LoRG 3

But Randidly knew it wasn’t about being damned or not even he could admit that he still had to bear the guilt of that decision every day Even thinking about it now a tremor ran through his Crown of Upheaval and Gloom Skill Which now that there was a fracture within the Skill was actually quite painful A small bit of karma that constantly nagged at him

Scars from an emotional wound that hadnÆt been able to heal right

No the issue came back to trust It was easy for Randidly to consider his own feeling and conclude that he could trust himself Yet when it came to Lyra the issue was nearly impossible to resolve

I walked into the meeting with Chulroon knowing it could be a trap but trusting the image I sensed around the place Randidly reflected But the image around Lyra it is so similar to the Creature’s I can’t just

“Fuck me ” Randidly muttered Idly he picked up one of his failed attempts at Engraving and spun it in his hand He shouldn’t be this affected by this He had already resigned himself to staying distant from Lyra He had accepted in his heart that despite her methods she at least was trying to help the Earth That was supposed to be the new normal for their relationship Independent sometimes at odds but ultimately both fighting for the good of Earth

And now as for her second argument that had completely taken them off of the rails

“What do I want huh ” Randidly sighed “Obviously I just want “

But Randidly couldn’t answer the question Not with anything more meaningful than protecting Earth from the System And why wasnÆt that enough

Just as he had found in the Dungeon after he had spent almost eight months there without the constant demands of necessity Randidly lost something precious While he was within the Dungeon he had done his best to incorporate persistence in the absence of necessity into his images But Randidly had been so long shaped by need that it was difficult to put a name to his emotions without it

Perhaps that why Lyra’s words had so stilled him Randidly reflected Because what he heard in her trembling voice was genuine concern She was worried about him Which was infuriating Which was confusing

No matter how convincing it is being a tool isn’t being alive

“Bah ” Randidly threw his bracer sidearm against the wall With a clang it rebounded off the wall and skittered across the floor to spin slowly to a stop t his feet Strangely Randidly was incredibly incensed by this unconscious act of defiance by the bracer A vein in his temple throbbed

“You are just a tool ” Randidly hissed He raised his foot to stomp down and destroy the offending object But then Randidly paused

“Being a tool isn’t being alive ” Randidly said aloud feeling the shape of the words in his mouth Licking his lips Randidly crouched down and picked the bracer up with a trembling right hand

” if to Level is to live ” Randidly said wonderingly “Then it’s not enough to just give the Engraving a powerful image to give it shape Even if it can grow there is a limit to its growth because it’s practically random “

Randidly’s eyes were emerald fire even as he knew he was distracting himself from an important issue ” because it needs a why Because to create something living it can’t just serve a purpose It also must want “

It also must yearn Randidly thought sadly But he quickly banished that thought And he got back to work

Chapter 1027

The final shape of the Engraving that Randidly settled on was a closed eye surrounded by a series of simple waves The final details of the process him took him several hours after all Randidly would be repeating the one pattern thousands of times across his moving city He needed to know the pattern so well there wouldnÆt be any variance

While it was true that one of the main goals Randidly had for the Engraving was to give the city itself a way to identify threats but a pattern that included an eye started to have some troublesome images When there were no threats present that open eye would not be the perfect shield that Randidly envisioned With no distractions the eye would turn inward toward the city itself

And an unblinking eye was a very harsh judge

Obviously I donÆt want any corruption to take root on the Erickson Steel compound but that kind of intense observation As Randidly followed the logical progression of the image he couldnÆt help but wince

So Randidly had to scratch the option of the all seeing eye for the city Which was all for the best considering some of the rather sinister analogs that sprung to mind for that sort of image It was chosen for its power and clarity but those only carried the Engraving so hard Randidly needed something that would work without dangerous side effects

If he had to lower the power in order to make it so it was worth it for the consistency

Once Randidly had applied the lesson that Lyra was trying to give him to the Engraving the process had suddenly become much easier It was like a switch had been flipped With an included goal in the image pieces began to click together The process came more easily to him Which in turn freed up a lot of RandidlyÆs time to experiment with different patterns

Although his drawing wasnÆt the most anatomically faithful Randidly tried to develop Engraving patterns based on the other senses hearing touch taste and smell

Honestly the results were comically bad Randidly found himself guffawing in the dim light of his workshop as he tried to imagine how the city would protect itself if the weapon at its disposal was an insightful sense of taste Would he need to design some sort of tongue mechanism that would allow the city to function

Some were so bad that he burned them to ashes directly with the Ignition Essence The last thing he needed was for Wendy to stumble across some of his early sketches and mock him relentlessly for it After Randidly had taken her to the festival Wendy had mellowed out a lot Which also meant she felt very comfortable criticizing him

For every pro thereÆs a con

Despite the lack of early result Randidly had continued to experiment He tried combinations of the senses He tried more senses adjacent patterns like lighthouse and tuning forks to get at the senses without having to depict the rather awkward looking human body part If anything these were even worse

Truly Randidly didnÆt have a single artistic bone in his body But he didnÆt let that rather inconvenient truth stop him

All the while Randidly honed his skill in applying desire into the images that he was creating

Even if you wonÆt acknowledge it Lyra Randidly thought without venom as his azure glowing finger traced the runes across a practice bracer The desire to protect is an important part of me And itÆs what this image needs to understand its role in the world Even if you want more from me this is what IÆm pouring all my effort toward

For a second Randidly paused in his Engraving as a tremor ran through his hands His eyes closed for a split second YouÆll thank me later

His work did yield some functioning results The final Engravings werenÆt satisfactory in their effects and the Skills that would grow as they did but they could grow past Level 100 At least in theory Obviously Randidly wasnÆt willing to spend the time to Level any of the Engravings to prove the point But while the previous System messages indicated that his Engravings were barred at Level 100 there was no longer any indication that they would stop there

In fact there was no indication at all that there was a limit Which meant that there wasnÆt a hard limit on the EngravingÆs growth any longer So it would continue until RandidlyÆs craftmanship proved insufficient

That made Randidly grimace He didnÆt want to know what would happen to the moving city when the Engraving grew to such a point that it destabilized And perhaps imploded destroying all the careful machines that Wendy had slaved away to design

I wonder if there is a way to forcefully limit the growth of the Engraving Randidly thought idly But as he consulted his Absolute Timing Skill he only had two and a half days until he needed to experience his Judgment And it wasnÆt an issue important enough that Randidly would head over to a Dungeon to experiment

Plus there was always a chance that it was impossible Which would mean pursuing it was a complete waste of time

So Randidly continued to try strange and unusual Engravings When he ran out of ideas he drew shapes and then was inspired by what he drew Ultimately it was the connection with desire that gave Randidly the clue that caused his focus to shift After all what do people generally desire more than anything else

That which they couldnÆt have

So Randidly took away the EngravingÆs sight and imbued the Engraving pattern with every ounce of his vehement urge to protect these people for whom Randidly was responsible That same furious desire that drove Randidly to torture himself for a year in a Dungeon without any real break In his heart Randidly knew that even if he didnÆt have his eyes he would still find a way to serve his state purpose

Because it was never in his nature to stop because someone said it wasnÆt possible Because from weakness came empathy and from empathy could come discretion An eye that was not an eye to look out for threats that might not seem like threats

Or at least thatÆs what Randidly hoped

Setting down the bracer containing the final version of the Engraving pattern Randidly cracked his knuckles and then his neck All thatÆs left is to implement it over an entire city

It was with a rather depressing expression that Randidly wandered out of his workshop and headed toward the network of tunnels that was the current construction area Over the past few days GhostÆs assembly ability had rapidly accelerated as he could finally earn Skill Levels by being near the tasks his drones finished

Which meant that while some of that time up front was used to expand the tunnels to accommodate GhostÆs new body that investment paid dividends after only a short amount of time Although everything wasnÆt entirely finished Randidly believed that he could safely start at one end of the city and Ghost would be able to handle the construction in specific areas to ensure that Randidly didnÆt need to pause

It didnÆt take long for Randidly to locate Ghost with RandidlyÆs Perception it was easy for him to follow the distinctive sound of the anti gravity Engravings that gave GhostÆs new body such wonderful mobility So Randidly approached Ghost on the Western edge of the tunnel system GhostÆs sensors also received quite the boost in his new form so as Randidly approached he sensed Ghost ceasing his work and preparing to greet him

Truly GhostÆs mechanical voice boomed out when Randidly neared This Wendy individual is a genius What she has managed to accomplish with your Engraving patterns and energy conservation principles it has given me much inspiration I cannot wait to construct my own personal workshop

SheÆs a treasure Randidly grunted Perhaps out of habit he scanned the flow of energy running through GhostÆs body After all he had thought deeply about the shape and function but now was its first real test run

GhostÆs new body was currently in its basic and rather blunt looking new form There was a rather thin band of metal in the shape of a disc that was covered in runes hovering some distance from the bottom with a glowing sphere floating in the middle of the disc The sphere supplied the power for the antigravity while the disc handled the rather demanding task of applying the energy in the right minute amounts so GhostÆs body would neither scrape on the ground or float awkwardly up into the air

Which was manipulated directly by Ghost of course Because he could make those calculations on the fly

Above the sphere and disc was a heavy squat bundle of metal about the size of a mobile home Tools Engravings stored drones valuable materials and GhostÆs six biological bodies filled that densely packed area Honestly the only portion of its body that Ghost had given opinions on was the interior where his AIÆs computational power had easily optimized the space

Basically this mobile home sized space was every bit as capable of holding precious cargo as an entire warehouse

Rising up from the main body were two limbs made of layered triangles of metal There were no hands at the ends of the limbs with which to grip but the triangles could be easily compressed into either a shovel or a blade in order to handle materials Which was of course a design that Randidly had entirely stolen from WendyÆs own scale mail design for his arm

For any work that required more delicacy than those two limbs could provide the many spider drones that were skittering across GhostÆs main body could jump into action without Ghost missing a beat

Of course this was only the standard form But due to the limits on space here in the tunnels

Only after he was satisfied that it was running perfectly did Randidly refocus his attention DonÆt go getting any ideas to steal one of the Providences for your own IÆm sure your liberty will be alarming enough for Zone 1 when they discover it Let alone the theft of an entire workshop

Relax I will do nothing hastily But I donÆt it will matter Heh I have no doubt that I will become the subject of many laws once they discover the truth Ghost hummed But despite the serious subject matter Randidly was surprised to hear a thin thread of satisfaction in GhostÆs voice Randidly shook his head helplessly at the smug satisfaction of the AI

Well itÆs not like I can give you any good advice on not antagonizing a whole Zone Randidly shrugged his track record on that front spoke for itself But be careful IÆll be taking Zone 1 by surprise but thatÆs only because they donÆt understand how to deal with me I bet the second being to surprise this government will be dealt with much more harshly

I have watched them carefully these past months Ghost intoned They have in fact hidden much of their own secret research from my eyes But I have no doubt that they have been furiously developing a blunt instrument with you in mind Rest assured with the sword you have given me I will make sure they donÆt destroy any innocent lies

RandidlyÆs gaze sharpened what sort of secret research are they pursuing

Instantly Randidly vividly recalled the atrocities committed on humans and Raid Bosses repeated before his very eyes during his first months spent within the Zone Despite the fact that Randidly had killed the original perpetrator the events still left a bitter taste in his mouth

Ghost chuckled Even if your suspicions were correct do you have time to address them before you are departing

That stopped Randidly dead I can see so many seeds being planted but I know I need to leave I just hope when I return I wonÆt find chaos Erickson Steel and the Order Ducis Donnyton possessing images Ghost and Neveah they need to be enough There isnÆt anything else I can do Earth for as long as I will be away will be on its own

youÆre right Randidly sighed Then he shook his head I just came to tell you that IÆm going to start the final phase of the construction IÆll start Engraving from the core and work outwards so I hope you can handle the finishing touches in all the places that IÆll be going initially while the rest of the work is finished

GhostÆs anti gravity disc buzzed as he considered this Understood It is recommended that you give me one hour and thirty six minutes of time as preparation That way I can eliminate the possibility of you being disturbed during the process

ThatÆs fine Waving his hand Randidly turned away and began to walk back to the surface He chewed on his lip and muttered to himself Plus there is something I wanted to check on anyway

Chapter 1028

When that dark being that was sitting amongst the roiling clouds of ash looked upward Vye flinched Her body jolted like she was jabbed with a cattle prod She couldnÆt help it No matter how many times she met its gaze the desolate loneliness within its eyes hit her like a physical weight

And the longer that gaze remained fixed upon her the heavier that weight became

But although she swayed Vye did not fall Her body was trembling The muscles of her legs spasmed There was a line of sweat dripping down the back of her knee Vye was barely able to stay standing underneath the weight of that consideration but barely was enough to stay on her feet

VyeÆs left hand burned not with pain but with gathering energy It was a maliciously self righteous thing savoring the sweet anticipation of release With its power Vye could buy herself a few more seconds to move forward Yet Vye forced the urge to activate Reject back down

Using it now was a mistake Even if this was close to her limit she needed to press up against her limits on her own power Otherwise her dream of being able to explore the entire world would be meaningless A tool would become a crutch and then she would be crippled for the rest of her life

Vye herself needed to be strong She couldnÆt rely on the rituals of her crazy grandmother forever

Time stretched out in this grey nowhere so that as Vye blinked she couldnÆt help but wonder how much time had passed in that split second of darkness as her eye was completely shut Was it possible that she had spent days simply standing here waiting to grow used to this pressure to take another step forward At least they had proof from Aldo that extended exposure didnÆt cause any lingering harm

But it also didnÆt help you progress further

So Vye gritted her teeth and took another step forward The twin pits of darkness that were this beingÆs eyes seemed to expand into two wide tunnels and VyeÆs step carried her down into the inky black depths

Why was it suddenly smiling

With a gasp Vye sat sharply upward She released too humid breaths Then her mouth twisted into a grimace as the reality of her situation hit her Slimy fucking balls

Edith one of the other participants in the Order Ducis training camp smiled down at her After checking VyeÆs pulse Edith brushed off the knees of her jeans and stood Now now no need to be so upset If this sort of result is unsatisfactory youÆll make the rest of us blush Besides we have company

Blinking rapidly Vye attempted to refocus her gaze Then she groaned and leveraged herself to her feet She swayed and twisted around by relying on a herculean effort Only to find her standing face to face with Naffur Suite

Oh youÆre up Good ThatÆs the last of you all Alright everyone gather in closer Naffur said gesturing lazily for the surrounding people to approach

Abruptly Vye became aware that outside of the polite bubble that people had left around her while she was unconscious almost forty bodies were standing around in the surrounding dozen meters At NaffurÆs gesture everyone moved closer to listen to the acting leader of the Order Ducis

Sorry for holding you all up Vye thought sourly It was not a good feeling to picture all of these people just waiting around her unconscious body But she forced herself to focus on NaffurÆs short speech

IÆm sure youÆve all heard by now but very soon our training camp will be entering into its second stage For that we will begin to travel between the different Zones NaffurÆs eyes swept through the crowd weighing each and every individual there Despite her exhaustion Vye found herself straightening her spine and raising her chin as his gaze slid over her

There were modes to Naffur Everyone in the Order Ducis agreed Sometimes he simply seemed like a normal teenager Then other times

Naffur seemed to consider for a second then he continued to address the group There are two reasons for the travel The first is that we have almost reached capacity Of the fifty applicant slots of our camp forty six have been filled It seems that word has gotten around that were are accepting resumes So one purpose the movement will serve will be to make it more difficult for these applicants to join up with us IÆm sure you all now understand how much we at the Order Ducis appreciate making things more difficult

No one smiled at that small joke But as Vye looked at Naffur she couldnÆt help but suspect that his own expression was infected with a brief shade of bitterness But then he continued to talk as he slowly rotated in place to look at the surrounding individuals

To that end the rewards for locating our group will be that much greater If any one individual finds us and requests to be a part of the training camp they will get a spot with no questions asked If we are currently at capacity then the current individual ranked the lowest within the camp will be ejected That individual can reapply in a week and kick someone else out but by then we may have moved on without notice

Naffur offered a shy smile To make the possibility of being kicked out of the camp more transparent we will now maintain a public ranking for the individuals within the camp These are composite scores from personal combat and image evaluations In addition to the amount of independent merit you have accumulated through missions Which will be an option open to you once we are on the move

Which brings me to the second reason that we are moving the borderlands are growing faster than ever

That drew a sharp release of breath from the gathering of people who circled up around Naffur Partly because many of them had fought to save people newly liberated from that strange frozen time of the borderlands or had been those people themselves And partly because of what such a change meant

Valor Rend took a sharp step forward Does that mean all seven Zones

No NaffurÆs sharp answer took at least some of the building tension out of the crowd People loosened their grips on their weapons Although there were plenty of rumors and half truths about what would happen when seven Zones connected to New Earth everyone agreed it wouldnÆt be good But we have received word that the sixth Zone has connected Southwest of Zone 1 actually And it will likely be the first direction we proceed

Per the orders of Randidly Ghosthound the Order Ducis has a new mission to become the levee that protects the fragile lives of budding humanity We will be the first defense softening and easing the transition into the System and new Earth We will travel to the edges of the world and end the most dangerous threats we find so the heartlands of our world can flourish We will do this simply because someone needs to otherwise thousands will die

We will be a lighthouse guiding the uninitiated toward civilization We will be wanderers treading the lost and warped ways so that we can leave behind maps for those that come after us That is our Order Ducis That is why we put you all through hell so we can find ten individuals who can give their lives to this cause Ten individuals who can walk into the unknown without fear

Despite herself Vye felt her heart burning as she listened to NaffurÆs words This is exactly what she wanted the opportunity to see the edges of the world and walk away unscathed More than ever before she craved those untouched vistas and the empty wildernesses If she could go there and fine people freed from the borderlands all the better

I donÆt want to alarm you but we have a theory about why the borderlands are expanding so quickly NaffurÆs mouth was pressed into a thin line For reference the speed of expansion has quadrupled And reports continue to flood in from all directions that this is a universal phenomenon across the edge of New Earth

Most people donÆt think about the details but there has been a distinct pattern to the arrival of Zones to a New Earth After all this world of ours is still supposed to be a planet Yet according to the best estimates the area that we currently have access to is only about 5 percent of the EarthÆs original total surface area

Scratching his head NaffurÆs expression turned sad Also keep in mind that Zones connecting have liberated new borderlands for us to explore but they have never occurred in an area already occupied by borderlands What then does it mean that the borderlands expansion accelerated suddenly

The crowd was quiet But Vye drew in a sharp breath Because because the seventh Zone is going to be far away ItÆs not just going to be clustered around each other as the previous six have been

Exactly thatÆs the most popular theory at this point Naffur smiled at Vye then spread his arms wide We donÆt know when that will be But if its arrival reveals 10% of the original surface area of Earth That is the equivalent of three landmasses the size of Russia So we need to be out there now We need to have the areas that we can control now under control Because otherwise

