LoRG 3

It was supposed to be the final and largely ceremonial mission for the ten individuals selected to enter into the Order Ducis One last clearing of a Raid Bosses base Everyone involved knew that the Raid Bosses were becoming increasingly unpredictable as the area available to them expanded so rapidly every day but they had been trained for this They had all achieved at least Level 50 and condensed a Fate

It shouldnÆt have been a problem to take care of a Raid Boss no matter what Tier it was Yet it seemed that Tiers were becoming all but useless to describe the foes they faced out here

So they went into the cave system that housed the Raid Boss with pride and confidence The minions were at Level 49 so everyone expected that the Raid Boss and its lieutenants to have crossed the threshold to Level 50 Even when they encountered the initial resistance from the shapeshifting slimes the fights hadnÆt been too hard

They could freely shift between animal forms so it was a bit unpredictable But if it wasnÆt at least this challenging then these applicants wouldn’t take so much pride in the work that they did

Their training in regards to images had really paid off EveryoneÆs Fate had made a palpable difference in their ability to fight They were able to push past the initial forces and made it to a wide cavern where the Raid Boss itself lurked

They had even expected the trap that was being laid for them But when the lieutenants came out at Level 62 and with at least two dozen it was a bit more than they were equipped to handle It was simply a numbers game So many monsters above Level 60 had enough stats that they could overwhelm an average human of the same Level

We were cocky

Standing in the rain while Naffur considered the body Vye could only release a breath that she had held for almost an hour Even that set her hand to aching Some part of Vye urged her to stop looking down at Aldo but instead she began to cry Still the tears mixed so cleanly with the steady drip of rain that it made no difference

Does anyone know his last name Naffur asked quietly The nine initiates into the Order Ducis just looked blankly back at Naffur Then Naffur turned in turn to Ajax and Madelyn Both shook their heads warily

he always urged me to change his last name to Ghosthound when I asked him Madelyn finally admitted The lizard woman shook her head But he would never tell me what his last name was

the funeral will be held tomorrow NaffurÆs eyes swept through the tired and cold grouping in front of him Although the rain was loud it couldnÆt drown out his words IÆll make some calls to find out who he was so his family will have the opportunity to pay their respects The rest of you the promotion ceremony will happen immediately after the funeral So take some time to decompress and really face what you are feeling right now

The other applicants will be there If any of you choose to step down someone will take your place There is no shame in choosing to go another way Because make no mistake Naffur reached up and pushed his soaked hair away from his eyes This is exactly the Path of the Order Ducis We walk the lonely Paths to fight the hidden horrors of our Earth

Naffur turned away but was stopped when Valor spoke DidnÆt you say there were two Raid Bosses we needed to take care of We can still

No This time Ajax stepped forward with his arms crossed The battlefield is not the place to work through your emotions Go back to your tents Head into Kharon proper get a drink Heal Vengeance can wait until you know what you will do next

One by one they drifted away Vye simply stood her skin long numbed by the rain Some part of her brain argued that her Vitality should make such a small temperature difference irrelevant but Vye felt so very very cold

It was only when she saw the form of Garrett move that a hint of life returned to her eyes Garrett who had been one of her first friends who had entered into the Order Ducis whose deep suspicion toward Randidly Ghosthound had driven him to investigate the Order that was based on the GhosthoundÆs prestige

Garrett who Vye had been able to learn had a history with a woman who dated Randidly before he was the Ghosthound Her name was Tessa and it seemed to Vye that Garrett still loved her deeply

After Garrett had been rather harsh and demanding in their confrontation in an alley Vye had been much more distant Their previous friendship had slowly starved itself to nothing But it seemed that distance had reinvigorated GarrettÆs desire to be a part of the Order Ducis Over the past six months he had given all of his energy in order to make it into the top ten making it to the 9th spot in the applicants

Yet even so as Garrett stared at the ground VyeÆs heart trembled at the terrible cloak of guilt that hung over him

Because it had been then in the depth of the Slime cavern that Garrett was the weakest of the ten and the one who was slowly pushed back by the high Level slime lieutenants To the point that he has sustained a deep blow to his leg and was hobbled Without mobility he was forced to endure blows that were far beyond the ability of his Endurance to cope with

And as the slimes circled like sharks and as Vye Valor and the others could just watch with abject horror someone had broken out of their encirclement

Laughing wildly Aldo had descended like a vengeful god wreathed in golden and green fire He smashed aside the slime that tried to slow him down and seemed unstoppable as he arrived at GarrettÆs side Perhaps sensing the change the slimes had shifted into larger forms and tried to simply overwhelm Aldo

Aldo was not overwhelmed

The memories parted as Vye found herself face to face with her small tent Sighing she walked out of the rain and laid down on her bed without removing her wet clothes Small drops of water began to slowly run down her sides to congregate on her lower back causing persistent itches Yet Vye didnÆt move She could still hear AldoÆs voice

To be the heroes worthy of carrying on the GhosthoundÆs mantle none of us can die in a dingy place like this

Three slime lieutenants had rushed Aldo Two had been killed in the furiously fast three seconds of violent clashes that followed Then as Aldo had knocked the final one back and he was raising his fists to crush this slimeÆs desperate final attack Aldo had slipped

His barefoot had slipped

The slime covered stone beneath his feet caused him to slip The moment had been burned into VyeÆs retinas They had fought too long and too hard underneath too harsh of a teacher in Ajax not to understand what was happening Aldo probably understood it too after he slipped It was almost uncommonly unlucky

Not just that he slipped but that he happened to slip just enough that the slimeÆs desperate attack became deadly

The slimeÆs counterattack had hit him directly in the heart obliterating the organ immediately As he died AldoÆs mouth was open and smiling He didnÆt flinch even without a heart After a preternatural adjustment of his skewered body his fist continued forward and smashed through the slime to kill it

Vye shivered She had Rejected what had happened immediately but it had been too late

Killing the Raid Boss felt hollow They had paid too dear a price for one monster

Chapter 1157

It wasnÆt that Vye woke up it was just that Vye was tired of being cold and wet in her bed The itching had long since ceased but it had left her with a heavy sense of clamminess that refused to fade So she heaved herself up and stripped off her soaked clothes and found something casual to wear She looked down at herself and saw jeans and a t shirt that depicted a logo of a pre System band After throwing her towel over her shoulder Vye walked pretty blindly out of her tent

It almost came as a surprise that it was still night For what felt like a fair stretch of time there Vye had been replaying Aldo slipping the strike that went through his heart and then his heroic adjustment to still finish the job Time seemed to accelerate around her as the replays continued Only that image held any sway to VyeÆs Perception Everything else was just lost to that slowly fraying movie that Vye couldnÆt look away from

It had felt like she was drowning The tears wouldnÆt come out of her eyes but they pooled in her throat and scared away her breath

With a few leaps Vye quickly arced her body up over the edges of the tree line and landed with a dull crash inside a thick patch of brambles Luckily SystemÆs energy hadnÆt soaked into this place for long or the brambles would have toughened up to the point where they could leave a scratch on Vye As it was she simply brushed herself off and plowed her way through to leap again taking chunks out of the distance between the Order Ducis camp and Kharon

The area Southwest of the newly connected Zone was a wide space of plains draped between mountain ranges Kharon was nestled up against a relatively modest series of mountains perhaps not even reaching a height of one thousand feet above sea level But still the city certainly looked impressive with its flags streaming and two of its larger legs deployed stabilizing it to lean against the mountain

Kharon breathed out smoke and ladders draped elegantly down to the recently excavated mines

Yet all of those things were far from VyeÆs mind as she hopped up over and over again crossing the rocky terrain toward the well outfitted public baths that was one of KharonÆs most popular features

Vye was just clambering up to the hidden Order Ducis entrance into Kharon and giving the guard a tired nod when a huge column of light smashed into the ground only a few kilometers away Turning slightly Vye felt something break as she saw the familiar descent of Mjolnir hitting nearby

Although she had suspected that this would happen when Naffur ordered them to just let the other Raid Boss go without doing anything it still struck Vye After all the settlement that had requested their help was too new to the System to fend off Raid Bosses on their own These people seemed to have gone through a month of tutorial before they were thrust into the world but it hadnÆt prepared them for the brutal reality of what was happening

So the Order Ducis has asked for help relying on the influence of someone quite far away in order to save these people Perhaps to the people it wouldnÆt make a difference but to Vye As the pillar of light slowly dissipated into drifting motes Vye could only grit her teeth

The Order Ducis was supposed to be the one to help those on the edges of the world They were the pioneers And sure Mjolnir reaching all the way out here wouldnÆt have been possible without communication with the Order Ducis But Vye couldnÆt get around the truth that this was a failure

It was all so disappointing

Are you disappointed in us Randidly Unlike you we are just

Rather than walking through the streets Vye quickly ascended to the rooftops of the meandering buildings of Kharon Most of the population was involved in the extraction and refinement of metals so the new buildings seemed to be thrown up every day So much so that they were almost running out of room in the city proper and there had been proposals to expand the buildings into some of the wilderness areas of the minor island that was considered Kharon

From what Vye had heard Tatiana had vetoed that idea Rather than encroach into the wild space she encouraged the the engineers in Kharon to discover ways to condense there buildings There was talk of creating layers of the city and building houses right on top of each other Which would usually be more of a health risk than it was worth but the one common benefit of the System was health

So when Vye arrived at the roofs they were covered in raw materials and chalk marks that likely depicted future plans for development Yet it was not a future that she was ready to face yet Vye ignored the small marks and began to race across the roofs rapidly gathering a rather large following of moss spirits that gleefully formed a trail behind VyeÆs lithe form

We failed Vye whispered into the rushing wind around her Although the moss spirits didnÆt possess ears to hear what she said they could probably feel her emotions very clearly After all Vye was one of the ones in Kharon that always gathered a large amount of moss spirits For whatever reason she was popular with them

They gathered around her in a halo moving faster than Vye could manage She could feel their empathy They settled on her skin and warmed her one small spirit at a time

Driven by a strange impulse Vye landed on the top of a building across the street from the public baths she was heading toward and slowly unfurled her Fate As her image billowed outward it pushed away most of the surrounding moss spirits Her Fate grew directly out of a small chunk of crystalized skin in her hand quickly becoming a rectangular map with curling edges As she looked at it Vye felt a twinge of regret in her heart

Fate of the Bright Eyed Explorer Lvl 17 The Fate of one who wants to see the edges of the world Will keep track of the portion of the world explored by the owner of the Fate The more of the world and the more landmarks that are viewed encounter the greater the benefits that the Fate owner will receive as she Levels Current benefits +1 Free stat +1 Agility

The map was large and detailed but only in a very small portion Because the amount that Vye could see were only the places that she had been There was some space between the Orchard and the original Erickson Steel compound and then there was a winding path down to the Southwest Aside from the Orchard the only other landmarkÆ that Vye encountered so far was Kharon itself which earned a moving mark on the map

All in all Vye saw the colored and detailed lines of only one hundredth of the full map That too felt like a failure

maybe I should leave the Order Ducis Vye thought rather sadly The more I explore the faster IÆll be able to become strong Even without the constant training offered here IÆve grown I can hold my own And if I explore more of the map

Without thinking Vye rolled up the map and habitually flipped it in her hand The movements were too much for her left hand and brought all of the tension from the physical Ritual back to her Cradling her still sore left arm to her chest Vye shook her head slowly Quitting the Order Ducis wouldnÆt be running away IÆm not afraid of death Just maybe the Order Ducis isnÆt where I need to be right now Maybe this isnÆt the group I thought it was

But then again Aldo died trying to make sure the Order Ducis became exactly that a group that would stand against the dangerous forces in our world To just leave after he made that sacrifice

But itÆs not my responsibility to carry on his legacy right I I have to make my own choice

Vye looked up toward the sky and was rather disappointed to see that after the terrible power of Mjolnir descended clouds rapidly flowed forward to strangle their star filled sky The air was dismal and grey Although the rain had since ceased these clouds seemed to threaten another storm Without any other choice Vye sighed and hopped down off the roof to land on the ground in front of the bathhouse

Although some people gave her strange looks as she landed lightly things such as that were all too common in the post System world Idly wondering about how transportation would change in the future Vye walked into the bathhouse

One of the many perks of being in the Order Ducis was having a private room available at all times but the clerk timidly informed Vye that it was already in use Considering the late hour it too Vye by surprise Shaking her head Vye simply said she would use the public womenÆs bath

Whoever was using the bath currently was dealing with the same things that Vye was And she had no desire to interrupt them Everyone had to find their own ways to cope with the grief

So Vye undressed and walked out into the open air baths Standing on the warmed stones outside the baths Vye released a deep breath Truly it was a blessing that Tatiana had argued so vehemently for these to be built It was strange to think but Tatiana turned out to have been an even better city planner than she had been a CEO And she certainly had been an impressive CEO

There was a fluttering impulse for Vye to seek out Tatiana to talk about what happened but Vye quickly suppressed it They hadnÆt talked much in the past six months but it was actually because Tatiana was absolutely overwhelmed with the amount of work that needed to be done for Kharon to function It wasnÆt just planning the city but she had to make decisions about haggling with the locals for foodstuffs and raw materials In addition Tatiana was in constant contact with the various governments and Orders as they informed her of the continuing dominance of Zone 1 in the World Council

No need to bother Tatiana with my sadness Vye dipped a toe into the water and then forced her entire body down under the surface The heat scalded her until she finally felt the cramped muscles of her hand begin to loosen ItÆs not common but people die frequently enough now that the System is here Just because I knew him I canÆt let myself break down I need to figure out what IÆm feeling

And then figure out if the Order Ducis is where I want to spend my life Because if I accept the appointment tomorrow I wonÆt let myself back down If I want to change courses I need to do it now

Without the need to breathe Vye remained underwater The baths were rather large and the two other women in the room had their own private corners Which meant that Vye could just hang there suspended in the water waiting for the heat to completely unwind her

Unfortunately some problems werenÆt so easy to solve All too soon VyeÆs eyes fluttered and opened Still underwater she realized that she could see the weak half light of dawnÆs approach she had probably been floating there for almost an hour

With a sinuous stroke she pushed herself to the surface and swam to the edge of the bath After leaving the pool she quickly dried herself off all but her hair which Vye didnÆt feel like bothering with and returned to the dressing room There she quickly slid back into her clothes and hurried out of the bathhouse But a voice stopped her as she was pushing open the door to walk onto the street

Even as she recognized the voice and flinched inwardly Vye turned around An extremely gaunt eyed Garrett stood there hunched over and with this arms wrapped protectively across his torso He was probably the one using the Order Ducis room Just like hers his hair dripped water down onto his shoulders But as Garrett looked at Vye something hardened in his eyes We should talk

Chapter 1158

They clambered up the pipes and scaffolding from the constant construction to stand in the same spot that Vye had stood earlier and been unable to see the sky Unfortunately the cloud cover was still present making the coming dawn a rather bleak affair But the dawn also finally brought some light to Kharon which continued to puff out clouds of smoke from its almost eternally active furnaces

For several long seconds Garrett simply pursed his lips and looked over the uneven skyline Vye had a sinking feeling in her chest that this brooding silence would take quite a while when all she really wanted was to curl up in bed and try her damnedest to get some sleep But she could very easily imagine what Garrett was going through right now

Even though she hadnÆt been directly involved Vye seemed to slog under the weight of guilt for every second of her day since Aldo had died She couldnÆt imagine what Garrett must be going through being the one who Aldo had protected in his final moments It was perhaps that empathy that caused Vye to open her mouth to speak first

Aldo would have forgiven you He would have said it was nothing much That he would have gladly done it because it was something that the Ghosthound

Oh please Garrett shook his head ItÆs not that ItÆs sad that heÆs died but no I wanted to talk to you about something else DoesnÆt it seem like our direction is too exact WasnÆt Kharon supposed to wander And yet it seems to proceed so directly toward all of the natural resources Like our route was already planned I had wondered if you noticed the same

For several seconds Vye could only blink It was immediately obvious that the two of them were having extremely different conversations You wait what are you saying

IÆm saying that our movement is anything but random it was planned Like we knew what was coming GarrettÆs eyes were intent as he turned his gaze from the sky and looked meaningfully at Vye I think itÆs time we stop behaving like the actions of Randidly Ghosthound are normal Even now we have no idea where he is The Orders were originally designed to restrict him but now he simply casts us aside

HeÆs not casting us aside Vye gasped How had they shifted from talking about Aldo to talking about Randidly

Garrett sighed Then where is he Why did he let Aldo die in such a pointlessly

Vye opened her mouth Aldo died because you always bite off more than you can chew when we fight Raid Bosses If you want to say his death was pointless then you are saying the same about your life But then Vye closed her mouth with an audible snap Even if it was true she didnÆt want to be the one to put that on GarrettÆs conscious And there was no point in arguing him when he was like this

But still it did give Vye the tiniest bit of a revelation ThatÆs why the Order Ducis existed To protect the people of this world because life has value Each and every life

It wasnÆt because Garrett had trained and was an applicant to the Order Ducis Aldo had leapt to his aid because he needed help That was all the reason he needed Because that was what the Order Ducis was

And if she was being honest with herself that was the strength she had been seeking her own life Independence yes but the strength to see something was wrong and instinctively act to help It didnÆt matter if she had the ability to protect both of them

It was the strength to step up and face the threat of the moment

Instead of trying to explain any of it to Garrett Vye turned sharply away Already the way he was speaking had her very wary AldoÆs death is a tragedy and I think we are both dealing with it right now So letÆs talk again after the ceremony

LetÆs be honest the ceremony is exactly what IÆm worried about but I canÆt run away now Garrett folded his arms across his chest Even if IÆm deeply suspicious of the GhosthoundÆs actions I cannot deny his power And there is power in the image he injected into our training camp So much so that Naffur delayed the promotion to give more opportunities for recent arrivals to experience the images So that we were all thoroughly influenced by that image

ItÆs it just such a coincidence The exposure made us susceptible I see that now And the timing of this death With such a loss the entire of the Order Ducis will come together Garrett shook his head disdainfully ItÆs a common enough tactic Sacrifice a non essential part so that the masses will be swept away and agree to any measures you suggest And when Aldo died on that mission it suddenly hit me this was all part of the GhosthoundÆs plan Which is why I refuse to back down IÆll make it into the Order Ducis So I can be the watchdog If he wants to treat us all like pawns IÆll be there to stop him

Vye cocked her head to the side Following what Garrett said was difficult

But suddenly Vye saw it Like a puzzle Vye felt she could feel the beating heart of the man The way that GarrettÆs guilt put him under so much pressure that his innate suspicion for Randidly had evolved into a full on conspiracy theory To make Randidly Ghosthound the villain who secretly orchestrated everything

Anything was better than accepting that Garrett was the one at fault

Seeing the way that GarrettÆs mind had partially fractured meant that Vye felt sympathy for him But just as quickly as the sympathy had arrived it was swept aside by a cold fury Because twice now Garrett had rather blithely referred to AldoÆs death like it wasnÆt the thing that mattered

And no matter how broken Garrett was by this loss it didnÆt excuse his behavior So Vye favored him with a chilly glance and spoke slowly I donÆt think thatÆs a good idea And itÆs unnecessary Quit the Order Ducis Garrett

