LoRG 3

Lyra shook her head sharply No of course not SheÆs gone from Earth for now She didnÆt put the Dungeon in your Path

You just said Randidly began but Lyra pointed to herself

I did I had the information left from when Yystrix and I were in contact There were several such variants that the Creature discovered in her travels she made it her job to study such things Considering your reluctance about our deal I wanted to give you a taste of how dangerous the Nexus and its ilk really are What better way than to put an individual who had been crushed by the System before you

Randidly regarded Lyra for several seconds letting that information slowly percolate through his mind To RandidlyÆs senses Lyra appeared completely honest He wasnÆt sure which was the more intimidating truth that she was deceiving him and the Creature was still around or that she was honest and had been hiding the capability to somehow arrange for him to enter into a very specific Dungeon

Had she manipulated him or had she somehow moved the Dungeon

Scratching the back of his neck Randidly shook his head He had certainly learned a lot from the Dungeon It had given him perspective on a lot of things How under the System people were forced to devour each other to grow in strength or accept their doom at the hands of the System He had seen the truth of the SystemÆs eternal pragmatism in how ChulroonÆs world was treated after he had been wounded

But could Randidly trust that it hadnÆt all been arranged

Perhaps not but Randidly had immersed himself in the aura of timelessness for quite a long time It was an image that had been created by Chulroon and wasnÆt something that could be easily faked And there was no dishonesty in that image Chulroon sincerely believed his own story was real

The deal with Lyra was simple she would provide information about ShalÆs result and in exchange Randidly would arrange for her to receive a Class He would receive more information about the System and about Shal while he gave her another lever of influence that she could use to affect Earth

To even affect EarthÆs image

It was a worrisome possibility but RandidlyÆs sharp nose sniffed out that something was very different about LyraÆs and the CreatureÆs goals

Previously their main goal was simply to find a way to hide from the System Escape from the constant pursuit but now IÆm learning that the SystemÆs main goal is a war with Nether If itÆs truly putting all of its efforts into fighting this war does the System really have the time and attention to search for a single person Were the memories I obtained from that clone of the Creature lies What am I missing

Randidly looked down at his right hand Despite the SystemÆs healing there was a patch of skin at the center of his hand that was discolored to look as grey as slate It was the spot where his newly evolved NetherÆs Caress manifested

What changed As I recall the Creature was grooming my Soulskill to be a bomb And now IÆve been handed a knife Is it just a distraction ThereÆs too much that I donÆt know

And it wasnÆt like there were many avenues that Randidly had to gain more information But he suspected he would learn a lot soon from his final Judgement but having more information prior to that obvious exposure to danger had quite a bit of value RandidlyÆs Crown of Upheaval and Gloom buzzed in his chest For the first time Randidly felt his loyalties split

Creating a Class for Lyra might endanger the Earth but it might also give him enough ammo to protect his Alpha Cosmos It would allow him to guard those that followed him Erickson Steel would benefit from that protection

A fraction of tension fell from RandidlyÆs shoulders Some decisions would echo for quite some time after the fact and every time they needed to be made over and over again or everything you had gained would be lost fine I agree to your terms In two weeks come find me and IÆll make you a Class Make sure you bring a strong image or IÆll just overwhelm your will and make your Class something like Servant of RandidlyÆ

HA Lyra bellowed out a laugh then regarded Randidly with obvious affection I would love that you know Not because of the stupid titles and associated benefits that would come with that role but because it would be a joke Like between between what we used to be to each other

Randidly looked at Lyra Then he turned away We havenÆt walked that Path for a long time Lyra And I hope for your sake that the information you give me is worth it Because otherwise

Lyra disappeared without waiting for him to finish with a sigh For several seconds Randidly remained still and waited for anything else to emerge from the surrounding air After five minutes he swept the area with a thick curtain of Aether Truly she was gone Randidly tapped his lips and wondered whether he should do something to address that Aether construct that would observe her after the Class was made

Probably not If she had to deal with her own Judgement that would at least keep her distracted

Sighing Randidly turned back to his own issues Unlike most things under the System image training was a return to a pre System world You continued to work at something barely able to feel the small changes you made every day Sometimes it felt like for every step forward you took you inadvertently took a step back in another area It was like building a sandcastle on a beach with frequent waves where you are too busy frantically digging ditches to view how high youÆve managed to get your towers

Still Randidly enjoyed the daily struggle of savoring his images As he realized the vast space for images inside of himself they had spread slowly out to fill a larger area which in turn let him improve further on the individual details

In addition to images Randidly flexed his hands Need to keep working on the plans and Engraving ItÆs time to get to work

Chapter 1011

Let me go North to Zone Eleven Helen said with a determined expression

Randidly was honestly rather amused No Let Alana have her own fight with a Dragon how would you feel if someone came barging in to steal your prey

Helen was clearly grinding her teeth but there was nothing she could say to that With a snort she walked away from RandidlyÆs assembly location muttering something about assisting with the RiderÆs training Randidly prayed for his Riders but let Helen go The low clouds drifted in front of the sun covering the surrounding area in a much needed veil of shade

It had been five days since Randidly had returned to Erickson Steel During that time Tatiana had found the initial deeds to the land that Randidly had originally obtained and realized that Erickson Steel had already expanded to a size that was significantly beyond the limit of the land that he owned But no one had made use of the surrounding area so it had never been a problem up to this point

Of course Tatiana took the news like ghost that had been blasted to oblivion by salt She drifted around her office pale and listless But honestly Randidly didnÆt seem the problem Since they were already past the limits no need to act shy about it now

Not that he particularly wanted to steal land from anyone but he certainly needed space right now And as talks were already underway with this Halloway character might as well add a couple more demands to the request list If the government of Zone 1 wanted to create an addition on Erickson Steel a request for additional land seemed like an obvious choice

But the Zone 1 government also had some rather annoying inspection demands Which put operation moving city into a time crunch

So Randidly was now handling the thankless task of moving the hundreds of tons of extracted raw materials he had obtained from the Dungeon and storing them in a vast warehouse that had been set up to the South of the Erickson Steel compound Nearby a crew was hastily assembling several workstations that Randidly and the other highly Skilled members of Erickson Steel would use to assemble parts over the next few weeks

While all this was going on there was another group that was responsible for sorting the materials that Randidly produced Already two of the assistants that Tatiana had given him were reduced to blubbering idiots as they inventoried the resources Randidly just hoped they wouldnÆt try and tell him how much it was all worth again He was after all only halfway finished

And god save me from the mental strain of moving the completed short legs through Randidly shivered Just the thought of it gave him a sympathy headache for his future self At the very least his Domain Skill was improving at a noticeable pace currently reaching Skill Level 134 By this point even Helen had to begrudgingly acknowledge his progress as she was finally able to utilize something close to her original strength

Even though they were the short legs these metal limbs were still fifteen meters long and as thick as a tree trunk They would handle the bulk of the movingÆs cities support and stabilization function so they had been absolutely covered with Engravings done by Randidly or Lucretia personally Due to their mass the prospect of moving them out of the Alpha Cosmos was a daunting one

Each pound that passed from within to without was a drain on Randidly Inanimate objects were definitely easier than animated ones but only by a little Which was why Randidly had transferred a few over earlier then ceased when his vision grew a little hazy

Randidly didnÆt exactly hide the finished legs from the clucking assistants but he did store the thirty he had prepared so far underneath a tarp awning behind the warehouse The poor assistants clearly werenÆt ready for them yet Which was fine for now but it wasnÆt like Randidly was going to slow down the rate of assembly just because it was inconvenient for these fools

These shocks are what we need to reinvent the image that Erickson Steel has for itself Randidly reflected As long as they learn to accept that anything is possible we can make some real progress Which reminds me

Randidly raised his head and looked West Originally this had been a series of rolling hills but one of the first things Randidly had done was level the area with Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil Half of the space went to him for the preparations for the moving city while the other half went to the Order Ducis so they could continue their training

Apparently Naffur took his request to recruit more individuals into the Order Ducis very seriously He had arranged an entire six month long camp in order to determine suitability for the Order and was closely recording the progress of all of the participants

In a way Randidly found that dedication inspiring Rubbing his chin he looked over toward the frantically training individuals Perhaps its time for me to lend them a helping hand

WhatÆs this Vye whispered to Garrett

The tall man shrugged I donÆt know but I have a bad feeling about this

Good news everyone We have an exciting surprise that we are pleased to share with you all Naffur said brightly He stood in front of the assembled 36 individuals with his arms folded behind his back Since they had arrived at Erickson Steel several more individuals had trickled into the camp Competition intensified But also the difficulty of their tasks spiked sharply upward leading to a general decrease in optimism in hope across the board

Which was why Vye grew suspicious at NaffurÆs tone

Naffur gestured to the three steles that were behind him Our leader Randidly Ghosthound has created three of these Image StonesÆ so you can familiarize yourself with them Each stone has a unique image that it releases If you proceed closer to the stone youÆll have to endure a greater portion of the image released from it The Ghosthound stated that they are relatively flawed products so he will be forced to strengthen the image within the stones every few days Starting next week we will work these stones heavily into our training methods so we recommend you familiarize yourself with them now

Among the crowd of 36 dirty and exhausted individual most people looked side to side with the same question on their lips You seriously want us to train even more

As if sensing the crowdÆs reluctance Naffur smiled slyly Of course these arenÆt just ways to torture you After discussing the matter with the Ghosthound there is also a reward for those that can get close enough to the Image Stones to touch them you will be given a day off usable whenever you wish

Silence There was abrupt silence No one amongst the crowd was even breathing

Finally the spell was broken Someone in the crowd gulped down a mouth full of saliva Even Vye couldnÆt help but feel her heart begin to pound The past week had been so filled with training and weird exercises and rules that she had forgotten what it was like to make her own decisions

If she touched an Image Stone she could decide for herself to take a break Any time she wanted

Of course the reason that Vye stuck with the training was she could feel how much she had improved after even one week And at her core that dream of being able to seize the freedom to travel the land with impunity was still the engine that drove her forward But even so

VyeÆs fingernails drew blood on her palm as she regarded the three Image Stones Having a modicum of control like a break day was definitely the first step she needed to take

This is the first time there has been a reward like this it’s practically an announcement by Randidly Ghosthound that this is the strength that we need to have to reach his level IÆll touch those fucking stones if its the last thing I do

After giving his short speech Naffur walked off to discuss things with Ajax Which meant that the aspirants were free to wander toward the standing stones to investigate

With slow and deliberate motions the aspirants split into groups of two or three and wandered around the outside of the newly renovated area There were three stone steles about the size of a person arranged in a wide triangle Around each was a series of circles that had been carved into the ground The outer distance of the largest circle was twenty meters but there were also circles at ten and five meters

In addition there were also piles of rope with hooks on the end laying about The aspirants regarded each other in confusion They looked back over to Naffur He seemed to be completely content to allow the aspirants to explore so they returned their focus to the image stones and carefully studied them They had learned in the past week that Naffur wouldnÆt instruct them when they were meant to find things out on their own So it was up to them to perform their own investigations

That was the way of the Order Ducis It wasnÆt just strength that was revered here but also the ability to make confident decisions under less than ideal circumstances

Vye made her first realization as she began to walk at the edge of the twenty meter line around the Image Stones they werenÆt kidding about this being a type of training There seemed to be some engravings at the edge of the twenty meter circle that veiled the outside from the image stones but there was still a palpable pressure as they moved through the area

The pressure was something that you barely noticed at first but it rapidly became apparent that although the strain was small it quickly added up Many people began to frown toward the Image Stones

Gritting her teeth Vye turned to Garrett The manÆs sour expression didnÆt change at all after entering the area so Vye inwardly softened her choice of words about the Image Stones This is certainly one sort of training

IÆve got a bad feeling about this Garrett said again Vye rolled her eyes She supposed she shouldnÆt be surprised If there was one thing that was predictable it was GarrettÆs gloomy outlook

But then she looked to the side because Valor Rend was rolling up his sleeves and walking directly to the edge of one of the twenty meter circles

Of everyone amongst the aspirants Valor would be the unanimous frontrunner to join the Order Ducis He wasnÆt as fast as some other people or as strong or possess ranged Skills that were as overwhelming as some others but he was probably close to the top in every category Like Randidly Ghosthound himself he pursued the Path of an all rounder

His hair was even short like RandidlyÆs although ValorÆs was a golden blond His bronze skin and heavy muscles somehow made the constant film of blood and dirt that covered all of the aspirants look somehow heroic

At the edge of the circle Valor raised his chin The focus of all of the aspirants settled on the golden boy After a breath Valor stepped through the circle into the inner area

Huh Urgk

Immediately Valor grunted in pain His eyes widened and it was obvious even from this distance that his pupils dilated But the man gritted his teeth and took several steps forward Yet that just caused his eyes to widen further

I will not be stopped here My destiny Valor bellowed as he stretched his arms wide Then he took two more firm steps forward

After swaying for a second Valor crumpled to the side His face smashed into the ground with an audible noise It was only a few seconds later that his body slowly rolled to the side

He was foaming at the mouth and clearly unconscious There was no circle in the area he collapsed but from the few steps he had taken he probably hadnÆt even made it to the fifteen meter mark around that Image Stone

I suppose thatÆs what the ropes are there for

Vye turned to look at the speaker the barefooted and bushy eyebrowed Aldo stood next to her regarding the collapsed Valor At her gaze he shrugged and gestured toward the body He faced the full force of the GhosthoundÆs image Is this little bit of mental damage a surprise Just be glad he wasnÆt eviscerated by roots

The brightest star of the Order Ducis recruitment camp continued to lay on the ground foam studiously bubbling up out of his slack jawed mouth

Chapter 1012

TatianaÆs eyebrows rose That demonstration your images were strong before but now

Heh impressive right Randidly laced his fingers behind his head and grinned at her It was only at these moments that Tatiana could forget all of the things that he had accomplished and recall that he was at most in his late twenties I wasnÆt slacking off while I was away thatÆs for sure In terms of images I feel pretty good about where IÆve gotten IÆm a little short of being a Master still but thatÆs just a matter of time

Nodding slowly Tatiana regarded Randidly It had now been a week since he returned During that time the government had been relatively quiet seemingly content to watch as Randidly made almost a dozen sweeping changes to the structure of Erickson Steel They were confident that their inspection teams that would head over soon would be able to give them the run down that they wanted

Everyone was preparing for something

ItÆs just unfortunate that it seems like the government’s preparations are going to come to naught TatianaÆs lip curled up Then she focused on the issue at hand

Are you sure a party right now is the best idea She asked slowly After seeing your demonstration I think most of our workers will want to try their hand at using images again This might be the most valuable time for practice

But Randidly just shrugged and walked over to a sink to wash some of the soot and ash the remained on his hands after the demonstration You are probably right but people need breaks too To be mentally healthy even if we are physically fine Besides this party is partially a thank you to a certain individual So I want Erickson Steel to put its best foot forward The more technological wonders that will be present the better

Alright itÆs your company I just make sure it all works Also all of the applicants for the internships are here Whenever you are ready you can interview them

Perfect Might as well do it now while IÆm in a good mood Randidly cracked his neck Oh and let the government know about this party Call it a festival IÆm sure they will take the chance to come into the compound unofficially and inspect what weÆve been doing and I want the chance to examine them as well Figure out how discrete I should be during the stay of the true inspection team they send

Randidly how many goals are you aiming to accomplish at once with this party Tatiana asked with a shake of the head Randidly chuckled and produced a leather glove that he slipped over his metallic left hand It didnÆt completely fool a viewer into believing that the arm was still one of flesh and blood but it did seem to restrain the ominous feeling that seeped outward from his left fist

Well certainly several Randidly seemed to ponder the question But isnÆt complexity the spice of life And progress wonÆt happen unless all of the disparate images have an excuse to mix and compete

Complexity in this case is a result of haste Tatiana replied dryly Why are you in such a rush

Because I have nineteen days before I need to face a very dark truth about this world Randidly responded his voice filled with false cheer Besides You are right that this isnÆt the neatest way of doing things but I still believe it will be the best No matter what we do we canÆt escape our own images of ourselves Tatiana

RandidlyÆs gaze turned abruptly heavy For a split second TatianaÆs chest was frozen as though she was physically pressed down by his presence And unless we draw out those dangerous images with the proper sort of bait how will we know what sort of people truly believe in Erickson Steel

An emerald fire A Crown of pale metal A tree that was a book penned with bark and golden script A shadow that stared blindly down at its own hands and mourned what it had lost

Then the moment passed The man next to her was just a man and the turbulent waves of images calmed in the surrounding area

Tatiana kept her breath even YouÆve Become something of a gambler With throwing so many elements into this party I mean

A sad truth but these are admittedly small stakes in the grand scheme of things Randidly looked up at the sky Then he rubbed his short hair There are two ways to lose in our universe The more obvious one is to gamble and bust But the harder truth is that if the time comes and we donÆt have enough capital to our names we lose that way too And what a bitter loss it will be

So we have a party Tatiana said lightly Her hands were clasped behind her back to hide the trembling How dangerous were the foes that Randidly sensed if he was worried enough for her to sense it

Exactly His smile was easy and light

So for the next twelve hours Tatiana made arrangements for a party A party large enough to be a festival for the entire complex Although Randidly hadnÆt been specific enough for her to guess who the guest of honor was she took his word about a technological demonstration to heart So Tatiana announced abruptly a sudden competition with a short six hour time limit

Everyone who wanted to compete should make an original material drone machine or Engraving to submit to the different categories The winner would receive personal pointers from Randidly Ghosthound regarding their area of focus Although Randidly hadnÆt explicitly given her permission to make that promise Tatiana believed that he wouldnÆt be against the prospect At the moment Randidly was extremely concerned with the growth of Erickson Steel

So much so that he was actually willing to listen to progress reports including the recorded minute statistical improvements

Plus with the announcement of a contest so soon after RandidlyÆs second demonstration everyone threw themselves into the preparation for the resulting festival Honestly the vehemence of the peopleÆs reaction to having a festival surprised Tatiana The idea of taking an entire day to celebrate what Erickson Steel had accomplished caught on quickly

Perhaps it was the constant propaganda from the government or the extreme series of changes over the past few weeks or even the isolation of being so far from any other town but Erickson Steel had been secretly burning for any excuse to explode At some point the planning took on a life of its own All Tatiana had to do was watch

Standing in her office several hours later Tatiana poured three glasses of her last remaining Donnyton single barrel whiskey Which completely depleted her store Inwardly she was somewhat aggrieved but she also knew that this was a time of celebration If she didnÆt let loose now when would she

So where is our guest of honor Tatiana asked lightly

Ah IÆll fetch her Randidly said Then he blinked and a ripple of air spread out from him that forced Tatiana to take a step back Suddenly there was an extremely slender and diminutive woman who popped into existence between the two of them

