LoRG 3

The one at the top left depicted a smiling young man who resembled a ten years younger Roy alongside the bubble lettered title The Day I Became a Hero

Carla sniffled lightly waiting for Roy to respond But Roy couldnÆt think of anything to say Uh

Carla produced a tissue from her pocket and blew her nose into it noisily Then she tossed the used tissue into RoyÆs trash and said You are gonna need to throw those post its away They arenÆt work appropriate

What Immediately Roy became panicked The only reason that he had taken the job at the call center was to save money so he could apply again to AC Comics as an illustrator Although these drawings were done on post its basically all of his best work was done while he was supposed to be answering customer support calls When he went home he needed to copy these over to more expensive paper for the application No I

Here let me help you Before Roy could respond Carla jabbed her hand out and snatched the middle portion of the post it grid and threw the fistful of drawings into the trash can Then for good measure Carla made a deep slurping noise that sounded and spat into the trash

With trembling hands Roy began to reach for the trashcan But then Carla snapped You stupid Man child why canÆt you just accept what you are A loser who has to keep me happy in order to stay at this job And you are doing a pretty shit job at it If I catch you pulling those shitty drawings out of the trash youÆre fired

Roy looked blankly up at Carla The entire call center around them had gone quiet as the surrounding people furiously listened in to distract themselves from their own misery It was a terrible cauldron of depression that bubbled gleefully to RoyÆs misfortune Why

How old are you Roy Carla said with faux concern YouÆve got a bit of a belly donÆt you Probably growing out that beard to hide your double chin This is me helping you The sooner you admit that none of the fantasy stuff is real the happier you will be Instead of drawing cartoons put in some effort here in your real life

But Roy began but CarlaÆs pudgy hand slapped down on RoyÆs desk again and snatched the title panel She spared it a frowning glance and then shook her head sorrowfully

Heroes donÆt exist Carla ripped the picture of the smiling young man to pieces and tossed it into the trash You know what IÆll just go bring a janitor Better to toss this shit out now Then there wonÆt be any more distractions will there be Roy

Without waiting for him to answer she turned around and waddled off toward the office managerÆs desk The other employees immediately did their best to act busy and spoke loudly into their phones as though everyone hadnÆt been watching the entire dressing down out of the corner of their eyes

Blankly Roy looked down at his desk He suddenly felt ten years older than he had felt this morning He needed an entire comic book for the application Remembering the plot wouldnÆt be difficult but when he had quickly glanced at the panels earlier he had noticed some really impressive perspectives in action sequences Somehow Roy knew that this would be the application that would land him a job

Yet as soon as Roy thought that a bleak depression crept up from the bottom of his heart and reached with cold hands to tug at that optimism How many times had he thought the same thing in the past Yet here he was working another temp job in order to make enough money to avoid eviction from his apartment

And everything was still so fuzzy from his earlier dozing

Roy turned and looked once more toward the window Rain dripped over the glass pane and beaded across its surface It seemed to confirm his worst fears there would be no sudden miracle even if Roy risked losing this job to recover the post its

Maybe there really isnÆt magic in this world Roy said softly He flinched when someone nearby snorted

As he gathered up the rest of his comic panels with trembling hands Roy began to cry It hurt to admit it but maybe Carla was right After all what did he know Even though he had been told his entire life that trying to make it as a comic book artist was a waste of time Roy hadnÆt given up But now at thirty seven with nothing to show for all his hard work

There was nothing tragic about surrendering right Some things werenÆt meant to be That was just karma

Sniffing loudly Roy shook his head and hunched over his desk so he could pretend like his coworkers hadnÆt silently witnessed everything that happened Or that they couldnÆt see that he was crying now

But as Roy held the handful of comic panels on post its over the trash he couldnÆt help but hesitate The pure joy on the main characterÆs face made RoyÆs heart ache He brought his ink stained finger down and lightly dragged it across the post it note

When was the last time I smiled like that When was the last time I was that happy Roy thought to himself Finally he sighed with his head so fuzzy he couldnÆt think of the last time he had been truly happy

Roy pivoted and held the poisonous false hope of his next illustrator application over the trash Yet right before he tossed the post its away Roy realized there was something strange about these comic panels Very quickly he flipped through the first half dozen His frown deepened as he realized that the plot of these panels was slightly different than he remembered Had he done some of these while half asleep earlier

RoyÆs original idea for a story was a normal office worker transmigrating to a fantasy world with game elements But in the comic held in his hands the main character didnÆt travel to another world a System came to Earth And it wasnÆt just the main character that had access to it Everyone on the planet began to Level up and fight against monsters Rather than it being a blessing the System seemed to be making a serious attempt to wipe out the human population on Earth

Enamored with this story he didnÆt remember writing Roy flipped quickly through the panels Although he had only had thirty six panels arranged no matter how many panels Roy flipped through there were still more to read

In the story Roy barely managed to survive those first few days by utilizing improvised weapons from around the office and moving quickly to secure food With a base he began to gather companions to assist him After assembling a team Roy rescued an attractive young couple who would eventually become his left and right hands Together they pushed back the forces of monsters in the surrounding area

They even managed to find a golden coin and create a Village which gave them access to Classes Entranced RoyÆs fingers flipped from the panel where he spoke to the Village Spirit to obtain his Class Although RoyÆs phone abruptly began to ring he ignored it His hands were trembling as he once more began to cry These were silent tears that coursed down his cheeks

Because this panel was probably epitomized the feeling that Roy had chased his entire life

The panel was extremely simple The main character selected his Class Hero For several seconds Roy couldnÆt breathe Then he wiped away his tears and continued to flip through the post its

Everything was right with the world even as monsters continued to attack the HeroÆs Village

His eyes were bright as he eagerly continued to read But suddenly his hands clenched with enough force to warp the post its After spending a few minutes confused he finally remembered Carla For a second Roy had thought he had missed something because the main character underwent an abrupt transformation in the later panels But the middle section of his comic had been thrown in the trash

Something snapped inside of Roy His eyes burned with malice But that horrible desire to hurt began to push away some of the confusion in his mind

Uncaring that his phone continued to insistently ring Roy put his hand into the trashcan Ignoring the slimy sensation of CarlaÆs partially dried snot he pulled out the panels he was missing After reorganizing them Roy eagerly continued to read But as he reached the panel exactly in the middle of the story he had drawn Roy stuttered to a stop

Roy looked down at the drawing depicting his own death The Tribulation of his Village had taken the form of an attractive woman and snuck into the compound It hadnÆt really even needed to do anything it had just make sure that Roy saw its fleshy exterior and he was instantly blinded by lust

It had ridden on top of Roy and when he had closed his eyes to orgasm the Tribulation slid a dagger into his heart

Still wearing the beautiful face of a raven haired woman the Tribulation had leaned over him and whispered What a way for a Hero to die

Then it had twisted the knife No matter how he had struggled Roy hadnÆt been able to make a sound He died bleeding out on his bed his Village consumed by the Tribulation

Roy stared solemnly at that pencil sketch on a post it for so long that whoever had called him finally got fed up Although there was the constant murmur of other people talking around him and other phones ringing his cubicle became deathly silent

ThatÆs right IÆm already The malicious energy in his chest quickly cooled It became almost well behaved in its madness as clarity began to arrive Muttering to himself Roy didnÆt even hear the heavy steps as Carla stalked over toward his cubicle

ROY What the actual FUCK Carla roared sniffing to pull a oozing booger back into her nose She slapped her pudgy hand against RoyÆs desk once twice Did you think I was KIDDING Get your things and go

RoyÆs shivered and Carla laughed scornfully I tried to give you a chance itÆs too late to act sorry now

Of course all this is just heh Roy couldnÆt tear his eyes away from the satisfied expression on the TribulationÆs face as Roy died in the panel Yet then he shivered again as he stared at the picture of him dying he remembered the sensation of passing on to the next life The terrible lack of sensation the suffocating inevitability Right before he died his Skill Trials of a Hero activated giving him a slight edge But it could only delay the inevitable

Bit by bit Roy had been frozen as his sanity was stripped away with a mechanical precision in preparation to be truly dead Luckily his allies moved quickly enough for some of him to remain He had been revived with the same body sure but Roy would never have claimed that the heÆ who returned was the same as the one who had left His Skill activation had delayed the degradation but it hadnÆt been stopped the process entirely

The heÆ that returned was forever marked by the abyss that waited for them all

That horrible forbidden knowledge of the cessation of life strained RoyÆs personality with an existential pain that was difficult to understand But if Roy focused too long on the memories of that time he would slip once more into that horrible sensation of falling Within a few minutes he probably would be nothing but an empty machine of flesh

So Roy distracted himself from that horror In the strange dream of his life before the System Roy looked up at his shitty manager at the call center and smiled Carla do you know what dying feels like

What Perhaps because of the sudden change of expression on RoyÆs face Carla instinctively took a step backward Before she could respond further Roy stood and walked briskly past her He even had the decency to ignore the way she flinched Then he went to the office managerÆs desk who was looking at him with widening eyes There he picked up a pair of scissors and walked back to Carla

This is what it feels like Roy said as he drove the scissors into CarlaÆs left eye socket She reeled backward and hot blood spurted out across her fleshy face A split second later she began screaming bloody murder and Roy stopped forward again As she fell toward the ground he placed both hands on the handle of the scissors and shoved to pierce into her brain

Because in his dream he was just a normal human Roy messed the attack up the scissors couldnÆt pierce deeply enough to make it into the brain When he landed on CarlaÆs chest the window was knocked out of him by her flailing arms As she worked herself into a bloody lather Roy rolled off of her and crawled away to catch his breath

When he finally did Roy began to laugh

It was a slow process waking up from that dream and Roy could immediately sense that it was his Meaningful Visions Skill that had shown him those things But even as he came back to himself Roy remained extremely still

He was being carried over someoneÆs shoulder and felt non metallic armor shifting underneath his fingers

Why does it matter that they are creating a television network ItÆs just constant movies right

Roy didnÆt recognize the throaty feminine voice but he recognized the second voice when it answered

The channel itself doesnÆt matter much I bet the content will even be pretty decent ItÆs more the fact that there is a significant portion of Zone 1 that dedicated their time and effort to entertainment Donnyton can be extreme sometimes but I agree with them on this we should be preparing for the Calamity not trying to reclaim pre System habits

Sydney I was Sydney rescued me from the Toad Lord what the hell is going on Roy wondered as he continued to play dead

Chapter 1236

Sydney wove her hands together drawing on the power of both her ice and lightning elementals in order to create the seal she desired Calm and insistent with the powerful charge of lightning behind it to enforce the bindings Her Mana quickly flowed out of her like water sluicing into the void but Sydney didnÆt mind After all it would be dangerous to proceed otherwise

I should have come sooner God I really let almost a year go by before I came looking for you

After a few minutes of layering the two energies on top of each other a shimmering blue crystal coffin appeared in front of Sydney She wiped away some of the cold rain running across her forehead and released a steadying breath Not that wiping away the moisture did much the rain was a constant companion in this world

The coffin itself functioned both as a way to suppress the occupant and also make it easier for her to move him Although it required a small amount of Mana to maintain it now that the structure was set up it didnÆt take much attention And considering the fact they were technically behind enemy lines

Gently Sydney reached out and touched the cool surface of the coffin She looked through the translucent walls at the agonized expression on DrakeÆs face For several seconds she simply stared at the shredded lids of his eyes and the sharp prongs of the Fate that had claimed his sight

IÆm sorry I waited so long to come to save you Sydney apologized internally Her gaze became heavy It seems like I can never reach out toward the people I want to talk to the most

Why had she balked at the prospect of telling Ace about her illness

The surface of the nearby lake began to bubble and SydneyÆs gaze turned sharp In a split second her left hand was wreathed in lightning while frost skittered up her skin from the fingertips of her right hand Both arms glowed with light blue energies similar but very unique But the bubbles soon resolved themselves into the fearsome form of Neveah and Sydney relaxed

In several huge strokes Neveah swam into the showered and waded upward She was currently in her natural state a humanoid bone wyrm with a horrifying toothy maw Two large wings of bone stretched outward from her heavy bone pauldrons Her hands resembled bouquets of short swords as she cut through the water

Neveah dragged another body out of the depths of the lake and tossed it over onto the spongy muck along the shore to relative dryness Of course the constant drizzle of the Toad World was an incessant companion soaking them both to the skin A ripple ran through Neveah as she arrived back on land and her body shifted transforming back into her human form

She was slender with long black hair that was plastered attractively to frame her face due to the rain Her features were clearly a mix between RandidlyÆs and another womanÆs but the effect was honestly pretty good And after a year or two of practice she wore the human features with a very real warmth

Sydney coughed lightly and pointed to the unconscious body of Roy who they had been rather surprised to find in the Toad LordÆs Dungeon next to Drake Want me to bind him too HeÆs a dangerous individual

Chuckling darkly Neveah shook her head Her wet hair swung sideways around her head as the rain continued to soak them No need

Sydney recalled the scene of Neveah simply relying on her horrifyingly powerful body to rip through the assembled Toad Lords in their assault to rescue Drake The fight had happened underwater so Sydney had the unpleasant experience of swimming through the drifting clouds of gore that Neveah left in her wake

Even the Toad Lord that ruled this world by imprinting on the Aether had been heavily injured and forced to flee in front of Neveah He had attempted to use strange sigils of Aether to trap RandidlyÆs Soulbound companion but over the seven minutes that the fight lasted it was clear that Neveah was intuiting the way the Toad Lord utilized his Aether at a frightening speed She had inoculated herself to his attempts to bind her at a visible speed

By the end of the fight Neveah had forced open the Aether traps between them and ripped off one of the Toad LordÆs thick legs Her sharp fingers had squeezed and a puffy cloud of blood had wafted out obscuring SydneyÆs view of how the Toad Lord has escaped If Neveah said that she didnÆt need any bindings on Roy to ensure that he wouldnÆt misbehave Sydney believed her

Tsking quietly to herself Sydney looked up at the overcast sky Small raindrops landed and popped on her face as she considered the moody vista that reflected her feelings a little too perfectly Do I really always need to rely on someone else to help me with my secrets Why canÆt I just

But Sydney stopped that thought After all she doubted she would have had such success against that main Toad Lord Instead seeing that Neveah had hoisted the now muddy Roy back over her shoulder Sydney channeled her Mana through her elemental companions and caused the coffin to float a short distance off the ground After exchanging a glance both began to walk back along the same road they used to get here

They certainly made for a strange procession in the damp world as they wound their way past the disturbingly silent swamps None attempted to stop them

After thirty minutes of loping along Neveah twisted her head to look at Sydney Why does it matter that they are creating a television network ItÆs just constant movies right Æ

Sydney chewed on her cheek before answering Sometimes it was easy to forget that Neveah basically knew nothing about the Earth before the change The channel itself doesnÆt matter much I bet the content will even be pretty decent ItÆs more the fact that there is a significant portion of Zone 1 that dedicated their time and effort to entertainment Donnyton can be extreme sometimes but I agree with them on this we should be preparing for the Calamity not trying to reclaim pre System habits

NeveahÆs head bobbed a little as she considered this But people had more fun before the System right Fun is a good thing

People procrastinated a lot more before the System arrived Sydney replied And you could afford to the consequences for failure didnÆt often include death in old Earth I think those of us who are worried about Zone 1Æs actions believe that some people might be lulled into forgetting the very real consequences of our current lives by the familiar presence of television

You worry a lot Neveah used her Randidly esque face to grin at Sydney Sydney could only force a smile in response

You remind me so much of Randidly That same thoughtless smile

But before the conversation could continue any further both Neveah and Sydney dug their feet into the muddy road and skidded to a stop The rain continued to fall forming several small streams that drained toward a lake about a hundred meters to their right But other than the unconscious body the bone wyrm and the woman dragging a crystal coffin the surroundings seemed completely empty

NeveahÆs smile warped into something hungry as she stepped forward No need to hide friends Come on out to play

For a second there was no response But then a booming laugh cut through the low drizzle of rain Alright then no need reason not to speak amicably before we kill you

There was a fluttering sensation of Mana and a circle of runes appeared alongside the track on which Sydney and Neveah were walking A veil parted and suddenly three individuals appeared staring intently at the duo The individual at the front of the trio was wearing a loose cotton shirt that was now so soaked that it clung like glue to his skin When he smiled at the two of them his top row of teeth were made of gold

SydneyÆs eyes slid past the unfamiliar figure to two individuals that she recognized immediately The first was a serpent with fluttering wings and hypnotizing eyes The second was a tall man that wore a heavy suit of liquid obsidian

Nemesai Sydney said lightly for NeveahÆs benefit Obviously Neveah was active on Earth but it was hard to tell how well she understood EarthÆs situation To her credit Neveah slowly nodded her head seeming to concur

There are two unknown Nemesai currently I suppose this is one of them Sydney thought to herself

With his shit and dirty hair plastered to his face the man with the golden teeth looked like a skeleton dressed up in paper skin that barely provided him with a semblance of humanity But he still stepped forward with a wide smile and spread his arms Right you are We are the Nemesai and here out of view of your precious Champions we are your worst nightmare I am the Bandit King I hope you realize what an honor it is for you to be killed by my hands

Neveah casually tossed RoyÆs body to the side His body squelched loudly as it tumbled into a puddle I doubt you can kill me I will let you try though and punish you if you fail

The Bandit KingÆs smile widened as he took another step forward Ohh got an attitude donÆt you pretty Well

Bandit King The Winged Serpent abruptly cut across his fellow Nemesis We are retreating

Both Neveah and the Bandit King turned to look toward the Winged Serpent with shared expressions of shock and disappointment Those dangerous eyes of the serpent measured Sydney and Neveah then shook its head The plan was to ambush them while they were fighting with the Great Toad Lord Since we missed the opportunity

Shit they probably havenÆt even started yet The Bandit King bellowed ItÆs been what ten minutes

This time the Obsidian Duke spoke We tried to explain this planet is unusual The population is powerful We cannot just

Fuck that IÆm going to have some fun The Bandit King spun around with a leer across his face But almost immediately be paled and leapt hurriedly backward Neveah had reverted to her Bone Wurm form and rushed forward Her pale wings spread outward and her body moved so quickly that she was just a blur in the grey rain

Despite his surprise the Bandit King was still a powerful Nemesis one he saw the threat he responded decisively He produced a brutal pair of daggers that were stained with blood but NeveahÆs wings were faster than he could adjust for The tips of her wings flicked outward and yanked open his defenses Neveah thrust her arm forward aiming to bury a chilling bouquet in the Bandit KingÆs chest

There was a sound of cracking stone as the Obsidian Duke imposed himself between the two and was forced to endure NeveahÆs blow Shards of obsidian fell to the ground For a split second he strained but then Nevaeh continued to press forward and knocked both the Obsidian Duke and the Bandit King to the ground with raw power

They have the benefit of images and we do not The Winged Serpent hissed It began to conjured a series of runes around its body but Sydney raised her hand and unleashed a blast of lightning that interrupted the Skill Hissing the Winged Serpent produced new runes that shot forward and landed on NeveahÆs body before Sydney could intervene again

