LoRG 3

But Randidly ignored these rooms and ascended to the second floor There he found the room he was looking for the room that represented the core of who Decklan Hyde was

The entire room which was likely designed to be a bedroom when the building was built was empty except for three items hanging on the wall and a large feature in the middle of the room The feature in the middle of the room was a hole that would allow Thorn to burrow up and spend time with Decklan while he was here Pursing his lips at the hole Randidly looked to the wall

The first item on the wall was a small painting Immediately Randidly could tell it had been done by Raina during the early days of Donnyton Very early days because it appeared to be depicting events during a beast horde Randidly stood atop the wall looking outward Decklan stood with his arms folded in RandidlyÆs shadow Donny and Dozer were on the ground swinging their weapons while Clarissa and Mrs Hamilton threw Arcane Orbs out into the approaching horde

They all cut valiant figures more stylized than real Yet somehow Raina had captured their essence without needing to rely on many details It was immediately clear to anyone familiar with the subject of the painting who was depicted

Hell we look so young Randidly rubbed his jaw ruefully Although he hadnÆt aged physically at all in the intervening five years the Randidly that was drawn by Raina in the painting looked like a teenager Not because of features but because of how bright his gaze was It has been a long time since then

Chapter 1282

He was so angsty back then Decklan used to hint very heavily that he would kill me someday

Shaking his head Randidly looked at the second item hanging on the wall It was an extremely familiar dagger one that he obtained during his time in that first Dungeon with Shal After being thoroughly brainwashed in the superiority of the spear to all other weapons Randidly had quickly given the dagger away after he left the Dungeon

Decklan had been the one to take the dagger

Of course Earth had long since evolved past the point where a dagger such as this was useful as a weapon But Randidly couldnÆt help but reach out and touch the dagger after seeing it so prominently displayed in the small room Decklan had constructed Compared to the metal used for his left arm the materials felt cheap and light Still it was nice to know that the dagger had meant something to Decklan

Decklan the Killer Randidly muttered to himself Then he turned to the final item pinned to the wooden wall which was a press release Frowning he leaned forward to examine the strange shape of the clipping After reading the first line Randidly froze in horror

Decklan and Terra Hyde were married on a beautiful spring day in Franksburg with almost one thousand people in attendance

The next line almost stopped RandidlyÆs heart The ceremony was officiated by the Village Spirit of Franksburg Nul who had watched the couple from the very beginning of their wondrous journey within the System

The piece of newspaper stunk of Ileot SwaccÆs energy It was a blatant manipulation in its most egregious form Yet at the same time the events described quite plausible Although Randidly would likely never know for sure he could very easily believe that this piece of paper had come from an alternate Earth where Randidly hadnÆt existed at Where the first Zone on Earth was instead Franksburg and the Village Spirit was Nul

And seeing this Randidly could only shake his hand as he pressed his fingers against the edges of the flimsy paper From the way that the text was wrapped around a missing piece of the news story there had once been a picture attached to the article What did it do to Decklan

This was a consequence of RandidlyÆs capability He had drawn the attention of Ileot Swacc and that had caused DecklanÆs pain to be twisted beyond all recognition It hurt It hurt knowing that the chain of events that led to ThornÆs pain could be traced back to Randidly

More than that Randidly couldnÆt deny that RandidlyÆs heart ached too No matter how callous Randidly had become in the face of death Decklan was one of the original people he had fought with to protect Donnyton And now he was dead

Randidly couldnÆt forget that the Grim Chimera had turned away from DecklanÆs pain He had been disgusted by it By the weakness of the man By the lack of resolve he possessed

Sometimes I can be arrogant Randidly thought bitterly AzrielÆs warning about thinking the only way to survive was to win remained present in his mind Randidly raised his head upward and released a long breath The tips of his fingers tingled

With Grim Intuition Randidly quickly and accurately finished his search of the rest of the room aside from the items he noticed earlier there really was nothing This was a room that had been stripped down to nothing but those things of which Decklan could not let go

After Randidly was sure of his search he snapped his fingers and created a spark of Ignition Essence His heart was heavy as he looked at that shimmering source of light in the bare room Without glancing behind him he left the emerald and orange flame in the center of the wooden floor as he walked out of the building By the time Randidly had casually about twenty meters along the dirt path toward the port city proper cries of alarm could be heard from the area around the inferno that was once Decklan HydeÆs home

Still RandidlyÆs control of his image was extremely acute His Willpower pulsed with cold fury and grief mixing freely together Although some of the surrounding buildings were singed by the powerful Ignition Essence flames the fires didnÆt spread After a little bit of panic the situation quickly stabilized

But by that point Randidly was gone And for the first time in a while he wanted to work off some steam

His first bad instinct was to rush toward the islands out in the sea where he could sense the CreatureÆs peculiar energy That at least would be a fight where he wouldnÆt have the luxury of being distracted And he eventually resolved himself to begin using Nether Rituals and Grim Intuition to investigate the CreatureÆs movements tomorrow but with the powder keg of emotions in RandidlyÆs chest making that move now didnÆt seem like such a good idea

Instead he went to another task that he had been meaning to get around to since returning to Earth but had continually put it off Leveling his Class

Honestly the value of each individual Level that Randidly received wasnÆt that much in comparison to what he already had accrued with his many finished Paths But because his fighting prowess was so far above his Level it would be easy for him to grab quite a few Levels in a short amount of time And with the amount of Stats that Randidly gained with each Level enough Levels would quickly add up to improvement

Controlling his anger as best he could Randidly walked North Eventually he moved from sandy hills by the sea to a low mountain range that was covered with thick and leafy greenery Although the temperature was still dipping down to the closest thing the Earth has had to winter since the System arrived there seemed to be some geothermic heat rising up from the mountain range that kept the forest steamy

And it was there that Randidly found his first targets a dozen Level 72 Red Scaled Raptors

This was the Path Randidly had chosen As a leader he couldnÆt avoid letting the pain of others influence him But even more important was the fact that Randidly couldnÆt try to cut himself off from these feelings Sensitivity was important Understanding was important

Decklan had died He had conspired to kill innocents before that in a mad bid to revive Terra but he had died It was a tragedy

Another human taken by the unfeeling Nexus that had them all dance to its tune And as Randidly thought that his cold grief quickly ignited to fury

The Red Scaled Raptors stalked lightly around him as he proceeded deeper into the forest their formation slowly tightening RandidlyÆs smiled idly as he walked calmly forward without even bothering to glance at his surroundings It seemed that Nether functioned not only as a way to lessen the influence of anotherÆs image on him but also to dampen his own images from leaking out these predatorsÆ didnÆt sense anything amiss at all

Normally Randidly would have found it very difficult to completely control his images especially the Grim Chimera with his emotions fluctuating so wildly But with the help of his newfound Nether density those reverberations were completely masked The Red Scaled Raptors could probably see that he was Level 55 but that would give them no reason to fear him

He was prey And with his Grim Intuition Randidly could hear the RaptorsÆ stomachs rumbling they were hungry and he was fresh meat

Randidly walked into the forest the same way he walked into the sea the only article of clothing on his person was leather pants The dark grey metal of his left arm gleamed dully as it swung at his side He left both Sulfur and Acri back on his island The rest of his equipment was in his interspatial ring RandidlyÆs fingers twitched with impatience as the raptors took their time in surrounding him The howling fury that he felt toward the way the world was needed an outlet

But he suppressed that impulse to lash out immediately It will be worth it to go wild when they finally attack

It took almost ten more minutes of Randidly grinding his teeth and continuing to walk before the Red Scaled Raptors finally worked up the nerve to ambush him At the very least Randidly would admit that they were extremely efficient once they made their move

Randidly had bent over to pass under a fallen tree that was jammed against the trunk of another tree so as to cross the path about chest height And when he straightened on the other side of the log a Red Scaled Raptor was pouncing at him long and taloned legs first Just as quick a raptor attacked Randidly from each side and another padded quietly down the path behind him to block his escape

Randidly released a breath About damn time

The leaping raptor slammed into RandidlyÆs chest and bounced awkwardly off of him Its claw attacks managed to irritate RandidlyÆs skin and leave long red scratches but otherwise did no damage to his torso It growled in confusion and forced itself to its feet With a quick bark it set the two raptors on either side of Randidly to attack

RandidlyÆs metallic left hand knifed upward and ripped through the skin of the raptorÆs long throat on his left side His hand continued cutting up through the flesh of its throat until he could grip the creatureÆs spine Then with a flick of the wrist Randidly shattered its spine and threw the whole thing contemptuously to the ground The move was so quick that the blood from the raptorÆs throat hit the ground at almost the same time as the body that followed it

At the same time Randidly turned and looked at the raptor attacking him from the other side With a little pressure from his will the usually passive Lantern of Harsh Truths shone brightly in his emerald eyes As the raptor froze Randidly amused himself by imagining that the monster realized what would like to happen to it and its fellow pack of carnivores in the next minute

Can I really someday become powerful enough that power wonÆt still be the most important truth about Earth That we wonÆt be a slave to the Nexus

With a whimper the unfortunate raptor collapsed to the ground The Red Scaled Raptor in front of Randidly seemed to suddenly sense that something was amiss and opened its mouth to release a cry But Randidly took a step forward and used both of his hands to press the mouth of the raptor shut

ItÆs too late Randidly said In his heart he understood that the violence didnÆt have a point It wouldnÆt help him It was almost exactly what he had tried to hard to make sure Thorn wouldnÆt do It was exactly the sort of wasteful exuberance that the Nexus worshipped as it pursued the ultimate image

And yet at the moment it was what Randidly wanted The reflections could wait until later Perhaps he had spent too much time over the past several weeks being only a leader because now he wanted to lose himself in the violence of hunting

Just as the raptor coming from behind stepped beneath the log and recognized the fallen forms of its companions four more raptors leapt over the surrounding shrubbery and lashed out at the form of Randidly that attacked their leader

OneÆs talonÆs skittered off RandidlyÆs left arm but the others werenÆt even able to touch Randidly before their flesh began to hiss and bubble RandidlyÆs Nether Wells operated at full capacity and he simply burned away the surrounding substances with a blast of raw Nether that hadnÆt been aligned to his Aether

All four raptors crashed to the ground in ungainly puddles of skin and blood as they shrieked in agony Although they hadnÆt been killed by the direct exposure to Nether they didnÆt possess enough of an image to resist its corruption in the least Randidly quickly capped the open font of Nether in his chest and turned to greet the last group of raptors that rushed out when they heard their companionÆs shrieks

Using his bare hands Randidly brutalized and ripped the raptors to shreds A kick shattered oneÆs ribcage and he brought his clasped hands down to smash the raptorÆs skull on the ground One tried to run so Randidly seized its tail and yanked broke its back and then snapped its neck with a sharp twist

Once they realized they couldnÆt escape the raptors at least provided some distraction to RandidlyÆs grief They immediately threw themselves wildly at him aiming to wound him even at the cost of their own lives

It still wasnÆt enough to quench the fire that burned in his chest for all the people that had died since the System had changed everything

Before a minute was up Randidly stood over the corpses of the Red Scaled Raptors with their blood dripping down over his knuckles The surrounding forest had gone completely silent the only sound was RandidlyÆs own heavy breathing

Congratulations You have reached Level 56 +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 Fateset +3 Intelligence Wisdom and Focus

Chapter 1283

When Tim woke up in his bed he was immediately aghast that he had slept through the night as though he were just a normal kid from before the System Some of the older kids at school boasted about how they could barely sleep due to their extremely high stats yet here he was completely conked out for hours Tim had done his best to struggle to stay awake most of this week but after everything that happened yesterday

Tim shuddered as he remembered the violence and death at the stadium Blood had seeped through the walls of the referee hut that he had hidden himself in and he couldnÆt get the sight of it out of his mind Even though he knew he shouldnÆt be such a baby about it he had been scared

The gore and the blood had seemed to glow And even the people that were fighting for their side There had been times where just looking at some of the people fighting in the stadium had left Tim dizzy enough that he was only a second away from passing it

Despite the very real fear his face burned with shame as he remembered how he had hidden within that room with the bloodsoaked walls If only he had been older and stronger Very clearly Tim remembered the monstrous figure of Randidly Ghosthound shattering through the sky and descending to the battle In only a few moments he overpowered the most powerful evil guy and then simply left

Tim clenched his fists If it had been me I would have stayed and killed all of the bad guys I would have been a hero for everyone I would have saved them

Very quickly Tim sat up on his bed and began to plan out how he would improve himself and become someone as powerful as Randidly Ghosthound His school was full of liars that kept getting him in trouble but Tim had heard that Randidly Ghosthound was so hated by his original town that they wouldnÆt even let him get a Class for the longest time And if Randidly Ghosthound could become so powerful without a Class Tim could do the same with stupid Lucy Rowell constantly bothering him

He even had the Rare Skill Voice of the Greensinger to help Tim earn extra PP although he was a little embarrassed that it was a Skill related to plants But once he got enough PP to finish the Earth Mage Path he was working on he would get a cool Skill like Earthquake or Seismic Burst that could become his signature move Brown wasnÆt a cool color but maybe he could even get a cool armor related to it Then he could finally tell his dad how powerful he had become and that he didnÆt need to worry about Tim any longer

With a goofy grin on his face from his future success Tim walked out into the hallway and then down to the kitchen But when he got to the threshold of the kitchen his nose twitched It smelled like someone was cooking bacon Tim licked his lips His dad barely ever cooked bacon these days

But as Tim walked into the room he froze Dad what are you doing

Derek slapped the ground with his palm and threw himself up onto his feet from his plank position on the floor Oh just doing a few push ups I really have been letting my training slacken recently ItÆs time I get back in shape

Oh I guess thatÆs good Tim wandered to the table and took a few pieces of bacon He eyed the scrambled eggs suspiciously but ultimately decided against eating the strangely springy food But Tim supposed it was a good thing that his dad was also trying to get stronger Very quickly TimÆs excitement came surging back Maybe they could become heroes together

Take your time eating buddy You donÆt have to go to school today Derek said as he moved to the sink and began to wash his hands

This finally took Tim over the edge He leapt to his feet with an excited expression on his face WHAT Really

Yea really After tapping his fingers against the countertop for several seconds Derek turned to Tim and asked How would you feel about moving I hear that Kharon has several great schools

Randidly supposed he should have expected that he was extremely spoiled from his time on the frontlines but after a few hours of hunting and only just managing to push himself up to Level 60 he was quite exhausted Most of his anger had faded and left him just feeling drained For now he had finished his rampage through the geothermally heated mountains

Enemies around his Level didnÆt grant meaningful experience and those above Level 75 were so rare that he wasted more time searching for them than actually killing them The process of approaching them was extremely aggravating

Even with Grim Intuition and Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil monsters around Level 80 had enough capability to hide from RandidlyÆs senses unless they were within a few miles of him So he had ended up just dashing back and forth across the mountain range to slowly sniff out the valuable experience givers RandidlyÆs stats made him extremely fast but navigating the ridges were quite annoying

Not that the Leveling was without other benefits Aside from several small gains on the various combat Skills he utilized while hunting Randidly focused on trying to specifically power Level two Skills Sigil of an Approaching Fate and Stalemate Breaker Stalemate Breaker used to be a much more valuable Skill but as Randidly moved to rely on images it slowly fell out of favor

Focusing on specific Skills seemed like the best way to improve Skills quickly but Randidly had rarely made the attempt in the past

However his goal during his hunting had been to test some theories about how his boosted Stats enabled him to Level Skills quickly In theory higher Willpower Intelligence and Mana pool would let Randidly repeated use the Skill more efficiently when he set his mind to it increasing the Skill Level growth In addition theoretically his experience with images would make it simpler for him to understand the essence of the Skill further boosting his efficiency

As it turned out he was correct After only a few hours concentrating on the utilization and action of the images Randidly had gained 59 PP from the two skills Sigil of the approaching Fate had grown from Level 32 to Level 66 Stalemate Breaker rose from Level 87 to Level 112

During the process Randidly could even feel the Skill almost trying to resist his capability to Level it and normalizing the Leveling speed But as he understood the essence and focus of the Skill he could push past those limits In a way it was similar to the limits in understanding imposed by Leveling his Fates But with normal Skill you could make up for understanding with hard work

But since understanding helped Randidly wasnÆt going to miss out on the chance to earn some more PP

Especially because he received a new Skill along with reaching Level 60

Congratulations You have learned the Skill Ray of the Desolate Dawn

Ray of the Desolate Dawn Shoot a blast of light toward either a friend or foe When hitting an ally the allyÆs Health Mana and Stamina regeneration will be greatly increased for a short amount of time When hitting an enemy Ray will burn and blind the target The effect increases the longer the ray is on the target The length of effect increases with Skill Level Magnitude of effect increases with Skill Level Damage to foes increases with Skill Level

With a fresh Skill at Level 1 Randidly intended to really test the limits of how quickly he could push a SkillÆs Level upward But before he did that he had another unfortunate task to accomplish After returning to his floating island in the sky he descended to Kharon and went to one of the more private bathhouses reserved for the Order Ducis His rinsed away the blood and sweat that stained his knuckles and then quickly dried off

When he was dressed he used one of his nicer casual outfits a pair of leather pants combined with a deep green shirt Then he went to find Tatiana

Finding Tatiana was quite easy but it was more difficult for Randidly to approach her without causing a scene Because of the Ogre Lord WolframÆs larger size he couldnÆt comfortably fit into any of the buildings in Kharon And because he had apparently made himself quite indispensable to TatianaÆs project of helping the ogres relocate they had commandeered one of the nearby parks and set up a mobile office underneath a large tent

But the area was teeming with ogres and merchants that were patiently waiting for the opportunity to walk in and talk with Tatiana Each meeting perhaps only took five to ten minutes but there were almost two dozen people patiently waiting for their turn Apparently the situation in the park was well known because several enterprising floating food platforms floated down and began to sell snacks and drinks to the assembled crowd

Obviously Randidly could cut in front of everyone but that felt a little bit

It took thirty minutes during which time the crowd perhaps doubled in size as more people seemed to need TattianaÆs guidance for Randidly to over come his unwillingness to take advantage of his influence

He used Grim Intuition to monitor the situation within the tent and when the applicant was leaving Randidly made his move He moved quickly to the back of the crowd and then strode purposefully through everyone with a little bit of the pressure from his Nether Might leaking out into the air

Human and ogre alike instantly fell silent and craned their neck to stare at him as Randidly imperiously stalked by The only noise was the sizzle of frying foods on the floating food platforms

Although Randidly had spent some time associating with the people of Kharon during the party thrown a week ago the population of Kharon was too large for everyone to have even caught sight of him or talked to him So for many this was probably their first time seeing Randidly Ghosthound in the flesh

