LoRG 3

Chapter 1379

Octavius Shrike would have liked nothing better than to quickly escape and return to his office in the Seventh Cohort The Shining Palace was located in one of the mid levels of the Nexus Capital which meant that Octavius had rapidly descended into the underway and proceeded to the nearest portal at top speed He sped along dimly lit corridors with metal mesh floors and walls composed entirely of various pipes But to his horror Octavius found himself followed The steps following him only grew louder clanging and echoing strangely in the deserted underways

At this time of night the combination of System privileges and willingness to be was a very rare combination So Octavius felt a sinking feeling in his chest as he considered who could be the culprit And when he turned around to confront his pursuer he was faced with the lovely smile of Neshamah Rex passing through a billowing blue cloud of smoke

Her red eyes gleamed as she examined him Why the rush You know most individuals trip over themselves for the opportunity to speak to the daughter of Solomon Rex And yet you run perhaps you even now are in the pocket of one of the other factions In which case I promise that our conversation will be discrete

No my lady itÆs not that Octavius responded awkwardly He resisted the urge to reach up and nervously rub his rhinoceros horn It might come across as disrespectful under the circumstances And this woman was someone that Octavius couldnÆt afford to offend Neshamah shifted her weight considering the Overseer carefully

Of the powers that were present in the Nexus Solomon Rex was the one that was the least well understood The Nexus Purists obviously did everything they could to support the running of the System giving their lives like martyrs in order to advance its causes Both military factions the Commandership and the Xyrt Brigade broadly fell into the Purist faction although they each displayed a bit more self centered focus than most of the purists

Meanwhile the Swacc Family furiously connived and cultivated talents in order to achieve its eternal goal to have one of its number reach the Pinnacle Even though they were fairly overt about their aggressive recruitment efforts their reach was large enough that they could manage it without leaving behind any proof The Swacc FamilyÆs methods were an open secret in the Nexus

Of course all of the different factions within the Swacc Family squabbled about who should receive the resources and what that person should do once someone managed to reach the Pinnacle But all would united against outside influences to protect themselves

Solomon Rex and his organization was both smaller in size than any of the other factions and more for lack of a better term passive They clearly amassed powered and selectively recruited talented individuals from planets but the organization never had any grand schemes running to gather power

They moved cautiously As though they were not even part of the deadly tug of war happening within the Nexus

Of the twin children of Solomon Neshamah was the one publicly seen But for all that she seemed more of a distraction than any sort of heir She attended balls and banquets held in the Nexus capital doing everything she could to earn a reputation as frivolous and vapid As those red eyes considered Octavius the through clouds of steam that were a constant companion in the underways there was a sort of play present sure but it was the sporting humor of a predator considering how to take down wounded prey

Well then Mr Shrike I have a few questions for you about Earth We just witnessed Elhume himself the most powerful individual in the Nexus appear at a meeting WasnÆt he a sight to behold ItÆs perhaps a bit too soon to say but Truly I fell in love with the raw power he wielded as soon as I saw it Ah those gentle hands of his

Octavius gulped Unfortunately I do not have much time Considering the situation on Earth

Oh come now IÆm sure my father would love to hear your version of events Neshamah continued with a cold cheer Her eyes crinkled at the corners as she considered Octavius Even though he was half a meter taller than the girl he felt like he couldnÆt move beneath that scrutiny As a show of sincerity although time certainly is pressing let me extend a very genuine invitation to return to my home the countryside near the Solomon manor is delightful this time of year

If Octavius Shrike doesnÆt want to go then I donÆt think you should force him girl

A strangerÆs voice light and vaguely familiar drifted into OctaviusÆs ears For a split second Octavius felt relief but then he felt the heavy scent of flowers fill the air The surrounding ground erupted into a meadow of vivid flowers oranges and emeralds and turquoises all competing to be the most eye catching plant of the bunch The underways were completely blanketed with the flora becoming unrecognizable

More curious than angry Neshamah tilted her head to the side Her emerald hair was lightly brushed by a flowerpetal laden breeze How strange I promise that this is just a kind invitation I might have been forceful with my manners but I swear that it was due to zeal not malice that fueled my enthusiasm

DoesnÆt matter In this case he as others waiting on the pleasure of his company The voice spoke again and the flowers vanished With just a few words NeshamahÆs powerful image was completely oppressed

Neshamah seemed to deflate She looked extremely tired as she shook her head an inner sorrow clear in her expression Truly I I apologize for overstepping my bounds Madam whoever you are I meant no offense Be well both of you Then in a faint breeze she was gone

Out of the shadows of the alley a figure walked forward She had blue grey hair and a long scar across one side of her face The original Vualla smiled sadly at Octavius Honestly her apology seemed genuine But I believe I owe you an apology as well Sorry I took so long But now that IÆm here itÆs time to get to work

RandidlyÆs first move after the disjointed notification had appeared was figuring out the actual state of affairs on Earth So he quickly said goodbye to Hank and Alana and returned to his island Seeing those errors

Now Randidly was no stranger to System errors but they generally fell into one of two categories Errors that informed him that he was going to die or errors relating to the fact whatever he had just done broke some rule of this System This was more closely related to the latter but in a very dangerous way for the people of Earth

So he sat down and pushed every ounce of his Willpower into strengthening his Grim Intuition to the fullest His senses blasted outward from his floating island in response Rapidly the area of Earth that was within RandidlyÆs purview expanded His focus rushed over ridges forests ravines rivers canyons lakes and deserts He pushed through frost tipped mountains and flew over the wide stretches flatlands Over the sea he skimmed

Very quickly Randidly was beyond the limits of what Vye had managed to map out thus far far beyond the human territories Huge hordes of monsters covered the lands almost innumerable in some areas In other places he saw bubble cities cautiously beginning to explore the surrounding area

But more than anything else he slowly got a sense that their planet was truly a sphere Whatever else this most recent notification changed about Earth it had at least returned to its status as an actual planet

And now that RandidlyÆs focus was thrown so broadly he could already feel the air rapidly cooling The extended autumn on Earth appeared to be slowly giving way to winter It made him feel oddly sad His breath snaked out of his nose despite his focus

Change was coming

It was about halfway through his exploration of the planet that Randidly began to run into problems At this point even with his extremely high Stat it was impossible to get anything but the most general sense of what was going on so far away from his position But he could clearly sense that almost exactly halfway across the world from Zone 1Æs ground zero of New Earth some glitches began to crop up

Some areas in the recently liberated borderlands were filled with chaotic Nether storms ripping up large stretches of ground with their destructive energies Other places appeared to have been put together by a toddler the edges of some pieces of land precariously propped up on others like two puzzle pieces that clearly didnÆt match Which of course meant that there were other spaces that were simply a void Randidly found one river that just flowed off of a cliff into a deep divot in the EarthÆs crust in which he couldnÆt sense the bottom

At that point Nether Sensation began to activate giving him a little added clarity The Nether storms truly were beginning to weaken before they truly ravaged the planet they had likely just been triggered by all the Aether activity In addition Randidly could sense that deep within the other half of the planet was an area of relative peace It seemed that the newest Zone had managed to arrive without being dangerously affected

But truly peering to the other side of the planet was beyond RandidlyÆs abilities He sensed life and movement for now that was enough When he came back to himself he considered his next course of action He had been constantly been thrown one threat after another these past few weeks and even though this was the arrival of a new threat it was also something Randidly had long known was coming

The Earth was slowly progressing toward the Nexus

But all those thoughts were put on hold as Randidly opened his eyes and saw a new notification waiting for him It was also something of a relief to see that Octavius had sent him a message while he had been heavily using Grim Intuition

The message was in a word rambling But there were several key points The Original Vualla had returned The Xyrt Brigade should arrive within the next twelve hours to handle the Nether situation Elhume had personally ordered that the Xyrt Brigade help the Earth

Even though that last addition to the message was slightly disturbing Randidly was reassured that Elhume hadnÆt once again turned his gaze his way Even now the consequences of being seen by him Randidly didnÆt want to consider it

And VuallaÆs late arrival brought him a sense of relief Apparently she had needed a moment where Elhume was distracted before she dared move but now she had come to the Nexus and was investigating the situation

She asked that when Randidly finished his business on Earth he proceed to the Nexus so they could consider their next move

It was then that Randidly realized the strange trepidation he felt as he looked across Earth and felt the planet cooling In fact he chastened himself both for being gripped by that sudden hesitation and for taking so long to realize the source of this feeling now that the Earth was moving toward the Calamities RandidlyÆs image being present became more of a problem

Or to say it another way RandidlyÆs direct influence on Earth might soon be coming to an end He would need to leave

Not that Randidly would leave for forever But for now it truly seemed like the Path to sufficient power to stand up against individuals like Ileot Swacc and Elhume went through the Nexus For all the small secrets and tricks that Randidly had discovered here on Earth he could also discover them on the Nexus with Vualla to shield him from the scrutiny of the Swacc family that had just recently brought troubles to Earth

So this time when Randidly spread out his Grim Intuition to cross the surrounding areas he didnÆt look toward the borderlands where he would need to gradually address the geographic mistakes and create a working planet Instead he looked at the Zones where he had spent his time

He stood on the hills above Donnyton and looked down that familiar valley He saw the Village center the industrial district the forest claimed by the Weavers the sinkhole Randidly had created with his second challenge and the thickly residential hills surrounding him

There was still a spot in the lower portion of a valley where a rather unadorned wooden hut sat next to a small area of farmland

Then he went to Zone 1 following the manatech rail lines to the Orchard He looked at the massive markets and the bones of new skyscrapers being thrown up at the periphery of the constantly expanding city Then Randidly flew beyond that looking at the metal processing and drone plants where he had previously worked to gain experience with alloys

Then his focus flicked back to that isolated grotto where Randidly had first encountered Simon And when he went there he found the Champion Simon the Dreamer dozing there With another flicker Randidly went to the bit of woods where he had first met Sam who was hiding out with three actresses Two would die but one of those three would haunt Randidly to this day

With a smile Randidly revisited dozens of locals that he hadnÆt thought of in quite some time The location where he fought TurtletownÆs tribulation and then the empty husk of Turtletown itself the badlands where he had suffered an attack from the Creature Star Crossing and East End the vast sea Lake Apollo and the Ogre Gorge

Randidly sighed and came back to himself His home planet might not have taken up the lionÆs share of his time under the influence of the System but it held the places and people that he would miss the most after he left

Chapter 1380

Before he could get too deep into his reminiscing Randidly sensed Tatiana floating up on a platform to speak with him Humming lightly to himself as he considered what he would tell her he walked to the edge of the island to greet her

His steps were slow and heavy He breathed after each third step as he crossed his island shrouded with moonlight spirits Between returning to Earth to encourage image development finding the CreatureÆs Tomb the challenge of the Corrupted Invaders Kaan Swacc and his Aether Mines and finally all the Zones connecting to Earth Randidly had been gearing up for one fight after another but none of them had actually happened

With all the occurrences it had been hard to get his bearings but honestly that had felt simple Randidly could feel how the world around him was transforming into a vast and complex place Because now he had the luxury of choiceÆ

Perhaps he had always had that luxury but it was now that he was finally admitting it to himself Which begged the question what did Randidly Ghosthound want

Are we getting involved in the search for the Runic Tablet to name the Earth Tatiana asked as soon as they made eye contact She took a sharp step forward off of her platform and onto the island It seemed that she didnÆt intend to give Randidly much time to warm up to the hard conversation he would likely be about to have

For a second he hesitated Then Randidly shook his head no both myself Kharon and the Order Ducis will stay neutral Just so you are prepared to deal with the consequences I found the site of the Runic Tablet as I investigated earlier ItÆs quite a bit South of the Zones near old Mexico City But my image and the Order Ducis by extension should begin to withdraw from being so proscriptive to the EarthÆs actions Even during the lead up to the First Calamity in preparation to let them handle the Second Calamity

Tatiana gave Randidly a long look It seemed several questions were fighting to make their way out of their mouth She settled on Are you sure Setting aside the issue of the Calamities the different Zones will fight each other for the prestige of naming the Earth Blood will be spilled Such fighting will likely create grudges that will last a long time

So we even stop the fools from learning regret As Randidly closed his eyes he felt the sensation of those thousands of people being killed at the stadium once again His own private regret that sat in his chest What sort of crown do I wear What sort of responsibility do I have toward the people of Earth

Tatiana perhaps understood that Randidly needed this moment to think so she did not speak Perhaps more than he realized Tatiana had excellent insight

There was no secret answer that he found in his chest as the silence dragged onward Yggdrasil the Grim Chimera and the Stillborn Phoenix all sat in silence as he asked what responsibility he had to Earth None of carried with them any moral imperatives They were just forces each with their own desires Yggdrasil desired steady expansion and growth the Grim Chimera wanted to survive and the Stillborn Phoenix possessed a twisted sort of vengeance for the storm of emotions it housed Feeling them now remaining neutral on the issue of Earth Randidly could see the way that these images truly were who he was

He could see why he was so torn and frustrated by all his decisions regarding the Earth in the past All of the core drives that defined who he was didnÆt relate well to leading the planet

This was Randidly Ghosthound A leader born of necessity Someone who preferred demonstrating to teaching

At one point a Crown had been an important part of YggdrasilÆs image At that time he had focused on his role as King and the way that he would lead the Earth But gradually that Crown had transformed only into awe in the eye of the viewer Randidly became more focused on inspiring growth than truly leading or teaching And his images reflected that

Releasing a breath Randidly pushed his reflections to the side and spoke to Tatiana I know that they will fight each other if we leave it up for grabs But thatÆs fine I cannot protect them from everything I just want to make sure the normal System problems are the foes they can focus on

We just asserted our dominance with your birthday and the task forces for the Corrupted Invaders Centralizing power and then creating a void is dangerous Tatiana said fiercely Early reports say that weÆve already identified a dozen bubble cities in the newly opened up territory And thatÆll be thatÆs just the tip of the iceberg If there isnÆt a central force watching the Zones this will just be the rise of a new era of colonialism as the various

Do you truly believe the only thing stopping the people of Earth from returning to the horrors of colonialism is the opportunity Randidly asked somewhat incredulous

The look that Tatiana gave him in return was just as shocked Do you truly think they wonÆt ItÆs already been happening And Randidly on the old Earth money only gave the illusion of power An individual who monopolizes resources can now cultivate genuine power The sort of power that can easily corrupt even a good person

The Order Ducis will still keep a watch and intervene in cases of excess but we simply arenÆt large enough to keep tabs on everything ItÆs better to transition now to a more observational form It might be awkward at first but itÆs the best choice Randidly countered Perhaps he even agreed with Tatiana that some of the mistakes the people of Earth made were disturbing But what choice did he have

I suppose I could stay Randidly thought rather tiredly But Staying on Earth will make it that much harder to understand the true threat of the Nexus And with the quality of foes here my rate of improvement Heh Alana Hank and the Dragons went after the Nether invader that split off from the larger wave by Franksburg and were all exhausted after dueling three Nether Beasts Three Nether Beasts who were poisoned and weakened by the dense Aether of Earth Even Helen was the same This just isnÆt a place that I can

Tatiana shook her head firmly If he hadnÆt known better Randidly would have guessed that there were tears at the corner of her eyes That wonÆt be enough There will be a war if the Order Ducis doesnÆt control the situation And once the war starts our forces wonÆt be enough to pacify the different groups We will just need to wait until everything is over and we will bury the dead We we cannot abandon them now

Finally it clicked in RandidlyÆs mind He wasnÆt a particularly emotionally sensitive person but Grim Intuition let him read physical cues that generally led him to emotional revelations His expression softened as he looked at the woman who had accomplished every task he had given her in the past year and a half The woman who had dragged Kharon kicking and screaming into relevance Tatiana why donÆt you say what you are really thinking

Why do you Tatiana began but then she looked as though she physically bit back the words she had about to release After taking several breaths she spoke in a quiet voice When are you leaving

Randidly had suspected it for a while but this confirmed it Tatiana had a Skill that gave her some insight into his actions It made sense that she had perhaps been able to vaguely intuit the directions his thoughts had been wandering over the last hour Even if it was just his sadness from when he examined Donnyton his image might have contained traces of those emotions An average person might not have noticed but Tatiana was not average

I donÆt know But it shouldnÆt be soon Randidly sighed Then his left eye darkened to pure black There are a few rats I need to drag out of hiding before I leave but otherwise IÆll just be wrapping up a few things so you all

Then Randidly trailed off Tatiana was just looking at him Randidly bit his lip and then tried to force a smile Tatiana why are you acting like this is the end of the world I left before remember To go to the frontlines AND before that I went to Tellus even if you werenÆt working for me in the same capacity then why is this any different

It feels different doesn’t it Tatiana said in that same soft voice Her lips were trembling Like this is the end of an era YouÆve built something thatÆs supposed to last now what comes next is you leave us to see how we stand the test of time

Tatiana Randidly began but this time Tatiana raised her palm to him to stop him from speaking

DonÆt IÆm sorry I let you see me like this I I get it And I respect and understand everything that you do ItÆs just Then Tatiana smiled at Randidly while she tilted her head to the side Her eyes were bright Her teeth were so very very white As much as youÆve relied on me IÆve relied on you To see the broader trend in the world To know how the System works and how Kharon and the Order Ducis should approach problems that havenÆt even revealed themselves yet Maybe no IÆm sure that IÆm not just becoming emotional because you are leaving me ItÆs because I understand that soon it will be just me and Naffur trying to navigate our way through this We will be Kharon the Traveling City the guiding light for Earth Before I didnÆt understand the stakes Now even the population of Kharon alone

Tatiana shook her head But then she reached up and wiped the tears from her eyes Clear eyed she looked at Randidly with determination Do you have any advice

Randidly couldnÆt help but chuckle I mean like I said IÆm not leaving quite yet But as for advice remember you arenÆt alone Just like I couldnÆt have done it without you and Naffur find the people who believe in the same things as you And continue to invest in the people of Kharon I believe the city is truly becoming something special

To that Tatiana snorted Oh Randidly you have no idea Heh honestly I feel sorta bad for you YouÆll probably be gone so long that you will come back and the city will be completely transformed Oh IÆll send Mareen up in the next few days Ideally your home should be finished before you leave That way it can soak in your image and Nether a bit oh and catch

Tatiana reached into her pocket and flicked an object toward Randidly He reached up and caught it while muttering I really donÆt intend for this to be a permanent departure Then he looked down at his palm to see a Tier 1 Nexus coin shining there

King Phirun led the final charge in the Epic Danger Zone so he was given the other one Tatiana continued But that is the other Citizenship coin we obtained Helen obviously had no interest in it so If you are going to the Nexus you might need it

Randidly spun the coin across his fingers Another label created by the System offering false hope that it would provide some protection But Randidly was beginning to understand the hungry engine at the heart of the Nexus would consume them all Citizen or not

