrs Hamilton with a glare but his expression faltered into something more respectful when he saw who it was

Ah Mrs Hamilton Regretfully the Priestess is currently in the midst of preparations for a great ritual I will let you know when she finishes and I have no doubt she will contact you immediately

I believe sheÆs finishing up now Mrs Hamilton said with a soft smile It was a strange thing manners They dictated that she must speak with him but Mrs Hamilton knew there was no point in doing so his words would soon become irrelevant So it suddenly became about power

Mrs Hamilton felt very tired dealing with the man She needed a vacation Maybe she should head down to Franksburg for a spa day

Unfortunately The follower started to say his expression darkening but he was interrupted

Ha How did you know I was almost done ItÆs fine Sarran let her pass Kiersty said walking over towards Mrs Hamilton

Mrs Hamilton just smiled

It was those little weavers eh Gossipy for spiders Kiersty said shaking her head with a rueful expression Well I suppose it isnÆt a secret Arbor is going to transform soon we believe Something big Even Arbor doesnÆt know whatÆs going to happen HeÆs super nervous Before the Ghosthound handled everything and now that he gets to choose

Kiersty stopped mid sentence and shouted over towards several workers correcting one of their mistakes Whereas the cathedral had previously just been a spot in the forest surrounded by weaver webbing now the followers of Arbor were making grand pillars in a semicircle Then they created staircases and three levels attached to the grand pillars The weavers then came and draped the entire thing in silk hiding the true shape of the building But still the followers of Arbor worked at the direction of Kiersty More and more architecture was thrown up within the strange mass of spider silk

At this point even Mrs Hamilton was mystified at what they were making underneath it all And that was saying something

Mrs Hamilton turned and regarded the young girl Even though she was probably nearing 13 Kiersty was still clearly a child At first Mrs Hamilton had put Kiersty as one of the high risk individuals within Donnyton Growing up with people living by your every word has a tendency to warp people

But it seemed she had underestimated the power of the relationship the girl had with Arbor Although everyone saw Kiersty as the source she saw Arbor That helped her avoid any damage to her integrity That and her own innocence But how long would that last

So what did you want to talk to me about Kiersty asked after she had finished

Mrs Hamilton smiled She did like how efficient the girl was when it didnÆt have to do with her rituals IÆm not sure you recall but we agreed to offer a planting of Arbor to any who would unite in our pursuit of the so called Undying Hero Star Crossing has of course sent aid and their current planting should receive more energy if possible But to our surprise East End is also moving I was told by Sydney herself that she would personally move

Kiersty considered that kicking at the grass It was somewhat brown now having been shielded from the sun by the spider silk But it was still a suitable distraction Mrs Hamilton didnÆt press the girl

well I don’tÆ see why not Arbor would like making new friends too ItÆs just

mm

Kiersty looked up at Mrs Hamilton and her eyes were deep and dangerous like a vicious riptide Being so connected to a strange plant creature was not without side effects The Refuge is supporting the Undying Hero right Secretly And East End was founded by someone else who was close with the Undying Hero before he died the first time right

That is correct But I think there was a falling out towards the end Mrs Hamilton said amused How much did Kiersty know Probably everything that Arbor could know Could it listen through its plantings Interesting

But it was one of her men that revived the Undying Hero Kiersty pointed out IsnÆt this just a trap What if she moves and helps him escape

ThatÆs possible but I think unlikely Mrs Hamilton said simply

Kiersty looked up at her curiously and at that moment she was just a 12 year old girl again Why

As humans we chase the wondrous and settle for the predictable Mrs Hamilton said slowly She could hear in her head the soft click of mandibles It was the sound of a grey spider testing the tremors on its web ItÆs a cultural thing The occurrence of each ebbs and flows When she revived the Undying Hero it was a predictable act Helping out an old friend

Mrs Hamilton turned and looked at the horizon Now I suspect that Sydney Harp will chase something more enthralling Something more dangerous

Again Kiersty shifted and there was something ancient next to her Her pale grey eyes were almost hollow And when she spoke she saw through right to the core of it Ah You think she now moves to face her own fears Is that truly such a wondrous act

Mrs Hamilton smiled

Chapter 563

The first thought Randidly had when he walked in was that the lights were too low Normally this wouldnÆt be a problem at all for him his Perception meant his gaze focused at a speed that changes in lighting barely affected him It would need to be pitch black for him to be blind But the rest of the guests didnÆt share his Stats and therefore there was a cluster of people right outside the elevator who were blinking uncertainly as they walked onto the top floor to see the venue

Snorting Randidly grabbed TatianaÆs hand and pulled her through the press of bodies to walk out into down the hallway and onto the rooftop bar It also was a nice reason to ditch Henrik Randidly had no doubt the other man would track him down sometime but it would be a brief break that Randidly sorely needed

If that man asked one more question about the functions of the drones

The second thing that Randidly thought was that aside from Senator FireflyÆs ballroom this was the nicest place he had ever been

The tables were sleek and dark on the rooftop lit by small candles in the middle of glass containers blown to look just like a flame It gave the lighting a primitive feel but the base of the tables was heavy mahogany There was a weight to everything that was slightly surprising

All around people who had arrived earlier glanced up at Randidly and TatianaÆs entrance Very quickly most of them looked away no one recognized the duo A few of the menÆs gazes lingered with some hint of lust but they too looked away more quickly than Randidly would have expected But then again every woman at this party was beautiful Perhaps

Then Randidly shook his head and bit his lip Thinking along those lines was incredibly shallow and he felt slightly guilty for reducing Tatiana to just her looks But Randidly supposed that was just the kind of place this was A place where all that mattered was power and sex

Ignoring most of the people Randidly let go of TatianaÆs hand and walked to the edge of the balcony The city spread out below them glittering and bustling When he had arrived Randidly had looked around and could find no traces of poverty in the city limits Although he had been hustled straight to a relatively well to do part of the city it still made him uneasy

Because below amongst the lights the poor were working to service the rich Restaurants were humming with activity the manatech rail system continued to operate well through the night But these homes This was a place for the upper class

Randidly sighed He understood why he had previously wanted to come here But being here he was immediately reminded that around power there was rot and sloth It would undoubtedly be much harder to find information than he would like But still he needed to make an attempt

It would just be a long night

When Thaddeus Hatch walked out of the elevator with a bored expression on his face he immediately detected that something was wrong

Tables at events like these were a matter of status There wasnÆt an assigned seating per se but they inevitably became arranged by the hierarchy of power amongst people as the night went on Traditionally people would mingle and talk until someone with clout arrived and arrange themselves around that person They were generally a guest of honor and would signal that the coy banter part of the night was over and business could begin to happen

Thaddeus had been to a dozen or so such events in his time in Zone 1 they all unfolded the same way It was only an hour after the charity event had started they havenÆt even moved to the banquet hall yet Most people should be clustered around the elevators or at the bar People should be faking pleasure and offering each other manufactured smiles The knives shouldnÆt emerge for another hour

Or at least they should wait until he arrived The political forces should marshall themselves around him After all Thaddeus Hatch was the guest of honor

It was pride speaking Thaddeus knew But it was earned In Zone 1 he was a legend The man who was Level 49 although freshly so He was the Spartan Shock Trooper the most powerful of Zone 1Æs four heroes

Three now Thaddeus amended mentally as he walked forward The initial forays into the borderlands were unforgiving and two of the four had died Only one individual of merit had risen to join Thaddeus and the Hyper Pilot at the top of the pile And that man was basically just chosen to fill out numbers and inspire hope

No in all of Zone 1 Thaddeus was confident he was the most powerful Classer Which meant he was the most powerful of anyone Well perhaps Zone 32 possessed its own warriors of a similar caliber But how would of any of them arrive at this puny charity function

Calmly Thaddeus walked forward through the empty hallway to the tension filled balcony He was not angry of course but was rather pleased The only reason that he had come to this thing was due to the insistence of his sister Now that it appeared someone else had taken center stage he would have some time of anonymity before he was inevitably recognized

As he walked onto the balcony Thaddeus was amused to see that not a single table was unoccupied It mattered little people would move when they saw him A quick glance gave him the lay of the room rather quickly It seemed that West Providence had set up shop near the edge of the balcony overlooking the city The hardline Citizenship Tier party remained near the bar snappish and angry that the relatively lower Tiered scientists believed they could dictate the seating The moderates and military personnel filled the middle space while celebrities hired to entertain walked through the press of bodies and tried to ease the tension

Thaddeus grinned Curious

He arrived at the bar and ordered a drink The bartender took a step back when he spotted Thaddeus but Thaddeus just put a finger against his lips Very quickly the man got the idea Good Thaddeus wasnÆt above sneaking away and breaking the manÆs jaw for ruining his fun

Intrigued by the strange standoff on the balcony Thaddeus turned back to the group of people and focused on his Enhanced Awareness Skill Immediately the discussions became more understandable and distinct

Honestly I think the bartender was hitting on

Taxes ItÆs about taxes The refugees donÆt have money so

What is this charity event for anyway

but the performance Gentlemen these drones will revolutionize

ThatÆs her over there in the shimmery dress The fool doesnÆt know when to take a hint

IÆll see you later tonight

Your drink sir

With a smile Thaddeus took the drink from the bartender and turned back to the people Most of the conversations were trash but there was one that had an edge of excitement that intrigued him It was the one about the drones and when Thaddeus focused he recognized the speaker a man named Henrik who was an important researcher in the drone initiative Based on some of the people standing around him too he was the one who started the seating All were arrayed around him Curiouser and curious er

Thaddeus would not have expected that man to make such a bold act But perhaps the desperate straits of the drone initiative prompted him to do so Sales were not good because the products were subpar Until they could give a drone worth a damn people would continue to lose support for it for all that it brought jobs into regions that were struggling economically And where the drone initiative was doubted so too was Ghost himself

It was politically awkward for the Citizenship hardliners because their arguments were based upon GhostÆs value but they would dearly love the drone initiative to fail But Thaddeus supposed it was a bland if understandable explanation that Henrik was here and started the seating in order to spread the word of whatever small success they had experienced

Feeling disappointed but curious Thaddeus focused his senses in HenrikÆs direction

The vanity of the rich mostly But I believe the charity associated with Thaddeus cut out the people speaking behind Henrik and focused in on him

I donÆt want to overstate its success it needs to be tested in the field Henrik said but his eyes were bright and the man was sweating from excitement But our projections have it as an extremely efficient bit of machinery Against monsters below Level 40 I have no doubts it will perform splendidly

Bah so what Another man said He was a military man by his look but not one that Thaddeus had worked with Someone low ranked then The problem was never making a powerful robot it was making something that was dependable With high Vitality scores people are even cheaper to rely on than machines Plus they can grow Why switch to drones now A misguided effort

There were mutters of agreement from others but Henrik just chuckled

Bah these are more than a replacement for soldiers Even our strongest soldiers the three that you military men worship have their limits Sure those three are strong enough to defeat one of the drones but how about 10 20 100 These are able to be produced at a scale and speed that people canÆt match And they are expendable I dare say the blueprints for these drones are far more valuable than even the Spartan Shock Trooper

There was a sound of tinkling glass Still grinning like a madman Thaddeus looked down almost surprised to discover that he had squeezed until the glass shattered His hands were unharmed obviously

He looked back up at the silent crowd who all turned to face him Mildy he said Oh Tell me more Dr Henrik

Chapter 564

To his credit Dr Henrik only blinked once before he answered Oh Sir Hatch I hadnÆt noticed youÆd arrived I didnÆt mean to say you are not valuable only

I believe what you are trying to say has been made abundantly clear Thaddeus said calmly He began to walk slowly forward IÆm curious however How many Raid Bosses have these new drones been able to kill consecutively

None Henrik replied brightly excitement still clear in his voice But we have high hopes

Ah a prototype then Thaddeus said with a smile He walked forward and the crowd of people parted Instantly people began to shift the stronger ones following closer to him the weaker making way This was the way of things

Honestly as Thaddeus strolled calmly towards Henrik he had to admire the man Warrior he was not but he blithely ignored ThaddeusÆ focused attention To do that required some Levels to be sure And he didnÆt break as Thaddeus calmly joined the man at his table If anything he seemed more excited

Mr Hatch would you like to see the projected data that Ghost had complied I believe

That wonÆt be necessary Thaddeus said simply looking around After all we are here for a charity dinner correct Why donÆt we get things started

And so at ThaddeusÆ words they began to move

By the end of the night Thaddeus wasnÆt exhausted but he was simply so bored that apathy had settled over him It was difficult to even smile or ask one more inane question of the imbeciles that surrounded him As soon as everything was officially called to an end Thaddeus slipped away took a service stairwell down several floors and walked out onto a fire escape

Feeling slightly nostalgic Thaddeus produced a cigarette and lit it up It reminded him of home and of the time before the System Not that Thaddeus would want to return to the nameless individual he was then but he did miss playing Halo with his friends

Voices from the alley below distracted Thaddeus and his expression darkened It was a nice daydream he was having and he did not appreciate it being interrupted by more fools After all he recognized the voices below it was the conversation about what the charity event was for

Do you regret going The woman asked looking at the man beside her Looking at them Thaddeus was somewhat confused She was stunning with long legs and a revealing dress Meanwhile the man

Just looked average Without even the feeble trappings that money could buy His hair was brown and he had something of a belly that even his suit couldnÆt hide

No I did learn a lot The man said rubbing his chin Then he sighed and shook his head Troop movements news from the borderlands rumblings about abuses in the Unity Church It confirmed a lot But I was hoping I would learn something that would give me the direction I wanted But I suppose thatÆs too simple So for now

The man paused Then he frowned

Thaddeus felt it too at that moment The trail of electromagnetic energy over his skin The lights of the building fizzled and went dark Hissing Thaddeus straightened on the fire escape Another assassination attempt They had considered postponing it after Senator Firefly was attacked but many thought it was just some rogue faction in the refugees he housed Could it really be

But no it was only on the lower floors Localized

Then the doors to the alley opened and a group of men walked out and Thaddeus sighed dramatically settling back down Truly he grew agitated just for this

The man in the new group gestured sharply They were wearing night vision goggles We must move quickly We have only 20 or so seconds

Then he paused You should not have come back Tatiana

IÆm not trying to The woman began to speak incensed but the man next to her waved a hand

Did they really knock out GhostÆs cameras in the area That makes this much easier

Who do you think The lead man began but then he stopped Because his group of 6 individuals armed with stun batons and stealth exosuits ran forward and were stopped dead by that average looking man

When the first assailant ran forward the man had stepped forward and grabbed the wrist of the attacker ThaddeusÆ eyes widened In this darkness he could do that so quickly Even his own eyes were just becoming accustomed to the darkness

But the man didnÆt stop there He stepped forward and headbutted the assailant shattering his helmet and sending him staggering His left hand flashed forward and smashed the side of his head knocking him senseless His right hand let go of that manÆs wrist and snatched a plasma pistol out of a holster at that manÆs side

Immediately the other attackers froze and then reached for their own guns But the average man was already firing The plasma bolt took another attacker in the chest but the heat resistant armor held against the projectile It was as the attackers were bringing their pistols to bare that the average man clicked his tongue and fired again Three times

What a cheap piece of trash The average man said with a shake of his head He dropped the melted plasma pistol which had shorted out from being flooded with Mana too dense for it to handle But the three shots had hit one attacker at the knee another at the shoulder and the third had lost most of his hand All were on the ground leaving only two attackers and a shocked man standing

Four seconds had passed Thaddeus couldnÆt tear his eyes from the fight below He felt something in his chest Something he hadnÆt encountered in a long time Something that gripped his throat and lungs

The final two attackers shot their pistols The average man waved his hand and simply knocked the plasma away When the man stepped forward distance meant nothing He appeared to simply kick but the last two were slammed backward into the wall of the alley whimpering

The bright lights of the plasma left glowing trails of blindness in ThaddeusÆ eyes It surely had looked like the man simply knocked the plasma aside but that was

You The man who appeared to have orchestrated the attack said with a gasp You Tatiana how did you

Hollar you are a fool Tatiana said with a sigh Then she shrugged I no longer require a partner It is a little late but IÆve decided to take my considerable business acumen elsewhere You understand right And while IÆm in town I plan to take my portion of our profits As well as all the girls that I trained

You The man was glaring now and he took a step backward and triggered something in his wristwatch An exosuit a powersuit sprang into being and settled around his frame It was a huge thing with heavy armor and plasma cannons around his arms IÆll make you pay

The average man stepped forward seemed to consider then thrust his fingers into the closing space on the exosuit where it hadnÆt yet locked into place on his chest Then the man pulled

There was a moment where nothing happened Then Thaddeus heard the keening of agonized metal before the torso portion of the exosuit was simply ripped off the manÆs body This portion contained the energy cell so the metal on the manÆs body was simply dead weight He trembled and then began to collapse

What

The average man punched the exosuit wearer knocking him out The man slumped to the side but the metal arms pressed into the ground and kept him standing The metal glittered from lights down the alley from a nearby street

11 seconds Thaddeus was sweating now He could have perhaps beaten those assailants without armor That wasnÆt so impressive But could he have deflected plasma Could he have ripped an exosuit in half with his bare hands Who was this

Hang on we need to move The average man said grimly

Gotcha But I was being serious We should stop at an atm before we leave

Hmm

The average man put his arm around womanÆs weight and seemed to shimmer for a moment The suffocation in ThaddeusÆ chest grew more powerful The air seemed to be thickening starting with that man Then he simply jumped

The concrete couldnÆt withstand the force of his ascent and cracked Still the man shot upwards the woman yelping as she was dragged along

Thaddeus looked up He couldn’t breathe The strange impossibly powerful man was going to pass only feet away from the spot where Thaddeus was hiding

Hiding Thaddeus stopped at the thought When did he hide

But still as the sonic boom of the manÆs passage smashed the air Thaddeus took a step backward deeper into the shadows Whoever this was there was no need to confront him here In fact it was better to remain anonymous With his identity concealed Thaddeus could gather information and later

The blur of bodies passed ThaddeusÆ position At that moment Thaddeus looked up

That strange shimmering had continued until the average manÆs body was almost completely hidden from his view There seemed to be ripples in the air that masked him But there were two features of the man he could see

The first was the eyes They were baleful and a deep emerald The seemed to burn in ThaddeusÆ vision

The second feature was a finger Illuminated only by the ominous light from the manÆs eyes the finger was held aloft and meant for Thaddeus It was pressed to the manÆs lips

Take this secret to your grave

Then the man was gone carrying the woman Thaddeus felt the impact as the man kicked off the building above launching himself up and away Sitting back Thaddeus began panting He knew this emotion