And for the ogres they looked intently at the man who had subdued their Ogre Lord and now held sway over their people in the foreseeable future Their gazes were intense Randidly wondered what they saw when they looked at him

Because he had moved quickly Randidly reached the from of the tent before the person within had reached the exit So the person inside was surprised when the tent flap was pulled open just as she was reaching for it

She was a human merchant and she froze like a rat caught stealing a piece of trash when she saw Randidly Her eyes went very round

I ItÆs nice my name

Her whole body was trembling as she struggled to find the words after recognizing Randidly But Randidly gave her a meaningful look

Instantly the woman jumped out of the tent IÆm so sorry

Randidly touched her shoulder lightly as he walked briskly past her Thanks for the hard work

Then he allowed the tent flap to close behind him

Chapter 1284

Even before Salla Elmer had frozen at the door Tatiana had sensed RandidlyÆs approach She turned to Wolfram and tapped her fingernail against the desk twice to get his attention Set the trade agreement and mining rights distribution to the side for now The zoning will also have to wait for later We have a new project coming in that will likely set us back quite a bit of time And I also expect the deadline to be quite short we will need some more bodies How is the training for your warlocks coming along

Wolfram’s central head frowned while his side heads took care of neatly putting away the current papers and bringing out a fresh sheet A new project The timing is too poor But as for the warlocks their scribe training is basically finished They will serve you with great pride Madam Tatiana

Only because you bullied them into doing so Tatiana thought but it was not without a little fondness for the ogre Despite the fact that Wolfram had only been around for a few days he had endeared himself to her quite a bit by virtue of his meticulous mind and respectful nature Having elegant handwriting didnÆt hurt

It also helped that the former Ogre Lord had graciously volunteered to convert his war mage corps into scribes to assist with the growing pile of projects that Tatiana was expected to oversee While it was quite easy to make decisions it was much more difficult to record them and distribute the right information to the right people Until they got a specialist to come to Kharon and create some computer terminals and a printer scribes would have to do

And now here came another paperwork creating project about to walk through the entrance to the tent

Wolfram glanced down at the schedule and frowned This the project will come from the man who wants access to ogre cultural documents so he could create a soap for us

No it will come from the only individual powerful enough to come here without an appointment Tatiana chuckled She saw the confusion flash across WolframÆs face which was quickly chased by a realization

The Ghosthound comes All three of WolframÆs head looked up with pensive expressions Did I miss his signal Will there be war

No No there was no signal ItÆs just Tatiana hesitated Even now she felt a little embarrassed to admit the true reason that she sensed RandidlyÆs approach Sure her Perception had reached three hundred but that wasnÆt the reason that she knew Randidly would be coming with a project No the real reason was a Skill that she had obtained from a Path when Randidly had returned from his Judgment only a short amount of time ago Fidelity to the Ghosthound

It was a Skill that directly boosted her capabilities when she was working on projects for Randidly And in addition it granted Tatiana a small amount of predictive ability when it came to the matters of Randidly Ghosthound At this point it was only Level 49 but that was after a few days of use

With this ogre relocation project and whatever mess Randidly had come to throw on her desk Tatiana suspected that work involved would quickly force the Skill upward Probably within six months it would be her highest Level Skill

Luckily she was saved from admitting the strangely intimate Skill by Randidly walking forward into the tent He smiled at Tatiana in a slightly guilty way that confirmed that he had indeed come to make more work for her But then Randidly paused as he looked over at Wolfram sitting at an extremely small desk

You Randidly seemed taken aback He scratched his chin What are you wearing

Tatiana covered her mouth with her hand Wolfram only took a second to understand what Randidly was saying Affronted Wolfram used his right hand to adjust his recently purchased eyeglasses for his right head central head and then left head Eyeglasses They help me concentrate on the work

right Randidly glanced at Tatiana who shrugged as she adjusted her own reading glasses Not that she needed them any longer to improve her eyesight but she had always thought that she looked more professional while wearing glasses And as the woman left to run Kharon while Randidly Ghosthound was gone she had desperately wanted to appear professional By now it was simply habit to put her glasses on every day

Although she didnÆt know for sure she suspected that Wolfram had adopted the habit of wearing glasses after seeing her perhaps under the mistaken impression that it was a feature of people who did this sort of work Either way he had then insisted that his unfortunate batch of scribesÆ he was training also wear glasses

The glassmakers in Kharon were delighted Tatiana found the whole thing rather amusing

But since they really were already stretched keeping up with the work they had Tatiana quickly moved the conversation forward So What do you need

I want to host a party Probably here on Kharon On April 28th My birthday party Randidly said each sentence as a clipped almost independent thing Seeing TatianaÆs neutral expression he expounded a bit I plan on inviting all the important political figures on Earth Plus the Nemesai and any System officials that I can get to agree to come IÆll handle the invitations and contact for the last group But I think maybe after the situation at the stadium the Earth is ready to understand the broader situation at the Nexus ItÆs time to provide some context to why we are fighting

And you are finally ready to step into the spotlight as the Randidly Ghosthound Tatiana asked She understood Randidly pretty well she believed So she had always been somewhat aware of the many factors that had driven Randidly to create Kharon

It had never just been about stepping away from the world although Randidly had since explained that it was important that his image not be the ultimate image of Earth by the Second Calamity It had also not precisely been about helping the many people struggling in the Wildlands away from the established powers of New EarthÆs main Zones although that had been a project to which Tatiana was very happy to devote energy

No at the core of Kharon was the truth that Randidly wasnÆt someone who truly embraced the influence he had over Earth Tatiana had always been able to tell that Randidly felt somewhat awkward about leading it could be seen in the rather brusque way he dealt with teaching the metalworkers of Kharon how to improve He cared deeply about improving the situation on Earth but was rather helpless before some of the requirements of convincing others to follow his lead in a more faithful fashion

To which Randidly responded by creating an increasingly large space between himself and the second strongest person on Earth An effective strategy for inducing mimicry but only for broad strokes For the details Earth had been left to its own devices

And EarthÆs leaders had failed to handle those details

No but I will do it in order to make sure the Earth continues to improve Randidly said with a tired smile He looked gratefully at Tatiana then glanced one more time at Wolfram After shaking his head he continued to speak As much as I would like to avoid it itÆs hard to believe that some of the guests would accept anything less than a formal occasion I trust your expertise in that area but I plan on providing some specialty items that will hopefully keep people entertained I need to talk with Sam about fixtures but IÆll get that information to you as soon as possible Other than that food I guess And a band

How many people do you expect to attend Tatiana asked lightly She shot Wolfram a glance and bless his heart he was already nodding and pulling open a small drawer at the side of his desk Like a crane sipping water he dipped his pen into a pot of ink Despite Wolfram’s confusion regarding RandidlyÆs demands he had truly acknowledged as this human as his superior As such he didnÆt let his pride get in the way of trying to fulfill his liegeÆs requests

If only more men were so willing to set their emotions when action is needed

Randidly scratched his cheek clearly beyond his death Well I mean I wanted to invite most of my friends from Donnyton and then also the leaders of all the Zones Beyond that representatives from the Orders and some people from the Nexus IÆll try and establish contact with the worlds inside the other cleared Danger Zones as well

Considering the multiple invitations we will probably need to give EACH of those individuals it isnÆt likely that the guest list will be below one hundred Since Wolfram was busy taking notes Tatiana could simply sit primly and do some mental calculations And considering who is invited there will be at least one hundred more people who want to come to the event And beyond that there will be quite a few individuals who will want to come to network

And the political situations in the Zones are so complicated at least in Zone 1 where should we draw the line for invitations to the senators

ItÆs going to need to be a rather big event then Tatiana said diplomatically Her Fidelity to the Ghosthound was humming in her chest It gave her a small peak into RandidlyÆs emotions but all she saw was what she probably could have predicted anyway Randidly understood that the size of the event was rapidly growing but he so wanted to have this conversation with the world that he was willing to endure it

Tatiana admired that It meant that Randidly Ghosthound was finally growing into the role he had created for himself Which was for the best considering that it appeared that the Earth would become quite chaotic once the Calamities finally arrived

We will need to make invitations Something official befitting your many stations Wolfram said The other reason that Tatiana trusted Wolfram more than time would generally allow was how avidly he had spent his free time researching Randidly Ghosthound

Randidly grimaced Really Well if you think itÆs for the best But no matter the size fo the event IÆd like the group not to be so large that they canÆt fit into one room I have some things they need to hear

And whether that will be able to happen depends on the size of the room The corner of TatianaÆs lips twitched She dearly wished she would have thought to bring one of the bottles from her private whiskey collection to the short term office The fiery liquid would exactly hit the spot right now

After discussing a few more details Randidly opened up a portal with his strange key and departed Wolfram quickly finished writing out his notes and then turned to Tatiana Does this happen often

Yes Tatiana chuckled They discussed the party for ten minutes arranged for a meeting to be fit into their agenda then brought the next person they had to meet with into the tent Work waited for no one

Chapter 1285

Randidly took a bit of time to meditate and search himself for any leftover emotions from his earlier violence For this test he wanted his mind clear and focused Of course he found some vestiges of the pain and anger but he simply let them flow through him as he prepared his mental state for his attempt to examine how quickly he could Level a Skill

Originally he thought to do the experiment on his island to avoid outside influence but decided against it due to the extremely widespread ambient energy on the island It seemed to Randidly that it would be easier for his growth to go quickly if it occurred in a more typical location

Plus it was possible his island would fall from the sky if he inflicted significant physical damage to the formations that held it aloft That would be embarrassing

So Randidly left Kharon and the bustling ogre migration and headed East He passed through the high mountain ranges and arrived as some of the green and lush valleys that lay between the Wildlands and Zone Seven There Randidly set up in a meadow next to a bubbling stream The monsters here were only around Level 49 but Randidly didnÆt think the monster Level would matter at all for the first portion of his attempt

Randidly raised his hand and flexed his fingers Without any help from an image or by forcing Mana through the Skill with his raw Willpower Ray of the Desolate Dawn blasted out from his fingers A finger thin ray of grey light shot forward and impacted a nearby oak tree at which Randidly aimed

Congratulations Your Skill Ray of the Desolate Dawn has grown to Level 2

Apparently deciding that the tree was an enemy and not an ally the beam hit the tree and splintered the trunk Bark was ripped away in shreds followed quickly by splintered wood Even if the Skill Level was rather low RandidlyÆs Intelligence was high enough that the tree trunk very quickly cracked The beam bored a smoldering hole through the wood and shot off to impact the sloped ground behind the tree

RandidlyÆs mouth twisted Honestly the process was a bit tiresome as he waited for his Mana to deplete while using the Skill The Mana expenditure constantly increased but it took a full second before the expenditure was higher than RandidlyÆs passive Mana Regeneration It was only then that his Mana total began to tick downward

Congratulations Your Skill Ray of the Desolate Dawn has grown to Level 3

Congratulations Your Skill Ray of the Desolate Dawn has grown to Level 4

Of course as the Mana expenditure increased while using the Skill the power of the Skill also slowly grew Unfortunately the difference wasnÆt extremely noticeable without having a foe more difficult to kill than a helpless tree But the beam did slowly widen until it reached about two fingerÆs worth of thickness The grass burned and the ground melted But after spending about five hundred Mana Randidly let the Skill trail off

Congratulations Your Skill Ray of the Desolate Dawn has grown to Level 5

Curious Randidly walked over and examined the melted stone of the ground Although the damage was relatively localized in a small spot it was clear that the heat of the beam had been extremely high to have such an effect In terms of damage heat could obviously be extremely dangerous if it got high enough

After examining the effects of the offensive use Randidly called out Acri and had him stand some distance away Although there was a risk that Acri wouldnÆt be recognized as an ally because Randidly couldnÆt find a second mode with which to shoot the beam Randidly was confident that Acri was powerful enough to endure the heat for the second or so it would take to realize something was wrong

Once again Randidly unleashed the Ray of the Desolate Dawn This time as soon as the finger width of beam hit Acri it was clear that the beam utilized its ally function Rather than being concentrated it dispersed into a warm glow that suffused the surrounding area The large body of Acri rolled back and forth clearly pleased with the sensation from Ray of the Desolate Dawn ItÆs three sinuous portions of the spear tip undulated in pleasure

Congratulations Your Skill Ray of the Desolate Dawn has grown to level 6

Congratulations Your Skill Ray of the Desolate Dawn has grown to Level 7

Congratulations Your Skill Ray of the Desolate Dawn has grown to Level 13

This time the Levels began to tick up much more quickly as Randidly maintained the Skill But it was mostly because Randidly gained a deeper understanding of how to utilize the spell As he looked at Acri he could see the way the energy of the light encountered some signal that diffused it as a warm energy field around Acri

Otherwise when he had used it offensively the energy had concentrated to a dangerous point So the quality of the energy remained the same in both uses it was just a matter of whether the dosage was something the recipientÆs body could cope with

Congratulations Your Skill Ray of the Desolate Dawn has grown to Level 14

Which would mean that theoretically if Randidly used the Skill against someone powerful enough even the offensive version would just grant them increased energy A scary thought but probably irrelevant to the current experiment

Randidly let the Skill fade again and chewed on his lip as he thought about the Skill In terms of light the natural image of the Skill was very different from AlanaÆs image Whereas she was all about the bright power and heat of the sun this Skill it was about concentrated energy from light but without any of the furious productivity of nuclear fusion that was going on within a true star Or to put it another way the heat was just a side effect not the main point

So Randidly cut out heat as a portion of the image he associated with the Ray of the Desolate Dawn

Instead the Ray of the Desolate Dawn seemed to be powered more by surprise It was the first ray that was more powerful finally breaking across the horizon As time passed that ray slowly lost its element of surprise by gained increasing power as more and more light flooded over the horizon It should manifest as a cascading wave of power

So maybe I should be thinking of that chill of dawn Randidly muttered to himself He raised his hand and unleashed the beam with his mind extremely focused on what he wanted The light had definitely changed with RandidlyÆs understanding the skill becoming a light blue color as it once more shot toward an innocent tree

This time the trunk cracked and shattered almost instantly Although the effect was small Randidly did see a creeping covering of frost that stretched outward from the place where the tree had been destroyed

Congratulations Your Skill Ray of the Desolate Dawn has grown to Level 15

Congratulations Your Skill Ray of the Desolate Dawn has grown to Level 30

This time the Skill Levels came much more quickly In addition the beam swelled much more rapidly than it had previously After a dozen seconds of pumping an increasing amount of Mana into the Skill it reached the thickness of a fist and pushed its way punishingly into the ground The indentation was created without even relying on the heat that was present previously and quickly created a deep burrow

Randidly let the Skill taper off after spending about one thousand Mana on the current blast He sat for a few minutes and considered his inherent image once again The energy really was a potent force that could take many forms Still having the chill be present was cute but almost seemed like a waste What was most important were two factors the initial burst of power and then the speed of the scaling If Randidly could focus on improving his image for those aspects

Again he raised his hand Unleashing another offensive blast of energy Randidly watched the target tree carefully The beam ripped a hole through the trunk immediately and then began to swell The tree cracked and swayed before toppling over as the expanding beam felled it

Congratulations Your Skill Ray of the Desolate Dawn has grown to Level 31

Congratulations Your Skill Ray of the Desolate Dawn has grown to Level 41

With his Willpower fueling it and a very careful focus on the image Randidly gained about ten Skill Levels in a minute of usage Which even for Randidly was a ridiculously fast amount of growth Part of the reason was his practically unending Mana pool but it was also because he hadnÆt Leveled the Skill at all before he began to try and focus on it With a blank slate it was easy to concentrate and achieve rapid growth Randidly felt the way it closely responded to his shaping now

In the future Randidly resolved to Level his Skills much more consciously rather than simply routinely practicing with them

Once more Randidly refined his image He felt the shock of that first ray of light the almost revelatory nature of its arrival Then the explosion of light and power as the horizon failed to withstand the tide of unending light that was poised to arrive This time when Randidly raised his hand to unleash the Skill once again he felt the change almost immediately

Congratulations Your Skill Ray of the Desolate Dawn is evolving Warning if you possess insufficient energy

Congratulations Your Skill Ray of the Desolate Dawn has evolved into Reckoning of the Bleak Dawn Skill Levels will be maintained Initial burst power of the Skill increased Rate of growth for the effect due to prolonged exposure has increased Mana cost has greatly increased

Congratulations Your Skill Reckoning of the Bleak Dawn has grown to Level 42

There was a fundamental shift in the manifestation of the energy It shot forward like a javelin cracking the unsuspecting tree in half But barely had the tree recovered before the light from RandidlyÆs hand grew to the thickness of a beachball The flood of powerful energy reduced the wood to splinters before it could even react to the initial blast

The size of the beam continued to quickly rise growing to almost a meter in diameter And then after another five seconds it had reached two meters in diameter RandidlyÆs Mana depleted at a pace that made him raise his eyebrows he had spent almost six thousand Mana in ten seconds

Congratulations Your Skill Reckoning of the Bleak Dawn has grown to Level 43

Congratulations Your Skill Reckoning of the Bleak Dawn has grown to Level 67

Congratulations Your Skill Reckoning of the Bleak Dawn has grown to Level 99

This time Randidly let his entire Mana pool be devoured by the Skill When he had no more fuel the sizable beam quickly fizzled and faded leaving a path through the trees that appeared to have been cleared by a bulldozer The slope behind the trees had been largely been demolished the last blast leaving the valley rather ripped to pieces after RandidlyÆs training

But still Randidly looked down at his hand ItÆs been an hour and the focused training got the Skill up to Level 99 evolving it in the process Having a higher starting point really makes a difference

As he lowered his hand RandidlyÆs face twisted into a frown Because honestly most people canÆt get to this point They are capped by their Class Skills or more importantly they are much weaker in terms of images when they obtain their Class Skills which is the only reliable source of Skills that most people have

Compared to that my advantage of being forced to develop my images before even Level 50 means I have the chance to truly grow into a monster given enough time

Chapter 1286

After experiencing the rapid rise in Skill Level and the evolution of the image Randidly meditated for several hours in order to evaluate the process The sun slowly set and a wide sky of stars stretched above him His first excited thought was to try and spread this method more widely as a way for people to develop rapidly And as this was just a method it wouldnÆt have even a whiff of his own image when it helped the Earth grow more powerful But after checking himself Randidly realized that would be impossible

Because honestly he was exhausted if Randidly Ghosthound was exhausted by something it was not an easy thing It turned out that forcefully adjusting the image while Leveling it had three problems that would likely make it impossible to be done by the general population first you had to already be able to utilize powerful images It was only with a strong mental hand that the growth could be induced and controlled

