LoRG 2

Immediately upon discovering Styx’ plot Creta flew into the abyss searching for Houn He was without his left and right hand without his eyes and without his breath all having been left to nurture the lives he had made But he still possessed his heart and Creta followed the trail of tears to find Houn in the deep emptiness

Houn Æ Creta said upon finding her brother Your people yet live and Styx moves to return them back to dust You must speak to your brother and explain you arenÆt attempting to replace him You must Æ But then she stopped speaking with a gasp Houn simply smiled at her His mouth was crooked but his expression was sad

He had no breath He could not say anything to his brother any longer The very breath that he could use to reason with his dangerous brother was needed by his people to remain alive

Houn stood and began to rush back towards the small world he had made Creta attempted to keep up but she didnÆt know the deep emptiness like Houn and was very quickly left behind She extended a hand shouting for help but Houn smiled at her again His hands were gone and his people needed him He could not help her

Everyone bowed their heads once more Lucretia frowned sourly in her tight woolen blanket If her mother wouldnÆt jostle her around so much during these bows that would be ideal The monk raised his head and spoke once more

What occurred then was the great war in which our ancestors fought The jealous Styx attempted to destroy us but Houn returned in time to give us his fury and his honor forming the weapons the Chosen One used to defeat the bones of Styx

Still the battle was so devastating that the blood of Styx the Abyssal Sea had time to surge up and attempt to drown the world But at the last moment Creta arrived She cried red tears to see her brothers at each otherÆs throats like this and she transformed herself into a giant tree The tree gathered the pieces of the shattered world as best it could and raised the seven lands above the reach of the Abyssal Sea So this world was formed and so we give worship to the Progenitor Houn and to the sister that sacrificed everything for her brotherÆs fault Creta And we remember Styx so that we are never controlled by our darker impulses or misunderstandings So it is

So it is The congregation rumbled in answer Lucretia rolled her eyes For the thousandth time since realizing where she was Lucretia said a prayer to Randidly

Get the fuck down here and save me

There was no answer Of course there wasnÆt he barely paid any attention to this place So Lucretia began to plan How did one grab the attention of a god

Chapter 647

Silo kept his mouth shut once the group had gotten into the small canoe after the fight with the Propagator His instincts screamed for him to encourage the others He had thought himself the leader of this team and therefore it was his role

It took quite a lot of time with these other three individuals but Silo could now only helplessly admit that he was not the leader of this team And he could not find it in himself to say even a single positive thing

Half of their number was slaughtered after they encountered the Propagator and its puppets Platton seemed to be barely managing to continue paddling their canoe and Randidly was white faced and breathing heavily What made it worse was that both of these individuals had accomplished more than he Silo

Against the puppet Silo found his Skills insufficient He wasnÆt fast enough skillful enough or strong enough to keep the puppet at bay Platton was forced to move to him to assist Silo and in that time the Propagator had launched an attack on Randidly Only through the timely intervention of Sergeant Platton and Azriel could the group manage to escape

But would Randidly even make it to shore

That thought was a cold stone weight in the pit of SiloÆs stomach These people their strength was so much more than he expected Even Skarch had cleared a huge hole for the remainder of them to escape through Randidly for all that he was heavily injured had knocked the PropagatorÆs puppet to the ground The amount of power that he must have used left Silo chilled

It made Silo wonder painful thoughts The small ring given to him by his elders throbbed uncomfortably He was supposed to be the chosen one Although it would take great sacrifice he was supposed to be able to use the strength trapped in the ring in order to turn the tide of the war against the Wights He would be

a hero

Was that even close to being true

Was any of this worth it Maybe the fundamental material of himself was insufficient Perhaps the strange image bleed that weakened him was not a usual result and what was happening was that Silo was failing because his elders had misjudged him His lofty bright goals and protecting Tellus were collapsing and Silo was too desperate and selfish to voice his troubles

SiloÆs hands tightened into fists It was a long and silent ride back to Southpoint Beach

Randidly groaned as he eased himself onto the operating table The surgeon if he could be called that was a skeletally thin man with a third eye in his forehead He simply laid his hands on Randidly and closed his eyes and within a second turned to speak to Randidly with a frown

Well whatever Skill you used to forcefully close your wounds was incredibly effective But your body is riddled with something foreign If you can use the Skill again I would say the best bet is to remove it

Yes Randidly hissed gripping the table as the strange crystal shards in his body vibrated against the bones of his ribcage His Health barely decreased but it was incredibly uncomfortable Cut it out of me doc

Doc My name is Franz I have told you so many times The surgeon trailed off into mutters as Randidly waved his hand indicating how much he cared right now

The group had made it back to Southpoint Beach which was a much busier place than when RandidlyÆs group had left the beach a month ago It seemed that more and more supplies and personnel were flowing to attack the Southern Domain through Southpoint Beach and as such it was quite a bit more difficult to find who exactly they were supposed to report to

Sergeant Platton apologized and recommended that Randidly and Silo go to the medic tent for what little help they could give Health Potions were a rare commodity these days as the materials to make them slowly died out across Tellus The look in PlattonÆs eyes as he looked at Randidly let him know what he believed RandidlyÆs chances of survival were

Or perhaps survival was not the issue but being able to fight was It seemed Platton believed that RandidlyÆs fighting days were done As they pulled in to the harbor at Southpoint he spoke at length about options for soldiers back from the front

But to be fair the ride back from the fight was agony for Randidly for two reasons The first of which was the crystals stuck inside of his body It seemed obvious now but when you fought against enemies with ballistic projectiles leaving the bullet in the body was not a good idea Not that Randidly had much time to think about healing over the crystals that ripped through him they had cut off a third of his Health all at once and his main focus was slowing the speed his Health was decreasing due to the bleeding

Still there was a larger problem that Randidly had to deal with as he lay at the bottom of the boat There was a strange corrosive property that had affected himself Silo and Azriel For all that Randidly couldnÆt stand Silo he wasnÆt just gonna let that strange poison kill him

Focusing intently their 9 hour boat ride back to Southpoint Beach was just enough to cleanse them all of that strange power It left Randidly somewhat shaken and impressed by Sergeant Platton Whatever Skill that was it was a bitch to get rid of Rather than overcoming it physically Randidly found the only option he had was cleansing them by using Aether to blast the weird particles away

What was most disturbing was that he had gained 10 Skill Levels in System Interference due to that activity

Skarch Azriel and the survivors from PlattonÆs original squad had gone to find a roof for their weary legs Silo muttered something about being fine and wandered off into the cliffs nearby

Which left Randidly alone in the medical tent with the muttering surgeon Closing his eyes Randidly focused on the Skill Levels he had gained in the fight to ignore the intermittent vibrations from the crystals in his body

The biggest gain was in System Interference but Randidly also saw some growth in his relatively stagnant Wild PhantomÆs Embrace and Combat Proficiency Due to their high Level increasing those Skills was difficult and always a cause for celebration Aside from those Randidly also continued to improve his new As Shadows Depart Fireflies Dance and Absolute Timing Both gave him a slight edge in the fight against the puppet that he had relied on to survive

In total Randidly had gained 67 PP which he funneled into Growth of Yggdrasil After quite a long wait he had finally finished the Path and the long awaited completion notification gave him a few moments distraction from the surgeon prodding him to see what sort of razors could cut his skin

Congratulations You have finished the Path Growth of Yggdrasil II It is not enough for the greatest tree to be planted it is another thing entirely for it to grow to maturity Only when its branches spread wide enough to cover the world will its true might be obvious You have not arrived at this point yet but do not worry your power has grown immensely +100 Vitality and Resistance As the tree growing in your heart is no longer a sapling gain an additional 2 free Stat points per Level

Your Skills have grown to fruition All Skills relating to Yggdrasil have been joined in the Skillset Yggdrasil the Tree of Upheaval The images of the Skills have bled into each other Due to synergy gaining Levels in the Skillset will become slightly easier In addition all Skills in the Skillset grow by 10 Levels

Your Skills are nearing the point where their rarity may shift

Randidly grinned through the pain of having someone digging around through his insides and focused on preventing Yyrwood Body of Yggdrasil from triggering Of the benefits he had obtained from completing the Path he was slightly torn between which was the most important For the future the ease in Leveling up might end up being the most useful but right now Randidly was somewhat stunned that he had been awarded with an impressive 100 Vitality and Resistance All at once Vitality jumped up to being one of his highest Stats

But he also didnÆt overlook the 10 Skill Levels each for the new Skillset In total that was 70 free PP and most of those Skills were above Level 100 which meant they were not easy to raise It was a big boost to his abilities

Although he wasnÆt sure of the details he probably also obtained some more slots for Skills as the System only counts Skillsets as a single Skill

The only problem with the finishing of the Path when Randidly checked his available paths out of curiosity one sitting there infuriated him

Growth of Yggdrasil III 0/2000

Chapter 648

Fucking 2000 Randidly bellowed

The surgeon patted his shoulder absently Worry not the larger pieces are already removed This would be easier if you could lower your natural toughness eh Just how high is your Endurance anyway

Randidly didnÆt bother to answer him as his monologue turned inward 2000 PP was an almost impossible number He had come a long way of course from the days where he had Paths for 25 or 50 PP And RandidlyÆs ability to gather PP had vastly grown so the difference wasnÆt too intimidating But to jump all the way up to 2000

That was only a little less than the amount of PP he had spent so far since gaining the Soul Skill Seven Lands of the Spectral Tree Theoretically if he spent time learning meaningless Skills with his freed up slots and grinding them up to 50 or 60 he would have a lot of that filled up but

Randidly didnÆt have time for that Since the System arrived it had largely been him turning his attention from one threat to the next As such it was extremely difficult to imagine that he would be able to gather enough free time to grind up less useful Skills

Aside from the big Path Randidly had a few other options to choose from some of which he had available for a long time

Heretic XXVIII 0/ Nexus Traveler Cohort 5 0/50 Experimenter I 0/50 The Fighting Proficiency III 0/ System Transgressor 0/1 Steps of the Godling II Path 0/200 Friend to Humanity 0/100 War Leader 0/200 Path of the Patron 0/500 Metallurgist 0/300 Advanced Mana Engraving 0/400 Aether Convergence II Perfect Soul Bond 0/1000 the Bell of Doom Tolls 0/600 Chosen of Ash 0/200 Growth of Yggdrasil III 0/2000

But of them all Randidly instantly chose Chosen of Ash The strange accident that happened earlier during his time on Tellus as he investigated Ashes to Ashes made Randidly keen on figuring that out as soon as possible lest it end up being an issue That piercing headache he had in the wake of using that Skill still haunted him

The first batch of 70 PP he dumped into the Skill which he earned from the growth of the Yggdrasil Skills earned Randidly nothing His mood immediately turned depressed So it was with the Patron of Ash No matter what Randidly sacrificed for him what he received in return was somewhat underwhelming

With a wince Randidly straightened from the operating table It was an effort of will to prevent the blood that Randidly had shed on the table and the surrounding area from hissing and eating through the material of the triage center The damage would be significant and some questions might be asked So he did his best to gather his blood back on his skin as best he could as the doctor scribbled away on his notepad

That healing Skill of yours it’s very useful The surgeon announced Most of my patients these days die during procedures like this

Randidly didnÆt say much as he thanked the man and fled from the hospital

Sergeant Platton clenched his hands into fists The Lieutenant in front of him sighed dramatically and then waved his hand

Look Platton you have been rumor mongering your entire career What do you expect That you somehow discovered a conspiracy to bring an actual Propagator which some believe are simply myths into Tellus And you somehow fought it and escaped

Yes Sergeant Platton growled his eyes glowing red as he glared at the Lieutenant But all the ill will that Platton managed to concentrate and shoot at the man seemed completely ineffective against his condescending smile

Well perhaps I should defer to my peers I am only a Lieutenant after all What say you

Sergeant Platton was speaking before a tribunal of five It had been difficult to get even this much as all the activity going on at Southpoint Beach increased But what was largely infuriating to Platton was that a Lieutenant was selected as head of the tribunal The other members of the report committee were Captains

Although this particular Lieutenant was adjunct to a Colonel technically Sergeant Platton outranked him The ranks when Sergeant Captain Colonel Field Marshall and Auroch The highest in command at Southpoint Beach was Colonel Euthna to which this Lieutenant was subordinate It was due to that relationship that these Captains had the impulse to fawn over the man

Not that Colonel Euthna was the type to accept that sort of behavior She was from the Central DomainÆs elite but she had fought on the front lines for years She was a practical no nonsense woman But she had a family that had fallen on hard times so she had conceded to having several less than stellar Lieutenants

And when shit arrived flies gathered around it

There were mutters from the Captains of agreement The Lieutenant gave Sergeant Platton an expectant smile There was pity there but also smugness Well then there you have it Your story is without merit Sergeant Platton and therefore I canÆt waste the good ColonelÆs time with this In fact

After a pause the LieutenantÆs face changed as though something just occurred to him In fact perhaps you just donÆt understand the seriousness of your foolishness Platton No I cannot condone such reckless lies The Colonel would be aghast to learn of that We need to set an example this command structure will not stand for your lies As such we the tribunal will have to punish

You arenÆt a Tribunal Lieutenant Sergeant Platton bellowed with flashing eyes This is a debriefing I am simply reporting

And I am telling you the Lieutenant cut across his face twisted in annoyance It was clear to Sergeant Platton that these fools around him never challenged him or spoke over him That I sentence you

But then a sharp voice cut across all their attention

All hands battlestations Prepare for assault We are being attacked The voice was almost a low rumble Sergeant Platton had heard rumors about Colonel EuthnaÆs powerful command abilities but this was the first time he had felt them It was almost as if the Colonel could speak and the entire army heard I repeat prepare for assault It appears a Propagator has come to Southpoint Beach

The Lieutenant seemed to deflate like a rotten tomato

Sergeant Platton didnÆt bother to deal with the Lieutenant as he left the report tent and looked around the kicked beehive that was the camp Men and women holding spears were running to and fro yelling and shouting at each other A few carried some of the new tower shields that were being shipped to the front lines to keep the Psychic Poison off of the fighters

It wouldnÆt be enough This place was a glorified supply depot It was not made to withstand an attack And it couldnÆt be denied that the spear users of Tellus were much better at attacking than they were at defending points Likely Colonel Euthna knew that If at all possible she wouldnÆt have their forces turn to fight against the Wights without fortifications

Which meant that the attack was imminent Sergeant Platton swore as a strange notion struck him Did the Propagator follow them back

Instantly he sprang into action Including those two that survived their penetration into enemy lines Platton had another 10 people underneath him He sent messages detailing where they should meet and sought out his other four charges the representatives from the tournament They were waiting for him with their spears in hand ready to fight

Well Randidly Skarch and Azriel were there Silo was nowhere to be seen

Do we know where Silo is Sergeant Platton asked The three looked at each other and shrugged

If he wanted to be found he would have shown up Azriel said shortly The other seemed to agree

Sergeant Platton sighed and looked over Randidly and Azriel more closely Even now he had no doubt that his Skill was slowly eating at them It might even be in such a small way that they wouldnÆt notice for a while A week a month but the System Rarity Skill would eventually catch up to them Should he tell them

But no he recognized the determination in their eyes They would fight no matter what If they wouldnÆt slow down then all Sergeant Platton could do is put them in a situation where they could make the best of their remaining time

Alright then Sergeant Platton grunted LetÆs make the Wights bleed for every inch of land they try and take

Chapter 649

It was supposed to be so easy Naffur Suite reflected He was shaking

In order to pay off his debts he had taken a job for the Haveheights to help rob the Manhattan Building During the monthly Lottery where a lucky few would get the chance to audition before the elites of the Orchard he would slip away from the action and cause a distraction for the guards The Haveheights who were waiting outside would use that time to attack the bank and steal enough money that Naffur wouldnÆt need to worry about his gambling problem

Everything had been going fine Then Naffur had gone downstairs and found a man dead and a temporary portal already set up He had punched a woman and from the reverberations through his fist probably broke her jaw A man had fired a plasma weapon at him

Ding

The elevator reached the upper floors and the doors slid open A few of the people who were gathered for the Lottery gave Naffur a casual glance and then generally looked at him again with sharper eyes

Ah IÆm still wearing the mask Æ Naffur thought Just as he brought his trembling hands up to remove the mask the floor in front of him erupted in a plume of plasma Four figures leaped up from the floor below to the penthouse each with a plasma rifle and a power suit

Screams cut through the previously peaceful penthouse ballroom and the few spars that were occurring froze as they gazed wide eyed at the new arrivals

Everyone stay still and there will be no problems The tallest of the four arrivals said He was standing with a green visor obscuring most of his face Bring us Senator Firefly and the rest of you can go free He needs to pay for his crimes

Before the leader even started to speak Naffur felt his instincts kick into overdrive once more He scrambled back towards the elevator but there was a burst of plasma there too A wave of force exploded outward from the elevator shaft and knocked Naffur off his feet He crashed to the ground as his body twisted in an agonizing position With a cold snort the man that had been with the woman Naffur had punched pulled himself out of the elevator and scanned around

Seeing Naffur he sneered and then ignored him

Congratulations Your Skill Feign Injury is now Level 51

Once more the reminder of the type of Skills that Naffur possessed filled him with a sense of helpless frustration He wasnÆt a coward He was

If you donÆt cooperate we arenÆt afraid to resort to force The leader said giving a meaningful look to the hopeful poor populace of the Orchard The plasma rifle in his hand was heavy and smoking The powerarmor he was wearing was clearly top of the line

But Naffur

His hands trembled as he quietly got to his feet

Congratulations Your Skill Skulking is now Level 45

Naffur might not be a hero But right now he wasnÆt himself All that he had to do was channel the Ghosthound on the cheap mask he was wearing The eye flashed emerald as he closed the distance to the man who sneered and walked past him With his Skulking Skill Naffur didnÆt make a sound as he approached He was still some distance from his fellows and was beginning to walk around the hole that they had made to leap up to this floor

Naffur used Intrepid Hammer and smashed his fist directly into the critical machinery for the power armor on the small of the manÆs back

Congratulations Your Skill Intrepid Hammer is now Level 3

Congratulations Your Skill Intrepid Hammer is now Level 4

Congratulations Your Skill Intrepid Hammer is now Level 5

Congratulations Your Skill Ambush is now Level 36

Congratulations Your Skill Cheap Shot is now Level 41

The man squawked awkwardly as he was taken by an almost overwhelming force in the small of his back NaffurÆs hand immediately throbbed painfully as he effectively had punched steel as hard as he could But he had cracked the machinery and sent the man flying forward

To NaffurÆs chagrin he knocked the man into another one of the terrorist compatriots knocking them both to the ground The leader abruptly cut off in the middle of his demands and twisted around to look at what the cause of the commotion was Everyone stared silently as the two terrorists were brought to their knees by a single blow All eyes at that moment were locked onto the masked Naffur

Like a rabbit Naffur bolted for the hole in the floor to get out of the line of fire cursing himself for getting carried away by the moment there