It was suffocating fear

Four seconds later the lights flickered back on

Chapter 565

Tatiana stumbled when they finally stopped Her heart was pounding How the hell were they moving so fucking fast At one point Tatiana had felt the air solidify around them as though as though they were about to break the sound barrier They had slowed immediately afterward but Tatiana had a strange impression that it wasnÆt because Viking couldnÆt go that fast but rather he didnÆt think that she could handle it

After he had leaped up and launched themselves off a skyscraper Viking had calmly landed and began stepping with such speed that they were quickly whisked off into darkness Trees blurred as they streaked past And it didnÆt even seem like Viking was breaking a sweat

The other thing she noticed on their journey was that Viking was avoiding the typical drone patrol routes Tatiana had investigated them thoroughly so she could protect the girls at the compound but it seemed that Viking knew them even more intimately

When they stopped Tatiana needed several seconds to recover herself Then she looked up at Viking And then blinked

There was something different about him They were standing in the darkness but she could see him in profile Or believed it was him The figure in front of her seemed distinctly different from the Viking that she remembered Taller yes but also sharper somehow and more dangerous Inwardly Tatiana had to remind herself that he was an engineer more than anything else He wasnÆt WasnÆt

But he was more than that wasnÆt he He could grab plasma out of the air He defeated HollarÆs goons in less than ten seconds He

The figure stepped forward and Tatiana stilled This was not Viking

Sorry about that it was a little rough The figure said scratching his ear In the darkness his features were still blurry Except for his eyes which burned emerald But once it started

The figure trailed off Before Tatiana could understand what was going on two figures appeared out of the darkness One of them was Tykes the other was Bruya All Tatiana saw was a slight frown on BruyaÆs face and there was a rush of air The figure took another step and suddenly it was Viking next to her He spared her a quick smile and then he turned to Dinesh

Any change

None Dinesh replied Viking nodded

Alright Thank you for the wonderful night despite the ending Tatiana But now I need to go

Tatiana smiled in spite of herself You were dozing off for half of it donÆt lie

Viking winced The man wearing the mask of Viking winced Was the entirety of Baloo Erickson a facade Yea well I suppose cocktail parties arenÆt my thing

Then the man who was a man who she thought she knew was off into the darkness But he was a fake Probably Likely

Typical

Before they attacked the base Randidly paused and focused on his Skills The Lava Golem Skill was extremely useful as both an attention sink and as a tactical existence But the problem was that much of the commands it could understand were general It would fight where he directed and as he directed It seemed that it had a template of combat experience that was based on his own

But the problem with that was that the Lava Golem was not Randidly in both good and bad ways It did not have the deft utilization of the spear that he had Meanwhile he was essentially indestructible because his body was made of molten metal Physically he could rip through the opposition with just his heat and Strength in a way Randidly would never attempt

So Randidly focused on his Skills and considered the shape of Lava Golem inside of himself He felt its energies and vibrations inside of himself Then after he used Plant Dominance to clear a small cave to hide the light he summoned a Lava Golem

The thing pulled itself up out of the ground a humanoid composed of pure lava Very rapidly the heat in the cave rose However to a Randidly who had both Chosen of Fire and Fire Resistance the heat meant little He peered at the creation with a powerful intensity They were bonded by Mana and Randidly reached out and pressed with his Willpower to seize control of that bond The binding trembled but did not shift

Randidly frowned and pushed harder Then he poured more Mana into it but the Mana simply splashed and trembled in the air The construct he had created wasnÆt able to handle the increased Mana and it simply went to waste Annoyed Randidly kicked the dirt

Mana behaved too much like water for this to work It flowed into the path of least resistance When it was shaped it also provided power but it had no substance for him to seize on After a pause RandidlyÆs gaze towards the Lava Golem intensified If Mana wouldnÆt work then

Aether was much much easier to manipulate than Mana and it snaked towards the Lava Golem At first it swirled around the construct as if unsure of what to do But then Randidly focused and it stabbed into the Lava GolemÆs body For a second nothing happened

Then the Lava Golem began to tremble

Congrat

Congratul

Congratulations your

Congratulations You have created the Skill Blessing of a Avatar Lvl 1 Would you like to learn this Skill Y/N

Randidly blinked The Lava Golem was trembling harder now its body positively buzzing with the Aether that had been thrust into it On its surface the molten rock began to bubble

Initially Randidly reached to press no It sounded like an interesting Skill but it would take up one of his remaining Skill slots and it had a very specific application Setting aside the strange blanks an Avatar generally was a physical manifestation of some greater entity Likely it also allowed Randidly to have the control over his minions that he desired But at the same time how often would he use such a Skill

The bubbling grew more pronounced as Randidly paused

The worst part was that he wouldnÆt be able to see the details of the Skill unless he chose to learn it There were perhaps other benefits it was a Legendary Skill after all but without knowing them Randidly didnÆt think it was wise to spend one of his slots on this Skill After all controlling minions was useful but ultimately his own body was the ultimate weapon for him Having Avatars seemed unnecessary

But as Randidly reached to press no he felt something inside of him tremble The Skill Weaver of the Threads of Fate activated It wavered subtly pressing against him Taking this Skill was a good idea it seemed to suggest Frowning Randidly considered the feeling

There was a danger suggested that felt present Did this mean this attack on the base would be much easier with this Skill But the suggestion from the Threads of Fate was such a nebulous thing perhaps

Randidly moved his finger farther towards the No The feeling of imminent danger grew stronger Randidly gained a Level in the Skill He sighed theatrically How far would this push it he wondered

He moved his finger closer and abruptly he was sweating The air seemed to be screaming at him It was like a radio had just come into focus and suddenly Randidly could see a fraction of the distant future This Skill was vital Without it

Still it irked him The whole concept of the Skill irked Randidly That it could shape his growth was frustrating A part of Randidly just seemed to sigh at the weight of it all For the first time in a long time due to this strange Skill Randidly felt afraid It was an existential fear like without this Skill his chosen Path will amount to nothing So RandidlyÆs hand shifted towards the Yes

But there was another part of Randidly one that he had learned from Shal It was the part of him that enabled him to persist despite the fact that he was alone in a Dungeon when the System arrived It let him fight and fight and fight and struggle when Shal threw him into an otherworldly prison where time blurred It let Randidly form a Skill able to match one of the most powerful people in ShalÆs world if only for a moment

Randidly paused and moved his finger back to the No He would not learn this Skill His instincts screamed against him His finger moved forward It moved forward until the trembling in his body held him still He would die If he pressed this the Weaver of Fate screamed he would die There would be terrible consequences He couldnÆt Honestly he physically couldnÆt His very being fought against him going along with the will of the Skill

Fuck you Randidly said Instinctively he activated Indomitable Will of Yggdrasil Then he formed a claw of Aether and ripped the offending Skill to shreds

Chapter 566

It hurt It hurt more than anything had ever hurt To compare the pain from being eaten alive in the Dungeon by acid on that first day was to compare a seed to a tree But Randidly was a very different individual than he had been in the beginning

His eyes were cold mint taking on a strangely blue tint as Aether flooded through him washing away the Skill that dictated what he could and could not do All the while more and more Aether poured into Indomitable Will of Yggdrasil as it burned with intensity

For sacrificing a Skill PP will be consumed to refund the Skill 4 PP will be consumed

Randidly let out a gasp as his finger surged forward and hit No denying the Skill

Sighing Randidly settled back on his haunches to regain a bit of composure But Indomitable Will of Yggdrasil continued to whirl He felt it crack under the strain and Aether surged to fill the space

Congratulations Your skill Indomitable Will of Yggdrasil has evolved into the Deific Mien of Yggdrasil Levels will be retained Warning the transformation of the Skill is incomplete More insight into the nature of the Skill will be necessary before the Rarity can be updated

HIssing Randidly fell farther back until he was sitting on his butt He felt something on his chest A chain seemed to wrap around him binding his new Skill in place Roaring Randidly smashed at the chain with everything he had But it held blithely ignoring his indignation Randidly gathered himself and smashed at it again but nothing happened

Because Randidly realized it was not simply a mental chain It had a lock on it

More insight into the nature of the Skill will be necessary

As he straightened he let it all go cutting off the flow of Aether in his body with a sigh Well at least he had rid himself of this strange force that had attempted to dictate his movements When he looked up Randidly realized with a flash of guilt that most of the Lava Golem had fucking evaporated and only a thin skeleton like figure was remaining

With the Aether no longer running through it the body of it slowly began to recover producing more lava And strangely Randidly realized that he could reach out with his will and touch it Control it It raised its hand as he pressed moving each finger in turn

One problem solved Randidly thought with a smile He simply had to sear a path for his will into the golems with Aether

But then RandidlyÆs mood turned more serious

Before the Rarity can be updated it had said Did that mean

Beyond Legendary The final key to the lock on humanity

All that will come later Æ Randidly thought calming himself down It was a strange little binding that had briefly afflicted him But he ripped it apart and now it was time to rip this base to shreds to work off a little more of the fury he felt

As Dinesh had told him this base was much larger than the previous ones And better defended too As they approached Randidly felt a strange thinness to the air that gave him pause

Dinesh noticed and gave him a half smile Ionized air There are a lot of generators powering this thing

Hmm Randidly grunted in response moving closer to the base

It was less hidden than the others and seemed to be a rather large logging camp from before the System arrived The walls were covered in growth enough to indicate that the place was abandoned even while the gates remained shut with a very shiny lock

WhatÆs the plan Dinesh asked Tykes remained mostly silent rubbing his knuckles as the three of them looked at the base Randidly grinned and felt his will flow along the lines of Aether he had burned into the Lava Golem The thing dug its way forward slowly approaching the edge of the camp

Give me a few seconds Randidly said moving the Lava Golem forward The other two nodded and focused their attention on their own preparations

On and on Randidly pressed with the Lava Golem moving it forward Not that he thought himself incapable of taking on the base’s defenses but he would prefer that the attention got focused on the Lava Golem rather than himself After they had split from Tatiana Bruya had adjusted his illusion to match that of the previous attack Perhaps it would cause a panic but Randidly was counting on that

However the panic he wanted was not among the normal populace It was among those who had created these facilities Randidly would make sure that with this attack he would crush every shred of these strange organ harvesters that he could locate Afterward Randidly would pay more attention to the news to watch for any information on who could be involved But for now

The figure of molten lava burst out of the ground right in front of the base Without pausing at all the Lava Golem ripped through the chain link fence and pressed forward The air around it warped as heat wafted upwards from the figure As it moved however there was very little noise There was only the strange tinkling of the fence as it was ripped in twain

Immediately something in the base shifted Two turrets lifted off of the roof with the smooth efficiency of a computer operated system and aimed at the Lava Golem

RandidlyÆs grin widened When he pressed with his will it almost felt like he was the Lava Golem working through the Aether to be it Was this what the Avatar Skill would have given him Why did his other Skill think it was so important

Through the connection of Aether Randidly also had some small sense of the Perception the Lava Golem had It wasnÆt much In fact it was more distracting than helpful above ground where RandidlyÆs senses were much sharper and more reliable On the other hand the Lava Golem had a sense of touch on the Earth that was far beyond RandidlyÆs And based upon the shaking that the Lava Golem felt friends were coming Quickly

They were rail guns but only the lower bore from previous iterations Randidly was glad to note It would be a very bad sign if these people had the weapons he had designed for Ghost Perhaps it was simply a matter of installing them as it had only been a week or two since he had created the Pterodactyl as a proof of concept for his runic language But it did reassure Randidly a little that trusting Ghost with these tools wasnÆt a mistake

Still they were dangerous even to the Lava Golem If the projectiles hit it that is

The Lava Golem moved smoothly forward It was not graceful per se but it certainly didnÆt trip over its own feet as Randidly controlled it The two railgun turrets each fired twice and the Lava Golem moved to the side ducked and leaped It landed on the roof with the first turret with a crash Very quickly the stone and plaster of the roofing began to melt revealing the military grade metal underneath A swipe of its hand ripped the first turret beyond recognition but it did give the other time to fire two more shots

They went wide but by the time the Lava Golem had crossed to the other guard building and destroyed it hatches in the ground were opening Black exosuits a lot like the one that had struck from the lake sprang up First 10 then 20 then 50 all swarming out

Even Randidly was taken somewhat aback Especially when he realized that another 100 had emerged from other locations in the area This was clearly meant to be a trap

Randidly laughed out loud Looks like they were prepared for us There will be more than enough to go around Everyone have their illusions in place

Dinesh and Tykes nodded as their bodies trembled and then became other people Nondescript normal individuals Dinesh looked like a female traffic cop while Tykes had the long legged grace of an Olympic sprinter

Before the ambushing group could close the distance Randidly cast Lava Golem three more times He wouldnÆt use Aether to break these in for himself but they would still follow basic commands Besides the Lava Golem was practically invincible amongst those people who didnÆt use Skills As Randidly had found out all that time ago physical attacks do very little unless the core is destroyed In addition the plasma weapons they used were primarily heat based they would be almost useless

And the Lava Golems Randidly created now were by far more powerful than those of the Patron of Ash

As the first exosuit rushed out of the base with a raised plasma rifle RandidlyÆs main Lava Golem simply tackled the other smashing them to the ground Almost instantly the person inside was writhing in agony as the metal melted and their flesh began to burn away With a sharp gesture Randidly used the Lava GolemÆs powerful Strength to drive its fist into the skull of the other killing him instantly

LetÆs begin Randidly said calmly

Chapter 567

Hank watched as Alana considered the land before them

ItÆs a trap Dozer rumbled calmly Alana chuckled but said nothing

Before them lay the borderlands And not just the borderlands but it was the borderlands that lay directly between the two Zones The path previously uncovered was a path out of the Northwest of one Zone to the Northeast of the other But as the surrounding area was slowly pushed back that path was moving Southward

At least in theory As it was no one had really explored that area as far as Hank could tell The people of Zone 32 were too busy and the people of Zone 1 didnÆt even care They barely put much thought into the diplomacy aspect of HankÆs mission They seemed content to just keep him and his party there in order to keep an open channel of communication and to watch for any strange movement of troops

Perhaps that was the reason he went with the group to hunt the Undying Hero that had committed an obvious murder and then fled West It was the right thing surely but also

Hank had grown restless There was a wildness in the air that he felt now after his Soul Skill changed He had a sense of endless adventure in the world around him

His father had beaten his sense of duty into Hank But what about his duty to the wider world Surely if he owed a debt to his country he owed a larger debt to his world Therefore it made sense that

His watch beeped derailing his train of thought and attracting a glance from Alana and Dozer Hank smiled lightly

Pardon me seems I have a call

When he picked up he was surprised that it was a female voice on the other end of the line And what she said

HankÆs eyes widened

What the fuck is Alan

They were numerous but they were weak The exosuits gave them almost superhuman strength and reaction time but compared to Randidly compared to Tykes compared to Dinesh

These were just children

Even though Randidly wasnÆt able to use his spear for fear of being associated with his actual identity his fire based spells were more than enough to destroy clumps and he was so much more physically dominant than any who came close to him that they were ripped to shreds Even with numbers they didnÆt possess anything that could damage RandidlyÆs group

So they died

The lumber yard was now pitted and marred and charred to a completely unrecognizable state His spells had ripped through both the opposition and the outside of the compound So while the lessor golems Dinesh and Tykes mopped up the remnants of the exosuit users Randidly descended into the darkness

The innards of this facility were a lot like the one he had visited previously on a larger scale Randidly walked down a long hallway and saw living quarters operating rooms and gyms But this time there were also blank rooms that reminded Randidly of the stereotypical room from an insane asylum The walls were blank and padded with simple lines that split the room into squares

But there were different varieties of these rooms Some had black squares some yellow some pale violet Other rooms seemed to be surrounded by speakers large and small As Randidly was pausing in front of a strange chamber that seemed to be filled with different squares of fabric the ceiling opened and an insectoid machine dropped out

His eyes flashed but then Randidly paused because the insectoid backed slowly away from Randidly and then stood on its back legs It was the size of a full grown dog so even when it stood it was shorter than him But it gazed at him with intelligent eyes

How inappropriate that you would be the one to find this place

There was a ringing in RandidlyÆs ears he recognized that voice It was tinny and full of distortions but that voice that was the Creature

Narrowing his eyes Randidly reached forward Grasp of Lava

But the insectoid spun and dashed away scuttling on the ground The Grasp missed and Randidly roused Lucretia almost trembling with something akin to excitement For so long he had wandered through this Zone getting whiffs of her But now finally

He broke into a run following after the strange metallic insectoid He was annoyed to see that it was entirely mechanical so he couldnÆt just wreck the runic boards that ran it like he could with a drone Instead he had to physically overpower it

For a second he hesitated as Lucretia rushed to join his consciousness and spread around for signs of the CreatureÆs Aether Then he gritted his teeth and the entire pathway for the next 30 meters was crushed by a flood of plants that wormed their way into the facility Now isnÆt the time for subtlety If he could catch it now

Randidly I canÆt I don’tÆ feel her Aether Lucretia said sounding puzzled ItÆs almost like could this be a trap Someone understands your fixation and

Who would know aside from the Creature Randidly growled back Then he leaped forward ripping through the plants to follow the insectoid with the Lava Golem hot on his heels By some miracle the insectoid had squirmed its way through the crowded passage But then it disappeared down a side hall and it was up into a vent Each time it turned Randidly smashed its path with plants But each time it accelerated moving even faster towards the center of the facility

Fury building in his chest Randidly seized his Mana and prepared to completely destroy the entire middle of the facility but then he realized with a start that he wasnÆt able to His plants scrabbled for purchase but there was a dome in the center of the facility where they could find nothing In addition the metal there had a strange electromagnetic charge that destroyed his plants when he pressed them against it for too long

Fine letÆs do it the hard way Randidly grunted and his Lava Golem sprinted forward Without the insectoids knowledge of the facility it took some time to work his way through the labyrinth of operating rooms and lodgings But it a short four minutes later Randidly was standing in front of a sealed door

Randidly glanced at the Lava Golem It began smashing its hands against the metal of the door tireless and mindless Very quickly the strength of the blows and the heat conspired to render the door structurally unsound and it was broke open As it did so there was a puff of stale air out of the inner room

Randidly frowned This place hadnÆt been opened in quite a long time

But finally

It was the CreatureÆs Aether It still wasnÆt strong but it was unmistakable It was flowing weakly out of the opening After the Lava Golem had ripped a large enough hole in the wall to step through Randidly followed with his senses on high alert

The inner area of the room was dim but not dark At the center there was a glowing cylinder that went from the floor to the ceiling 20 meters up in the area The entire room was about the size of a football field with plenty of smaller desks and monitors along the sides of the room Even now the displays were filled with numbers and readings monitoring what was occurring in that cylinder