These runes threw her several meters backward but Neveah eventually ripped them off of her like they were fat leeches and charged forward again But the few moments of space gave the two Nemesai enough time to get to their feet The Obsidian Duke interposed himself between Sydney and the Winged Serpent to give its fellow time to conjure a portal

Sydney considered using her full strength to stop the Nemesai from retreating but honestly she saw no reason to force the fight at the moment They were alone in the Toad World fighting here was dangerous If both parties wanted to wait for a better opportunity so much the better

Her image is so strong The Bandit King hissed His eyes were red with fury as he glared over toward Neveah

As the portal began to form behind it the Winged Serpent nodded Yes but that means that soon one of their images reach the requisite power and the lock on our images will disappear And then

Then what

Everyone froze as Neveah stopped charging forward and instead spoke Then she raised her hand and Sydney could feel the Aether in the air freeze as though NeveahÆs claw gripped this entire world by the threat After a few seconds of straining the runes of the portal faded

ThatÆs the same Skill that the Toad Lord used on us Sydney thought solemnly

Neveah grinned at the three stunned Nemesai If you tell me that you are going to get stronger soon how can I let you leave easily Creatures like you will kill the people of this world whenever you get the chance And IÆve become quite fond of humans

Neveah crackled her knuckles ominously A towering dragon of bone appeared above her thick smoke rolling out of its snout I think I have the responsibility to remind you that your actions have consequences Since you came out to play you are going to finish my game

Chapter 1237

Randidly knew he shouldnÆt find the situation funny but it was difficult not to laugh He readjusted his hand on his chin to cover his smile and give him a reflective air

He stood in his Alpha Cosmos standing on one of the highest peaks in the rugged mountain range that had acted as a border between the two most powerful countries Looking below almost a hundred thousand soldiers marched toward each other determined to exterminate the opposing side Huge engines of war belched fire as they were shifted into position The two factions were bellowing at each other slowly whipping both themselves and their opposition into a frenzy

Behind Randidly the pantheon of his Alpha Cosmos awkwardly stood Azriel Alta the Earth Golem Emperor the Spriggit Thief and Tziech the Monster King were all staring at the ground and waiting for RandidlyÆs response after they had contacted him and urged him to come to investigate the situation

After a long silence the Earth Golem Emperor coughed lightly I suppose this can be considered my fault

You fucking think Alta snapped Her anger was like a physical presence on the summit of the mountain A whiff of that terrible heat that she had carried in her chest for so long spread outward from her shadowy figure We havenÆt become GODS Just administrators Think with something other than your weapon for once

Randidly resisted the urge to wipe an imaginary tear from the corner of his eye Ah I remember when I first caused widespread turmoil in my Soulskill I suppose they certainly learned my styleÆ of leadership

DonÆt be dramatic Everyone here is at fault Azriel sighed and shook her head It certainly is more complicated than I would have thought to run a world Because we each act independently we are woefully inefficient In the future we should communicate more And perhaps create a set of guidelines for the rewards we give

RandidlyÆs mouth twisted again It shouldnÆt bring me quite this much joy to see that it wasnÆt just that I was bad at handling my early Soulskill but its actually just quite a difficult thing Heh itÆs actually kind of funny Especially because Azriel spent so time lecturing me previously about being able to accept a loss and see the bigger picture

whatÆs the bigger picture now Azriel

I simply believed that hard work deserved to be rewarded The Earth Golem continued casting Alta a stubborn glance The Metal Queen folded her arms across her chest and snorted out a thick stream of smog Perhaps I did not consider the long term consequences of some of the Paths I gave out to some intrepid individuals that prayed to me but I believed the rewards of those Paths were justified

But it created imbalance The Spriggit Thief frowned down at the ground The rest of us werenÆt giving out Paths with such rich rewards like that so a percentage of the populace shifted their beliefs to chase your relatively more lucrative Paths And your demands of your followers well they disturb the established governments

Pah The Earth Golem Emperor waved a large hand in the air True men should experience the entire world Mystery and adventure breeds heroism If one stays too long in one home one will begin to think that home is the whole world

Significant segments of the population starting to migrate definitely will alarm a government Randidly said softly as he looked down toward the marching soldiers Gradually he was re establishing control over his amusement to the point where he could safely speak So then They needed a foe to unite the people keep them in place Due to the fact these two countries have already hated each other for so long this choice was a pretty inevitable conclusion IÆm just surprised that hostilities escalated so quickly

Hah and this was on normal time I shudder to think what would have happened if these six had to administer a world with accelerated time like I did honestly the fact that I managed to salvage anything at all is pretty admirable and that things reached this point only after two months

But just as quickly as it had come RandidlyÆs amusement waned He watched as the vanguards below neared each other Captains barked orders for their soldiers to make a final check on their weapons Randidly could see the nervous expression on the young soldiers’ faces see the sweat on their necks as they fiddled with their swords and axes With his Grim Intuition Randidly could practically breathe in the swirling tension below

Powerful Classers slowly warmed up their bodies in preparation for the fighting that was to come Both sides came determined to slaughter their opponents If this was allowed to happen this would be an unimaginably bloody battle Especially because of the recent explosion of growth in this world due to the recently arrived pantheon of administrators

It canÆt have just been a few powerful Paths Randidly said slowly What else is at play here

DonÆt pretend like you possess wisdom Alta said spitefully Although she seemed to perform her duties as a new member of his overlay SystemÆs pantheon quite responsibly her antagonism toward Randidly hadnÆt decreased in the slightest How many of your previous Soulskills have crashed and burned And then you used the ashes of those to create your next one

AltaÆs criticism mirrored RandidlyÆs own bemused thoughts so closely that he couldnÆt help but chuckle The entire assemblage looked at Randidly with weird expressions as he stood above the marching armies and chuckled AltaÆs face went red with embarrassment and fury and her gaze became even more flinty

I donÆt want to insult you but its still slightly endearing that we made the same mistakes But I suppose you also wonÆt like it if I point out that despite my past failures we are all here working together now which counts as a success in my book

no matter who is at fault this situation is dangerous The Spriggit Thief looked at Randidly We will investigate the source but we need to stop the battle Can you solve this Our power simply allows us to provide benefits within the System In terms of interfering directly

Turning away from the pantheon Randidly looked down toward the people below His emerald eyes scanned through the mass of bodies until they settled on a familiar figure Immediately Randidly released a long breath through his nose as he confirmed something Then he considered very carefully how he should help his Alpha Cosmos

On the frontlines Ileot Swacc had been the most powerful figure on the battlefield But in the end he had been sealed by the horrible darkness of the duplicate Vualla he had created The image of IleotÆs hands covered in black energy strangling his own neck had stuck with Randidly

Power is only ever half of the battle Randidly turned and looked back toward the group of individuals who had gathered His eye drifted to the side where Tziech sat quietly looking down toward the looming fight and pondering the problem If IÆm to assume more of a kingly role in my life I need to find solutions to problems that donÆt always rely on force And for this situation

This is what happens when you give people too much attention Alta folded her arms across her chest Instead simply allowing them to live their lives like I do

Alta all you do is ignore them Your followers have started holding blood rituals to try and grab your attention The Spriggit Thief said with exasperation I donÆt think you can consider that a victory

None of them are now leading a crusade Alta sniffed disdainfully

Randidly finally lifted his gaze ItÆs clunky to point it out directly but it would certainly be a clever and regal way to solve a problem Intimidating them would only work in the short term And the movements of the Earth Golem EmperorÆs supporters were alarming but that only explains the RepublicÆs movements Let me ask again WhatÆs going with the Armgrast Empire

Several of the pantheon frowned but no one spoke After several seconds Randidly gave Azriel a pointed look These sorts of unexpected things happen when we arenÆt honest with ourselves You know how the Prince cares about you Did you really think you could just walk away without saying anything Have you contacted him at all since becoming a part of the overlay System Or does he simply believe that you disappeared from the palace and were lost in the border with the Republic

AzrielÆs silence was all the answer he needed Shaking his head Randidly lifted the PhilosopherÆs Key and thrust it into the air As with the outside world the key could bridge a path created by karma and open a path even in the Alpha Cosmos As a Philosopher I might seek the truth for myself but I can allow those around me to benefit from the lessons IÆve learned There is no substitute for communication

Congratulations Your Fate the PhilosopherÆs Key has grown to Level 94

The key turned and the portal opened From the vantage of a nearby cliff the headquarters of the Armgrast Empire could be seen as a buzzing hive of activity Randidly looked sideways to Azriel If you donÆt want to go you donÆt need to But until you face this things wonÆt change for the better

AzrielÆs expression was complex It was one of the only times that Randidly could ever remember Azriel not having an almost insufferable surety about her She simply looked toward the portal for several seconds not moving The volume of the armies below grew larger as they finished their initial preparations and moved toward each other

The beginning of the battle was only a few minutes away

I donÆt know what to say to him Azriel finally said

Randidly gestured to the portal That doesnÆt mean you donÆt still need to talk to him

With a quick nod Azriel proceeded through the portal Slipping into the strange existence as part of the overlay System she disappeared and sped forward to meet with the Prince of the Armgrast Empire

Feeling rather satisfied with how he handled the situation Randidly turned to the rest of the pantheon Moderation is the key thatÆs a lesson IÆve learned the hard way Too much interaction and people become spoiled and expectant Too little and they become resentful and bitter Sometimes your actions as the representative of the System will draw criticism And if you decide to change your methods you will often be criticized just as badly for your new method

Then what do we do For the first time since Randidly had arrived Tziech looked up and spoke The King of Monsters looked at Randidly with a serious expression

Rather helplessly Randidly shrugged ItÆs not a perfect solution but you care Both about the work you do making the System work and about the feelings of the people You are the fulcrum on which everything turns that puts you under the most stress But you are strong So at the end of the day never forget that you all want to accomplish the same thing as the people do to make a better world ItÆs just the people experiencing the System obviously have a different way of expressing it than you will running it

Some of the other individuals in the pantheon stepped forward with questions and Randidly did his best to answer them all But he was rather relieved when Azriel returned only a few minutes after she had left although he had some experience with this he was very much learning the hard way from his experience

So everything solved Randidly asked

For a second Azriel was thoughtful but then she shook her head No Well one issue was resolved The Prince was very glad to hear from me But he said that things had already gone out of control even he canÆt stop the war between the two countries now

Err Randidly paused AltaÆs hatred filled gaze toward Randidly intensified Out of control

Yes aside from resolving the personal issues my visit to the Prince was meaningless Azriel nodded But thank you I do feel relieved after the experience

After feeling like he had adequately solved a problem to be told that there was no effect was rather unpleasant Yet rather than being mad the same surreal humor that made him smile when looking down at the familiar sight of his Soulskill in a world war had him chuckling now It wasnÆt that he didnÆt understand how serious war was he truly did

But rather Randidly could only throw his hands up in the air life never seemed to go the way he expected

Even if I think I know whatÆs right if the people I lead donÆt cooperate Randidly scratched his cheek No that’s wrong It’s not that they didn’t cooperate but that I misunderstood I can open up the paths with this key but that doesnÆt mean it will always lead to the right answer No matter what utility the key gives me itÆs only a tool ThatÆs why itÆs more important that it belongs to the Philosopher than that the Fate is a key

And as Randidly thought that and looked down at the battlefield several notifications rang out

Congratulations Your Fate the PhilosopherÆs Key has grown to Level 95

Congratulations Your Fate the PhilosopherÆs Key has grown to Level 96

Congratulations Your Fate the PhilosopherÆs Key has grown to Level 99

So only one step away Randidly thought with a fair bit of shock He raised his hand to scratch his cheek again but stopped himself immediately with an awkward smile All of the surrounding individuals were giving him heavy looks

Sighing Randidly could only give in to their demands he stepped toward the edge of the summit and the vivid image of the Grim Chimera manifested around his body The skin of his chest grew pale and translucent with his appendages became covered with leathered and thick skin His left hand was a claw and his right hand was a bone spear Two tails flicked idly back and forth one at the base of his neck and one at his waist

More than that though RandidlyÆs Nether Gatekeeper tier power gathered a thick current of miasma around his body The figure of the Grim Chimera slowly began to swell fueled by the ambient Nether that was drifting up from the mountain range beneath him

Still itÆs not like this means all of my efforts are for nothing Randidly reassured himself as the Grim Chimera grew larger and larger More and more energy swirled through RandidlyÆs body After all they say that the threat of violence is the last argument of kings

Now the size of a skyscraper that towering Grim Chimera roared its madness and descended between the two bloodthirsty armies

Chapter 1238

No I canÆt be party to this

Captain Rebecca Loft had just clenched her fists and resolved herself to finally ignore the missive from her superiors she was going to pull back her squad That was the moment when the monster descended from Shadowthorn Peak

At first it was just a dark blur that crashed into the last low ridge between her and the forces of the Republic And then the impacted ground buckled and produced a huge wave of dust and debris that blasted outward Rebecca crouched down to maintain her balance as the ridge beneath her groaned ominously But luckily it seemed that the ground wouldnÆt collapse beneath her So Rebecca looked up and squinted toward the source of the disturbance

There were seven seconds of silence as the dust slowly drifted to the ground The darkness at the epicenter seemed to darken every moment Then the screams started

Thick blue veins pulsed visibly on the huge monsterÆs pale chest It seemed to be animated by a strange glowing light that burned in the flesh of its torso ItÆs eyes were dark the dark green of peat mud and shadows across still water The dark green of fungus growing on a corpse Licking its lips the enormous monster seemed to pause to stare directly at Rebecca A thick wave of miasma billowed outward as it straightened and towered over the surroundings abruptly lowering the temperature of the surrounding area

For a split second Rebecca was squeezed by fear Then she managed to force out a shrill R retreat

But simultaneously to RebeccaÆs yell one of the operators of the furnace artillery appeared to be so panicked by this monster that he activated his engine of war a burning orb of scrap metal and serrated edges arced forward

Is this thing a secret weapon of the Republic no they are frozen too RebeccaÆs eyes flicked to the arrayed forces of the Republic and then to the flaming projectile heading toward the monster Then perhaps this thing is the source of the miasma The Paragons that now provide us benefits did say there were many secrets hidden in this world

Although her soldiers hadnÆt heard her order Rebecca didnÆt yet repeat it She was just like all the others at this moment everyone silently watched as the orb shot toward the monster Oblivious to the oncoming attack the monster raised its head and howled More and more miasma was pouring out to drench the surrounding area

It would have been one thing if this ten story monster had blocked the projectile or smashed it to pieces But it was an altogether more sinister horror to witness the monster completely ignore the projectile as it streaked forward The flaming orb that had enough power to destroy a stone wall two meters thick impacted the monsterÆs side without much fanfare The dense metal ball crumpled and fell to the ground without leaving a mark on the monsterÆs skin

The howling stopped The huge monster with its terribly dark eyes lowered its head and turned Its raptor like legs shook the ground as it slowly pivoted and looked out toward the forces of the Armgrast Empire ItÆs eyes began to glow as it raised the sharp bone protrusion that jutted out from its right arm

With much more vehemence this time Rebecca bellow RETREAT

Unwilling to let another chance to flee pass the forces of the Armgrast Empire twisted around and dashed away without any semblance of discipline These were all elites that were around Level 50 but those Levels seemed small things before this huge monster riding a tidal wave of miasma

Moving more quickly than such a large monster had any right to the thing swiped its bone protrusion forward bisecting the engine of war that had launched the attack But that bone spear also dragged along the ground to follow through on its swipe and ripped open a looming fissure at the base of the ridge Within a second that opening sprayed upward even more miasma Visibility plummeted

As the ridge began to collapse beneath her Captain Rebecca Loft pumped both arms and sprinted like her life depended on it

After putting the fear of godÆ in both of the assembled armies and making them retreat Randidly returned to his human form and produced his PhilosopherÆs Key Unsure how long the lesson of the Grim Chimera would stick he flooded the area with Miasma and then used the key to lockÆ the passage between the two large countries

Because the mountain range was not quite a threshold in the traditional sense the lock was relatively weak But without a specialized squad of soldiers with very high resistance to Nether Randidly doubted that the two countries would chance the passage for the next few months Hopefully giving time for the six individuals to straighten out the situation

Pausing after he finished Randidly looked at the PhilosopherÆs Key with a thoughtful expression on his face Truly as a Philosopher my role sometimes causes me to be misunderstood I might open and close doors but very rarely will the results of my work be associated with my name In some ways itÆs as though everyone else will miss the owner and only see the key

After saying the lofty statement about himself Randidly looked intently at the PhilosopherÆs Key There was no notification Randidly could only sigh and shake his head If reaching Level 100 in a Fate was that easy it would honestly be strange But still he supposed it was worth a shot

Randidly stayed in the area a little longer to make sure both armies retreated and was relieved to see that aside from a few sentries left to monitor the mountain range both completely withdrew Which meant that Randidly could finally go to accomplish the two things he had actually intended to do when he entered into his Soulskill

The first was to pay a visit to Wendy But Randidly was rather stunned to be stonewalled by sharp looking secretary with the name tag Bjorn when Randidly arrived at WendyÆs company

Ah Mr Ghosthound I was told you would be arriving today Bjorn adjusted his glasses Unfortunately our CEO is unable to see you She had a sudden impulse to go on vacation this morning and is currently enjoying the southern sun along the coast

Randidly frowned She knew I was coming

Bjorn tapped a stack of papers against his desk to align the materials and nodded After almost a year of trial and error the CEO received a Path that granted her a Skill called Foretold ArrivalsÆ It has done wonders for her stress because she no longer needs to fret that you could turn up at any moment

Then Bjorn offered Randidly the stack of papers But she instructed me to provide these to you They should be what you need

You developed a Skill just to avoid seeing me Randidly thought rather impressed by WendyÆs ambition Then he took the stack of papers and scanned quickly through it Within the package there was a letter an improved design for RandidlyÆs arm a schematic on a streamlined version of KharonÆs engine that could be used to power smaller devices and some thoughts on potential upgrades to Kharon After confirming there was an upgrade for his arm Randidly turned to the letter from Wendy

Dear Mr Ghosthound

Attached are several contingencies I came up with that should address your immediate needs No need to thank me No need to seek me out to thank me I assure you that the knowledge you are living well is reward enough for me

In addition due to your obvious fixation on your moving city I have included some upgrades that should help the city function Feel free to provide any relevant data on Kharon that you possess simply provide it to Bjorn IÆll incorporate into any future thought experiments I have

Hope you are well

Wendy

Feel free to provide any data on Kharon huh RandidlyÆs mouth twitched You need to be more honest with yourself Wendy

Randidly turned to Bjorn Alright I understand Thank you very much Oh but inform Wendy that there have been some complications with Kharon due to a sudden population increase IÆll let her know the details after I have a chance to gather them

Bjorn nodded sagely and watched Randidly go as he departed the company headquarters After walking out the front door Randidly twisted up and looked up toward the window of WendyÆs office As he expected a face quickly disappeared behind the blinds as Randidly looked up Chuckling Randidly let it go and proceeded toward some of the wildlands of the Alpha Cosmos