With a roar the leader twisted around and brought his plasma rifle to bear on Naffur who was already slipping through the hole into the floor below Out of the corner of his eye Naffur saw the blue white bolt of plasma rushing towards him and squished his eyes shut

If he died like this in front of Mareen

NaffurÆs eyes sprung open and he flailed wildly to seize the edge of the hole He couldnÆt just run away if she was up here alone with these mad men

Sizz

Naffur SuiteÆs grab had pulled him abruptly sideways as he changed his mind and scrambled back up to the penthouse floor but the plasma still ripped past him clipping his right hand His thumb was ripped away in a flash of heat and pain Thoughts of rescuing Mareen were forgotten as Naffur howled and let go of the edge of the floor to cradle his burnt hand He hit the ground hard knocking the wind out of himself

Tears were in NaffurÆs eyes as he heard the leaderÆs shout above Fuck Screw it live fire boys Dank take out that crazy fool below

Got it

There was a crash as a heavy body likely weighed down with power armor dropped back to the lower floor near Naffur Right in front of his tear choked eyes thin cracks ran through the floor Although the materials in the post System world were relatively stronger than they had been in the past the demands put on them grew much more quickly than the building materials could keep up

Heavy footsteps accelerated towards Naffur who bit his lip and sprung to his feet Oh no the floor it collapsing

Almost in spite of himself the oncoming attacker who was a veritable freight train in terms of momentum and weight looked down at the floor

Congratulations Your Skill Deceitful Words is now Level 34

By the time that Dank realized that the floor was holding relatively well and looked back up Naffur had fled around the corner The hole in the floor was probably twenty meters away from the elevators and a little to the right just around the corner from the hallway in front of the elevators So Naffur dashed to the nearest cover the corner to that hallway

As soon as he ran around that corner he attempted to skid to a halt as his face twisted in horror How could he have forgotten that a manÆs dead body was just laying here

His feet slipped as he attempted to slow and Naffur fell on his ass soaking his pants in blood It was a good thing too because bolts of plasma tore through the space above his head Dank rounded the corner with angry eyes and Naffur did the only thing that he could think of

He scrambled forward and grabbed the nearby dead body Then he threw it at Dank to distract him

On instinct Dank fired a bolt of plasma that ripped through the medicÆs chest cavity Melted skin and blood spattered down on DankÆs combat visor covering it in a sizzling film of gore Swearing Dank attempted to wipe the gunk away with the very clumsy metal fingers of his powersuit

Naffur bolted hoping for an escape from this place

do you mean the elevator canÆt go to the penthouse A voice said as an elevator slowly opened A man took a step out and right into NaffurÆs path The man was speaking on a cell phone and frowned at the floor rather than noticing anything about his situation

Naffur slammed into the man bowling him over The two fell in a pile of twisted limbs back into the elevator As they hit the ground Naffur realized he knew this man it was Senator Firefly

Chapter 650

Quick as a flash Naffur was back on his feet and jamming the close door button As the metal slowly lurched to respond Naffur also pressed in the button for the ground floor Anything to get away from this place

Excuse me young man but no matter who you are you cannot is this blood Senator FireflyÆs voice started out stern but it abruptly switched to concerned as he noticed the state of Naffur Only when the metal doors slid shut blocking out the sound of DankÆs cursing as he struggled to clean the melted flesh off of his helmet did Naffur relax

Naffur tried to imagine what he looked like as he turned around to face the Senator He likely didnÆt look like he was a no good street rat whose heart was pounding in his ears But then again maybe Naffur did He felt so small and dirty before this man He was not large but his eyes were incisive and bright

Those eyes seemed capable of piercing right through NaffurÆs mask and seeing him for who he truly was A fraud He was not the Ghosthound He was nowhere near a hero He was just a kid that was in way way over his head And maybe this was his chance

Blood dripped down NaffurÆs soaked suit and pooled on the ground of the elevator He hadnÆt soaked up much as it was partially dried but it was still enough to leave very noticeable stains Aside from the crimson shirt the rest of the clothes were probably a lost cause His Ghosthound mask seemed to be melted in the corner where a bolt of plasma had whizzed too close to him

As Naffur opened his mouth to confess everything to this imposing older gentleman two things happened at once First the pain of having his thumb burned off by plasma finally stomped past the haze of adrenaline and began to rip apart his resolve to come clean

The second thing is that there was an audible sound of impact above and the elevator started to accelerate somewhat It moved right passed safe speeds and into free falling in the next four seconds

Damnit I knew we shouldnÆt have traveled separately Senator Firefly muttered to himself Then he shook his head and looked at Naffur with a more measured gaze well going the silent route are you I suppose it is safe to say you are not friendly with these volatile elements then Please stand back

It felt like the small elevator was careening downwards at ever higher speeds as Naffur obligingly stood with his back against the wall as the Senator rolled up his sleeves It surprised Naffur but the vantage point was enough to show that the Senator was trembling

Good So Naffur wouldnÆt be the only one who had peed himself before they died

Flaming Burst The Senator shouted as he pointed at the wall A balloon of flame seemed to inflate from his hand and even though he had rolled up the sleeves of his shirt there was the distinct smell of burning cloth The wall of the elevator began to tremble and ooze as the high heat destabilized the metal For several long seconds the walls distorted as the Senator continued to apply heat

The Senator seemed pleased with this development but Naffur just stared wide eyed at the man The heat in the elevator was rapidly rising to something that felt like 100 degrees Fahrenheit Then of all things the Senator bashfully looked over his shoulder at Naffur and coughed lightly

I ahem excuse But the Senator couldnÆt talk anymore because he was hacking as he attempted to breathe only to find nothing that could sustain him in the air Naffur wasnÆt completely sure but he knew that oxygen burned away when fire was used in an enclosed space People with higher Endurance and Vitality could ignore the lack of oxygen for a short time but it was very hard to convince your body to ignore its biological imperatives

Even Naffur felt a slowly rising panicked need to breathe There was a story that Naffur always liked about how the Ghosthound walked to the bottom of Lake Apollo to slay a dragon and stayed there for three days not moving until the dragon thought the Ghosthound had departed and walked right out of its cave into his waiting arms

You ARE NOT the Ghosthound Æ A part of Naffur screamed at him That was the part of him that wanted to curl up and hope that nothing bad would happen as this tiny partially melted metal box crazed into the ground floor The floor indicator was rushing past 10 now and was very quickly at 9

Of all things the throbbing pain of his missing thumb brought Naffur back from a panicked state to something resembling calmness Time seemed to slow although that was perhaps just his overdramatic mind thinking about how long it had been since he had breathed Feeling the agony and strain in every corner of his body all Naffur could think of was how he didnÆt want to die

Naffur clenched his fist as he watched the Senator with a red face and hacking up phlegm This man perhaps he was good at running a district and voting on taxes but he was a fool For whatever reason Naffur felt no desire to help the man but rather

Rather some selfish part of Naffur that had Skulked in alleys as richer individuals walked by wanted to prove to these people that they werenÆt all they were cracked up to be There was something more important than money Naffur would prove he mattered

Senator Firefly had fucked them by melting the elevator wall so it would collapse and smother them when they crashed to the ground But Naffur could save them

Not that the Senator was wrong The elevator indicator ticked past 8 to 7 The lower 10 floors of the Manhattan building had the elevators descend through a glass tube in full view of the lobby If the wall of the elevator could be broken it would be easy to leap out and not end up like old vegetables smooshed in a tin can

The indicator ticked to 6 Naffur shoved Senator Firefly to the side and stepped up to the wall He clenched his fist even without a thumb His knuckles were knobby and deformed Naffur knew that when the missing thumb pain faded he likely had some damaged bones in his hand But he couldnÆt stop now could he

Intrepid Hammer

Was this how the Ghosthound felt Æ Naffur wondered as he smashed his fist harder than he had ever dared before against the wall of the elevator You start down a path and by the end you donÆt know why you are here but you simply cannot stop Æ

The wall of the elevator erupted outwards smashed back the glass casing of the elevator shaft in a glittering explosion Inwardly Naffur belatedly remembered there would be normal people below who might be affected by the raining glass He smiled ruefully as he stepped forward towards the opening It was definitely just his imagination then The Ghosthound would never do something as selfish as this

The Ghosthound especially wouldnÆt leave

Blinded and coughing the Senator stumbled back into Naffur as he took a step forward Once more in a heap of limbs the two of them tripped together and tumbled out of the elevator Naffur was on the bottom so his back was ravaged as the elevator continued to descend and his body was forcefully used to shatter the glass shaft

But the pain once more focused Naffur He roared as they tumbled through the air and he gripped the Senator by the lapels To his surprise the other manÆs weight was easily maneuvered by his current crazed state He would have perhaps begun to throttle the man but then they hit the floor feet first

This time the Senator was on the bottom and with a cry he fell to the ground The ground floor was a bank lobby and there were about 20 people standing around frozen as Naffur and the Senator crashed into the ground Naffur swayed and stumbled but managed to stay upright There were four guards visible by the doors and another ten waiting in various locations around the ground floor The memory surfaced like a bad smell causing Naffur to wince

Then the elevator crashed to the ground behind him and Naffur was once more almost knocked off his feet There was a wave of force and billowing clouds of shattered plaster that spread throughout the whole room

You Naffur said angrily feeling his pulse pounding in his ears It felt like his suit had been completely ripped up the back and his flesh had been shredded by the glass With a roar Naffur grabbed the Senator and threw him bodily almost like one would see on a professional wrestling show

As if on cue the shattered glass arrived raining down on the area that the Senator had just vacated The small bits embedded themselves in NaffurÆs back and he grit his teeth to keep from crying The tinkling sound of falling glass slowly stilled as Naffur breathed heavily to try and catch up with all of the wild emotions that were pulling him in different directions

Pain fear exhaustion surprise regret

With a crash Dank in full battle regalia slammed into the nearby ground Without even turning fully the power armor pivoted and backhanded Naffur Helplessly he tumbled sideways until he cracked into the hard marble counter of the bank tellers stations and everything went dark

Chapter 651

The Haveheight crew idled about in a privately owned and sympathetic restaurant across from the Manhattan Building When there was the booming sound of a crash and a plume of smoke obscuring the lobby of the Manhattan Building most of the customers in the restaurant muttered to themselves and wondered if they should call 911

Ricky Stain simply smiled and flashed his teeth at his group Heh what did I tell ya The kid doesnÆt have the balls to fuck this up Showtime boys

In a professional manner the group stripped off their civilian clothing for nondescript black sweat pants and shirts Everyone produced an illegally acquired plasma weapon and they rapidly marched across the street to the Manhattan Building unafraid to shove people to the side to get their point across

To RickyÆs surprise the sound of plasma discharge was already audible and people were screaming and fleeing He frowned this meant there would be a VERY rapid police response And if there was evidence of someone with a Level as high as RickyÆs the force dispatched would be something more on the line of special forces The government did not pull its punches anymore not when most injuries could be healed

Damnit kid you were picked because you were a nervous fool not because we thought you were fucking Rambo What are you pulling right now

They kicked down the doors and charged into the ground floor ignoring the debris The air was filled with the haze of smoke and there were several small fires at the guard stations Guards were laying on the ground seemingly unconscious were dead People were screaming

RickyÆs eyes scanned through the forms obscured by the smoke until he finally located the Suite kid He was seemingly unconscious and wearing a Ghosthound mask smashed into the wall Honestly Ricky might not have recognized him if not for his Familiar Sense Skill But the fact he was smashed into the wall made Ricky even more confused If it wasnÆt the kid who

But then a power armor loomed forward out of the smoke and it all made sense Ricky had vastly underestimated both the kid and the bank It seemed that the kid had a penchant for violence and had been ripping through the guards when the bank deployed a fucking powerarmor on him

Fuck me Ricky said quietly as he weighed his options The powerarmor was turning away when it spotted them and paused

Fuck it Ricky gritted his teeth Open fire

His boys might be pale and coughing but they aimed and fired just like he paid them for

A familiar sensation woke Naffur That and the kind of migraine that would have people sticking their head underwater and leaving it there

Congratulations Your Skill Feign Injury is now Level 54

Groaning Naffur cursed his fucked up Skill and staggered to his feet by leaning against the wall It didnÆt seem to matter much to the Skill whether or not he was actually injured If another party simply thought he was injured he would get experience for it

Puzzled Naffur looked down at the ground It was cracked and there were large shards of crushed glass on the ground Drops of blood

A scream cut through NaffurÆs meandering thoughts and brought him back to the battlefield that was the bottom floor of the Manhattan Building It seemed that the guards had mounted a concerted counterattack on the powerarmor wielding Dank because about a dozen people were peppering the armor with bolts of plasma

But Naffur looked up straight upward almost as though he could pierce through the metal and wood and plastics of the building to see the penthouse ballroom He had been so fucking caught up in his fear and panic in the elevator that he had completely forgotten that there was one person here who really needed his help He pretended to be a small hero just from breaking and elevator but Mareen

His feet were moving before he could even formulate the thought He crossed his arms and dashed across the broken lobby of the bank towards the stairs which were across the room from the elevators Bolts of plasma whizzed past as the ricocheted off a now sorry looking Dank But no matter how close they came to hitting him Naffur didnÆt slow

Feeling like it was just the best way to open things now Naffur ignored the door handle and simply used Intrepid Hammer to break down the door He felt powerful and that power was going to be necessary Dank wasnÆt alone here Above were at least four more individuals who might be just as unstoppable in power armor

Naffur tried to clench his fist but abruptly realized there was no point his fist seemed locked into a clench He couldnÆt get it to budge even if he tried

Not that he gave it much attention as he took the stairs two at a time and began rushing upwards towards the Penthouse But it was something that a part of his brain filed away as something that might someday be important

The Manhattan Building was 25 floors high and it left even Naffur who felt he had a fair amount of PP and Stats winded and staggering Although he knew that there was no chance that this version of Naffur would be anywhere close to a match for these terrorists when Naffur reached the penthouse he raised his locked fist and staggered towards the door

As was the case often today the door opened before he got there and a figure dashed out to slam into him Once again Naffur recognized him just as they smashed into each other it was the leader of the terrorists

When they hit each other the leader was looking back over his shoulder so he was the one knocked farther backward by the impact NaffurÆs numb eyes had barely enough focus to take in the fact that the leader wasnÆt wearing his power armor anymore and that was enough for NaffurÆs instincts

Intrepid Hammer

Congratulations Your Skill Intrepid Hammer is now Level 11

Congratulations Your Skill Feign Injury is now Level 12

Congratulations Your Skill Cheap Shot is now Level 43

Congratulations Your Skill Feign Injury is now Level 37

As his fist smashed into the leaderÆs jaw and the manÆs head snapped sideways with an audible click Naffur reflected tiredly that he was gaining quite a lot of PP today Perhaps he could even finish a Path after it all

For a second after the collision the man swayed Then the terrorist leader collapsed bonelessly in front of Naffur and he realized that his blow had knocked the man out Naffur himself swayed barely able to keep himself standing as the rush of relief relaxed him He looked from the man to the closing doors NaffurÆs headache continued to throb

But the source of the danger was right here

Complicating matters was the fact that there was no noise coming from the penthouse ballroom ShouldnÆt there be some sort of battle going on

Eventually Naffur compromised and began tiredly dragging the leader back towards the door to the ballroom Better to keep an eye on him in the meantime He seemed pretty weak if all it took to finish him was a strong punch to the jaw Naffur felt somewhat peeved he had been so afraid of him earlier

But he supposed the real danger was always the plasma rifles

When Naffur entered the room he froze There was still a hole in the floor to the level below where the group had emerged from earlier but now there were piles of torn and twisted power armor around it A figure stood at the edge of the hole looking casually down There were other people in the ballroom gathered at the far end in a nervous ball but NaffurÆs eyes were drawn to that figure

who is that The voice came from someone amongst the group on the far wall To his relief Naffur noticed Mareen was there

The figure straightened turning away from the hole and looking towards Naffur

Eyes so emerald that when Naffur breathed sharply in he swore he could smell fresh cut summer grass Short black hair and a sharp nose And a frown that was piercing enough to give the recipient the feeling of a knife through the ribs with even a casual gaze

The Ghosthound stood there considering Naffur NaffurÆs left hand pulling on the terroristÆs shirt involuntarily released The man thumped to the ground That emerald gaze continued to linger slowly unstitching Naffur and peering at his insides Trembling Naffur tried to say something but his voice failed him

And what he had wanted to say was dumb At that moment he wanted to ask the Ghosthound he wanted to ask what he saw When the Ghosthound looked at Naffur and pulled him apart by the stitching to examine his insides what had he found

Who am I

That The Ghosthound said and as he spoke his mouth spread into a brilliant grin well we will call them Agent One And by my name Randidly Ghosthound let it be known that they are Ordained as the first member of my Order Ducis Where they stand they have the full weight of the Order behind them

The Ghosthound stepped then and a single step made distance irrelevant Instantly the Ghosthound was in front of Naffur and his hands reached up and touched the side of NaffurÆs mask almost fondly The touch was light and gentle and it made NaffurÆs trembling worse

Welcome to the fold Make sure to have some fun alright The Ghosthound whispered and his eyes were two emerald lighthouses warning Naffur away But he felt himself falling forward helplessly towards them as his consciousness slowly left him

Chapter 652

When the Wight attack came for Southpoint Beach even Randidly was stunned by its scope Mere 6 hours after they had landed at the harbor they were forced to retreat as hundreds of thousands of Wights rushed in their tiny boats to assault the shore There were so many that it was almost impossible to see the water for all the boats cruising forward towards them

Looking at how thickly packed the groups were Randidly cursed bitterly that he still had almost seven hours left on the cooldown for his Mana If he had spells especially Hammer of the Dawn or Incendiary Eruption

But even so it was hard to imagine making a dent in the vast sea of Wights

I didnÆt even think there were this many Wights alive Skarch said scratching her jaw The four of them (Randidly Skarch Azriel and Sergeant Platton) were standing on a small hill behind the main part of the base giving them a clear view of what was occurring on it Platton assured them that they would be able to do nothing to help and pulled the group in the way

Silo was currently off in the wilderness wrestling with an ever larger flow of strangely corrosive Aether but the vibes that energy was throwing off were bad enough that he didnÆt bother to inform the rest of the group that he knew where Silo was Whatever was going on this seemed like something the weirdo had to work through himself

At the time of forming the original ambush plan Randidly had been somewhat non believing But even he was exhausted looking at the enemies coming towards them He rubbed his chest and winced Sometimes there were small flickers He wasnÆt completely sure that surgeon had removed all of the crystal fragments But Randidly understood the difficulty in doing so It just made him uneasy

Or perhaps he was just paranoid in the face of so many enemies

Can they defend Azriel asked Platton

Platton shrugged his face twisted into a frown it pains me to say it but no Colonel Euthna is strong but this He spread his hands out helplessly

