LoRG 3

Then she stepped down onto the tiles that measured images and the temperature immediately jumped up about ten degrees The light produced by basically every other figure wavered wildly as they struggled to stabilize themselves while being battered by the fresh image Aside from the two Nemesai and one other woman who possessed a similarly powerful image most of the other people on the tiled floor retreated to the sides Even Mrs Hamilton pursed her lips and gave up ground before this young woman that was transforming into a metal monster

Do you think being stronger than these people is enough When the metal young woman spoke her voice was hoarse and vicious Do you think your tantrum will every change the fate of you and your planet

You The Bandit King began but he narrowed his eyes as the light beneath the metal womanÆs feet grew almost blinding His image of the bloodsoaked field was thoroughly suppressed The heat in the ballroom became almost unbearable to the point that Alana gave Wivanya a glance no you arenÆt from Earth What the hell are you doing here And what do you think you know about us

WivanyaÆs image spread outward gradually covering the front area of the ballroom The temperature thankfully began to sink back down toward livable levels Some people realized the source of the intervention and turned around to give a thankful glance but their eyes widened when they noticed who was powering that chilling image

Alana rolled her eyes Why are people so obsessed with dragons

The metal woman laughed with surprising coldness The brightness beneath her feet quickly grew beyond the size of the two Nemesai Her body was wreathed in flames No I am not from this planet But I know what you do now is pointless People who are unwilling to spend there time building something to last will never have true strength Any benefits you receive will crumble to nothing but ash

You dare The Bandit King began but he forcefully buffeted backward by the force the metal woman was releasing All the while the woman took one step at a time forward and soon seemed wrapped in a red hot suit of armor

Is this facade of cruelty truly the path you wish for The woman roared And if itÆs not why do you continue to hide from the truth and follow it

Well said

The room shook with that casual phrase The images that were previously so easily rippling across the ballroom slowed and then stilled

Randidly Ghosthound stepped out of the darkness and suddenly appeared on the central island with the five strange objects covered in tarps AlanaÆs eyes widened to see that he was dressed up well embroidered silk along his legs caught the light as he stepped forward Then he spread his arms and a buzzing black energy drifted down to touch the tiles The light of the images sputtered and then faded

Suddenly the floor seemed completely inert The people who were still standing on the tiles turned slowly to face him With a solemn expression Randidly glanced around at the surrounding people And tonight thatÆs why you were all invited here ItÆs time to talk about the Paths we have chosen and what we can build for Earth

Chapter 1315

RandidlyÆs emerald eyes slid over the assembled people as he used Nether to dampen the influence of images in the room For now all he wanted was to talk to these people The Earth needed to change and these individuals were the key

He was somewhat annoyed to admit it but Randidly hadnÆt planned on using the PhilosopherÆs Key to move into the ballroom for some time yet But he certainly hadnÆt expected either Azriel or Alta to release their images so fully so soon after arriving And he hadnÆt expected that either of them had improved so markedly since becoming part of the overlay System for his Alpha Cosmos

It seemed those sorts of activities were excellent training for images

The conflict of images was further complicated by the early arrival of the Nemesai to the party meaning that the normal people of Earth didnÆt have much of a chance to test out the floor before the competition had risen to a level they couldnÆt endure Things escalated And Randidly couldnÆt help but notice that the floor worked too well the reverberations of the images didnÆt stop at the edges of the tiles

Something to work on but thereÆs no real way to change it now Randidly winced inwardly

Then Randidly took a deep breath The crowd was waiting expectantly Grim Intuition made him altogether too aware of their presence He could feel the heat their bodies produced and feel the beat of their hearts Randidly released that breath Nether swirled through his veins and flowed out to gently blanket the surrounding area

Then he began to speak Obviously IÆd like a genuine opportunity to celebrate this day with my friends but I think we would all prefer that we briefly set the revelry aside and address the larger issues in front of us IÆm sure many of you questioned why I took the initiative to invite the Nemesai and other forces from Danger Zones to this party but I think there are a few things we need to start being aware of if the Earth is going to survive

The System is not some sort of cruel benefactor nor is it a mechanism of transformation for the planets that it encounters It truly is a System that was designed by a specific entity for a specific purpose IÆm not exactly sure of the details of that purpose but it would be accurate to say that the System provides a pittance of energy in exchange for an implied right to pilfer and exploit the planetÆs resources Primarily our images

Randidly let that statement hang in the air for a while As he had expected someone quickly spoke out

Han Yazhu Ambassador for Zone 7 frowned over at Randidly Do you have any proof Not to argue with you but it seems hard for me to believe that is the SystemÆs goal After all we didnÆt develop the ability to utilize images until recently And we still arenÆt doing it very well More importantly the System gave us the ability to actually use images in a meaningful way without it there would be no images

Randidly nodded slowly He was very careful to keep his gaze extremely light as he looked around the room He made sure to note the people who seemed to agree and the people that frowned in puzzlement over the issue But his emerald gaze was studiously mild

Now wasnÆt the time for a show of strength Not yet ThatÆs very true But I do have two responses to that First the System isnÆt as generous as youÆd think It functions as something closer to a content creation platform like Youtube on old Earth they simply created a venue for you to feature yourself all the time and effort to create your image is produced solely by you And in this case the System will keep all of the profitÆ generated by your image by working you within their framework until you die

Secondly I think people generally undervalue how much differences there are in their images weak as they may be For the System this is a numbers game They pull a lot under their influence in order to hit the lottery only a small percentage of the time But because of how powerful those one in a million images may become itÆs worth it DonÆt underestimate the value you possess

Let me give you a little context on how the System works we are a part of the Seventh Cohort of planets that the System had included within its framework I have no idea how many planets were included in that Cohort but IÆve been made to understand that is in the thousands Perhaps even millions

From those thousands of planets the Calamities begin gradually sorting planets into various groups to be recycled Because no matter which Calamity results in the Earth’s loss thatÆs what the consequence of failing the Aether that flows to Earth will be cut off to varying degrees IÆll say this bluntly if we fail the First Calamity every individual in this room will soon die Not even from the Calamity itself but because without the presence of ambient Aether our ClassesÆ constant need for energy will cause us to quickly sicken and waste away

Assuming of course I donÆt just use my Aether Crossroads to fuel the Earth but somehow I doubt it will be that easy

Aether Sickness Mrs Hamilton sighed

After nodding Randidly continued to speak There are four Calamities The worst consequences are from failing the first but all are disastrous for the planet And partially the reason that I invited Nemesai to this party was because they have first hand experience with this struggle Or at least theyÆve seen the aftermath Perhaps you have already worked it out on your own but all of our Nemesai and Champions are from planets that fell to a Calamity in Cohort 6

Randidly looked out at the crowd He felt the news settle amongst them like heron beating its long wings and alighting in a marsh As he looked around there was a little surprise that Randidly could read on the various faces but generally very little interest There were some exceptions obviously but most of the groups here were simply waiting patiently This was an appetizer In their minds they were likely hoping to talk about the Corrupted Invaders in the Danger Zones

Short sighted This is why I needed to have everyone here for this discussion You donÆt get it You donÆt get what we are becoming a part of You canÆt see the way that we will doom every generation of EarthÆs people if we continue forward without being careful

ahem The Winged Serpent spoke drawing the attention of the room to itself This I can confirm We are indeed all from the Sixth Cohort Obviously we werenÆt present during the time of the conflict but representatives of our planets all failed the Fourth Calamity Such a failure still allows our planets to become part of the Nexus but as Mr Ghosthound has implied even that failure comes with costs If we do not perform tasks to help keep the System running the amount of energy provided by the System would only be about 5% of what our population would require

What happens if you pass the Fourth Calamity Warlord asked curiously The Winged SerpentÆs tongue flicked outward and then it looked at Randidly

Randidly grinned No one has passed the Fourth Calamity in a very long time

From some of the earlier information Randidly had obtained the Fourth Calamity was a special inspection done by a representativeÆ of the System To his mind it sounded ominously like actually being forced to face Elhume

For all that Randidly had been constantly improving that heavy gaze from an entire continent of crystalized Aether would still shatter him like an egg

I cannot explain the details of the Calamities due to constraints The Winged Serpent continued while Randidly flexed his hands But failing the second Calamity will see your planet become the basis for Dungeons for the next Cohort Failing the third Calamity generally means you will take on even stranger roles for the System depending on the type of wildlife and images present on your planet

The System always gets its due Once we use its energy to create images our images became its valuable labor to harvest more images in the future Randidly added Then he started increasing the circulation of Nether through his body Although most people in the room wouldnÆt necessarily notice the shift immediately they would feel a heaviness on their chests as they looked at him But I can give some information on the other Calamities as I have offered in the past

The Winged SerpentÆs tongue flicked outward RandidlyÆs eyebrows rose in surprise Certainly a cool customer I was hoping he would be more shocked that I know about the Calamities

The Second Calamity pits our world against a warped mirror of Earth Basically forcing us to fight our worst fear although defining it like that might be a bit misleading In System terms I believe it makes us fight a reflection that shows us the farthest Path away from what we took to get here

After Randidly said that he paused and frowned Wait a minute does the Second Calamity have anything to do with IleotÆs power Because it seems like it literally IS an effect similar to what he could accomplish just funded directly by the System at large and designed to fuck a planet over

An interesting thought but one that Randidly would consider more when he was standing in front of almost two hundred people The Third Calamity is likely the simplest and the most agonizing As though we had failed the first Calamity Earth will need to endure a period of time where Aether is extremely scarce The goal is to cull most of the populations and force the most powerful images to develop further urged forward by the threat of extinction

One of the three women standing near Han Yazhu paused as she raised her flute of champagne to her lips so even if we pass the First Calamity we will still have to face the consequences of failure as though we hadnÆt In order to test us

Generally yes Randidly said with a sigh The woman downed her entire glass of champagne in a single gulp and signaled for another He glanced at the Winged Serpent to see if the Nemesai was willing to add any more information but it held its tongue within its mouth However Randidly couldnÆt help but notice that its gaze on Randidly was quite a bit more interested

or at least Randidly thought so based on the combination of the Winged SerpentÆs posture and subtle image that got through his Nether dampening But it was still difficult to tell much from its reptilian eyes

Randidly circulated a slightly larger volume of Nether as his gaze moved from person to person that were standing and watching him speak Even though he had their full attention he still felt quite uncomfortable with it He ignored that feeling as best he could But the real threat the unexpected one is the Corrupted Invaders we earned by clearing enough Danger Zones in time The timeline isnÆt exact but I have heard that the seventh and final Zone will be connecting to New Earth in two weeks’ time So that is all the time we have to clear out four Danger Zones and then address the Epic Danger Zone

THAT finally earned a response

How do you know this Theodora Greyman asked in bewilderment Many of the Order representatives frowned down at there hands in a stance that clearly showed they were sending messages to their Order at large Mrs Hamilton seemed almost annoyed and quickly produced a small notebook to mark some things down

People in the crowd glanced at each other and began to whisper quietly

But of course RandidlyÆs attention was once more on the Nemesai Although the Winged Serpent stayed completely neutral the Bandit King jerked in surprise when Randidly made that reveal And in his eyes Randidly saw a flash of relief

So it seems like the Nemesai arenÆt completely out of cards to play yet Randidly hummed to himself before ratcheting up the pressure he released a little bit more Good to know but not relevant quite yet The entire venue seemed to be encircled by the roots of Yggdrasil The chatter quickly died out

IÆve already located the Danger Zones we need to clear to reveal the Epic Danger Zone and I expect there will be some rules regarding clearing it that have been arranged by the System I Randidly closed his eyes Trust them will not be personally taking part in the Epic Danger Zone But you have my full support and the Order Ducis will be sending representatives If we stay focused we are more than capable of obtaining the benefits the System promised us

Because earlier Octavius Shrike had sent Randidly a second message adding a few more details about this interference They would discuss the rest later but from what Octavius had said this whole thing was a trap that had been set for him

Chapter 1316

In the meantime Randidly said loudly as the crowd began to whisper once more in the wake of his announcement he would not participate He wouldnÆt force the issue of working together with the Order Ducis not now but he wanted to make sure that he primed them for what was to come later IÆd like to encourage everyone to take some time to enjoy the party We can discuss the details of our preparations later IÆve hopefully given you much to think about so

Mr Ghosthound why are you playing coy President Greyman said loudly as she stepped forward Why wait to discuss the details of the Danger Zones until later in the night If we begin preparing now some of our teams might be able to get a head start on clearing out the Danger Zones that are threatening the Earth If we really only have two weeks to secure these benefits doesnÆt every second count

The only team not present tonight that could reliably clear a Danger Zone Randidly said slowly as he surveyed the room Is the one led by Lucifer from Franksburg And he is on his way as we speak Other teams might obtain minor benefits but the exchange would cost lives

Theodora Greyman folded her arms across her chest You donÆt know that Each Zone is likely more powerful than you think Mr Ghosthound

And to that Randidly didnÆt bother to hide his derisive snort of laughter Believe me I dearly wish Grim Intuition wasnÆt nearly as effective as it was

Have the benefits of this unexpected event blinded you to the other implications of the Seventh Zone connecting Randidly grinned over at President Greyman Sometimes she said the perfect thing to serve as a foil Unfortunately her stubbornness and fixation were becoming very dangerous for EarthÆs growth In two weeks New Earth will become fully a part of the System I have no doubt that several other bubble cities will be revealed as the Wildlands quickly expand The process of the First Calamity will begin

Every second does count But take your time to make sure you donÆt do something foolish there is a lot to handle Then Randidly looked away from the woman and scanned the crowd Most of the people present continued to signal each other in their faction but were at least paying attention to him Good I do have one other

IÆm afraid I must disagree with you Mr Ghosthound President Greyman interrupted again We are all adults here Coping with the unusual is a necessary skill for those of us who have spent significant time in the past few years trying to run a government in our new world Teasing us with the details and then hiding them seems almost spiteful to my eye Is there some reason that you do not wish to share your findings

Randidly looked at Theodora Greyman with a good amount of genuine pity as he blithely let her comment about running a government pass You do realize that many of the other representatives share your sentiments and are only too happy for you to attract all the flak from me by being the demanding one right Are you so desperate to stay relevant Or do you truly think this will help you in the future

obviously though you are not completely wrong Hiding the details serves no real point aside from upsetting most people But through that prodding I want to teach you all how weak you are

ItÆs my birthday President Greyman Randidly said with an extremely sharp smile And as such IÆm going to be a little spiteful before I tell you the locations of the Danger Zones you need to play a game with me And for that game IÆve assembled these five tests

While Theodora Greyman scowled at him Randidly removed the tarp off of the first object on the central island He revealed a rather plain metal stand with a fist sized ball of ice sitting on top of it Mist began rolling off of the blue spheroid of ice and descending to the floor He pointed at the ice quite pleased with himself There are two options before you If you pass all five of my tests IÆll tell you the location of the infected Danger Zones immediately Or if you all take too long we will just wait until when IÆm good and ready to talk about them

Randidly produced the PhilosopherÆs Key and spun it around his finger The rules are simple Melt the ice without using a Skill touching the ice or touching the platform Tatiana has the rules for the rest of the demonstrations as you proceed through them She will explain the relevant knowledge for the next test if you pass the prior one In the meantime try and enjoy yourselves ItÆs a party

Then he opened up a portal and disappeared from the ballroom

Derek Moss felt a vein twitching in his temple He adjusted his stance and attempted not to scowl What do you mean you donÆt know where he is

The assistant teacher to which Derek was speaking was clearly nervous The two were standing in front of the pavilion where all the teachers currently were allowing the children in the area to operate completely freely The young man kept pushing his messy hair out of his eyes and laughing in a high pitched tone Mr Moss we are severely understaffed due to the birthday So while I can safely say your son is somewhere in the park IÆm not sure exactly where he is Our normal activities require

Well have you seen him recently Derek said with forced calmness as he looked away from the assistant teacher and attempted to cool his temper But as he looked away his gaze wandered down the nearby hill toward the large stretch of land that several enterprising children had used their Skills to heavily modify Rather than a scenic park what Derek saw was a haphazard mix of hastily made dirt mounds and warped playground equipment

It was a childÆs dream and hundreds of kids were swarming through the area playing an extremely physical game of capture the flag filled with tackling and shrieking As a child Derek would have loved it Now however

Ah well The assistant teacher squirmed If it makes you feel better it isnÆt just your son that we havenÆt

Please donÆt try and console me by telling me that youÆve lost quite a few children Derek said in a dull voice Again the assistant teacher laughed nervously

Sighing Derek turned away and strained his senses looking for any hint of his son in the game below Of course the cacophony of joy and irrational anger wafting upward pretty much guaranteed that TimÆs more subdued antics would be buried Honestly he assumed that Tim was in one of the many copses of trees in the park practicing his secret Skill but the park was quite large Finding his son would be difficult He had already tried sending a message but Tim hadnÆt responded

Still if he wanted them to have any chance to enjoy some of the festival in Kharon around the GhosthoundÆs birthday the two of them would need to get started now

Ah Mr Moss IÆm so glad I found you

Derek twisted and saw three figures rushing up the hill toward them The leader was Hydie Mordath the other applicant to the Order Ducis who seemed inordinately pleased to have found him Derek didnÆt recognize the other two figures and looked in confusion at Hydie Miss Mordath After we finished our tasks you left quite quickly Did you have some business with me

ItÆs embarrassing to admit but Hydie grimaced as she stopped in front of Derek The assistant teacher gratefully began to tiptoe away but DerekÆs hand shot out and latched onto his shoulder to prevent the manÆs escape After giving the teacher a sharp glance Derek turned back and listened to Hydie After we parted ways I encountered these two who asked me for directions to the party And unfortunately ah

Again Hydie could only grimace and squirm DerekÆs instincts began to tingle strangely but the man next to Hydie walked forward and extended his hand Despite the fact that he had been misled the man seemed in a remarkably tranquil mood The two men shared a firm handshake Hello IÆm Ed Dugg Part of the Order Ducis eh You are a rare bread Although the fact that your companion got us lost isnÆt the greatest first impression

To be fair you got us lost in the first place Ed The young woman next to Ed Dugg chided gently Then she extended her hand toward Derek as well IÆm Mareen IÆm Mr DuggÆs assistant We really appreciate the help It is getting quite late

Bah A man should always arrive late to a party Ed said with a wave of his hands I just hope that wolf Paolo hasnÆt devoured all the food

His assistant rolled her eyes behind his back but produced a map and offered it to Derek If you could just tell us where we are currently For whatever reason your associate kept ah

Hydie threw her hands up in the air like this wasnÆt her fault at all

Of course Derek said with a forced chuckle The teacher he was gripping squirmed a bit but Derek didn’t let go He hummed to himself as he looked at the map and then pointed a finger at their current location This is where we currently are so you will need to head South a fair bit in order to get to the party If you head back down the road you used to get here