The silence that followed NaffurÆs words was a heavy one No one needed to understand what would happen if a country that had been frozen for the past two years suddenly reappeared with a healthy infestation of monsters The Levels of monsters in newly freed up areas started low but they rapidly skyrocketed to match the already freed areas

And it had recently been scientifically proved that the farther those monsters were from the origin pointÆ of New Earth a spot sitting between Zones 1 and 32 the faster that rise proceeded A report had emerged from East Providence that stated its research indicated a monster located at the current edge of the borderlands would proceed to grow from Level 1 to Level 50 in twenty four hours

A monster could go from a helpless goblin to a lich in a single day Which was barely enough time for a human if they chose to rush things to get a Class and gain their first Level

There were obviously stronger and weaker groups of monsters that emerged in halos around specific Mana dense areas but the average of the Levels for those groups was around 50 Very rarely were groups of monsters weaker than Level 30 seen in borderland areas

Naffur clapped his hands sharply shaking the crowd from his thoughts ThatÆs why you are fighting ThatÆs why we are pushing you to your limits All those lives we will be the ones to save them We will be the ones pushing outward to prepare for their arrival So without further ado back to your training

Vye rubbed her hands together Nearby she could see Valor clenching his fists while his determined gaze bored a hole into the ground Then he noticed her glance and looked up Their eyes met

Ah One more thing Naffur said He pointed over toward the mess hall tent For now a temporary board has been placed near the canteen We are working on a more permanent solution but for now check your rank Those at the top the details of your score arenÆt listed but the person at the top received 305 out of a total 500 The median score is 281 So donÆt think you have the space to slacken even for a second

As for the people at the bottom if our stated goals donÆt align with your own leave DonÆt waste our time

Then Naffur was gone and as one the crowd hurried over toward the canteen area Vye stood on her tiptoes and looked at the careful list of forty six names that had been scorched into the wooden board Her first thought was that it was rather hasty to physically burn the list into the wood when it would likely change frequently

But then Vye pinched herself and refocused on the contents of the list Of course the individual at the top wasnÆt a surprise to anyone in the camp

Vye spared Valor a glance wondering how he had earned 305 points Valor was currently suppressing a smirk Shaking her head Vye turned back to the board What a douche I wonder what I

Vye blinked She actually found her own name quite easily

Chapter 1029

After their afternoon sparring session Vye lied on the packed dirt of the arena and distantly considered the sensation of blood drying on her face It itched as the moisture was sucked out of the crimson liquid by the low hanging sun Which left Vye with only the scent of iron and her thoughts

Number three huh it definitely must not be from sparring IÆm average at best in the fights I lose as much as I win And I might have worked for Erickson Steel but that was only for a short time So then my points probably come from

Image evaluations From walking stupidly toward that strange being that lives within the cloud of ash

When she had first seen her ranking Vye had been rather dubious She had a very anxiety inducing worry that perhaps Garret had been right about RandidlyÆs motivations for inviting her somewhere alone And now he was putting his thumb to assist her more directly perhaps

Of course she didnÆt think that was true at all but in a paranoia induced frenzy of thoughts she didnÆt think it was impossible She likely would have continued on that downward spiral if she hadnÆt the presence of mind to notice that no one else seemed shocked by her ranking Several people even offered her congratulations So Vye began to consider

Scraps of conversations floated back to her A few complaints that she had overheard about how difficult the image stones were to approach that were then abruptly cut off as she had walked closer and the speaker had noticed her At the time Vye had thought it was just people trying to prevent her from overhearing their secrets Vye didnÆt mind that After all there were several cliques appearing in the Order Ducis training camp

Part of it was natural friendships but part of it was that Naffur had mentioned offhandedly once that each new initiate into the Order would be able to have two direct assistants that were acknowledged by the Order Ducis Therefore the groupings took on a rather political edge as some of the less successful applicants tried to curry favor

Still Vye didnÆt plan on getting involved in that She had considered herself a work in progress in terms of results in the training camp She had improved certainly but so had everyone else She wasnÆt mesmerizing anyone with her combat ability

But at rank 3

In addition to the strange conversations she had overheard Vye remembered the expression on GarrettÆs face when she had stated she didnÆt want to know how far she had proceeded toward the Image Stone Also the words Edith spoke as she had regained consciousness lingered in her mind

Now now no need to be so upset If this sort of result is unsatisfactory youÆll make the rest of us blush

So thatÆs it huh Vye said softly I guess images are something that IÆm good at

Vye

The sharp shout had Vye scrambling up to her feet on instinct beaten into her over the last month Ajax their instructor for the combat sparring was striding over toward her Although Vye had gotten over the fact that he was an anthropomorphic cockroach the repeated beatings that Vye and all of the other members of the Order Ducis training group suffered at his hands was enough to keep the fear she held toward him very real

He stopped only an arm’s length away and considered her

Vye clenched her jaw I refuse to flinch He may have mouth mandibles but heÆs still a normal person

Oh good Ajax said lightly I was worried I had beaten you unconscious Good effort today you are improving But youÆve been requested As the current leader in the Image Evaluations you will receive a small reward Proceed to the command tent immediately You wonÆt be given a break before the Raid today so be quick about it

Around her several previously boneless bodies propped themselves up on their elbows to watch Vye hurriedly limp away Vye could practically see how their ears perked up at the mention of a reward The memory of the ultimate reward that could be reached by touching one of the Image Stones was still fresh in their minds Now as a minor reward was mentioned they wondered what it could mean

It wouldnÆt be a break day but if it was even just a meal they didnÆt have to inhale on their way to another battle

As Vye walked out from the arena she could practically hear the small gears in their heads turning If touching the stone is worth a break day what will she receive by being the closest

Perhaps Vye shouldnÆt get too comfortable on top of the Image Evaluations If the reward was good enough she knew that most people would throw themselves at the Image Stones with renewed vigor

By the time Vye arrived at the command tent she had imagined dozens of possible awards that she might be receiving Obviously it wouldnÆt be a full day but if she would get even a little bit of the day to spend just by herself

Well IÆd just sleep But still The prospect had Vye salivating Non necessary resting felt like something from a day dream

Which was why she hastily wiped her mouth when she walked into the tent and saw Randidly Ghosthound sitting there She froze like a groundhog caught rustling in the bushes by a bear

Randidly looked up sharply and then smiled Ah youÆre the one with the strongest images I should have guessed with your

IÆm so sorry Vye blurted out bowing at a 90 degree angle to Randidly She had assumed that Naffur would be the one to award her the reward But for Randidly to have made the trip out to the Order Ducis base himself

Vye peaked up at him then resumed her downward stare toward the ground Not that she owed him anything but as her boss both in Erickson Steel and the Order Ducis it was simultaneously tue that she owed him absolutely everything It was exactly because Randidly took a proactive attitude toward the borderlands that she had been rescued and was brought to Erickson Steel

If Randidly hadnÆt worked together with teams working out of the Orchard to help with the expanding borderlands thousands of people including Vye would be dead

Vye bit her lips as she looked at the thin green carpet that had been laid out to cover the packed dirt ground I you asked me to come to meet you after your speech but I simply wasnÆt able to So IÆm sorry if you waited for me

really itÆs fine No need to bow IÆve found that these things have a way of working out for the best Choices have a way of panning out so that things happen at the right time

Hearing that RandidlyÆs tone was relatively cool and civil Vye straightened and looked at the man who was an engine that made all of her experiences with the System possible Currently he was sitting in a canvas chair while idly making a small knife dance across the fingers of his metallic arm In the low candlelight of the tent interior both the knife and the gleaming ridges of RandidlyÆs arm reflected small glints of light

And Randidly was smiling at her seemingly somewhat bemused Whether it was at her bowing or what she said Vye didnÆt know but her secret paranoias had some ideas

Vye purposefully repressed her urge to flush with embarrassment Ugh of course he wasnÆt just WAITING for you that night HeÆs the busiest man in the world He was probably spending the entire night working on that new training facility that the Order Ducis leadership keeps whispering about and it must really be something if they arenÆt even willing to tell us the details

So Randidly said lightly If you donÆt mind me asking why couldnÆt you make it If you donÆt want to answer thatÆs fine IÆll just give you the reward for having the best response to images and then IÆll be on my way

Ah I donÆt mind telling you ItÆs just more strange than anything else Vye shrugged Reflexively her left hand clenched My hand hurt Quite badly There is a weird scarring from one of my Skills and it aches now when I use it But after I met you I remembered something my grandmother told me She was the one who taught me about the Skill that damaged my hand

And she always said that everything has a price So after performing the ritual there should be an offering to even our debt to the world I thought I would have time to head back to my tent and do the offering while the festival was dying down but I just spaced out during the offering When I came to four hours had passed and by that time I needed to go back to training

Tapping his cheek with a finger Randidly studied Vye Huh Interesting You lost track of time while you were doing the offering And let me guess when you came to the pain was gone and you had gained several Skill Levels

VyeÆs eyes widened yea IÆm not sure where that instinct came from but it felt right Feels right And I was rewarded for following so I cannot say I regret missing our meeting ThereÆs still so much I donÆt know about the System so every time I learn something new itÆs valuable

No I understand I would encourage you to follow those feelings in the future Randidly cracked his neck VyeÆs mouth twisted she always got the chills when someone so casually cracked their neck like that It got under her skin somehow

It would certainly be an anticlimactic end for Randidly Ghosthound to pinch a nerve and die

Then Randidly chewed his lip in thought for several seconds before saying Before I give you the gift can I see your hand Specifically the scarred place where the Skill marked you

Immediately Vye wanted to say no Mostly because her hand looked like a leperÆs and no matter how progressive and self aware Randidly Ghosthound was it would be hard for him to set aside the sight of her warped and feverish flesh whenever he thought about her in the future And then another part of Vye snidely asked why she cared at all how he would think about her in the future and a third part of Vye interrupted by pointing out that there was no harm in the gesture

So she slowly unwound the bandages she had wrapped around her left hand and offered her limb to Randidly To her surprise he didnÆt touch it immediately Instead he leaned over and looked at the inflamed ridges and deep scaring very carefully His emerald eyes were only a few inches from her hand but he squinted and studied it with a powerful intensity

Then Randidly leaned back and rubbed the back of his head With his human arm he reached out and brushed his fingers across the scar left by the Ritual Vye flinched instinctively but RandidlyÆs hands were surprisingly soft It was hard to believe these were the calloused hands of a warrior After he had traced the entirety of the Ritual with his fingers Vye felt a flood of warmth to her hand

At first she was rather alarmed at the prospect that the touch had caused her to activate the Ritual subconsciously The last thing she needed right now was to blast Randidly backward with a Reject

Although if it’s him will he notice my Skill hitting him at all

But as Vye focused on the spot where their hands were touching she realized that it wasnÆt her Ritual that was activating RandidlyÆs hand was wreathed in emerald fire

I could heal this if you want Randidly said softly And as he spoke Vye felt the cleansing warmth drifting down into her ruined hand However you would lose a lot of the power you have now This ritual created a space in your hand Something isolated from the rest of you ThatÆs why it’s so painful But it’s possible to heal it if thatÆs what you want

Chapter 1030

Vye shook her head It wasnÆt even that difficult of a decision No IÆll keep it It might be painful but its also powerful I recently got the Pain Endurance Skill as well so IÆll be able to Level that up while using it

Randidly chuckled and Vye frowned at him

Shaking his head Randidly said Sorry you just reminded me of me Of a crazy sort of masochism that I learned from someone very precious to me And you are right What you have here is extremely special And because of that powerful Even I havenÆt seen anything like this before

The emerald flames dancing across his hand died out but for another minute Randidly continued to poke and prod at VyeÆs hand It wasnÆt painful but Vye found the whole procedure rather awkward Rather than an individual brought to a managerÆs office to be rewarded for her work Vye felt more like a patient in a clinical trial that Randidly was running

Finally Randidly took a step back and let both of his hands fall to his sides His expression turned rather stern as he looked at her Still Pain Endurance will help but itÆs a Skill that raises your capability to handle pain without really dulling it at all DonÆt push yourself too hard before you are ready

Vye gave Randidly a look that she hoped wasnÆt as incredulous as she felt at the moment With all due respect Would you have heeded that advice if it was given to you early in your experience with the System

Smiling wanly Randidly shook his head Of course not But wonÆt I seem like a heartless boss if so casually expect you to endure pain for my sake I have to tell you not to do it in order to keep up appearances

Vye didnÆt have an answer to wry humor so she smiled politely and then asked a question that she had been thinking of after listening to Naffur speak about the looming problem of the borderlands By the way I wanted to ask why are you only accepting ten people into the Order Ducis If the borderlands were expanding that quickly wonÆt it be helpful to recruit more people

Randidly snorted and shook his head Well obviously more powerful individuals would be better for us But there are two problems The first is maintaining the integrity of the spirit of the Order Ducis Frankly thatÆs more Naffur and Ajax than me but they raise a good point Image is important and since we are part of an organization each of us is doing our part to shape the direction that image is taking Therefore taking in too many people at once would dilute that image Plus rapid expansion lowers our ability to screen the undesirable elements who want to come into the Order

Which brings us to the second problem who the hell is going to train all of you Randidly grinned at Vye Naffur and Ajax are running themselves ragged arranging all of the training for just 50 people But thatÆs really just a method of identifying 10 that they will take the time and effort to genuinely assist in growing Plus it’s not like theyÆve stopped training themselves

Being an instructor especially with the sort of harrowing pace theyÆve taken with you all is a full time job IÆve arranged for someone to take over some of the more physically demanding tasks but there is a limit to how many people we can give targeted attention to

And you What about you Vye asked quietly They don’t talk about it much but it seems like you are going to be leaving again soon Is the Order Ducis not high on your priorities Ah I donÆt mean it as an insult IÆm just worried about something so important that it will pull you away from saving people freed from the borderlands

That dropped RandidlyÆs cheery expression into a frozen tundra After a long sigh he shook his head sadly ItÆs not that IÆm choosing to address an issue thatÆs more important than that ItÆs just well What I leave to do is unavoidable Because IÆve taken shortcuts in the System IÆm being punished for it ItÆs a Judgment I cannot escape

Then an extremely strange smile wandered out across RandidlyÆs face His eyes began to sparkle But maybe you are right I should take a more direct approach to this Before I go I should take some time to get to know the cute applicants to my Order ItÆs worth touching the image of all of you directly before I go

Strangely Vye had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that reminded her of the times in university that someone inadvertently reminded a professor to assign homework And RandidlyÆs expression contained a bit too much sadistic joy for VyeÆs taste

Before she could figure out what the feeling meant Randidly extended his hand toward her Well thatÆs enough chit chat First the reward for being the best with images And then if you want I can still give you that gift I mentioned before if you are willing Now that I know about your hand it will take a different form but it will definitely be a powerful addition

Yea I want the power to travel this world with impunity If your gift will provide that by all means Nodding Vye reached out and offered her hand once more

As he held her hand Randidly started muttering to himself First the connection easy Hmm And if your Skill really formed its own Soulspace then it should be possible to

VyeÆs left hand twisted as the warmth hidden inside of it began to spiral into a tight seed in the palm of her left hand Of course as that warmth focused into a smaller point the heat of it rose sharply upward So much so that Vye winced as RandidlyÆs grip tightened on her hand

And then System notifications appeared before her eyes

Congratulations Due to your deviant Skills you have achieved a great benefit You have unlocked the ability to Dual Class You have obtained the sub Class Alfen Priestess

Due to limitations in your Soulspace benefits acquired from your sub Class are diminished Due to the high Level of your main Class you will only acquire experience for Alfen Priestess until the Level of your sub Class equals your main one

Warning Possessing two Classes will consume a great deal of energy Please see your Village Spirit for details

Warning Please note that illness and death may result from your Dual Class

Congratulations You have received the class of Alfen Priestess You have gained the Prayer to Nature (Un) Lvl 1 You have received the skill Ritual Consume Lvl 1 +1 Health per Level +4 Mana Per Level +1 Stamina per level +1 Perception per level +2 Wisdom per level +1 Free Stats per Level

Uh Vye blinked as she looked at the notifications It says that I received a Dual Class and that illness and death may result

Randidly was staring almost fanatically at VyeÆs hand but he looked up and waved off her concerns airily Relax Although it sounds rather intense the issue is a relatively minor one The reward I gave you to start should solve it

Okay and as someone who has lived with this System for a few years I respect your knowledge of these things Vye said slowly She drew in a long breath But didnÆt you say that you are about to be punished for taking short cuts in the System Is there any chance that this is related to that

Randidly chuckled with too much nervousness to assuage VyeÆs worries Probably not

After Vye left Randidly was still thinking about how she had obtained the Dual Class

That hand of hers functioned in a similar way to the architecture that the Creature had assembled in the Raid Dungeon Randidly frowned down at his own hands It isolated the energy somehow Luckily it didnÆt completely bar the SystemÆs gaze In this case it had stolen a portion of VyeÆs Soulspace and place it in her hand

The effect was extremely strange Whatever Skill Vye had used had set up an independent space and tied it to her hand As far as Randidly could tell Soulspaces werenÆt actually physically present anywhere in the body they existed in another dimension altogether So to see the Aether of the Soulspace actually spiraling around VyeÆs hand

Which was probably why the activation was painful Those Skills had housed themselves in her physical hand so her hand was enduring the rapid movement and resonance of Aether every time she used that Skill Hopefully she would develop a Skill related to the body that would make her physically capable of handling that flow of energy rather quickly

Destroying the isolated space and restoring VyeÆs Soulspace to its original appearance wouldnÆt have been especially difficult but it would have taken some time for Randidly to either figure out the reason the Skill shaped Aether in this manner or simply use brute force to crush the isolation Without harming Vye of course

But that would have missed out on all the benefits that such a strange arrangement could provide So Randidly had offered Vye his assistance Originally he wanted to remake her Class but to make a smaller Class in the miniature Soulspace wasnÆt difficult Besides Randidly had wanted to see what would happen if he stabilized the space

the only unfortunate thing is that the benefit she received from it was so small 6 Attributes and 4 Stats Honestly my Class basically has five of those sub Classes all rolled into one Giving more to myself would be superfluous Plus the sorta Aether utilization methods that accomplished it are exactly the sort of thing that Octavius was warning me away from screening the SystemÆs view of me is a no go

But even if I canÆt use it for myself this might be exactly the sort of thing the Order Ducis needs in order to get an edge

Humming softly to himself Randidly sent a message to Naffur He didnÆt mention the Dual Classing yet but he did ask that Naffur bring all of the Order Ducis applicants to a nearby Dungeon at noon tomorrow to receive personal training from Randidly Randidly figured they could stay in the Dungeon for two weeks or so pretty easily which would be plenty of time for him to get a firm grip on their personalities and images