He tossed the coin back with a shake of his head You keep it If you can gather two more it will be valuable to give Kharon and probably the whole Earth as a bit of insurance As it is either way I believe IÆm capable of gathering enough of the coins on my own

Plus I need to figure out what VuallaÆs plan is original Vualla hopefully she will let us call her something different so its easier to keep them straight

RandidlyÆs rejection seemed to surprise Tatiana and she stared down at the coin in her hand for a while Then she stored it away into a pocket Okay Then what is Kharon going to do while you are still here

Head to the edge of the world Randidly rubbed his jaw He felt oddly light at the moment as though as soon as he had said out loud to Tatiana that he would be leaving soon he was somehow unmoored So he took in a deep breath to steady himself before he continued to speak The steady beat of his heart in his chest was something of a relief and a reminder that he probably would stay for at least another few weeks There are some Bubble Cities to which I want to send Order Ducis operatives gather up HeiffalÆs crew so they can hide in my Alpha Cosmos IÆll also need to finally track down Ace to get YystrixÆs memories back

Randidly shook his head Honestly there is a lot

What else is new Tatiana smirked as Randidly as though the previous conversation had never happened With a wave she turned away Already the moss spirits of Kharon had responded to RandidlyÆs will and adjusted their course The city even began to pick up speed considering the distance it needed to travel IÆll get everything started But believe me when I say that IÆm going to come up with a pile of work youÆll need to handle before you leave

Thanks Tatiana Randidly grinned

She stepped onto her platform and spoke without turning around No thank you Randidly Ghosthound YouÆve taught me heh Just thank you

Then she floated down buoyed by a platform wreathed in emerald energy Which left Randidly to focus on his training

Because there was one piece of information within the large message Octavius had sent him that meant he didnÆt dare yet leave the Earth According to Octavius the Xyrt Brigade had cut ties with Kaan Swacc and left him stranded on Earth And from what Octavius suspected the Swacc Family wouldnÆt be willing to bail him out if he didnÆt yet have results

Which meant that after the Nether was dealt with and the Xyrt Brigade forces left the Earth Randidly would need to draw out and slaughter Kaan Swacc The monster from the Nexus that had all the right ideas about Randidly for all the wrong reasons

Chapter 1381

RandidlyÆs heart began to pound heavily as the three images stirred in the air around him As one the images were pulled inward sinking through RandidlyÆs skin The pounding of his heart accelerated The moonlight spirits swirled excitedly following the chaotic flows of his energy Each image began to vibrate as the intensity of the movements rose upward Now that Randidly had addressed each of the images directly he could feel their flavors and depth all the more clearly

These were the building blocks of who he Randidly Ghosthound was They had always been a part of him It was just a matter of reminding them of how that connection could be a physical thing

His heart darkened and warped turning brown and rutted like tree bark His veins slowly began to glow pure gold as energy pumped through his entire body His black hair gradually lightened turning into a green color

He was Yggdrasil the World Tree a source of constant growth and protection for the world

RandidlyÆs left eye lost its emerald shine darkening to pitch blackness The surrounding light turned almost liquid flowing around his eye socket like it was a location where a plug in the world had been removed and now drained everything away His gaze became baleful and chill

He was the Stillborn Phoenix the Egg of Depression carrying the emotions of many who cursed Fate

The skin of RandidlyÆs right hand and his bare feet darkened to a corroded grey Around his torso the skin turned translucent revealing the shimmering golden veins within him More than that two tails flicked back and forth testing the air One at RandidlyÆs waist and another coming from the base of his neck

He was the Grim Chimera he who persisted and endured seeking to find his own path in the universe

Growth Revenge Survival Randidly whispered to himself His three images manifested further spreading their potent aura into the surrounding air His island hummed with the presence of Randidly Ghosthound His energy sunk into the ground beneath him The surrounding moonlight spirits swirled faster and faster a great whirlwind below with a sea of stars shining above

Slowly Randidly moved The step was a somewhat awkward one because one of the great advantages of manifesting the image outside of oneself was the ability to manipulate the image freely Even with one image and his body to manage Randidly would have been relatively confident in his movements But to keep three images straight separate and balanced while also manipulating his physical body pushed even RandidlyÆs prodigious amount of Control

He took a step Then he took another He raised his hands one metal and one flesh both swimming in his images But Randidly frowned as he looked down at his hands the lines of light on his metallic left hand flickered another manifestation of the weakness it had developed fighting against the Nether Gatekeeper

Still holding out for now but IÆll need to take care of it soon Randidly breathed out through his nose and raised his gaze from his left hand Then he shook his head and began to move slowly through some basic fighting forms

Congratulations Your Skill Visualization has grown to Level 290

Other struggles aside this new method of blending the images directly with RandidlyÆs body had seen a jumpstart in his Visualization Skill Level In addition having the three images brush up against each other had pointed out the relative strengths and weaknesses of each After every practice session Randidly would spend some time focusing on improving small imperfections in his images that he had identified Most of them had been within the Stillborn Phoenix but Randidly was rather pleased to have been inspired in a few small ways to improve his other two images

It was night and Randidly continued for almost an hour to smoothly move while maintaining the balance between the three images As he grew more proficient with basic movements he began to activate his various Skills

THIS was where the problems began Because when Randidly activated Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil his Yggdrasil image that he held within himself naturally grew more powerful Which quickly began to destabilize the carefully maintained balance requiring a split second of concentration in order to rectify

In battle that would be a split second that Randidly couldnÆt afford

But Randidly didnÆt worry about it too much at least for the short term Even without being able to see the tangible benefits of the power Randidly could wield with the three images united in his body because he essentially was just casually moving as he developed his balanceÆ the constant refinement of his images was incredibly valuable And each time he activated a Skill while practicing he activated it much more purposefully than he had in the past He had to otherwise everything he was trying to juggle would just collapse into a burst of wasted mental energy

Congratulations Your Skill Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 269

After only twenty minutes the effort of practicing caused drops of sweat to form on his brow Sighing Randidly released his three images The changes to his body faded but Randidly didnÆt miss how they lingered for a few seconds after he released his images Just dissipating vestiges for now but if he did this for long enough

Randidly looked again down at his hands Definitely a useful Path But if I slowly transform into something that doesnÆt resemble a human am I fine with that

Eventually Randidly nodded with certainty If the cost of power was that his physical form truly began to change that was something that he could live with But even if things proceed to that point Randidly supposed he could develop an image that was of what it meant to be a human Or if he was even more lazy he could just ask Neveah for some tips regarding illusions If she managed to hide her identity as a Bone Wyrm behind a veil Randidly figured his mostly aesthetic changes could be easily masked

Mentally exhausted from the exercise Randidly lay on the ground and looked up at the stars His moonlight spirits around him ceased their rotation and began to flood down around Randidly They were careful not to block his view of the sky but their sheer number made the radiance they released blinding It was like a veritable swarm of fireflies trying to sneak up on you Maybe one or two could have done it but this many

He couldnÆt help but chuckle and spread his hands outward Quickly realizing what he wanted the moonlight spirits surged forward in a wave They immersed his body and lightly picked up him Each was cool against RandidlyÆs skin They buoyed him away in silver light and Randidly allowed himself to relax for a while

But eventually the rest had to end

Randidly snorted and shook his head as the moonlight spirits sensed his intensions and set him down He had already gathered HeiffalÆs group and stored them within his Alpha Cosmos Within the next six hours or so the Xyrt Brigade should arrive on Earth The darkness in the night sky that was the Nether incursion hanging like the shadowy brother of the moon in the night sky had not launched any more probing strikes against the Earth Instead its efforts to break through the CohortÆs defenses had intensified

Closely studying the methodology of Nether assault might have given Randidly some inspiration but whenever he looked up at the Nether he felt a deep sense of foreboding and that caused his instincts to prickle unpleasantly Perhaps he remembered too distinctly the power of the Nether King he had seen on the frontlines As the intensity of the NetherÆs attacks increased the more Randidly was reminded of that terrible dread that he felt when the Nether King had looked toward him

It had been an absolute monster even partially bound

Yet the flows of Nether above the Earth now were even more profound and deep than Randidly had remembered This was a Nether King that had the capital to assault the System

Randidly closed his eyes to prevent himself from fixating too much on the Nether above him however He had already wasted more than enough time worrying about what was going to happen It was much better to work on what he could while he could So he sent a mental message to Neveah asking her how her research on living Engraving was going

Ugh donÆt remind me Neveah grumbled Through their connection Randidly could feel that Neveah was just as mentally exhausted as Randidly was albeit for different reasons IÆm about three fourths of the way through YystrixÆs material on that subject but for the past two days IÆve just been banging my head against a brick wall and my maid has been so moody recently I just canÆt seem to figure out how to proceed

Randidly sent Neveah a mental shrug It should be enough to improve the current arm though correct

Oh definitely came NeveahÆs confident reply But using only 76% of her knowledge isnÆt that a waste If we could just reach 80% I hear in your Earth terms that percentage a B which is only slightly above average To accept a C I donÆt think thatÆs an intelligent move

Randidly wondered idly where Neveah had learned about the grading habits on old Earth True but itÆs better we work with something we are confident of doing than try and push the envelope Besides we have a timelimit

Then you better get started going through my impressions and notes Neveah said with a mental smirk Sure IÆll do the actual Engraving but youÆll be the one manipulating the new arm you make And without at least making it 60% through YystrixÆs stuff I donÆt know if you will be able to manage it plus wonÆt you have to make a harder alloy for your arm

Randidly felt his mood rapidly souring but he couldnÆt deny that Neveah was right There was quite a bit for him to do After only a few minutes of rest Randidly hadnÆt recovered much of his mental strength but he was already itching to turn to a new task

And Tatiana hasnÆt even sent up the work that she wants me to accomplish before I leave Randidly though rather bleakly Neveah laughed at him but sent over a bundle of her memories pertaining to the Living Engraving process Sighing Randidly set them within his Soul space and stood up He rolled his shoulders and stretched some

Not really because he needed to avoid stiffness but because it helped elevate his heart rate and gave him some additional prep time before another mental task Truly the number of training Randidly had that required his mental energy was exhausting

But before he could throw himself into the process of studying living Engraving there was a ripple on his island RandidlyÆs emerald eyes narrowed A magical array was beginning to form in front of him After studying it for a second he recognized it it was the portal ability utilized by the Winged Serpent

Sure enough after another thirty seconds the portal was established and two figures walked through to the other side The first was the Winged Serpent but Randidly was surprised to see that the second was Thea Glasshammer He had briefly seen the young woman at both the stadium and at his birthday but Randidly had been focused on other things at the time His impression of Thea hadnÆt been that strong

Looking at her now it was clear that her time as a Nemesai hadnÆt been kind to her Her shoulders were tense and rounded as if she constantly feared an attack The skin around her eyes was red and irritated as though she hadnÆt had a good night’s sleep in months Her hammer at her side was crusted with dirt and blood But Randidly supposed that made sense due to his influence the Earth had a large image advantage over normal planets It was almost impossible for the Nemesai to have an easy time operating

But the real worry was TheaÆs image With one glance Randidly saw how far fear anger and envy had corrupted the core of who she had been

For now Randidly didnÆt address it He turned to the Winged Serpent Why have you come

To honor our agreement Or rather to take you up on your offer The Winged Serpent hissed as it floated forward We agree to stop our efforts to make the Earth fail the Calamities in exchange for your assistance in protecting our worlds And as a show of good faith we have brought you the weapon given to the Nemesai when a planet proceeds toward the Calamities

A small baton appeared in front of the Winged Serpent floating in the air on top of another magic circle

Chapter 1382

Randidly looked down at the small object with curiosity It appeared to be made of an ancient bone yellowed with time and was covered with dark runes that shifted as Randidly watched them Even with his focused attention and Aether Detection he could not figure out the mysteries of the item presented to him What his senses told him was inconsistent and fleeting in a way that was hard to describe

But he did notice that one end of the baton was sharpened to a deadly point Whatever it was it certainly looked like a primitive weapon Or an item used in some terrible ritual

Inspecting it wonÆt help due to its unique nature Also I understand how it looks Because of the System will not provide a description you will have to take my word on what it does Still I hope you will take the act of giving it to you as evidence of the truth of my words Because even if we cannot see its true name it has a common nickname that any associates from the Nexus will be able to corroborate it is called the Bizarre Stake

For the moment Randidly didnÆt reach out to take the strange item The Winged Serpent was right not being able to understand what it was or how it worked made Randidly wary And when Aether Detection continued to provide him with useless and shifting information he used Nether Sensation

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 220

which got him a Skill Level but presented Randidly with another wave of disorientating nonsense Then struck by an idea he used both of the two Skills in conjunction The information flooded RandidlyÆs mind and continued its strange motions but seeing both sides of the energy it was no longer as unpredictable Gradually an inkling of what this object might do began to form

Randidly kept his expression stern as he looked down at it however And what does this Bizarre Stake do that is so valuable to the Nemesai

It well the effects are always rather unpredictable And of course these Stakes are extraordinarily rare I believe the System confiscates unused Bizarre Stakes as soon as a planet either succeeds or fails the Calamities It has never been allowed into the Nexus proper But The Winged Serpent hesitated for a second Thea continued to stand silently her arms crossed It conjures an ally for the Nemesai But it also removes an enemy at the same time A Sacrifice is required for it to work

RandidlyÆs eyes never left the spike The Aether and Nether mixed freely the only example that Randidly had ever seen aside from his own energies of the two existing in harmony Which further proved that the backbone of the System was built on both energies whatever faux war might be happening on the surface

The patterns were gradually becoming clearer As Randidly looked at Aether he saw that the spike would become a beacon The Nether informed him that it would establish a connection The combination of energies the way they shifted RandidlyÆs lips twitched He wasnÆt positive but it looked like the spike would then replace

An enemy removed and an ally conjured huh Randidly rubbed his chin And I assume the summoned ally is powerful if you believed it would be effective against me

Very much so The common tale is that the spike kills the target and revives an ancient hero in his place A hero whose one desire is to sabotage the planet Of course thatÆs nonsense But I do believe that what the spike does is revive a relic of the past to aid the Nemesai The Winged SerpentÆs tongue flicked out

When Randidly raised an eyebrow the Winged Serpent continued its hissing speech You might not be familiar with the structure of the Nexus but the Capital is essentially a giant powerplant The city itself is built on top of all of the gathered and compressed images that the Nexus has taken from powerful individuals in the past By keeping a certain amount of pressure to the Aether there the amount of energy generated from the conflicting and impacting images is overwhelming It is the source of the NexusÆs power and the engine that powers the SystemÆs expansion

Randidly hummed at that All the images of the deceased packed together and let to rampage against each other no wonder the Aether the Nexus released was brittle It likely wasnÆt even something that the Nexus had set out to do But the process of being used in such a destructive energy production method left it scarred

Of course the System was smart enough to find ways to take advantage of the brittle Aether But it was just one more piece of the grand puzzle that currently threatened to devour the Earth One more stretch of road that would eventually lead the Earth to ruin Randidly carefully took note

So you are saying that this spike pulls something out of the interior of the power planet and brings it to itself Is the Bizarre Spike consumed by the process Randidly said slowly

The Winged Serpent nodded Yes it can only be used once When I learned that I would be Nemesai on Earth I did my best to investigate the phenomenon but the reports of how exactly the summoning occurs and why the spike disappears after are contradictory Some say that what the Bizarre Stake does is twist the recipient empowering them and making them a Nemesai regardless of what they were before Others say that it pulls an image that mutates the recipient into something no longer truly intelligent but a base monster that operates based on instinct Other say it switches the victim with something dead as I mentioned earlier essentially reviving a dead image

Randidly pointed at the stake and grinned at the Winged Serpent Quite bizarre But how am I to know whether touching the stake will trigger its effect against me

With a shrug the Winged Serpent allowed the stake to float down and touch the ground It sat there without triggering some horrible energy I can offer you no more assurance than I already have But I will leave the Bizarre Stake here per our agreement Please help our worlds Mr Ghosthound

One more responsibility Randidly thought tiredly But this one is probably worth it It will be one less source of chaos and death on Earth while everyone struggles to find the Runic Tablet

True to his word the Winged Serpent floated back and approached its portal Right before it went through it glanced over its shoulder at Thea seemed to sigh then went through the shimmering portal to the land beyond RandidlyÆs gaze slid to Thea who stood there and was still staring at Randidly with an aggress light in her eyes you also have some business with me

Just a question Thea said in a rough voice of a lifetime smoker of cigarettes She cleared her throat and her eyes dropped to the ground Is Chrysanthemum still alive

Of course Randidly said frowning at Thea Honestly it was a slightly bewildering question How could she be moving around if she was just a puppet

ThatÆs Thea just blinked at Randidly

He rubbed the back of his head feeling awkward Is that all you are here for

I Then Thea flushed fine then If you donÆt want to seriously answer my question nevermind

Without giving Randidly a chance to respond Thea turned and stomped through the portal A few seconds later it faded out of existence Rather nonplussed Randidly could only shake his head Is that answer really so hard to believe Thea Glasshammer Or are you too afraid to admit that such a statement is true

If its really true why have you been struggling so hard to kill your fellow humans And why hasnÆt Chrysanthemum hinted to you that she is still alive

honestly good questions And as much as I once knew Thea I donÆt think I owe Thea any more assistance than I have already given her Randidly thought with a sigh Once more he rolled his shoulder and glanced down at his metallic left arm The frequency of the failures of the Engravings was increasing About once every five minutes there would be a half second where the arm would refuse to move

Randidly had been considering going after Ace as his first order of business but as the failures became more frequent he changed his mind The two real threats that Randidly was worried about were the arrival of the Xyrt Brigade and Kaan Swacc And if Randidly wanted to draw no suspicion repairing a damaged arm seemed like a good way to spend his time And one that would also prepare him for the fight against Kaan once the Xyrt Brigade left

The thing about the CreatureÆs missing memories was that Yystrix had clearly taken steps to hide them Now Randidly didnÆt believe that he could rival the investigatory powers of the Xyrt Brigade but he believed that if Elhume hadnÆt already shown up and taken them they werenÆt easy to find Even Randidly would need to rely on following AceÆs trail to get them

Randidly didnÆt want to run the risk of leading the Xyrt Brigade to those memories should he be unable to find and locate Ace within a short period of time Besides Randidly was sure from Octavius ShrikeÆs words that he personally would be investigated Some small part of him believed that the memories would be less likely to be discovered on Ace than himself

Neveah interrupted RandidlyÆs thoughts You recovered enough to study yet You need to get up to speed with the living Engraving

Randidly rolled his eyes Yes maÆam

But while he began to take apart the memories she had sent over he beckoned over Acri who had been lazing around with boredom on his floating island Hey buddy Need something to do How about you go kill a monster for me As high a Level as possible Then bring me back hits bones The more the better