Then Derek stopped as the words and where his finger was pointing at the paper hit the analytical part of his brain Because the directions he had just given were incredibly inaccurate He twisted and looked at Hydie with a frown as something clicked I thought that our luck was way too bad today but that wasnÆt a coincidence was it This is you

Hydie sighed in an exaggerated manner Well yes Most of my Skills lay in the area of subtle inconvenience and unfortunately itÆs a passive aura not something that I can control So it is a constant companion in my life now

To their credit Ed and Mareen didnÆt seem angry at all by this reveal just puzzled Derek tried to adjust the position of his finger on the map so it was more accurate but he realized that the place he put his finger this time was even more incorrect Even as he was staring at the map something seemed to be interfering with his ability to put everything in context

Derek withdrew his finger How can you call it a minor inconvenience if you make it impossible to give directions

Ah well I have a very specialized Skill that targets giving directions If it makes you feel better this whole experience has given me five Skill Levels Two were from you just now so you might have been pretty close

Derek shook his head Well alright IÆll just take you there myself Then he turned to the assistant teacher And YOU while IÆm gone will leave the tent and find my son Am I being clear

For good measure Derek shook the young man lightly The manÆs sleeve ripped off like it was a tearaway prop Frightened out of his mind the teacher nodded twisted around and rushed away on his hands and knees

Ed slapped his knee and guffawed

Chapter 1317

Like all the others Alana was drawn almost magnetically forward onto the tiles once Randidly disappeared The draw of experiencing the sensation of having the image ripple outward from herself and affect the surrounding room was extremely tempting She had even been a little leery of doing it in case her image was markedly more powerful than others in the room but reality was a harsh mistress to her daydream

Not only was her image not the most powerful in the room but because so many people went down to try it at the same time the sheer weight of other images seemed to pressure her imageÆs ability to spread out over the surrounding area Very quickly first fifty and then a hundred people were out on the floor chatting and laughing After chuckling at the flighty thought she had of being some sort of chosen oneÆ Alana looked around and studied the effects of the floor

Of course her image was definitely one of the larger sources of light that stabilized beneath her But it was obviously smaller than the NemesaiÆs and the two women who had faced off against the Nemesai earlier by a fair margin But other than that she Hank and the man in the wheelchair were basically in a league of their own

Beneath them in size were people like Phirun Warlord Mrs Hamilton and other Donnyton powerhouses that were currently in attendance Wivanya also fit into this tier of images Alana hadnÆt seen Dozer and Annie yet but she suspected they would be coming soon and would slot in around there

Yet what was the most fascinating were all the smaller images Although they were noticeably weaker seeming to be only a fistful of light when enough got together they connected with each other and seemed to reach some sort of alignment

Balance was achieved through the stabilizing efforts of the small images between the larger ones It was actually somewhat pleasant then to stand and chat on the tiles feeling like you were standing over a field of bonfires and candles It also gave one an unprecedented sense of image awareness As Alana sipped her champagne with disinterest most of her focus was on her image reaching gently out through the surrounding ripples and sampling the surrounding images

Most of what she discovered where the types of images present on Earth but still she quickly noted a few techniques that others had used to strengthen their image that Alana could put into practice Even if just for that guidance this trip was definitely worth it Especially since her own image was becoming a bit

Would you ah like a drink One of the servers nervously asked one of WivanyaÆs children that had been given the distinct honor to attend the GhosthoundÆs birthday with them The dragon in question Uulomon raised his head and looked over at Wivanya Wivanya nodded slowly

Uulomon used his long neck to raise his head further Then with surprising delicateness he gripped a single glass with the tips of his jaws and lifted it off the plate When he had created some distance from the server he flipped the flute up into his mouth and crunched downward noisily After several seconds filled with the tinkling sounds of breaking glass Uulomon very obviously swallowed everything

Thank you He said politely the perfect gentledragon

Ah no problem The server said with a polite smile before wandering away

Hank nudged Uulomon with his elbow Tasty

Human snacks are interesting I did think it was pretty the way it looked like ice Uulomon allowed Hank cackled to himself while the other dragons regarded the whole scene curiously They raised their heads and looked around interesting in trying their own human snackÆ But the sudden interest just made many people edge away from the group as the dragonÆs licking their lips gazed around

The dragons had shrunk their bodies to be about the size of lions with sinuous serpentine necks but it was still quite intimidating to see so many in one place gazing about as though on the hunt for a gazelle

Meanwhile Wivanya looked at Alana That was the man you have taught us about Randidly Ghosthound

Alana had known this was coming Yes that was him

At once all the dragons seemed to hum to themselves as though they were considering something Or it might even be their version of a prayer It did however give Alana the chance to see the way that images could merge with each other The soft lights of the dragonÆs images beneath their feet wove themselves together in complicated patterns as their intentions united

To AlanaÆs surprise it was Uulomon who spoke first Let us go look at the trials left by our prophet

Hank gave Alana an amused look but Alana ignored it Truth be told she was also having some difficulty with the terminology that the converted dragons used to describe Randidly Ghosthound After all Alana knew him as a man first and foremost So it was strange to think of him as anything but that

A prescient and pioneering man whose example they should follow in order to help the Earth survive for sure But as AlanaÆs Paths and Skills developed increasingly obvious religious undertones

To the point that my hesitation is already slowing the development of my image Alana thought with a sigh But she wasnÆt quite sure how she should go about addressing that issue The obvious solution was just to embrace the image but that made her hesitate For the moment she nodded and joined the dragons in walking across the tiled floor to arrive at the central island that Randidly had prepared

Time to look at their prophetÆs trials

It wasnÆt much of a surprise to find President Theodora Greyman and her allies already there furiously trying to defeat the first test left by Randidly Ghosthound after he so blatantly ignored her arguments Of course they attempted to appear casual in there posture but after almost fifteen minutes of constant effort it was clear that the test was not as easy as they had hoped TheodoraÆs fingers were tightly clasped and her expression was studiously blank

Of course the upside was that she didnÆt even blink at the arrival of the dragons to her area Although Alana attributed this more to the heavily emotional suppression she subjected herself to rather than any sort of legitimate manners toward the non humans Ah Alana Donal and Hank Howard As well as your associates How do you do

DoinÆ mighty fine President Greyman mighty fine Hank said in his typical drawl But his eyes sparkled as he looked over toward the pedestal and the fist of ice sitting smugly there Richter and Mark Rowel were both concentrating intensely not even acknowledging their groupÆs approach Ya see we were a mite curious about this testÆ Randidly arranged so we figured weÆd come and see how things were going Figure it out yet

ThereÆs nothing to figure out Mark Rowel hissed as he leaned back from the almost offensively cold crystal Alana could even feel how the air cooled in the area around the platform ItÆs not really a puzzle or a test just a damn feat of strength ah hum You you must be the legendary Wivanya Truly a pleasure

Mark Rowel twisted abruptly as he realized that it wasnÆt just Hank and Alana that walked over but dragons as well And Alana gave the man quite a bit of credit for having the presence of mind to offer polite conversation to Wivanya But Alana supposed there were quite a few individuals at the party that were unusual Dragons were at least an archetype people were familiar with

Wivanya nodded sagely Yes I am the Frost Dragon Broodmother These are some of my offspring Please forgive them if they are not quite yet ready for normal human interaction Perhaps I have spoiled them somewhat due to affection

To that Mark Rowel released a surprised chuckle I understand completely I have a daughter and as far as I can tell she is a little hellion around anyone but me Some of the complaints her principal tells me

While the two continued to discuss parenting Alana turned to Richter Difficult

Very He gave her a short bow and then gestured to the stand I believe we can brute force the test if we work together but you should examine it first so you understand the difficulty It is complex

Nodding Alana extended her hand toward the ice careful not to touch Compared to when she was touching the tiles extending her image outward was much more difficult during regular actions But still she could easily manage it with her current image But then Alana entered the area directly around the target bit of ice and her image floundered and collapsed After blinking in shock Alana tried again

so this is Nether Alana reflected as she struggled against the suppression that kept her image from affecting the ice It was a very different sensation from fighting against anotherÆs image Combating an image directly was like trying to run a mile while wearing weights mostly reliant on your own inner strength But this this was like trying to run a mile while someone was actively trying to stop you by digging ditches in your way Rather than struggling what it did was sabotage you directly

Growling to herself Alana focused her will to a burning speartip The blasting power of the sun washed outward The task of defeating the suppression wasnÆt exactly more difficult than it normally would be it was simply different Or at least that was what Alana thought at first But once she started directly countering the energy that suppressed her image that very same energy seemed to go ballistic Now it began to struggle against her Alana had to rapidly escalate the amount of mental energy she was expending in order to keep up with its image assault

Alana likely would have stayed locked in that struggle for a long time had it not been for Wivanya who moved her head over and blew a gust of cooling air across the back of her neck With a twitch Alana came back to herself and found that she was starting to sweat

Difficult Hank asked with a serious expression Alana nodded Both frowned at the pedestal in front of them

As I said we might need to just brute force it If one person handles the strange suppression another can attack the ice directly Richter said with a sharp smile A difficult test for a single person but with two powerful image users

Alana snorted I hope it is that easy But I have to ask this Have you ever interacted with Randidly Ghosthound in the past

Richter tilted his head to the side Because he was in his wheelchair he looked up at Alana His eyes were incredibly intense And Alana didnÆt forget the flash of hatred she had felt from him I assume what you are implying is that I am underestimating him The truth is I have not ever spoken to him Earlier was the first time I have seen him in person as well Although I have read extensive reports on what he has accomplished during his adventures I donÆt hesitate to say that he as an individual is likely responsible for over 50% of the success our world has had in its interaction with the System

Almost like heÆs some sort of savior Alana thought with only a little bit of bitterness But out loud she spoke with a smile I agree with your assessment But IÆve also seen first hand the work that he puts into every task he takes on So believe me when I say we might need more than two people to beat this

Chapter 1318

Acri hummed in pleasure as Randidly moved smoothly through the various spear forms When the party waited for him below this was how Randidly chose to calm his mind Like his earlier practice with the spear he didnÆt imbue his image into the motions at all His movements might try an emulate the spirit of the image but he simply relied on his physical gifts to practice creating that feeling

With just the physical movements as the guide RandidlyÆs mind wandered to the details of the image With vicious brutality in every strike Randidly truly became the Grim Chimera And while he was there he could see the way that light reflected off the serrated and sharpened interior of his talons He felt the coarse and slightly porous texture of the bloodstains on the bone spear

The skin of his torso was so soft that it seemed to whisper as he moved And as that skin traveled toward his appendages that skin became corrupted and toughened to something close to leather The body of the Grim Chimera was a balancing act of dualities it was several parts that had been stitched haphazardly together in the name of survival

As Randidly cut the air with enough violence to create gusts of wind swirling around him he realized that his earlier attempts to bring the Grim Chimera to some sort of perfect harmony werenÆt necessary Part of the Grim ChimeraÆs charm was the tenuous lease it possessed on life

So his movements started to reflect that almost wildness of the Grim Chimera The raw way it approached every problem seemed into the powerful blows of Acri

Congratulations Your Skill MonstrosityÆs Appalling Physicality has grown to Level 260

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Avoidance has grown to Level 240

But of course Randidly was not alone on the island This practice was also to test another problem he had discovered recently in his spearmanship

Still breathing evenly Randidly slowed in his motions with all the unhurried necessity like a freight train fast approaching a sheet of ice There was an almost dangerous amount of momentum contained in his body as he gradually ceased his practiced and arrived steaming at a stop The essence of the Grim Chimera began to fade from around him along with the small whirlwinds that he had produced with his spear strokes Then Randidly glanced over toward the other figure who joined him on his floating island So What do you think

HelenÆs scowl was something to behold It had all of the hard lines and blank certainty of conviction as the worn relief of a primitive god of slaughter carved into a mountain range I honestly donÆt know I donÆt think I can give you advice on improving your spear form any longer This is troubling

Randidly quirked his eyebrow up With frustration visibly wafting off of her Helen shook her head Well IÆll be blunt your form is actually quite bad YouÆve picked up quite a few brutally simple movements that broadcast your attacks to any foe who is paying attention In addition the way you hold your spear and manipulate it has shifted in some very inefficient ways that I cannot figure out

The more Helen spoke the more Randidly frowned But then he released a long breath If itÆs as bad as that why are you confused

ItÆs your body itÆs hard for me to gauge how powerful it has become Helen admitted I say you now move more inefficiently but perversely your speed has definitely gone up by adopting this style Whereas a perfectÆ spear form would utilize the pathways of air resistance to your advantage you have started to simply blast through that resistance Generally I would say that you are relying on your raw physical gifts to compensate for a lack of control but There are benefits to the rough approach Without relying on my image to compensate for the difference I canÆt keep up with your attacks any longer Ignoring the air resistance the way you do gives you a lot of unexpected power and acceleration

Setting Acri on the ground gave Randidly time to hear and consider the subtle notes of frustration and disappointment in HelenÆs voice Acri rolled around happily after the brutality of the prior actions completely oblivious to the hanging tension around the two people

Helen had come to Earth to be RandidlyÆs knight yet what happened was Randidly was had left her further and further behind In the raw mix of anger resentment yearning and awe in her voice Randidly could feel the internal struggle that she was going through as she struggled to come to terms with her usefulness to him

Because now her superior familiarity with the spear was no longer enough

Yet Randidly could also sense that this wasnÆt a battle that was his to fight with her He would not slow down his growth for her and she would not ask him too She was not someone who would value soft and consoling words that he could give her as encouragement So it was up to Helen to find the equilibrium between them

All on her own Because that is the first step to her finding her resolve to catch up to me in strength

So Randidly gently set that issue to the side which seemed to happen altogether too often lately Instead he hummed and considered the problem that Helen had outlined after watching his spear movements his Skills and Stats were approaching the physical limit of the world No longer was he confined to typical human movements and that had created some unexpected consequences

Randidly was now at an interesting point where image and realisticÆ efficacy started to run counter to each other Because obviously Randidly could choose to keep refining his spear control to take advantage of the natural forces of the universe rather than simply shattering them in a display of the Grim ChimeraÆs raw power He had plenty of Stats in Control to handle that sort of training

But then he would be losing the brutal natural power of the Grim Chimera in his movements The rough and unnatural peculiarity of its existence would start to fade Because the Grim Chimera struck on instinct It was purely a creature of necessity that survived by fighting and using stitched together parts

Previously the perspectives of the current world and the world of RandidlyÆs images had existed in a curious balance that he took for granted But now he had a slight headache as he considered how difficult it would be for his image to continue to improve at such a quick rate Because his image as long as he continued to follow this path would begin to run counter to the natural laws of the world Another force to struggle against as he refined himself

Which was perhaps another reason that even on the frontlines there hadnÆt been an excess of extremely powerful images The only other option was switching the image of the Grim Chimera to be more in tune with the world but at this point

Randidly shook his head and sighed One more weight on the shoulders wonÆt matter whatÆs one more world IÆm struggling against I bear the Inscrutable Mien and drag in my wake the Implacable Price If Yggdrasil is really a Universe that was First a Tree it will eventually need to support its own natural laws anyway

When he then roused himself and glance over at Helen he found that she was now looking at him with a remarkably solemn expression Seemingly her earlier frustrations had been overcome while Randidly considered his own problem

So will I be able to fight against the First Calamity when it comes Helen asked

After hesitating for a small moment Randidly shook his head Probably not I donÆt think there will be any complications from you participating but I think the Earth should learn to handle its problems on its own I hope that Calamity shakes off the rest of the doubts that they have about the danger the Earth is in

She nodded and paused for a few seconds of time When she spoke again however HelenÆs eyes seemed to shimmer with a crimson light But of course IÆll be able to participate on behalf of the Order Ducis against these corrupted invaders Quite an unusual threat that has suddenly appeared on the planet

Inwardly Randidly chuckled wryly Was Helen using a sales tactic of starting with a large ask and then becoming more reasonable to get him to agree Maybe he had left her alone with Tatiana for too long the two were as thick as thieves But honestly it didnÆt much matter Randidly had planned on Helen helping to resolve this problem quickly Of course We arenÆt extremely pressed for time but we definitely donÆt want to miss the window for the benefit if the danger will remain on Earth either way YouÆll be responsible for smashing to pieces any defenses that were likely designed to stall a typically developing world

About fucking time you let me stop playing around I swear when you arenÆt around to spar IÆm driven out of my mind by boredom Helen rolled her shoulders

This time Randidly chuckled aloud We will see how much longer you can say that for The people of Earth are growing stronger Maybe someday soon someone will be able to beat you in a direct confrontation That would certainly inject some tension into your life right

Helen snorted but as she quickly changed the subject Randidly realized that the same thought had already occurred to her And that she was unwilling to dwell on it for a moment longer than necessary How was the party Have the people of Earth begun to listen to you

That made Randidly twisted his mouth He glanced down at the pitch black metal of his left hand flexing it to cause lines of white light to flare to life across the dull surface As Randidly focused on his swirling inner nebula shadowy flames of Nether flickered to life across his knuckles They currently listen to my power Which is fine for now But this Epic Danger Zone and the direct interference of the System it means someone has noticed something about me Rather than continuing to lure those forces to Earth IÆll probably need to go to the Nexus to stop the Earth from becoming a battleground

Which means IÆll be leaving Earth for who knows how long And as the impression of my power fades people will stop heeding the warnings that I left for them Even though I donÆt doubt the Order Ducis will remain the most powerful group for a while even without me that wonÆt stop some of the other Zones from testing the limits Especially since we have no idea what kind of Zone is about ot connect to Earth or what sort of governments will be revealed in the new bubble cities I canÆt just display power I need to teach them a lesson about power Which is what is happening now

Will it work Helen asked It was clear from her tone that she didnÆt think that it would

Randidly showed his teeth Probably not Which is why IÆm being a bit heavy handed this time

Obviously we donÆt want to actually meet the Ghosthound Delilah told Tim As she spoke his name a shadow of fear skittered across her features but then it passed and they continued on her way She skipped quickly ahead forcing Tim to jog to keep up with her on the winding forest path that led out the back of the childrenÆs haphazard wooden castle A gaggle of older and larger teens followed closely behind Have you met him DonÆt do it He is one of the most horrible heÆs the devil incarnate Hiding from him is impossible Once he grabs you he wonÆt let go So we avoid him BUT We obviously need to go to his party

Err Tim glanced around still slightly unsure what he was doing here After introducing herself Delilah had promptly begun barking out quick orders to the other kids without waiting for TimÆs answer to her offer to crash the party TimÆs arrival served as some sort of signal that the plot was beginning She seemed to take his acceptance for granted Why do we need to go to his party