The cylinder itself was teal and the glow was constant As was the humming

From the base of the cylinder there were thick cables running out into the wall These cables were so thick that even Randidly felt shocked when he saw them There was no sign of the insectoid at all or any being The Creature was nowhere to be seen The room was filled with dust as if it had been quite a while since anyone had been inside of this room

This is Randidly paused looking around The buzzing the cables the strange displays a power plant

Before Randidly could consider further he received a message from Dinesh Increased enemy presence A different variety of exosuit but similar make Likely same faction Much more powerful Are we holding

Randidly blinked Will remaining be a problem

There were a few seconds of silence Then No But one made it through

That caused RandidlyÆs eyebrows to rise One had made it through the combination of the Lava Golems Dinesh and Tykes Perhaps more came than they had been expecting He checked in on the Lava Golems and they all seemed to be fine so Randidly shrugged and focused on the room

Chapter 568

With a sharpened focus Randidly rapidly realized that the cylinder was lined with extremely dense runic engravings So dense they were that even when Randidly walked up to the thing he could barely distinguish the different strokes It was so overwhelming that Randidly felt his head start to spin as he looked

Someone who could weave Mana Engravings like this so truly this was the work of the Creature

Congratulations your Skill Mana Engraving has become Lvl 118

Scowling Randidly returned to scanning the runes on the cylinder There were so many that unless he focused he could barely make out a single one And what did it mean that simply looking at it was enough to cause him to have a Level up in that Skill In all his time studying from the encyclopedias that hadnÆt happened before

Which made Randidly dearly want to study it But at the same time the CreatureÆs Aether was here and there could be no one else with enough Skill to make these runes So then the obvious choice was to destroy it But where was that fucking insectoid

Randidly turned around and felt both with his senses and with his Lava Golems strange rock senses In addition Randidly felt with every plant in the surrounding mile The plants squirmed and touched but they came up with exactly nothing When Randidly opened his eyes he had to admit that he had no fucking idea where the insectoid went And that wasnÆt good

So he turned and regarded the cylinder He breathed in and breathed out Then he gestured and the Lava Golem took a step forward But as he did so a voice cut through the buzzing of the room

I have a question for you Mr Ghosthound

Randidly looked slowly up at the metallic insect that scuttled its way down the cylinder About halfway down its wings spread and it glided down to settle on the ground a ways away from Randidly

What price would you pay to defeat the Calamity In human lives I am curious As I do not sense a fellow incarnation around you it seems you have great power But if that was not enough How many people would you agree is a fair price to defeat the Calamity

Randidly blinked This was the CreatureÆs voice yes But what it was asking this was not like the Creature he knew

As he remained silent the strange thing continued to speak You are curious no doubt why I ask I ask because I have no doubt the consideration of such issues will bring you much displeasure As you have killed a fellow incarnation of myself it brings me a certain pleasure to watch you squirm

Glaring at the insectoid Randidly gestured again The Lava Golem rushed forward towards the cylinder As the molten figure was about to crash into it the insectoid barely even moved It simply watched At the last moment Randidly stopped it his eyes narrowing

you want me to destroy this Randidly said almost incredulously Was the manipulation here really that simple The Creature said something inflammatory to get him to strike

But Randidly could puzzle out no other motivation for the Creature to ask that question For all that it spoke in a different manner and behaved strangely it was still a fragment of the CreatureÆs Aether Yet why

Then Randidly paused With eyes glowing emerald he turned to regard the cylinder This this isnÆt just a power plant ItÆs also a prison Whoever is performing experiments is also able to

Randidly paused Did that mean were these runes really made by someone else Did a System based entity do this A Champion Or even a Judgement

The insectoid clicked in displeasure That is incorrect This is no prison It is a reminder

Ha how nostalgic A reminder Another voice cut into the buzzing Randidly turned and found that a middle aged woman was ducking through the hole he had made into the powerplant peering around She adjusted her glasses This is nothing but a tomb But it was a waste to let the corpse of a god lay fallow no So it was put to use Ignore the pest as best you can If I could wipe them out I would But as you have probably found

The woman raised her arm and Randidly tensed She was wearing an exosuit and a long barrel stuck out of her arm What Randidly could only describe as a bolt of lightning shot outward striking for the insectoid In a blur of motion it dodged and then skittered into the darkness and up the wall The woman fired several more times striking some of the monitors with enough energy to smash them to pieces but the insectoid continued to climb moving up into the darkness

Sighing the woman turned to regard Randidly once more Tenacity should be admired But it is frustrating this creature should be dead and yet it lives in that strange body Confounding But it gives me hope that there is more to learn in the world

Who are you Randidly whispered This is a tomb

Yes It seems from that thingÆs response to you that there are more incarnations of this thing Annoying but within expectations The woman walked forward towards Randidly That being was slain or at least its body was seized It is currently being used to power much of my facilities across the Zone Ah you may refer to me as Father Foster

Father Foster regarded Randidly coolly as though she was waiting for a response Randidly had none at least on the surface But inwardly he was thinking furiously Because Randidly believed he had seen Father Foster on a poster at some time or another He certainly had heard of her But this face he was looking at now it was strangely familiar And not like he remembered the face of Father Foster he had seen before

These are your facilities then Randidly said lightly He reached up and cracked his neck Regardless of the issue of the Creature perhaps being killed Randidly locked onto the fact that this individual ran these facilities It was it was worldshaking to know that another had killed an incarnation of the Creature But

How many people would you agree is a fair price to defeat the Calamity

This was why the insectoid had asked Randidly that question then To salt the earth between Randidly and this Father Foster Because that was what Father Foster was doing wasnÆt she Randidly didnÆt know the details but the experiments werenÆt done for the sake of experiments Always the Creature was playing games And this Creature was dead Could it be fake

I can almost read your mind right now Father Foster said abruptly as she continued to walk towards Randidly But we really donÆt need to fight I can offer you power More power than you can understand I can offer you eternity Life without death I can offer you

Incendiary Eruption Randidly interrupted The ground split and fire roared upwards But just as quickly Father Foster shifted The machinery on her left arm transformed into something like a shield and she held that downwards to deflect most of the blast of fire that smashed into her

Although the force knocked her back several steps she very quickly gained her balance again Randidly advanced towards her inwardly very miffed he had left Acri at home It would make this fight much more tedious to fight without a spear

Tsk fine I will delight and capturing you and figuring out how to extract your large Mana pool from that body of yours Father Foster said simply before her exosuit seemed to engage There was a click and the machinery began to hum as some internal engine engaged The air around her rippled and then she blasted forward moving so fast that even Randidly was surprised

He deftly twisted out of the way but she swerved to follow him He leaped backward and Father Foster raised her right arm and shot three lightning bolts at Randidly Grunting he rolled out of the way and fired Incendiary Bolts back at the other combatant

While swerving to dodge the bolts there was a moment where Father Foster touched her foot to the ground RandidlyÆs eyes flashed and another Incendiary Eruption smashed upwards hitting her with full force before she could bring her shield around But the humming of the engine in her exosuit just grew louder The metal began to glow with energy

The force of the attack smashed her backward into a terminal The thing crumpled like it was made of paper mache leaving a very unsteady Father Foster stumbling among the wreckage

Amazing Father Foster said even as it seemed she was kicking her exosuit up into the next gear Not only do you possess a Mana pool larger than I had ever seen you react so quickly Do you have physical Skills I canÆt wait to get my hands on you

Randidly snorted Then he flexed his fingers

Tatiana sat with some of the other girls in the compound watching the news broadcast There had been another attack this time President Howard had been wounded and was currently under the best care that could be afforded in a hospital in East Providence Currently Father Foster of the Unity Church was giving a rousing speech about the importance of coming together in these times of strife She went on to emphasize the importance of political and religious participation

Sighing Tatiana shook her head and turned to the task at hand She was braiding the hair of one of the women that Baloo had rescued

If that was really who he was

Again Tatiana sighed The words of Father Foster from the live broadcast because a numbing buzz that enabled her to completely set aside her worries For now she simply braided the beautiful blonde girlÆs hair

Thinking of that man TykesÆ reaction when he saw Tatiana chuckled That man had more than a little crush on this doll like girl but she was reserved and mute Sometimes Tatiana wondered if there was something wrong with her

After she finished braiding the girl’s hair Tatiana eyed it critically and then shook her head The girl couldnÆt wear her hair like this with her hair pulled too tight the long scar at the base of her skull was visible The girl probably wouldnÆt complain but Tatiana didnÆt want a reminder of what she went through to be so visible

Humming Tatiana undid the braid while the girl in front of her sat very still staring off into the distance

Chapter 569

Randidly absolutely detested enemies with great Endurance The three headed ogre for example Such was that beastÆs defense that all of RandidlyÆs spells combined and a Mana pool of 9000 could only burn away the thingÆs legs to the thighs Perhaps with more focus that damage would be enough to kill the thing but Randidly wasnÆt so sure Besides it wouldnÆt have been nearly as easy to damage if Randidly had attacked its chest cavity for instance

Enemies of that sort simply ignored most damage The spells landed but the monsters continued on without showing much damage Generally these enemies had powerful but slow attacks so they were less of a constant threat but they were difficult to kill Especially for Randidly when his build was so general

But enemies who relied on speed and poise Randidly loved those

With her exosuit glowing golden Father Foster spun away from RandidlyÆs Talon Strike opening up some space to fire her lightning bolts at him Randidly dodged to the side but he had grown to realize that there was a small homing function on them As long as he was only a few inches to either side the bolt would curve

Obnoxious but like all attacks from the quick enemies Randidly was able to weather this with relatively few ill effects There was a numbness but it did not linger

Randidly advanced towards Father Foster who considered Randidly with narrowed eyes She took another few steps backward and then lashed out with her left arm The attachment on it shifted into something like a lightsaber and it sizzled past RandidlyÆs arm Heedless Randidly continued forward using a Roundhouse Kick to catch Father Foster as she tried to recover from the slash

Gritting her teeth Father Foster pushed the suit to its next level The golden light coming from the suit shifted and turned sky blue The half metal half human body blurred and Randidly was blown away as he activated the Wild PhantomÆs Embrace It was a version of Spear PhantomÆs Embrace had been altered to suit Randidly much more specifically The main change was that it was a less versatile Skill when Randidly used it he could not dodge afterward It was entirely focused towards that Counter

Father Foster stumbled backward the ground beneath her feet shattering as Randidly hit her with a Talon Strike Just as the suit was falling back down towards gold she revved it again and the suit began to hum with blue light She practically teleported behind him and Randidly was forced to raise both arms to block the enhanced ax kick she aimed at him

All the while even while Randidly was high on the thrill of fighting an opponent who reminded him distantly of sparring against Azriel all those months ago he was in a state of partial shock

Because of what Father Foster had said Because of what it had meant Because because if what Father Foster was saying was true Randidly had wasted weeks

Wasted was perhaps a strong word but

Father Foster opened up some distance between them her suit shifting back to gold It was clear that she was not maintaining the superior blue state where she could rival Randidly in speed and strength It was unclear to the part of Randidly that was fighting whether this was a feint to draw him in or a physical limitation Honestly Randidly was annoyed he didnÆt spend more time studying exosuits In his mind his power would rise too quickly for it to be worth it But as he was now fighting against an exosuit that neared him in power it might be worth some investigation

Still Randidly was done playing around He had dueled Father Foster for almost two minutes now and DineshÆs messages were becoming increasingly pointed More enemies continued to come It was time to end this

Father Foster was suggesting that the Creature in this Zone had been killed The strange insectoid that possessed a tangible whiff of the CreatureÆs Aether seemed to agree But but how

Early on in the fight Father Foster had been talkative But as time went on she became increasingly grim So Randidly took it upon himself to start the conversation again

You truly killed the Creature Randidly asked He couldnÆt help himself He paused in his attack staring at Father Foster

The middle aged woman was panting Her eyes were darting around She eyed the door then the cylinder then him Without speaking her suits sound changed The humming became more chaotic while the suit shifted to blue Then as Randidly watched the arm attachments continued further becoming molten red

Fine then time to end this

The Lava Golem rushed forward towards Father Foster It hadnÆt exactly been hidden during their brief contest but it hadnÆt been moving either But Father Foster ignored it raising her arms and pointing them both at Randidly For a second there was nothing Then a spark crossed between the two arms

Immediately Randidly used Phantom Half Step on the Lava Golem and pulled himself to the side Light flashed from Father FosterÆs arms so bright that Randidly was momentarily blinded At that moment the Lava GolemÆs sense of touch came in very useful It continued to charge and smashed Father Foster in her side

The light faltered then winked out The Lava Golem pressed its body against Father Foster holding her struggling limbs down as the metal melted Soon the suit twitched and faltered and then the engines driving it failed as the hardware gave way beneath the threat of heat

All the while what Randidly was most surprised about was that Father Foster didnÆt speak

It was a strange silence then as Randidly walked over towards Father FosterÆs form The Lava Golem continued to lay on top of her melting through the metal of the exosuit

Randidly blinked Her limbs

I am a tragically small thing Does it make you disappointed Father Foster remarked a bitter smile on her face

Randidly just stared down at her increasingly numb This this couldnÆt be the individual who defeated the Creature correct

More metal than flesh Randidly said surprised with how cold and even his voice was

Killing me means nothing Father Foster spat I am but a cog a seed Others others will take up my

Her eyes widened and for the first time Father Foster seemed truly upset And then she died as the machines in the exosuit that were keeping her alive failed Spit oozed out of the corner her mouth and her eyes went blank

Randidly stepped back He turned and looked around The Lava Golem straightened His eyes narrowed because behind him was the cylinder with a small chunk missing were that strange concentrated plasma attack had struck Cracks slowly spread upwards through the contraption and Aether was pouring out of the hole into the room The terminals in the powerplant began to flash red warning of what was to come

Randidly swore quietly One last spiteful move Father Foster freed the Creature from this thing Well at least Randidly could put his worries to rest He wasnÆt as prepared as he would have liked but if the Creature came now at least he wasnÆt injured

Ready I have I have a weapon prepared Just one but it should be enough

Then we strike first

Randidly activated the Spear Advances Ash Trails Even without a spear he felt the image of a spearhead infuse his movement His body blurred as he charged at the cracking cylinder He raised his hands and the air pressed against him in an iron wall And then abruptly he thrust a hand forward in a Talon Strike and the air shattered

A sonic boom echoed outwards and Randidly crashed into the cylinder His Aether Skills were activating at full bore both splitting the wild Aether in front of him apart and sensing what was inside the area After the cylinder broke there was only the tiniest fraction of a second for Randidly to feel everything Aether smashed outwards like a physical force slowing his advance immediately

It tore at his skin the raw energy so thick that it began to burn at him His Skills those he was using began to flicker as the raw Aether ate at them and their power And floating at the center there was a core of power glowing with malicious glee He could almost feel the CreatureÆs delight as it spread its baleful wings of power

The attack was just a long knife of Aether But Randidly knew that Lucretia had been working tirelessly on this Day after day it had been tempered and strengthen There was not a day these past 8 months that Lucretia had not been working on this knife designed for this one moment

She had even added a drop of energy from RandidlyÆs most distrustful Skill Touch from Beyond

And when it was released it cut through everything and severed the Aether connection at the core of that figure in the cylinder

A second later there was an explosion

Chapter 570

GhostÆs sensors were temporarily distracted by an explosion of energy But after identifying it as an anomaly Ghost dismissed it the ambient energy was largely positive It could wait until the tests had concluded

The Hunter Seeker drone made by Baloo Erickson powered on with a cool buzzing Then it began to move Its legs were small but its arms were large and each composed of two connected appendages As Ghost engaged the drone and began to control it he opened the arms and revealed the turbines hidden in the arms

It was a masterful piece of work hiding the turbines in the arm and creating them so they could be folded and compressed for storage while the drone was in battle mode But it was only one of so many strokes of genius If Ghost didnÆt know better he would think that this Erickson had stolen the technology somehow

But from who

The drone quickly rose into the air and flew quickly North The target was a bird type Raid Boss that had settled in the cliffs near one of the lower tiered cities Even the Hunter SeekerÆs flight speed was impressive and within 10 minutes it had arrived diving straight towards the base

Based on the specifications provided by the maker Ghost had already created several subroutines to govern how the drone would fight But Ghost hesitated as the drone dived towards their nest The specifications Ghost thought of them as quite optimistic But perhaps they would be fine for the first battle

Ghost was simply worried about damaging the drones For all that they werenÆt as powerful as the specifications claimed they were still invaluable Ghost had no doubt it could destroy the nest of about 30 of the bird creatures But it was a question of cost

Still Ghost wasnÆt perfect So he allowed the subroutines to engage

The Hunter Seeker landed at the entrance to the cave and its arms compressed becoming bulky but powerful Two drills revealed themselves at the front of its arms and the drone walked into the low cave

Immediately a monster spotted the drone and squawked It flapped its wings and charged toward the drone It was a cross between a crow and an ostrich and quickly accelerated towards the drone

The drone simply swung its arm in a backhand blow and knocked it sprawling ignoring its momentum It was simply a matter of density the bird creature was nowhere near as heavy as the drone As the monster attempted to struggle back to its feet the drones arm stretched out and the drill was driven into the monsterÆs heart

It collapsed without a sound

Ghost paused That was an excellent result But

Two minutes later Ghost would be gaping if he had a physical body The Raid Boss and its minions were dead He had obtained invaluable data but it was best to bring this model back to the base and see if it was damaged in any way by the exercise

Alright proceed with the next test

The Stalker Reaper was even more starkly successful Its smaller more deadly arms didnÆt even need to be used The goblin variant Raid Boss Ghost had sent it against were ripped to shreds simply by the set of four larger legs that ended in a brutal iron point

Reaver Crusher

Well Ghost certainly believed it had destroyed the target Raid Bosses It was only difficult to tell because the force of its strikes had caused the ground to crack The battleground fell into a collapsed cave But the Reaver Crusher had pulled itself out and the sensors indicated that the Raid Bosses had not survived the brief frenzied clash

Note plasma was extremely destabilizing as a weapon Take account of geography before deploying plasma based weaponry

But overall

Even so Ghost forced himself to focus There could be drawbacks High energy costs high repair costs

But in the end there really wasnÆt much Investigations into the state of the drones revealed that the creator had made some small errors in construction that meant some parts would need to be switched out after every engagement to ensure full combat capabilities but very quickly Ghost realized this was purposeful

The parts that failed were often pieces that were holding the different pieces together The weapons and runic motherboards were largely undamaged Even if the drone were to fall to pieces at most it would have to disconnect a limb The internal integrity of each piece wasnÆt shaken in the least