Second changing the baseline image of the Skill seemed that it rapidly became more difficult the higher the Skill Level was Perhaps around a Level as low as ten it would become aggravating to start the process In his already drained state Randidly didnÆt make the attempt but he could see that there would be a small window of activity even at the best of times

Perhaps most importantly Randidly discovered that shifting the image so drastically consumed something vital in the process It was to a significantly lesser degree but Randidly found that it required the same emotional energy that could be used to condense a drop of liquid Aether Perhaps the entire reason it could occur was that the preset image while nacient in a low Level Skill was pressured into a semi liquid and malleable state

Randidly would need to observe someone else attempting it to know for sure but his excitement quickly disappeared For normal people the process was almost impossible this was not an unasked for solution that fell into his lap And even for Randidly he would likely need to take a nap to recover his mental energy after improving himself

All for around 100 PP and an improved Skill that he didnÆt really need He was on the fence about whether it was worth it

rather than improving the version of the Skill I have might be better to first start thinking about Ignition Essence and what IÆm going to do with that image Randidly rubbed his forehead With a flick of the wrist he produced his PhilosopherÆs Key and teleported back to his ominous floating island He felt somewhat bad for leaving the valley looking like it had been sacked by a hurricane but with so many people killed by the System the world was almost too vast to explore once more It was very likely that by the time this destruction was discovered the land would have begun to normalize

Giving in to his exhaustion Randidly found a spot beneath a tree and laid down for a nap Although the moon above was bright the mist around his island served excellently as curtains A few hours later RandidlyÆs eyes snapped open Dawn was peaking over the horizon also largely screened off by the omnipresent mist

Then Randidly shifted into a meditative posture and began to think about the image of Ignition Essence and how it would incorporate all the images that were slowly convalescing around it

Of his three images Ignition EssenceÆs source was the most nebulous It had come into existence based on necessity and because of his powerful fire Skills that he had utilized while fighting against the System Convenience appeared to have been the dominant influence over its current shape

Meanwhile the Grim Chimera was the combination of the Spear Phantom and ash It had been heavily influenced by his time on Tellus Yggdrasil came from RandidlyÆs first self created Skill and the heavy influence that his early plant based Skills had on his development They reflected his two sources of power from his earliest days in the System Ignition Essence was a little bit like the odd man out

In addition Ignition Essence now housed the mostly dormant power of Illym the above average child Her vicious image had largely been incorporated successfully yet remained inert And Randidly knew that part of the problem was that he wasnÆt fully capturing the essence of Illym When she had become a part of him truly all his Skills had evolved to form new phoenix themed Skills

Everything except Ignition Essence itself Without that core idea that would define the image it remained in its prior form

So Randidly sat with the dim glow of the rising sun through mist and carefully examined the sensations of his Ignition Essence Skills He also examined some of his other ancillary Skills that he didnÆt use much considering the ways those Skill could combine to form a coherent whole What he needed was a strong immediate image that could bring it all together

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Timing has grown to Level 117

But very quickly Randidly was distracted from his meditation With a sigh he stood Although Ignition Essence was important some other things couldnÆt wait He had another visit to make before he could really focus on his training

Oh please the fact that IÆve stayed well behaved in bed for two days should already be enough Kiersty complained as she swung her legs down from the high standing bed and stood She scratched her legs glad to be done with the rather stiff green sheets With the System most wounds heal within a few hours And my Health is back to full so tell me doctor why would you try to keep me here

I The doctor looked at Kiersty helplessly then gave Tykes a long look as though he was asking an expert for assistance

Tykes chuckled and folded his arms Most people donÆt heal as quickly as you so the staff is a bit surprised You were very close to your Health bottoming out Kiersty ThereÆs nothing wrong with taking some time to get back on your feet after that

9 Kiersty shook her head ThatÆs why I gave these fools two days of me acting docile and let them test me But now they want to keep me the rest of the week for observation TheyÆve already confirmed that my Health is full Are they afraid they have made some sort of mistake Because if they are I definitely donÆt want to be here

Nathan leaned across the shitty bed with a serious expression on his face Sis some wounds arenÆt

And you Kiersty rounded on her brother and jabbed him forcefully in the chest Due to her slightly superior physical stats Nathan took a step backward and sat down in the cliche wicker bedside chair with a blank expression Mariah Jane says once how much she admires how much you care for your sister and now you hover like a nanny ItÆs disgusting

I Nathan flushed and gripped the arms of the chair IÆm just

Ugh I canÆt stay here for another minute Kiersty ripped off the diodes that were monitoring her vital signs and tossed them onto the ground She really couldnÆt understand why the doctors bothered with this old Earth medical technology when Skills could do everything much more efficiently Do you think this is the first time that IÆve almost died IÆve fought monsters Hell IÆve had to avoid assassination attempts several times People donÆt like Arbor They donÆt like the worship of false idolsÆ And when these strangers shouted at me that I should die or would go to hell did I complain Did I run to the hospital No I just woke up the next day and went back to work We canÆt just we canÆt just break down at the slightest sign of violence Monsters are everywhere ThatÆs the world we now live in and IÆm ready to go back out there

By the end Kiersty was breathing heavily as she glared around at the four men around her as though daring them to disagree Ultimately no one said anything for several seconds Then Dinesh sighed and straightened

It is not the fact that you were attacked that has us worried Or that you were close to death although we all know how feeling mortal can change you And we all know what the Earth has become but it is who attacked you Kiersty Physically you are obviously fine But

Perhaps intelligently Dinesh left the rest unsaid KierstyÆs mouth twisted into a scowl but she didnÆt know what to say DineshÆs quiet concern IÆm IÆm fine Is this about Decklan So what We werenÆt very close at all

Kiersty could clearly still see how blank and bloody DecklanÆs eyes had been as he thrust out his hand and a jagged blade of blood dug into her side that day in the stadium In that moment she had remembered seeing him laughing at one of the early celebrations of Donnyton She had remembered how cool she had thought he looked

She remembered seeing him with Tera and at first being slightly jealous But no matter how long she watched the two always got along so well together So eventually Kiersty had secretly set those two as the pinnacle of couples in her heart They had seemed so much more normal than a pair like Dozer and Annie

The blade of blood had twisted in her side ripping off large chunks of her Health The overpowering scent of blood had wafted upward and made it difficult for her to think Her trembling hands went up to the arm that had been slowly killing her She had remembered standing on her tiptoes to hug Decklan after TeraÆs funeral and offering her condolences to the broken man

The man that day in the stadium seemed almost completely devoid of life after absorbing the lifeblood accumulation

Her Health had dropped to 9 She had gripped that arm that so wounded her as it attempted to withdraw Then Alana had killed Decklan and his blood had splashed onto KierstyÆs face

IÆm fine Kiersty said again With a shake of the head she forced the memories away She knew no one believed her but what else could she say She was fine She had to be

The floral curtains next to the open window of her private room fluttered lightly The doctor finally worked up the nerve to speak once more I cannot require you to stay but

Then why are we acting like this a discussion Kiersty said stonily

The heavy silence continued for several more seconds But before the pale faced doctor could break it Kiersty twisted and looked at the window There was a brush against her consciousness that could only come from a single source Her expression immediately brightened Rushing to the window she looked out and saw that in the courtyard below two figures were standing

The first was the familiar form of ArborÆs main avatar The treant had learned to control the flames that had originally covered its body so it was possible for it to simply look like an ashy individual in a rather too detailed tree costume But as Kiersty looked down from the window Arbor looked up and offered her its trademark smile Such was its excitement that the branches that were wrapped around the other figure flared to life with tongues of orange flame

Of course the other figure was Randidly Ghosthound grinning up at her The flames wouldnÆt hurt him at all Heya Kiersty Are you alright

IÆm Kiersty hopped up onto the window and jumped out of her horrible hospital room On the way down she began to cry IÆm really fine

Chapter 1287

Sydney looked methodically down at the collapsed city blocks to the wreckage of the stadium at the end of the chaotic destruction Smoke was still drifting up from the sundered grounds in some places Streets folded in on themselves buildings were leveled stone and steel scorched and melted

The remnants of the NemesaiÆs escape held her attention for a long time She pressed her lips together Ice and electricity ran up and down her arms but could find no outlet for their potent power She had been too late to participate in the football game and had been blocked out by the barrier like everyone else on that fateful day The memory of her sense of powerlessness still filled Sydney with irritation

Still she had believed that the barrier couldnÆt be invulnerable Nothing truly was

So she had set up a formation that would allow her to mix her two elements freely and unleash her most powerful attack The process took time but the final result would have been a burst of power which was infused with the image she had been developing She was only a few moments away from launching the attack when she looked up and that was exactly the moment when Randidly Ghosthound arrived and had destroyed the barrier

Of course she quickly stopped her formation but the process had left her exhausted She had moved to assist in the battle against the Nemesai but the action had proceeded too quickly for her to catch up in her winded state And it just so happened that the Nemesai had broken out the exact opposite side of the stadium where Sydney had been preparing

Plus the soldiers of Zone 1 who were kept out by the barrier had largely clogged up the streets and obscured her Perception By the time she had noticed the Nemesai leaving the stadium it was too late The city was collapsing and the Nemesai had fled

Sydney was now standing on top of a partially destroyed building at the edge of the devastation It had already been for days since the attack and only now was the cleanup beginning in earnest As she considered the familiar sights footsteps in the stairwell echoed up to the top floor where she was standing But Sydney didnÆt move She simply looked out at the wreckage

Always coming up just a little short

A security guard pushed open the door to the roof and sighed when he saw Sydney MaÆam I donÆt know how many times I have already told you this but this area is off limits I promise that next time I will have no choice but to arrest you for trespassing

Sydney glanced at the man and he shrugged helplessly at her cold expression This is for your own good what if you came up here and hurt yourself

Some part of Sydney wanted to demonstrate to this infuriating man that there was actually very little chance of her injuring herself due to her high Stats but another part knew that it wasnÆt worth it Instead she offered him a chilly smile DonÆt worry this is the last time you will see me

And with that Sydney utilized her Thunder Steps Skill and crossed the sky in a blur She left a sizzling spot of concrete and a jumping security guard in her wake Her expression was tense and twisted

Even if I miss this them this time I wonÆt give up IÆll find out who is responsible for DrakeÆs pain and make them pay

Madam President Madam President here please President Greyman

The press of reporters jostled against each other as they raised their hands to be selected to ask the first question of the press conference Theodora Greyman tried to keep her expression sufficiently mournful while also keeping her mourning from seeming too emotional She pointed to a reporter and the woman straightened her jacket before speaking

Madam President considering the final death toll released by investigators do you truly believe that your administration did everything in its power to ensure the safety of the people who attended the game

Mostly this press conference was an exercise is what you could not say In a way it was a game that the reporters were complicit in how could you best demonstrate you heard the reporterÆs question while not addressing the dangerous topics that the reporter wanted to drag out of you

You cannot say that you had tried your best because that means that the Greyman Administration was insufficient to run Zone 1 in the face of such threats You cannot say that you didnÆt try your best because that means that the Greyman Administration had through laziness or ineptitude allowed this tragedy to happen

You could not call it a tragedy because then people would point out that she as President was at fault You could not refuse to speak about what happened at the stadium Because it was the greatest loss of life in the history of Earth after the System

Theodora Greyman was also very aware that she could not blame the obvious scapegoat the Order Valorem her administration and the Order Valorem had no choice but to rely on each other right now As long as both were able to take a share of the blame neither would be destroyed by shouldering the entirety of this incident And working with each other was the best chance to try and build their reputations back up to acceptable levels

President Greyman shook her head sadly This was a battle of information that we needed to approach differently we had no idea that the Nemesai and their allies would be able to create such a barrier that could keep our thousand strong rapid response squads outside of the stadium In addition we had no idea the extent of the teleportation ability the Winged Serpent possessed

Then she clenched a fist dramatically For just a moment she allowed her very real fury to show through But I promise you this We wonÆt be taken by surprise again

But Madam President

President Greyman If you please Madam President Excuse me President Greyman

Before the reporter could ask an incisive follow up question her voice was drowned by those around her President Greyman surveyed the scene and pointed to a man that her administration had something of an understanding with

And as she expected when he stood he smiled and offered a rather easy question So what are you doing to prevent such a thing from happening again

The preparations have begun immediately all state affiliated facilities will be outfitted with specially designed combat drones stored on the premises so that such a barrier canÆt cripple us like it did in the past Rest assured we have our best scientists designing AI drones that can learn and grow while fighting halting aggressors before they even recognize the threat Without the threat of the barrier

Why donÆt you just learn to shatter a barrier like the Ghosthound can

The entire room froze Theodora Greyman felt something strange in the air This was a question that shouldnÆt be asked not so bluntly Something was suddenly wrong with the press conference

A young woman standing in the back smiled almost shyly up at Theodora Greyman Her eyes were a light grey and her shoulder length hair was black Although she had a press badge on her chest Theodora Greyman didnÆt recognize the name Hydie Mordath Rather than a reporter her frilly black dress was more suited for a witch

You President Greyman began confidently to speak She knew how to answer this She had practiced how to deal with questions about Randidly Ghosthound before calling this press conference Her mind quickly ran through several excuses for why they couldnÆt do what Randidly could do Yet as she looked at the young womanÆs grey eyes

Her mouth wouldnÆt move as she wished Her tongue flopped helplessly against her teeth

If you canÆt do so Hydie Mordath said softly She began to spin her pen across her fingers Do you really think you should remain in charge of a Zone If you canÆt

The woman abruptly stopped speaking as she lost control of her pen and flung it sideways into an older manÆs face He flinched and Hydie froze Her face flushed red with embarrassment Which finally broke the weird tongue tied stasis in which President Greyman found herself She gave her guards a pointed look and they quickly strode forward and took Hydie Mordath by the elbow to lead her out

To regain some credibility President Greyman smiled out at the crowd If Randidly Ghosthound would respond to any sort of the reams of correspondence that I have sent him I would be glad to talk about the method he used to break the barrier We all would love to learn But unfortunately whatever he is doing with ogres in the North is too important for him to comment on what happened that day Are there any other questions

Once Hydie Mordath was escorted out of the press conference the whole event proceeded much more smoothly Although Theodora left feeling dissatisfied with how things turned out it was rare for her to feel otherwise after speaking to the press But she did feel she had redeemed herself after that brief moment where she had completely dropped the ball to that strange girlÆs question

Hydie Mordath could she have been sent by someone to make me look bad Theodora chewed on the inside of her cheek as she strode down the long hallways of the capitol building toward her office Or worse a spy sent directly by Randidly Ghosthound I hadnÆt thought that he cared enough to interfere but perhaps

When Theodora opened the door to her office she found her aide Douglas looking with a great deal of concern at an object sitting on her desk He turned around when he heard her entrance and then bowed IÆve checked the security cameras it seems like a vine carried it in through the ventilation system

what Suddenly feeling very cold Theodora Greyman walked slowly around to look down on her desk Laying there very conspicuous against the warm finish of her very expensive desk there was a black envelope

Theodora looked at Douglas then back down at the envelope then up at Douglas again She raised her brows You do you really expect me to open that myself

Douglas hesitated President Greyman after the attack on the stadium if another death would happen on your watch it might create enough of a stir for you to be impeached So I thought it best not to bring an intern or even a guard in here to open it But I did have one of our most perceptive people scan the envelope and there doesnÆt seem to be any danger

You Theodora began but then she mastered herself and waved him silent She had wanted to call him an idiot because if she opened that envelop and was dosed with some sort of poison there would be no administration at all Everything she had built would collapse to a pile of cards with which she had started

With a sour expression on her face Theodora sat down at her desk and considered the envelope None of her danger detection Skills warned her of anything either Where did it all go wrong I was Chairperson of the World Council the most powerful woman in the world So why why can I now not even find someone to open my mail

By the time she actually mustered up the nerve to reach for the black envelope her hands were shaking with rage So she took a breath to steady herself and then picked it up Her eyebrows rose the thing was actually quite heavy

With a smooth gesture she ripped open the top and a piece of metal about the size of a postcard slid out and thumped onto her desk The surface was glossy and a grey/blue color When she leaned closer Theodora was able to read the elegant writing that had been imprinted onto the piece of metal

Salutations

You are cordially invited to the birthday celebration of Randidly Ghosthound on the 28th of April held in the Grand Amphitheater of Kharon Please come hungry as refreshments and entertainment will be provided

This invitation entitles the holder to bring along five guests Festivities will begin at 6 P M

The Randidly Ghosthound Birthday Party Planning Committee

Chapter 1288

After Randidly reviewed and approved of the form and material of the invitations he had believed he would once more had free time on his hands to rather exhaustively train And while he did have large stretches of the day where he wasnÆt required to do anything he still had some rather tedious responsibilities that cropped up Planning a party turned out to be quite a bit of work

Which he had planned to effortlessly avoid by distributing the invitations himself but Arbor had very enthusiastically volunteered for the job Such was the treants joy that Randidly regretfully allowed the plant to handle things

Then Randidly had announced his plans to travel to the Danger Zones and approach the various populations on the other side but to his surprise Neveah had rather quickly volunteered She had apparently been paying attention to his actions and surprised him by making the offer rather out of the blue while Randidly was talking some plans over with Tatiana

Not so much to do down by the World Crater anymore so moving around a bit would be welcome Plus I had a lot of fun fighting against the Toad Lord Hopefully the other worlds have people just as strong

Randidly felt more than a little pity for the leaders of the Danger Zones when Neveah arrived bearing his metal invitation So regretfully he turned his attention to the party itself when he wasnÆt working on his images

Which unfortunately involved Randidly listening to Tatiana and Wolfram describe the amphitheater they would construct for his birthday At certain intervals he would then be required to make tiresome decisions about minor details regarding the venue Randidly chose multiple smaller bathrooms rather than larger bathrooms He selected a more classical style architecture He also wasted several hours trying to come up with a comprehensive menu that reflected his personality

At the end of him wracking his brain to think of his favorite food Randidly had shaken his head in disgust Honestly just serve whatever The point is to gather them not to wow them with cuisine

But itÆs your birthday Mister Ghosthound Wolfram said with patient determination All three heads still wore glasses as he looked carefully over the ledger in front of him This is a celebration of your majesty Proving sub par fare to your guests will result in you being mocked for a generation

Randidly gave Tatiana an aggrieved look that made her snort YouÆll be in Kharon for a while anyway right Just come by for dinner for a few nights and IÆll arrange for the best Kharon has to offer to be delivered Try some things and just pick your favorite I think we will be able to avoid you being mocked for a generation