It would also mean that the Order Ducis would have time to prepare for the departure of the city scheduled for tomorrow evening Barring no setbacks during the Engraving process today might be the last night spent here in Zone 1 for quite some time

Plus mindlessly thrashing the applicants would be a refreshing break after a night spent Engraving an entire city

After that thought sprung up Randidly couldnÆt help but grin Shal it really seems like your teaching style has rubbed off on me but no one can deny that itÆs effective I just wish it was a bit less intense sometimes

Randidly looked sharply up at a noise from the front of the tent but he quickly eased up Wow IÆm actually surprised that you managed to get this close without me noticing

I canÆt do it for long but one of my new Skills lets me swim through the air Helen said as she pushed the tent flap aside To demonstrate she spun mid air seeming to drift into the center of the tent on capricious winds You rely too much on the plants for information If I donÆt touch the grass you wonÆt find me

IÆll keep that in mind Randidly said drily Although he knew that Helen took protecting him very seriously sometimes she focused her attention in the wrong areas But Randidly could admit easy enough that hubris was a problem even for him so he made a note to think about refining his threat detection process So whatÆs their standard like

Helen folded her arms Worse than Donnyton by a lot but probably about as good or better than anywhere else IÆve seen Plus you can definitely fucking tell these are your followers there a bunch of weirdos here Someone is copying your habit of refusing to wear boots

Weirdo followers includes you you know Randidly said with a soft smile

But Helen glared at him These are trainees Randidly I have no problem with raising them of course Often teaching is one of the best ways to learn the way of the spear But what I do have a problem with is that I cannot come with you to face this next challenge Especially when I see how nervous you are about the Judgment

Do I look nervous Randidly asked in surprise

Helen pressed her lips together Even if you are pretty good at keeping yourself under control that ash monster image you have inside of you isnÆt I can feel flashes of it sometimes Leaking out of the edges of your body All violence and frustration and darkness

Randidly could only shrug at that Hopefully HelenÆs insight was only due to her experience with images The last thing Randidly wanted was to shake the spirit of Erickson Steel or the Order Ducis before he left by having the Grim Chimera float gloomily behind him

I can help you Helen said in a low voice If you are going to the battlefield thereÆs no one better to have at your side than I Tellus was all the preparation I need

And what happens if war comes to Earth while we are both away Randidly replied in a voice just as soft ItÆs my home planet Helen Based on what I heard IÆm unsure how long IÆll be gone A month Three But that will definitively be a time where I cannot help the people of this world I have the Riders but they can only do so much ThatÆs why I need you here pioneering the borderlands

I donÆt like it Helen grumbled

Randidly smiled but didnÆt respond out loud Do you think I like it But I donÆt have any choice ItÆs time to face the accusation of being a Heretic head on Even if IÆm not guilty of the crime of which IÆm accused itÆs much better than the System finding out the truth of what I am

Chapter 1031

Senator Cliff Heathridge poured himself a cup of coffee and then added a single sugar and a spoonful of cream in a single concise motion With his teaspoon he then stirred the cup counter clockwise four times The pure white of the cream swirled in the chestnut of the coffee to make caramel

After he lifted the spoon out of the mixture Senator Heathridge watched the liquid continuing to rotate for a few seconds before stopping He felt the heat of the coffee through the cup in his hand Then he set the spoon down on his napkin and lifted the coffee to his lips

He didnÆt drink but took a deep whiff of the thick steam that wafted upward from the coffee A smile spread slowly across his face as his nose parsed apart the different scents presented to it Then he sat the porcelain cup down on its saucer Truly even though Senator Heathridge hadnÆt taken a drink the quality of the beans was immediately obvious But the fact that he could tell the quality without a taste wasnÆt the point

When Senator HeathridgeÆs assistant heard the distinctive tinkling of the porcelain on the saucer she looked up at him and smiled Enjoying the coffee Senator

Of course Margaret Senator Heathridge said with a smile as he turned his attention back to the documents on his desk His assistant smiled shyly back at him and then returned to her own work Of course

The point was that it didnÆt matter whether or not he actually took a sip of the coffee the only thing that mattered was whether his assistant believed that he did That was a lesson that he learned from the knee of Randidly Ghosthound That was the power of image It was the power to make the impossible possible

ThatÆs how I can finally reach Randidly Ghosthound ThatÆs how I can slow him down

After moving his cup to the side the Senator stood and walked to the window Outside a gardener was trimming the hedges of a manicured courtyard All on the taxpayer’s dime of course When he moved his assistant looked up and made a pained face at him

Senator your plumber called again I believe he wants to set up a meeting to talk about your piping

Evan Crane called again eh It seems like he has noticed that Randidly will move soon as well but he still could be useful

See what his schedule looks like If he can move today tell him to meet me at my summer home Hopefully I can get the problem fixed before I need to entertain or IÆll be the laughing stock of Congress

His assistant nodded and turned back to type away at her terminal But the senator remained at the window watching the workmanlike movements of the gardener

Senator Heathridge had been fifty six when the System arrived Depending on who you asked Senator Heathridge possessed the good luck to have been transported into a Zone He hadnÆt been senior enough in the Senate at the time to have received word of the SystemÆs impending arrival beforehand but that didnÆt bother him much

In actual fact at most 5% of the individuals who knew what was coming lived through the initial month of chaos and bloodshed Meanwhile later statistical analysis indicated that the average individual had about an 8% chance of surviving through the first month It seemed that foreknowledge was one thing but that very knowledge had made people underestimate the threat that was to come

After all who would have truly believed what was coming would change everything as it did

Surprise brought with it the added benefit of caution So many of the powerful men who thought they understood would the System was had been butchered because of their arrogance Their deaths served as the first lesson Senator Heathridge had learned on his path to power

Despite the fact he was getting on in years Senator Heathridge had was motivated by ample ambition and an exacting practicality that saw him steadily rising in the ranks of the Senate while his more robust fellows left the board rooms and carried weapons to protect their families A necessary task but one that left a power vacuum in an already extremely depleted field Politics after all was an old manÆs game When the System decimated and confused most of his peers Senator HeathridgeÆs mind had seen it for what it truly was

An opportunity

As society struggled to stem the tide of monsters Senator Heathridge had surged into action He had almost beggared himself to send aid to the military the research industrial complex of East Providence and also the police forces across the Zone He had shipped out weapons and bullets by the tons But his contributions to the Zone didnÆt stop there

Through some less than ethical experiments on his underlings Senator Heathridge had quickly determined some of the more efficient avenues to Skills and Paths This he used to lead himself to his modest current Level of 41 but it was really the elites that Senator Heathridge nurtured that had shined for the longest time His first response team was the rock Zone 1 needed while they struggled against their Tribulation

The memory of that bloody fight had even a seasoned politician like Heathridge grimacing He turned away from the window and returned to his desk For several seconds he sat and pressed his eyes closed remembering the torn limbs and sobbing at the site of the confrontation

But they had one and most people in the know understood that Senator Heathridge had been instrumental in that success Theirs had been the first Village in the Zone and the good Senator had seen it successfully protected

For himself Senator Heathridge took some of the fertile lands South of East Providence as his estate in the aftermath The population wasnÆt high in that area at the time but the Senator had believed that the growing demand for food would quickly pull people into his agricultural ventures in the area In addition he spent quite a sum of money to build the only exo suit factories in all of Zone 1 He completely dominated that corner of the market

It had seemed like a golden goose that would never stop laying eggs

On the expedition into the Raid Dungeon every individual wore one of his exo suits And to the public Senator Heathridge seemed like the main power broker in Congress He only had a few dozen votes that he could control directly but he largely sat between the liberal and conservatives on most issues holding the deciding vote for himself In addition he was staunchly in support of businesses and had passed law after law to deregulate the entrance into industry after the SystemÆs arrival

He had seemed to be the most powerful man in Zone 1 And rather than savoring his success the Senator had pushed all of his money back into research to create an even more unassailable foundation for himself

But Senator Heathridge had made two mistakes that would ruin him Or at least bring him to his current precarious position

The first mistake was assuming that the current agricultural needs would be the same as they had been in the old Earth This had pretty obviously not been the case Even at the beginning there had been signs that the money that Senator Heathridge poured into industrial grade farming equipment was a mistake But he had reassured himself that even if the equipment turned out to have been a bad move the land would hold its value

The fertile land was supposed to have been his long term insurance But it had become almost immediately worthless

Senator Heathridge looked up from his desk Margaret did any mail come in for me

Yes of course Margaret got up and brought Senator Heathridge a manilla folder Should I open it

No itÆs fine This is a personal matter Senator Heathridge said with an easy smile Plus he had no desire for either of their DNA to be tied to the parcel Better to have Randidly Ghosthound open it directly with no other interference With great care the Senator lay the parcel down on the far side of his desk and returned to his bitter musings

With the System food could be grown practically anywhere in only a weekÆs time Fertile no longer held any real meaning Plus all of the labor intensive cultivation and care that a farm used to require was no longer necessary When it took about ten minutes a day to maintain a farm sizable enough to support an entire family all of Senator HeathridgeÆs agricultural investments quickly became sunk costs

His second mistake was in failing to predict the almost inevitable plateau of the effectiveness of exosuits Which Senator Heathridge privately believed could have been postponed somewhat if not for the direct interference of one individual Randidly Ghosthound

How long has he known about my efforts Senator Heathridge wondered as he leaned back in his chair How long has he schemed against me

Exosuits while individuals were low Level were extremely useful in boosting someoneÆs combat capability They required a high level of technical knowledge to create and maintain but the boost they gave to people from Level 20 40 was very real and useful The small number of sales that continued to trickle in was exactly individuals around that Level trying to boost their Leveling speed

Unfortunately around Level 40 peopleÆs bodies became just as powerful if not more so depending on an individualÆs Class than an exosuit that could be made with average materials There were exosuits made with high quality materials of course but they were precipitously expensive to make due to the many almost microscopic components that also needed to be made from difficult to work with materials

So they had considered scrapping the delicate components altogether But without the microscopic components that added the various functions an exo suit was just a suit of armor

Which Donnyton could make so much more cheaply and quickly

In addition the series of runic Engraving methods spread by Randidly Ghosthound quickly highlighted another weakness of exo suits if the components were destroyed suddenly they were reduced to suits of armor that required you to practically buy another exosuit in order to replace the broken part

The energy transference runes revolutionized the industry by making those sturdy shielding metals that usually protected the inner workings also function as a redundant method to code instructions into a machine Simple Engravings on the surfaces could vastly increase performance and also ensure that each piece of the suit would continue to function even if all the Engravings around it failed

Senator HeathridgeÆs people had made several mock ups of exo suits that were just armor with Engravings but he had quickly intervened personally and put a stop to that line of research If Senator Heathridge had gone that route he had no doubt that copycats would spring up like lice on a beggar to capitalize on the very cheap turn around of that method

As it was it hadnÆt yet occurred to anyone other than DonnytonÆs elite forges that such a thing could be done To Senator HeathridgeÆs relief Engravings were currently seen as something relatively expensive for drones or high end armor So there was still a market for the exosuits into which he had invested so much time and capital

But it was like building a huge shopping center and only having teenagers come to spend money Money was money but no one with any real money bothered to come They could get higher quality products elsewhere

Of course the true killing blow to Senator HeathridgeÆs influence came from Senator FireflyÆs rapid rise to power Although they had never really stood at odds with one another the mass rush of people to the Orchard quickly made Senator FireflyÆs constituency count for one tenth of the total population of Zone 1

When Senator Firefly spoke people listened

Worse Senator Firefly had moved very quickly to the liberal voting block and dragged quite a few of some of Senator HeathridgeÆs old allies with him With the votes at his disposal almost halved and the strength of the liberals growing Senator Heathridge had to choose either throwing his lot in with the conservatives or risk being written off as irrelevant

He had chosen irrelevancy After all he was quite deep in debt at this point and needed to first address the problem of funds before he could return to the zenith of his power

So Senator Heathridge had spent the last year struggling to maintain his reputation and desperately building up goodwill with some very key Senators in the various blocks While he truly had no real resources or support to give he maintained a facade of having his finger in a dozen different pots He regularly visited and spoke with the higher ranking individuals in Zone 1Æs military and industry to maintain an illusion of influence

For now it seemed to work But very soon the principle on his loans would come due he could only make interest payments for so long

So Senator Heathridge had found himself in a strange limbo It was true many individuals owed him favors And Senator Heathridge could utilize those favors at any time to get an edge in business and political dealings Yet it was a matter of leverage at this point

Because he had tied up so much of his money in the agricultural and exo suit projects that had practically turned to ash in his hands he had basically no money remaining to sink into other ventures to make back what he had lost Sure he could learn about buy outs and deals ahead of time by relying on his network He could probably even make as much as 50% profit in a few short months by being savvy about it

Yet what would his allies think when he was only able to spare a few thousand dollars toward projects that they each had sunk millions into They would undoubtedly wonder what motivation could Senator Heathridge have for offering such token support

At best they would assume it was done for political reasons to show outward support but the small monetary amount had been chosen to send a sharp sort of message to the recipient of how Senator Heathridge really felt about an issue At worst his contemporaries would sense something was amiss and might begin to investigate what was going on with him

And that is exactly what I cannot afford an investigation

Senator Heathridge could only stay the course He cultivated an insightful and circumspect persona to explain why he so rarely acted these days He became a passive force that traded on information Although his influence waned Senator Heathridge was able to maintain the long and intimidating shadow he had cast in the past

Behind the scenes Senator Heathridge had sent what little money he could to East Providence It was from that small amount he could spare that the happy discovery of the Cyclops Initiative originated but that would never be a source of revenue It was a weapon on the same scale of a nuclear bomb built on the SystemÆs principles But it didnÆt help him in the slightest re establish his credit

All the while he had been desperately looking for a cheap way to take control of a venture and develop a legitimate revenue stream that would breath life into the SenatorÆs financials That was why he had fixated on Erickson Steel Even while Randidly Ghosthound was away the company had a core group of technicians and engineers that produced an extremely high quality steel

Despite Senator HeathridgeÆs initial reluctance to involve himself in the workings of Randidly Ghosthound he couldnÆt deny the draw of the company Through some very meticulous research he was confident that he had been able to estimate the amount of revenue the business generated

The amount was staggering So much so that Senator Heathridge had checked his estimations several times before he believed it Sometimes it was easy to overlook the volume of steel that the company shipped out If he was able to take a controlling interest it would solve all of his problems at once So he had gotten involved with Evan Crane to act as his hands and began making life difficult for Erickson Steel

His initial nudged hadnÆt slowed the company down at all It had already built up too much momentum to be swayed by individuals Eventually Senator Heathridge was forced to reluctantly use some of his political connections to pass a few laws that would have severe repercussions for Erickson Steel while appearing to be about a completely different issue

At the time Senator Heathridge had considered it his nuclear option It was embarrassing to need to rely on law in order to curtail their activities In a way he had felt extremely bad for Erickson Steel

Yet even with those laws restricting them the company stoically endured For the first time the Senator was able to see why Evan Crane was so obsessed with the place So they went back to the drawing board and created an even more intricate plan to exert pressure on several fronts at once

And then Randidly Ghosthound had come back to foil every one of Senator HeathridgeÆs plots

Shaking his head slightly Senator Heathridge moved his untouched cup of coffee to the side and began to steadily sort through the papers he had gathered on his desk Present before him was all the information that could be gathered about Randidly Ghosthound Interviews news reports military briefings about his exploits signed business documents it was all there

Senator Heathridge had been studying it for days trying to predict how the man would respond when he used his prepared leverage against Randidly Ghosthound Would he get angry Would he grin and bear it and get revenge later

By now it was clear to Senator Heathridge that Randidly GhosthoundÆs goal was to make Erickson Steel the world capital of New Earth Honestly that outcome was extremely desirable for Zone 1 If it happened Senator Heathridge would find a dozen of ways to profit modestly So it wasnÆt as though the Senator wanted to prevent it

It was just that now that the Senator truly understood what Randidly wanted he could make the man pay for it To do any less would just be bad politics Knowledge was king in this world and Senator Heathridge finally had the edge of having nothing left to lose

But for some reason the SenatorÆs instincts were warning him of something So he had studied RandidlyÆs files again and again He had made several plans and back up plans to deal with the fallout He had even provided Evan Crane with an experimental exo suit that should make him the next best thing to invincible

Senator Heathridge hadnÆt known what he was looking for but he sure as hell knew what it was when he found it And honestly it was staring him in the face a request by Randidly Ghosthound himself to alter the wording regarding the legality of mineral extraction in their lease contract

Randidly Ghosthound planned on naming a world capital and then stealing it later

To what end Senator Heathridge didnÆt know But it was enough to know that the generous and charitable exterior that was shown to the public was not the true Randidly Ghosthound

So underneath what you seem to be what sort of man are you truly Senator Heathridge grinned at his files Then he made a call to his exo suit factory and prepared to make a trip to the Erickson Steel compound personally

Chapter 1032

Vye frowned down at the motes of green light that were floating out of the ground As though drawn by a weak magnet they began to drift toward her Why isnÆt anyone more worried about these Does anyone know what these are

Aldo the man who mimicked Randidly Ghosthound in all of the weird ways that didnÆt seem that important opened his mouth and bit down on one of the floating green lights After chewing thoughtfully for a second he said hesitantly It certainly seems to taste like the Ghosthound but IÆm not sure about the origin

You sir are an idiot Vye thought with a sigh She glanced around at the surrounding people who regarded the lights with little more than bemusement as the floated upward Although I guess its not like we havenÆt seen plenty of strange things but really To have no reaction at all If this was poison the entire Order would be fucked

The entire Order Ducis had been standing around at the East gate of the Erickson Steel compound for about five minutes when the motes of light began to float upward from the ground in unsteady waves These bits of soft light seemed to seep directly up out of the ground and drift through the air like motes of dust riding the air Even though it was almost noon the lights were bright enough to catch the eye Certainly they werenÆt natural

But when green lights started to rise out of the ground it was pretty clear that most people assumed it had something to do with Randidly Ghosthound Perhaps because of that Vye was torn between curiosity and a strange dread toward the many motes of light that floated upward around their group’s feet

After she had received her sub Class from Randidly Ghosthound she felt different Mostly in good ways but her growth had suddenly accelerated so much that she didnÆt trust the sensation Some part of her worried that she couldn’t accomplish her dream if she relied on someone elseÆs help like this

But finding something like this is exactly why I applied to join the Order right Vye grimaced at two motes of light that floated upward and merged into one larger bit of light before rising another meter and slowly dispersing into nothing DonÆt sabotage yourself now that itÆs actually happening

When she used the Rituals the resulting pain in her hand was now much less pronounced In addition it felt like the shape and extent of the Rituals was much easier to control Plus she already had the new Ritual Consume and had gained two Levels in the sub Class It was immediately clear that this would be of tremendous benefit to her growth