At first Acri considered Randidly in confusion But then the living spear realized that Randidly was being serious It shook its spear tips furiously demonstrating its enthusiasm Then it used one of its three pyramidal tips to hit its own shaft as though saying you can count on me for this Æ

If anything Randidly became suspicious of his weaponÆs reassuring behaviors But still Acri was very dependable in the past so

WhatÆs the worst that could happen Randidly asked himself as he pushed his mind into NeveahÆs memories But as the difficulty of understanding the Engravings rapidly shot upward the issue slipped from his mind

Chapter 1383

The Xyrt Brigade was many things but subtle in their persecution of the Nether threat was not one of them When they arrived on the Earth they came in a furious nova of Aether that immediately pierced toward the battlefield in the sky And their arrival was not a second too soon because the weak pulses of Aether coming from the System apparati were starting to disturb Randidly

Those defenses wouldnÆt hold out much longer If the Xyrt Brigade had delayed a few hours

Well Randidly wasnÆt sure what exactly the Nether was accomplishing in the sky above Earth But he wasnÆt much looking forward to taking the blame for letting it happen

In addition RandidlyÆs preparations to seem innocuous were complete The Bizarre Spike was given to Neveah for study His Nether was kept tightly under control All individuals not from Earth aside from Helen were within his Alpha Cosmos

By the time that the Xyrt Brigade made its appearance Kharon had made its way to the edgeÆ of the world So Randidly had just spent the last hour utilizing Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil to conjure a veritable sea of small roots to shift the land back into place Perhaps even worse than the land being forcefully smashed together was the obvious corrosion that the land had experienced in the process

Nether and Aether mixed chaotically and dangerously in the spots where the Aether of the System had engaged with no small amount of errors The land had strange residue resembling char around the edges Plants that had been growing there prior to whatever spatial shenanigans on which the System was based were now withered and grey

Randidly hoped the damage wouldnÆt have lasting effects but it was so hard to tell exactly what that residue was It wasnÆt quite like the grey goop that Randidly had seen in the past from mixing the two energies So even after he had heaved the huge stretch of land and settled it back into place Randidly had stayed there for a while and used the image of Yggdrasil to strengthen the desire for growth in the surrounding area

It was right about that time that a huge Aether array appeared in the sky and the Xyrt Brigade announced their arrival A ruby magic circle the size of a city appeared in the sky below the space where Nether continued to attack the weakening Nexus defenses That one circle expanded outward becoming three immense ruby circles one splitting upward and the other splitting downward

Only after a complex series of three dimensional Aether interactions settled into place did the actual portal open a quicksilver disc that was as placid as a frozen lake Then the head of a serpent poked its way outward from the disc followed by a sinuous flying body covered in light blue scales The flying serpent itself released a horribly powerful aura but Randidly could sense that on its back were at least forty individuals who were even more powerful

More powerful than Randidly by a fair amount

For the moment the serpent turned its head upward and swam through the air toward the Nether But a few seconds afterward Randidly received a slew of messages from Octavius Shrike

From my initial scans I didnÆt detect anything overtly suspicious currently on Earth Thank you for keeping yourself under control

Randidly couldnÆt help but roll his eyes but then continued to read OctaviusÆs message

A few things to note The Xyrt Brigade is busier than ever Immediately after this Smog Clan was dispatched to investigate the situation on Earth Nether forces smashed against most of the minor Frontlines These attacks were universally repulsed but several areas of our defense suffered heavy casualties Which probably means that the Smog Clan will try and get in and get out as quickly as possible Just seem average or lucky and they wonÆt take a second glance at you

You will probably meet the ClanÆs Captain that canÆt be avoided but we got relatively lucky on that front This Clan was the nearest one to Earth and was given the mission for that reason In addition the Clan isnÆt sympathetic toward the Swacc Family at all On the other hand the leader is a bit eccentric and heÆs one of the three Clan Captains in the Xyrt Brigade aiming to move up to Brigadier now that the previous Brigadier is out of the picture

That got RandidlyÆs attention enough for him to send a reply A Nether attack killed the leader of the Xyrt Brigade

No The reply message was only one word Randidly blinked at that For almost three minutes he didnÆt receive other replies so Randidly began to return toward Kharon and his island It was only when he had arrived back on his land that Octavius elaborated The previous Brigadier attracted the direct attention of Elhume He touched her shoulder She didnÆt survive the intensity of the experience

Having experienced what it was like to just have Elhume look at him across space and time Randidly released a sympathetic shiver But it was altogether horrifying in a more concrete way to know that even the powerful Brigadier of the Xyrt Brigade wasnÆt strong enough to survive a casual touch from Elhume

Randidly supposed there was a reason that Yystrix had been so desperate to flee from her former husband

By the time Randidly had settled back onto his mist shrouded island battle in the sky had been joined The blue sky serpent just circled below the tear in space but the powerful individuals it had carried flew upward and began to battle directly against the Nether forces A howl of fury blasted outward The reverberations from their fight echoed outward across the Earth

For a while Randidly watched intently But gradually as the battle continued to rage on above the Earth Randidly forced his attention away There are some things that you can affect and others that you canÆt Right now that is still something that you cannot change Which is why you need to use this opportunity to grow stronger

Releasing a breath into which he stuffed all of his frustrations Randidly tried his best to turn his attention to the memories on Living Engraving that Neveah had passed to him But it was not easy to let go of the fact that his home planet had to rely on foreign help in order to survive

The battle above raged for so long that its powerful impacts and echoes eventually faded into background noise His focus gradually stopped wandering back upward to check on the status of the Xyrt Brigade Randidly very seriously lost himself in the study of Living Engravings After all it had been an area of fascination of his for quite a while It was because of all that expended effort on Living Engravings that he had been able to develop the runic depictions on the bark of the World Tree

However the Living Engraving from YystrixÆs tomb was clearly on another level While Randidly had made simple patterns for his Engravings that could grow and proliferate this involved something much more complex The prerequisite was that the depth of Mana in each line of the Engraving was almost double what Randidly had attempted but what this method of YystrixÆs did was literally have the shape of the Engraving shift as it grew

The trick was that the increased depth of Mana exerted a small bit of power over space so when the Engraving was sufficiently large the Mana depth warped the very shape of the Engraving Of course it was also a nightmare to create a shape that had its own living image and could be warped very slightly to make another image that could be reproduced across the item

That was why the result was so powerful

The one benefit was that the drawer of the Engraving wouldnÆt need to worry about the images for any of the warped patterns If the Living Engraving was working properly the Engraving would take care of the image by itself

Which Randidly reflected was a slightly disturbing thought But it was proof that it deserved the moniker LivingÆ Engraving

From his position sitting on the flat center of his island Randidly glanced upward Almost six hours had passed since the Xyrt Brigade had arrived The sky was darkening So with a shrug Randidly produced some old training spears and began to experiment He had almost reached the limit of just examining NeveahÆs notes anyway

Following YystrixÆs method was just as difficult and frustrating as Randidly had expected The depth of the Mana on each of the strokes needed to be precisely uniform In addition he needed a lot of experience to understand how the Mana depth would warp the shape of the Engraving as it spread So most of RandidlyÆs earlier attempts resulted in useless pieces of equipment that were so flooded with volatile Mana that they cracked and shattered

But Randidly kept working

Congratulations Your Skill Architecture of the Primordial Ways has grown to Level 265

Congratulations Your Skill Experienced CreatorÆs Ingenuity has grown to Level 99

Time continued to ceaselessly flow forward The surrounding night deepened leaving RandidlyÆs face illuminated solely by the glow of energy from the sputtering and failing Engravings in front of him From time to time he looked upward at the powerful signs of fighting above but then he quickly returned to his work

As time passed his glances upward turned increasingly infrequent

When he couldnÆt understand the memories Neveah provided Randidly experimented When he was frustrated with his lack of success with his experiments he returned to the memories As he did so a general sense of catharsis overtook him

Whether it was potion making farming or refining metals Randidly always found the strangest sense fulfillment while performing crafting activities Truly in another life one where he hadnÆt encountered Shal Randidly wasnÆt sure what sort of Class he would have obtained Because nothing felt as natural as making and growing something meaningful

He supposed that was why the World Tree had been his first image

Yet Randidly always forgot how fulfilling it was whenever he turned his back on the activity so he rarely purposefully spent time on these pursuits he only did it when necessary Which was unfortunate because it was immediately obvious to Randidly that focusing on the Engraving was rejuvenating him mentally

Some hidden parts of RandidlyÆs heart that probably hadnÆt stopped worrying since he had returned to Earth gradually stiffened and then relaxed as they were buoyed by the steady tasks of the Engraving Clarity that he hadnÆt noticed he was missing returned to him Even without Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold active the world seemed crisp before his gaze

Randidly carefully dragged his fingers across the training spear in his hands getting a better feel for how to deepen the Mana grooves that he was making with his Engravings The Mana flowed through his limbs much more smoothly Still these small improvements werenÆt enough for him to learn Living Engraving

The spear trembled and then cracked in his hands Ambient Mana blasted outward crackling harmlessly against RandidlyÆs body Unperturbed Randidly produced another training spear and began to work This Engraving was much more successful than the previous one Randidly was probably 90% finished with the Living Engraving when he made a mistake and the thing shattered His Skill Levels gradually rose as his whole focus was consumed in the making

Randidly took out another training spear His fingertips tingled from the constant flow of Mana through them Once more he got to work

Congratulations Your Skill SpriggitÆs Tinkering has grown to Level 162

Congratulations Your Skill Experienced CreatorÆs Ingenuity has grown to Level 103

Congratulations Your Skill Architecture of the Primordial Ways has grown to Level 269

This time Randidly completely finished the Engraving but he could already sense slight imperfections in the depth of his Mana that would mean that the spear would shatter before the Engraving within it could grow to its full potential

With a sigh Randidly sat that spear to the side and reached into his interspatial ring for another training spear Then he blinked Huh finally went through my entire stock of spare spears huh IÆll have to talk to Tatiana

Speaking of Tatiana she had come up during his Engraving time and left a small box on the edge of his island Randidly appreciated that she hadnÆt interrupted him but it now filled him with dread to look over toward the tedium that awaited him in the future Because his Grim Intuition was only too capable of revealing the thick stack of papers waiting within that box

But luckily for Randidly that task would have to wait a while longer something shifted in the battle above The Nether faltered and then began to flee Many of the powerful Xyrt Brigade members pursued but the flying serpent twined away and then began to spiral down toward Earth

In addition Randidly received a message from Octavius it was time for him to meet the Captain of the Smog Clan

Chapter 1384

The flying serpent curled around RandidlyÆs island and rested its head on the edge of the stone ground allowing the three people on its head to step off onto the island Up close the serpent truly just looked like an enormous adder with a triangular head and diamond patterns in silver and blue across its body It was long enough that it wrapped three times around RandidlyÆs rather sizable floating island Although there was no image from it Randidly could recognize the significant physical power that it possessed

Since Randidly had experienced the limit imposed by the System he could see that this massive serpent was pressing up against that veil of physical strength To see such a powerful being acting so docilely said a lot about the people riding it So Randidly shifted his attention to the three figures that hopped down off of the adderÆs head

The first was the familiar form of Octavius Shrike with his straight back and prominent rhinoÆs head Following him was a humanoid with grey skin that Randidly initially interpreted as being quite young but after looking at the strangeness of his features for a while Randidly wasnÆt so sure whether his initial impression was correct The man might just be wrinkleless not young It reminded him disturbingly of Ileot Swacc

But quickly RandidlyÆs attention moved past them both to the figure that leisurely strolled forward behind them The first thing that Randidly noticed was that he couldnÆt seem to catch any sight of the final figureÆs body every location that skin should have been located was releasing a constant buffer of steam that shrouded his physical form As soon as it left his body the steam dissipated into nothing but more was produced to keep him shrouded

Of course the steam might just be his body Randidly thought to himself And I guess the Smog Clan is this man being cute

Aside from the steam he released the figure was wrapped in a dark khaki trench coat He also wore a hat that somehow combined a masquerade mask a visor and a bandana It had sharp corners in the front but was loose in the back Portions of its fabric fell down to cover what normally would be someoneÆs ears but it only veiled more steam

Octavius turned to the steaming individual and gestured back toward Randidly Captain Quill this is Randidly Ghosthound the Commander I was telling you about

Indeed He truly is as singular as the rumors have said Truly a specimen worth developing Captain Quill said considering Randidly His lookÆ was intense the beingÆs focus had a palpable presence

For a few seconds Randidly felt a chill as the gaze of that misty man looked at him but then he received a message from Octavius that calmed him down Relax HeÆs just complimenting you because he doesnÆt remember who you are Remember your greatest weapon during this investigation is the fact that the Xyrt Brigade is very sure of its own superiority DonÆt give him reason to reconsider that

While Randidly was reading the message Captain Quill glanced around Whose island is this I quite like it The ambiance mm Oh are these energy life forms intelligent

Captain Quill extended an arm and a mist shrouded limb reached upward toward the moonlight spirits that were hovering nearby After a second of hesitation they floated down and began to dance through the CaptainÆs mist freely Gradually more and more flowed downward when it was clear Captain Quill wasnÆt a threat

Seeing no negative reaction from the moonlight spirits Randidly released a low breath ItÆs my island Captain Quill

Indeed Well I hope you wonÆt mind if I set up a temporary command center here while we handle the clean up on this planet Thank you for your assistance

That earned an annoyed twitch from Randidly but ultimately he supposed it was more convenient for him if he knew where the Xyrt Brigade members were while on Earth Still playing with the moonlight spirits Captain Quill reached into one of the pockets of his trenchcoat and produced a curved pipe that was such a dark brown that it appeared almost black in the dim light of the night

He shook it lightly and a small ember appeared to light the pipe The being of mist moved the pipe to the place where a human would have the mouth and very obviously took a long drag The ember flared briefly brighter as Captain Quill pulled oxygen through the flame Then he moved the pipe away ruminated for several seconds and blew out several impeccable smoke rings The moonlight spirits found it delightful and began to zoom through the rings as fast as they could

Randidly just blinked

Captain Quill twisted his torso and Randidly had the distinct impression the misty man was smirking at him I know what you are thinking Why smoke Æ Captain Quill took another deep pull from the pipe This time when he blew out the smoke Randidly could feel him use his image to nudge the smoke causing it to come out in the form of a falcon

Not willing to be outdone a hundred moonlight spirits formed together and transformed into an eagle that was just a little bit larger than the falcon The moonlight eagle surged forward talons raised in challenge

The smoke falcon beat itÆs nonliving wings and was eviscerated by the moonlight eagle Captain Quill chuckled For the irony

Then he glanced around at RandidlyÆs island and pointed to a spot near to where Randidly was standing Wuva what is that

The young looking being with grey skin stepped forward and peered at what his Captain indicated The whatÆ in question was the pile of shattered training spears that still was covered by an ambient cloud of Mana from the failed Living Engravings For several seconds he very seriously studied the broken weapons on the ground

Then he turned back to his Captain It appears to be the shattered byproducts from some very sophisticated if clumsily made Engravings

Indeed Mr Ghosthound let me give you a word of advice Captain Quill turned his head to look at Randidly And again Randidly felt the slightest bit of a chill He had never thought to ask whether such Engravings would attract attention from the Xyrt Brigade

Clapping his very real feeling hand on RandidlyÆs shoulder Captain Quill spoke in a gentle voice The quality of a man can be determined by his home A messy home well you donÆt need me to elaborate right Just a few minutes each day builds a lifetime of habit Oh Wuva what is that over there

Before Wuva could walk over and examine the box in question Randidly spoke up Ah that is also mine ItÆs paperwork I will need to eventually address

Despite the fact that Randidly couldnÆt see Captain QuillÆs face he could feel the disappointment and sense of almost paternal worry radiating off of the leader of the Xyrt Brigade Clan Young man never put off work that could be done today until tomorrow That well I suppose it is your own decision Ah by the way please keep in mind that we are here to help save your planet While we are in different branches of the military both of us fight for the Nexus So please if you have any problems bring them to me Do you have any questions

About living a life of virtue or about the Nether King above Randidly thought with more than a pinch of wry humor Then he glanced up toward the sky where the Great Rift was steadily being forced backward Did you eliminate the culprit

You are more observant than you let on Mr Ghosthound Immediately Captain QuillÆs tone changed The harsh military discipline in his voice spoke of an entire career on the battlefield His shoulders bore a physical weight that was an image that had no shape only deadly purpose The friendly figure who had been present earlier vanished The soldier Randidly had expected now stood in his place After Captain Quill took another puff from his pipe he prompted his aide Wuva

Wuva brought his heels sharply together and straightened his spine The initial clash against at least three score Nether Heralds indicated that there was a Nether King commanding them from the rear One of uncommon power Our forces eventually overcame the Nether defenses but not before the Nether King had escaped In addition it was clear from our investigations that the Nether King had broken enough of the SystemÆs defenses that it was able to witness the general structure of the System Whatever its true goal was it now knows a much more efficient route than boring through the System infrastructure available in this world that hasnÆt yet encountered a Calamity

There you have it Captain Quill said calmly A capable foe that has eluded us Now if you have no further questions I donÆt want to keep you from your work Besides Wuva and I will just need to oversee the cleanup operation to make sure no Nether Heralds descend to your planet ShouldnÆt take more than a day or two

Feeling strangely like he had been dismissed Randidly nodded slowly Then when Captain Quill began to give Wuva orders to erect a dwelling in the middle of RandidlyÆs island Randidly drifted over toward the box of paperwork that Tatiana had sent for him After standing around and looking at the Xyrt Brigade duo for a while Octavius Shrike came over and stood next to him

Paperwork wonÆt attract attention Octavius pointed out

Randidly could only sigh and pick up the box in resignation I was just getting the knack for Living Engraving too well at least they should only be here for two days

The guardÆs footsteps echoed down the long hallway When another person rounded the corner to face him the guard froze up for a split second and then belatedly reached for his Mana pistol But when he recognized the other person the man relaxed with an awkward chuckle Ah Cale Is it time for the shift switch already

The new arrival shook his head The light in the hallway was from the floor so the shadow of the manÆs large nose stretched up across his face Nah they changed up the schedule Created whole new transition shifts to add extra protection to Mjolnir Or so they claim But there is definitely something fishy going in the underground warehouses

Not so loud The first guard visibly winced and looked around You know what I think ItÆs because of the impeachment proceedings President Greyman is afraid of losing power and is tightening her grip on Mjolnir

Cale grunted in agreement but didnÆt comment on the politics of it Hopefully a new president will set more reasonable expectations for this place

Heh you think No matter what happens nothing will change for us Every President will want Mjolnir as a weapon The first guard moaned Then he shook himself Anyways I need to go inspect the silo LetÆs play cards sometime we both have a shift off