Delilah abruptly stopped requiring the rest of the scampering column to skid on their heels in order to prevent them all from smashing into each other and collapsing into a pile of gangly limbs She turned around and regarded Tim with a beaming expression of pride Aha I knew you looked smart Because all the adults have emphatically said that there will not be a birthday cake because the Ghosthound doesnÆt like them But itÆs a birthday Of course there is a cake Which means there must be a secret cake

Uh Tim wasnÆt sure if he shared DelilahÆs confidence But also why did you invite me

Weight to moss spirit ratio Delilah turned around and started skipping forward again just as abruptly I told them to bring me the scrawniest kid with the most moss spirits around him and that turned out to be you Just a surprise you are so new here Seems like they really like you

Scrawny But IÆm bigger than you Tim thought with a frown But then his other questions reasserted themselves

But why Tim opened his mouth to continue the line of questioning but they rounded the side of a low hill and walked into a small clearing in the trees The words died on his lips as he saw the rather strange mixture of crudeness and care that only projects completed entirely by children possessed

A slapped together wooden vessel sat in the middle of the clearing reminding Tim of vague memories of boats he had seen in the past The bottom was flat like a raft but it was large enough to fit two squat shacks and a tall mast that seemed entirely without purpose

Our ship Delilah said fondly

Chapter 1319

Naffur watched with a rather amused expression as the exhausted group of people that had gathered around the first of RandidlyÆs trials finally released a sigh of triumph they had managed to melt the fist of ice on the pillar Water dribbled down the side of the stone edifice that had flummoxed them for quite a bit of time making for a poor celebration of their triumph

After almost a half hour of Alana Richter Mark Rowel Hank Howard and Wivanya managed to overcome the interference of the ambient Nether field and disperse the image of frigid chill that Randidly had left Naffur had covertly watched the entire process slightly surprised by how quickly they adapted to the challenge

The success earned some notice from the steadily swelling group below on the glowstone tiles causing most of the conversation to slow somewhat for several seconds But the anticlimatic sight of the group rubbing their temples convinced most everyone else turned away to continue with their conversations This was a rare chance to interact with basically everyone of import on Earth after all

And the conversations that werenÆt political in nature turned into surprisingly interesting diversions as the different methods of dealing with the System from the various Zones were brought into contact with one another

Near to NaffurÆs position on the floor Isabella Cortez was engaged with a rather heated discussion with Obyrn Myyr making it difficult to hear any of the other conversations around them

Obyrn shrugged his huge shoulders The weak die It is the nature of things More supporting methods exist but is not the ultimate goal the survival of the species not the individual Your methods waste time and support that could be spent fostering images with much greater potential Why not allow nature to run its course and select the winners for more resource intensive training

It is impossible to judge the value of individuals so early in their lives even with the System Especially with the System Isabella leaned forward and scowled She flexed the fingers of her hand for emphasis fully one fourth the size of the ogre in front of her IÆm not even sure if potential is what is displayed early on in peopleÆs lives starting strength does not determine future strength We would need to identify likely indicators and even then

Obyrn was almost puzzled as he looked down at Isabella What better test of potential that the willpower and mental determination to succeed early on Those who give up are demonstrating their own weak will

When a waiter walked past with a tray Naffur grabbed two flutes of champagne Then he shifted his position slightly moving along the periphery of the glowstone tiled area so that he could hear the discussion between the group that was so fresh from their triumph The first success meant that more troubles would be coming for that group Tatiana crossed the glowstone tiles at a stately pace easily holding her own against the light of surrounding images as she did so

When did everything become such a show Naffur thought sadly to himself Not that he flinched from it With a little bit of concentration he sent pulses of images outward from his position that dimmed the light of images surrounding him

Tonight of all nights Kharon and the Order Ducis needed to appear near invincible As the respective leaders of those factions Tatiana and Naffur had a responsibility to cast a long shadow

Naffur could practically see ill omened ravenÆs wings beating at TatianaÆs back as she glided forward The group noticed Tatiana now and straightened a certain amount of pride clear in their expressions

After being thoroughly trained at a certifiably sadistic pace for the last year Naffur felt a great deal of schadenfreude to watch others cope with the standards of the Order Ducis Especially this moment when they were informed that their work had only just begun

Wonderful job Tatiana said in such a light tone that the phrase didnÆt sound like a compliment at all Theodora GreymanÆs eyes narrowed but otherwise no one else really reacted It was clear that they were all still very drained from their earlier toil YouÆve certainly moved quickly But I have to say that the first trial isnÆt yet finished You are only halfway through Sorry for the delayed explanation

Alana snorted The cluster of dragons around them bobbed there heads in unison as though they were thinking of something The lines at the corner of Theodora GreymanÆs mouth became canyons as rivers of emotion ran their course through her

Still as breezy as a summer day Tatiana continued to speak But you should be familiar with the goal of the task It is the exact opposite of what you just did you will need to use your images to recondense the ice on the pillar for me to try and melt Considering the difference in preparation between yourself and Randidly all you need to do is to create a frozen image that will stop me from melting it for one minute

None of us deal in images relating to ice Theodora Greyman hissed through her teeth Her hands were tucked into her armpits

Tatiana eyes flicked lightly to Wivanya but then she focused on Theodora and smiled indulgently And neither does Randidly Ghosthound not truly But let me ask you this is it your images that are powerful or does the power lay in the Willpower that wields them The rules about not touching the water and the pillar remain the same Please feel free to ask me any questions and come get me when you are ready for my participation in the test

As Tatiana walked off the group lapsed into a weary silence for a few seconds as they considered the task in front of them Naffur took a sip from one of his flutes of champagne Finally Mark Rowell threw his hands up into the air This is impossible even with the help of the dragons We are going to need to base the image and maintain it through that same interference that took us twenty minutes to overcome And I bet its much harder to make something while under that suppression than it is to destroy something

As Hank patted WivanyaÆs back affectionately and the dragon conveyed strong distaste through its reptilian features Alana Donal hummed softly to herself ItÆs a matter of self propagation of the image The imageÆs Vitality basically That was why it resisted so strongly once we forcefully suppressed the Nether interference It wasnÆt enough just to convince the image that it wasnÆt what it thought it was that was impossible We had to forcibly eradicate every bit of the image of cold Otherwise it would just have kept being cold

A hard Skill ta learn quickly Hank looked at the frost forming on the hand he used to pat Wivanya and sighed

A good point about images versus self however Alana admitted Then she shook her head Images are ultimately just a habitual expression of our will We should not forget that We can exercise our will in different ways and that will likely strengthen our images in turn

Wivanya slithered forward putting her head underneath AlanaÆs arm and lifting her neck into the womanÆs armpit in a way that was reminiscent of a giant cat Then the dragon spoke while breathing out a chilling mist from her nose There is enough harmony between my offspring and myself that I can borrow some of their Willpower to install such an image but removing the interference requires a much higher standard

Are you really all fine with being jerked around by Randidly Ghosthound like this

Everyone turned to look at Theodora Greyman The woman had spoken loudly enough that some of the surrounding people below the central platform also slowed down in their speech to watch the confrontation with interest From his vantage point Naffur caught the slight flash of distaste on Mark RowelÆs face and the naked irritation on RichterÆs

Naffur took another sip of his champagne But in that moment of expectant silence as Theodora was sucking in a breath to really launch into her tirade the doors to the Glowstone Ballroom were knocked lightly against the wall with the obvious intent of attracting everyoneÆs attention As one the room pivoted

NaffurÆs eyebrows rose as he saw the two newest applicants to the Order Ducis Derek Moss and Hydie Mordath step to the side and allow the group that followed them through the door to take the center stage It was understandable theyÆd be interested in the party but since they were here Naffur quickly remembered a few tasks they could handle

But movement brought Naffur back to the present A score of GhosthoundÆs Riders seeming the largest and most powerful of their kind cantered out into the entrance area of the ballroom as people in the area receded sideways like the oceanÆs tide up onto the large staircases that led to the second They call carried their various weapons and rode chitinous steeds that looked around with eyes that seemed flat and alien Even though Naffur was familiar with the group they still cut impressive figures as they allowed some of their natural pressure to roll off of them

Strong Naffur hummed to himself Very strong Another strong force loyal to the Ghosthound

Although they werenÆt quite as powerful as the top tiered individuals on Earth they were very close to the top 10% in terms of image And what was scary about each of the twenty Riders that came to the party was that most of them had quite a number of sufficiently powerful Riders that followed them

A ripple ran through the images in the room as the Riders moved out onto the floor and had their own harmonious images push back some of the images of surrounding people But the spread of the image strangely also diffused the tension in the room from their arrival because their image clearly conveyed they were just as curious about the surrounding people as the people were about them

An olive branch cloaked in elegant lances

Gradually the Riders dispersed and mingled One joined Isabella and ObyrnÆs discussion another approached Kayle and began a passionate conversation of which Naffur couldnÆt quite make out the details Some Riders approached the central platform to investigate the dragons The largest of the RIders riding what could only be an armored rhino went over to King PhirunÆs group and compared its own muscles with those of the KingÆs guards A Rider on top of a spider skittered over to talk to a pallid faced Han Yazhu and the trio of Xiang Le

People shifted to make room and the lively discussions gradually unfurled once more like a blooming flower The volume rapidly increased to its previous levels Turning back to the central platform Naffur was pleased to note that apparently someone had talked Theodora down from throwing a tantrum

Tatiana arrived with surprising suddenness at NaffurÆs side IÆm genuinely confused by what Theodora Greyman is doing today She is sharper and subtler than this ThatÆs how she for a brief few months became the most powerful woman in the world as she sat as Chairman of the World Council

Hubris and pride Naffur hazarded Tatiana shook her head but didnÆt say anything further as the two watched the situation on the central platform It appeared that the group that took the challenges seriously was steadily growing in number Both King Phirun and Paolo were brought up to assist with the second part of the first challenge

NaffurÆs eyes slid around taking note that several smaller figures walked into the ballroom in the wake of the eye catching Riders He immediately recognized Ed Dugg and next to him was

Naffur froze with the champagne flute at his lips The bubbly liquid fizzed against his tightly closed mouth Mareen

It had been over a year since they had last spoken to each other Naffur had grown and gained a whole heap of confidence after being forced to run the Order Ducis and then by enduring the training of the Order Ducis He had practically forgotten the way she had returned the flower ornament that he had bought for her in the Orchard before they both had left after the lottery

Yet when their eyes met almost immediately NaffurÆs insides set to squirming The worst part was how happy she looked as Mareen noticed him and immediately brightened It was also the best part

But why is she so happy if she

She started walking directly over toward him And all Naffur could think of was the message she had sent him several months ago that he could never work up the nerve to reply to

While Tatiana noticed his plight chuckled softly and withdrew Naffur twisted his body around and tried to figure out the coolest place to put his elbows Suddenly he was extremely self conscious of the fact he was holding two flutes of champagne

Chapter 1320

While most of the attention was on the challenges and the arrival of the Riders of the Ghosthound into the ballroom the Nemesai found themselves curiously lost in the lurch After their dramatic entrance they were generally avoided but accepted as part of the crowd that milled about the ballroom So they drifted sideways at a group until they arrived at the curious array of food that had been laid out for the party

The Winged SerpentÆs tongue flicked outward This outcome had been their goal all along but it felt somewhat bitter to have arrived at this point after being thoroughly suppressed by the Ghosthound It seems the posturing was unnecessary Allowing this Ghosthound to dictate the flow is for the best for now

Its gaze slid sideways to Thea who calmly picked up a plate and began to ladle various food items out of the large containers An inefficient and strange custom that seemed to be the norm of behaviors on this world Humming to itself the Winged Serpent drifted sideways to ask Thea about this strange human tradition but was stopped by a short man stepping in front of it with his hands raised

No cutting in the buffet line The man reached up and began to stroke his rather sizable mustache We must all wait our turn

The Winged Serpent tilted its head to the side at the boldness of this man Was he not aware that the Winged Serpent was a Nemesis In addition a glance around revealed that there were almost a dozen people milling around the area wandering up to the buffet area freely Why had this man stopped him

Heh do you truly want to be like those people The man snorted sending tremors through his voluminous mustache No as it is clear you are an alien from another world allow me to show you how to utilize the buffet ItÆs the least a respectful man can do

Your assistance is not necessary The Winged Serpent replied Behind it the other Nemesai were snickering to each other by the strange interaction with this man Although you humans choose to indulge in food in this manner it is an unnecessary waste of time All of the energy I require to live I am able to obtain through Aether Why bother with food Your minor customs are a diversion but not one I need to bother with

By the end of his speech the Winged Serpent made sure to make his tone harsh enough to drive the man away But contrary to expectations the mustachioed man didnÆt leave In fact he simply looked at the Winged Serpent with such a genuine expression of pity to which the Winged Serpent didnÆt know how to react

Heh ah to be young and think you know all the delights of the world The man said with a weighty shake of his head Humor me mister snake Here try this This is Filet Mignon although I donÆt think itÆs harvested from anything actually related to a cow these days

To be young IÆm almost four hundred years old you foolish human The Winged Serpent thought sourly And it was about to open its mouth and say that but as it breathed in prior to speaking the scent of the food the man offered it entered the Winged SerpentÆs nose The Winged Serpent sniffed again slightly suspicious of how attractive the food seemed

Its interest was definitely peaked

I suppose there is no harm in trying The Winged Serpent hissed as it released another breath Then its tongue shot out snatched the food and gulped it down whole The seasonings and tender juices seeped out of the meat and down the Winged SerpentÆs throat as the muscles of its body constricted around the strange morsel

The sensation of eating was unfamiliar after so long of simply relying on Aether but not unpleasant

Quite subconsciously the Winged SerpentÆs tongue flicked out across its lips and gathered up the drops of loose liquid that had been spattered there in the Winged SerpentÆs haste to get the experience over with

The man chortled My nameÆs Ed Dugg DonÆt you worry I wouldnÆt steer you wrong Follow me this is what is called leg of lamb with a mint sauce again I donÆt think itÆs actually lamb though some of KharonÆs defenders found some rather meaty spiders I do believe

Both Naffur and Mareen were on the same page from the very beginning Which disturbed Naffur for some reason After exchanging a few pleasantries the two turned without speaking and walked out the back of the bathroom Naffur led the way through the catererÆs corridors nodding at Wolfram as they exited the event space and walked onto the lush green lawn The moon was fat and low overhead surrounded by a cloak of stars that cast a cool white mantle of light over the grassy ground

They were alone with the night and a few drifting motes of moss spirits

Every blade of grass seemed outlined with stark lines of that soft moonlight as Naffur pivoted on one leg still with two flutes of champagne in his hands to face Mareen That same mantle of white light caressed the sharp edges of her silhouette while her softer interior was draped lightly with shadow They looked at each other for several seconds their eyes searching for answers in the serious expressions they made at each other

Yet Naffur couldnÆt seem to find any answers besides his own confusion In NaffurÆs mind his heart was still racing with how in sync they seemed to be right now And sure he had always thought they had such a connection but that was back before they had both left the Orchard When Naffur had painstakingly worked up all his nerve to shop for a flower blossom ornament that he thought that Mareen would like

And when he had given it to her she had reacted with such joy that Naffur had practically floated away from their meeting on golden clouds

Yet later he had watched as Mareen returned the gift he had gotten for her to the seller It was a practical action but one that seemed deeply meaningful to his eyes A hole had opened in his chest that drove him to run away from the Orchard without any sort of plan Which ended up working out well for him in the end but that sensation of listlessness really hadnÆt dislodged itself from his heart since then

That hole still existed Sometimes it felt like it would always exist

Which was why when Mareen had messaged a few months ago and asked why they hadnÆt talked in so long Naffur hadnÆt been able to find the words to reply All of them were lost in that hole Because he didnÆt want to just talk in the way that it seemed like Mareen wanted to talk The difference between what he had felt and what she currently wanted grated at him in a way he couldnÆt stand

So he had run away And now he stood in a moonlit meadow More moss spirits drifted curiously downward ringing their intimate silence

so you Mareen blinked and twisted She looked around at the surrounding area to the grassy slope and the distance line of birch trees behind the ballroom and then her gaze came back to Naffur youÆre a big drinker these days

What Oh no I there were just two left on the plate so Naffur mumbled as he lifted the flutes uncertainly

Mareen giggled and something in the silence between them cracked Naffur was able to chuckle at himself and shrugged Their eyes met again and both held more warmth in their looks

Then Mareen spun on her heel and looked away from Naffur standing with her back to him ItÆs itÆs probably weird right We were just friends and I sent you that crazy message out of the blue I guess I just was thinking of you and

Naffur looked at the curve of her neck She was wearing a light blue dress with a skirt that flared outward with white accents His mouth was extremely dry I

IÆm the acting head of the Order Ducis so why is this so hard

And strangely as MareenÆs nervous words faded into silence and Naffur stared at her back something clicked inside his head Suddenly he could see why Randidly Ghosthound never took a break Why he pushed himself to bleed in every training session and threw himself toward danger at every opportunity Why the people that Randidly had slowly drawn into his orbit even Naffur himself seemed to catch that urgency that they couldnÆt shake

Because this sense of helplessness felt like a wound on NaffurÆs soul Any sort of training would be worth it in order to avoid feeling this ever again It was the sound of air and light vanishing down that hole in NaffurÆs heart disappearing forever

Gritting his teeth Naffur took several steps forward as the moss spirits began to drift even closer When had so many appeared Mareen

Yes She spun around to quickly that she seemed to have been jolted by the sound his voice They were only a meter away from each other and Naffur was abruptly aware of the swirling whirlpool of moss spirits that had gathered Their emerald light played off the soft edge of MareenÆs cheekbones in a way that made him unable to look away

She was the prettiest thing Naffur had ever seen and his nerve deserted him like nightmares before the cleansing power of sunlight Ah would you like a drink

He offered her the flute that he hadnÆt drunk from Mareen smiled in a regretful way but she nodded yea IÆd like that She took the glass and that helplessness had once more seized NaffurÆs heart with its cold and bony fingers Yet he couldnÆt

I really liked the flower you got me by the way She breathed it out softly and her shoulders slumped as her face turned down to the glass she had taken from him IÆd waited for something like that for a long time

And that was the opening that NaffurÆs wounded heart needed to finally shudder and reveal itself then why did you return it

Mareen blinked Then she sucked in a breath as if she realized something She brought her hand up to her chest and suddenly she was looking at Naffur with a sour expression You have you been acting so distant because you thought that I didnÆt like the gift you gave me

I well no But you Naffur shook his head wildly You just always talked about those flowers so I figured maybe because it was me that gave it

Naffur the one I returned was one I had bought myself that morning Because it was the perfect gift It was what I had wanted for a long time From you I loved it And I thought

They were both leaning toward each other and MareenÆs words skittered to a stop Blushing she looked to the ground And as Naffur teetered on the uncertain edge of his feelings he felt a warm hand press against his back

He took a half step forward and Mareen looked sharply upward at the same moment Their lips met