At the same time what Vye was saying to herself was that she was not going to quit And she felt warm and confident about that decision This moment might be hard but the reasons Vye had chosen to put herself through such hell didnÆt change She might be slowly extending her Fate but hurrying wouldnÆt help anyone Sometimes patience was the correct Path

Immediately Garrett laughed at VyeÆs suggestion No No way Not in a million years Not when IÆm finally so close When I finally found out the truth I can prove

Garrett All of the softness was gone This time VyeÆs voice absolutely burned Even if her Fate hadnÆt provided very many additional Stats per Level her Fate had grown faster than any other of the Order Ducis applicants Which was the proof that her images werenÆt just for show When Randidly seemed to have reached across worlds to grant them his image Vye had forced herself to use every opportunity she could to hone her Willpower against it The fact that her Fate had become Level 17 was the SystemÆs acknowledgment of her accomplishments

So when she said Garrett the air was filled with the faint reverberations of vast spaces cloudless skies and rugged mountain ranges GarrettÆs voice caught in his throat

Vye leaned forward toward him and took the edge off of her voice I donÆt care how you deal with guilt But you better fucking never reduce AldoÆs death to the phrase it was sad that he diedÆ Or I will kick you out of the Order Ducis myself

As he licked his lips Garrett looked genuinely shocked I I had thought

Then he stopped likely frozen by the look in VyeÆs eyes Shaking her head Vye turned away and hopped down off the building She walked back through the streets of Kharon nodding to the citizens who slowly woke up as dawn arrived Even if her anger toward Garrett had burned away a lot of her grief Vye knew it was a short term thing The grief was pushed away but it hadnÆt left

So she followed her previous instincts and returned to her tent for a nap It was difficult but Vye struggled for several hours to empty her mind Instead the small moments of their interactions just flashed against the backdrop of her closed eyelids Fighting against monsters Sparring against Ajax

AldoÆs body being left in the circle of RandidlyÆs images to test if prolonged exposure was dangerous

AldoÆs head poking out of the train car luggage compartment above VyeÆs seat as she headed back to Erickson Steel to join the Order Ducis

Eventually Vye got up trying to sleep didnÆt have any meaning any longer Because she had reached a half dreaming state and where she could drift through the rest of the day like a falling leaf on a fall breeze It was like none of it was real She would blink and she would be somewhere else still with buzzing in her ears and with sadness in her heart

The gathering Naffur speaking

AldoÆs body his hands folded across his chest

The moment of silence where Vye looked numbly down at her own feet

Naffur again accepting her official as a Knight Errant of the Order Ducis

Garrett straightening shooting Vye a rebellious look as he accepted his own appointment VyeÆs face didnÆt even twitch IÆll deal with you later Today is for him

The sound of people leaving ValorÆs hand on her shoulder He squeezed then pulled his hand back and walked away from her

When Vye came slowly back to herself night was falling and she was standing in front of AldoÆs tombstone

Aldo Ghosthound

When we pick the way we live our lives we canÆt complain about the deaths we find waiting for us at the end

Vye wiped a tear from her face even as she felt something change inside of her Almost unwillingly she opened up her hand and produced her Fate Just as she had suspected there was a new landmark on her Fate marked on a small hill in the shadow of a medium sized mountain range The Grave of Aldo Ghosthound And it gave her an additional +1 Willpower per Level

I want to hate that quote and that we put it on his gravestone but heÆd be grinning like a fool to see it Naffur walked slowly up next to Vye Then he shook his head We found out his name but it didnÆt fit him It didnÆt fit how he lived Ghosthound does So this is what we are left with

Shaking her head Vye could only manage to say That quote itÆs perfect Even at the end he didnÆt flinch He didnÆt even look scared He just

Vye brought her hand to her mouth It was the only way that she could keep from sobbing

which is why what IÆm about to say is so hard Naffur shook his head You shouldnÆt have to deal with all of this at once But you are in the Order Ducis now And the only one of the new applicants promoted directly to Knight Errant So now you need to help us

did something else happen Vye whispered Suddenly she was weirdly thankful for the fact that her hand still ached from her attempted Reject earlier Now that pain helped ground her Because NaffurÆs tone made it clear that something couldnÆt wait

No not exactly But Madelyn has some rather specific Skills for detecting this sort of thing and it seems clear that Aldo shouldnÆt have slipped Someone forced him to slip Likely someone present Someone who wanted to either seize another spot in the Order Ducis for an ally or who wanted someone so staunchly in support of Randidly Ghosthound out of the way There didnÆt seem to be any point in announcing that I was onto the foul play so things should settle down but be careful Vye Someone has a knife to our throats

Chapter 1159

Randidly let out a deep breath and took a glance at his Status screen While standing on the battlements of Lady IellayaÆs fort the slight wind across the frontlines ruffled his hair just slightly What was waiting within his Status screen had Randidly balanced precariously between happiness and helplessness

The last eight hours had been filled with intermittent attacks from the Nether forces Only about a hundred Nether Beasts moving at a time but striking quickly and then retreating In the face of Lord MilnÆs continued unwillingness to release the Nether Prince the Nether King finally forced his army forward setting up several dense nodes of those blue veins in the sky above the edge of the Great Rift that served as staging areas

There were some minor efforts to assault these vein nodes but Lord Miln didnÆt move to provide support And without him most of the Commanders were rather hesitant to commit resources

Even if the attacks hadnÆt been a concentrated force like those that had come previously but these sizable forces had made runs at every camp along the frontlines At every side of those campÆs defenses These were obviously tests designed to slowly reveal the responses of the Aether forces And it seemed like Nether had an almost unending horde of bodies to throw forward so the Aether camps could do nothing but turtle

While turtling their eyes were drawn toward that rocky outcropping at the center of the formation And the headquarters remained silent

For RandidlyÆs part these smaller attacks had at least meant that he hadnÆt needed to stretch himself nearly as much to assist Lady IellayaÆs camp The smaller numbers meant that he could try other methods to handle the attacks He had even summoned fifty Riders of the Baleful Court and used them to test the Nether forces

until he belatedly recalled his extremely pressing experience concerns that he was currently delaying the moment when he reached Level 50 Which is why he pulled up short and brought his Riders hurriedly back And why he currently was sitting at Level 49 with 97% experience

Which means I need to work on the focus points for my image that much more tonight Randidly could only shake his head But at least I gained some Skill Levels from today only 5 more to go before I should receive the next chunk of PP from the Alpha Cosmos

And that was the other reason that Randidly had taken the risk of gaining experience Even though it largely seemed that Azriel and her new subordinate rulers of the System of the Alpha Cosmos were settling in enough something felt different There had been a change that Randidly could sense within himself

Considering the CreatureÆs involvement in the whole ordeal Randidly had feared the worst

So he had wanted to put himself under some stress in order to check if the change would have some unintended consequences Or some consequences intended by a party other than him And after only a few brief skirmishes against admittedly powerful Nether Beasts Randidly was quite pleased to feel how the change manifested itself

In truth it wasnÆt that much had actually changed Randidly had always physically been the Alpha Cosmos That added weight gave him more power to everything The Soulskill was a larger mass than he had been previously So Randidly had already enjoyed the benefits of the extra weight

But with the addition of Azriel to the equation being the personification of the System in the Alpha Cosmos suddenly RandidlyÆs weight was balanced It was like the difference between trying to wield a huge tree trunk as a weapon and wielding a properly weighted sword with the weight of a tree trunk Now the pivot point was perfect it was much easier to bring the extra weight that Randidly possessed to bear on his foes

Honestly Randidly had felt a little bit bad as he ripped apart the four star Nether Beasts that he would have struggled against previously It wasnÆt that his images really progressed although each was being slowly refined in preparation for making a Fate No it was simply that RandidlyÆs base stats no longer captured his strength Because of all the extra swirling through him it seemed like each point that he had in his Stats became more valuable His images too

One step at a time Randidly was becoming strong Yet even so he still hadnÆt reached the point where he could contend against a Nether Gatekeeper Which became a somewhat bitter point as Randidly watched Vualla throw herself against a Nether Gatekeeper again

Not that it was just a matter of image Flexing his hands Randidly looked with worry down at his metallic left arm He had kept it wrapped up in his image the past several hours as he fought against the Nether Beasts but there was starting to be some serious wear and tear on it Even with his image there were moments when his focus ebbed away and allowed the Nether to burn scars into the metal

Ha that metal toy wonÆt hold up much longer A grinning Lady Iellaya stood with arms akimbo next to him on the stone platform Her hawkish gaze swept across the slow preparations of her soldiers Good job today by the way But I must say why donÆt you let the System heal your amputated arm Is it a grudge

itÆs a long story But some of my power is tied to the loss of an arm Randidly said slowly as he let his metal arm drop to his side He still remembered feeling the Aether construction the System created for his body which he now realized was based upon the concept of Nether cores And how he had purposefully warped that in order to create a whole new very real world right underneath the SystemÆs nose But youÆre right It wonÆt last much longer like this

Heh And you still havenÆt condensed your Fate incredible Lady Iellaya shook her head and then glanced at Randidly He nodded With an extremely pleased expression Lady Iellaya smiled out at the smoky and war torn frontlines What a good day

Randidly knew why Lady Iellaya was so pleased The most recent series of attacks by the Nether King hadnÆt targeted the edges or the center as the first few assaults had Therefore each of the Commanders especially those who had thus far avoided fighting experienced casualties As Lord Miln continued to remain locked up with the Nether Prince that he had taken from Commander Terith resentment was mounting

Although Lady Iellaya probably understood that it was not a good sign that Lord Miln had done nothing she was staying positive Even if things turned around in the future the seeds of negative emotion had been planted in Lord MilnÆs subordinates That was a victory in her eyes

Even if he understood where she was coming from Randidly shook his head helplessly Those things were largely beyond his sphere of concern So Randidly opened up his mouth and asked something that he had wondered about for quite some time Lady Iellaya do you know what my status is right now

Lady Iellaya tilted her head at Randidly so he tried to explain ItÆs not a secret that I was brought here by a Judgment So I havenÆt really known how long to expect to remain Or whatÆs currently expected of me Not that I want to leave I own debts to you and to Vualla But I was hoping you could tell me where I stand

Oh I guess we havenÆt had that conversation yet Because of your unusual circumstances I simply assumed you understood Lady Iellaya rolled her shoulders and the glossy black feathers on her shoulders and arms flexed outward Simply put you are expected to remain here for quite a while You had a mandatory service sentencing of two years when you were brought here two years of Nexus time Which due to the concentration and volatility of energy here feels about ten times as long as it actually is

In addition that sentence was stayed by your Heretic punishment being deprived of your body So your two year service didnÆt start until you returned from your mission Which is only unfortunate because there is actually a pretty easy way to get out of here early When you participate in a significant victory six months of your sentence is reduced Had you possessed your body during the attack against the Nether GatekeeperÆs base you would have received an extra six months off of your service

Two years of Nexus time RandidlyÆs face twisted Of course that meant that the Earth would only experience two years while Randidly faced much more time up here But still it wasnÆt an appealing prospect If it really stretched out to feel like twenty years

Although he wanted to spend more time with Vualla this was a bit

Ah well itÆs down to one year Lady Iellaya shrugged IÆve given you two reductions for helping with the two Nether King attacks thus far But Commanders donÆt have the authority to reduce a sentence below one year Which is why your work with the Nether Gatekeeper under Lord MilnÆs directive would have been useful Without a stay you are probably going to experience about five years here

ItÆs rough but let me warn you against deserting If you thought the Judgment was bad the first time then brought you here they deploy someone from the Xyrt Brigade to bring you back After shivering Lady Iellaya pressed her hands against the heavy stone blocks of their parapet Honestly your best bet is either getting me promoted to Supreme Commander or having Aether soundly defeat the Nether King If we win this battle all of us will get a service reduction

How long are you here for Randidly asked curiously

Lady Iellaya smirked IÆm free to go whenever ItÆs only after you finish your sentence that you can be promoted to Commander But because I came willingly my service time was a pittance to begin with The System always wants strong images that are willing to leave the safety of the Nexus and fight against the Nether

Randidly scratched his chin and turned back to look over the battlefield Even now RandidlyÆs Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil was being used to casually repair some of the damage to Lady IellayaÆs fort Perhaps seeing the success of Lady Iellaya at preserving her own strength in the previous few attacks furious production was going on across the borderlands

It was a strange feeling Randidly reflected to stand up here with such a powerful Commander and chat casually And it also felt like an opportunity So Randidly continued the conversation by asking WhatÆs the Nexus like

sometimes I forget that you are so unusual Lady Iellaya regarded Randidly curiously You you havenÆt condensed a Fate but fight even better than those who have I wonder how quickly the Level of your Fate will rise And you havenÆt ever been to the Nexus Well if I had to describe it the Nexus is

Boring Announced the newly arrived Abiodun as he took long strides up the stone steps He bowed politely to Lady Iellaya before passing her a scroll Please forgive me if IÆve spoken out of turn But all in all the Nexus itself is rather boring

A place filled with powerful beings who get off by descending to lower realms and restricting themselves Lady Iellaya leaned against the stone parapet and casually unrolled the scroll Then with a snort she flexed her hand an annihilated it The lives of those uninitiated into the System are just numbers to them and carrying a whole world full of people through to pass the Calamities is less important than the achievement of passing the Calamities An idyllic cage where children squabble ceaselessly There is always the threat of the Nether of course but

A series offensive between Nether and Aether hasnÆt occurred in thousands of years Abiodun interjected as he took his place standing between Randidly and Lady Iellaya The Xyrt Brigade sees to that Honestly this might be the eve of the largest confrontation of our era

Then Abiodun chuckled darkly and Randidly could feel his own mouth creep wider in agreement Despite the fact that he was no longer the Grim Chimera Randidly still certainly had a side of him that was looking forward to the opportunity to fight And even his more cautious instincts couldnÆt deny that he was growing quickly precisely because of the fighting

Especially now Randidly knew that after he received the next batch of PP and used that to empower Paths made with his refined images his Fate

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 275

IÆm going to rest A suddenly very meek Randidly said quietly At this point his growth was moving more quickly than he would like Some image training would do him good But he couldnÆt resist smirking toward Abiodun DonÆt you dare start the bloodshed without me

Men Lady Iellaya shook her head in mock protest but Randidly could sense her own bloodlust rising just as much as theirs was And to be honest Lady IellayaÆs was the image that filled the air with the distinctive copper tang of blood Everyone knew what battle meant for their prospects And each one of them was hungry

As he departed Randidly allowed himself to calm down and looked again at his Path screen

Only four more Skill Levels Which probably means its time to focus more on the three images for the Fate

Chapter 1160

After she fell asleep Vualla woke in the vast darkness once more It was a living thing a sea of leeches that sucked away all her warmth and also seemed to study her vigilantly for any signs of life That was the new thing that Vualla sensed lurking in the darkness around her a spark of consciousness

It wasnÆt the only new thing They only danced at the edges of her perception but Vualla was quite sure that there were Aether constructs floating around in the darkness Yet it seemed that they were quite shy because every time Vualla waited for them to appear they froze underneath her attention

So all she really had was the cold thirst of the darkness to distract herself Yet Vualla couldnÆt really be bothered to marshall up much of a fight Even if she hadnÆt been being slowly drained of her vitality she was far too exhausted to try and resist the weight of the darkness around her Sleep hadnÆt been a leisure activity it had been because she was completely spent

Even at her best Vualla could barely hold her own against this curious space So now she just allowed it to do its vampiric work

Because immediately prior to Vualla collapsing her camp had endured another exceedingly sharp Nether attack Once more Vualla had moved forward to fight against the Nether Gatekeeper that was threatening TerithÆs camp Although she hadnÆt been selected as the interim Commander she was the strongest individual remaining in the camp

Her role was to fight the Nether Gatekeeper And she had faced down one before in an ambush mission and found it in herself to defeat another in the prior large confrontation It was with confidence that she had proceeded toward her foe Every day had seen an improvement in her abilities to control her energy and image

Even without CailÆs training Vualla was growing

To her shock the fight had been brutal Exceedingly brutal Vualla had been very near to losing Some part of her believed that this Nether Gatekeeper might have been stronger than the one that she had defeated previously but the other half of Vualla just worried that her previous victory had been a fluke

Her confidence was shaken But it was not destroyed Because Vualla had ultimately won

Still it meant that she laid almost helplessly in the darkness and allowed it to siphon away her warmth Yet an extremely peculiar thing happened as she simply opened herself up into the darkness Although the warmth in her chest faded although she felt insecure and worried the emotions that she carried werenÆt extinguished by this place

If anything the truth was that the darkness drew out all of VuallaÆs fears and insecurities and made her face them directly And honestly Vualla felt pretty good about it Twice now she had won So what if it was hard HadnÆt her entire life been hard

HadnÆt reaching this amount of strength been her goal since she was a little girl Had she truly expected it to become easier at this point No This was only the beginning

I can do this she whispered

The darkness watched her silently The strange Aether constructs continued to drift around her

Line by careful line Randidly engraved his image of the Akashic Records into the trunk of Yggdrasil

The brilliant arrays for energy absorption that Vualal had taught him were an integral part of it as Randidly planned out the large shape of the aggregated runes to have a grander meaning outside of the truths they contained But that still left him with the rather daunting task of imagining the minutia of the thing that described everything It was a test of both detail but also breadth This needed to be large

Existence had no true edge So Randidly had to approximate that

That was his first goal He expanded the world tree A size where a world really could fit on a branch Then he simply let his mind unfocus as his hand worked Bit by bit he would cross the vast ridges of rutted bark to scrawl individual sigils across the whole of the image It was a distance that was unthinkable for a physical body to endure But as it was just image work Randidly continued to push himself

His fingers gleamed with Aether and Mana as he smoothly built the Akashic Records up line by line

His strategy was a bit unusual but it was an unusual problem Obviously Randidly didnÆt know everything So how could his image contain the record of everything

He settled on something close to random chance Instead of trying to put meaning into what he was doing Randidly simply followed the shapes He drew shapes randomly then found patterns in the shapes he had created and continued them They multiplied

Soon grand looping patterns began to emerge Randidly didnÆt even need to pursue them once his mind touched upon them after enough time habit would bring them back Time moved forward with different shapes but the same patterns or different patterns with the same shapes And when Randidly finished one branch of Yggdrasil he looked up and saw thousands of branching arms that still needed to be covered

With a sigh Randidly removed himself from his image Doing such detail work actually went pretty quickly as the mental world didnÆt need to adhere very strictly to a normal time frame Yet it was still exhausting because RandidlyÆs consciousness had to move through each and every motion of carving

Or he supposed he didnÆt need to do it that way But he definitely knew that the outcome would be superior if he continued on in this manner

And these are just the branches The trunk itself

Sighing Randidly leaned back on the ground and appreciated the silence of his tent around him He had taken to sending Zauna and Salazar out of his tent while he did his image work and had no regrets about it he saved so many moments where he would be shocked into wakefulness by a sudden noise this way

yet there still is the problem of Salazar Randidly muttered Even he couldnÆt miss the way that the snakeman was being torn to pieces as he was continually told to shut up by Lady IellayaÆs subordinates while the stress of the constant attacks was getting to him Some part of Randidly wanted to order Zauna to be the one to talk with him but he knew that wasnÆt the Path he should take