Sure Cale responded walking past the first guard and down the long hallway

By that time Acri had finished chewing through the ventilation grill Taking advantage of humanityÆs strange habit of not looking upward AcriÆs three meter long soccer ball thick body slid silently out and across the roof having enough length to bridge across the hallway and back again to support its significant weight

Even though he had slimmed himself down and removed his eye catching foliage to sneak into the compound Acri was rather uncomfortable This was much more difficult than it had thought it would be

AcriÆs three pyramidal heads were only a few inches behind the guard sniffing him for the scent of blood Slightly disappointed that the being below it was just a man Acri pulled its heads upward and contented itself to keep its bulk above the manÆs head

Eventually they reached a heavily armored door The man dutifully provided a retinal scan a fingerprint scan then entered in an alphanumeric password to open the door Acri slithered along the ceiling and following him into the room

As soon as it did so it sensed the thousands of pseudo Raid Bosses below Trembling with anticipation Acri waited for the man to perform a perfunctory investigation and then departed

Then Acri began to feast

As an afterthought once all the Raid Bosses had been devoured for their experience Acri gathered up all of the remnant bones that he could Because of the strange composition of the Raid Bosses they only dropped a marble sized bit of bone that had functioned as their core Which was convenient for Acri because if they were any larger it wouldnÆt be able to transport all of them

As it was Acri still had to hollow out a portion of its body and stuff them inside Then feeling bloated and that these marbles were a rather pathetic gift for Randidly Acri resolved to find more high Level monsters So it dug its way through the wall and slithered away the blaring alarms of the Zone 1 base fading behind it

Chapter 1385

Derek Moss coughed awkwardly and was met with almost absolute silence It was like no one was even breathing The group of fifty people standing in front of him was looking at him with serious expressions and not breathing

He had an impulse to reach up and rub the back of his neck but suppressed it Because in a way he could understand why they would be so torn by surprise and desire In their eyes Derek could see the spark of ambition These were all people that had recently been liberated from a bubble city only a short way beyond the charred borderlands that the Ghosthound had fixed Only a few hours ago had they seen the oppressive power that a potent image could wield

Despite all the differences in governance in the bubble cities one thing was constant the desire for power

Perhaps due to the chaotic energies in the area around the equatorÆ the monsters had been especially strong Despite the Order Ducis forces moving as fast as they could once they noticed the situation the attack had already begun When the titanic form of Kharon had settled down next to the bubble city the monster horde had already breached through the outer perimeter that the city had set up and was massacring the populace

As an applicant to the Order Ducis Derek was part of the first wave of responders to go into the city While Helen and Ajax blazed a trail forward Derek took advantage of his ClassÆs ability to cut down large groups and very publicly obliterated streets that were thronged with monsters Emerald Mana Bombs cleared several meters worth of monsters with each move He was the Bombardier of the Sacred Grove and in the defense of anotherÆs life his image practically burned with conviction

After all Derek hadnÆt been slacking since he had arrived in Kharon every day was sparring or image training or downright mental torture in order to strengthen his will Surrounded by so many individuals who could suppress him with their image Derek had thrown himself fully into his own growth

And it was paying off

In the aftermath Derek was rather embarrassed to discover that while the other Order Ducis members had taken care of more dangerous targets in the monster horde Derek was the one who the population was whispering about in awestruck voices

Naffur had found the whole thing amusing Really Thank god IÆve given the welcome to Kharon way too often recently Why donÆt you take over for this city

But I didnÆt really Helen and Ajax Derek hesitated

Seeing the indecision on DerekÆs face NaffurÆs expression turned serious Mr Moss did you or did you not help these people It might be strange to say but this was why the Order Ducis was made To make sure that ordinary people have the opportunity to grow into their own power For that we earn awe and ire in equal measure If you want to become a true member of the Order Ducis you will need to be able to handle both Let neither influence your resolve Only know that what we do matters

That got DerekÆs attention He looked at Naffur so long that the younger man began to squirm What is it

No Derek said slowly After hearing NaffurÆs words he had felt even more out of his depth than he had previously But it also reframed the issue Derek wasnÆt trying to revel in the thanks of the people he was speaking in front of them to provide the truth He was just doing his job You have become surprisingly eloquent doing all these speeches ItÆs honestly impressive

Naffur shrugged Everything is a Skill Practice makes you better Good luck with your practice Mr Moss

So Derek now stood in front of the fifty or so individuals identified by the organizations of Kharon to be highly talented and willing to relocate to the moving city Some of them possessed wispy white hair and there was one pair of twins that Derek didnÆt think they could be older than fifteen But all of the gathered people had hard searching eyes as they looked at Derek Moss

They waited for him to begin in silence

Clearing his throat Derek Moss began to speak IÆll keep this short All of you have been invited to stay on Kharon I donÆt exaggerate in the slightest to say it is the most unique city in the world run by the most powerful man Randidly Ghosthound I wonÆt say much about him now If you are curious ask around Kharon and you will learn plenty For now the city he made should be evidence enough of what he is capable of

I encourage you to accept our invitation to join the GhosthoundÆs city If you do there will be three months of training It will be hell It will in all likelihood be the reason that you survive in the future

But know that your invitations do not come for free To thrive in the city of Kharon you need three things You need spirit to grow to face all the challenges the world puts in front of you You will need determination to never look away from the truth And finally you will need a sense of duty

By coming to Kharon you are accepting a role A role in bettering the world A role as one of the vanguard the next time a city is being overrun by monsters If you cannot see yourself doing that then donÆt bother DonÆt waste our time That is all

Derek stepped down from the podium feeling the group of people continuing to watch him with their intense gazes as he proceeded to walk out of the small auditorium and went into the back area As he left the crowd behind Derek realized for the first time that his hands were extremely sweaty

Naffur was waiting in the back area grinning at him You forgot to mention images But otherwise a great first attempt Short and to the point

Derek Moss didnÆt like the way Naffur said first attemptÆ

Randidly resolved himself to never underestimate Tatiana in the future Her ability to juggle the thousands of mundane issues that Kharon encountered in just a week was clearly apparent as Tatiana now dumped all these troubles at RandidlyÆs feet As he read through the stack of papers that Tatiana had provided Randidly learned far more than he ever wanted to about the land speculation the escalating rivalry between the metalworking and cleanliness industries resentment toward the ogre population for the fact they took up more space the critical lack of staff willing to sign on as teachers and instructors for KharonÆs youth the sudden spike in births resulting in a demand for pediatricians and the ever more vocal calls for a predictable travel schedule for Kharon

And then there was the rather nasty realization that these issues werenÆt simple ones The reason that they came up this week was that they came up every week

Still as TatianaÆs final report summed up very succinctly all of these issues could be solved relatively quickly with the growth of one resource space So Tatiana recommended that Randidly take action to push his plan to sell floating islands that mimicked his own as soon as possible

Which of course was where TatianaÆs report ended As he looked down at the papers in his hand he had a thoughtful expression Usually Tatiana would include recommendations for how to proceed at the end of the reports But in this case she had left the problems completely at RandidlyÆs feet Making more space was a solution generally but the devil was always in the details

How to distribute the space who it belonged to were all open questions

Randidly cracked the knuckles of his right hand I suppose itÆs about time I act like the founder of Kharon huh

Of course as Randidly started to think about the best way to address the problems plaguing Kharon by making additional floating islands he came to a realization that made his heart freeze His floating island and the other islands that he was now planning to make were Engraved using the principles of Nether It was the reason that the spirits had transformed into moonlight spirits which was less a descriptor and more just a passing resemblance that they possessed

More poignantly a Captain from the Xyrt Brigade had now assembled a rather luxurious looking tent in the center of an island that was flying due to Nether principles Rather carefully Randidly glanced toward the tent in question The heavy maroon fabric gave the whole thing a slightly ominous feel compounded by the small amount of smoke that was wafting out from under the tent flap

Looks like I still have more to learn about creating an ominous evil island atmosphere That tent looks like it belongs here on this shadowy refuge Randidly rolled his eyes and then focused on the problem of using Nether From the fact that Captain Quill was now calmly sitting within his tent on top of the island perhaps the Nether principles contained within the Engraving werenÆt important At this point the actual energy had largely transformed into the moonlight energy anyway

or maybe that was why Captain Quill called the island interesting Randidly chewed on his lip and then shrugged Hard to tell what the smoky man was thinking he seemed to possess two different personalities Well anyway for now Randidly could plan his expansion and wait for the Xyrt Brigade to leave before he created additional floating islands Even if the problems were pressing Randidly could tell from TatianaÆs report that they didnÆt need to be dealt with immediately

So Randidly began to think about how to address the subtleties of the problems that Tatiana had presented To him one stuck out as quite a bit more important than the others the problem of obtaining talented instructors who could train KharonÆs youth In terms of the long term growth of Kharon nothing was more important than creating a reliable method of producing capable youths

And honestly RandidlyÆs first thought wasnÆt especially creative but he found it rather appropriate That is found a school Or rather in this case the Kharon Academy

It would likely require an extremely large island to house an entire Academy especially because the hook that Randidly was planning to use to draw in teachers was the problem of housing If a portion of the Academy was prestigious enough housing dedicated to the faculty that would pull some of the more hesitant individuals into agreeing to teach

Of course what RandidlyÆs mind focused on rather than addressing the economic thorns of such an issue was what seemed fun to him creating a vast labyrinth like jungle gym beneath the Kharon Academy It would be an area where the kids could play and also hone their physical Skills

As a child Randidly had adored the play areas at fast food establishments but they had quickly lost their appeal as he had grown larger and more capable But if he could create an area worth climbing and exploring below the Academy

All of the dormant talents that Randidly had earned from his days as an Engineering student slowly roused themselves as Randidly threw himself at the task Plus Randidly didnÆt need to worry much about material constraints or electric wiring he now had the benefit of Engraving to fuel his imagination As long as he contacted Wendy and had her whip up a smaller power source for the island Randidly could fill the interior with puzzles and traps that made the journey to the center of his vast jungle gym all but impossible

Tatiana had the foresight to provide ample paper and pens in addition to her reports and Randidly went to work with a deadly focus Some part of him realized he wasnÆt quite going about it in the most efficient manner but Randidly already had the scent of an interesting project The soothing sensation of a task worth doing buoyed Randidly away causing him to completely lose track of time

Without reservation he threw himself into the designs for the first level of his underground puzzle Randidly supposed that for the beginning he should keep the puzzles rather basic In addition he made the first level tight and cramped so that kids wouldnÆt want to hang around in it much No there needed to be a temptation to head deeper

Congratulations Your Skill Engineering Savvy has grown to Level 155

Congratulations Your Skill Experienced CreatorÆs Ingenuity has grown to Level 108

Congratulations Your Skill Engineering Savvy has grown to Level 174

Randidly used up the paper Tatiana had provided much more quickly than he would have expected But he supposed it was because he kept having a sudden burst of inspiration that forced him to redo the entirety of his earlier work gradually enabling him to refine the shape of the first level

But it only took a check of his Absolute Timing to realize he had worked for almost thirteen hours without even noticing the passage of time His stomach rumbled

Releasing a wry chuckle Randidly promised to keep a better track of time in the future He glanced over at the tent Smoke continued to billow steadily outward If he spent so much time working likely the Xyrt BrigadeÆs cleanup was going well

Which meant that he would have the chance to test his ideas soon Randidly quickly got back to work

Chapter 1386

Sydney released a powerful and frigid pressure toward Thea GlasshammerÆs face Her gaze didnÆt waver in the slightest what did you say

TheaÆs barred her teeth Do I need to spell it out for you Your subordinateÆs elemental isnÆt here It was taken by Ace several months ago in order to study the composition of elementals Honestly at this point heh

If anything SydneyÆs gaze turned colder But she didnÆt follow the impulse of her temper Instead she tilted her head to the side and examined Thea This was wrong somehow

It had taken Sydney months in order to locate the small island that the Nemesai called home When she had seen the state of their living conditions even Sydney felt a brief flash of pity for these individuals They were truly living out of caves in order to survive Apparently Phirun was using the time where the other Zones were preparing to search for the Runic Tablet to hunt the Nemesai down to the ends of the Earth

King Phirun held a deep grudge against the Nemesai for nearly causing Ifrenne to crash into the sea after all And he was not the sort of man to forget small slights

Yet it wasnÆt just exhaustion and fear that Sydney found in TheaÆs expression Her eyes were narrowed and it was fury that seemed to burn with a tangible heat in her person SydneyÆs skin tingled as she continued to channel her new image through her body in the face of that heat extinguishing its influence around her Cold and a numbness that was not quite related to the cold spread across her body Yet Sydney didnÆt even blink

Her anger was completely extinguished What she needed was to understand whether Thea Glasshammer was lying to her right now

The tension of the moment seemed the vibrate the air between the two women Then Sydney saw it Thea wasnÆt lying but she was posturing In order to push Sydney to challenge her to a fight Right now Thea Glasshammer was raw and itching for a target for all the aggression she didnÆt want to turn toward herself

Coward Very purposefully Sydney blinked The chill surrounding her faded

Some part of Sydney wanted to try and say something to Thea guide her toward some self reflection that would rid her of this burden she carried Yet Sydney already had her hands full trying to finally put Drake back together The man had been insensible from pain for almost a year at this point

In the past Sydney would have felt more sympathy for Thea Now she just felt pity She couldnÆt muster up any desire to assist this young woman

So Sydney turned away Thanks for the information

Ace what happened to us Behind her TheaÆs image flared to life furious but unwilling to be the aggressor in the situation Yet Sydney just looked down toward her numb hands A white bolt of lightning skittered across her knuckles Would you truly continue to prolong DrakeÆs torture in order to accomplish your twisted wish Why couldnÆt you have let go of your obsession

SydneyÆs hands dropped to her sides She spoke out loud as she left the caves one small favor for the girl too afraid of the truth standing behind her We arenÆt gods We are all just shitty people even Randidly Ghosthound

In the end Randidly had to pull out some spare lumber that he had laying around in his interspatial ring in order to support the rapid proliferation of sketches he made as he designed the Kharon AcademyÆs underground Labyrinth After much deliberation Randidly had set the goal to create nine levels to the labyrinth to mirror the nine worlds held by Yggdrasil But since even his first level meant he was standing in the middle of a wide circle of hastily made sketches

So Randidly had constructed his typical one room shack with a writing desk and heavy wooden table in the middle of the shack The walls had since been covered in pages of initial designs from play mechanisms to traps to puzzles and finally to the initial idea for a living engraving that Randidly would carve into the place to give it its own spirit

All the hung sketches had the strange effect of making the house seem like a normal woodcutterÆs shack from the outside but once one was inside it looked like the entirety of the structure was made with the fluttering pieces of paper that had been pinned to the walls It was a rustling house of cards ready to fall Not a single spot of wood aside from the table desk and the roof was showing

When Randidly had gone down for his second batch of paper Tatiana gave him an extremely strange look Perhaps her insight into RandidlyÆs actions had triggered because she reminded Randidly that his main focus should be on solving the problems they already had not creating more complicated jobs for her

Randidly grinned at her and winked to which Tatiana rolled her eyes But he did spend some more time thinking about the problems plaguing Kharon before he returned to the time sink that RandidlyÆs shack had become

Most of the struggles between the various economic interest on Kharon were for two reasons space and funding The former Randidly could address pretty easily but the latter was a much more thorny bundle of problems Because it wasnÆt just that the companies wanted money from the government but they wanted reassurance their investments werenÆt soon going to become worthless

Currently Kharon charged a flat tax on both the importation of raw materials from the various areas they visited and on finished goods All of the expenditures that Tatiana and her administration made had come from these taxes

The companies essentially paid to bring in the raw materials and then the consumers paid to obtain their final products But the tax itself was relatively small Which meant most of the money was in fact in the hands of the various companies in Kharon but they didnÆt feel comfortable spending money on improving their own infrastructure because of the lack of predictability of KharonÆs movements

Should they improve their work area Should they invest in more warehouses Would it be more intelligent to just watch as the price of land continued to rise and then sell their land to a competitor for double what they paid for it

So the companies watched the way that Tatiana and Naffur as the leaders of the Order Ducis and the Kharon government spent their money and tried to extrapolate what that meant for the future of the Wandering City Needless to say it was not an efficient exercise and left most of the companies frustrated Especially due to the sudden need for Kharon to head toward the borderlands recently The unpredictability was finally beginning to wear on the people who had taken up residence in Kharon

The people of Kharon knew the reason Randidly had brought them to the new areas They understood their duty But they also wished it didnÆt feel like they were being ignored

Essentially the companies wanted more control over their own fates Which was a tricky issue In the end Randidly sat crosslegged outside of his hut for almost two hours and considered what to do Because he didnÆt want to give up the freedom of KharonÆs movements Yet he definitely could understand how the non Order Ducis people wanted some additional predictability

Randidly pressed his eyes closed There isnÆt an ideal solution but perhaps adding some perceived control will help Just feeling like there is a Path forward even if the Path is long seeing the steps they need to take has meaning

So despite being very aware that he had basically no training to be doing this Randidly Ghosthound began designing a government But as he did so he worried less about the functional problems of how this government will function and more about how it would fit into the image of Kharon

That image Randidly had been so careful to cultivate was the source of his cityÆs strength Not any pretty words or designations as the home of the Order Ducis the Order that policed the other Orders Not being the home of the most powerful man in the world But the spirit of the people that lived there The government that Randidly began to create wouldnÆt be successful because it was a perfect system but because the people using it wanted to work

So Randidly envisioned a council with five seats Two would go to the leader of the Kharon city government and the Order Ducis respectively but the other three would be determined semi randomly Three random pairs of names would be drawn from the list of every tax paying adult who was registered with the Kharon government as a citizen One person from each of those pairs would be chosen to be on the council

Each individual selected to be in the pairs could nominate another to take their place on the council but only before the decision between the two people was made Such a nomination would have to be accepted it could be rejected if someone wasnÆt interested For the first group Randidly would choose one person from each of the pairs but after that the choice between the pairs would be made by the non chosen individuals from the prior termÆs pairings

Randidly knew there had to be protections for the careers and livelihoods of the randomly chosen representatives but he wasnÆt sure where to begin In this case Randidly hoped Tatiana would be willing to take care of the details What he wanted was not for established parties to emerge but for organizations to satisfy themselves with letting the randomly chosen representatives from their midst being selected

Probably a foolish dream but Randidly hoped that the people who made KharonÆs decisions in the future would be those acting out of a sense of public duty not due to a hunger for personal power or control

Terms would be two months long And each term would focus on three things So that the businesses would be able to relax somewhat two of those things would be visits to designated locations on Earth Although Kharon would be free to wander most of the time it would return at least once a month to trade with various settlements determined by the new governing body The council would choose where those visits would occur