Their front teeth knocked against each other with a jarring solidity

Naffur sprung back horrified IÆm so sorry I didnÆt

I guess thatÆs for making me wait a year Mareen giggled Then she stepped forward and put her arms around his neck And this is for giving me exactly the gift I wanted with one yearÆs worth of interest

They kissed again Very pleased with themselves the moss spirits swirled even more tightly around the couple

Chapter 1321

Neveah insisted that they enter arm in arm so Roy was dragged haplessly along beside the more powerful individual into the rather loud interior of the ballroom A chorus of voices bounced off the hard marble surfaces filling the room with life The party had been going for almost two hours now and people were deep into raucous discussions

As the newly arrived duo glanced around they saw two main groupings of people one on the central platform in the ballroom and another on the opposite side from what was clearly a buffet Having accepted his role as arm candy Roy simply glanced at Neveah and waited for her to decided what to do

A passive role was not one he liked but Roy could smell something deeper taking shape around him It didnÆt seem like it would be his Third and Final Labour for his Soulskill but there was something important here

The illusory woman covering a monstrous bonewyrm sighed dramatically That big group in the middle are the people attempting to beat the challenges that Randidly left for the party Which should be impossible for anyone on Earth even with several weeks to work at the project Not worth bothering with he already told me that my assistance would be cheating And over there thatÆs definitely a stage Which means my ex will be here soon to perform

Even if you donÆt want to be you sound excited Roy said casually Although he couldnÆt physically resist the presence of NeveahÆs arm through his own he did try to rile her up when he could

Unfortunately the pointing out of the obvious seemed to have been exactly what she wanted Ah what to do IÆm sorry itÆs becoming very difficult to concentrate on our connection now that I am thinking about her Just such a complicated situation

There are infinite roads to happiness Roy said smoothly finding the barest hint of a narrative he could use He flashed a wide smile at Neveah The only issue is that if you try to follow anotherÆs you will inevitably grow lost This seems like a situation where I am simply

With a casual brutality that both filled Roy with bitterness and admiration Neveah shook him So much so that he stumbled although she promptly lifted him and set him back down on his feet Now now donÆt think this means that I donÆt value you Ah Sydney How wonderful to see you again

While they had been standing by the entrance to the ballroom chatting the door opened and a very familiar young woman walked through Unlike most of the other entrants into the room Sydney kept such tight control over her image that not even a single person seemed to notice that she had arrived She simply wasnÆt there one moment and then she was

If it wasnÆt for the intense gazes of the two familiars perched on her shoulders Roy would think that Sydney had arrived in a particularly chipper mood She was however certainly dressed to the nines She wore a shimmering silver gown that trailed behind her across the ground At her neck was a fist sized sapphire and she wore her hair up in an elaborate arrangement of pins that spoke to both sophistication and class

Sydney gave Neveah a cold smile then turned to look at Roy with obvious distaste He was opening his mouth to greet his former partner in a jovial tone when Neveah once more shook Roy with enough force that the words died on his lips as his teeth clicked painfully shut He couldnÆt resist throwing a scowl NeveahÆs way as Sydney chuckled

It is good to see you too Neveah IÆm surprised at your choice of companionship however Sydney said lightly

Not even going to acknowledge that IÆm here Roy grumbled but he knew this wasnÆt the time to try and escape from the strange situation in which he found himself There were some real costs to being a vanity person but there were also a few benefits Neveah had much more mobility than Roy would have on his own here after all

And that scent of a narrative was it tied to Sydney She definitely wouldnÆt speak just to me

As he had expected both women ignored his words Sydney tilted her head and peered across the packed ballroom Is Randidly not here yet I hadnÆt thought he would be the type to arrive late to his own birthday

He was here earlier but left after giving the people some image related tasks Neveah replied

The air around Sydney grew chilly Her hands tightened into fists Trying to show the difference between him and us huh

Pretty much Neveah agreed Neither commented on the crackling sense of tension that began to radiate outward from Sydney The cold was bad enough but the buzzing intensity of the electricity that surrounded Sydney filled RoyÆs body with a dull ache The combination of the two was already starting to leave his muscles spasming and sore

But then the pressure vanished Sydney shook her head almost ruefully as the metaphorical frost across her expression cracked and a spring smile could slip through IÆm being petty Can I catch up with him do you think

Neveah chuckled In some ways you are much farther along than him already His strength doesnÆt change that

This exchange mystified Roy but he obviously was going to take note of what was said And in the wake of those simple sentences the lines around SydneyÆs face softened even further The permafrost dispersed and green shoots of genuine emotion poked up through her expression ThatÆs fine then And in terms of gifts

There is a table over by where they are making the stage Neveah shook her head Although with everything else thatÆs going on who knows when that show will happen

Sydney shrugged IÆm not here for the pageantry although I have to admit the feel of this room is fascinating And beautiful obviously No IÆm just here to give my oldest friend a gift and to give him a warning If you believe that itÆs fine to speak in front of this walking pile of human excrement IÆll inform you now

By all means speak my date is a perfect gentleman Neveah purred Roy playing his role well grimaced But of course his once dead heart began to beat with a little bit of urgency

East End was robbed a week ago Because of a disappearance at the time I thought it was an internal issue but now IÆm not so sure Sydney began I assume youÆre aware of the substance we call magical plasticÆ out of East End The material we use for the elemental focai

After Neveah nodded Sydney continued to speak Some of my people theorized that it wasnÆt just a building material but that what made it special was the presence of life within it The conductivity of elemental energy and images was directly proportional to the size of the raw material it was extracted from So the magical plastic we refined from a ten meter vein was exponentially more powerful than what we could gather from ten one meter veins To the point that there is a qualitative change at certain sizes And there is a theory that this qualitative change might eventually endow a focai with intelligence ItÆs just a matter of finding a large enough vein

To be perfectly frank my scientists were inspired by RandidlyÆs Living Engravings If an Engraving could grow why couldnÆt an elemental focai It was a problem of mass of the magical plastic and the strength of the image of the related elemental that would fill it They even believed that in significant enough quantities it would create something like an egg where a truly special existence could be grown

The egg is what is missing then Neveah tilted her head to the side

Sydney grimaced That would be much simpler to track But no weÆve not located a vein large enough to function as an egg WeÆve gathered quite a bit of the mineral in question for our experiments in artificially producing such an egg but progress has been slow

No the reason head researcher on the project disappeared along with a interesting monster we recently discovered ItÆs called the Impending Rock it has no real abilities to harm people aside from its size and weight but whatever substances are around the Impending Rock will be dissolved and absorbed becoming a part of it

We ultimately discarded the plan because the amount of minerals required in the short term was prohibitive Based on our observations if it absorbed enough magical plastic and raw minerals it could become solve the problem of self propagation to create the giant egg we wanted

Not to interrupt Roy said slowly But this thing grows right How did they steal a rock How large was it

Sydney seemed to notice the gleam of excitement in RoyÆs eyes but overlooked it to answer his question It was large Almost as large as a house at Level 39 But when the Impending Rock is shattered it doesnÆt die It just reverts to its Level 1 form which is the size of a fist

So the best research on elemental focai and a bold method to create an extremely large vein disappeared And you think you know who committed the crime Neveah said slowly

If he isnÆt here already and there is no way he would willingly miss RandidlyÆs birthday Sydney replied in the same slow tone ItÆs likely Ace He always had a dark sense of humor What he could make with a living focai a monster like that would be a gift that made him laugh

Ezekiel shivered standing on the ridge next to two other figures Below them the ground dropped away and was swiftly devoured by the hilly forest in the area around Kharon Unfortunately the trio dare not approach any closer to the Kharon because of the absolutely monstrous group of individuals patrolling

Their images were bright and vicious in the dark night Rather than humanoids monsters seemed to be rotating methodically in the shadows of these treelines around Kharon

But from their vantage they could also see a wooden raft drunkenly riding a wave of emerald light through the sky Although its course was rather meandering it was clear that it was making a beeline for Kharon What was even more intimidating was that it was obvious that the powerful patrols noticed this vessel yet did nothing to stop it

If we wanted to sneak into the party we would just need to make use of the moss spirits Ezekiel said slowly

Ace snorted I stink of blood and death would the moss spirits really accept us

Ezekiel shrugged uneasily all too aware of the shadowy figures moving amongst the trees below There was no way of knowing whether they would be intercepted as a threat to Kharon but after watching group after group of guests and terrorists walking boldly forward and being accurately diagnosed based on their images Ace was unwilling to take the chance

Maybe this is a good thing Ace said softly IÆm not ready to give Randidly the gift that he needs

The rest of his sentence was lost in a series of hacking coughs that shook Ace Hunching over Ace struggled to control his body as wet and crimson blood oozed out of his mouth and nose to drip onto the few hardy stalks of grass that covered the surface of the ridge But as soon as that blood touched the ground a halo of withering spread outward The stalks shivered and died in droves

The woman standing with the two men frowned I told you itÆs too much to keep that substance within your body They might call it Lifeblood Essence but that blood

Enough enough Ace waved his hand airily as he straightened and wiped his mouth ItÆs the only way to keep it potent long enough for the egg to be ready And then I can give Randidly the gift he truly wants A homegrown villain to change this world for the better

Ezekiel grimaced If that was what he really wanted he wouldnÆt have killed Straud so quickly

That caused Ace to begin to chuckle So much so that more blood began to ooze out of the corners of his mouth And Ezekiel didnÆt miss the way that his ears were also starting to drip blood It was beginning to stain his leather shirt ThatÆs an entirely different thing Straud was ultimately a foreign threat And most importantly it was a threat that didnÆt understand the grandeur of our current stage Straud was a small man with small fears

A man that almost killed you both when you saved me The woman pointed out

Ace continued without noticing her interjection a man concerned with returning desperately to the past A man who could not see outside the venue of our worlds A man who had no appreciation for the horror of the System around us no that was never what Randidly wanted This whole time heÆs been waiting for me to realize my true potential

Ezekiel and the woman had shared a glance Ace had grown increasingly manic since his consumption of the Lifeblood Essence stolen from StraudÆs ritual At this point Ezekiel started to feel rather leery about continuing to associate with the man But since he had come this far

Plus some part of EzekielÆs Class couldnÆt help but wonder what Ace tasted like

What about you Ace suddenly said sending a bright smile EzekielÆs way ItÆs your sonÆs birthday I think as long as you keep that in mind the patrols shouldnÆt bother you much They let the Nemesai through after all DidnÆt he extend a personal invitation to you

Smiling nervously Ezekiel lifted the unadorned box in his hand It was only wrapped in brown paper but as Ace had said it felt like a talisman against the powerful images Ezekiel felt in the surrounding trees yes But are you sure you donÆt want to make an attempt YouÆve been talking about this party all week

Nah it hurts to admit but IÆm not ready for this AceÆs eyes glittered as he looked toward the luminous form of Kharon in the distance The strange raft continued to sway and slide its way toward its destination across the night sky Randidly Ghosthound is powerful So powerful that even now IÆm afraid But I canÆt run away from our confrontation right He was my best friend I owe him that much

Chapter 1322

The floating lights of the ballroom were turned down low and ReinaÆs magnetic voice bounced off the walls as she crooned her way through a tragic ballad about those that were lost during the arrival of the System With a little cooperation of the people on the glowstone tiles everyone allowed their previously flared images to dim Humans Nemesai and alien creatures alike bowed their heads and swayed to the music no matter what each individual had gained much was lost to meet the high demands of the System

Through that almost morose crowd swaying with the music one man walked smoothly forward slipping through the gaps of the groups in order to arrive quickly at his destination And it was not that the man didnÆt share the same feelings of regret as he heard the lyrics No this man was wracked by that very same regret every single day

But this man also understood that the source of his current darkness lay with himself the System was just an excuse

Sighing Ezekiel reached the side of the ballroom dedicated to the gift table and produced a small hand wrapped box Compared to some of the lavish displays that covered the table it was practically invisible Yet Ezekiel reached forward and gently laid the package down on the heavy oak table

DonÆt lose your way Randidly He whispered DonÆt become like me

Then Ezekiel slipped out of the party even as the sad song ended and one filled with hope began

Something akin to an electric shock ran through RandidlyÆs body He sat up straight suddenly filled with the knowledge that Ezekiel had given him a gift Helen who still sat in front of him quirked an eyebrow upward at the sudden jerky movement But her implied question was almost immediately answered as there was a ripple in the air and an object began materialize in front of Randidly

It was clearly recognizable as a dreamcatcher yet the shape that was forming was extremely peculiar Most of such mundane dreamcatchers that Randidly had seen had been a hoop woven with different patterns in the middle generally made to resemble a spiderÆs web Beads or feathers would be hanging from the bottom adding further character to the item

But this Dreamcatcher was a little different Rather than a flat hoop this dream catcher was a sphere There were fully six exterior hoops twisted and crossing each other at random angles adding a vast amount of depth and shape to the dreamcatcher And from those exterior axises Strange geometric shapes hung

From those geometric shapes more shapes hung Until the interior was a confusing knot of triangles parallelograms rhombuses hexagons and the occasional unattached line that intersected itself in an extremely incestuous manner

Congratulations You have obtained the Second piece of your Fateset the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night The night of your life is extremely long and the flow of time around you can be confusing even at the best of times The membrane that is selfÆ through which all experiences pass can be easily misled by the suddenness of a momentÆ Perception can be masked and misled but the truth that a moment is both permanent and transient cannot be lost

The Dreamcatcher of the Long Night exists as a tool to offer poise to the user It can be considered a map and a vehicle as well as the ultimate shield against those compelling narratives that claim to be truthÆ

Many truths exist in the world The Alchemist exists because their truth exists separately from that of the world The Dreamcatcher of the Long Night will help you shape that truth to its full potential

Congratulations Due to the presence of the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night +4 Grim Intuition and Reaction per Level

Congratulations Your Fatepiece Dreamcatcher of the Long Night has grown to Level 2

Congratulations Your Fatepiece Dreamcatcher of the Long Night has grown to Level 3

Even more than the meandering description provided by notification Randidly was rather mystified by the two sudden Levels that he had gained in his Fatepiece Early Levels sure and therefore easier but also they had occurred before he had thought at all about what its function could be Perhaps just from reading the description he had obtained some clues

But I suppose the PhilosopherÆs Key wasnÆt exactly immediately forthcoming with how it could be used It will just take some time to experiment with this new piece of my Fate Hopefully it ends up being as useful as the prior one

Helen clicked her tongue to get Randidly to look up from the dreamcatcher You obtained your Fate just like that

A piece of my Fate Randidly corrected as he reached out and touched the top of the dream catcher that still hung magically in the air As soon as his fingers pressed against the almost rope like material that constituted most of the Fate the soft sound of chimes reached RandidlyÆs ears He glanced sideways at Helen but it seemed immediately clear from her only mildly curious expression that she couldnÆt hear those same noises

probably related to the use of the Dreamcatcher then like the PhilosopherÆs Key can encounter the sensation of karma

Congratulations Your Fatepiece Dreamcatcher of the Long Night has grown to Level 4

Congratulations Your Fatepiece Dreamcatcher of the Long Night has grown to Level 5

That’s a comically easy confirmation

Shaking his head Randidly focused on the noise of chimes coming from the 3D Dreamcatcher of the Long Night that he now held in his hands What he found was a maze of rumbles and rings There were dozens of the noises that he could hear of various volumes and pitches but after focusing for a while his Grim Intuition and Focus were more than enough to start to isolate some individual sounds among them The sound waves stopped muffling each other and an ecosystem gradually emerged

However examining the sounds gave Randidly not the faintest hint of a clue what the piece of his Fate was supposed to do

It doesnÆt seem very powerful Helen commented with a yawn

Randidly rolled his eyes I donÆt think itÆs something that will take an active role in battle It is more of an amulet I suppose ItÆs a dreamcatcher and what I understand of dreamcatchers they are hung over the bed of infants To protect them from bad dreams

Helen shrugged As I said it doesnÆt seem very powerful People rarely sleep with the System So when would you have time to dream And are your dreams really that bad that you need protection from them

Rather than answering Randidly simply flapped his hand to shoo Helen away and focused back on the Dreamcatcher Shrugging she turned and walked toward the edge of RandidlyÆs floating island Now that his spear practice was over it was clear that HelenÆs interest in staying here was quickly waning Although the party below wasnÆt much better walking around was certainly better than just staring at Randidly cradle his dreamcatcher

Which left Randidly alone to focus again on the chimes coming from within the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night His focus narrowed Very quickly he also realized that there was a flow of something through the dreamcatcher that was causing the noise In addition that flow went both ways coming out of him and into the dreamcatcher and from the world through the dreamcatcher and flowing into him

As the description had said the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night acted as a buffer for something Experience and time

No Levels huh

So for quite a while Randidly paid very careful attention to the noises coming out of the dreamcatcher The high notes of the chimes the low notes the strange flow that rang them his attention watched for anything determinative about what was occurring When that didnÆt yield anything Randidly even brought out his PhilosopherÆs Key and prodded ineffectually at the dreamcatcher for a while But he couldnÆt sense any karma amongst those noises

With a shrug Randidly stopped trying to determine anything from the raw sound and simply immersed his consciousness directly in the dreamcatcher His light mental touch quickly went up to one of the loudest chimes that was being held suspended in the dreamcatcher Randidly was slightly afraid that there would literally be a bad dream held there but almost a half hour of careful observation had yielded him nothing

It felt like time to gamble a bit

Immediately after Randidly reached out the chime he reached for grew increasingly loud To the point where it buzzed his entire perspective And then everything went dark

And in the dark he found a voice

So you choose this path But as I have stated it is useless You are an accident I never expected did you really think that I would simply let you go

Moving slowly Randidly turned to face the source of the voice that continued to speak so malevolently I cannot take control But I can break you take away all your strengths your connections to the outside world You need but simply acquiesce IÆve taken away your ability to do anything else after all Then I will use your Aether Crossroads to create a utopia for you humans Simply give in and you can escape that darkness Otherwise

What was strange was the sense of immediate familiarity of this place and then feeling of alienation Because Randidly felt emotions in his chest that werenÆt his own not truly They had been at one time but now

He was crowded by fear anger panic anxiety and a bone deep hatred for everyone that tried to control him The emotions were so pure and poignant that he felt them bleeding into his consciousness

Ignoring the voice talking to him Randidly spun on his heel and looked around at the surrounding area Not a thing could be seen It was completely dark isolated from the rest of the world Then the familiarity made sense this was a place that Randidly knew A place that he remembered very well even to this day

This was the first time that the Creature had approached him directly seeking to use his images to create a world she could use to hide from the System And when Randidly hadnÆt agreed she had isolated him It was only through the connections to the four people he had given blessings that he had been able to escape

Randidly seemed to have been teleported to the past And rather than going back to his then capabilities his Skills were still all present