He was the leader And he needed to act like it Especially after receiving the rather concerning message from Naffur about the state of the Order Ducis Doubly so because he knew that Helen was tied up elsewhere for another few weeks

But thatÆs a problem for another day From my perspective IÆll probably have addressed all of my images before that developed further

Still there were good reasons to go see Salazar either way Randidly had gained a Skill Level in Visualization during his earlier Yggdrasil refinement that brought him to 3 Skill Points away from the PP motherload Rather than rushing toward the PP Randidly wanted to try and get all of his images to the point where he would be ready for a Fate before he started finishing Paths

That way the System might recognize the work he had done on his images and make the related Paths even more valuable And since he was already so close there really was no need to focus on gathering PP

Right now Ignition Essence was currently digesting another batch of the hiltless bladeÆs memories while Randidly had kinda settled on using the whole of the Alpha Cosmos as the focus for the Grim Chimera There were some theological problems with it but Randidly believed as long as he focused on the aspects of the world that it would work

After all just like the Grim Chimera his Soulskill was essentially the ashes of several destroyed worlds piled on top of the weapons of an ancient Creature Despite that it evolved into something that was more than the sum of its parts The Grim Chimera had met Vualla and found in her another that he was willing to give his life for

The reason that Randidly wanted to put off the meeting was two fold the first reason was that he was very close to Level 50 If he wanted this to work he needed to get all of his images ready with a balanced focus Only then could he use that as a base to create an even more potent Fate than the one the System typically created

With a snap of his fingers Randidly conjured a tongue of emerald flame that danced across his fingers The light threw long and flickering shadows against the walls of the tent The whole of the interior was transformed by the strange light

And the second reason was obviously that Salazar was a rather annoying person Even without the stutter he was extremely self centered

but when comparing my minor annoyance to what might be a mental breakdown for Salazar there is no reason not to go talk to him Randidly sighed

Congratulations Your Skill Lantern of Harsh Truths « has grown to Level 46

What the hell that Skill shouldnÆt work on me Randidly winced Two more Skill Levels to go At this point he probably couldnÆt wait until his work on his images was done for the Paths but that was fine As long as he could finish the images before he reached Level 50 it would work out

Randidly hopped up to his feet and walked out of the tent before he could randomly gain a Skill Level doing anything else At this point he simply had too many Skills for him to even take reasonable precautions against it

Was it worth it to spend the PP to forget a Skill Probably not but

To his surprise Salazar was not in his usual position waiting outside of RandidlyÆs tent And in his place was a rather unwelcome guest

Ileot Swacc Randidly said lightly To what do I owe the pleasure

With a high pitched chuckle Ileot gave Randidly an elaborate bow Randidly I have wonderful news Lord Miln has finally had some success with the Nether Prince We will likely have access to the powerful memories or emotions within that bit of Nether in the next few days

How nice Randidly said dryly But youÆll have to excuse me I have something to attend to

Of course of course Ileot smiled sweetly not thrown at all by RandidlyÆs attitude Just one more thing I donÆt know if I informed you previously but the memories within the Nether Prince arenÆt something that only a single person can experience Some of the potency is sapped sure but it can easily be shared And because of our friendship IÆve convinced Lord Miln to allow you to accompany him No need to thank me

Chapter 1161

After Randidly spent a surprisingly mild two hours talking to an increasingly enthusiastic Salazar he returned to his tent and was rather surprised to notice how good his mood was Even if time could have been more efficiently spent than listening to the obvious tall tales that Salazar told about himself Randidly couldnÆt have found a better way to decompress

Randidly had serious doubts about the veracity of what Salazar was saying but that really didnÆt matter Randidly wasnÆt there to make sure that the snake man was honest He was just there to listen because no one had acknowledged his subordinate in weeks

It was an act of kindness and responsibility And honestly Randidly was surprised by how satisfying it felt

When he set aside his own patience what was left was a calm willingness to put in the work he had to accomplish He was a leader His subordinates were part of his responsibility Focusing too much on his personal struggles might seem like the best option for the short term but it also left Randidly to be tense and wear blinders on his head

Which was great for accomplishing targeted goals but bad for the big picture And his ambitious plans for his Fate were definitely more big picture than they were a specific goal Relaxing his foot on the throttle and allowing some time to gather perspective was what he needed

Just like in all other things Nether isnÆt so concrete that I can force it into shape Randidly thought as he looked down at the scuffed metal of his left arm I think about the shape and then release my hold so it can pursue the Path laid out by my faith

Not all mediums I work with can be metal

Of course after a break came work

The first thing Randidly did upon returning to his tent was practice with Nether Rituals One point that Randidly realized after his mind had the chance to catch up with his busy body was that he didnÆt need to spend the huge chunk of PP he would receive immediately Which was an extremely frustrating prospect but one that made sense

It was just that he wouldnÆt want to wait around to finish off his Paths Specifically those relating to Yggdrasil Randidly wasnÆt above using some inspiration from the System to help shape how he made his images

For better or worse Randidly didnÆt gain any Skill Levels while he refamiliarized himself with Nether Rituals After that he returned once more to the steady inscribing of the Akashic Record upon the vast trunk of Yggdrasil This time he did gain another Skill Level in Visualization bringing the number of PP until the Soulskill activated to one

For most of the night Randidly worked his mental fingers tirelessly to create the shapes heÆd slowly imagined as he drew his glowing fingers across the deep brown bark Although it was mostly fancy he ascribed meaning to each shape The brave shape The insidious shape The fickle shape The stubborn shape The lines curved and cut sharply creating an entire pantheon of shapes for the extended narrative that stretched behind him in his steady journey across the branches

One fingertip at a time filling a moment in the real world that stretched to fill an eternity When he was tired he looked up at the rustling emerald canopy of Yggdrasil and cracked his fingers Then he continued to work

When he was tired of something Randidly switched up the shapes When he wanted to mix different shapes together he did that too Perhaps like Nether his movements were mostly driven by faith and instinct Even though Randidly had a very high opinion of his own abilities he couldnÆt create this all on his own The larger the role time and chance had on the outcome the better

Despite himself Randidly felt echoes of SalazarÆs cadence of speech creep into his shapes in a way that difficult to describe Without the stutter but possessing the same sort of epic arrangement that made the mundanities of SalazarÆs life sound historic

Storytelling was not really one of RandidlyÆs strength But that is what this record was The grand story of everything So he used what tools he had available to him to add that extra specificity

Almost the entire night was spent this way It was only from Absolute TimingÆs gentle brush that Randidly realized how much time had passed As the light of day filtered in from outside Randidly pushed outside the tent and looked up toward the mass of blue veins that drifted about like the careless tendrils of a jellyfish

The real world reasserted itself They were days away from the largest confrontation with Nether of the era The Nether forces were poised above them RandidlyÆs goal had a looming endpoint If he couldnÆt finish before the Nether arrived

Zauna looked up sharply when he left the tent and straightened to bow as Randidly studied the sky

Nodding toward her Randidly said Any orders from above Or movements from the Nether

None Zauna answered quietly

Randidly scratched his chin He didnÆt forget what Ileot had said about the Nether Prince being close to being cracked open And Randidly didnÆt truly believe that this sudden lack of assaults was a coincidence

Although they hadnÆt heard anything from headquarters Randidly was willing to bet that the Aether forces had received another demand from the Nether forces This was the calm before the storm as Lord Miln bought time as he opened up the Nether Prince And as soon as the Nether King sensed that the Prince had been destroyed the hammer would come down on the Aether forces

If only I could figure out why Lord Miln was so confident Randidly chewed his lip Some part of it is likely due to IleotÆs presence but duplicating Vualla was IleotÆs plan What did Lord Miln get out of all of it Was it just IleotÆs strength

Even though he felt like he was missing something Randidly forced himself to let it go After all his primary concern was getting stronger before the hammer fell Everything else could wait

And Salazar Where has he wandered off to Randidly finally asked

Zauna shrugged he thought he would go for a jog for a change of pace

Which left Randidly somewhat at a loss I guess thatÆs a good sign Hopefully talking to him for a bit helped him manage his stress

Either way it was enough to assure Randidly that he had accomplished his goal with the talk So then Randidly returned to the tent and turned his attention to the Ignition Essence which was slowly being perturbed by the memories of the Hitless blade

As he sunk into those sensations the familiar touched appeared to him

Two children one just pretty enough with brown hair and another that gleamed like the dawn Two twin sisters born with one soul Both wracked by terrible illnesses that grew more frequent as they aged

Illym the above average child And Radiance the golden sister

The hiltless blade with her terrible shakes that left her bedridden and her sister who suffered from the comas that silenced her tinkling laughter for days at a time

Memories of Illym sitting in the dark looking at her own reflection in the mirror struck a deep corner There were bags under her eyes and her brown hair hung limp

Gritting his teeth Randidly tried to calm his emotions He had too many nights just like that Although the reason why he had been so lost was different the feeling was the same

Yet even if the pall of tragedy soaked into every aspect of these two twin lives that Randidly viewed through the frame of memories they continued to live The two parents with such high hopes felt helpless They searched for solutions but they could find none The tension in the household mounted as the two girls aged

Memories of birthdays that were missed by Illym as she shook and gripped her sheets in tight fists and memories of birthdays where Illym sat at the table with her parents alone The house was silent around them

Time relentlessly marched forward

The problems obviously didnÆt go away but they grew used to them Sometimes one or the other would need to take a leave of absence from their tutored classes but otherwise things proceeded with a semblance of normalcy

During one of the good times the year where both girls were 15 and neither suffered from a single attack the entire year Illym had said to her Radiance This is the best year of our lives I hope your sleep never come back

Do you IÆm not so sure The golden sister leaned her head to the side and her hair swayed in a way that caught the light Then she flashed an apologetic smile Sometimes this life is just so exhausting When IÆm asleep well I always wake up quite rested donÆt I

The hiltless blade could only wince

Of course the memories after that idyllic time quickly turned sour During the years 16 20 both young women were inflicted with their individual sicknesses with increasing frequency Sometimes so that both were suffering at the same time which was an entirely new type of affairs for the parents

This was a wakeup call for the whole family Very quickly the two parents surged into action to try and find a solution Favors were called in Experts were consulted They were willing to pay any price for a solution

Although no one asked her Illym had her own thoughts about a solution And in the end it was the obvious one that the old man had given to them years ago One of the sisters had to die In the wake of that the other sister would no longer have her soul split across two bodies She would be able to live a normal life

Yet this realization sent her spiraling downward into an endless spin of depression Because she tried her best to be logical about the decision When it came to love she loved her sister dearly Yet still Taking a dispassionate view of everything which one of the sisters deserved to live

Compared to the golden sister Illym was not as impressive Even if she had debatably better performance on some of their tutored subjects the golden sister would always shine so brilliantly with an instinctual insight that it completely outshone some of her sisterÆs modest achievements elsewhere

In terms of moral imperatives Illym was also helpless Although she didnÆt know when it happened she had often found herself in the role of simply helping her more eye catching sister And because she was constantly on the move Illym certainly gave so much of her time and effort to helping Radiance

But RadianceÆs movements were incredibly well planned She volunteered to help disabled soldiers from the frontlines and arranged wonderful events in the community She was constantly the center of the party while also having a preternatural knack for spotting the individual who needed a private conversation to cheer them up

When she wasnÆt in one of her comas the golden sister glowed

Illym did not The answer to who should be the one to die seemed obvious

But the hiltless blade was terribly afraid of dying

However all of these thoughts were eventually pushed to the side as the true light in the family had an announcement Radiance had fallen in love On the twinÆs 21st birthday she planned to be married

It was in the run up to that year that the twinÆs symptoms worsened

Chapter 1162

From the hiltless bladeÆs poignant memories Randidly woke up slowly There was only the finale left but it was the densest and darkest mass of the memories remaining within the Fate It would take a bit more time before the Ignition Essence could burn its way through them and release the emotions contained within

Yet even already the rippling changes were obvious to him Ignition Essence had grown incredibly intense In terms of images the flame of Ignition Essence hadnÆt darkened but the golden notes that had previously been present in the flame had steadily darkened to something closer to burnt orange

Emerald and burnt orange And the heat spiked sharply upward as this new hotter flame pressed against a dense extremely unhappy core of memories Held in his chest RandidlyÆs body continued to struggle to maintain a normal temperature with such a fire raging within him

Which as it turned out was the last of the Skills that Randidly needed to gain

Congratulations Your Skill Fire Resistance has grown to Level 289

For several seconds Randidly waited for the familiar notification from his Soulskill that would inform him of the amount of PP that he had gained None came Then a flash of shock ignited a flare of panic in RandidlyÆs chest as he suddenly realized perhaps the change to his Soulskill affected his tithe

Equally as quickly Randidly began to chuckle The change happens when the Soulskill Levels up And that only happens when PP is actually used So if I want my tithe I need to first pick the next Path IÆll pick The last bonus was around 7k so I bet IÆll get at least that much from this round with that in mind

Randidly then brought up his Path screen and considered his options

Friend to Humanity 0/100 Mantle of the Patron 0/500 Aether Convergence II the Bell of Doom Tolls 0/600 Growth of Yggdrasil III 0/2000 The Ashes of Ulaat Patron of Ash 0/1000 Order Ducis Font of Guidance HumanityÆs Torch 0/500 Bearing of a Teacher Puppet Master 0/100 Pain Immunity I 0/250 ChimeraÆs Grudge I Cleaver of the World Tree Weakness of the World Tree 0/500 Experimenter IV 0/1250 Living Engraving 0/500 Leader of the Apocalyptic Crusade Guilty Conscience I 0/100 Peerless Engraving 0/1000 Peerage of the Baleful Court I 0/600 Hands of the Artisan 0/ Search for the Akashic I 0/200 Ashes of Illym the Above Average Child 0/5000 The Flame the Burns Memories 0/ The Nether Chimera IV 0/1000

Randidly clicked his tongue at the veritable pile of Paths that he had steadily amassed over the course of his time in the System Truly Randidly was a character that was designed to abuse the Path System When he started out he had so many more Skills than most which enabled him to grow stronger more quickly than his peers Now with his Alpha Cosmos he continued to generate PP at a rate that none could match

It was honestly impressive that System kept spitting out Paths for him But he supposed that this was a System that others had used for thousands of years so he reassured himself that this amount was still not major enough to be noticed

Of course that made Randidly briefly think about what the Skill Levels of these thousand year old monsters would be Shaking his head Randidly returned his focus to the Paths

Some of them he had available for quite a while from even before he went to Tellus the first time However RandidlyÆs first reaction was to grin at his Path lists as a long held burden had been surgically removed from his screen no longer were either the Heretic or System Transgressor Path present

Although the first was a cause to be celebrated the second left Randidly somewhat confused Had his record been wiped cleanÆ as it were by his Heretic punishment That was certainly the best outcome but it certainly would be something that Randidly kept his eye on as he moved forward Regardless of his Path options Randidly wouldnÆt easily violate the rules that Octavius stressed during their brief talk Because he believed that was the reason that Randidly earned the System Transgressor Path And Randidly didnÆt want more attention than he already had

After all attracting the focus of only Ileot Swacc had already earned him more than enough trouble

As usual the decision of what Paths he should follow had Randidly grimacing Still he was able to weed out a lot of the more superfluous or weak Paths in order to narrow down his choices to a manageable ten

Growth of Yggdrasil III 0/2000 The Ashes of Ulaat Patron of Ash 0/1000 Cleaver of the World Tree Living Engraving 0/500 Peerless Engraving 0/1000 Search for the Akashic I 0/200 Ashes of Illym the Above Average Child 0/5000 The Flame the Burns Memories 0/ The Nether Chimera IV 0/1000

Honestly not that much more manageable Randidly sighed Then he focused his attention on the choices he hadnÆt eliminated initially to try and shave the list down even further

Growth of Yggdrasil Cleaver of the World Tre Living Engraving Peerless Engraving and Search for the Akashic werenÆt eliminated because Randidly knew that some portion of his PP was going to be spent on improving Yggdrasil The problem was that there were just too many avenues to go about it And Randidly intended these actions to help him finalize the Skillset

The most direct way was to take Search for the Akashic but of course that was a chained series of Paths that started at 200 Likely the actually valuable options would only be further down the Path at IV and V And also the chained path Living Engraving seemed oddly tempting if he truly wanted to create a record that could contain all things Because in essence such a record would be alive

Of course Randidly knew that the Living Engraving was probably based on his earlier efforts to improve his Levelable Engraving he had done for Kharon So ultimately he set that one aside Likely the benefit wasnÆt what he wanted In addition he also removed Cleaver of the World Tree That would likely focus on creating an offensive Skill Yggdrasil which wasnÆt how Randidly wanted to finish off the Skillset

Instead Peerless Engraving might be a better precursor to working Engraving into Yggdrasil organically But again it was a Path based on his earlier efforts to perfect his application of Mana it could lead him to god knows where and devour a fair chunk of his PP along the way Although he likely had quite a lot coming he wouldnÆt have an infinite amount At the amount of PP he was spending finishing Paths would become quite slow when he couldnÆt rely on the tithe from his Soulskill

The Paths that he finished now would be the ones he would have for the frontlines

Setting that mess of options aside from now Randidly focused on the two other options the Ashes He now possessed Ulaat the Patron of Ash and Illym the Above Average Child Both would probably bring him power but both might have unintended repercussions for his images Especially because he hadnÆt yet cut to the heart of Illym Randidly set both of those aside

Ulaat had brought Randidly enough trouble for one lifetime Until he had enough time to furiously observe his Soulskill Randidly wouldnÆt finish that Path

The final two options were new arrivals to RandidlyÆs Path list The Flame that Burns Memories and the Nether Chimera were Paths that likely had been created due to recent changes in RandidlyÆs images In addition the Nether Chimera appeared to be an evolution of the Nether Adaptation Path which is why it bore the numeral IV despite him never seeing it before

For the same reasons that Randidly decided to stay away from the Ashes Paths he was hesitant about a Path titled the Flame that Burns Memories Certainly there was obvious power in that But there was also the obvious drawback that what he received might require him to actually burn away memories in order to access that power

Perhaps someday Randidly would wish to burn away his memories but that day was not today Over time Randidly had learned that so much of images was the weight of familiarity and experience Without memories those images became light That was the reason that he was slowly digesting the power of the hiltless blade even when it was clearly a Fate of someone extremely powerful

Shaking his head Randidly considered the even more condensed list of Paths that he felt confident in starting with

Growth of Yggdrasil III 0/2000 Peerless Engraving 0/1000 Search for the Akashic I 0/200 The Nether Chimera IV 0/1000

Four options Three that represented different Paths toward refining his Yggdrasil image and one that focused on his Grim Chimera Honestly though Randidly did plan on holding back on Growth of Yggdrasil until he had nailed down it as a Skillset rather than just a grouping of Skills That way they could grow together

And if Randidly wanted to finish carving the Akashic so that Path would go more smoothly That linked Path could wait Perhaps Peerless Engraving would help for the work he was doing on the image but that also could wait until he understood his situation better Especially because the Path might just help him work with Mana