Relax and donÆt worry about avoiding the lights Naffur said lightly Although he had frowned just as much as everyone else when they had emerged from the ground his face eased up after a few minutes IÆd heard that Randidly was working on the final touches for the training area this morning and this is related to that No need to avoid them any longer those of you who have some extra energy DonÆt worry youÆll need it later Randidly Ghosthound will be arriving soon

That made everyone among the applicants for the Order Ducis share a worried glance Vye coughed into her hand and hoped that whatever Randidly Ghosthound had cooked up for them wouldnÆt be so brutal that she would feel guilty for what she had caused Yet somehow Vye sensed that it was a foolÆs hope she held in her chest

Now that Naffur had given the affirmation that the strange phenomenon wasnÆt dangerous Vye stretched out her hand and allowed several motes to soak into her fingers The motes of light themselves were similar in appearance to fireflies but were a slightly darker shade of green than the yellow green of the insects They were in fact almost forest green

As the motes touched VyeÆs hand she felt a sudden rush of warmth fill her fingers And that warmth

ItÆs the same feeling as his fire Vye muttered to herself as she stretched out her bandaged left hand and allowed some of the small motes to drift upward into her hand Although most of the pain had gone there was still a rather constant dull ache Very quickly that warmth began to wash away the lingering pain in her hand

Although admittedly part of that persistent pain might be because she had become more comfortable using the Rituals through her hand after the resulting pain had diminished and had overdone practicing a bit

For the next two minutes most of the Order Ducis participated in their own private experiments with the motes of light As it turned out the lights began to dim and dissipated after rising about three meters off of the ground so rather than a natural phenomenon many people began to suspect that it was radiation from something else

If individuals were near the motes drifted over toward them But otherwise they simply rose off the ground and dimmed to the point of invisibility Whatever energy had created them quickly ran out

The mood took on an even more relaxed tone after NaffurÆs statement indicated that the lights were related to the construction of Randidly GhosthoundÆs new project So although the phenomenon was strange everyone quickly accepted it as par for the course for Randidly Ghosthound

As his followers they simply needed to accept this sort of thing would happen quite a bit around him

Besides for the Order Ducis applicants this lull between training was a time where they didnÆt need to do anything It was a long awaited period of rest Combined with the rejuvenating properties of the motes of forest green light many people began to doze and ignore the lights continued mild attraction to their bodies

Which Vye believed was a mistake Because those people therefore didnÆt notice that the number of motes of light that was seeping out of the ground was gradually increasing

But just as Vye was noticing the shift in density among the lights Randidly Ghosthound appeared His eyes were somewhat hollowed and he seemed profoundly exhausted but he seemed to step out of the very ground and arrive before the grouping of them For several seconds the Order Ducis applicants who were paying attention seemed frozen in surprise Many people continued to doze without even noticing his arrival

Ahem Then with a deliberately soft noise Ajax coughed That familiar nudge had everyone who had endured his training leaping to their feet and preparing for the next threat

When they noticed that Randidly Ghosthound stood before them no one dared relax entirely

Despite his obvious exhaustion Randidly grinned at the assembled people Good everyoneÆs here For about a week of Dungeon time IÆm going to be personally accompanying you and overseeing your training so I hope youÆll be sure to show me your own strengths I will be passing on my thoughts on every individual to Naffur as my input for the remainder of the training camp So believe me now is not the time to slack off

Randidly scanned the group which was gulping as one at his words Vye included Her left hand clenched into a fist She thought for a second that their eyes met but Randidly seemed to be inspecting the entirety of the assembled individuals Despite the bags under his eyes there was a dense heaviness to his gaze that made Vye realize that this man truly was the source of the Image Stones

Even though heÆs just standing there why is there such a dense aura of images coming out from him Vye gritted her teeth And if she was feeling the vague sense of pressure from him she had no doubt that the rest of the applicants were struggling with the same thing

Ah one last thing Randidly said as he chewed on his lip Has everyone allowed some of the moss spirits to soak into their bodies Those green lights coming out of the ground Part of the new base will be a recognition system based on being touched by those light so be sure that plenty has soaked into you But if youÆve been standing here it should be sufficient by now

Then Randidly clapped his hands Alright follow me

True to his promise Randidly quickly led the group from the Order Ducis across the Western plains to a Dungeon that was only a thirty minute jog from the Erickson Steel compound Very quickly Randidly guided the entirety of the group into his party and entered into the Dungeon which was Level 29

Within Vye found herself standing in the middle of a warm golden field that looked very similar to the one that she just left Aside from the vegetation which possessed a strangely uniform and crystalline structure Reaching out Vye brushed the edge of the tall golden grass Rather than crystal it felt more like stone But it was definitely extremely cool and smooth

Vye looked around in wonder at the strangely perfect environment It was night in the Dungeon and the strange golden grass gleamed dully in the bright light from this worldÆs three moons overhead Vye wondered inwardly if they would be forced to break apart the delicate seeming ecosystem here in their training

But Randidly was already moving and Vye hurriedly joined the Order Ducis in following him away from the entrance to the Dungeon They encountered a few groups of monsters but Naffur Ajax and Madelyn ripped them to pieces without missing a beat Randidly didnÆt even acknowledge the attacks

Eventually the group arrived at a placid silver lake Randidly stopped and smiled at his reflection in the water then turned and faced the people who had followed him Rather than speaking however he shook his arm A looping band around his right arm that Vye had originally taken to be some sort of tribal jewelry straightened out and became a long and deadly looking spear

Immediately the air around Randidly became even heavier It was like some huge beast released a long and humid breath down over the assembled talent of the Order Ducis applicants

So we will start with some light sparing Randidly Ghosthound said easily No need to worry about fairness with my Stats IÆll have an advantage no matter how many people come at me at once But I suppose for demonstrationÆs sake letÆs start with you three

Randidly Ghosthound gestured to Naffur Ajax and Madelyn Each of them had different responses Naffur paled but bit his lips Ajax bowed deeply And Madelyn hopped from foot to scaled foot clearly overwhelmed with excitement Vye had her suspicions after overhearing Madelyn talk but it was clear that the lizard woman worshipped Randidly

Each of the three took a few seconds to ready themselves and then spread out around Randidly The Order Ducis applicants backed away to create a circle of space As if from some unspoken signal the air around each of the three began to ripple

Everyone watched with wide eyes It was clearly weaker than the images that Randidly could create they were all astounded to see that each could manifest a phenomenon in the air with just their will NaffurÆs was the strongest but both Ajax and Madelyn created a distinct feel in the air that seemed to indicate they were all on the right track

Ajax moved first With a roar he dashed forward toward Randidly with a long knife in each of his four hands Naffur seemed to become a ghost flitting side to side and rapidly closing the distance Madelyn raised her hands and condensed a spear of black light that she tossed toward Randidly

As the fight started Vye had the presence of mind to start counting Without relying on anything but his body and his spear Randidly Ghosthound began his counterattack

Two minutes and ten seconds later the bloody and unconscious bodies of those three were left to recover next to the placid lake as Randidly walked toward the rest of the ground and rubbed his neck Each body had been left in its own small crater after Randidly had forcefully caught up with them and smashed them into the ground

Ah looks like IÆm a little more mentally drained than I thought my images are all over the place Randidly shook his head and gestured sharply with his left hand Out of the ground hundreds of vines exploded upward and wove themselves together Vye blinked rapidly as a few seconds later seven human looking puppets made of woven roots stood holding roots in front of the people of the Order Ducis

Seriously donÆt stress too much about the results here I would be very impressed if you were able to beat me This initial spar is just to push you closer to your edge Randidly said easily But each word was heavy and ominous in this strange crystalline Dungeon Because this is what you will face in the future if you follow me Impossible odds in exotic locals This is where you will need to fight to save lives So show me how brightly your spirit can burn Let me see how much blood you can lose before you stop moving How much do you want this applicants to the Order Ducis Demonstrate your resolve to me and IÆll teach you how to become strong

As Randidly barred his teeth in overt threat at them the seven beings of vines began to stalk forward The applicants to the Order Ducis shivered

But one by one they raised their weapons and struck toward the root beings

What followed made Vye miss AjaxÆs training sessions

Chapter 1033

Randidly hummed in pleasure as he walked back toward the exit of the Dungeon with the limping group of the Order Ducis behind him They drifted behind him like silent listless ghosts Currently he was suppressing the strong urge to smile fondly back over them because they reminded him so much of how shell shocked and unresponsive he had been after some of ShalÆs more intense training sessions To see them now like this it certainly brought back memories of simpler times

But recalling those same simpler times made RandidlyÆs good mood diminish somewhat I did bear quite a few scars from those rough experiences but I should have been a gentler hand than Shal had been But also now the entirety of Tellus is moving to face the Fourth Calamity ThereÆs no telling what that means So Shal

We both knew that him stepping through the portal to face the SystemÆs challenge was dangerous but if that ends up being the last time we speak to each other

After leaving the Dungeon the empty and soulless bodies of the Order Ducis applicants were blown away by a stiff breeze Yet as they fled back toward their training compound for their meal RandidlyÆs eyes crinkled up at the corner You might think that compound is a safe haven now but how long will it be until you fondly remember your time with me in the Dungeon I wonder

Randidly spoke briefly to Naffur to inform him that Helen should be waiting back at the training compound In addition he provided a brief explanation about the areas that Wendy predicted would be definitely safeÆ as the area became mobile and the areas that Wendy thought should be safeÆ based on the geological information they had obtained Although the System definitely made individuals more powerful the whole of the Erickson Steel compound weighed thousands of tons

It would be a bit of a buzz kill if a portion cracked and fell off leaving the people who had been present on it reduced to a paste

After all the plan for the moving city called for a series of heavy steel girders underneath the area woven into a basket like shape because it was too difficult to make an entire solid surface underneath the area without affecting the buildings that were already situated above Honestly even Randidly was nervous for the initial movements of the project he had spent so much time working on over the past year of Dungeon time

In terms of image Engraving and materials he had exhausted himself for this And now it was finally coming together

But once the compound was finally lifted off the ground they would know rather quickly whether their preparations had been sufficient to handle the weight Wendy had driven herself half mad with calculations and simulations but still

I hadnÆt realized just how big of a thing I was doing by just imagining it working on the images and gathering the resources Randidly reflected as he moved off into the wild and untamed land that lay to the West of Erickson Steel But then when I went through the hassle of actually Engraving something that big

The Engraving itself hadnÆt been too difficult Randidly had refined and perfected both the pattern and the image in the prior few days But the actual work of going across all of the steel beams the different facilities the engine room the innumerable smaller legs the four larger legs

Over the course of the morning Randidly had spent six and a half hours just tracing the pattern over and over again maintaining a very exact amount of image in mind while he worked evenly across the entire sleeping behemoth Luckily he had scaled up the size of the pattern significantly so each individual portion was about the size of a dinner plate or else the work might have taken an entire week to finish

Even so Randidly was forced to alternate between the fingers of his right hand and even then each finger had been sore and twitching in the aftermath It was with an extremely bleary eyed visage that he had shown up to train with the Order Ducis applicants a week ago Perhaps that was why some of his initial trials with them were rather heavy handed

He just didnÆt have enough mental strength to wrangle his attacks to be anything other than wonÆt kill them probablyÆ levels

But that week of training gave Randidly almost everything he needed to prepare for his departure due to the Judgment For one he now understood generally the images and traits of the applicants to the Order Ducis From that Randidly had a pretty good idea of who about half of the finalists were likely to be All he needed to do now is make a few quick notes to give to Naffur explaining what he had found

In addition he felt refreshed after the rather relaxing level of exertion required to fight against these applicants to the Order Ducis They werenÆt necessarily weak but there was simply a huge difference in capabilities between him and the applicants even setting aside Stats RandidlyÆs Skill Levels had reached pretty ridiculous heights And the training had been reassuringly direct and simple after wresting with so many problems concerned with image and design for so long

It basically required no thinking it was glorious

Finally it had also given Randidly some time to talk to Naffur more concretely about what Randidly had in mind for the purpose of the Order Ducis And to be frank NaffurÆs studious seriousness had also cemented NeveahÆs choice of putting Naffur in charge of the Order as a stroke of genius Although Naffur lacked quite a bit of polish and pure physical ability he definitely possessed a burning desire to better the world and that had steered the Order right thus far

After arriving in a vast area of waving grass Randidly sighed and sat down Hopefully that determination endures as the threats become more difficult And as help becomes scant Ah I definitely need to wish him good luck before I actually leave

Then Randidly focused his attention inward and took stock of the Skill Levels he had managed to gather since spending most of the PP three fourths of the way through his time in the year long Dungeon With all the improvements to his images spells and production Skills Randidly had gained a little over 400 PP Which was in fact just enough to finish his Physique of the Grim Chimera Path

Congratulations You have completed the Physique of the Grim Chimera Path Some Paths leave in their wake a light effect on the body but others leave you irrevocably changed Such is the grim Path that you have walked that your body has been warped by the harrowing journey Although your shape is still human the roiling images inside of you have slowly begun to reinforce your very flesh They sap your humanity and replace it with steel and ash Your eyes glow with the inner fire of the furnace that now fuels you

It is unclear how much similarities you now share with those you once called fellow humans

Your Physical Statistics have reached the cusp of something great Although your humanity was sacrificed you have grown strong All Physical Stats +10 You have learned the Skill Catalyst of Agony Lvl 1

Catalyst of Agony By experiencing pain desire is crystalized Increases sensitivity to pain and Stamina costs for Skills in order to increase the effectiveness of those same Skills For every Skill Level sensitivity and Stamina costs increase by 2% Effectiveness increases by 5%

In addition please select one Physical Stat that will experience a mysterious evolution Warning choose wisely as this cannot be undone

Randidly released a long breath and offered the ground with a fragile smile I mean I cannot deny that IÆve moved pretty far away from the normal experience of people but to see that transformation addressed so directly itÆs sad I feel sad Lonely too I wanted power sure but I never wanted to be

But as the System notification had indicated Randidly wasnÆt sure what he was any longer He was trending a Path so that others could follow but the trick of this Path was he had to tread it first without any assistance

Shaking his head Randidly forced the air in his lungs out through his nose Despite the strange trepidation Randidly felt to see his own worries mirrored by the System notification now wasnÆt the time to dwell on his own existential problems Rather than that he needed to focus on the opportunity presented by finishing this Path

The Stat boosts were unimpressive but both the Skill and the notification about choosing one Stat held his attention Despite the rather annoying side effect of increasing his own sensitivity to pain Randidly didnÆt need to worry about Stamina costs at all these days His regeneration was so monstrous that even his very expensive to utilize Skills barely made a dent in it

If he could start forcibly increasing his power by spending more Stamina that was a trade he would gladly make

As for the mysterious evolution it seemed to imply that one of his Stats would be pushed to a higher Rarity form Yet the fact that it hadnÆt stated that directly gave Randidly pause In terms of his Physical Stats currently Agility was RandidlyÆs highest sitting just below one thousand It seemed logical that he should improve Agility then and experience the greatest benefit as each point in the Stat became more valuable

Yet Randidly frowned down at the ground

Rather than Agility he felt much more drawn toward upgrading his Preception In terms of the reason that he had been able to get this far it seemed to Randidly that Perception and his ability to understand a situation had served him much more valuable than his speed In addition his Skills already leaned toward speed Improving that further would transform Randidly into a force to be reckoned with but Randidly didnÆt think that was the Path that felt most natural to him

No to keep up with his monstrous Control he needed Perception

Of course none of it would have mattered if he didn’t have the capability to keep up with the information if the amount of information his brain received was enough to reduce him to a vegetable the upgrade would be a moot point And if he upgraded his Preception there was a very real possibility that he would exacerbate the growing difference between Perception and Reaction to the point that it was dangerous

But Randidly trusted his instincts And if he was going to face his Judgment Randidly truly believed that what he would need was the increased Perception to identify the threats of Nether rather than simply upgrading his Agility

Congratulations Your Perception is undergoing a mysterious transformation

Synchronicity detected Images resonating with the transformation the effect improves Isolating the highest resonance

The Grim Chimera raises its head and roars to the overcast sky The Maelstrom of Ash shudders beneath the force of its longing The weight of timeless persecution has greatly increased the effectiveness of the transformation

Congratulations Your Stat Perception has evolved into Grim Intuition Your ability to sense threats surrounding you has stretched beyond the limits of the physical realm With practice it is possible to discern the intent of others nearby just from their aura The sphere of detection around you greatly increases The power of the Grim Chimera settles into your body

Chapter 1034

The effect was immediate The air around Randidly suddenly felt thin and transparent His awareness blasted outward swirling around him like a maelstrom of invisible currents that swam and spiraled erratically as they dragged against monsters and landmarks that surrounded him

RandidlyÆs eyes flashed emerald Even though he wasnÆt relying on either Aether Detection or Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil to sense in the surrounding area he still now possessed a very detailed picture of the environment in the surrounding hundred meters So detailed in fact that Randidly couldnÆt help but shake his head wryly

Honestly itÆs good that I made this decision to pair it with my extremely high Control Otherwise it would be extremely difficult to manage all the information that is being fed into me from this new Perception I probably should also make sure to put some more points into Intelligence as well so I can parse apart all the signals that IÆm receiving

It became apparent very quickly that his new Grim Intuition was so good that it was somewhat overwhelming to be on the receiving end of it constantly But there didnÆt seem to be any way of diminishing it so Randidly would need to get used to it Taking long breaths Randidly stopped trying to handle each bit of information that flowed into him and simply rode the wave of sights and sounds

Some of the tension left his shoulders What is within without What is without within And now I can finally see both sides at the same time

The monsters seemed to be wreathed in bloody light The normal animals had the distinctive taste of dirt and plants hanging around them There were no people but Randidly anticipated that the aura he sensed from them would be the most complex of all

And this was just the normal examination When he would focus on people it was undoubtedly going to be even more difficult to maintain his focus Perhaps heading to a battlefield was exactly what he needed There wouldnÆt be any complicated layers of intentions for Randidly to peel apart there most people would just want to kill him

And what a relief it will be to not need to worry about all these forces conspiring against me Not even against me but against my company and the people IÆm trying to protect Randidly pressed his eyes closed and sighed All I will need to do is battle just like the training with the Order Ducis it will be a mental break thatÆs definitely needed IÆve been so focused on Engraving and images to strengthen myself for too long

RandidlyÆs temple twitched as an image sprung unbidden to the forefront of his mind

Lyra her violet eyes flashing her small fists clenched and pressed to her sides Her glare burning a hole in his forehead Demanding that he stop using the screen of necessity to avoid thinking about the things that he wanted

Yet sitting alone on the vast grasslands with his Grim Intuition swirling around him Randidly found an answer in his heart A heavy answer that he found in the Grim ChimeraÆs defiant roar to the overcast sky

After licking his lips Randidly spoke to the air with a lifted chin so his eyes were on the clouds as though he didnÆt want to see the words after they left his mouth I want to make sure no one has to become a monster as IÆve done to seize control of their own destiny I want to build a world where people will be safe