Throwing up his hands Randidly left the chortling duo to their endless stacks of paperwork and their snide jokes he was beginning to regret introducing the Ogre Lord Wolfram to Tatiana The duoÆs ability to quickly discover weaknesses and rather mildly antagonize Randidly was somewhat of a wonder He honestly doubted if they ever had time to actually do the work that they were supposed to do with all the snarky lines they were thinking up

But of course the proof was in the pudding the work was getting done When Randidly stood on top of city hall and looked West he could see hundreds of steelworkers rapidly converting one of the cityÆs smaller parks into the Kharon Amphitheater for his birthday At this point there was only a solemn ribcage of metal beams to hint at the building that would soon house EarthÆs elites but an extremely large shipment of marble from DonnytonÆs mine should be arriving in the next few days to fill out the scaffolding

With that shipment the construction was scheduled to begin in earnest

All this from the spur of the moment idea to receive a freely given gift from Ezekiel and acquire the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night Randidly thought to himself He shook his head Although I could quickly figure out ways to get more benefits from the event itÆs somewhat scary that a sudden idea that I had could mobilize so much time and effort from these people

I suppose that is what it means to lead an entire city

After examining the general situation on Kharon both of the image and of the continued proliferation of moss spirits Randidly returned to his island and prepared to meditate more on the progression of his Ignition Essence image But before he could get himself comfortable and clear his mind a notification popped up in front of Randidly

He had received a message Vualla had replied to what he had sent after the night of the stadium attack

He quickly closed the message without reading it as his heart seemed to literally squirm in his chest But then Randidly looked blankly at the empty air in front of him and tried to figure out why he had done that He was excited to receive a message from Vualla wasnÆt he So why was he putting it off

Disgruntled with himself Randidly opened up the reply that Vualla had made

This past week has been hectic The entrance into the Xyrt Brigade has been difficult Really difficult I barely have time to breathe with the tests they administered

But in those rare moments of peace I always remember the warmth of your hand on my shoulder Because I know IÆm not alone

As for your guilt over your world never punish yourself for the Path someone else has chosen And the source is unfortunate but your Nether being more powerful is a good thing After seeing the people here if we really want to change something if we want to destroy this damned System we will need to be more than exceptional

We will need to be singularly overwhelming Because that is what awaits at the Pinnacle of the Nexus

IÆll be waiting for you

Vualla

After reading the message Randidly released a long breath that seemed to contain all of the worries that had been swirling within his heart regarding the number of people he had let die at the stadium Then he took a breath back into his lungs and all those worries flooded back through his cardiovascular system lodging themselves in his fleshy internal organs

Even if the people in charge of the Zones chose that Path the people who attended the game didnÆt necessarily do so

Then Randidly breathed back out with enough force that those worries were once more dislodged and sent out of him And because they had dug so deeply into his fleshÆ this time this batch of worries carried with them the seeds of anxiety and doubt that had been buried in his heart

For a second Randidly simply looked down at his hands and felt at peace

It was a purely metaphorical gesture but Randidly released a wave of pure Nether that burned through the exhaled air and reduced it to nothing Then Randidly turned his emerald eyes back to the message and read it one more time

Never punish yourself for the Path someone else has chosen huh Randidly shook his head He could feel VuallaÆs brash determination as she said those words He could feel her stubborn insistence that it was true But it was at best only partially true Even if it wasnÆt his fault that it happened there was no shame in mourning those people and experiencing the pain of their loss

That is what made him human Refusing to acknowledge those emotions is part of the reason that the second version of Vualla the one that now bound Ileot Swacc came to be So Randidly allowed himself to sit and simply hurt for a while after he did his best to eradicate his guilt

With a flick of his wrist he produced the long list of names that he had Tatiana and Wolfram procure for him Every one of the people who died at the stadium was listed on the piece of paper And for a time Randidly simply read the names

It was harder than he thought it would be and several times he had to stop and look up at his mist shrouded surroundings while taking a deep breath But again and again he forced himself to look back down at the paper and continue

There should be a price to power Randidly thought to himself And this this is something that I should pay I allowed these people to die I allowed someone to recklessly endanger these lives I made that decision

As he finished the list Randidly thought about the last line in VuallaÆs message IÆll be waiting for you

With a furious determination Randidly pressed his eyes closed and continued to train

Ramsey Swacc current acting head of the Swacc family gripped the leather armrests of his chair and tried his best to keep his voice even What do you mean he disappeared

Dalak Swacc shifted uncomfortably The manÆs amphibian like skin glistened with slime As you requested I staked out the teleportation arrays near the front lines in order to encounter Randidly Ghosthound However he never arrived at the nearest teleportation arrays After a few days I figured he might have avoided the main arrays and gone to a subsidiary to travel and therefore I sent men to watch every array on the planet But either he has remained on the frontlines or he expected the surveillance and beat me to one of the side arrays

The muscles along Ramsey SwaccÆs jaw worked ceaselessly Although quite of bit of prestige came with the position of acting Swacc family head there were some drawbacks Most specifically the rules of the honorable Swacc Family dictated that the acting head could not be involved at all in the recruitment of new individuals into the Swacc family As the Swacc name was a ceremonial name and unrelated to blood this did a lot to curb the longevity of a headÆs power past his usefulness

But Ramsey had made no secret of the fact that Dalak was someone that he didnÆt deem worthy of bearing their illustrious name As someone who had become the family head rather abruptly there were a lot of established players who enjoyed these sorts of small slights to demonstrate that Ramsey was not quite in total control

But still even this fool should have been capable enough of keeping tabs on a single man

Ramsey closed his eyes and did his best not to rip his chair to shreds Does that mean he remained on the frontlines But it would be difficult to avoid the military checkpoint but other than that what connections does this Randidly Ghosthound have in the Nexus Is there really more to the death of Ileot than meets the eye

IleotÆs activities within the Swacc family were before RamseyÆs time but he was aware of how powerful the man had been His exact image was kept a secret but a few of the Swacc Family elders had hinted that it had contributed heavily in the process of shifting Swacc Family from a middling power to the dominant faction it now was

The mission to watch Randidly Ghosthound had been issued by Ramsey almost on a whim Just a way to cover all his bases And now

See if our spies on the frontlines have noticed anything Ramsey ordered knowing full well that even Dalak had enough brain cells to do that before slinking before him to report In addition send someone to the GhosthoundÆs homeworld to check things out

Dalak squirmed The slime on his skin seemed to be getting thicker ThatÆs just the thing we cannot His world hasnÆt yet even received the first Calamity

What Ramsey considered that Someone powerful enough to be brought to the frontlines and become a Commander even before their world fought a Calamity

There was definitely something going on behind the scenes here Ramsey Swacc steepled his fingers and considered the problem After all he hadnÆt become the acting head of the Swacc Family for nothing then I suppose we will need to get creative

Chapter 1289

A week after the bloody events of the stadium and five days after the impromptu decision to uproot themselves Derek and Tim Moss stood below the towering form of Kharon and looked up at the massive sight with awe in both their expressions They had heard the rumors and seen the pictures of the place but to actually see an entire city crouching there above them with emerald lights spiraling downward to float above the seething crowd of people waiting to get into the city

However some of the wonder was rubbed away by the loud group of people around them

Because Derek was doing his best to hold onto Tim within the huge jostling crowd that made the sights around them less important than actually staying together in the press of bodies Kharon had now been stationary for over a week enabling anyone curious and free enough to come to finally see the moving city of Randidly Ghosthound

And they had come in droves Derek and Tim had actually arrived last night but Derek had been unwilling to approach the huge mass of people without understanding what was going on So they had camped out nearby and talked to a few people until they understand that literally everyone was here for the chance to enter Kharon

And if Kharon itself wasnÆt enough for you Randidly Ghosthound himself was known to be on the mysterious misty island that loomed above Kharon Because he would be personally hosting his birthday celebration in a weekÆs time at a special venue in Kharon to which all of EarthÆs important individuals had been invited

The birthday party had become the political event of the decade

And if that wasnÆt enough to draw you to the area there was the possibility of interacting with the rapidly growing ogre settlement a few miles North of the spot that Kharon was currently located There werenÆt many amenities there but there were a lot of rare monster parts and minerals that couldnÆt be found anywhere else Most of the merchants that were unwilling to wait in line were currently sniffing around there

In addition to all those draws there was also the fact that you could clearly see thousands of ogres a day walking out of the Ogre Gorge and heading North to settle the rugged mountain range that towered between Zones 11 and 7 And the ogreÆs efficiency at clearing out monsters had meant that a few enterprising individuals had already started marketing the area as a safe vacation destination where a family could view the majestic skyline without the worry of interference of monsters

Derek personally had some doubts about how feasible a business that was but he could definitely see how a lot of people who currently lived in the rolling grasslands of Zone 1 would be tempted to come up and see what all the fuss was about Especially if the rumors were true that the ogres were currently shaping some high mountains to function as ski resorts

Well I heard that the nominal Donny of Donnyton one of the most powerful Classers in the world unleashed a full strength strike against his birthday invitation and was unable to leave a scratch A rather loud and overweight man was saying nearby

Derek grimaced For these people waiting in the queue the talking never seemed to stop

A nearby woman who was carrying a backpack as large as she was shook her head disdainfully Pah you think thatÆs amazing Since the reveal that Zone 7Æs Xiang Le was actually three women running the Zone the entire time you know how each of them has been under constant attacks Well I heard that even though the assassin caught the one woman completely off guard she used the birthday invitation like a knife and sliced the assassin completely in half

Were the edges of the invitation that sharp A thin man asked clearly unconvinced I thought it was just a mystical metal that the Ghosthound himself invited But why would he make the invitation sharp It might hurt people ItÆs just an invitation and it needs to be sharp to cut

If itÆs sufficiently hard the invitation can easily cut through something The woman harrumphed The overweight man shook his head and turned away to talk to a new group of people The press of bodies shifted More conversations about Kharon about the Order Ducis about the Nemesai and of course about Randidly Ghosthound sprung up in every direction

The crowd shifted as the line moved forward a small amount Derek gratefully led Tim a few steps away from the group that was still glancing away from their current conversations and glaring at the people who disagreed with them But no matter where they went Derek and Tim could still hear people talking excitedly about all the things that were happening in the world right now

Obviously Derek hadnÆt seen any proof of an ogre migration or ski resort although there were monstrous humanoids that could only be ogres waiting patiently with the humans in the queue to enter Kharon But such was the enthusiastic volume of the people around them that they couldnÆt avoid slowly being brainwashed by the rumors And honestly Derek had quite like skiing when he was younger He and TimÆs mother often went before Tim was born

And the reason they had stopped was because of the fear of injury But with the System

Dad Tim tugged at DerekÆs sleeve with a confused expression on his face How can a birthday invitation be used as a weapon ItÆs just a card right

Well it is just a card but Derek said tiredly His initial enthusiasm to come here after the strange interaction he had with Gertrude Collins had largely receded during the difficult journey North Although there were trains that headed to the area in which Kharon had settled tickets had been gobbled up by businesses desperate for the chance to get an advantage over the competition by trading directly with Kharon rather than relying on established channels

The train station had been a circus that Derek had been only too happy to leave

So when the passenger trains had been turned to freight that meant that the only way to travel was to walk And the System meant that the prospect wasnÆt as impossible as it had been before but it was still a far distance for a young kid Still Tim had seemed excited by the prospect of the adventure so Derek hadnÆt worried too much about it

Then they traveled for three days held back by a Tim whose education had still been rather soft despite the presence of the System The pace they could keep meant that it would take them almost a week to reach Kharon

When they departed Derek had figured the normal means of transportation would be available to them and didnÆt pack much food He was horrified to be forced to feed his own son the emergency military rations that he kept in his interspatial watch by the fourth day It was a blow against his pride

What made it somehow much worse was how much Tim had seemed to enjoy the experience camping Tim tried to hide it but Derek had noticed the plants around their sleeping spots rather quickly changing when left alone with Tim But seeing how furtive his son was Derek had just let the incidents pass who knows it might have just been a coincidence that every time Tim went to forage he came back with fresh vegetables while Derek had a hard time scraping up anything

Shaking his head Derek focused on TimÆs question It might just be a card but if the material is sufficiently hard and the user is sufficiently strong it could still be a weapon A card should be pretty thin

How does he do it Tim asked as he turned to look at the city that was looming above them Although most of what they could see was the stone and metal base from their angle it was possible to see the edges of a few buildings over the edge Mostly it was the emerald energy the noise and the size of the city that dominated the impression How is he so strong

Images Derek said grimly His gaze went up toward Kharon as well And it was because of Randidly GhosthoundÆs insistence on images that Derek had followed through with his rather quickly hatched scheme to move even when faced with adversity Because if he wanted Tim to grow up as best as he could this was the place where it could happen

That strange hug with Gertrude while nice was just two people bonding Derek flushed at the memory

Images were actually invented by Randidly Ghosthound Someone in front of them twisted around to say interrupting his brief daydream Derek ignored the man and looked at the ground in front of him The System is the source of all these powers Randidly Ghosthound is just the man who hasnÆt let the way Earth used to be keep him from seeing how we need to behave now

A few minutes passed and the crowd shuffled forward once more Derek stood on his tiptoes and craned his neck to look forward to the people in front of them There were a few ogres that blocked him from having an excellent view but they probably had gone halfway through the line during their four hour weight He settled onto his heels with a sigh

He was just turning to Tim to ask him what he thought about the rule changes to football after the incident at the stadium when he heard a voice call his name

Derek Moss Is that you What are you doing here

Derek twisted around and saw a familiar man floating the above the vast crowd on one of those platforms wreathed in the emerald energy of Kharon Very quickly he recognized the slim Indian man as Dinesh As the previously chatty crowd around them fell ominously silent Derek smiled awkwardly up at Dinesh We well we believe we want to relocate to Kharon

Ah I see Dinesh glanced at Tim and then gave Derek a knowing look Then Dinesh waved his hand Hop on up This line is for the trader and visitors’ entrance I can move you to the other line

But I was told that we had to enter as visitors to apply for citizenship DerekÆs eyes twitched He opened his mouth to ask about that but Tim had already hopped upward grabbed the platform with his hands As his son wrestled with the edge of the platform and repeatedly told Dinesh that he was fineÆ in his struggles Derek decided not to make a scene here The gossipy overweight man and the woman with a backpack as large as she was were practically drooling as they looked from Derek up to Dinesh

Instead he leapt upward to land onto the platform and watched his son take a further five seconds to manage to do the same himself Then they began to float quickly forward to the left over some rugged hills as they traveled the circumference of Kharon

What are these things Tim said curiously Several motes of emerald energy had been gathering around him since he struggled to get onto the platform so that now he seemed to be wearing a cape of them that trailed after him in the air The effect looked positively heroic

Dinesh smiled Those are moss spirits They are the energy that drives Kharon It seems like they like you Which is good because if you make friends with them it will make your life much easier

After that Tim was content to play with the moss spirits while they accelerated around the side of the moving city Which just served to emphasize how large Kharon really was Derek had just worked up the nerve to ask where they were going when they slowed down and descended to hover only a few feet above the rocky ground

Dinesh pointed to a ladder that dangled from a tunnel in the side of Kharon to a meter above the ground This is the entrance you want IÆll take Tim to show him the town while you go through the interview DonÆt worry about it too much just be honest Good luck

Rather stunned Derek allowed Dinesh to shoo him off the platform and then watched the other man fly up and over the edge of Kharon with his son It was only a few seconds later that he realized that aside from going through the fighting in the stadium together he had literally given his son away to a stranger

Red in the face Derek had no choice but to try and calm himself and head up the ladder Within was a low ceilinged passage with no doors so Derek continued to walk forward despite his growing unease Eventually he arrived at a metal door and slowed down Two people were standing in line in front of it

One was a muscular man with a shaved head and the other was a petite woman with dark hair and grey eyes The man frowned when he arrived but said nothing The woman smiled and blew a kiss at Derek

DerekÆs Skills told him that both were dangerous the woman more so than the man With the atmosphere as tense as it was he was content just to scan them and join them in waiting neither seemed to want to converse with him After a few minutes the door opened and the muscular man walked through

Around ten minutes later the door opened again and the woman walked forward stubbing her toe painfully on the door frame while she did so Swearing quietly she closed the door behind her and left Derek alone

What the hell am I doing Derek wondered He almost considered leaving and trying to find Dinesh but the prospect of waiting in the regular line again to get into the city and he would need to walk back to that location

Plus those bastards are probably gossiping about us as we speak Derek held his head in his hands and sighed sorrowfully

Then the door opened again and a man beckoned him through Rather stiffly Derek followed Inside was a young man sitting at a desk and another man leaning casually against the wall Both were even more dangerous than the two people who had been waiting in front of Derek to enter the door From a quick look there appeared to be no other entrances or exits to the room

But the real reason that Derek allowed himself glide mechanically forward and settle into the chair in front of the desk was that he recognized the man sitting behind the desk

Naffur Suite looked forward and considered Derek with a serious expression So why do you believe you would be an asset to the Order Ducis

Chapter 1290

Thea Glasshammer crossed her arms It had been such a hectic week that there was still blood under her nails and rips in her leather armor Yet when the Nemesai had returned to their base another surprise had been waiting for them Torchlight flickered against the damp stones traced with lines of the Winged SerpentÆs formations and left them all feeling profoundly unsafe

Eventually Thea couldnÆt stand the tension any longer and flexed her fingers The other Nemesai slowly shifted to lean against the walls of the cavern and waited for Thea to speak her opinion Because all of the Zones were actively working together to hunt them in a way that severely curtailed their activities their existence had been exceptionally miserable since the incident at the stadium

Of course the Nemesai had the edge in any straight fight with the normal forces of Earth Even the likes of Alana Donal and Hank Howard could be handled But the stadium revealed a devastating truth to the Nemesai

Even with their images Randidly Ghosthound could kill them

The fact that we were forced base ourselves here on a small island hidden in the Great Sea should be enough But also

TheaÆs gaze grew heavy as she looked toward the center of the room Chrysanthemum was sniffing the metal card that had been stuck into the flat stone the Nemesai had taken to using as a table for the duration of their stay The placement showed both the ability to infiltrate and also an understanding of how the space was used

Unless Randidly Ghosthound can read even our habits with images Thea gritted her teeth

From what I can tell a plant grew up through the stone ground placed the invitation then immediately withered away The invitation must have been pulled through the ground The Winged SerpentÆs tongue flicked out as it examined the space beneath the stone table The other Nemesai were similarly uneasy Obsidian Duke who had only recently recovered from the injuries he suffered while holding back the Jade Prince at the stadium rubbed his chin and refused to look at the card