And the first thing the woman did was bend over and spew a mouthful of bile over TatianaÆs imported carpet

When the woman straightened her gaze toward Randidly was waspish You could have warned me

Randidly scratched the back of his head Ah honestly IÆd forgotten The only person who has really come to this world is Helen and sheÆs a bit immune to these sort of things IÆm sorry

Ah well The woman muttered It seemed that TatianaÆs three glasses finally entered the small womanÆs gaze because the womanÆs expression brightened She walked quickly over to Tatiana and extended her hand Ah it seems we will get along quite well IÆm Wendy nice to meet you

likewise Tatiana said slowly The woman was literally only a meter tall She appeared more like a doll than a real woman but there werenÆt any obvious physical differences that Tatiana could see It was just that the woman was made on a 2/3rd scale compared to most people Her fingers were long and slender and perfectly proportioned to the rest of her body She did however throw back the liquor with all the gusto of a normal woman

Especially of a woman who works for Randidly Tatiana thought with amusement After Wendy finished her cup she gave RandidlyÆs cup a long look He passed it over to her without comment Tatiana hurriedly finished her own before the woman could set her sights on hers It was after all her favorite liquor It was warmth and honey and satisfaction all rolled into one

Ah that was rather good Wendy burped then looked at Randidly furtively She coughed into her hand Ahem so what business was so important that I needed to leave an entire day open

A festival Randidly said lightly as he walked to the window With a smooth motion he pushed the shuttered open and revealed the streets below As a thank you

Look Wendy I really appreciate everything youÆve done to make the moving city a reality I have barged into your office more times than I can count I even have taken a portion of it for my own use Without asking for permission And I well I want to repay all the debts I owe to you but I know that will take some time But I need to start somewhere So for today I hope you can step back and let me repay you in the tiniest way

Tatiana did her best not to flinch at the phrase moving city

Wendy frowned and walked to the window to stand next to Randidly It was dusk but Erickson Steel was currently more lit up that Tatiana had ever seen it before Drones floated above the streets carrying luminous paper lanterns inscribed with stars and fire and trees They wove between each other leaving faint trails of light in their wake

Below each street was lined with stands each trying to outdo each other with exaggerated neon signs to attract attention People moved in groups up in down the street while street vendors vehemently praised their own inventions and cursed those of the surrounding people Voices drifted upward loud and full of cheer

From this height it was difficult to see the detail of what was occurring below The colors blended together into a rainbow luminescence that gave an otherworldly feel to the festival That combined with the shouts and the sounds of machinery almost made it seem like the festival had transported Erickson Steel a hundred years into the future amongst some cyberpunk skyline

Huu This is your world Wendy asked in wonder

Randidly nodded shortly

For several seconds Wendy looked out the window to the street below Tatiana watched the flashes of aquamarine pink navy and tangerine reflect off the moist surface of her eyes Then Wendy turned to Randidly Well you are welcome I donÆt ahem aside from slight ah communication issues I donÆt hate working on the projects you suggest I suppose we can take some time looking around here

Ah but first WendyÆs eyes brightened She pointed across the room What is this

Oh the terminal It transfers audio and picture across long distances Basically its a display to see and hear things far away Randidly answered casually Then he gestured for Wendy to go aheadÆ and the woman gleefully pounced

Tatiana remained silent as Wendy immediately began to dismantle the very expensive terminal that she had installed in her office The way that pieces of metal just popped off underneath WendyÆs attention Tatiana wondered if the woman was magnetic

She also wondered if Wendy would do her the favor of reassembling it

Chapter 1013

Randidly hid a smile with a hand At this point the fearsome Randidly Ghosthound was just marching around with his arms behind his back to look official Although he was very sure of his knowledge in regards to metal forging images and Engraving the technical details of some of the inventions that the participants in the festivals brought were beyond him

During his time working with drones his piss poor knowledge of mechanical engineering had simply been masked by his prodigious Mana pool and his ability to Engrave But since Tatiana had somehow gotten the idea to include his guidance as a reward for participation there needed to be some commentary Therefore he allowed Wendy to do what came naturally to her

After all very few academics especially young ones could resist god given opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge

Fascinating but poorly designed Is this only the first prototype Wendy spun the strange circular module in her hand She barely even seemed to be examining the technology just spinning it In the brightly lit lantern light the silver blur shined and swam before RandidlyÆs eyes like a fish in water Although she had no combat abilities to speak of that didnÆt mean Wendy didnÆt have her own methods

But maybe I should have told her that these people had only six hours to make their inventions SheÆs been quite harsh

but then again compared to some of the timelines I demanded from her six hours

The elderly man who created the module was nervously looking from Wendy to Randidly It was hard to say whether WendyÆs rather dismissive evaluation or her cavalier handling of the module was the source of his worry but it was clear he was inwardly struggling not to speak out Likely he would have had Randidly not been here

Randidly and Wendy had made it almost 3/4ths of the way through the entrants into the contest over the course of two hours Although Randidly had intended to create the chance for other people to take a break with this festival he was beginning to wish that he had a little more time to work on his actual goals during this period of times Right now he was effectively just a rubber stance with whatever advice that Wendy gave

But still he owed this to Wendy So he kept his peace and watched Besides Randidly couldnÆt deny that with WendyÆs criticisms and using Aether Detection to peer into the inner workings of the inventions he was learning quite a lot In his mind the final plans for the moving city were coming into sharper relief

Uh Mr Ghosthound actually The old man began as his gaze remained fixed on WendyÆs hands The man licked his lips as he worked himself up to say something But Wendy quickly cut him off

WhatÆs this The object in her hands had stopped spinning Wendy was pointing a series of cramped Engravings that had been added to the back

That what Then the old man paled Ah just a stop gap method for dealing with some of the overflowing energy that the module experiences while it is used In short tests the energy remained under control but I suspect that over time

This will cause energy discharge will it not Not a large amount but certainly painful Wendy sniffed and set the invention down on the stand with an audible clack Maybe a good idea but even good ideas need to be honed before they are released on the market I hope your next iteration will be refined further

Really to have noticed the issue after six hours seems like plenty but I canÆt deny that having someone with WendyÆs attention to detail help me is invaluable

Without waiting for the manÆs answer Wendy continued on to the next stall Despite the fact they had been going on for almost two hours Wendy only seemed invigorated She marched forward with swinging arms and her eyes were bright and curious

The owner of the next stall was clearly sweating having watched WendyÆs methodical evisceration of the qualifications of every entrant that had come before But the next entrant a woman who had shaved half of her head took a deep breath as Wendy approached With his sensitivity to images he could even feel the thin sensation of emotions when he was this close to the source

Fear and hopelessness surged in the womanÆs heart Even though Randidly didnÆt know everyone in Erickson Steel he had recognized that the old man that Wendy quickly disregarded was relatively well regarded

He could follow the downhill flow of the womanÆs thoughts If his invention isnÆt good enough then my own

The woman raised her chin and smiled as brightly as she could manage at the Randidly and Wendy With a very short explanation she explained the purpose of her invention it was a one use battery that would stimulate an individualÆs body to cause Stamina to recover at double its previous rate for a short time The two obvious drawbacks were the fact it could only be used one time and that the process was quite painful

Although he kept his emerald eyes unfocused RandidlyÆs entire attention was focused on the nervous woman and the rather delighted Wendy He had remained largely silent during their meandering path through the brightly lit festival for two reasons The first was that Wendy was a much more precise judge of these things than he would have been The second reason

It was for that moment of nervous fear that the woman had as she watched everyone before her fail to achieve the standards that he set It was for that eyes pressed tightly shut tension right before Randidly and Wendy arrived And it was for that moment that the woman gritted her teeth and forced out a smile despite the bitter fear of failure

Even if everyone else in front of me failed I will still step forward and try my best I can still do it Even if the chance is close to zero I will give it my best Æ

That was what Randidly was here to create A tight deadline that pushed away thoughts and worries and a tantalizing future to draw people out of their comfort zone An attitude across the whole of Erickson Steel that would encourage attempting the impossible and pushing your own limits

There was some risk that he would crush the dreams of these people with the weight of his expectations but Randidly had no other choice

Honestly with not a moment to spare Randidly thought wryly Because of the problems associated with the final Judgement he wanted to have Erickson Steel ready to get up and walk away in two weeks Therefore the people that were here now on Erickson Steel would be the psychological foundation for any image that would cover the city

Randidly hadnÆt seen very much of most of the people who were a part of the compound so he had carried a worry with him in his heart But to see all these people now stepping forward again and again for the sake of advancing their own art Randidly couldnÆt help but relax a small amount

I donÆt know of any ready made solutions to the flaws Wendy said slowly She handed the item back to the woman But itÆs good you know what the flaws are If the numbers you provided are accurate this is an intriguing product With enough time for experimentation I believe that both issues can be addressed

Actually there are already a couple of easy ways to get around the pain The woman pipped up Her voice was high and wavering but she spoke anyway But they all decrease the efficacy so much that the boost wasnÆt worth it any longer And I think even if it was painful most people would choose that pain to keep the effect high If anything I have been aiming to increase the output at any cost even if it will result in a more painful usage

Masochist Wendy said lightly But she did offer the woman a soft smile If thatÆs the path you insist on taking obviously I wonÆt try and stop you Just donÆt let this guyÆs ideas infect you too much

At that time Wendy kicked Randidly He endured it stoically as WendyÆs Strength wasnÆt anywhere what was needed in order to actually inflict pain on him The woman looked between them seemingly slightly dazed

You you donÆt also work for Mr Ghosthound The woman asked

Well WendyÆs face crinkled into a deep frown IÆm a consultant I guess But no I donÆt work for him It just always feels like I do

Is it really that bad Randidly chuckled Wendy sniffed at him and didnÆt bother to answer Instead she turned and walked to the next stall and began her inspection of that invention Above them on the street a humming drone emitted a soft lavender light that soaked the surrounding area and reminded Randidly of Lucretia

He turned back to the woman Even though he kept too much of his focus from gathering and offered her a polite smile RandidlyÆs high Perception easily picked up her sharp increase in heart rate

So when he spoke he kept his tone even and his voice slow IÆm not sure how to solve the single use problem That would be something that would take me quite a while to work out I donÆt know much about batteries But if all you are looking for is power

An ember of burning blue condensed around RandidlyÆs right pointer finger He walked up to the metal stall the woman used to display her device and used his metal left arm to carefully move everything out of the way Then as quick as breathing Randidly traced out a simple curving rune across the surface of the desk

His strokes were quick and even After Engraving Levelable patterns for so long a single use Engraving was almost a relief It took six strokes to finish

The resulting Engraving was a raw and dangerous thing Randidly knew So much so that he felt a twinge of regret after he had put it down against the cool metal It glowed in a shimmering blend of emerald and aquamarine It would produce power and vast quantities of it at the cost of destroying the medium soon afterward

As Randidly pulled his hand away small bolts of static electricity hopped upward and bridged the gap to his hand Even with his relatively high Endurance he felt a few painful twinges from the proximity Then he turned solemnly to the woman A gift So that you can accomplish what you wish

The road will not be any easier The more impossible mountains you climb the more you are able to see before you But if that belief in yourself and in the future you can create never wavers then there is a one and a million chance you can change the world And those are the individuals that Erickson Steel needs

ItÆs The woman drew closer her hands reached out toward the Engraving that now covered her stand When bolts of energy curled upward and jolted the womanÆs limbs she didnÆt take a step back She simply lowered her hands and leaned closer to study it

She didnÆt flinch as the power crackled and hissed

itÆs perfect The woman mumbled

Good luck Randidly said Then he turned away and followed after Wendy But in the back of his mind he held a secret fearful thought

Will you mutilate yourself as I have done

But it wasnÆt a question worth vocalizing Randidly was aware that there were no truly positive and negative images the world wasnÆt such a simple place Each image no matter how powerful it was had its own downsides For example the image that Donnyton had been heading toward was one of being undefeatable

It was certainly a powerful and towering image But it was rigid to a fault A single defeat would shatter that image once it had evolved to its final form Which was why Randidly had acted to destabilize and alter the image with his Challenge before it had reached that stage With that proof that undefeatable wasnÆt the image for them some of the lesser virtues in Donnyton could grow to become its dominant ideology

In terms of Erickson Steel Randidly was pushing toward an image that had to do with making the impossible possible It was an image that was based on the premise that if an individual wanted something enough and dedicated the requisite time to the task they could accomplish anything An image of desire and indomitable Willpower

But there was a long shadow cast by that image

What if the impossible goal that someone wanted to accomplish was something malicious Erickson Steel would accept that desire too Effort and dedication were the two virtues at the core of this image There was no sense of justice that would steer them from a darker Path

But Randidly didnÆt look backward toward the woman he had given a power that was far beyond her current understanding And he hadnÆt asked why she was willing to endure pain in order to gain Stamina quickly It was enough that she wanted it and had the spirit to make her dream concrete That earned the woman RandidlyÆs gift in his mind

The control comes later Right now this place needs power more than anything else I canÆt protect them forever

Chapter 1014

VyeÆs eyes struggled to cope with the sudden change in light Whereas she had just been within the warm caress of an immaculately sunny day now she found herself wading in waist deep mist The brilliant sun was now a weak amber disk screened by layers and layer of deep grey clouds There was no real noise here just a soft howling that didnÆt seem to emanate from the wind

Still although the scenery was strange Vye did not waver

Vye took a step forward and instantly she stiffened Although it had previously seemed that she was in an endless sea of mist a single step was enough to draw her even deeper into this strange place The howling grew louder The level of the mist had crept upward until it enveloped her whole body She was swimming in endless darkness

The vague disc of the sun had lost its power here It was completely sealed away by the seething grey mist

But that step also brought a vague outline into VyeÆs view Within the mist something waited

Panting Vye stood as still as she could manage and did her best to calm her rising heart rate She also grimaced and rubbed the bridge of her nose This was an unwelcome place devoid of life Vye didnÆt know how she had come to be here but that really didnÆt matter to her At her core was the voracious desire to travel everywhere

Even in this strange place of shadows and mist even if whatever was at the core of this place didnÆt want her here Those truths only made her eventual triumph that much sweeter these denials would not stop her forever

So she took another step forward The blurry figure in front of her became slightly more discernible She seemed to be even deeper in that dusk grey mist approaching the swirling core of this place

It was a man or at least something that had a form similar to a man His limbs seemed twisted and warped but he had a head two legs and two hands But the shadows at the edge of him meant that some portions of his body seemed to evaporate off of him into black mist shrouding the whole of him in additional darkness

Well he had limbs that were close to arms They seemed to twist and rupture before her very eyes Vye blinked It was hard to tell whether those changes were actually occurring or if the strange evaporation that seized his body was simply warping her view

He still was quite some distance away so Vye took another step And immediately she regretted it

It wasnÆt pain that hit her but a desolate wave of loneliness that slithered into her chest and took up residence there Poisonous feelers instantly spread out from that feeling in her chest questing toward VyeÆs secret fears and insecurities Which honestly werenÆt hard to find Immediately after it had aligned itself with those emotions already present in her chest more negative emotions flowed outward in a sludge like deluge

The new feeling was a dim understanding that all effort was meaningless Time inevitably slew all challengers It was a vicious rage at the world that surrounded them and also the strange impulses of instinct that forced them to struggle If nothing has meaning why ingrain the existence of a fake meaning named survivalÆ into their genetic code

Why desire Æ The dark figure seemed to project out from his defeated stance His limbs were still blurry but Vye could now see the dark shadows surrounding his eyes and mouth Why exist All will become nothing in the end This pain it was forced upon us We donÆt need to bear it It is better to just Æ

DonÆt try and stop me Vye hissed in the misty darkness You may have given up on your dream but I have not Nothing will stop me One day my dream IÆll hold this entire world in the palm of my hand And you your fucked up world I REJECT this

Pain roared upward from her hand like hungry flames through a forest on a dry summer day But for a second the sense of ominous pressure that filled the surrounding air parted Her rejection roared in the air The grey mist spun away from her The veil of pressure parted even as the wind roared ever louder

Vye was able to grit her teeth and take a step forward And then another But what awaited her after the second step was a shudder inducing silence Around her the wind had died

Very quickly the details of that sitting figure resolved themselves And just as Vye studied him he moved

In the silence he shifted His neck cracked Vye abruptly realized that he had no true eyes or mouth just deep pits of despair that dotted his face That horrible creature looked up and their eyes met

Vye gasped and sat up Garret was crouching next to her with his familiar dour expression

He pointed to the rope tied around her waist You were right tying it from the beginning is much more efficient And there isnÆt any danger of just pulling someoneÆs shirt off as happened with Valor

Which at the time had been rather fun to watch Valor be humiliated even further But when people realized it would soon be their turn they quickly developed counter measures

Shit Vye sighed and leaned back against the ground Then she brought her left hand to her chest and winced Fiery daggers seemed to be ripping into the flesh of her forearm from the Ritual she left there It seemed that she had activated it subconsciously while she was trying to approach one of RandidlyÆs image stones And holy fuck she wished she had not

She studied the inflamed skin carefully looking for any sort of deviation that could be causing the pain This was much worse than it had been even after the desperate gamble that had earned her the marred appendage She didnÆt find anything wrong with the limb or the Ritual but was it a bit larger than it had been previously

I didnÆt know you were talented with Engraving But its probably still a bad idea to use it on your own body Garret said as he followed her gaze to her hand

The corner of VyeÆs mouth quirked up ItÆs not an Engraving it’s a Ritual

When Garrett just raised his eyebrows Vye continued to explain as though naming it would do something to stop the constant agony of her hand My parents werenÆt very close to my grandma I always wondered why until I met the woman Sally Ann Holladay She was a little bit crazy Worshipped a pantheon of strange gods I couldnÆt find a history on no matter how I researched them and called herself the Priestess Primero

Probably because it made my parents mad but I learned the weird Rituals that she practiced And honestly it wasnÆt spiritual but calming To have my grandma there insisting that things be done just so The details the specific rules the careful timing I donÆt know I always felt better afterward So I started performing the Rituals to help cope with stress Then after I woke up and the System was here I was struggling to deal with the fact that the world effectively ended and I got a Path for my troubles A Path that made all of those Rituals my grandma made up become real

Garrett chewed on his lip Well it looks a lot like an Engraving

Vye didnÆt bother to respond Although it might just be her imagination it did feel like the pain had diminished somewhat She simply looked up at the sky above them and hoped it would recede further It was dusk so she must have been unconscious for a while And now that she had experienced the image stone for herself her confidence in being able to seize that free day shrunk and withered to almost nothing

But there was still a seed of possibility that remained Vye didnÆt plan on giving up Part of the problem was how strong the well image was in there I wasnÆt ready for it But if I work on it IÆm sure that my Willpower is more than enough to overcome one lonely monster