With a heavy sort of reluctance Randidly looked down at his own calloused hands Although he made some grand and self righteous statements about knowing how many lives he had ended or destroyed with his own hands that was hubris Randidly didnÆt know any longer how many beings he killed And he couldn’t avoid the knowledge that those many slain monsters were just desperate and starved individuals from worlds that had been consumed by the System

To grow as strong as he had he had feasted on the flesh of the dead He had consumed the corpses of heroes and even Patrons He had piled their bodies into a pyramid that he was now using to ascend toward the Nexus to demand the long owed blood soaked vengeance

Randidly blinked He reached up in wonder to touch his cheek When he pulled his hand away a glistening tear sat fat and useless on his finger Smiling bitterly Randidly flicked his hand away and discarded the tear itÆs not like I didnÆt know where I was heading even at the beginning Shal made sure I was very aware of what I was becoming But to look back at it all now No matter how many graves I dug along the Hallat it was nowhere near enough to hold all the lives that IÆve ended to get here

The Grim Chimera condensed next to Randidly in that field its limbs warped and twisted ItÆs one arm was a spear of bone and the other was a claw covered in dried blood Proud and defiant it roared to the sky Dark clouds began to gather overhead As Randidly stared intently at his images a crack of thunder and fork of lightning lit up the afternoon sky above them

Randidly reached out and touched the parchment like skin stretched over his imageÆs skull I told myself when you were formed that your physical appearance was because of the lingering touch of the Patron of Ash but that wasnÆt true was it

ooWaahh

Another bolt of lightning split the sky so close that the thunder arrived at the same time

You you look this way because this is what I think about myself About what IÆve become You are the monster IÆm afraid to see in the mirror

Shhaa

The thin skin around the skull of the Grim Chimera ripped underneath RandidlyÆs probing fingers A cool wind blew and pulled away the flaking skin in large chunks After thirty seconds enough skin had been removed that features began to come into focus But still more and more skin flaked and was pulled away

After a couple more gusts of wind a dark smudge of hair could be seen Then the clear shape of a nose Next was a sharp and prominent jaw covered by a short layer of stubble

Randidly reached up and gripped the flaking skin and simply tore the rest off sending dead cells flurrying outward like a sudden snowstorm Then he released a breath until his lungs were so empty they trembled

He looked at his own face staring stoically back at him The only difference between them was that the eyes were pure black like coal and the deep dark places hidden within the bowels of the Earth The Grim Chimera used RandidlyÆs face to smile viciously at him The teeth were gleaming and white and filled with hunger and violence

Randidly shivered Suddenly he was tired Far more tired than he had even been even after spending half a dozen hours Engraving over the whole of the moving city But this was not exhaustion that stemmed from his effort No this was something that originated from a truth that Randidly had spent quite a long time avoiding To face it after so long was a relief in a way but it also made all the distractions and justifications that Randidly had used to avoid facing this truth seem pointless

And nothing was more exhausting than futility

What do I want Lyra

I want to not have to do this Randidly said softly I donÆt want to be the one who needs to sacrifice himself in order to protect the Earth I donÆt Goddamnit But thereÆs just no one else

There was a ripple in the air and suddenly Neveah was there standing next to Randidly For a split second he froze horrified that she had come here now and seen the Grim Chimera for what it was not an imagined creature designed for power but the own true state of RandidlyÆs soul

But then Randidly brittlely smiled From Neveah hiding something like this was almost impossible Although they had both been too occupied by their individual tasks over the past several months each could read the otherÆs emotions So she had known Randidly had no doubt And now she was likely here to comfort him

Neveah kicked Randidly in the chest He was so surprised that after he was knocked to the ground Randidly spent several seconds staring up at the sky rather than getting back up

Neveah came and crouched next to him Her bone teeth clicked together as she shook her head ItÆs a hard truth what violence has done to you But donÆt go getting all mopey when I was born like this Neveah pointed to her skull of stark bone with a maw lined with razor sharp teeth that she had inherited from the Bone Wyrm Ever since I came into the world this is the only face that has been truly mine does that mean IÆm a monster

Sighing Randidly got to his feet and rubbed the back of his head I suppose itÆs too much to expect that you came here to comfort me IÆm sorry youÆre right IÆve been hiding this truth from myself but you

No that is exactly why IÆm here Neveah took a step forward For a second Randidly thought he was going to receive another kick but instead Neveah spread her bony and horned arms and pulled him into an embrace When he gasped in surprise he smelled the scent of peat and rot wafting up from her it seemed her work in the Toad world hadnÆt ceased

Neveah pulled back to an armÆs length away and regarded Randidly steadily Know that you will never be alone again when you face your demons We are bound Randidly Ghosthound Never forget that And because we are bound remember this that girl child Lyra was more insightful than you give her credit for Because no matter how monstrous you look it is not our forms that define us It is our desires

Randidly clenched his hands so hard that his metallic limb began to emit groaning complaints And what does it say about me that my deepest desire is to cast aside all the momentum IÆve built up and shirk the responsibility I bear

That was your fear talking Neveah leaned forward and butted her head sharply against RandidlyÆs Randidly was rather annoyed by how much it hurt When you hide away your internal fears so long is it any wonder they warp your desires Do not take it to heart I know your desires just as well as you do And it is not to run away from the monsters that rule this fucked up System

Randidly felt it too at that moment Even when he had faced that image of his own monstrous actions in the past he had not cried or mourned Perhaps that made it even worse but what he had pictured was himself using those broken and rotten bodies to build something

Something that would let him strike back

For several seconds they stood like that with their heads resting against each other Randidly closed his eyes I donÆt know what I would do without you you know We donÆt interact much but when I need you

You would have died without me Many times Neveah said bluntly She leaned back so their foreheads were no longer touching A strangely guilty expression came across her face Of course I cannot deny that IÆve uh also caused you a fair share of problems

Randidly grinned at her as he recalled her using his own body to become engaged to a pop singer IÆm glad that I didnÆt need to be the one to bring it up ItÆs good to see you have grown enough to own your mistakes

Hmph Well I have learned by watching you to be fair Then Neveah shook her head Also I wanted to be here in person just to say goodbye I do not know what this Judgment will mean but IÆm worried If something were to happen to you

I know Same with me Randidly punched NeveahÆs arm lightly So be careful with the Toad world while IÆm gone Whatever exists in there its control of Aether is sublime Even for you who has such an instinctive understanding of Aether it will undoubtedly be dangerous

Heh IÆve actually learned much by studying the Aether of that realm Neveah said smugly You may be able to create letters with the Aether to cause your will to persist but in terms of shaping raw Aether none can match me Not even this shadowy toad

Randidly smiled but didnÆt bother to call Neveah out on her boast There didnÆt really seem to be any point Instead Randidly began to stretch So for old times sake since IÆll be heading away soon maybe a little light exercise

Truly while IÆve been gone youÆve become cocky IÆve learned many Skills in the Toad World IÆm no longer simply a powerful juggernaut Watch as I run circles around you with my finesse Neveah cracked her bony knuckles

Barring his teeth Randidly said ThatÆs exactly why I want to fight you Show me what youÆve learned Do you think I havenÆt grown IÆve spent a year in a Dungeon ItÆs time to teach you a lesson for relying on your raw Stats to bully me in the past

Perhaps because she had inherited the body of a Raid Boss Neveah had always had Stats that were truly mind boggling Even though RandidlyÆs growth in that area was monstrous she was likely four hundred or so Stat points ahead of him in Strength Vitality Endurance and Resistance Attacking her felt like a normal person using his barefoot to try and cut down a tree

But with the completion of his Physique of the Grim Chimera Randidly wanted to test how his new body and Grim Intuition felt in battle Plus his new Skill Catalyst of Agony would slowly help Randidly narrow the gap between their physical capabilities if he could gain some Skill Levels

With an almost regal sort of pride the long and bare wings of bone spread out from NeveahÆs broad back Fine then Let me remind you of the difference between us

Randidly shook his head YouÆve spent too much fucking time pretending to be a Demon King

Then they both moved and the ground around them shuddered and buckled like a collapsing building

Chapter 1035

Tatiana blinked at RandidlyÆs rather disheveled appearance as he stumbled into her office After setting down the fork with a perfectly portioned bite that featured selections of her medium rare steak onions and baked potato Tatiana pushed her chair back and stood She walked hesitantly over toward him

At her behest Randidly had worn something close to a suit to go train the Order Ducis recruits Tatiana had given a persuasive speech to him about the power of the image and how people would more readily believe he could accomplish the impossible if he looked put together So rather bemusedly Randidly had worn an expensive set of leather armor Tatiana had recommended over his personal equipment

Now that armor looked like a pinata in the wake of a six year old lumberjackÆs birthday party

While seeing Randidly so covered in mud and gore was rather off putting that wasnÆt the reason why Tatiana felt the sudden need to set her dinner aside No what immediately grabbed her attention was a strange heaviness that came into the room when Randidly had arrived Something was off Ah is something wrong

Turns out Neveah is a sore loser Randidly chuckled and the heaviness immediately lessened Drips of blood fell from a long gash across his shoulder and landed on TatianaÆs carpet He raised his right hand awkwardly toward his right shoulder while emerald fire began to dance across his fingers His own flesh mirrored RandidlyÆs mouth in hissing as he pressed his flaming hand to the wound but when he pulled his hand away the gash was gone

With a great sigh Randidly collapsed onto TatianaÆs impossibly expensive werewolf leather couch Some of that strange moodiness returned This time Tatiana was sure it wasnÆt her imagination she could actually see the lights in the room dim as RandidlyÆs mood turned sour

I see Tatiana resigned herself to having the couch professionally cleaned later More important issues to focus on right now So are you alright It looks like someone dropped a mountain on you

Like I said sore loser After a brief smirk RandidlyÆs expression transformed to become extremely serious How was the reaction to the moss spirits

Moss spirits thatÆs what they were Tatiana reminded herself She cleared her throat Well quite positive considering the rather sudden arrival of them Per your instructions the workers for the governmentÆs lodgings were escorted away from the affected areas The guards we used to keep tabs on them were rotated so they were each touched by the moss spirits Plus when people realized that the spirits healed wounds they took to gathering as many as possible It became something of a game

Heh that will have interesting effects Suddenly RandidlyÆs good cheer was back He straightened leaving dried blood and dirt smeared on the couch After a long stretch he asked Tatiana another question that gave her pause

By the way what do people think of me

Due to the strange tremor in RandidlyÆs tone Tatiana considered her response carefully She looked at his shoulders as he faced the wall ostensibly to examine the impressionist painting of a horse on the salt flats Tatiana had recently added to her office What do you mean

The people The workers IÆve pushed them and pushed them and IÆve done things for them that might be impossible IÆve been trying to impress them on purpose to keep them motivated but I canÆt help but wonder what that makes these people think Especially with my images Yggdrasil and the Grim Chimera those are things of fantasy I can easily imagine that people would begin to doubt if IÆm even human

For several seconds Tatiana stared at RandidlyÆs back Strips of leather armor and flesh had been flayed away and hung limply from his back For several seconds she couldnÆt find an answer The heavy air pressed against her chest keeping even her from sucking in a breath to speak Gritting her teeth Tatiana forced the words out FameÆs a weird thing isnÆt it Sometimes it can feel like your life isnÆt really your own

Yea I suppose thatÆs right Randidly replied lightly And to TatianaÆs relief some of the pressure around her dissipated

She took several breaths struggling to remain as quiet as possible so he didnÆt notice Even if you stay the same people start to treat you differently Because you are a famous actor a rock star a CEO and now a monster slayer ThatÆs just the sort of culture we live in People love to put someone up on a pedestal And toward you they think you are a hero To many you are They found homes and lives working for you so

Honestly its not the fact that people have begun treating me different that bothers me Randidly replied quietly while still facing the painting IÆm just starting to wonder at how much IÆve really changed over the past five years

Five years Is that how much time has passed for him since the System arrived Tatiana wondered With Dungeons it is a little hard to keep track but the fact that the time he spent is close to double the actual time itÆs no wonder heÆs so far ahead of us How does he avoid Aether Sickness

Randidly if you ever need to talk IÆm perfectly willing to listen Tatiana began but Randidly waved his hand and turned around Abruptly all the pressure in the room was gone

No itÆs nothing like that In fact IÆm actually in a good mood Sparring against Neveah really cleared my mind I was just curious I guess Randidly said with a beaming grin His emerald eyes were as luminous and clear as a moss lined pond in a rainforest But IÆm going to head to the engine room Have everyone prepare for some light growing pains as we get everything started

Of course Tatiana replied dutifully Then she bit her lip She wanted to press again about that strange weight that had hung around Randidly but some part of her hesitated But as RandidlyÆs friend and subordinate she needed to do this So she opened her mouth

And the words that came out completely missed the issue altogether so what are we going to call it This new facility youÆve been building

Ah about that IÆm glad you asked ItÆs not just the facility we will be an entire city now Randidly scratched his cheek ItÆs a little on the nose but we will be Kharon

Tatiana narrowed her eyes Kharon That sounds familiar

Randidly walked toward the door and waved his hand Kharon who grants passage across the River Styx in Greek mythology The ferrier between worlds The bridge to impossibility Be prepared Tatiana because thatÆs what we need to be

And then he was gone Leaving Tatiana with her regrets and her cooling dinner

Sighing Tatiana walked over to the wall and pulled down the impressionist painting After a guilty glance around she cracked the frame and shredded the painting within

Seeing Randidly spend so long looking at it she had abruptly become aware of how tacky it was But it did bring her quite a bit of pleasure to destroy something on which she had spent quite a bit of money

At the core of Kharon was the powerplant that made all of the facilities possible on a mobile platform It was the masterwork of an extremely overworked Wendy who sat with a rather numb and blank expression as she stared at Randidly What do you mean I need to go back before you turn it on ItÆs my engine

They were standing on a steel walkway around the cylindrical column that was the core of the reactor Around them was a vast chamber designed to house the powerful ambient energy that the impressive engine Wendy designed would throw off Even though the walkway they used to arrive here was lined with dim lights so they didnÆt fall off into the depths of the spherical energy housing chamber the vast darkness was incredibly oppressive

For now the heart of Kharon had yet to experience its first beats And Wendy had been positively tingling with excitement to see those moments

Sighing Randidly shrugged rather helplessly I have some guests who are coming this way Some very confused and foolish people I expect things will get violent So itÆs better if you return to the Alpha Cosmos for now

I will seriously burn this all down Wendy fumed She fumbled in her pocket for several seconds and produced a miniature blow torch A bright blue triangle of flame flickered to life in front of the nozzle as Wendy looked defiantly at Randidly

He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender Wendy thereÆs no need for that And we both know that itÆs pointless Kharon is built of stone and steel anyway what will you burn down

Your fucking ego Wendy fumed She waved her torch back and forth to demonstrate how seriously she took this issue Then I guess IÆll melt the inner wall of the reactor

You would burn down something you spent so long to build Before you even turn it on

IÆm staying Wendy said aloud through gritted teeth forcing her voice an octave downward so she sounded more authoritative

Their eyes were locked for almost thirty seconds RandidlyÆs expression softened fine But donÆt say I didnÆt warn you

Wendy kept her blow torch lit for several more seconds to make sure he was serious about the capitulation Then she directed a surly grimace his way and deactivated the torch As she did so she grumbled at him If these guests are so dangerous why do we need to wait for them to arrive Just start the damn thing up now and the whole city will run away from them

IsnÆt there something cathartic about the first action this city takes being an exorcism of the demons that covet its image Randidly said with a smile Then he patted one of the steel walls IsnÆt that right buddy

vvmm

A pattern of light in the shape of a closed eye danced across the walls as the entire room rumbled Where there was once vast darkness for a split second they seemed to be standing at the center of a vast sphere of forest green light Wendy paled and took several steps backward T that is what you spent so much time working on

Yup Wendy despised how smug RandidlyÆs expression was but she couldnÆt deny that her first sighting of this mysterious project that consumed him was certainly impressive But she wouldnÆt put it past him to have made it extremely showy in order to demonstrably outdo her own contribution to the city

Randidly continued to speak while WendyÆs thoughts simmered dangerously Plus they snuck into the Erickson Steel compound when there was supposed to be a complete blockade someone let them in It wonÆt get rid of the problem of them tracking the city completely but kicking those couple of people who helped them out will be a good start

Ah so itÆs a trap You have people watching them Wendy asked disinterestedly Instead she walked over the wall and knocked experimentally against it To her deep satisfaction no impressive phenomena manifested As I thought Randidly is crafiter than I thought

Actually no but my area of observation grew quite a bit recently Randidly replied Plus like calls to like their greed will resonate with the people who are supporting them With that it will be pretty easy to sweep out all of the low hanging rotten fruit

Wendy opened her mouth to ask how that worked but Randidly raised a finger to his lips and pointed toward the end of the hallway Along a suspended catwalk that connected the main core of the engine to the outside world three people were approaching

They came cautiously at first hesitantly moving through the darkness where only their path forward was visible But when they neared the bright white light that was shining from the terminal screen of the reactor core their steps lengthened with purpose

I believe introductions are in order Randidly said in a booming voice The reverberations echoed out the wide inner chamber designed to capture and harness the radiation from the core with such efficacy that wondered how many joules of energy RandidlyÆs voice contained The three figures stopped in their approach

Wendy shivered Standing next to Randidly Ghosthound she suddenly felt extremely hot Sweat trickled down her back He seemed to be burning more energy than even her reactor could produce

Evan Crane Just a fan of your work Mr Ghosthound The right figure said It was difficult to distinguish his features through the strange suit of armor that he was wearing But a casual glance was enough for Wendy to distinguish that there were strange components functioning behind the scenes Her fingers itched for the chance to dismantle it

Chuck Ballard head inspections officer for the area in which Erickson Steel operates The gruff man on the left said He folded his arms and stared off toward the intricate runes and mechanisms that covered the wall of the outer reactor chamber It seemed that one had a vision Skill of some sort

And IÆm Senator Cliff Heathridge Truly what a pleasure to meet you here Randidly The middle figure said warmly

Wendy winced as the heat whirling around Randidly intensified IÆm sorry gentleman but it appears that you are lost This is for authorized personnel only Please let me escort you out of here

That wonÆt be necessary Mr Ghosthound The man who introduced himself as Senator Heathridge said with a sad smile Or at least we must simply insist that you accompany us in leaving You are wanted on suspicion of illegally importing underpriced Zone Seven materials and passing it off as ore youÆve managed to extract with your mineral rightsÆ in the area Considering all the recent excavation work youÆve done

Senator Heathridge idly examined the gleaming steel reactor in which they stood we have quite a few questions for you

Chapter 1036

Randidly blinked Well thatÆs certainly not what I was expecting

IÆve gone over your shipping manifests for the last several weeks Item by item and certainly the confusion because of the peculiar status of Erickson SteelÆs import and export process makes it quite the hassle to track everything flowing into and out of your company but did you really think you would be able to explain away the sudden surge in production by hastily adding a provision about mineral extraction to our deal