An Invitation to the birthday of Randidly Ghosthound The Nemesai had obviously heard when Randidly started sending out invitations to the people of Earth They had even been making some tentative plans around the event although with the action at other locations no one felt confident facing Randidly directly after watching Straud be squished like an annoying fly

But now that he had gone so far to invite them personally

Your formations canÆt stop him Thea asked and regretted it immediately She shouldnÆt cast doubt on the Winged Serpent now

The Winged SerpentÆs tongue flicked again It is possible for me to adjust the defensive formations so this specific act cannot happen again but I suspect he would still be able to find other ways to accomplish his goals The only fix for that would be I could stay here and constantly be using the full might of my image to defend the place but IÆm unsure how long I could hold out if he assaults my defenses with his own image This Randidly Ghosthound

HeÆs breaking the rules The Bandit King whispered In the flickering light from the torches the Nemesis looked gaunt and exhausted His flashy clothes were ripped and bloody just like everyone else’sÆ How are we supposed to win Not everyone is like the Obsidian Duke whose world managed to get an individual on both sides on a single world If I fail my world

His people and mine are eternally at odds The Obsidian Duke snarled If he grasps victory my clan will be slaughtered like dogs And vice versa So If you think

Yet what I really want to know is how can you even think to continue struggling like a slug when you were easily overpowered by him The Bandit King said with a sneer He took two steps toward the Obsidian Duke

The Obsidian Duke took two steps toward the Bandit King While I have been forced to suppress my image that child has been able to utilize his image much more freely in that same period of time Of course he has improved over the past two years But soon I will

Enough Thea said quietly And along with her voice the air around her pulsed with her image growing image of bleak destruction Her knowledge of Earth had earned her the respect to be among the Nemesai but it was her growing image that made even the new arrivals willing to follow her

Fire to scrape the flesh away from the dead The stale sweat of sacrifice and bleak toil A monolith of bones built femur by femur so that she could draw nearer to the moon

For a second that terrible image pressed against them and they didnÆt relent But quickly the drawn out exhaustion of the week saw them fold Both of the formerly aggressive Nemesai unwilling took steps back while glaring at each other

Yet what drove an icicle through her heart was completely unrelated to the duo Across the room Thea didnÆt miss the way that Chrysanthemum stilled as TheaÆs image filled the surrounding air

Do you hate me Is any remnant of you even present in that husk

At this point Thea Glasshammer was seriously beginning to doubt the words that the Creature had said to her all those years ago when she had been convinced to seize the mantle of the Nemesis But at this point she had already chosen this Path Everything would be for nothing if she lost her nerve now

She had to keep walking forward and hope And when her hope died she was at least stubborn enough to keep walking anyway

Thea released a breath through her nose I think itÆs clear that this is a threat but also just an implied one Randidly Ghosthound

Thea remembered the manÆs quiet determination and kindness while he was traveling under a false name with Simon She remembered the dramatic conclusion of the search for his Soulbound companion She remembered his clear emerald eyes while he had considered her She remembered his firm conviction as the group pushed through the Raid Dungeon

Randidly Ghosthound doesnÆt need to toy with us Since he sent the invitation he genuinely wants us to come to his birthday party Thea continued in a quieter voice And although he definitely is one who subverts the way that the System should work there are advantages to that for us as well We simply have to be ready to seize the opportunity

It is suicide to go to that party The Grey Lich spoke in its haunting voice

TheaÆs mouth twisted If Randidly Ghosthound wanted us dead would he really need to invite us to a birthday party

And to that the other Nemesai couldnÆt find a satisfactory answer

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Detection has grown to Level 191

After delivering the invitation to the Nemesai Randidly had stayed within the vast sea Zone and thoroughly scanned the CreatureÆs image that was so pervasive on this portion of Earth Of all the issues with Earth dealing with the First Calamity this one always struck Randidly as the most serious threat The CreatureÆs methods were outside the bounds of the System in a way similar to RandidlyÆs

It was time he made sure that he was prepared for whatever plan she was hatching

Randidly hesitated and looked down at the metal invitation that he held in his hand But after shaking his head he put it away No even for me inviting the Creature to my birthday party would be a little much After all sheÆs used me for without my consent imagine what she would take if I invited her in

Settling down on the small island Randidly closed his eyes and allowed the soft sounds of the waves against the pebbled shore to loosen his focus from the physical details of the world Instead Randidly spread his Grim Intuition out to cover a large area and parse apart the thick fog of images Even with just the images Randidly could feel the adventure and danger of the sea Lurking below its surface were powerful Level 60 or so monsters that were just starting to touch the edge of an image

A thick tapestry of will and color slowly unrolled to RandidlyÆs inner eye But laying over everything was the pall of the CreatureÆs Aether

Randidly chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully The problem had become that while the CreatureÆs image was definitely denser in the North part of the Endless Sea as people were now calling it it was a uniform thickness across the expanses of waves and deserted islands that made further investigation difficult

So Randidly had come to the edge of the densest area and was now carefully sensing his way forward through the CreatureÆs proliferated image Because now that he was here Randidly was starting to have an inkling of what the Creature might be up to

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Detection has grown to Level 192

Randidly had obtained a Coin of Territory in the past but had not yet used it But he had instantly understood even through the strangeness of the Coin used by Straud that the man was using such a coin from an alternate Earth to claim the stadium So it had given Randidly a little bit of insight into its uses

And although the advantage that the territory gave StraudÆs image hadnÆt been enough to bridge the gap between Randidly and Straud it had been a significant boost For a few seconds the Grim Chimera had relied on both the advantages of its Nether body and the full power of its image to suppress Straud

Yet what connected the dots was the fact that the sensation of the territory had reminded Randidly of something he had encountered before the lingering presence of images in areas where he had worked on something particularly powerful or transformative The territory was just a System enforced mark that the owner made very easily But such marks could be made with time and the focused use of images Like the Creature had been doing here in the Northern portion of the Endless Sea

It seemed that she was trying to claim an area of land as home turf for her image

Which probably meant that the Creature would have a method of eventually drawing Randidly into her area But even as Randidly ruthlessly combed through the extremely large area with his Grim Intuition he couldnÆt find from afar any specific concentration of image that he could assault So Randidly would need to walk in blind to this area that the Creature had been preparing for almost six months in order to discover more

Randidly growled in frustration Knowing that the Creature was adjusting the environment in the Northern sea was progress but it still left her actual motives in the dark That was just an advantage such a change wouldnÆt have an impact on EarthÆs future as far as Randidly could predict It left him without the slightest clue how the Creature would proceed

I suppose thatÆs not exactly true IÆve always known what the Creature wants to escape from the System But itÆs just that her methods have generally involved casually sacrificing the Earth Randidly rubbed at his eyes and sighed The waves continued to lap softly against the beach around him Now the question is how I feel about barging in there

And in the face of that prospect Randidly currently found himself quite unwilling Instead Randidly returned to his meditative stance and then performed some experiments with Aether and Nether He wanted to see if he could weaken the influence of the CreatureÆs image on the area if he spent some effort focusing on her presence

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Surgeon has grown to Level 99

Congratulations Your Skill Living Aether has grown to Level 160

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Manipulation has grown to Level 215

Congratulations Your Skill Erode Image has grown to Level 100

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 135

Over the course of an hour Randidly gained quite a number of Skill Levels as he cut and burned and straight eroded to try and get rid of the presence of the Creature that was working itself into the very air and stones of the sea around him Even the monsters seemed slightly stronger than their Level should explain after feeding on the image for so long Unfortunately it seemed he was quite a bit too late to stop the process His present efforts turned out to be a bit like trying to destroy a sand dune by pulling handfuls of sand from the bottom There was definitely a result but it wasnÆt worth the effort to continue

It turned out the most useful method was just using Erode Image directly compared to attacking the image with Aether or trying to burn it away with Nether But that was a Skill that left Randidly mentally exhausted only after a few uses

So for the moment Randidly got up with a frown and pulled out his PhilosopherÆs Key and opened a portal back to his island His birthday was now only five days away and Randidly was preparing to create something very special

I should address the Creature before the birthday itself to make sure the people who come arenÆt in danger but I do want to do a little bit more preparation before I wander into a trap

Chapter 1291

Mrs Hamilton took a deep breath before she pushed open the doors Her hands rested lightly on the carved wood A single ripple spread across her mind that left her inner self completely placid Her newly acquired Level 70 Skill Poise of the Dappled Lurker meant that all of the worries she felt from DonnyÆs sudden message became only background noise

She was untouchable Her mind clicked methodically onward

Opening the doors Mrs Hamilton walked through into DonnyÆs office with a confident expression The young man was pacing back and forth in front of his purely decorate bookshelf fiddling with the metallic invitation that Donnyton as a whole had received that allowed them to bring fifty people to RandidlyÆs birthday celebration

What happened Mrs Hamilton asked as she glided forward to stand at his side But while she was looking at DonnyÆs emotional state she also peeked curiously down at the invitation card As she had been on a small vacation for the past two weeks she had heard about the invitation but not seen it in person

It was only this morning that she arrived back in Donnyton

As advertised the metal was a shimmery wonder of construction that possibly could have been used by Xiang Le to subdue an assassin Of course Mrs Hamilton also wondered if the rumors were true and it had been strong enough to withstand a full strength blow from Donny A quick mental prod from her image reassured Mrs Hamilton that the peace of metal really was solid enough to endure even an empowered attack Idly Mrs Hamilton wondered how Randidly kept making better metals

When Donny just shrugged helplessly Mrs Hamilton frowned Is it the guest list Is Lyra causing trouble

No everythingÆs settled Transportation and the interim government are set up EveryoneÆs been briefed on the emergency scenarios you outlined Donny shook his head ItÆs just

Mrs Hamilton simply raised an eyebrow

Donny sighed ItÆs a birthday right So what sort of present is Donnyton going to give Randidly Ghosthound

For a second she cocked her head to the side and gave Donny a look asking if he was being serious When it became clear that he was Mrs Hamilton rolled her eyes Donny is that really why you called me here so desperately We can just give him

But then Mrs Hamilton started to think about it What sort of gift should they give Randidly Although the official connection between Randidly Ghosthound and Donnyton had been very publicly severed in the most recent challenge to demonstrate the power of images the debt that Donnyton owed to Randidly was extremely deep Most of the residents who have been in Donnyton the longest gossip about Randidly Ghosthound like proud grandparents He was part of the culture of the Village

And since it was the first birthday that Mrs Hamilton remembered Randidly celebrating they obviously should try to give him a good gift Something that showed their appreciation of the bond between Randidly and this Village

In addition to the emotional weight there were political ramifications to consider Mrs Hamilton had no doubt that other Zones would use this opportunity to try and earn favor with Randidly by providing lavish or unusual gifts And although Randidly probably wouldnÆt even notice the efforts there would be an invisible competition for who could bring the best gift

Donnyton should have an advantage from all the time they had spent with Randidly but

what sort of thing would Randidly want as a gift By the end of her train of thought Mrs Hamilton was frowning deeply

An especially challenging question considering the fact that the party was to be held in four days

Mister Ghosthound Wolfram began as he adjusted the glasses on his three heads from left to right Their necks bobbed slightly during the motion It is extremely difficult to put the finishing touches on the venue when you have insisted that the central ballroomÆs floor is entirely done by yourself With only four days left until the event to finish preparing the many ornate details on the decorations

I believe IÆve already made my opinions about your insistence on the quality of the decorations clear Randidly said with a wry curl of his lip This was a case where he humored the requests of Tatiana but was ultimately ambivalent about the details

WolframÆs central head gave Randidly a reproving stare How can your majesty be sufficiently conveyed without at least a few frescos on the walls And obviously the pillars need to be hand carved Besides how can you expect the venue to function as a commercially viable business if the main ballroom is without any redeeming feature

Inwardly Randidly rolled his eyes No wonder Tatiana has been so antsy about what sort of floor IÆm making for the ballroom youÆve been wondering if Kharon can still use it as a concert hall after IÆm through with it

But I can guarantee you that people will visit the venue just to see the effects of the floor that I create

Out loud Randidly admitted No youÆre right The process has taken longer than I thought it would I had to consult with Neveah to figure out some of the details for the Engraving that I wanted to make But I promise that IÆll have the floor prepared and installed tonight before midnight At that point you will be free to put whatever flair you want in the ballroom

Wolfram glanced up at the sky meaningfully The two were standing in one of KharonÆs parks surrounded at a distance of twenty meters by the mulling forms of people who had meetings with Wolfram and then quite a few others that just seemed to be trying their best not to gawk over at Randidly himself who was standing there

Because if Wolfram truly meant to meet with all of the gathered people Randidly felt quite a bit of sympathy for the ogre

It was noon Randidly did some mental calculating on his own pace of tile creation and grimaced He wouldnÆt be able to start the finishing touches on the Engraving until some of his mental energy recovered Aether and Nether needed to be woven together to achieve the effect Randidly wanted and the process was extremely exhausting Even now he had something of a headache which was why he agreed to meet Wolfram in the sun drenched park

Being out in nature helped slowly calm Randidly back down to his base state The warmth on his skin was rejuvenating

well a large portion will be finished by midnight Randidly elaborated as he scratched his head Your people should be able to begin work then anyway on a significant portion of the main ballroom

By your leave Wolfram bowed and then turned slightly away from Randidly and gestured for whomever individual with which he had his next meeting to approach him The man in question saw Randidly standing there casually and looked with wide eyes at this unexpected chance After a frozen moment he quickly made up his mind and stroud purposefully forward with his eyes locked on Randidly

Shaking his head Randidly activated Chimerica Avoidance to the limit and then took a step forward Space itself seemed to part for him as he crossed his way through the crowd out of the park and off of Kharon itself

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Avoidance has grown to Level 237

Continuing to move quickly Randidly blazed a trail quickly through the mountain range which had been renamed the Nordawns in honor of the homeworld of the ogres On his journey Randidly didnÆt make any effort to avoid the ogres that were settling the area but he saw very few communities of ogres setting up buildings as he skirted the highest of the Nordawns and headed West For whatever reason most of the population had made a beeline for the tallest peak and were slowly carving that epic mountain into a veritable city

Still Randidly had only come out of Kharon to work because of space no matter what image reverberations he produced no one would get wind of what he was up to until he finished working on the floor material

It only took Randidly about twenty minutes to arrive at his work zone he had casually made yesterday From the way that Randidly didnÆt encounter any monsters at all in the last minute or so of travel before arriving it seemed that his images that were still dissipating in the air above the quiet mountain served as a powerful deterrent

Randidly landed next to the quarry he had created and then hopped down to the pit below There laying out where he had left them were about eighty of the two hundred tiles he needed to make in order to cover enough of the flooring to satisfy TatianaÆs demands The tiles themselves were black and sparkling with notes of emerald hidden in their depths Because of the presence of Nether in the Engraving the lines of Mana couldnÆt be seen they simply looked like plain black tiles An unadorned and mundane series of black tiles

They were stacked up like obsidian plates in four piles that reached the height of RandidlyÆs waist Just these had taken him three days of concentrated effort to make although most of that effort was researching and experimenting with the Engraving to get the right effect The actual Engraving had been done in two hours this morning exhausting but manageable

With a small smile on his face Randidly reached out and placed a finger against the top tile of one of the piles A ripple of light spread out from the spot that RandidlyÆs finger touched quickly running through all of the touching tiles It was difficult to see exactly what was going on because the tiles were stacked on top of each other but a rich supernova of light seemed to seep out from the pile on which Randidly had placed his finger while the others remained inert

Chuckling Randidly withdrew his finger Seems like these are going to work Still gonna take a bit of time before I recover the mental energy I need to finish the job so in the meantime

After cracking his neck Randidly created himself a root chair with Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil and then settled down His time thinking about Ignition Essence over the past few days had been not as productive as Randidly had hoped so now he focused on a different more established image to refine this time Yggdrasil

In a very relaxed way Randidly allowed his image of the World Tree to spread out from his body The golden roots sank into the surrounding ground The trunk swelled and darkened as it reached toward the sky Emerald leaves sprouted and waved lightly in an imaginary wind The whole valley soon began to pulse with the ambient life that Yggdrasil possessed

But Randidly didnÆt focus on the life No he let his attention wander to the dark spaces in Yggdrasil To the quiet cracks underneath the groaning branches To the deep shadows and the many limbed creature that skittered through YggdrasilÆs boughs It opened its mouth and breathed silently greedily absorbing the wild energies of the air

All things have a price

Congratulations Your Skill the Implacable Price of Exodus has grown to Level 207

Congratulations Your Skill the Implacable Price of Exodus has grown to Level 219

Chapter 1292

Even if you donÆt make it through the Order DucisÆ recruitment process youÆve definitely earned a little assistance with your Fate from the way you stepped up at the stadium You stalled the Grey Lich for several seconds Dinesh said as he led Derek through the tight hallways of KharonÆs interior Although the passages were well lit the low ceiling still made Derek slightly nervous And in terms of condensing a Fate and upgrading your Class Nathan is the best there is Aside from the Ghosthound himself of course

Of course Derek echoed After a day of interviews combat assessments physical training benchmarks and image integrity gradings Derek was exhausted He seemed to just float behind Dinesh like a ghost while his guide walked confidently through the interior maze of Kharon And it had even turned out that Dinesh was not affiliated with the Order Ducis directly but obviously intimately familiar with all of the leaders of the Order

But even through the haze of exhaustion Derek paused in his stride after the other manÆs words had a chance to really hit him Nathan The teenager you were with at the game

Yes that was him Dinesh said with a nod He is definitely young but helping people find their true Class is his passion He has several Skills that make the process much easier his ability to read images is extremely well developed And his Class was tailor made for this role I can assure you that your chances of condensing a dangerous Fate are effectively zero with his assistance He is the Architect of Souls

Uh huh Derek mumbled It wasnÆt that he didnÆt believe the kindly Dinesh and it wasnÆt about the age of Nathan it was just

Derek grimaced I mean fuck it IÆm just scared This finally condensing my Fate after IÆve avoided it for so long

Because even more directly than he had before coming to Kharon Derek felt the gap between what he wanted and what he could be as a father His own strength started to seem vastly insignificant And that sudden acute awareness was due to his interactions with the people of the Order Ducis

As far as Derek could tell there were only a handful of people that were actually members of the Order Ducis And most of those people were currently out on missions abroad meaning that the group of people that Derek had met during his assessments referred to themselves as applicantsÆ to the Order Ducis rather than members Apparently most of those people were individuals who had applied a year ago to join the Order Ducis and had not been selected in the initial round of testing So they applied for the next year and helped with tasks around Kharon

