LoRG 3

So Randidly needed to pull Kaan SwaccÆs attention And more importantly he needed to make Kaan Swacc commit to a fight Considering Kaan SwaccÆs sense of superiority this was rather simple once Kaan made any move at all his pride as a member of the Xyrt Brigade would likely carry him forward to a direct confrontation

So all that was really required was that first move But while it was simple drawing out such a commitment was not necessarily easy

NeveahÆs fingers continued to rapidly move Mana flowing down to impress into the ground The stone burned and hissed releasing a small amount of smoke as she engraved What she was creating now was an isolation barrier derived from YystrixÆs tomb Having known the importance of such a barrier if they were to resist the Nexus this was the second most decrypted of the ten areas Therefore Randidly had some confidence that it could block Kaan SwaccÆs perception Or at the very least it would obscure the details of what was happening within

Although the Ways kept Kaan from being seen by normal means they provided no additional benefit for him seeing out of them He would need to pierce through this barrier the old fashioned way

Just as Neveah had circled a ten meter area around Randidly his fingers flexed Most of the tingling had left his arm Finally he was adjusting to it Having the benefit of practicing with the limb would be better but Randidly had to be sure that Kaan Swacc was watching for what followed to work And while Kaan Swacc probably didnÆt watch the entirety of the forging process he would definitely look over to watch Randidly attach the arm Which was why it was important that Neveah immediately start the barrier to keep his focus here

Randidly Ghosthound was reasonably confident that he had accurately identified two traits of Kaan Swacc And those would be the manÆs downfall

The first was his genuine desire to best Randidly In this case he was determined to reveal RandidlyÆs Nether affiliations Even being abandoned by the Xyrt Brigade and left on Earth hadnÆt shaken his resolve Perhaps that would change with time but it had only been a week His passion still burned hot

All the better for him to respond overzealously

RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed The timing had to be close to perfect NeveahÆs fingers continued to draw There was only one stroke remaining in the barrier and Randidly opened his arms and released the full power of his Nether Nebula It spun outward

Neveah finished the stroke and the area around Randidly was isolated As per their earlier agreement she took a step backward and immediately began drawing a second circle around the first This was rather useless in terms of vision obstruction because if one such barrier could be broken then the second could as well But the actions just needed to give the (hopefully) watching Kaan Swacc the smallest sense of urgency

Inside that barrier Randidly focused on what he was about to do The confrontation against this member of the Xyrt Brigade was only seconds away This fight would decide the fate of Earth and give Randidly a reasonable approximation of where he stood in the Nexus hierarchy Thick waves of Nether bubbled out filling the surrounding ten meters

Even Randidly was surprised by how much his Nether had changed during the time that he had been suppressing it The initial blast outward threw out semi solid chunks of Nether that had formed under RandidlyÆs iron will but the wave that followed behind that was thick and oily It was possessed the consistency of molten metal swirling in that small area around him

This Nether he didnÆt suppress into a thin disk Instead he allowed it to flow freely gradually prying apart that thin layer in which Nether was allowed to exist within the Nexus

One second two seconds three seconds

In each of those moments Randidly let himself dwell on the weight of the approaching moment Both for Earth and for himself This was the first time he was trying to seize control of Fate and manipulate the Path walked by another He was relying on his own understanding of an opponentÆs nature to plan for the future If Randidly had claimed to have had any skill with human interaction everyone who knew him would have laughed

Yet suddenly Randidly felt the beginnings of confidence in this area This was different He wasnÆt trying to relate he simply wanted to use past behavior as an indicator for the future If anything this was closer to math than art Wreathed in Revelation energy RandidlyÆs eyes never strayed from the Paths to the Future

Congratulations Your Skill Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold has grown to Level 285

Randidly submerged his consciousness in the vicious current of Nether whipping around him Currently his Nether was flowing on wild instinct making up for the time that he had suppressed it That dark energy crashed through his body like a liberated river smashing through his resilient veins The Nebula began to spin faster and faster thickening his Nether even further Within that energy of memories Randidly thought about Kaan Swacc

For a moment right before Neveah had closed off her barrier Randidly had displayed Nether to anyone who was watching Kaan Swacc would have seen it definitively for a split second Randidly Ghosthound had utilized Nether

It was exactly what the Swacc Family agent had been waiting for

But then Randidly was isolated by NeveahÆs barrier And this was where the second aspect of Kaan Swacc would be weaponized by Randidly Even though Kaan had been waiting for this moment no perhaps even because he had been waiting for this that brief sight of Nether would give the man the smallest sense of doubt

Just like that He used Nether after hiding and denying it for so long Kaan Swacc would think Then he would check the Aether Mines again and find they hadnÆt been deactivated by contact with Nether That small bit of doubt would grow a little bit larger Then Kaan would look again and see Neveah creating another barrier