The other task before the council was the grand mandate to engage in a singular betterment projectÆ to improve the situation of Kharon itself It was a general ask but he hoped that was all he would need to ask Randidly thought about expanding the new councilÆs responsibilities but he figured those three things were enough for a two month period

Of course in addition to the government what Kharon needed was space So Randidly planned on making two other giant floating islands along with Kharon Academy One would be middle income housing and the other would be fertile fields to try and alleviate some of the upward pressure on the land values inside the actual city limits of Kharon

Making a housing sector would take some of the allure of becoming an instructor for Kharon Academy but Randidly figured that the difference in quality would still make the Academy more of a draw For the housing sector he imagined mostly condos and apartment buildings Perhaps also some specialty housing for the larger Ogres

Relatively satisfied by his attempts to address the problems Tatiana brought to his attention Randidly allowed himself to turn his attention back to the Kharon Academy project Specifically to the various images present in the labyrinth

Not that Randidly planned to soak the whole area in his images but it did occur to him that he could have others participate in the building of the labyrinthÆs levels to create their own spin on what he had planned Plus Randidly was already running dry on ideas as he started designing the fourth floor of the labyrinth which Randidly planned on being the largest of the nine It would be the springboard to further exploration and the place where most children could cease their explorations

Beyond that fourth however

Humming to himself Randidly didnÆt even realize that someone had approached his hut until he heard a tentative knock on the door His Grim Intuition belatedly spread outward and identified Mareen standing outside of his wooden shack

After finishing the Aether diagram Randidly was currently working on he went to the door He tilted his head to the side when she immediately bowed Randidly could sense her nervousness He didnÆt even need to sense her image she was as stiff and ungainly as a puppet Are you here to talk about my house

What Oh no Mareen blinked Then she looked behind Randidly through the open door to the shack Her eyes went across the papers hanging from the wall She even blinked rapidly as the veritable sea of paper came within her purview Oh Have you been working on the plans for your house

Randidly winced and stepped to the side Again he had lost track of time while working A break might be a good change of pace even if the work had been relatively fulfilling Too much of even a good thing would kill you No I honestly have not This is for something else But come on in If not for plans to build the house what are you doing here

After walking into the shack Mareen spun around Then she pressed her lips together I I know itÆs unusual but I thought Well IÆd like to ask for your blessing I plan to ask Naffur to marry me

Randidly rubbed his chin Then his brain registered what Mareen had said Huh

Chapter 1387

Randidly looked at Mareen The papers around them fluttered lightly a counterpoint to the stillness of the two humans in the shack Mareen looked at Randidly and her expression remained serious So Randidly repeated his earlier question Huh

After a split second of studying RandidlyÆs face MareenÆs expression twisted into a frown I hadnÆt realized you put so much stock in gender roles Mr Ghosthound I know that it is unusual but honestly if I donÆt do it I have no idea how long I will need to wait for Naffur to propose so And these last few weeks with him itÆs like every second I feel his eyes light me up like IÆm a firecracker

No itÆs not that itÆs just Randidly tapped his fingers against the paper covered tables It was not the questions about who should propose to who or whether these teenagers were moving too quickly that gave Randidly pause Why me Why would I have any right to give away NaffurÆs hand in marriage even just setting aside everything else

Although she might not have heard RandidlyÆs mental question it seemed Mareen was becoming increasingly nervous that this would end up being a no from Randidly He could see the fear of rejection widen her eyes and cause her jaw to tremble So she spoke more quickly as though she could overwhelm him into agreeing with her request Well as you know Naffur is an orphan and isnÆt close to so many people and you were the one that recognized his talent and took him in to be the head of the Order Ducis so in a way arenÆt you like an adopted father to him So I just thought

Ah girl Randidly kept his expression even but inwardly he was twisting his stomach into knots It wasnÆt even me that found Naffur it was Neveah But when you talk about our relationship like that I almost feel guilty that I have essentially thrown him to the wolves after naming him head of the Order Ducis When he asks for help IÆll freely give it and I have always been generous about making image training opportunities but when it comes to a personal relationship with Naffur

Honestly my personal relationships in general

So Please This time Mareen went down on one knee as though she needed to ask for the blessing in the same manner that she would ask Naffur to marry her It seemed that she realized the ridiculousness of what she was doing a full second after Randidly did looking down at her It was somewhat reassuring to see her face slowly heat toward redness Due to her pale skin her flush was very visible

Neveah must have been paying close attention to RandidlyÆs emotions because she quickly interjected DonÆt be so hard on yourself Yes itÆs true you could have done better but he has grown quite well into the role of leader of the Order Ducis if I do say so myself We were busy There was always so much to do

A sad smile crossed RandidlyÆs face as he looked down at Mareen We canÆt keep using that as an excuse forever Neveah And also IÆm guessing from the fact you are paying attention to me that your experiments with the Bizarre Spike havenÆt been going well

Randidly could feel NeveahÆs frustrations for a brief second then she mastered her emotions Between the two of them she had much more self control than he did Rather than answer his question however she focused on the previous discussion But even if Naffur is alright what with you being his de facto father figure IÆm worried about Mareen They often say that a lot of your sexual issues are a direct result of poor parenting so considering your absenteeism in NaffurÆs life ah poor Mareen

Randidly was torn between amusement and annoyance And what would you know about sexual issues Neveah

She snorted and went to continue their mental discussion but Randidly signaled for her to stop Instead he looked at the young woman in front of him watching the struggle between the desire to stand and stubbornness to see her ploy through play across MareenÆs face

After a bit Randidly sighed honestly Mareen I donÆt know either of you very well Because of that

MareenÆs face clouded So then

Then let’s plan a dinner For next week Randidly said softly It was strange but the young woman in front of him just seemed so young They were on completely different emotional wavelengths Plus to compare the amount of foolishness that must have possessed her in order to make this request seem reasonable to RandidlyÆs feelings for Vualla Let me see the two of you together If I see in him what I see in you right now then IÆll definitely agree For all that itÆs worth

After receiving RandidlyÆs tentative acceptance Mareen sprung to her feet and put her arms around Randidly Her wrists seemed so thin Her skin was cool Then she pulled away thanking him the entire time and retreated from RandidlyÆs island

Even a few minutes after she left Randidly still felt strangely strained standing there Or perhaps it was better to say that he felt lost Because that move by Mareen highlighted all the social connections in the world that Randidly didnÆt usually experience He could look down the Path he had not taken to get here

Then he forced his breath out and shook his head

Besides MareenÆs arrival had been rather surprising but it had brought one thing to his attention how long he had been working on his Kharon Academy idea It was to the point that Randidly had completely forgotten to do his daily training in the morning The experience of losing himself in the task was freeing and humbling However Randidly was glad that he had been shaken out of his obsessive focus

But the fact that it had stretched on for long enough that he missed his morning training meant that quite a bit of time had passed It had now been two days and five hours since Captain Quill had assured Randidly that even at its most glacially slow the task of cleaning up the remnant Nether forces would only take two days And since Captain Quill had encouraged Randidly to ask him questions Randidly had no qualms proceeding to the front of the CaptainÆs tent and announcing himself

He stood there and released a quick pulse of the Grim Chimera That baleful determination to survive stirred the surrounding air He raised his taloned claw and bone spear into the air But just as quickly as he manifested his image he released it and the pressure dissipated This was a trick he had seen by watching some of the various members of the Smog Clan as they came to report to the captain

In the seconds after Randidly reigned his image back in he felt very disappointed in the approximation that he had managed The speed with which he released and pulled back his image couldnÆt compare to the members of the Xyrt Brigade But that was probably the value of the training The training that even now Vualla was being tortured by in order to grow stronger

First thing IÆm going to do once the Xyrt Brigade leaves is connect with Vualla and heal some of her mental strain wait damn a Nether Ritual will draw out Kaan Swacc and I doubt he will give me enough time to heal Vualla So I need to deal with him first

While Randidly was reflecting the tent flap opened to reveal the rather stoic looking aid to Captain Quill Wuva He scanned Randidly critically then spoke in a precise manner Your execution of your image is sloppy but I can tell it is just from lack of practice not because your image is weak You are quite impressive Randidly Ghosthound I will make sure that fact is included in the report

Wondering if he had made some sort of long term mistake with this attempt Randidly nodded slowly Thank you Wuva Is ah Captain Quill in Can I talk to him

Wuva nodded and gestured for Randidly to follow him But as he led Randidly into a remarkably large entrance hall complete with a distinguished portrait of Captain Quill giving a look like his face was literally smoldering Wuva continued to speak Something that might help you is to create what we think of as a template for your image Keep a weaker dormant version of the image around you that you just bring to life when you need it The only downside of that being that individuals who try to manage two different images can sometimes shoot themselves in the foot for their other image but for you

Wuva glanced over his shoulder at Randidly as they climbed the stairs There was a hint of a question there and WuvaÆs eyes were surprisingly sharp Randidly smiled awkwardly and shrugged

Chuckling to himself Wuva continued to climb up the stairs Well anyway Stick close behind me This can get tricky

Setting aside the issue of a staircase inside of a tent Randidly was left flatfooted when they reached the top of the next landing and a hallway stretched to his left and right for about a hundred meters each way The maroon tent took up only about a basketball courtÆs worth of space on RandidlyÆs island This strange mansion that Randidly found himself in seemed to be large enough to fill his entire island

Despite the clear violations of the laws of physics Wuva confidently walked down the hall Following him Randidly started looking around with his senses other than his eyes and quickly had a better picture of where he was

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Detection has grown to Level 207

ItÆs a giant labyrinth Randidly thought in awe as he glanced around him Without using his eyes Randidly could see the way that an Engraving was warping space and his preception to convince him that he was moving even when he wasnÆt And as Randidly continued to follow Wuva he realized that the way they were proceeding through the house walking through drawing rooms and then pulling out a book in a bookcase to reveal a secret passage was a password to deactivate the surroundings

It made him wonder how difficult it would be to force his way through such defenses

So when Randidly finally stepped through a doorway and found Captain Quill puffing away at his pipe what really happened was he finally had followed Wuva and made it through the defenses of the tent Before addressing Captain Quill Randidly turned and took a long look over his shoulder at the Engraving that he left behind

Captain Quill glanced up from a few pieces of paper that he held with his smoky appendages Ah Mr Ghosthound What a pleasure what a pleasure Truly what an auspicious time for you to arrive I was about to head to dinner Perhaps you could join me

Randidly showed a small smile Thank you for the invitation but no thereÆs no need for me to stay for dinner IÆd like to get out of your hair as soon as possible I just have a few questions

About why I havenÆt got out of your hair yet correct Suddenly the sharper version of Captain Quill was there He released a huge orb of smoke that somehow maintained its structure as it floated forward Mr Ghosthound there are some things that are best discussed over dinner

I donÆt wish to waste either of our time Captain Quill Randidly said slowly Some part of him knew it would be easier just to accept the dinner invitation but there was something about Captain Quill that reminded Randidly about some older distant relatives from his youth Somehow he doubted that dinner would be a simpleÆ affair even if he knew that Captain Quill would very likely claim it was such

Captain Quill looked at Randidly in silence for ten seconds Wuva stood next to Randidly the entire time with a straight spine He was more ornament than a person Finally Captain Quill sighed Fine then son letÆs speak about the state of Earth I know why you are here And I cannot deny that we have remained on your planet for longer than I anticipated But there is a very good reason for that

WeÆve found quite a bit of Nether on your planet Mr Ghosthound Captain QuillÆs focus never left Randidly Some of it in some very unusual places

Chapter 1388

WeÆve found quite a bit of Nether on your planet Mr Ghosthound Some of it in some very unusual places

Randidly kept his expression very neutral as he tried to figure out whether Captain QuillÆs last statement was a threat Very purposefully he spread the fingers of his hands open keeping the movement as inconspicuous as possible Randidly winced when his left arm flickered and the metallic limb froze in the process

Two facts were suddenly very concerning to Randidly The first was the fact that Randidly couldnÆt read Captain QuillÆs expression at all His features shrouded in mist made him a mystery Despite the very obvious focus that could be detected from the Captain Randidly understood this was probably artifice it was completely controlled by the Captain himself Putting his faith solely in that was foolish

The second fact was that Wuva was standing a little bit behind him and one meter to the left As he arrived this positioning had seemed deferential Now it seemed a little bit more sinister Should the aide move Randidly didnÆt believe he could escape unscathed

Setting aside the issue of the Aether formation he had admired on the way into the tent

Randidly had the urge to unleash a little bit of his image as a way of posturing but his grip on his images was iron That instinct was driven by fear Even Yggdrasil groaned ominously as it prepared to release its power but Randidly wasnÆt sure yet what Captain QuillÆs intentions were His wording was ambiguous Likely purposefully

Releasing a long breath Randidly said Is that so Do you in your professional opinion as a Captain of the Xyrt Brigade believe that this Nether presence on Earth is dangerous

Captain Quill seemed to consider for a while before replying In terms of amount no Perhaps not even in terms of current usage or strength of the Nether But these things inevitably have a way of escalating quickly One fool doesnÆt realize the danger of Nether and soon huge stretches of land are destroyed or corrupted when he or she makes a mistake A steady hand is required to deal with the Nether A firm and disciplined hand Consider this advice from an elder our presence here might very well save your hide kid

RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed as he looked at Captain Quill Wuva standing behind him still set his teeth on edge but he realized that the problem was solely the smoky formed Captain We might perhaps disagree on that count Captain Quill I believe the Earth is capable enough to handle the smaller threats on its own If you agree that this threat is manageable perhaps the Xyrt BrigadeÆs presence is unnecessary

In this case Randidly was unsure whether the EarthÆ in their conversation referred to himself or truly just the influence of Nether on the Earth generally But either way Randidly believed that he could handle a few escaped Nether Gatekeepers Or if it was him his own Nether experiments Besides there were several activities that Randidly had been avoiding for as long as the Xyrt Brigade remained on Earth He didnÆt want to put those off for much longer

In fact Randidly didnÆt dare delay for more than a few more days The former Special Investigator couldnÆt be allowed too much time to plot

After Randidly spoke the pressure around Captain Quill intensified As he looked at the smoky Captain in his trenchcoat Randidly could understand what Wuva had meant about creating a template In the area surrounding Captain QuillÆs body there was a pattern of complex indentations in the air They were so faint that Randidly couldnÆt perceive enough of them at once to understand the greater shape but it was clear that these lines buzzed with potential energy in this tense standoff At any moment they could erupt and very quickly unleash the full power of Captain Quill

But that didnÆt happen Instead the Captain shrugged and shattered the tense weight in the air I just thought IÆd try to do you a favor kid If you truly think you have the situation under control I donÆt mind leaving I was just hoping to give you a little boost so you would owe me later

Captain Quill turned to Wuva Wuva Recall everyone I suppose weÆve been thorough enough Then he turned back to Randidly We will be out of your hair in two hours Mr Ghosthound A pity IÆll have to leave your planet without eating tonight but I suppose it was simply bad timing

As Wuva guided Randidly away and out of the tent he heart Captain Quill call one last sentence after him Oh Mr Ghosthound if you ever want to enter into the Xyrt Brigade look for me

Then Randidly was back on his island staring at the maroon tent and trying his best to capture the shape of the Engravings that Randidly had seen defending the tent If he could capture even a fraction of that for his labyrinth beneath the Kharon Academy

But even NeveahÆs avid curiosity was having a hard time understanding Apparently she recognized some of the Engravings but they were from a different section of YxtrixÆs tomb For now they would have to wait until he repaired his left arm

Even so Randidly had to keep his hands from twitching as though even now he wanted to reach for a pen and begin revising his previous drawings Even though he had only three floors completed and one in the planning stage Randidly might very well need to start all over again in order to incorporate ideas from these new Engravings he had seen

Of course he would need to experiment with them first and consult Neveah

But again Randidly suppressed his thoughts about the Kharon Academy and frowned toward the large maroon tent Then he turned and walked away In a way Randidly suddenly felt very unsure if the conversation with Captain Quill was the one he thought it had been as they had started speaking By the end of it Captain Quill had made it seem like the Xyrt Brigade had remained in order to help the Earth But from what

Perhaps Randidly had just been trained to expect powerful individuals from the Nexus to want something from him While it was better to be suspicious than naive that didnÆt mean there wouldnÆt be costs to that outlook

Some part of Randidly suddenly regretted not agreeing to the dinner But as with the situation with Mareen those social avenues had never been RandidlyÆs Path Perhaps now to his detriment but still

Randidly planned on staying true to himself There were things that he was good at and things that he wasnÆt And that was fine

When he returned to his shack Randidly didnÆt even let himself go inside to be tempted into doing a small amount of work He knew himself better than that He made a few mental notes on the Engravings that he had seen then he sat down to meditate Truly he had tirelessly been improving his plans for too long Even if it was relaxing the effort was starting to dull his edge

So he settled down to wait until the Xyrt Brigade finished their preparations in left Once they were gone Randidly planned on once more putting his and NeveahÆs plan into action to draw out and defeat Kaan Swacc Perhaps even more than the Xyrt Brigade itself this was the threat that Randidly felt was the most pressing

Because even if Octavius told him that the Smog Clan wasnÆt sympathetic to the Swacc Family could that be true of each one of its members Even if it was just a report of RandidlyÆs activities sent out to the Swacc Family

Kaan might currently have lost his support of the Xyrt Brigade but that didnÆt mean that the Swacc Family had forgotten about its enmity with Randidly So what Randidly planned on doing was eliminating the source of that information before the Swacc Family could find a new way to move against his home planet

Richter looked up from his training regimen and frowned at the individual who was standing in the doorway to his room The soldier shifted uncomfortably underneath RichterÆs gaze President Greyman asked for me Is she

Richter didnÆt bother to finish the question Since receiving word about the sudden destruction of Mjolnir two days ago Theodora Greyman had literally thrown her desk through her wall and then refused to meet with anyone claiming that she was engaging in strategy meetingsÆ with her staff

This was news to her staff who decided that it was best to go along with the claim and refuse to comment until the President herself made her official announcement on the sabotage of Zone 1Æs greatest weapon This in the midst of the impeachment proceedings for how Theodora Greyman had handled the treatment of refugees from the borderlands made most of the people currently employed by the Zone 1 administration believe that this presidency was on its last legs

Not that any of the senators who were sniffing around the Presidency really cared about the treatment of refugees Even Senator Firefly had softened some of his open border stances as the number of people flooding toward the established Zones from bubble cities rose by a factor of ten No all they really cared about was the scent of blood in the air

Theodora Greyman the woman who had done everything right for a world before the System had not been able to keep up with the changes the System demanded As such she was becoming the scapegoat for the fact that Zone 1 hadnÆt lived up to the lofty promises it had given its population of its own superiority

The soldier who had come to RichterÆs room with the summons seemed more confused than worried Honestly she seemed completely normal Like the past two days hadnÆt happened at all