Yet each of them was obviously more capable than Derek himself They had a visible edge in terms of combat ability image strength and Level It was only in terms of Perception and scouting related Skills that Derek had a slight advantage But it had hurt to find that his time on the cutting edge of EarthÆs power had passed while he had become hesitant the world had continued to improve

In these applicants Derek saw the power that he wanted to possess in order to protect Tim while his son was still growing In these applicants he saw a Path that would earn him capability A Path that his son could view with pride

It was very difficult for Derek to let such a Path pass him by without at least attempting the transition into that future But that attempt brought back the horrible thought of leaving Tim alone to fend for himself in this brutal world after failing to condense his Fate Derek needed strength to protect Tim But he had to risk leaving Tim alone in order to gain that strength

Dinesh reached a metal door and rapped twice on the door before opening it without waiting for a response from within After the cramped hallways of the underground of Kharon the way the room opened up into a plush therapistÆs office was something of a shock Derek froze briefly at the door before following Dinesh into the interior

Looking entirely too young to be seated where he was Nathan looked up from the mess of fashion magazines that were scattered across his desk with red eyes His blank looked showed that their arrival had taken him by surprise Derek frowned at the young man Is something the matter

Ah Nathan seemed to suddenly recognize Derek and winced Sorry that you caught me like this ItÆs just Ah I was doing some research

His crush will be opening for Raina at the birthday party for the Ghosthound Dinesh said lightly as he walked up to the desk and began to collect the magazines with a few quick grabs This fool seems to believe that what he needs to win her affections is to preen like a peacock Which considering the relative aura of some of the others at the event will be difficult to do in a meaningful way

IÆm just looking Nathan said sourly But he allowed Dinesh to quickly clean off the desk After all of the publications had been swept away NathanÆs aura very visibly changed As he turned his gaze back to Derek some of his image strength was leaking out of his brown eyes and into the warm office And to DerekÆs surprise he found himself relaxing But anyway you want assistance with condensing your Fate correct Did you want your Class to be evolved first

Frowning Derek glanced at Dinesh Dinesh ignored the glance bowed to Nathan and then walked out of the room without another word Which left the two alone The light in the room was a cozy yellow After releasing a breath and rolling his shoulders Derek asked tentatively is evolving a Class dangerous

Nathan seemed to consider that for too long for Derek to be comfortable Compared to a lot of other things no If your image psyche and the new Class match extremely well many people say that it is an extremely comfortable and simple experience to switch over But you need to believe that the change is the right thing whatÆs your current Class

Sylvan Archer Derek said Then he shrugged Most of the active Skills donÆt work with guns but the passives IÆve earned through it have definitely been extremely useful Even without direct damage Skills whatÆs more important in battle is simply surviving I have been satisfied with the ClassÆs performance and growth rates If there is a risk in the process of changing my Class IÆd prefer not to take it

For the first time Nathan gave Derek a piercing look that seemed completely foreign in his gangly teenage frame Even more so than when he released his image NathanÆs physical presence seemed to deepen No longer was he simply someone a few years older than Tim sitting in an oversized leather chair No he had become the individual who had borne the Class that Dinesh had briefly introduced earlier

He was Nathan Architect of Souls

well before we get to the details I want to check your Soulspace IÆve looked at your results from the Order Ducis assessment You have a very high efficacy coefficient which is extremely important Nathan stood up and walked around the desk He offered Derek his hand If you are willing to let me check

Efficacy coefficient Ah yes sure Derek responded

The two shook hands There was the slightest prickling on the back of DerekÆs neck while the twoÆs palms were touching and his Skill pinged a hint of danger in the connection But then the two parted and the sensation disappeared

With a small frown on his face Nathan nodded slowly Well it can be easily skewed by you lying about your base Stats and Skills but your efficacy coefficient basically compares how well you perform based on how well your parameters predict you perform itÆs based on an early training schedule that Mrs Hamilton of Donnyton designed for Randidly Ghosthound to get him to push the limits of his Skills

so you are checking for whether people are lazy Derek asked

A little but itÆs more about the precursor for using images Nathan shrugged From your base state how much of a result can you squeeze out of yourself That desire to do more with the same is a valuable predictor of future image strength But okay I would recommend that we evolve your Class before attempting your Fate Your current Class doesnÆt seem like a great fit for your images and with your fear grown so large condensing a Fate might legitimately be difficult if we donÆt make some preparations

Even though Derek had been wrestling with his inner demons for quite some time it was still a shock to hear Nathan so casually refer to them My fear

ItÆs a part of you that will definitely come up during the production of your Fate And it seems like itÆs been steadily growing in your heart Nathan looked up at Derek with a pensive expression He was so young he was so thin in front of Derek It felt slightly surreal for him to be talking so clinically about DerekÆs fear We should address it first Because those things are exactly the sources of danger in the process of Fate creation

I can control it Derek raised his chin His hands were abruptly beginning to sweat What did this teenager know about a fatherÆs fear I believe that it shouldnÆt be a problem

You shouldnÆt suppress it Mr Moss In fact why donÆt you indulge it Nathan said

That earned a frown from Derek Hearing such a silly suggestion You want me to Indulge the fear Because what IÆm afraid of is that IÆll die and leave my son alone in this world the System had turned into a brutal survival of the fitness nightmare scenario And after his mother died

As he felt his voice steadily growing in volume Derek quickly reigned in his urgency Nathan simply listened After forcefully calming himself down Derek continued to speak in a more normal tone I donÆt think it will be helpful to dwell on that too long I can manage this without any help

I disagree Nathan smiled brightly up at Derek I know itÆs strange I know itÆs hard to take me seriously but just humor me Tell me why are you so afraid of those things happening

Derek was briefly shocked speechless But after his day of being judged everything was beginning to become somewhat fuzzy You are asking me why IÆm afraid of dying and leaving my son alone

Without any shame Nathan nodded Yea whatÆs the core of that feel What do you want

I heh itÆs dumb to say out loud But if you insist I donÆt want to leave him alone I want him to grow up safe At this point DerekÆs expression almost transformed into something reflective The more he said the words the less angry he was I just want to protect my son

Yea Nathan said His eyes slowly slid down until they were half closed That pressure from NathanÆs image once more leaked out into the surrounding air ThatÆs everything to you isnÆt it

And weirdly Derek felt himself relaxing as he held NathanÆs gaze The air became thick DerekÆs emotions slowly calmed A Path opened for him yea I would do anything to protect my son ThatÆs why why even if condensing a Fate is a dangerous risk I cannot afford not to take it HeÆs my son He

The more Derek said it The more the fear receded The more determination surged forward The more he knew that this was the right decision

Chapter 1293

The consequences of failure were intimidating but to Derek he was suddenly very clear that the consequences of inaction were equally horrible Because crystalizing his desire gave him direction where burying the fear had just filled him with hesitation It was all to protect Tim And to accomplish that Derek would do anything and everything in his power He would not flinch

I want to evolve my Class Derek said quietly He felt somewhat embarrassed to be so easily led around by a teenager but he suppressed that feeling

Nathan grinned at him Great IÆll take care of the details just focus on that determination that youÆve found Think about your son and your relationship DonÆt worry about avoiding painful memories as long as you resolve is there it will all be incorporated into the final form

So Derek began to think of his time with Tim since the System had arrived He remembered how he had sobbed on a torn brown couch in the dark when TimÆs mother died He remembered the hurt in TimÆs eyes when he had come to see the principle due to the incident with Lucy Rowel

Uh Derek was pulled from his thoughts as he noticed that there abruptly several thick tendrils of emerald moss sprits streaming into the room and drifting slowly around him like he had been teleported into a verdant snow globe Are these usual

Obviously Derek had seen the moss spirits in the few days he had spent in and around the Order Ducis training facilities but rarely had he seen them appear so suddenly They generally assisted with commerce or drifted lazily around So to see them in such numbers so suddenly seemed extremely strange Yet Derek did suppose he had spent most of the day distracted by the tests of the Order Ducis

There was a definite gleam in NathanÆs eyes that Derek noticed but the teenager waved his hand rather carelessly I wouldnÆt worry about it think of their presence as good luck Just keep concentrating

So Derek could only close his eyes and continue to think about his son

He remembered how pruned and red TimÆs face had been the day he had been born In terms of babies he was one of the ugliest Derek had ever seen Crying and wailing in his motherÆs arms he was the most beautiful thing in the world

Derek thought about TimÆs shy lies when he had brought back plump and ripe vegetables from his foraging on their journey to Kharon He thought about the light in TimÆs eyes as he had played with the moss spirits and eaten fried chicken on a stick last night on the streets of Kharon He thought about Tim a few years ago trying to make pancakes and doing it perfectly because he had watched mom do it so much Æ

Derek thought about how lucky he was

Warning an unexpected error regarding your Class

Warning without sufficient energy this process might result in death Please see your nearest Village Spirit

This is to protect Tim Derek thought steadily And he felt something inside of him shift in response

Congratulations Your Class Sylvan Archer has evolved into Bombardier of the Sacred Grove Your Level up gains have changed to reflect your new Class

Congratulations You have received the class of Bombardier of the Sacred Grove You have gained the Skill Unstable Sphere Lvl 1 You have received the skill Aura of Photosynthesis Lvl 1 You have received the skill Blessing of Nature (Un) Lvl 1 +16 Health per Level +11 Mana Per Level +5 Stamina per level +5 End Perception or Int per level (these points may be distributed between 2) +2 Focus per level +10 free stats per Level

Your Skill Survival Instincts (Un) has evolved into Wisdom of the Leylines Skill Level will be maintained

Your Skill Eagle Eye has evolved to Discerning Gaze (Un) Skill Level will be maintained

Your Skill Adrenaline Rush has evolved to Bestial Surge Skill Level will be maintained

Seeing so many changes occur and feeling how natural it all felt Derek couldnÆt resist opening his eyes And what he found was that he was now standing in a veritable storm of emerald moss spirits They whipped wildly around him rustling the lighter objects in the room with the speed of their rotation

And there standing deep in the current of emerald energy Nathan continued to grin at Derek There was genuine pleasure in his expression

Feels natural right Now itÆs time to get you a Fate

All three of RandidlyÆs images worked in concert as he ripped through the sky Like a cannonball headed for a mizzenmast he simply streaked forward out of the portal he had conjured Yggdrasil provided the weight and reach Grim Chimera cut through the CreatureÆs image and blazed a path And Ignition Essence ignited everything that Randidly left in his wake rapidly weakening the CreatureÆs influence in the area

He impacted the beach of the island like a ballistic missile a wave of sand smashed outward from the shattered ground Almost immediately MonstrosityÆs Appalling Physicality had Randidly surging forward from the sandy ground to the edge of the tropical forest that took up the central portion of the island

Immediately Randidly knew that he had selected the right location Strange barriers of Aether seemed to spring up with every few meters as Randidly dashed forward rapidly impeding his advance A burst of Nether infused strength allowed Randidly to rip forward despite the encumbrance but also NeveahÆs full consciousness was there with him she used his metallic limb to masterfully hamstring the arrays of Aether that constituted the CreatureÆs defenses

Today Randidly had made his preparations it was time to flush the Creature out of hiding And he was very aware of the five precious drops of liquid Aether that he had managed to condense over the past several months ready to smash through any sort of heavier resistance to his movements that he encountered And Randidly didnÆt miss how incredibly thick the CreatureÆs Aether was on this island now that he began to press deeper into the interior

Past the edge of the treeline were brambles and vines but none of that was enough to earn RandidlyÆs hesitation His speed continued to rise But as he burst through that barrier of foliage Neveah clicked her tongue in admiration

Your disturbance is concentrating the resistance in front of you The construction is spectacular This might be quite difficult

Even as Neveah sent him the mental message Randidly could feel the air thickening in front of him Although the image used wasnÆt powerful the way that it was quickly amassing in front of him with the sheer quantity of opposition did make it extremely difficult to continue forward The Grim ChimeraÆs fury climbed quickly upward as it gnashed its teeth

How long will it take to undo Randidly forced his legs to take three large strides forward The images functioned like elastic bands that made each bit of distance forward he covered that much more difficult

Maybe an hour to completely take it apart ItÆs really an interesting way to utilize Aether

Randidly took another step His eyes narrowed From the edge of the dense zone of the CreatureÆs Aether to the island that Randidly had painstakingly located as being the most likely location for her base he had only allowed a few seconds to elapse He wanted to arrive before the Creature had the chance to adjust to his presence if possible He wanted to finally take that ancient being by surprise

Which Randidly admitted to himself wasnÆt likely But if there was a chance

In for a penny Gritting his teeth Randidly seized on of his drops of liquid Aether and let it diffuse through his body His whole being suddenly seemed to hum with life as the qualitatively more powerful energy fueled him for a few seconds The Grim Chimera fully condensed in front of RandidlyÆs body with a wild grin on his face Letting out a snort of laughter the liquid Aether based vision raised his bone spear and accelerated quickly forward

Congratulations Your Skill Man is Proud but the Chimera Takes has grown to Level 196

Congratulations Your Skill Man is Proud but the Chimera Takes has grown to Level 200

The accumulated weight of mundane images that the CreatureÆs Aether threw in front of Randidly with her formation was deftly pierced Randidly took several large steps forward forcing his way through the gap before it could adjust to his abrupt increase in power His body trembled with the split second exertion but on the last vestiges of liquid Aether Randidly ripped through almost one hundred meters of jungle in no time at all and arrived before a strangely carved building

Congratulations Your Skill MonstrosityÆs Appalling Physicality has grown to Level 257

The method of carving was one that Randidly recognized it was the same thing he had found the Creature used inside the Raid Dungeon to avoid the gaze of the overlay System Stale Aether tainted by the Creature gushed outward like the breath of a sleeping monster Taking a single second of time to slow his rapid charge Randidly readjusted his course and then dashed forward into the large tunnel that led into the building

He braced himself for more defenses but as Randidly pelted along the dimly lit tunnel he didnÆt encounter anything at all The taint of the Creature grew thicker her influence in the area was nearing what the Coin of Territory had granted Straud Even Neveah slowly began to grow more solemn as they proceeded into the building that seemed outwardly relatively small yet they could dash down the tunnel at a high speed for almost thirty seconds

Something is strange in the Aether here Neveah remarked

Randidly nodded and prepared a second drop of liquid Aether for sudden use After ten more seconds Randidly exploded out into a more well lit area A quick glance around revealed that it was a vast underground cavern so large that Randidly was only able to dimly see the distant walls even with his Grim Intuition And each and every shadow was soaked in the CreatureÆs scent making the place smell of age and decay

Still there was a central platform directly in the middle of the cavern that Randidly hurried toward With several bounds he ascended the stairs and arrived at the pinnacle And there the CreatureÆs familiar face

Randidly slowed and then stopped His images swirled around him uncertainly

The Creature still wearing a version of LyraÆs face lay a wizened and grey skinned version that seemed to reflect the CreatureÆs actual age Her arms were folded across her chest Her wrists looked extremely thin

Randidly doesnÆt this Neveah hesitated before vocalizing exactly at Randidly was thinking Look like a tomb

Chapter 1294

Randidly was strangely calm after getting a read on the situation Calmer than he had expected from himself after seeing the Creature wearing a version of LyraÆs face that was clearly aged And with that face being part of a body that was very clearly deceased So calm that Randidly smoothly looked away from the central object on the platform the casket and noticed that it was surrounded by three smaller pillars that stopped about waist height and had things on top of them

The first was something like a wooden podium sitting atop a pillar on which Randidly could see the gently curling corners of a piece of paper Before he moved his eyes away he could even see tightly sloped handwriting on the page

The second sitting on top of a pillar was an ivory bowl The bowl to RandidlyÆs very calm surprise was completely empty and without residue It was probably the pillar that he was the most curious about immediately And the third object propped up looked like an elaborate rack used to dry clothes A weathered piece of canvas hung from the top of the rack fluttering lightly from the violence of RandidlyÆs sudden arrival

Other than those three things and the casket there wasnÆt even dust here The whole cavern was ominously clean and empty

Due to their sudden dash to get here Randidly had been breathing rather heavily when he arrived But as he stood for a minute and looked between the three outer edifices around the casket his breathing rapidly stabilized Leaving Randidly frowning and trying to judge what the CreatureÆs play was here

It seemed that Neveah sensed something in RandidlyÆs silence because she nudged him mentally Randidly Yystrix seems to be

I know she looks damn dead Randidly said quietly Then he sighed and rubbed at his eyes He could already feel a headache brewing in the delicate nervous of his face I know what it looks like But We know she has multiple incarnations IÆve been completely tricked and blindsided before by similar tricks Never hurts to be careful

Would you prefer she was alive Neveah asked exasperatedly

Be easier to believe if I could have seen whatever apparently killed her Randidly admitted

That silenced Neveah for the moment so Randidly steadily backed away from the central platform and down onto the topmost stair Then he focused his Aether Perception and Grim Intuition and began to heavily scan the surrounding area After the first scan Randidly paused took a breath and then checked everything one more time

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Detection has grown to Level 193

The result of the scan didnÆt change It appeared that he hadnÆt missed anything but the lack of anything that wasnÆt how the Creature operated It was clear that she meant to bring him here and now that he was here

Shaking his head Randidly raised a hand and pressed it against his chest He took about a minute break as he waited for his heart rate to fall back to normal Then for good measure Randidly scanned one more time

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Detection has grown to Level 194

Only after three scans did Randidly speak out loud to Neveah Are you sensing anything that IÆm missing

For a second Neveah didnÆt reply Then with awkwardness radiating through their mental bond Neveah replied Nothing like you are expecting but even I would have difficulty picking out harmful constructs in her thick Aether that fills this place But it seems like There is something YystrixÆs Aether is beginning to transform now that you are here

That grabbed RandidlyÆs attention Transforming Is there a shape around us

It is not a formation but a fundamental shift in the energy ItÆs aligning itself with our Aether Randidly Neveah thought back Coming here definitely caused it but it seems like the Aether around us had been sustained by this inner core above the coffin and youÆve now broken that balance with that Aether you are throwing off passively Probably within a few hours a day at most all of the scent of the CreatureÆs Aether will be gone from Earth

ItÆs becoming your Aether ItÆs mimicking your images

RandidlyÆs expression turned grim Considering the ban on his images being part of the passage of the Second Calamity this was exactly the sort of attack that might trip the Earth up A roundabout attack but one that might be time consuming to address

To his surprise rather than Neveah sharing his indignation she seemed even more exasperated than she had been previously

Handling this Aether problem is easy If you well for now IÆll take care of it Why donÆt you continue exploring this area

Then NeveahÆs presence was gone leaving Randidly alone with his thoughts and what he had found in his exhaustive earlier attempts to scrutinize the surrounding area While frowning Randidly walked back up onto the top of the platform