He looked calmly around To the eyes of the current Randidly he could see the rather lazy construction of the Aether framework that cut off him from the rest of the world He could also see the deliberate holes that would allow him to escape if he could use this opportunity to connect his Aether and images to people outside of this area

Randidly almost couldnÆt help himself he raised his hand and tore it all down

Suddenly they were back in the badlands just outside of Donnyton Yystrix was clearly shocked taking a step back You how did you

Even if you are just a projection of her in an old memory that has haunted me for a long time Randidly said slowly He raised his hand and wiped away a tear Yyxtrix wore LyraÆs young face looking so innocent and out of place as the monster that had tried to doom the Earth several times itÆs good to see you You didnÆt deserve what happened to you Yyxtrix

Congratulations Your Fatepiece Dreamcatcher of the Long Night has grown to Level 6

Congratulations Your Fatepiece Dreamcatcher of the Long Night has grown to Level 12

Chapter 1323

After polishing his rhinoceros horn and straightening his suit Octavius Shrike coughed into his hand and raised his chin in an officious manner Although it was admittedly somewhat unusual to accept an invitation to a party hosted by someone in a Cohort that he was overseeing as far as he could tell there was no rule against it

Obviously his powers would be greatly suppressed but he wasnÆt there to impart any teachings in that regard Although Octavius was currently confident he was more powerful than Randidly Ghosthound he was not sure how much longer that would last That knowledge was unsettling but that was part of the reason that Octavius now chose to attend the party Developing a good relationship with powerful individuals before they had reached their full potential was essential

To that end the reason that Octavius went accepted the invitation was to share information Randidly Ghosthound needed to be warned that the Swacc family was clearly aware that there was something unusual about his body Their trap was rather ingenious but with Octavius ShrikeÆs help Randidly would avoid it effortlessly

Or at least that was what Octavius hoped for He was somewhat nervous that it wouldnÆt be so simple because although Octavius knew he could protect Randidly it remained to be seen what could be done for the Earth as a whole

With his authority as Overseer of the Seventh Cohort it was entirely childÆs play to open a portal to the Earth Due to their prior interactions it was very easy for Octavius to key in on Randidly GhosthoundÆs energy as well and arrive next to him The portal opened grandly and Octavius strode through the awards and merits that were pinned to his chest jingling with the motion

And he did indeed found Randidly But Octavius paused struck by the bleak coldness that hung around Randidly Ghosthound The image seeping out of the young man was so biting that Octavius sucked in a quick breath They stood on a moonlight island a low silver mist pooling in large banks around them The surrounding area was entirely still

Randidly had his head lowered a shadow covering his face Octavius cleared his throat Did Mr Ghosthound are you alright

Randidly blinked and looked upward Almost immediately the feeling of horrible bleakness faded and Randidly offered a bitter smile Just reflecting that power isnÆt enough to fight against the System You need to be smart as well But IÆm glad you came Octavius Do you have more information about the Corrupted Invaders

Randidly had been holding a strange geometric sphere of rope in his right hand but he twisted it abruptly and the thing began to fold in on itself Piece by piece wound together until it was simply a single woven bracelet that twisted around his right wrist He crossed his arms as he considered the Overseer of the Seventh Cohort with a startling directness

Octavius could sense a fair amount of power from the object around RandidlyÆs wrist but he didnÆt peer too deeply Such an action would be rude after all And this was practically a networking meeting

Octavius cleared his throat for the second time His hands felt clammy even as the chilling air began to warm slightly Indeed I do have more information about the interference of the Swacc Family But first I would like to apologize for even allowing such a thing to happen It was under my watch and

We both know your powers are limited Randidly interrupted with a rather insulting amount of accuracy of OctaviusÆs ability to handle orders from the Nexus Council Randidly then waved his hand Again the lack of respect was slightly irksome DonÆt worry about it

ahem But as I was saying the Corrupted Invaders that are present in your Danger Zones are powerful individuals but based on what I can sense Octavius paused for a second to scan the surrounding area He frowned somewhat to sense people that had clearly come from the frontlines to Earth and wondered how they survived on the lower Cohort but decided to ignore that and focus solely on the natives it is theoretically possible for the people of Earth to overcome the challenges present Difficult and time consuming but

IÆll give them a little push to motivate them Randidly said with a sharp expression Even though most of the chilliness had faded from the air around him it was still present in his eyes Rather than the rich and warm emerald that they usually were the coloration was closer to a frigid mint Can you tell me about what this situation really is however

Octavius grimaced They got us good unfortunately The Swacc Family isnÆt going after you directly instead they are claiming that your presence and success on the front lines is proof that the Earth is the home to several uniquely powerful images As such it managed to push through an absolute antique of a test that hasnÆt been used since the Fourth Cohort And the reason they could do that is the Xyrt Brigade agreed to it

Randidly tilted his head to the side and gestured for Octavius to continue Octavius obliged despite his annoyance at the slowly growing sense that he was a subordinate reporting to a superior When the Cohorts used to be smaller the Xyrt Brigade needed to recruit much more actively in order to field a sizable enough fighting force So they would do sudden tests like this to ascertain the responsiveness and power of a planet

Of course the real slick piece of arrangement on the SwaccÆs FamilyÆs part is how they got the Xyrt Brigade to agree by helping them get rid of some of the useless individuals they are honor bound to support All of the Infected InvadersÆ are truly infected with a powerful image to stabilize them but they are those who went mentally insane from the training to get into the Xyrt Brigade

Finally Randidly opened his mouth and his words werenÆt sharp and dangerous Honestly his voice displayed a surprising amount of vulnerability when he spoke ItÆs dangerous to get into the Xyrt Brigade

Very much so They expose their applicants to almost infectious images in order to make very sure that their operatives can resist something akin to a Nether KingÆs corrupting influence Then Octavius clasped his wide hands together But thatÆs just background you asked about the benefits and costs if you do not succeed within the time limit Really itÆs simple In addition to those failed applicants as cheap workers for this deal the Xyrt Brigade is offering up an amalgamation of their homeworlds for the Epic Danger Zone Currently the Xyrt Brigade provides a very generous amount of Aether to those worlds per the agreement the applicants signed when they joined the Brigade If Earth succeeds the valuable raw materials of those worlds and that generous Aether allotment will become yours

Of course if you fail to succeed before Earth becomes its own planet the Xyrt Brigade will abdicate its responsibilities to provide Aether to those planets Rather than a source of Aether those worlds will become a constant drain on Earth reducing the ambient Aether to something survivable but much more restrictive on growth

Randidly tapped his jaw Each motion was measured and heavy And this is all to get my attention right Well they have it What have they arranged so I wonÆt simply brute force the issue myself They should be aware of my abilities

Arrogant to say himself but he is not wrong To RandidlyÆs words Octavius nodded Indeed Part of the old testing system is that a special investigator of the Xyrt Brigade will be present to look for exemplary elements Which considering your status as a Commander on the frontlines you will qualify

His actions are bound so long as you donÆt do anything to attract his attention but if you move he will be within his power to testÆ you And let me assure you that this is not a good thing the special investigator is one Kaan Swacc Unless you somehow managed to overpower him directly there isnÆt a shred of hope that this man will find your actions worthy of entrance into the Xyrt Brigade Essentially I suspect that he is here to beat you into submission and make sure the Earth fails the Xyrt BrigadeÆs test

And how strong is he As Randidly Ghosthound asked the question his eyes once more sank into that terrible coldness

Stronger than Lady Iellaya at least But it is difficult to tell exactly where he sits in the hierarchy of the Xyrt Brigade So thatÆs why IÆve pulled some strings for you I believe that although its impossible to get around this test entirely if you come with me to the Nexus tonight we can get an advantage in the larger war IÆve arranged for us to meet with someone from the Xyrt Brigade with your strength it will be simplicity itself to impress them From there

IsnÆt there an easier way to impress the Xyrt Brigade right in front of us Randidly smiled again And with each word the temperature in the surrounding area dropped He uncrossed his arms and flexed his hands both metal and flesh A dark haze seemed to hang around his body How will the Xyrt Brigade react if this special investigator that they sent gets killed They seem like a rather rough edged bunch considering their training methods

OctaviusÆs mouth worked for several seconds before he could speak Well you are right that they would see his death as the weakness of the investigator rather than something worthy of retaliation but the Swacc Family no no no besides that there is practically no chance that you would be able to fight Kaan Swacc on equal footing

Randidly didnÆt even bother to reply He just smiled The temperature had reached the point that frost began to creep across the ground The haze around Randidly darkened The silver energy that wreathed this place seemed to be swirling slowly around with the momentum of Randidly GhosthoundÆs murderous thoughts The mist crept in low tendrils toward OctaviusÆ feet

Besides IÆve been monitoring the situation on Earth very closely since youÆve returned YouÆve IÆve been very impressed by the temperance that you displayed largely not interfering with the affairs of the planet Is this not similar to those situations Although you are powerful your presence is the cause

This and that are different Randidly said softly I let the Earth deal with its own problems but this is a foreign entity coming to my planet but IÆm glad you brought up what IÆve let occur on Earth for the past several weeks

People have died because I havenÆt acted I could have prevented so many deaths And there are problems that I know about even now walking around on the surface of the Earth If I wanted to I could eradicate them before they hurt people

But I wonÆt Because I donÆt need an Earth that is safe from these small dangers I need an Earth that is prepared for the Big Danger that I know is coming But I wonÆt lie to you it has been a certain kind of torture to know that there are so many problems I could solve and I let them go I try to distract myself with training but

The GhosthoundÆs smile stretched even wider The shadows in the silver energy swirling around him started to look like a cackling monster Having something worth fighting is just what I need to vent some of this frustration right now

He is stronger than you know Octavius said darkly but Randidly Ghosthound just laughed

And this time Octavius Shrike felt genuine fear as he started to feel the powerful waves of Nether that were emanating from the young man in front of him The haze had transformed into tongues of shadowy flame OctaviusÆs image shrank back before the GhosthoundÆs dark light Good ItÆs really been too long since IÆve pushed at my limits

Chapter 1324

Randidly didnÆt bother to control the ambient Nether that he was releasing as the two people talked about the threats against Earth Not in any sort of attempt to intimidate Octavius Shrike but rather because he was having trouble controlling the Nether in his body Honestly Octavius had arrived at a very inopportune time The emotional consequences of what happened with the Dreamcatcher of the Night were already more complicated than he would have liked but after Randidly had spoken aloud the strange sense of relief he had felt at seeing Yyxtrix alright the nebula of Nether in his chest went crazy

Even Randidly couldnÆt deny that admission possessed deep meaning even if he wasnÆt sure what that meaning meant

His Nether core trembled and cracked giving Randidly only a few seconds of warning before it collapsed into an even more condensed form The swirling current of ambient energies raced around like they were about to erupt into a tornado Nether and Aether in equal measure were sucked into RandidlyÆs core in a frantic attempt to bring balance to the abrupt change

Power rolled off RandidlyÆs body in waves The ground hissed and sighed expanding and contracting as alternating waves of Nether and Aether radiated outward The Nether density in particular had been quickly increasing Which was exactly when Octavius arrived

In the present moment after their discussion Randidly finally allowed himself to release a tight breath Although Nether was freely seeping out of his body it seemed that the transition that he had been going through finally slowed down to manageable levels It gave him the chance to inspect his current situation

Of particular note was the fact that the area immediately around the core of the Nether Nebula now radiated a grey white light Randidly estimated that he was still hovering around the power of a Nether Gatekeeper but that he was nearing another plateau of density

Glancing down at the wrote bracelet on his right wrist Randidly frowned A Fate designed in the manner of Nether It seems that memories and meaning remain lodged in the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night but if they really were just memories why do I go into them with my current abilities Just a quirk or

Congratulations Your Fatepiece Dreamcatcher of the Long Night has grown to Level 13

Congratulations Your Fatepiece Dreamcatcher of the Long Night has grown to Level 29

Ignoring the frustratingly unpredictable notifications Randidly glanced up at Octavius With an effort of will he suppressed the flames of Nether that sprang unbidden from his limbs And when he noticed it Randidly put a stop to the ominous circling of the moonlight spirits around the two of them thank you for coming with the information For the moment why not take this opportunity to explore the party in relative anonymity before we make an official appearance I need to get a handle on this before I join you

When OctaviusÆs face shriveled up in a frown Randidly gestured the small flickers of Nether flame that still covered him After an aggrieved sigh Octavius gave a short nod and opened a portal with the flick of a finger Then he was gone

Finally alone Randidly blew out his lips and collapsed backward onto the rocky ground A lot had happened very quickly and it was hard to know which changes or information Randidly should address first Stubbornly rubbing his eyes he decisively took some time to further inspect the situation of his Nether

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 151

The Nether in his body had certainly shot sharply upward in density after whatever occurred with the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night but it was rather inconsistently done So Randidly spent a few minutes to go over his nebula and carefully cultivate his Nether Unlike Aether it didnÆt appear that Nether shifted meaningfully between air/liquid/solid states Instead Randidly found that his Nether had become thick and almost shimmering as it flowed through him like molten metal It spread with remarkable inconsistency at one time blasting outward and at others indulging in slow eddies

Gradually RandidlyÆs ministrations reduced the uncontrolled power of Nether erupting from his skin But if anything Randidly was only more concerned after carefully adjusting the state of his Nether The malicious potency that he felt from the energy was concerning So much so that Randidly actually shifted one of his remaining drops of liquid Nether into the core of the Nether nebula in order to keep the energies in balance

And then Randidly watched with a sour expression as the nebula began to spin much more quickly once more Although he had gone through all of the flowing Nether he wasnÆt perfect in his work he had missed several concentrated areas of Nether density But the rotation very quickly began to sort the energy out as the lighter stuff was pushed outward and the densest Nether flowed to the core

As long as leaving the liquid Aether there doesnÆt cause another transformation I should be fine Randidly thought with a sigh But of course the presence of this powerful Nether in my body is the whole reason IÆm willing to fight against this special investigator directly

RandidlyÆs emerald eyes flashed And apparently he released a significant enough amount of killing intent that Acri perked up hopefully and slithered up to Randidly He hadnÆt been lying when he had talked about how much internal stress he had been feeling since he had returned to Earth with the power to make the world better but had restrained himself

After a few seconds of pressing his eyes closed Randidly shook himself and stood He glanced down at the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night but decided that it was an issue that needed to wait until he had more time and attention to dedicate to it Instead Randidly raised his hands and manipulated that Nether with the consistency of molten metal to form a ritual

Another distraction This birthday party was turning out to be more trouble than it was worth

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 163

Once the ritual took shape Randidly was carefully to focus on the warmth of the connection inside of himself to guide its formation Something told him that a Nether Ritual spying on the location that Randidly was aiming for would not be received with kindness

He might even attract the attention of someone who Randidly could not afford to offend right now This was probably a very poor idea The hands that were manipulating the thick Nether didnÆt slow

After the experience with the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night and hearing from Octavius Shrike Randidly couldnÆt help himself With that connection in his chest he reached out for Vualla

He found her in darkness curled up on a low bunk He found the steady rise and fall of her chest cavity as she slept Although Randidly could have seen more of the surrounding area he kept his perception focused on the warm handprint that he had left on her back It was the connection between them and also Randidly felt almost creepy being able to do this freely

Luckily Vualla noticed his touch almost immediately Her eyes flicked open and although Randidly wasnÆt technically able to see she revealed those same clear azure eyes She sat up slowly stretched slowly then walked calmly out past rows and rows of identical bunks toward an open door His perception was fuzzy but Randidly could at least make out what was in the immediate area around her body

When she passed out into a dimly lit hallway a man looked up from a sheaf of papers he held in his hands A man whose heavy image had RandidlyÆs perception behaving very carefully Trouble sleeping cadet

Just wanted to move my body a bit Vualla replied lightly

The man snorted The Xyrt Brigade has designed this program exactly to match your abilities if you have any energy left to train IÆll eat my shoe

Vualla just smiled The moment stretched Then the man shrugged ItÆs your life If you break tomorrow during training due to exhaustion I wonÆt save you

The man returned to reading his papers and Vualla walked down the hallway to a door that led to an open sky so filled with stars that it almost appeared to be morning Randidly couldnÆt get a good view from his lingering presence only in the hand print on VuallaÆs back but it seemed that the celestial bodies above were impossible clear at this place

From the building Vualla walked quickly forward out onto a vast and dusty field Tall and grotesque edifices of curling bone were spaced equally apart on the field humming with all the peaceful ferocity of a sleeping bear And even just as a small presence of Nether clinging onto Vualla Randidly pursed his lips as he felt the insidious and grinding presence of images coming from each of those constructions

What a powerful suppression even when they are inert so Octavius wasnÆt wrong about the sort of training they subject their recruits to

To RandidlyÆs surprise Vualla made a beeline for the nearest image producing device And as they neared it began to buzz to life instantly releasing a grating mental pressure that covered VuallaÆs face with tight lines But once the thing activated and Vualla began to move through some basic punching motions VuallaÆs face split into a wide smile It was very dumb of you to do this But IÆm glad you did Happy birthday by the way

A strange sort of tightness that Randidly hadnÆt even noticed previously dropped away as he heard the raw gratitude in VuallaÆs voice Simultaneously he made a very dark sort of promise for vengeance when he heard the raw weariness in VuallaÆs tone Although her eyes were still the same bright clear color of the deep sea her hair had darkened and dimmed somewhat There were deep bags under her eyes

The image of that twisting bone toward buzzed incessantly next to them

They werenÆt kidding about the training being designed to push you to the edge if even Vualla is like this so this is the Xyrt Brigade

Unable to resist Randidly allowed a little bit more of his Nether to flow through the Nether Ritual and into VuallaÆs body She stiffened at first but Randidly carefully circulated the energy around the surface of her skin With the thick potency of RandidlyÆs new Nether it almost completely blocked out the aggravating effects of the nearby image Although it flowed around them they were an island of peace in a stormy sea

Congratulations Your Skill Nether RItual has grown to Level 164

Holy shit that feels good Vualla sighed She shook her head and then jerked her chin up toward the humming shape above them Without these pieces of shit this training camp wouldnÆt be so bad But even at your weakest they keep you under its effects To build resilience but I do sort think itÆs just a way to grind you down so their rhetoric sticks better

Vualla are you alright Randidly asked softly I wouldnÆt normally just try and connect to you like this but I hadnÆt heard from you in a while And some of the things I heard about he Xyrt BrigadeÆs training

Probably all true VuallaÆs voice was raw She continued to mechanically move through the motions of her punches exhaustion keeping her joints stiff even as she warmed up And IÆm managing IÆm really sorry I havenÆt been able to reply They give us literally no time to do anything but train IÆm glad you reached out honestly Because it reminds me why enduring through all this will be worth it