To Richter that was more disturbing than if she had continued to unleash a tirade of racial slurs and broadly aimed expletives that the entire staff had heard when she threw her desk through a wall But orders were orders

Wheeling himself forward Richter followed the guard through the maze of hallways to arrive at TheodoraÆs personal quarters As he rolled over the heavy lip of the threshold into the room Richter couldnÆt suppress a wince Despite the fact he was paralyzed from the waist down his recent training had made his legs extremely sensitive But only in all the wrong ways The jolt was agonizing

As the soldier had indicated Theodora Greyman glanced up at Richter from her paperwork The only evidence of her previous explosion was the fact that her desk was different Compared to the grand thing that she had shattered to pieces it was plain All the different folders and stacks of paper made the desk seem cramped Ah good Please come in I would like to discuss something with you

Richter wheeled himself another few meters forward and then waited for President Greyman to begin But even if she had come to some magical realization not everything had changed she made him wait for a while before addressing him

President GreymanÆs hands were like a machine methodically signing the papers on her desk and then moving them over to a different stack Likely this was the work that had built up in the time when she was isolating herself But while she dedicated herself to the task it gave Richter the chance to carefully examine his employer Both with his eyes and with his delicate image senses

What he immediately noticed was the determination and peace in her expression Her image was still weak but it shared a similar fatalistic acceptance Whatever had changed with Theodora Greyman it seemed she was finally was willing to work on her own power

Eventually the papers ran out President Greyman looked up at Richter Okay finished Let me give you your next assignment After receiving a tip about the location of the Runic Tablet we will be cooperating with Zone Seven and King Phirun You will be Zone 1Æs representative while I stall the impeachment proceedings When you locate the Runic Tablet you and the others that have had such impressive results with the unusual Skills will slaughter the others and seize the Runic Tablet for Zone 1 With that victory I have no doubt that the impeachment proceedings will sort themselves out

Richter suddenly felt very cold You want us to betray the other Zones If word gets out

Words only matter between two parties of similar power President Greyman said Her gaze was very steady That is what I have learned from Randidly Ghosthound Those deviant Paths your group has taken its only been a few days but IÆve read your reports The results are very impressive The joint venture will meet in eight days assuming other information regarding the Runic Tablet doesnÆt appear in the meantime You have that time to make sure you are a dominant force

The power of Nether Richter thought about the ache he felt in his legs any time he jostled them or activated the power It has a high cost In such a short time others will succumb to the pain And thatÆs setting aside the problem of giving that energy a portion of your body in exchange

Richter Theodora tilted her head to the side and regarded him curiously As though he were a math problem that she didnÆt quite understand Our way of life is threatened The rights of our people are being suppressed by foreign powers because we are weak Of course there will be sacrifices to change that But what choice do we have

President Greyman steepled her fingers One more thing If you need more bodies just send word The Order Valorem is very interested in our current experiments You are dismissed

Chapter 1389

Two hours of meditating was supposed to be a way for Randidly to refocus himself on the problems of Kaan Swacc It would also create a buffer of time so that if Randidly acted the Xyrt Brigade wouldnÆt catch anything that they shouldnÆt see But as he was sitting still and calming his mind on his island he almost reflexively spread his Grim Intuition to cover the surrounding area He saw the moonlight spirits the ground below KharonÆs hundreds of legs the pulsing buzz of life from the moss spirits and every individual within the surrounding several miles

Kharon had hit the edge of the world and was now making a long loop back clearing out a path of safety for any refugees from bubble cities that wanted a new home Platforms covered in hastily scrawled Engravings carried individuals too weak to run With RandidlyÆs sense of impending danger Kharon moved quickly The combination of these factors made the Wandering City look more like a swarm of locusts than any real civilization

But that sense of urgency meant they were traveling quickly after twelve hours they had almost returned to the established Zones In essence Randidly wanted to keep his mind from drifting back to Kharon Academy so he looked out to the surrounding New Earth With Grim Intuition all of the developedÆ areas were within RandidlyÆs view

But before his gaze wandered it first went to his very own Kharon Not the refugees being used for cheap labor but the citizens The city he had tried to make a place of dreams Of course thinking of dreams brought his mind back around to the Kharon Academy And as he expected when he looked to the education of children the truth was rather more disappointing than his fantasy for the city

One of the stances of Kharon and one that Randidly was fully behind was that basically all children under the age of 16 would be offered a place on Kharon from their liberated bubble city These orphans had accepted by the droves Which was why despite Tatiana being worried about the long term consequences she had turned a blind eye to DelilahÆs shenanigans

Despite her young age she at least stood as a central figure that gave some shape to the youth gangs that were slowly forming If the current state of affairs was anything of a guide her influence would only grow as she aged Yet when Randidly had asked whether a girl that age could really lead so many other people Tatiana had grimaced

Randidly she is to those kids what you were to us A monster that they donÆt understand Someone who looks like them but can accomplish the impossible As long as she maintains her Skill advantage I have no doubt that she will remain the top dog among your cityÆs youth

In a way Randidly couldnÆt avoid culpability for the rise of Delilah Without the Aether connection she had inherited from her mother she wouldnÆt be able to support her rapid growth And Randidly didnÆt mind the fact that she held such high esteem amongst kids He also wasnÆt worried about the long term consequences of that action

But when Randidly looked at KharonÆs youth they were lazing around Delilah obviously had no desire to make additional work for her fellow children For almost an hour Randidly watched as several teachers tried to control several hundred children The younger children seemed to cooperate but the older kids were much more worried about gossiping reading and goofing off than learning the skills they would need to survive

Not that children should completely lose their childhood just because the System is here Randidly pressed his eyes tightly shut But this isnÆt enough

Plus it was something of a double gut punch for Randidly to see that what little teaching the adults managed to accomplish was seemingly random Memorization exercises and the ability to learn a trade were what was emphasized in the few classes he could see Both had their place but as soon as he watched the teaching occur Randidly knew that it was not the correct method

So he started thinking about what sort of method should be used to teach And Randidly knew that he was veering toward an area very close to Kharon Academy but he tried his best to approach it from a philosophical standpoint In a world governed by the System how should children be instructed

It was perhaps a slightly different question than what was the best way to train But Randidly believed similar principles should govern Effort exertion and challenge were the critical components to produce growth

Memorization and learning a hobby wouldnÆt be enough A trade would be an easy way to mine Skill Levels and that was useful But ultimately a personÆs strength would be determined by the power they could muster with their image Skill Levels would eventually even out even the strongest individuals would meet with diminishing returns past Skill Level 250 But the way they utilized their images would be an edge someone could always have

So Randidly started looking about the way people used images If he could identify common habits he could reverse engineer a method to teach children those habits Grim Intuition soaked into the stone steel and flesh of Kharon to find the images that were hiding there And what he found surprised him

Or at least RandidlyÆs first impression surprised him And the result he found caused Randidly to doubt himself and spread his perception further afield to check He dipped into nearby bubble cities but mostly Randidly looked back toward Donnyton and Zone 1

But the same truth Randidly found in his city held true in those other places most people werenÆt very good at images Perhaps it was a lack of practice or talent but there was a stark dividing line between individuals who possessed powerful images and didnÆt

This truth was especially masked in Kharon where everyone was baptized repeatedly by the Eidolon Crucible Yet these individuals did not possess powerful images they simply mimicked the powerful images that they had seen while confronting Randidly Looking directly at the usage of their images the difference was clear Even the people of Kharon basically relied on a few movers and shakers in the city to set the tone and the rest simply adjusted to that image and mimicked it

When they utilized that image it was inorganic and clumsy The power was severely reduced from the original Better than having nothing or mimicking someone weaker but it was not exactly what Randidly had in mind for the city

Once Randidly knew what he was looking for Randidly found the same image mimicking phenomenon running rampant in Donnyton With the Squad system present in the Village there was usually one or two dominant images in a squad and most of the other members followed that It gave the squads an inner harmony that allowed each individual to empower everyone elseÆs image

But it was one personÆs power that made the squad what it was That individual became the pillar that held the entire house up

And if the squad lost that one individual would it still be as powerful

Or to think about it in another way how much value do the other individuals around that powerful person add

RandidlyÆs focus shifted to the way that the various Zones were training their military forces When he looked at the way they handled this issue Randidly realized that no one else had yet come to the same realization that he did They certainly scaled down the average size of deployed forces from pre System Earth but they still had large groups moving together

Not that Randidly would criticize them for this method Because when two groups of equal power numbers made a difference But the secret of elevating oneself to the next tier of power had nothing to do with the group From looking at the military might of the surrounding Zones Randidly saw how individuals made the difference

shouldnÆt jump to conclusions just from these few examples

When Randidly broadened his search he found several things that surprised him He heard as though she was whispering in his ear as Theodora gave the order to Richter to betray and kill King Phirun and his elite soldiers He felt the poisonous Nether that had taken up residence in the bodies of her subordinates He watched as their Aether was corrupted and turned to useless sludge in their Soulspace

As he looked at them especially Richter Randidly felt pity It was one thing for him to manage his harmonious Nether But what they were doing was the equivalent of carrying acid in their hands in order to throw it on the faces of their enemies

Toward Theodora Greyman Randidly felt anger

They might have a bit of power in the short term but do you understand the cost they will be paying President Greyman Randidly chewed on his lip hard Normally Randidly wouldnÆt intervene in a situation like this Because they had allowed the Nether to corrupt their bodies their potential was being set on fire for heat right now The situation would work itself out without his intervention

That was RandidlyÆs resolve to let Earth solve EarthÆs problem Still Randidly had a sudden idea about how he could use these bumbling users of Nether One that would be immensely more satisfying for the fury he felt upon witnessing their actions Besides it is my fault if the people of Zone 1 have an advantage because I warned everyone else away from the deviant Paths

Releasing a breath he forced that anger down Randidly looked at the world more fully The Order Valorem predictable bumblers that they were also had some dabbling in Nether but it was nowhere near as sophisticated as Zone 1Æs attempt likely due to the individuals standing at the center of that squad Richter despite the damage to his body was clearly able to channel the Nether in a slightly less damaging method than the people of the Order Valorem

Those miserable wretches were essentially drowning their Soulspace without even knowing it

After making a mental note and sending a message to King Phirun Randidly set the issue of these Nether users to the side he did want to think a little bit further about how to teach children to be powerful

But even after throwing all of his brainpower into the issue for another fifteen minutes he came up against the same roadblocks that teachers had been railing against for generations how do you encourage creativity How do you nurture determination With what lessons can you cultivate confidence and resolve

Part of what formed the basis of images were the stories to RandidlyÆs mind So much of his early growth was only due to imagery that he had heard from old mythologies So it was somewhat important that children have exposure to the stories that gave meaning to the images surrounding them But how does a child learn to differentiate between what matters and what doesnÆt How could they learn to identify the key thread That was a sense that came with experience

Experience was not an easy subject to teach

Randidly would readily admit that it had taken him until recently to identify the core desires that animated his images Getting here had not been an easy path

Although I might have had more time to think if fewer forces were trying to kill me or take control of my body

With those thoughts swirling around in his head Randidly began to plot and plan What he needed was a draw on unaffiliated individuals to the Kharon Academy one that pulled people with the stories and experience as well as the social clout to hold the attention of youths into the city Housing wouldnÆt work for that caliber of individuals not the least of which because Randidly specifically wanted not just the people of Kharon

Yet money and influence were always the draws that worked Or if not money the objects that even those with a lot of money couldnÆt buy RandidlyÆs mind drifted to the very valuable and strange materials Kharon had begun to collect as it traversed the newly opened borderlands

A little cliche but what better location for a grand auction than a wandering city

Sitting on his island Randidly unleashed a grin He stood and stretched working the kinks out of his body It was almost time his joints seemed to ache with the inaction that had afflicted him for the past several days He was ready to face his problems and crush them

Yet there were a few more loose ends that had cropped up In his examination of the area Randidly had also found a few other things of note

First he had found Acri assembling a veritable dragonÆs horde of bones seemingly completely obvious to the need to bring them back to Randidly At least Acri seemed to be shrinking back toward a more reasonable size which was a blessing

Second his Grim Intuition stumbled across Ace earlier entirely on accident Had he followed the scent of YystrixÆs memories Randidly had no idea how long it would have taken him to find Ace The man had taken to disguising his energy like no one else Randidly had seen thus far But when Randidly looked at the Refuge to see the way they trained their soldiers he found Ace there bold as brass talking to the head of the guard

Seeing him let Randidly confirm that he possessed the memories but his condition made Randidly snort involuntarily From just looking at Ace it was clear that YystrixÆs memories rejected him He was suffering from extremely apparent mental fatigue from repeatedly trying to access them and just being rewarded with agony And it seemed that Ace considered it some sort of training because Randidly sensed himself periodically subjecting himself to the baptism of the memoriesÆ rejection

Randidly also followed Ace to the weapon that he had slowly been creating He found his father there an uneasy participant for the diabolical undertaking Yet even Randidly was taken aback by the ominous tingling in his spine as he looked at that fleshy egg It had grown to the size of a minivan a pulsating ovoid of blood and agony All of RandidlyÆs humor was wiped away as he saw the negative emotions that his former best friend fed into this egg

Just what the hell are you trying to hatch Ace

The third thing Randidly saw in his earlier scan was Sydney He didnÆt mean to spy on her not truly but after seeing how far Ace had fallen Randidly couldnÆt help but turn his attention to Sydney He found her sitting at the bedside of her subordinate Drake the man still bedridden by agonizing pain due to the strange mutation that had occurred in his Soulspace

SydneyÆs back was to the open window and her face was in shadow Randidly could only see her expression due to Grim Intuition He couldnÆt help but feel his mood soften as he saw her there alone in that hospital room with the unconscious Drake

It reminded Randidly of old expressions he had seen from Sydney When he had seen her standing up at her bedroom window looking out at night into darkness

Randidly wrote Sydney a message For a bit he hesitated before sending it Because as Randidly looked down at the words he had sent to Sydney there was no way that he could miss that this message while certainly a genuine expression of how he felt would be toeing the line of RandidlyÆs thoughts on noninterference with Earthly problems This was him taking action and pushing toward a safe resolution

Still the point of that interference had always been keeping his image free This would in no way spread his image and endanger the planet for the Second Calamity Or perhaps more importantly Randidly was finding that he wasnÆt sure how he felt about remaining completely aloof after seeing SydneyÆs expression

IÆm not a god IÆm just a man And after seeing her like that Even if we havenÆt spoken in so long Randidly whispered to himself Yet still he hesitated

What this action would do was involve Randidly in a rift that he had helped to create And staring that fact in the face made his heart ache

Stories might be told about individuals Randidly chewed on his lip for a second and then shook his head With a firm nod he sent the message He hefted the PhilosopherÆs Key and felt through the air to create a karmic connection to AcriÆs trove He spoke softly to himself while stepping through the portal But itÆs the societies that bring those stories to life I hope that Kharon can someday hold some lovely stories Stories with a little bit more generosity and heart than mine

If he was going to break his non interference policy there was no reason to flinch As long as his image didn’t spread

What does it say about me that I could look sixteen thousand deaths in the face but one expression of an old friend has me stepping forward to help

After sweeping AcriÆs bones clean Randidly contacted Neveah The wheels in his mind began to quickly turn Bit by bit Randidly worked out the shape of what he wanted It was time for them to kill Kaan Swacc And throw out all the trash in the process

Chapter 1390

For the first time in her rather short life Neveah was torn between two choices

Not that she hadnÆt faced difficult decisions in the past Her bond with Randidly had dragged Neveah through dozens of scenarios that had opened her eyes to the complexity of the world This current conundrum was just another facet of the wide and wonderful world that Neveah had found when Randidly pulled her gently out of the darkness

Yet somehow something was different this time That usual incisively detached logic that had prodded her in the past was absent She felt unmoored in a way that she couldnÆt capture

Perhaps to her detriment Neveah didnÆt often self reflect So instead of pulling back and examining the source of the feeling of bewilderment that plagued her Neveah just continued to frown and consider the problem

There were times when Neveah wondered why she was there or what she really was but this was not one of those times Although Neveah technically had some free reign with her decisions she wouldnÆt waste it considering unrealistic options She wouldnÆt lose track of time and eventually discover to her horror that her buffer period had expired

She wasnÆt human after all

Yet now Neveah had to struggle with two equally attractive options and a suddenly absent inner compass should she push herself through more problems regarding living Engraving for the forging of RandidlyÆs arm OR should she study the mysterious methods used in the Bizarre Stake

Randidly was currently within his Alpha Cosmos to speak with Wendy From what Neveah could tell he was there for his arm and also to get some feedback from a talented engineer about the feasibility of some of his plans for Kharon Academy

With this extra time Neveah considered her options from the comfort of RoyÆs kitchen table It was because both were so attractive that she ended up here Her entire mind was focused on the preparations to fight Kaan Swacc

Neveah glanced over at Roy For the past several days he had become surprisingly accepting of their arrangement Which made things more convenient but Neveah somehow found herself missing his small rebellions No longer would he spit out a ridiculous phrase in response to a normal action from her He was positively mundane

Honestly considering the problem of Roy was something of a nice break from the struggle of the two extremely inviting options in front of her Neveah leaned back in her chair and released her breath that contained all the stress of the choice Huu

Roy was at the stove methodically cutting vegetables NeveahÆs noise didnÆt even earn her a look from him so she continued to study his back He didnÆt even add a little extra violence to the motion as though he was slaughtering the vegetables It was a perfectly economical movement He was a robot designed for these tasks

Suddenly she had a strange thought as she looked at his back Recently he had been acting as though Neveah wasnÆt even present in his house

NeveahÆs face twitched Soon Soon IÆll be done with this diversion and back to work Hmph Well Roy whereÆs my afternoon tea

Without comment Roy filled a kettle with water and brought it outside the house and to the fire pit Although she couldnÆt see Neveah could hear him snap his fingers and reignite the blaze Soon he walked back into his small cottage and set out an assortment of loose leaf tea that he possessed in front of Neveah so she could make her selection

Feeling strangely hesitant Neveah looked down at the neatly labeled paper bags in the larger wooden box All of RoyÆs teas were present Even the special kind that he kept from a specialty shop Roy raided very early in the SystemÆs arrival It was a tea that for the foreseeable future couldnÆt be replaced No one was growing tea right now

To Roy tea had always been a special thing Now it seemed like dried leaves in crinkled paper bags

For some reason that made Neveah very very annoyed She knew it wasnÆt a logical reaction but this new version of Roy he vexed her Was it possible that he was doing it on purpose

What the fuck is up with you lately Neveah demanded And this worm of a man had the gall to look up from the cutting board and smile sadly at her

IÆm resolved for whatÆs to come Roy replied simply Then he looked back down picked up the knife and continued cutting the vegetables