The first thing he noticed was how this whole area had become a pressure cooker for the CreatureÆs Aether Every bit of ground here was suffused with it From the distant walls to the scratched roof everything was the Creature The effect of the Creature slowly claiming this area as territoryÆ was much stronger here than outside

An unnoticed effect of the architecture seemed to have been to slow the diffusion of the CreatureÆs Aether from this central room into the outside world It still eventually escaped but there was a sharp difference in the density of the signature within the vast cavern

But within the cavern the Aether was entirely uniform Which forced Randidly to admit that no new Aether was being created or had been created in quite some time He would need to attempt some time consuming experiments to get a truly accurate picture of the diffusion speed of Aether but his instincts told him that the Creature hadnÆt been active here in at least a month

The second thing that Randidly noticed and the thing that made him extremely irritated was that he sensed several muffled images in and around the cavern concentrating around the ivory bowl that was completely empty And here the CreatureÆs handiwork was clearly visible to his senses

Randidly attempted to focus and isolate one of the images in order to figure out who had already been here but when he pressed some hidden Aether constructs hidden within the vast amount of Aether in the cavern activated

Goddamnit Randidly snarled Just like Neveah had admitted earlier he had missed the mechanism in the dense Aether around him

Like a bear trap snapping shut the image within the muffling was crashed leaving Randidly with three more muffled images floating around the ivory bowl tantalizingly out of his reach for the moment And what Randidly knew was that these four people were likely just minions out helping the Creature accomplish her goals not anyone Randidly could get anything useful from So the images were likely a waste of time

But that didnÆt mean he could prevent the slight from getting under his skin Even now the Creature managed to make him furious

But Randidly admitted that it was better to leave those images untouched for now and wait for Neveah to return from her task of managing the spread of his image across the surrounding area Because by this point even Randidly could naturally sense what Neveah had been talking about His Aether had been like a drop of black ink into a bowl of water when he arrived and now for whatever reason all of the waterÆ was turning black

The third and final thing that Randidly had sensed was that the podium with the piece of paper had been very obviously marked by the CreatureÆs image It glowed in his image focused vision In a way it was like the Creature was waving her hand at him telling him to go to the podium

Did you expect me to just follow your guidance blindly just because you are dead Randidly asked the air There was no answer There didnÆt even seem to be an echo Despite the huge space in which he found himself Randidly felt slightly suffocated

But just like Randidly refused to look too long at the face the corpse wore Randidly did not start with the podium He had already been foiled by the CreatureÆs working around the empty ivory bowl so Randidly went to the strange drying rack And he flinched when he reached out and touched the canvas and was greeted with a notification

Congratulations You have located the Third Piece of your Fateset Unfortunately as you have not raised the Second Piece of your Fateset to Level 100 all qualities of the Third PIce of your Fateset will be hidden from you

However from exposure to the Third Piece it is possible to sense the Level Up gains you will be granted from obtaining it You will gain +10 Focus and 1 Control

With trembling hands Randidly undid the wooden clasps that held the piece of canvas in place As he did so he felt another Aether construct the Creature hid in the thick sea of her snap into place Once it activated Randidly cursed himself for not waiting to move until more of the surrounding area shifted and revealed these constructs His mental grip on one of his drops of liquid Aether tightened but the effect was just that a bubble around the third piece of his Fateset dissipated

Randidly made a mental note that this was the first time he had seen a Level Up gain that would involve him losing Stats but he set that aside for now in favor of more pressing concerns

From a quick scan of the rapidly deteriorating construct it became clear that it had just been made to keep anyone but Randidly from touching the piece of his Fateset Which was thoughtful Randidly supposed But extremely confusing And it was already disturbing enough that the Creature had apparently noticed the presence of his Fateset on her person although considering her longstanding paranoia it made sense that she would spot it anyway

She had been avoiding the System for a long time An obvious interference like this wouldnÆt go unnoticed

Even though his emotions were surging back in forth in his stomach like he had drunk too much rootbeer Randidly was calm But because he had now twice missed Aether constructs that the Creature left he didnÆt dare move and risk triggering another one No matter how calm he was there was definitely something off about his behavior The first two mistakes turned out to be harmless but it was difficult to believe that his luck would hold out much longer

The Creature undoubtedly made plans that would force him to take the Path that she left for him These protections were ensuring he did that in their own way He didnÆt want to walk blindly into the Aether construct that finally took off the kid gloves

Slowly Randidly rolled up the blank piece of canvas Even if it had most definitely been tampered with it was still a piece of his Fateset He believed that with time he could figure out what the Creature had done and reverse it Once he had the rolled up canvas he walked to the edge of the topmost portion of the platform and meditated

Eventually Neveah returned and informed Randidly that she had honestly taken inspiration from what was happening now around them and used it to solve the issue There seemed to be a way of priming Aether to rapidly change to the next Aether that arrived so she had gathered RandidlyÆs Aether primed it in the manner she learned from the cavern and then added a drop of pure Aether to the mixture

It worked as intended gradually all of the Aether that had been the CreatureÆs and was now turning into RandidlyÆs began to transform into pure energy This way the world would experience another gush of pure Aether rather than just having a large quantity removed

That solved Neveah turned her attention to the constructs around the images as that was the only concrete example that Randidly could give her of the hidden Aether constructs in the area Still Randidly was somewhat aggrieved how much easier they were to spot as the Aether around them continued to transform

After a second Neveah snorted Indeed there are constructs here but do you know why you missed them Because they were specifically made to appeal to you And from the purity Yystrix generally meant it They were made with a powerful image that reads something like Randidly Ghosthound is free to do as he pleasesÆ Probably your Grim Intuition reads them as implicitly in your favor and makes it difficult to detect them

Something to work on Randidly shook his head It made sense that Grim Intuition would be less useful in non dangerous situations but this was another thing in a long list of disturbing things he learned since arriving But he was calm So he then asked Any other constructs I havenÆt stumbled into yet

Yes in the area around the podium Randidly could feel Neveah focus for several seconds but then he felt her return with an answer A trigger ItÆs clearly a letter and the trigger will have the letter be read aloud when you near The image

Keyed to me I bet Randidly grumbled His heart was pounding But he shook his head and began to walk slowly forward Better get this over with

Chapter 1295

Randidly walked forward and crossed the invisible line to trigger the mechanism around the podium A breeze swept through the surrounding area and caused the paper to flutter lightly A solid mass of image seemed to rise up out of the paper and glow with a dim light that reflected off of the ink on the page And then he could hear the CreatureÆs voice as though she was there standing next to him

She started this strange letter by sighing We how can two people who want the same things find such occasion to hate each other Especially at this depth of passion Other than fixating on each other both our main goals have always been the System IsnÆt it funny If we no IÆll admit this it is I who needed to approach you differently But I didnÆt Because you were just another flesh based life form struggling with the System You started as just another experiment Your life meant nothing to me

Rather than being upset Randidly was honestly rather shocked to hear the Creature say the truth so bluntly Because he had expected there to be a plea hidden in this letter he was guarded against the language she used But she just

Ignorant of RandidlyÆs reaction the CreatureÆs voice continued to speak And since this might very well be the last time we communicate I will also admit that I hated you just as much as you hated me I had a thousand experiments with each one at least successful enough for me to attempt the tricks I tried on you on them And yet I didnÆt I kept coming back to you So where Randidly Ghosthound did we go so wrong

The hairs on RandidlyÆs back began to stand straight up His whole body was tingling One of her lines repeated over in his head

I hated you just as much as you hated me

The Creature didnÆt slow for the reaction she elicited in Randidly however You probably believe itÆs all my fault for turning us against one another for plucking you out of your puny planet and throwing you directly into a dangerous Or itÆs because I tried to force you to submit to me directly Or you are made that I invaded your soulspace not once but twice or for trying to make your ZoneÆs Raid Dungeon become an escape from the reach of the System yet I have done this thousands of times across my incarnations in different Cohorts I have been hopeful and disappointed but you

You got to me immediately Perhaps I would have simply abandoned you to your own devices after my first failure if you hadnÆt hated me with such a self righteous fire right from the get go You were indignant that I would dare try to domesticate you Oh the privilege you displayed The entire extent of your soft existence immediately became clear to me from your attitude Yet as I tried to rip through that soft flesh I found the heat of your hate waiting there underneath it all It Well I had only ever felt a pure hatred like that in one other person

In myself

And oh I justified my fascination with you to myself by saying that it was indicative of your future accomplishments in images but really I just think I was nostalgic for that heat Because I had become so so tired from running for so long Thankfully you quickly substantiated those claims by using a piece of my essence and a broken Aether Connection of a Judgement to create an Aether Crossroads I was ecstatic I was obsessed with you

RandidlyÆs chest was burning He began methodically cracked his knuckles as the Creature talked about him like he was a petulant child by whom she had been amused

Want to know a secret Whereas I had always communicated by proxy with most others I never failed to manifest my incarnation directly for your benefit To motivate you To torture you I even began to borrow the face of your crush and found myself oddly fixated on that form Perhaps because I had hidden myself so deeply IÆd forgotten my own form I became the mask I took from your life

Did you know that your entire Cohort viewed the face of Lyra when I spoke to them Despite you being one of the so many souls that I interacted with you had such widespread influence I even

Well letÆs save that for later For now IÆll say it directly I hate you and couldnÆt stop myself from pursuing you because you remind me of the worst time in my life and also the best time You are the same stubbornness pride and selective compassion that changed my life in the first place Yet I dug and dug and pressured you and I couldnÆt find the weakness that would eventually break me

You were not perfect of course but that was even worse you were flawed and superior to me Yet every time I look at you I can see you failing in the same way that I did I fear it I hate how foolish I was I hate how the Path you insist on taking will lead to the precipice of the same mistakes whether I threaten or plead with you to do otherwise

These last few passages did a lot to take the tension out of RandidlyÆs shoulders His hands were limp at his side as he reassured himself that he was still calm It was strange to hear the Creature talk so vehemently about their relationship if it could even be called that Yet the violence of her emotions was clear in her raw tone

As Azriel had urged him to do hearing the Creature talk like this made Randidly admit to himself he could understand why she would do this After all Randidly himself had

So IÆll just say this before we move on You are not the only person that will have to bear the price of your failure Randidly Ghosthound I hope you will not forget that

All at once the muscles of his body once more seized up Randidly gnashed his teeth He was trembling If there was one thing Randidly didnÆt need it was a reminder of the consequences of failure Of course she would take this opportunity to criticize him And of course she would be well aware of his actions in the Dungeon that Lyra had guided him to at her request And that made Randidly feel humiliated and furious

And yet For whatever reason Randidly believed the voice Believed that these were the honest words of the Creature And the strength of that feeling made him immediately suspicious Around them the CreatureÆs Aether continued to dissipate

But IÆm digressing To my surprise this is extremely hard to write There is so much that I want to say to you but IÆll start by truly meeting you for the first of three times A fresh restart ItÆs nice to meet you Randidly Ghosthound My name is Yystrix Yule And although I know you wonÆt believe me when I say this IÆm dying By the time you read this IÆll be dead

Pressing his lips into a firm line Randidly folded his arms and adjusted his stance

Ha Just picturing the face you are making right now fills me with mirth I have no doubt that you donÆt believe me at all You hey this is a slight tangent but do you know what IÆve wondered for a long time I eventually came to terms with my fixation on you due to our similarities and my vested interest in you but where did you find the nerve to hate me just as much If not more so

Then there was a break as though she was really waiting for an answer Running a hand through his hair Randidly shot Neveah a message Why bother to write this meandering letter and then send it to me Do you think this whole thing is just a ruse to stall for time Can you

IÆve already scanned the surrounding area multiple times looking for more constructs hidden in YystrixÆs remaining Aether But with so much of it transforming they would now be easy to spot there is no way I missed anything Neveah sent back Maybe she just really wanted to talk to you

Snorting Randidly turned his attention back to the voice of the Creature

I mean you will point to my various attempts to use Earth to accomplish my goals Which is fair And I would say it because you led a life without trying to kill you the very idea insulted you deeply But while you definitely hate what I represent you also hate me personally You revile me Makes me wonder how your relationship with your biological mother is because I have definitely been some sort of maternal figure to you

Randidly twitched

Well anyway I need to get to the point I know Knowing you you already suspect a trap has been laid around you No traps here Just an Opportunity A chance to create a dialogue Because I really am dying And itÆs made me slightly lost There is so much I meant to accomplish with my life and yet

There was a long sigh and then another pause

Age brings with it two things the knowledge that you will eventually cease to exist and a plethora of life experiences that teach you that taking risks is dangerous Toward the end it becomes increasingly difficult not to just coast forward For those reasons I chose to hide from the System and avoid the mistakes I made in the past and yet yet I was tempted by what you represented A completely novel way of existing within the System Something stumbled onto by luck but that opened so many possibilities A brief spark of hope

So IÆve decided that I will be the one to lay down my hatred and frustration for you and bare everything I can about the truth of this System you hate As IÆm dying IÆm too tired to do otherwise What I do today I hope you will see as the benefit that I meant to give you and I hope that will make you more willing to consider my point of view

Hear me now Randidly Ghosthound This I promise by all of the images and Skills that I have gathered in my long life I truly am going to cease to be I have left no plans in motion that will harm you and I have made no moves to cause the Earth to fail the Calamities

This stream of words was punctuated by that soft glow around the paper erupting into a pillar of white light that shot up and smashed into the ceiling of the cavern Spinning motes of light drifted downard in a pretty close approximation of fireworks The still air in the surrounding space stirred as YystrixÆs voice spoke the last line Her conviction pulsed to become a physical thing in the around Randidly

Although Randidly was looking at the ground with clenched fists as she spoke even he couldnÆt help but be affected as the image continued to pulse

As though it was waiting for something The image steadily pulsed for almost ten seconds The silence stretched

I get it Randidly interrupted Then he raised his head and looked toward the podium The page had floated a little bit off of the wooden base and was the source of the image The curling motes of light had almost drifted down to the ground like a vast tree of brightness Feeling extremely annoyed Randidly spoke aloud I feel your intentions

Randidly had meant to say that he believed her but knew that this strange manifestation of the image would probably sense the falsehood in his voice as soon as he said it So he switched up his wording But it seemed like what he said was enough because the light faded and the glowing piece of paper settled back down on the podium

In a rather conversational tone the CreatureÆs voice continued to echo out into the surrounding area The earlier light began to fade I know how meandering this has been but IÆve just just been trying to figure out where I went wrong The sharp pivots where I went from a lost teenager to a girl in love to a mother and then finally to the monster experimenting with lives On the one had it feels like it happened so fast I almost missed it but if that were true would I really feel this tired No the years I lived through were long

Ah thatÆs it One last thing before I tell you my story I know why I hate you so The reason above all the reasons It isnÆt just because you are like me but itÆs because you have the same burning fire that I saw in my husband

Randidly flexed his hands What

Almost like she had heard RandidlyÆs question there was a pause in the speaking It made him worry that the Creature had either predicted his response or the image was conscious enough to recognize what he was saying It might have been his imagination but Randidly felt a profound sense of sadness sweeping through the vast cavern

By this point the light her image had produced during the CreatureÆs vows had completely faded It certainly was an extremely lonely place to die Notwithstanding the four strange images that the Creature was hiding if her claims were true she died here alone after fleeing from the System for thousands of years And if he was being honest if he had to guess at a cause of death

Even through RandidlyÆs own turbulent emotions he felt a flicker of pity for Yystrix

Randidly raised his left arm and pressed his cool metal fingertips against his closed eyelids IÆm supposed to be calm

Then the CreatureÆs voice continued without any sort of emotional affect and Randidly wondered whether he had completely misread the silence

Let me introduce myself two more times I am Yystrix Yule A surrogate parent to you I am also the cruel Creature that destroyed thousands of lives in an attempt to escape my past And that past is the history of the System itself and the Nexus that is my husbandÆs great fuck youÆ to all the trust I placed in him all of the dreams we swore weÆd build

And for the final time I am Yystrix Yule My husband is Elhume Yule one of only two beings that have ever experienced the Pinnacle that the Nexus seeks And my son a bastard son I had with a Nether King is the energy being that powers the whole of the System

Chapter 1296

RandidlyÆs jaw worked soundlessly for several seconds as he tried to come to terms with the words he had just heard Your son is the System

Also RandidlyÆs ears perked up naturally at the mention of the Pinnacle in the nomenclature of the System that term had a special significance It was just a matter of figuring out what that significance was Beyond even THAT Randidly couldnÆt believe something else that he had heard that Elhume was the CreatureÆs husband

For a few seconds RandidlyÆs emotions were suppressed from the sheer weight of the bewilderment that he felt He finally became something approaching calm

The CreatureÆs voice continued to speak like an intern reading through a meeting’s minutes Now despite our differences IÆm sure that got your attention But I believe some contextual explanations are in order Short ones here in the letter because as long as you figure out the object in the ivory bowl by my coffin you will inherit my memories Not just the ones I use to animate incarnations but my true memories Of who I was before I became the Creature

That was enough to bring his emotions back into play Rather sourly Randidly glanced sideways at the empty ivory bowl and then at the three remaining image traces around it that the CreatureÆs Aether continued to cling to even as the rest of the CreatureÆs workings fell to pieces But it seemed that the Creature wasnÆt quite being as generous as she had claimed in the letter

Can you unwind those now Randidly asked Neveah

Randidly could feel NeveahÆs grimace It will be difficult But I can try

Nodding Randidly turned back to listen to the CreatureÆs voice

the beginning The Creature spoke in a slow and even tone like she was lecturing Which brings me to the place I was born Hallohm A city populated entirely by beings of Aether We possessed no actual bodies but Aether was all we needed We were aware of beings like you but we existed amongst the great celestial bodies of the universe we considered you little more than bugs And we had the power to back it up

Before the System there were no concrete definitions of how much power we Aether beings possessed But it was significant youÆve never encountered a true Aether being before but it is enough to say that even at our weakest we could overpower a Nether Gatekeeper Those lesser beings are a much neutered version of the beings that once roamed this universe

And you should also know that the current farce of a war you recently participated in is a reflection of the very real terror I grew up experiencing I pulled the covers over my head when I couldnÆt sleep after my mother told me stories about the Nether

So strange in retrospect I suspect the beings of Nether hated us just as surely as we hated them And probably feared us just as badly too But because we were of one mind on the rare chance that beings of pure Aether and Nether met each other they would always fight Always

Sorry I digress You can learn more in the memories But for you to understand you must know that my people believed we were descended from the great Shallah which were a race of pure energy beings Our bodies were pure Aether but both Aether and Nether are forms of energy that mimick other things Memory image connection emotion But the Shallah they truly were nothing but energy They were perfection The pinnacle of evolution