The second trait Randidly targeted was KaanÆs military training with the Xyrt Brigade Perhaps Randidly wouldnÆt have thought of it before but meeting Captain Quill and the disciplined members of his Clan inspired him He had seen how different protocols were drilled into their bones In that way the Xyrt Brigade resembled military groups on Earth

So Kaan Swacc would want to be sure about what he saw He would pierce through the first veil and peek at what Randidly was doing

Nether formed a chaotic storm around Randidly The ground beneath him was already beginning to corrode despite his best attempts to keep the Nether mild It was a delicate balance he was striking allowing his Nether to run loose but trying his best so that no traces would spread beyond the limit of NeveahÆs veil

The Grim Chimera grinned manically manifesting and raising his head to roar with pleasure It sensed the impending violence The energy of darkness congealed and swirled The density continued to increase Randidly could feel visual distortions beginning to appear in the air around him Space began to shake and come to pieces

Four seconds Five seconds

There was ripple across NeveahÆs barrier Someone was peeking Randidly grinned Gotcha

Because while Kaan Swacc the Special Investigator might in normal circumstances see RandidlyÆs Nether as the confirmation he had waited for Randidly was trusting that would be overwritten by a far older and more powerful instinct Kaan Swacc peered through to see what Randidly was doing and encountered dense Nether

He was a Xyrt Brigade member first and foremost His instinct when surprised by powerful Nether would manifest itself

He had fought Nether for too long So he would fight

That familiar area of isolation slammed into place around Randidly cutting him off from his Nether And Randidly Ghosthound stood arms akimbo and laughed

Chapter 1395

Kaan Swacc walked slowly forward in the shadowy area in which he had captured Randidly Other than the ground beneath their feet it was an area of absolute darkness His footsteps on the strange stone floor echoed outward a cool counterpart to RandidlyÆs laughter in the isolated space The shimmering metal skin of Kaan Swacc was dull and lifeless in this dark area But KaanÆs leering mouth was open and without teeth confirming his identity

KaanÆs eyes were narrowed as he approached Randidly How How did you subdue the Aether Mines without activating them

Randidly didnÆt bother to answer Instead his Grim Intuition rapidly examined the surrounding area As Randidly and Neveah had suspected even though they had been near to each other when the suppression arrived only Randidly had been taken to this strange area It was clear that the production of this space was a Skill and one with a pretty focused target As the source of Nether Randidly had been taken away

For whatever reason it hadnÆt occurred to Randidly that Acri who had been slithering around and sulking after being retrieved from its murder spree by Randidly in preparation for this fight wouldnÆt be pulled along with him Which was an oversight

That meant that the first portion of this fight before Neveah succeeded in piercing into this area of suppression would need to be fought without a spear That made Randidly scrunch his forehead with worry His heartbeat was a steady drumbeat now his veins spreading the tremors of that powerful muscle contraction through his whole body

I suppose IÆll need to rely on physical power then LetÆs put this arm through its paces

Even if you donÆt answer it wonÆt matter Kaan had no teeth to bear as he walked forward but he did pull back his lips and reveal the dark maw of his mouth The sight of the toothless hole filled Randidly with revulsion Still Randidly could tell how chaotic the Xyrt Brigade memberÆs emotions were by the fluctuations in his image But with every step Kaan controlled himself and focused His eyes were locked on Randidly IÆll get my answers from your broken soulspace when I rip you to shreds

KaanÆs image became suddenly oppressive Floating in the air around Kaan Swacc strange pyramids of shimmering brass and silver turned over slowly When they brushed against each other a deep resonance blasted outward Each time it hit him RandidlyÆs breathing grew heavier Even though it wasnÆt currently being weaponized it was the image of a Special Investigator of the Xyrt Brigade

After dueling with him in his Fatepiece several times Randidly was beginning to get a general understanding of KaanÆs image In a way he was similar to Randidly he took his time working up to his strength But whereas Randidly was just foolish Kaan warmed up to fighting in a very purposeful manner Plus his Skill Levels heavily emphasized defense giving him that option

Although it was in a manner completely alien to Earth if Randidly had to describe Kaan SwaccÆs image it was with one word instrument And the first few exchanges of a fight for him were a very focused tuning Those discordant resonances resulted from Kaan brushing away the dust

Between this fully revealed image and Lady Iellaya Randidly wasnÆt sure who was more powerful And this was the foe that he had to defeat to protect the Earth

I canÆt stop shaking Randidly looked down at his hands Even his metallic left arm was trembling His fingers tightened into fists A constant bubble of excitement filled his limbs Did I really miss this so much

BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP

Designing Kharon Academy and guiding the Earth is important but some part of me loves this violence I shouldnÆt try and deny that part of myself in the future I need to accept my desires