The extra volume of materials was extracted from a Dungeon I assure you Randidly said rather dryly After his own internal crisis about how other people viewed him this accusation of interzone trade violations felt rather surreal Although he could understand the SenatorÆs confusion Randidly had spent a year within the Dungeon harvesting with his Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil and even then he wouldnÆt have been half as effective without his Riders

Randidly had come back to Earth with hundreds of tons of metal and rare wood For someone who wasnÆt aware of the mind boggling amount of Skills that Randidly possessed it made sense that they would assume foul play

But what Randidly couldnÆt understand he narrowed his eyes as he looked at Senator Cliff Heathridge The manÆs silver hair and almost apologetic smile were invalidated almost completely by the sinister aura that was wafting away from him To RandidlyÆs Grim Intuition it was clear that this man wasnÆt here to peacefully arrest him for violating an import law He stunk like trash left in the sun for a week

So why are you really here

RandidlyÆs eyes flicked sideways to Evan Crane This one he knew This was that peculiar individual who coveted Erickson Steel But already Randidly could tell that being present while he unleashed his focused image for the future of this city had deeply affected the man Honestly if he hadnÆt come to confront him with such a sinister figure Randidly would consider allowing the man to stay

Because it was clear that if the rot was removed from Evan CraneÆs heart what he possessed was a genuine appreciation and admiration for Erickson Steel

As for the third person

Randidly didnÆt recognize him at all although based on his title it seemed he was involved in Erickson SteelÆs business Briefly Randidly considered sending Tatiana a message to ask about him but it really didnÆt seem like it was worth it This wouldnÆt take long

It was a small diversion to draw out the flaws in Erickson Steel Nothing more

Mr Ghosthound if I may Chuck Ballard drawled IÆve enjoyed my time working with Tatiana immensely SheÆs a good enough girl to handle business while you are away but really business like this should be done between equals like us LetÆs not think about this as an arrest just a chance to share a meal and work out the finer details of where your materials are coming from

Even through the complex exosuit he was wearing Evan CraneÆs smile was vicious Believe me no matter how staunchly you believe your customers will remain their mood will shift very rapidly when the entire company is disgraced You will be ruined

Chewing his lip Randidly considered Evan for several seconds When RandidlyÆs attention was focused on him the manÆs shoulders bent like he was enduring a great weight But then Randidly turned back to the central figure I donÆt have much time to play what is it that you want

Mr Ghosthound Senator HeathridgeÆs teeth were pearly white as he beamed at Randidly IÆm only doing this because I admire you all I want is to be partners

Senator Heathridge took a step forward along the metal catwalk The closer he was able to get to Randidly Ghosthound the easier his fallback plan would go His eyes briefly focused on the small woman next to Randidly Not a threat His focus pivoted back to the young man with burning emerald eyes Fine then letÆs bare our hands The trick you pulled with the mineral extractionÆ clause was a work of genius Two goals accomplished simultaneously by an innocuous and understandable request Were you inspired by the floating city of the Royal Sea DonÆt try and play coy I know exactly what your plan was

Over the past several months youÆve been making connections with various political factions Bargains with Zone Seven to act as an intermediary to fence their raw materials is just the tip of the iceberg All to leverage your connections at the World Summit in a few weeks and nominate Erickson Steel as the new world capital

And when people complain about its location you will have the perfect response that it can become mobile I know that your mineral rights wasnÆt just a method to fudge the numbers on your imports it was also a justification for when you will eventually take away the entire city and break the deal with the Zone 1 government But at that point what could they do You would house the world capital They will be nothing for you

Senator Heathridge took several more steps forward along the dimly lit catwalk measuring Randidly Ghosthound with his eyes Before the System arrived the Senator had always prided himself on being able to tell what sort of person someone was with just a glance It was his secret ability that saw him rise from an aide to a Senator himself

Yet now when he looked at Randidly Ghosthound

Nothing He feels nothing

The smile on Senator HeathridgeÆs face grew forced He raised his voice as he continued to walk forward Such a large ambition you have Mr Ghosthound Truly do you think you can keep it all to yourself All we want is a piece of the pie To relocate some of our own business interests to Erickson Steel and obtain shares in the city For that we will ignore your import transgressions and even throw our support behind you at the summit

We all desire the same thing Mr Ghosthound LetÆs do this civilly Trust and partnership are the foundations of any great venture So what do you say Senator Heathridge barred his teeth Behind him he could hear Evan CraneÆs extremely loud breaths echoing in the vast chamber around them

The question hung in the air for almost a minute Senator HeathridgeÆs eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to press the issue but he found that he couldnÆt Blinking rapidly the Senator also realized that he couldnÆt even move let alone breath He was frozen in place by RandidlyÆs emerald gaze

ItÆs not that Crane is a hapless mouthbreather Senator Heathridge realized in horror HeÆs struggling to breathe even with the help of the exosuit

Then Randidly Ghosthound laughed abruptly breaking all of the tension in the room Senator Heathridge gasped and staggered backward Swaying on his feet his face flushed with blood Fine then we do it the hard way

If you refuse to go peacefully we will force your hand No one wants that Senator Heathridge spat out Least of all you

You have no idea what I want Cliff Randidly grinned at him The flush on Senator HeathridgeÆs face deepened

Everyone else may think you are an invulnerable warrior and a masterful inventor Senator HeathridgeÆs chest heaved But IÆve been too long in politics not to recognize what you are a charlatan A little bit of illusion magic from Zone 32 the right sort of timing and tone to your persuasive speeches and suddenly you can make people believe anything But although the world has changed one thing remains the same people are still people They are WEAK

Senator Heathridge balled his hands into fists GREASY

He took a step forward and jabbed his finger toward Randidly Ghosthound who continued to watch the trio in amusement dancing through his emerald eyes and FLAWED You are no different You arenÆt better than any of us In fact I expect to find some very sordid secrets when we finally pry away the glamour with which youÆve shrouded yourself

Randidly didnÆt respond at all His eyes seemed to gleam as he continued to watch Senator Heathridge

Senator Heathridge opened his mouth before Randidly could conjure that strange weight again Evan Crane ItÆs time to demonstrate that we mean business

The servos on CraneÆs exosuit hummed to life Moving with purpose Evan Crane shouldered past the other two men and strode toward Randidly Ghosthound The extremely small and slight woman next to Randidly took a step forward looking toward Crane with interest But Randidly Ghosthound damn him simply laughed again

Actually this is perfect IÆve wanted to have a test run of this YouÆll be my guinea pigs Time to wake up the heart

Senator Heathridge was trembling in fury as Randidly turned away and pressed a few buttons on the terminal A low yellow glow began to shine out from some of the glass windows to whatever was within that tall cylinder

Although most of his outward expression of emotion was a front to cause Randidly to underestimate them at its core was a thread of truth Because Heathridge always instinctively knew when one of his accusations had hit the mark No matter how good of an actor someone was there was always a flinch when something struck too close to home

But since they had arrived nothing had phased Randidly It was like this was a fucking game to him

Roaring Evan Crane sped up to a dash With all the grace and momentum of a freight train he careened down the metal walkway toward the core area where the two figures were standing But as Crane began to accelerate the entire building shuddered The yellow light grew brighter and then turned white And when Senator Heathridge looked around he realized that strange lines were flickering to life along every surface

Senator Heathridge paled Those are Engravings But the size

Crane Stop ItÆs a trap Heathridge yelled but it was too late Crane had built up too much momentum And what was even more aggravating was that it appeared his shouted line set Randidly to laughing so hard that he slapped his knee in amusement

After the Engravings surged to life motes of forest green light began to shoot out from every surface and gather in a huge ball directly in Evan CraneÆs path Rather than slow down Evan Crane activated the Meteor Impact function that was the culmination of two yearÆs work for Senator HeathridgeÆs design team The entire exosuit began to glow cherry red and radiate waves of ghostly flames

Those motes of light congealed into a two meter tall golem that seemed to be made entirely of moss It released a deep trumpet noise and took a step forward to meet Crane

Senator Heathridge felt a strange flash of fear All of this was happening too fast If Evan Crane was defeated now while he still had the documents on his person

But when the exosuit hit the golem the golem was blasted into motes of light ones more In fact it was so sudden that Evan Crane decelerated as he almost tripped in shock Then the man straightened and raised his fist

Ha Did you think you could stop me Crane bellowed He leapt up into the air and raised his hands over his head

Yet Senator Heathridge could only pale as he realized that the motes of light werenÆt dispersing More and more were congregating As Crane arced through the air the motes swirled up faster than the eye could follow and formed four more moss golems around CraneÆs flying form With their large hands they quickly latched onto the exosuit

Get the fuck off me Evan Crane roared With sharp movements he began to systematically lash out and rip away the limbs that had seized upon him in his travels Which meant that he was distracted by the fireflies buzzing around him while missing the moon of forest green energy that was forming above RandidlyÆs head

That moon rippled and spread becoming an arm as long as a skyscraper was tall ItÆs comically large fingers clenched into a fist So when Crane had finished dealing with the moss golems around him he turned to face forward and was smashed in the nose by an enormous fist Even with the exosuit the impact was enough to cause his bones cracked and send blood gushing out of his mouth

Chuck Ballard rushed forward to hastily catch CraneÆs broken form Some of CraneÆs blood spattered all over the man but it was at least clear that Crane was still alive

You really dare resist arrest We arenÆt just uniformed cops We represent the will of Zone 1 Do you really have what it takes Senator Heathridge said quietly His mind was rapidly calculating That sort of Engraving if it was over the whole of the area Randidly Ghosthound could have the entire world capital under his complete control if he accomplished his scheme

A vision of this one man ruling the Earth came to Senator Heathridge Those emerald eyes seemed to rip right through the Senator and see that future Heathridge bit his lip so hard that it bled

I donÆt think a relationship with Zone 1 is very healthy any longer Randidly said lightly If someone like you is respected here I fear that the rot is a little too deep to be easily dealt with

Fine then Time to shift to Plan B Senator Heathridge looked sharply behind him Crane Do you have the papers

Of course Crane managed to mumble From his interspatial watch he produced a manila folder and weakly gave it to Chuck Ballard The foolish man blinked

WhatÆs this

Open it Senator Heathridge urged as he produced an object from his own interspatial watch We donÆt have much time

I fine Chuck Ballard nervous and shaky from having his hands slick with someone elseÆs blood did as he was bid He pulled out the papers and covered them with his bloody fingerprints His eyes unfocused as he scanned through the front page Suddenly he frowned This

Senator HeathridgeÆs Mana reinforced bullet took the man between the eyes He was dead before he hit the perforated metal of the catwalk Releasing a smile Senator Heathridge allowed him a satisfied smile of victory Yet when he turned around to regard Randidly Ghosthound the other man was simply puzzled

YouÆll soon come to regret remaining so passive Now IÆve got you right where I want you

Senator Heathridge barred his teeth You wonÆt be able to maintain that expression for long Mr Ghosthound Especially considering the fact that the contract in his dead hands outlines a deal that includes the signatures of you our newly deceased Chuck Ballard and agents from Zone Seven

And now his brain matter is spattered across the deal Was Chuck Ballard having seconds thoughts about betraying his nation for money Is that why he came to you to renegotiate his involvement and you had to kill him Truly you are a man whose thirst for power knows no bounds

Senator Heathridge laughed long and loud And the only way to hide your sordid deeds would be to kill both Crane and I Was that why you used your superweapon to strike him down But IÆm a Senator IÆve made it known that I was coming here tonight Not only would you need to endure the investigation that would follow my death but do you think your dream of having this place become the World Capital can live through an extremely high profile unsolved murder So you can kiss

A heavy moss golem hand settled on Senator HeathridgeÆs shoulder silencing him As had happened before Senator Heathridge couldnÆt move at all

You Randidly said simply Are an idiot Goodbye Cliff I hope we wonÆt meet again But I will give you one last gift The name of this city itÆs Kharon I have a feeling that you will be one of the ones that cannot stop chasing it

Then Randidly Ghosthound turned away from him and began to touch the strange pillar of engravings behind him

Finally I was getting pretty bored No more initialization letÆs go at full power The cheery voice of the woman next to Randidly struck Senator Heathridge dumb Why why doesnÆt he even care His image the public perception

But before Senator Heathridge could do or see anything else he was pulled up by one of the moss golems Two more grabbed Crane and Chuck BallardÆs corpse and spirited them away through the maze of tunnels underneath the Erickson Steel compound All the while the hum of an engine grew louder and louder behind them

After about five minutes they were carried out of a secret door and into the nearby forest Without any warning they were unceremoniously deposited on the ground The moss golems took a step back but remained nearby with folded arms To Senator HeathridgeÆs horror when he looked around to get his bearings all of his agents were also present and looking miserably at each other Even some of his agents that he hadnÆt activated to sneak into Erickson Steel today How

A dull rumbling interrupted him When he twisted around the ground a few meters behind the moss golems was buckling Trees beyond that line trembled and swayed Like a piece of cake being lifted the edges ripped as the area around Erickson Steel lifted higher and higher away from the ground First a few inches then a dozen then a full meter

Dirt by the handful fell away as the ground lifted away revealing a strange brass disc that had been buried just below the surface from the ground As Senator Heathridge watched with wide eyes the continued rise revealed that every few meters from that upper ring thick bars of steel stretched downward even deeper into the ground

The only problem was the fucking scale of the portion being lifted up and away To Senator HeathridgeÆs eyes it was a flat line it was so wide he couldnÆt grasp the edge of the curve

And then a gleaming steel talon slithered up out of the ripped portion of ground and grasped onto the solid ground that was being left behind Very quickly it became taut with tension as it helped pry the huge piece out of the ground Stones rattled and fell as bits of soil were dislodged and left behind Thin roots poked out of the exposed ground ripped out of the soil that wasnÆt currently being moved

ItÆs not just the Erickson Steel compound Senator Heathridge thought in horror How much land are they planning on taking

Hundreds of more legs surged out and assisted until the ground being removed seemed to be only partially land and partially a vast metallic spider Very quickly the height of the rising land increased from one meter to three The moss golems dissipated into motes of light and returned to the compound sinking right into the soil exposed between the steel support beams and brass discs

Almost a zombie Senator Heathridge swayed and stepped up to the edge of the rising land He hesitantly reached out and to touch one of the metal legs but as soon as he came near it pulled away Then as one they all retracted back into a thin steel ring that became visible as the land was pushed higher and higher Senator Heathridge leaned back and looked upward By now it must have reached almost five meters

The ground in front of Senator cracked and disintegrated forcing him to take several steps backward before he could get a more accurate grasp The wall of soil and stone in front of him continued to ascend More and more silt and loose earth tumbled down Then there was a noise like a giant releasing a gasp and the ground lifting up out of the ground began to taper inward

And in that moment Senator Heathridge could look down into the huge crater in front of them while the huge shadow cast by this rising city began to swim around the abandoned people who watched the city Kharon move Always the city was rising moving farther and farther away

And then Senator Heathridge could see underneath the bottom to the other side of the crater where the sun illuminated a messy slope of shattered stone and gravel Even now it was difficult to grasp what was happening Because the amount of space

And at the center pushing the city higher were four huge spider limbs With the original ones that the Senator had seen were about three meters long these were easily three meters thick and almost fifty meters long As the ground cracked and groaned those huge metal legs began to shift and move

One stretched outward ponderously slow and stretched up to the edge of the crater left by the city departing It pressed downward That side of the crater collapsed almost immediately sending stones the size of houses tumbling downward Still the enormous leg pressed grinding stone until it settled to a shuddering stop on something that was capable of bearing its weight

The back two legs flexed pushing it forward in the direction of the first question leg Then a second leg stretched outward curling up to slide out of the crater and then pushing down even further away from the crater This time the ground cracked in a spiderweb pattern but held

Humming with the sounds of whirring machinery the Erickson Steel compound leveraged itself up and out of its crater The speed of its ascent tripled at that moment Suddenly it loomed high above them like something that existed in a different realm than the people left behind

Then with earthquake inducing steps it began its shuddering march to the Southwest

Kharon huh Senator Heathridge muttered to himself He had a vicious headache He wondered what he had missed Why was I so wrong Is he just walking away after all he has done to foil my plans What does Randidly Ghosthound truly want

Chapter 1037

Randidly scratched the back of his head awkwardly

Tatiana was glaring daggers at him across the scattered papers that she had been sifting through when he walked into her office I must have misheard you Because I almost thought for a second that you just told me that this city Kharon has no controls That it moves on its own volition But thatÆs impossible Because youÆve seen the reports you understand the logistical nightmare IÆm wading through You wouldnÆt do something like this to me

ItÆs not so bad as you think it will not simply start and stop without any warning It will use the Moss Golems to communicate its direction prior to any movement And you have a fair amount of the moss spirits clinging to you so you should be one of the first ones to know Randidly explained patiently Not that he had intended for the Levelable Engraving he created to control the movement of Kharon but when it had happened it made a certain amount of sense Although the energy stemmed from the engine core every leg was covered with the Engraving

Those were the heart and soul of the movement And the focus of the Skill within the Engraving

Trust it Kharon will know better than even you when to move on to the next area Randidly added when Tatiana seemed to be completely unconvinced For whatever reason that didnÆt seem to help her grim scowl at all He cast his mind back to the notification he received when he had finished the Engraving

Congratulations You have created a great wonder Kharon the Bridge to Impossibility has become a locus for images

Kharon the Bridge to Impossibility (Locus) A moving city created by Randidly GhosthoundÆs yearning to protect a world from inevitability and WendyÆs genius innovations While in the city all residents will experience a small increase in Health Regeneration and Skill Level growth If the city is attacked defenders will experience +1000 Health Protection of the Moss Spirits IV Instinct of the Verdant Artery (Levelable)

Protection of the Moss Spirits IV Due to the heavy influence of the World TreeÆs image on the city Kharon has become home to numerous Moss Spirits that will obey the will of the city Can condense multiple Moss Golems with Stats equal to four hundred As Kharon proceeds further down the Verdant Artery the golems may grow more powerful

Instinct of the Verdant Artery (Levelable) Lvl 1 A powerful Skill that connects the will of the city to an natural instinct regarding threats and opportunities By observing the flow of energies in the surrounding area Kharon is able to approximate the correct route forward The instinct is especially sensitive toward forces of the natural world Effect grows with Skill Level Range grows with Skill Level Bonuses applied to Protection of the Moss Spirits grow with Skill Level

Warning As Kharon the Bridge to Impossibility is a locus of meaning the spirit held within the city may begin to change the effects of the Skill as the image develops

Currently Kharon had lowered itself onto its thousands of miniature legs and was rumbling West by Southwest across the grasslands toward some of the revealed areas North of the new Zone With the larger legs folded beneath it into a small recess their speed was slightly reduced but also they didnÆt leave large gashes in the ground that anyone with a single eye could follow