The group agreed with him although no one voiced their opinions The rest of Sergeant PlattonÆs squad was already moving ahead setting out points for them to ambush the attacking Wights But this group remained to bear witness to the baseÆs final moments Luckily Randidly could spot no Witch Kings so at least that threat wasnÆt hanging over the base

Is there no sort of equipment to fend off large groups A canon or something Randidly asked already knowing the answer

Sergeant Platton struggled All beautiful things are imperfect That is why we love them So is our world

Randidly said nothing What was there to say It was hard not to think that the spear users had perversely chosen this end by so single mindedly pursuing the spear

The Wight boats hit to shore and the strange fragile bodies leaped off and began to charge towards the base Although their limbs were slim and sharp their diaphanous cloaks around them gave them a strange sense of size They seemed to be a school of vengeful jellyfish rushing out of the deep to murder the land dwellers

When the lines met the spear users crushed them Then they crushed the next wave Then the next and the next

One by one spear users along the line began to die And very quickly there were so many Wights that they could flank the group of spear users and all the spear users along the edge of the grouping began to be surrounded and die

There was a breaking point and all at once the Wights were ripping through their lines everywhere Randidly narrowed his eyes and he could distantly trace several spear users that seemed transcendent in their ability to kill Wights Those few held together the last bit of resistance against the sea of bodies that were surging forward Those few were the aegis of the spear users and around them none would fall

Do you think it foolish That we refused to embrace other Paths to strength I want each of you to answer Sergeant Platton said slowly He turned and gave Randidly a wry smile you last I suspect I know what your answer will be

No Skarch said simply What else could we do There are no weapons that would have been better suited to this battle than the spear It is truly perfect

Spoken like a true member of the Spear School Sergeant Platton grunted

On the battlefield one of those few faltered as Psychic Poison hit them from too many angles She was tall with a cascade of azure hair more perfect and clear than the sea at midday Simply with the press of bodies they bore her to the ground But around her the remaining four paragons fought that much harder Their followers seemed to sense the desperation of their impending plight and risked themselves wildly

RandidlyÆs hands itched Those people were doomed Even though he couldnÆt see it he sensed how low their Health was Under the weight of that many attacks even Randidly recognized he would be buried And yet he wanted to join them

As he watched them continue to struggle his eyes abruptly widened and his gaze rose to the sky

I do not regret choosing the spear Azriel announced proudly But I think if you ignore everything you wish to accomplish you do yourself and the world around you a disservice We have responsibilities My spear is the Path to accomplishing those responsibilities Seeking the way to have everything lay in front of you as straight as a spear that is the only prudent Path

That is a hard Path to walk Sergeant Platton said softly I wish you luck And you Randidly

Randidly gazed for a long time at the sky above the battlefield without answering He could tell how the battle was going without even looking Because in the sky the Aether was reacting to what was going on below The wind twisted and spiraled upwards Clouds rumbled lower and pressed together into a shaft And then the wind came down in a huge blade the head of the spear that had somehow been formed by the perseverance of those few individuals who laid down their lives to slow the WightsÆ advance

When the spear hit the ground it did not annihilate the Wights as Randidly expected Instead a tidal wave of Aether spread outwards from that point radiating into the surrounding area When it hit Randidly he tasted it and felt an incomparably sharp sensation of the spear Abruptly his images relating to the spear focused

Randidly let out a long breath How did how did these people affect the Aether with just their images

Well Sergeant Platton prompted The last paragon stood tall with only a dozen spear users besides him They cut forward pressing deeper into the bulk of the Wight forces without pause Only by advancing had they avoided being crushed and suffocated by the army around them

The paragon raised his spear His group joined him In the sky the Aether roiled and shifted rising to the call

It was emotion Randidly realized Aether wasnÆt rising to their images per se The System had a stranglehold over the images under its influence That was RandidlyÆs greatest advantage that he had over other people his images were relatively pure and easy to create But somehow the emotion

The spear users died to the man But Randidly could close his eyes and forget that But what he couldnÆt forget was how much each of them loved the spear

Yes It is dumb you ignore other Paths Randidly said with a sigh but how could I say such a pure love is foolish

The valiance and fidelity of a patriot are beautiful in any man Æ Sergeant Platton said calmly That is a quote of the Spearman himself Come we must get into position They served their purpose and now it is time to accomplish ours

The group turned away but Randidly watched a little longer watching the still roiling Aether in the sky above the battlefield RandidlyÆs eyes were sharp as he considered the shifting forces Why was the disturbance growing stronger ShouldnÆt the Aether cease being affected by the emotions now that the source people were dead

More than that another question occurred to Randidly and he couldnÆt find an answer to it

Where were the Masters Where were the true powerhouses of Tellus right now

Chapter 653

Shal was frustrated Lying beside him was Razland who was already asleep His snores were so noisy that Shal almost believed that the Wights would leave their fortifications and launch an attack in the middle of the night in order to get Razland to cease with his incessant noise

After Shal had drawn the two Witch Kings into a fight and killed them both with Razland and VerynicaÆs help That had largely broken the force of Wights ravaging the Death School They had pursued the final general in the area to the first location that they had taken here at Deepmysh

Stubbornly the Wights had deployed to Hell MawÆs and repelled all assaults on the base Shal could have ripped through it easily but he was held back by Ophelia VadeÆs warning to hide his main strength At the time that he had received that encouragement from his superior Shal had agreed it was smart But now

What was the point

There was definitely something amiss in the whole battle on Tellus The Wights were launching assaults and winning everywhere that Shal could see and yet no one was doing anything about it Everyone was guarding their cards too closely to play any hands before they had enough chips to force someone else out

The problem was that Shal had no fucking idea who the players were And also he didnÆt understand WHY he had to hide his true strength

On Tellus the four distinctions were Artisan Adept Pontiff and Master An Artisan had enough strength of image to cause a vision or auditory change to the world simply by using a Skill An Adept could physically move something only with a SkillÆs image These were the base two types of strength and could be reached with sufficient training and Willpower That was especially true when an individual spent some time on the front lines

That sharpened an image like nothing else Standing near death paid dividends in this brutal world

Between the lower two and upper two distinctions there was a firm line That was why it was so important that Randidly had been judged to have the potential to reach the Pontiff level all that time ago His potential was to become a true mover and shaker on Tellus

A Pontiff could do many things but what truly set Pontiffs apart was that their Skills and images touched on something bigger than themselves They possessed a hint of a greater image When seeing those images they fit into easy to understand larger narratives To say it simplest of all these images seemed trueÆ

Now this was essentially useless without the Spearsource in their possession The Spearsource had served as a bridge to becoming a Pontiff to many Many of the images relating to the spear lost their power without the Spearsource installed

But to others it gave them a chance to reach the pinnacle of Tellus the Masters Those that could create their own images with such strength that they could become their avatars They didnÆt need to resemble the power of certain larger narratives or images they could create those powerful images all on their own

These individuals also could forcefully raise the strength of the people beneath them with their images serving as a boost And Shal knew he wasnÆt near the level of the old monsters but he had fought and struggled until he had created his own Master Class image Yet Ophelia Vade insisted he hide it

So Shal simply sat in the darkness looking towards Deepmysh His eyes glowed in the low light and some part of him ripped apart the distance and the walls to see within Even from here he could feel the rapid heartbeat of the Witch King within ShalÆs mouth curled up in a small smile Then he closed his eyes and began to meditate

As long as his enemy knew he was coming Shal supposed there was no harm in letting the rabbit tire itself out

Randidly felt the deep scratching at the back of his head that indicated Mana deprivation and grimaced he simply couldnÆt get away from the ridiculous Mana expenditures right now It was simply too easy to gain experience that way

Several of the Wights that he had knocked to the ground with Incendiary Eruption staggered to their feet but Randidly was on them in that short moment Acri scythed back and forth ripping their frail bodies to shreds One hissed in displeasure and condensed a large claw that loomed over Randidly

As the attack came down but Randidly was suddenly a breath of wind and the force of the attack blew up sideways Within a split second Randidly cut back and cut the offending Wright in half

Their bodily liquids dribbled out of the spear and Acri waved its head back and forth in glee Sighing Randidly squeezed Acri to indicate the battle was over For all that Acri dined on Experience to grow it sometimes unnerved Randidly how little care it gave towards other lives To Acri only he mattered The rest were simply walking bags of experience

Which meant they couldnÆt be that for Randidly of course But that didnÆt mean he hadnÆt benefitted After two weeks of ambushing the Wight raiding parties that were running through the South of the Central Domain Randidly had reached Level 32 A part of him still worried that people would begin to notice that his Level was beginning to rise above 25 but it soon became clear that it was anywhere but close to the front of these peopleÆs minds

Randidly had perhaps been fighting for so long that he didnÆt notice but these people were at risk of being wiped out Or at least that seemed to be the air affecting the foot soldiers that Randidly met among PlattonÆs squad and other groups operating nearby

Villages were burned All the regular people that Wights managed to catch were killed and their bodies dragged back to the boats to be shipped to the Propagator That was the part that chilled Randidly the most It made him have a bad feeling where this sea of Wight foot soldier came from

After confirming that all the Wights in the surrounding area were dead Randidly climbed up a nearby tree and surveyed the area The defensive effort of the Central Domain was split into two parts the first evacuated the civilians ahead of the Wights while the second part actively moved to cut down the Wights before they could strike Of course Randidly was part of the latter group To cover larger ground Sergeant Platton had begrudgingly given Randidly Skarch and Azriel permission to act independently as long as they returned each night

It had taken a few days but it soon became clear that against the common Wight soldiers to have more than one of them was simply overkill The enemies were dead faster than they could charge forward to be killed

Plus there was so much ground to cover

Shaking his head Randidly dropped off the tree and started heading back towards the rendezvous point When the Wights came this time their attack wasnÆt just at Southpoint Beach There were fully 7 points of attack on the Central Domain of the Spearman School one of which was Niergem Randidly wasnÆt sure how he should feel when the news came that with its new iconic tower shield Niergem had crushed the invasion in its area

It had saved a lot of lives But Randidly felt bitter at whose feet that victory was laid

What the Wight invasion indicated was that numbers didnÆt matter to the Wights Randidly wasnÆt keeping a count but the number of Wights he had killed was up in the thousands Days blended together as he swept across the area cutting down the columns of Wights that moved forward With the array of spells at his disposal it was easy to burn them from afar and then move close to mop the remainder up

Not that it seemed to matter More Wights constantly poured forth It was intimidating in a way

Exactly how many bodies had the Propagators gathered How long had they prepared for this

When he arrived at the agreed upon point Azriel and Skarch were already there talking quietly with Platton

Grunting Sergeant Platton stood as Randidly arrived I have news

Good news Randidly asked tilting his head Without standing on ceremony he removed a rag and a bowl of water from his interspatial ring and began cleaning himself of blood Face hands and of course feet were his primary targets

Perhaps Word filtered up that I brought four hours worth of warning about the attack and the presence of the Propagators which was ultimately ignored I have been promoted to Captain The area of land for you sweepers to act in has just grown immensely It probably wonÆt matter much but I have no doubt that your Soulstones will be very full next month

AzrielÆs mouth twisted At this rate what will it matter The Spear Forest will be a roost for the Wights at this rate They are pushing as if lives donÆt matter

Then letÆs make them matter Captain Platton with a show of teeth He gestured and a wooden crate appeared in front of him RandidlyÆs eyes widened as he recognized what it was Randidly what can you do with this many Mana Potions

Chapter 654

Tarik Claw tightly held his spear as he crouched with his partner next to the tall stone They had been told to wait here and it had been almost ten minutes Tarik was fresh to this group which they were beginning to PlattonÆs Pounders In the crazy few weeks after the wave of Wights landed upon the shores of the Central Domain this was the group that was being brought to the heaviest area of fighting They were the ones cutting the Wights up every way possible

Some rumors put the total number of kills racked up by those under Captain Platton as fully half of the number of Wights killed since the assault had begun

Now Tarik didnÆt believe they were that effective but he couldnÆt deny that he had felt a thread of excitement and pride when he had been told he would be transferring to underneath Captain PlattonÆs command He was nearing up to a full year on the frontlines and this was the promotion that Tarik had been waiting for This would finally be his chance to prove his strength

TarikÆs partner yawned and leaned back against the stone Frowning Tarik tried to figure out what he was supposed to say to get the answer he wanted There four teams underneath Sergeant Platton and the Ghost team which he was currently on was the smallest There were only three members TarikÆs partner had been assigned to this team for quite some time The leader of the team was a sharp eyed young man named Randidly From their brief interaction Tarik liked Randidly

But Randidly had brought them here and just left them to rot

That didnÆt sit well with Tarik

Should we just let him out there What if he was ambushed Tarik said trying and failing to remember the name of his partner

The man snorted and leaned further back against the stone As cool as a fish he yawned widely Time inched past Tarik fidgeted with his spear casting more glances down the slow of the valley where Randidly had walked to

Relax kid Get your rest while you can It wonÆt be easy later The man said with a yawn He waved his hand at Tarik YouÆll get your chance to be some sort of hero I bet youÆll be able to tell some pretty girl how you killed a thousand Wights this week

A THOUSAND Tarik said slightly embarrassed how his voice cracked as he spoke But it was a mind boggling number A thousand Wights Were there really that many

ItÆs time Suddenly Randidly was there standing between the two of them With a long stretch TarikÆs partner stood But RandidlyÆs eyes focused on Tarik They slid up and down over him and Tarik felt profoundly uncomfortable While Randidly wasnÆt here Tarik felt simmering displeasure at being left behind but now that he was here

Tarik wasnÆt embarrassed to admit that this man was far more powerful than him Idly Tarik wondered what powerful Style from the Central Domain that Randidly hailed from

Whatever he saw was enough because Randidly turned away from Tarik and began to lope down the valley Instantly the partner how Tarik still didn’tÆ remember the name of followed closely behind With a short curse Tarik dashed to catch up to the two of them and discovered to his shock that they were losing him as Tarik did his best to sprint and catch up with them

It was clear that TarikÆs partner was just as desperate as he was only with better timing But Randidly moved at a speed that seemed impossible considering his even gait Inwardly Tarik swore to himself that he would follow the other man much more closely from now on

Did this mean that he might really kill a thousand Wights

Randidly brought them down to the base of the valley which led into a sharp crack in the rock Randidly continued further and as Tarik followed he realized that there was a rather sizable path here one that would allow almost five men to walk side by side

The Wights are coming through here Randidly announced IÆll go ahead and thin their numbers out Any that make it through to you are your job to clean up There will be some tremors in the ground ignore it You should be safe as long as you to stay in the area with the vines Herro you are in charge

A finger at the rock wall on either side of them indicated where the vine areaÆ was Tarik looked around confused then opened his mouth to ask how many Wights they should expect

But Randidly was already gone Tarik scratched his cheek and readjusted his grip on his spear At least he now knew that his partnerÆs name is Herro And after the sprint down here TarikÆs Stamina was almost bottomed out He could use the rest

Herro seemed to have the same idea and the two men crouched in the ground at the edge of the small stone passageway in silence for several minutes Then Tarik asked About how many enemies are we ambushing

ItÆs one of the main forces in the area so maybe like 20 000 Randidly has been waiting a long time to get them in a tight spot could you tell how excited he was Herro said stretching his hamstrings

Tarik smiled sourly trying his best not to take the other manÆs joke personally This group of three stalking an army of 20 000 As if

But Herro continued to speak Although it means that we have been pushed back almost halfway towards the core of the Central Domain these small mountains make it much easier to do our job Hehe I can see in your expression that you donÆt really understand but thatÆs fine Randidly is a Spellspear the most powerful in history Rumor has it that Captain Platton found him working as a high end gardener and realized what his plant magic could do if refined properly And now Well you will see

With that Herro fell silent and Tarik didnÆt know what to say Luckily he was saved from the need to talk as the rumbling started

It began as a distant thing but very soon the rock walls around them were trembling and cracking With fear in his eyes Tarik backed slowly away from the walls and towards the entrance back into the valley but HerroÆs hand shot out and locked around his arm like a vice grip You have your orders soldier We stay here Remain in the root area

But Tarik said wide eyed His gaze was seized by a large stone about the size of a large dog that was falling down the sheer cliffs above them on course to crush them to mush Tarik didnÆt care about orders not when

But to his surprise one of the vines on the walls detached itself and caught the stone gingerly The substance of the vine strained and stretched but the stone was knocked sideways to land harmlessly further up the passage More and more rocks rained downwards but each time the vines moved to turn the debris aside

This is why I like the gardener story Herro said almost proudly Otherwise why would he have magic relating to plants

Maybe he was a farmer Tarik croaked out Although the shaking was abating there were more and more concussive sounds from farther down the passage where Randidly had gone It seemed that unlike them the Wights werenÆt as lucky and the passage was collapsing down on top of them Perhaps it really was possible to kill 20 000 Wights this way

Herro gave Tarik a long look then sighed Kid you arenÆt as dumb as you look Alright up and at em The dregs will be wandering through soon

This time Tarik didnÆt bother to ask Everything was happening too quickly and it was too strange But true to HerroÆs word five minutes later a few bedraggled Wights stumbled forward towards their position But what Tarik didnÆt understand was what happened to them

Their iconic cloaks were burnt away revealing broken and weak bodies The Wights seemed charred and scuffed as though they had stumbled through a fire on the way here What exactly

Without giving them a chance to really notice them Herro lashed out and knocked two of them to the ground Belatedly Tarik joined him and dispatched the other couple that had appeared

It was like sorting through trash Tarik realized halfway through the task It ended up taking fully six hours More and more began streaming towards them but never more than twenty at a time and putting those numbers would overstate the threat they faced All those that came seemed to be missing a limb or unable to move part of their body or were more fearful than capable at this point

It seemed that Randidly moved like a walking disaster in such a small space turning the once proud army into nothing but dregs Tarik knew how powerful Wights could be when gathered together and yet this

One Wight actually flinched when Tarik raised his spear to strike the enemy down It was like whatever it had just gone through had left it deeply scarred

All in all Tarik had killed 238 Wights in that six hours before Randidly appeared Time to move they didnÆt send the whole army in But still a good haul Do you both have Stamina to spare

Instantly Tarik understood why Herro had taken care of most of the kills early and then let him take over later With an easy smile Herro smiled at RandidlyÆs question Not willing to be outdone Tarik gritted his teeth and nodded as well

Good because I want to flank them It will take some doing but it will make the rest of the weekÆs work go quickly

Chapter 655

Shit Skarch muttered Her support squad shifted around her uncomfortably with their eyes on the ground She could feel the tension in their shoulders and see how the tips of their spears quivered as they gripped the shafts too tightly This is a trap

Immediately Skarch brought up the Party chat with her three allies Although Silo hadnÆt responded since the attack on South point Beach four weeks ago his continued presence meant he was alive somewhere So Skarch didnÆt mind including him in case he came to their aid

Bit off more than I can chew Skarch put into chat Then she did her best to approximate her location by triangulating the surrounding terrain and putting that out there