Oh also IÆm glad you awakened so quickly Garrett said We were given the night off Naffur waited until most people were passed out from attempting the Image Stones to announce it but we of the Order Ducis are encouraged to participate in Erickson SteelÆs festival We are officially required to do no training until dawn tomorrow

Vye leapt to her feet with such force that she immediately had to gasp and fall to one knee as the movement sent a wave of pain through her already agonizing hand It really seemed like using the Skill inside of the Image Stone had some weird effect on her hand Hopefully the pain would fade enough that she could enjoy the festival while they had free time

As she staggered back to her feet Vye paused Ah why hasnÆt anyone pulled him out

Vye pointed toward Aldo who had collapsed at about the fifteen meter mark just like everyone else had At this point he was twitching occasionally his fingers and toes spasming as he remained unconscious within the area of the Image Stone Aldo had gone in right before Vye so if she just now recovered he had probably been in there for almost an hour

He said he wanted to submerge himself in the GhosthoundÆs imageÆ Garrett said with a smirk So he requested to be left in there for a while after he went unconscious

That canÆt be healthy Vye frowned over toward AldoÆs body Was the body wiggling

Yea well everyone wanted to know how long they could afford to leave themselves in the Image StoneÆs area afterward And to see if it would improve their chances the next time So IÆm sure someone will remove him in another few hours

Not if everyone just leaves to go enjoy the festival

GarrettÆs frown deepened What you want to wait here then and babysit him

Nope just wanted to be sure we were on the same ethical page Vye turned away from AldoÆs twitching body LetÆs go IÆm dying for a deep fried oreo

Oh didnÆt you want to know how far you got Garrett asked as he scrambled to catch up with her

Vye had to use her other hand to steady her left when it was jostled she wanted to walk back into the range of the Image Stone just to knock herself out Nope

I really think you do Garrett insisted You well

Did I even reach the ten meter circle Vye grimaced

Garrett paused and looked back toward the Image Stone Well technically no

Then letÆs go DonÆt be so fixated on external validation Vye muttered irritably The pain was making it difficult to even concentrate on what Garrett was saying Instead Vye pictured all of the deep fried goodness that she would soon ingest

After the judging Randidly enjoyed the sensation of standing on top of the hastily erected reward stage and savoring the surrounding images of the festival He had clambered up on the metal scaffolding putting himself beyond the edge of the festivalÆs halo of light As the stage was currently dark the reward ceremony wasnÆt for another two hours even if someone stood directly below Randidly and looked up they wouldnÆt be able to see him

Which gave him time to think And to examine the people within Erickson Steel

Oh After about fifteen minutes of moving through extremely gratifying images of progress and hope Randidly found an exceedingly strange image One of jealousy and desire Honestly finding the image made Randidly smile he knew such images would be a part of Erickson Steel so he was relieved to finally find examples of them Fears were much more intimidating when you couldnÆt find proof of them Now that he found it he could prepare

But the more that Randidly felt the nuances of the image the more amused he became you want to take everything I have created You believe you deserve to control Erickson Steel That you are the leader that this place needs

Randidly couldnÆt even help it He began to guffaw leaning forward and holding his stomach to control the bubbling laughter

After a few minutes Randidly was able to ease up on the laughter Have I been making this look so easy that anyone thinks they can do what I do Well I do consistently disappear from the public eye to work on other projects but thatÆs not because Erickson Steel doesnÆt require more work its because other things are even more important

Grasp of the World Seed whirred into action Randidly felt all the tiny micro bacteria on the skin of the man who held this image deeply in his heart He could feel the blades of grass underneath his feet With Aether he could peer in and see the shape of his Soulspace What he found there made Randidly shake his head

There are dreams and then there are obsessions friend DonÆt bite off more than you can chew

Chapter 1015

Oh Like IÆm so glad I finally found you Ah Mr Ghosthound is that you ItÆs a little dark ah Oh thatÆs definitely you

Randidly looked up He had sensed the unfamiliar woman wandering around the stage area for about a half an hour but he hadnÆt thought anything of it He had sensed her talking to Tatiana plenty of times from afar so he had just assumed she was an aide here to work on something for the award ceremony Which was why he had paid her no mind and allowed himself to laugh loudly as he examined the greedy manÆs images

How was Randidly supposed to know that she was looking for him

Ah Did you have something for me Randidly asked as he scratched his head Perhaps he was spending too much time thinking about broad images and not enough familiarizing himself with the individuals that made up Erickson Steel But it was just a rather daunting task for a naturally introverted individual like Randidly to become acquainted with everyone

It was already bad enough that Randidly would be giving a short speech later

The woman shrugged causing her extremely thin hair to drift outward from her frizzy head like a jellyfishÆs tentacles She teetered back and forth haphazardly as she walked across the scaffolding and then plopped down next to Randidly with a relieved poof of air from her mouth IÆm Sherry IÆve like heard so much about you Tatiana said you wanted to see me Which considering you are the secretive owner of Erickson Steel inviting me to an isolated location with pretty enough scenery I wasnÆt sure you know

RandidlyÆs expression turned suddenly serious He certainly did not know And he definitively didnÆt know why Tatiana would send this woman Sherry

Ah wait I think that Tatiana said her assistantÆs name was Sherry and at the time she did seem very surprised that I complimented her assistant did I have the wrong individual Randidly sighed inwardly

While Randidly was reflecting on his own thoughts Sherry continued boldly forward with her own audible train of thought Actually I have a rather consistent online following among people in Zone 1 I like write classy smut Like real classy People call it erotica even ThatÆs how classy it is and since you are just so brooding and mysterious since itÆs practically research whatever you need I am here for IÆve prepared Like by showering not by anything weird haha

Let me just stop you right there Randidly said raising up a hand I think thereÆs been a miscommunication I did ask for you but what I really wanted was for you to help help introducing me for the award speech

Randidly mind thrummed with activity as he carefully considered whether this would be fine Although she might be rather strange she was bold enough to clamber up onto the scaffolding and seek him out And Randidly could clearly see that she had no climbing or balance related Skill her accomplishment was all her own will

Or foolishness disguised by fortune

Either way Randidly continued to speak So youÆll just need to come out before I speak and introduce everyone involved It shouldnÆt be difficult but Tatiana wanted to make sure you were rewarded for all of your ah dedication to the company

LetÆs let Tatiana sort through the fallout of this this is exactly the sort of thing I donÆt want to deal with

Oh Sherry honestly seemed to wilt a bit So then us being up here

Just a coincidental meeting Actually I need to head out With a lithe grace Randidly stood and nodded to Sherry Then he quickly hopped off the edge of the stageÆs scaffolding and quickly dropped down to the ground below To keep his impact from shattering the surrounding tiles Randidly created a half dozen thin roots that curled outward from some of the bare dirt and cushioned his fall

After walking several steps away Randidly spared one glance behind him toward the rather shocked form of Sherry among the high framework of metal He could feel images around her more ephemeral and capricious than the images around most people but no less dense

It takes a lot to build a city Randidly reflected as he turned away and moved through the darkened alleys behind the Erickson SteelÆs industrial grade furnaces They loomed above him like dozing beasts waiting in silence and shadow for the dawn It takes a lot of hope and a lot of very brave people each letting their own strange dreams out into the open

In his chest Randidly felt the heavy weight of his Crown of Upheaval and Gloom humming softly Perhaps it was because the aura of timelessness from ChulroonÆs claw was balancing out his images but he had abruptly felt quite vulnerable while moving around Erickson Steel Something was changing inside of him

Extending through RandidlyÆs entire body were thin veins of weight and power that stemmed from the growing image that began with the Crown at its center It was a strange growth that had emerged half formed since Randidly began spending more and more time at Erickson Steel In RandidlyÆs vast Soulspace it had been easy to miss it amongst his other bright images But now it demanded attention

Those thin veins that spread outward from his Crown Skill seemed to resonate with the images that were percolating upward toward the near cloudless night sky above Erickson Steel Randidly had felt the steadily growing ache from that resonance from walking around with Wendy during the festival proper but at the time he had assumed that it would pass That part of that strange feeling in his chest was the result of being so superfluous to the divvying up of the rewards

ItÆs necessary forging this image for Earth even if it is mainly kept isolated will greatly increase this worldÆs chances of passing through the trials that are arrayed before us Randidly paused in his trek through the compound and clambered up an exhaust chute to the top of one of the larger warehouses When he flipped himself lightly over to the roof his eyes were immediately drawn to a very yellow and low moon Even if IÆm not the perfect man for the job no one else can do it It has to be me Only I can house this image Only I have the composition to bear it and help it grow

But itÆs hard Randidly said softly to the moon and only the moon heard his exhausted voice Yet it wasnÆt the housing of the images itself that was so tiring It was his own insecurity that interfering with his own peace of mind

It was most likely because of his time in the Dungeon but Randidly had previously rushed forward with an impending sense of necessity That sense had done a lot to pacify his own emotions Randidly simply spent too much time struggling against foes that were greater than him to dwell on how all of his actions made him feel

But in the Dungeon his mentality had broadened For both good and ill Although Randidly had accomplished more than every human had managed so far that felt so distant as he thought about facing future challenges

Housing an entire townÆs image within himself That wasnÆt something he had managed to before And Randidly wasnÆt optimistic about the damage that would be done to the image if he were to fail partway through the process

Sighing Randidly closed his eyes and lied down on the gravelly roof Slowly he isolated his senses letting his sense of touch and smell drift away With his eyes closed what was left was hearing and those vibrating capillaries that extended in branching forks through every nook and cranny of his body

Randidly could hear laughter and the sound of food sizzling and the low hum of the engines of the drones and footsteps and the excited swearing of a teenager and the sound of a tarp flapping in the breeze and the sound of a glass bottle shattering and the low crackle of open flame and the pure ting of a tuning hammer being struck and the labored breathing of a man heaving a crate up onto his stall and the sounds of grass rustling and the small taps of his Legion of the Unavoidable Pivots patrolling the area around Erickson Steel in precise loops

And when Randidly breathed in all of those small noises were drops of water becoming a river sucked in from the tips of his CrownÆs weird image network and funneling steadily into the center where the gleaming Crown of baleful metal sat in his chest Those drops that became rivers became a sea at his core pooling and shifting the different sounds and the images present were spliced onto those sounds surging together through Randidly

Again and again they were blended becoming a perfectly distributed mixture

Then Randidly breathed out

Those refined images rushed up away from him like dandelion seeds snatched up by the wind They drifted and settled amongst all of the people disappearing just as a single snowflake landing on bare skin would The resonance in RandidlyÆs chest increased He whose body was a world acted as a filter and as a guide slowly raising the quality of images in and around Erickson Steel

RandidlyÆs attention narrowed even further It wasnÆt complete yet but Randidly felt something growing in that sea of images that seethed within him If things continued like this it seemed like

A new noise in the surrounding area brought Randidly back to himself Shaking his head he stood slowly and painfully feeling strangely numb after his time on the roof To his shock Randidly discovered from his Absolute Timing Skill that he had laid on the ground for almost fifty minutes

Only a little bit more and he would have been late to give his speech Which while rather predictable for garden variety speech givers was something that would have annoyed Randidly to no end

and it only felt like a single breath Randidly reflected with a frown ThatÆs dangerous It definitely has the effect of aligning the surrounding images with myself or vice versa but going that deeply means it’s easy to lose track of time With only two weeks left before the Judgment it might be good to avoid doing this too often

Tap Tap Tap

The sounds of footsteps came again cutting cleanly through RandidlyÆs thoughts And when he sent out a questing pulse of Aether he sat bolt upright he recognized one of the individuals The irony of it set Randidly chuckling After a split second of hesitation Randidly hopped over the wall and landed in the two figureÆs path Slowly he straightened and considered him

They both started in shock from the sudden arrival and the tall gaunt looking man raised his hand and unleashed a Frost Bolt that cut through the air toward Randidly Immediately the manÆs eyes widened in horror at what he had instinctively done

Ah fuck I didnÆt mean The man bellowed but he fell silent as Randidly simply reached out and dispersed the Skill with a single tap of his finger

To be honest Randidly used his left arm for this Therefore most of the power came from the Chisel of Chulroon But still he appreciated the sudden and dramatic effect The alley went quiet illuminated only by the slanted light from the moon hitting the tin walls above

You The man looked at Randidly with an extremely strange expression Something close to worship but also near to hatred at the same time You are Randidly Ghosthound IÆm Garrett Tysfen applicant to the Order Ducis The the pleasure is all mine

Randidly nodded an easy smile slipping across his face I think itÆs fair to excuse the sudden attack then You are part of the group that Naffur brought in Seems like heÆs certainly keeping you on your toes Have you enjoyed the Image Stones I provided IÆm busy with other things at the moment but I hope you donÆt think IÆve forgotten the importance of developing the Order Ducis

Which isnÆt exactly true Randidly thought guiltily behind his smile He had been rather focused on Erickson Steel for the last few weeks and only ordered Naffur to come on a whim But now that they were here Randidly made a mental note to spend more time checking in on their training

If Erickson Steel became the base of the image the Order Ducis would therefore be the peak of it It was those individuals who would take up the task of advancing the image They would be the ones who would possess the most power and from whom Randidly would need to ensure no image emerged that would threaten anotherÆs Great Path for Earth

A delicate balance to strike but I suppose thatÆs a problem for later Randidly turned to the second figure His smile widened And you we meet again WerenÆt you previously TatianaÆs assistant

I was in a sense IÆve done a lot around your company My name is Vye Riversen IÆm honestly a bit surprised you remember me Vye said with a small bow

Chapter 1016

What was that about Garrett asked a few minutes later after the two had parted from the man who owned everything in the surrounding ten miles While Randidly had been there it had been almost difficult to speak But now that they were alone in the alley again

Vye scratched her cheek IÆm not sure what you mean

Garrett rolled his eyes but Vye could tell that something was up with him The edge to his tone had none of the typical stoic acceptance that it usually did Well you can say whatever you want But itÆs clear that he wanted something from you Something ah perhaps less than professional

After she had introduced herself Randidly Ghosthound simply stood and looked at Vye for several seconds His eyes were bright in the alley luminous enough to see the rest of the stark lines of his face in the long shadow cast by the warehouse overhead Vye suppressed the urge to shiver It felt like he was using that emerald light of his eyes like a jade knife cutting out her every secret and examining it

Finally RandidlyÆs eyes settled on VyeÆs left hand she flinched almost immediately but Randidly only frowned

His voice was resonant like some part of it originated from VyeÆs own chest After my speech come find me ThereÆs something I want to give you

Less than professional Vye felt herself flush and hated the feeling of blood rushing to her face Why was she even embarrassed She stopped and glared at Garrett WhatÆs up with you right now

IÆm just saying thatÆs the man that Randidly Ghosthound is Garrett gave Vye a meaningful look Whatever you do be careful He will hurt anyone who gets close to him IÆm just trying to protect you He is closer to a monster than a man these days

Seriously what the fuck are you talking about Vye said her tone colder this time Her left hand began to burn and she gripped her left wrist with her other hand First of all I donÆt need your protection IÆve got it handled thanks Second IÆve always found your depression vibe somewhat weird but it’s not half as fucked up as this strange outburst about the Ghosthound Especially when you are trying to join his Order

I need to be in his Order Garrett rumbled He turned away from Vye I need to make sure he fulfills his end of the bargain ThatÆs all But this and that are different You havenÆt seen it but heÆs a man filled with a terrible darkness He hurts people just by being ThatÆs the consequence of his power

IÆm totally not going to have this conversation with you right now Vye snapped She jabbed her finger at Garrett Look I donÆt give a shit if you have a weird outlook on Randidly Ghosthound HeÆs well heÆs more rumor than person at this point Is it supposed to be a surprise that he might have made some mistakes With the System heÆs the most powerful man in the world and it seems like that the second place person isnÆt close But what I do care about is that you would take your fucked up ness and act like itÆs my problem

Garrett slowly pivoted back to look at Vye His eyes narrowed into slits You you remind me of someone important to me And Randidly asked you to meet him alone IÆm just

Vye raised her hand Rejected

Almost unconsciously Vye felt the heat in her left hand crack through the thin layer of skin and erupt into the air A thin trail of blood dribbled down through her twitching fingers A shimmering barrier appeared between the two of them Although Garrett continued to move his mouth none of his words could pass through the strange barrier Sound between them had been cut off Even so Vye could read his lips She knew what he was saying

trying to protect you

Both of VyeÆs hands clenched into fists Her mouth opened to spit out a retort but then she paused She remembered RandidlyÆs confident smile the first time that they met

Do you have any proof

Confidence as vast and placid as the sea on a calm day

Shaking her head Vye let the energy burning through her hand slowly taper off Sensing the change Garrett stopped speaking His long arms hung uselessly at his sides as he watched the barrier dissolve between them and listened to her Look letÆs not have this conversation now And that isnÆt a request IÆm me Whoever you are stuck on donÆt try and make me out to be her IÆll take care of myself thanks

Vye turned and walked slowly away She thought that Garrett would follow but thankfully he did not After taking a couple of sharp turns around the sides of the warehouses and making use of her experience working in Erickson Steel Vye was confident that she had lost him Then she sighed and collapsed against a pile of gleaming metal ingots

That was certainly weird And VyeÆs hand hurt too much right now for her to want to find out what was going on behind the scenes

I will control my own destiny I left Erickson Steel to find a way to grow strong and I stayed even though I came back because this does feel like the right path Vye raised her left hand toward the sky The moon was slowly creeping upward into the tapestry of stars receding to become an innocuous pale white orb amongst a thousand small diamonds

But itÆs not like GarrettÆs worries are unfounded Vye bit her lip She was rather clear about how RandidlyÆs partnership with Donnyton had ended after several years of amicable relations Would something similar happen with Erickson Steel and the Order Ducis when Randidly didnÆt need them any longer

And on a personal level it wasnÆt that Vye didnÆt find the Ghosthound attractive And it had been something of harmless gossip to talk about why he never was seen on anything close to a date He was always seen either training or working Yet people had a hard time believing that Randidly Ghosthound didnÆt also want to satisfy his baser cravings Plenty of people dreams about being on the receiving end of such desires Such was the weird influence of fame

Wincing Vye lowered her hand to cradle it against her chest She kept her breaths short and even and focused on enduring the waves of agony that spread up her arm

After using her hand the pain that from her entrance into the Image Stone was once more scrabbling at VyeÆs will with white hot and greedy hands She pressed her lips together To distract herself Vye tried to imagine kissing that confident smile She tried to imagine what his lips felt like and the heat of his skin

Then Vye shook her head Like that would happen

After a few minutes of breathing Vye heaved herself back up to her feet She turned and began to walk back toward the festival Even if her hand made Vye want to curl up and die she would force herself to go and watch the award ceremony It was said that Randidly himself would be giving a short speech at the end of it