Randidly let a little bit of the icy killing intent he had recovered from that memory of Yystrix in the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night slip through the Nether Ritual To reap the vicious karma this System has sewn To collect a long owed debt

A reminder thatÆs a good word for it But what do I need to be reminded of

Congratulations Your Fatepiece Dreamcatcher of the Long Night has grown to Level 30

Congratulations Your Fatepiece Dreamcatcher of the Long Night has grown to Level 31

To tear down the Nexus VuallaÆs eyes flashed Her own image of destruction blasted outward the human form perfected into the ultimate tool of annihilation The next punch she threw it howled with power the image was so domineering that even Randidly felt the Nether barrier he conjured in VuallaÆs body flicker and fail for a brief moment For the freedom to decide our own fates

A terrible Path Randidly breathed

One we arenÆt taking alone Vualla replied Which makes all the difference

With a warm feeling in his chest Randidly reached through the Ritual this time bringing with him a bit of his own image YggdrasilÆs golden roots wound their way forward to circle VuallaÆs Soulspace Then in the manner that Randidly had learned on the frontlines while still just an image he began to provide life energy to VuallaÆs image to help its own recovery

Congratulations Your Skill the Golden Roots of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 238

Still it turned out that despite her physical wear and tear RandidlyÆs worries were unfounded Currently VuallaÆs image was still quite robust and powerful When she activated it the raw might it contained left RandidlyÆs images in the dust Partially because he had been so focused on Nether and the situation on Earth recently but also because Vualla truly was monstrously talented when it came to this sort of energy utilization

But the more that Randidly examined the image the more that he could see flaws The details were inconsistent Although the edges were harsh and overbearing the interior of the image wasnÆt as oppressive It had been so overworked and drained that some of the vibrancy of its core motivation was lost

That was what Randidly could foster now And so he did so

Vualla stiffened at first but then the tension flowed out of her body and she collapsed on the ground Ohh holy shit Randidly that feels so good Was my image really that worn down

A little rough around the edges but it should be fine Randidly hummed as he continued to channel energy through their connection Part of what flowed over with his image was trace amounts of Aether and Nether which would do a lot to help resist the sort of grinding damage that these bone towers could do

Vualla chuckled dryly DonÆt power me up too much The trainers will notice

Nah this is all you Vualla After another minute Randidly nodded in satisfaction as he felt VuallaÆs image returning to its natural form Besides didnÆt that man say the Xyrt Brigade designed the training regimen perfectly This must just be the result of a well made plan

Uh huh the night after I deviate from their well made plan during my rest time But VuallaÆs smile was wry She leveraged herself up from the ground and stretched with her arms over her head A yawn dominated her feature for fully five seconds before she could speak But this is just the beginning IÆll be here for at least five more months What about you What are you up to

Something similar as it turns out Randidly once more let his killing intent show through The Swacc Family arranged for a Xyrt Brigade Special Investigator to be sent to Earth to make sure we fail the NexusÆs most recent test I will likely need to kill the investigator

May he rest in peace Vualla gentle smile of support and faith was everything that Randidly had wanted it to be Punch him right in the face for me would you Just once This place I hope this all is worth it

Chapter 1325

Alta Bounty found the entire concept of a concert rather peculiar There was a time in her life that she had found the prospect intriguing and then a quaint diversion but as she had aged all she could see is the wasted excess at these sort of events All the effort the pomp the lavish expenditures that changed nothing in a way it was similar to the pyre that Alta had made within herself to destroy a world

It was a vast maw of fire that consumed much to create something brief and bright Yet peopleÆs reactions to the two parallel phenomena were completely different

No one had cheered as Alta burned everything to ash Even she was left bitter and full of regrets after the experience

There were fully three performers that night Alta admitted that each was more talented than the last eventually culminating in a soulful performance that had the entire crowd swaying and bobbing like the people had been transformed into a living sea There was a oneness that Alta couldnÆt understand as everyone present listened to the music They became a metaorganism balanced precariously on the rhythm of the song

In that expanse Alta was a stubborn rock Perhaps some part of her acknowledged that she would be worn down eventually but tonight was definitely not that night

More than anything the concert left her confused Her whole existence had become confusing since she had diedÆ to become fertilizer for Randidly GhosthoundÆs Soulskill She had recently avoided facing that deep existential rift in herself by throwing herself into the work of being part of the pantheon in the Alpha Cosmos But here outside of that world and cut off from her intimate connection with the images and stories of the world all Alta had was herself

Seeing everyone connected made that hole insider herself slowly grow outward

And she looked into that hole in her heart and found emptiness It was hard even to muster up the emotion to care at how deteriorated her mental state had become If Alta didnÆt have a role in the pantheon the emptiness inside of her would likely rise up and devour her fully The flames of that same bitter hatred that had driven her to destroy her world had died out but the charcoal left in their wake still tainted all of her being

Standing entirely still AltaÆs neck pivoted back and forth sweeping across the assembled people Part of her was looking for an answer but another part was deathly afraid that she would somehow destroy the surrounding unity just by existing She didnÆt deserve to be here after all

When did it all go so wrong

AltaÆs visual sweep was pulled sharply to the left when a womanÆs low voice spoke to her She turned to find a young woman with amber eyes and dark hair standing next to her The music continued to seeth around them making Alta suddenly unsure whether the woman had spoken to her or whether she had misheard by some weird coincidence of percussion

But then the woman smiled encouragingly and offered Alta a hand Want to go for a walk

Rather numb Alta gave the woman her hand Compared to AltaÆs rather clammy appendages the womanÆs hands were warm and dry Quickly the woman led Alta back to the far side of the ballroom and up the staircase to the second floor It was like they traveled to another world Although the music was still audible it was muted enough to allow for casual conversation

The woman let go of AltaÆs hand and performed an elaborate curtsy So nice to meet you I am Le I saw you standing unaffected in the music and somehow I just knew that we needed to speak

I simply didnÆt find the music to my taste Alta said awkwardly She had been treated a lot of ways by a lot of people since she had attempted to destroy a world But to have this woman be so immediately amicable it seemed dishonest Like it was only happening because the woman didnÆt know who she was But it is also nice to meet you I am Alta Bounty

Alta Bounty There was clearly no recognition of that name in LeÆs expression but that only made LeÆs eyes twinkle with additional interest Well met then Alta Can I ask you a personal question Who are you to Randidly Ghosthound

The question was one that Alta had been thinking very deeply about over the past few hours Her chest ached with imaginary burns as she tried to find the words to capture the rift in her soul I am someone who attempted to destroy something very precious to Randidly

Indeed Le gestured and led Alta forward And as they approached the banister to look down across the lower area of the ballroom the tide of the music receded before them To the point that when they arrived and looked over the people standing below the singer bowed and was rewarded with thunderous applause for her work

Le cracked her neck and then grinned at Alta From what I can tell Randidly Ghosthound is the direct type So after everyoneÆs mood is high from the concert while the group over there continues to struggle to finish the first challenge Le gestured toward the central island where a score of people continued to sweat in silence Randidly will strike He will crush those emotions with power Such is the prerogative of the protagonist

A protagonist huh Weirdly Alta felt strangely comforted to hear Randidly labeled as such She hadnÆt read any sort of fiction in quite some time not since her family had been massacred on that fateful day but she still remembered the well trodden paths that stories took The hero and the villains

So IÆm just one of the villains that lost and began to follow the hero huh I wonder then if someday I can redeem myself

And now its about time The lights were rising in the ballroom to signal the end of the performance Stagehands hopped up and swiftly began disassembling the impromptu platform that had been used for the concert Conversations slowly began to start once more as a swarm of service staff came out with additional flutes of champagne With this vantage point I bet we will have the best

Le trailed off abruptly and blinked over AltaÆs shoulder Alta still unsure how she felt about the strange impulse to redeem herself let LeÆs gaze guide her own She twisted around

Hurrying up the stairs with an easel under one arm and a canvas in the other was none other than the woman who had just rocked the room with her music Her long voluminous black hair trailed after her like a cascading river of ink and her forehead was still damp with sweat from exertion For whatever reason the woman was in quite a hurry so as she rushed forward it was only when she was a few meters away that she spotted the duo

And because she had been making a beeline for their location she skidded to a halt somehow managing to make the whole routine look graceful even with murderously thin stilettos

Ah The woman said weakly Then she blinked and smiled awkwardly I didnÆt mean to bother you I was just going to paint what what might happen next

Wonderful I can certainly appreciate a woman with an eye for perspective ItÆs definitely going to be centered around the platform with the challenges right So this spot gives the best vantage in the ballroom Le stepped to the side and smiled warmly You are Reina correct It was a breathtaking performance And you are welcome to join us for this protagonist viewing IÆm Le and this is Alta Bounty

Pleasure to meet you both Reina said with a small smile She immediately began setting up her easel and canvas and then produced several stools on which she placed palettes with various paints Only when she had finished did the woman turn to Le You are Le From Zone 7 IÆm really sorry about what youÆve been going through Has it been manageable

Le grimaced Fortunately no one with any real ability to rise within the System cares that we are women So the attempts have been inept But unfortunately theyÆve only been becoming bolder

IÆm really sorry to hear that Reina reached out and touched LeÆs shoulder Then she turned to Alta and asked Are you also from Zone 7

No IÆm Alta paused She licked her lips before trying out a new perspective on herself IÆm just a defeated villain that is redeeming herself by following Randidly

Aha I knew it Le positively beamed at Alta I suspected it to be so but IÆm so happy you confirmed it yourself What kind of villain were you How early in RandidlyÆs journey was it Were you the sort of villain that Randidly himself created through carelessness

Alta smiled weakly and tried to decide how to respond Raina chuckled and began professionally mixing her paints

Isabella Cortez was just about to be drawn into another deep discussion with Obyrn Myyr when she felt a light touch at her elbow She twisted around and found the manufactured smile that Mrs Hamilton only used when something important was about to happen Instantly Isabella adopted a similar expression

If you will excuse me Isabella said to Obyrn Myyr who nodded solemnly and turned away to other matters Then Isabella let Mrs Hamilton guide her across the room toward the area where the stage was still being disassembled

Why are we going over here Isabella asked curiously as Mrs Hamilton led them up off of the glowstone tiles and toward the efficient workers At this point the stage had almost entirely been taken to pieces and hauled off So there was plenty of space but still

There was a part of her that wished Mrs Hamilton would treat her more like an adult but a more practical portion of Isabella was aware that Mrs Hamilton was almost preternaturally disposed to sense the shifts in circumstances in any situation It was that very Skill that she had leveraged to make Donnyton the political power that it now was even after Randidly had cut his ties with them

I have a feeling that soon people will be driven off of the ballroom floor Mrs Hamilton said quietly She turned and calmly surveyed the area And we should get a good spot for what is going to come next

And what comes next Isabella asked But immediately after she had spoken those words a strange silence began to spread across the ballroom It was transferred one person to person spinning them around and making them look toward the back of the ballroom Because a figure appeared there wrapped in sharp edged grey armor and holding a huge lance with three undulating spearheads

His hair was black and wild His eyes were emerald His feet were bare He wore a heavy expression as he glanced around the room

Randidly Ghosthound had come dressed for battle

Chapter 1326

In those few silent seconds after Randidly had arrived and the whole ballroom had noticed his presence Isabella didnÆt know what she expected to happen But what she didnÆt expect was the quick and easy smile that crossed the GhosthoundÆs face The youthful glow that covered him as he grinned was a stark reminder that Randidly Ghosthound was young Probably not much older than Isabella herself

Yet he was the most powerful individual on Earth

And then while he still smiled cheekily out at the room his body rippled and split

The original version continued to stand in his original position with a half smile on his face but three other versions stalked purposefully forward descending onto the glowstone tiles with all the blithe confidence of giant carnivorous cats

The most normal of these three split forms looked exactly like the Ghosthound in normal clothes except that tongues of emerald and orange flames flickered freely across his body ruffling his hair and leaving his clothes undamaged His eyes glowed and the area around him warped with heatwaves

Another form was clearly the iconic image of Yggdrasil the vast tree with glowing emerald leaves and a trunk that was covered in golden runes This version was scaled down to be a three meter tall treant but that only made the plethora of detail of its form all the more impressive Vibrant life oozed from every inch of the World Tree

Yet as Isabella looked too closely at the writing that wove itself through the craggy bark she grunted and had to press her eyes quickly closed A thundering headache pounded at her senses for several seconds before it began to recede

Feeling slightly skittish she resolved to not peer too closely at that writing in the future It was not just life that Yggdrasil bore

The third figure was similarly well known by individuals who kept track of the images of Randidly Ghosthound It was a slim almost skeletal figure with a pale torso and corrupted skin on its arms and legs It had two tails that flicked lazily side to side as he moved Its left arm was a claw with razor sharp talons and its right arm was a spear of bone that had been stained by old blood Its eyes were still green but it was the green of rot and death The Grim Chimera leaned forward as it moved releasing a chilling ferocity that pushed back the lights that floated in the surrounding area

In the same moment the three images descended onto the tiles Almost instantly the floating bonfires torches and candles of light that the images of the various people were able to produce were heavily suppressed by the difference in power between them and the new arrivals

He can create THREE images like that And they move independently all at once Isabella tried to image the mental strength that it took to do that and couldnÆt even begin to figure out how it was done I donÆt even know anyone that can reliably create a discrete image that isnÆt somehow grounded around their own body And he

The light on the glowstone tiles continued to shift Those images that had been candles became pinpricks Torches became slightly larger pinpricks Bonfires became several of the slightly larger pinpricks of light crammed together in a small spot All the while the light beneath the feet of each of the GhosthoundÆs three images began to grow

I think IÆve kept my message consistent but sometimes I donÆt think you all really understand what I mean Randidly GhosthoundÆs true body continued to survey the surrounding people with that amused smile on his face The Earth the people who live here we are growing But we arenÆt growing fast enough We arenÆt powerful enough to be anything but just another one of the millions of planets that will be chewed up and spat out by the Nexus

The word NexusÆ was punctuated with blasts of images radiating outward from each of his three bodies that stood across the glowstone tiles Burning heat the radiating glow and tantalizing secrets of life and finally the chilling and almost obsessive need to survive

Isabella grimaced as she was buffeted by the nearest image to them Yggdrasil and was suddenly very grateful that Mrs Hamilton had moved them off of the floor prior to this Because the image was so potent that Isabella couldnÆt image how her body would cope if it was conveyed directly through to her

The throbbing remnants of the headache she had obtained when she looked a little too closely didnÆt cease

The lights beneath the three images continued to grow To the point that the difference between them and the other people on the floor was so vast that there was nothing beneath the feet of some people Even more dramatically the direct connection to conducive material saw those people being pushed backward by those images Slowly by surely people were driven from the tiles

Isabella Cortez suddenly became aware that the people that had remained on the floor were all relatively minor characters Assistants guards individuals from various Orders Everyone of power had done as Mrs Hamilton did moving off of the glowstone tile even before Randidly arrived

As though they all sensed something and I didnÆt Isabella gritted her teeth There is something that I am still missing some instinct I suppose they arenÆt the most powerful people in the world for nothing

Let me be clear In the Nexus the power of my images are nothing special Randidly continued And along with the word special cave a wave of potent images Each of the three image bodies that Randidly had split off from himself erupted in an explosion of blinding light The aspects his images had been throwing off grew more intense and complex as he released more and more of his hidden potential

Isabella couldnÆt tear her eyes away The display of power was breathtaking To think that an individual can be so dominant even before a whole assemblage of people

The people that had remained on the glowstone tiled area of the floor despite the earlier pressure now gasped and were thrown backward They rolled helplessly away until people rushed to their aid and helped them to their feet But the Ghosthound didnÆt stop there Each image blasted outward with such force that the surrounding individuals even as the most powerful people on Earth couldnÆt help but tremble

This is why IÆm worried Although she could hear RandidlyÆs voice Isabella could no longer see his expression She was forced to cover her eyes in the face of the light the GhosthoundÆs images caused in the floor None of you seem to understand the danger that approaches And I wonÆt always be around to remind you of how small the Earth is on the scale that the Nexus exists so IÆve invited someone special Everyone please join me in welcoming Octavius Shrike Overseer of the Seventh Cohort

IsabellaÆs awe in the face of Randidly GhosthoundÆs power soon gave way to relief as his introduction seemed to imply that the pressure would soon cease Discussions were about to occur But to her surprise the waves of images continued to smash against her mental defenses In fact the power of those reverberations grew as a new figure walked calmly onto the glowstone tiles

For a brief second Isabella was able to make out the figure of what appeared to be a rhinoceros wearing a tailored suit but then light once more filled her vision The light underneath the singular form of the new arrival was enough to rival the light produced by all three of the GhosthoundÆs images

Thank you for the invitation Mr Ghosthound An unfamiliar and deep voice replied But the real tragedy was that the low voice came with an image

This image possessed vast size a monster of unfathomable proportion moving slowly to crush everything in the surroundings After only hearing a single line from the new arrival IsabellaÆs jaw ached from clenching so hard And every time this new figure spoke a dull ache ran through her very bones I will admit that this is the first such invitation I have ever received but that is due to the weakness of the individuals in the Seventh Cohort of course

Perhaps she noticed IsabellaÆs struggle because Mrs Hamilton reached out and touched her elbow again Instantly grey threads seemed to swirl upward protectively around their corner of the ballroom Isabella cast Mrs Hamilton a grateful look

Randidly spoke again a disembodied voice in the surging tide of images and light IÆd like to ask you some things very publically Octavius First how many worlds have already made it to the First Calamity In the Seventh Cohort

As Isabella now had some breathing room she realized that it wasnÆt just Mrs Hamilton that mobilized their images She could see Paolo Kayle Obyrn Naffur and King Phirun tacitly working together to shield the weaker individuals from the worst of Octavius’s image An impressive show of unity in the face of the monstrously large image that had suddenly appeared

Thirty six thousand five hundred and one Octavius said in that same booming voice The huge monster of his image moved again Isabella could hear Mrs HamiltonÆs breath hissing out through her teeth Several strands of spider silk strained and snapped as she struggled to soften OctaviusÆs image Although the Earth had one of the first Zones connect in the Cohort others have since caught up Few other planets had the variance of results that the Earth did

Currently whatÆs the passage rate for planets in the Seventh Cohort For that First calamity that over Thirty thousand planets have reached Randidly asked

Thirteen percent

These words were the vast beast image swinging its spiked tail ripping through the motley assemblage of images that had been protecting the others The people of Earth swayed The vast monster of Octavius stretched its limbs and physically trampled the people in the ballroom Isabella coughed uncomfortably and shifted her stance Others collapsed directly knocked unconscious by the brutal presence of OctaviusÆs image

A two part message the content and the mode Both painting an overwhelmingly bleak picture

Randidly released a humorless chuckle And IÆm sure you are aware of the special opportunity that the Earth has been presented with The Corrupted Invaders Tell me in terms of difficulty how does it compare to the First Calamity