He had no doubt that his empty words about Kharon would capture WendyÆs attention Although she liked to pretend like she wasnÆt invested Randidly knew better than anyone else that the only person who cared as much about Kharon as he did was Wendy The whole project would have been impossible without her input

Still Randidly wouldnÆt force the issue Instead he began to search for high Level monsters to harvest their physical bodies After all with his improved images Randidly intended to remake a large amount of metal to fuel his arm And although there were still Nether Beasts wandering around on the frontlines they werenÆt really suitable

Although the average Level in the Alpha Cosmos was still below Level 60 Randidly was able to find a few monsters in the high seventies by exploring some of the deserted places of the Alpha Cosmos And to his surprise he even gathered enough experience to Level up in the process

Congratulations You have reached Level 55 +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 +6 5 to all Regenerations +1 to Health and Stamina Regeneration

Due to your Fate the PhilosopherÆs Key +3 Intelligence Wisdom and Focus

Congratulations You have learned the Skill Profound Influence Lvl 1

Profound Influence As your mastery of images has grown you now exude an aura of clarity and focus that can influence those that follow you Allies who use images near you will find the process slightly less mentally draining In extremely rare cases allies might surpass their own limits and manifest images beyond their typical abilities Warning Such a result will leave them completely spent Effect of the passive boost increases with Skill Level Chance for a qualitative increase in the quality of an AllyÆs image increases with Skill Level Area of effect increases with Skill Level

Chapter 1239

Rubbing his chin Randidly nodded in pleasure at the explanation of the Skill Considering that his Skill Ruinous Drive only added to damage getting a passive Skill that helped his alliesÆ images was extremely valuable Especially because the boost wasnÆt that RandidlyÆs own image was incorporated into the alliesÆ efforts but he empowered the surrounding images directly That was important as Randidly considered how to return to Earth and act without influencing the EarthÆs images too much

Plus this was the first time since RandidlyÆs Class had been injured by Elhume that he had gained a Skill while Leveling Up Hopefully it meant he could obtain additional Skills again as he continued to Level

Randidly opened up his menu and looked at his Status screen

Level 55 (0%)

Health(/R per hour) 10984/10984 (4619)

Mana(/R per hour) 9912/10713 (2644)

Stam(/R per min) 8109/8152 (1700)

End 901

Str 864

Agi 1159

Willpower 1157

Intelligence 1032

Wisdom 663

Control 1225

Focus 777

Combat Spear Mastery Lvl 221 Heavy Blow Lvl 124 Iron Skin Lvl 47 Dodge Lvl 124 Fighting Experience (Un) Lvl 166 Block Lvl 77 Calculated Blow Lvl 120 Roundhouse Kick Lvl 87 Idiosyncratic Cut (Un) Lvl 126 Stalemate Breaker Lvl 87 Talon Strike Lvl 90 Counter Lvl 94 Ruinous Drive Lvl 70

LoBW Class Skills Spray Holy Sap (Un) Lvl 27 Sharpness Lvl 147 Earthquake (Un) Lvl 48 Invigorating Call (Humanity)(Un) Lvl 14 Erode Image Lvl 71 SpriggitÆs Tinkering Lvl 152 Aether Understanding Lvl 140 Aether Infusion Lvl 47 Volatile Ash Lvl 44 Visualization Lvl 253 Fruit of the Planting of Enmity Lvl 49 Absolute Timing Lvl 114 Cycle of the Gloomy Wood Lvl 45 Riders of the Baleful Court Lvl 159 Lantern of Harsh Truths Lvl 85 Sigil of an Approaching Fate Lvl 32 Profound Influence Lvl 1

Descent of the Grim Chimera Chimeric Avoidance Lvl 234 Cursed Appetite of a Wraith Lvl 271 MonstrosityÆs Appalling Physicality Lvl 253 ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe Lvl 101 Molten Fang of the Pariah Lvl 209 Man is Proud but the Chimera Takes Lvl 195 The Chimera Weeps as Man Mourns Lvl 157 All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth Lvl 161

Aether Skills Aether Detection Lvl 181 Aether Manipulation Lvl 206 Living Aether Lvl 154 System Interference Lvl 88 Aether Surgeon Lvl 69

Spells Yggdrasil Soul Seed Inspiration Phoenix Slaying Bolt Lvl 190 FirebirdÆs Lament Lvl 111 Burning Footsteps Lvl 23 NetherÆs Caress Lvl 114 Authority of the Burning Heart Lvl 125 Talon of the Restless Immortal Lvl 187 Ignition of the Emerald Essence Lvl 215 Stigma of the Lifeless Phoenix Lvl 231

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

Yggdrasil the Universe that was First a Tree Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil Lvl 190 The Golden Roots of Yggdrasil Lvl 228 the Emerald Sap of Yggdrasil Lvl 199 the Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil Lvl 241 the Inscrutable Mien of Genesis Lvl 252 the Implacable Price of Exodus Lvl 205 Reign of the Eidolon Crucible Lvl 201 Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil Lvl 283

Auxiliary Sneak Lvl 56 Acid Resistance Lvl 22 Poison Resistance Lvl 21 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 Engineering Savvy Lvl 154 From Darkness Genesis Lvl 17 (Domain) Crossroads of the Alpha Cosmos Lvl 190 Connection to the Alpha Cosmos Nether Sensation Lvl 80 Nether Rituals Lvl 133

During the three days since he had sent Heiffal and the rest of the duplicates to Earth Randidly had mostly spent his time training the Skills associated with the Ignition Essence Part of it was because Randidly was spending a lot of time thinking about what Ignition Essence would evolve into but it was also because he had clearly felt the limits of relying solely on Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil to use his Mana to damage enemies

He needed his spells to have some kick to them And although his high Intelligence Stat helped a lot Skill Levels would make them even more powerful Only images could effectively deal with images but if both sides had images having the advantage in Stats would be valuable

Since it was already getting close Randidly put a few points into Resistance so it would inch nearer to one thousand in the Stat After he reached that milestone Randidly would need to decide whether he wanted to bring his Strength or Reaction up to one thousand next

But that was for later After finding a nice little valley with an idyllic babbling brook Randidly carefully began to set up a forge to create the metal for the next version of his left arm The whole time as Randidly cleared some of the surrounding trees and used ingots of the old blood steel to create a furnace Sulfur hummed sorrowfully

Randidly couldnÆt help but laugh Relax buddy You are still going to be my armor But itÆs a little much to have a sledgehammer for a left arm I need more dexterity

Continuing to mope the armor didnÆt respond to his reassurances Randidly could feel Sulfur wistfully remembering the times Randidly had fought the Nether Gatekeepers and how much he enjoyed the impactful and violent collisions that had resulted

Shaking his head Randidly could only ignore his spoiled sentient plant armor After all Randidly could sense that none of SulfurÆs thoughts were malicious it was just that Sulfur wished that things could stay the way they were now

you know I basically wear you all day how much closer can we get

Still Randidly couldnÆt help but acknowledge there were some benefits to Sulfur taking over the broken metal of his old left arm After all he planned on using SulfurÆs immense mass and power to hammer the new metal into shape But it seemed a little rude to point this out so Randidly stoically endured SulfurÆs mopey noises

After creating the appropriate setting Randidly made his final preparations for the forging After cutting down a tree and leaving a large stump he took off all of his System empowered equipment except Sulfur and left it near the bank of the river After a bit of hesitation Randidly also removed his PhilosopherÆs Key and left it next to the rest of his equipment Then he filled two basins with blood one crimson and one emerald He produced the Level 78 Bear Overlord bones and ground them to powder And then Randidly retrieved some of the last special copper that Randidly had harvested from the ChulÆroonÆs Dungeon

Emerald fire sprang to life in the heart of the furnace and Randidly began to work

First he melted the copper and then mixed in the ground up bones into the molten metal With Authority of the Burning Heart Randidly floated the mixture in the center of the emerald flame and carefully mixed everything together While the metal and bone bubbled and mixed together RandidlyÆs three images surged into the enclosed area and began to impress themselves on the slowly forming metal

Yggdrasil for flexibility The Grim Chimera for integrity Emerald Essence for purity of purpose

The copper orb of molten metal slowly began to change under the intense pressure from the three images Sensing the time was right Randidly removed the molten ball from the furnace and dunked it immediately into the emerald liquid The caustic blood hissed and spat eating away at the orb that Randidly had made The flaws became more exaggerated and then were devoured by RandidlyÆs dangerous blood

Then Randidly removed the copper orb and returned it to the furnace He added more copper and bone dust to strengthen the metal The orb slowly grew larger The shimmering copper surface seemed flawless to RandidlyÆs Grim Intuition Then his images stretched forward again once more refining the material from the inside

Congratulations Your Skill Visualization has grown to Level 254

Yggdrasil for unyielding spirit The Grim Chimera for the desire to cut and maim Emerald Essence for intensity

This time when Randidly removed the image warped orb from the furnace he immediately immersed it in his crimson blood The strengthening and healing properties seeped into the still incomplete metal emphasizing and merging with the strengths already present Then before returning the growing orb of metal to the furnace Randidly placed it on the sturdy stump stabilized with Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil and began to pound out some of the impurities with Sulfur

Almost immediately all of the prior angst was forgotten as Sulfur contentedly hummed along with each of the ringing blows Randidly slammed against the metal Each strike shook the ground At one point the stump even cracked and Randidly could only cough and use almost one thousand Mana to create a surface with Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil that he wouldnÆt need to worry about shattering

With a better base the tempering continued

After the metal had been suitably strengthened by pressure Randidly added it back to the furnace along with another helping of copper ore and monster bones Once more RandidlyÆs images flowed out into the high temperature cooker while he used Authority of the Burning Heart to keep the metal perfectly mixed

Yggdrasil for life Grim Chimera for death Ignition Essence to heat the two until they were eternally bound

Over and over Randidly took out the metal quenched in the emerald blood to bring out its weaknesses and then hammered those weaknesses to oblivion Then he heated the metal again and quenched it in crimson blood to highlight its strengths and then tempered those strengths with heavy blows from Sulfur Through every cycle the metal steeped in his images until they were almost inseparable from the material

Congratulations Your Skill Authority of the Burning Heart has grown to Level 126

At the end of several hours of work the finished ingots of metal reminded Randidly of volcanic sand pitch black and glittering For now he allowed himself a break to lay on the ground and look up at the sky of his Alpha Cosmos Although a portion of the interior of the continent was now touched by Nether the sky at the wild edges of the world where Randidly currently worked was completely clear and azure blue

It reminded him of VuallaÆs eyes

I should write her a letter Then Randidly hesitated ItÆs been five days since she left

Sighing Randidly sat up and shook his head Then he slowly stored away the created ingots and did his best to clean up the spot where he had created the metal Yet as he was clearing away charred metal scraps he paused and closed his eyes Grim Intuition thoroughly scanned the sensations of the surrounding area Even though he wasnÆt using his images any longer he could still feel lingering hints of them in the air

Randidly walked to the bank of the stream slowly began to put his equipment back on The water was blue and clear rushing down over the moss covered stones Seems like IÆm finally strong enough that this sort of work will leave a mark on the world will some random monster come here witness my image and then experience an epiphany

Chuckling to himself Randidly turned and picked up the Philosopher’s Key With a few sharp movements of his fingers he made the golden key dance across his fingers While touching the key the mark he left on the world here was even more obvious Some small amount of his karma was planted here Feeling the shape of that karma renewed RandidlyÆs appreciation of the PhilosopherÆs Key

ItÆs a tool with a lot of uses So I probably shouldnÆt just leave it lying around in the future Randidly thought to himself as he scanned the surroundings one last time for anything he forgot Even after using the key for a short amount of time IÆve grown to rely on it It would be a tragedy if it just fell out of my pocket and I lost it I should get a key ring

Congratulations Your Fate the PhilosopherÆs Key has grown to Level 100 Congratulations Your Fate has reached maturity

Warning error

The next piece of your Fateset has awakened from its slumber Seek it out to continue to find your Fate

RandidlyÆs eyelid twitched really

Chapter 1240

So it turns out all I needed to do was think about a key ring

Randidly tried his best for several seconds not to be insulted but some very bitter thoughts bubbled up to the surface of his mind despite his best efforts I suppose the PhilosopherÆs Key is a real object and I hadnÆt really been treating it as such and I suppose it makes sense that you do not necessarily need to learn deep truths about your Fate in to have it grow Some of the truths are more well ItÆs just a bit

Mundane The truth was that these normal concerns of misplacing the PhilosopherÆs Key struck Randidly as extremely mundane Perhaps a vital part of using the Fate effectively or incorporating it into the userÆs life but it was an aggravating final level to receive

Luckily it came with the rather positive news of finishing his first Fate In addition another quick notification flashed before him and distracted RandidlyÆs attention

The next piece of your Fateset has become completely awakened Using your PhilosopherÆs Key follow the path of Karma and locate the next piece As you proceed closer to the source of the karma your ability to follow the path will grow more acute Good luck

As always when the System notifications were too encouraging Randidly frowned From his previous experience dealing with invasive Skills and Paths given to him as bonusesÆ paranoia crept out in response to the System trying to be friendly

But Randidly truly didnÆt believe that there was anything sinister about the well wishes this time Because the System was able to gather new information on the possibilities of Fatesets by observing RandidlyÆs progress it was probably genuinely encouraging him to succeed Some part of Randidly wanted to proceed no further just to spite the System but Randidly also knew that he couldnÆt afford to ignore methods to grow more powerful

Right now his own growth was the most important thing as Earth moved ever closer to its First Calamity

When he was sure that the notifications had ceased Randidly looked around at the peaceful valley He had covered the ground that had cracked from SulfurÆs hammerings The last coals of his furnace were cooling The tang of his images still hung in the area but the natural energy of the location was once more the dominant impression

Places like this were an oasis from the violence filled worlds encouraged by the System An oasis that Randidly would soon need to leave

IÆve done so much preparation for one impending disaster after another in the last few years Randidly sighed inwardly If I had time though time where I wasnÆt constantly worried about the next horrible doom the System was going to throw at me I would probably spend my time like this Find a place in the mountains away from people Every day forging metal and Engraving

Shaking his head at the wistful thought Randidly once more hefted the PhilosopherÆs Key The sounds of the babbling brook and the wind rustling through the surrounding greenery faded away The PhilosopherÆs Key and the secrets it could detect swallowed Randidly whole

Randidly was soon standing in an astral realm of twinkling stars The PhilosopherÆs Key slid forward glowing a soft gold color and lightly brushing against the stars And when the key touched a star Randidly saw a place that a bridge could be built He felt the connection that could exist there

Yet Randidly despite the earlier notification and the strange new vista that Randidly saw when he used the key he didnÆt detect anything that could immediately lead him to the next piece of his Fate So Randidly waited patiently in that glimmering place of connections and karma If he couldnÆt feel it yet perhaps what he needed to do was familiarize himself with the new surroundings

Slowly the light from the stars dimmed Their karma was no longer blinding Or Randidly adjusted to the strange sensation and his understanding of the world shown to him by the PhilosopherÆs Key expanded

I suppose this can be considered a benefit from completely Leveling the Fate Randidly thought to himself as he became slowly aware of a larger current in that isolated zone shown to him by the key Beyond the individual stars were several broad flows of light that drifted sluggishly in wide arcs They were so huge that sometimes his vision was tricked into believing there was only one flow But as his perspective expanded it became clear that he was swimming in a vast sea of karmic lights

And as Randidly strained to follow these flowing larger paths with his Grim Intuition Randidly paradoxically could see more and more tiny stars of light His eyes opened wider and wider and the innumerable pinpricks of possibility swarmed him

Each was a place for a bridge Each was another place and moment

Randidly was the smallest mote of light in the endless streams infinitesimally small even compared to some of the stars of light And amongst the drifting flows of karma Randidly was completely dwarfed

In a place like this it was easy to feel lost Everything felt so grand

For almost an hour Randidly stood there his focus simply wandering through the endless expanse of flowing light It was wondrous and illuminating to drift in that awareness It was like walking through a snowstorm made of burning embers constantly flickering and flashing For all RandidlyÆs power for all the things that Ileot could accomplish filled Randidly with fear it all seemed tiny in this place that the key allowed him to experience

Perhaps only that terrible power Randidly had witnessed from Elhume searching for Yystrix could affect a vast place like this But even then Randidly supposed that ElhumeÆs struggles to find Yystrix illustrated how compared to the vastness of the universe everyoneÆs individual power was an insignificant thing

even the System is only one part of the universe Aether and Nether That strange weave around the Nether King and the aspects of Nether Rituals in the System what lays beyond it I wonder

Yet for the moment that distant horizon needed to be ignored Instead Randidly focused back on his own self in that vast sea of drifting lights With a bit more time to acclimate to the vista Randidly could gradually discern different shades to the light Connections and similarities could be traced by looking for familiar colors

Very quickly Randidly found himself and then followed the shifting golden and emerald light to the location of the next piece of his Fate And when he arrived there and expanded his focus to include the star where he could build a bridge Randidly finally left that inner examination and rolled his eyes

I didnÆt need you to tell me that it would be back on Earth Randidly said to the air Then he shook his head I suppose IÆll know more when I return in four days

Thinking about it Randidly made his preparations and returned from the Alpha Cosmos to the real world All it took was a thought and RandidlyÆs consciousness was back in his body With a yawn Randidly got up off of his cot and stretched as he considered the surroundings Although the quality of his tent had markedly improved after he became a Commander it was a relatively meaningless thing

The tent was now a spacious thing that could comfortably fit a basketball court but it was basically all empty dirt ground He hadnÆt even laid down a rug Randidly had his cot and a nicer wardrobe given to him by Lady Iellaya that he hadnÆt bothered to use Honestly he supposed that it was mostly there so it added to the illusion that Randidly was a man of means

Aside from the dresser there was also a chair and a relatively flimsy looking desk that Randidly supposed was literally the seat of his power as Commander The desk was already messily covered in reports of the integration of various forces into the group under RandidlyÆs command He paid attention to how it was going but mostly Randidly left the smaller decisions to Salazar and Zauna

Although Randidly had grown to appreciate the need for him to act as a leader he still preferred the style of leadership where he surrounded himself with capable individuals to the more monolithic style of a king making every decision He wore a crown sure but Randidly knew all too well that he wasnÆt a perfect individual He was simply the one who could most clearly see the path forward right now and had the strength to pursue it So he had taken up the mantle of a king

Chuckling to himself Randidly moved from his cot to the open space in the center of his tent He was meditating and contemplating what sort of Engraving he could use when making his new arm with Architecture of the Primordial Ways when there was a familiar cough at the threshold of his tent

Come on in Randidly responded and an annoyed looking Lady Iellaya strode forward into the wide and empty space Despite the fact that her armor was conspicuously shining and polished she didnÆt seem to be in a good mood

Lady Iellaya glanced around and grimaced Why donÆt you have any guard in front of your tent It feels like you are in command of a ghost town