How many Azriel responded almost immediately She always was the first to speak Skarch knew that it was because the young woman was driven to be the best and she was constantly next to the monster that was Randidly Ghosthound Undoubtedly Azriel had improved the most and the fastest out of all of them when it came to spear use and images due to the pressure she felt

But Skarch didnÆt doubt she would get herself in over her head at some point in an effort to surpass the Legend of Randidly Ghosthound

Stroking her spear Skarch sighed Which was why it was so aggravating for her squad to be the one that was about to be crushed between two Wight forces

Four thousand But all of them are Zeitgard

The forces that had been defending the Southern countryside of the Central Domain had made repeated requests to Hastam the Central Domain capital that additional aid sent More and more of the landscape they were forced to concede in the face of larger and larger numbers Other troops were shifted to assist Captain Platton and his ilk but not on the scale that they needed to stop the advance

The Zeitgard were a relatively new addition to the landscape of battlefields And Skarch believed that they were a direct response to the presence of herself Azriel and Randidly So far they had run wild on the enemy But more and more often the elite units were deployed to corral them It was truly a matter of speed the lower level of Wights could not even throw an attack that had a hope of landing on the three of them unless they were immobilized

The Zeitgard still could and their bodies were tough enough to slow them down

IÆll be there in thirty seven minutes Solo my squad wonÆt be able to keep up

Skarch frowned at AzrielÆs reply Alone Azriel would be useful but

SkarchÆs squad of forty were crouching at the side of the river that marked the dividing line between the poverty ridden South of the Central Domain and the truly affluent On the South Bank where Skarch was standing it was farmland as far South as the eye could see Or at least it had been

Now there was smoke fire and the ichor of dead Wights everywhere

SkarchÆs squad had received word that a large army had finally worked up the balls to cross the Hallat River and strike North Although the assault unnerved many Captain Platton and his peers were at least pleased that such an assault would finally affect HastamÆs bottom line and provoke a response Thinking quickly Skarch had moved West and South to the southern bank of the Hallat When the Wights were pressed backward Skarch would be waiting

But the Wights never attacked inland There had been no pushback by the Styles of the Central Domain Therefore Skarch had waited on the Southern Bank for two days and nothing to show for it Except now another army primarily of Zeitgard was marching up from the deep South Therefore Skarch could not flee across the river and running along it would just lead them to hit one of the main columns

They were stuck

After a tense three minutes another message popped up in the chat

IÆll need an hour Should arrive with full Mana

Skarch pressed her eyes closed RandidlyÆs arrival would be too late But she didnÆt say that Instead she stood and went up to each of her forty soldiers in turn encouraging them asking if they had Letters of Vestiment to pass their belongings onto their chosen next of kin In their eyes Skarch could see some of the fire that had grown these past few weeks dwindle to nothing

Mechanically they began finishing their meal and breaking camp Everyone knew that this war spelled almost certain death for them They were foot soldiers But also there was an infinitesimally small chance to grasp something great and be a hero To those second sons of small Styles such a possibility was too tempting to resist

Polish your spears Skarch said to her morose crew They gathered around her in a loose circle as they stood near a copse of trees by the riverÆs edge True it is not commonly done here in the Spearman School but IÆll simply say this None of you would have managed to make it this far without your spear Consider it a good luck charm And we will need it

After a brief hesitation the entire squad joined her With great care Skarch took twelve minutes to show these people the finer points of spear care It was peaceful and in that calmness Skarch focused only on her spear On the gleam of the blade on the weight of the shaft on the scrawling Engravings that covered the weapon

Each generation in her family would save their entire life to add even a single embellishment to the spear So it was in the Spear School In recent generations her family had accomplished much to strengthen the spear But her grandfather was overzealous and added too many conflicting Engravings

Some of the treasures on the spear still activated but only intermittently And the more powerful Engravings

Skarch sighed This was why she had been so desperate as to join the tournament A victory here might earn enough valuables to let her repair the family spear But to die here

Smiling Skarch looked to the sky To die here was no dishonor Skarch just hoped that her fellow tournamentees would understand the Spear School well enough to gather her spear for her family

We run West Skarch announced as the noise of the Zeitgard column’s approach became too much to ignore The squad raised their heads and looked at her

the West is away from our allies One thin man said slowly

Skarch didnÆt reply She didnÆt have to The thin man lowered his gaze and sighed

They began trotting West and made good time But within another ten minutes the Zeitgard had arrived They were forced to exhaust themselves to catch up but the weight of numbers meant that there were few opportunities for an average spear user to take advantage of their opponentÆs weariness

Luckily Skarch was not an average spear user When she dropped to the back of her group her spear cut large holes into the Zeitgard lines The Engraving that lent her power dutifully lit up again and again as she stabbed at the pursuing Zeitgard

But time and again she would move to help one of her squad members disengage and at that point the Wights would launch attacks with ghostly claws and Psychic Poison She couldnÆt be everywhere at once and one by one her squad was dying

Some were hit by Psychic Poison and simply collapsed frothing at the mouth Skarch preferred those Although they were surely dead their deaths were quick and quiet It was much more disheartening when a warrior withstood the first batch of Psychic Poison only to collapse screaming when they were hit with another

Skarch couldnÆt tell if it was purposeful but the Wights left these screamers alive so her squad had to endure the jarring noise of agony as they ran away

Wights would use small distractions to leap out from behind trees as smaller patrols managed to get ahead of Skarch and her group Skarch was even struck with a Psychic Poison herself on a particularly rough ambush Ignoring the dull headache she smashed three Wights backward The sound of their bodies breaking and snapping brought her no comfort because she watched a Spectral Claw rip out her subordinates innards

It was at that moment almost exactly thirty seven minutes later that Azriel arrived like a crimson comet

Chapter 656

When Azriel sprinted across the field and eviscerated a group of four Wights that were tearing off chunks of flesh from a spear user Azriel glanced across the bloody road and met SkarchÆs eyes The other woman didnÆt flinch at all despite the fact that Skarch had purposefully fled away from assistance Azriel declined to consider the whyÆs of that action

Instead she smiled primly at Skarch DidnÆt expect me to account for you making that decision did you Æ

Skarch had not the subtlety to respond with her eyes which was a pity But also Skarch had three long scratches across her face and her left shoulder armor had been ripped away along with a chunk of flesh revealing bone underneath Azriel wasnÆt sure how Skarch was managing to continue using the shoulder in that condition Perhaps she mobilized it with the sheer force of an image That was an interesting theory

There was a road running parallel to the Hallat with fields to the South and a small bit of forest between the road and the river From what Azriel could gather Skarch and company had been forced out of the forest and onto the road to stay ahead of their pursuers but it had backfired likely due to Skarch herself The larger space let her display her might more frequently but it was a tactical mistake

Taking the time to strike with large blows you couldnÆt manage in a tightly packed grouping of trees took a few extra seconds Those seconds was enough for the Zeitgard to strike

At this point SkarchÆs forty person squad had been reduced to fourteen and the survivors were more like haggard refugees than the pride of the Spearman SchoolÆs army It made Azriel sigh But there was an opportunity here to burn them all down

Energy pumped like warm adrenaline through AzrielÆs body as she charged towards the pursuers They seemed to move in groups of ten some of them spaced out a few dozen meters from each other in pursuit of Skarch The first group of ten seemed somewhat stunned at AzrielÆs rapid appearance and she was among them before they could move into a defensive formation Her spear slid cleanly through the skulls of half of them before the first counter attack came and that was far too feeble to threaten her

They fell like figurines of sand disintegrating at even the slightest touch of wind

But to AzrielÆs surprise three more groups approached her one from the road and two coming out of the forest Psychic Poison whizzed past her but Azriel calmly ducked She studied the approaching Zeitgard groups and clicked her tongue The Wights were learning Their hierarchy was very centralized and the fact that they were adopting tactics to deal with powerful spear users meant that there was a leadership figure guiding them

Several things clicked into place Azriel rushed forward the warm energy she received from Randidly filling her These three groups werenÆt a problem but their presence was troubling Quick as a spark Azriel had completely eliminated one group and decimated another while avoiding the Psychic Poison launched by the third

Then she disengaged rapidly retreating towards where SkarchÆs group had been ambushed quite a distance far ahead But Azriel was only halfway to reaching the group and assisting when another volley of Psychic Poison shot out from the forest Instantly AzrielÆs steps became short and varied Bobbing and weaving she avoided every bit of the Psychic Poison but four more groups of Zeitgard burst out of the treeline The remaining group and a half behind her were closing rapidly

Azriel shook her head In fact this wasnÆt a trap that Skarch had fallen for but it was a trap that had been laid on a much grander scale Tactics like this meant only one thing

There had to be a Witch King nearby directing them And they were being allowed to run so

Randidly Ghosthound It was a trap to draw the scourge of thorn and fire that had taken more Wight lives than any other non officer on the front lines

This time their Spectral Claws slashed towards her legs aiming to either destroy her ability to run or to rip such holes in the ground that she couldnÆt escape Almost sadly Azriel shook her head If they had attempted such an ambush a three months ago before she had met Randidly once more and received his blessing perhaps

Two bright crimson ribbons unfolded from her waist seeming to condense from thin air as Azriel activated her Skill In Pursuit of Blood Instantly these small tactics became irrelevant as AzrielÆs body blurred forward She ignored the nearby groups attacking her and crossed the distance to where Skarch was in a second

Two more of SkarchÆs subordinates had fallen and Skarch wasnÆt in a good place It was obvious her Mana and Stamina were both near the bottom and Zeitgard were pouring out of the treeline to attack the survivors They struggled valiantly but they had already done this for too long So many of them had already fallen it was easy to see why they were losing heart

Azriel was like a drill that tore through the backs of two of the groups flinging body parts everywhere Another benefit of her Passive Skill as that the force of her momentum blasted away a dozen or so other Wights with just the force of her passage

There is a bigger punch coming We cannot stop here Azriel said shortly To her surprise Skarch glared at her her normally passive eyes red

Do you think we wanted this Skarch growled gesturing at the trembling and exhausted spear users behind her

Azriel didnÆt bother to say anything She simply felt a great weight of mental exhaustion settle upon her shoulders Instead she moved forward and cut into the wave of Wights that came from the forest to reinforce the fight against SkarchÆs squad Due to her actions the survivors had about a minute of respite managing to jog forward at a light pace and regenerate Stamina while Azriel tore their lines apart

But a few hundred Zeitgard had circled around from the fields side and rushed ahead of SkarchÆs group A few hundred more meters West was now a blockade that was trundling forward towards them

Skarch slammed the butt of her spear into the ground and raised her head to the sky Fuck this wrinkled hand This is never ending Do we take to the fields

Back through the forest Azriel answered glancing around Running is just depleting our Stamina Stamina that your squad desperately needs At least with our backs to the river we can give them a brief respite

If we make a stand they will just bombard us with Psychic Poison Skarch said warily But the whole group wheeled around and crashed into a surprised group of Wights that was coming out of the forest

Among the trees Azriel couldnÆt reach her top speed any longer but her ability to accelerate short distances was brought to the spotlight She flitted among the trees like a ghost appearing next to groups of Wights and smashing them into the ground Her feet left large footprints as she turned forcefully back and forth

Behind her the two ribbons trailed like paths of fresh blood marking her passage

It took some time for the remaining group twelve squad members Skarch and Azriel to pass through the trees but it really seemed the Wights hadnÆt expected it After the initial resistance they broke out of the encirclement and made it to the thinner part of the forest near the waterÆs edge Of course the only reason that this part was left relatively undefended was that it was not a path to escape

It was just a shallow muddy grave

But it also bought them time Say what you will of Randidly Ghosthound but even he underestimates the time it takes him to accomplish something There was something endearing in that Azriel believed It was easier for her to accept the unreasonable estimates her mind produced for him when even he seemed to be surprised

As the group stumbled out to a small 30 meter area that was clear of trees next to the river Azriel could feel something in the air change She looked up at the sky and shook her head It was like a soft pressure on the back of your neck the Silence It was strange but not too much that it caused discomfort for spear users

But Azriel knew that when Randidly descended amongst the trees wearing the Crown of Upheaval and Silence the effect on these spell based individuals was much more negative After confirming the flow of energy in her chest was becoming more and more focused and vibrant Azriel closed her eyes

She ignored the heavy breaths of the worried squad members around her as she focused inward If her expectations were correct a few thousand Zeitgard were the least of their worries And as soon as Randidly arrived

The ground rumbled and Azriel could almost feel the threads of his will reach out with energy and seize control of the entire forest in which the Zeitgard was running Then it exploded into motion and the screams of the Wights became audible There was another low rumble in response but this was a furious roar rushing towards the source of the first rumbling

Azriel checked her PP and allowed herself a small smile Just enough

Congratulations You have finished the Path Chasing Red Moonlight X With these hands of yours you chase something far beyond what those around you can comprehend Almost at the expense of all others you have thrown yourself into this Path to catch the Red Moon On the road there you have become something more Strength +5 Perception +10 Reaction +15 Agility +50

You have gained the Skill Halo of Desolation Lvl 1 You have gained the Skill Crimson Penetrating Moonbeam Lvl 1

Chapter 657

Randidly crashed to the ground his head throbbing in something near agony The Crown of Upheaval and Silence hung heavy above him Although the Mana potions he had would restore his Mana it didnÆt restore something intangible And as Randidly abused his body more and more by pumping it full of Mana Potions he knew that he was nearing a dead end of a health outcome

But it was difficult to value those possible future problems when the constant threat of death was hanging over him Although he had pushed himself up to Level 34 Randidly had on several occasions come very close to dying More times than he wanted to remember he had been doused with Psychic Poison while taking on a group of Wights that was just a little too large Perhaps if he had not experienced the existential ripping that had happened during Ashes to Ashes he would have collapsed then

Randidly continued forward always fighting It reminded him of his previous time on Tellus where Shal took him into the prison That dullness on his mind that focus to the detriment of all else It brought him a bit of nostalgia as Randidly rushed forward into the small forest near the river and grabbed it with plant dominance Instantly the forest exploded into a death trap for Wights with roots and flowers ripping them apart

As soon as he began cutting through the Wights there was a roar and Randidly looked sharply up Narrowing his eyes he felt the tingle of danger from his Crown Whoever was coming meant business Then Randidly placed the sound and he straightened and grinned

A Witch King

It had not been long in terms of days but Randidly had fought himself to exhaustion more times than he could count in that span His days were consumed by pushing his battle senses towards the limit and discovering the best way for him to fight In that time even if his stats hadnÆt increased overmuch his Skill Levels and surely his effectiveness in using them shot upwards

In addition Randidly was much more firmly sure of his own strategy in fighting than he had been in the past He would not get into a contest of Strength with a Witch King

The Witch King roared in the distance again and RandidlyÆs Crown trembled underneath the explosion of ill will It seemed that the Witch King was aware of him due to the Crown and its influence and was primarily responding to that rather than the death of its subordinates Honestly it made little difference to Randidly

He used When Shadows Depart Fireflies Dance to move deeper into the forest and then leaned against a tree Through it thick roots of golden energy flowed upward into his body replenishing him After the mad rush here Randidly needed it

But he only had above 20 seconds before the Witch KingÆs huge Spectral Claws ripped apart the nearby treeline The familiar frame stalked forward tall and almost hunched as it peered around for the source of the Silence effect Compared to normal Wights Witch Kings were taller and longer limbed Their bodies were made out of a darker material and their cloaks seemed even more amorphous and insubstantial resulting in strange shadows becoming clear underneath the cloak

It spread its arms wide and Spectral Claws condensed ultra fast Randidly raised his spear to meet it

Spear Advances Ash Trails

His explosive assault slipped him underneath the attacks of the Spectral Claws and Randidly smashed his spear into the Witch KingÆs chest The Witch King took a step back but only one

Lighting quick the Witch King spun and smashed him backward with a lashing kick Randidly winced but landed well enough to reset his stance But the Witch King simply raised its finger and pointed at Randidly

With a grimace Randidly staggered backward But it seemed that the huge boost he received to Vitality gave him enough gumption to forcibly withstand the strange Skill that the Witch King employed to decimate foes instantly from a distance

Something changed in the Witch KingÆs eyes when Randidly managed to stay upright through the Skill Its warped and bony face twisted further into something akin to a smile Yess You are the one

Psychic Poison exploded outward from the Witch King in a wave and Randidly instantly screened it away with a Wall of Thorns This cut off both of their vision and Randidly dashed sideways looking for a small advantage to seize Against an opponent of this caliber every little bit helped

The Wall of Thorns was blown away in an explosion of force from the Witch KingÆs body and it moved with deceptive grace as it loped towards Randidly Spinning his spear Randidly turned to meet the Witch King while activating Wild PhantomÆs Embrace The flows of force around the Witch KingÆs body were extremely turbulent but Randidly narrowed his eyes and focused

Compared to Azriel who moved while barely disturbing the flows of force in the surrounding air this thing was a hurricane walking Once more it created Spectral Claws and slashed forward But Randidly was too close and had to follow the blowing forces around the attack to dodge

When he planted his feet once more another kick was waiting from the Witch King It caught Randidly in the chest but he unleashed three Incendiary Eruptions beneath the Witch King As Randidly flew backward to crash through several trees the Witch King screamed in agony raising its mouth to the sky Again RandidlyÆs Crown trembled

But his will stayed firm and he pressed his will downwards on the Witch King to exacerbate the effect It turned its hateful eyes and regarded him

Its finger flashed forward and Randidly used When a Shadow Departs Fireflies Dance to move rapidly sideways out of the way from the finger Skill But it turned out that was a mistake because the Witch King charged him with its hands raised to attack

Heavy as a collapsing sun RandidlyÆs spear swung around to meet the Witch King But his attack swung harmlessly by the Witch King which had stopped and was studying Randidly Unprepared for the weight of his own attack missing Randidly took a step to the side to keep his balance

For which he was blasted in the face with a concentrated dose of Psychic Poison

Instinctually Randidly threw himself backward and activated Phantom Half Step to create distance which was the only reason that he wasnÆt shredded by the follow up attack The pain from the Mana exhaustion seemed to combine with this new internal weakness and agony to scratch and claw at his will

Randidly didnÆt have the attention to watch where he was going and his back smashed into a tree The thing toppled on top of him but he didnÆt have the focus to push it aside Everything was muddled and thick His Crown flickered in and out of existence

Gritting his teeth Randidly forced his gaze to focus on the form of the Witch King rushing towards him But from the side a streak of crimson shot towards it Even faster than Randidly the Witch King noticed the new attacker and pointed but the streak accelerated

It smashed into the Witch KingÆs side glanced off and settled into the panting form of Azriel Her eyes were bright and she raised her needle spear Can you slow it down

Randidly just grunted and closed his eyes Aether burst through his system cleansing the remnants of the Psychic Poison Once more the Crown of Upheaval and Silence appeared above him Its influence spread outwards restraining the Witch King slightly and sharpening RandidlyÆs awareness

The Witch King hissed but Randidly was already rushing towards the opponent Lock it down huh