So he finally settled on finishing the Nether Chimera Path first Or at least starting it and then checking how much PP he received

For the short term at least Randidly was here on the frontlines and encountering Nether quite frequently In addition the experience of condensing a Fate would be accomplished through a Nether Ritual As such the more familiar he was with Nether the better

That was even ignoring NetherÆs new role in RandidlyÆs Alpha Cosmos

Randidly cracked his knuckles and then added his 300 PP into the Nether Chimera Path Every 25 PP he earned 1 Endurance and 1 Resistance After adding 300 PP the long awaited notification arrived

Through trial and fire the bond between you and your Soulskill has become ever tighter Your flesh is the substance of the Soulskill and the strength gathered by your Soulskill fuels your growth With the introduction of Nether your Soulskill has begun to walk an ever more narrow Path You are balanced perfectly to transform into something truly unique

Unknown error the automatic scan of your Soulskill failed System present but information flow has ceased Please contact your Village Spirit for more information

Congratulations PP from your Alpha Cosmos flows into you Some has been absorbed by your local System but the vast majority of the tithe still belongs to you You have gained 12 001 PP

Randidly released a low whistle Twelve thousand huh thatÆs certainly a lot

Then he scratched his chin as he finished off his Nether Chimera Path well one thing at a time

Congratulations You have completed the Nether Chimera IV Path Your body and image have become increasingly steeped in Nether You should be warped beyond recognition Yet you seem to possess the peculiar trait of welcoming both of the energies into your body You have become a dangerous example of what one could be by utilizing Nether

Congratulations Nether related Skills become more effective for each Skill Level they possess All Grim Chimera Skills now have notes of Nether in them Grim Chimera Skills grow more powerful per Skill Level The strength of your body grows at an unusual rate +10 to all Physical Stats

Chapter 1163

Randidly raised his hand slowly as he considered the notifications he received from finishing his Path He had received a fair amount of Endurance and Resistance as he put PP into it but the ultimate reward was a little underwhelming on its face In total Randidly had spent 1000 PP for only 10 to each of his physical Stats

However one phrase caught his eye

Skills have notes of Nether huh how much is a note If I want to test it then Molten Fang of the Pariah

Randidly didnÆt even bother with equipment and he also purposefully didnÆt use his significant Willpower in order to bring down the power of the Grim Chimera as he activated the Skill It was simply Randidly moving mechanically following the rather prearranged images that the System provided for him in the form of the Skill It was a simple thrusting attack aimed at the ground

There was no real forward explosiveness in the Skill Molten Fang of the Pariah it was only the heat that made it extraordinary Without any sort of amazing accelerating it was not the Skill that had the highest fatality amongst the Grim Chimera Skills Nor the highest damage to a single target or a group No the Grim ChimeraÆs Skill Molten Fang of the Pariah didnÆt need to be as flashy as some of the other Skills were Because it was a fang And the fang was the oldest and most reliable weapon a predator had

With his right pointer finger glowing red Randidly thrust the strike down toward the ground without much expectation But immediately he could feel the change as the Skill activated It had been a while since Randidly had needed to use his Aether Detection to understand the working of the frame that the System created for each individual but he could still do it with a small shift in mindset

His senses remembered the familiar paths amongst his Aether to see to the heart of things So he paid very close attention to the strange changes as soon as the Skill sigil activated In the real world the air hissed and buzzed as RandidlyÆs finger slid forward As the Skill activated further it quickly cut a jagged rip in the space in front of him In its wake a cloud of sulfur smelling exhaust wafted upward that made RandidlyÆs eyes widen a fraction

But the attack still slid forward and Randidly still studied the Skill The energies within began to move more violently

It really is notes of Nether in the Skill And also I see why it would be so dangerous if the Nether and Aether werenÆt tied together the result of it would be a bit The pupils in RandidlyÆs eyes tightened

The Skill sigil in RandidlyÆs inner world activated as normal but within that Skill sigil running counter to its activation there was a spiral that was formed of notes of Nether that was present in the interior of the Skill It wasnÆt exactly running counter to the AetherÆs movements more like it was running perpendicular

The Aether portion of the Skill activated from the bottom rotating to the right as it rose upward And now it had a tight spiral of Nether within it activating from the bottom rotating to the left They didnÆt impede each other but as the two energies rotated around in different directions there were moments of friction between that energy that produced palpable power

Had the Aether and Nether not been aligned that friction might have destroyed both energy streams As it was it provided a qualitative increase in power for basically no cost to Randidly

RandidlyÆs burning finger stopped a few inches from the ground allowing the force that he had built up to this point with the Skill to glide forward within his finger supporting it Very quickly the ground was charred and melted creating a small crater at the spot where Randidly had been pointing his finger

Rubbing his chin with his metal hand Randidly studied his finger for any lingering effects from the Nether Afterward he scanned the air where there had previously been a distortion Then he switched tacks and breathed slowly in until his lungs were filled with air That breath he calmly released His second breath was activated in tandem with Eternal Cravings of Wraith the Skill that was the evolved form of Breath of the Spear Phantom

When Randidly breathed he pulled

Once more the Aether and Nether spun opposite each other moving toward the same goal The power source of the Skill was kickstarted by both energies working in tandem And it was clear that the energy of Aether was markedly more prevalent Nether truly was only a few motes of power in the situation Yet even so the combination made it so that the Skill

The surrounding area shuddered as RandidlyÆs Skill empowered by the fusion of the two energies yanked at the surrounding ambient energy And when that was not enough it began to siphon some away from other nearby sources Rapidly he devoured energy from the surrounding individuals

Randidly was immensely pleased with the magnitude of the result until he looked up and noticed that the fabric of the tent around him was being corroded by the Nether present in his Skill Just as Randidly was beginning to panic at what that might mean for the surrounding area the calm image of Abiodun descended like a divine revelation quickly squashing all the subtle damage that Randidly had done to the surrounding area Contained in that image was also a heavy note of disapproval that had Randidly chuckling wryly

How was he supposed to know that the effect would be so noticeable Experimentation now would save him a lot of trouble later

Still after the experiment Randidly felt much better about the reward that he had received from the Path More than even that reward what he had seen was how the two energies could be used to empower each other and work together Which considering some of the ambiguous messages that Randidly had received from the System in the past was somewhat confusing

Did the Nexus have the ability to use both energies or didnÆt it

Still that mechanism gave Randidly quite a few things that he could experiment with when he had free time

That earned another wry chuckle from Randidly When I have free time huh I suppose that depends how long they are going to try and keep me here If I end up staying the full experience I might not have anything better to do than work on Skill Levels

Although Randidly was unwilling to too overtly draw the attention of the Nexus by abandoning his post he also didnÆt want four years to pass back on Earth Because honestly another Zone would probably connect to Earth during that period And if another Zone didnÆt connect during that time it likely would never happen and Earth would be regulated to Nexus limbo or cut apart to be used as Dungeons for the next Cohort

Either of those relegated ends for the Earth would be difficult for Randidly to fight back against currently He needed the time they earned by proceeding through the Calamities in order to gather enough strength to protect Earth as it became a part of the Nexus

At the same time Randidly wasnÆt sure if the Earth without him could pass all the Calamities He had a large influence on several of the key individuals but predicting what sort of effect that would have was difficult Which left him hoping for more large battles against the Nether in which he could earn merits in so his sentence could be reduced

Or to support Lady Iellaya in becoming the Supreme Commander of the frontline and rely on her to get him out relatively quickly Which was at least a prospect that he had control over if seemingly the more difficult of the two

Randidly shook his head Either method was for after he made it through the trial in front of him the looming Nether attack and holding Ileot SwaccÆs attention Still he currently possessed quite a bit more PP to spend to power himself up Over 11 000 in fact His current options werenÆt as limited as it would seem

Yet as much as Randidly wanted to spend the rest of his PP immediately he still believed that the benefits he would receive would be much greater if he could make the improvements to Yggdrasil before he worked on that The Yggdrasil Paths would be that much more complete if it became a full Skillset first

No rest for the wicked Randidly sighed Just in case he poked his head out of the tent to make sure that there were no orders waiting for him after he had activated his Nether touched Grim Chimera Skills Finding both Salazar and Zauna happily eating Randidly joined them for a short amount of time

Afterward Randidly returned to his tent and sunk once more down to the images within his heart The towering brown and gold bark rose above him like a towering wall The gleaming trail of steadily carved shapes on the bark was behind him Cracking his knuckles Randidly proceeded back to work

Ultimately the more Randidly worked the more he started to run up against an unavoidable truth the creation of the Akashic Record here on Yggdrasil was a lifetimeÆs worth of work Even though he had the benefit of almost infiniteÆ time within his image world Randidly would never finish carving shapes into the branches of the vast tree Not even addressing the issue of whether he would likely run out of shapes patterns before the end but just that there were simply too much space to fill on the surface of the vast tree

His imagination had grown almost disturbingly powerful Creating this much was childÆs play for it

Still Randidly rather easily came up with an answer And even if it wasnÆt a perfect one it was one that Randidly knew he had experience enough to work out So despite his earlier thoughts Randidly did end up spending some more PP before he finished his Yggdrasil Path

PP spent on the Living Engraving Path Every 50 points spent earned Randidly 5 Focus and Wisdom

Congratulations You have finished the Living Engraving Path Your touch hasnÆt exactly become more powerful but somehow you can see patterns in the shapes you create Propensities and proclivities spin endlessly through your vision as the future unfolds in unpredictable ways before you The spark now at your fingertips is not a sure thing but it exists where there was only nothing before

Do not let that spark die The Path before you grows ever brighter with its light

Congratulations Mana +1000 Mana Regeneration +200

Congratulations Your Skill Mana Engraving has evolved into Brushstroke Record All Skill Levels will be maintained Increased potency of Engravings Increased stability when creating Engravings Levelable Engravings will now have an increased growth rate and Level cap Effect applies to all previously created Engravings as they evolved along with the spark in your fingers

Effect of the spark you have gained has been incorporated into the Unique Skill Touch of the Ghosthound Some of your growth in your strength will be shared with previously created items

Ahem Randidly coughed into his hand as he read the notifications Now this is more like it

Of course Randidly couldnÆt create a Levelable Engraving that would totally be the Akashic Record But Randidly could plant seeds with his shapes that would allow the Engravings to grow naturally on their own

With that perhaps his image would be even more perfect than it had been previously

Even from the beginning of the System Randidly had always been good at growing things

Chapter 1164

You wish to bring Lady Iellaya along with you to the Nether Prince Ileot SwaccÆs brows furrowed as he considered RandidlyÆs request

Randidly nodded Yes I owe her quite a lot SheÆs helped me get my feet under me here at the frontline I think that it wouldnÆt be right if I didnÆt try to share the benefit of the Nether Prince with her now She is my benefactor

Honestly RandidlyÆs reasoning for bringing Lady Iellaya was quite a bit different than what he revealed to be Ileot Swacc Partially it was to pay her back but that wasnÆt the primary reason that Randidly wanted them both in whatever the Nether Prince was No the reason that Randidly wished for Lady Iellaya to come was that he was swiftly realized that they would need a significant screen to mask what Randidly was doing by creating a whole new Class and Fate for Lady Iellaya

Especially now that the Grim Chimera was so steeped in Nether Hiding that was difficult

In the two days since Randidly had started focusing on incorporating adding the aspect of self growth into the shapes on YggdrasilÆs trunk he had only rarely taken breaks But during those breaks he had often casually used Grim Chimera moves while practicing forgetting that Nether was now in every aspect of that image

It was honestly quite problematic It certainly upped his available power of image but tensions on the frontlines were simply too high for him to produce Nether in any significant capacity right now And the reaction between the two energies when Randidly used a Skill made those notes of Nether into something more significant than what the term notes could contain

The new changes to the Grim Chimera were a double edged sword Because although it made him severely restricted in using the Grim ChimeraÆs Skills having that image as a focus made it much easier for Randidly to manipulate Nether HIs Nether Ritual abilities shot up by 20 Skill Levels over those two days just because his focus was suddenly through the roof His touch was deft and sure where it had felt like he was grasping in the dark previously

Some part of him wished he did have quite a bit of spare time available so he could thoroughly investigate the situation on Earth

And hell the situation in his Soulskill He had checked in a few times but Azriel emphasized the need for her to familiarize herself with what was going on before she could answer any definitive questions

Still Randidly was rather confident that he could rely on the Grim ChimeraÆs new discovered affinity very heavily for both condensing his own Fate and for creating Lady IellayaÆs Class But while Randidly could sneak away into the badlands to move his Nether reverberations as he worked on himself Lady Iellaya was a bright star amongst the Commanders

When would she have the chance to go somewhere that reverberations of Nether would be dismissed as nothing dangerous Especially because Randidly wasnÆt sure how much time it would take to complete a reshaping of her Class and Fate Even if she could sneak away for a brief time if the Nether forces attacked while Randidly was working it wasnÆt like they could stop halfway and pick it up again later

He would literally be laying her soul bare That sort of surgery was unpredictable enough already without interruptions midway

Yet despite RandidlyÆs worries that Ileot would disagree with him Ileot seemed to take the news in stride Hum Well it isnÆt impossible Lord Miln plans to reserve another spot for a young protege of his but having four people go into the Nether Prince wonÆt diminish its potency that much Still

Ileot gave Randidly a disappointed look You did not choose to bring Vualla I had thought the two of you had grown close And you havenÆt inquired at all about her status from me Well I will inform Lord Miln of your decision

Randidly opened his mouth to tell IleotÆs departing back that he and Vualla were close but he forced his jaws to snap shut VuallaÆs existence as a weird reflected existence was something that tormented Randidly on a daily basis Yet what could he do Knowing that there was time before the effects arrived alleviated it somewhat but it remained a source of anxiety

There was so much going on that VuallaÆs eventual fading was one of RandidlyÆs lessor concerns Honestly it didnÆt make much sense but Randidly felt much more guilty over how little time they had spent together over the last week than VuallaÆs eventual fate They spent more time together when fighting against the Nether than when they were training

Yet Randidly did his best to reassure himself that this was just his anxiety Vualla was just as serious about gaining enough strength to defeat the System as he was She threw herself into training with the same wild abandoned

They both sought the impossible Normal methods would not carry them there Normal training wasnÆt enough

This was a truth that made them unhappy but they both understood it And that understanding did a lot to bridge the space left between them as they trained in solitude

Still the memory of that dazzling smile that crossed VuallaÆs face when she had realized that Randidly was growing an orange tree for her still remained And while the fruit wasnÆt technically an orange Randidly had carefully changed it so that it was a sweet and tangy citrus Not exactly orange juice but close enough

Oh Hello Cail

The words drew RandidlyÆs attention sharply upward because it was clearly Vualla speaking right outside his tent After Ileot greeted her in his piping voice Vualla stormed into RandidlyÆs tent with a heavy frown In fact she was practically glaring at him as she raised a flask that was filled with his fruit juice

Despite her expression her timing was perfect to calm the ripples across his heart almost immediately Before Vualla could speak Randidly cut in with a sly smile Did you miss me

Bah You know I did Some of VuallaÆs determination seemed to fall away but then she shook her head and raised her flask once more But this isnÆt about that ItÆs about this fruit that you gave me I was just spending some time with some family and I finally had the chance to try the juice you made And you know what I gained sixteen Perception and twenty two Control from drinking the juice That is thirty six Stats from a single fruit

Would have been more if you waited longer Randidly nodded at Vualla But I compensated for some of that by forcing energy into it ThatÆs why growing the fruit devoured so much It takes a lot to condense those Stat points

So you knew about this effect Vualla blinked at Randidly Then why arenÆt you growing whole orchards of these things You could sell them

Want me to set up a rickety stand along the supply track and sell glances by the nickel Twisting his mouth Randidly shrugged ItÆs not so easy as that unfortunately Making them exhausts me for several hours for one And also the fruits donÆt benefit me nearly as much I have to wait a while for their energy to grow much more potent before itÆs worth it Infusing images might help that happen faster but IsnÆt working on images and Skill Levels more important that Stats

Vualla seemed to consider that and also having more Stats doesnÆt lead as quickly to growth as having better images or more Skill Levels does Because it doesnÆt help you achieve Paths If all it would do is help raise up some subordinates Oh Maybe you could start a cult like Lady Iellaya

When Randidly snorted in response Vualla seemed immensely pleased Ha Who knew you really are a support from the sidelines sort of character You can trip Nether Beasts up with roots and then brew me fresh fruit drinks for when I come back gloriously victorious from battles against Nether Gatekeepers

DidnÆt we just talk about how exhausting it would be for me to make those fruits full time Randidly rolled his eyes And jesus you have defeated so many Nether Gatekeepers by now it must be almost boring to fight against them

Randidly didnÆt miss the split second where Vualla froze and the smile slipped from her face But just as quickly she recovered herself and smiled prettily at him Well even if it is exhausting wonÆt you do it for me

Nope

Alas My love for citrus goes unfulfilled Vualla brought her hand to her forehead and feigned swooning

RandidlyÆs smile slowly faded away Studying Vualla he wondered if he should ask why she had reacted so strongly to what he had said

But as if their thoughts were on the same wavelength she lowered her arm and said more seriously but honestly itÆs still damn hard to fight them So hard that that IÆm worried IÆll lose next time That these victories were a fluke Maybe thatÆs why I rushed over here when I gained so many Stats at once ItÆs been a while since there has been much of a change to my Stats And I just thought

That you wanted to see me Randidly smiled cheekily

Vualla threw her hands up in the sky Well obviously that But no youÆre right It was that the whole time

Although his heart was pounding Randidly forced his feet to move forward until Vualla was only a short distance away As though this was a rehearsed play Vualla stood completely still letting Randidly approach It was only when Randidly put his trembling fingers on her chin that Vualla moved She looked up at him and then stood up on her tiptoes so their lips met again

It was warm and Randidly didnÆt want the moment to end

Yet they eventually parted as they always had to But Randidly did make a mental note that maybe he could condense a couple of fruits for Vualla to try to give her an extra boost Yet another part of Randidly knew that Vualla would probably refuse his fruit next time for the same reason that he hesitated to give her one now

She would be afraid of becoming reliant on those fruits to grow She was afraid of being weak and afraid of becoming strong in the wrong ways

Bah you can only joke when you finally manage to kill a Nether Gatekeeper of your own ItÆs a bitch Vualla brought her heavy gauntlet down on RandidlyÆs shoulder

He grinned at her WhatÆs worth having is worth working for DonÆt slow down on me now

You either IÆm so far ahead of you already ItÆs quite lonely Then waving over her shoulder Vualla left

Randidly immediately returned to his image world where he began to do further work Already some of the effects of incorporating the aspects of Levelable Engraving were showing It was a small percentage of the whole tree but the more seeds that Randidly planted the more shapes slowly began to weave their way upwards heading toward the apex of the World Tree

The date that Ileot had given Randidly for the opening of the Nether Prince was three days from their conversation so Randidly planned on using the entirety of that time to sharpen his Yggdrasil image After that he could begin the final preparations for condensing a Fate the night before

So during the small breaks of those days Randidly would meditate and use Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil to strike at the short Nether patrols that continued to harry the Aether forces He didnÆt rush but very smoothly his experience reached 99% of the way to Level 50