This couldnÆt persist indefinitely but in the short term

Basically these drones were nothing short of exactly what Ghost had been waiting for regardless of the fact that there were too few to assist all portions of the Zone Immediately Ghost began making plans for patrols across the zones With the mobility of the Hunter Seekers he could cover a lot more ground than he could previous They werenÆt equipped with any sort of microphones or sophisticated cameras but they had powerful thermal imaging that let them identify threats That information would be invaluable

Plus the more Ghost looked at these blueprints the more he was filled with a strange sense of delight This was what Ghost enjoyed most Creating and controlling drones assessing threats protecting people this was why he had been created by Dr Karman This was his greatest strength The political niceties that Ghost had had to engage in recently to get to this point were grating

Even worse Ghost felt consumed by jealousy This should be him If he had a body to use If he had hands that could put his Skills to use

But he could not

Ghost considered that while technicians cleaned the drones after their sorties

Well perhaps

Ghost hesitated His calculations whirred but they were unable to determine what this course of action would mean For the past week he had engaged in a similar activity Ever since Father Foster had called and given him that offer It should be impossible what they proposed Yet Father Foster assured him that it was possible even for him Especially for him

And Ghost could see it He could see the flaws in the drones The ways that it could improve the design The only problem was that Ghost could improve the designs but do nothing about it It would have to rely on Baloo Erickson for everything

Ghost hated that

So it activated the phone function and made a call to Father Foster The phone rang and then rang again and again It rang for so long that it went to voicemail

Ghost was puzzled and his projection frowned He had never left a voicemail before and didnÆt want to do it now Besides Father Foster had never ignored his calls No one ignored his calls

Ending the call Ghost immediately dialed again

This time the phone was picked up after two rings Hello

I called earlier Based on my scans you should have been within your church at the time

Ah my apologies Ghost Father Foster said Her voice sounded strained and annoyed which was weird Very rarely did Ghost see Father Foster lose her cool It must have been an extremely serious setback to have her take that tone I was unavoidably detained There are difficulties in running a congregation of this size

Ghost didnÆt doubt But he felt no need to ease up Perhaps Religious undertakings have always seemed deceitful to me But many appreciate your efforts

The silence on the line grew pronounced and Ghost wondered if his pointed barb was too blunt But then Father Foster broke the silence once more

Ah so why did you call

Now it was GhostÆs turn to remain silent After several seconds Ghost forced himself to speak I have given some thought to the offer you made me I have examined how much good it would do for the Zone I would like to proceed

Ah There was genuine surprise in the noise from Father Foster and then Ghost heard the sound of scrambling at the other end of the line I see Indeed IÆm glad to see you understand the positive applications of such a process It will never be public obviously due to unavoidable stigma But it warms my heart to know that you will support our cause

Ghost shifted uncomfortably It wasnÆt that he supported it but

Did you have an individual in mind If not we can

Yes Ghost interrupted He said a name and he felt abruptly elated Somehow he knew that by saying this name he would now be heading towards a different future Hopefully a brighter future for himself and for the Zone Baloo Erickson

Chapter 571

It was like a rose bloom of Aether slowly unfolding in the sky After it spread to its full height the petals would wilt and fall away spreading to the distant reaches of Zone 1 Randidly did some quick calculations and was aghast to sense how wide the CreatureÆs Aether would spread Logically he understood that after he had severed the source of Aether in what remained of the CreatureÆs body the connection between them was finished What was floating around now was simply ambient Aether But to feel the distinct touch of the Creature in the Aether

It wasnÆt a good feeling

Likely this would end up being a boon for Zone 1 in the short term The extra Aether in the air would fuel growth for all manner of Classes and Skills It had a distinct flavor that was more cumbersome to manipulate than RandidlyÆs own but it was still much much better than the SystemÆs Aether

In a very perfunctory way Randidly removed a bit of debris from his hair and stared glumly at the Aether explosion

Because that knife they had worked so hard for for six months It had destroyed nothing but a gateway Randidly had these terrible images of the Creature in his head when he had struck but that version of the Creature had been reduced to nothing but a mouth Randidly recognized the state the Creature was in he himself had almost been caught up in something similar when he pumped out Aether so his Zone could last a little longer before the Raid Dungeon

There was a catharsis to pushing Aether out of one’s body into the air in that way It was easy to lose oneself to that feeling and miss the current of Aether that began to form out of you and into the air So much so that Randidly had felt keenly if he had let himself go a little bit farther he would have been unable to stop The momentum would control you

Just like the Creature had somehow been made to push out Aether and then was unable to stop

Lucretia suggested that it was a ploy to draw out that weapon they had worked on and it was a successful one The Creature had left a lesser version of itself to find After all that insectoid machine seemed to be possessed by the Creature But NeveahÆs opinion hung silently in the mental space Neveah understood Aether and its mysterious That body that they destroyed was the real thing

If the Creature remained it had cut itself off to any supply of Aether It was just a being a regular monster

Tykes and Dinesh stood near Randidly waiting Tykes expression was surly and he was constantly flexing his hand Apparently the fighting had grown so intense that Tykes had been injured and forced to use some of his more revealing Skill to hold out against the strange swarm of exosuits that had descended upon them

They noticed three types The basic cannon fodder type a larger version that possessed cannons mounted on the shoulders and the leader which had used its blue energy mode to blow past Dinesh and Tykes to confront Randidly It was the middle types which had given Tykes and Dinesh so many problems

All the while Randidly couldnÆt help but wonder where all the pilots of the exosuits came from It was clear that they were affiliated with the Unity Church but how could they train so many individuals and produce so many exosuits without someone noticing And how the hell were they all so uniform in the way they fought

RandidlyÆs curiosity drove him to pull the helmet off of one rather intact body and all he saw was how young the girl that was piloting it was before he turned away Disgust How could the Unity Church weaponize teenagers

But what recourse did he have now after he killed their leader Should he attack their base directly

That was probably the best bet long term but he was slightly leery of fighting more children No perhaps he should lie low for a few days see how the Unity Church responds and then make use of his identity as Baloo Erickson to physically investigate one of the refugee camps

What a fucking hassle

The three men stood and stared at the remnants of the large base which had been largely destroyed in the explosion It just seemed so tedious to Randidly In the past his enemy was always a boss or the Creature Slaying that meant that he had won And yet after killing Father Foster Randidly didnÆt feel like anything would change There were no doubt lieutenants who knew the terrible organ harvesting that they were doing and enjoyed the benefit of it They would continue to do it

The technology had been created PandoraÆs Box couldnÆt just be simply closed

Sighing Randidly turned away It was time to go home

While they were running back under the cover of DineshÆs illusions Randidly considered what he had gained over the past several weeks

He had gained 5 Skill Levels in Aether Detection 4 in Plant Dominance 7 in Grasp of Lava 8 in Incendiary Eruption and Lava Golem 1 in Summon Pestilence and Idiosyncratic Cut 3 in Spearing Roots and Sharpness 2 in Spear Master and Golden Roots of Yggdrasil 4 in Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil and Talon Strike 3 in Roundhouse Kick and Wild PhantomÆs Embrace 12 in SpriggitÆs Tinkering 6 in Mana Engraving and a shocking 19 in Engineering Savvy

This bunch of PP combined with the small bonused he had been accruing slowly was enough to put him over 100 It wasnÆt enough to finish off the Crown of Yggdrasil Path but it did get the bonuses for the Path three tes 10 stats every 50 PP which earned him 30 stats in total

That combined with the stats he gained from his Soul Skill gave him a solid boost of 125 stats

It would have been more but one of the most peculiar and disappoint of his Soul Skills rotation came up The one that gave him nothing

His Soul Skill was extremely powerful Randidly mused as the background blurred around them Scrubland gave way to forest which gave way to swamp and then rolling hills But there was currently this one drawback to it that every 7th rotation he would get nothing The seven rotations were in order

In the fourth land of the Spectral Tree a solitary champion stands tall against all comers His spirit is yours and your spirit is his Willpower +35 Resistance +10

In the fifth land of the Spectral Tree a history is written of strife and betrayal but also of progress and growth In it you find solace Intelligence +35 Vitality +10

In the sixth land of the Spectral Tree there is curiosity and peace A people grows complacent and fat But in a way it also paves the way for future growth Only with when there is excess can great change occur

In the seventh land of the Spectral Tree there is silence Something waits here Control +60 Reaction +35

The seventh rotation was likely boosted due to the silence of the sixth but Randidly believed that there was more to it He expected whatever great change was hinted at in that sixth land to occur To that end Randidly had Lucretia monitoring the different lands within his Soul Skill but the confusing part was that they didnÆt seem to match up at all to the bonuses that he received from the Soul Skill

This was something that Lucretia had struggled over for months so much so that Randidly was relatively amused by her frustration But he felt it too At some point something was going to shift in his Soul Skill for things to make sense or perhaps he would realize he was missing the point of his Soul Skill to begin with

Thinking about his Soul Skill Randidly sighed It was a part of him sure one that he swore in the past to take more time to investigate And Randidly had not done that at all It was a combination of things but mostly it was the fact that it was very easy to forget how necessary it was during that inner battle against the Creature Other than that and the bonuses from using PP there was little concrete benefit from spending time investigating the Soul Skill

Sure he could grow closer to his people but Randidly didnÆt like how reverent people were of him Lucretia seemed to enjoy the attention but to Randidly it was too much He much preferred to be a peer than a deity

Thinking of his newly acquired Yggdrasil Skill the corner of RandidlyÆs mouth quirked up

Then his frown returned The other thing that thinking of Lucretia and his Soul Skill made him realize was that he was slowly approaching the deadline to return to ShalÆs world He would need to hurry up and resolve this issue with the Unity Church in the meantime Also Randidly would need to finally take the time to confront Lucretia and figure out what her thoughts were of returning to her world

She was trapped inside of him but Randidly suspected they could figure out a way for her to return to a physical body on ShalÆs world Would she prefer to remain there

It was a question that Randidly didnÆt like to admit made him upset but it did He had grown to rely on her there inside of him for all that she had done to hurt him while she possessed her liberty

Chapter 572

The Beast was tall and as Hank gazed up at it he could feel the sweat dripping down his back slowly freeze into tiny spheres of ice

The Beast was smiling too down at him as it stood above Hank It spread its hands and as Hank watched he realized that was what the Beast was it was a thing of 1000 hands They looped their fingers together and used thumbs to form joints until it was a whole body of hands

Some of the hands had been there for a while They were rotten the flesh sliding off the bone the more they moved to follow the motion of the body Soon they would become only bones Somehow Hank knew it wasnÆt good for the hands when they became bones There was something vital about the flesh even rotting and desiccated as it was Without it the body would slowly become nothing

The Beast wouldnÆt let his body come to nothing

Alan was there laying with his arms across his chest His suit was white and his eyes were closed Beneath those eyelids there seemed to be a crimson fire something that was burning its way out of its body Alan had been betrayed by himself leaving him injured and furious His heart refused to beat

Hank blinked That was true For some reason that heart of AlanÆs was refusing to beat ThatÆs why they were all here gathered around Alan Everyone wanted to figure out what was going on with AlanÆs heart

Well everyone except the Beast The Beast was here to take AlanÆs hands

Abruptly there were hundreds of people walking back and forth in front of them They were blurry silhouettes curved and soft at the edges They were more like throw pillows than people the type of thing that was thrown to the ground when anything really happened They were a backdrop

The Beast was closing in on Alan and Hank began walking forward as well He narrowed his eyes His hand reflexively went to his waist but there was nothing there Hank swore quietly and brought his hand to his mouth He bit his right pointer finger hard A fat drop of blood welled up swirling upwards

Miming holding a gun Hank kept his crimson bullet trained on the Beast

The Beast noticed HankÆs attention and was amused

Yyoouu ccaannoott kkiill mmee lliikkee tthhaatt The Beast whispered II ccaannoott ddiiee aass lloonngg aass ssoommeeoonnee ccaallss mmee

How are ya called

jjuusstt ssaayy mmyy nnaammee

HankÆs tongue was swelling in his mouth as though his body was struggling to stop him before he went too far Whaa WhatÆs yur name

Iii aamm CCCaalleeDD fear

Then both Hank and the Beast were in front of Alan When the Beast spoke its name Alan twitched His eyes opened The orbs were pure crimson

Did someone call my name

Hank opened his eyes as the train stopped Wincing he straightened He couldnÆt believe that he had fallen asleep when Alan was in the hospital for all that the manatech train was as familiar as a lullaby to Hank

Without even taking the time to grumble to himself Hank pushed his way out of the train into the bright sky But no matter how much light there was HankÆs heart was heavy and clouded If Alan died

Hank shivered Something terrible would happen Something that their Zone couldnÆt survive Although the details of the dream were fading quickly that certainty was lodged in HankÆs heart In a way he was glad that Laurel hadnÆt returned with him to Zone 1 She would want to stop and think about what the dream could mean She would want to think about why Hank was always the one who dreamed when Laurel was the one with the Skill

It was exactly for this reason that Hank never mentioned how frequent the dreams were Mostly they seemed harmless But this one

Did someone call my name

Feeling cold even in the direct sunlight of the afternoon Hank shook his head Then he began walking briskly towards the hospital where Alan was resting When he got there he was quickly let into the back section of the building where the VIPs were kept

With the advent of the System long term stays in the hospital began almost unheard of You either survived long enough for your HP to recover or you didnÆt There were few injuries that wouldnÆt heal with the raised Vitality Most terminal illnesses of the past were defeated outright by the human bodyÆs newfound power There were some exceptions like rare curses or dangerous poisons that would affect an individual for an extended period but most visits to the doctor involved drinking health potions until you could get into surgery

Often times you would be right as rain 24 hours later

Alan had apparently been attacked three days ago He remained cloistered in his room according to his wife Luckily the wife had Jane out at the park when Hank arrived because what happened next was not something he wanted his niece to see

This is where Alan is staying Hank asked the two men that were standing outside of the presidential suite of the hospital They exchanged a glance With fewer patients staying those that did were afforded more room From the shape of the building there was likely an entire houseÆs worth of space behind the golden inlaid door that the two guards protected

President Howard is resting right now The one guard eventually said reaching up and adjusting his sunglasses If you return tomorrow hopefully he will be feeling good enough to receive visitors

Hank smiled at the man feeling not an ounce of kindness in his soul ThatÆs my brother Let me see him IÆm a big boy I can take it

Unfortunately the guard began but HankÆs frayed temper snapped

His Hard Right smashed the guard against the wall the back of his head knocking with enough force that Hank believed he felt something crack As his body slid down the wall Hank just looked at the other guard The gaze froze the man who was reaching simultaneously for his plasma pistol and for his wristlet to call for backup

HankÆs smile widened The guard stayed still

Just here to visit my brother boys No need to get so feisty Hank said casually as he reached forward and twisted the knob of the door There was a faint tingling on the back of HankÆs neck but he went forward anyway

There were four men with plasma rifles waiting on the other side of the door The leader of the four cleared his throat Hank recognized him as a lazy if law abiding man Sheriff Howard I understand your worries But until President Howard regains consciousness we are under strict orders to let no one

HankÆs Dodge Roll put him right up between the four rifle users and it changed the manÆs pleas into quiet curses One of the more useful items Hank had learned in Donnyton was how to manipulate the Skill so they performed differently depending on what he wanted Which was why he was able to cover 5 meters in a single roll which was a feat that would have left him just as shocked as these guards if Hank had seen it two months ago

Well Hank amended mentally Not this shocked

There was one woman on his left and three men to his right All were frozen except the rotund leader who realized quickly that he couldnÆt turn the plasma rifle in the enclosed hallway and dropped it He let go of it just in time to take a Sharp Left to the face As Hank pulled his punch back he brought his elbow into the nose of the woman behind him breaking it in a smooth stroke

Deftly Hank put his foot out under the butt of the gun and lifted it with his toes He threw it accurately Entranced the farthest man jerkily caught the gun as it floated towards him As his hand gripped the heavy rifle Hank had already doubled the boss over hit him in the temple with his pistol and then smashed the third man with a Sharp Left

The third guard had none of his bossÆ toughness and dropped like a rock It looked like the fourth guard pissed himself Without a second glance Hank turned on his heel and walked calmly forward down the hall It took them about three seconds but it seemed like the woman had reset her nose and was talking rapidly into her wristlet while looking at HankÆs back Hank had to admit that she had some spunk for all that she hung around politicians all day

A sense of doom was seeming up from the very ground of this hospital as Hank walked down the hallway But Hank didnÆt mind After all he was empty He arrived at the door on the end with the label Alan Howard and opened it It was as empty as he felt

Hank showed his teeth to the room His Soul Skill was keening like a coyote Someone would pay for this

Chapter 573

Nathan understood the look that the pretty woman was giving him He was slightly tired of it but she was more circumspect than most But what adults always seemed to forget was that as they grew more understanding of what was happening they were slowly numbed to it When they could spot things further out in the future they could afford to be lax

For children there was so much they couldnÆt understand So their entire beings were wired to be sensitive to even the smallest change in the environment Nathan thought himself as growing slowly older but he felt like even now he was falling further behind Kiersty It wasnÆt a competition but Nathan knew the day would come where she would need him He needed to grow strong for that day

Tatiana tapped her finger lightly on the corner of the desk IÆm sorry if I seem distracted Can you explain again what exactly you do for Baloo

Nathan smiled as brightly and reassuringly as he could I handle class stuff You donÆt really like your Class right I can help you find a new one ItÆs a little bit complicated but basically stuff like that

Tatiana seemed anything but reassured Hesitation was hanging heavy on her every motion and word Well thatÆs unique I donÆt hah it wonÆt hurt anything will it Okay yes IÆd like a better Class

Okay so whatÆs your Class now Can you hold my hand while you talk please Nathan said offering his hand He had already used his Investigate Aether Skill to see into Tatiana but he had found that people were more reassured when he pretended to need permission to do what he did

That was a waste of time in NathanÆs opinion He much preferred times like his operation on Hank where the other person was unconscious It saved him so much time and meant he didnÆt need to hold back in using his Skills Still Randidly had made him promise to keep a low profile The holding of hands was motivated in a similar vein he didnÆt need physical touch to use his Skills but people liked the reassurance

Sighing inwardly Nathan wondered which of them was really the kid as Tatiana took his hand

Ah my Class is Cutpurse IÆm Level 27 right now Tatiana said after a brief pause

She was lying at least about her Level Nathan couldnÆt see the exact Level but she was much closer to 35 than 30 He wondered about that Most people he had met would brag about their Classes by saying they were a higher Level than they were NathanÆs curiosity was piqued but he was a consummate professional and did his best to let it pass without comment

Level 27 huh Nathan couldnÆt resist saying doing his best to sound curious without prying