Randidly activated Spearing Roots but like he expected the Witch King basically ignored the attack and lashed out at RandidlyÆs approaching for Quick as the devil Randidly twisted around and activated Wild PhantomÆs Embrace Acri lashed out but the Witch King was even faster than Randidly expected It avoided the attack and thrust its fingers out in a knife blow towards RandidlyÆs side

Once more he activated Wild PhantomÆs Embrace and flowed out of the way of the attack This time however Azriel was there a ray of red light that smashed into the Witch KingÆs side Hissing again it seemed to pause as it considered the two individuals that it was fighting But by that point Randidly had landed and hit it in the side of the head with an Idiosyncratic Cut The attack left a gash on its face but it was only superficial

Still Azriel had hit twice more in that time

Spectral Claws formed mid air to cut her to pieces but somehow that crimson streak moved through the attacks without a care She paused then and Randidly noticed something off about Azriel There was a strange light around her It reminded him how there was a glow about the moon as it sat in the night sky as its light was refracted as it traveled through the air

The two groups considered each other The Witch King was between Randidly and Azriel so Randidly gathered his will and activated Cruel Indignation of Yggdrasil The air rippled and roiled visibly shivering at the cruel touch of his will It seemed that for several long seconds the Witch King was grinding its teeth together as it considered them But then it screamed and leaped backward away from the two of them

The two stayed where they were

After the Witch King had retreated Azriel sighed Killing it still a little much for us Short by almost 50 Skill Levels Maybe closer to 100

Randidly could only nod Because he knew that if this was how it fought casually it probably had a few more Skills for when it became serious Shaking his head Randidly turned and looked towards the remnants of SkarchÆs squad Skarch herself was standing at the edge of the river looking for answers in her reflection There were deep bags under her eyes

We will get another shot Randidly said For now letÆs clean up

Chapter 658

One week after he had arrived at the World Crater Drake stood before the large grey protuberance that formed its center Although he had initially assumed the thing was a giant boulder it clearly wasnÆt in fact the thing looked more like a strange geometric approximation of a dome It was a little much to think that this was a naturally formed bit of terrain especially considering there was a large square opening at the base of the thing leading into the interior

As it had been a little over a week since he had arrived in the harbor his ride had long since departed by now But Drake couldnÆt find it in himself to care Despite his high Level and extensive preparations for this Danger Zone Drake found himself exhausted And it was more than physical he was mentally empty simply grinding his way forward and ponderously pulping the bodies of any of the Frogipedes that he encountered

At this point there wasnÆt much left to him When he neared the strange geometric boulder Drake realized with a start that the water level was slowly sinking A part of him rejoiced no longer would water up to his waist make the travel a living hell

The weight of his armor and the constant attacks by Level 55 monsters were two of the reasons that Drake took his sweet time but there was a third reason As Drake departed from the water he looked down at his bone greaves and grimaced It was a good thing that he had equipped himself with the armor the entire time then His legs were crisscrossed with scratches and chipped bone Although the defense was strong enough that he hadnÆt felt it multiple things had made attempts on him

Sighing Drake dismissed the armor and lay down on the grass and reeds once he walked up onto solid land Ryx his porcupine elemental had been sitting on his helmet of bone and squeaked in protest as its carriage disappeared Wind whispered past sounding suspiciously like laughter as it danced through the reeds The grey protuberance was about 100 meters away but Drake would get to it when he had time

On his journey here he had been lucky to only encounter the smaller enemies If he had truly run into a monster nearing Level 60 it would have been difficult to pull through But those monsters seemed incredibly rare here and the Level 55s he general encountered came alone Fights against them were long exhausting affairs but they werenÆt truly dangerous to Drake

The Frogipede was an enemy that was about the size of deer if its body was stretched to almost 15 meters long and about every 5 meters there was an overly large pair of frog legs sticking out of the body The distance between the legs made it appear almost comical as it was dragging its hanging body forward but after several battles this turned out to be an advantage The creature seemed able to bend its body freely and that space without legs made it very simple for it to compress its body into a smaller shape

This aided it both in stealth and instantaneous power because it could straight its body with an overwhelming strength A strength that could blow Drake off of his feet Truly the greatest power of the Frogipede was its Strength

However it was a bad match to Frogipede Theoretically it had enough Strength to break his bone armor if it coiled its body up fully and exploded directly into it In addition it was quick and unnatural in its movements making it difficult to damage with a sword

But Drake wasnÆt fool enough to stand still so the Frogipede could launch an attack and without the wind up there was basically nothing the Frogipede could do to break DrakeÆs armor So it became a matter of lashing out at the thing until his huge sword finally found purchase and then ripping the elongated body to shreds It had done wonders for his Skill Level but tried his patience immensely

At least they were good experience Drake mused while looking up at the sky Ryx curled up into a satisfied ball on his chest and began to snore They were both exhausted

Drake pressed his lips together It was time to face it The third reason that he was exhausted was that he was suddenly profoundly unhappy This whole Zone had shaken away some of the glitter that had accumulated in DrakeÆs vision leaving him disillusioned

He was a military man so he was accustomed to following orders Perhaps that was the entire problem For almost ten years he had dutifully followed the orders of those in a higher position than him It seemed natural when the System hit to continue doing that

In the immediate aftermath people were scared and confused Drake was no exception Orders gave the world well order The strange System messages were too strange too foreign

But the fiery eyed young woman who saved him by shooting a bolt of Mana

Ah Ace we have survivors And capable ones Good Sir if you want a job IÆm hiring She had said as bold as brass as the body of the orc cooled Drake had looked at her for a long time What he had seen was not a hint of fear So he accepted and followed her to join with RoyÆs crew Within a week he had become her right hand

With a sigh Drake pressed his eyes together The wind blew and he wrinkled his nose as the smells of the accursed swamp he had been struggling through drifted over to him Rot and snake shit but he was never going to return to this place after he

After he what After he killed Roy the Undying Hero The man who had been dead for several months and returned by dint of Coppernicus someone that Drake worked very closely with He wondered what had motivated Sydney to request it of Copper and why the inhuman man had accepted

Currently it definitely seemed like it had been a mistake

The feeling of certainty he usually had was drifting away His mind grasped at it like fingers through morning mist Drake slowly stood feeling annoyed A sword he might have been but he wanted more now Truly he was likely the only person in SydneyÆs employ that was strong enough to stand a chance against the Undying Hero But why had he been ordered to travel so far for it

Drake raised his sword no definitely irritated He couldnÆt tell it was due to the fact he suspected he was just grouchy at this mission repeatedly fucking him or the Frogipede that was wriggling its way towards him The Frogipedes didnÆt generally take a very direct route towards their target but instead allowed parts of their long body and legs to carry forward and then the front or back would flip forward abruptly crossing a lot of distance

But DrakeÆs annoyance faded away as he studied the Frogipede in front of him which was about ? a size bigger than usual and was a pale blue color Its body was the size of the trunk of a small tree and was slick with slime Its two yellow eyes fixed on him as the body flopped back on top of itself almost heedless of its approaching

Grimacing Drake looked up at the grey geometric shape and then around in the surrounding area The immediate surrounding area of the boulder was a flat grassland and this creature had sauntered out of the large square opening in the side of the boulder What was interesting was that Drake could see that there were other openings around the outside of the boulder a fixed distance to either side

But then the Frogipede flopped forward and straightened itself throwing the front part of its body and its forelegs towards Drake with remarkable speed Even though this was a pattern he had seen before he was taken aback by how physically superior this version was to the others he had faced

He sidestepped cleanly producing his huge sword and swinging it like a baseball bat to meet the FrogipedeÆs advance The thing twisted and killed its momentum Then the front two pairs of arms punched into the ground and cracked the surface With the leverage its muscles heaved and the back half of its body swung around like a whip

That as new

But it was also too slow By the time it had stuck its legs in the ground Drake had condensed his armor of bone Ryx leaped upwards and settled onto his back rapidly transforming into a wide shield of spiked bone making Drake look like a twisted cross between a turtle and a porcupine

The sharp shards of bone twisted ungracefully upwards into sharp points and Drake simply turned sideways rather than dodging

The force of the whipped body knocking him off of his feet and slammed him several meters to the side It was even far enough that when Drake crashed to the ground it was in ankle deep water This pissed Drake off almost irrationally

Why Drake growled cursing the flying the swimming the smells the wetness the vague fucking orders his stubborn inability to ask for more clarification Why the fuck am I here

The Frogipede began to scream attempting to drag its body back away from the jagged burr that was Drake But that simply dragged the soft rubbery flesh deeper into the spikes ripping its body further The nearby legs twisted and began to smash against his armor Small cracks began to spread but it couldnÆt get any more force than its muscles because its body was stuck to DrakeÆs back

But he wouldnÆt give the Frogipede the time to break through He raised his left hand and poured all of his burning dissatisfaction into his condensed fate His hand burned slightly and then a huge hand of bone exploded upwards swelling until it was the size of a car

With gleaming eyes Drake glared at the squirming Frogipede Although it was Level 57 Drake was going to turn it into mush

Chapter 659

Although he was exhausted to the point he was out of Stamina Drake felt much better after crushing the monster’s body to nothing but mush He also realized two things

His own stubborn obliviousness had gotten Drake into this situation He as a rule refused to ask for clarification on an assignment He had no wish to be an ass kisser and Drake knew that Sydney wouldnÆt appreciate it But when he then began to get furious at her for failing to give him the proper guidance on this fucked up mission

If he had just known that he was to seek out Roy and kill him he could have moved so much more quickly through this godforsaken place

But there was a new unforeseen variable Drake looked down at the Item in his hand It was almost like a half of a ying yang symbol with a deep blue color It fit naturally in his palm

Longing of the Naga Lvl 60 A special calcification of energy that occurs when a lessor bloodline of the Naga holds a great amount of dissatisfaction in its heart Part of a pair Reuniting the Longing of the Naga with the Hope of the Naga will reveal the itemÆs true purpose Distinct Smell V

Distinct Smell V Monsters of a certain type can detect the scent of this item from a great distance Just by touching the item you will attract such monsters like flies Monster type Bloodlines of the Naga

Drake sighed theatrically as he cursed his mixed luck but there was only Ryx watching On the one hand this meant there would likely be a lot of those fucking FrogipedeÆs coming For all that they were good experience a mass of them would tie him down and crack him open like an egg

On the other hand Drake had found what appeared to be a quest item In the wild Drake had never seen a quest item himself they required certain buildings bought from the Village Store and even then they were extremely rare Quest Rated bosses were apparently incredibly difficult but also incredibly rewarding

The only Quest Item that Drake knew of was the feathered headband that Annie had taken to wearing recently and that was only because Dozer grew drunk and boast about it one night As to the exact specifications no one truly knew

But it meant something that its specs were enough to sway Annie the White Archer of Donnyton

It also did a lot to assuage DrakeÆs frustration It had felt like he was wasting his time here on the whim of Sydney due to his own stubbornness But he suddenly stumbled across a very good reason to remain here and explore the area It also lent credence to their being something particular in this Danger Zone perhaps not the fountain of youth but still

The only problem was finding this Hope of the Naga There were two possibilities that seemed likely as to that He would need to find and kill more blue Frogipedes or maybe even a different variant color Or

Drake turned and looked at the grey geometric shape with the regular doors In his palm the Longing of the Naga grew warm to the touch Shaking his head Drake could only begin to walk towards the grey lump He supposed that was one sort of answer

What he found did not please him inside the door was a fucking maze Clicking his tongue Drake turned around to depart and get a better lay of the land but found that the door he used to enter had abruptly turned into a solid stone wall

Fucking perfect

The high walls met a ceiling about five meters above but the passages forward were only one and a half meters wide With Drake in his bone armor it was very close to him brushing up against the walls He considered dismissing the armor but Ryx strongly whined in opposition That sharpened his attention Ryx only grew this agitated when the death energy nearby was strong

With no other choice Drake entered the maze There were three passages available to him and he randomly selected the middle one The passage was long and winding Drake was not pleased to notice that the walls of the passage were old and scratched as though something had dragged itself through this place a long time ago

Swearing under his breath Drake continued walking until he came to a turn

He went left there

At the next junction he also went left

At the next he went right The passages continued to curve slightly away in front of him meandering like a snake back and forth before returning to a junction By the time he arrived Drake had no idea which direction he should be heading in The junction portions were rather small three by three meter squares amongst the twisting passages Based on the fact the entrance had disappeared Drake strongly suspected that he was now hopelessly lost

There was a bright point After a few such turns Drake realized that when holding the Longing of the Naga it would become warmer when he faced certain twists and turns By following those Drake felt like he backtracked for a few and then found the right path forward It was nice that he was provided with this Quest Item that acted as a guide but it made him worried what he would have done if he hadnÆt found it Perhaps you always found this as a key and at the core of the maze was the Hope of the Naga

Plus there were no Frogipedes inside the maze so far so the downside of the item didnÆt even

Glop

A dollop of saliva the size of a fist dropped onto the path in front of Drake He paused briefly then looked up Three frog eyes were clustered together above him the three Frogipede bodies clinging to the ceiling

As soon as he looked up the first exploded into motion downwards towards him leading with its head and forelegs

That was a mistake Drake simply set his feet as best he could and raised his huge blade and the Frogipede did the rest of the work itself In the enclosed space Drake couldn’tÆ dodge anyways and he sure as hell couldnÆt swing his sword in any complicated way But with the pointy end in the right direction this blue Frogipede died almost immediately although it pinned Drake to the ground and knocked the wind out of him

The two others followed quickly and Drake took his left hand from his sword and grabbed the spiked shell on his back on his back and pulled hard Ryx

The shell transformed into a smaller bone disk covered in strange letterings and Drake whipped it up at his enemies Midair it twisted and seemed to ripple like the surface of a calm lake It sank into the fleshy body of the first Frogipede whose back end was only now detaching from the ceiling as it realized it was dead The other two rushed downward towards Drake their eyes red in fury

The dead body exploded in a huge wave of concussive force and body shards So strong was the force that Drake abruptly snapped back up He was laying on the ground The hit had briefly knocked him out He always knew that RyxÆs power over dead bodies was the stronger the more recently dead it was but This was ridiculous The hallway was covered in blood and bits of gore The grey stone was almost completely soaked

But as Drake staggered to his feet scraping his bone armor against the walls his ears slowly came back to focus The two Frogipedes were heavily wounded but still moving Grimacing Drake searched for his sword for a while before finding it in a squeaky pile of skin Then he got to the grim work of butchering these things in the small space

It was exhausting but doable After finishing them all off Drake moved some distance away from the spot of the fight and meditated Please with itself Ryx trotted over to Drake and presented itself for petting After giving Ryx a sufficient amount of attention Drake let out a long breath Then he continued forward refusing to pause

There was meaning to this If Drake could truly accomplish it

Drake paused at the next junction the item in his hand was almost burning hot Drake looked up and as he did so he felt the ground open up beneath him By instincts more than anything else Drake spread his arms and expanded the bone armor to lengthen his arms It took a bit of doing but his hands extended far enough to touch the corners of the room about the time his waist was flush with the previous ground

Then his heart went cold he had dropped the item

Instantly he twisted and his bone gauntlet formed even as the strange pain shot through his Class He twisted and reached aiming for the Longing of the Naga but abruptly stopped and instead withdrew his bone gauntlet to once more steady himself in the pitfall

The Longing of the Naga fell slowly and began to glow There was a figure below As the shaft went down it slowly widened So the figure had been forced to lay sideways and only then could press his legs against the one wall and his head and neck against the other barely keeping himself from slipping deeper

As the Longing of Naga fell a light came from the manÆs hand It rose and met the falling light and there was a clap of thunder Drake blinked away the stars and there was a strange disk floating softly down to the figure below

Roy the Undying Hero coughed awkwardly then smiled at Drake Well this is certainly a surprise

Chapter 660

Many thanks for arriving so promptly Roy said cheerily even as he stood on his tiptoes to maintain his position in the trap shaft I had resigned myself to another long long time alone with my own darkness but fortune has smiled upon me Truly it is providence that a previous ally has stumbled upon me Although we are current enemies we are both driven by the treasure of this place are we not A typical story We will now put aside our differences and work together to

Shut the fuck up Drake growled With a great heave he pulled himself out of the shaft and onto the ground of the passage The entirety of the junction had dropped away meaning that Drake could only peer down over the edge at Roy It was just barely possible to see that below Roy there was a strange liquid of a deep black color

In a consistent fashion it bubbled ominously

Roy winked up at Drake LetÆs skip the posturing shall we I am truly in a pickle down here Give me a hand and I swear I will hand over this NagaÆs Determination yes

Pass up the item then I will pull you up Drake grunted having no intention of doing any such thing He lowered his bone gauntlet down the shaft and shaped his hand so his finger was extraordinarily long and flimsy Good enough to grab a disk but weak enough to shatter if something else were to seize the bones

Roy released an aggrieved sigh You were always an abysmal liar Why are you trying to kill me ThatÆs hardly sporting

Sporting Drake snorted a black humor overtaking him You are a dead thing Roy

All of a sudden Roy was completely still His eyes went glassy All is dead Consciousness is the indulgence in a chemical soaked flesh sponge If you were to open yourself up like a box you would find only emptiness Drake

That gave Drake pause and that was probably exactly what it was waiting for

It being the Frogipede that Drake was too distracted enough to notice As opposed to its previous compatriots this Frogipede took great care in lining up its strike and positioning itself There was only a soft squish as its body folded on itself and then it exploded into motion to impact Drake at the rear base of his helmet

The entire back portion of the armor cracked without Ryx there to defend him and the bone armor shattered into pieces as the attack knocked Drake into the trap shaft He twisted and Ryx exploded into a bone shield bristling spikes but the Frogipede brought one of its arms smashing down

Drake heard more than felt as his head was clobbered into the stone wall And this was no stone that he recognized because his skull cracked and didnÆt leave even a scuff on the wall Dizzy he twisted around as he tumbled down the shaft

Gurgling in glee the Frogipede followed him down Fat globs of saliva dripped down the sides as it drooled in excitement As his trembling hands scrabbled at the walls Drake could find no purchase Ineffectually he shook his head CanÆt scratch need to press and suspend But his body

Even with his high Endurance a concussion was possible

But then a hand grabbed him

You have better luck than me At least I had stabilized before I fell I could wait for help But if I hadnÆt been right here right now tsk tsk well it is my duty to be in place for such things

Drake blinked and looked over at RoyÆs smiling face His hand was as cold as ice What what are you doing

IÆm a Hero Roy said with a shrug

But then both their gazes turned upwards The Frogipede was charging down towards them and now that Drake was closer to it he really didnÆt like the sulfur smell wafting up from the bubbling black liquid

Can you reach up past the little peon and grab the edge Roy asked casually

Drake frowned He didnÆt like where this was going And from a few months of working with him early in the SystemÆs arrival he could guess where RoyÆs head was at Yes but it would be cleaner to

Roy twisted away losing his precarious standing position He flexed the hand not gripping onto Drake and condensed an ax just as the Frogipede smashed down towards them In an almost dismissive blow Roy beheaded the thing deftly twisting his ax to maneuver it in the tight shaft