Randidly opened his mouth to retort but Lady Iellaya held up a hand and shook her head sharply DonÆt answer that You are free to operate without guards if its easier I much prefer visiting you to some of the other Commanders I donÆt feel like you look at me like IÆm a plate of meat You didnÆt argue at all with the Aether allotment that I gave you and to be frank itÆs only about two thirds as much as you deserve

Seeing RandidlyÆs bewildered face the feathers along Lady IellayaÆs arm twitched you know sometimes you need to pretend at least that you are concerned about the same things as everyone else ItÆs when you add up your attitude with the strange things that you can accomplish that you become your most alarming self

Got it Supreme Commander please provide me additional Aether IÆve barely made due as it is Randidly said smartly

Lady Iellaya rolled her eyes IÆll consider it But at least I can use you asking for more to keep some of the other Commanders at bay But thatÆs not why IÆm here More meddling from above Military Command believes that a lot of our new Commanders you included are too green So they dispatched several veterans to come and serve as advisors

That got RandidlyÆs attention Monitoring us Still concerned about IleotÆs body

No from Military CommandÆs perspective this is exactly as advertised They are sending a veteran to help you adjust to your command Lady Iellaya rubbed her chin There were deep bags under her eyes These veterans will report directly to a Commander with no oversight from High Command so a Commander can do whatever they want with them No the reason I bring it up is that the veteran who was assigned to you has a familiar name

When Randidly raised an eyebrow Lady Iellaya grimaced Kaan Swacc

Randidly straightened abruptly Someone else related to Vualla I thought

No the Swacc family is well they are more of an institution than a family Lady Iellaya sighed and rubbed her eyes ItÆs considered a great honor to be adopted by the Swacc family From the small amount I could gather from inquiries I made Ileot hasnÆt been involved in them for centuries but he still bore their name And they are not a group that takes a slight to their honor lightly They might be targeting you to find out more His fascination with you was definitely known in certain circles

The Swacc Family huh Randidly whispered Then he grinned I suppose they hadnÆt heard I leave for vacation in four days Kaan is welcome to handle things while IÆm gone

Chapter 1241

Elmer Arrietti fifty two year old bachelor and current Police Commissioner of Kharon the moving city had both a literal and figurative headache on the morning that Tatiana had walked into his office at 6 A M and offered the services of a very special group of people

That was two days ago but as Elmer now walked slowly toward a bowling alley with the familiar weight of his ball in his backpack it felt like an age

The literal headache on that day was due to the fact that Commissioner Arrietti hadnÆt yet had his morning coffee That weekÆs shipment of coffee from Franksburg had been delayed due to raids by some of the remnant ChosenÆ that had escaped from KharonÆs purging of the southside of Chicago a few days prior Finally a squad from the Order Ducis has departed and personally escorted the caravan catching two of the three remaining Chosen at large in the process

Not that Elmer really cared about the ChosenÆs capture those were foreign problems No all Commissioner Arrietti needed to do was maintain a stable domestic situation And that went much more smoothly when he had his coffee

And although Commissioner Arrietti stoically endured as he was forced to rely on alternate forms of caffeine Elmer personally hated matcha Because tea leaves were what the leadership had decided should be cultivated in some of the fields in Kharon itself meaning that it was basically always plentiful

The figurative headache two days ago was largely due to Commissioner Arrietti finally being demanded to perform his job After all in a post System world just designating police as authority figures wasnÆt enough to give them an edge over most of the population Without an identification Skill it was impossible to tell whether a criminal was an NCC or was Level 50 and possessed a powerful Fate

An individual that looked rather meek could have the same destructive power as a Raid Boss And the benefit of Commissioner ArriettiÆs job was that he could pass on the truly dangerous cases to the Order Ducis

Basically the police force of Kharon had slowly been constructed with the goal of identification in mind Although the men and women underneath Commissioner Arrietti could hold their own in a fight they couldnÆt be compared to the applicants to the Order Ducis who were forced to endure the attentions of Ajax the Precise and Helen the Hellfin every day

Which had worked Identify the threat level address the lesser ones while passing the larger ones over to the Order Ducis It was a reliable arrangement Until the vast populace that had been oppressed in the isolated area of ChicagoÆs southside had filled Kharon up to its seams

Suddenly Commissioner ArriettiÆs desk was filled with reports of the previously oppressed population not adjusting to freedom well and taking it out on local businesses Or rather that the harsh lessons that these people had learned at the hands of the Chosen were hard to part with They had existed for almost three and a half years in an isolated time where the only thing that mattered was whether you were strong Might was the ultimate virtue in that place Shaking that mindset was difficult

So sometimes when someone at the market took the melon you wanted you took it back Or when someone said something insensitive about you Or something derogatory Or when someone was so outwardly happy and successful that it inspired bitter feelings in envious people those envious people lashed out

And suddenly the police were heavily in demand lest the growing tensions between the original population of Kharon and the new populace erupt

And on that day of two headaches Tatiana had come with an offer She talked about a whole group of capable specialists who would iron out the small problems plaguing Kharon Commissioner Arrietti had happily agreed to employ the group of individuals that Tatiana had brought Although she was very vague on where they came from and Commissioner Arrietti knew better than to ask questions considering the various animalistic features that the two leaders possessed she assured him that these individuals were extremely capable

Feeling guilty Commissioner Arrietti had immediately assigned them some sticky cases Although the people allowed into Kharon had been the oppressed class they werenÆt like the individuals stuck in the frozen time in the Wildlands these people already had years to develop skills necessary for survival As it turned out about one half of all the disturbances in Kharon could be traced back to the same score of people

That night two days ago as he was laying down to sleep in his one bedroom apartment above a magical laundromat Arrietti had consoled himself that Tatiana wouldnÆt have extolled the virtues of this group for no reason And although these individuals causing disturbances were dangerous they were still living in Kharon The moss spirits would interfere before things got too bloody

After several pep talks Elmer had finally found the peace to go to sleep That was two days ago

Yesterday Commissioner Arrietti had spent most of the day with an anticipatory headache Because after sleeping on the decision it was extremely short sighted to send this group of individuals that Tatiana valued so highly to seek out the unpredictable elements amongst the new population At least before understanding their capability he should have been more careful

So he felt a headache coming on as he had clutched his precious Franksburg coffee yesterday morning and walked slowly to his office Yet there was nothing waiting for him when he arrived The night shift had nothing to report A few smaller incidents surfaced as the morning dragged on but without any large incident KharonÆs police precinct was relatively peaceful

Time marched forward yesterday with only a single noteworthy thing occurring

The leader of the group Tatiana had brought Heiffal came in the early evening and gave a very serious report His tone was filled with the utmost respect as he relayed the fact he and his group had gone to speak with each of the individuals that Commissioner Arrietti had mentioned Heiffal stressed that he couldnÆt guarantee that there would be an improvement in their behavior but that they had at least found the residences of the stated individuals and made amicable contact Heiffal relayed that several had even agreed to pay back some of the property damage that they had caused

Commissioner Arrietti was so pleased by the fact that the situation hadnÆt blown up in his face that the following conversation then happened

Excellent Commissioner Arrietti had even slapped his palm against his desk in his excitement shaking the relatively sizable stacks of reports on his desk If the culprits paid up that was at least an hour of requisition paperwork he could skip Truly amazing No wonder Tatiana recommended you so highly

Please we are here to assist with small matters such as this Heiffal said rather demurely

The deference in HeiffalÆs tone was so genuine that Commissioner Arrietti released a deep guffaw The headache he had nursed for weeks finally seemed to be clearing up You know I really like you Mr Heiffal How would you feel about joining me for bowling tomorrow All the government employees of Kharon attend every Wednesday You are practically an honorary employee so you should come

Bowling Heiffal had frowned I am unfamiliar with this term

Oh Perhaps it was at that point that Commissioner Arrietti had first sensed the strangeness around this humanoid with animal characteristics but he brushed over it at the time Perhaps Heiffal had simply grown up in a country without bowling Well then I must insist you come Although it is a game at its core heh it has a habit of showing the true concentration of a man during play

Immediately HeiffalÆs eyes had sharpened Indeed Well then please forgive me for imposing

And now today Commissioner Arrietti had one of the creepiest days of his life For one when he had arrived at the precinct headquarters this morning there was a letter of apology from a notoriously aggressive individual from Chicago who went by the nickname Three Horned Devil The letter rather verbosely described the change of heart Patrick Shane had last night and how there was no need to send the VisitorsÆ back to his residence

Huh Elmer had said as he sat back in his chair He took a sip of coffee That is odd

Then the morning had continued to be extremely quiet Too quiet After a week of constant complaints the lack of anything was disturbing There were no calls There were no requests for assistance There were no complaints So being the type of individual with a propensity for anxiety headaches Commissioner Arrietti had sent out extra patrols of plainclothes officers to try and figure out what was going on in Kharon

When the patrols returned at lunch they all told the same story the entire population that had been transplanted from the Palace of the Chosen that had once been Chicago were suddenly behaving like model citizens But his officers told some worrisome stories about why All the people talked about these VisitorsÆ with deep respect that bordered on dread

Already there was a booming serious of horror stories about the Visitors So much so that mothers were overheard hushing their children with the threat of a Visitor For Commissioner Arrietti the most disturbing part was how uniform the reports about these Visitors were

Obviously the people said you could tell a visitor by the fact they were part animal But that was only in the daylight and Visitors were tricky For one if they wanted to speak with you they would arrive at dusk so the darkness obscured your features Even worse the Visitors always knew where you lived and when you were home

Homes were very important to Visitors the people said because the Visitors did not have a home of their own

Commissioner ArriettiÆs coffee grew cold as he tried to make sense of what was just hearsay and what had actually happened after he had unleashed this increasingly mysterious group of people that Tatiana had put at his disposal So in the afternoon he ordered his officers to try and obtain some concrete information on what had happened these last two nights

What he obtained was basically a collection of gossip But Commissioner Arrietti forced himself to continue to comb through the reports

From what his officers had gathered it was definitely true that this group of people with animalistic characteristics visited the criminals on the list that Commissioner Arrietti had provided But it was the details of what actually happened next where things got murky

There were a lot of stories about people attempting to hide from the Visitors who came to speak with them However the current public sentiment was that this was a mistake ignored Visitors would circle around the house and find a window or opening where they stare at you If you hurried to the next room to avoid their gaze the Visitor would already be at a window in that room looking balefully at you while they continued to knock on the glass pane

To Commissioner ArrietiÆs relief there was another agreed upon fact If you actually answered the door the visitors were extremely polite and would simply ask to enter the home You could reject them But exactly five minutes later another knock would come at your door When you peaked out the window you would find two visitors standing there

If you rejected them again they would come back with three And then four

From the reports of his officers people were saying that at one point someone refused until there were a hundred Visitors waiting silently outside his door entirely filling the street These stood impossible still like corpses and would knock until dawn when the whole city would be filled with waiting visitors

Okay but Commissioner Arrietti had interrupted his best field agent who had been giving him the same rumors he had heard all day These Visitors started to seem less like real people and more like a supernatural haunting What happens when the Visitors go inside to talk

The woman had shrugged People donÆt like to talk about it Anyone who is visited just changes Not personality wise but more like they really donÆt want to be visited again And Boss I get that the city is peaceful but I donÆt like that we had to rely on threats and fear to earn peace

Commissioner Arrietti frowned What do you mean Threats and fear

Shrugging the woman had said I donÆt know where you found these people but no conversation would start a reaction like this The entire city fears them after two days If I didnÆt know better I would say that these Visitors cut the head off of the local crime syndicate and took its place The Chosen are gone but the Visitors have taken their place It might keep things peaceful for a while but this isnÆt how we should help these people If things continue like this

They had been interrupted by an insistent knock at the door

What is it Commissioner Arrietti had said with annoyance suddenly very aware of the drops of sweat on the back of his neck

The door creaked slowly open revealing HeiffalÆs familiar features His mild gaze went from the frozen investigator giving her report to the increasingly sweaty Commissioner Arrietti Four individuals stood in a neat row behind Heiffal their animalistic features marking them as Visitors

We came to bowl per your invitation Heiffal said formally

Which was why now Elmer Arrietti out of his police uniform led five silent Visitors forward toward the bowling alley His hand that gripped the strap of his ball bag was extremely sweaty

Chapter 1242

As Elmer walked into the bowling alley he was very aware of the neat and disciplined steps of the five individuals behind him They moved with the determined precision of soldiers trying to impress a superior officer And that realization just caused Commissioner Arrietti to sweat even more copiously were these five truly trying to impress him It simply made the group increasingly enigmatic

Considering how quickly they had scared a restless and transplanted population into submission it was something of a joke that they were seeking his approval And what would happen when they realized exactly the sort of man that Elmer was Would they turn some of their fearsome methods on him to punish him for misleading them

Still IÆm a realist Commissioner Arrietti told himself brusquely as he rolled his shoulders No need to assume there is a sinister undercurrent to this situation I will simply ask

Coughing lightly as they went to stand in line for shoes Elmer turned and looked at Heiffal He was very aware how much of the talk in the alley died as everyone turned to stare at the new arrivals I donÆt mean to pry but IÆm very curious about how you ah inspired such change in the individuals you visited Perhaps I might change the policeÆs methods should they be appropriate

Heiffal nodded seriously mm it is nothing special This is somewhat embarrassing to admit but everyone in my company is well we all in the past we experienced very bloody ends With this second chance it has been difficult to adjust

Wait what

Scratching the back of his head Heiffal continued That traumatic event well if not for Commander Ghosthound IÆm not sure how we would have managed to avoid repeating it The company has developed some visualization exercises and mantras to maintain our mental health and we simply demonstrated those with our visits

ElmerÆs expression froze on his face The word choice is a little strange but isnÆt Heiffal basically admitting that his entire company is composed of reformed convicts And violent convicts at that barely avoided repeating it bloody end second chances and they were formed into a group by the Ghosthound himself c c certainly they would have common ground with the criminals but

H hey Commissioner Arrietti Did you forget your s s shoes today

Elmer pivoted away from the five individuals who had just outed themselves as former bloody criminals and looked at Sally who worked the counter at the bowling alley Her eyes were so wide that it was immediately clear that she had heard rumors about the Visitors and recognized them And she likely had overheard some of what was just said

Wiping the sweat from his forehead Elmer forced a smile No but these five havenÆt bowled before So they will all require shoes ah Heiffal do you know your shoe size

Shoe size Heiffal seemed to ponder that Then he lifted his leg up and put his heel on the counter without his torso swaying even the slightest bit It was like there were no bones at all in his hips My foot is this size thank you

Both Elmer and Sally stared at the sandaled foot rather numbly for almost a second Sharp claws peaked over the edge of the footwear The sandals were done in an almost ancient roman style wrapping up the leg to the knee The leather was clearly worn from heavy use and frayed at the edges And there were several black and maroon stains on the sides of the material that looked frighteningly like dried blood

Ahem Heiffal said lightly giving his four subordinates a pointed glance They dutifully stepped forward and brought their right foot up to the counter for inspection without a word of complaint Only one of the five had feet that looked remotely human Heiffal and two others were clearly a furry paw The second in command Shifloo had hooves

I I can make some shoes for you right away Sally said rather meekly She produced some canvas and thread and held them up like talismans to protect herself I have a pretty high Level cobbler Skill

Heiffal nodded seriously It is a good thing for a young one to develop trade Skills

While Sally began to frantically work Shifloo turned to Elmer Why does this activity require its own footwear Is the environment dangerous

Elmer was considering how best to respond when another voice cut across from behind the group

No the footwear is so lane isnÆt damaged by us the surface polished and waxed to an extremely high degree so the ball thrown down the lane proceeds very smoothly Commissioner Arrietti wheeled around to find Naffur and Vye walking up to them Naffur smiled at Heiffal but Commissioner Arrietti didnÆt miss the sour expression on VyeÆs face as she considered the Visitors Heiffal I need to thank you for sending a few of your men to assist in the Order DucisÆ training TheyÆve been invaluable for helping notice areas weÆve been lacking recently

It is nothing Heiffal said with a nod We are both subordinates to Commander Ghosthound ItÆs only natural that we work together After all your strength might save my life someday

And now you are bowling You are certainly adjusting to life on Earth well Naffur continued His heavy lidded eyes slid to Elmer

adjusting to life on Earth ElmerÆs mind once again stuttered to a stop

This is all due to how welcoming the people of Kharon are Heiffal said modestly Commissioner Arrietti generously offered to teach us bowling and we were glad to have such an experienced man guide us

Naffur grinned Is that so Well certainly no one is better at bowling than our Commissioner

After providing for all the newcomerÆs footwear the group proceeded to the lanes The five individuals experimented with moving on the slick surface of the lanes while Elmer nervously explained the rules to them Much of his continued ability to resist the urge to flee these strangers was due to the fact Naffur and Vye joined their lane and agreed to be part of the bowling teams

So team One was Elmer Vye Heiffal and one of the other Visitors They faced Naffur Shifloo and the two remaining Visitors

At there very least my team should come out on top with two people from Earth ElmerÆs mouth twisted When he had finished going through the rules Shifloo snorted decisively and folded her arms across her chest Is this game truly that entertaining I will go first

Elmer had wanted to allow them to witness a few people throw the ball down the lane before the Visitors went but the bowling alley had cleared out as all of the previous players went over to the bar to watch from afar They sipped their beer nervously and muttered quietly to each other as Shifloo strutted forward

Elmer glanced at Naffur who was glancing at Vye who was glaring at Shifloo So everyone simply allowed Shifloo to step up and select a ball

Once she had chosen her weapon Shifloo strode confidently forward to the top of her lane She swung her arm backward and twisted her torso in preparation to viciously whip the ball forward in a sidearm throw but as her hand tightened on the bowling ball there was an audible crack As her hand began to travel forward the ball splintered into a dozen chunks that skittered harmlessly down the lane Shifloo looked blankly at her dust covered hand

Vye piped up Destroying the bowling ball counts as voiding your frame You start with a zero

Shaking his head Heiffal stepped forward as Sally hurried over with a broom and dustpan You were too hasty Shifloo This is obviously a game of control Allow me to make an attempt

When the lane had been cleared Heiffal stepped confidentiality forward While he was selecting a ball Elmer made sure to stress the correct way to roll the bowling ball down the lane quite reasonably worried that these former criminals werenÆt quite getting the point of the game But Elmer was gratified to see that Heiffal had perfect form as he took five steps forward and threw out his leg as he released the ball

the only problem was that the ball seemed to be shot out of a cannon as it left his hand A sonic boom from the roll rocked Elmer back on his heels When the ball hit the pins rather than knocking them away the ball simply annihilated them and impacted the heavy iron plate built behind the lane for just this reason That heavily reinforced plate of metal audibly groaned as it was heavily dented by the throw

Everyone sat very still for almost a second Bits of the pins rained down on the surrounding area

HeiffalÆs pleased expression remained until Vye spoke again Destroying the pins also counts as voiding the frame Another zero

Shifloo snickered and Sally had to rush over again with the broom and dustpan

Finally Vye stepped up As the first person to bowl that had actually played the game before she made a good showing of it Elmer was even more impressed as she threw her ball down the lane and a shimmering image seemed to transport them to a different place The lane became a thick jungle the ball a gleaming path forward through the unknown