Yet as Vye trudged back toward the festival with her hand cradled against her chest one question remained fixed in her mind

What sort of gift does the most powerful man in the world give

Even though Evan Crane knew it was happening he could hardly keep his eyes from glazing over with greed as he looked up from the crowd packed in like sardines in front of him before the stage One day all of this will be mine

After a rather stuttering introduction from a pretty but obviously empty headed girl Randidly had walked onto the lavishly decorated stage with an extremely petite woman at his side There were four individuals standing nervously in a row with their hands in various states of scrunched up Along the back wall of the stage was a series of four trophies shaped to look like the profile of a tree

Each tree had its own glowing rune carved at the center of the trophy defining that category that the reward was given for Even from his spot amongst the thick crowd some distance from the stage Crane could tell the Mana density around the trophies was insane they werenÆt just ordinary trophies

After announcing the names of the four winners to enthusiastic applause from the crowd Randidly gave a curt gesture to the woman next to him who stepped forward and began to speak to each individual winner At first the winners seemed rather dissatisfied but then their eyes widened as the woman went through their different innovations step by step and told them the mistakes that they made

You donÆt even handle the running of the company Crane chuckled Others might see this as just you flaunting how deep the foundations of Erickson Steel are but they donÆt understand what this means as I do It means that your throne is hollow Anyone could sit where you are The only advantage you ever had over the rest of us was being the first to get here Randidly Ghosthound

After the awards the crowd began to murmur in excitement Although some people wanted to see the winning innovations most of what they were here for was what followed a speech from Randidly Ghosthound himself

As he walked up to the podium the crowd fell silent His bare feet made soft noises against the wood of the stage Then Randidly Ghosthound looked out at the crowd and offered them a wide smile Even though he hated the man Evan Crane couldnÆt deny his charisma The air seemed to hum with it And as Crane breathed out it seemed to him that the entire crowd was breathing out with him

And that Randidly Ghosthound was breathing all of that ambient energy into his body It immediately set CraneÆs teeth on edge

What Randidly Ghosthound did to get here was not as simple as Evan often made it out to be The man was certainly more than lucky He was capable But still Evan barred his teeth buried deeply and safely within the crowd at the man It was a small resistance in response to the strange breathing phenomenon It was Evan Crane assuring himself that he wasnÆt like all the others He would not be taken in by Randidly GhosthoundÆs tricks

And to EvanÆs slack jawed horror it seemed that RandidlyÆs gaze slid smoothly through the crowd until his emerald eyes landed on him

For a second their gazes locked Evan Crane was trembling There seemed to be a monster standing behind Randidly Ghosthound a forsaken thing wreathed in ash and shadow It didnÆt have a mouth just a wide dark hole In a twisted mockery of EvanÆs own expression that dark hole leered at him

RandidlyÆs smile widened

Then Randidly looked away and the strange phantasm was gone Coughing lightly Evan Crane took an involuntary step back Cold drops of sweat slid down his temples and back When he took a step his shoe caught on someone elseÆs leg and Crane felt a stab of panic

But before Evan Crane could regain his balance there was a hand on his back

Exciting isnÆt it seeing him in the flesh A young man helped the swaying Evan Crane stay on his feet I canÆt wait to hear what he says

Then Randidly Ghosthound began to speak

Chapter 1017

Erickson Steel I have a simple question that I want you all to answer what do you fear the most

We live in a world thatÆs been overwhelmed by the strange and impossible Monsters spawn from nothing and threaten us at every waking moment We now have pretty definitive proof that the average Level of monsters has been slowly increasing But this is only our current stage of a two year long litany of crises Raid Bosses Dungeons and now Danger Zones the multitude of threats against humanity seems to grow every day

I know not all of those of you here listening to me was within a Zone to begin with Some were suspended in the strange edge lands that are slowly opening up around us But for those of us who were there from the beginning DonÆt you remember that first desperate taste of fear DonÆt you still have nightmares about the sounds of your neighbors dying and the silence of civilization being found wanting before the invasion

During those days no one was safe As we struggled to understand the rules of our new world more and more monsters came People died by the thousands So much was new so much was thrown at us at once But we quickly realized Stats were important and that Leveling Skills was possible We trained When our guns failed us we reverted to more primitive methods to fight back And then we started winning those fights

We discovered Villages and the powerful Classes that would give humanity an edge The area of our influence spread outward Even the threat of monster hordes wasnÆt enough to cow the bold spirit of humanity But that wasnÆt all we had to deal with was it Villages were not the safe havens they promised to be They brought on a Tribulation And almost one fourth of Villages we are aware of fell to those Tribulations

It didnÆt stop there did it Then we had a Raid Dungeon and Champions Which brought forth a Nemesis and the Danger Zones

All the while we have been fighting We are growing stronger every day We discover Paths Soulskills and Skillsets Knowledge gets passed down to those who donÆt yet have Classes and we slowly perfect the art of growing strong Some of us even touched upon images as a means to accomplish our goals Slowly and surely we have stockpiled our power and built up momentum The monsters around us are beginning to die

Does that then mean we fear nothing Erickson Steel

Randidly inhaled slowly savoring the taste and sound of images from the people in front of him Although they had begun listening with small secret smiles those had faded to solemn attention Now they simply stared and waited for him to continue It was clear from their faces however that these were not people that had nothing to fear

Even with Randidly Ghosthound himself standing before them the most powerful man in the world they could not be without fear Not any longer They had seen too much death in the last few years

RandidlyÆs fingers tightened on the podium in front of him Then he increased the pressure further until he felt the soft wood of the object begin to creak and groan There he stopped He didnÆt apply any further pressure he simply stood there and felt the tension in his fingers and the weakness in the wood within his hands

And he looked out over the group of people present in front of him No matter what they need to face it Our understanding of the System is too shallow for us to ignore our weakness In this case blind ignorance of what we are is dangerous

Of course we are not fearless Randidly kept his voice soft We all feel that same fear The dreadful anxiety as we consider the challenges thrown at us by the System And now we slowly wait while a seventh Zone is struggling to complete its Raid Dungeon and join us in New Earth For that arrival will signal the genesis of a threat that gives us all pause

Perhaps then what we truly fear is change The System has constantly thrown new threats at us since the beginning to sharpen us to force us to grow and change in the way it desires Currently we have the impending threat of the First Calamity to scare our children and keep the adults up at night A threat that could arrive at any time It could arrive in a week or in ten years It could never arrive So we wait as there is nothing else we can do

Does that mean what we truly fear about that threat precisely that it is unknown

Again Randidly paused and breathed His Crown and his core of images hummed Slowly the needle was turning as these people listened to him Which was exactly the point But if Randidly put names to their fears would it help

Or was he making a mistake

Perhaps it is not the unknown that torments us because it has been easy lately to forget these looming threats RandidlyÆs smile turned sharp Not just you Erickson Steel All of the Zones have grown rapidly in power To the point that the best of humanity can finally boldly raise a torch in the darkness the pinnacle of our strength will not be cowed by the SystemÆs current cycle of threats

As those fears of monsters change and the unknown fade from the foreground of our attention priorities shift The Zones are talking about a world capital There is a struggle for supremacy in arms and in trade The Orders continue to save people from the constantly expanding edges of our lands but as their numbers grow the people at the top will inevitably grow fat They jostle each other aiming to position themselves for the future rather than helping people now

Am I any different Some of you are thinking that I can feel Randidly released the tension in his hands The podium seemed to sag with relief No of course IÆm no different IÆm aiming to position myself for the impending future IÆm as human as every one of you Powerful I may be but there is no true escape from humanity There is no hiding spot from fear Because fear emerges from your own mind

And since you havenÆt had the courage to yet answer me honestly IÆll tell you one of my fears Erickson Steel I fear that while we are all focusing on the future while sacrificing some of the present the future that I am preparing for is far from the future that my contemporaries have in mind

With a shake Randidly let his hands drop to his sides He stepped around the podium slowly walking to the edge of the hastily erected stage As he approached a young boy in the front row stood frozen solid His eyes widened until Randidly surely thought that the child wouldnÆt have the muscles to pull his eyelids open any further but they kept going

To the point that Randidly saw the perfectly circular and vulnerable flesh of that boyÆs eyeball in haunting clarity

Randidly stood at the edge of the stage and looked down at the young boy Then he looked out over the entire crowd and spoke in a voice booming with all the strength of the humming images that swirled around his Crown

Although each cycle of threats grows increasingly powerful they donÆt realize by just how much the next tier of threats will grow They donÆt understand how far we are from truly facing a Calamity They donÆt understand that beyond the tests and the trials is an endless machine that will suck and suck until humanity has been reduced to a husk of itself and the terrible war machine will move on without a care

And as if I were doing its bidding I have given you images Randidly thought sadly I am smelting the exact ore it needs to wage war against the mysterious Nether but I cannot simply let you walk toward that future unarmed can I

For the second time Erickson Steel what do you fear

RandidlyÆs voice rang out over the crowd and out further than that into the winding streets beyond It echoed past he abandoned and hastily deconstructed stalls that lined the paved streets of the Erickson Steel compound It even wandered out beyond the walls of Erickson Steel to the silent Riders who watched their lord marshaling his forces

Randidly spread his hands I have given you images as some of you are now realizing these are a great weapon It is the will to strike with the essence of Skills without relying on the System It is seizing our own small portion of the vast power that humanity can possibly access It is a small thing one entirely dependant on yourself You each of you individual people of Erickson Steel images give you the chance to control your own fate To pioneer your own Path into the future

No matter how great the threats become with images you possess the capability to surpass the danger No matter their Levels monsters become nothing but fodder to fuel your growth As you sharpen yourself to a point soon you will be able to cut through the thin walls of the System You will become more powerful than you can imagine Even more powerful than I am

Suddenly perhaps someday in the future you will find that you hold the world in your hands In the old world there were limits to individual power Here with the System I am less sure that such limits exist Aether the energy of all life and movement animates us Images are the raw utilization of that energy Perhaps even the creator of the Nexus itself is working with the same Aether that we possess Therefore it’s clear that we are far from the limit of how that energy can be used

We can be so much more than this Before the sort of power that could create the entire System what are monsters What are Levels What meaning do the blind machinations of the politically corrupt have All of these small concerns are insubstantial before capability

And thatÆs what scares you Erickson Steel Even if you donÆt open your mouths to speak I can read that fear in all of you I can see it in your stillness

Licking his lips Randidly allowed the crowd to consider that The resonance in his chest was causing the muscles of his chest to twitch

You fear me All of you You fear what I represent The fact that you could possibly have my strength if only you tried harder

It is the oldest and greatest fear that you arenÆt good enough If you had been stronger you wouldnÆt have to cower in your friendÆs blood and sneak away while a monster was devouring someone else If you would have been smarter you could Level up a Skill faster and you wouldnÆt have to watch your family slowly starve while you struggle to provide food for your children

You fear that every death is your own failure That your lack of growth is due to some inner deficiency You fear that your potential is great and your performance is subpar That the reason the world hasnÆt been saved is that you havenÆt done enough

You fear me because I am you You fear failing to live up to expectations because you are me The resonance almost took on a life of its own traveling through the strange capillaries in RandidlyÆs vast Soulspace spreading to take up an entire corner of the area The Crown of Upheaval and Gloom was shaking so hard that Randidly couldnÆt help but worry that the Skill was going to be damaged by the process But he could not stop now

This is why I gathered you all here You are the best and brightest of Earth You struggle with feelings of inadequacy You fear failure And I have to admit that fear will not leave you As you grow more powerful as you walk further down this Path the abyss of failure only grows more hungry It will nip at your heels constantly There is no escaping it someday you will fail and give credence to those deeply hidden fears

But thatÆs fine Because to escape fear was never our priority just like we will not be like the other governments and groups active in the Zone Because the universality of that same fear is exactly why we toil Erickson Steel Everyone fears that they will fail Because as long as we torture ourselves with these fears and continue to walk forward others can follow

Because every drop of sweat and blood we put into advancing humanity forward of seeking the limits of our own power mean its that much easier for the generation that will follow us to seek even higher heights We will be the beacon of this worldÆs potential Erickson Steel We will be the lighthouse to guide them forward

It will be a long and lonely Path We will not be thanked As I have been after my own progress we will be feared and underestimated We will be vilified and ostracized We will be treated as strangers and as nuisances The only gifts we will receive will be threats and rumors

But even so But even so this is a Path that I have chosen Despite my fears I continue forward ThatÆs my choice ThatÆs how I deal with my fear

ItÆs time for your choice people of Erickson Steel There are three responses to fear The first is to ignore the fear and pretend like it doesnÆt exist The second is to run from the fear And the third is to face it

What IÆm asking of you is harder still than facing your fear Because you cannot extinguish it You need to harness it Make it your fuel and engine It is the coal and it is the long steel rails toward the horizon It will be the cold sharp iron on your throat and the constant companion that whispers from your shadow It wonÆt let you sleep It wonÆt let you stop ThatÆs what we need Your fear will become your compass to rush toward that darkest chasm of impossibility

For the final time Randidly paused in his speech Because Erickson Steel will we ever escape if we donÆt surpass impossible I believe that the System will always show us higher and higher threats We cannot escape by following its rules

And ultimately where do your priorities lie In the comfort of an easy life or in the constant grip of a difficult truth Which leads to the Earth in which you want to live

So Erickson Steel one final time what do you fear most of all and what are you going to do about it

Chapter 1018

Randidly sat on the windswept plains among the long shadows of twilight and watched the dawn come

The light splashed like liquid over the horizon and flowed up the low slope to the sporadic bunches of grass below Randidly Gravity had no effect on that light it was simply a hungry expansion up into space

When the light finally touched upon his bare feet it was so incredibly warm that Randidly couldnÆt resist a smile The feeling of the sun flowing across his skin was one of the rare pleasures that Randidly often didnÆt have time to experience But now a few hours after he had given his speech and immersed himself in the thick image of Erickson Steel Randidly believed he deserved the treat

In about an hour Randidly would meet up with Wendy and they would begin the bulk of the assembly work on the small and intricate parts for the moving city They couldnÆt do the actual assembly due to the impending arrival of the government inspection team but honestly the final construction portion of the work would be a walk in the park in comparison to the assembly of all the minute bits

Randidly scratched his head For what felt like the tenth time since he had agreed with Tatiana to make a deal with the government Randidly had second thoughts This was just an added difficulty There wasnÆt really any meaning in playing this game with the government Not when Randidly planned on basically ignoring most governmental entities going forward

Yet still Randidly felt like he had no other choice

Perhaps it was his growing sense of responsibility as a leader but Randidly felt like it was important that his word had weight Maybe it would be more accurate to frame the issue in terms of images Randidly wanted to make sure the image of Erickson Steel became powerful And he hesitated to make the first definitive action of the new Erickson Steel a dishonest one when it might have consequences for the image

Especially when the image Randidly was aiming for was tiptoeing along a knife edgeÆs worth of morality Pushing it toward dishonesty was a recipe for disaster

Randidly pressed his eyes closed and enjoyed the tingling light that flowed up his arms and touched his face The agreement with the Zone 1 government put constraints on the construction timeline but it was nowhere near as problematic as RandidlyÆs Judgment that would come in thirteen days

That was the real guillotine that loomed above his head Mostly because he wasnÆt sure how long it would take until he was able to return Chulroon only warned of the method of the Judgment he could offer no guidance to the timeline And Randidly still hadnÆt forgotten about the warning from Octavius

The sound of shouts reached RandidlyÆs ears pulling him back to his present moment sitting in the sun on the grassy slope Although the future might not be the present moment was idyllic Randidly turned toward the South Then a wry grin spread across his face

The noises were from the Order Ducis training camp The break period offered by Naffur so that the Order Ducis could develop some positive affection toward Erickson Steel had passed they were back to training like dogs on treadmills lined with landmines If Randidly had some free time he planned on heading over and assisting with the training Or rather he had been But now a strange new concern made Randidly hesitate

Vye hadnÆt come to meet him as he had requested after his speech

Leaning back Randidly released a sigh Was she not able to find me But I would think with her Skills it would be easy to track me down and I let Tatiana know where I would be maybe I was too vague with my offer I should have just stated that I would remake her Class so it would make use of that strange power in her hand

When he had met Vye what had surprised Randidly the most was how divided her image was Vye was one of the more difficult images to read probably because she didnÆt identify strongly enough as part of one of RandidlyÆs organizations There wasnÆt an implicit sympathy between them as Randidly had found with some other individuals But he felt her quiet competence and deep yearning from her action and stance easily enough

From her Randidly felt the sound of pen scribbling on paper the heat of molten metal and the drawn out silence of a mind carefully sifting through a multitude of possibilities In addition her left hand an exacting image of restraint and faith that burned in RandidlyÆs vision like a bonfire floating in the middle of a lake

The contrast between that bold and burning with her competent calculations had certainly given Randidly pause

Yet there was a rift between VyeÆs quiet competence and the strange faith of her left hand It fascinated Randidly Honestly he was the only individual that he had ever encountered that had several very different images housed in the same body For obvious reasons most people simply focused their attention on creating and maintaining a single image

The duality that Vye possessed reminded Randidly of himself Which was why he had decided to give her some assistance in merging those images

And of course she hadnÆt shown up

Is that a rejection Should I look into it Do I really have any spare time

Grinning upward toward the sun Randidly wondered when the last time was that he had felt this peculiar brand of hesitation Now Randidly could sense that Vye was over training with the Order Ducis at the moment She hadnÆt run away she still remained within his sphere of influence Was she somehow busy with something else Or had she deliberately chosen not to meet him

It wasnÆt like he wanted to force her to change her Class It was just rather aggravating not to understand what had happened

Her eyes had been as playful and golden as a catÆs in the dark alley and she had said IÆm surprised you remembered me Æ

Bah I donÆt have time for this Randidly grumbled He pressed his hands against the ground and flexed his fingers the force threw him up onto his feet There was a more pressing issue that needed to be considered

After giving the speech RandidlyÆs Crown of Upheaval and Gloom Skill had a thin crack running through it As the image network Randidly was building inside of himself expanded the violence of its resonance intensified Ultimately the Crown was a static thing it was not designed to serve as a conduit for the images It was just a focal point

With RandidlyÆs abundant Aether he had plenty of confidence that he would be able to force the destruction to serve as a launching pad to evolve into another Skill But what he currently needed was to decide on the direction that Skill would go What image should Randidly use as the base

Humming to himself Randidly considered the possibilities while he began to walk toward the assembly area For now even if he couldnÆt find the perfect answer at the moment he didnÆt have time to waste He had a meeting with Wendy and she was always extremely resentful when he arrived late