In addition Randidly had covered the miniature legs with stabilizing and gravity reduction Engravings to make signs of their passage relatively nonexistent Well only nonexistent when there isnÆt any brush taller than a bush for us to steamroll but luckily the vegetation here is pretty short We should be able to disappear to the West

And if we are halfway through harvesting a mineral deposit when it decides it is time to move Or the Order Ducis is still out clearing monsters in the surrounding area Tatiana asked sharply Is there any way to delay the departure until weÆve made sufficient preparations

If those things happened it means that Kharon knows moving is more important than remaining in that spot Trust it Tatiana Randidly shrugged Then rather than speaking aloud Randidly sent Tatiana a message Remember that the spirit of the city is growing and shaping itself as we speak Think of it as a child I know it is frustrating now that you donÆt have any control over it but your image of it moving forward will shape how it acts Please keep that in mind

From TatianaÆs bitter expression it wasnÆt an easy thing for her But she nodded shortly and said aloud So we will receive notice before it happens

I believe so yes Randidly chuckled

After finishing a few more small matters that he had to arrange Randidly stroud out into the sunlit street in front of the Erickson Steel headquarters and grinned up at the sun For all that Tatiana didnÆt take the news well Randidly felt a tingling sense of anticipation He had done it the moving city was moving Just that accomplishment alone was worthy of celebration

Then he checked his Absolute Timing Skill Four hours until the Judgment comes huh

Even with RandidlyÆs crazy drive toward training and pushing his limits Randidly understood that it would be difficult to accomplish anything meaningful in four hours So rather than training Randidly simply produced a cloak a pulled up a hood to cover his face Randidly considered wearing boots to hide his other distinguishing feature but his toes flexed in aggravation at even the thought of being hemmed in

So a cloaked Randidly shrugged and began to wander through Kharon He had considered a party as a celebration but he much preferred a return to anonymity With wide open eyes he slipped into peopleÆs lives and observed

He saw two men haggling over the price of raw chicken as one pointed out that now that they were mobile who knew when the next batch of meat would come in

He saw children clamoring to climb up to the edge of the wall around Erickson Steel and look over the edge of Kharon to see the grasslands flowing by below them in endless waves of grass

He saw a woman ineffectively using her hands to keep moss spirits away from bullying her frightened pit bull who whined as the curious spirits circled

He saw a young woman dancing alone behind a warehouse every inch of her limb drenched in cheerful moss spirits She was laughing and laughing as the spirits tried to mimic her movements so it looked like a forest green copy of her followed her every movement a half second too late like an afterimage

He saw an old woman wipe sweat from her brow as she labored in one of the refineries closest to WendyÆs reactor Again and again she hammered bits of metal into a rough approximation of the shape of RandidlyÆs self made Levelable Engraving for Kharon Time after time she inspected the result and her shoulders slumped in failure but every time she didnÆt cease in her labor Instead she wiped the sweat from her brow and began again

RandidlyÆs Grim Intuition swirled outward

He saw two male guards whispering to each other as they peered out over the Erickson Steel walls to the Order Ducis area where Helen was ruthlessly putting the applicants through their paces

He saw Naffur meditating alone in his tent a heavy frown making the kid look ten years older than he actually was

He saw Tatiana urging two men to be careful as they carried the couch that had been in her office down the stairs to the ground floor

He saw birds circling overhead bemused but willing to follow the strange moving city on its pilgrimage across the land

And for every single thing Randidly saw he felt five more

Images hopes dreams fears desires it all swirled together into a dense mixture that left RandidlyÆs head buzzing More and more and more his Grim Intuition connected him to all of the emotions that flowed through the people of Kharon as they struggled to find their footing on this strange mobile city

RandidlyÆs Crown of Upheaval and Gloom hummed painfully making it even more difficult to handle the flow of information that crashed against his psyche The last thing he needed right now was another distraction But Randidly didnÆt turn away or close his eyes He kept his breathing even and just immersed himself in the wild flow The pain slowly spiraled upward but he felt ever priceless moment of it

Without even being consciously aware of what he was doing Randidly had climbed up on top of the Erickson Steel headquarters Grinning he swung like a monkey up the radio tower to reach the very tip of Kharon Randidly opened his mouth and let his tongue hang out tasting the sweet scent of the air that swirled above this turbulent city

It was hard to get to this point But IÆm so glad I did it Randidly reflected Even if the people are unsure even if IÆve gotten this far by killing they trust me

They really trust me

A long held tension that Randidly hadnÆt even noticed finally eased in his chest Randidly released a long breath dispelling that tightness completely Then as though that breath had been the only thing keeping the Skill together the Crown of Upheaval and Gloom split in half without a sound Then with all of the subtleness of a bull the remnants of that Skill and all of the feelings and sights Randidly encountered today smashed together into a smoldering ball of energy

Congratulations Your Skill Crown of Upheaval and Gloom has evolved into the Reign of the Eidolon Crucible All Skill Levels will be maintained

Reign of the Eidolon Crucible The bonds of fealty between you and those who follow you have created a connection based on the mutual exchange of images Phantasms and fantasy dog your steps swirling around you in a maelstrom of possibility That connection between you and your followers cannot be broken When the Skill is active the userÆs strength will increase in proportion to the quality and quantity of people subordinate to your image Effect increases with Skill Level In addition both the user and the subordinates will experience periodic mental trials that will test them based on the otherÆs images Speed of refining image during that trial will be vastly increased

Randidly released another breath The Crown was gone Much of the extra Perception that came with it was gone too But Randidly felt something else A dense weight of images that now spun slowly around his shoulders like the thin threads of a cloak being steadily woven together At the moment it wasnÆt anything impressive But in the future

Randidly barred his teeth at the sky

Chapter 1038

Randidly stood completely still as Kharon continued on without him heading to the West The air was warm from the late evening sun but Randidly had a suspicion that would soon change It was almost time

5

Cracking his knuckles Randidly cast his mind around for anything that he had forgotten It would likely be too late to do anything about it now but nothing came to mind He had said his goodbyes and left instructions with Helen Naffur and Tatiana He had a long talk with Nathan about Classes and images He had even been in contact with Ghost

4

All that remained was to face his Judgment

3

Randidly couldnÆt stop a grin from creeping across his face

2

Goosebumps danced across RandidlyÆs arms It was almost a nostalgic feeling

With a flick of the wrist Acri stretched out into a peerlessly straight position Sulfur hummed against his chest Both had been relatively bored in the long months that Randidly spent focusing rather completely on his Engraving so they were eager now to see action Randidly licked his lips And I have a feeling that this will be fun

0

The sky cracked open and a world of snow and cold breathed down a column of sleet onto the Earth The temperature dropped below the point of water freezing almost immediately as rolling grey clouds spread into the surrounding area Soon the sun was dimmed and the wind was chilling With wide wings made of ice the Wendigo Judgment floated down out of that hole in the sky toward Randidly In both hands he held golden hammers covered in complex Engraving

RandidlyÆs hands were tingling as he watched the Judgment drift downward Shifting in excitement from one foot to the other Randidly called up to the Judgment HavenÆt I already fought and beat you three times Is there any meaning for you to come out once more

The Judgment snorted Is there any meaning to this display You know that you have passed my tests You have proven your power All that remains

The Judgment touched to the ground in front of Randidly Frost crept outward from the place its feet touched the ground Randidly continued to grin up at the monster who was about double his size and probably four times his weight Snapping its fingers the Judgment opened a glimmering blue portal behind it and gestured toward it Is for you to accept your fate You have flaunted the rules of the System fine But you cannot escape conscription in the great war

And if I refuse Randidly said lightly

Even knowing how much he had been warped by the violence of the System Even having made the mistake of killing Ki Kunot and then struggling with his guilt for months Even though it was likely a pointless gesture that would only bring him hardship

Randidly had learned a lot from Shal but one of the first things he internalized was the pure glory of fighting The violence the struggle it called to him And after almost a year of simply relying on the Riders to expand his influence

Randidly wanted to fight As an individual who wanted to test his edge To clash with this known quantity now would be the perfect sort of warm up before actually proceeding to the dangerous battlegrounds against Nether

The Judgment sighed I suppose it wonÆt sway you to say that you will not just be fighting against myself the entire weight of the System is behind me

If anything RandidlyÆs grin widened even further Shaking his head the Judgment raised his hammers Fine then let us get this over with Domain of the Long Chill

Randidly felt the image coming before he felt the physical change in cold but it was more than enough to make him abruptly serious Seems like the System isnÆt hampering his uses of images any longer Ignition of the Emerald Essence erupted around him bringing light and inspiration to smash against the horrifying greediness of the cold that slithered out to seize Randidly

But then the physical cold caught up to the image and RandidlyÆs expression twisted in a grimace of pain The cold seemed to stab at him with bony fingers Frost immediately began to condense just on his skin Although Randidly could barely handle the refined image that the Judgment smashed him with he was taken by surprise by the actual effect it had on the world Or rather Randidly abruptly realized that the Judgment hadnÆt been lying his Skills were being fueled by the System sitting behind it

And this is only a Domain Narrowing his eyes Randidly lowered his spear and pointed it toward the JudgmentÆs Heart Man is Proud but the Chimera Craves

The icy ground around RandidlyÆs feet cracked and shattered Long splinters of ice shot upward in a nova as Randidly and Acri became a blur of violent toward the Judgment The weight of all his momentum concentrated to the tip of his spear in a terribly destructive attack But of course the Judgment wasnÆt slowed down at all by his own Domain and jumped to counter

It stepped to the side and then brought one of its glowing golden hammers around in a heavy swing Freezing Detonation

With MonstrosityÆs Appalling Physicality Randidly was able to twist mid air and cause a minute adjustment to his charge His spear slid upward to follow the JudgmentÆs torso while his left hand activated Molten Fang of the Pariah and shot out to intercept the hammer strike

Acri skidded off of the layer of ice armor the Judgment hurriedly condensed around itself And then Molten Fang of the Pariah struck Freezing Detonation Once more an overwhelming wave of cold blasted outward from the JudgmentÆs Skill In fact the cold was so intense and abrupt that Randidly felt like even his thoughts stuttered to a stop for the briefest of moments

Grim Intuition unhelpfully pointed out that the cold was very dangerous and this individual bore him a significant amount of ill will

Heh you are starting to feel it now huh The Judgment loomed closer as it brought its other hammer around to strike in a horizontal blow So why donÆt you just Eh

Randidly relied on Chimeric Avoidance to endure the blast of cold and then ripped holes in the JudgmentÆs armor with several rapid strikes by using the Chimera Weeps but Man Mourns Then he lowered his spear and prepared for another Man is Proud but the Chimera Craves from point blank

The JudgmentÆs dark eyes blinked as it considered its shattered armor You why arenÆt you frozen

I avoided it Randidly said lightly Then all his weight and momentum blasted forward in a piercing strike

Despite how quickly the attack traveled forward the Judgment somehow had the wherewithal to let go of one of his hammers and simply bring around one of its paws to try to seize Acri out of the air Chilling Grasp

But of course Acri was not a normal spear it easily flexed out of the way and avoided the JudgmentÆs hasty grasp Although AcriÆs strike was now out of the picture Randidly still possessed the overwhelming forward momentum to strike at the Judgment and he wasnÆt about to waste this chance His emerald eyes blazed with the thrill of the fight

For a split second RandidlyÆs left hand flexed to reveal a thin triangle of darkness that had been previously hidden there But then RandidlyÆs hand closed as he forcefully dismissed the Skill No better to not reveal it now in case someone is watching My usage of Nether should be saved for an emergency

Instead Randidly unleashed a Talon Strike empowered by Catalyst of Agony while simultaneously casting Reach of the Jade Slag behind the Judgement RandidlyÆs palm slammed against the JudgmentÆs face even as he was forced to rely once more on Chimeric Avoidance to not get turned into an ice statue just by touching the damn thingÆs furr The fucking boost the System was giving the Judgement was no joke It seemed like the Judgment had some passive defensive Skill that was similarly empowered

Then the Reach of the Jade Slag ripped into the JudgmentÆs back staggering it further Randidly followed up with several sharp thrusts with Acri

But the Judgment had seen these strikes before and wove its body back and forth to avoid the worst of the attacks When it pulled back its torso only had three shallow gashes that were rapidly freezing over Then it raised its hand and pointed at Randidly Flash Freeze

Howling Randidly spun away and clutched his right hand Acri covered in a layer of ice almost a foot thick clunked to the ground Randidly hopped backward to open up some distance while he tried to restore feeling to his right hand But the Judgment lowered its shoulders and dashed forward with the intention to take advantage of his weakness

You know my Skill Level for that Skill is barely a hundred Yet with the SystemÆs support heh this might be more enjoyable than thought LetÆs see how long you can manage to avoidÆ me

Randidly gestured sharply Infinite Fingers of Yggdrasil

If one root froze in the JudgmentÆs obnoxious Domain a second shot up to take its place If a dozen froze a hundred would come surging upward If that wasnÆt enough Randidly threw a thousand jagged and thorn covered roots upward His Mana hummed with activity as he spared no expense to buy himself some time to recover Tingling spikes of sensation were only now coming back to his right hand as the blood flow sluggishly continued to move through his veins

White Out

Thousands of roots were frozen into crystalline statues in a single moment Even Randidly standing behind them all released a shuddering breath as Chimeric Avoidance barely managed to weasel his body out form being physically frozen solid Snow began to heavily fall around them Winds whipped up at the sudden drop in temperature

Randidly grinned darkly down at his bare toes Hopefully I donÆt get frostbite

The Judgment strode up to Randidly Briefly Randidly considered trying to open up some distance again but that would likely draw another blast of an overpowered Skill Instead he stood still and let the Judgment approach

You really wonÆt go peacefully

Randidly just smiled

After shaking his head the Judgment pointed at Randidly Flash Freeze

All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth

For a split second Randidly was another version of himself one that burned with an internal fire The image in his chest was the molten core of the world a thing of industry and ash and avarice that could never be satisfied

Roaring that version of Randidly forcefully endured the Flash Freeze and took a step forward

But in the next moment Randidly was back to himself and the Judgement was blinking in surprise and opening his mouth to speak White

Randidly smashed his Willpower against the Judgments activating Eternal Cravings of the Wraith to suck away Stamina Mana and breath from the Judgment Of course stopping it from calling out the Skill wouldnÆt do anything But the forceful taking was enough to distract it into canceling the Skill

Which left Randidly time to run the Judgment through with Acri who immediately trilled in pleasure It was at that point that the Judgement ignored its wound and brought both of its hands smashing toward RandidlyÆs temples One hand held a golden hammer but the other simply twisted into a claw and ripped upward

Randidly flexed his previously numb hand and used it to launch a Molten Fang of the Pariah toward the JudgmentÆs hand His attack destroyed his opponentÆs momentum but it also left his right hand encased in ice And RandidlyÆs left hand

Looking over Randidly could see the energy in the Engravings of his shoulder failing as the cold grew too intense He could only watch as the golden hammer shot closer to his temple

Grinning Randidly twisted and spat out blood than immediately froze into a small pebble sized bit of red snow that smacked against the JudgmentÆs nose His body was still trembling from the first activation of All Things Succumb and Randidly didnÆt want to push things too far All he wanted to do was have a bit of fun before he was sent to the battlefield

And if he also learned a bit about how the System could empower Skills that was a convenient bonus

The hammer struck the side of RandidlyÆs head and brought with it ice submerging Randidly into the wide darkness of unconsciousness

Chapter 1039

The Grim Chimera rubbed the side of his head feeling decidedly strange His vision swam as the space around him shifted and stretched before snapping back into place The ground beneath him seemed to be trembling and stretching like taffy only to snap back into place This continued for about a minute before the Grim Chimera realized that it wasnÆt just him the environment was actually moving

Breathing heavily the Grim Chimera fell to his knees and touched the ground His claws left deep gouges in the dirt as he tried to figure out what was going on around him

After watching for a few minutes it seemed that the ground was and wasnÆt moving at the same time Or at least it wasnÆt moving but it looked like it was moving constantly It was as though there were two layers to reality that something was struggling to press them together into one layer but some other force was presenting it So there were constantly two visions that the Grim Chimera could see The first was the actual reality the other was an overlayer that swayed and slid away distracting the eye with its movements

But one thing the Grim Chimera did notice while it was digging its claws into the ground was that there were moments that the two layers appeared perfectly in line with one another And during those short moments the ground was abruptly a great deal more difficult to cut into with his claws than it was normally

What you are seeing is the destabilization effect A low voice said ItÆs the price this place pays for hosting the battle against those bastards

The Grim Chimera looked up Abruptly his awareness spread out from just the ground in front of him to the surrounding area But the suddenness of that expansion and the flood of information that resulted once more sent a wave of dizziness through the Grim Chimera Because everything he could see had its own spazzing second layer that continued to feed his gaze false information

Worse still each object had its own second layer that moved independently of all the other objects second layers So the world was a kaleidoscope of shifting objects and lights that made it impossible to tell what was real and fake

Narrowing his eyes the Grim Chimera was able to focus on the speaker A slender man with a salt and pepper beard stood behind a desk His face rippled and shifted jerking to the left and then drifting downward Then it was back as if nothing had changed The ground around him was covered with a spiraling sort of Engraving array and behind the man

The Grim Chimera had to press his eyes closed It was too much too fast

Take your time youÆll have a few days to get used to it before I ask you to do battle The Grim Chimera could hear the smile in the bearded manÆs voice and was immediately suspicious of it I know you must be confused but just know that an old friend of mine donated his images to the war effort thatÆs you youÆre those images But I hope we can become comrades in the future after all we will be relying on each other for the next year

An old friend donated images We were are images

We were

Randidly GhosthoundÆs

Ah The Grim Chimera gasped falling to his knees His black eyes trembled and he pressed his eyelids shut The older man stopped talking regarding the fallen image with an easy smile

like I said donÆt push yourself ItÆs truly a hard thing to grow used the environment here But still I like to meet with you and check in with the new arrivals Before I allow my subordinate to escort you away do you have any questions

I no When the Grim ChimeraÆs eyes opened the irises were now a luminous emerald Randidly GhosthoundÆs eyes flashed with cold fury but he kept careful control over his facial features Luckily the Grim ChimeraÆs rather humongous claw was already wrapped around his face and obscuring most of his features

Pretty easy to hide my features with this body Randidly thought with dark amusement That fucking Judgment what sort of messed up situation did it throw me into IÆll kill it the next time I catch it without the System giving its dumbass Skills juice

The man nodded softly Then he turned to regard another figure standing next to Randidly And you two I can sense that you are both handling this better and worse than your friend here Do either of you have any questions

RandidlyÆs eyes flicked to the side His eyes widened Standing next to him was a tall and majestic tree covered in golden script And cradled in the trees outstretched branches was a flickering tongue of emerald flame