Swearing Drake ignored how the pain in his soul shifted to a throbbing feeling and created a bone gauntlet to reach up and seize the edge They stopped and now Drake was the one keeping Roy above the black sludge The headless body of the Frogipede fell into the black liquid sinking almost without a sound Within a split second it had disappeared

Gritting his teeth in annoyance Drake glared at an innocent looking Roy He had never considered himself a very moral person but Drake had a few very strong tenants of behavior The most relevant of which was to repay like with like as Roy had killed dozens of people from Donnyton the last that Drake had heard from him Drake felt no qualms in killing him now

But Roy had now saved him

Hand over the Quest Item Drake hissed

With a widening smile Roy flipped the disk toward Drake whose one hand was grabbing salvation and the other was on Roy

Ryx leaped up and grabbed it in his mouth then pushed off the side of the shaft and began to ascend As Drake pulled himself and this grinning abomination from the trap he picked up Ryx and carried them all up

First thing he did on solid land was check nearby for any Frogipedes on the ceiling Finding none he turned to Roy The man had waited patiently An expert at toeing the line that one If he had fucking put as much hard work into bettering himself as he did in twisting the situation to suit him

Why Drake asked considering simply burying his sword in the thing in front of him rather than trying to speak to him

Because when it becomes obvious that there is not true force but entropy the only logical conclusion is to bring yourself enjoyment Being a Hero is enjoyable because the world loves me Roy announced

Drake just looked at him He was rapidly losing track of what their conversation was about

Chuckling Roy said Or is this why I saved you again Drake I am a Hero It is the blessed Class without limits but not without responsibilities Although we are enemies a HeroÆs Mercy has no bounds

Mercy Drake said feeling sick to his stomach This was the other reason that he never appreciated Roy The man was simply too focused on meaningless distinctions for Drake to enjoy engaging with him Calmly he looked down at the disk in his hand

Determination of the Naga Lvl 60 The crystallization of those lesser creatures seeking to ascend to something greater In the swirling runes you see the instructions to a great ritual that can change oneÆs fate But such a ritual cannot occur as long as the Naga restricts the bloodlines of those beneath it A drop of the blood of a true Naga is required to complete the ritual Whiff of Hope V Energizing Light V

Whiff of Hope V All the lesser bloodlines who are near will sense what you do and move to aid you You may now communicate with those of sufficient intelligence

Energizing Light V Health Mana and Stamina Regeneration +300 while the disk is held

Drake swore quietly The Health and Mana were useful but it was the 300 Stamina regeneration per minute that was almost mind boggling in its power That was an extra 5 Stamina a second on top of what he already had The resiliency that would give him in battle It was something that Drake had seen in nobody but the Ghosthound

His eyes turned sharp as Drake focused back on Roy This was the man he was supposed to kill You are my sword But another part of Drake was more pragmatic The item implied that there was a boss waiting at the end of this maze a True Naga although Drake wasnÆt sure what that would entail It was likely the Boss of the Danger Zone Something almost impossibly strong Something on the caliber of the Ghosthound

It was not an enemy he could fight alone

His duty was nebulous even if he believed he had the right answer A part of him was aghast that he was considering wavering from his desire to kill Roy but another part pointed out that the reward from the System Quest would likely be worth the effort And at this point Drake couldnÆt be enthused about either the prospect of killing Roy or his chances of doing so

Trapped in these tiny passages true Roy faced the same limitations But for all that Roy claimed to be a Hero his fighting style was all misdirection and ambushes

RoyÆs eyes were bright as he extended a hand Perhaps we got off on the wrong foot And I very much believe you see the value in questing together

His head throbbed but Drake reached out and took RoyÆs hand

Chapter 661

In the darkness of her private room Ophelia Vade the leader of the Heart School tapped her finger against the cold obsidian of her small buckler shield It was something obtained only accidentally from a Danger Zone hundreds of years ago It almost made her nostalgic to think of the way the world used to be

Her memories of before the System were naught but shapes of course She had been only a girl when the change came to this world But she had risen quickly to prominence afterward And it was only by her hand and the Oracle that Tellus had weathered the loss of the Spearman

When her thoughts turned in that direction her lips thinned to a frown Shaking her head she dispersed those emotions like they were beads of dew Such emotions would only get in the way of her goal here

Versault I appreciate that you came all this way

Versault Ignis leader of the Death School almost seemed amused as he walked into the room and considered Ophelia The floor of the room was constructed entirely of a very difficult to harvest tongue of a monster As it dried it settled into an extremely soft and pleasing surface Due to its high Level it also boasted extreme durability The rest of OpheliaÆs office was similarly rare but she felt no shyness about it

This was what power could accomplish

I did not have a choice You would have lashed out otherwise Versault observed

Ophelia shrugged Fine we can skip the pleasantries then No matter what you say I still remember the truth of your existence there is no way you do not understand what happened to the spear source Your power over memory is without peer Show me what happened

Versault considered Ophelia carefully Then he sighed I am much less than I once was Ophelia We both are

Gritting her teeth Ophelia resisted the strong impulse to lash out at Versault It was a near thing Her fury seemed to boil over the edges of herself coloring the air But as soon as she heard the soft hum of her Skills warping the world around she immediately stopped Horror spread across her face and she immediately suppressed her Skill usage

VersaultÆs laughter was loud and full of self hatred It took him several minutes to control his guffaws And when he did his question caught Ophelia flat footed How is the Oracle

The pointed question left Ophelia furious but she wasnÆt going to make a mistake with her control twice She is a fucking hero The sacrifices she made without the Oracle we would be fighting blind

What has it gotten us Ophelia We donÆt even know who we are fighting against

They stood in silence for several minutes before Versault departed Ophelia didnÆt bother to stop him Because he was right The enemy they had been playing cat and mouse with almost seven centuries wouldnÆt have struck at the spear source they had finally reached something like an accord with him

But if not their old enemy who was moving

Aylwind Sky leader of the Spearman School looked up sharply at the news Almost in spite of himself he chuckled Is it truly so dire that even the Northern Domain has fallen to the Wights Why would they even bother to invade there Well as long as Niergem is held they will have hope Let them handle themselves

His aide nodded but after a second Aylwind grimaced and shook his head Fuck It canÆt be left to chance How many escaped

the numbers are inaccurate At the top end almost a million people escaped split into two forces At their current speed

Aylwind waved her explanation away Who are the leaders of the expedition

Aethon Thai leads the larger portion of the forces in the area Rumors are that he has broken through to the Master Level and mortally wounded a Witch King The smaller group is led by ah Aegiant Wyrd

The Crimson Dawn AylwindÆs face turned stony The man who had held the office of Leader of the Spearman Style before he was betrayed and driven North to the wilderness A man that Aylwind never hoped to see again

He grunted looking at the table it cannot be left to chance

Then he looked sharply up at his aide Send a missive to Niergem immediately Have them retreat to the Central Domain Convey that this is not a request no send Sazzeratta She will compel them well enough

After the aide left Aylwind Sky began to tremble The old Masters were moving Those that lived through the legendary life of the Spearman himself But what was confusing was that they were at each otherÆs throats Even now AylwindÆs contacts informed him that Ophelia Vade and Versault Ignis were meeting No expedition to recover the Spearsource seemed to be forthcoming It was baffling

What exactly was their goal

There was another knock at the door AylwindÆs aide poked her head in and said Oh also We are nearing the deadline for the end of the tournament Will you be appearing to greet those that survived the first part of the Inter School Tournament Based on what we know we uncovered some talented youths this time This will likely be a Tournament to remember

Aylwind nodded blandly and then stared at the door the aide departed from He felt sorry for the girl She was born and raised in the Central Domain Although many talked about the attacks of the Wights on the South and West portions of the Spearman School it hadnÆt yet reached the capital not truly

Those spoiled brats the ones that Aylwind was shocked to find himself surrounded by thought this was just another storm that would inevitably blow over Their stints on the front line were carefully pruned to expose them to just the right amount of danger

Aylwind pressed his eyes together They didnÆt remember the precursor to the Inter School competition the Five Way War Even Aylwind was only a kid when that was shaking the world Even now the echoes of that war were waiting right below the surface But this next generation they didnÆt recognize any of it

They didnÆt even know that there were originally five Schools

A new knock at his door distracted Aylwind The hand that knocked this time was much more forceful than his aide Someone who wanted a meeting He had made no agreements that he could remember and his people werenÆt so jelly spined that they would allow someone without merit to pass through to see him

Straightening Aylwind carefully schooled his face Then he coughed lightly and said Come in

The door opened revealing two individuals The first he recognized Aiden Darke was a snake of a man that had recently been promoted to the representative of the Engraving Guild in the Central Domain All the people that Aylwind met complimented the young man for his passion and drive for the art of Engraving

To AylwindÆs knowledge this dark haired pale skinned manÆs only passion was torturing those unfortunate enough to be caught practicing Engraving outside of the Guilds

But when Aiden DarkeÆs promotion came to his attention three months ago Aylwind did nothing to stop it they were losing the war and needed all the Engraved weaponry they could get their hands on Failing to plumb deeper on the Darke boy turned out to be a grand mistake The night he was sworn into office a large scale raid was launched upon the C Corp location in the city Simultaneously hundreds of soldiers were taken into custody charged with possession of contraband Engraved weaponry

As far as Aylwind could piece together a rogue Engraver was prolifically active in the Northern Domain a couple years ago and had sold off a huge inventory of the equipment in the last several months This sting was a passion project of Aiden who had been chasing the Engraver for months unable to locate a lead

Aylwind couldnÆt deny he was amused when it was clear that the Engraver was long gone and the C Corp had already sold out their entire stock and the leadership has escaped with the money

Ah Mr Darke Aylwind said slowly To what do I owe this pleasure

Leader Sky I am glad you were able to meet me on such short notice May I first introduce my assistant Selfia She will be joining me in working on this case

Aiden indicated the girl who bowed politely to Aylwind He scanned her with disinterest She was one of those rare people with a third eye in her forehead but her skin was pale not a talented spear user then

As to business Aiden DarkeÆs face twisted in a horrible grin as he looked Aylwind Does the name Randidly Ghosthound ring any bells

Chapter 662

Randidly stuck the shovel into the ground and pulled out another fist sized rock With a grunt he expertly flipped it off to the side and then continued to dig

With an expression of glum resignation Azriel watched him dig Is this really how you want to spend your last day here

Yes Randidly said simply continuing to dig It was quick work considering his Strength Stat It was a high quality shovel too so a direct strike could split most troublesome stones in half Wiping his sweat off of his forehead Randidly surveyed his work He had been working all morning and was probably halfway done

Judging the current hole to be the right depth Randidly got out and started on another

WouldnÆt it be much more efficient to simply use your plant Skills to clear holes The shovel is an unnecessary contrivance

Randidly paused in his digging to consider this Finally he just shrugged It feels more honest this way

Disgusted Azriel shook her head You are doing this for the emotional reasons then It is illogical otherwise I would suggest even if you accomplish your emotional goals this was still an illogical way to spend time At this juncture a spar would be much more fruitful

Randidly stuck his tongue out at Azriel and didnÆt answer

She crossed her arms Skarch has been a bad influence on you Her pointless habits have rubbed off Soon you will be polishing your spear every night

Shifting more dirt Randidly idly wondered if Azriel really didnÆt notice the innuendo she put there But after he finished his current hole Randidly did hop out and walk over towards Azriel Perhaps But you cannot deny my images have grown stronger for it I can finally take SkarchÆs images on directly

Azriel gave him a withering look Becoming a dirt covered grave grubber is to further your images Now this must be one of your esoteric jokes from your homeland No true reasoning spirit would dare suggest there was a connection there

RandidlyÆs smile didnÆt fade but it shifted to something much more melancholy He turned and looked at his handiwork for the morning Fifty six graves had been dug so far There were 81 bodies that needed to be disposed of today The Wights had been content to pile up on the South bank of the Hallat River so it had been the first few days of peace in a long time

Or at least what had felt like a long time Randidly reminded himself he had only been fighting in the Central Domain for about a month

Someone has to dig the graves he said softly

Azriel snorted No they donÆt The bodies will be burnt to ash to prevent the Propagator from taking the substances of the corpse and repurposing them into Wights Still more relevant is the point that it should not be you or I digging these graves there are much weaker spear users among us let them perform such a tedious and wasteful task

There is meaning in the productive hands doing this Even if it is unnecessary to have a grave is a meaningful symbol Randidly insisted He was very aware of the three hundred living soldiers under Captain Platton in the base only a mile away He was also aware of more than a few that were watching his toil in the valley by the Hallat River silently observing

Will this fill those witnesses there with inspiration Will they overcome the lack of Aether with Willpower and grit Azriel asked The true power of her argument was that she was not scathing her tone was simply bland curiosity It seems unlikely Do you wish to court one of the low Level spear users and this is an elaborate mating ritual Surely someone would suck your cock for less than seventy five or so graves

Eighty one Randidly corrected and then he chuckled in spite of himself Azriel saying cock was novel enough to shift him towards a more positive mood But yes I get it It might be pointless And I know if this was a month ago I wouldnÆt have thought to do this But

Putting his hands on his hips Randidly just stood next to Azriel for a few minutes and looked up at the sky Although she was joking about them overcoming the lack of Aether with will Randidly could feel something in the sky It was half a soft breeze and another half a heartbeat It was an unsteady breath of the world constructed of sacrifice and the poignant image of the spear

Those few that had sacrificed their lives at Southpoint Beach had accomplished something To be honest the reason that Randidly was doing this was to try and figure out how it had occurred It was a creation of Aether in a way that Randidly had never seen before And when Randidly had taken the time to explain what had occurred to Neveah she seemed confused and disinterested

But it stuck in RandidlyÆs mind His small smattering of experience with karma from Lucretia a handful that didnÆt even amount to a true Skill had pressed him into grave digging So dig he did

However that wasnÆt the own reason It was also because Randidly had watched these spear users die over the last two weeks as the Wights became truly vicious in their attempts to kill Randidly Azriel and Skarch

Not that these eighty one individuals had died protecting them Far from it They had simply gotten caught in the crossfire That weighed heavily on RandidlyÆs heart The Crown of Upheaval and Silence throbbed with a hot and vicious grudge like a painful open wound

You started a sentence and then trailed off in the middle of it Azriel said matter of factly You do this a lot

Chuckling Randidly shrugged again and went back to digging holes

if you wanted a foolish spear waif to fall for you Azriel said slowly I would recommend using the same methods you did with me

For several seconds Randidly continued to dig Then he paused and straightened to look at Azriel She was looking at him without blinking her crimson eyes large and serious

and what sort of methods would those be Randidly said slowly

Make a promise with her and fail to follow through but not by your own doing It will be difficult for you to arrange a similar betrayal in good faith but you are an extraordinarily competent individual Randidly I am sure you will manage it Azriel said seriously

Frowning Randidly said That seems like a terrible way to err have someone fall for me Besides I delivered on my promise to you I beat Drak in the tournament

We have spoken of this Azriel said dismissively I never truly had any ill will towards Drak for all that he would have locked me away and forced me to bear his children should he have won our duel Such a result was simply the natural growth of my own weakness What I desired were the tools to stand on a stage and triumph demonstrating my masterÆs peerless Skill

With a sorrowful shake of the head Azriel conveyed how dismally she believed the tournament end to have gone Not only did you steal my glory but you failed to materialize for the final of the tournament Both chances were stolen from me With such a method it is easy for the most balanced girl to become slightly obsessed

Randidly finished a hole and moved on to another one feeling oddly nervous Is that why you want to spar so often To get back at me somehow You certainly get enough hits that I have wondered why you are so vicious with your strikes in a spar

To try anything less than to kill you would be disrespectful Oftentimes I am disappointed in your lack of execution during such training sessions But I acknowledge it extends the duration which has its own benefits Azriel allowed But then she sighed No now we have become inexorably linked Training is genuinely done to improve But I wished very dearly during the team selection that I not be placed with you It was one type of disappointment to be placed in close proximity to you once more Towards you unlike most no more than anyone I feel envy It is an ugly feeling

Randidly couldnÆt think of anything to say to that so he continued to dig Through his plant senses he noticed more of the detachment under Captain Platton moving to watch him and Azriel on the hill talking quietly as Randidly dug He wondered what they were thinking

It might be his imagination but he believed that the great heartbeat in the sky was growing louder

Perhaps it is difficult to understand Azriel said suddenly I must acknowledge that it was a new feeling for me So perhaps you

No I get it Randidly interrupted

Azriel blinked Then frowned You Who could you possibly be envious of You have the gift of life flowing from your hands Plants and Ash are shaped by you You are the grand disciple of Aemont the Spear Phantom Your life is blessed Shaped almost to be a perfect thing

RandidlyÆs immediate reaction was to think of his time on Earth before the System when his envy towards Ace was painful to bear But another example was much closer to hand Azriel I was jealous of you Before the fight and even after Even now No one adapts as you do No one responds more quickly If we hadnÆt met how do you think the fight against Drak would have gone

Abruptly Azriel quirked her head to the side considering him Her eyes grew distant as if she were reviewing all the relevant information in her mind Then she nodded Ah an interesting angle I forget how unpredictable you were back then in a bad way As in sometimes passable other times foolish

Randidly grunted and stuck his shovel into the ground No need to dwell on this topic ThatÆs it eighty one graves LetÆs go see Platton

” Randidly ” Azriel began slowly But then she shook her head “Well it matters not Continue onward “

Chapter 663

Captain Platton sat on top of a tall stone tower looking towards the South side of the Hallat River The screen of trees made it difficult to tell exactly what was going on but it seemed clear that the Wights were moving

Construction his instincts told him This time Hell Maws for sure With that cover the Wights would push them back from the Hallat River and have free reign over the fertile countryside that fed most of the Central Domain Farming was a largely mocked profession in Tellus but if the farming villages in the surrounding area fell the Central Domain would feel the absence very quickly

Would that move them Æ Captain Platton wondered Somehow he knew that it wouldnÆt For whatever reasons the elites held only apathy towards this invasion It was painful and frustrating to admit but there was no other explanation for the lack of response as reports of losses to the Wight horde poured in from every side

When the Spearsource was lost Tellus had gotten angry and frustrated For the first time in the centuries since the great Calamity they had lost their identity Even if Captain Platton didnÆt agree with the decision of the higher ups to remain in the wings he understood it there wasnÆt a fundamental threat that they needed to address

But this was a different situation The aggressive attacks from the Wights had revealed that they would ignore the precipitous losses that forcing the issue would cause And they didnÆt care at all Unless the body was carefully annihilated the Propagators had the ability to use the corpses to assemble more Wights without missing a beat

That was what broke Captain PlattonÆs heart he was being praised as a hero by all of the population who had heard of his exploits but all he managed was to waste hundreds of lives to delay the assault by a few weeks