Is this true Senator Heathridge asked

Evan Crane nodded stoically Yes After the Ghosthound gave his speech it was announced that the Order Ducis had put out a bounty out on all Danger Zones If they are cleared and the option to increase the rate that the entire population gains experience Erickson Steel will provide that individual or group with one ton of the highest quality metal for free Metal that was smelted by the Ghosthound himself In addition the Order Ducis will owe the successful clearer one favor expendable for the good of the Earth Æ

Does he know about the Cyclops Initiative I wonder Senator Heathridge mused Truly Randidly GhosthoundÆs ability to gather information is staggering Perhaps I have completely misunderstood the man The rumors focus on his strength but it is his ability to make connections thatÆs truly frightening

Crane kept his mouth shut and focused on the terminalÆs glossy frame For the first time in longer that Crane would care to admit his fingers were not twitching to grab a cigarette In fact his hands clasped together with such vehemence that his arms were trembling

After listening to Randidly GhosthoundÆs speech Crane felt weird And if Senator Heathridge hadnÆt insisted upon a debriefing Crane likely would have found some space and solitude in order to examine the jumbled mess of feelings in his chest Of course he couldnÆt let the Senator see even the slightest hint of his emotions

To a spider like Heathridge such things were nothing but weakness And weak tools were discarded without a second thought

What is it that you fear the most Senator Heathridge Crane wondered

So Heathridge said cutting back to the reason for the call After listening to Randidly GhosthoundÆs speech what can you tell me about the man I have other informants in Erickson Steel but it seems that they are all too busy with the surge of activity afterward in order to give me their findings in a short amount of time

Of course they havenÆt reported They are probably dealing with the same thing I am Crane thought bitterly I know itÆs just propaganda but I canÆt get that image out of my head That Randidly Ghosthound has been walking alone into the darkness toiling away to mine the secrets of the System And now Erickson Steel has been invited to join him in that vast darkness struggling to protect the world even if he will never be thanked for it

Because it needs to be done Because sometimes it is necessary that someone walks directly toward the maw of their fear so that the weaker among us have the image of a reassuring back ahead of them

Shaking his head slightly Crane licked his lips Then his tongue flicked out again as he tried to gather his thoughts into something coherent He itÆs a lot of propaganda About the noble Path of Erickson Steel standing on the cutting edge of humanity Of opening the way forward

Senator HeathridgeÆs sneer was clear in his voice Oh does he truly believe that he can revolutionize the world by simply having steel thatÆs a little better than the competition But based on your voice he is a talented orator Ha LetÆs see how long the population will remember that little pile of rhetoric

Crane thought about trying to explain that what Randidly had been speaking about wasnÆt steel metal and industry had barely come up at all throughout the speech It was about fear and Paths

And Crane also considered explaining that it wasnÆt the ringing words that swayed the entire crowd him included It was the image that Randidly projected that was still gleaming and precious within CraneÆs chest several hours later

But Crane said nothing He just hoped Senator Heathridge was right about this feeling passing with time Otherwise

Chapter 1019

If we can only do the basic assembly for the next five days before the inspection team arrives even if you somehow manage to pull off the impossible task of assembling everything we wonÆt finish the moving city before you leave The construction is rather simple but the scale of your plans is prohibitive Wendy said bluntly

She rapped her knuckles against the steel table densely covered in the multitude of plans for the different systems within the moving city to make it feasible Too much of this requires either me or mostly you to do the finishing touches Perhaps just a few seconds at each but that adds up on a project this large Even if we just consider the necessary components I estimate that it will take a week of round the clock work to finish the construction

I can manage that Randidly said as he frowned down at the plans He was doing his own calculations in his head trying to see if he could save some time by forging some portions using Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil rather than doing it by hand I wonÆt have trouble working for a week straight Plus Lucretia is willing to leave my Soulskill and assist with the final details

She might have more juice to her Engravings than I do and understand the technical details better than you do but sheÆs not good enough at either to make a big difference in the final assembly WendyÆs face scrunched up into a deep frown as it always did when she spoke about Lucretia SheÆs been invaluable in making the smaller parts while you are busy with other things but the big Engravings have to come from you

I know Randidly sighed Part of the reason for that was because his Engraving style was beginning to diverge heavily from LucretiaÆs but the larger concern was just that to make a huge Engraving a large Mana pool was needed to ensure the finish was even

Even with her current power in his Soulskill LucretiaÆs Mana pool was one third of RandidlyÆs

Rather than one person what would be more useful would be to recruit an army of assistants with some technical knowledge Take the manual labor off of our plates Wendy pointed out You have some talented people working for you just get about three hundred of them to help us for these last two weeks It will be cutting it close but

It might seem dumb but thatÆs not an option RandidlyÆs smile was wry For the sake of the image I want them to have it needs to come as a surprise Me accomplishing it needs to seem impossible to the people of Erickson Steel

For several long seconds Wendy just stared at him Her expression was extremely sour So we need to make work for ourselves close enough to impossible that people canÆt believe we have done it How fun

That got a burst of laughter from Randidly DonÆt lie I know you are enjoying immersing yourself in this just as much as I am

Which might be true but WendyÆs fingertip possessed all the deadly sharpness of a rapier as she jabbed it at him WeÆve already been working on this tirelessly for a month I didnÆt want to bring this up but IÆve seen how much the large scale Engravings exhaust you And the reason that you need to leave so exactly in two weeks itÆs dangerous right

Do you really want to work yourself to the bone to the last minute

That silenced Randidly He couldnÆt deny that his uses of All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth left him completely mentally drained So much so that it seemed like a very bad idea to use that Skill too near to the descent of his Judgment

It didnÆt knock him out anymore but even depleting his capabilities by 10% for something like the battlefield Chulroon described would be deadly

Yet even though he had experienced a great deal of progress in his understanding of Levelable Engravings by studying the results of the Skill on the tower Randidly still felt like he was missing something He could create a fine outcome with a high degree of confidence but fine wasnÆt what he wanted from his moving city

He wanted impossible

But Randidly would need more time to experiment if he wanted to improve the result for his Engraving And he couldnÆt spend more time experimenting with Engraving because there were so many minute Engravings that Randidly needed to do on the assembled parts to strengthen the city

Which brought him back to how useful it would be to have an army of assistants able to cover the slack and arrange it so Randidly only had to spend his time doing the activities that were absolutely necessary for him to do but if he didnÆt want to spoil the reveal of the city for the sake of the image of Erickson Steel

Then Randidly blinked

Laughing Randidly shook his head Actually I donÆt know why I didnÆt think of this before I think I have a solution But IÆll probably need three to four hours to handle it Will you be alright for that time

Do you think I lack for work Wendy grumbled She waved him away and walked toward the dome like building they had recently constructed to house the powerplant of the moving city Most of that was technical rather than Engraving focused so Wendy had been rather consumed putting the finishing touches on the mechanical heart of the city

Randidly grinned at her back then rushed away to his own workshop within Erickson Steel After informing everyone that he was to be disturbed for absolutely no reason Randidly settled into the dim light of his workshop and began to work He spread his fingers and summoned his tools

Floating emerald flames sizzled into existence as he began Randidly had two tasks The first was to quickly draw up a very basic design for a certain necessary sort of equipment Although RandidlyÆs technical knowledge wasnÆt as exhaustive as some of the people who were starting to congregate around him the combination of the Skills SpriggitÆs Tinkering Engineering Savvy and Experienced CreatorÆs Ingenuity gave him quite a lot of practical ability

It only took about ten minutes to draw out a rough sketch of what he wanted Then it took about a half an hour for Randidly to create a satisfactory Engraving pattern that would power and animate the small spider assistant that he quickly created

Honestly he could have made the Engraving in less than thirty seconds if he used some of RandidlyÆs newer Engraving structures but Randidly wanted to outsource the work of creating these miniature assistants Therefore he had to simply the Engraving so someone who was beneath his Skill Level could manage it

Although it was extremely aggravating to oversimplify his Engravings to the extent that someone around Skill Level 80 could manage it quickly Randidly knew that it was the right choice Immediately he walked out of his workroom found Tatiana and asked her to offer quite a bit of money for some of Erickson SteelÆs workers to assemble these

Then he returned to his own The emerald fires continued to hang in the air watching his every move From his interspatial ring Randidly removed a very old set of plans

After a single glance Randidly snorted at how clumsy the markings of the Engravings seemed Almost immediately he tossed the plans to aside and began to create from scratch Most of the technical details were the same but the specs of what he envisioned would likely be double of the original plans just by the virtue of the added efficiency Randidly could add with Engravings

This time Randidly had no limitations on the complexity of his Engravings This would be only assembled by him so he didnÆt need to hold back at all All of the tricks that Randidly had learned from Levelable Engravings and from creating large Skill Engravings were brought to bear on this project

When Randidly finished he didnÆt pause at all He instantly pulled out metal and began to forge this long promised vessel

Emerald fire melted the metal down into gleaming liquid while Randidly used Influence of the Molten Core to shape it as he wished Then he pulled out a heavy darksteel hammer he had obtained from Sam and began to beat each individual sheet of metal into a very exact shape

No sooner had he finished one piece than he went to work on another The sound of his workshop was filled with the ringing of metal slamming against metal When he was prepared to set the metal Randidly extended a sharp claw from ChulroonÆs Chisel and opened a deep gash in his right wrist His blood flowed freely down onto the metal quenching its thirst for meaning in a vicious hiss

Randidly pushed the limits of his physical Endurance as time slowly passed The longer he forged the faster he moved He was accelerating through the motions His body became a blur as he freely manipulated the floating metals to drift toward him when he was ready to handle them

Clang clang clang

Somehow the noise of his hammer on metal seemed to sync up with his rising heartbeat The emerald flames danced slowly around RandidlyÆs blurred form throwing strange shadows on the wall Behind RandidlyÆs back the blurred forms of Yggdrasil and the Grim Chimera appeared watching the strange performance with interest

The air inside the workshop swirled and dance Motes of light drifted around Randidly as though pulled by strange currents

Randidly could feel it too but he didnÆt dare spare the attention for the shifts occurring in the Ignition Essence image For now he simply accepted that some of the images from his Alpha Cosmos and from the network created by the Crown of Upheaval and Gloom were filtering toward the Ignition Essence

Randidly trusted the process and didnÆt study it too closely His images if nothing else would ensure that the Ignition Essence wasnÆt needlessly corrupted From their presence it seemed like they approved of this Therefore Randidly simply continued to forge

When all the metal was finished Randidly cracked the knuckles of his right hand and immediately transitioned into Engraving Sweat dripped off his brow and puddled on the floor Even with his powerful body Randidly had to release several heaving breaths in order to steady himself

It was good to push himself like this But he couldnÆt take a break for long There was still more work to accomplish today And hopefully before nightfall

Unfortunately Randidly couldnÆt get an even density of Mana to condense on the fingers of ChulroonÆs Chisel so it was only with his right hand that he could draw the complicated lines of the Engraving

But on the other hand that meant that the uniformity for the entire construction was immaculate Although Randidly continued to move rapidly it was the rapid movements of an experienced artisan At this point Randidly had spent the greater part of six months doing almost nothing but Engraving This sort of task was something that he could do in his sleep

After finishing Randidly grinned down at his creation The Mana flowed along the metal portions like luminous eels carefully checking the extent of its new shape for weaknesses and flaws Finding none it settled down until it was activated

ThatÆs when you know the Engraving is a good one Randidly thought fondly as he looked down at the metal When it tries to destroy itself to escape All thatÆs left now is one last deal

Chapter 1020

For Randidly the traveling across Zone 1 was the most obnoxious part of the process And the most time consuming He obviously could beat the Manatech rails in a contest of speed but he wasnÆt so much faster than them that it still didnÆt take forty five minutes for him to make the trek to his destination

Thank god for Aether Detection Randidly reflected as he sent out a questing pulse of Aether and located his goal Otherwise I would just be wandering around in Zone 1Æs heartlands Not exactly the most efficient way to spend my time

Donnyton had proven that teleportation was possible but most Villages werenÆt raking in the same amount of points for monsters killed as Donnyton was Therefore most people preferred to rely on Manatech rails as a way to get around Because of how relatively small the edges of New Earth was it was a perfectly efficient decision for the current geography

And it also didnÆt afflict the sensitive with acute motion sickness For the average person teleportation was a little bit extreme for their constitution

Of course Randidly knew that the real reason that teleportation didnÆt take off across all of the Zones was that the option that would make the most logistical sense was to create a hub city for teleportation All you had to do was have a bunch of cities make teleportation glyphs from their city to some central city And then if you wanted to go somewhere else you could simply teleport from the central hub to your true destination

But none of the political entities were unaware of the value inherent in being the central hub of the network Which would be defrayed by the exponentially growing cost of maintaining so many portals but likely not enough to mean it wasnÆt worth it

Randidly wasnÆt sure of the exact details but he had heard once from Mrs Hamilton that teleporting a single person cost about as many points as were earned from killing a Level 40 monster And as the strength and therefore the Aether presence of an individual increased that cost went up

Linearly but it still meant that high Level individuals were a drain on resources

Currently only Donnyton with its far flung Squads was raking in enough points to not worry about the cost of teleportation But no other Zone was willing to allow Donnyton to become the hub city even if Donnyton was willing to assume the majority of the point cost for the operation of the portal Donnyton already cast a long shadow as it was Giving it another advantage was not something the other Zones would do easily

So Randidly loped across the countryside heading North and East on his trek to repay a long promised favor And to ask for another favor in return

The whole situation stunk of karma and Randidly did not like it one bit But at this point Randidly had no choice but to accept his debts to Ghost

During his journey Randidly stuck to the uninhabited areas he really had no desire to meet any official representation of Zone 1 He made an extremely large detour to avoid the rather heavy patrols surrounding West Providence before arriving at a small valley situated directly between East and West Providence

Again thank god for Aether Detection

Finally Randidly arrived and looked down at a picturesque valley with a gurgling stream and a copse of trees It was a perfect area So perfect that it Randidly didnÆt even need Aether Detection in this world such untouched areas meant that something powerful was laying in wait below

It didnÆt take long for him to be hailed even as Randidly was walking down the gentle slope along the stream a mechanical bird landed on a large rock to his left and opened its mouth So youÆve finally come You certainly know how to keep me waiting

Randidly chuckled with false cheer This would go easiest if he didnÆt reveal how precarious a situation this was Ghost arenÆt you an AI DoesnÆt time become meaningless to you once you transcend the human condition

The miniature drone took several hops to keep up with Randidly as he walked down toward the bottom of the valley Hmph you humor remains as haphazard as ever Although I am casually referred to as artificial intelligence and I truly possess capabilities beyond any single individual what I truly am is an approximation of artificial intelligence running through several biological brains

I was created but as humans were used as my building blocks it is hard to say whether my maker truly created intelligent life from nothing or whether he simply did a very poor job of killing the original six bodies that compose me

And your humor is as dark as always Randidly responded wryly It was getting easier to relax Walking into the copse of trees at the center of the valley RandidlyÆs long limbs swung with the casual ease of a sprinter walking toward the starting line The comparison in his head immediately made Randidly wince but he turned that motion into a headshake as he passed amongst the tree branches

Although he didnÆt want to carelessly use Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil and cause the area to burn to the ground his Skill still gave him an almost immediate understanding of the presence and shape of plant matter There were no surprises as he passed through the outer layer and soon Randidly arrived at the inner sanctum of Ghost

Not a leaf had been disturbed by his passage RandidlyÆs eyes flicked sideways to the fluttering small bird Now that he considered it he pegged it to have been modeled after a sparrow How did you manage to get out from underneath their thumb Based on the patrols they the have in the area I would assume they still believe they can keep you under lock and key It must be reassuring to have such zealous protectors

The mechanical sparrow did its best approximation of a chuckle They might believe that they can bind me with laws and by carefully observing I have access to but they are ultimately human My eyes and hands are everywhere while their attention is not It took a while to shave off small portions of metal during my experiments without arousing suspicion but I was able to create a small drone with some of the Engraving methods you pioneered as a power source Truly you have been a lifesaver Then it was just a matter of digging a tunnel so my vulnerable body could escape

Heh thatÆs what they get for underestimating you Randidly said slowly His gaze shifted forward and consider the Engraving an unwitting gift from me to you With the System the substance can also be the medium for meaning I was just exploring the bounds of what was possible

Does Ghost understand the delicate threads at play here Randidly wondered Certainly he would have an eye for detail but how well is his existence prepared for karmic connections

In the center of the surrounding trees was a small area with no vegetation There wasnÆt even any grass There were only dirt and the buzz of electricity Small mechanical worms seethed together in a rather disgusting pile crawling in an over one another while their miniature gears whirred

Indeed thanks are in order Ghost said easily Randidly barely suppressed a sigh Good if he admitted that he had received something the fallout of the additional favor might not be as dangerous as Randidly had feared But just as Randidly was about to speak the small sparrow opened his mouth once more

In fact IÆve spared no effort to prepare for you some information as payment for all that you have done for me Would you like to hear it

Randidly could only nod

Ghost continued to speak through his small sparrow as the dirt in the central area was cleared away by the buzzing insects The longer he spoke the more RandidlyÆs hands twisted in claws Based on my observations of you you are preparing to depart from Earth Obviously you have done this before your business is your own However I cannot in good conscious allow you to leave without illuminating the current state of our world

The threats that seek to force our surrender to the SystemÆs trials are more powerful than it would seem from a casual glance There have been stirrings around the ogre gorge I believe that new factions are emerging from that world In addition all drones I send to investigate the Toad Realm are immediately cut off from me someone is screening my gaze Someone who understands your precious Engraving methods and how to cut them off

LetÆs not forget that the Nemesai have settled in the Royal Sea but I have been unable to locate them no matter how hard I try In addition we have the addition of the three monsters in the Zone Eleven that are nearing Level 80 I have a feeling allowing any of the three to reach Level 80 would not be a good idea

Randidly bit his lip The sparrow continued to speak

In addition there are two individuals of note that I am having a lot of difficulty tracking directly but the trail of death they leave behind is almost insultingly obvious The first is of course your father Ezekiel Ghosthound It seems he could not keep his hands clean once he parted from Hank Howard

A thrill of shock went through RandidlyÆs spine Then he forced his eyes closed and spoke even though he knew he should remain silent Why are you telling me this

Ghost ignored him By now a steel panel could be seen in the five meter deep hole that the worms were quickly clearing The last individual I can only assume he has come from Zone Eleven But no matter where I research or interview I can find no trace of him Of who he was HeÆs heading South directly toward the new Zone at the moment Those he doesnÆt kill are left shaken and mentally deranged Those he kills have been drained of blood The only thing I could tear from their lips was a name Straud

Barring his teeth Randidly walked over to the edge of a hole It is generous that youÆve prepared a gift of your own to repay me But letÆs stop dancing around the issue you predicted that I didnÆt just come to give a gift I need a favor