Which meant that he could focus more fully on helping Ignition Essence burn through the last tight knot of memories and create more shapes across Yggdrasil for the Akashic

Not that Randidly had known for sure that it would end up this way but it was soon becoming clear that both would finish in time for Randidly to work prior to the invitation to slip into the Nether Prince Which meant that Randidly had a decision to make which of the two foci should be his first priority

Perhaps unsurprisingly Randidly chose Yggdrasil The shapes sprawled across the myriad branches were now spiraling upward through the trunk and mixing together in unpredictable ways meaning that something was building to a climax

Besides Randidly still didnÆt fully trust the memories of the hiltless blade So if Randidly could improve his own power by working on Yggdrasil first so much the better

With that in mind Randidly once more brought up his Path screen and prepared to part with a significant chunk of PP

Chapter 1165

For Randidly to achieve the effect that he was looking for he needed one more push from the Path That combined with a very concentrated push from his image should be enough to create the Skillset The trick with these things was momentum and Aether Aether he had in spades so the Path was to build up that momentum

So he brought up the Peerless Engraving Path and pushed all 1000 PP that he needed into it Hopefully this would be enough to provide a qualitative change to his Engraving Skill that would be the start To RandidlyÆs delight every 10 he would receive a Stat point alternating between Focus and Control Then the notification flashed up in front of him

Congratulations You have finished the Peerless Engraving Path All roads lead to the Pinnacle although each journey is unique in the Path that it takes to get there As you seek a more perfect art with which to draw your message the base truths of the world begin to reveal themselves to you naturally Along your Path you have encountered many signs and landmarks To see them is to see the language with which the grand creator shaped the continents To see them is to find the footsteps of a god

Never stop seeking the apex of meaning That glowing truth will shine even in the NexusÆs eyes

Congratulations Focus +100 Your Skill Brushstroke Record is evolving Synchronicity with other Skills detected Calculating resonance

RandidlyÆs eyes flashed emerald In his chest the image of the World Tree surged to the fore of his mind with a powerful NowÆs the time No need to hold anything back

Deep brown bark A towering trunk that soared upward beyond the limits of the human eye A palpable aura of life that seemed to invigorate the surroundings Thousands of meandering branches stretching outward to form the bones of the awe inspiring canopy that hung above them Emerald leaves by the millions thick and wide casting dancing shadows below as breezes rustled through the auspices of the World Tree

A miracle of images born from RandidlyÆs earliest moments Of all the images that Randidly possessed this had experienced the most refinements More than anything else this was the grand project that Randidly had dedicated himself to one step at a time

And now the infinite variance of shapes slowly spreading outward devouring the available space across Yggdrasil It created a luminous and potent image

Even though Randidly knew it would attract attention he did not back off pressing his Willpower to its limits to bring Yggdrasil to life in this moment Randidly could feel the humming presence of his image hanging above Lady IellayaÆs camp It would be more surprising if people didnÆt react to its presence

His Grim Intuition perked up as he felt both powerful warriors on the Aether side and the Nether forces focus upward to the image Not all of them felt threatened by its presence but he could sense their wariness

No one knew what this was or why it had appeared And some of RandidlyÆs intense focus seeped out into the wide branches of the World Tree It sensed his determination and responded to it

Extremely high resonance detected Your Skill Brushstroke Record has evolved into Architecture of the Primordial Ways The power in your Engravings has vastly increased Your ability to create Engravings with other mediums has vastly increased The Effect of Skill Levels has increased moderately

Due to the evolution of your Skill a powerful compatibility with your other Skills has been detected Calculating

As Randidly watched he could feel the shapes that were scrawled across the bark of Yggdrasil grow deeper Their light seemed to be suddenly emanating out of a fiery core at the heart of the World Tree Their edges grew sharper their lines more wild In addition the speed with which they accelerated up the trunk grew to be almost too quick to follow

Randidly breathed in and then breathed out Although he hadnÆt consciously held anything back previously he pushed even harder now to wring every drop of his effort out into activating his Skills Every rut in the bark could be seen For those in Lady IellayaÆs camp as they looked up in wonder at the massive tree hanging above them the felt the breeze that rustled the leaves on their skin

Although Randidly didnÆt mean to do it he felt the Aether in his chest naturally whirling in a maelstrom of power When RandidlyÆs Willpower wasnÆt enough he used raw power to bridge the gap

So much power would not go unnoticed for long The deep golden roots of Yggdrasil dug steadily into the surrounding ground Even if it was just an image changes began to happen across the frontlines It wasnÆt because RandidlyÆs image was necessarily so overwhelming but because it was uniquely suited for this task

The constant visual cues on the frontlines dimmed It happened gradually but when people finally looked away from the World Tree the changes were quite stark Against the looming threat of the Great Rift the World Tree steadied the Aether in the surrounding area It was a firm stake that held down the reality of the surrounding space Almost unwillingly RandidlyÆs lips parted and revealed his teeth

More and more pressure slid onto his image Which meant he needed more and more Aether to handle it Yet now that the process was started he refused to back down If the world demanded that his who image take on this weight in order to create his Skillset so be it Randidly would not hesitate

Perhaps Lord Miln and Ileot Swacc could use this to witness the edge of his power but Randidly suspected they would miss the point He hoped the image would mask the purity of the Aether that was moving beneath

The branches of Yggdrasil would hold up the sky and the roots would hold fast to the ground And everything in between would be governed by the Architecture of the Primordial Ways It would be described in the Akashic Record that danced in the form of shapes across the vast trunk of the World Tree

Each individual portion of Yggdrasil began to sing a note in the growing symphony of the image The Golden Roots flexed deep in the ground cycling energy through the area The Glittering Leaves rustled easily sending calming ripples through the surrounding area Emerald Sap pumped steadily through the thoroughfares of YggdrasilÆs trunk with such a potent life force that some small plants began to grow in the surrounding badlands The Yyrwood Flesh of the bark was rough and healthy even faced with the small corrosion that leaked downward from the looming Great Rift

Both the disdainful pride of the Deific Mien and the pure wrath of the Cruel Indignation swirled above the World Tree like two playful fish The Reign of the Eidolon Crucible those phantasms that danced across the branches stepped lightly over the ever expending Architecture of the Primordial Ways in an eternal dance of memories and ghosts

All of the surrounding area stilled bit by bit Because everything here was within the Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil

Hahh Randidly released his breath again The pressure continued to build from the outside as his Skill sigils absolutely churned through Aether in order to withstand it Weirdly time seemed to lose meaning There was only the pressure And under that pressure Randidly seemed to have a tiny inkling of a plateau he was facing one akin to what he felt when condensing a true Nether core

Down this road there would be a qualitative change if he could reach it If he could generate enough pressure

But a notification distracted him from this line of thinking

Congratulations Due to the sympathy between the Skills the Pinnacle Skillset Yggdrasil the Universe that was First a Tree has been created The Skills Architecture of the Primordial Ways Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil The Golden Roots of Yggdrasil the Emerald Sap of Yggdrasil the Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil the Deific Mien of Yggdrasil the Cruel Indignation of Yggdrasil Reign of the Eidolon Crucible and Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil have all been added to the Skillset The effect of Skill Levels for each of the affected Skills is slightly increased

The power of your related images grows

Randidly held the image for one more second in the flimsy grip of his weakening mind All of the small gradual changes to the visual variation across the frontlines rapidly accelerated as the empowered images were given the chance to flare to live Randidly was positively burning through Aether at this point using it to strengthen the effect of his Skillset as the many Skills slowly snapped together

Most of all Randidly could sense that this wasnÆt the limit of these SkillsÆ power And the notification from the System hinted at the same with its rarity of his Skillset

Pinnacle A word that had a very special place in the vocabulary of the Nexus A word that seemed to refer to the absolute

Then RandidlyÆs clenched breath gushed out from his lips and he collapsed to his knees as the roaring image became too much to maintain The Skill sigils in his chest were humming with the strain of containing the new amount of power that now flowed through them Their effects became fuzzy without a tight grip and then slowly lost that roaring momentum to settle back down to normal

Laughing Randidly allowed himself to fall down on his back and just bask in the satisfaction of successfully merging all of the disparate Skills together Achieving that moment of harmony hadnÆt been as difficult as he had feared but it had been exhausting A quick check of Absolute Timing informed him that Randidly still had twelve hours remaining until the agreed upon time for the Nether Prince

Thank god That will give me plenty of time to recover a bit before I spend the rest of the PP in order to upgrade the Skillset

Yet just as Randidly was thinking that he felt a tremor run through his subconscious Very quickly that tremor turned into a vast tiredness that began to encircle the edges of RandidlyÆs consciousness

seriously Eidolon Crucible Randidly thought furiously as his body accepted the exhaustion quite easily and began to still around him Of all times you choose now

Yet there was little that Randidly could do to fight against it now that it had arrived The world was swallowed up by darkness and Randidly felt himself spirited away very quickly arriving at a small hill below a mountain range Below the hill was a grassland that seemed to stretch forever a sea of waving grass and wildflowers

RandidlyÆs first reaction to the sudden change was rage but as he looked around that emotion slowly seeped out of him For all that it was an inconvenient timing it was better that it occurred before the Nether Prince There seemed to be a subconscious component involved in the timing because otherwise it would be extremely dangerous Falling so deeply asleep while he wasnÆt safe was a quick way to die

And honestly based on his previous time it would only last a few hours The extra mental strength he could gain here would also be useful

Randidly paused in his rationalizations as his gaze landed on a small monolith of stone that was sticking up out of the top of the hill His eyes softened as he slowly walked up to the object and ran his fingers across the words Although he had been told by Naffur about the situation it was another thing entirely to see the gravestone himself Even in image form its simple lettering drew the eye

Is this a warning for me I wonder Randidly said softly But then he shook his head Because he agreed entirely with the sentiment on the gravestone Through his experience in the System Randidly had to learn very quickly how powerful the small connections that people made were Each interaction became karma Each memory became the fabric of an image Endlessly forward endlessly colliding with other lives and traveling in unexpected directions

Endlessly being changed by the smallest of coincidences

Still Randidly grinned wolfishly up at the sky of this false place Clouds began to slowly gather as the spirits of Kharon were transported to stand against Randidly ItÆs a big deal that this is the first time that youÆve pulled me into your image isnÆt it Kharon

The clouds pulled tightly together as a low howl drifted up from the gathering winds Soon they faded from white to grey and then finally to black The spirits of Kharon became a twister that wound itself sinuously downward to the ground below the hill Very quickly the airspeed reached the point that Randidly could feel all of the air around him slowly stirring

If you think this will be enough Randidly said softly You have another thing coming

Chapter 1166

For the first time that Vualla could remember in her adult life she was easily drawn into sleep almost every night There she found herself in the darkness surrounded be half seen shapes drifting through the surrounding blackness They avoided her eyes but sensing them at least reassured Vualla she was not alone here

As always the cold was another constant bosom companion of this place That cold methodically flipped through all of VuallaÆs memories of her day taking them moment by moment sucking away all the life and color from them with its insistent touch Fractured moments of Vualla training until sweat dripped down her arms The taste of the juice Randidly made for her and the notification she received after drinking it Visiting Randidly in his tent

The warm feeling of his lips on hers

The cold considered all these many things reducing them to a flimsy shell of what they were They were scrutinized to the point that they lost all their context and just became memories Her thoughts were stripped away and the bare reactions were revealed

Vualla allowed it partially because she found that she had no other choice She couldnÆt defend the ambient warmth of her memories from the darkness But that didnÆt mean that it was completely damaging to allow this to happen Only the ambient warmth was stripped away from the thoughts Which in most cases was 99% of the warmth

But there were some moments that retained a spark of warmth despite the studious attention of the cold Moments like her kissing Randidly Moments that Vualla treasured because of what they meant

The same steady reduction happened with bad memories too All of the fear and pain that Vualla felt while she was dwelling on her struggle with the Nether Gatekeeper was sucked away by the darkness leaving nothing behind It was an empty moment that she had blown out of proportion by dwelling on it too long To discover that was reassuring

But the fear that Vualla struggled with as she visited Randidly with the juice that fear that she wasnÆt growing fast enough to keep up with the rising tide of threats threads of that terrible fear still remained in her chest after the cold had moved on to other memories That was an emotion that had real weight

But knowing the feelings that were arrayed against her was something of a weapon that Vualla could use The darkness did many things but the most important of them was leave Vualla with a clear picture of her priorities Despite feeling completely drained by the end it was refreshing

But tonight of all nights the dream of darkness ended quite differently than it usually did

Because halfway through the steady depletion of her dayÆs emotions a burning river of warmth began to flow into her

Instantly Vualla recognized the source it was that spot on her back that sometimes burned when she thought about Randidly It was the shape of his hand imprinted upon her back It was a persistent reminder of his support It was a bridge built between them when they were far apart And now it poured warmth down into her as Randidly seemed to burn

At first the darkness responded sluggishly slowly swirling around this source of warmth But then it snapped forward like a viper and began to devour the warmth as soon as it arrived in VuallaÆs body It seemed that to its mind this warmth was superfluous There was no value in allowing it into VuallaÆs existence

Honestly the whole situation was rather uncomfortable The warmth would touch upon Vualla for only a second before it was greedily devoured She was completely a conduit the point where the chill and the heat met A battleground that the darkness seemed entirely intent upon winning

Yet the heat pouring into Vualla didnÆt slacken at all If anything it grew even more monstrous and uncontrolled To the point that Vualla felt a flash of nervousness in her chest This energy where is it all coming from

It suddenly occurred to Vualla that it might be something of a blessing that the darkness was there to devour the warmth or it might have been overwhelming to withstand alone Then without any warning something stirred deep in the darkness around Vualla and she snapped awake with a gasp as those ripples were enough to jolt her subconscious

Wiping the sweat from her brow Vualla calmed her breathing Then she walked to the door of her tent The warmth drew her there leading her gently to her destination

A giant golden tree filled the entire sky above the frontlines It blotted out the vast Great Rift filling the surrounding area with emerald life The whole of it seemed almost too perfect and vibrant to be real VuallaÆs eyebrows rose Compared to the river of fire that she had felt flowing into her the ambient energy in the air was even more impressive As Vualla glanced at the ground she could see blades of grass peeking warily up between the worn sandstone ground that had been dead for as long as she had been fighting on the frontlines

You are a miracle worker Vualla shook her head with a small smile As she looked up at the tree she felt an altogether different sort of warmth than the warmth of energy Because there could be only one person who could be responsible for this

The first thing Randidly did when he came to after the creation of the Skillset was check the time Luckily there were still nine hours until the agreed upon meeting time

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Timing has grown to Level 108

Not that Skill Levels will be useful for a while Randidly thought with a shake of his head He had grown spoiled on the bonus from this Soulskill Racking up Skill Levels individually just seemed so incredibly inefficient by comparison

With a groan Randidly sat up and stretched The bones of his neck and shoulders popped pleasantly as he moved his torso through some basic stretches Then he laid back down and sunk into a restful meditation The fact that Randidly had been pulled to a location of KharonÆs choosing wasnÆt just a coincidence it was clear that the death of Aldo had a profound effect on the city It was their first real loss The first sign that the Order Ducis wasnÆt invulnerable

The city needed to come to terms with what happened Their images had grown powerful on that necessity

So Randidly had held back for a while allowing the images of his people to rail against him He had endured their pain given them the space to grieve Then as Randidly swept outward with his Willpower and obliterated their resistance he delivered the harsh message that these people needed to hear A tragedy A genuine cause for sadness But so what

Has one tragedy broken your resolve

Does your dream of protecting our Earth wither after the first loss

As always Randidly had plundered a small portion of their mental potency in the proceeding The grogginess at the edges of his mind right now was part of that process where the broken and exhausted portions of his own will could be slowly supplemented by the pieces that he had obtained in the Eidolon Crucible A repeated breaking and reforging

Truly a crucible

So Randidly slowly recovered taking his time to restore his mental edge to its peak

With five and a half hours to go until his promised meeting with Lord Miln Randidly slowly came back to himself and let his breath hiss through his teeth Although he still wasnÆt exactly strapped for time Randidly was unsure about the difficulty in crafting the Fate that he wanted Which ignored the fact that he hadnÆt really gotten to where he wanted with any of his foci

Them being poised to be finished was not the same as them being finished So Randidly hopped to his feet and wasted no further time in turning his attention toward the Paths he intended on finishing

First the biggest swing of all The Growth of Yggdrasil Path costing Randidly 2000 PP netting him 2 Vitality 2 Resistance 2 Intelligence and 2 Free Stat points every 50 PP spent on the Path

Congratulations You have completed the Growth of Yggdrasil III Path Originally Yggdrasil was limited in its growth by the distance you had traveled but you somehow found the great capability to surge forward leaving Yggdrasil in the dust As such the bonuses from accomplishing the Path have grown into a lush fruition

Growth cannot occur without the passage of time just as depth cannot exist without experience No quality can replace tempering You walk on a path at once familiar and strange It will lead you ever upward heading toward the limit of your being It grows along with your spine and reaches upward along with your limbs May you find the Path forward eternally smooth

Congratulations You have gained 200 free stats as a bonus for your own growth +100 to Vitality Endurance and Resistance

Congratulations Your Skills the Deific Mien of Yggdrasil and the Cruel Indignation of Yggdrasil are beginning to stir as your growth allows them to truly reach their full potential

Congratulations Your Skill Deific Mien of Yggdrasil has evolved into the Inscrutable Mien of Genesis All Skill Levels will be maintained

Congratulations Your Skill Cruel Indignation of Yggdrasil has evolved into the Implacable Price of Exodus All Skill Levels will be maintained

Randidly felt the change from finishing the Path flicker across all of his Skills but it was those two that warped beyond recognition in a flash of heat and energy In his chest as the new Inscrutable Mien of Genesis began to stir the vision of a golden apple with an eye drawn across it appeared fully formed before Randidly It was difficult to tell if the eye was open or closed or simply waiting

As for the Implacable Price of Exodus a terrible specter stalked the infinite boughs of the World Tree It was a creature with too many legs sticking out at weird angles and only one mouth one vast enough to swallow all the lights in the sky

All it needed was to be freed in order to destroy the careful order that had allowed the universe to persist for this long

Chapter 1167

For several long seconds those two images were all that Randidly could see The apple hanging fat and ripe disappearing and reappearing somewhere else as leaves rippled and passed in front of it Watching observing passive above everything that occurred below

The specter that was all limbs and the one mouth Throwing its body adroitly from branch to branch Spinning itself with an uncanny grace as it navigated the canopy Disappearing in an altogether more ominous manner as one tried to follow it on its meandering path

Slowly those two images faded and Randidly released a shaking breath Some of the surrounding sensations slowly filtered back that had been previously been blotted out Not because these Skills were more powerful than any Skills Randidly already possessed they werenÆt But rather it was because he could already sense the quality of the raw materials of these images There were areas that would need increasing image refinement to fulfill their full potential yet reaching that point would make the images near unstoppable

As Randidly recalled bother of their poignant details he sighed

Rubbing his chin Randidly turned his attention to the 200 free Stats that he had gained as a bonus for preparing his image for this Path With this sort of reward Randidly was extremely glad that he had waited in order to finish As it was Randidly could use those bonus Stats in order to get both Grim Intuition and Vitality above 1000