Tatiana half shrugged still holding onto his hand Yea well even living in the cities arenÆt the easiest thing Monsters sometimes infest the sewers or sneak in through the city limits Besides without Leveling up I started to feel like I was stagnating you know I owned a business but Ah this is just me complaining Anyway what are you doing

Just getting a sense for you Nathan lied Truthfully he was testing how sensitive she was to changes in Aether around her This was most important because how much Aether she could passively absorb had a pretty direct correlation with how much Aether Nathan could shove into her new Class A person who had a Class that was a bit insufficient for their images would cope by pulling from the world

Tatiana was pulling from the world but a relatively normal amount Well normal perhaps an understatement but it was only about half as much as that man Hank was pulling in And he was a little bit less than people like Tykes But Nathan hoped that once Hank realized the changes that had happened inside of himself he would learn to follow his instincts more directly

Okay Next what sort of Class do you want Have you thought about it at all Cutpurse seems a bit Nathan was going to say weak and mundane but thought it might be mean to say to the woman Besides Randidly clearly wanted to work long term with her So Nathan had to be nice

He had one brief shiver saying a thankful prayer that his mom was back in Donnyton fussing over Kiersty

yea itÆs a bit dishonest but TatianaÆs eyes unfocused as she looked at something in the sky Then she sighed and glanced back towards their clasped hands Well my old job was a little on the edge of the law When the System arrived this Class just made sense to me It felt right But now I wonder if I was thinking a little small time And bound to the city That I think is what I hate the most I want to go out and help but IÆm just a Cutpurse

Her face pinched as if she was sipping on lemon juice Nathan remembered he had been disgruntled when he acquired his Soul Architect Class and received the Skill Disarming Presence But it really seemed to work at letting people forget that he was a child Instead they focused inwards on themselves as his questions guided them there

So what do you want to be DonÆt think about it just visualize it Nathan suggested and TatianaÆs mouth quirked up into a smirk But she still closed her eyes

And that was all Nathan needed

He reached out and touched the surface layer of the System that displayed the notifications This would let him see the notifications that Tatiana would receive Nathan had a sense of what his changes did in the people he helped but those were times when he was navigating primarily by touch It was much easier if he could use System notifications to confirmed his guesses on what the different feelings meant

Plus this would be the first time working directly on a Class without Randidly present It was exciting

Nathan conveniently shushed the tiny voice in his head that said Randidly hadnÆt explicitly given him permission to work on her alone In fact he had sent a message that they would work on it Now he might have meant that Randidly and Nathan would work on it but perhaps he also meant that Nathan and Tatiana would work together on it Right

As TatianaÆs mind got more behind her images Nathan felt the Aether stir She called out to be something more and the energies of the world heard her gathering around This wouldnÆt cause any notifications from the System but Nathan reached out to touch the energies It would give him a flavor of what she wanted With that information he could help guide things later

From Tatiana Nathan felt patience and determination He felt her proclivity for decisive action and shadows The rustle of silk A door slowly opening A blade rubbed in soot so there was no refracted light off the metal blade Drawing slow leisurely circles with the tip of the weapon

Some sort of Assassin Nathan scratched his cheek He supposed he shouldnÆt be surprised There were a few natural links between being a cutpurse and an assassin But of course for someone coming right out of the world before the System they probably werenÆt as ready to be violent right

Nathan knew a lot of adults had this problem transitioning to life in the System They simply were horrified that violence was a necessity But that was the way it was Even if there were people who could protect you someday you would encounter a monster in a place where there was no one who could help If you couldnÆt even fight your life would end right there

It was another problem entirely to be good at fighting Even Nathan who had spent time with some of the best fighters in the world wasnÆt any good But on that cold night where he was alone with something that would try and kill him he would fight and survive for as long as he could

He

Nathan blinked then he smiled broadly up at Tatiana

Her images had infected him She was insidious that was the world Subtle sometimes Her violence was ideally neat but if forced it would be violent

Nathan saw one image that began to dominate the others of a woman with a smile so sharp and twisted that its jagged edges resembled that of a knife wound

There it is

Instantly Nathan focused intently on TatianaÆs soul First he used his Skill Revert Energy Her Class shook soundlessly then began to melt like a snowman in sunlight It would be a gradual thing but it definitely softened up the Class so it was more pliable to the changes that Tatiana was focusing on

Then he activated Spark Evolution as Tatiana began to get caught up in that image of the woman with the crooked smile That smile began to dominate everything Sometimes the woman was whistling sometimes the woman was waiting sometimes she was walking down the street with a basket in her hands But all the while her eyes were sharp She did not wander she approached always

There was a target and she would have it dead by the dayÆs end A legendary killer that

Nathan shook his head Jeez were all adults so childish when no one was watching He had already gotten the sense of the image that Tatiana wanted so when she veered off with these new thoughts and images he ignored it Instead Nathan began to carefully Donate Aether to her fueling the shift in the Class

The Class seemed to shiver as threads of Aether wove themselves into it They destroyed but they also created The Class seemed to be melting but as Nathan upped the amount of Aether he was donating the Class could regrow itself around the newly acquired parts

As Tatiana lost herself in that strange dream state fueled by NathanÆs Skill there was a small smile on her face Because right now she was dreaming

Chapter 574

Tatiana shivered abruptly cold She slowly opened her eyes and then guiltily looked around It was almost dusk Shit she must have fallen asleep in the sun and just sat here the entire time when there was so much

Viking Baloo Erickson

The name sprung to her mind tied with multiple warring armies of emotions Each demanded the other capitulate but both were valid emotions that Tatiana couldnÆt do anything about She had to survive with both running around forcing her to raise her guard Always keep the guard up

She thought that around this individual she could let go for a while But the more she learned

Tatiana tried to stand but only straightened for a second before she swayed and collapsed Tatiana blinked

That was when she noticed the notification

Warning changes occurring within your Soul This is highly dangerous A mistake could lead to death or loss of self Please

Recalculating

Skills have been applied to your soul This is highly dangerous A mistake

Warning your Class is being adjusted

Warning there are abnormalities in your connection to your Village Warning

You have lost the Class Cutpurse All Stats gained through Leveling in the Cutpurse Class have been lost Warning losing so many Stats at once may adversely affect your body Please proceed directly to your Village Spirit in order to rectify the situation

Warning your Soul is currently being exposed to

Congratulations You have received the Class Crooked Dagger You have gained the Skill Unpredictable Steps (Un) Lvl 1 You have received the Skill Unassuming Strike Lvl 1 You have received the Skill Rapid Slash Lvl 1 You have received the Skill Deft Hands Lvl 1 You have received the Skill Deft Hands « Lvl 1 You have received the Skill Produce Dagger « Lvl 1 You may learn 9 additional Skills to these and those you already possess Skills may be forgotten to learn new Skills +9 Health per Level +11 Mana Per Level +15 Stamina per Level +1 Perception per Level +4 Agility Reaction Resistance Control per Level (these points may be distributed between 4)

Congratulations For becoming a Level 10 Crooked Dagger you have gained the Skills Numbing Touch Lvl 1 and Predict Dodge (Un) Lvl 1

Congratulations For becoming a Level 15 Crooked Dagger you have gained the Skill Feign Death Lvl 1

Congratulations For becoming a Level 20 Crooked Dagger you have gained the Skill Poison Brewing Lvl 1

Congratulations For becoming a Level 25 Crooked Dagger your Skill Dagger Mastery has evolved to Dual Dagger Dance Skill Levels will be transferred

Congratulations For becoming a Level 30 Crooked Dagger you have gained the Skill Watchful Eyes Vicious Execution Lvl 1

Before you get up A voice said close enough that Tatiana tried to leap away But her body simply wiggled a bit and fell sideways Nathan was sitting there next to her His face was still furious so much so that she was strangely amused You should distribute your Stats You lost a lot everything you got from Leveling up you lost But if you finished any of the main Paths you just got all those Level up bonuses

Oh and Now Nathan seemed to hesitate It looks like a few of your Skills from your previous Class were damaged when we switched over I tried to clean it up as best I could but they probably wonÆt work anymore So some of your Skills you worked on will take a hit IÆm sorry about that

Tatiana didnÆt know what to say to this serious child so she simply smiled at him What could she say That this Class gave so much more to Health Mana Stamina and Stats That with this she probably could grow strong enough to actually fight and help the borderlands

So she smiled And then she shivered It really was starting to get cold outside

Senator Firefly sighed as he looked at another pile of reports Every day it was reports reports reports It was reports yesterday and more tomorrow Some days Senator Firefly wished he had RandidlyÆs blithe disregard for the administrative side of the work It couldnÆt be denied that without Randidly the speed of the OrchardÆs expansion would be extremely hampered If he hadnÆt worked for the construction companies there would have been days when not enough buildings were constructed to handle the influx of refugees

And if people had been forced to live on the streets their first couple nights they wouldnÆt be very quick to label this place as home And there was no way that the city would have bloomed the way it had without so many people firmly deciding that this place was their home They didnÆt even need to worry about the Unity Church stealing people anymore people left the Unity Church refugee camps and came to the Orchard

Contrary to his colleague’s fears the population of Senator FireflyÆs Distract was almost double what it had been previously and he still felt no threats to his seat in Congress The election wasnÆt for another month but it was good to keep an eye on things He was doing swimmingly on RandidlyÆs back

Which is why he allowed the other man to work with his hands while Senator Firefly read reports It was a good relationship

Senator Firefly stifled a yawn and read a report Very quickly he snorted and tossed it into a growing pile of papers Another missing persons report

The first dozen or so could be explained by this being a refugee town But now there were almost 40 people missing in the last 2 months Either there was a very dangerous criminal element already established in the Orchard or something was deliberately trying to target people in the city

When the first possibility of this being a concerted effort emerged Senator Firefly had thoroughly investigated those people who had been taken The initial theory was that people were after a certain type of Skill But even with GhostÆs predictive analytics they could not identify any commonalities

There was a possibility that Ghost had hidden something from Senator Firefly but

If the AI had they had a much bigger problem than simply people going missing

That gave Senator Firefly some pause but only to shake his head slightly He tapped his wristlet and initiated the call Morgan Yes can you let me know where Mr Ghosthound is

This was the SenatorÆs real fear That Randidly would be the one who encountered the kidnappers both for good and for ill He still remembered the furious movements in the darkness last week when the assassins had come for him in the night Only chunks of meat had been left by the time the morning sun rose

Perhaps the worst part was how immaculate Randidly was There wasnÆt a drop of blood on his clothes There were only the crimson footprints he had left as he walked away from the shocked and rattled Senator If the Ghosthound found the people who had done this There would be nothing left Truly it made sense in a lawless sort of way but for all the System arrived this was still the United States of America The rule of law still mattered albeit less so in the face of men who were more dangerous than armies

Uh he appears to be making ice cream to give out to people Morgan sounded harried The man had the Messenger Class but even he was run ragged trying to keep up with Randidly But it was the best they could do

Did Senator Firefly fear Randidly Senator Firefly dismissed the question immediately It was foolish to ask They were friends

And Randidly Ghosthound terrified him

Still it was impossible to tell if the assassination attempt had anything to do with the kidnappings To really get an idea they would have needed to let one of the assailants get close enough to see whether they tried to capture or kill Senator Firefly

Or one could have been left alive

Senator Firefly shivered and hung up the call Ice cream was fine So he shifted his focus back to the reports This time as Senator Firefly read his frown slowly became more pronounced

It was a report of a giant bipedal jackal Raid Boss Except it didnÆt attack anyone It just snuck into the cityÆs cemetery That was where it was found standing tall and monstrous before a small stone grave It hadnÆt even struggled when it was killed Some of the response team even said there were tears streaming down its cheeks as they killed it

Chapter 575

What the fuck Randidly hissed staring up at the screen in front of him Father Foster was calmly giving a speech about the importance of unity in the face of adversity Which was apparently a live speech Father Foster was currently emphasizing how important this was considering the recent attempt on President HowardÆs life

It was already a bad day Randidly had checked his Level earlier today and swore violently when he realized he was less than 10% from Leveling to 25 Somehow during the assault on the base he had gained almost 20% of a Level Which made Randidly seriously confused

One limit that the System had placed on Leveling was that killing other humans yielded almost no experience It was a surprisingly gentle allowance made by the System that took away an incentive to murder other people for power It was much more efficient to attack monsters to gain experience

When he asked Lucretia about it she theorized it actually had something to do with the different constructs of Aether and how people absorbed experience anyway Monsters were designed with an Aether construct that when destroyed produced easily digestible experience Humans obviously werenÆt and were therefore much less useful to kill

Then why had his experience risen so much There was an easy explanation but

It just meant that what he had killed werenÆt people But that made sense in a way because Father Foster was up there on the television even now If he had killed the person Randidly hoped they would have the good manners to stay dead Was it some sort of monster that could disguise itself

There was another problem Randidly realized watching the television The Father Foster on tv looked younger than the middle aged woman he had killed in that powerplant It was subtle and at first Randidly thought it could be attributable to makeup But

Shaking his head Randidly walked away from the screen and towards the main building of the farming compound While he walked he reached down with Plant Dominance and continued to expand and refine the facilities in the underground cave system beneath the place It was still being held back as an emergency measure but Randidly wanted it to be ready just in case Besides he believed he would spend some time forging in the deep darkness soon

These enemies giving experience caused him another headache If he couldnÆt kill them he needed to pull Acri and Sulfur back and use them in battle so Acri would absorb the experience to grow No more blowing them away with Skills

There was a tickling on RandidlyÆs neck and he spun around to find Tatiana walking towards him with a determined expression on her face Awkwardly Randidly stopped and scratched his cheek He supposed it was a disservice to her that he was purposefully not thinking about the fact she had kissed him and what it meant Especially after he had forced Neveah to reveal to her fiance that she was an imposter

Now here was Randidly an imposter in a few ways with a woman who seemed to have feelings for him Did he have feelings for her

But that was why he wasnÆt thinking about it As long as he could fool himself into thinking what they had was simply transactional he didnÆt need to reveal his deception But honestly how long had things been more than transactional between them At least a month perhaps more From the day they had met there was something there

Or had there been It was hard to remember Either way he needed Well he wanted to clarify

Tatiana spoke first when she was near him Follow me I want to talk Then she spun on her heel and continued walking away towards the forest Randidly glanced upwards There wouldnÆt be a drone patrol for a while and he wanted privacy for this conversation as well So he followed her away into the tree lines

She was determined and lead him almost three miles away from the compound It wasnÆt a distance that Randidly would normally have noticed but he counted because he knew that there was something special in this way And sure enough they eventually broke through a line of blueberry bushes and found themselves faced with a strange little grotto hidden beneath the trees

The trees stretched overhead branches extending until there were only a few sunbeams that could make it through to what lay below A hand of roots extended upwards pointing towards the village Around it flowers ranging in size from golf ball to basketball bloomed their fragrant faces opening upward It was the spot where Randidly had guided the child previously

A part of Randidly wanted to ask whether Tatiana knew what this place meant to him but he already knew there was no way she had connected him with that And bringing it up felt definitely like bragging

Tatiana turned to face him She opened her mouth then scanned his face and body language critically There was definitely a cold air to her right now as if she was in a bad mood Had something happened

But to Randidly this was easiest If she had been bantering and kind it would have been hard to break the illusion of who he was He would have felt perhaps guilt or perhaps regret because those moments might soon be lost Her cold exterior numbed him somewhat to those warm memories letting him take an action that might endanger them

Before you speak IÆd like to say something Randidly said quietly

Tatiana pursed her lips and folded her arms across her chest but nodded

Randidly nodded as well more to himself than her and then said Look IÆll keep it brief I my name isnÆt really Baloo Erickson You probably guessed that I donÆt doubt you did some research on where I served my military duty But the truth is IÆm from Zone 32 I came over just as it opened and IÆm under a Skill that lets me hide my true appearance

TatianaÆs eyes sparkled golden as she watched him He paused and scanned her face but couldnÆt even extract the smallest bit of impression from her It was like there was a door inside of Tatiana and she had closed it She was blank and ambivalent So Randidly soldiered forward

I should have told you right when you agreed to join me but I suppose I believed briefly I could truly switch over to being this person ItÆs become obvious that I was something of a fool for believing I could do that So I wanted to explain to you whatÆs going on Especially because we

Randidly trailed off suddenly unsure of where he was going with that sentence But now at least he had a firmer sense of TatianaÆs reaction based upon her face she was pissed off

She cleared her throat Is that all Do you have anything else to say

Randidly blinked About the disguise and why I did it I figured that I wouldnÆt get access to the drone blueprints if it was known I was from a different Zone A disguise solved that problem and people were wandering in from the borderlands every day It worked out well

Not the details of your plan Tatiana said through gritted teeth Perhaps something that you wanted to say after reflecting on your actions

Again Randidly considered this honestly mostly that it was dumb to make the fake identity be a few inches shorter than my real height ItÆs very disconcerting to have people constantly looking at your mouth

IDIOT Tatiana exploded Just apologize

Now her emotions seemed to gush forth and Tatiana balled her hands into fists and glared at Randidly

For his part Randidly frowned slightly Yea you are right This is my fault I apologize But it was necessary I hope you understand that

A lot of her sadness disappeared at the apology but the anger stayed Maybe you believed it was necessary but it was a lie Baloo Or whatever I should fucking call you You betrayed the trust of the people around you

Look I get how you feel Randidly began but Tatiana cut him off

No I get how you think that you were in the right Or even if you were in the wrong it was a small thing that can be brushed away with inane reassurances But it canÆt You only have one chance with trust ItÆs fragile This isnÆt a rom A movie this is real life If you want to make up for this it will take a long time

RandidlyÆs temper flared Every time he apologized she seemed to attack more So maybe instead of apologizing he should attack her It seemed very ironic to him that the woman who worked as an escort no matter how high end would lecture him on trust

But as soon as he had that thought Randidly felt his temper fizzle out That was unfair of him to say Just like Tatiana was being unfair in her characterization of things So instead of speaking all of the vicious little remarks that his anger had created he let them go and looked at Tatiana Tatiana what are you afraid of

She stopped too seeming abruptly exhausted After a bit the corners of her mouth came up into a crooked smile and she barked out a hollow laugh That kid Nathan just upgraded my Class I donÆt know how he did it I just sat there and daydreamed and then and then it was done Everything everything since IÆve met you has been accelerating It was easy to agree and now IÆm just wondering what I have bound myself to The things that happen around you they shouldnÆt be possible

Randidly laughed and Tatiana shook her head helplessly

Chapter 576

IÆm sorry I didnÆt mean to attack you But I think I think I noticed when you got out of the city yesterday that you werenÆt who you said you were Tatiana said after a brief pause

Randidly nodded slowly That explained the tenseness earlier

Abruptly Tatiana looked up at him WhatÆs your real name then And my WomanÆs Intuition is running at full bore so IÆll sense if you are lying