Have you nothing to say for yourself spy Kaan Swacc said again in the silence He stopped walking forward staring at Randidly Ghosthound

Randidly didnÆt bother to answer Instead his smile stretched wider across his face His three images burned in his chest each wanting to manifest and contest the space against SwaccÆs image But Randidly kept his images back for now From his previous battles in this space using the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night the more Randidly used his images here the more Kaan was able to zero in on the specific image and damage it

The tuning of KaanÆs image was extremely dangerous

The first goal of this fight was to buy time for Neveah to rip open a hole and liberate Randidly Randidly believed that it was possible for his PhilosopherÆs Key to open a hole but like when the Nexus infrastructure around Earth was damaged it was difficult to do so while inside the space To the point that Randidly did not believe Kaan Swacc would give him the time to make the attempt

So his role was just to buy time Neveah would break the seal and restore RandidlyÆs full fighting potential The fewer of RandidlyÆs images that Kaan had the chance to tune to before that time the better Plus she will bring Acri

As though sensing his thoughts Sulfur tightened around RandidlyÆs torso like a hug With a small smile on his face Randidly patted the dark grey armor I know buddy And IÆm very thankful that youÆre here

Kaan SwaccÆs eyes narrowed at RandidlyÆs blithe reaction it was clear that he didnÆt like being ignored But both of them realized that talking would soon become pointless Because as Revelation energy surged around RandidlyÆs body in preparation for the fight that was about to erupt the dominant emotion wafting off of Kaan Swacc was excitement

The two menÆs eyes met Kaan showed a smile with no teeth metallic pyramids tumbling in the air around him Randidly grinned widely every muscle in his body gradually coming to life

BADUMP BADUMP BADUMP BADUMP BADUMP

Kaan waved his hand and the metallic pyramids spun around him him These six pyramids were each a different metal ranging from silver copper brass gold pewter and a sixth metal that Randidly didnÆt recognize Although perhaps he truly didnÆt know any of the metals but they just looked similar to their earthly equivalents

With a strange humming noise Kaan Swacc angled his torso almost horizontally and rushed forward RandidlyÆs emerald eyes flashed and the Revelation energy around his body thickened From his few practice battles the fact that Kaan was going for a direct assault was not a good sign it meant that he was taking Randidly as a serious threat from the get go It seemed that the thick Nether Randidly had released behind NeveahÆs barrier had caught KaanÆs attention

Randidly pressed his foot into the ground and accelerated forward to meet Kaan Swacc

Congratulations Your Skill Revelations of the Atramentous Threshold has grown to Level 286

Congratulations Your Skill MonstrosityÆs Appalling Physicality has grown to Level 299

After Randidly had broken through the veil of physical prowess left by the Nexus it was almost too easy to tear through the limitations of physical space As such his form seemed to flicker as he rushed forward to meet Kaan Swacc covering two thirds of the space between them KaanÆs eyes narrowed but he didnÆt panic

KaanÆs left arm speared outward and Randidly ducked under it so quickly that he left an after image to be impaled by KaanÆs attack Just as quickly Randidly surged upwards with a vicious uppercut that Kaan leaned backward to avoid

Unwilling to let this initial clash go without striking any blows RandidlyÆs newly refined left arm whipped around in a hook aiming for KaanÆs temple But as though he had predicted the attack KaanÆs arm was already rising to defend against the strike A true metal limb smashed against KaanÆs metal looking forearm

Randidly winced at the resulting resonance that dispersed a portion of his force and turned it against him but the strike also made Kaan take a half step backward Relying on the momentum of his thundering heart Randidly moved his right arm It practically teleported upward from his side to a cocked position right below his armpit and then ripped forward to slam against KaanÆs chest

The speed was just enough that Kaan hadnÆt been able to mobilize his image in his defense As such his mouth twisted in a scowl and his eyes flashed As soon as Randidly saw that reaction he ducked down and twisted three times in quick succession to avoid the floating pyramids that cut toward him

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Avoidance has grown to Level 255

The gold silver and copper pyramids smashed into the stone ground of this isolated zone making a small triangle around him RandidlyÆs eyes twitched as those attacks cracked the ground before floating back up into the air From fighting here in the past he understood how sturdy the ground was

Being hit by those pyramids was the reason for many of his losses in the practice matches

Randidly hopped lightly backward knowing that the battle was about to change The silver blue pewter pyramid began to slowly spin above SwaccÆs head beginning to glow That glow began to cover SwaccÆs body As expected he began to tune With an extremely quick movement Swacc reached up and whipped away non existent dirt from the spot on his chest where he had been struck by Randidly Then he lowered his shoulders and charged forward

Unwilling to back down Randidly charged forward to meet Kaan But he didnÆt miss how this time Kaan Swacc covered a sliver more distance than he did when they smashed together trading blows