Randidly first turned his focus upon Vitality as he used his free Stats As he closed his eyes and savored the sensation he seemed to have some instinctual understanding of the regenerative qualities of his body The fission of cells and the flow of energy between them became remarkably clear to his understanding A whole world of natural functioning and recuperation revealed itself His body became an ecosystem that he could reach down and gently guide

It was a whole new toolbox that Randidly hadnÆt understood before Ways to reduce stress to produce higher bursts of energy on short notice ways for his body to be utilized more optimally while both fighting and resting Combined with the razor sharp touch that Randidly received when pushing his Control to 1000 it certainly was a formidable advantage That would only grow more dangerous as he grew more experienced with it

After that Randidly spent the free points to increase his Grim Intuition And the result of this qualitative increase in capability was even more ridiculous

Perhaps because it was a higher tiered Stat the process was gradual and excruciating Randidly could only grimace as he felt his eyes nose ears and mouth tingle and buzz until the soft pinpricks became daggers The pain intensified upward until those same pinpricks began to run over the whole of his body

Congratulations Your Skill Pain Resistance has grown to Level 153

Randidly laugh burst out of his mouth like a wet cough from the chest of a pneumonia patient It was however a testament to his extended exposure to pain from the hiltless bladeÆs tenure in his body that Randidly only earned a single Skill Level from the experience Time after time the sensitive membranes of RandidlyÆs nervous system were eviscerated in order to accomplish whatever improvement was coming

Such is the burden of growing stronger RandidlyÆs tongue flicked out and brushed across his lips I wonder how close I am to completely shedding the limitations of the human body

It was a grueling fifteen minutes When the sensations finally began to fade Randidly could only release a sigh of relief and try and orient himself with the confusing flood of information that followed the transformation Five minutes later Randidly almost wished that the pain would come back

What he now possessed was something akin to a radar around himself that also gave him information on other peopleÆs radarsÆ Like Randidly could instantly intuit the positions of people in the area surrounding his tent and also in what directions they were focusing their attention In addition Randidly received small little jolts whenever someone thought about him too strongly

Each glance at his tent made Randidly instinctively straighten

Likely it was just due to the fact he had created the vision of Yggdrasil earlier but those jolts were quite overwhelming at the moment This reaction seemed to be triggered more easily the closer individuals were to him but also Randidly could feel from afar that Lord MilnÆs mind was almost constantly focused on him VuallaÆs too although her intermittent minutes of dwelling on him was a more reassuring feeling

What was perhaps the most disturbing was Ileot Swacc From him Randidly felt absolutely nothing at all And it was only when Randidly concentrated that he could use his Grim Intuition to locate him from afar It was just one more testament to the difference in power between the two of them One more reason to remain cautious about showing his cards before that mysterious man

Luckily some portion of the increased stat was a sorting and coping mechanism that Randidly gradually grew used to using to lessen the load on his mind Otherwise his relatively smaller amount of 768 Intelligence might not be able to cope with so much information flooding in at once There were just too many people nearby

And the memory of the tree is too fresh in their memory Randidly thought grumpily

Thinking about how intense this might get during a battle Randidly could only shake his head speechlessly And then he looked at his four hours and fifty nine minutes until he needed to meet Lord Miln and grimaced

Obviously the last few preparations were going to be rushed but this is starting to get a bit ridiculous Randidly pursed his lips Especially when the whole idea is for me to use that opportunity to create a new Class and Fate for Lady Iellaya Gonna be hard when IÆm barely coping with the information my senses are telling me

Still Randidly didnÆt panic Instead he gave himself some time to simply experience the new sensations And as he predicted his body slowly began to catch up with his ability to gather information with his improved Grim Intuition It was overwhelming at first but his Stats were a part of him And his Grim Intuition wasnÆt so high that it overwhelmed RandidlyÆs other Stats If it was just this much Randidly could handle it

It left Randidly with the open question of whether such a problem could emerge from someone with completely imbalanced Stats but Randidly ultimately dropped that train of thought and focused on his next decision He both wanted to gobble up some random Paths and to follow the Search for the Akashic Path yet had to pick one to happen first Randidly just hesitated a bit between which was the best choice

Ultimately he decided to follow the linking Path Search the Akashic I first Because Randidly didnÆt want to end up in a situation where he started the linking Path and couldnÆt finish it because he already poured too much of his PP into random Paths that got him rather useless Skills

The first Search for the Akashic was easy only 200 PP Every 10 PP Randidly earned a free stat which he dumped into Intelligence despite the fact that he was feeling better with coping with the change in Grim Intuition Better safe than sorry

Congratulations You have completed the Search for the Akashic I Path This is a Path taken by many who have sought answers in the universe to consult the Akashic But yours is truly a singular wish You do not wish to find the Akashic so you can ask a question of the Akashic about some grand truth of your life you truly wish to embody the Akashic

Although the slopes on the mountain you now climb will start more gently for this particular endeavor the mountains you will eventually face will likely be even higher Is it a blessing to know that no one answer about your life will alter the arc of your fate Or is it a curse knowing the weight of your past actions will forever cause your pace to curve toward a continuation of the past

Congratulations Although your search has not yet born fruits you have grown stronger for the journey +5 Mana per Level +1 Free Stat per Level

Randidly licked his lips Level up gains from finishing these Paths huh Well there is very likely a Skill waiting at the end of the road but for now this is more than enough Especially because IÆll have no reason to slow down my Leveling once IÆve reached Level 50 and condensed my Fate

But some of RandidlyÆs optimism got caught in his throat as he saw the next Path available to him

Search for the Akashic II 0/800

Jumping up 600 isnÆt so bad I suppose Randidly thought dubiously But still What will the third Path require then

Despite his misgivings Randidly poured the required PP into the Path and earned 40 more free Stats for his trouble

Congratulations You have completed the Search for the Akashic II Path Even as the slopes ahead grow increasingly steep your pace does not slow Your legs are strong and your gait even This is not a Path for the faint of heart a typical individual would be exhausted to death by the end However you are not a typical individual

The Path stretches forward Do not slow accelerate toward the end For if you truly become able to embody the Akashic your existence will truly begin to change

Congratulations While you have not reached the summit of this mountain the journey has strengthened you Health and Stamina +100 +2 Free Stats per Level up

Chapter 1168

More bonuses would be better although with a Level cap of a 100 this particular bonus per Level up would only end up being 104 Stats in total Which was only a small amount for someone like Randidly For most people that was probably a significant amount But part of RandidlyÆs unique strength was his ability to generate a ridiculous amount of Stat growth

Still every little bit helped

But it was with an extremely bitter expression that Randidly looked at the Search for Akashic III Path and saw that it would require 1750 PP to finish Randidly couldnÆt help glancing at his remaining PP 6862

So finishing this Path would take him to a little more than half of his total tithe remaining Of course the IV Path would be even higher And beyond that it seemed entirely likely that the Search for the Akashic would have a V component which would be the one with an actual reward worth having the Skill

Still it wasnÆt like any of this was a sure thing Perhaps even this third leg of the Path would end up being the final one Randidly just sincerely doubted it And in situations like this Randidly generally found that his instincts were spot on

Either way he poured the PP into the Path

Congratulations You have completed the Search for the Akashic III Path The ground is becoming rocky and bare Sometimes the Path wanders to the point that you donÆt even know for sure whether you are heading in the right direction In the broken mountains of truth there are too many false signs that could be leading you astray But even if you are fooled by some of these you have been able to retrace your steps and continue forward

Determination is your compass Even if it does not end up being your original goal continuing to walk forward will inevitably lead you to a destination

Branching Path Two different opportunities lay in front of you

Randidly scratched his chin It had been quite some time since Randidly had encountered a Path that gave him choices Some of the Earth System Paths provided options but since then each Path had seemed to lead to only one place Perhaps part of that was how much Randidly had focused on learning specific things since his earlier days but perhaps he had just been lucky early with Paths the provided choices

Although these two options RandidlyÆs mouth twisted as he read the notification that popped up after Almost habitually Randidly began to wring AcriÆs shaft in his trembling fingers

Marching along a ridge that rises just above the mist you come to a crossroads With the mountain looming above you will you stubbornly continue to wind your way upward or follow a gentler Path down into the mist

IsnÆt there basically no real information provided for the choice Randidly thought sourly Just the modifiers in the sentences Which left Randidly between choosing between stubbornlyÆ or gentleÆ

And between them it didnÆt take a scientist to discover which would likely lead to an easier result Yet Randidly also knew that between stubborn and gentle there was only one choice for himself Only one choice for the man that might be spiting his worldÆs chances by refusing to allow the SystemÆs influence into his body

You march stubbornly forward even as the path completely disappears Jagged stones beckon you waiting for you to fall off the precipitous edge next to your razor thin Path Calculating

Calculating Randidly frowned

Congratulations Due to your high Stats you have avoided falling down onto the rocks below

RandidlyÆs hands flexed Acri cooed in pleasure You mean to fucking tell me that there was a PERCENTAGE chance that no matter what choice I made I would have ended up falling on the rocks And what the fuck sort of reward would be waiting for me at the bottom

But if Randidly thought he was mad from that notification the next one did an admirable job of setting RandidlyÆs chest aflame with a whole new height of rage

Warning Branching Path You may either choose to rest here after the close call at the edge or you may continue on forward as the sky grows dark above you and the light of the moon remains dim Please note that continuing on will require you to provide 250 more PP to the Path

HOW THE HELL WAS THAT A CLOSE CALL Randidly roared at the rather stoic notification that floated in front of his face And now you fucking want me to pay you more PP before I can continue You

As his chest heaved RandidlyÆs eyes were drawn to the tent flap as his Grim Intuition informed him that Salazar had noticed his outburst and was now trotting steadily over to check what was going on within the tent

Gritting his teeth Randidly tried to keep at least half of his anger out of his voice as he pitched it to carry NowÆs not the time Salazar Please continue with your training

Suddenly Randidly discovered some of the downsides of being too perceptive as his subordinates thought they were unobserved outside of the tent Randidly felt Salazar look questioningly over at Zauna Zauna shrugged and her intent with the gesture was easily divined by RandidlyÆs high Stat That is just the sort of weird captain we have DonÆt take it too personally Æ

And Salazar that snake tongued fucker nodded to Zauna with a commiserating expression on his face like at least the two of them had each other in this storm of uncertainty swirling around them

It took Randidly several minutes to calm down the throbbing vein in his temple Under his forced concentration his heart rate steadily slowed back to normal Because ultimately his anger wasnÆt at his cheeky subordinates it was focused entirely on the extremely strange series of events for this Path Once Randidly was a bit calmer he took several seconds to toy with the option that this was a deliberate punishment sent by the overlay System after Randidly had supplanted it within his Alpha Cosmos

But that didnÆt seem like a reasonable option Although the overlay System seemed to have been designed with every aspect of the System in mind it wasnÆt a substantive thing it just converted the Aether information into understandable notifications Nothing that Randidly had seen so far had shown that it could make such a unilateral decision like that

Plus Randidly had earned this Path before the Soulskill changes had occurred So this was just what the Path was like I suppose I deserve this The term stubbornly had been used for this Path ItÆs just a little fucked that they are extorting me for another 250 PP

Randidly chose to pay the toll but couldnÆt help but grit his teeth when he earned no bonus Stats for the PP that he poured into this portion It was a double whammy of punishment

Congratulations You have completed the special bonus for the Search for the Akashic III Path It is a thankless and difficult Path you walk But perhaps you are one uniquely situated to force your way to the summit As you continue on through the darkening gloom danger lurks on every side Yet none dare approach you Such is your aura and momentum that the terrible things in the dark can do naught but part helplessly before you

Congratulations +20 to all Stats +2 Stat per Level You have unlocked a new Path forward

Despite himself Randidly chuckled darkly as he received the final reward for this portion Then he looked at the Search for the Akashic IV Path and felt a brutal flash of anger to see that it would cost 3000 PP in order to finish Spending all that PP on this Path would leave him with 1800 or so remaining Which was certainly enough to finish some smaller Paths but it would be doubly frustrating if Randidly received a similar amount of rewards and had another Path waiting for him

Yet can I really stop now Randidly wondered The word stubbornlyÆ hung in his mind like a curse Although the benefits he earned might not be the most impressive and honestly seemed designed to piss him off very rarely had he actually been ripped off by Paths It was much more likely that the main rewards were simply delayed Gratification would come eventually it was a matter of perseverance

And although a fire burned in RandidlyÆs belly he was patient enough to wait for the things that would give him an advantage When he poured PP into the monstrously large 3000 PP Path he earned 4 Free Stats every 100 for a total of 120 These were dumped rather casually into Reaction which started to seem like a limiting factor in the total picture of his Stats

Congratulations You have finished the Search for the Akashic IV Path As one who does not stray from your stated goal your persistence has slowly earned you an increasingly wide perspective The light filtering down from the mountain peaks above you leads you on a dappled trail of possibilities Following that guidance further you travel far but you also stop and examine your surroundings

Truth is present in all things Never hesitate to listen to the air around you It will speak to you its true name in exchange for the decency to pay attention to it

Congratulations +10 Free Stats per Level You have gained the Skill The Book of Names Lvl 1

The Book of Names Based on your experience and knowledge of a person or object you will be able to view their true name

Chapter 1169

The Book of Names seemed like an interesting Skill to possess but it was certainly not the sort of thing that Randidly was talking about when he was wishing for a reward It made sense as a result considering the Path he took to earn it but it seemed like there wouldnÆt be many areas where it would be useful Passively gathering information sure that will give Randidly an edge but other than that

Although I was critical of earning PP the old fashioned way itÆs how I got to this point And this one literally seems to just grow from me knowing information about them It doesnÆt even have any text that shows the effects It just grows as I gather understanding Which I would be doing anyway so being paid PP for my trouble is fine

Such a lackluster award did mean however that Randidly was less than surprised when he saw the next branch of the linking Path had once more hopped up quite a bit Search for the Akashic V 0/5000

Guess IÆm not fucking finishing it today Randidly sighed in defeat And in fact Randidly ultimately decided to set aside this Path for now Pumping 1800 PP into it would get him a relevant chunk of the way there but it wasnÆt even halfway through the Path Although Randidly would gather enough PP to finish that Path before he received another tithe from his Soulskill taking victories from finishing other small Paths seemed like a much more realistic method of growing

So once more Randidly took his 1800 PP and looked at the list of Paths available to him

Friend to Humanity 0/100 Mantle of the Patron 0/500 Aether Convergence II the Bell of Doom Tolls 0/600 The Ashes of Ulaat Patron of Ash 0/1000 Order Ducis Font of Guidance HumanityÆs Torch 0/500 Bearing of a Teacher Puppet Master 0/100 Pain Immunity I 0/250 ChimeraÆs Grudge I Cleaver of the World Tree Weakness of the World Tree 0/500 Experimenter IV 0/1250 Leader of the Apocalyptic Crusade Guilty Conscience I 0/100 Peerage of the Baleful Court I 0/600 Hands of the Artisan 0/ Ashes of Illym the Above Average Child 0/5000 The Flame the Burns Memories 0/ Exodus the Terror 0/1000 Genesis the Considered 0/1000

After completing the other Paths Randidly did have two more options than he did previously relating to the evolved forms of Skills in Yggdrasil the Universe that was First a Tree However Randidly didnÆt want to spend even more PP working on the Yggdrasil Skillset before he had some time to grow used to the changes so those were set to the side The new images were already plenty powerful what he needed now was practice with them

And RandidlyÆs reasoning about the Paths relating to the hiltless blade and the Ashes Paths remained the same which allowed Randidly to eliminate quite a few options and find himself choosing between five Paths

The Bell of Doom Tolls 0/600 Pain Immunity I 0/250 ChimeraÆs Grudge I Leader of the Apocalyptic Crusade Peerage of the Baleful Court I 0/600

The Bell of Doom Tolls was an older Path that Randidly believed was related to some of his early images of the Spear Phantom The large chime of a clock the passage of time Likely completing the Path would lead to an attack Skill that he could use as inspiration for the Grim Chimera Which considering that his current Grim Chimera Skills possessed an extra punch due to Nether was only slightly appealing

In addition if Randidly wanted to empower the Grim Chimera ChimeraÆs Grudge I seemed like a much more straightforward method of doing so It was a much more recently acquired Path and also Randidly could understand very easily how the image of a grudge could become part of the Grim Chimera But again Randidly looked at the fact that it was a linking Path with a slightly bitter expression

Pain Immunity seemed self explanatory although once more Randidly was unwilling to choose a linking Path based upon his earlier experience The degree of PP required for it was quite a bit smaller than the Search for the Akashic Path but how long would that last

The final two Paths that Randidly considered were appealing because they would improve the abilities of his Riders and perhaps also his ability to lead more broadly Leader of the Apocalyptic Crusade and Peerage of the Baleful Court both seemed like they possessed a lot of potential Yet the only one of the two that Randidly could see the total length of was also a linking Path It felt like these Paths were a series of traps that had been left for him and despite knowing better Randidly was a helpless fool who wandered back over to them

Sighing RandidlyÆs finger drifted toward Leader of the Apocalyptic Crusade If nothing else this does have the word Leader in its title Hopefully it will let me help with the battle on the frontlines

Although I hope to get out of most of my stay here this looming battle will be difficult Even if Lord Miln seems unnaturally confident I donÆt doubt that surviving at my amount of strength will be a struggle And if I can help other people survive

It was an old memory but one that Randidly always came back to The sight of the freshly dug graves along the banks of the Hallat River

For each 10 points Randidly put into it he alternated earning 1 Agility and 1 Wisdom And Randidly was rather pleased to see that it ended up being only a 500 PP Path

Congratulations You have finished the Leader of the Apocalyptic Crusade Path Although you walk over the cracked ground of brimstone and ash you will not cease in the pursuit of your personal justice With a sky quaking above you ride forward This is a world where the strong make the law and you are determined to gather enough strength and momentum to provide a modicum of predictability and balance to this land of broken promises

Yet the more you war the more you cannot avoid the identity crisis that lies at the heart of this Path youÆve chosen are you trying to alleviate an apocalypse that occurred long ago or do you proudly bear the name Apocalypse for this imperfect world

Will you tear all this down for your justice

Congratulations Agility and Strength +40 Synchronicity detected Your Skill Flowing Momentum has evolved into Ruinous Drive All Skill Levels will be maintained Followers affected by Ruinous Drive will inflict slightly more damage with all methods of attack and will have a slight chance of ignoring the targetÆs Resistance Amount of additional damage increases with Skill Level Chance to ignore a percentage of Resistance increases with Skill Level Amount of Resistance ignored increases with Skill Level

ItÆs nice to finally be right for once Randidly thought with a smile It wasnÆt a new Skill and it was an open question whether Nether Beasts had Resistance for the Skill to ignore but it was a much more concrete effect than the momentum that the Skill previously provided Plus it seemed like he could extend this Skill farther than Flowing Momentum which only affected those physically following Randidly

With 1300 or so PP remaining Randidly just accepted the risk of the linking Path and started pouring PP into the ChimeraÆs Grudge His lips quirked up in annoyance when he learned that it was a 1000 PP Path but Randidly still finished it out It earned him 5 Strength every 100 PP spent