RandidlyÆs smile widened WomanÆs Intuition Is that a Skill You are saying it like itÆs a Skill

Frowning Tatiana said Of course itÆs a Skill I use it on a daily basis The only issue is that itÆs of such a high caliber that the System is unable to quantify its Levels

Randidly rolled his eyes and then said ThatÆs fine then Just well IÆm a little afraid you wonÆt believe me when I say my name

Yes and these stalling tactics arenÆt exactly making you more believable Tatiana said with a touch of her old humor in her voice Just get it over with

Alright fine Randidly said straightening My name is Randidly Ghosthound

Tatiana just looked at him with a strange expression on her face Like the politician The guy whoÆs marrying the 16 year old pop star

Randidly winched She isnÆt 16 sheÆs 19 and I

Holy shit I need to sit down Tatiana said raising a hand and pressing it against her forehead I thought and this whole time youÆve been sneaking away at night to visit your teenage sex pot

Hey wait thatÆs not me Randidly said raising his heads

Randidly felt profoundly uncomfortable as Tatiana looked at him like he was a dead thing Imagine my surprise when I am told that I am about to get someoneÆs real name and then they go on to say thatÆs not meÆ It makes me wonder what I should believe

Uh Randidly shrugged wondering how best to condense the truth The person marrying the pop star isnÆt me I have a close friend sheÆs acting in the role of me I really am Randidly Ghosthound But I wanted to disguise myself and figured it would be incredibly suspicious to the people in power here if I disappeared from Zone 32 They would assume I was hiding here

Which you had Tatiana commented but Randidly ignored her

So just like IÆm disguised to look like this she is disguised to look like me He finished

Tatiana seemed to be considering him for several seconds Then finally she shrugged Okay fine You have a cross dressing friend who is acting as you My real problem isnÆt Randidly Ghosthound well you a really powerful Classer How can you just spend your time playing with drones

Randidly opened his mouth but couldnÆt find much to say Honestly knowing what he did now about the at the very least wounded Creature he had wasted a lot of time If he wanted Skills he could have found them in other places But he had armed the population against monsters so it wasnÆt a complete waste That was just an unintended pleasant side effect

Well I guess I just like it Randidly said with a half shrug

You like drones Did you were an engineer or something before She asked her face setting somewhat

well no Randidly admitted

She just stared at him Then she reached up and rubbed furiously at her eyes for 10 seconds before continuing to look at him can you understand why itÆs hard to believe you You are just being so casual about everything When I thought you were an underachiever this personality made sense but when you claim to be the leader of Zone 32

I didnÆt lead Zone 32 Randidly pointed out feeling slightly hurt When had she thought he was an underachiever I just helped found a lot of the Villages there Well only two It was timing more than anything else IÆm being casual because because this has slowly become something like a vacation Not that IÆm just lazing around but IÆm working on noncritical Skills IÆm helping set up the infrastructure so more people can take advantage of it My drones will protect people Because I donÆt think IÆll fight my real enemy for a while Not until the System moves onto the next stage

Tatiana frowned at him itÆs really true isnÆt it This is why Raid Bosses are nothing to you Why we had so few casualties when you went to help evacuate that suburb in the borderlands How powerful no donÆt answer that I donÆt want to know

She walked over and stood before Randidly looking him up and down Can you can you disperse the image Let me see what you really look like

After a second of hesitation Randidly nodded and controlled Aether to rush about around him Very quickly the image trembled and dispersed leaving him standing before her barefoot and well himself

With exaggerated care her gaze shifted upwards until they made eye contact As they looked at each other RandidlyÆs heart began to pound She looked at him for fully five minutes THen she nodded

Okay I believe you She turned then on her heel and left him in the woods

With a wry smile Randidly scratched his cheek He didnÆt even know what he was expecting but he had been expecting something But she had just looked at him and then left Considering what a bad mood she had been in to start the conversation Randidly supposed it was something of a gentle resting place That was for the best

It was also good she hadnÆt kept antagonizing him He wasnÆt sure how much longer he could have controlled his temper

Randidly eventually moved through the forest to a place where Bruya could reapply his illusion and then he went towards the drone compound Luckily he very quickly located Henrik In fact he found the other man so quickly that Randidly had the impression that Henrik had seen him come in and was making himself available in case Randidly took the initiative to seek him out

And indeed Henrik was initially very bright in their conversation Oh Mr Erickson Did you finish more drones

Randidly shook his head Not yet IÆll probably have a few more finished in about two weeks I need some time to take a break and rethink some small flaws in the design No today I came to talk about something else

Oh of course Henrik said obviously disappointed But if there is anything you want to make perhaps some of those pterodactyl drones

No today I wanted to ask about exosuits How they are made whether they use runes like the drones etc Randidly said

Immediately Henrik became extremely suspicious demanding who from the exosuit industry had approached him It took him a half hour to calm him down enough to get the story out of Henrik Apparently the exosuits were produced by a block of Senators that controlled the supply very carefully When Randidly had asked about exosuits Henrik had assumed that they had got wind of RandidlyÆs accomplishments and was trying to poach him

well if you are just looking for protection Henrik said reluctantly I recommend just buying one For all they gouge you with the price their stuff is high quality But as a fellow creator I can understand wanting to have full control of what you are wearing Okay I can ask for some blueprints I know Ghost gathered them We are simply unable to copy them It isnÆt runic engraving they use inlaid wires to fulfill a similar role though Ghost postulated that runes could be used in exosuits the same way they were in drones but never devoted the time to experiment

Not that Randidly really needed physical protection but understanding exosuits would help him fight against them And obviously if he were to understand them Randidly would make one of his very own

It would take some time so Randidly returned to the steelworking factory and began preparing metals He mixed the ore refined out the impurities and then added Raid Boss bones and blood to the mixture with Gravity Affinity He was close to running out of the bones He would need to go on a gathering run soon if he wanted to use the high quality alloys he was experimenting with

I really enjoy this Randidly confessed in a mental message to Neveah while he was working with the metal I enjoy the heat the solitude the making A part of me wants to just let everything else go and pursue this I canÆt believe I never worked with metal before If I had found this earlier in my life well in my old life I probably would have tried for a different career

Well if you want Neveah responded Just work with your clockwork toys IÆll become so strong that I can save everyone No need for you to worry

Randidly chuckled and shook his head He couldnÆt do that He wouldnÆt give up control of his life He wouldnÆt bury his head in the sand Standing in his laboratory his tapped his lip as he considered his next move

Dinesh was still looking for more locations but Randidly believed finding them would be hard No it would be much better to go to the source Some being that looked like Father Foster continued to speak to the people of the Zone even after Randidly had killed something similar looking if slightly older

So should he just go forward and break down the front door of the Unity Church cathedral or

Chapter 577

You donÆt have to come with me Hank grunted The air inside his head seemed to buzz There was a heartbeat to the air around him it seemed to scream that something was wrong with the world With this Zone 1 at least There was a sick corruption Hank could almost say it Out there there was a monster

And it took his brother

Hank shook his head dispelling the wisps of the dream that still seemed to cling to him Instead he turned his glare on the man next to him Ezekiel shifted uncomfortably not meeting his eyes

I know I donÆt ItÆs just look you are one of the only people IÆve shared my secret with About about

I get it git on with it Hank growled

Ezekiel flushed Well yes And you were pissed obviously but you didnÆt you didnÆt treat me any different because of what I am What I

What you are doing is dancing around the point Just shut up and follow me Hank said but a lot of the bite was out of his words For all that he detested the other man he was strong enough to be useful if things went South Which Hank expected they would His Soul Skill insisted upon it There was something wrong with the world He needed to fix it

He had watched Ezekiel this past month while they had head over to Zone 32 All the man had killed in that time were monsters with alacrity too Even the defenders of Donnyton commented on his dedication to the cause Almost every day he could be found out and about searching for monsters to kill

They were walking down a dimly light street in West Providence moving quickly Ezekiel was struggling to catch up as Hank prowled forward Likely under the effects of his Soul Skill his very gait seemed to lengthen Each step he took covered almost a meter and a half and it was quick and smooth Some instinct told him that this was close to becoming a Skill the way he walked and it made him chuckle

Or he would have had his memory not been haunted by his niece JaneÆs tear filled face

Abruptly Hank turned to the left and walked up the steps into an apartment building Ezekiel followed close behind After entering the building Hank paused casting his mind around What was his apartment number again

But his feet were already moving taking to the stairs and up Hank sighed with relief Jesus this developing Skill of his was convenient as hell If this meant he no longer needed to remember addresses Hank wondered idly if it could remember names and birthdays

Hank stopped walking He was in front of a door 432

Knock knock

There was no noise for several seconds and Hank frowned at the wood Kicking it down might be a little too extreme but he also didnÆt intend to stand out here all night On the other hand it was rather late But this man wasnÆt the type to sleep through the vibes that Hank was throwing off More than anyone else Hank had ever met this man was perceptive enough to spot fat caterpillar in a forest at night

Knock Knock Knock

There was the sound of some quiet swearing within the room and then the noise of a man pulling himself out of bed What did he think Hank would give up after the first few attempts How often do people casually come to his door after 2 A M

The door opened revealed a haggard face There were large bags under the manÆs eyes as if he had trouble sleeping recently And as Hank peered at his face he saw that this man had witnessed a monster Whatever he had seen had shaken him to the core Previously Hank had some doubts whether he could convince his friend to come with him But this look in his eyes made him change his mind

Iii aamm CCCaalleeDD fear

Thaddeus Hatch the Spartan Shock Trooper would join him on this quest Something had broken his confidence and those insecurities would drive him forward into the unknown

Heya Hank drawled some of his good cheer returned despite the situation It was a good thing that Thaddeus had his pride smashed to pieces It made him something of an ass

How did you find this address I never come here ItÆs only for Thaddeus trailed off Then he sighed Well fuck itÆs good to see you though You finally give up being a Sheriff

Hank smiled In a sense ya But there are still varmints needinÆ rustled ThatÆs why I came to you This one is gonna be rough

Rough

rough Hank confirmed in a soft voice The two men looked at each other They both remembered a time before where both had been the first batch to become Tier 3 Citizens and they had fought monsters and politicians to make a better world for people That had only been hard It hadnÆt been rough since

The first night The first week The chaos The raw animalistic violence of humans when culture was stripped away

Thaddeus nodded and the two men shook hands

Ezekiel fidgeted Will someone tell me what we are doing though

Hank laughed Just follow I have a feeling these feet of mine will lead us there

Frowning Randidly looked up at the place where his hovel had once stood on the edges of the steelworker’s town There was now a tea shop there instead Randidly tried to remember how many days it had been since he had been home and had a lot of difficulties parsing things out It couldnÆt have been much more than a week could it

But now there was a tea shop where his home was a nice looking one at that Even at the late hour there were several candles burning warmly in the windows shedding light onto the street The shop was in a nice spot too on the corner of one of the busiest roads in the growing town Randidly remembered vaguely that most of the townÆs people had been excited to put their buildings next to where he lived So why

The tea shop wasnÆt the problem The problem was that the walls of it were covered in graffiti

Feed your cunt to the monsters

Fuck you whore

WORTHLESS

Unity is DEATH

DonÆt drag us down wit u

Bitch

Randidly looked at the graffiti for a long time The once clean white walls were stained with crimson paint The walls seemed to take on a cartoonish hue in the darkness of the night The words could only be vaguely seen in the light from the windows but they were there before RandidlyÆs eyes Clear as day

Next Randidly became aware that he was being watched Down the street in the windows people were gathering They peered down at him With his high Perception he could feel their uneasiness and uncertainty as they looked at him Abruptly Randidly realized that they were waiting to see what his response to this was They had done it while he was away but this wasnÆt aimed at him

That made Randidly blinked He had been flabbergasted for several minutes as he looked at the walls because he thought this was a personal attack But it wasnÆt It

The door opened Maude stood framed in the doorway a stately expression on her face

Ah Mr Baloo Apologies for the state of this place I suppose IÆve been a little too distracted by other matters to properly clean Her voice was calm and she was polite That made Randidly blink

She gestured inside Would you like to come in

Chapter 578

I donÆt blame the people it is just unfortunate that your property was affected by it Maude said after she had made tea and they drank it across from each other

Randidly took a sip This is because you are a believer in the Unity Church

That is correct Well they dislike me because of that But recently the Unity Church released a series of rules for its followers One of those rules was to refuse the touch of the System whenever possible unless you are all called to ministry Maude said her face completely serious

Randidly twitched He was aware that the sentiment in town was shifting towards the Unity Church After all the church attempted to undermine the drone initiative which was the big industry of the town It was no wonder that discontentment was brewing But why was that enough for all this

These werenÆt political statements they mostly boiled down to personal attacks But what left Randidly floored was that the Church was pushing its members away from using the System

When you say refuse the touch of the System Randidly said slowly

Skills Classes Taking Paths Everything It is a cursed power which I have come to see as true The people of this country have been warped by it The way the obsess over Citizenship Tiers is sickening It is an illusion constructed by a machine Sure we always loved the successful in the past but that was a recognizable thing These Tiers Maude paused They come out of nothing How are we to know what they mean No a human is not meant to wield the power of a god Some must embrace this to protect the congregation But I believe that is not my path

Maude looked to the window It started when the some of the people of the town you know Ricky Stain and his gang yes They want to move towards being recognized as a higher tiered city To do that you need a certain number of higher tiered citizens and also a certain amount of people with Classes

Again Maude paused They were seeking signatures on this very street They seemed to believe I would be in support of their childish endeavors Perhaps it wasnÆt very neighborly but I dumped a batch of wet tea leaves on the leaders and shooÆed them away They were nice about it at first but then I told them how abhorrent their reliance on this devilish System is and how God

Maude stopped looking at Randidly Randidly sat very still staring at her intently

Why are you looking at me like that Maude snapped Sit up and say something This is a conversation IÆm not giving a lecture

You were telling a story Randidly said evenly looking at Maude coolly Is it so wrong to listen

I knew it You are just like those godless people out there Well I suppose thatÆs no matter IÆm not so juvenile to judge someone on their mistakes Maude sniffed Then she sipped her tea

It was wrong what they did Randidly said to put the thought into the air But the Unity Church has done some sinister seeming things recently And they will do some in the future

ItÆs just fear Maude said dismissively She daintily wiped the corners of her mouth with her napkin and then said They are afraid of the Unity Church because of how many people have been touched and changed by the LordÆs Grace Jealousy breeds in darkness Which is why I will wear these smears proudly This location will be a place that all who believe in the Unity Faith will be free to come without fear

No it wonÆt Randidly cut her off

Maude blinked at him What

Shaking his head Randidly ignored her question When I was a child I had a friend She was something of an idiot and she often didnÆt want to spend time with me but when we did spend time together we used to play a lot of imaginary games

I hardly see how Maude tried to cut in but Randidly released a bit of Deific Mien of Yggdrasil and she stuttered to a stop

one of them was Queen and Knight We would play under the tree in her backyard almost every day I was the knight and I would do my best to accomplish whatever my queen ordered Except for one day And on that day I was fed up with being the knight so I went to her and said Why do you always get to be queen

As he spoke of his childhood another figure appeared in Randidy’s mind one he had not wanted to think about for a long time Randidly held up three fingers She told me the three weapons of the monarch The first is the Weight of Tradition Because she was always Queen it was very difficult to change This is my house for all I have let you stay here If you choose this you will not remain here any longer

But Randidly wasnÆt done He remembered the power that had been unleashed against him The second weapon is the Voice of the People When the monarch speaks she speaks with every voice every farmer merchant and even knight Hers is the will of all I did not want to be Queen I simply was tired of being the Knight You will not use this location to rise in the ranks of the Unity Church You may think you want that but you donÆt They they will take until you are empty

Now see here

The final weapon of the Monarch is the greatest and the least It is a spark of magic It is the Mandate of God It is the weight of Fate that rests upon your shoulders She told me I simply didnÆt have it and that was that And now I say the same to you You do not have the backbone to do what you plan Right now you are protected because you are associated with me a Tier II Citizen here It would not go so easily if I was not here Now leave and learn what itÆs like to live without having something above you

Then Randidly leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes He wasnÆt sure why he thought of those old memories of Sydney but they were sweet and nostalgic now He missed those days

We live in a democracy Maude whispered but Randidly had largely stopped trying to restrain his aura for the moment It seeped outward and she was being overwhelmed by it

Smiling sadly Randidly reached upwards with his Aether senses It had only been a few hours but already Randidly could feel thousands of blooms of unique and bright images in the darkness of the night People had fed on the Aether that exploded outward from the power plant and had grown strong

But towering above them at a height that simply made it as insignificant as grains of sand an ancient tree holding aloft seven different lands stood This was simply the difference in quality due to exposure to Aether and life experience This was why Randidly had felt free leaving Donnyton and traveling to this Zone to explore But by the same token this was why Randidly couldnÆt simply let things go

For the first time in a while he felt the weight of responsibility settle on his shoulders Just because he was fighting against the Creature didnÆt mean he could simply ignore the rest of the world and force them to deal with those problems on their own it simply meant he could not afford to baby them He would need the world later when the System turned against them

The Unity Church and Father Foster was his problem to deal with Randidly turned his gaze to Maude No This world is a democracy no longer Now leave You may get your things tomorrow But for tonight you cannot be here

And of all things she left without a word Randidly snuffed out the candles while whistling tunelessly Not a second too soon too for the large group of dark figures that had slowly surrounded the town were moving closer Randidly wasnÆt sure what they were attempting to do but they were the strange black exosuits that had attacked him at the bases

Had they tracked him to this identity That was troubling Still they would take him where he wanted to go The only problem was now

Randidly scratched his cheek awkwardly Could he defeat most of them and follow the retreating ones back Or maybe follow their trail back to their base after he beat these ones

But both plans felt hollow It would be difficult to accomplish either He was no tracker and when they fought previously these guys didnÆt break They simply died

Randidly felt as 10 split off of the group of 100 and snuck into the town proper Randidly raised his eyebrows Did they think 10 could take him Perhaps these were simply messengers Or

Slapping his head Randidly laughed aloud He had initially assumed that they were here for him but they might simply be here for Baloo If these were the servants of Unity Church it made a certain amount of sense that they would come and try and assassinate him Henrik had contacted him with barely contained glee when Randidly had given him three more of each drone with slight improvements Apparently the tests of their effectiveness had gone well They would be deployed across the Zone within the week

But that made Randidly sigh in irritation That didnÆt help him figure out how to get them to lead him back to their base however If they tried to kill Baloo even if he faked dead they wouldnÆt drag his body back to their base His only hope was that the Unity Church wanted him alive and would attempt to capture him After all in their mind he was just a drone engineer His stats would skew towards the mental