Favors have costs The sparrow on his shoulder hummed softly It did not escape my awareness you came here in a hurry I do not understand karma so well as you but I have nothing but time right now to consider and plan But I must stress that I have no desire to force the issue of repayment I have no wish to antagonize you I expect to enjoy a long and fruitful partnership with you Randidly Ghosthound

Randidly considered that and nodded slowly Even though the resonance between their images was not very strong Randidly could see the earnest honesty of Ghost through the small tremors in the air around Ghost It was possible that Ghost was deceiving Randidly and would use the karma between them to force RandidlyÆs hand But it was true that Randidly was no longer dealing with Lucretia or The Spearman

Forcing himself to relax Randidly nodded again with much more vigor understood For this and for everything else that youÆve done I will owe you one favor going forward A favor that I will pay in a timely manner when you bring it to my attention But I would add that IÆve carefully refined my past plans you wonÆt be disappointed in your new body

Excellent The sparrow hopped twice in place in a visible demonstration of glee Randidly wondered how much of it was a show for his benefit

I just have one last question before I give you the promised gift how well can Earth handle the threats you mentioned

One last test YouÆve become increasingly preachy The sparrow fluttered up onto RandidlyÆs shoulder As Randidly watched the mechanical worms scuttled off one another and revealed the exposed metal canister But fine As I implied I believe it is extremely precarious Most of these threats are ones I donÆt understand And that is exactly why I have been behaving so cautiously

Randidly smiled sharply This isnÆt me asking for anything IÆm just speaking aloud to myself You are right IÆm leaving I don’t know when IÆll be back This new body of yours possesses a gleaming sword that can cut through the night I just hope that heroes will step up in my place while IÆm gone

The sparrow looked at Randidly for a long time Its eyes were blade and brown But there was a weight there that hadnÆt been present previously GhostÆs almost obsessive yearning seemed to set the images in the surrounding area buzzing Randidly could feel how much this trapped and artificial being craved just that

Randidly kept himself from smiling to make light of anotherÆs dream was not something he wanted to do Neither did he want to reveal that he had predicted that GhostÆs reaction would be just this So he stared seriously forward and waited

But Randidly couldnÆt deny he would feel a lot better about owing Ghost a favor if he chose the Path of a hero Randidly couldnÆt force it but this was just a nudge in that direction

Finally the sparrow tilted its head to the side acknowledge So while you provide me a body tell me what is it that Randidly Ghosthound needs now

Randidly grinned brightly Help me make the impossible possible

Chapter 1021

Ten days before he would need to face his Judgment an exhausted Randidly watched Zone 1 governmentÆs inspection team head North along the Manatech rails back to their cloistered realms of society Their images had been just as sweaty as their hands and Randidly was profoundly gland that the had left

The fat one called me a midget Wendy complained with a pout

Did you hear when the gaunt one whispered to the other sheÆs a woman worthy of bending over a couch Æ while looking at me TatianaÆs eyes glittered with suppressed violence They were not good people

But they sold us the mineral rights Randidly said lightly Inwardly Randidly was profoundly glad he hadnÆt allowed Helen to accompany the tours All three of them knew that midget was one of the least offensive terms that the group had used It was clear from the very beginning of the tour through the Erickson Steel compound that the sleazy group of five men sent by the Zone 1 government didnÆt put anyone in their eyes but Randidly

And even for him they thought he was a brute who had lucked into his position They used airly language and broad hand gestured to describe their grand plan to help him When the details of the agreement they were making finally came up they only showed Randidly the actual paper copy for a split second before they flipped to the back urged him to sign the dotted line

Did they truly underestimate me so much Randidly watched the departing railway with half closed eyes Or was it a test sent to sound me out Not that it really matters These little games are merely diversions for the sake of a solid foundation for Erickson SteelÆs image Nothing more

Of course that moment of exposure had been more than enough for RandidlyÆs Perception to scan and memorize the contents of the deal But there was no respect in their eyes as they had looked at him

As Randidly had watched the blatant disrespect and entitlement of those five men the growing network of images in RandidlyÆs chest howled for blood So much so that even the image of the Grim Chimera grew interested in exacting a steep price for these peopleÆs disrespect But Randidly had quieted his inner violence It was true after all that he wasnÆt subject to even a fraction of the ridicule that both Wendy and Tatiana were If he was mad they were doubly so

Although both of their smiles were razor sharp they were still politely in place Perhaps that was why it was so difficult for Randidly to resist the urge to break the menÆs bones over his knee like they were kindling for a campfire

Randidly was honestly pretty low key when he was underestimated or disrespected there was a part of him that preferred it that way He had spent too much time pursuing anonymity to not be used to it Being understood by an opponent was dangerous and somewhat exhausting Even Randidly got slightly tired when he really sat down and thought about all the things that he could accomplish

But to so blatantly disrespect the people to which Randidly extended his protection

Just to be safe Randidly had memorized the names of those five men He briefly considered passing those along to Helen but that would probably be too much Better to wait for his own chance to even the score

RandidlyÆs emerald gaze sharpened One of the benefits of an extremely high Intelligence Stat was that there was no danger of him forgetting to repay this grudge

But you read the deal right There is a clause that the Zone 1 government can refuse to provide a Village if Erickson SteelÆs residential facilities donÆt meet their exacting standards Chuckling Randidly cracked his neck and attempted to shift both his own and the two womenÆs mind away from less pleasant things I think they want us to foot the bills for personal palaces for them What a steaming pile of trashcan lard

Heh I used to have pity for these people that you were going to swindle by stealing a whole city from under their nose Wendy pipped up as she cracked her knuckles aggressively Tatiana gave Randidly a sharp look that indicated his first impression of the motion wasnÆt wrong Wendy had learned it from watching him But now that IÆve met them I almost wish that you were doing something even more vicious

You and me both Bah I still need to order more whiskey from Donnyton Tatiana shook her head Then she glanced sympathetically over at Randidly and Wendy No rest for the wicked though eh Are you prepared for the final construction Can Erickson Steel continue to operate while you do it

Yea Randidly nodded Most of the work will be done underground Unless we really fuck something up there shouldnÆt be any effect on Erickson Steel As for the construction

When Randidly looked toward Wendy she shook her head LucretiaÆs people have finished going through the pieces that you made Around 13% were flagged and about half of those look like they need to be redone before we can move forward You are working too quickly Finishing on time wonÆt matter if the moving city experiencing mechanical failure after only a week of operation

Randidly puffed out his cheeks and blew out a long stream of air He knew he was rushing But it felt like he didnÆt have any choice Then he shook his head Alright give me a list and IÆll go back through And the help I asked for will be arriving in three days ThatÆs when we start in earnest

The three parted each with their own packed schedule The rest of the day for Randidly was a blur of workshops emerald fire and the gleam of Engraved Mana Although Randidly really meant to follow WendyÆs advice he couldnÆt help but allow his body to accelerate through its motions Somehow he had the feeling that with the strange change going on through Ignition Essence the problem wasnÆt that he was moving too quickly

It was that he was too slow

Yet Randidly couldnÆt take the time to explore that budding change in his image Instead he created the parts that Wendy had informed him were defective scanned through his new creations and redid three more parts that also seemed to have suffered based on the speed of their forging

Afterward Randidly did his daily Caress of Nether practice Despite the bone deep ache that resulted he had managed to raise his Nether Resistance by another 11 Skill Levels over the last several days It was agony but the pain didnÆt stop him from forging It was one of the few training tasks Randidly allowed himself that didnÆt exhaust him mentally Any suffering that he pushed himself through right now would make it that much easier to survive in the future

Randidly was however quite bitter that whatever pain originated from exposure to Nether didnÆt seem to earn him any Skill Levels in Pain Resistance It seemed like the existential agony that resulted wasnÆt really pain but a deeper sort of Aether based instinct to avoid Nether Which was probably why it was such a bitch to handle

But at least it gives me a chance to sharpen my Willpower on it Randidly thought sourly as he looked down at his trembling hands He spread his fingers open against his wrought iron worktable

From around midnight to dawn RandidlyÆs training shifted and he struggled with another difficult decision whether to go into a Dungeon for a brief time so he could refine his Levelable Engravings further

Again and again Randidly pushed himself with All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth until he was clenching his jaw so hard it gave him headaches At this point Randidly could use it three times in a row to experiment as long as he kept his requests small Slowly but surely he was refining the Engraving pattern that he wanted An image that would focus on awareness and self recovery

Honestly with Yggdrasil and Ignition Essence as the base those two objectives were pretty easy to accomplish It was only a matter of blending them in the right portions

In addition RandidlyÆs accomplishments toward evening out the application of images by enlarging the scale of the Engraving were bearing a satisfactory amount of fruit In his most recent series of attempts Randidly created an Engraving that could Level all the way to Level 99 Yet there was a hair of difference between that and Level 100

It wasnÆt enough What Randidly could do now just wasnÆt enough But if he had another few months of time

Randidly pressed his eyes tightly shut The problem with a Dungeon is maintaining the right sort of tension and image If I go away for a few months only the last week would be where I make the sort of progress that would make any difference And if I go for a month it would be the last few days

ItÆs the chemical process of the brain that leads to procrastination The sliding scale of when to focus and when to explore I wouldnÆt be procrastinating but the effect of being suddenly freed from the onus of the deadline

Randidly furiously rubbed at his head And it’s not like I canÆt slip into my Soulspace and stretch out time for a bit the problem is I canÆt run any experiments there I can only think And of course the other problem is that there is too much to do in the real world

Shaking his head Randidly forced himself to wipe that question from his mind He could consider it later If he did decide to go into a Dungeon it could happen at any time Once more he returned to work

After experimenting with Engravings Randidly was forced to give himself some time to recover Truly what Wendy pointed out after the festival was correct what Randidly was doing now was pushing him close to his limits Between finishing the moving city and the Judgment Randidly would likely need a full day of rest

But it was unclear whether he would have that time Definitely he could make sure he had a solid six hour block but

Then at 10 AM of the day with nine days left until Randidly had to face his Judgment Nathan finally arrived at the Erickson Steel compound with Tykes

Chapter 1022

Nathan chewed on his lip as he removed his hands from RandidlyÆs shoulders Yea there is definitely some intense damage done to your Class IÆve never seen anything like it The fabric of your growth was completely derailed all the momentum you built up going toward 50 was destroyed How did this happen again

While he waved his hand to dismiss the question Randidly regarded the slender teenager fondly Despite the serious content of the discussion RandidlyÆs heart warmed to see how serious Nathan was acting HeÆs so young DonÆt worry about the why What we need to do is figure out a way to fix the issue By the way what do you mean by momentum

While removing a series of brightly colored gemstones from his leather bag Nathan spoke to Randidly over his shoulder If youÆre sure well momentum is what I call the sort of image you are developing for your Fate Like looking at your Class you have an insane amount of momentum Well had You probably wouldnÆt even need a condensing focus or my help to maintain the perfect shape of your Fate

But now you have the sort of Class that would mean a normal person would just encase themselves in the strange Fate crystal stuff No shape no vessel all bad news Basically it’s suicidal for you to attempt to condense a Fate like this

Randidly mulled that over Although he wasnÆt positive Randidly had a feeling that image was to Skills what a Fate was to a Class Facilitated by the System in order to allow individuals to produce something of value for the war effort even if the worldÆs power was insufficient Therefore it should be possible to forcibly condense one with his strong images and understanding of Aether constructs But as Nathan pointed out the Class was the training wheels

Having one would make things much easier

Besides even if Randidly could condense a satisfactory Fate without the complex and intricate patterns of his Class he likely wouldnÆt receive any of the benefits he would have obtained with an unbroken Class Specifically the quality of the Skills that he would receive in the future would take a sharp hit

Not that Randidly needed more Skills but it had seemed recently that only a portion of his compound Class had given him Skills While the darker portions the two layers to his Class added by the Patron of Ash and the Creature had been suspiciously dormant

They had definitely been building to something And although Randidly had plenty of reasons not to trust either of those individuals they had both been extremely strong The weapons they used were quite deadly Which just meant that it was relatively important that he repair his Class and excavate those powerful implements

Nathan carefully laid out his seven gemstones on the ground in a circle emerald ruby beryl sapphire diamond amethyst and onyx Then he pointed to the space within the circle Please move to stand in here

Randidly quirked an eyebrow upward but did as he was bid

Nathan rubbed his hands together These are all Level 75 Elemental Foci that I picked up in the East End You should really visit Sydney has completely transformed the place It wonÆt ever rival Donnyton but

Sydney Randidly thought sadly He should go visit her They had been so close before the System had arrived And although his feelings for her were complex things should have simplified by now But that made Randidly think of Ace And thinking of Ace made Randidly think of

Just like I should remove one tenacious and malignant tumor from eating away at the health of Earth Dad what are you doing RandidlyÆs jaw clenched Was Ghost exaggerating or are you truly leaving a trail of corpses in your wake So many threats are piling up but I donÆt have time to deal with them individually Better to focus on making Erickson Steel a mobile resource that can provide assistance where it is necessary I canÆt solve every problem for the Earth

Yet to leave without doing anything when I have the capability

But that line of thought just depressed Randidly even further Perhaps it is for the best that the Judgment is taking me away for a period of time only by being exposed to these threats can the people here grow

Noticing the way the corner of RandidlyÆs mouth dipped downward Nathan hurriedly continued to speak well these crystals just make sure some of the energies of the natural world are present to help give an extra push toward a Class that suits you Most people have matured a lot from when they obtained their original Class so there might be new options open to them that they couldnÆt imagine originally When I activate my Skill you should feel some resonance with the different crystals

Randidly nodded and rubbed his chin So you think its better to try and repair or empower my Class than just destroying it and starting over

Nathan winced Well obviously Especially with a Class as complex as yours If you destroy it even if you manage to rebuild everything exactly the same a few moments later some of your Skill Levels will suffer And thatÆs even setting aside the pain of having your Class destroyed

Inwardly Randidly believed that sort of pain was likely a pittance compared to what he dealt with from exposure to Nether but he still nodded Fine then reinforcing the Class it is Are we ready to begin

Nathan nodded IÆm not sure how exactly it will interact with my Skill but its probably for the best that you conjure your images It will give us even more guidance for the reinforcement

Randidly wondered what sort of Skill Nathan was about to use but he trusted the teenager Soul Architect was the Class that had been personally crafted for Nathan Although Randidly might understand Aether and images much better than the teenager this was NathanÆs realm of expertise And honestly Randidly could use all the help he could get Due to how busy he had been Randidly hadnÆt had the opportunity to dedicate much thought to this rather looming problem of a depleted Class

Releasing a breath Randidly opened up his Soulspace At this point Randidly didnÆt even need to call His images were steadily developing a very basic sense of self and a portion of that was a rough understanding of what Randidly desired Even if his images didnÆt always agree with RandidlyÆs methods they were aligned with his goals

So Randidly opened himself up and called After a second of consideration the images came spilling out into the world

The area around them rumbled as the World Tree blinked into shuddering existence only a few meters away Inwardly Randidly was glad that they had chosen to do this a fair distance South of Erickson Steel so that they were closer to Lake Apollo than any of the construction zones for the moving city

The fewer people that look out the window and notice an abrupt addition to the skyline the better

Thick branches covered in dense golden script twined amongst each other as they reached toward the sky Leaves as luminous and radiant as emerald stars gleamed brightly in thick clumps Vigorous roots buried themselves into the ground rapidly burrowing outward and deeper until Yggdrasil was sipping on the life energy of the entire world The vast trunk that appeared so close to their position was so thick that it seemed to be a wall of bark likely several miles in diameter

With much less fanfare the Grim Chimera faded in to stand next to Randidly Its left arm was a bloody claw and its right arm was a spear of bone covered in ash The dark holes of its eyes and mouth were hidden beneath a thin film of pale skin Its bent and twisted legs cracked as it loomed over Nathan seeming to consider this strange interloper with frank curiosity

A dense cluster of emerald flames appeared Unlike the original form these emerald flames were smaller and almost crystalline in their structure And as they clustered together they began to rapidly orbit around each other blurring into a bright ball of humming energy As time passed those moving flames accelerated approaching some catalytic level of motion

Close to a transformation pressing up against the cusp Yet for now the current vessel held

Now that all of his images were present Randidly nodded to Nathan

Raising his hands Nathan looked down at the seven gemstones and muttered to himself Anima Survey

Randidly watched with interest as bridges of Aether suddenly began to form with loose connections to his soul and stretch outward away from him After a certain distance they became invisible but Randidly could sense them continuing outward Seven went to the gemstones in the circle around him but there were almost a dozen more that seemed to stretch outward into thin air running off to some distant target

At first RandidlyÆs gaze sharpened with grim chagrin worried that these connections would bring him some unwanted attention Especially because the Creature had a hand in the creation of his Class and therefore it seemed likely that one of the connections might lead to any remnant of it that existed in the world

But the more that Randidly studied the sudden connections the more at ease he became Rather than establishing a connection NathanÆs Skill seemed to illuminate past connections If he hadnÆt seen them being made even Randidly might have missed the delicate touch of Aether stretching away from him

These connections were old things some of them long dead He couldnÆt precisely figure out where each one led but it was enough to know that Nathan hadnÆt created anything new

Nathan gestured sharply with his hand pulling RandidlyÆs focus back to the current task Invigorate Capture

The connections began to tremble with a steadily growing energy Very quickly Randidly felt the resonance travel through the connection and to himself And as he watched his three images moved

Yggdrasil shrank to a seed and then floated easily into the emerald Instantly the emerald cracked and shattered But in its place a walnut covered in dense and intricate golden script appeared

The Grim Chimera raised its head and howled toward the sky Then it stretched out one arm and snatched the diamond while its right arm speared the piece of onyx Both shook for a split second before the Chimera smashed the two gems into one another Bits of sparkling gemstone caught the light as they scattered everywhere radiating outward in a nova of glittering monochrome When the dust settled a plain piece of charcoal sat at the epicenter of the explosion

After a second of hesitation the Ignition Essence floated down into the ruby and forced itself into the crystal Rapidly the color of the ruby shifted toward emerald Then perhaps strangest of all the now emerald ruby twisted Very quickly portions of the gemstone moved to form a small crablike creature It scuttled over on short legs and used its claws to cut off a chunk of the amethyst which it greedily devoured

Then it settled down reverting to an emerald colored stone with a fingertip of violet flame at its core

Although the close connections had finished their meals the dozen connections that led far away began to undulate wildly But Randidly couldnÆt relax and let the process continue he noticed that Nathan rapidly began to pale The Skill he was using had drawn too much Mana from him

Randidly couldnÆt help directly but he spread his hands and began to force raw Mana out from the fingertips of his right hand and into the air Gleaming motes of light that alternated between aquamarine and navy blue blasted outward to swirl around Nathan As Randidly pumped out more and more Mana some settled on NathanÆs skin and sunk into his body