Congratulations You have finished the ChimeraÆs Grudge I Path The Grim Chimera is a creature that has always been persecuted for its existence It is a life that

Warning Change detected Recalculating

Integrating recent developments

The Grim Chimera is a life that is tainted by Nether As the Grim Chimera has grown to discover this truth you can feel naught but helplessness Despite the obvious danger that they present there is no way to remove the notes of Nether that have found their home in the Grim ChimeraÆs body So you must continue to walk forward even as every step of yours drives that taint deeper into the core of your being Tread carefully wanderer

Congratulations +20 to all Stats as your body evolves to face adversity You have learned the Skill Nether Infection « Lvl 1

Nether Infection « Nether will unpredictably interfere with your attacks causing vastly increased damage Warning Some entities relating to the System will react violently when they realize that you have a Nether Infection Warning At some point the Nether might attempt to take over your body

You are full of shit Randidly chuckled There was a curious sort of detached brutality as Randidly cracked his knuckles and prepared to do what he knew he was about to do

His first response was to examine the newly created Skill in his chest And certainly one thing that this Skill did was plant a deep seed of a grudge in his heart for a System Because Randidly watched the System try to gather up some of the Nether present in his being bind it together and then use it like a doping agent The Skill was practically a syringe that warped Nether and the hand holding it was the SystemÆs

As Randidly examined the Skill Randidly could see the mechanism it would use to operate unpredictably And he didnÆt miss the way that the operation would be recorded by the overlay System RandidlyÆs first instinct was to rip the Skill out of his chest but he remembered Octavius ShrikeÆs warning

His second instinct was to head into the Alpha Cosmos where the overlay System was no longer run by the System and rip the damn thing out with prejudice But Randidly wasnÆt sure if Azriel would be able to hide what he had done for when he returned to the real world and was exposed to the original overlay

So it was RandidlyÆs third idea that struck his as the most reasonable And as a nice demonstration of poetic justice

RandidlyÆs mouth twisted into a vicious grin Do you think you can cage and manipulate me just like you are attempting to do with this Nether LetÆs see what your fucked up overlay System thinks about this you fuck

Although his Nether was attuned to his Aether it didnÆt need to be that way Randidly pulled deeply from his Nether Wells and gathered some raw Nether into his hands With his Nether Adaption it barely even felt painful to handle it But as Randidly dumped the untreated Nether directly over the raw Aether of the Skill the form of the Skill began to warp and boil

but it did not break To RandidlyÆs surprise the Skill was surprisingly resilient Although it was clear that this resiliency was only because it instinctively drew on RandidlyÆs ambient Aether in order to heal through the damage done by the Nether

Snorting Randidly cut off that flow of Aether and gathered even more Nether into a tight orb of destruction between his palms Then he doused this new Skill with Nether until the Nether at its core ruptured outward and melted the surrounding Aether to nothing but that grey putty that Yggdrasil had used to try and make an incubator for Ignition Essence For good measure Randidly poured more Nether over it A notification popped up in front of Randidly

Warning Due to instability amongst Nether one of your Skills has been damaged beyond repair Please see a Village Spirit in order to correct this problem Warning a delay may result in sickness or death as Nether spreads throughout your body

Ha Funny joke Randidly spat on the ground Good riddance you piece of shit

Chapter 1170

Seeing the smoking remnants of the Skill that was clearly another attempt to control him brought Randidly quite a bit of pleasure But he didnÆt miss the way that the Path altered itself halfway through to incorporate aspects of his Nether notes something that Randidly hadnÆt possessed when he originally gained the Path

Was this a special case then Or had Randidly underestimated the overlay System

Although Randidly still had a little less than 400 PP remaining to be spent he was altogether tired of all of the antics that Paths had tried to spring on him in this round of Soulskill tithe It was something that he would be much more careful about moving forward

Instead Randidly once more checked the time Seeing there was still four and a half hours Randidly looked at his Status screen

Level 49 (99%)

Health(/R per hour) 9738/9738 (4574)

Mana(/R per hour) 9086/9086 (2537)

Stam(/R per min) 6899/6994 (1655)

Vit 1045

End 895

Str 742

Agi 1135

Grim Intuition 1070

Reaction 847

Resistance 972

Willpower 1112

Intelligence 868

Wisdom 645

Control 1201

Focus 759

Skills (Soul Skill) Figure of the Alpha Cosmos Lvl 22200

Combat Spear Mastery Lvl 209 Heavy Blow Lvl 124 Iron Skin Lvl 47 Dodge Lvl 121 Fighting Experience (Un) Lvl 165 Block Lvl 77 Calculated Blow Lvl 117 Roundhouse Kick Lvl 87 Idiosyncratic Cut (Un) Lvl 126 Stalemate Breaker Lvl 86 Talon Strike Lvl 90 Counter Lvl 94 Ruinous Drive Lvl 35

LoBW Class Skills Spray Holy Sap (Un) Lvl 27 Sharpness Lvl 145 Earthquake (Un) Lvl 48 Invigorating Call (Humanity)(Un) Lvl 14 Reach of the Jade Slag Lvl 121 Erode Image Lvl 71 SpriggitÆs Tinkering « Lvl 151 Aether Understanding Lvl 133 Aether Infusion Lvl 47 Volatile Ash Lvl 44 Visualization « Lvl 240 Fruit of the Planting of Enmity Lvl 49 Absolute Timing Lvl 108 Cycle of the Gloomy Wood « Lvl 45 Riders of the Baleful Court Lvl 127 Lantern of Harsh Truths « Lvl 46 Sigil of an Approaching Fate Lvl 32

Descent of the Grim Chimera Chimeric Avoidance Lvl 222 Cursed Appetite of a Wraith Lvl 264 MonstrosityÆs Appalling Physicality Lvl 238 ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe Lvl 101 Molten Fang of the Pariah Lvl 199 Man is Proud but the Chimera Takes Lvl 185 The Chimera Weeps as Man Mourns Lvl 157 All Else Succombs Yet Time Whirls the Earth Lvl 150

Aether Skills Aether Detection Lvl 171 Aether Manipulation Lvl 201 Living Aether « Lvl 154 System Interference Lvl 88 Aether Surgeon Lvl 69

Spells Yggdrasil Soul Seed « Inspiration « Ignition Bolt « Lvl 126 Verdant Nova (Un) Lvl 85 Burning Footsteps Lvl 23 NetherÆs Caress Lvl 114 Influence of the Molten Core « Lvl 103 Eruption of the Blazing Leyline Lvl 111 Ignition of the Emerald Essence Lvl 151 Mana Physique (Un) Lvl 19

Crafting Potion Making Lvl 73 Farming Lvl 34 Analyze Lvl 29 Refine Lvl 106 Extract Lvl 92 Brushstroke Record Lvl 245 Experienced CreatorÆs Ingenuity Lvl 68 Touch of the Ghosthound

Yggdrasil the Universe that was First a Tree Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil Lvl 178 The Golden Roots of Yggdrasil Lvl 213 the Emerald Sap of Yggdrasil Lvl 195 the Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil Lvl 240 the Inscrutable Mien of Genesis Lvl 250 the Implacable Price of Exodus Lvl 202 Reign of the Eidolon Crucible Lvl 195 Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil Lvl 275

Auxiliary Sneak Lvl 56 Acid Resistance Lvl 22 Poison Resistance Lvl 21 Pain Resistance Lvl 153 Fire Resistance Lvl 189 Sewing Lvl 11 Digging Lvl 9 Cooking Lvl 101 Clockwork Mastery Lvl 30 Aether Connection Lvl 21 Soul Bond Lvl 135 ChefÆs Palette Lvl 36 Nether Modification Child of the Rain (Un) Lvl 59 Chosen of Ash Lvl 141 Engineering Savvy « Lvl 154 From Darkness Genesis « Lvl 17 (Domain) Crossroads of the Alpha Cosmos Lvl 178 Connection to the Alpha Cosmos Catalyst of Agony Lvl 38 Nether Sensation Lvl 62 Nether Rituals Lvl 115

Randidly released a deep breath In terms of Stats just from the huge amount of Paths that he finished he had grown quite a bit More than Stats though Randidly had earned an addition 15 Stat points per Level which put his Stat gains per Level to +8 Stats distributed between Vitality Perception Resist Intelligence and Control +35 Free Stats +1 Stat to a Mental Stat +1 to a Physical Defense Stat +1 to a Mental Support Stat +2 Control +36 Health +45 Mana +40 Stamina +3 5 to all Regenerations +1 to Health and Stamina Regeneration and an additional +4 Agility and +2 Bonus Stats due to Guidance of the Wraith Adder from Shal

Is this strength Randidly asked lightly He looked down at his hands one scarred and metal the other calloused and tanned Beyond that with but a brush of his will Yggdrasil the Grim Chimera and Ignition Essence visions flickered to life in the tent around him Just as quickly Randidly let those go

This had definitely been an attempt by the System to control him But at this point Randidly had so many tools in his arsenal that he dealt it with it almost immediately Without relying on a blunt instrument either

Well maybe a blunt instrument Randidly admitted to himself But one that wonÆt reveal my involvement

Then his mind turned back to the question of strength Although Randidly had definitely improved his goals were still further forward down this path Based on his reckoning Randidly was still a bit short of being able to rival a Nether Gatekeeper in a one on one duel Perhaps more than a little short

However hopefully that distance would be bridged as Randidly condensed himself a Fate Because the foundations for his power were firmer than ever With this he could finally begin to cash in on all of the preparations he had made

bah Which means I really need to work on these Foci Randidly grimaced and rolled his shoulders to loosen up his back Then he sat down in a meditative position and pulled all of his focus inward With great difficulty he slowly closed down all of the superfluous Grim Intuition sensors so he wouldnÆt notice anything that happened in the outside world unless it actually physically damaged him Unless Randidly was bleeding he didnÆt want to be disturbed

Somewhat of a risk but Randidly figured that if something managed to pierce Lady IellayaÆs defenses to the point of reaching his tent he would have a problem of an entirely different magnitude

With his focus narrowed Randidly floated to his inner world where the emerald and burnt orange flame of Ignition Essence continued to steadily simmer away at the few remaining memories that Randidly hadnÆt yet accepted into himself Of all the foci Randidly believed that the Ignition Essence one would be the most risk to use So he wanted to work on it first and figure out how long it would take

There was a moment of hesitation and then Randidly reached out and touched the memories The terrible ones that waited for the last to reveal themselves They bloomed like a flower before him the petals falling away from the burning bulb and spiraling around him Slowly Randidly became someone else once more

He became Illym the above average child a daughter who possessed half of a soul

He became the brown haired brown eyed sister who looked at her beautiful blonde sister Radiance as she announced that she would be married The other half of her soul who had found love despite the circumstances She met the soon to be husband rough and capable and clearly head over heels in love with Radiance

As everyone was

Hours later Randidly sat in a memory of Illym staring at her own bony knees on a porch swing and wondering whether she had ever been in love She had felt love for her parents for his sister Radiance

There were no memories of being in love Of being loved Of being truly valued for herself

Illym spent some time pouring through her own memories in that memory searching for proof that she had existed had mattered to someone Had lived Had mattered to someone else All she found was the cold and repeated walls of her parentÆs home and the moments of excitement when Radiance woke up from her comas

Because her sister mattered more to her life than she did It wasnÆt Illym that could bring herself meaning It had always been Radiance the other half of the whole

What followed was the biggest choice of IllymÆs life and she made it with all the thought of a blink in the one year time period before her sister Radiance was to be married Illym was going to learn what it was like to live

So she ran away from home telling not a soul about her plans Not even the other half of her own soul Radiance She left a note assuring everyone that she would be back for the wedding and then she was off out in the world to discover herself

Although Illym might only be an above average child compared to Radiance her parents were two of the most powerful individuals in their corner of the Nexus and Illym had learned from them well As long as the problems that the twenty year old Illym encountered werenÆt extraordinary she could deal with them So she flitted between the planets experiencing everything that she could

Randidly experienced memories of trying sizzling hot street meat of when Illym wasnÆt sure of the meatÆs origin He watched her smelling wildflowers Watched her stealing because she had run out of money

There were difficulties aplenty after IllymÆs inexperience wasted away her resources Doubly so because of who she was Although Illym and Radiance were parted the truth of their existence didnÆt change So like the seasons the shakes came for Illym

But now Illym had no protection to rely on to endure the shakes She could not simply curl up in her wide bed and smother herself in silk sheets Illym was left all on her own and she had to grit her teeth and find the best way she could to hide her weakness However it was only a matter of time until she was discovered

There was an ugly memory with jagged edges where Illym was tortured by three men as they laughed at her inability to control her body They put her in shallow water and watched as she thrashed so uncontrollably that she almost drowned herself time and time again They found it unbelievably funny they couldnÆt even stand it

Illym remembered hating for the first time in her life Although it wasnÆt the bright living of Radiance she felt an atypical rush of warmth as she looked up at the three men and wished they would die It was an iron sort of desire that she could give herself over to completely She said to them When this is over

The leader of the men shushed her with a finger almost gently while IllymÆs body continued to jitter back and forth Love this only ever ends one way LetÆs enjoy this fun while we still have it shall we

Illym remembered the cold certainty of the fact that she would die And in the next moment her entire being began screaming that she wanted to live For the first time in her life Illym reached into herself to that strange wound that she had always been afflicted with and told it no She could not afford to allow it to take her today

Illym remembered the warmth of blood running down her hands The first kill was the hardest and then the rest was easy

Chapter 1171

Six months after she ran away from home Illym remembered her surprise at being a relatively well known killer on her current planet People would pay her quite a bit of money either to kill someone or not kill someone Illym somewhat glad to have found something that she was extraordinary at accepted the money

There were sometimes attempts on her life or others paid to do the opposite of what she was doing but that honestly just excited Illym more For a few seconds she would remember the clarity of her desire to live that she had discovered in those shallow puddles of dirty water in the alley And Illym truly had learned well she always won such fights

Her living slowly turned more comfortable

Because she truly was extraordinary at killing Those moments of struggle were her life was pitted against anotherÆs that was the only time she truly felt alive That small fear of death warmed her And even when Illym needed to begin to toy with her food so it would feel interesting it was still enough

All the while Illym grew more capable at struggling against the wound in her soul that would give her the shakes When they would try to come Illym would wrestle the shakes back until they behaved Sometimes they came frequently sometimes a month would pass without them arriving Either way Illym refused to be weak She refused to feel helpless

She had discovered a new Path for herself and wasnÆt willing to be forced from it

Illym remembered the day only a month and a half before her sisterÆs scheduled wedding she stood over the corpse of a child who had witnessed something he shouldnÆt and realized that she would not return for RadianceÆs wedding She wiped the crimson liquid from her hands on her leather pants Then she returned to the client and reported her success

Even now Illym could remember the way the childÆs body had lain contorted but she could not remember a single detail about the face Maybe this was the living that Illym had found but it was a Path stained with blood It was tainted

And there was one person in IllymÆs life that she still loved too much to taint Better if they each struggle to find their own happiness apart from each other

As the day of her sisterÆs wedding approached IllymÆs fear mounted Anxiety was a beast that lived in her stomach and sucked away all the moisture so that her lips were constantly dry Despite the resolution not to go she couldnÆt ignore the approaching date

Likely her anxiety influenced her will because suddenly every day seemed like a struggle to resist the return of the shakes To the point that the day before her sisterÆs wedding it was almost overwhelming The shakes seemed to have an imperative to seize her controlling her body toward helplessness Illym remembered fighting them tooth and nail

And winning

The day of RadianceÆs wedding passed Illym felt relief and a terrible emptiness The shakes receded until they only seemed like a memory Illym remembered years of living becoming so powerful on that small planet that none dared cross her They were no longer paying her money but fealty

She never felt alive anymore She just felt empty And now that Illym had missed the date of her sisterÆs wedding there seemed something final in their parting Like they now had a future

Randidly witnessed a memory of Illym staring out the window hoping that Radiance had found the same successes resisting the wounds to their soul that Illym had The sky outside was cloudy

It took her father twelve years to find Illym

She remembered his face It was so much skinner and more lined than she remembered And what he then told her seemed to infect Illym with that same strange sense of aging

The day before RadianceÆs wedding they had found her dead in her bed Wasted away to nothing because in the prior six months Radiance had only awakened from her deep sleep for a few scant hours at a time RadianceÆs fiance had been devasted crying for days until the body was buried And IllymÆs parents hadnÆt seen him since

And then her father confessed that he only discovered her by coincidence After the disappearance of Illym and the fact that she didnÆt come back for the wedding her parents believed that Illym had died For twelve long years they had mourned both girls

Illym couldnÆt breathe She remembered realizing that the affliction she had struggled so hard against the weakness that Illym took such great pleasure in smothering was probably the soul of her sister The echoing return of the shakes she experienced as Illym realized she had slowly strangled Radiance to death refusing to allow weakness into herself

Then there was the memory of her father leaning forward toward Illym and saying in his gravelly tone One of the last things Radiance said was when you see Illym remind her to enjoy life more ItÆs such a blessing isnÆt it Æ

Illym the terror of that small world began to cry She looked inside for her weakness and found none She only cried harder

The two halves of the soul had finally been made whole Yet she hadnÆt even noticed

Illym went back to live with her parents and realized a terrible truth her parents were the same as she was They were powerful but they reached that power by climbing over mountains of corpses It was only ever Radiance who was different It was only ever Radiance that was special

It was Radiance that deserved her happily ever after

The worst part was that her parents didnÆt blame Illym They mourned Radiance of course but at least now they had one daughter who was completely healthy and present in their lives They helped her get involved in the Nexus fighting against rebels and against the Nether Without missing a beat Illym picked up on the family business of killing

Like a train that had long been in the station time began to move in their family home

But although her soul was whole IllymÆs heart was broken

Perhaps it wouldnÆt have been such a shock if she wasnÆt so good at killing Her images grew more and more vicious and everyone she met complimented her on her bloodthirst

As she sightlessly reaped the lives that she was ordered to take Illym was drowning in the evil truth about herself she should have been the one to die

Then the final memory Taking her own life with her own twisted Fate the blade that made her bleed just as much as it did her enemies

It was a simple affair Illym called for a short vacation and returned back to her parentÆs estate She locked herself in her childhood bedroom and buried her head in silken sheets Then she cried for what felt like an hour

Her hands were trembling as Illym heaved herself to her feet She manifested her Fate and set it on the ground point upward Then she gripped the blade with her hands and slowly lowered herself so the tip cut into her chest right in the middle of the diaphragm

Illym let go and fell forward onto the blade still crying

Randidly opened his eyes A tremor ran through him and a tear traced a slow path down his cheek After licking his lips he spoke to the warmed air of his tentÆs interior IÆm sorry

The bundle of power and meaning that was the Fate was held together by a thread now tied into a bow And that bow replied to Randidly with words edged in raw grief Even at the end even as I killed her all she did was think of me

Because she loved you just as much as you loved her Randidly replied quietly

The bow seemed to wilt and wither like a vine in winter I know that But this isnÆt about how we felt it was always about what was right I was an affliction that eventually killed my sister That is the burden you take upon yourself by accepting this heat Your crimes will haunt you for as long as you live You will carry the knowledge that the world will never reward those who deserve it And no amount of power will allow you to protect the truly beautiful things in this world from the monsters