No I believe we simply need rest Yggdrasil said slowly

Fine Zagnal take them to their tent The salt and pepper bearded man said sharply A strange man with the head of a red dragon gave a sharp salute and gestured for the three to follow Before they left there was a single moment where RandidlyÆs eyes met ZagnalÆs

As Randidly turned back for one last look his eyes scanned the ground and the area behind the bearded man Compared to the Grim ChimeraÆs nascent consciousness Randidly had a much easier time parsing apart what he saw Although he didnÆt want to reveal the return of his clarity yet he still wanted to determine something Sure enough on the wall behind the man were a series of heavily Engraved pods Within one Randidly spotted his own short dark hair and familiar face with closed eyes

It looked like his body was sleeping He had been sealed away

Tsk looks like the Heretics get extra special treatment maybe because weÆve already proven that we can avoid the System rules they extract the images and keep us unconscious Probably without the connection from Reign of Eidolon Crucible my images would have been on their own out here which would not have been good As it is

Randidly looked with not a little amusement at his clawed left hand and the bone spear that was sticking out of his right arm At least fighting with this body would still be enjoyable Then he tried to reach his Soulskill and felt nothing In fact Randidly couldnÆt touch any of his Skills Chewing his lip Randidly kept his head down as they left the tent

Rather than possessing an image with Reign of the Eidolon Crucible it might be better to say that something woke up my consciousness in the Grim Chimera Which would make me a reflection of myself rather than myself It does make a certain amount of sense images are ultimately just portions of my personality given shape And the Grim Chimera always was the closest to reaching the Master tier

Randidly glanced upward and wondered whether he was actually him or just figment conjured in the Grim Chimera It would also explain why Randidly felt oddly detached and unconcerned about the fact that he could reach either Neveah or the denizens of his Soulskill In fact Randidly felt oddly relieved to be alone That was the way it had always been in the beginning after all

Randidly sighed Hard to tell whether normal me would have that thought or not maybe itÆs best not to think about it too closely Instead of dwelling on the issue further he opened up his senses and observed the surrounding area

The sky above was a light orange and covered with scattered maroon clouds Strange streaks of undulating gold flowed across the sky periodically but it didnÆt match any meteorological phenomenon that Randidly could recognize It was also too large and even for a close shooting star Honestly it just looked like some giant golden beast that drifted across their sky quickly and then departed

Shaking his head RandidlyÆs focus turned to the ground The ground was dirt and aside from the constant visual instability looked relatively normal They were currently following the dragon headed man down an aisle between rows of brown tents Some tent flaps were open and Randidly had a tingling intuition that powerful images were within several A few times he caught eyes flashing in wariness as the group trooped past

But although he sensed their presence Randidly couldnÆt get a fix on who or what they learned Or what their intentions were

Which was when Randidly stumbled on a new realization

After all that effort to upgrade my Perception being removed from my physical body means that I donÆt even get to use it here Fucking shit Better kill that bastard who has me locked away as quickly as possible to free myself

Randidly blinked He reached and found nothing when he grasped at NetherÆs Caress Or Nether Resistance AFTER ALL THE FUCKING AGONY I WENT THROUGH TO LEVEL UP THOSE SKILLS

Randidly forced the air out through his teeth incensed at this strange state of affairs Hearing the noise the dragon headed man turned and glanced back at Randidly

Controlling his emotions Randidly asked innocuously Your name is Zagnal right What are those black stars hanging around you

For a split second there was a hitch in ZagnalÆs stride He spared Randidly another glance over his shoulder and during their eye contact Randidly could once more see the three black stars that were floating above Zagnal Then Zagnal turned to face forward and continued to walk Randidly stared at ZagnalÆs back with his eyes alight with curiosity Why did the stars disappear when they werenÆt looking at each other

But to RandidlyÆs relief Zagnal spoke as they continued to walk amongst the tents Ah you must be a strong image to see clearly so quickly Did you notice when our eyes met earlier

Yes Randidly replied shortly

Zagnal continued to walk forward Huh very strong then Usually it takes about a day for someone to notice Those are the scars I bear But also the Pride IÆve accumulated Every time you fight the Nether you come away changed Scarred It leaves its mark on you that will never truly heal But there is a grand formation on this place that helps channel that lingering Nether to benefit you Each star you see when meeting my gaze is a Pride that that strengthens me

Strengthens you Randidly wondered aloud

Zagnal nodded Like a small amount of poison introduced into someoneÆs body to slowly cause immunity to form But that doesnÆt mean it is not dangerous Once that developed immunity is breached an outside force of Nether can cause the Prides to rupture wounding you at a critical moment But that is still far away for images of your level

That sharpened RandidlyÆs gaze with ferocity but Zagnal turned on his heel and gestured to an open tent YouÆll be staying here You have three days to acclimate yourself to this realm After that time youÆll be taken to the front lines Good luck

Chapter 1040

Randidly who might just be the Grim Chimera spent two days in quiet meditation as he got used to his current surroundings Even though he could manage the strange visuals of this place he still had a lot of investigations to do in regards to his own status and capabilities This place was a warzone one of the most dangerous mistakes he could make was to forget that

What is within without What is without within If I donÆt even understand my self it will be that much more difficult to survive here

So Randidly approached the problem of what he could do very seriously For now he decided that it was for the best if he set aside the question of what exactly he was He also would have liked to speak with the incarnation of Yggdrasil and Ignition of the Emerald Essence but both immediately collapsed into a deep sleep upon arriving in their assigned tent Randidly also had a secret fear that they would soon wake up and transform into versions of Randidly thereby proving that the current Randidly was nothing but the Grim Chimera wearing RandidlyÆs face

Following this line of thought Randidly tried to image his own face made of the bark on YggdrasilÆs trunk Then he tried to picture his face floating above an emerald flame Certainly a bit more off putting than intimidating But until the images woke up those issues would need to wait

Therefore Randidly was on his own for now

What he discovered in his experiments was that while he couldnÆt access his Soulspace he could still train all of the Grim Chimera specific Skills Rather than having any sort of ability to detect Aether of directly examine his Soulspace Randidly seemed to have returned to the days of earning a rather bland notification when he had gathered enough experience for his Skills to grow Randidly shook his head the first time it happened

Congratulations Your Skill ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe has grown to Level 93

Clicking his tongue Randidly closed his eyes and continued to get a feel for the way that the Grim Chimera Skills flowed through his body Because they certainly felt natural in a way that they hadnÆt previously Which made a certain amount of sense this body was constructed to use the Grim ChimeraÆs Skills All the movements and energy expressions that Randidly had to painstaking learn in his human body were completely natural to this body

In addition to checking in on his capabilities mentally Randidly also wanted to spend some time actually getting used to the movements of this body His mind responded instinctively when he wished for a certain movement but that didnÆt change the fact that a lot of the actual mechanics of this body were different It was mostly human but the joints of RandidlyÆs new knees were revered so that they bent backward

In addition one of his arms was an oversized claw and the other was simply a bone spear covered in dried blood

It shouldnÆt be a problem to fight but Randidly would rather not discover that he was wrong while he was standing in front of a monster of the Nether

The real reason that Randidly hadnÆt gone out to get a feel for the body yet was that even with RandidlyÆs now limited senses he was quite sure that practically none of the surrounding spirits that he had sensed within the nearby tents had moved since Zagnal had led them here The aisles between the tents had remained completely clear none of the other spirits had seen any reason to wander out of their temporary resting places

Rather than a camp for mustering an army this place seemed more like a graveyard done in grey canvas

In addition Randidly was mindful of the fact that if not for whatever process had brought Randidly conscious in the Grim Chimera he would likely be as completely insensible as both Yggdrasil and Ignition Essence currently were in the wake of being torn away from his body Randidly didnÆt believe that they would investigate the image too closely now that his real body was isolated in that chamber but that didnÆt mean he was willing to take that risk of alerting them to the fact something wasnÆt going as it should

The System really seemed determined to fuck Heretics over Randidly sudden felt like it might be the most desirable option to simply serve out his sentence peacefully and leave without the System noticing the change in his images

Assuming of course that the System truly planned on honoring the time limit of the punishment Which because Randidly was considered to be ignorant of the actual reason for his presence hadnÆt been given to him

Honestly the situation doesnÆt look good

Without Randidly even being able to witness how they had accomplished it Randidly already had a deep respect for their ability to shape Aether He couldnÆt even imagine what sort of Aether constructs would be used to extract and manifest images like this Without being given a chance to examine the relevant Aether constructs Randidly probably wouldnÆt be able to figure it out on his own even if he had one hundred years

And really it was exactly Aether Detection that Randidly sorely missed as he sat in his small tent and focused on exploring his current capabilities All that information that he obtained by using Aether Detection was now suddenly gone He felt incredibly limited

Still there was a silver lining to the fact he had been torn from his body and didnÆt have access to most of his Skills this body wasnÆt completely numb to Aether

Perhaps it was because the Grim Chimera was such a creature of paranoia and survival but its body had an instinctive sense of the presence of Aether in the surrounding area Not anything specific but it was certainly useful It felt somewhat similar to the ambient heat that radiated outward from an open flame So while Randidly couldnÆt figure out what sort of Aether hijinks were occurring he did eventually discover that the tent itself in which they were currently located was heavily covered in Aether constructs

If he sat near to the edges of the tent for too long a strange anxiety began to creep into his heart Which reinforced his unwillingness to attempt to leave the tent when he could sense no others doing so

So he continued to meditate while sitting in the exact middle of the tent And likely would have done so until he was called to the front lines by Zagnal if he hadnÆt been rather suddenly struck with wariness on the third morning Cotton and fuzz seemed to press down over Randidly from every direction Such was the intensity of the sleepiness that Randidly could only grit his teeth and then slump to the side

Did I reveal myself somehow Was the Aether in the tent some sort of observation based construct All the things that Randidly didnÆt know became prickly balls of frustration in his chest as sleep swept him away

Yet there was nothing he could do he was currently only in the body of an image

Yet strangely after Randidly felt sleep devour his body his mind remained completely clear He sank into blackness and then through a layer of clouds Then he drifted slowly downward until his bare feet pressed against the ground Even more surprising was the fact that he found himself in a very familiar situation He stood alone on the small manmade dueling platform that had previously sat in the middle of DonnytonÆs quarry

In front of him were the stands completely devoid of people Shivering Randidly blinked rapidly faced with such a strange an ominously empty sight

Randidly slowly spun on his heel The blue water that filled the quarry was impossibly clear and tranquil without even a hint of a ripple It was more aqua mirror than water The cliffs and low hills in the surrounding area were clear and faithfully reproduced from RandidlyÆs memory but anything beyond about a mile away was covered in a thick blanket of fog It was like this small snapshot of a location had been clipped away from the world and isolated here And somehow RandidlyÆs sudden sleep had dragged him to this place

Randidly supposed that it was the least of his worries that this whole area had collapsed to become a sinkhole Could this be some sort of mental attack Truly my feelings about what happened in the DonnytonÆs Challenge are complex

Then RandidlyÆs expression abruptly brightened But this does mean I get another chance at this And this time I wonÆt be nearly as gentle with the lessons I teach them

The air here was also completely still But Randidly didnÆt have to wait long before a change arrived Slowly figures began to walk out of the surrounding fog They had no true faces but Randidly could immediately sense they were not here for a surprise birthday party They were beings of shadow and violence Even before they approached Randidly had the strangest sense that he could predict how these beings would move And that sudden certainty that emerged in his heart gave them pause

As these figures drifted closer from every direction some simply hopped off the cliff and splashed into the quarry Within a second the ripples on the surface of the water were gone But they swam silently through the depths of the quarry continuing to approach Others were on the low slopes that connected to the stone bridge to the dueling platform so they marched and waded forward toward Randidly

When the first batch began to climb up onto the dueling platform Randidly felt the first hints of Aether wafting off of them His eyes narrowed and flashed with emerald fire

Whatever this army was it clearly was not sent by a friendly force Even though this appeared to be some sort of mental Skill or dream Randidly still possessed the body of the Grim Chimera Therefore he settled into a low pounce and prepared to lash out at the nearing shadow beings The first bubblings of excitement trickled up from his pounding heart

But as the feeling of Aether around him grew stronger Randidly realized that he recognized that Aether it was from his new Skill Reign of the Eidolon Crucible Most of the gleeful bubbles of anticipation that Randidly felt toward the fight were completely obliterated by a shocked sort of indignation

youÆve got to be fucking kidding me Randidly spat out as his brain whirred into action If his senses werenÆt deceiving him this wasnÆt some terrible test arranged by that man with a salt and pepper beard or some sort of unexpected attack launched by the Nether against the beings of Aether

No it seemed this was one of the promised periodic image trials that Randidly had to endure due to his Skill And based on the density of Aether that the instincts of the Grim Chimera were picking up in the surrounding air he was bearing all of the weight of the trial even though Randidly currently only possessed the Grim ChimeraÆs image

I JUST fucking earned this Skill and already IÆve getting screwed over by it A disbelieving laugh escaped RandidlyÆs lips He wanted to flex his fingers and painfully squeeze a spear shaft but Randidly settled for whipping his right arm sideways and leaving a deep gouge in the ground

But hopefully that means that Yggdrasil and Ignition Essence will be spared this trial RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed into slits as he let out a guttural growl that echoed menacingly throughout the quarry Considering their current condition I would rather give them more of a chance to rest

Besides if that is all this is Randidly slowly raised his left hand and flexed his wickedly sharp talons This will be the perfect opportunity to test the limits of this body

RandidlyÆs legs exploded with force throwing him across the dueling arena toward the first shadow figures to drag themselves up onto the arena proper His spear of bone that protruded from his right arm glowed cherry red as he activated Molten Fang of the Pariah and skewered a shadow that seemed like an image sent by an older man The sharp weapon of bone ripped through his skin and burst out through his back

The image staggered underneath the assault but refused to fall As it raised its hand a flickering image of an ax appeared

Randidly ripped the spear out of the side of the imageÆs chest and raised his mouth to suck in a huge breath Eternal Cravings of a Wraith pulled at the substance of all of the surrounding images dragging a fraction of their strength toward Randidly Unfortunately it was only a very small fraction And rather than Stamina or Mana it was something akin to Willpower After all these images had no real body What Randidly was pulling from them was a bit of what they were there were no attributes to steal

Sorry friend Randidly leered down at the dissipating image of the old man and laughed I donÆt have the luxury to treat you gently Not when you brought so many friends

Randidly activated the Chimera Weeps but Man Mourns three times in a row to fill the surrounding area with dozens of quick thrusts The attacks themselves were relatively light but these images ignored damage anyway It was only when Randidly forcefully brought his image to bear against them that they faltered and dissipated

Although the images nearby had been defeated more were climbing out of the quarry and up onto the arena on the far side of the platform And of course the stream of staggering images into this strange isolated area hadnÆt ceased

More and more flooded in aiming to destroy Randidly

The Grim Chimera raised its head and cackled in reckless glee Then Randidly clenched his left claw and began to cut the images of these fools down Not willing to wait your turn Fine then Those who follow me letÆs see how much IÆve managed to teach you about images

Chapter 1041

Randidly woke up with a wicked smile plastered across his face and a headache that drummed against his frontal cortex more violently than even the vilest hangover he had ever experienced as an undergraduate With a groan he rolled onto his back and attempted to sit up The world began immediately to spin His stomach gurgled unpleasantly

Randidly obediently leaned back against the ground and stared at the ceiling of the tent After the rotating world slowly settled back to only the normal amount of extra motion Randidly raised his fingers to his temples and tried to massage away some of the pain But of course his bone spear simply smacked against his head and the claws of his left hand drew blood as he pressed them against his temple

Groaning Randidly rolled over onto his stomach and pressed his eyes shut They werenÆt wrong about image growth being rapid during those trials I feel like the Grim Chimera really took a step forward after that I even gained almost 20 Skill Levels but the difficulty is a bit

Here let me

Randidly jolted upward as his instincts screamed that there should be no inside the tent with him That terrible paranoia that the Grim Chimera held roared to life with a vengeance His spear was already blurring forward when several thin vines twisted upward and pulled his reflexive attack off of its previous course toward the beingÆs heart

For a split second Randidly was lulled into a shocked numbness as a golden and emerald treant stood in front of him It didnÆt have a face but Randidly could sense form it a kind sort of patience toward his violent response And of course he was intimately familiar with the details of the treantÆs body

Then RandidlyÆs eyes caught up with his movement and the world began to spin And then the two misbehaving layers of the world once more demanded his attention heightening the wild movements of the world to an even more nauseating degree

Randidly returned once more to the ground and took several deep breaths to steady himself The cool feeling of dirt against his back was like his only anchor preventing him from willingly letting his mind drift away from this miserable moment and settle into oblivion It grounded Randidly

The golden treant who Randidly now recognized as the personification of Yggdrasil leaned over him I didnÆt mean to startle you Let me assist with the healing ItÆs the least I can do after your bore the weight of the Eidolon Crucible for all three of us

RandidlyÆs eyelids flickered Thanks I m glad you woke up I was beginning to wonder whether something had been done to the tents that suppressed images within it

Although he could not see them Randidly sensed roots curling out of the ground to surround his head in a complex pattern Tiny immaculate leaves grew out from the roots and began to glow Almost immediately a cool sort of relief began to worm its way into the inner workings of his mind It was like someone was pouring a bucket of chilled aloe directly over his overheated brain stem

No it wasnÆt the tent When we the three of us I mean were ripped out of Randidly I rapidly felt the connections between us deteriorating We donÆt have much in common after all I worried that without the presence of Randidly Ghosthound we wouldnÆt be able to work together well enough to escape this strange predicament So I used every bit of my strength to forcefully remove the bits of RandidlyÆs personality that were present in myself and Ignition Essence and pour them into you ThatÆs why I was so exhausted I needed to sleep And Ignition

Yggdrasil seemed to wilt a little I worry that I did something that I shouldnÆt have done The wounds I left might be a bit too deep for it to recover from in the short term

Randidly’s mind buzzed faintly as he processed that news But very quickly he realized that the much more important task was to recover from his own wounds So he let those thoughts fall away and simply enjoyed the sensation of that cleansing energy and didnÆt worry about what it all meant

Randidly floated He breathed Other than that Randidly bothered to do absolutely nothing

Of course such a reprieve couldnÆt last forever Or even for very long After only two hours Randidly leveraged himself back up to a sitting position and sighed The one benefit that had come with experiencing that image trial from his Skill was that Randidly was briefly teleported to a location where the two fabrics of reality werenÆt constantly spazzing away from each other and creating headache inducing visuals

But considering the fact that he was so swiftly brought back to this damned tent it might be more of a torture device than a reprieve Already Randidly felt the seeds of irritation at this damned place burrowing into his mood

Still Randidly felt much better than he had earlier In addition he could cope with the visuals without any difficulty once more So he turned to Yggdrasil and said So IÆm not actually Randidly