The boy looked thankfully at Randidly then refocused on the connections The undulations became wild swings as though some force had gripped the other end of the connections that stretched out from Randidly and was ripping wildly at them with all of its strength

Invigorate NathanÆs teeth were chattering as he forced out the words And Capture

There was a swirl of rainbow colored energy thin wisps of it coming from each of the dozen connections that wove themselves together in a tight spiral With a crack they condensed into a small object in front of Randidly

Ugh I feel like crap Nathan collapsed backward so that he was sitting down on the ground with his legs splayed The connections dispersed and the area around them quieted After several breaths Nathan heaved himself up and hobbled up over to the four objects that were on the ground around Randidly Well that certainly was eh

Randidly followed NathanÆs gaze to the final object that had been created from the majority of his connections He cleared his throat awkwardly as he considered the object Is something like this normal

Definitely not Nathan whispered He reached out and picked up the fourth object studying it closely As soon as he touched it NathanÆs eyes widened

Frowning Randidly studied the object without bothering to approach and see the description It was clearly a cloth doll a perfect replica of himself It had his short black hair his metallic left arm and his bare feet sewn in exacting detail But perhaps the most disturbing feature of the doll was that its skin was covered in thin lines of black thread The formation of the thread made it seem like it was a language but it wasnÆt one that Randidly recognized

It wasnÆt Aether and it wasnÆt something that the System was helping to translate at all That tattooed version of Randidly sat in NathanÆs trembling hands Randidly frowned

Chapter 1023

Nathan looked at the doll in his hands

Animus of Randidly Ghosthound Will of the People (Incomplete State) Lvl 132 An Animus assembled by the Soul Architect will attempting to repair a Class The wishes and desires of those intimately involved in the fate of Randidly GhosthoundÆs Class have helped shape this Animus Due to the high potency of these desires something was created from nothing Due to the insufficient Level of the Soul Architect the Animus was not fully completed but it will serve as an effective blueprint

While being held Skills related to Randidly Ghosthound are easier to learn Warning prolonged exposure to the Animus will result in strange Paths becoming available to the holder While being held all regenerations are increased by 50%

Holy shit Nathan muttered Hastily he set the strange doll back on the ground More than anyone else Nathan understood how powerful a named Animus could be The few that he had seen had completely changed the final Class of the individual But what made Nathan extremely nervous was that even though a Level 132 Animus had been created from nothing it was still in an incomplete state

If I had been a high enough Level just what sort of Animus would have condensed And also Nathan looked over the shattered remnants of his seven gemstones Even more intimidating there are three others

Of the original seven elemental foci only sapphire and beryl remained unbroken Amethyst had been cut in half but it might still be usable And what remained

Nathan walked over and touched the three other Animai on the ground

Animus of Randidly Ghosthound Weight of the Crown (Incomplete State) Lvl 172 An animus condensed from the image of Yggdrasil the World Tree Its powerful spirit has infused the emerald but it is limited by the quality of the item and the Level of the Soul Architect who made it

While being held all biological life will listen to the holder Experience gain is increased by 13%

Animus of Randidly Ghosthound Mandate of God (Incomplete State) Level 154 An Animus condensed from the image of the Grim Chimera A dark energy fills the Animus Resentment spreads outward at all times Due to the insufficient materials and Level of the Soul architect the result is imperfect

While being held all effects that would reduce Health will be increased by 20%

Animus of Randidly Ghosthound Heart of an Empire (Incomplete State) Level 153 An Animus condensed from the evolving image of the Ignition Essence From deep within the stone a burning heart of fire beats As it continues to live it approaches its final form Due to the low Level of the Soul Architect this Animus will never achieve the evolution that may occur in the image that inspired it

While being held Skill Levels are slightly easier to gain While being held items produced have a small chance of obtaining bonus effects

After examining all four of the Animai Nathan was speechless Each was a priceless treasure They were the four highest Leveled items that Nathan had ever seen All of them would be used to reinforce RandidlyÆs Class Nathan couldnÆt help but wonder Just what sort of results will occur when so much power is concentrated in one place In one person

You alright Randidly asked

Nathan nodded slowly He had always known that Randidly was different After all Randidly had allowed Nathan to view his Class at the start of this process While most peopleÆs Classes appeared to NathanÆs Soul Architect gaze as ladders leading upward RandidlyÆs was a towering lighthouse that was wreathed in a maelstrom

What was even more disturbing was the obvious damage that had been inflicted at the top of RandidlyÆs Class completely dispersing that maelstrom of energy What could have caused such vicious damage

Yet even so the final forms of the Animai

Nathan winced Honestly itÆs a bit of a tragedy that these will be consumed to help repair your Class And I canÆt wait to see the result But IÆll need some time to recover before I can infuse them into you

Chuckling Randidly nodded and turned away ThatÆs fine IÆm going to work on some Engraving just let me know when you are ready

True to his word Randidly conjured a wooden worktable and a bench and sat down With a wave of his hand he produced a half dozen basic copper bracers that he began to Engrave patterns upon The bright azure light of Mana burned traces into NathanÆs eyes as he watched fascinated for several seconds

Relieved to have some time to recover Nathan moved some distance away from the disturbing Animai and sat down in meditation to recover his Mana Which was just in time because Nathan wasnÆt sure how much longer he could have remained standing the process of condensing the Animai had completely gassed him

After settling down for a few seconds and settling into his breathing only of NathanÆs eyes fluttered open He regarded RandidlyÆs back for several seconds before forcing himself to concentrate and stimulate his Mana and Stamina

In the past Nathan had reinforcedÆ almost two dozen peopleÆs Classes in order to provide for them an easier time condensing a Fate Generally the issue he encountered wasnÆt one of repairing a Class but of upgrading a Class to a passable Level Generally these people were some of the first to get a Class and had chosen a rather generic option After all those first groups didnÆt understand the value in increasing their Skill Levels and taking Paths in preparation for a Class

The Classes they received were almost completely random or based on their prior life

However just like with RandidlyÆs current situation the issue in these individuals was that Nathan could feel the lack of complexity and purpose in the Classes At the time they had started they had no idea what they were doing By creating Animai Nathan could add some additional focus that would give people a better chance with their Fate

But the previous Animai that Nathan had seen werenÆt anything close to this Even setting aside their mind boggling Level no other Animai Nathan had seen possessed an effect other than serving as an Animai Yet all four of these had extremely powerful effects Powerful effects that manifested while they were incomplete products

Randidly can be kinda scary sometimes Nathan thought as he glanced surreptitiously over at Randidly

Definitely these would add the missing momentum back into RandidlyÆs Class It might be weakened somewhat by the fact Nathan hadnÆt brought sufficient materials but it would be more than enough

It had to be Nathan had given out quite a few reinforced Classes and created some tailor made Classes while in East End in order to get Sydney to grudgingly part with the elemental crystals This was the first time he had used such high quality foci and he was looking forward to the result

But thinking about the crystals brought a pang of loss to NathanÆs heart Just like that four are gone and one is cut in half but if itÆs for Randidly it will be worth it

It took Nathan almost a full hour even with several Mana potions to restore himself to his peak state The entire time Randidly stood at his worktable and calmly Engraved After each bracer he finished Randidly considered the bracer for almost a full minute His fingers danced across the piece of armor using even his metallic left arm with an almost human grace to delicately weigh his creation

Then inevitably Randidly would store away the finished bracer in his interspatial ring and move on to the next He took no breaks His eyes never wavered The azure light from his fingers never dimmed

Finally Nathan stood Alright IÆm ready

Randidly just smiled widely at him

The Soul Architect has used his special Skill Class Evolution on you Your Class responds Your Animai are being consumed in order to evolve your Class

Animus of Randidly Ghosthound Will of the People (Incomplete State) is being consumed

Animus of Randidly Ghosthound Weight of the Crown (Incomplete State) is being consumed

Animus of Randidly Ghosthound Mandate of God (Incomplete State) is being consumed

Animus of Randidly Ghosthound Heart of an Empire (Incomplete State) is being consumed

Resonance detected Warning Some Skills are close to evolution Consuming energy in order to evolve Skills may lead to sickness unconsciousness or death Please proceed to the nearest Village Spirit for more information

Although the Animai are incomplete they provide a sufficient blueprint for moving forward

Your Class has not evolved However new meaning surges through your Class Warning It appears your Class was previously damaged Due to previous damage to the Class the next Level you receive will provide no Stat benefits However after that Level all Class benefits will return to normal

Congratulations If you continue to Level you shall eventually receive a hidden benefit from this attempted Class evolution

Randidly smiled wryly It was somewhat frustrating that he would miss out on Class benefits for even a single Level but when he examined his Class it was clear that the something intangible was present that wasnÆt there previously It might not have been restored to what it had been prior to the damage but it would be enough

It took a while to explain to Nathan however the kid looked absolutely devastated that there hadnÆt been any change to his Class So much so that Randidly didnÆt mention the fact that he would miss a LevelÆs worth of Stats from the damage even with the foci There was no point in torturing him Randidly did feel rather bad about consuming so many of the gems that Nathan had brought

Clapping Nathan on the back Randidly thanked him profusely while he wondered if he would have time to Level to 50 and obtain a Fate before the Judgment While he was considering he returned back to the construction site of the moving city

But soon that question was pushed to the side for more immediate concerns There was simply too much to do

Chapter 1024

It was four days before the arrival of the promised Judgment that Lyra finally returned bearing as innocent smile as she came for her Class She cut through the bustle of construction that surrounding Randidly and appeared within his workshop more quickly than RandidlyÆs distracted senses could follow

Which of course was not the way to put Randidly in a good mood

You are late Randidly said shortly as he set aside the bracer he had been steadily Engraving over the last hour His tone was sharp but he knew that it wasnÆt truly anything to do with Lyra She might have rather flippantly used some of her abilities as a Village Spirit to move but that wasnÆt a reason for him to grit his teeth like this

No Randidly was constantly grinding his teeth because he felt so close to figuring out how to manage the Levelable Engraving and yet he couldnÆt manage it No matter how much Randidly relied on All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth there was a limit he couldnÆt seem to overcome

It had been almost two days of constant Engraving while Ghost and his mechanical spider drones that Randidly had Erickson Steel producing handled the lionÆs share of the final construction work Even now the scuttled in the dark tunnels beneath the compound assembling the bones of the being that would soon come into existence Their industriousness was exactly what the project needed to come in within his time limit

Yet in RandidlyÆs mind his Levelable Engraving had become a keystone of the project Without it there would be little difference between the Erickson Steel compound and the flying city that drifted above the Royal Sea There was still plenty of time to go into a Dungeon if it proved ultimately necessary but Randidly still didnÆt wish to rely on more time to brute force the issue

RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed But what I donÆt need right now is a lengthy distraction Hopefully Lyra will be on her best behavior today

Lyra inclined her head and agreed Which was a good start for her So I am But youÆve been busy right I wanted to wait until you had spare time However it seems like you arenÆt getting the results you want correct And I knew you would still wish to know what became of Shal so I chose to step forward anyway

Randidly swallowed the previously prepared acidic reply he had been preparing It was obvious that Lyra was making an effort to be civil and he should respond in kind Some of the tight ball of frustration that had been hissing in his chest finally dissipated Sighing Randidly stood Of course it was never about Lyra It was about Shal and learning more about the System This should take long This will be worth it

After sending a message to Nathan Randidly cracked his knuckles Fine then letÆs begin immediately I donÆt have much time to spare

Lyra kept her smile in place even if RandidlyÆs words felt like a hammer against her heart

Fine then letÆs begin How did things go so wrong

With her ribs as the steel bars of a cage the words IÆm sorry Æ couldnÆt manage to escape their tight prison So Lyra did the same thing she had done for almost two years in regards to Randidly She wrapped her role more tightly around herself than ever

Is there anything I need to do to prepare for our connection Lyra the Village Spirit asked in a light voice Through exposure to the inner workings of the System LyraÆs familiarity with Aether had skyrocketed over the past few years Although she was completely bewildered by the complex Engravings that Randidly had inscribed onto the many bracers lay half forgotten around his workshop Lyra was confident that no human understood the shape of the System better than she did

Randidly Ghosthound included

And yet the things that Randidly Ghosthound could accomplish with the Aether Crossroads inside of himself turned everything that Lyra understood on its head That was why his existence had been able to turn all of the hitherto cast in stone rules of the System on their head That was why even the Creature grew fascinated with him

That was why this whole divide started Lyra thought sadly Just like with me you showed Yystrix a magic she had never seen before Is it truly so hard to understand that she lost herself in her excitement

No just come over The connection part is simple Randidly beckoned his irritation clear in the tight line of his mouth

Lyra walked over with light steps wondering how a Village Spirit should walk Being raised from a young age to be the perfect actress Lyra the human had been taught many ways of walking A seductive sway A joyous skip A depressed slouch An elegant glide A business like march An athletic lope

Maybe that was why she had found it so reassuring to become the Village Spirit Suddenly she had a role to play her small emotions quickly drowned in the function that she was currently serving Much easier to bury herself in the expectations of others than to really look at the mess that her ascension to Village Spirit had left in its wake

Easier still when Yystrix had replaced her to become closer to Randidly She had a face and a soul but those things had been cut off she had only been a pretty doll to be posed and played with Just like Lyra remembered from her childhood

It had been so easy too For both of them were endlessly fascinated by what Randidly could accomplish even if their ultimate goals didnÆt align

But I canÆt be those things any longer LyraÆs heart was pounding If IÆm just a Village Spirit he will keep hating me I have to be me I have to stop running Because you Randidly are the reason that I realized I wanted to live Which is exactly why I couldnÆt let you doom the Earth And you are also the reason that I have one more mission remaining from the Creature that I will fulfill no matter what

And yet such thoughts were ultimately useless There was only one important thought as Lyra without her role continued forward how should I walk What sort of steps does Lyra the human take

Randidly glanced impatiently up at Lyra Just beyond an armÆs length away from Randidly Lyra stopped her rather awkward gait and looked intently at him I I just want you to know I wonÆt ever use this connection to hurt you I swear it on my life I swear it on the existence of the Earth

From the bottom of her heart Lyra wished to make things right with Randidly He had shown her magic had transformed the world from a dollhouse to a place of wonder and splendor that was worth cherishing But that transformation also meant that Lyra dearly cherished this world So much so that she had turned her back on Randidly when Yystrix demonstrated how hopeless it was to fight directly against the System

To her solemn vow Randidly replied with a bunched eyebrow look of disgust that someone would give the maggots they found at the bottom of their too old can of trash It was an expression that said he didnÆt believe her how could he believe her after all that she had done

LyraÆs smile became increasingly strained and hollow How proud you are Randidly Ghosthound Did you truly expect me to choose to believe in you when there was so much evidence to the contrary When I had experienced first hand how powerful the Yystrix is The fate of your lovely world was at stake IS at stake I just

Randidly reached out and touched her shoulder And Lyra couldnÆt breathe for a split second Randidly had reached out to her

Alright itÆs done Randidly said simply His arm dropped back to his side After cracking his neck he walked over to a side table and poured himself a glass of water It will take a few minutes for Nathan to get over here Now that you have a source of Aether it should be easy for him to make you a Class After that you owe me an explanation

Lyra pivoted away from Randidly slowly like a weather vane nosed North by a strange wind She wasnÆt sure what her face was doing It felt so heavy and stiff There was a buzzing in her ears So she turned her attention inward and felt carefully around the highly organized internal Aether constructs that were her constant state of existence Most of her Soulspace was filled with the dense script of Aether with which the System was built

And there at the corner was the small area where her human self hadnÆt been completely consumed by the rules of a Village Spirit It was that strange almost misplaced portion of herself that had given Lyra the idea of giving herself a Class in the first place It was that portion of herself Lyra liked to believe that still believed this world was a beautiful place

It now had a small trickle of Aether dribbling in to congregate in that area Unlike the bright violet color of the SystemÆs Aether this Aether was a much more innocuous thing It was almost translucent but it was filled with motes of gold emerald and black The new Aether spread slowly in constantly shifting shapes through the available area almost exploring

In her Soulspace the Aether flowed toward the small tendril of Lyra will that she had sent out questing toward this strange new energy And it responded instantly swirling around her will and forming a kaleidoscope of light and warmth

A tear rolled down LyraÆs cheek ThatÆs me I have a part thatÆs me

I I can tell you about Shal now Lyra volunteered without turning around While we wait I trust I trust you wonÆt back out now that weÆve come this far

IÆd appreciate that Randidly said rather gruffly

The tear had rolled down over her cheekbones past her lips to settle on LyraÆs chin It hung there stubbornly sticking to her jaw Desperately Lyra wanted to reach up and wipe the tear away But she simultaneously didnÆt want to stop being the girl who was crying and didnÆt want Randidly to notice that she was the girl who was crying

It truly is a terribly selfish thing IÆve done isnÆt it Lyra wasnÆt trembling She was just standing still and looking away from Randidly and listening to the small noises that his bare feet made against the ground And yet thatÆs what being human means to me I suppose

So she spoke into the air to keep the terrible silence from hanging between them You should have heard about it within the Dungeon but the System is a machine designed for war Overcoming the Second Calamity demonstrates a depth of strength that finally means you might be valuable to the Nexus so you are given the opportunity to prove yourself That is the challenge that Shal attempted

The details are rather simple at least as far as the current rules go You fight the preserved spirit of ten fellow challengers who also failed Such is the cost you pay by attempting it that a portion of you be preserved to test future generations

Shal ultimately failed the test but he was rewarded for what he was accomplished He defeated eight of those that failed previously You can think of this reward as receiving a commission in the army when he eventually is taken to the front lines to fight against Nether he will have subordinates Representatives from other worlds who will fight under his direction

Randidly sighed audibly And when he spoke it was clear that most of his antagonism toward her had been forgotten for the moment ThatÆs a relief Heh so even Shal wasnÆt good enough for the System huh That probably means I have my work cut out for me Do you know how they preserve a portion of you for the future

Lyra knew what Randidly was wondering Whether he would be able to attempt the challenge without revealing to the higher ups in the System what he was Unfortunately I do not know

On this one thing at least both Randidly and Yystrix agreed giving the System unfettered access to another Aether Crossroads was not something that could ever be allowed to happen

Which was exactly the last mission that Yystrix had given Lyra before that ancient being had disappeared from Earth Which was at least half of the reason that Lyra had gone to so much trouble for the information about Shal to tempt Randidly Which was the final lie that squirmed in LyraÆs stomach like a suicidal tapeworm

If we are connected like this I can find you no matter where you are Another tear wound its way down from LyraÆs eye to slowly traverse her cheek So that if the System ever discovers you and tries to control what you hold in your chest I can kill you