Neveah knew that her feelings toward Roy were weird They didnÆt quite make sense But in a way that even Randidly couldnÆt understand Neveah was truly a monster at her core It was anotherÆs face that she wore in her daily life She wasnÆt human She wasnÆt even humanoid like Helen or some of the individuals that were birthed by the Alpha Cosmos

Although Roy started as a human something he had seen changed him There were a few times that Neveah had needled him to try and get him to reveal what he had seen while dead but he had refused to speak about it at all But even if she didnÆt know the details the changes wrought on him were unavoidable He had been irreparably marked by the other side

So to see him like this Neveah ground her teeth

I guess IÆd better be going Neveah said loudly as she looked at RoyÆs back DonÆt worry about dinner In fact you might as well just throw those vegetables away YouÆve cut far too many for just yourself

Without even saying anything Roy swept the carefully cut vegetables into the trash bin Feeling furious Neveah walked out of the cabin and went back to YystrixÆs tomb If nothing else she was determined to push forward and figure out a few more tricks for RandidlyÆs living Engraving

She was just so fucking excited about her options today

Tatiana sat at her desk with her hands folded After passing all of KharonÆs systemic problems up to Randidly her days had been refreshingly peaceful When the issues she had addressed in her report came up in the daily operation of Kharon Tatiana told everyone who would listen that Randidly Ghosthound had decided to make a change She understood there were current problems but they were currently being addressed

Feeling heard the crying voices in the city went silent Obviously a temporary silence but still one worth savoring

With that assurance of the GhosthoundÆs involvement the pressure she was under was cut in half As Wolfram and his cohort of ogre scribes began gaining significant Skill Levels in areas related to bureaucracy Tatiana found herself completely without work It was the first time such a situation had occurred since she had started running Kharon

Now she understood why CEOs took so many vacations

Yet while she had taken a few of the days since sending the report to relax she had felt a mounting sense of dread as time passed without a reply from Randidly As though drawn by a magnet Tatiana was pulled back to her desk Without any work in front of her she could only wait for the inevitable bombshell of a decision that Randidly was going to drop on her

Because the source of her anxiety was obvious it was her innate Skill connection to Randidly The strange thing was that the feeling transmitted through the connection kept expanding and contracting Sometimes it felt like Randidly was about to announce something that would require a vast amount of work to manage without a thought to the consequences Other times it felt like he had created a rather concrete plan but would need her help

Honestly Tatiana would welcome the latter Despite the fact that she was sad that Randidly was leaving if she was honest with herself TatianaÆs true fear was the fact that she would soon be separated from RandidlyÆs guidance Having a large project that he left behind would do a lot to keep her distracted

She obviously would be able to send him a message once Randidly headed toward the Nexus but he wouldnÆt be on Earth he wouldnÆt be able to sense the changes in the image around Kharon or the other Zones and know what that meant for the future of the planet

Yet at the same time

Tatiana rubbed the back of her neck and grimaced Whatever heÆs doing is making my Skill going haywire If I had to guess Randidly has a crazy idea begins to work out the details in an effort not to make more work for me but then gets inspired by something new in an entirely new direction

Shaking her head Tatiana pressed a few buttons in her communication terminal at her desk If nothing else she should keep her finger on the pulse of the city A few seconds later the terminal buzzed and lit up as the line connected Commissioner Arrietti blinked in confusion but still bowed to the terminal Tatiana is something wrong I was just about to leave my office when I saw your call

Tatiana glanced to her left toward an antique clock sitting on her shelf she was surprised to find that it was a little after 7 P M It seemed like not having a set agenda meant time moved even more fluidly than in a day that was packed with meetings and activities Tatiana also didnÆt miss that Commissioner Arrietti had fought tooth and nail for set working hours but here he was in the office a little over an hour after his shift should end

He might bluster a bit but Tatiana knew that few people loved Kharon with the same overwhelming purity of their chief of police It was why he remained in the position even as his individual power began to make that amount of authority less than ideal

Probably will need to force this issue Perhaps he would respond better if I sent Helen as a training partner

Ah Commissioner IÆm sorry to trouble you I just wanted to check in on the situation with the refugees Tatiana quickly supplied We moved so quickly back toward the established Zones but we stopped this morning to let the Order Ducis handle the monster horde we encountered Because most of the refugees were on the platform I understand that many of them saw the entirety of the fighting Not that these people are squeamish but were there any complications

Commissioner ArrietiÆs face crinkled into a frown and Tatiana struggled to keep her face under her control Great thatÆs one more issue that we didnÆt need

The refugees floating on platforms behind Kharon had been drawn from the six bubble cities that they had encountered heading to the Nether Equator as people had taken to calling the area that the Ghosthound himself had gone to repair But the situations in those bubble cities were vastly different One had been a chaotic free for all practically overrun with monsters from the get go with several powerful groups disguising themselves to survive

That bubble city had in pre System Earth been one of the richer neighborhoods of Paris It hadnÆt weathered the storm well The refugees from there were particularly unpredictable

truth be told it does appear that there will be some trouble in the future because of it but itÆs more for Naffur than either of us Commissioner Arrietti shook his head

That certainly had TatianaÆs attention Are you saying that the Order Ducis will need to put down a riot We kept the number of people per platform as small as possible but it just wasnÆt feasible to create too many platforms

Oh Oh No not that The Commissioner looked chagrined No IÆve just been constantly badgered by questions about how to join the Order Ducis My patrol officers are honestly tired of hearing it

After thanking Commissioner for the information Tatiana ended the call and tapped her nail against her cheek Maybe itÆs time for the Order Ducis to recruit a few more individuals or at the very least start another six month training camp

TatianaÆs eyes flashed Perhaps the good Commissioner would be willing to volunteer as a training partner heh

Chapter 1391

Randidly returned from the Alpha Cosmos feeling quite a bit lighter having left the lionÆs share of the sketches he had made for Kharon Academy Honestly the amount of weight paper could reach always surprised him Partially the trip had been a way to make sure he didnÆt let the Kharon Academy project distract him for the next few days partially it was a baited hook to pull Wendy into assisting with the plans but it was also an expression of how important education was This was a huge undertaking that would shape the future of Kharon

Randidly was confident of a lot of things but figuring out how to guide and encourage growth was not one of them So he unashamedly asked for help contacting Wendy Lucretia and also the various members of his pantheon

When he returned to his island Neveah quickly joined him and immediately noticed the second thing that he had left within the Alpha Cosmos What happened to your arm Finally break down on you

Randidly glanced rather helplessly at the stump of his left arm Seeing the empty void was still oddly unsettling Because just recently he had felt the presence of an arm

It looked pretty bad too The flesh of his shoulder was scarred from the powerful energies and shoddy workmanship of the previous Aether Engraving he had used to bond the metallic limb to his body in the past Wendy pointed out that it might be helpful to take a look at the way the arm failed Where the wear and tear appeared and all that That way we can protect against it in the future

Is there any point WonÆt the strain keep rising with your capabilities anyway Neveah asked You grow strong very quickly

Randidly tilted his head to the side as he looked at Neveah but then he sighed You are right but it wonÆt take much time for Wendy to examine the limb and figure out which areas need to be reinforced In the meantime IÆll make the metal

With one arm Neveah pursed her lips

Rolling his eyes Randidly focused After a split second a spectral human limb appeared connected to his body For a few seconds it wavered as Randidly rapidly zeroed in on the image that he wanted Details gradually came into focus as he strengthened the image this was the true ghost of his arm

As if to demonstrate its capabilities to Neveah Randidly waved the limb wildly then crouched down so that he could raise the spectral fist up and smash it against the ground His knuckles slammed into the dirt Nothing happened

Because Randidly wasnÆt very practiced with that image it was also hard to interpret the sensory information that his fake limb was sending him The effect was a bit less dramatic than he had imagined it Should have just used the Grim ChimeraÆs arm but the point was to demonstrate my mastery of images also Neveah knows IÆll be utilizing Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart

Neveah didnÆt even comment on his imagined arm or the ghostly punch Instead she focused on business which Randidly appreciated WhatÆs our timeline look like

Ideally LetÆs aim for four days from today Randidly said thinking of the planned betrayal Theodora Greyman had ordered against King Phirun But honestly the attack could come any minute Even if I donÆt like to admit it having only one arm does weaken me Kaan Swacc might see that weakness and attack

Are you saying that now to bait him into attacking Neveah teased

Randidly grinned in response ItÆs worth a shot

Mentally neither shared the sense of jovial bravado that they displayed There was simply too much they didnÆt know about the way Kaan Swacc operated even if he had been cut off from support from the Xyrt Brigade Plus he formerly had enough clout to be named Special Investigator He was not a foe who would go down easily even if he was operating alone

Still the two were bonded implicitly They understood the danger of their current situation A moment of eye contact contained a complex array of emotions and desires They both then turned away intent on their own business

Randidly had also made some quiet inquiries and it seemed that Lyra hadnÆt been seen in Donnyton for the past several weeks Which was just one more piece of his past that made up the fragmenting tapestry that was Earth

Before Randidly focused on the forging he went and checked the report that Tatiana had dutifully left on the edge of his island RandidlyÆs mouth twisted into a smirk when he went to retrieve the report and found it waiting inside of a small mailbox that Tatiana must have installed today It was just a painted emerald can on top of a wooden base but at some point she had ordered an artisan to carve that base in the likeness of a tree The detail was rough but Randidly appreciated the gesture

Shaking his head Randidly began to peruse the report As he read through the paper his expression became increasingly clouded

With the emergence of the Runic Tablet relations in New Earth were predictably becoming strained Tatiana went on to describe the controversies in detail but Randidly mostly skimmed through it In fact Tatiana was slightly optimistic about the current state of affairs Mostly because Zone 1 was locked in the impeachment controversy

But President Greyman is going to do her best to screw the pooch on that RandidlyÆs eyes sharpened Still one task a time

While Kharon continued its slow trot into the New Earth Zones RandidlyÆs island landed in the relatively tame area of the borderlands His island rested against the side of dusty mountain in the highlands Aside from monsters there was nothing but scrub trees and stone in every direction In order to avoid damaging his island Randidly hopped down as he prepared to smelt the metal for his arm He brought with him a table an anvil and two small empty barrels

Randidly looked around at his tools Then he looked at the raw materials Taking the bones out of his interspatial ring Randidly dumped probably one thousand pounds of bones onto the ground But what was most impressive was that all of the bones truly were from monsters over Level 75 Acri certainly had expensive taste Throwing them all onto the ground created a towering mound that would make any elephant graveyard proud

The last element was the metal He had to dip into the KharonÆs inventory but Randidly liked the look of a new metal they had discovered in the borderlands It was a dark red orange color and people called it Rust Steel After rummaging around Randidly had about a dumpster full of the raw ore

Breathing deeply in Randidly filled up his lungs Then he slowly released that air His heartbeat began to quicken His mind was blank Time slipped past Clouds drifted overhead

After cracking his knuckles Randidly began the smelting process At this point he began to participate in something of a ritual In terms of creating metals Randidly was very confident Already his image spread to fill the surrounding air This corner of the Earth was isolated from foreign Aether and images

Once his heart was pounding and his physical body was at his peak Randidly conjured the left arm of the Grim Chimera and slashed open his right wrist YggdrasilÆs branches wrapped around his body feeding life into his limbs The image burned with power concentrated in a very small space around him Emerald blood oozed out of the cut into the barrel

For five minutes Randidly bled himself with his life giving blood Due to his own healing properties he had to rip his wrist open again every thirty seconds or so in order to fill the small barrel up Then he allowed the wound to heal and pressed his eyes closed Although Randidly tightened his muscles to keep his heart rate high the image of Yggdrasil behind him slowly withered and vanished

Instead the horrible hunger of the Stillborn Phoenix shrieked its want That image seized the surrounding space Randidly thought about Theodora Greyman and every life lost because he hadnÆt killed her the first time that he met her Some part of him knew that he didnÆt want to get into the habit of deciding the life and death of another human being but at that moment he let all the dark emotions in his heart run rampant

More than any other ingredient in the mixture the two quenching liquids needed to have powerful images So he completely immersed himself

This time when he bled the blood was such a dark red that it almost looked black It flowed much more slowly out of his arm too requiring twenty minutes to gather enough into the small barrel Rather than bleeding it seemed like sludge was oozing from his wound

After his arm had healed again Randidly sat down to let his heart rate fall to normal levels He also slowly banished the pointless blaming regret and hatred that the Stillborn Phoenix allowed to fester Only when he had returned to a balanced state did Randidly turn to the issue of the actual smelting

Because while the improvements to Ignition Essence definitely resolved the issues with the image that Randidly had been struggling with it took away all the actual fire Well almost all the actual fire

Congratulations Your Skill Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart has grown to Level 233

With his control over gravity Randidly pulled one of the heavy chunks of Rust Steel ore to float in front of him Then he purposefully activated Stigma of the Stillborn Phoenix It was a Skill that made his Skills slightly more effective in exchange for increasing his sensitivity specifically to pain But the point of this activation was to immerse himself in the searing agony that the Skill could inflict on him

Then Randidly opened his eyes Revelation energy swirled around his body sharpening his vision Cool and composed Randidly reached his right hand out toward the piece of ore in front of him and shared some of that painful heat

Because the Stillborn PhoenixÆs dream is to be a true phoenix It wishes to be reborn It has taken steps to achieve that transformation It has always been chasing those attributes that belong to the phoenix Even if it cannot truly become that mythic beast it has not stood idle

RandidlyÆs left eye darkened and became pure black The surrounding light began to bleed and warp The metal began to shiver and melt as the image unleashed a scalding wave of heat The terrible friction of the fabric of reality rotation and rubbing against itself radiated outward The release of heat produced by a ray of light as it was torn in half and devoured pounded the metal

Satisfied Randidly turned to the bones Unfortunately his almost pagan altar of bones was not long for this world He quickly smashed to pieces with Hallucination of the Bloodless heart The vast cosmic forces of a black hole quickly smote the bones filling the surrounding air with a cloud of dust and debris

Feeling rather shocked with how effective that had been Randidly rapidly flooded his body with more Revelation energy In that way he was able to use his gravity manipulation to pick the particles out of the air and carefully gather them back into one pile to be used for the smelting

Congratulations Your Skill Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold has grown to Level 280

Congratulations Your Skill Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart has grown to Level 234

Randidly released another breath He pulled more and more heavy pieces of ore into the air Each was the size of a bowling ball and probably weighed as much as Randidly himself the Rust Steel ore chunks were incredibly dense Chunk by chunk they began to warp and melt beneath the onslaught of heat from RandidlyÆs image RandidlyÆs lip curled upward as he noticed the stones beneath him were beginning to glow a dull red from the ambient heat

And IÆve only just started Once again IÆm a walking ecological disaster

Still before Randidly was completely swept up in the smelting he glanced around It would have been a more difficult fight but Randidly had sorta been hoping Kaan Swacc would make a move first Now that it became clear that they would need to lure him out

Randidly clicked his tongue in annoyance Then he focused himself fully on the task with absolute faith that Neveah would protect him from any surprise attacks

Chapter 1392

A powerful metal was the first step but it was one with which Randidly took the utmost care Of all the portions of this process the others were mostly outsourced to more talented companions it was only the refining of the base alloy that would be done solely by him It was fed with his labor and his blood The resulting Rust Steel alloy would be completely his

All it would know was his images And it would know those images very intimately

There was value to that isolation Both in purity and in his later image usage The eventual Engraving had been mostly designed by Neveah although she relied heavily on RandidlyÆs experience with using the arm to create the proliferating shape with her own private spin that she refused to reveal

The plans for the assemblage of the arm was left to Wendy She had only given him the barest details as of yet but Randidly was quite impressed It was her genius that fueled the finished product It was now to be scale mail with a twist the size of the scales was varied across the arm While the main body of the arm now had scales that were larger and more oval the hand was rigged with scales so small that it would honestly be a hassle to make

Again RandidlyÆs control was only over the metal the foundation the base It was what everything else was built upon It must be his totally and completely So despite the extremely high expenditure of mental energy Randidly carefully melted the ore refined it and then began to mix in the ground bones

Mix the metal Pound it into shape Quench in the hungry weakening blood of the Stillborn Phoenix Mix again Pound into shape again Quench in the life giving blood of Yggdrasil the World Tree Repeat again and again until the metal reached the requisite composition

What did Randidly require from this metal What was his goal Honestly he had no concrete ideas But again this was the foundation of everything So he had faith that he would know what he needed when he saw it

Skill Levels ticked rapidly upward at a speed that surprised him but Randidly was aware that the perception of a quick growth in strength was hiding the truth hours were passing as he completely immersed himself in the refinement of the Rust Steel During that time Randidly maintained all three of his images in the surrounding area He didnÆt need to keep the various images in balance like he did when manifesting the three images in his body at the same time but as hours began to tick past the drain on his focus was enormous

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Timing has grown to Level 136

Yggdrasil to strengthen the metal The Stillborn Phoenix both to rip out impurities and also to maintain the heavy layer of Revelation energy that gave Randidly unparalleled insight into the composition of the alloy The Grim Chimera to sniff toward the elusive scent of necessity surrounding the entire endeavor

The three desires of his being reaching for the desired future

Feeling the importance of the moment RandidlyÆs Nether Nebula began to stir Its energies grew increasingly dense But just as quickly as it began to gather Randidly thoroughly suppressed its expansion He couldnÆt afford to reveal his Nether now Although it was a great source of strength for him he wasnÆt quite ready to reveal that card

Or to invite Kaan Swacc to attack at this vulnerable moment His focus couldnÆt be allowed to be divided

Randidly needed this arm to be a source of strength for him perhaps even for the next few years He needed to overcome Kaan Swacc before he left the Earth He needed to achieve the unexpected he needed to lure out and subdue this foe so that the EarthÆs only worry was the Calamities in front of it

Most of the fights in RandidlyÆs past had been unavoidable Either Yystrix had come for him or he had to struggle against the machinations of his fellow Earthlings or the people of Tellus Randidly had very rarely sought out fights And perhaps part of the reason that he had avoided intervening in EarthÆs business was simply being used to his grand struggles smashing their meaty fists against his door

The issue of the Special Investigator had taken that luxury away from Randidly Such a foe had been isolated and abandoned here but possessed the discipline to wait for the perfect chance to strike Just to make sure the fight happened Randidly had to arrange circumstances to be just so

And perhaps it was the huge amount of deep purple Revelation energy wrapped tightly around his body but Randidly felt like his vision had opened Gradually his confusion over how to reliably draw out the Swacc Family representative began to clear Paths to the future stretched in front of Randidly intersecting each other and creating new Paths

The sensation was incredible His mind tingled with the possibilities of it The further ahead he looked the dimmer his view But he could see the way he dearly wished to see some of those futures come to pass more than others

Congratulations Your Skill Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold has grown to Level 283