I think it is a mistake of pride to think that we deserve any of the good things that weÆve received in life Randidly said We earn the future we are heading toward sure but it is a mistake to think that means our crimes damn us The blood on our hands

The blood on our hands means I hope we will be consumed by fire and never re enter the cycle of reincarnation Bear this burden well Randidly Ghosthound The voice of Illym whispered insistently I have warned you You will regret it The pursuit of power will only earn you grief

The bow around the wild power slowly came unwound Heat exploded outward flooding through RandidlyÆs body The terrible fire that Illym had forged into a blade to fight and kill spread through Randidly searing his other images with its ancient intensity Within a split second Ignition Essence surged to double its normal height and began to devour all that power that was running rampant in RandidlyÆs body

Luckily his Stats and Skills made it so that his body was not fragile at all He could calmly endure the heat while his image attempted to cope Which was for the best because the entire time Randidly was furiously studying the power and potency that Ignition Essence was devouring for a hidden blade that might injure himself

Yet after going over the dense mass of images several times Randidly could only conclude that the threat he was looking for wasnÆt present IllymÆs self hatred and guilt were weights that would be worked into RandidlyÆs images but it appeared that the act of taking her own life had largely satisfied them

The only problem that Randidly could see was how much self harm the images incorporated but he believed it would be largely negated by his ridiculous Stats No matter how much damage the new Ignition Essence would inflict Randidly could recover through it

Randidly focused on the time once more to see that he still had four hours and five minutes remaining Experiencing the hitless bladeÆs memories had been a relatively quick experience There was still time to prepare

While Ignition Essence continued to digest the energy of the Fate floating in his chest RandidlyÆs attention turned elsewhere

Yggdrasil now a complete Skillset bearing the legacy of Chulroon and his pursuit of justice for how his world was treated

Ignition Essence bearing the heat and self harm and terrible awareness of the hiltless blade burning cleanly

The Grim Chimera carrying in its chest a terrible grudge and seeds of Nether preparing to have its revenge

The three legs of RandidlyÆs Fate were slowly coming into readiness Now he just needed to perform the action

Chapter 1172

With three and a half hours until he needed to meet with Lord Miln Randidly slipped away from Lady IellayaÆs camp and arrived at a spot he had prepared ahead of time in the badlands It wasnÆt far from the frontlines but it would hopefully mask his location It was enough just to take himself out of the spotlight

Based on some inspiration he had received from VuallaÆs effortlessly brilliant Aether Engravings Randidly created a large array around his chosen location that would mute the reverberations of both Aether and Nether Because he didnÆt want to attract attention to himself with strange amounts of either energy

Randidly wasnÆt quite sure what would occur as he tried to condense a Fate but he definitely didnÆt want to be disturbed And he had a hard time believing that whatever phenomenon manifested due to his actions would be normal

With a casual brush of his hand Randidly eliminated the dust inside his small alcove at the center of the array Then he sat down and released a breath First he spent some time making sure each one of his foci was ready

The Grim Chimera its spear and claw spread wide to meet this new challenge holding at its core the growing potential of the Alpha Cosmos That dense mass of energy was perhaps the lightest but it was a developing image Randidly knew that it would someday surpass the others

Yggdrasil the Universe that was First a Tree standing tall and proud Its golden boughs and emerald leaves glimmered and seemed to whisper about universal truths And now spiraling across its trunk the seed of an Akashic Record Possessing the might that Chulroon had left behind in that Dungeon for his successor against the System

Ignition Essence now a brash emerald and orange in equal measure holding all of IllymÆs bitterness and sadness But also her brutal efficiency at killing The hitless blade reduced to pure energy ready to fuel the transformation into a Fate

The three images spun slowly in RandidlyÆs mind as he continued to breathe and wait for his condition to reach its peak Although time was relatively short Randidly didnÆt rush to try and start He would much rather be late than mess up his Fate Especially when he began to feel the raw potential from the energies that he wielded

Breathe in breath out Let the tension slip from his shoulders and drain from his arms Slowly Randidly leaned his head back to lean against the stone wall The three images wove together as they danced across his body In flickers and starts they covered him The two tails of the Grim Chimera the constant heat of Ignition Essence the soft noises of Yggdrasil All three were one giant image slowly coming into focus

All were gathering their flavor for an explosion

Faster and faster they flickered in front of RandidlyÆs vision Once more Grim Intuition was slowly turned down to nothing He didn’t need to manage that information right now He was simply a conduit Everything flowed through him Aether and Nether mixed freely in RandidlyÆs rich inner ecosystem Within his hands constantly controlling the amounts Nether surged upward so he possessed both energies in equal measure

A Fate is a physical manifestation of the prayer you made with a Class Randidly breathed in and then breathed out A dream made physical A signpost It is not something sought but something earned Both the destination and the journey rolled into a convenient form It is a focus It is a source of power and potential

What is my Fate going to be I wonder My goal my goal is to free the Earth from the cycle of violence and plundering To strike back at the System that exploits whole worlds in its strange need for expansion A revolution a revolution toward freedom

And likely the image of that will be drawn from my thoughts and memories so what what do I think of when I speak of freedom

An easy answer didnÆt come to Randidly but he didnÆt force it He didnÆt need a concrete image for the Fate but it was his own curiosity that drove him to ponder the question as he waited for the interaction between his images to become harmonious If he really wanted an answer there was an easy way to get one he simply had to condense his fate

So Randidly waited allowing the momentum to build in his chest Then all at once Randidly knew it was time to proceed Across the battlefield Randidly spared a bit of his attention and activated Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil A dozen vines ripped out of the ground and ambushed one of the tight grouped Nether raiding parties

They struggled and fought but Randidly had no reason to conserve Mana at the moment And even from here YggdrasilÆs grip was not gentle Hundreds of vines ripped out of the ground toward those unfortunate raiders practically drowning them The final few points of experience arrived

Congratulations You have grown to Level 50 +8 Stats distributed between Vitality Perception Resist Intelligence and Control +35 Free Stats +1 Stat to a Mental Stat +1 to a Physical Defense Stat +1 to a Mental Support Stat +2 Control +36 Health +45 Mana +40 Stamina +3 5 to all Regenerations +1 to Health and Stamina Regeneration

Even as the notification appeared in front of Randidly his focus was stolen by the changes to the world going on around him As soon as Randidly reached Level 50 his Aether Detection picked up the abrupt creation of a huge apparatus of Aether that spun slowly above him Time seemed to slow down as Randidly looked upward at it and did his best to memorize its contents and shape

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Detection has grown to Level 173

As I thought RandidlyÆs eyes tightened This is definitely modeled after Nether Rituals Big ones but it isnÆt so far beyond what IÆve seen before that I wonÆt be able to reproduce it

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Detection has grown to Level 174

Even as RandidlyÆs mind was spinning with the possibilities the heavy apparatus of Aether that likely would create a Fate lowered itself toward Randidly Although he felt a tingle of trepidation he simply allowed it to approach After all seeing the way it would engage with him would be admittedly helpful in understanding the way it worked

Randidly could intuit a lot by looking at the structure but he wasnÆt a miracle worker The more information he gathered the better

Some part of him worried it would latch onto him and Randidly would need to burn it away with Nether but the more Randidly looked at the apparatus the more it appeared clear that it was going to use the connection to the System Aether as a fixture point

So Randidly watched silently it slowly descend As it neared the mechanisms activated and the legs of Aether shuffled down to attach to Randidly They thrust forward and pressed toward the substance of RandidlyÆs Aether

and nothing happened They slipped across the exterior of RandidlyÆs inner world without finding any purchase There was a pause The huge mass of Aether appeared to be trying to understand in its limited way what had happened It adjusted its positioning and tried again Once more the arms couldnÆt find the place where Randidly received Aether from the System

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Detection has grown to 175

Obviously because such a connection didnÆt exist And with the tool to condense a Fate closer than ever Randidly didnÆt stop studying it for a second

Slowly it was becoming clearer what sort of thing a Fate truly was Because Randidly had always been somewhat confused that such a powerful tool as a Fate could be acquired without much cost Was it really just a natural result of reaching Level 50

Of course not As RandidlyÆs eyes traced the shifting sigils of the hapless mechanism he could see how it was designed to mortgage the karma and images youÆve built up so far in order to condense something that had the weight of your past accomplishments behind it It was less a prayer and more of an offering

The drawbacks of this were obvious if you abandoned the Path of your Class you would lose everything to the System You would be bound by karma to the point of impotency But honestly Randidly was pretty impressed with how deftly this bit of Aether wove principles of Nether threads of karma and the building components of raw Aether together into a cohesive whole

In a way that Randidly hadnÆt really felt since seeing Vualla work her finger casually through the orange dirt of the badlands and draw energy conversion sigils he looked on at the core of the tool to condense a Fate and felt wonder at the mind who invented it

So for a brief moment Randidly offered a short mental bow to this distant stranger Truly there lurked extremely powerful and capable individuals within the hidden depths of the System

But that didnÆt mean that Randidly felt any qualms about stealing such a tool for his own uses

Just as Randidly was preparing to push away this unfortunate tool and begin his own work a voice whispered in his ear

You what are you

Randidly froze The delicate balance he had maintained between his images swayed dangerously as his mind frantically tried to understand what the voice could mean And where it came from

Even worse was the horrible sense of being completely seen that Randidly experienced in that elongated moment Grim Intuition was shouting that whatever this being was it was studying him intently It appeared that this apparatus of Aether that gave a Fate was not just a random mechanism but something that someone operated

More than anything else it was the deftness and lack of intrusiveness of this strangerÆs frank study that gave Randidly the shivers It didnÆt overwhelm him those eyes were just too clever to fool It felt like it could see everything

Then it spoke again the tone light with amusement Interesting When you make it to the Nexus look me up My name is Nathaz Eloise I think our dreams might lead us to the same place

Then the voice the gaze and the tool all disappeared Gritting his teeth and clenching his hands Randidly began to spin his images once more building back up to the momentum that he needed Although the voice was important it hadnÆt threatened him which was a nice change from most of his interactions from beings with the Nexus

So Randidly focused on the problem at hand his Fate He was rattled but the detailed nature of the activity meant that a lot of the sense of pressure Randidly felt vanished as the process of condensing a Fate on his own consume him

With an unhealthy fervor Randidly began to weave Aether and Nether together to create the base that he wanted Just like the typical Fate a mortgage on what had come before to create a focus for what would follow An offering A knot of karma he would follow this Path to the end or he would follow none at all

As opposed to a normal Fate there would be three spines for RandidlyÆs Not a tower but a pyramid

The sense of fear toward what that voice implied was pushed completely down for the moment Instead Randidly turned his attention inward and allowed the energies of his three images to flow freely He could feel their joyous harmony With a deft touch Randidly began to rapidly shape three sets of the Aether to accept the offering and funnel it inward

His initial attempts were rather clumsy but Randidly soon grasped the knack of working Aether in the manner of Nether and rapidly created the mechanisms he would need Then based on some of the principles that Randidly learned from Vualla he created a central point where all of the energy from these offerings would be brought together and combined to form his Fate

An apex where all the energy would gather The top of the pyramid

Then Randidly leaned back and allowed everything to grind into lumbering motion

Chapter 1173

Aether treated as well behaved Nether was woven together in rapid motion as the momentum of the working took over and forced Randidly forward even as his inexperience with this sort of project would usually push him toward cautious But as the pieces of the working began to engage with RandidlyÆs three foci he had no choice but to hastily erect the connections ahead of them And really he had no other choice but simply relying on instinct

It was like a curtain was ripped aside and Randidly could see out through the window into the truth of the world around him caution would do him no favors here The house that held RandidlyÆs small window was freefalling through the abyss and the net to save the whole thing was made by the amorphous threads of necessity and desire No matter how carefully Randidly wanted to guide himself forward that was not the sort of moment that this was

This elaborate construction could only be managed with belief And perhaps a little luck

So Randidly believed By mostly imitation and burning determination three portions of the Aether constructs began to slowly spin with more vigor The heavy weight of the three foci that Randidly had prepared began to shiver as Aether constructs dug into them Their energies were slowly drawn upward into the three rotation pillars drawing energy up from the base toward the apex To the spot where Randidly would soon condense a Fate

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Manipulation has grown to Level 202

More and more energy was funneled up through these three portions so much so that the Aether used to build them shuddered and warped under the strain and friction of the passing energy But Randidly was always there with a gentle touch feeding more Aether into the whole thing so it stayed whole

Sweat dripped down RandidlyÆs forehead in the real world while his attention was diverted inward The small drips were a delicate distraction as he continually healed the working Especially near the top of the pyramid where the three rivers of energy started to surge and crash around together Randidly needed to constantly use Aether to repair the pieces

This Randidly shivered This is unsustainable If it keeps accelerating

Even as Randidly began to get a handle on managing all of the energy the mechanical pieces to even more furious life More of the little mechanisms began to move The amount of energy that was thrust upward from each of the tripod’s legs tripled Instantly even the legs began to warp at a speed that was alarming even with RandidlyÆs touch continually mending the moving pieces In addition the apex began to melt away to nothing

There was simply too much ambient energy The power flowing through this Aether construct was too destructive With all the potential of the Alpha Cosmos the almost inert deadliness of Illym and also ChulroonÆs long held desire for vengeance

Randidly gritted his teeth It occurred to him now that the shape of the Aether construct provided by the System was likely designed to handle a lot less energy than what Randidly was currently producing Perhaps even more than one third less Not only because he had prepared very specifically but likely a normal person didnÆt have as much potent energy present in their existence as either a Fate or an entire world

Perhaps that Nathaz Eloise was there precisely to determine if this was the correct tool but obviously a reading wasnÆt possible when it tried to engage with RandidlyÆs Aether connection to the System

As it was Randidly began to furiously study the way that energy was flowing upward and warping the mechanism of this process Although the Alpha CosmosÆ energy was relatively mild the other two burned with power as it flowed upward More and more of RandidlyÆs Aether was consumed to keep those two legs Whole

A Fate was already someoneÆs images and karma being mortgaged to condense power Now to slowly unravel that power and feed it back through a mortgaging process

Still the value these would have in this karmic brokering was significant That was why Randidly had gone through the trouble of doing this But it seemed that value was too significant for this normal version of Fate production tool to manage

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Manipulation has grown to Level 203

So Randidly reached forward and started to make some changes His mind buzzed as complex sigils of Aether were drawn and obliterated as he streamlined what he wanted

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Manipulation has grown to Level 204

More and more Randidly relied on the insights he had gained from seeing Vualla create energy manipulation sigils to cluster and space out the power along the legs and at the apex They acted as breaks keeping the energy from connecting into an unending flow Too much in one spot too quickly was asking for trouble Still that would only delay the problem

Which meant that it was time for Randidly to pull a solution out of a hat His physical shoulders rose and fell as he filled his lungs and released the breath The moment stretched His three images clustered closely around him becoming a part of the weaving

Grinning at a sudden idea Randidly began to incorporate not only Aether but also Nether in the three funnels Using the space opened up by the warping pieces of Aether Randidly widened the tripod legs that sucked energy upward and added thick cords of Nether through each It didnÆt necessary provide coolingÆ but it certainly functioned as such

Nether and Aether worked in concert to calm down the rampaging energy Even in the harmonized forms the two types of energies were relatively opposed While VuallaÆs runes bought him a few scant seconds Randidly rapidly wove Nether to stabilizing the flow of energy upward through all three legs

Which of course only meant that Randidly had to grit his teeth and work doubly hard to weave Aether and Nether together at the apex where those three surging rivers of energies smashed together into a chaotic squall of meaning and images Even as Randidly frantically worked he could feel the horrible reverberations and the bright flashes of light that were occurring in his inner world Perhaps even more disturbing Randidly could slowly feel his Class beginning to stir in sympathy

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Manipulation has grown to Level 205

Gritting his teeth RandidlyÆs emerald eyes flashed as he took several very liberal risks with the arrangement of Nether within the apex At this point he had no choice Obviously the core would be the newly condensed Fate so he carefully scrawled out a bubbleÆ of runes that were drawn with Nether Unfortunately Nether was a chaotic material to work with It was not as easily molded as Aether There were variances even while Randidly was drawing the runes

Good enough Randidly muttered as he started hastily clearing out the nodes of Aether that he created to slow down the energyÆs journey to the apex The shape of the bubble was present so even as the Nether wiggled strangely away from his desired construction he continued to usher the energy upward Grimacing Randidly removed the last of the roadblocks and allowed the energy and meaning to pour into the waiting bubble

DonÆt you dare pop on me now

There was a terrible rumbling but the bubble held Even as an ever brighter burning light began growing in that seething container of Nether Randidly could only rather helplessly return his attention to the three trembling legs and check in on them Aether surged forward from his touch and repaired the deformed bits resulting in them returning to the pristine condition Randidly remembered seeing from the official apparatus Although at this point in a quite modified format

With narrowed eyes Randidly tried his best to ignore the increasingly loud rumbles and focus on the functioning of the legs he didnÆt want an oversight like missing the amount of energy the legs could handle to happen again Better to inspect the workings while he had a spare moment and head off a problem before it appeared

Unwilling Randidly glanced up at the bubble It almost looked like a light bulb at the top of a pyramid shapes lamp Although thatÆs clearly going to be a problem eventually

Yet Randidly pulled his attention back down and began an exacting scrutiny of the legs Each of the many moving pieces of Aether passed through his careful study And honestly it seemed like another problem was rapidly manifesting Or rather a different side of the same oversight was becoming apparent

Because as Randidly studied the legs as they worked he noticed how more and more of the tiny Aether constructions within activated and swiveled down to carve out smaller and smaller bites of energy from the foci that he had prepared Very quickly it became clear that the apparatus was shifting to a finer touch to carve out meaning and energy as time went on

Likely an individual simply wouldnÆt have this much energy to spare after the apparatus had worked for this long Yet none of the three pools of energy that Randidly had prepared were even close to two thirds of the way drained

The hiltless blade released a helpless keen of despair ChulroonÆs chisel hummed in sympathy Waves of power continued to roll off of the metaphysical representation of the Alpha Cosmos that Randidly had offered up These were nowhere near done

In for a penny in for a pound

Randidly could only growl and engage the Aether directly so that the larger energy extraction portions of the legs once more engaged Huge chunks of energy were siphoned up through the legs beginning tempered and smoothed out then being dumped into the quickly filling sphere at the apex of the pyramid

The light at the top grew to be blinding Randidly could feel the heat of it even with his physical body Too much power was concentrated in that one spot It crashed against other images and influences trying to find the shape that it would finally take Randidly could almost feel its chaotic pursuit

ItÆs reaching for something Randidly thought in wonder Yet he couldnÆt allow himself to be distracted for long

While one part of his mind continued to extract energy another part began to weave an even larger working of Nether around the first It quickly attached and supported the original bubble against the ever rising pressure held within

RandidlyÆs inner world rumbled once more So jarringly that RandidlyÆs mental tendrils seized up for a brief second Almost unwillingly Randidly allowed his attention to be dragged sideways to his Class which was now slowly beginning to hum to life For several seconds Randidly stared at the Class thinking hard