Octavius hummed thoughtfully A difficult question Because the Earth is the only planet in the Seventh Cohort to have drawn the attention of the Nexus in this manner

Mrs Hamilton released a low groan More people staggered and fell to the ground The vast monster shifted again A vast eye trembled and then began to open Across the ballroom Isabella managed to make out the forms of Alana Donal and Hank Howard stepping forward to act a bulwark against Octavius’s image But even they were fuzzy and indistinct before the power of this OverseerÆs image

Randidly replied curtly Let me rephrase If all the worlds that attempted the First Calamity were to attempt this test what do you think the passage rate would be

To eventually eliminate the risks perhaps as high as 30% As Mrs HamiltonÆs expression grew increasingly grave Isabella stepped forward She wove her image as best as she could to support her teacher But even so as Octavius continued to speak both struggled so that the people behind them werenÆt knocked unconscious But to obtain the benefit by clearing the Epic Danger Zone within the time limit likely less than 1%

Less than 1% Randidly sighed Then he laughed again harsh and loud as the blinding light released by OctaviusÆs image One last question for you Octavius Is this image you are releasing now your full power

No of course not OctaviusÆs deep voice seemed almost insulted Every beat of IsabellaÆs heart sent another wave of aching pain through her jarred bones Enduring the presence of that vast beast was taking everything she had And she was horrified to imagine the pressure that Mrs Hamilton was currently bearing Some might be able to stand my full image but most here would die rather quickly

For several seconds Isabella felt like she was being physically flattened into a pancake just by that vast eye that flicked open and considered the people of Earth But then a new sort of power spread outward It was dark and cool blowing like restlessly through the ballroom like the breeze that announced the arrival of autumn

Thankfully the pressure from Octavius faded The lights of the images slowly dimmed The glowstone tiles flickered and turned inert Collectively the ballroom release a sigh as the oppressive image faded around them Yet just as quickly people frowned as a new sort of pressure crept outward

It wasnÆt as overt as the prior pressure but it was like the very air around them was turning inhospitable no matter how seriously Isabella focused her images suddenly couldnÆt find even the slightest purchase in the space around her

Without the lights on the ballroom floor the situation began to resolve itself Isabella got a better view at the smartly dressed Overseer that so effortlessly squished the entire room And the GhosthoundÆs three images were gone leaving only a grim faced young man dressed for war and wreathed in shadowy flames

Apologies for the theatrics I just wanted to make sure I had your attention Randidly said quietly He gestured and a large map sprung into existence next to him These are the locations of the Danger Zones with the corrupted invaders Tonight enjoy yourself We still have time But after that we need to get to work people of Earth And we need to work together

We need to accomplish something that less than one percent of all the worlds in our Cohort can accomplish

Chapter 1327

In the wake of his announcement Randidly scanned the surrounding faces to gauge their reactions From their somber expressions it seemed that the prior demonstration with Octavius Shrike had reached them as Randidly had intended they were finally willing to work together He had seen it in the way the strongest of Earth helped protect the weakest as Octavius had manifested his image but Randidly wanted to be sure that incident would not be an isolated cooperation

After all the heavy power of OctaviusÆs image had come as a surprise even to Randidly He had never encountered the OverseerÆs image in the past It just turned out that Octavius had an image that was uniquely situated to oppress a room full of people That vast beast that Randidly had sensed it was truly an impressive image that had likely taken hundreds of years to develop In a fight without Nether Randidly likely wouldnÆt put up much of a fight

However it would have been better to let Octavius run wild for just a little while longer in order to hit the message home Randidly glanced to his left He had no choice but to cut the image vanity short Through the walls of the ballroom he could feel a wooden raft infested with children crash into the solidly built wall of the building and fall to pieces The children rather adroitly hopped off of the thing and escaped any serious injury and the building didnÆt even seem to notice the impact but Randidly wasnÆt willing to let Octavius continue to so callously pressure the surrounding area while children were close

Also I definitely sense Delilah but how the hell did she convince the rest of these kids to follow her

After sending a quick message to Tatiana to handle the issue Randidly turned back to the assembled people There was still a large group standing on the central island that held RandidlyÆs challenges but he was pleased to see that they hadnÆt even managed to finish the first challenge in the three hours since he had been here last Since it was EarthÆs most powerful that had been struggling with those tasks hopefully the combination of the challenges and Octavius would make the lesson stick

Alright no need to stroke my own vanity Time to get down to business

Randidly began to speak Defying statistics Being the exception ItÆs an easy thing to say but a hard thing to do All of us here represent the powers of the Earth We have four bases of these Corrupted Invaders before the Epic Danger Zone will reveal itself Octavius has also been kind enough to provide some details regarding the benefits and costs that we are presented with which I want to share with you all before we start planning

As he said earlier the actual Corrupted Invaders arenÆt that difficult of a foe Compared to the First Calamity they are an easier task For Earth in general this will serve as an effective way to gradually adjust to the foes within the System but let me assure you that these invaders arenÆt the real danger The real danger is that if we fail to accomplish the goal in time the worldsÆ these invaders come from will henceforth rely on Earth for Aether And there is quite a large number of worlds we would suddenly be responsible for

Randidly looked calmly around catching out of the corner of his eye the motion of Tatiana sending one of the new Order Ducis recruits to go investigate the arrival of the children I believe I need not explain to you all the consequences if we were to fail the density of Aether on Earth will fall from our current rather rich existence after clearing the Danger Zones to something even worse than Earth was originally All the benefits that we have earned so far we will lose

The man in the wheelchair from Zone 1 rolled himself a short distance forward to draw attention to himself and then spoke Then what are the benefits we can obtain Is it simply that we are fighting for a way to avoid suffering such a large loss of Aether

A good question Randidly said His emerald eyes narrowed as he really looked at the young man in the wheelchair Tatiana perhaps sensing his curiosity sent Randidly a message stating the manÆs name was Richter and that he really had not walked since the System had arrived But as far as Tatiana could tell the cause was mental not physical

Their gazes locked For a brief instant the young man stiffened as Grim Intuition whirred to life with enough force that the observed young man could tell what was going on RandidlyÆs full attention concentrated this man next to Theodora Greyman But just as quickly some internal instinct of RandidlyÆs had him withdrawing his focus and turning back to the assembled crowd In the corner of his eyes he saw RichterÆs expression turn awful and a string of notifications pop up in front of him

Congratulations Your Skill Lantern of Harsh Truths has grown to Level 119

Congratulations Your Skill Lantern of Harsh Truths has grown to Level 141

Randidly had been steadily getting Levels in the Lantern of Harsh Truths since he had spoken earlier and demonstrated his images but this jump was entirely unexpected Despite himself Randidly cast one more look toward Richter What did you just realize as I examined you that had a larger effect than my entire lesson to the people of Earth I wonder

Still you are certainly a curious one The muscles of your legs have really atrophied They have been cast aside by you huh

But RichterÆs situation was a curiosity nothing more Rather than dwelling for any more time Randidly returned to RictherÆs question Right now the Aether demands of those worlds are currently being supported by the Nexus itself And have been for a thousand years so the raw materials inside of them are extremely valuable especially considering where we are in EarthÆs development If we clear the threat in time the Nexus will continue to foot the Aether bill

So we still get the materials either way King Phriun crossed his arms across his greasy body His eyes were blazing with barely controlled fury likely after being so forcefully suppressed by OctaviusÆs image At least he seemed to be channeling his pride in a reasonable manner

Randidly winced Technically but raw materials function in a similar manner to those of us who have the Aether constructs empowering us without Aether they will weaken back to normal materials very quickly Right now each of those worlds is an undeveloped treasure trove with enough space for every Zone to benefit If we fail those benefits will become sparse

For a few seconds there was silence Then Mrs Hamilton raised her head and spoke Shall we make plans right now then Divvy up the responsibility while we are here And with this handy glowstone tile floor we can ensure that the relative strength of each of the forces will be equal

Randidly smiled wryly You have read my mind Mrs Hamilton The Order Ducis has taken the liberty of making some preliminary groupings based upon geography and known associations but these are of course up for discussion Tatiana if you would distribute the information

Very quickly more servants came out of the side hallway with additional maps and lists After a few discussions members of the various Orders went out onto the glowstone tile and Randidly withdrew the suppressive effect of his Nether They began to develop a rough outline of the individual strength of their members

Some Orders perhaps forced to face the knowledge that they were much weaker than they had hoped but that mattered less to all assembled than clearing this hurdle

Randidly took a deep breath He felt the surrounding peopleÆs willingness to work together It became a tangible image How long will this last I wonder Luckily the time limit is less than two weeks hopefully the largess of humanity can handle that span of time

Tatiana performed admirably in her role as host Naffur stepped forward looking more serious than Randidly had generally seen him in their interactions these past few weeks to serve as acting leader of the Order Ducis Both spoke eloquently about the information available regarding the four Danger Zones they would need to clear

With Kharon and the Order Ducis acting in concert most of the other political entities fell into line No one disagreed with the groupings that they had provided mostly because Randidly was sure that Tatiana had considered the issue from every angle before even casuallyÆ providing these suggestions

Franksburg King PhirunÆs Zone and Zone Seven Donnyton and Zone Eleven Zone One the Order Valorem and the various independent powers including the newly arrived Zone the other Orders and powerful individuals from bubble cities that were integrating well to New Earth Finally the Order Ducis would be led by Helen to handle their own Danger Zone

The Nemesai of course were more than willing to abstain from any participation

While the groups hashed out the details of how many people to send Randidly glanced toward Theodora Greyman She stood still in the area where the challenges had been attempted next to the leader of the Order Valorem and Richter She seemed perfectly at ease She even smiled politely at Randidly as he looked over and then turned back to listen to Naffur

Shaking his head Randidly turned away and tried not to yawn If she doesnÆt try something else before the night is over IÆll wake up and put on a pair of shoes tomorrow

The infiltration as far as Tim could tell was going swimmingly At least DelilahÆs beaming smile seemed to advertise that everything was going according to plan Which of course gave Tim a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach

After crashing their boat they had managed to find a side entrance into the ballroom that led to the staff corridors Since no one was currently in the corridor the children had immediately hurried forward like a mass of hungry rats sniffing around for sweets

Keep up everybody Delilah called over her shoulder Despite being the youngest she also seemed to be the most physically fit and led the group from the front There are probably guards or something around here so we need to be

Following their fearless leader the children rounded the corner and skidded to a stop Because Tim was larger but less agile on his feet he ended up stumbling into DelilahÆs back But her superior Strength was enough that he bounced off of her bony shoulders and fell on his butt

Hello Mr Ogre Delilah said in an overly bright voice TimÆs gaze snapped sharply upward Nice to meet you IÆve met other ogres but never

The pleasureÆs all mine The ogre in front of them was the most massive specimen that Tim had ever seen although he admittedly had not seen many Such was the ogreÆs height and width that he almost entirely filled up the five meter high and three meter wide hallway In a perfunctory manner the ogre adjusted his glasses However it appears that you have wandered somewhere you shouldnÆt

The kids glanced at each other nervous about the ominous size of the ogre in front of them But Delilah stepped forward her forced brightness transforming into genuine self assurance the longer she talked Oh no you probably hadnÆt heard We are allowed to be here We just

Again the ogre cut Delilah off How unexpected But if you are allowed to be here I suppose you simply need to hand me your invitation and I can let you proceed

DelilahÆs expression twisted I we we lost it So

The ogre raised his extremely large hands and cracked his knuckles How unfortunate Then I simply must apologize for what is going to happen next but I was given very clear instructions on how to deal with interlopers

Before Delilah could muster up a response the ogre leaned forward and began to hurry down the hallway toward the group of children He was perhaps ten meters down the hallway and his long legs devoured one of those meters immediately as he accelerated toward the group of children

Releasing a collective squawk most of the older teenagers behind Delilah twisted around and fled While the ogre was lumbering down the hall with heavy footfalls Tim only managed to make it back to his feet before Delilah grabbed him painfully around his wrist and yanked him forward

We are running directly toward the ogre Tim shouted in alarm Then he felt stupid because Delilah could obviously see that How could she NOT see that with the huge body of the ogre rushing toward them

But Delilah tugged him inexorably forward Call the moss spirits LetÆs see who is stronger this bozo or all of Kharon Go go go

YouÆre crazy TimÆs face turned extremely strange The huge body of the ogre was only six meters away In terms of momentum the enormous ogre was enough to crush them entirely into paste that would be spread along the floor of the corridor in its wake Each step shook the ground and because there was only a little distance between them also shook Tim

Four meters away

Conjure the moss spirits Delilah said again this time emphasizing the statement by an explosion of moss spirits out of the nearby walls and ceiling that were clearly responding to her own call Very quickly more quickly than TimÆs frazzled mind could keep up with what was occurring those moss spirits came together to form a large emerald body standing behind them

Tim realized suddenly that he was following around a six year old girl and hoping that she act reasonably He should have known as soon as she had crashed their flying ship

TIM Delilah yelled but this time there was genuine concern in her voice

Even if IÆm an idiot for following here IÆve done it And dad always says men should take responsibility Tim was trembling as the huge ogre was only two meters away but he still called the moss spirits In that secret way that he had his soul shivered and then began to sing in a way that all the green things responded to

Acting on instinct he released a clear note of necessity into the surrounding air

They came in a surging wave in such a volume that even Tim was surprised Emerald spirits seemed immediately from the walls floors and ceilings as well as blasting out of the nearby vents He reached out mentally and pulled and he felt as though the whole world was spiraling to assist him In fact Tim felt like he could feel the whole of Kharon with a bright curiosity at its core that began to stir at his call

The ogre was right in front of them The condensed moss spirit raised its arm and smashed its fist forward The two forces collided and a shocked Tim watched as the condensed moss spirit exploded into a cascading waterfall of brilliant light and nothing else

The ogre

Shrieking with laughter Delilah made a sharp gesture After a jerking wrench Tim found himself standing with her on the other side of the ogre

How could we stand up to an ogre Tim Delilah asked disapprovingly as though a frontal conflict had been his idea Better to just avoid the fight Now quick The kitchen should just be through there

Delilah pointed to a normal looking set of doors Emerald lights danced around them excitedly seemingly wondering what the two of them were going to do next Tim was almost numb At some point Delilah had shifted her grip so she had a more comfortable grip on his hand

With the ogre still rumbling after the other kids the duo hurried forward As though by magic the doors to the kitchen opened up for them and revealed a figure that had Tim skidding to a stop

Uh hi dad Tim said weakly

Derek Moss crossed his arms and frowned around at the playful currents of moss spirits in the air of the hallway Looks like we have some stuff to talk about donÆt we

Chapter 1328

During the rest of the partyÆ Randidly had to do very little talking or interacting with the surrounding people Which was exactly how he liked it And precisely what he needed at the moment

Yet even if that should be true why is this so hard

Although he kept some part of himself observing the surroundings Naffur and Tatiana handled the rest of the arrangements Which allowed Randidly to enter a meditative state to recover his mental energy Obviously displaying his images earlier hadnÆt been much of a strain but the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night had left Randidy well wishing for a good nightÆs sleep

At least that was the plan But Randidly couldnÆt get over the way some of the other individuals from Earth looked at him And they looked without any desires for a response Randidly could sense Their intentions echoed across the glowstone tile floor even as Randidly continued to suppress the conductivity with Nether

To these people Randidly had become something akin to an unknowable abyss They looked into him and his power and saw their own fears It made his skin itch

Yet all he could do is wait The details of the joint expeditions were finalized and Randidly felt gaze after gaze trace his silhouette filled with fear Perhaps through the strength that he had shown today he had truly changed how the people of Earth will view him forever

As the planning phase finished and most of the guests wandered out of the ballroom onto the surrounding grassy hills Randidly stood like a statue in his original position with half closed eyes Some part of him finally began to relax Acri squirmed uncomfortably but largely behaved Sulfur was just content to be wrapped around RandidlyÆs torso In a small attempt to distract himself Randidly used his will to push through his Nether and experience its new consistency

Yet even as people began to leave and revel outside the interior stayed rather morose Among those that remained occasionally someone in the party would glance over at the still forms of Randidly Ghosthound and Octavius Shrike who had released such pressure with their images earlier Everyone eventually looked away and then proceeded to join their fellows outdoors

Thankfully I convinced Tatiana that they shouldnÆt get the whole group to sing happy birthday to me

There was however one area that had genuinely surprised Randidly Theodora Greyman had stayed entirely silent during the whole of the planning phase When necessarily Richter had been the one to speak Or Mark Rowel The leader of Zone 1 had entirely held her council since being reprimanded by Randidly earlier And most of the reason Randidly noticed was that her gaze had conspicuously avoided him during the entire meeting

Perhaps the challenges hit the point home Randidly thought to himself disbelieving it as soon as he thought it Yet as more and more people wandered out to continue the party beneath the stars rather than staying indoors no situation developed And therefore he was almost finished Tatiana had given Randidly a very clear explanation of what the expectations would be for him as the host of the party

Some individuals like Alana and Obyrn Myyr nodded toward Randidly but they also departed without saying anything to him Most would stay in Kharon for a day or two which meant that he could expect some private visits soon But most seemed only too happy to flee from RandidlyÆs presence now that he returned with the heavy imaged Octavius Shrike They feared the duo

Every second was a reminder of how much they now feared him RandidlyÆs Nether spiraled slowly inward

And in RandidlyÆs heart that was part of the reason that he had been so careful with when and how he appeared before these people tonight To avoid prolonged exposure To delay this reaction It was something akin to torture to simply stand there and watch the full gamut of emotions cross the party goersÆ faces

These were the most powerful people of Earth And most of them deeply feared him Randidly kept his expression neutral The Nether in his chest continued to swirl with dreadful intensity The situation at the core of the Nether Nebula had stabilized but each rotation of energy was progress in some small way Randidly was sure that if the process would continue at this rate his Nether would soon become his most powerful weapon

More and more people walked out forcing laughter and carrying flutes of champagne as they did so Randidly glanced at Octavius Octavius shrugged lightly seeming to indicate that he had to deal with similar situations quite often

I suppose Octavius is actually quite influential in the grand scheme of things perhaps not one of the most powerful people in the Nexus but he has a great deal of freedom with how he oversees this Seventh Cohort Perhaps functions like this are quite common for him

But before Randidly could let his meditative attention wander along the lines of the political situation of the Nexus his gaze sharpened With a light shake he roused himself from his recovery state He hadnÆt returned to his full mental facilities but unless he engaged in another sort of extreme training his current mentality was more than enough

Winged Serpent A word before you leave Randidly said lightly Originally Randidly had intended on talking to Thea but he sensed that there was something dangerous about her current emotional state So Randidly chose the Nemesai that seemed the most reasonable and also the most influential of the other options