That was all the valiant defense that he orchestrated had managed A few weeks

And with the departure of his three most powerful warriors

As if summoned by his thought Azriel and Skarch pushed open the door without a knock and walked into PlattonÆs office Randidly followed after the two of them his expression slightly clouded

Smiling warily Captain Platton put down the stack of reports and nodded to the entrants After all they had given and sacrificed for his plans it was not a problem to ignore the breaches of etiquette Good you are all here There is another day before itÆs strictly necessary but since it appears the Wights will be working on their war machines for the next week you may return to Hastam early Perhaps the day of rest will do you good

We have rested for two days already Azriel complained and Randidly nodded

We have plenty of energy Randidly said his eyes going over the dozens of papers scattered on Captain PlattonÆs desk PlattonÆs heart sank when he realized the man pitied him If there is anything

There is nothing you can do Captain Platton said The room settled into an almost numb silence and Platton winced Perhaps too many of his morose guesses about the state of this war came through in his voice In an attempt to get the mood back on track he said Here anyway There is a tournament a hundred kilometers North that you are responsible for winning Did you know that there are already betting pools arranged by the C Corp

The three just looked at him so Captain Platton soldiered on I took the liberty to arrange my paycheck go towards bets on each of you Some of the men joined in on it IÆll have you know that if one of you were to win the tournament the rest of us would have enough to retire from the front lines and live like kings So good luck

If anything the silence grew worse in the wake of PlattonÆs pronouncement All three of the eyes of the young spear users grew solemn as they looked at him

It has been an honor to be led by you Skarch said with a short bow If we weather this storm my family will always welcome you at our table

We will weather it without a doubt Captain Platton found himself saying He noticed that when he spoke Randidly closed his eyes It seemed that he was truly rusty when it came to lying

If we find unending glory Azriel said lightly as she tapped her spear on the ground You will be recognized in the song of our deeds Likely not in the refrain but as a minor character in an early verse

Snorting Platton turned to Randidly He reached into his pocket and produced his Soulstone With a gesture the energy he had gathered in the last month transferred over to RandidlyÆs own stone It was a small thing but

Suddenly RandidlyÆs eyes were glittering as he examined the energy in the air There was a spark of hope in his eyes But Captain Platton did his best to ignore it He had allowed this young man to exhausted himself on this task for far too long Best that he return to Hastam where he could be further refined One day he would be a spear user that could change the fate of a nation

But not yet

No matter what Platton was thinking however Randidly ignored his offered hand Instead he pulled out his own stone and stared at it fixedly what does the Soulstone steal exactly If it continues to take the energy perhaps

This was already looked into Captain Platton said with a stern voice It is true the Soulstone takes a portion of the energy that is released when a Wight dies But it was never the energy that is an issue We have always known that the Propagator has the ineffable ability to light the fire of life in the puppets that are the Wights But we always believed that broken bodies could only be reused at great cost That was the variable holding the Propagators back Whether they learned a Skill to circumvent this issue or whether it was a ruse from the beginning doesnÆt matter the animating energy was always easy to create Stealing a little

Perhaps Randidly said and now he was grinning His mouth stretched wider and wider until it was a wild expression that no longer looked pleasant But I was stuck on the same problems as you because I believed I had to address them the same way as you do I donÆt

Captain Platton gave Randidly a look and he smiled back up at him

Captain give me leave to remain two more hours Randidly said with bright eyes Perhaps there truly is nothing I can do in the grand scope of things But right here right now I can present you with a farewell gift And I think it is one that you will appreciate

Randidly stared at the sky Tired but determined the pulse of the images produced by that brave stand at Southpoint Beach continued If anything they had grown stronger the longer that Randidly examined them At first he had been deeply puzzled by this wondering how the Aether was managing it

Then he realized that there were new sources from afar that were slowly connected to the living thing in the sky that the Southpoint Beach stand had created Across Tellus more spear users were dying with such fervor that it was altering Aether The only problem that it was all shape and no juice It would give spear users the shape to grow but they were being starved of vitamins to fuel that

Standing on the hill above the Hallat River Randidly looked at the graves he had dug Then his gaze turned to the Wight encampment Even now they were felling trees to make room for their Hell Maws Randidly closed his eyes No matter what they did to those plants they were still there Without an overwhelming power it was impossible to completely eradicate plant life

With plants Randidly had eyes

What he had realized from watching Platton give him the energy from his Soulstone was how tenuous the Wights hold over the energy was It was because they were like cups filled with the energy animating them It was a very specific sort of energy not the type that would be any use spear users Perhaps because of that whoever had made the Wights didnÆt bother to make the bindings on that energy very tight They popped like water balloons when pressed the right way

Or at least that was what Randidly was banking on

Randidly set out the last crate of Mana potions next to him and smiled at it ruefully Although he didnÆt like the lack of action this break had at least given Randidly the chance to lose the constant headache that had from artificially recovering his Mana for the last month But this activity would probably destroy everything he had struggled to accomplish during that time

When the Incendiary Eruptions went up among the Wight camps there were deaths sure but there were likely a hundred thousand Wights in the area Randidly alone could no longer dent their armies The fiery heat scarred the ground melting stone and Wight bodies alike As the smoke cooled Randidly drank Mana Potions Then he struck again spreading his reach out farther Then again Then again until the edges of RandidlyÆs focus were fraying and a 20 kilometer space was covered in Incendiary Eruptions

Then to fill in the gaps Randidly closed his eyes and felt with his plants Where he needed it he used another Incendiary Eruption Slowly the shape of what he wanted settled into place

As he was so far from the occurrence even Randidly felt strained If his Control wasnÆt so overwhelmingly high it would be impossible But with a Control of 697 Randidly believed he had just enough to manage it

After all of his research into energy transfers for the drone the principle behind this was almost too simple Creating the transition to Aether was tricky but he had experimented with some of the energy from his own Soulstone and quickly worked through it The melted rock cooled into certain shapes filled with the warm glow of RandidlyÆs Mana As the attacks seemed to cease the huge army returned back to their work ignoring the melted rock beneath their feet

His eyes were burning emeralds as Randidly reached into that 20 kilometers of giant Mana Engraving Doing this so quickly had driven Randidly towards the end of his endurance but Platton had been adamant that he only have two hours With the remaining Mana Potions Randidly refilled himself But even so he produced his 10 rings filled with Mana

Randidly took a breath Then he pulled The giant Engravings lit up with emerald fire

As one 100 000 Wights collapsed as their energy was sucked away into that beating pulse in the sky

Chapter 664

Exhausted from the day Randidly could say nothing as Skarch insisted that they hire a cart to allow Randidly to rest At first he staunchly refused it was slow them down immensely But the headache was back with a vengeance and Randidly felt some strange instability from his inner world that had him worried

He couldnÆt pinpoint the source but he figured there would be no problems with taking some time to relax

It wouldnÆt change the course of the war but the defense seemed to come alive with RandidlyÆs actions He had been previously shunting off large amounts of Aether into the atmosphere to keep some Leveling occurring amongst the spear users but it was a small effect This was not

As Randidly reaped the life from those Wights a tidal wave of spear friendly Aether spread across the entire Spearman School continent and likely abroad After weeks of the wounded piling up they began to heal Levels were earned Hope was restored

Randidly was exhausted but satisfied When they had departed Captain Platton was white But the lines of worry from his face were gone instead he was speechless in a different way from the hopelessness from earlier He hadnÆt even said anything he had simply put his hand on RandidlyÆs shoulder and bowed his head But Randidly understood

The most pleasant surprise for Randidly was that it didnÆt seem like a one time thing He couldnÆt really judge how long the Mana would persist but for a while the Wights could not enter into that 20 kilometers of ground South of the Hallat River without fueling the Aether of the spear users And they had tried After the first hundred thousand died another Wight army appeared and trotted right up to be reaped as well

More and more Aether gave life to that heartbeat in the sky

Still a lot of the high from accomplishing that slowly dispersed as Randidly sat in the back of the cart and listened to Azriel and Skarch bicker over which of them would seize the ultimate prize at the tournament It was somewhat hard to listen to Randidly was aware that both of them understood that the tournament meant nothing in the grand scheme of Tellus anymore But it was hard not to cling to it when everything else seemed so dire

But Randidly was under no illusions This problem they were facing was a pay grade above himself Perhaps that was the same conclusion that Skarch and Azriel came to They had done all they could It was better not to waste their worries on a looming doom they could not themselves fight against

To try and shift his own mind Randidly turned to his PP

Over the past month he had been busy Aside from general increases in his combat and spell Skills Randidly had several Skills that had jumped rapidly upwards as he worked them more into his usual repertoire When a Shadow Departs Fireflies Dance and Volatile Ash both saw huge jumps likely due to the circular nature of their effect The former created ash and the latter empowered ash

In terms of the biggest spell growth Incendiary Eruption and Incinerating Bolt had become his bread and butter spells The combination gave him a shot that could hit aerial targets and another that could wipe out concentrated ground forces Although Ring of Fire was powerful Randidly preferred to rely on his spear Skills when they would come in close This also had the added benefit of keeping his Level 34 where Randidly suspected he might have tried to rush towards 40 at the rate the Wights gave experience

Still perhaps the greatest focus Randidly possessed during this time was to raise is Visualization His spars with Skarch and Azriel had focused on it and there were concrete benefits to improving his images across the board In addition Randidly had to admit that there were some supplementary effects of the Skill that seemed to make it easier to interpret the information provided through his plant sense

All in all Randidly gained 133 PP in a month which is some of the highest growth he had experienced in a long time But his heart cooled somewhat when he saw that his Path Chosen of Ash would be completed by this amount of PP

It was not a small thing that Randidly remembered hearing in this world that there had never been a Chosen of Ash But Randidly was never one to mind trying to be the first

Still he did not yet complete the Path He put most of his PP into the Path to raise it to 199/200 but he didnÆt add the last bit Instead he leaned back and enjoyed the sound of Azriel and SkarchÆs voices Their travels in the cart were quick as there were no others along the road with them but the Central Domain was vast It was nice to feel the cool breeze of farmland and have the air be cleared of the smell of smoke

Randidly smiled sardonically To be fair generally the smell of smoke was his doing But still it was a relaxing break So he simply meditated

It took almost four hours and night had fallen but Randidly finally felt well enough to attempt this Sitting up Randidly moved into a comfortable position

Azriel Randidly said

Azriel poked her head back through the front of the cart to look at him Are you ready for your turn to drive Ha to think Skarch thought you so self absorbed that you wouldnÆt think to offer It appears she owes me a new spear

Randidly opened his mouth and then flushed Well he supposed he hadnÆt exactly thought that this was a shared responsibility Still it made sense

I was joking to add levity to the situation Azriel said with a sigh Shaking her said Truth be told I owe Skarch some currency to improve her spear due to this She said you would be unmoved by my humor Please tell me some good news to raise my spirits

I go to speak with my Patron and hopefully be Chosen Randidly said lightly Although he didnÆt need to tell her it was likely good manners And perhaps Azriel would know some facts about Patrons that would make this easier

Ah She said simply Then she nodded Good luck

Without another word she removed her head from the back of the cart With a small smile on his face Randidly added the last PP to the Path

Congratulations You have finished the Path Chosen of Ash Your growth has come far and the road you walk has been paved by a great existence that rules over the domain of Ash Without a doubt the further you proceed down the road the deeper you see into the forbidden mysterious of Ash To choose this Path was always a gamble because at the end of all Ashen Roads lay the burning heat that created them There is a plain of ash and at the center a volcano At the summit of the volcano there is a face Although this may be the end of your Path never doubt the journey is worth it

Without any fanfare RandidlyÆs vision immediately faded The darkness was not a kind darkness however and it felt thin and grainy to RandidlyÆs senses But he didn’t press Instead he waited Yet the darkness stretched on seemingly endless

To RandidlyÆs surprise the darkness persisted Eventually he frowned Originally he had assumed that this was a transition back to that Ashen World where the Patron of Ash waited But minutes ticked by without any change It was difficult to accurately track the passage of time in the pure darkness but Randidly suspected at least a half hour had slipped away

Implacable and eternal the darkness showed no signs of dispersing

With his fingers Randidly reached out and touching his face and shoulders All here Acri wasnÆt present but he was physically in a location Crouching Randidly touched the ground and dragged his fingers through a layer of slimy and grainy ash to feel the cold ground beneath it Sand

Randidly grimaced The strange sensation to this world was familiar to him but he couldnÆt

Then he froze Because he definitely knew this feeling This was the thinness to existence that Randidly felt while he utilized Ashes to Ashes Slowly he stood once more The one thing that Randidly kept in mind constantly was that none had ever returned from this place It would not be smart to behave aggressively here It was entirely possible that others didnÆt have the same experience that Randidly did with Ashes to Ashes and lashed out here

Exposed suddenly to pain they went mad and died here in the darkness At the sudden thought that he might be standing next to a grimacing and contorted body Randidly shivered

Raising his hand Randidly used Incinerating Bolt to see a bit of the surrounding area Well he tried to Nothing happened Then he attempted to activate Golden Roots of Yggdrasil to draw strength from the ground Nothing

None of RandidlyÆs Skills worked

He moved his hand really fast back and forth in front of his face feeling like a fool But the wind he generated was not that of a normal person He still retained his Stats But he was somehow cut off from his Skills At this Randidly could only sigh

All the others before him couldnÆt have died because the Patron of Ash required them to fight something without any Skills right

Chapter 665

With nothing else to do Randidly began to walk The direction was random And likely variable as he couldnÆt very well track anything in the darkness There was just himself and the feeling of his body hanging in the deep abyss around him

Honestly the feeling of his body would quickly disappear if he didnÆt keep his hands on himself It was like he was unmoored drifting around The longer Randidly walked the more it seemed like the darkness was more liquid than anything else and it had buoyed him away from the ground to carry him off into the deep sea It was a profoundly disconcerting feeling

Randidly was also rather annoyed because although darkness wasnÆt off brand per se it was a bit away from the typical MO for Patrons Now he was slightly annoyed with himself for not asking Azriel and Skarch more pointedly about Patrons before he made the attempt Perhaps his excitement got the better of him

Hopefully it wouldnÆt be the last mistake Randidly had the pleasure of making

To keep his mind moving Randidly thought about drone designs and the making of GhostÆs physical body He wondered what had happened on Earth with the different Zones and whether more had connected He wondered whether TessaÆs Orders became anything He wondered what Lyra was up to and why she refused to listen to reason Randidly wondered about that strange cockroach being that seemed to be related to the Creature but he had never been able to track down after the incident in the powerplant

Randidly also wondered why the powerful Masters of Tellus didnÆt move to stop the Wights And once his mind was on the war Randidly took great care to examine every memory he had of those that had fought by his side and died Their mannerisms and names Their Styles and spear Skills Randidly immersed himself in it all

Perhaps it was Visualization once more but it was very easy to immerse himself in the images They felt real around him No longer was Randidly walking in darkness but he was walking through his own memories It was strange because Randidly was like a ghost and he watched himself move and talk with these people

Then came fights he had in the past It was almost painful to go back and watch his haphazard early fighting style Although Shal had drilled Randidly on the principles during their time together in the dungeon it wasnÆt until he went to Tellus that he truly learned to use the spear His fight against the Sphinx was almost comical

Randidly watching himself run into the room and find LyraÆs human corpse and the shapeshifter that would assume her face

Randidly also saw the Creature in all of the faces she had shown him Mostly they were variants on LyraÆs face But there was always a deepness to the CreatureÆs eyes that for all her self proclaimed wisdom Lyra did not possess Randidly might deeply hate his longtime enemy but he couldnÆt deny that it possessed great knowledge and capability

Grimacing Randidly amended an earlier thought If more Zones connected he hoped it would take as long as possible The Creature would have incarnations in each Zone or some of them Coming back to an active version of the Creature would be a headache especially because Randidly suspected it wouldnÆt do anything overtly against him until the third Calamity

It would be content to prepare and watch until then

After a while the memories fell away and Randidly was in the darkness once more But this was a brief stay very soon the darkness had bled away into color First maroons and golds but then browns dark greens and finally navy blue And once the dark colors made their appearance there was an explosion and the world around Randidly became a shifting land of color that moved like a lava lamp Shades pooled on the ground and then floated upwards to separate and stain the sky

Through it all Randidly continued walking Time began to twist Randidly suspected it had been almost a day since he had arrived here but it was difficult to track Everything was a different shape than it normally was in his mind Parts of his inner world seemed to be humming even though he couldnÆt utilize Skills as far as he could see If anything this made Randidly only more cautious

Which was why he jumped when words split the darkness

This way

The voice was soft and not one that Randidly recognized as the Patron of Ash but it struck like a bolt of lightning in the darkness For a second the words seemed to burn a path into RandidlyÆs memory Then it slowly began to fade But it was enough

Randidly turned to his left and began to move with more speed trotting across the shifting ground It felt like underneath the layer of ash was sand and each step grew more tiresome Not that Randidly grew tired but it seemed that his pace refused to increase as much as he would like to due to the terrain

Now as Randidly ran he thought about his father About how he needed to consume human life or slowly weaken In the wake of killing Father Foster Randidly had spent some time looking for Ezekiel and he spoke to Hank But no one seemed to have seen him

Perhaps it was familial affection but Randidly did not force the issue or utilize GhostÆs information network Because it occurred to Randidly that Ezekiel had killed hundreds of monsters knowing that the possessed the minds and hearts of humans It weighed heavily on RandidlyÆs consciousness

Where exactly had EzekielÆs hunger come from

But Randidly didnÆt want to think of that now Instead Randidly remembered the altered memory with his father that occurred in his first visit to the Patron of AshÆs world There he had spoken to Ezekiel where in real life he had remained silent out of fear It was a good memory

The smell of the backseat the sound of the rain and the windshield wipers the way the seatbelt cut at his neck

The colors around Randidly shifted and he was there Moving like a phantom Randidly stepped out of the car and into the road Rain fell in sheets creating huge puddles even along the side of the highway When their car blazed through in its dash to the hospital huge waves of liquid were thrown up

As Randidly continued to walk in the rain away from the setting of his memory the world faded Soon there was nothing but the sound of rain Then that too was gone

But more sounds rose to fill RandidlyÆs awareness First the sound of his breath and then the sound of his heartbeat

Stopping Randidly looked up in shock He saw a light A real one

It was difficult to tell because the colors continued to swim everywhere else but there was a low glow in the distance that seemed to ground the rest of the chaos There was something A beacon It was a little off of RandidlyÆs path so he hesitated But as he couldnÆt trust his sense of direction Randidly began to head towards it

Time had stopped There was only the walking and the light

And then after what felt like a year Randidly arrived at the light It was just brightness and he stepped into it The world shuddered

Suddenly Randidly was on a vast plain filled with living grain although none that he recognized It shifted and rustled in the wind and Randidly spun around slowly to take it all in

I have three secrets for you boy

Randidly spun around Standing a few meters behind him was a figure with pale green skin and a cat like tail that flipped back and forth But his eyes were grey ash and every second more flaked off and drifted down from his face like some sort of terrible tears