Perhaps even more importantly Randidly realized it was his own feet this whole time that had been carrying himself toward the future It was an obvious thing but Randidly felt the strangest sense of freedom after thinking it This whole time like it or not through action or inaction he had control of how the future developed

Perhaps not so much in the past when his influence was smaller but now

Shaking his head with a hint of regret Randidly looked forward He saw the future where Theodora Greyman killed King Phirun and his greatest warriors rising quickly back to power in Zone 1 on the back of Richter the Black Rook Although there was a chance that borrowed Nether power would soon abandon her of all the people Randidly had seen Richter was the closest to managing the Nether in his body It was possible that strength would endure and even grow

If Randidly allowed that to happen the Zones would become divided Theodora Greyman would not release her hold on power gently No matter who triumphed a weakened Earth would face the First Calamity

Of course Randidly also could see the sharp eyes of Kaan Swacc on those many Paths to the future It was foolish to think that such a suspicious Special Investigator would have missed Zone 1Æs bumbling attempts to utilize Nether The problem was how would Kaan Swacc respond

It depends on their current abilities with Nether RandidlyÆs narrowed his eyes In his heart his resolve to deal with President Greyman intensified

RandidlyÆs current plan of action relied heavily on Kaan Swacc wanting proof that he Randidly Ghosthound was a Nether spy But it was very possible that Kaan would accept that small portion of Earth being turned into a training ground for Nether warriors as an appropriate substitute Which was all the more reason that Randidly needed to hurry to confront him

Congratulations Your Skill Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold has grown to Level 284

But for now focus Randidly scolded himself This metal needs to be as close to perfect as possible

Randidly pulled his gaze from those stretching Paths to the task in front of him But he now understood that as he selected his own Path he would guide others toward the future in different ways Part of it was the effect of him being Randidly Ghosthound the publicly acknowledged most powerful man on the planet

But perhaps more important it was because he had control of his own actions For the first time in his life Randidly was beginning to understand what that meant

Yet those high minded thoughts gradually dissipated as he continued the process of refining

Mix the metal Pound it into shape Quench in the hungry weakening blood of the Stillborn Phoenix Mix again Pound into shape again Quench in the life giving blood of Yggdrasil the World Tree Repeat

Randidly eventually leaned back and frowned at the finished ingot in front of him With his sharp gaze empowered by the revelation energy he realized he had thought too shallowly about making this alloy

He used the same percentages of bone and ore as he had in the past trusting that the result would be up to his expectations But while the metal he now held was undoubtedly more powerful than bloodsteel his image of the Grim Chimera regarded it with disdain This was not the metal he needed right now

So even though he had already been forging for several hours Randidly went back to the basics and experimented with different ratios of ore and bone He utilized the method he used in the past relying on the quenching to eventually filter out the unneeded amounts of the bone but Randidly quickly realized that this thinking was flawed too

So he started forcing the percentages and testing the result Bloodsteel was at about 84% ore 15% bone and 1% his blood So Randidly tested bone content at 10 through 40% in five percent intervals

At the end he was surprised to find that while the forging process became more difficult 40% bone was the most powerful So Randidly expanded his experiments reaching all the way up to 80%

Testing consumed more and more time Randidly refused to compromise on this however Without a pure metal every other point was moot

The final ratios ended up being 49% ore 49% bone and 2% blood The materials had to be practically smashed together in order to get them to bond but the result was extremely impressive So with his new formula Randidly got to work

Twelve hours after he had started the smelting Randidly sat back and released a breath A neat stack of ingots sat in front of him reaching up to his waist Perhaps due to the increased presence of his blood in the alloy the color was darker than Randidly had expected It was a mottled red orange truly reminding him of rusted iron and urban decay

Neveah had already provided the Engraving so Randidly proceeded into his Alpha Cosmos to speak with Wendy about the final plans for the arm Only a few minutes later Randidly returned to his small set up in the highlands Southwest of the Zones Night had fallen but RandidlyÆs eyes were bright in the darkness

Sensing his intent Neveah appeared next to Randidly

He grinned Time to make this arm

Chapter 1393

I almost feel bad for heroes Ace said He lay on his belly on the edge of a shale outcropping allowing him to look down at the rolling hills below them After shimmying up to the edge his whole body was covered in dust Even worse he smelled like he hadnÆt bathed in a week In a way they are cripplingly predictable Before a fight they will train and power up ItÆs honestly obnoxious But in this case it helps us gauge how much time we have left

Ezekiel shivered Laying here and listening to Ace ramble wasnÆt ideal but he had grown rather numb to it at this point Obviously they were far enough away from Randidly to avoid detection and therefore couldnÆt actually see what was occurring Yet Ace was right about one thing the image reverberations that Randidly Ghosthound was releasing were so powerful that they didnÆt need any special Skill in order to keep track of his position

Whatever he was doing now was clearly important It was practically an invitation to attack Yet at the same time who aside from the madman next to Ezekiel would dare attack the Ghosthound

Of course this madman wouldnÆt attack him now No he wanted his triumph to be total and complete he would wait until Randidly believed himself at his peak before striking

Speaking of this madman Ezekiel snuck a glance at Ace Because after that initial comment Ace had fallen silent To further confuse Ezekiel Ace squirmed backward from the edge of the cliff Only when he was thoroughly screened from view by the stone did Ace straighten

Then Ace gestured for Ezekiel to follow Come on letÆs go

Just like that Ezekiel was somewhat at a loss but still followed the instruction When he stood he looked at Ace with something close to bewilderment in his expression ArenÆt you going to

ThereÆs no point in monologuing further thereÆs no more time to practice Ace said simply Although his eyes were still bloodshot there was a surprising amount of clarity in his gaze I would rather wait but we need to interrupt the battle that Randidly is now powering up for That is the moment to strike Therefore It is time to rouse our precious egg

It was lunchtime when Randidly finally allowed himself to collapse on the ground like a deflated balloon Neveah perhaps out of pride continued to stand above her Soulbound companion but was also breathing heavily Over the past several hours they had poured everything they had into creating this arm

Right now Randidly was extremely weak Although he had plenty of Mana and Stamina his mind was blurry from the amount of Aether he had expended on keeping his images powerful and constant for the past twelve hours Even RandidlyÆs refined drops of liquid Aether would only have limited usefulness if Kaan Swacc popped up right now

Yet as Randidly lay on the ground exhausted he couldnÆt help but chortle Who we are may give us strength but it also binds us What we want leads us around by the nose Even though Kaan Swacc wants to triumph over me his training only lets him consider it a victory if he is able to reveal my Nether affiliations As such he will let this opportunity to kill me pass without a second thought

The truth of my Nether controls him While the truth of my growing strength is ignored

Of course his good cheer passed pretty quickly Because Randidly also knew that he probably held similar blinders in some ways It might be worth it to investigate how he could improve himself

But for now Randidly forced himself to sit up Then he slowly stood his spine cracking as he twisted around and stretched Finally he proceeded to the slightly raised stone in the middle of their work area on which his finished arm sat

The Left Arm of Randidly Ghosthound Lvl 99 An arm that combines engineering genius Aether Engraving and metal smelting in a manner that nears perfection Such a feat is only able to be poorly imitated in the future never replicated by others The streamlined design allows the harmony between the Engraving and the metal to reach new heights Images flowing through this left arm will be strengthened All Stats +50 Can only be used by Randidly Ghosthound Aegis of Bones and Steel V Purity of Purpose V Prayer of the Bone Wyrm VI

Aegis of Bones and Steel V This arm will become the greatest shieldthat Randidly Ghosthound possesses It was built with the express purpose of enduring both the attacks of the enemies and usage of the Ghosthound himself Because of that this arm is practically living flesh capable of slowly healing from damage done to it Endurance +50 All attacks that reduce Health traveling through the arm will be reduced by 50%

Purity of Purpose V Perhaps more impressive even than the accomplishment itself was the breadth and depth of Willpower demonstrated during the making of the arm Although the path to completion was long the maker did not flinch or look away Such dedication is always rewarded While using the arm all of the effects of RandidlyÆs Skills are increased by 5% The Skills in question need not flow through the arm itself

Prayer of the Bone Wyrm VI The left hand of Randidly Ghosthound carries with it the deepest hopes of a monster Such a concentrated gift is a powerful one but the effects are not yet clear Increase the Level of the Engraving in order to see the full effect User obtains the Skill Dream of the Aether Well Orphan Lvl 1

Dream of the Aether Well Orphan The user carries the hopes of another

Randidly released a breath that hissed through his teeth There was a lot to unpack in the description of the arm but he couldnÆt deny that this was a success It was a Legendary item and the stories and images that built it were his own No longer did the System need to take stories from other places to give the item power now Randidly could support a Legendary item all on his own

Randidly glanced sideways at Neveah The first two attributes of the arm were simple enough to understand but the third one the fact that it reached rank VI was a testament to its power The only problem was that there were no current effects And the fact that he was carrying the dreams of the Aether Well Orphan

Perhaps it was some remnant of that clarity toward the futures Randidly had seen while forging but NeveahÆs face looked so lined and tired as Randidly glanced at it He could see the hint of a darkness in her reminding him of the darkness that had broken Decklan Hyde And considering this was only an illusion she projected her actual condition must be much worse

Before Randidly could speak however the corner of NeveahÆs lips turned upward We should get some rest I know you want to draw out Kaan Swacc as soon as possible

No Randidly instantly countered The vehemence of his response made NeveahÆs face flicker in surprise Perhaps any other time he would have put this issue off but not today Not after so viscerally feeling how his actions would affect the future he couldnÆt turn away from the sadness in NeveahÆs face or the vulnerability in that attribute his arm received WhatÆs going on Neveah You said you had a surprise for me with the Engraving but this

For a second Neveah was silent Then she sighed alright then Honestly I didnÆt expect this either Normally I would say it is a failure but the attribute being given the designation of VI well I just want to know what I am ThatÆs what this represents I mean no one would say IÆm not special so I figured the gift would be

When Randidly tilted his head to the side Neveah continued You found me in that Aether Crossroads living but without any memories Now that we will soon head to the Nexus I hope that means we will someday be able to understand what I am Why am I different like this Am I truly a member of the same race as Yystrix and Elhume And what does that mean

Through their mental connections Randidly felt all the powerful emotions contained in that statement physically swirling around Neveah He bit his lip How could he have missed something so obvious You are lonely If itÆs because IÆve been so busy

Randidly trust me this isnÆt about you Neveah rolled her eyes Then she put her hands on her waist But truly this can wait Rest up letÆs get this fight over with

It took Randidly a few seconds of staring at Neveah to find the strength in himself to nod and let the issue go His fear wasnÆt called for Neveah wasnÆt Decklan Sitting down he partially expected it to be difficult to clear his mind After that strange moment of clarity regarding his power to affect the future and now NeveahÆs inner emotional turmoil Randidly expected his thoughts to spin round for at least an hour

But as soon as he settled down his brain winked off like a candle thrust into a snowdrift Perhaps even he had underestimated how drained he was after the forging But considering the positive result they received it was definitely worth it

Hopefully it would be enough

When Randidly snapped back to wakefulness he signaled Neveah and she gratefully collapsed on the ground and took her turn with resting Because she had only handled the Engraving and not the whole process of submerging the surrounding area in images her mental consumption was somewhat more modest But Randidly knew from experienced that Engraving was one of the most exhausting activities

Leaving Neveah to recover Randidly stood and stretched It was now evening with the air growing cold around them Absolute Timing informed Randidly that he had been asleep for three and a half hours

Although he hadnÆt seen a reply from his first message Randidly sent another message to Sydney At the end of it he asked whether she would be interested in meeting for dinner once everything else was dealt with It was an olive branch and the first of many steps toward addressing his past Randidly planned on making before he left the Earth again

Congratulations Your Fatepiece Dreamcatcher of the Long Night has grown to Level 62

Congratulations Your Fatepiece Dreamcatcher of the Long Night has grown to Level 63

For a second Randidly did nothing Then he simply shook his head Of course the stalled out growth of his Fatepiece would be triggered by a random thought Still Randidly didnÆt let that derail him for long But he simply made a mental note that thinking about addressing his past had triggered a Level

Then because Neveah would likely take some time to recover Randidly allowed himself the break of thinking about Kharon AcademyÆs development Not the details of the mechanisms he would need to wait until he could talk with Wendy again before he pushed forward on that front Instead he focused on the values he would want to emphasize More specifically Randidly wanted to give Kharon Academy a motto that would sum everything about it up

It was an interesting diversion if one into which Randidly could make very little headway No obvious answer manifested itself as Randidly cast his mind around Yet it was the break Randidly needed

Because as soon as Neveah woke up they would begin their plot to catch Kaan Swacc

Chapter 1394

The air seemed to crackle with a strange electricity as RandidlyÆs gaze shifted to NeveahÆs rising form Luckily for his nerves her time resting was only a fourth of what Randidly had required to recover The more time passed the more his instincts realized that soon he would be fighting against Kaan Swacc the first truly dangerous fight he had to look forward to in quite some time As the edges of his mouth curled upward into a grin the Nether Nebula in his chest began to stir

With a light touch he pushed it back downward Soon Soon I wonÆt need to restrain myself any longer Soon we can create an enjoyable memory

Neveah stood and Randidly rolled his right shoulder around to loosen the joint and familiarize himself with the motion Truthfully Randidly had to set his excitement aside for the moment Because he first needed to address the relatively uncomfortable task of attaching his new metal limb And he hadnÆt overlooked the fact that the increased complexity and power flowing through NeveahÆs new Aether Engraving would likely increase the pain of the process

As soon as Neveah shook her head like a wet dog and yawned she looked around at Randidly and said Want me to grab a box of tissues before we begin

Rolling his eyes Randidly didnÆt bother to reply and simply approached the stone that supported his new arm Unlike his prior arm the exterior of it was now and would never be bright or eye catching It was just the color of aged rust Although the surface of the limb was smooth the mottled color palette across the limb made it seem rough and uneven Even setting aside the base color of the ore the patterns were likely caused by the forceful forging process

Rather than a Legendary ranked equipment it looked like old trash left out in one too many rain showers

Somehow this made Randidly love it all the more A legendary arm based on me

Carrying NeveahÆs hope

Neveah approached with a pout when Randidly didnÆt rise to her words But then energy began to crackle around her fingers She reached out and dragged her pointer finger across the elbow of the limb From that contact the lines of Engraving flashed outward across its surface shimmering in the projected shape that the Living Engraving would one day take

The symbols shifted and blended before RandidlyÆs eyes lines of violet color swimming freely across the scale mail as the Mana depth warped the shape The effect was lovely to watch Then Neveah pulled her finger away and the light dimmed Are you ready for this

LetÆs hurry Randidly growled His heartbeat was slowly accelerating He shivered I want to fight

You always were a masochist Neveah said with quite a bit of fondness in her voice Breathing out through her nose she hefted the dark orange red arm and brought it with great care toward the stump of RandidlyÆs shoulder

Closing his eyes Randidly also released his breath The metal of the arm pressed against his body and he was surprised by how warm it was already Likely it was still cooling from the Engraving that Neveah had done an hour and a half earlier There was a hissing noise as the Engravings activated and RandidlyÆs skin stung as it was seared as a side effect of the high energy Engraving activating

Then Aether crackled between metal and flesh as the control runes for the limb began digging into the skin of RandidlyÆs body His veins along his torso bulged outward as the electrical charge produced by the Aether blasted outward through the medium of his flesh But these veins had withstood the trial of his heartÆs ferocity precipitously increasing so none of them ruptured from the strain

But then the Aether Engraving connected to his nervous system and the sensation ran like truant lightning through his spine

To Randidly pain had come walking hand in hand with the System From the very start in that Dungeon the first day Randidly had been covered with acid that had quickly taught him that the new changes to the world werenÆt playing around Then he had met Shal who seemed determined to make Randidly realize that his own body could be the producer of just as vicious a sort of pain as an attack from enemies

Shal had also told him that sensation after training was satisfactionÆ

And pain had always come to Randidly in the form of colors Pain came as black when it was pain that threatened to rob Randidly of consciousness This was the pain Shal taught Randidly It crept inwards from the edges of his awareness and ripped away at the edges of his thoughts It was a consuming pain one that sapped his will

It was a pain that asked him to give up

Meanwhile white pain annihilated It pierced through the brain and left nothing but brilliant emptiness in its wake That sort of pain numbed him rather than straight knocking Randidly unconscious in the past Still it was a more dangerous variety in the heat of battle Black pain could be resisted but white pain had to be essentially ignored Addressing it directly was impossible The void it left in its wake was simply black from exposure to that vicious pain

This pain appropriately was rust colored It hit his entire nervous system at once setting every nerve ending on fire as the power of the Aether contained in the Legendary arm burned through him Then after the connection was thoroughly established the initial rust darkened and everything in his body seemed to age and decay

His muscles trembled His heart rate continued to rise Randidly gritted his teeth as he fell to his knees Seriously fuck

Neveah shook her head sadly as if to say I told you soÆ

Still the pain quickly passed followed swiftly by tingling in his newly attached left arm as sensation came to it Coughing Randidly sat back and did his best to control his breathing as the pain began to fade He looked sharply up at Neveah Alright set up the barrier

NeveahÆs eyes gleamed Even without relying on their connection Randidly could tell that she wanted to wait a little longer But Randidly also knew that the more time that he used to recover the less effective this move would be If they waited too long the gamble would fail Perhaps sensing RandidlyÆs determination in his gaze she lowered her eyes to the ground and began to carve a complicated Engraving into the stone around them

Randidly glanced warily around while flexing his left hand The surrounding highlands were a series of wide slopes periodically dotted with caves Not a bad place for a final showdown Definitely important that itÆs so far away from anyone else Now letÆs see if my gamble on Kaan SwaccÆs nature will pay off

Randidly didnÆt know anything about the Nexus Ways that surrounded the Earth He had learned a little from Octavius Shrike but in the short term he would not be able to compare with Kaan Swacc who had used them for most of his career in the Xyrt Brigade But what Randidly did understand was the Ways allowed Swacc to observe people on Earth without typical Skills being able to perceive the former Special Investigator

It was the equivalent of two way glass for Skills So while Kaan Swacc could watch Randidly like a hawk Randidly had very few ways of observing his opponent Perhaps he could use the PhilosopherÆs Key to open a portal to next to Kaan Swacc but that would both reveal his ability to use the Fatepiece and also perhaps take him into a trap that Kaan had been preparing

Perhaps Randidly would be forced to try that but the best case was to lure Kaan out of the Ways

The more time passed the longer a period of time Randidly couldnÆt work on his Nether Skills and the greater the cost of that absence became Already he could feel his Nether Nebula beginning to go slightly haywire from the suppression The importance of several upcoming events was too great he couldnÆt resist the evolution of his own Nether for much longer It was too important a part of him