Truly the Order Ducis as developing their image well ah if only my image was that strong

When the ball hit the pins the illusion disappeared She had knocked down nine pins Without much fanfare Vye picked up another ball and threw it The image was much stronger this time drawing the shimmering path directly to the last pin With a reassuring click Vye picked up the spare

Your image could use some additional refinement But I suppose it is fine for this game Shifloo sniffed Vye ignored her and returned to her seat

The other individuals all went up for their turns and things generally ended up one of two ways Naffur experienced moderate success The Visitors destroyed some part of the bowling alley

Finally it was ElmerÆs turn He pulled out his personal ball and stood at the top of the lane After taking several steadying breaths he calmly walked forward His form was perfect and before the ball even left his fingers he knew how this would end The ball spun lazily down the lane at almost the last moment the spin of the ball catching on the surface of the lane and bringing the ball back to smash the lead pin from the side

The pins cleanly toppled over

A strike Elmer allowed himself a rare smile of pleasure

Which was swiftly ruined by talk coming from behind him

HeiffalÆs voice carried well in the bowling alley that had largely ceased operating due to the arrival of the Visitors Truly Commissioner Arrietti is a master at bowling Notice how his image was so delicate that it was almost impossible to detect One cannot simply hope to wield an image that weak in a natural way Such a gentle touch requires years of training

What years of training I just like to bowl Elmer wanted to cry

Chapter 1243

Randidly could only shake his head at SulfurÆs whining Relax You are not being replaced But itÆs time I have a working arm Besides when I have two working arms IÆll be much more willing to get into melee fights again

Although the sort of foes IÆll face on Earth might leave something to be desired but Randidly left that thought unsaid

Again Sulfur constricted unwillingly but then slowly began to withdraw its living components from RandidlyÆs left arm The hulking arm that Randidly had largely just used as a hammer recently began to visibly wither and dry The thick muscles and heavy fingers turned to carbon and then began to flake without the essence of Sulfur supporting it

Honestly it was flaking away too much Quite a large mound of debris was being created as the large limb fell to pieces

Maybe should have just done this in the Alpha Cosmos Randidly grimaced In the wide space of his CommanderÆs tent the sudden pile of charcoal was a little attention grabbing But honestly Randidly supposed that having a subordinate clean this up without asking any questions was an overlooked benefit of his current situation

After the material fell away it slowly revealed the corroded and smashed bloodsteel of RandidlyÆs original arm The combination of exposure to Sulfur and Nether Gatekeepers had left the originally stirling metal rather pitiable and marred The exposed pieces of metal fell to the ground in large chunks the original scalemail having been filled with too many holes for it to survive

Eventually Sulfur had completely withdrawn And while Sulfur continued to mope Randidly took Sulfur completely off and examined himself with the fingertips of his right arm The skin of his left shoulder was soft and supple but then

Sighing Randidly looked at the stump of his left arm No matter how many times he looked at it it was always strange The flesh was weirdly pink Just seeing his body end like that where he used to have a limb was off putting

Randidly let his hand drop to his side But this is why I made a metal arm So I donÆt have these thoughts every time I take off my armor

Over the past three days Randidly had carefully forged thousands of rings for the scale mail arm incorporating the updates that Wendy had recommended in her letter The gleaming arm of volcanic glass sat on RandidlyÆs desk having been carefully assembled into the correct shape With a deft manipulation of Authority of the Burning Heart Randidly floated the shimmering metal arm and pressed it against his shoulder

The metal felt oddly warm against his skin He released a breath What came next was going to be the hard part

Congratulations Your Skill Record of the Primordial Ways has grown to Level 249

At this point Randidly could apply Engraving directly onto a surface through Mana manipulation which was the only reason that Randidly could Engrave while attaching the limb to his body Which allowed him to assemble the whole working at once rather than doing the Engraving on the arm separately than the shoulder

Doing them apart would still work but those sorts of breaks would have minute flaws in the balance of Mana across the Engraving So Randidly was glad to be able to do it all at once Lines of Mana began to spiral across the surface of metal and flesh as they were slowly woven together

Hissing Randidly pressed his eyes closed and relied on Grim Intuition to continue It wasnÆt a debilitating pain but injecting Mana into the flesh of his own shoulder was definitely not a pleasant experience Painful was the wrong word It was alarmingly foreign For all that Randidly used Mana quite naturally it wasnÆt a physical energy So the interaction of the two was quite a bit forced

Of course the lines of manipulation to move the limb could be done all mentally to avoid this But there was something instinctive about tying those impulses directly toward the old muscle groups that were still present in RandidlyÆs shoulder And Mana burrowing into those muscles was why his shoulder currently felt like it was being dipped in lava

And I would know IÆve had to swim in lava before Randidly thought with an aggrieved expression His Mana carefully wove its way outward creating a complicated set of runes that radiated out from his shoulder across his back His spine prickled in warning as Mana neared the nerve ending superhighway The lines of Mana also began to swim down across the metal arm gradually building the control system that would let Randidly manipulate it

Randidly had considered creating a particular Engraving to improve the power of the arm but he had ultimately decided against it For one most of the power would come from his own images and the metalÆs compatibility with those images In addition the Engraving he had planned was complicated enough as it is he planned on making the limb almost fully articulate With the complicated interaction of energy transfer runes adding more seemed exhausting

Congratulations Your Skill Record of the Primordial Ways has grown to Level 250

The burning in RandidlyÆs shoulder slowly faded as he began to lace the Mana for the Engravings with pure Aether Still strange but more familiar for his body that had been flooded with Aether for years The Engravings began to shift This wasnÆt just a limb but a living piece of metal that would be bound to RandidlyÆs body The glowing lines of the Engraving crisscrossed the limb creating a vast maze of meaning and power

Almost intuitively Randidly incorporated some of the principles he had seen in the weave the people from the Xyrt Brigade made around the Nether King It was a bowl to fill with power but also a cap on that power The arm would use that cap as a way to resist corrosion Energy following RandidlyÆs will spread out across the surface of the arm

And where Aether went Nether soon followed

While Mana formed the core of the lines Aether covered the outer surface and Nether lined the inner surface The energies flowed freely through the metal arm gradually achieving equilibrium A thin film of Mana balanced intense flows of Aether and Nether The energy began to flow faster and faster through the limb

The fires in RandidlyÆs shoulder surged forward once again as the final connections were established Flesh and metal were bound in that they were both the conduits between the two forms of energy There were pressed together by the two energies until they gradually merged As the two energies seemed to flare up the strangeness transformed completely into pain

Randidly snorted and his glowing eyes snapped open in the dimly lit Commanders tent The light from his arm and bare shoulder was almost blinding

Congratulations Your Skill Stigma of the Lifeless Phoenix has grown to Level 232

Congratulations Your Skill Record of the Primordial Ways has grown to Level 251

Then Randidly released a breath and everything became quiet Darkness returned to the tent He regulated his breathing and checked on his status When everything appeared fine Randidly turned his attention to his arm The surface appeared to have darkened in the process so that his left arm was almost entirely black

He raised his arm slowly watching in fascination as bright white lines ran across the limb and mimicked the presence of musclesÆ across in inanimate object When he flexed his fingers white lines rapidly radiated out across his inert hand injecting life into the motion His arm responded almost immediately feeling very similar to his original arm Although the tactile sensation was a little bit muted Randidly could compensate with Grim Intuition Compared to the previous attempts this was definitely the most successful

Should be much stronger too Randidly smiled to himself The only problem would be if I need to do something stealthy hard to hide when every movement produces light but honestly when was the last time I tried to rely on my Stealth Skill

Satisfied Randidly allowed a cooing Sulfur to crawl back across his torso and cover the still stinging runes that connected flesh to metal With the last of the necessary preparations for returning to Earth finished Randidly threw himself in two a frenzied rush to finish the minor details of his departure in the next two days

He spoke with Salazar and Zauna and settled the reorganization of the troops He made preparations for the arrival of the representative of the Swacc family He thoroughly sharpened each of his images as best as he could in preparation for his return Then he took a long nap bringing himself back to his most prepared state

Until finally Randidly was given official leave by Lady Iellaya to go on six months of vacation Smiling Randidly led Salazar and Zauna away from the frontlines and along the supply path After an hour of walking the trio passed through the military checkpoint and declined the offer of a carriage ride to the nearest teleportation station Instead Randidly walked directly into the wilderness

After repeatedly determining they hadnÆt been followed with Grim Intuition Randidly hefted the PhilosopherÆs Key and opened a bridge to Earth He beckoned to his subordinates Come on ItÆs time I show you my world

Then Randidly stepped through the portal and returned to Earth

Tatiana looked up sharply immediately tense as her instincts informed her something had abruptly changed After working with it for some time Tatiana could sense that something had agitated the spirit of Kharon

Moving quickly she vaulted over the desk and arrived at the window of her office to check the surrounding sky Almost immediately she relaxed and shook her head The moss spirits were out in force filling the sky like a hundred thousand emerald fireflies They danced and spun rejoicing Their joy was infectious and there could only be one reason they would respond so powerfully

Or rather only one person who would make them this way

A second later the weight of Randidly GhosthoundÆs image settled over Kharon like a blanket His return resonated with the work he had poured into this place previously in a way that Tatiana didnÆt truly understand Or perhaps it was the work of the Eidolon Crucible

So you are back Tatiana said with a smile And she was sure that the entirety of Kharon at least the original population could feel it

A towering ten meter tall figure with three heads leaned against his right arm cupping the chin of his rightmost head in his hand Beneath him was a vast throne and beneath that was a hundred hunched ogres trudging forward with their sweat backs supporting the towering figureÆs palanquin Trailing behind the throne was a large wagon train surrounded by thousands of grim eyed ogres holding huge mauls made of a strange blue iron

The center head opened its eyes and squinted forward The other two heads quickly followed

Halt

The calm word from the towering figure stopped the entire wagon train immediately It was an order that couldnÆt be disobeyed Everyone froze The tall figure scratched his chin peering to the West where the portal to another world sat

Make camp here Something has changed

The figure was obeyed immediately The huge throne was set on the ground and then the surrounding ogres began to scurry and assemble a base around the throne to suit its majesty The army marched forward and formed up in defensive lines around the base The entire time the figureÆs six eyes were focused West measuring the threat that he sensed

Thea looked up from the still critically wounded Bandit King and the completely exhausted Winged Serpent It was a bitter truth but the Nemesai were currently under a lot of pressure The current Earth was too strong for them to do much Some of the Nemesai wanted to wait until the limit on their images was released but Thea

TheaÆs thoughts were interrupted as she caught a small movement out of the corner of her eye

For the past year Chrysanthemum had been her usual ghastly self without the slightest hint of the life remaining in her bones that had been consumed by spectral fire She was an empty puppet that only obeyed orders without any individuality To the point that Thea was forced to mourn for her former partner every second she had to be near this replacement

Yet now without any discernible encouragement Chrysanthemum raised her vast head and looked to the South

Thea flinched and clenched her fists

In the finals of DonnytonÆs combat competition Ptolemy and Isabella Cortez fought for the crown Due to the absence of Alana Paolo Kayle Dozer Annie and Donny from this yearÆs competition it had given some of the younger blood of Donnyton a chance to shine With lessons from Mrs Hamilton Isabella had seized the chance provided for her and defeated several more established members of DonnytonÆs Squads to make it to the final

And the foe she found waiting there was a strange one Ptolemy a Level 68 Apprentice and one of the original inhabitants of Donnyton represented the strength that allowed Donnyton to grow into the flourishing city that it was now He wasnÆt a man who often grabbed the spotlight and was even sometimes confused with others

Yet his presence and power was a strong reminder that Donnyton wasnÆt just built by a handful of people

Mrs Hamilton sat next to Donny in the place of honor watching the fight idly It was surprisingly close And honestly she was more surprised by PtolemyÆs performance than IsabellaÆs The man had always been low key but he had been absolutely unstoppable through the bracket to get to the finals And now his calm and collected palm strikes put the more dependable of the Cortez siblings at a large disadvantage

ThereÆs always next competition Mrs Hamilton thought lightly as she watched Ptolemy seize the initiative

Yet right as Ptolemy was about to strike a decisive blow there was a change in the air that only a few in Donnyton could sense Mrs Hamilton and Donny looked sharply up to the West Ptolemy also froze and hopped backward creating some space so his gaze could also turn toward the source of the disturbance

Perhaps it was because of the prior challenge but a second after the more perceptive people noticed it everyone in Donnyton looked upward at the sky The specter of the horrible beast that had defeated them in the challenge against Randidly Ghosthound floated above the sinkhole It raised its claw and bone spear and howled

The mark left by Randidly Ghosthound resonated with his powerful image as he returned to Earth

The manÆs timing was always obnoxiously good DonnyÆs mouth quirked upward Only he could completely overshadow the combat finals of Donnyton

Mrs Hamilton said nothing simply looking up at the hanging figure of the Grim Chimera

A man in a crimson cloak leapt to his feet With his face covered in shadow he stared intently at the reflective surface of the blood pool in front of him A ripple ran through the pool and his face twisted into a snarl The bloodbeasts around him stirred restlessly shifting their hideously deformed bodies

You how can you still be alive God said The man muttered Then his eyes narrowed to slits It doesnÆt matter soon I will accomplish the mission God gave to me and my lovely Ines

Chapter 1244

Releasing a breath Randidly Ghosthound stepped through the portal and finally returned to Earth With his sharpened senses the changes to the air were immediate suddenly the pervasive tang of System Aether was greatly reduced After being kidnapped by the System almost ten months ago the return was a welcome one Both because of where he currently was in his own training and also how near to the first Calamity Earth now was

So he stepped forward and grinned at the unfamiliar terrain with raw pleasure If he was being honest with himself his homecoming was an impressive display

The trio stepped out of the portal onto a lush hill covered with heavy greenery Ferns and vine wrapped trees obscured the slope down from the ridge to the surrounding ground The air was still and humid the blissful sort of night that felt like warm bath water on his skin

But it was the sky that held RandidlyÆs attention Thousands of bright spots of emerald light spiraled downward to form a passage that led forward The moss spirits of Kharon seeming to have grown quite lively in his absence Which was a good thing the fact that the spirits proliferated meant that the Engraving was working as he had intended

He simply didnÆt realize how many moss spirits would spawn More and more seemed to be cascading down to pool around the low ridge on which RandidlyÆs portal stood every second

RandidlyÆs gaze shifted away from the dazzling emerald waterfall to the looming silhouette of Kharon The moving city stood at the end of the tunnel of floating emerald motes of life like a savage beast at rest completely inert Only the smaller legs were engaged meaning that the heavy stone city sat only a meter or so above the tops of the trees likely brushing against the foliage as it had passed

I guess this is my home Randidly closed his eyes listening to the muttered shock from Salazar as the lizard man spun on his heel and took in the entirety of the surroundings Undoubtedly there would be a story based on this sight being told sometime in the future but Randidly didnÆt mind that so much It was enough just to be back

RandidlyÆs Grim Intuition slowly spread outward past the blinding moss spirits to the surrounding area His perception sunk into the soak and into the timbers of the surrounding trees He noted the normal animals the weaker monsters and finally Kharon He felt very directly the hastily housed group of people that had been added to Kharon all told the population of the moving city had grown to almost thirty five thousand Which meant that they would need to start getting creative with the layout of the city if it was to keep growing

It was made to house this many but not this quickly

Randidly shook his head Although he had certainly become more powerful since his last visit that didnÆt mean he could just solve every problem that plague Kharon some things required specialists and preparation And Randidly had no doubt that Tatiana was proactively drawing up plans to convert some of the living quarters so they could house more people

After forcing himself to relax Randidly started walking forward He could sense even from this distance that Kharon was lowering itself hastily to the ground and the people in the city had realized that something had changed And as he reached out with his images and brushed against Kharon there was a strange sort of resonance Because he touched these places they remembered his touch His image pulses with the familiarity

Some would call it karma but it bound Randidly to Kharon extremely tightly This truly was the home that he had chosen for himself

Hell Randidly could now also sense a few other locations

But as Randidly spread his images out farther and farther to follow the call of the resonance he frowned As his images manifested on Earth he felt them catching very lightly on a weave of Aether Under his touch the weave shifted

Immediately Randidly was weary due to the unfamiliar sensation He pulled back his images and the resonance dimmed to a low hum Then he squinted and reached out to examine the weave of Aether even as it attempted to hide itself back amongst the complicated framework the System had put around Earth Maybe before I went to the frontlines you could have avoided me but definitely not after

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Detection has grown to level 183

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Surgeon has grown to Level 70

Despite its best efforts Randidly seized that weave of Aether and thoroughly studied it Then he released it chuckling as he did so This is the lock on the images of Champions and Nemesai so itÆs triggered to release as the worldÆs images get stronger I suppose that makes sense It feels like I could shred it almost instantly to pieces but

Randidly knew that he technically cheated to earn his imageÆs strength but it was interesting to note that the System considered his current stage very powerful It made him relatively confident in his chances against the images of the people in the Champion and Nemesai roles In terms of images all his base knowledge had come from Tellus And on ShalÆs home planet they divided things into four groups Artisan Adept Pontiff and Master

Artisan meant that others would see your image when you activated the Skill Adept meant you could create an image without relying on the Skill Pontiff meant your image had enough power to physically affect the world without relying on a physical body And finally Master meant that your image could persist independently of your body

Whereas most people had to rely on the slow awkward empowerment of their image with System Aether and constant mental refinement RandidlyÆs Aether was perfectly adjusted to heal and empower his images The process was extremely natural So after his image had been forcefully extracted from his body while he was still at the Pontiff tier on the frontlines Randidly had leaned heavily on his Aether connection to rapidly build up his image to the point that it could be considered at the Master tier

And perhaps because he had relied on Aether fueled growth rather than accumulation over time Randidly had still been a little nervous returning to Earth about how much power he would really possess Almost immediately this subtle acknowledgment by the System removed that nervousness he had come home powerful

RandidlyÆs mouth twisted as he considered the limiter on the images of Nexus citizens descending from higher Cohorts Still somewhat tempting to destroy the limit just to encourage the Nemesai to expose themselves but if I act too hastily innocent people will probably die

Also IÆll have to do some research into that strange resonance I feel from Kharon and Donnyton from my images Even admitting the fact that although I possess something close to a Master tier image and three of them at that those tiers from Tellus only capture an imageÆs relationship to the physical world Meanwhile this weird resonance that IÆve felt with the places on Earth likely indicates that my images have grown strong in another way Which means that the Nemesai might have that same strength No need to rush into that decision

Is s s something w wrong Salazar asked nervously reminding Randidly that they were still simply standing on the lush ridge The snakemanÆs tongue flicked out of his mouth and tasted the air as though he was looking for the threat that had forced Randidly to stop

Randidly rolled his shoulders and shook his head Very purposefully Randidly reached out and pulled back his images so they wouldnÆt affect the limit on Earth for the time being ItÆs nothing Just feeling a bit nostalgic to come back after so long away Come on letÆs go to Kharon