The Winged Serpent who had just been about to leave the ballroom with its companions paused Then it turned around and floated forward Some of the other remaining individuals felt the mood and rapidly moved to vacate the area Very quickly all that remained were a few linger ers in the upper level of the ballroom the tiled floor had been completely deserted

What is it Mr Ghosthound The Winged SerpentÆs tongue flicked outward and tasted the air

Randidly chuckled I just wanted to say two things First I understand that your role as Nemesai is not your choice By the same token any violence that we use to stop you itÆs not personal The Nexus makes monsters out of us all

Again the Winged SerpentÆs tongue flicked out Randidly wasnÆt quite sure how to read its expressions but he believed that its eyes softened indeed And the second thing

I suspect that even considering the strength of Earth and my presence that the Nemesai are not yet completely out of options Randidly gave another sidelong glance to Octavius who looked up at the ceiling as though this had nothing to do with him He had already refused to provide any hints on this matter Randidly pursed his lips and turned back to the Winged Serpent But before we bare all of our knives IÆd like to make you an offer Instead of working as a Nemesai come work with me I believe I can find ways to help your home planets

Suddenly Octavius Shrike was very interested in the conversation He frowned balefully at Randidly Mr Ghosthound I believe we had a talk about attracting the wrong sort of attention in the past Those reasons are still valid And establishing connections to other Cohorts will definitely bring trouble It was your actions on Tellus that got you into this trouble in the first place

Randidly glanced sideways Nether swirled in his chest IsnÆt the Earth already being targeted by outside forces

Their test of the Earth is a pretext because they donÆt have sufficient justification to move against you directly OctaviusÆs expression was stony Some of that vast primordial creatureÆs power emanated from the overseerÆs body in his agitation Believe me you donÆt want to lose the protection you have now however flimsy that is

Randidly smiled sadly but said nothing He thought about the brief moment of pressure from Elhume that had shattered his Class in an instant He recalled the way all of his meaning and memories he had woven into his Class had been strangled in a split second And then he also thought about Ileot SwaccÆs strange power that had created such a strange situation for Vualla

But what Randidly had learned through those experiences was that there were different threats present in the Nexus He was currently being targeted by the Swacc Family And for whatever reason despite his connections to Yystrix Elhume was leaving him alone

After discovering YystrixÆs tomb and having some time to process Randidly began to believe that while Elhume was to be avoided at all costs for now one more excuse for the Swacc Family to move against him wouldnÆt matter much After all he was currently planning on dealing with the Xyrt Brigade Special Investigator Somehow Randidly guessed that a victory in that regard would rid the Swacc Family of scruples either way

Of course Randidly planned on tracking down YystrixÆs memories and confirming the situation before he did anything drastic He didnÆt want to walk into anything blind But there was no harm in making the offer to the Nemesai now Especially because Randidly genuinely meant what he said He had no personal grudge against them

They were simply fulfilling their role Trying to obtain Aether for their people

RandidlyÆs gaze remained fixed on the Winged Serpent After another few seconds of wiggling tongue the Winged Serpent nodded slowly I will consider this Thank you for the offer regardless Mr Ghosthound

Then the Nemesai departed Randidly turned to Octavius Thank you for coming IÆm sure the effect wouldnÆt have been near as pronounced if you were not here

It is no problem But I almost believe that you are misleading these people Randidly Ghosthound When Randidly tilted his head to the side Octavius cleared his throat and continued to speak Power is one thing but it often comes up short Meanwhile the real danger of the System is the roles it gives out these people now fear me because of my image but it is my Status as OverseerÆ that could really doom your world

Octavius’ gaze continued to grow more intense Randidly responded with a sharp smile Further and further deeper and deeper the Nether in RandidlyÆs chest swirled This was an area that Randidly was distantly aware but couldnÆt worry about now He had some knowledge about the different tiers of citizenship but he had no idea how the Nexus was structured And face with the disapproving Octavius Randidly sensed this was not the time to ask

One more thing to worry about then Randidly thought grimly

The moment passed and Octavius nodded Well then if there is nothing else IÆll be taking my leave

Take care Randidly said simply Then the Overseer raised his hand and simply ripped open a passage in the air to travel away

impressive but not as classy as using a key

Finally allowing himself to fully relax Randidly carried Acri and Sulfur and quickly moved to the side of the ballroom From there he passed through the employee hallway and out onto the moonlight soaked hills With the floating lanterns that Tatiana prepared hundreds of people still milled around laughing and talking Due to the tight control he maintained over his image no one noticed his presence

For the moment he was the observer and they were observed

In the darkness next to the austere ballroom Randidly smiled sadly as he looked over toward the group Then deliberately he turned away from the group and produced his PhilosopherÆs Key while facing the wall Even normally I wouldnÆt be very excited about attending a group gathering But now knowing that I need to face Kaan Swacc in his role as special investigator

RandidlyÆs grip on the PhilosopherÆs Key tightened Even with tonight acting as a catalyst even with the improvements to my Nether with the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night this will be a tough fight I need to start training immediately

Randidly are you fleeing from your own party

Chapter 1329

For a second he froze Then Randidly twisted around with a wry smile on his face and looked over at Tatiana who was leaning against the wall of the ballroom in deep shadow Really a testament to my current mental state that I didnÆt notice her immediately These social events really dull my edge

TatianaÆs hand was on her hip and she batted her eyes at him playfully as she pushed herself up off the wall He wondered how long she had waited for him to emerge So is it true Has a party put you on your back foot

Grinning Randidly replied Well I had heard from some children there is a rumor about a secret birthday cake being made for me I need to slip out privately before I rejected such a generous gift publically

Tatiana snorted Believe me you were very clear as to your request for no birthday singing or cake And no pinatas which I thought was quite a shame But no I regret to inform any listening individuals with any genuine birthday cheer that there is no birthdayÆ cake just a celebratory iced dessert to enjoy under the starlight A tragedy

When Randidly leveled a heavy glance at Tatiana she burst out in full laughter After a few seconds of enjoying herself she sighed and shook her head Sorry maybe IÆve just glad that this whole thing is over too Normally I would well to business Unfortunately I really do need to stop you from leaving

Grimacing Randidly turned around so his back was facing Tatiana Only then did he let some of the sadness from the EarthÆs fearful reaction to him show on his face CanÆt it wait IÆm extremely tired

The image thing was hard yea Tatiana said quietly Both understood that she wasnÆt talking about producing his three images before the Earth It was what his imageÆ became in the EarthÆs eyes

After ten seconds of silence Tatiana sighed Normally I would make an excuse for you but I figured you would be interested in this as well I noticed your eyes going to Theodora Greyman during the talks about the joint effort As she behaved quite normally She requested a meeting to talk about the EarthÆs future before she departs Which means tonight

Randidly pressed his eyes closed Looks like these feet wonÆt have to put on a pair of shoes yet Then he turned around Any clue what she wants Or why she changed her mind so abruptly

Normally I would say the well designed challenges impressed her but I donÆt think either of us believes that Theodora Greyman quite gets how the System works yet Tatiana twisted her mouth This is just a hunch but I suspect she wants to partner up with you for something Something to do with Zone 1Æs proclivity for the forbidden

Randidly quirked his eyebrow up What are you even implying

That she is going to ask you something that seems very stupid to you Tatiana shrugged Obviously you can handle that I just want you to be prepared to hear whatever crazy suggestion that sheÆs going to throw out there Although she is a little out of her depth at the moment Theodora Greyman is not an unintelligent woman You shouldnÆt underestimate her

Thanks for the warning Randidly said with a frown Then he twisted around Is she

In the rearmost room of the event space on the right The one that was converted into a library Tatiana almost seemed amused I suppose her subordinates must have explored the place quite well because she definitely didnÆt leave the ballroom once she arrived But she found the swankiest room we prepared for tonight for this talk I have no doubt you will find her drinking scotch

After releasing another sigh Randidly checked in on himself His time sitting passively during the planning meeting had helped him recover his focus but he was now more worried about his mental state In the past four days he had found YystrixÆs tomb briefly given into physical violence and dueled Helen had a talk with Lucretia about loss obtained his new Fatepiece and was brought to the past to see Yystrix once more and now was placed center stage to experience the way that the EarthÆs opinion about Randidly Ghosthound was changing

Still One more meeting shouldnÆt change anything Even if Theodora Greyman was going to ask him something very very dumb

RandidlyÆs eyes snapped open Alright Thanks for the warning

True to TatianaÆs guess Randidly found Theodora Greyman holding a crystal glass filled with an amber liquid in hand perusing the shelves of books in the ornate room He supposed that when Tatiana referred to the room as classyÆ she was talking about the heavy leather furniture and the expensive golden globe sitting next to the pool table

Because to him it seemed heavy Weirdly it reminded Randidly of Ezekiel which then made him wonder what gift his dad had given him that triggered the second Fatepiece Plus IÆll have to go through everyoneÆs gifts eventually Tatiana would be disgusted if I asked her to sort them by value before I check them out myself

RandidlyÆs thoughts were thankfully interrupted as Theodora Greyman turned around She gave Randidly a small smile Thank you for meeting me on such short notice Mr Ghosthound I hope you donÆt mind it being in private I believe there are some things that neither of us wishes to be overheard by others

Instantly Randidly was wary Not perhaps that Theodora Greyman was about to reveal some terrible secret but rather that she was truly going to say something very foolish to him The only reasonable explanation that Randidly could find for why she would believe he would care about the things she said was that she was the one to obtain YystrixÆs memories But somehow Randidly didnÆt believe that was the case

He folded his arms and released an even breath ItÆs late Miss Greyman LetÆs get down to business Especially because I am under the impression that we are not friends

That finally got TheodoraÆs glaze of amicability to fade away She looked at him with sharp eyes fine then letÆs not bother with pleasantries IÆm here because I believe that we can help each other No one else might have asked but you can guarantee they were wondering about it the entire time during all this cooperation to defeat the threat to the Earth where will Randidly Ghosthound be I wonder how inconvenient a question that is for you someone who claims to have the EarthÆs best interests at heart

Randidly had thought it strange that no one brought up how he would be involved but that had been part of the fearful gazes that people were casting his ways So he didnÆt dwell on it for very long It made him uncomfortable There is something in the test that I will be required to handle Most of my attention will be spent preparing for that

Something that you donÆt even bother asking for any help dealing with Theodora asked skeptically She rotated her glass causing the amber liquid within to circle the rim

Randidly couldnÆt suppress an amused smile as he pictured the people of Earth standing up against someone as powerful as Lady Iellaya or Octavius Shrike If any of you had enough power to help me I would be only too happy to ask for assistance But you donÆt

of course Theodora Greyman said sourly It was clear from her expression that she didnÆt believe him but that didnÆt matter much After taking another sip of her drink Theodora finally arrived at her saleÆs pitch But let me assure you of this not everyone will believe in this ephemeral threat that you talk about

Honestly I believe that the very act me fighting the foe IÆm talking about will be very far from ephemeral Randidly interjected

The light in TheodoraÆs eyes grew even more intense The point being that we can help each other out Zone 1 is planning on establishing a sort of symposium on research on the System By stating that you are participating in the symposium I believe a lot of the political pressure that you are under

will ease You will be visibly part of those trying to better the world Theodora set down her drink on the desk with a loud click All we ask in exchange is some help imbuing an image into Mjolnir Which considering your expertise in images

This time Randidly couldnÆt help but laugh You want to try and make that pile of experimental Raid Bosses capable of producing images Even setting aside the difficulty in doing so donÆt you worry that they will use those images to rebel against the constraints you use to bind them How much do you think they hate you

By this point TheodoraÆs expression was stormy DonÆt underestimate the favor that I am offering to do for you Although you are powerful now youÆve already stated that you might be away from Earth While you are gone can the Order Ducis withstand these same pressures This is not just about you Randidly Ghosthound

Which indeed was true But Randidly sincerely doubted whether Zone 1 could provide the benefit that Theodora was offering Theodora the Symposium already exists The people of Earth have been gathering and sharing information on the System since the beginning IÆve been attempting to educate everyone I can this entire time What you are offering is something that already exists I donÆt need you to protect my organizations So I want to ask again why would I be tempted by your deal

And honestly helping Mjolnir develop an image would be dangerous Randidly frowned as he did some quick mental calculations He suspected that doing so would be almost impossible but not quite entirely impossible And Randidly already had some experience with massed amounts of images due to Reign of the Eidolon Crucible He was quite a bit more powerful than the average person of Kharon by hundreds of times

But the spirit of all those people joined together to tear them down it was enough to exhaust him If hundreds of high Level Raid Bosses were given the ability to freely create their own images let alone just rebelling against the government of Zone 1 likely the whole of Earth would be put into danger

After a short pause Theodora spoke in a cold tone If this research was going to be going on I had assumed you would want to be a part of it But if you believe that we in Zone 1 have nothing to teach you

Releasing a small shiver while still thinking about Mjolnir with images Randidly shook his head firmly IÆm not interested But thank you for the offer If thereÆs nothing else you can leave

Not all threats can be resolved with power Randidly Ghosthound Theodora hissed

Randidly gave her a level look Theodora Greyman do you think I would have bothered with this farce of a party if that wasnÆt the case And let me say this for all that you seem to look down on power IÆll have it to fall back on if everything else begins to fracture What about you Theodora Greyman What will remain when your tiny castle begins to fall to pieces

After a smoldering glare Theodora left without bothering to answer

Chapter 1330

For almost fifteen minutes Randidly lingered around in that ornate room after Theodora left idly spinning the large golden globe as he waited for any indication there would be more meetings for him After all Tatiana had mentioned that there would be other meetings in the next few days Randidly just didnÆt know if there would be any more tonight

Randidly hoped there wouldnÆt be For whatever reason meeting Theodora had left him with a sour taste in his mouth So when Tatiana didnÆt show up he directly produced the PhilosopherÆs Key and moved back to his island

There he finally allowed himself to collapse onto the ground with his arms spread wide It had certainly been an aggravating day

But just as quickly Randidly breathed out through his nose and focused he didnÆt have time to waste any time now There was a powerful foe waiting in front of him Kaan Swacc the Special Investigator for the Xyrt Brigade A foe that would do his best to inflict harm on the Earth And although Nether gave Randidly some confidence he knew he still needed to improve his images before the advantage of Nether would be enough

and also thereÆs the tabled issue of the CreatureÆs memories Randidly hesitated for a second unwilling to simply allow the memories to persist unchaperoned on the Earth for a long period of time But by the same token Yyxtrix had effectively blocked Randidly from pursuing the memories And with that last biblical line on YystrixÆs letter

Something made Randidly believe that the memories would find their way back to him one way or another Whether it was karma or coincidence or a rise of a sudden threat they wouldnÆt simply disappear He had no real basis for the belief other than YystrixÆs actions but

Perhaps this was just Randidly trying to display his sincerity for someone who was no longer alive to see it

So for the moment rather than allowing himself to be distracted by things he couldn’tÆ control Randidly turned his attention inward and began to look at the image of Ignition Essence that he held in his chest If he wanted to increase the power that he wielded this was the image that would yield the most results

It hadnÆt struck Randidly quite so obviously until he had utilized all three images at once but Ignition Essence was significantly less powerful than the other two images that he now possessed It could be even seen from the base form of the image while the other two images had their discrete shapes Ignition Essence was just Randidly with some extra flames

It was difficult to test the exact magnitude even with the glowstone tiles but Randidly estimated that Ignition Essence was perhaps only one third of the strength of the other images There simply wasnÆt enough originality or shape to provide the weighty substance that would provide the image with power So RandidlyÆs first order of business was to spend some time with Ignition Essence searching for the method to improve it

Narrowing his focus Randidly soon found the flickering flames of Ignition Essence in his core Emerald and orange tongues of flame licked upward from an almost blindingly bright core The aura of enlightenment that radiated outward couldnÆt be physically perceived but as someone who was intimately familiar with the image Randidly could feel his thoughts flow more easily as soon as he gazed toward Ignition Essence

There were three main sources for the current Ignition Essence The first was its origin the enlightenment that took humanity from beasts to an intelligent species That first flash of light that inspired the rest of civilization The gift stolen from the gods

A treasure without name or context

Randidly still felt the necessity present in that prison in Tellus that suppressed the activity of Mana and Stamina to an unbelievable degree It had been a place where only image could exist and it was the image that Randidly used to eventually escape Without Ignition Essence the Path of Tellus would have been much different

The second source for Ignition Essence was much less glamorous RandidlyÆs early Skills related to fire were consumed to form a large part of the base for the image The color of the flames for the Skills became emerald and their usage became a little more precise but largely they remained the same after the transformation Because Randidly didnÆt have the specific history of images like he obtained with the Spear Phantom Style Ignition Essence just took his fire Skills and slapped a cosmetic change

Quite a shallow base for power Randidly grimaced as he considered how to change that moving forward But still he hoped the third source that would provide the answer to that question While he looked at his inner space RandidlyÆs focus narrowed toward the orange tongues of flame that were a part of Ignition Essence

It was the addition of Illym and her powerful Fate that made the difference to Ignition Essence Although again the visual change to the image was only cosmetic Randidly guessed that the effect was truly much deeper than that due to the sweeping changes that went through the names of his associated Skills

Phoenix Slaying Bolt FirebirdÆs Lament Talon of the Restless Immortal

The fire in IllymÆs image easily grafted onto the rather generic base of fire Skills that Randidly had previously in Ignition Essence and infiltrated What was problematic is that along with the weight of IllymÆs Fate and the terrible heat it produced he also received a lot of her ancillary images A terrible depression that came from a lifetime where either she or her sister would need to give up their lives in order for the other to survive And the guilt for unknowingly killing her sister in her desperation to be independent

Guilt for the knowledge her sister had willingly died for her A vast emptiness that her sister died without Illym being able to speak with her

Those tiny emotions had swirled through the peripheral Skills but the pure core of inspiration that founded Ignition Essence resisted any change without RandidlyÆs express choice

Randidly sighed Leaves me with a series of tough choices I absorbed the Fates to help heal my Class and create my own Fate and now I either try and extricate Illym or I find a way to reconcile the core image of inspiration in Ignition Essence with the deep darkness that Illym carried with her And hope that whatever I choose to do it wonÆt affect my other images

After shaking his head Randidly stopped thinking overmuch about the broader issue he would find a solution or he wouldnÆt Forcing it now while he had no concrete ideas wouldnÆt help Instead he began channeling his Willpower through the image It erupted in a sea of hungry flames that crackled and howled The reach of the orange and emerald tongues of fire grew and grew

Even the pure core of inspiration grew brighter as Randidly concentrated

If the frontlines had taught Randidly anything it was that every bit counted So once a few seconds of blazingly fierce image passed Randidly focused forward and began to make small aesthetic changes to the image The colors of the fire became more intense and vibrant Randidly steadily refined the source of the light at the core to be a dodecahedron that seemed to fold in on itself with every rotation