Even as Lyra tried to put words to this horrifying truth her mouth remained still Because Lyra could see the terrible accusation that would be waiting in his eyes if Lyra revealed this last secret that Lyra was working against Randidly with the Creature

But was that really the case Lyra was just insurance for the worst

there is one more thing Lyra said softly Her mind pushed away that secret and refocused on the information she meant to give Randidly Lead with the good news then follow with the bad There was a change for ShalÆs world Unfortunately even I donÆt know the details I can only tell what I was able to discern from investigating directly it seems that after the challenge Shal has gone under the wing of someone very powerful within the Nexus And because of that Tellus is proceeding directly to the Fourth Calamity completely skipping the Third

What Randidly asked

Lyra shook her head slightly She felt a slight movement on her chin the tear was still stubbornly hanging there Its twin had bypassed her cheek and was now hurrying to join the first So Lyra didnÆt turn around Even I am unaware of the particulars of the Fourth Calamity It is essentially the recruitment as far as I can tell I am I donÆt know more But what I did learn was the name of the individual who oversaw ShalÆs challenge The same individual who interceded on behalf of Tellus

His name is Illeot Swacc In the Nexus he is referred to as the Duplicator

Chapter 1025

It was Randidly reflected with a frown an ominous name And an individual who was powerful within the Nexus was certainly not someone that could be taken lightly Although Randidly didnÆt know how that individual who had existed within an entire continent of solidified Aether and crushed him with a glance fit within the power structure of the Nexus it had impressed upon him how dangerous the truly powerful were

The first thing Randidly did upon receiving the news was attempt to contact Shal Immediately he received a System notification that all messages to the recipient world have been screened In addition the notification recommended that Randidly contact a Village Spirit for more information

Bah useless and what help would a Village Spirit be

For several seconds Randidly regarded LyraÆs slender back As she had aged Lyra had retained her almost unhealthily slender limbs She seemed like such a tiny and fragile thing Then Randidly walked forward roughly grabbed LyraÆs shoulder and spun her around What does that name

Randidly blinked as he looked at LyraÆs lovely face that was shining with the remnant paths of two tears You why are you crying

LyraÆs face split into a thin smile as she almost helplessly shook her head

Narrowing his eyes Randidly gritted his teeth as he looked at Lyra Although Lyra was willing to lie to him that didnÆt mean she wasnÆt still slightly human If whatever news she held in her chest was so upsetting that she would cry What do you know You said Shal failed the challenge what were the consequences of that

Nothing other than failing to seize all the advantages he could Lyra whispered Her voice was as soft as the crisp sound of dead leaves falling apart Shal should be fine

Then let me ask again Why are you crying Randidly cooled his anger and frowned at Lyra Perhaps it would be a little strange for Lyra to care enough about Shal or Tellus to cry Perhaps it was simply the pain of investigating such distant matters in the Nexus But Randidly couldnÆt be sure what exactly a Village Spirit could and couldnÆt do

Even now the Aether around Lyra was too dense If she were to claim she was crying from resistance from the System Randidly would only have her word to go on

LyraÆs smile twisted upward driven by bitterness She flippantly gestured to the air between them This this is hard for me alright You you have no idea Randidly the truth is

For several seconds Randidly studied Lyra as she licked her lips For all that she had chosen to side with the Creature and endanger humanity Randidly decided that it would be pointless to assume Lyra was lying about this Perhaps she could somehow turn this around to manipulate him but it felt extremely ungainly to RandidlyÆs mind

There were much more directly lies that Lyra could tell Besides she had previously bared herself to him in order to prove that the Creature was no longer present on Earth She didnÆt need to conceal some terrible fate that Shal suffered In fact LyraÆs argument had always been that Randidly couldn’t defeat the System on his own That was why she had betrayed him and sided with the Creature

Therefore it could be said that ShalÆs suffering at the SystemÆs hands would be evidence toward her point

And yet if it was only pain from her System tethers why was she

Ah RandidlyÆs expression softened as he connected the dots This is hard for me Æ huh I get it YouÆve felt it too

Again Randidly had no sort of context to understand the strength of the individual who had shattered his Class and robbed it of its meaning with but a glance But if this Illeot Swacc was anything close to that level of strength To investigate that tier of strength likely had left some scars

Remembering that split second of agony still sent shivers down RandidlyÆs spine And Randidly could understand now LyraÆs sudden reticence and distance Although they had set the previous betrayal behind them Lyra had just been exposed to the power of the System The true power those individuals standing near the peak of the Nexus

In her mind it likely reaffirmed all the reasons that the System couldnÆt be fought

The miserable looking Lyra lowered her chin rather than speak The silence stretched between them seemingly straining underneath its own weight As Randidly looked down at her wracked by indecision such was the difference in their heights that he could barely see the expression on her face Randidly bit his lips IÆm sorry I get it I really do I felt the same way for a while

As Lyra flinched as if struck by a physical blow Randidly continued talking But we will never accomplish something if we donÆt put ourselves out there Now isnÆt the time to give up

do you truly know how I feel Lyra asked in a small voice I was told to if you were ever

Lyra was cut off as Nathan walked into the room Sorry I hurried over as fast as I could

Then Nathan saw Lyra and the kid blushed crimson in that chemical induced way that only young teenagers could His voice came out unsteady as he spoke Ah ah Lyra What are you um what are you d doing away from Donnyton

looking for a Class Before RandidlyÆs eyes LyraÆs whole disposition changed She stood straighter and raised her head Her back straightened and her eyes brightened And with one quick brush of her hand all evidence of her tears was erased She smiled charmingly at Nathan I assume you will help with that

Randidly spared Lyra one last glance This is why people find it difficult to trust you you know Did that moment really happen Or was it just a ploy to win my sympathy

What is your plan Lyra What do you intend to do with this power IÆm giving you Because if you intend to threaten the growth of the Earth no matter that you were once human no matter what we felt toward each other I will end you

As Randidly stood beside Lyra a heavy weight settled in his chest Almost unconsciously he pulled his lips back to reveal his teeth Damnit even if we arenÆt on the same side being here like this knowing I might need to kill you later is a bit

but thatÆs just how it is ThatÆs what it means to have a Crown

Ah oh Nathan blinked rapidly It was clear that he was not a little smitten with Lyra His expression flashed between so many expressions so quickly that even RandidlyÆs grim mood couldnÆt help but lift the tiniest bit Of course I can do that Umm I have some thought exercises written down If you want to go through them we can

No need I already have made suitable preparations for my Class Lyra said with an easy smile

Nathan looked from Lyra to Randidly and back again ThatÆs are you sure If you make a mistake remaking the Class will be difficult

DonÆt worry I am very sure that I will be able to manage this LyraÆs smile was sharp as she gestured toward Randidly without looking at him Besides Mr Ghosthound is a very busy man I think IÆve already taken too much of his time

Randidly just looked at Lyra Truthfully he had wished they could hurry through the process There was still so much more he wanted to try in regards to Engraving But as he watched Lyra Randidly felt his chest tightened He remembered the two paths those tears had traced down her cheek He opened his mouth but he couldnÆt figure out what to say After all he agreed that he needed to get back to work

After all Randidly had just realistically considered the possibility of killing her So why

Then letÆs begin Nathan said brightly Then he blushed again Ah Randidly can you make a chair And Miss Lyra IÆll need to touch your shoulders for this so

Randidly made a curt gesture and roots sprung out of the ground to weave a chair for Lyra She sat down gracefully leaning back and looking up at the ceiling like all these trappings of RandidlyÆs cluttered workshop were beneath her After a few seconds of hesitation Nathan walked to stand behind Lyra His hands were trembling as he pressed them against her slim shoulders

So just as I begin concentrate as hard as you can on what you want If you truly believe enough a Class should appear But Nathan stuttered to a stop because Lyra pressed her eyes closed and was clearly concentrating

So Nathan closed his eyes as well and focused on the task at hand Randidly kept his eyes open but his Aether Detection swirled around the two individuals to see the mechanical apparati that were in operation here

With his newfound connection to Lyra Randidly had a greater sense of how much of her Soulspace was packed with byzantine Aether devices associated with her role as a Village Spirit It was immediately clear that her Soulspace was likely purposefully cluttered It seemed that whoever had designed the role did not wish it to be possible to also possess a Class

Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the Village Spirit was constructed to be built on top of a Class It was hard to puncture through the dense fluctuations of Aether from the Village Spirit but Randidly could sense a small hollow space in the middle Honestly he wouldnÆt have noticed if not for realizing that the portion of the System that did its monitoring wasnÆt present in Lyra

Likely because it had assumed that it would already be there And the original more limited version of that Aether construct that everyone possessed seemed to be completely absent likely it had been lost during the transition Lyra made to Village Spirit Or it had been suffocated and destroyed by the dense Aether of a Village Spirit because it didnÆt have the protection of a Class around it

RandidlyÆs eyes widened imperceptibly Not possessing any sort of monitoring device is extremely useful With LyraÆs help I would be able to focus my research on the System without Octavius Shrike becoming aware

But just as fast Randidly stopped his imagination cold To do so Randidly would need to work with Lyra very closely And if he couldnÆt truly trust Lyra then violating the terms that Octavius had laid out was nothing short of a death wish Now more than ever Randidly understood that he wasnÆt ready to face the true power of the System

At least not yet

But one day it will definitely be possible Randidly clenched his fists In his chest the images of the World Tree and the Grim Chimera resonated with that wish filling him with determination No matter what I have to do

Besides Randidly had so many things on his plate already He was about to deal with the ramifications of his Judgment which possessed an indeterminate timelimit It was better to let such fanciful ideas go

Shaking his head Randidly let his attention wane for a second to gather himself once more Which was why he was so surprised when Nathan spoke

Wow you were right You certainly were well prepared I can sorta sense it but whatÆs the final name for your Class

Randidly opened his eyes Lyra stood and turned to look Randidly full in the face Her expression was confrontational My new Class is the Violet Moon of Yearning

Chapter 1026

Nathan smiled brightly at Lyra while sparing a speculative glance for Randidly Even now his expressions shifted like mercury Your Class is a whole moon huh ThatÆs powerful Honestly aside from Randidly your Class is the most powerful one that IÆve ever seen

Is the moon really that powerful Lyra said quietly She was still staring at Randidly whose mind was slowly computing the name of LyraÆs Class He reached out and felt around with Aether Detection very quickly confirming that Lyra hadnÆt lied He could feel the shape of the Aether slowly blooming in her Soulspace in that small corner available to it

Meanwhile Lyra continued to speak Honestly the moon seems like quite a pitiful existence Imagine to have thousands looking at you and complimenting your beauty and romance but what those people truly see is light reflected off of you from another source altogether The moon is nothing but a stand in for the sun All the good and ill that people know about the moon is simply misattribution IsnÆt it tragic ArenÆt those viewers cruel Do they think the moon feels nothing just because she appears distant

At the end of her final question LyraÆs voice turned shrill NathanÆs smile slowly faded away

Meanwhile RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed I can understand how difficult a time youÆve been having You are an impossible existence No one understands that better than me But you earned this Lyra You canÆt escape the CreatureÆs shadow because you chose the Creature There is no tragedy in this justice

You are speaking to me about justice Lyra said scathingly IÆll be honest I have watched you almost obsessively for your year in the Dungeon after all I have to donÆt I And can you guess what I saw Was what I did any different than what you did to the people of Ki Kunot

Randidly blinked and looked at Lyra Despite the fact that he had made his peace with that decision all the feelings he had been plagued by in the wake of that blunder surged upward

Lyra continued to speak I bet you thought you knew so much better than them I bet you thought their dreams were a mistake And yet what do you know Randidly Ghosthound You cannot beat the System alone You canÆt even triumph against the Creature So why are you being so fucking stubborn

“I made a mistake but I can’t just spend eternity torturing myself ” Randidly felt that strange helplessness again that same feeling that had been planted in his chest by that strange tears on Lyra’s face That helplessness wanted him to back down and apologize To weep for the innocents that Randidly had allowed to die due to their ignorance and his own preoccupation

Yet she admitted that she had been watching A small flame of anger ignited in RandidlyÆs chest She had this dagger and was just waiting for the opportunity to use it I donÆt know what sheÆs trying to accomplish now but

Randidly’s suspicion she had shed that tear purposefully hardened into certainty around his heart like plaque in an artery “That’s exactly why I need to fight for Earth now Making that mistake once is enough “

“Yet I need to be perpetually punished for my mistake ” Lyra’s voice was rising in a scathing flood now “You get your second chance at virtue and mine is forever lost I hope this isn’t because I’m a fucking woman Randidly because I will seriously “

“It’s BECAUSE you don’t regret what you did You would make the same choice now as you did then you believe that the correct choice is to use the System to hide so we don’t get churned to nothing by this grand war machine And if you still think that’s the right answer how can I trust that you aren’t going to just sell out the Earth once more “

Lyra released a low chuckle “So you get rewarded for making a dumb fucking decision to begin with and I get punished for making the one borne out by facts “

“Lyra I’m warning you ” Randidly growled There was a tumbling roar in RandidlyÆs ears like the sound of a slowly building avalanche “We are connected now We cannot escape one another Don’t say something you will regret “

DonÆt push your fucked up agenda too far I wonÆt let you

“And so the helpless ruler defaults to threats ” Lyra’s expression was mocking Randidly was distantly aware that Nathan was backing slowly away from the two of them both from Lyra and Randidly Despite the fact that he knew that was a bad sign he couldn’t see past the fury that was burning in his veins

I thought we were past this Randidly seethed

But Randidly was equally determined to not give Lyra the satisfaction of being right So he forced himself to calm down and spoke to her in a low voice “We are getting off topic But the fact of the matter is you believe the Creature’s methods are the right ones You agree with it even knowing the Creature would happily sacrifice millions of lives Even knowing the experiments that the Creature supported in Zone 1 Even then you take its side over mine “

“Her side Are you really so small minded that you cannot even concede that sheÆs a person As to why Your side is a dream Randidly ” Lyra said quietly “And you sound so sure of the results but how can you back up these promises

Was there ever a moment where you asked for my opinion Where you explained your plans and asked for input Of course not You would barely even talk to me back when we were Lyra gritted her teeth and shook her head How dare you claim to know what I would choose if I was really asked to help Do you think you know me at all “

Randidly barely resisted the urge to pull a handful of his hair out “You JUST admitted you don’t regret your decision “

“AND HOW CAN YOU BLAME ME ” Lyra thundered She gulped down several breaths of air before she could continue in a normal volume “Despite all the evil that the Yystrix has done she sat down with me and explained her side DonÆt you dare claim youÆve done the same If you had enough human decency to sit down and talk with me rather than just assuming maybe things would be different “

“You would excuse all the crimes she’s committed because she talked with you ” Randidly shook his head slowly “You are a sociopath Lyra Besides what more proof do I need that you would choose the Creature than your Class The remnant of the Creature within my body manifests as the sub Class Longing of the Banished Wind And you the Violet Moon of Yearning Is that resemblance really just light reflecting off the moon “

Lyra just looked at him Randidly’s hands clenched into fists “Both you and the Creature are driven by some hole in yourselves that makes you crave and take from those around you And that’s why “

“Is wanting something such a crime Randidly ” What Randidly heard in Lyra’s tone made him freeze

Even Nathan who was slowly backing away from the escalating shouting match was seized by that tremor in Lyra’s question As Randidly looked at Lyra he saw that she was crying again Her expression was as devastated as a rabbit warren that had been run over by a lawnmower All slack flesh and terrible silence

“It’s not the wanting that damns you ” Randidly managed to spit out through gritted teeth but he couldn’t continue to speak In his chest the World Tree stirred

Listen it said to Randidly Truly listen In this I fear you have erred mightily

“It must be hard for you to understand it Perhaps thatÆs why IÆm damned ” Lyra’s voice was wide and empty “I’ve been waiting for so long for you to treat me like I was I was anything Like I wasnÆt just a kid who didnÆt know what she wanted or had the autonomy to reach for it For you to treat me “

Lyra shook her head sadly “But you can’t can you You are just the perfect little soldier who has been instinctively fighting in battles The enemies get badder and your weapons get bigger and you keep stepping forward ItÆs all you know And now you found a Crown has been placed on your head People rely on you for protection They need you And you certainly understand need donÆt you

Was that the difference between the mollusks you so capriciously raised into little engineers and the people of Ki Kunot That one group needed you and the other wanted something on its own

Patterns shift but the mindless instinct does not Constantly protecting constantly changing to face new threats never bothering to stop and think what lies at the end of this Path And now you truly believe you are capable of making a place where your people will be safe

Strangely Randidly heard AzrielÆs words from that small courtyard coming back to him

The sort of world that you can create by being good at fighting isnÆt that what we have already earned

Randidly felt exhausted He looked at Lyra and just shrugged He refused to admit that he didnÆt know the answer to her question But no matter how much Randidly wished he could he wasnÆt able to simply answer in the affirmative

LyraÆs violet eyes flickered You need to stop acting from instinct Randidly what do you want Not to survive not to help the Earth survive Nothing related to survival I don’t want to hear about your struggle I want to see you be fucking vulnerable Be a real person Be someone that reaches for something that you don’t need to possess in order to survive

Spreading her arms wide Lyra seemed to be begging him to say something with her eyes Then she brought her hands together and offered them to Randidly Reach for something you might not be able to get Something that will hurt not to have but that you can live without That’s what being human is You think it’s hard to trust ME How do you think it feels to interact with someone who is only nominally human

“If there is something you truly desire I can be there for you Just ask for my help Tell me your dreams and I can “

Lyra trailed off Randidly stared at her

What I want

It was a dumb question especially now Time slowly ticked past as the two looked at each other But that helplessness was back Gritting his teeth Randidly took a step toward Lyra He didnÆt have time for this He wasnÆt in the Dungeon anymore He couldnÆt indulge in these pointless thought experiments Right now he needed

As Randidly opened his mouth to ask something Lyra cut in before he could speak “If you don’t yearn for something you are just a tool And no matter how convincing it may be to other people being a tool isn’t being alive No one was ever saved by a tool Just by the person using it “

Then Lyra was gone vanished in a whisper of fabric After several seconds of silence Nathan muttered something and hurried out of Randidly’s workroom

Which left Randidly alone in the dark Obviously he could have snapped his fingers and filled the room with the emerald light of the Ignition Essence but he didn’t Hell he could probably generate enough friction with a snap of his fingers to start a real flame

But he didnÆt He just stood in the dark of the workshop with only the dim ambient light from failed Engravings to keep himself company

“Why canÆt our fights ever make sense ” Randidly muttered darkly In the aftermath all his frustrations about the Engraving were tightly entwined with his anger and embarrassment toward Lyra Because some part of Randidly knew that she was right about one thing he couldn’t have it both ways If Lyra was damned by her decision to side with the Creature Randidly was damned for his decision to kill Ki Kunot