Although a lot had changed with the location of Kharon the secret entrances into the city along the rocky bottom were still the same A nervous looking young man that Randidly didnÆt recognize gave him a hastily salute as he opened the door and walked into the interior of the moving city With a nod Randidly continued past the man and proceeded confidently into the maze of passageways that lined the belly of the grand machine that he and Wendy had built

Ah M mister Ghosthound Salazar said nervously as he glanced over his shoulder at the hallway behind them

Randidly twisted and looked behind them A veritable wave of moss spirits was bouncing off the walls and ceiling ricocheting after the trio in a cascade of color and light And it seemed like the moss spirits were really enjoying themselves Randidly turned back forward while keeping his face serious DonÆt worry about them IÆm sure they are friendly

Eventually with their trailing parade of moss spirits Randidly brought his two subordinates to the heart of Kharon So Randidly could alleviate the other anxiety he felt after returning They walked out onto the thin catwalk in the vast central chamber striding directly toward the tall pillar of an engine that powered everything in Kharon Although Randidly definitely wanted to find out how things were on Earth he came here first

He carefully walked up to the engine and examined every inch of the dense network of Engravings that covered the surrounding area With the added benefit of hindsight Randidly saw quite a few places that could be improved upon Especially after seeing some of the effortless Engravings that Vualla could create

That made Randidly shake his head and pull his hand back from the central pillar It was enough that the engine and engraving were functioning as designed His machine was still fine and the burdened on his heart lightened immensely So then Randidly proceeded directly upward again through the passages to the surface of Kharon plunging directly into the warm flood of moss spirits as Salazar trailed nervously after him Zauna seemed bemused but was quite willing to follow him amongst the swirl of harmless sprites as they proceeded forward

When he arrived at the base of city hall there was a vaguely familiar man waiting for him Randidly didnÆt remember his name but he was one of TatianaÆs subordinates The man bowed and opened the door allowing the trio to proceed up to the top floor of KharonÆs city hall

There Randidly found a full room Tatiana Naffur Heiffal Vye and the familiar faces of KharonÆs best forger lined the walls In addition there were four aides passing out reports to the individuals who stood at attention as Randidly entered the room

RandidlyÆs eyes slid across them all He was rather amused to see that Heiffal politely took the report and then set it on the ground clearly uninterested in seeing its content There was also a nervous looking Hispanic man that Randidly hadnÆt seen before And based on what RandidlyÆs Grim Intuition could tell him this was a representative of the huge new population that had moved into Kharon

Everyone remained quiet as Randidly carefully surveyed them Almost awkwardly so as though they were waiting for him to give a speech Their eyes were nervous too as they looked at him taking in his armor and his mechanical arm

Despite RandidlyÆs best efforts Randidly understood that he couldn’t completely isolate his images that sort of control really would take time and experience to develop Some would leak out despite his best efforts Perhaps even more dangerous was the presence of Nether in every aspect of his body That was easier to keep from leaking but NetherÆs tang was thoroughly woven in Randidly now

Which was also likely the source of the fear he saw in some of the familiar faces

But this was his home This was his kingdom Even if some people feared him that was simply the Path he took Randidly didnÆt regret it

Instead of allowing the awkward silence to continue Randidly coughed lightly and looked to Tatiana How are things

Chapter 1245

TatianaÆs eyes drank in the reassuring palpable sense of weight that Randidly Ghosthound carried with him for several seconds as he used his bright emerald eyes to measure everyone in the room RandidlyÆs black hair had grown rather long since he had left almost a year ago so that the long strands hung down to his shoulders he likely hadnÆt cut it at all In comparison it seemed like the stubble along his face regularly received the attention it needed to stay short

In addition the bones of his cheek were much more prominent upon his return He had likely lost some weight while he was away But all it did was serve to accentuate the sharp lines of his face and body Despite the fact that he was simply wearing leather pants and some sort of dark grey armor there was something extremely dangerous in his balance and poise

In front of Randidly Ghosthound one could sense the violent path he had taken to arrive at this point To Tatiana who had known the dark side of humans even before the System arrived there was something extremely reassuring about that violence contained in Randidly Ghosthound But as she managed to drag her eyes away from him she couldnÆt help but notice some of the nervousness of the surrounding members of KharonÆs government

I suppose itÆs better to find out this way This city was never meant to be a nest for individuals seeking soft lives

Still perhaps the most noticeable change on RandidlyÆs person was his left arm The rather bulky stand in limb of bloodsteel had been replaced by a sleek and glimmering obsidian arm And as Randidly shifted slightly considering the assemblage Tatiana could see the way the small lines along the arm lit up when he moved it

But all in all there was something definitely different about Randidly Ghosthound after his most recent adventure Wherever he had gone had changed him There was an aura about him Something that hid in the dark and acted meek as he met them amicably but some instinctual part of Tatiana still felt a thrill of fear as she stood there That pervasive power was not the main reason that Kharon was here but it was the reason why Tatiana never felt any real threat that she would lose her job in the near future If Randidly Ghosthound was gone they would have much worse things to worry about

Yet even as she thought about speaking that aura made her pause

Perhaps Tatiana had been too deeply occupied with studying him because Randidly coughed lightly and spoke in a tone of forced dispassion as he turned to look at her How are things

With the connection of the Eidolon Crucible he probably has at least some idea of whatÆs been happening with Kharon Tatiana steadied herself as everyone slowly began to turn and look at her Although Randidly hadnÆt likely done it purposefully his way of speaking had a thoughtless pride to it By speaking to her Tatiana had been designated as someone on his level

Meanwhile Tatiana could feel some of the others in the room those that hadnÆt met Randidly Ghosthound before pressing as far back into the walls as their physical body would allow She forcefully resisted the urge to look at Antonio the de facto leader of the newly arrived population His reaction was the most controlled which made her all the more worried

But that was all the backdrop Which if Tatiana was honest with herself was what Randidly had her manage So start with news

youÆve likely sensed it but weÆve had a huge influx of population in the last two weeks But the important point to note is that weÆve begun to encounter what we call bubble citiesÆ out in the Wildlands they are locations that were isolated when the System hit but not frozen in time Tatiana folded her hands behind her back They are periodically attacked by large numbers of monsters proportional to the size of the population But based on the reports we could gather itÆs a much easier existence than the System gave us No Raid Bosses no Raid Dungeons

We met our own demons there Antonio added with his voice pitched so low it was near a whisper Monsters are one thing but humans with unparalleled power thatÆs the true face of evil

Tatiana briefly examined Antonio out of the corner of her eye His fists were clenched and he was looking at his own leather shoes but Tatiana could tell his entire attention was focused on this stranger this Randidly Ghosthound that he had heard so much about About spending over three years working as a lessor manager underneath one of the fearsome Chosen who had monopolized Classes and hoarded knowledge about the System in his bubble city Tatiana could understand why Antonio would worry that he had walked out of one hell into another

She had no doubt that the wrong sort of behavior from Randidly would have the entirety of the rescued population fleeing in the night Considering the unnerving actions of HeiffalÆs group in the last few days

But to AntonionÆs interjection Randidly just tskÆd lightly Troublesome So they come out after having three years to learn bad habits Then are all the bubble cities really cities

As far as we can tell yes Tatiana nodded WeÆve encountered three so far and been able to determine the location of each the Southside of Chicago Mexico City and Kolkata And if IÆm being honest all three have been dangerous Mexico City was the most stable but the other two were basically controlled by power hungry despots Helen cleaned up Chicago while Donnyton dismantled Kolkata

I assume to slow EarthÆs growth the largest population centers were cut off from Zones interesting was all Randidly said Then he looked to Tatiana to continue After taking a breath she shifted the papers in her hands and continued

WeÆve worked with Ghost and created autonomous all terrain vehicles basically tanks that track the moss spiritsÆ energy to zero back in on Kharon despite the distance So although itÆs somewhat slow trade with the Zones has been reliably established With some of our progress in metals we once more control the high end of the materials market In addition Kharon is basically a walking printing press from marking and harvesting the raw materials of the Wildlands East End especially will buy almost anything to try and create elemental focai At least for the foreseeable future we have a surplus of cash

Essentially we are operating at a ridiculous surplus I want to pat myself on the back for creating such an immaculate budget but the real drive is Kharon itself The moss spirits find and locate anything valuable before we even need to send out a team Even if we donÆt gather any resources for a month we will still have work to do processing everything weÆve gathered in the storehouse so far

Again Randidly simply nodded at the end of her explanation Tatiana had to sigh inwardly I suppose any more detail than that would be pointless But I wish you would have asked a bit more about our surplus cash flow ThereÆs basically no one I can brag to

So Tatiana glanced at Naffur and then shifted topics With the ten inductees into the Order Ducis weÆve ceased the expansion efforts for the Order Mostly we poured resources into training and outfitting these ten and the prior three inductees with the best equipment After passing every test we threw at them they are ready to operate independently of Kharon But we were waiting until you returned to talk about what those independent operations would be

Sensing the small signal Naffur cleared his throat WeÆve already had a few requests for jobs back by the Zones if there isnÆt anything particularly pressing in the Wildlands Most of them are requests from the border cities of the other Zones that we investigate weird activity but one sticks out weÆve been asked to be security at a football game in ten days

That finally earned a reaction out of Randidly he snorted American Football

American Football Tatiana confirmed Only a week ago Theodora Greyman President of Zone 1 announced the return of television networks and part of the grand allure of television was the return of sports Also during that speech she was assaulted by a five story bloodbeast in the middle of the speech She escaped with only an injury to her pride

Randidly tilted his head to the side Bloodbeast

Powerful avatars of a Classer named Straud Serial murderer too Drains the blood of his victims to form bloodbeasts Hank Howard has spent almost a year and a half tracking the guy and heÆs the source of most of the information But the bloodbeast that attack the President definitely proves that Straud is dangerous

How powerful was the bloodbeast Randidly asked lightly

Tatiana shook her head Hard to say But the combined forces of Alana and Hank were the only reason that the President wasnÆt killed And although they destroyed the avatar they werenÆt able to apprehend the mastermind

Suddenly RandidlyÆs gaze sharpened The image of the mastermind itÆs related to blood right

Yes Naffur answered The string of murders started almost a year ago now coming out of Zone 19 The victims were found with their blood completely drained from their bodies But with the growth of the Wildlands and these bubble cities itÆs been almost impossible to keep track of all the missing people HeÆs likely stayed active but become much harder to track

Humming Randidly closed his eyes There was a shift in the air that Tatiana felt like the sensation of an impending electric shock Strangely the colors around Randidly seemed to sharpen as though someone had turned up the contrast on a picture His hair became a sea of darkness his skin pale his lips a light pink Every hair on his cheek was the deepest inky black Tatiana had ever seen

For a few seconds he stood like that until a frown crossed RandidlyÆs face I sense it Yea That image is strong

Tatiana nodded mentally filing away the fact that Randidly might be able to track others from afar using their image Which is why we considered accepting the mission to protect the attendees And besides the safety concerns the World Council is requesting all Orders to participate As the Order Ducis is the leader of the Orders well per your orders weÆve stayed out of the squabbles between the various Orders However itÆs worth noting that the Order Valorem has done quite a bit of work to clean up Raid Bosses now that we are in the Wildlands They are gaining quite a bit of popularity and will definitely use this security detail as a PR stunt

Heh Randidly chuckled and shook his head Might be fun to see but they wonÆt need us Not if Alana and Hank are already both tracking this Straud

Of course Randidly didnÆt acknowledge the hint about the political ramifications if the Order Ducis didnÆt attend the inaugural football game He simply hummed lightly and gestured for her to continue Last night Tatiana had been worried about exactly this reaction It displayed an obvious callousness to the opinions of the rest of the world Yet now that she saw it it was oddly a relief

Those things arenÆt important ThatÆs why I followed him out there Because I trust that he can discern between those things that actually help our world and everything else that just gets in the way Tatiana clenched her fist and continued

A few days ago we received a notification about the Danger Zones A fourth Zone was cleared and for the third time spreading the world wide experience boost was selected Following that we received a System notification that there would be a special benefit for Earth if we cleared five Danger Zones and selected to share the experience

In light of the recent movements from the Ogre Gorge and World Crater Mrs Hamilton urged patience at the most recent World Council But even she admitted that there is an incredible value to the world wide experience boost And it appears that FranksburgÆs Lucifer is determined to seize the benefit for the Earth Currently FranksburgÆs elites are heading to the Crystal Shaft Danger Zone in an attempt to clear it

A benefit from the System huh I can guess why Mrs Hamilton would preach patience Randidly smiled for a second and as his focus clearly shifted and that violence hiding on his person finally revealed itself in the curl of his mouth Across the room from Tatiana Antonio stood without moving an inch

Then RandidlyÆs expression changed and the heaviness passed Well it should be fine Honestly a Danger Zone might be a good test of the new Order Ducis recruits also you said activity at the other Danger Zones Are the worlds on the other side acting up

Yes A letter came from Nordawn the capital of the Ogre world Tatiana replied She watched Antonio carefully arranging the papers in his hands wondering what the man was thinking I believe an army is marching toward the portal as we speak As for the World Crater it appears that Neveah and Sydney went into the toad world together Neveah sent us a message but it was light on the details However she seemed to imply that the Toad World had been taken care of for the immediate future

Again Randidly hummed His finger tapped against the line of his jaw A hesitant silence fell over the room Tatiana kept most of her attention on Antonio trying to read the manÆs reaction to Randidly The rest of the people just watched the man who stood at the center of Kharon waiting for his direction Likely for some of the assistants that had begged for this chance this was the first time they had seen the man in person They had heard the stories and now they were slowly realizing what it meant to be the most powerful man on Earth

Before Randidly spoke again or Tatiana figured out the right way to draw the man into a conversation Heiffal stepped forward Commander I also have something to report

Blinking Randidly said Oh Is there a problem with the training I know keeping your specific images back is difficult but it is necessary

No sir itÆs not that Heiffal shook his head I wished to inform you that I have learned to bowl as is the tradition on Earth IÆm enjoying this diversion immensely

There was a second of silence Heiffal brought his fist to his chest and then stepped back to stand against the wall The corner of RandidlyÆs mouth quirked up and then a playful grin stretched across his face His emerald eyes danced with amusement Like a released breath the tension in the room vanished Well then anything else anyone would like to share

You should smile like that more often Randidly Tatiana thought fondly You really do have charm enough to run an entire city by force of personality

Gradually the topics started coming faster and faster from the surrounding individuals finally Tatiana could release a breath of relief that everything didnÆt flow through her Naffur talked in more detail about the state of training for the Order Ducis and Vye asked about recruiting some helpers to map the entirety of the wildlands as her independent mission The forgers brought up some successes and failures that theyÆve experienced with regard to impressing an image upon a metal

Tatiana spoke up again to talk a bit about some of the behaviors of the moss spirits Even Antonio finally came out of his shell talking about the individuals worth recruiting among the shifted population and how to approach them As a follow up Tatiana talked about the most powerful of the Chosen still being at large leading almost ten thousand followers as he fled from the persistent gait of Helen

And at the end Randidly hummed to himself

Breaking a much more peaceably silence Tatiana cleared her throat So now that youÆve returned whatÆs next

The gazes of the people of the room changed as they once more turned to Randidly and his focus brought the weight back to the surrounding air The potency of his determination practically buzzed Seeing him sitting there the head of the colossal operation that was Kharon the moving city and displaying both his power his focus and his humor likely did a lot to alleviate the fears of individuals who hadnÆt met him before Suddenly they could catch a glimpse of the human wielding all the power

For people like Tatiana and Naffur who knew Randidly and his penchant for an unusual operating style it was equally relieving to see that Randidly was listening to all the information without wandering off

Perhaps because this was the first official governmental meeting well basically since the beginning of Kharon Tatiana could immediately feel the shift Likely without them even knowing it RandidlyÆs powerful image magnetically pulled people over to his viewpoint With the exception of the still wavering Antonio Tatiana saw a commitment to Kharon in the eyes of everyone else in the office

Before he answered TatianaÆs question Randidly shifted his left arm and the pure lines of white energy illuminated the motion After rubbing his chin he asked How long would it take to return to the Zones

The whole city or just a group Tatiana asked while pulling out some maps

The whole city Randidly replied

Then probably about a week Tatiana glanced toward Vye who nodded her agreement Assuming there isnÆt some pressing need to get there

Nodding Randidly scanned the entire room pausing briefly on each person that had given a report It made Tatiana shiver lightly The whole of Kharon shivered with her Then set a course for the Ogre Gorge And in the meantime letÆs get to work There are some changes I want to make to Kharon before people finally get their eyes on this place I think itÆs time we expand a bit

Chapter 1246

Later that night as Randidly was touring around the suddenly very crowded rooftops of Kharon he felt the familiar sensation of the Eidolon Crucible overtaking him It tickled at the edges of his consciousness tugging him toward sleep Chuckling Randidly found an out of the way corner on a rooftop next to a small garden filled with ripening parsnips and made himself comfortable

Randidly made an aggrieved expression as he shifted a bag of fertilizer and leaned against it It would be kinda awkward if someone found me passed out up here but if I go into the Eidolon Crucible most of Kharon should be there too The chance of that happening should be relatively low

With a little bit of trepidation Randidly allowed the familiar falling sensation to carry him away from the smoky rooftop on which he actually stood and soon found himself standing on a rooftop of Kharon in the dream realm conjured by the Skill A quick scan of the surrounding area determined that there was no fertilizer necessary in the collective subconscious of Kharon Immediately after he acquainted himself with the surrounding area he felt the burning determination of the people of Kharon surge toward him like a vast tide

In this instance their aggression took the form of the moss spirits Which both made Randidly happy and concerned about his plans for tomorrow The moss spirits erupted out of nearby alleys and swarmed together into a towering colossus of emerald light that looked down toward him The huge colossus swung its large hand almost casually aiming to crush Randidly to nothing

The Grim Chimera roared in deadly defiance as it rushed out of RandidlyÆs silhouette and punctured into the torso of the green giant Randidly considered the foe before him critically as it was systematically mauled down to size by the twisted limbs of the Grim Chimera The fact that the moss spirits were chosen as their image representative shows that they identify with the spirits but they are missing the point Now that the moss spirits proliferated to this extent their development with Kharon can really begin

We should have enough power at this point for the expansion plans that Wendy outlined

RandidlyÆs lip twisted as more and more green light gathered to heal the wounds that the Grim Chimera had inflicted into the giant spirit of Kharon Yet as fast as the images of Kharon could heal themselves the Grim Chimera was just as efficiently deadly

Even without putting too much effort into the conflict Randidly was very confident in being able to overcome the images of the people of Kharon Having condensed both Nether and Aether energy into their next forms even if just in small quantities had added depth to RandidlyÆs images that the people of Earth couldnÆt yet rival

Even people from Kharon who had been absorbing RandidlyÆs lessons about images for over a year Randidly wasnÆt sure whether to be pleased with his own growth or annoyed by his lack of teaching acumen

Congratulations Your Skill Reign of the Eidolon Crucible has grown to Level 202

These are almost kinda nice when I canÆt practice my images too violently on Earth without breaking the image seal Randidly smiled to himself as he sat down cross legged to meditate