Those Shallah lived in Eden where anything was possible Where energy could exist without diffusing in the great emptiness of space But due to the actions of the Nether both of the Aether and Nether were banished from this perfect place and punished by being forced back from the superior forms of the Shallah

Elhume was the historian of Hallohm although the actual job was more like a religious proselytizer He told stories to put fires in the bellies of the people in our small village To keep them ready to raise blades if Nether forces were ever spotted Which basically never happened before the System started pulling everything together space was incomparably vast

I fell for his passion Just in that small village nothing changed And he he was bright and beautiful

There were a few seconds of silence seemingly as the Creature was lost in her thoughts Then when she started speaking again her cadence has risen sharply The details you can see in my memories Even now the experience is painful to recall Suffice to say I married Elhume Very quickly I was disillusioned by the man I had bound myself to He was bright yes monstrously so but he also hated the Nether with more emotion than I had ever encountered in my life It scared me So much so that I began to wander through space seeking to find something beyond my minuscule village

I was seeking anything to escape the truth of my existence Because the only way that we beings of pure Aether can have children is to sacrifice our own lives Unlike creatures with physical bodies our essence is finite to have children we essentially pour ourselves into a different container It is similar to reincarnation But the fact that we were married meant that Elhume and I had both agreed to slowly pour our own life force into birthing the next generation of our people And he always expected that I would go first

I didnÆt want that at all Despite my narrow view of the world I wanted I donÆt know I wanted to mean something So I wandered to avoid the doom I had chosen for myself And I found a Nether King in the wide dark He was wounded and

The Creature stopped speaking She sighed Even then a few more seconds passed before she began to speak again Well you will see eventually I suppose We were intimate He left fearful that his people would discover me as they searched for him As he too was running And I I had a son alone in the dark

He was incandescent A being of pure energy A genuine Shallah I named him Pine He smiled and my heart melted Yet the intensity of his existence almost immediately began to fade

Not knowing what else to do I raced back to Hallohm Even then Elhume was more powerful than me and if there was anyone who could save Pine it would be Elhume I busted down my own door and presented Elhume with the bundle of radiant energy I was dragging behind me He asked what happened and I said We had a sonÆ

Again the Creature paused before speaking It is important to note that not all Aether children are made from one person Oftentimes couples mix half of themselves and half of the other spouse to create their offspring So when Elhume was confused I made up a story about siphoning off some of his energy because I wanted my child to have some of him in it and he believed it even as his eyes went round and he looked at the being he immediately recognized as a genuine Shallah in front of him

The Creature began to laugh I was such a fool I thought I was so clever But what I missed while congratulating myself was that horrible darkness in Elhume the part that had been waiting all his life for proof that he was something special And now clothed in a lie I brought him a story that tasted close enough to truth Elhume had given birth to the first Shallah in recorded history due to the fact I had usedÆ his essence in the formation of our son

That dark desire to be special began to grow Perhaps my husband and I had more in common than I had thought

The danger of that tiny lie I wouldnÆt understand until much much later At the time I simply looked into ElhumeÆs eyes and assumed he loved Pine dearly and when he asked me to trust him I did I donated much of my essence to him to increase his power

True to his word Elhume used my power to create an array of Aether that stabilized Pine His energy body was still dispersing but much more slowly And what followed was years and years of experiments all to try and figure out how Elhume could keep Pine alive Circles and circles of warding and engraving to keep the growing child stable A growing yet paradoxically waning body as we fought against the entropy that sought to claim him and we both came to the conclusion that Pine as a Shallah was pure in a way that we werenÆt He didnÆt have a personality not really He was just energy

So Elhume had an idea

Or rather he remembered the original idea Because as Historian he knew that the Shallah lived in Eden where anything was possible So to save our son he either needed to make the impossible possible and resist the natural pull of the universe or locate the primordial Eden where beings of pure energy could live freely

He even had the gall to ask me for more of my essence as he began to plan At that point I had already seen the madness in him But I thought I thought perhaps his emotions were high because his son was dying right before his eyes So I caved I set aside my own thoughts and desires and hoped I gave my power to another trusting my husband

It took Elhume a month from that day to design and create the System A grand scheme of Aether that compressed space and energy simultaneously searching the surrounding area while building up a store of image strengthened Aether in case there were defenses to Eden when he inevitably found it He was so filled with the surety of his own success A year after that right before Elhume welcomed the first Cohort to the System he told me it was unavoidable that he had begun using the ambient energy that Pine produced to run the System He assured me that it would only last until the System became self sufficient Besides he pointed out that Pine seemed most joyful when his energy radiated outward

When it came time for the Second Cohort to be introduced Elhume built the Nexus directly on top of the body of my son He didnÆt bother to tell me until it had been done locking Pine in a cage and plugging him directly into the System From using just the ambient energy Elhume took the entire body of my son and encased it in the System That was the day despite knowing that my child was locked away I ran

This time when Yystrix fell silent Randidly was very aware of the pounding of his heart inside his chest The things that she was talking about even the pissed and suspicious Randidly had literally no idea how to respond This was certainly not what he had been expecting from the letter that she left for him

Every word dripped with regret and frustration Despite trying to remain suspicious the obvious vulnerability in the image that spoke the words swayed Randidly

Perhaps a minute went by before Yystrix spoke again Eventually however problems began to crop up within the SystemÆs operations I do not truly know what happens in the deepest portion of the Nexus but I could piece some things together through years of observing the movements of the System Pine seemed for a while to be stabilizing due to the growth of the System honestly it was something of a relief But that peaked around the Fifth Cohort and have been going downhill ever since If anything PineÆs body The weight of it all is beginning to crush him The System has grown too large for his energy to support it Too many Cohorts too many secret stockpiles of images

It was around that same time that the gradual degradation of Pine was happening that Elhume began searching for me His wife gone for two thousand years and only when something was wrong did he seek me out I believe I believe he realized that perhaps the specialness that gave birth to Pine was not related to him at all

I almost wish I would have been able to see his face as he confronted that truth

Randidly stood and lightly rubbed his right hand against his jaw Some of what Yystrix was saying made sense as Randidly had already had his own dealings with how there was an overlay System placed atop the true System But truly Randidly was also wondering why

YouÆre probably wondering why I told you all of this The Creature said and from just the voice Randidly could see the tight smile she would be wearing And honestly it probably wonÆt work But one last time I want you to consider running away Randidly Ghosthound Think about the scale of what you are facing You have faced his touch in the past I believe And Elhume is becoming increasingly desperate

His goals now I am not sure But it is clear that he is not willing to let this System and Nexus he has so carefully built fall to pieces And you your accomplishments demonstrate the possibility of progress He will come for you if you continue to behave exceptionally

At that Randidly couldnÆt help but wince The memory of that being that came out of the vast continent of crystalized Aether and broke his Class with a glance was still quite fresh in his memory

But itÆs no real use is it I truly despise you because you will stand alone where I folded But that doesnÆt mean I donÆt want you to win against it all

And also this is a good time to confirm that you indeed tipped off Elhume and he came and found me He ripped the memories he wanted from me and then took what remained of my Aether essence ThatÆs why IÆm dying ThatÆs why

Maybe thatÆs why I wrote this letter If not as an argument to run away as a warning Elhume is certainly not all powerful but he definitely is the most dangerous monster inside of the Nexus Yet he is also bound by the rules of the System Of us all Pine is the most powerful by far He truly is the special one

The light around the letter began to fade The Creature spoke her last lines in a quiet voice If you look at the ground youÆll see I left one last gift for you I hope that in exchange you might someday overcome all of this and free my son And also I wonder will you miss me My husband wonÆt and my son is more instinct than intelligence So perhaps so perhaps I wrote this letter just so youÆd be able to write me an epitaph

If you wanted to I hate how weak I feel right now I donÆt want to die But At least I know you will never forget me Will you Randidly Ghosthound

The light completely winked out Neveah cursed mentally and surged forward but the bindings on the image traces snapped in her delicate mental touch and annihilated the remains The floor began to glow illuminated by spiraling Aether Engravings But Randidly sighed deeply and couldnÆt find any urge to care about the trail leading to the CreatureÆs to YystrixÆs memories going cold

He simply looked around at the vast space and admitted to himself that this tomb seemed to get under his skin in a way he couldnÆt stop He was crying and he couldnÆt for the life of him figure out why

Chapter 1297

After a time RandidlyÆs body twitched and the resulting movement jerked his consciousness back to wakefulness He released a breath that had been held in his chest for a long time It was only after consulting Absolute Timing that he realized he had been dazedly standing and looking at the far wall of the cavern for a few seconds short of thirty six minutes But that didnÆt mean that the time had been completely wasted

Sighing Randidly reached up and rubbed the residue of his tears from his face For the first time since he had come into this base of Yystrix with the intention to confront her he was truly calm

It was a numb calm perhaps but his eyes were clear as he looked around

Neveah apparently deciding that it was best to leave Randidly to the task of coping with the information dump he just experienced had actually come to this location with her physical body n while Randidly had been daydreaming She now was pouring over the softly glowing Engraving than ran the length of the cavern completely enthralled with the tiny crevices From what little Randidly could glean through their connection the entire thing was designed to be an extremely extended lesson in how Aether could be shaped

Interesting but just one of many things that Randidly wanted to address

Shaking his head Randidly turned away from the emptiness of the cavern and walked up to the coffin that held Yystrix and looked down at the enemy that he had spent so much time hating and fretting about And even now RandidlyÆs instincts urged him to be careful Because despite all of the evidence to the contrary all of the emotion in the letter and the information that he could find at this location it was hard to believe that the Creature that Yystrix would just die like this

And the story she told

Randidly sighed he sensed that today would be a day where he would sigh quite a bit But instead of dwelling on the empty feeling in his chest he produced his PhilosopherÆs Key Closing his eyes he moved the key through the air in front of him and felt the threads of karma that were present in this place Previously he had been wary of sounding out the karma between them lest it alert Yystrix that he was planning on moving against him But now

Very quickly Randidly located the familiar tang of his karma with Yystrix It was very difficult to describe the sensation of what the karma actually was but as he brushed against it with his key he felt that same frustration and helpless wrath that the Creature had always conjured in his heart This was the bond that bound them so tightly

He could clearly feel the karma that led him here but he also felt another line of karma leading off into the distance beyond the limits of New Earth Randidly could build a bridge to that location but as he moved his key to do so he noticed two things The first was the fact that the gleaming karma between Randidly and these places related to the Creature was slowly fading

The second thing was the whiff of YystrixÆs image was there around that line of karma that led away as though she had predicted Randidly would search for it That image just conveyed a deep sense of warning that he wasnÆt ready for what lay on the other side and then dispersed

Randidly slowly lowered the key and opened his eyes He was too tired to get upset that Yystrix had left an image to prevent him from following the trail of karma instead resolving to check it later Besides I should consult with Lucretia about whether I should read into the fading brilliance of our karma sometime that can happen before I investigate

Begrudgingly Randidly turned to the empty ivory bowl and investigated it more directly There had clearly been a powerful source of the CreatureÆs image here in the past but it wasnÆt there now Randidly investigated with Grim Intuition Aether Perception and then finally lifted up the bowl and examined it from every angle He found nothing He put the bowl in his interspatial ring planning on creating some Engravings to investigate further but it really seemed like whatever item had been left here containing YystrixÆs memories were gone

And considering that the image traces had been masked by Yystrix herself

Rather idly Randidly began walking to the podium Even now some of the subject matter and names brought up in her letter were banging around RandidlyÆs head

Elhume Pine Eden The Pinnacle The Nexus Shallah

Each term carried quite a bit of weight And knowing them Randidly was slowly realizing how much danger he truly was in during his brief brush with Elhume He had begun to hope during his time at the frontlines whether Elhume was special in terms of his power level and he felt somewhat relieved that it turned out that Elhume was certainly an exemplary individual

And now I know that if I want to change the System he is probably the one I will have to beat Randidly smiled bitterly as he casually glanced down at the letter To his surprise YystrixÆs handwriting was rather lovely to look at Crystalized Aether And an image so heavy that being brushed by it shattered my Class

Suddenly RandidlyÆs train of thought halted as he noticed that the letter continued on for two lines after where the oration had stopped But these letters were shaky and slanted along the side of the page toward the bottom

As though they had been added later right near the end of YyxtrixÆs life

Forgive them Randidly They know not what they do YouÆve given the people of Earth basically no context of the stakes with which they are playing

Fuck you Randidly swore quietly Immediately Randidly suspected that this referred to the people that had taken the CreatureÆs memories Neveah looked up briefly from her study of the Engraving but quickly returned to it when it was clear that nothing had really happened Continuing his habit of sighing Randidly glanced from the hastily scratched writing to the place where the ivory bowl had been sitting

Is this supposed to be a lesson Randidly thought darkly But honestly he wasnÆt too concerned about the missing memories that the Creature talked about At least for the foreseeable future he would have a lot to cope with just from the general information contained in the letter The details wouldnÆt mean much In addition Yystrix basically confirmed with the last line that the thieves were people from Earth

Randidly would be able to find him eventually And in the meantime he could come to terms with what this all meant

Because at the moment he was still a bit lost

After shaking himself back to wakefulness again Randidly turned and looked over toward Neveah How is it

impressive Neveah admitted never taking her eyes off the Engraving in front of her She gestured to a particularly dense patch of Engraving lines The whole cavern is divided into about twenty sections of discrete Engraving methods which combine to a sophisticated balance across the stairs leading to that platform I have progressed perhaps one tenth of the way through this section but IÆm basically at the limits of my understanding This after we go through all these

Thousands of years of Aether usage boiled down to a lonely tomb Randidly sighed again He glanced around and looked at the large labyrinth of glowing lines stretching in every direction toward the cavern’s walls Still definitely valuable A long term project that will make us better with Aether heh

More than better Neveah said quietly One of the best in the entire System

Randidly didnÆt have anything to say to that So after confirming that Neveah would be fine here continuing to study he turned and looked one last time at Yystrix wearing LyraÆs face The request for an epitaph lay heavy across his heart But for now he made no sort of effort to transform this place

But maybe it would be nice to make this into a garden after they had mastered the Engravings that Yystrix had left for them here

As Randidly turned and began to walk out of the tomb a strange line from the YystrixÆs letter appeared in his mind I know why I hate you so itÆs because you possess the same sort of fire as my husband

Randidly shivered as he avoided thinking too deeply about what that meant Too many things had happened at once and he needed some time and space to settle everything

Luckily just as he was exiting the strange architecture of the tomb and walking into the jungle he received a message from Tatiana that was the perfect distraction

IÆve seen the tiles you made They will definitely be influential But are you sure that you want to do this

It was almost fascinating Randidly reflected how different his attitude suddenly was as he typed out his reply to TatianaÆs query Whereas before the issues regarding his birthday had been such a chore to muster up the willingness to engage now they seemed like a welcome respite from the headache inducing amount of knowledge he had just gained Yes Visualization will help people understand

Randidly could practically hear TatianaÆs hesitation in her response If you think it is best But still I would recommend that we do not cover the entire ballroom with the tiles then We can make islands of normalcy And I think it will give you a chance to demonstrate your point with more of a dramatic flair

That seemed reasonable so Randidly quickly agreed and he and Tatiana hashed out the details With his PhilosopherÆs Key he opened up a portal and crossed back from the island of YystrixÆs tomb to his mist shrouded island By then Tatiana had shifted topics

Also I think itÆs time we start talking about security for the event Even if we donÆt need it with you present it is often reassuring for people to see

Chapter 1298

Derek woke to the sound of a groan coming out of his own mouth His vision was bleary as he blinked away the remnants of sleep crusted along the corners of his eyes Most of his headache had passed but there was still enough of it lingering that it made him wince as he began to move his torso

His movement also set off a flurry of emerald motes of light around his face that dazzled him for a split second In his slightly stunned state his immediate instinct was that he was under attack Then Derek realized that the lights were just the moss spirits that had been dutifully following him around since he had evolved his Class and condensed a Fate With a grin he whispered Thanks guys youÆve been healing me right I appreciate it

The moss spirits swarmed together and hovered about DerekÆs head for a second To his surprise he could sense a hint of reproach emanating from the spirits as though they were scolding him for overexerting his mental energies so much in the first place

To that attitude Derek felt nothing but depression After all he would gladly have avoided the brutalizing crash course in images he had yesterday if he had understood what he was getting himself into Hell this was the first time in about a month that he slept a full six hours his body just rarely needed that sort of rest in the post System world It was a testament to the brutal training regimen of the Order Ducis applicants that a single day resulted in Derek staggering home to collapse in bed

After getting a new Class and a Fate Derek had begun to understand that unlike what Nathan had insisted earlier the reaction from the moss spirits was anything but ordinary So much so that Naffur Suite himself had come down to investigate what was going on in NathanÆs office

When he heard the story he immediately brightened and praised the compatibility of DerekÆs images to Kharon Then he offered almost casually to arrange a specialist to help Derek determine the limits of his new Class Finding those as soon as possible would Naffur had added likely result in a huge boost of the power of DerekÆs image And because of the GhosthoundÆs birthday several individuals who werenÆt usually free were present and able to help Derek do exactly that

Feeling rather bemused Derek had agreed to the offer Which was how he had been introduced to Helen

She carried a spear and looked Derek up and down when he had arrived in the training hall Then she had attacked him The training sessionÆ that was supposed to test the limits of his image was abruptly paused after fifty two seconds when Helen knocked Derek out cold She had Derek later heard from Naffur then waited about ten minutes for Derek to recover after striking him down

Then she woke him back up and attacked him again Derek lasted longer this time but earned himself even more grievous wounds in this round that required a longer period of time to heal But that second time Derek awoke to someone pouring a Health potion down his throat He spluttered and knocked it away but when he got up to complain Helen was already attacking him

It had been an extremely long day

Groaning Derek sat up in his bed and stretched Then he stood with emerald motes of light hovering protectively around him and began to pull on his clothes His body creaked dangerously around him as it struggled to catch up with the sudden increase in physical activity that Derek had experienced the prior day

WhatÆs terrible about the whole training thing Derek grumbled to himself Is that I canÆt even tell if this Class is more powerful than my last one The Skills seemed powerful but their effects compared to Helen

Derek shivered He hoped there werenÆt many trainers like Helen in the Order Ducis

After dressing Derek snuck out into the hallway of the tiny apartment the Order Ducis had provided and peaked into the room in which Tim was sleeping He rolled his eyes when a veritable swarm of moss spirits lifted up from TimÆs body and flew over to politely greet the spirits that followed Derek in a confusing tangle of light