You are the Patron of Ash Randidly said slowly

The being nodded For now know me to be called Ulaat This is how I looked before Except for my eyes Not even I can escape what I have become Now look it is beginning

RandidlyÆs gaze followed along where Ulaat pointed and he saw nothing but the field for several long seconds Then there was a soft ripple in the air The grain in the surrounding area was blown away as if by a sudden wind

Riipp

Something akin to a cloth tearing sounded out in the same way that setting a porcelain teacup down sounded like an earthquake The whole area was consumed by the noise and Randidly winced The air distorted further and suddenly there was an opening there midair A portal

The first secret you earn for being patient and determined Although I dislike the necessity of that test age has taught me that I have no time for the fools who cannot manage it The secret I offer you is the truth of the Second Calamity Do you desire this truth

Unsure of whether this was a trick question Randidly nodded slowly

The Patron of Ash Ulaat smiled Simply put the great second Calamity is yourself A parallel world where you have chosen a different image for yourself The darkest alternative in your own mind And it is that possibility that has given Tellus nightmares for so long

Chapter 666

As the Patron of Ash continued to speak Randidly looked behind at the portal Strange skittering bug creatures were exploding outwards expanding in all directions Strangely Randidly felt his perspective lift up and shoot up into the sky From just the field of grain Randidly could now see the edges where the field touched a river and the thick jungle beyond that A small distance from the edge of the jungle a small village of the blue creatures that the Patron of Ash hailed from were working to gather fruit

To be fair to call it yourself would be inaccurate But that is how it feels to face the Second Calamity What if I had embraced the sword What if I had focused on ice What if my sibling had not died Æ Such questions that make up your fragile core will define the challenge Sometimes such questions might warp the reflection you must face beyond belief The enemies you face might have no resemblance to you and your people Such was the case with the Calamity that came to my world

The Patron of Ash inclined his head towards the jungles below Randidly My people worshipped the World Core It is rumored that every plant even the tiniest blade of grass possesses a system of roots that lead to the World Core Our take is to tend the growth of the World Core and life on its bounty We were a stable and peaceful population despite the arrival of the System We persevered Such was the strength of our culture that we werenÆt shaken in the slightest

Randidly was slightly taken aback how human the Patron of Ash seemed Ulaat seemed in his normal form But his gaze on the images below turned stony The bug like creatures were moving farther afield and eating everything in sight In their wake there was only barren ground

why are you telling me this Randidly whispered He of course wanted to learn about the Second Calamity and how to defeat it But he purposefully reminded himself that the Calamity was a later challenge At the moment all of his attention was focused on passing through this trial with his life

To be an Initiate is to have my attention To be Anointed is to carry my blessings and touch the world of Woe that I had crafted for myself Ulaat said slowly The bug creatures reached the village of UlaatÆs people It took them by surprise and viciously butchered those unsuspecting people To be Chosen means a different thing to each Patron I believe Other Patrons mean that the images of the proteges are sufficiently similar so therefore they should inherit a portion of this cursed mantle we Patrons are made to bear

As his people were slaughtered below the entire village to the man Ulaat turned and gazed at Randidly His ashen eyes continued to disintegrate Do you know the agony of being eternal Of becoming an idea and therefore unable to die or evolve How could you How fickle and bright your potential burns Randidly Ghosthound Your surety of success is admirable if only for its continued existence without reliance on fact

Tightening his hands into fists Ulaat leaned towards Randidly As he did so Randidly couldnÆt help but notice that there were spots on UlaatÆs hand and shoulder that began to smoke and disintegrate It seemed this body that he had conjured was slowly being consumed from the inside But no intelligent man who believes it impossible will reach the moon you need a fool to not even think about it To be chosen by me is to be asked to reach the moon

I am wracked by guilt I cannot die I cannot leave my world but to test fools like you who have not heard of my reputation I am so very tired I am so very tired And a Patron cannot cease but I believe my consciousness can if the mantle of what I am passes to another

Randidly just looked at Ulaat now slowly burning away his body and reverting to the Patron of Ash Below the bug creatures were spreading across the world murdering as they went At some point word got out and the people began to resist Randidly saw grand ceremonies involving the exotic plants of the world empowering the warriors of UlaatÆs people It was a slow thing as the bugÆs expansion ground to a halt

But in a way it reminded Randidly very much of how the Wights were overwhelming the spear users There were simply too many of them Randidly supposed that this might be a common theme in the second Calamity then an unending tide of opponents He made note of that but kept most of his attention on the Patron of Ash

When the Patron continued to study the war being waged below Randidly looked up slowly you want to pass your power onto me And based on the fact none has even been chosen before the process

Then Randidly froze He gritted his teeth No you donÆt want to give me the power All you want to give is the

Smiling the Patron of Ash held up his hand Almost the entirety of his body was crusting and falling away now as the burning heat at his core overwhelmed whatever glamour he had weaved Yes This image The one strong enough to emerge from the second Calamity without peer All else had been devoured by this tiny image Take it from me Randidly make me no more

Randidly just stared at the glowing red orange coal in the Patron of AshÆs hand Carefully he thought through it Based on his interaction with the Creature and the information he plundered from its memories the System was looking for something very specific On the way it didnÆt mind gathering strong images for its own purposes If the Calamities were considered a way of intensifying or isolating images then each process was a way of weeding out those that were useless to the Calamity

First by strength and then by Randidly paused as he considered the second Calamity It seemed to test the poignancy one more time but also resilience Because the Calamity itself was a personification of the deep fears of the worldÆs image

Narrowing his eyes Randidly tried to be very careful about what he said next The Patron seemed to be waiting for something The battles below grew increasingly bitter as the blue tailed creatures stopped the bugs What Randidly was suddenly struck by was that the Calamity was based on the worldwide image It was very easy to see why the worldÆs fears could be terrible and perverse beyond what you would expect It made Randidly wonder what Earth feared most right now

Perhaps it was actually him

But the problem at hand was daunting An image that survived two Calamities would be strong In terms of Skill Level Randidly estimated somewhere between four hundred and five hundred And that might be conservative More worrying the Level didnÆt account for the fervor that the holder believed in the image If he had learned anything from Skarch it was that this was of paramount importance Taking such a powerful image directly into himself

It was no wonder why others perished In a small sample Randidly had noticed the way that the strange Aether that Silo had been absorbing has altered him Altered him to the point that even though Randidly sensed Silo behind enemy lines there was almost no movement from the guy

Even then that wasnÆt the same because Silo was absorbing someoneÆs processed Aether It wasnÆt just image there were thoughts and memories and emotions and life energy mixed inexorably into that Aether That was the fabric of somebodies existence

If the metaphor for Silo was trying to swim against the current of a vast river what the Patron of Ash was suggesting was to take one tenth of the weight of the river condense it into a fist sized ball and ask you to catch it The sheer difference and density were tough to understand

In order to buy some time Randidly gestured at the world below There was something about the air here the heat was getting to him where are you in all of this

Ah a good question boy The Patron of Ash said with a wide smile The boy named Ulaat is still growing below This brings us to the second secret the life of Ulaat This one you earned for asking the right question But first let me set the stage

Generally the Second Calamity will result in one of two things happening First there is a victor either the original image triumphs over the fears or the fears were superior and they assume the legitimate reality The fears are after all a glorified projection unless they seize the other sideÆs validity From the SystemÆs perspective it cares not all it seeks is strength

The Patron of Ash waved his hand and their viewpoint shifted They were floating above a small village near the border of the territory between the two sides but not so close that they had to be worried all the time about raids from the bugs The second option is that worlds stall out for one reason or another Sometimes the images are equal sometimes although one image is stronger the people wielding it do not optimally fight against the opposition The Fifth Cohort World Tellus is one such place

The view zoomed in further and suddenly Randidly and the Patron of Ash were in a small treetop house in the village The house didnÆt look special at all from the outside and within it appeared similarly normal A man and a woman were there playing with a baby There were scrolls in racks at the wall Night was falling and the man lit a candle so he could read a few of the scrolls that had piled up on his desk

Like all things accidents sometimes happen even in the awesome System The Patron of Ash said slowly Some days I believe I was beloved by fate because I survived But I have not had one of those days in a thousand years Instead I like to believe I was cursed from the beginning

The man began to read out loud from the scrolls The woman slowly grew more and more distracted Her hands stilled from playing with the baby and she looked worriedly towards the man

Obviously the baby couldnÆt understand what was going on He was young but he was able enough to push himself into a sitting position with his tail Seeing that the woman was too enthralled with the manÆs voice the baby began to crawl away

Abruptly the woman stood and stormed out of the room Hurriedly putting down the scroll the man followed Without missing a beat the baby crawled over towards the flickering candle His eyes were wide as he stared up at it It took a while but the baby managed to open his hands and grab the leg of the desk When that did nothing he spread his tail awkwardly upwards To RandidlyÆs surprise the babyÆs tail was probably twice as long again as his body was

It barely reached After several clumsy swipes the baby knocked the candle down underneath the scroll rack With wide eyes he watched the flickering flames grow As Randidly watched he could feel himself beginning to burn along with the heat It was almost a painful feeling all across his chest

Sometimes a third option happens in the chaos an image is born that is so strong that it sweeps the other two images away that is my story

Chapter 667

They would call me firebringer for that night Almost the entire village burned down The Patron of Ash narrated with a dispassionate voice as he watched in real time the house and then the tree and then the whole village go up in flames My people worshipped plants so they prepared certain magicks to combat fire But fire grows strong quickly And with our best and brightest fighting on the frontlines none who had the strength to quell the fire were in the village My parents died

I have come back and watched this memory so many times and yet I still don’tÆ know what the scrolls said Why my mother left why my father followed When the weight of my crime does not haunt me that ambiguity does

Seeing the flame the nearby reserve army moved to assist assuming it was a raid By a terrible coincidence a raid really did occur in the opposite direction Two villages lost in one night There were a few survivors from my village but none from the other Rumors about me spread before I could even speak Parents told their children not to be a firebringer Kids had a game called run away from the firebringer My early years were hard

In the smoking eye socket of the Patron of Ash a cherry red ember became visible But although I was hated and shunned there was a bigger problem We were losing the war With all of the land lost to the Scourge the World Seed was much weakened The ceremonies were not as effective as they once were Our people were being pushed back It seemed like doom was upon us

Perhaps due to all of the hatred towards me I hated the Scourge more than anyone All I did was train until my bones were broken and my muscles mush I needed to matter I needed it to be their fault I needed an outlet But it wasnÆt enough I was a middling talent And my nights were haunted by nightmares of smoke and fire

I donÆt remember why I thought about it But I once suggested that rather than taking a safe amount of juice from the World Seed we take as much as we could Although the World Seed might be damaged at least we would be able to rally and seize our world once more ShouldnÆt our own survival be the greatest priority

The elders were appalled Even the most hardline war types were appalled As I said earlier my peopleÆs culture was based upon the worship of this very present force in their lives To sacrifice it for their own benefit it was anathema to everything that had given us stability to this point We would the elders told me be effectively turning ourselves into the Scourge That was not the answer They seemed adamant about this

I was not so sure

The view shifted once more very quickly The world twisted and suddenly a young man was standing in front of a strange sort of flowering vine The man visibly hesitated then picked the vine clean of flowers leaving nothing behind As he departed the vine didnÆt wither but it seemed to age Initially green and robust the vine darkened and seemed to be covered with wrinkles

Randidly panted and wiped some sweat from his forehead with a grimace It seemed that as the world was getting affected so was he And dammit the heat was growing painful

I experimented I sought the truth And the truth was my path to power was clear I must do right by my name When burned the flowers and fruits of the World Seed were a hundred times more powerful for a brief time That very night I struck annihilating the hive that was closest to my people I felt unsure at first but then it was swept away by the smell of ash

I felt powerful I felt like I had purpose I felt like a righteous God

From there I simply fought more As my enemies were more and more of the Scourge I required more for my bastardized rituals I kept winning by the time the elders realized what I had done I had driven the Scourge off of our planet Although it was a wasteland we reclaimed it I was filled with joy

But with the passage of time the World Seed did not heal

Once more the view pulled back The thick green jungle of the land had grown thin The fields were barren and no longer thick with wheat And as Randidly watched that greenness receded Brown became the dominant color It spread like a sickness across the world The few remaining cities of the PatronÆs people grew smaller and smaller

At first I thought I had the answers I burned large swaths of land thinking that if I cut off the green from the brown I could save it But the brown kept coming Then I thought that some of the elders were performing rituals behind my back and sapping the World SeedÆs strength I burned them alive I was in too deep and desperate Nothing changed

Within 57 years I was the only remaining thing on the world And around me was ash I just felt bleak And sadness And betrayal I had been a hero I had defeated the enemy So why had I failed

What a fool I was When the System came to elevate me to a Patron I didnÆt even really notice The burned world of my past became my power and my prison All due to this small thing

Randidly slowly spun seeing the familiar ashen and lava covered world where the Patron of Ash lived Finally he spun all the way around and was looking at the Patron who still held that tiny ember in his hand Such was the heat from the ember that Randidly felt like he was being consumed from the inside out by a fire

Thank you for telling me Randidly said with a sigh The pain was approaching unbearable but he pushed that aside for now He didnÆt think the Patron of Ash would take kindly to a show of weakness

Instead he thought about his own choices He had taken up a heavy mantle when he had decided to act more like a liege for Earth It was a heavy responsibility but he felt the world needed the power he could offer It wasnÆt difficult to see the parallels But RandidlyÆs actions hadnÆt yet had the same disastrous effect

The Patron of Ash gestured dismissively with the hand that wasnÆt holding onto the ember Your emotions are meaningless Like my existence my reactions have calcified This is meaningless to me You are a piece that I have raised for this purpose Now I simply must ask will you take this burden from me

and if I refuse Randidly said slowly looking solemnly at the Patron of Ash In response the Patron only smiled

Sighing Randidly tried a different tack Then what is the third secret

You do not yet have the right to know the Patron of Ash rumbled Now that they were once more in his world lava and ash began to flow upwards and form a huge face around his constantly disintegrating body That face expanded until it was the size of a large building while eyes that cried tears of lava And here we are You must make a decision without knowing either of the consequences Such is the lot in life when you choose the Path of the Fool

Randidly felt bitter but mostly because it was difficult to deny that he had done some foolish things in his time His rebellion against the creature choosing the Patron of Ash at all assembling his own Soul Skill destroying a Skill because it exerted a strange influence over him

Above all Randidly had slowly realized that he was a very instinctual person To follow his instincts could be of great benefit to him in some situations but now he was faced with the inevitable eventuality of that path a decision you know could burn you both ways

Could he have avoided this Perhaps

Out of habit Randidly reached for his Skills then smiled bitterly His immediate instinct was to attempt to use Inspiration with Erode Image to weaken that powerful image of ash That might change something But cut off from his Skills Which was especially annoying as the heat was starting to approach the point that he wouldnÆt be able to hide the damage it was doing to him from the Patron Fuck to think being near the image of ash would be this painful

That thought sharpened RandidlyÆs eyes In a demanding voice he asked Why canÆt I use my Skills

It is part of the power I possess The Patron of Ash rumbled Make your choice boy

Make a choice You were never this soft hearted even when I came here From the beginning you were trying to kill me Do you really expect me to believe I can say no without any consequences

For the second time in this discussion Randidly froze

Oh fuck it’s worse than that isnÆt it All of this it was just buying time to see how it would play out The pain in his chest made his vision swim Randidly was on fire Everything was burning away even his consciousness There was never a choice you have already placed that bit of ash inside of me

Loud and booming the Patron of Ash laughed as the illusion that had covered them cracked and shattered

Chapter 668

Within a second Randidly was back to himself Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the pain hit him with even more vicious vigor shaking his consciousness A snapshot of the world around him appeared in his mind

A raised obsidian platform had risen out of the molten lava of the volcano upon which Randidly stood And he stood on the corner of the platform because it was covered with almost 200 grey and still figures standing frozen in various positions of agony Even from that brief glimpse before Randidly hurriedly turned his attention inward he saw the panic and fear in the hollowed out and burned bodies

But then Randidly was within himself checking for the danger Although his head swam the Aether Crossroads in his chest was already galvanized into motion Aether howled into his body struggling to reinforce himself Distantly Randidly noticed that there wasn’t another foreign energy pouring into him It only took him a second to recognize it as the Patron of Ash due to the flavor To his surprise the energy was keeping his Health high

Gritting his teeth RandidlyÆs mouth spread wide Well at least that wasnÆt something that he needed to worry about When he died the Patron of Ash wanted it to be due to the overwhelming image of Ash not being burned alive inside out It was an arrogant sort of help

Now however was not the time to look a gift horse in the mouth Breezing past the condition of his body RandidlyÆs attention turned to his inner world It seemed that the Ashen Image was placed directly into the center of his soul and when Randidly looked at the circumstances he grew immediately cold

Several of his Skills were gone burnt to ash

Those Skills nearest to the Ashen Image had turned to ash themselves and the surrounding Skills were struggling to flare up in rebellion to the spreading contagion of ash Furious Randidly flooded those Skills with Aether to fight against the spread If the Skills were considered giant floating shapes of light the ash was coming through and slowly infecting that light and dimming it Besides the Skills that now stood inert and unresponsive to him grey statues that were eerily reminiscent of the figures surrounding Randidly on the platform there were several that had spots on them that had dimmed to ash Around those spots the light of the Skill was flickering as the ash spread

Roaring Randidly pulled TO his surprise the Skill he grasped moved Aether howled and reinforced them but simultaneously the Ashen Image spread its influence wider seeking more Skills to corrupt

All of this was occurring within the purview of RandidlyÆs Class At least the Class still seemed structurally safe and the effect hadnÆt yet spread to his Soulskill But there was only so much room in the area of his Class so some of his Skills needed to be moved to the surrounding area to restrain the Ashen Image until Randidly figured out what to do

Cursing Randidly moved some of his lesser used spells around the Ashen Image like Mana Bolt and Arcane Orb Immediately Randidly considered the damage done to himself during the time he was distracted by Ulaat

What he saw gave Randidly a tension headache Right now two of RandidlyÆs Skills that were still flickering were almost reduced completely to Ash Manuel Labor and Hammer of the Dawn As he watched the Skills dimmed to nothing even as he poured Aether into them There simply wasnÆt enough energy or strength of image remaining in those to save them Soon they became nothing but frozen ash by the power of the Ashen Image

Then Randidly scanned quickly through the other wounded Skills Inspiration was almost halfway lost so he focused on there first Besides that Summon Pestilence and Refine were perhaps one third of the way taken by Ash Of those two Randidly focused his attention on Refine For the good of his metalworking replacing Refine

if he lost these Skills what would it mean for him For his Skill gathering and PP

But there were no answers The heat seemed to be intensifying and Randidly stuttered mentally That split second of confused Aether was enough that Randidly lost Summon Pestilence He swore and threw all his Willpower into fueling the recovery of Inspiration and Refine Because he was more focused there Inspiration was still about 50% alive But immediately prior to that it had been almost 65%