Honestly Randidly could have ended the Crucible very quickly if he wanted Instead he was content allowing the image of the Grim Chimera to tire itself out as it continually ripped down the green giant He did this both because it was good training for himself and the image but also because a longer battle gave the people participating in the Crucible a good chance to improve By experiencing first hand the brutality of RandidlyÆs image they could grow

Randidly folded his arms across his chest as the titan of green light ruptured from a particularly vicious blow from the Grim Chimera Moss spirits hemorrhaged from the wound flooding the nearby streets and crashing down toward where Randidly was sitting and watching the action With a loud snort a blast of mental power knocked away some of the more ambitious images that sought to go after him directly

Congratulations Your Skill Reign of the Eidolon Crucible has grown to Level 203

Grinning the Grim Chimera stalked forward across the edge of the rooftop and chased the remnants of KharonÆs images to finish this Crucible The other fact that Randidly noticed as he took his time to eviscerate the images arrayed against him was the fact that very few of the new arrivals had been pulled along that showed that they didnÆt feel like a citizen of Kharon quite yet Which was something he would hope to address in the next week before they returned to the Zones

Randidly sighed and looked up at the swirling sky of the dreamland When faced with the power of his image it was just a matter of time before he would free himself from this place and could work on some of the many other projects that were demanding his attention And honestly he would prefer just to remain here these problems were much simpler Randidly could only rub his head ruefully

ItÆs tough being king he muttered to himself as a last surge of moss spirits leapt at him and were deftly knocked away by the Grim Chimera Attracts quite a bit of not quite logical aggression

Congratulations Your Skill Reign of the Eidolon Crucible has grown to Level 204

Congratulations Your Skill Reign of the Eidolon Crucible has grown to Level 205

Congratulations Your Skill Reign of the Eidolon Crucible has grown to Level 206

The dream faded quickly and Randidly found himself once more on that crowded rooftop Standing and stretching after the Eidolon Crucible Randidly tasted the air and felt again the different images that had spread through Earth

As the sky slowly shifted from darkness to the long shadows of the light before dawn Randidly began to create his list of goals for the immediate future On the journey back toward the Zones Randidly wanted to get Kharon as perfectly poised as possible for the different sorts of reactions that they would inspire from most of the population

There was magic in this world and Randidly hoped Kharon could become the symbol of that

More than that he wanted to do some more investigations across Earth before he had to interact directly with other factions When he had sought out that blood based image out of curiosity after hearing TatianaÆs explanation Randidly had been genuinely surprised to feel how strong it was It wasnÆt hard to locate although the image was so diffused over the Southern portion of the Wildlands that it would take Randidly probably several hours worth of concerted attention to track the image to its source

In addition Randidly had caught several familiar hints of energy in the air After leaving the frontlines it was disturbing to find that the blood image was heavily tainted with the energy of Ileot Swacc

If Ileot knew about me from his interactions with Shal I suppose it makes sense that he would want an agent here on Earth to monitor me it would also explain why the blood image is so strong compared to most of EarthÆs images Only Alana is even close

It was somewhat reassuring to know that unless something drastic occurred Ileot Swacc had been dealt with Therefore Randidly would only need to worry about dealing with the source of this blood image Although Ileot had probably duplicated a portion of Earth and given this individual all the benefits Randidly was confident in being able to take him down

Other than the blood image Randidly pressed his lips together in barely controlled fury In a way that hadnÆt occurred since well probably since before had any way of sensing her presence the energy of the Creature was readily apparent across Earth The scent was present everywhere as though she didnÆt even see the point of hiding from Randidly any longer It seemed that her response to Randidly kicking her out of the Alpha Cosmos wasnÆt a good one

It was possible that she was preparing for the first Calamity as well and considering the fact that she tried to stall out Earth in Zone 32Æs Raid Dungeon that only made Randidly more alarmed The Earth was growing too large too quickly for Randidly to have any real sort of control over the direction of the entire EarthÆs growth That is why ironing out all the issues and hiccups with KharonÆs image was so important

This would be his symbol This was the contingency plan if the unthinkable happened

Standing on the roof of an apartment building on Kharon Randidly brought the fingertips of his left arm up and pressed them against his eyelids The metal felt extremely cool against the almost feverish heat of his eyes

Beyond that Randidly had to determine what sort of threat the connections in the cleared Danger Zones presented As far as he could tell it wasnÆt so overwhelming that it would destabilize the current Earth without his involvement At the same time Randidly had seen what happened to ShalÆs world as combat was elevated to an almost holy status

Fighting was a great way of improving the quality of an image but it came with serious consequences Ignoring those was foolish

Of course while I am trying to make peace people decide to bring back football Randidly chuckled lightly to himself

Then his gaze turned sharp as he shited to look toward the Northeast Randidly focused on the area where the CreatureÆs vague energy was the thickest Because it was also in that same spot that RandidlyÆs PhilosopherÆs Key was telling him that he could find the next piece of his Fateset

Not exactly surprising but a bit annoying of a development

Humming to himself Randidly loped back across KharonÆs rooftops to return to city hall There he scaled down the Northern wall and entered into an unobtrusive window Rolling his shoulders Randidly walked over to the desk and picked up some of the files that had been brought there

These were more detailed reports on the various movements of different groups over the months that Randidly had been absent Randidly made himself comfortable in the plush leather chair while he got to work pouring over the reports He toyed with Ignition Essence causing the emerald fire to dance across his hands but for over two hours he carefully studied the tight handwriting contained in the documents With the energy of both Ileot and the Creature present on Earth he wanted to understand what they were up to

So he examined every detail that Tatiana had thought worthy of note

And he could find nothing

With a sigh Randidly pushed back his chair and stood If it really was just that easy I suppose someone else would have been able to notice that something is up but I donÆt like this ThereÆs too much I donÆt know

That thought after Randidly frowned down at his desk for several seconds caused Randidly to laugh lightly I have an entire cityÆs worth of people behind me nowÆs not the time to worry about everything I donÆt know Better to just focus on what I do

Chapter 1247

The technician was fidgeting with her measuring tape as she watched Randidly preparing the prototype to test his idea Sir are these really designed to fly

Randidly glanced over his shoulder at the woman and then turned back to face the 1 meter by 1 meter slab of concrete in front of him He cracked the knuckles of his right hand and flexed each finger Very specific lines wormed their way across the surface of the slab engraved directly onto the surface by Mana Depends on what you mean by designed I suppose Now Tatiana tells me that the moss spirits like you quite a lot

Well yes The young woman rubbed her eyes with the knuckle of her thumb and glanced around at the surrounding area When it became immediately apparent they were still alone the engineer rubbed her sweaty hands on her jeans to work off some of her nerves

They were at a currently deserted portion of Kharon rather inexplicably named DocksÆ The Docks encompassed the slew of roads and tunnels along the South of Kharon that was dedicated to inter industry transport Aside from warehouses and overpasses Randidly and the engineer were alone in the early morning air

Randidly rubbed his hands together as his Mana continued to flow out and put the finishing touches on the Engraving Starting to get a bit cold And here I thought that seasons were mostly eliminated by the System Probably not good news for Earth that they are making a comeback

Around the two individuals were several more preprepared platforms of wood metal and concrete waiting for further experimentation Randidly had requisitioned a whole group of people to help but the rest were currently gathering materials or additional civilian volunteers to participate in the experiment So the engineer mostly adjusted the grip of her clasped hands and cast nervous glances toward Randidly

It wasnÆt as though Randidly didnÆt have a fair bit of sympathy toward her No matter what he did the presence of his powerful images and Nether Gatekeeper body seemed to seep out and unnerve the average person He had even tried to prepare so a one on one session like this wouldnÆt happen the only reason that she was here alone was that she had arrived late So while the others continued to bring more stuff she received the dubious honor of being the subject of the experiment

The Engraving across the concrete slab flared to life and Randidly nodded decisively Perfect Okay I want you to stand on the slab

To her credit she only hesitated for a short amount of time before walking quickly and hopping onto the slab Although Randidly could tell her images werenÆt too powerful she at least had some Levels under her belt

Now comes the hard part Randidly thought with a little amusement He tried his best to smile reassuringly at her Alright IÆve put the Engraving they need so what I want you to do is ask the moss spirits to lift the platform

The engineer blinked What

Randidly swirled his finger in the air and mobilized a small portion of his Willpower Responding to his desire several dozen moss spirits slid out of the ground and gathered around RandidlyÆs finger in a tiny spinning nova The moss spirits are pure energy tied into the consciousness of Kharon The Engravings I made give the spirits something to grip on to interact with the slabs You said you are liked by the spirits so ask them to grip the piece of ground underneath you and lift it up

Uh the moss spirits can do that The engineer asked quietly Randidly didnÆt bother to reply Instead he started Engraving two more slabs After having finished the Engraving once he was much more confident in its execution and could work much more quickly

By the time Randidly finished with the second batch the engineer had mustered up her courage and began to whistle a lively tune Very quickly quite a bit more moss spirits than Randidly had summoned by simply urging them appeared Of course once the moss spirits were dancing around the engineer she looked helplessly at Randidly

He ignored her humming to himself as he continued to work I already know that I could get them to lift the slab they would do basically anything for me The real question is whether anyone can And how long their dedication to those people would last Sorta awkward for this whole venture if the moss spirits only hold something up as long as someone is on top of it or until they get distracted It would have been possible to bind the moss spirits who try to engage with the Engraving but that seems like a poor repayment to Kharon for everything that it does for us

With no help forthcoming the engineer hesitantly stopped whistling Soon the moss spirits swirled around her playfully before beginning to drift away After clearing her throat the engineer said Uh excuse me moss spirits uh Mr Ghosthound it seems like tha

The engineer paused when her words caused a surge of sudden stillness among the moss spirits around her as she addressed them Then she leapt a full meter off the ground as another surge of moss spirits emerged from the ground and the whole of them clustered around her person

Randidly simply glanced casually over his shoulder Already he was moving on to engrave a larger frame to eventually test how much weight the moss spirits could bear I hope I donÆt need to tell you that the moss spirits quite like being addressed directly

I suppose so The engineer blinked her earlier fear quickly being forgotten From the narrowing of her eyes Randidly could tell that her mind was already grasping at some of the possibilities of utilizing the moss spirits directly Then to the moss spirits she said Can you lift this With me on it

Immediately the shimmering moss spirits flooded down into the Engraving The sharp lines that Randidly had drawn surged to life to become a flowing teal color After a somewhat ominous rumbling the concrete slab lifted off the ground and began to easily levitate So the woman pondered it before asking the moss spirits to float her slowly forward They did so immediately at an almost glacial pace

As the engineer grew more confident in the attempts her asks became more detailed And the moss spirits seemed to understand her perfectly every time

As the engineer zoomed back and forth in the air about the docks Randidly continued to Engrave and fondly watch the interaction He didnÆt truly believe that no one had discovered that it was possible to communicate with the moss spirits but Randidly supposed it was possible that no one really discovered what the moss spirits could do

What really changed for this experiment was RandidlyÆs mastery of Engraving Without the Engraving none of this would have been possible

Congratulations Your Skill Architecture of the Primordial Ways has grown to Level 252

Obviously Randidly had created Kharon with a lot of functions in mind for the moss spirits beyond just sometimes condensing a physical body to assist in its defense But he had been hard pressed to find the time to work on that functionality before he had to face his Judgement and be dragged away from Earth Although in this case the delay ended up being a fruitful one because the growth amongst the moss spirits as Kharon flourished did a lot to assuage his worries

One by one the others that Randidly had sent away to arrange for the experiments trickled back As they gathered more volunteers and materials the rest of the team assigned to Randidly stopped and looked in shock at the engineer that was treating her cement platform like a racecar With a few whispered orders she streaked past the space where the crowd was slowly gathering banked into a tight curve and then effortlessly landed on the ground She took a step off with a smug look on her face

Of course all the real work was done by the moss spirits Randidly thought with a twist of his mouth but he didnÆt interrupt the engineerÆs moment of glory There honestly was some danger in the attempt although Randidly would have saved her if the bottom had dropped out from under her

After the group had calmed down and started to get excited about the economic possibilities Randidly stepped in and started giving them things to test He stressed that they treat the moss spirits as intelligent and recommended that they very quickly try and lay out an arrangement of reinforced bribes with the moss spirits

Essentially Randidly wanted them to find something that the moss spirits liked like the engineer’s whistling and then repeat it as they slowly upped the requests for the moss spirits Randidly suspected that long term these sorts of payments would be enough to keep the moss spirits involved But he had no real proof other than his intuition as their creator

While the group began to experiment more systematically with the moss spirits Randidly wandered off in search of Vye She had asked for approval to have her independent mission be a mapping of the Wildlands and Randidly believed that it would be a good chance to see how moss spirits fared when they were away from Kharon for long periods of time Because Randidly didnÆt even know if the moss spirits could leave Kharon

After traveling halfway back across Kharon Randidly located Vye He hesitated as he neared the building that he sensed her image in because she was clearly in her apartment Randidly hesitated even more because he was almost uncomfortably aware of how sharp a picture Grim Intuition gave him of the interior of the apartment

And inside Vye was having an argument

Why are you acting like this is a surprise Vye gritted her teeth Did you think what I wanted changed That you just waltzed into my life and changed me

No I The man rubbed his hand across his forehead I am just surprised that you are going to come home after a night of patrols sit down for breakfast and now tell me IÆm leaving tomorrow so maybe we should break upÆ What the hell am I supposed to say to that Am I supposed to say anything

Well if you have nothing to say then thereÆs nothing to say Vye sat down at the table and began to enthusiastically cut off a large chunk of fried ham

ThatÆs not what IÆm saying I wish you would have But the man just sighed

VyeÆs hands tightened on her metal knife What Todd Do you wish I would have asked you As though I need your permission before I follow my dream

What the hell are you saying V Todd turned away from the window where he had been standing YOU are the one who stomped in here ready to start a fight You clearly donÆt need my permission to go on this mission for the Order But you know what pisses me off That you didnÆt even talk to me about it That you didnÆt ask me to come with you

YouÆre Level 12 you wouldnÆt be safe coming with me Vye cut across sharply ToddÆs face went red then white and then he bit his lip

The twoÆs gazes locked Todd stood at the window and looked toward Vye who had a piece of ham skewered on a fork Neither moved

After about twenty seconds Vye set down her fork You know what IÆm just going to grab something from a stand on Banner Street for breakfast today

Just gonna walk out huh Good good Todd said softly turning away as Vye grabbed her stuff and left the apartment

Standing out front Randidly scratched his chin awkwardly His first instinct was to back slowly away and talk to Vye later but he also knew that part of leadership was advising on matters other than just combat and images

That is assuming of course that she will want my advice Randidly thought to himself He tried to marshal his face into an expression that was more like IÆm very knowledgeable and therefore can guess what happened to you Æ than IÆve been creepily eavesdropping on your personal conversations Æ as a teary eyed Vye pushed her way out of the apartment building

When she saw Randidly she skidded to a stop and furiously wiped away her tears Ah h hey

Hey Randidly responded simply As he saw the genuine pain in her face a lot of his own nervousness about the situation started to feel a little bit selfish and petty He jerked his head down the street and tried his best to seem both convincing and soothing Let me buy you a coffee Looks like you need it

Chapter 1248

Randidly tried his best to keep his smile even as he continued to offer the crisp bill he had admittedly gotten from TatianaÆs wallet the previous night Seriously itÆs no trouble I have the cash to pay

The young vendor raised his hands and waved them almost frantically Mr Ghosthound please donÆt make this harder than it is on me You designed the entire city of Kharon ItÆs a moving marvel And itÆs only because of you that my little brothers can grow in relative safety here ThereÆs no way that I can let you pay for something as small as a coffee

ThatÆs very kind of you to say Randidly began Then he stalled out as he struggled to verbalize why he would still prefer to pay for the coffee

Randidly and Vye were standing at a long row of stall along the rather busy Banner Street which was the more commercial street one block over from the main headquarters of many of the industrial centers of Kharon Most of the streetÆs usual morning bustle was smothered by the fact that everyone was very aware that Randidly was walking around trying to buy the coffee Nearby customers took a very long time counting change and peering over their shoulders at RandidlyÆs helpless expression

As he had appeared on the street most of the shouting vendors had fallen immediate silent and looked toward Randidly with all the carnal intensity of a thirteen year old boy fixated on his first crush RandidlyÆs first instinct had been to turn right around and walk away but he really did want to sit and have a talk to Vye He didnÆt know if she liked coffee but it seemed petty to back out because of overzealous vendors After all this was about Vye and her particular situation In terms of experience with how people reacted when you abruptly said you were going to leave them Randidly thought himself relatively experienced

At least experienced enough to understand what was really going on in that discussion Randidly made the crisp bill dance across his fingers as the vendor refused to budge

The coffee order turned hostage negotiation situation was made more complicated by the almost a hundred people that were drifting around Randidly in a loose ring with clearly nothing better to do than gawking A lot of them seemed to be people in relatively non senior positions at the various industrial corporations of Kharon coming to work with soot stains already on their uniforms and stumbling across the Ghosthound And since they found him they wanted to indulge their own curiosity

They sipped coffee and nibbled at bagels and pretended like they had nowhere to be as they cast sidelong glances at the man who made Kharon possible It gave Randidly quite the headache ItÆs not that he didnÆt understand curiosity was in human nature Although he had shown himself a few times in Kharon in the past it had never been as personable as this This was perhaps the chance of a lifetime

So people milled about and the influx of workers ready to go their jobs continued to flow into the street and ask in loud voices why everyone was just standing around A hundred hushed conversations quickly drew the new arrivals into the slow orbit of Randidly Ghosthound and Vye on the increasingly packed and yet somehow deserted Banner Street Randidly supposed he should just feel lucky that there werenÆt any vehicles on Kharon or his presence on a street would have ground the whole city to a standstill

Which was why he currently found himself in a low voiced argument with a vendor that carried quite far Pressing his eyes closed Randidly tried to be reasonable After all Vye couldnÆt be enjoying the attention by proxy that she was receiving after her fight with her whoever It was somewhat galling but the best response was just to accept the charity Despite his unwillingness to do so

Yet Randidly found it oddly difficult to just accept Because he had never really experienced anything quite like it Oh Randidly knew that he had benefited from free goods and services both in his time in Donnyton and while he had been in the finals bracket of the under 25 tournament on Tellus But that somehow had felt different from the straightforward offer he received now from a vendor

Randidly could tell in the young manÆs eyes that he felt like he owed Randidly the coffee And that made his skin crawl

ItÆs just a coffee Randidly sighed to himself And just when Randidly was about to accept a pot bellied man stepped forward out of the crowd

How about this I will buy Mr GhosthoundÆs coffees That way Ah ahem The man started talking with an affable expression but RandidlyÆs tight glance quickly sent him coughing and turning away Although it was certainly a generous offer it was exactly not what Randidly wanted right now Someone else buying the coffees would not make any difference

Breathing through his nose Randidly turned back to the vendor two coffees on the house then