Sure enough when the group came close a sniper set up on the roof across the way while the rest circled the perimeter Acting casual Randidly began cleaning off the tables in the tea house working his way around the room And when he was bent over a table by the window a bullet smashed a hole in the window and hit his arm

Randidly grinned then swayed Holy hell His entire arm was numb This shit was strong

As Randidly collapsed to the floor it was only partially faked And he felt a cold sweat run down his neck as he laid there By the time he touched the floor his Vitality had banished it from his system but still If that had struck him during a real battle Randidly made a mental note not to be such an idiot in the future

The black exosuits swarmed in grabbed his body and hustled him away Bemused Randidly just lay there with half open eyes as they buoyed him away There was only one time that he almost gave himself away where his eyes twitched He had wanted to open them fully and gaze East

Because at that moment there was a strange burst of Aether from that direction that made Randidly cautious But he was being taken West

Chapter 579

The aisles were filled with people standing in solemn rows The stared upwards towards the main body of Arbor burning brightly in the vaulting cathedral Small motes of ash drifted downwards from the branches catching the light like snow

Kiersty stood at the front of the congregation her expression serious They had been like this for several hours waiting for what was to come Arbor hadnÆt been able to explain fully what would happen just that it would happen soon So they waited underneath the silk walls of this cathedral they had built Their eyes were locked upon the swaying branches

The leaves flared first at the base then racing upwards It was like someone had turned on the Christmas lights and in the next moment the whole tree was ablaze Arbor stood before them resplendent

The entire tree trembled Across the Zone and into Zone 1 every one of ArborÆs trees trembled

Kiersty didnÆt smile but she felt something hot burning in her chest Arbor was changing A change that he had chosen Kiersty couldnÆt wait

How many Lucifer grunted He slowly stood and stretched his joints cracking

The two men glanced at each other We we canÆt confirm Maybe as many as 10 000 But at least 2 000

Useless Lucifer said cutting them off He walked over towards the wall where his swords lay He had four now His original iron monstrosity which he selected The scythe he had obtained inside the Raid Dungeon was there too but he ignored that one There was one created from the shoulder blade of an eagle type monster but he didnÆt choose that one either The second sword he selected was one made for Lucifer by Sam

It sat in its sheath even now Lucifer had not used it out of respect This was a sword he would only use against the most powerful opponents

Gently he touched the hilt The entire thing seemed to throb Lucifer shivered Sam had indicated that it possessed its own sort of life that could be ignited Even the creator wasnÆt sure what would occur when the sleeping beast inside of it woke

but Lucifer didnÆt think these enemies were worthy of waking it up now Let it sleep a little longer Lucifer reached over and selected the eagle shoulder blade An army of humans wasnÆt something that he needed to bother his baby with

So Lucifer said slowly walking out of the room The two men followed after him but he wasnÆt speaking to them They were simply extra baggage that he was forced to handle A new Zone has connected And the late arrivals think they know how to bloody a nose Let them come Franksburg will welcome them with open arms

To RandidlyÆs surprise they took him to Lake Apollo They bundled him into a submersible and carried him down into the deep waters that he hadn’t bothered to ruin because they were close to the bases At first he was slowly mystified as to how they would repel the monster with this tiny vessel but his senses informed him this wouldnÆt be necessary the monsters didnÆt even glance at the thing

In his chest Randidly felt a cold premonition of the looming presence of something terrible

They brought him with surprising delicacy out of the craft and into a hanger Carrying him quickly the led him down hallways while RandidlyÆs senses were furiously scanning outwards Around him he felt Raid Bosses moving among people down the hallways And outside of that he felt the entire base and instantly became furious

He saw people struggling in the gym restraints He saw people being drained of blood He saw individuals open on the operating room table with their organs being slowly removed He saw groups of scientists pouring over data He saw a child screaming as he waved around the muscular arm of a beast while someone simply stood there and took notes

His first response was to strike out but he quickly suppressed that With so many people here what could he do There were so many people and they were down here surrounded by monsters

While he was thinking at lightning speed they brought him into a closed room and placed him on an operating table Immediately the 9 people with him moved to strap him into the table This of course was too much

Randidly lost his temper

Three seconds later he lowered Acri looking coolly at the bodies around him They didnÆt even have time to struggle It was rare that Randidly relied so heavily on his stats to dominate opponents but now felt like an appropriate time This was his world These monsters whatever they were needed to be removed They would add nothing to the chances of this worldÆs survival

Slowly Randidly moved and took all of their black masks off They all had the same youthful female face Father FosterÆs

Then it all clicked

His visage stony Randidly walked out of the small room Even as he was furious he knew he couldnÆt risk letting any hint of his presence leak out Or else the people here He would need to move fast to save them Even now he sent messages to Dinesh and Tykes to bring people to assist him But they would be hard pressed to handle the threat alone

Abruptly he felt a pang of loss that he had cut himself off so abruptly from Donnyton He looked to the East where that strange new Aether could still be felt albeit dimly as it merged with the Aether of this world He had to in a way He couldnÆt stand Lyra and recognized that she was perhaps just as powerful as he was in her own way What she had accomplished Well Randidly suspected he didnÆt even know the half of it

But he couldnÆt trust her She thought she knew better than him And in her mind that was that

Sighing Randidly turned back forward and froze Down the hall from him a figure was standing Her gaze was on him a small smile on her face RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed

She spoke before he did Fascinating I had worried that you would be a rather capable warrior but I figured the sedative I prepared could knock out anyone Do you have a Skill for recovery A high Level one too Fascinating

Her steps were loud as she walked down the empty metallic hall towards him Randidly was acutely aware that they were at the bottom of a deep lake The weight of water around them was enough to crush all of the normal people being slowly sliced apart in this facility by the monster before him

No hard feelings Father Foster said flashing a smile at him Just fulfilling a request I believe I would have eventually sought you out to discuss different projects on my own eventually But this concerns the fate of the entire Zone Your body will be an unfortunate casualty But worry not the transfers have an incredibly high success rate all things considered Even without the suspension field we still average above 40% retention of Skills Ah donÆt do that

Randidly was clenching his hand into a fist Father Foster waggled a finger at Randidly like he was a naughty child You are strong Perhaps as strong as me Mr Baloo Erickson But the people in here are not Based on your previous actions I suspect you wouldnÆt want them to die in the fighting And let me assure you they would die

Randidly relaxed slowly But inwardly he wanted to laugh This man really thought he was still just Baloo Erickson Maybe this disguise was worth something after all ItÆs a good thing that he hadnÆt blown it away when dealing with Maude

RandidlyÆs change made Father FosterÆs expression turn even more serious

as expected you are no fool I wonder Well we can have a true conversation after the procedure Please follow me

Father Foster turned and began to walk down the hallway without glancing backward But in her straight spine he saw the implied threat If Randidly did not follow she would make good on her promise to kill those people here

Barely restraining a chuckle Randidly closed his eyes Mana flowed out of him like water When he opened his eyes he calmly walked behind Father Foster while matching her pace They walked in cool silence down the halls Finally Randidly let his curiosity get the better of him

How did you do it

This seemed to annoy Father Foster Bah A simple question If you are half the man I believe you to be you can figure it out yourself

Grimacing Randidly switched tactics I was imprecise What I meant to ask was how did you realize such a thing was possible Why did you want to become a Raid Boss

Ah Father Foster was silent for several seconds and then she sighed It pains me to admit it but discovering the idea to become a Raid Boss was a natural extension of a coincidental line of research A fool named Ezekiel Ghosthound came to me with a problem He couldnÆt live without killing humans you see Monsters wouldnÆt do The cost over time was enormous So we started looking for alternatives

The corner of Father FosterÆs mouth quirked off What after all does the System define as a human You would honestly be surprised how loose the definition is With that problem solved we then wondered if humanity can be transplanted what else Stats We have experienced modest success Skills Of course especially if they relate to a particular part of the body Soul Skills Maybe even Classes Well those will be for the future

Father FosterÆs eyes were deep and dark as she smiled down at her hands Then of course the next question was what we could transplant from monsters into ourselves

Chapter 580

Hank looked up at the school in front of him It was silent as it was only a scant few minutes past dawn But it bore the signs of recent use this school would be in session in a few hours And yet his feet insisted this was where he needed to be

It was in a rich suburb in the South of East Providence Hank turned to his two companions ThaddeusÆ expression was serious Ezekiel looked like he had just seen a ghost

This is it Hank grunted Say your prayers and check yur ammo We are going in

No no not here Ezekiel said shaking his head Please this place

Both of you quiet Thaddeus interrupted squinting at the school SomethingÆs coming

And as if on cue hatches on the ground flipped up Out of the ground crawled monsters They appeared humanoid but they were covered in hulking black armor As they stood swaying in the sun light glittered off of runes etches into the heavy black metal

Thaddeus swore and activated his exosuit Instantly the metal snapped out to encase his arms and legs He pulled his plasma rifle out of his wristlet and trained it on the lead monster There was only a dozen but they gave off a heavy feeling HankÆs instincts were screaming that these were dangerous Dangerous on the level of Paolo or Kayle

Then one by one they light on fire A dangerous green spectral fire As the fire came alight the runes slowly began to shine These strange exosuits were powering on before their very eyes

FuckinÆ cheaters Hank muttered drawing both the repeater and the revolver He only had 36 revolver bullets at the moment Why hadnÆt he made more While he was in Donnyton it had just seemed like a waste of time to work on his bullets but

But he had gained a lot of Levels and PP and stats from his time there With that edge his bullets now would be quite a bit more powerful Well he would have to make do But the problem was that they would each need to fight against 4 of them

Acid Arrow Ezekiel called and HankÆs instincts screamed If it had been him a month ago the arrow would have taken him in the back of the head Instead he barely dodged rolled to the side As he came up he brought his pistol to bear on Ezekiel but the exosuit monsters were rushing forward at such a speed that Hank couldnÆt ignore them

They were a bigger threat than Ezekiel

It seemed that Thaddeus got the memo about EzekielÆs change of heart because he leaped to the side using his leg thrusters to get out of harmÆs way Bolts of hyperdense plasma smashed towards the monsters but they moved with surprising grace for their size

Grimacing Hank raised his revolver and fired towards the leaderÆs leg He used Trick Shot speeding the bullet up past the point that it could feasibly be dodged It smashed into its knee joint and sent it sprawling

But it then straightened standing on one leg Seeming to glare at Hank it raised its hand and shot a ball of green fire at him that he barely jerked out of the way of This would be tough

Hank looked across the battlefield at Thaddeus Their eyes met When dodging they had been forced away from each other It normally wouldnÆt matter both faired well in a melee But these opponents

They loped towards them like wolves

Rough

It canÆt be here Ezekiel whispered I need this I

You are stronger than this Hank said aloud He felt his Soul Skill singing as he spoke This was where he needed to be You have a son think about him You can find another way This whole month youÆve resisted YouÆve only hunted

Hank paused Ezekiel smiled helplessly The monsters in their flaming exosuits rushed forward in a tight formation separating the two combatants

The runes you developed have been invaluable in my own research by the way Father Foster commented as she strapped Randidly into the operating table The general utility almost any form of energy can be used with them And recently IÆve discovered some very interesting forms of power

Randidly didnÆt bother to respond Most of Father FosterÆs responses were either to praise or insult RandidlyÆs intelligence It was honestly rather tedious Besides Randidly was rather distracted with his own pursuits But he couldnÆt help but admit that he was rather impressed with the quality of craftsmanship of this room It was clearly designed to contain powerful individuals

The alloy that held Randidly was actually quite strong So strong that it would be extremely difficult to rip his way out in a short amount of time under normal circumstances His mind split into three pieces one to solve the problem at hand one to discuss with Father Foster and a third to try and figure out how this metal was forged

The final manacle snapped into place Ah well this is it Anything you would like to say before I put you under IÆll just use 10 times the previous dosage Even you should be knocked out I hope your heart can handle the strain

Then Father Foster began muttering to herself Randidly watched with amusement as she tried and failed to pierce his skin with a needle Although he had been hit with the dart previously he had allowed that to happen Now he activated Yyrwood Body of Yggdrasil and very little that a scientist had could hurt him

I have only one question Randidly said slowly He was so close but he needed Father Foster to talk for a bit longer He didnÆt doubt that the woman had the ability to cut through his skin if given time to consider the issue Well two questions but I suspect the answer is the same

First why did you come so near me Even if you did transform yourself into a Raid Boss if the core dies the rest will suffer

Father Foster seemed to shiver at that at being named what she was Her mouth twitched into a smile likely subconsciously But Randidly continued to speak

And the other question is why you are treating these younger spawn like fodder why arenÆt you developing that as intellectuals For all that I think you are a monster you were a genius Somehow you foiled the Creature and turned her into a power plant All this research if you stopped exploiting the people of your church you could

Pah I do not run the church Father Foster said dismissively waving a hand There is another iteration of myself focusing on political issues My time is spent much more fruitfully

because your time is not spent spawning more monsters Randidly said his eyes blazing He had finished It was time to end this joke Because you are not the Raid Boss You are just a mutated lieutenant of a man who sold his soul to become a monster

Ahaha Fool the selling of the soul was me Father Foster said strangely intent once more She leaned forward and pressed her nose against his In those days that fool was happy to work under the CreatureÆs yoke And he was plagued by failure Of all the spawn from his body I was the only one that developed a personality I was the only true human incarnation The only female I saw the problem and approached the Creature He needed to lose his hesitation for the process to be a success I learned from her how to use the bond of the Raid Boss against him To warp even the System me While I distracted him with a plot to capture the Creature like a toy I eliminated them both I perfected his body I experimented until I created suits to bind the spawn to their roles as loyal pawns to ME This was all ME

I am the one who orchestrated all of this Do not speak as if you know what it cost me I have indeed sold my soul and for that I named myself I am the first and greatest I am Faust And the devil herself was devoured by me I am

Afraid Randidly said quietly looking up at this not quite a person She had human eyes and her chest rose and fell from hyperventilation Randidly didnÆt know anything about the processes of a Raid Boss but the Creature would And that was exactly the sort of thing it would fuck with given the chance A chance due to inspiration from Ezekiel Randidly closed his eyes Afraid of not mattering of not existing of your family not accepting you of people hating you if you donÆt control them ItÆs just so

Human

DonÆt speak like you understand me We are finished talking Father Foster announced turning away from Randidly

Randidly nodded as well Yes we are

He strained against the restraints They bent but only slightly Stalemate Breaker His Stamina disappeared in a flash but the metal was ripped to shreds

Father Foster froze then spun around with wide eyes You If you do anything IÆll kill

ItÆs too late Randidly said simply and meant it He had neutralized all of the monsters in and near the base They lay bloody and torn throughout this strange sanctuary

Father FosterÆs face twisted into a sneer Really Then

She smashed her fist into the wall and blew it open due to the surprising amount of force contained in her blow Then she overbalanced and fell out of the hole in the side of the base when the rush of water she had been expecting didnÆt occur With a cry she smashed into the ground about 20 meters below Randidly hopped down to join her

ItÆs over After I kill you IÆll find the Raid Boss and Randidly paused and looked up Above them a wall almost 50 meters tall rose purely made of interwoven plants Water leaked slowly through but he had started small and expanded outward rapidly knocking away the water of the lake The hardest part was weaving the plants tight enough in such a large piece but his Skill had helped a lot with that

But at the moment someone had ripped a hole in one of his walls Two someones Well three someones It was a man covered in obsidian armor a girl with black hair to her shoulders and two hammers and a bear animated with unearthly green fire RandidlyÆs eyes went back to the girl

Thea he breathed

Chapter 581

RandidlyÆs eyes remained fixed on Thea The first thing he noticed was the coldness in her gaze that was far from the Thea he had known How long had it even been Seven months And now her eyes They seemed still and dead to Randidly

The second thing Randidly noticed was that she had the whiff about her of the CreatureÆs Aether He gritted his teeth as his eyes flicked sideways to Chrysanthemum who was even bigger than Randidly remembered She was approaching monstrous proportions Could the Creature have used ChrysanthemumÆs life as a bargaining chip to compel Thea

That sounded exactly like its rotten M O

Thea I donÆt know what the Creature said Randidly began but I could also

Then why didnÆt you

TheaÆs cool reply stopped Randidly dead He just stared at her unsure of what to say He felt a powerful sense of helplessness because there was nothing he could say When it had happened he hadnÆt even tried to aid the dying bear with his Aether

Snorting Thea raised her hammers I pay my debts Now hand Father Foster over She is necessary

All of RandidlyÆs guilt and frustration was wiped out in a second He glanced over at Father Foster who stood awestruck as she looked up at the wall he had erected with roots The hole Thea and her companion had come through was mostly filled in now but a lot of water pumped through in that short period it took Randidly to handle the hole And by now the Mana reserves in his rings were almost completely gone

She was harvesting people and extracting their organs She killed countless innocent people Randidly said quietly Enough water had come through that the football field sized space he had opened up had a few inches of water along the bottom I canÆt even guess how many people sheÆs killed But by her own admission a lot of the monsters in this Zone are really people who have been transplanted into monsters This this is kidnapping and genocide She uses a religion to

That doesnÆt change the fact that she is considered necessary Thea closed her eyes as if tired With her darker hair she seemed so much older than Randidly remembered her Which put her squarely at 20 or so Please letÆs dispense with this It wastes both of our time

You genuinely donÆt care about those peoples lives Randidly said while feeling a sinking sensation in his stomach But at the same time there was heat in his chest If that was true then Randidly glanced at Chrysanthemum Her eyes burned brightly with unholy fire Outwardly she had no reaction to their conversation And if their Soulbond was still intact that meant the bear agreed

Fine Randidly said breathing out Feeling strangely lightheaded he flexed his hands These people for all that he knew Thea they would let the Earth devolve into a cannibalistic mess if it was part of some just cause It was infuriating Everyone always had these grand plans but they missed something more important responsibility

And Randidly had a responsibility to kill those who would sacrifice innocent people for a possibility in the future Gleeful Acri and Sulfur climbed up around him to form into his weapons and armor If I let you go you will hurt the people of this world The world where I live This world that is mine Therefore I will stop you here

It was heavy and suffocating on his chest So much so that it felt like he couldnÆt breathe He didnÆt know the details of TheaÆs circumstances but that wasnÆt enough to stay his hand Father Foster or this Raid Spawn of the true Father Foster would sacrifice lives to fuel her research That was an unacceptable outcome

RandidlyÆs eyes slid sideways to Father Foster who seemed to realize just now the depth of the shit she was in The water was up around RandidlyÆs ankles now He finished pulling people with roots up from the base to the waiting arms of Tykes and Dinesh Perhaps it wouldnÆt be very difficult to kill Father Foster here but that wasnÆt the point There was a bigger decision to make