As the vendor was pouring the coffees his eyes gleamed with the spark of the god of lucre He gestured invitingly to his steaming wares and a waffle

RandidlyÆs mouth twitched Why are you acting like you are fleecing me by giving me free food and drink Fine a waffle too

The delighted vendor finished preparing the goods and Randidly turned around to say something to Vye but what he saw behind him made Randidly stop The pot bellied man had returned carrying a table and two chairs and set them down right in the middle of the street He froze too when Randidly started staring intensely at him but offered a placating smile and then backed slowly away into the crowd

RandidlyÆs gaze slid side to side noticing how everyone was carefully not looking at the table and two chairs that had been prepared Randidly probably would have hopped onto the roof and moved to a different part of the city if not for the fact that Vye snorted in amusement

She walked up to Randidly and clapped him on the back You are even worse at this than I am But it seems the Order Ducis is second fiddle Randidly Ghosthound himself

Sighing Randidly followed Vye and they both sat down at the table Still Randidly had no intention of ignoring the surrounding people As he sat at the table the Mana in his veins stirred His toes pressed against the concrete ground flexed and from the ball of his feet the bright lines of Mana Engraving radiated outward to race across the entirety of Banner Street People exclaimed softly in admiration and bent over to poke at the lines of energy on the ground as they spiraled across the surrounding surfaces

Congratulations Your Skill Architecture of the Primordial Ways has grown to Level 253

Very quickly some of the more general runes Randidly had designed to let the moss spirits interact with the world soon lay across the whole of Banner Street The floating platform experiments werenÆt the only ones that Randidly wanted to conduct and this busy street would likely function as a solid test case

Once the runes were in place Randidly said lightly Moss spirits make sure they canÆt hear what we are saying

A veil of green light spiraled upward and surrounded Randidly and Vye Very gradually the people of Banner Street slowly shifted back into unwilling activity as the two seemed to be held suspended in a sphere of green light that cut off all sound And no one was willing to so obviously press into the sphere while Randidly sat right there Business gradually began to resume around the duo

If you heard the fight with my boyfriend IÆm sorry you had to experience that Vye said lightly She cut off the corner of the waffle and popped it into her mouth After chewing and swallowing she continued He I donÆt know I donÆt know why heÆs being so

Scratching his chin lightly Randidly shook his head Going gently about this conversation seemed like a waste of time so Randidly just went straight for it Vye if I understood things correctly he wasnÆt mad that you are leaving or that he canÆt go with you HeÆs mad because you acted like you didnÆt care enough about his opinion to ask it

Vye blinked Of course his opinion matters but this is my

Then tell him that before you go Randidly took a long drink of the coffee and was surprised to find how much he enjoyed it The warm flavor lingered pleasantly on his tongue As someone who has walked away from a lot of people and done it poorly for most of that time just a word of advice Starting the conversation with the fact that you still care goes a long way As does listening In life you can treat people as subjects or as equals but they donÆt like it when you do both

Vye opened her mouth and then closed it She took another bite of the waffle Then she gave Randidly a sidelong glance I guess you would have quite a bit of experience in this area But I donÆt want him to get his hopes up IÆm not going to change my mind

Around them Randidly couldnÆt help but notice that several vendors had noticed what Randidly had done and were doing surreptitious experiments at the limits of the moss spirits power With a small smile Randidly drummed his fingers on the wooden table My mother always used to tell me that there were two types of relationships The ones where your individual weird stuff was aberrant nonsense that your significant other wanted to change or the ones where the weird stuff was exactly why they loved you

For the former you want to end things with them anyway And for the latter Randidly shrugged They donÆt want to change your mind They just want to be a part of your life

Vye considered that for several seconds Your mother seems like a smart woman

Randidly just shrugged Even now he didnÆt quite feel comfortable commenting on his mother But further conversation between Randidly and Vye was drowned out by the sudden influx of booming voices around them as the vendors entered into a war of volume by discovering they could empower their voices with moss spirits

FINEST BACON IN KHARON

ONLY WAY TO START YOUR MORNING

RANDIDLY GHOSTHOUND HIMSELF DINES HERE FRESH WAFFLES

RandidlyÆs eyelid twitched as the volume steadily increased upward To the point that the loud calls sent ripples across the surface of his coffee While Vye still had a thoughtful expression on her face Randidly slowly stood at his table and rapped his knuckles against the wood Moss Spirits Silence them all

An emerald wave exploded outward and swept away the voices of the surrounding vendors As one everyone on Banner Street turned guiltily to look at Randidly

The silencing aura that he had conjured earlier dissipated as the moss spirits read his intent RandidlyÆs mouth twitched Use these tools responsible Yea

Chapter 1249

The next day saw Randidly once more refining his images and pouring over reports that Tatiana provided while he leaned back in his new leather chair As the Grim Chimera capered about RandidlyÆs small office his eyes went word by word looking for patterns in the events of the last several months Patterns that could have been orchestrated by Ileot Swacc or the Creature to endanger Earth

At the very least he had finally found something sinister in the seemingly endless pile of reports the Hero Initiative Currently there was a request from the World Council sitting on his desk that the Order Ducis endorse the Hero Initiative as a positive influence on the world The idea was to create a general tax that would funnel money to individuals at higher Levels who registered

The benefits were obvious it would create a list of powerful people who would have an obligation to help in various emergency situations due to the money they had been collecting All the stipend required was periodic assistance to the Orders and that an individual register their Level Class and Skill Levels with the Hero Initiative

But the drawbacks were similarly obvious Rather than being a System evil it seemed much more like an old Earth big business evil dedicated to locating and monitoring the more powerful people on the planet This was data gathering at its most blatant

Which basically means itÆs not what IÆm looking for Randidly crumpled up the report and threw it across the room toward the trashcan that he had set up against the wall The paper ball flew in a perfect and fell soundlessly into the trashcan eliciting another sigh from Randidly These sorts of feats became a lot less satisfying after the System made those shots so easy to make

Luckily Randidly was distracted from his post System blues by the approach of a familiar image on the horizon Helen was returning to Kharon

Randidly quickly left the city and crossed the arid highlands Kharon now traversed rather quickly He found Helen trooping dutifully forward with a rope in her hand and dragging the bound form of an extremely tall and muscular man behind her Her hair was done up in a braid and her mouth was set in the sort of line that could only mean that she was not in a good mood

As he approached Randidly quickly realized why her mood was so poor The man being dragged behind Helen was constantly talking even as his face and mouth were so swollen that it was probably extremely painful to move his jaw Gorgeous you let me out of here and I will make you a queen The whole Chosen thing was just a way to pass the time now that I have a whole world to dominate

Randidly cut the man off by binding his limbs even more tightly to his sides and gagging him with Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil Surprised spittle oozed around the gnarled root as it forced its way into the manÆs mouth and made itself at home there Randidly looked at Helen with a sympathetic expression while the captive struggled Must have been hard on you It seems like this oneÆs annoying

Helen fell briefly to one knee as a show of respect and then stood to walk forward and hug Randidly Her fingers were very strong as she squeezed his shoulders ItÆs good to see you Yes it is rare that a man has enough strength of will not to break I tried beating him to get him to shut up but it was a waste of time he transfers the pain to his followers This sadistic fuck was the one leading the remnants of the Chosen

Nodding Randidly turned around and took the chance to examine the man more closely After the man noticed his gaze the man winked up at Randidly without even trying to hide his attempts to bite his way through the root Randidly raised his eyebrows And you left him alive Are you going soft

Helen sighed The idea was to bring him back to make sure heÆs not a stand in the worst of the Chosen has been surprisingly skilled at hiding himself despite the vanity he is known for If this was not the right one I would interrogate the stand in to try and find some clues However it has since become clear that such methods would be less than effective He wonÆt shut up no matter how much I hit him Was just gonna bring him back to Tatiana and let her take care of it

Randidly who had been monitoring the man very closely with Grim Intuition noticed the change in his heart rate at the mention of TatianaÆs name Something very cold awoke in RandidlyÆs heart as he looked down at this man who was clearly targeting one of his subordinates An almost gentle smile snaked its way across RandidlyÆs face All the while the man had almost worked his way through the root blocking his speech With only a single point of Mana the root began to swell and force the manÆs jaw open

Interesting he has a Skill that can manipulate inanimate objects too Randidly crouched down next to the man But I think this is the one youÆve been looking for or a really good stand in that can even fool me This is James Kelly

HelenÆs well manicured eyebrow crept upward You know him

He was a famous basketball player back on Earth Maybe the best player of his generation Randidly waved a finger in front of the manÆs brown eyes to grab his attention IÆm gonna take out the gag Only talk to answer a question please

Yet when Randidly removed Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil the man smiled and revealed a row of sparkling white teeth So youÆre a fan

And you are bad at obeying directions RandidlyÆs smile grew even wider

Despite the fact that he was bound and laying on the ground covered in dust the man shrugged with a remarkable amount of natural charm I canÆt live without testing boundaries ItÆs how I can tell the real badasses from the bullshitters

Sighing Randidly cut sharply with his palm and severed the manÆs pinky finger Then letÆs get one thing straight IÆm not gonna lie to you You are Level 49 yes You arenÆt strong enough to threaten me

But James Kelly continued to smile His eyes grew bright as he looked up at Randidly In fact he began to laugh Look kid you might have captured me but I donÆt think this is going to go how you want it to I donÆt believe your tough guy act You donÆt live to 18 in the Southside of Chicago if you scare easy

Randidly thought about just moving on to the threats but instead he crouched over the man who made the bubble city hell and had the gall to plot against his subordinates Then he smiled DonÆt sell yourself short you feel plenty of fear Why else would you be stuck at Level 49 Let me guess you werenÆt always the strongest of the Chosen were you Someone else rose faster and hit Level 50 and things well they were turned into a monster by it I bet youÆve been scared shitless ever since

Release these bindings and IÆll show you fear James Kelly spat but Randidly could tell from the manÆs heart rate that the sudden outburst of emotion was faked

This time Randidly activated Talon of the Restless Immortal A huge orange and green phoenix claw burst out of the ground and began to squeeze the instigator of the horrible situation in Chicago Flames licked across the surface of his skin and his flesh began to burn and blister But RandidlyÆs eyes tightened when the man only laughed Do you think this hurts This is fun Living like this feeling like the world is collapsing the absolute freedom ahahaha ahahahahahaha

Randidly tapped his jaw as his flames continued to eat away at the body of the man in front of him He could feel the manÆs twisted image and Skills diffusing the damage and pain he was taking away from his body as Helen had referenced Randidly raised his emerald eyes and used his Grim Intuition to follow the lines of those Skills far away

Eventually he found the destroyed camp that Helen had probably kicked down a few days ago Most of the people were pale faced and sweating as they endured a portion of the agony of the man Randidly was attacking right now It seemed he had a much diluted form of what Randidly shared with Neveah which allowed him to shift pain and damage to others

Still itÆs not like this will stop me Randidly produced the PhilosopherÆs Key and slid it into the air As he turned the key he lockedÆ the karma around the former pro basketball player and cut off all of his connections

Immediately the manÆs laughter stopped and he began to shriek All the brave words vanished Panic contorted his face into a vicious grimace as he Health practically evaporated beneath RandidlyÆs powerful Skill James Kelly continued shrieking until the moment he died his voice full of pain and confusion over what happened Randidly looked down at the corpse in front of him as the gentle smile faded from his face I suppose this is justice

He suddenly felt quite tired Randidly turned to the completely unaffected Helen Alright letÆs head back to Kharon

But Helen cracked her knuckles and grinned as wisps of smoke curled upward from the manÆs corpse Why hurry My instincts are screaming at me how dangerous you are what about a spar for old time’s sake Who knows I might have narrowed the gap between us

Randidly couldnÆt help but smile despite the off putting stench of roasted human flesh He supposed he should have expected something like this from Helen The woman craved exciting conflicts even more than he did And while Randidly had been forced to endure the grueling hell of the frontlines Helen had been wandering around Earth fighting against foes who wished they would someday catch up to her She had no real peers on Earth right now

With a flourish Helen produced two training spears and tossed one over to Randidly Immediately afterward ripples of blood spread outward from Helen to taint the air surrounding him completely

Yet Randidly simply spun his spear and smiled toward Helen as she started to frown Having some difficulties with your Tides of Blood

What the hell happened to you Helen spat out But the bloody discoloration in the surrounding air became increasingly thick as she refused to back down It seemed that she hadnÆt been joking about her image it had gotten much stronger since Randidly had seen her last Your body resists but if you think IÆm not still gonna try to rip you to pieces you are a fool

Helen planted her foot into the ground and rushed forward to Randidly so quickly that she left afterimages in her wake But as her Tides of Blood Skill continued to tug at Randidly it continued to find very little purchase

In a way that Randidly hadnÆt really understood until he came to Earth having Nether worked into the fabric of his body made him naturally resistant to other peopleÆs images On the frontlines everyoneÆs image was basically strong enough that it didnÆt make much difference But on Earth that natural resistance became a gulf that was impossible for most people to cross

That gulf was wider than the extent of their images already

HelenÆs spear flexed and bowed as she abruptly swiped it up toward RandidlyÆs neck Without relying on his images Randidly took a sharp step back and brought his own training spear up in a thrust toward HelenÆs midsection

She spun sideways and the image of the Hellfin Tuna loomed over Randidly biting down toward him Randidly didnÆt even flinch simply setting his feet and relying on the powerful physicality he had gained after becoming a Nether Gatekeeper tier of energy density to resist the strike The imaginary jaws closed around Randidly but his thrust shattered the image and revealed the determined stare of Helen

She came at him with a thrust and then twisted her spear and brought it around in a sweep when he pushed the thrust to the side She brought the butt of her spear around in a smashing attack but Randidly sidestepped to create some space More and more blood red waves spread outward to fill the surrounding area making them seem to be suspended in a cloud of blood

Helen pirouetted on her toe and the tip of her training spear jabbed forward Weaving his torso to the side Randidly avoided the strike only to find that she came with fully six other sharp thrusts Step by step he retreated waiting for his chance

Randidly retaliated with a sharp jab or two as he moved but Helen leaned her head to the side to avoid them and continued to charge forward Spinning his spear Randidly finally lowered his stance and planted his feet he would not be moved from this spot Helen saw his determination and grinned manically

She unleashed a flurry of vicious thrusts and Randidly focused and parried every one of them The rapid tak tak tak as their two wooden training spears crossed became the cadence of their fight

Tak tak tak tak

Can you go faster HelenÆs grin widened RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed

Tak tak tak tak tak tak tak tak tak tak tak tak

Eventually Helen slowed down her onslaught and took several steps backward The crimson color of the surrounding air became increasingly dark HelenÆs image billowed outward and the Tides of Blood was filled with ominous shadows as they neared a depth where true monsters lived

This yes this is why I followed you HelenÆs eyes were entirely crimson now seemingly wet with tears of blood that she somehow prevented from rolling down her cheeks DonÆt disappoint me now

She threw herself forward her limbs empowered with the image rather than using it to weaken Randidly directly as she had fruitlessly attempted in the past She was like a tornado of cuts and spear thrusts and she rushed forward emanating a terrible aura of danger that even Randidly could free through the dampening influence of Nether

And this is why I left Kharon and the Order Ducis in your care More and more Nether billowed outward from Randidly as the weight of the moment grew and grew The surrounding currents of crimson energy curdled and bubbled but persistently resisted the corrosion RandidlyÆs smile widened I suppose what I owe you for that effort is to show you the next tier of strength you should be aiming for

Chapter 1250

On Earth time continued to trudge forward Day turned to night and then night to day All the while the threat of the first Calamity’s arrival hung heavy on most people’s minds

Randidly gritted his teeth and used his will to lash once more against the swirling energy in his palm It was precariously balanced only a hair from what he needed His heart thumped loudly in his ears as he continually upped the stress his body was under with another mental lash Time and time again the warm flush of heat flowing from his heart invigorated the Aether swirling in his palm driving it closer and closer together

A low hiss escaped RandidlyÆs mouth as the energies finally came together with a sense of culmination The groaning creak of the vast Yggdrasil shifting mixed with the bright and capricious fire of Ignition Essence The twisted body of the Grim Chimera prowled back and forth in that small drop of liquid Aether its eyes scanning the surrounding area His images became the glue that held the emotions in place which concentrated the energy

His body creaking from the tense hour of focus Randidly carefully raised the drop of liquid energy to eye level Finally finished Woo this was a lot

With a thought the finished drop of liquid Aether floated within RandidlyÆs chest and settled there next to two other Randidly wiped away the sweat from his forehead and looked around at his office Now that he had finished the emergency preparations that he wanted for meeting the powerful warriors from other worlds he could safely focus on other issues once more

In the last three days Randidly had soldiered on through most of the reports that Tatiana had prepared Basically he had reached the current limits of KharonÆs intelligence knowing altogether too much useless information about political movements in the past ten months Still nothing of note stuck out to him Even after he had read everything and allowed a few days for the disparate information to rattle around in his head

Although would I really recognize something even if it was there Randidly wondered aloud as he climbed out the window and adroitly swung himself up to the roof Aside from Randidly himself the roof was a perfectly clear area that provided a lovely view of the city

Smoke was rising over Kharon populating the clear blue sky with grey pillars that stretched upward in drifting columns Humming to himself Randidly began to stretch and limber up on the roof Although he utilized quite a bit of his mental energy to condense another drop of liquid Aether he still had some to spare And training with his Skills was basically the only activity that Randidly did in the past few days that let him work off some of the immense stress that he was under as he struggled to create solutions for some of the worst problems that he sensed developing on Earth

Not that I mind Randidly thought to himself as he began to move through some basic spear exercises This is the price of being king There is a lot that Kharon still needs to do before itÆs where I want it to revisit the Zones and I have to be the one to lead that change No one else has the clout or the vision

Congratulations Your Skill Spear Mastery has grown to Level 223

Congratulations Your Skill Sharpness has grown to Level 149

As Randidly gradually accelerated to moving faster and faster the tension in his mind began to drift away The physical movements consumed his focus Aether flowed clearly through him swirling around the three drops of liquid Aether and then spreading out to the surrounding air Even though he was just training with his spear the physical exertion caused Randidly to function as a diffusion engine that threw out Aether bearing his distinct mark over the skies onto Kharon

Randidly had been hesitant at first to release so much Aether that was indelibly shaped by his images but he was somewhat helpless to find that his efforts to become more efficient at refining liquid Aether meant that he also began to almost instinctively shape his Aether to be more predisposed to his images He could forcefully stop himself from altering his Aether from its pure form but it would also mean that Randidly would need to work that much harder next time he tried to condense liquid Aether Somehow it was tied together into a process that Randidly hadnÆt quite understood

RandidlyÆs still human right arm and metallic left arm moved perfectly in tandem as he performed the spear forms The lines of light along the replacement limb danced as Randidly forced his body to spin and twist as he manipulated the training spear His breath came in deep and smooth allotments his body barely breaking a sweat as he continued to accelerate through the familiar motions taught to him by Shal all those years ago Yet even if he wasnÆt straining his body continued to buzz with energy