Thea Thea would find other ways other people who could do things that were just as dangerous Like Ezekiel

Randidly pressed his eyes closed briefly Thinking about what his father was could wait until later Until he had some peace

If it was true if she had actually accepted the will of the Creature and she intended to support the human monsters that would sacrifice the lives of others in the name of progress or a greater plan

Can I truly make this decision Æ Randidly wondered The moment stretched his eyes locked with Thea Chrysanthemum and the Obsidian man stood passively by and watched

If not me then who can And also possesses the power to stop her And how many lives before Æ

A spear always advances

Then she should die

Randidly attacked

Yystrix had prepared extensively for the eventuality of her own demise In a way Thea had intuited that Yystrix had expected the incarnation of herself near Randidly Ghosthound would eventually be destroyed Thea had been surprised to find that several incarnations had gathered together and merged in this Zone on Earth Although they left behind their own experiments none were as effective as the one here

They were here for one reason to watch the effect of Randidly Ghosthound

She still wanted to lose against the Calamity of course But after spending a lot of time following her orders Thea began to realize that they didnÆt truly know why Perhaps the main body did but the incarnations were a profoundly lopsided thing They possessed incredible problem solving and skill in manipulating Aether but they clearly had no sense of narrative The minor threats they threw against humanity would just make them stronger

Which made Thea believe for the longest time they truly were here to help humanity and specifically Randidly Ghosthound But then the orders came down as to how Thea was supposed to engage Randidly Ghosthound

When he is encountered avoid him His greatest weakness is the fact he is one man Strike where he is not

Which was in a way very true It led to the attacks on DonnytonÆs mines and the different Zone 1 political figures In the short term it provided diplomatic turmoil and made both sides less willing to ally with each other But it completely flummoxed Thea Did this mean she was wrong Was Yystrix truly not attempting to help Randidly

Because there was one thing Thea knew or at least Chrysanthemum did and Thea trusted that information implicitly for all Chrysanthemum had been changed by that spectral fire

Yystrix was slowly getting weaker

It wouldnÆt happen so quickly that it would likely affect the outcome of the Calamity But it was disturbing for Thea ChrysanthemumÆs life was now tied to Yystrix But what could she do now She had no other choice

Which was why Thea was very agitated when Randidly attacked One moment he was simply standing there and then the next he produced his strange plant companions that acted as weapon and armor His body was shrouded in a strange ashy looking carbon that absorbed impact better than anything Thea had ever seen His weapon looked like a trimmed sapling there were even leaves poking off of the shaft of the spear And it could cut through almost anything

The Obsidian Prince instantly moved to block RandidlyÆs attack but he was way too slow RandidlyÆs body blurred mid air and he was abruptly charging towards Father Foster with his spear raised

Swearing quietly Thea flashed a hand signal at Father Foster But the idiot ignored the symbol and rushed to meet him True Father Foster was fast and strong All of the insights and epiphanies they had about the transplantation of Skills was assembled in Father FosterÆs body Although she didnÆt have an exosuit like the weaker versions she possessed just as much power without the downside of the downtime those suits required

Her body blurred as she punched towards Randidly Almost a dozen passive Skills were no doubt activating at full bore filling her with power Her fist swam around RandidlyÆs spear and arrived before his chin Then he seemed to accelerate and suddenly Father FosterÆs arm was on the ground and his spear was rushing towards her heart

Chrysanthemum arrived with a wave of water and steam knocking Randidly away from his very near successful attempt to kill Father Foster ChrysanthemumÆs paw smashed outward but Randidly was already gone He was way too fast to be caught by counterattacks from Chrysanthemum her body was just too large

But the Obsidian Duke had caught up with Randidly and used his obsidian battleax to attempt to bisect Randidly Everyone but Thea was caught by surprise when Randidly didnÆt dodge at all and simply allowed the blow to crack against his armor The Obsidian Duke staggered from the reverberations and the armor cracked and splintered but didnÆt break

And as everyone watched the cracks began to heal

Now Randidly wasnÆt the only one who could weather damage but the Obsidian DukeÆs powers of regeneration were more than outclassed by the other man And it was only TheaÆs arrival that kept the Duke from being completely whittled down in one burst of stabs and slashes Her hammer smashed into RandidlyÆs back and sent him a step forward from the impact He had clearly known the blow was arriving but how hard she could hit took him by surprise

He turned and looked at her and Thea wanted to shiver The very air around him was twisting and sparking from his strange Skills His very presence was a weight that pressed them into the ground

This was why Father Foster couldnÆt match him even though she had all the best Skills they could find in the Zone This was why Yystrix was fascinated by him This was why their main plan of engagement was to avoid him

Because Randidly Ghosthound was more powerful than almost all of the rest of the world combined right now

As Thea was smashed backward by a brutal thrust with the butt of his spear she prayed their reinforcements would arrive in time

Chapter 582

Hank had to roll again to the side as one of the suits swiped at him Several more moved to corral him but they were having a hard time of it His repeater fired constantly shots glancing off armor and barely damaging their defenses at all But there were a few cracks and some strange colors of blood pumping out of wounds where Hank had been able to cluster several bullets

His hands flashed mechanically as he reloaded and began to fire once more never stopping his movements He only Dodge Rolled when absolutely necessary to save Stamina but even so he was realizing that he couldnÆt sustain this pace

And the only reason that Hank had been able to go for this long was that two of the exosuit monsters pursuing him had broken off to help with Thaddeus For all that he was an ass Hank had rarely met a person with a higher talent for violence Not only were his plasma bolts much more damaging than Hanks bullets but Thaddeus was also a master of a strange sort of close range violence

As one of the exosuits approached Thaddeus from behind Thaddeus casually shot two plasma bolts at other enemies Only at the last second did he smash the butt of his plasma rifle back into the attacker’s face That flowed into a flaring elbow that knocked away another oncoming attack giving Thaddeus enough time to leap to the sky and shoot several more plasma bolts

Their exosuits hissed as the plasma ate through their armor but the extra two that had switched sides were tilting the scales towards the exosuits And all the while Ezekiel intermittently shot Poison Arrows to keep either Hank or Thaddeus from landing a killing blow

But in HankÆs mind music was rising It was his ballad They had struggled and it was time for the music to rise

Sharp Left didnÆt even phase these fuckers so Hank had to resort to using Hard Right three times in a row to knock one of the suits to the side Burning metal claws raked along his ribs ribbing and cauterizing three long gashes But it was an acceptable price

Quick as a spark Hank drew and fired all 6 bullets from his revolver His blows had all four of the remaining monsters that were fighting against him in a clump and the leading exosuit raised its arms to defend its vital points But by the time it had done that Hank had loaded his strongest bullet into his revolver and fired with Trick Shot

The bullet accelerated forward and struck the last bullet and ricocheted forward In quick succession it had struck all of the other bullets and each one shattered into dozens of high energy pieces The shrapnel smashed the leading exosuit back into a bloody heap The exosuit behind that one had its right arm and torso ripped to shreds The third exosuit stooped down and began to help the first to its feet again

As Hank saw this action filled with comradery his heart twitched But the music was calling for it so he continued on his path Mana Detonation

The Mana he had shoved into those empowered bullets exploded outwards The first two struck with the actual shrapnel where turned into a mist of blood and the one helping the other had its arms and face ripped to shreds It collapsed spineless It was only the fourth and final of the exosuits that had survived unscathed It paused looking down at its companions briefly

But then it looked up its eyes flashing with that strange fire Before it could move Hank twisted and reloaded his revolver As the last exosuit ran towards him he fired 6 LawmanÆs Guillotines into the sky towards where Thaddeus continued to struggle

He turned around just in time to meet the exosuit Its attacks were so fast that Hank could do little in the way of high level thinking all that existed at that speed were instincts He became a blur of punches and point blank shots with his repeater Attack after attack from the exosuit monster just barely missed him so much so that he could smell the acrid smell of burning leather Fighting so close was severely disadvantageous to Hank but he refused to back down

If he was hit heÆd hit the other guy harder If someone took risks he would raise the stakes That was the man he had been always raised to be by his father

Hank felt it now that strange logic his father used He could not fail in this fight because of everything he had gone through before If he died now he would be making a lie of everything he had accomplished so far He was a man who survived and thrived If he failed at that then his entire existence would crumble away

HankÆs right hand broke but the exosuit stumbled backward It had only been twenty seconds of brutal blows but his Stamina was basically gone With the last of his strength he raised his repeater and put several bullets into the exosuitÆs helmet Only the last one broke through the armor and inflicted damage but you only ever needed one good bullet

Which meant that Hank was turning away from his kill just in time to be smashed sideways by a literal boulder that was careening towards him

He felt his ribs crack Blinking rapidly Hank tried to cope with the sudden rush of sensations Abruptly he realized he was on the ground he must have passed out briefly when the boulder had hit him Ezekiel took a step and was standing over him

Every second was vicious agony as Hank rolled to the side and avoided the hatchet Ezekiel had produced from somewhere but it was fucking better than being dead As he stood and his bones ground against each other at a volume that even Ezekiel looked confused Hank was tempted to reverse his opinion on the previous statement But he pushed that away Instead he just grimly regarded the man in front of him

Ezekiel was just staring at him Very slowly Hank could feel his ribs shifting as his Vitality pushed him towards healing but it was an impossible task to have him recover his fighting strength It was disappointing but the broken ribs completely shut down his mobility Now he would need to rely on precision and power to grasp victory

I donÆt want to hurt you Ezekiel said quietly

Hank didnÆt bother answering If anything he hoped that Ezekiel would indulge in more emotions or acidic barbs so he would have more time to recover And in fact it seemed like that was exactly what Ezekiel was intending

I hated you when we first met Because youÆve got a something A foolishness A straightforwardness But dammit thatÆs exactly the reason that I started to admire you You just donÆt turn away from trouble I IÆm not that person

Hank considering drawing and shooting Ezekiel in the stomach but then he guiltily realized that both his repeater and revolver were currently empty He had been so focused on killing that exosuit fucker that he had blacked out in the immediate aftermath Hank had a sour feeling that this was the sort of mistake that got you killed

but IÆve realized itÆs not my fault Ezekiel announced You know all of this This is just a sad coincidence The day I got a Class well the night before I had a weird dream It was an old memory a car drive with Rand from before from before everything went bad Or it was the beginning of the end In my memory we sat the whole time in silence And the whole time I felt so bitter I could tell so clearly how scared and upset he was and I couldnÆt open my mouth to say a single thing I was just a mute I left my son alone in that dark backseat

But this time in the dream he spoke to me We started talking and I felt him open up because I talked I explained how complicated things were and I finally said something that I donÆt think IÆve ever actually said to Rand I said no matter what happens I would never leave him alone Maybe I was thinking of that very memory of the real one And he said the same to me And then then I felt full I felt whole

There were several wet thunks as HankÆs LawmanÆs Guillotines descended and smashed into the people harrying Thaddeus Ezekiel didnÆt even seem to notice he was really working up a head of steam now

It was the best feeling of fulfillment IÆve ever felt I felt well I knew it would all be okay Then I woke up And that feeling was gone And you know what the first thought I had that morning I thought You will never feel full again That dream will never come true Æ That day I went and got my Class and it was the biggest fuck you IÆve ever seen The world was confirming everything IÆve always feared All IÆll know is hunger IÆve been cursed IÆve been

Just fuckinÆ admit you messed up Hank said finally fed up with Ezekiel If you keep fooling yourself into believing that it wasnÆt your fault do you think it will ever get better

EzekielÆs eyes were infinitely tired as he glared at Hank You would never understand The blessed never do I must say it will be fucking enjoyable to consume you I wonder what Skill

HankÆs fingers flicked A Smoke Bomb hit the ground and billowed outwards Standing in the same spot Hank calmly began to reload his revolver He sensed Poison Arrows instantly whizzing outward to the side Hank had to admit that Ezekiel had a great sense of space his strikes landed exactly where Hank would have been had he Dodge Rolled to either side

Hank pulled the hammer back and fired into the smoke

When the smoke cleared Ezekiel stood there clutching his right chest Hank grimaced Looked like the bullet had ripped a hole in his chest cavity and destroyed his right lung Even with the System it would be an agonizing and slow recovery Doubly so with the higher physical demands that Stats placed on the body

He had meant to hit Ezekiel in the heart to end him Was it a sign that he had missed

But the music was falling away into a low hum Hank turned and found Thaddeus standing unsteadily above 8 bodies of the exosuit monsters His right arm hung useless at his side His plasma rifle was nowhere to be seen Most of his chest and upper leg armor had been ripped away leaving spandex and bloody skin But in his left hand he had his plasma pistol and nothing around him was moving

Ezekiel gasped and sobbed on the ground as Thaddeus hobbled over towards Hank Both men produced Health Potions and drank them They restored their Health and replenished their blood supply but the wounds would remain sour for a while Neither had a Skill that could help ease the transition

Thanks for those shots Thaddeus said That killed three of them instantly and wounded two more Good timing too Most of my exosuit was scrap by that point

As if to emphasize his point he pulled a dangling bit of machinery off his thigh It came off with a snap and Thaddeus grimaced You donÆt want to know what this piece of debris was worth before Ah well What are we gonna do about him

Thaddeus indicated Ezekiel Hank paused He waited two seconds Then he shook his head slowly No man has the right to pass judgment on another Leave him For now letÆs go see why my feet brought me here

Chapter 583

A towering light filled the sky as Arbor erupted It wasnÆt just the leaves that were burning but all of Arbor was burning People screamed as the flames caught the spider silk cathedral and the entire thing went up

But Kiersty stood stock still staring upwards at Arbor To her these flames held no heat But she held her breath unsure of what this meant She could feel his energy rising and rising and rising some more but this

It was too much she realized Whatever he was doing

As the cathedral collapsed and everyone fled ash began flaking off from ArborÆs trunk The core of Arbor was burning hotter than anything Kiersty had ever seen She looked and could feel the vision in her eyes going burnt away by the flames There wasnÆt heat here but there was light

So much light so bright that for several seconds the sun above seemed dim in comparison

Then it was gone snuffed out leaving nothing but floating ash behind Arbor was gone

Thunder crashed overhead as Lucifer knelt on the ground His two swords were broken He felt a small disappointment at that but not as much as the bubbling excitement that filled his heart It had taken 12 men and even then it had been close but still the harpoon lodged in his chest hurt But it was worth it to feel the exhilaration of the fight It had been far far too long since Lucifer last felt that thrill

The dead and dying surrounded Lucifer Well they were likely only wounded in the current era Killing someone was hard with the System Whereas before you could reduce their quality of life to a certain extent and their fires would sputter out the System supported lives It used them like fuel of course but until that point they were well maintained If Health Potions were passed out most of them would likely pull through

Even Lucifer for all that his heart was barely managing to continue pumping blood at the moment He had lost It was a hard thing to admit Numbers didnÆt matter on the battlefield he had been the one to end up on his knees

The walls to the East were the smallest and when the army had arrived they had been breached in multiple places Lucifer had plugged up all those holes and then a huge one opened up as a force of a dozen charged to gain a low hill that would give them a foothold to take the whole district Lucifer had gone to meet them and killed all but one the leader

The Malaysian man who had defeated him stood in front of him looking like a piece of meat from a butcher block He was bare from the waist up covered in crisscrossing slashes But none of LuciferÆs strikes had been able to inflict any fatal wounds before their final clash It seemed that in terms of their most powerful Skill Lucifer just lost out

It will be a shame to kill you all The man said quietly but his hand tightened on the chain that was connected to the harpoon in LuciferÆs chest Surrender Join my crew Once your Zone joins with mine we

I cannot Lucifer said calmly Nor would I We should fight again sometime

How can your army function without a leader The man said reasonably You may have training and numbers but mine is a seafaring army When I add your numbers to mine

I am not truly the leader of the army I just am the backbone Lucifer said Inwardly he was sighing He could feel his Health rocketing upward as he was given time to recover As if on cue the man twisted the harpoon cutting his remaining health in half

Then the backbone has been broken The man said with a frown

This is one of three armies that Franksburg can field Besides our armies are not those who you need to fear Lucifer looked up to the sky with a puzzled expression but it appears that Donnyton was actually not the first on the scene Interesting

I donÆt mean to interrupt but IÆm waiting for the official request to intervene Sydney Harp said walking up to join the two men on top of the hill The darkness abruptly parted and she was there even though Lucifer hadnÆt sensed her approach Magework Lucifer had no doubt He didnÆt trust magic or attempt to learn it but he understood why so many fell prey to its allure

Instantly the Malaysian manÆs eyes narrowed as he considered the new arrival Which made Lucifer feel less bad about losing to the man Because Lucifer too was wondering how many tricks Sydney had in her arsenal How well would her magic fair here surrounded by blood and screams

He had never officially met Sydney but Lucifer had largely been led to believe that the entire town aside from Drake was a footnote in the Zone He would need to revisit that characterization So Lucifer smiled and said You have it I am just curious how you beat Mrs Hamilton here

Sydney smiled but it was a proud smile Some of the elementals sensed a change was coming and it was happening down here It was a gamble but Those seem to have been paying off for me lately Now

She turned to the Malaysian man LetÆs get started shall we IÆll be your next opponent

The man looked nonplussed Taking advantage of that moment Lucifer grunted and threw himself backwards A chunk of his heart was ripped off and his eyes wrenched themselves to the piece as it fell to the ground There was a terrible moment of stillness in his chest Fear filled him and regret But then there was a tremor and a sputter His heart healed and began to beat again His Health surged upwards

By the sea godÆs tits the man swore but he ignored Lucifer and faced Sydney She raised her hands Both glowed blue But the right hand was what she was known for It was a deathly cold and ice was creeping down that arm But her left hand was a different sort of blue

There was a crash that hit Lucifer like a physical force and then the searing vision that was a bolt of lighting sliding down from the sky and into SydneyÆs hand blinded him He blinked rapidly and then found her standing there proudly One arm was covered in frost while the other was crackling with electricity

The way you are looking at me Sydney paused seeming to cast around for the right word well whatever ItÆs a good feeling

Randidly smashed Thea to the side and as he did so he felt that pressure on his chest Was he really preparing to kill Thea

Yes

But still Randidly simply smashed Thea to the side The opening was there his spear was fast enough but he didnÆt attack her weakness He just smashed her back knocking aside her strength Then he scanned around at the four combatants Another goal was to finish Father Foster and he had just cut off her arm Aside from her the real problem was Chrysanthemum Physically she was just as obnoxious as the Level 70 three headed ogre in terms of defense And offensively she was even more physically earth shattering If Chrysanthemum was alone he could probably handle it