DOnnG

This collision was much more powerful than the previous one due to the physical enhancement that Kaan was currently using to keep pace with Randidly And to test the limits of the metal Randidly had met KaanÆs palm with his own from his left arm His lips curled back to reveal his teeth as he took a step back from the clash Despite the fact that the damage coming through the arm should be reduced by half the force Randidly experienced made even his powerful heartbeat stutter

Just like that Kaan Swacc had adjusted to rival his physical power

But the jolt of pain from the clash was exactly what Randidly needed to push his body into overdrive

BADUMPBADUMPBADUMPBADUMPBADUMPBADUMP

When Randidly exhaled his breath came out his nose as two blasts of steam The skin of his body began to redden as the blood pumping through his veins reached temperatures that were scalding After shaking himself slightly Randidly lowered his center of gravity and prepared to increase the speed of his assault

For a second he considered activating his images now to inflict some harsher damage against Kaan while the man adjusted to the limits of RandidlyÆs body But just as quickly Randidly decided against that His current goal was only to buy time for Neveah to arrive That was when Randidly would be able to strike a decisive blow For now he would simply rely on Skills

So Randidly didnÆt deploy his image he just released a breath The muscles along his arms and legs tightened When Kaan Swacc lashed out again to take advantage of his powerful first strike Randidly hopped backward

The five metallic pyramids other than the already tuned pewter pyramid swirled around Kaan as he surged forward perhaps a meter above his head After creating some space Randidly twisted around and accelerated back toward the metallic man With his body at its peak state he ripped through the intervening space and smashed his hand into KaanÆs stomach

Congratulations Your Skill Cosmis Necessity has grown to Level 244

Kaan grunted but Randidly could feel that it was a shallow blow without Kaan even activating a defensive Skill Plus his reactions were quick With his sharpened senses Kaan was already bringing his hands around in two swirling defensive passes Yet Randidly pulled his strike back just as quickly releasing a sonic boom as he broke the speed of sound

But as the humanoid stabilized himself Randidly didnÆt miss the way that KaanÆs eyes widened Likely he immediately recognized that Randidly had pushed back the physical limitation of the System That shock and recognition gave Randidly the opportunity to hop upward to the left press his foot against KaanÆs floating silver pyramid then flex the muscles of his leg to throw himself down in a brutal strike toward KaanÆs temple His body exploded into motion

Again Randidly moved quickly enough that as he struck Kaan the humanoid wasnÆt able to activate his defensive Skill in time After the impact even RandidlyÆs empowered hand ached But he ignored the sensation KaanÆs neck twisted and Randidly slammed his opponentÆs torso down toward the ground as he transferred the domineering force Although he used his hand in the attack it was still a strike with the full strength of his empowered body Unfortunately the sound of Kaan striking the ground transformed his face into a sour expression

Quick response Randidly grinned down at Kaan and lowered his hands to his sides as his opponent slapped the ground and practically bounced himself back up to his feet The resonance of the pewter pyramid intensified as Kaan whipped around to face Randidly who was at that point once again leaping up to make use of KaanÆs pyramids

Just as KaanÆs toothless mouth twisted upward in a sneer of triumph Randidly lowered his leg from its path to step on the brass pyramid Unluckily for you IÆve already made that mistake in the past Cosmic Necessity

Rather than relying on the pyramids Randidly conjured a cosmic orb and immediately used it to launch himself down at Kaan But of course having seen the maneuver in the past meant that Kaan was slowly accelerating to meet Randidly when Randidly thrust downward with his palm KaanÆs gleaming hands were already waiting

It was annoying to admit but Kaan would quickly overwhelm Randidly in grappling if it came down to that Which meant that while Randidly was buying time he wouldnÆt try to close the distance or compete too directly with strength

He twisted to avoid the grasping hands then took a step back With that step Randidly conjured two Cosmic orbs immediately and threw himself forward as the movements of KaanÆs hands ceased for a brief moment

As Randidly rushed forward at Kaan he opened his mouth and unleashed a blast of steam It wouldnÆt truly distract Kaan but it was quite amusing to see his expression shift to bristling with fury while the blast of steam obscured his features And in that second Randidly pressed his right hand against KaanÆs chest He reached into the void for something that would hit Kaan and hurt

All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth

Congratulations Your Skill All Else Succumbs Yet TIme Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 170

Congratulations Your Skill All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 179

Randidly felt his being stretch to the point that he earned several Skill Levels in one go The strain of using this Skill was still there as RandidlyÆs consciousness was shredding into two timelines then four when nothing came up then eight then sixteen Yet he was happy to note that improving his physical body did a lot to mitigate the draining side effects of its usage

What he also didnÆt like was the way that in that frozen moment as he searched through time Randidly saw the metal pyramid he didnÆt recognize begin to glow and resonate as it tuned to the Skill But before whatever that reaction was Randidly found a timeline where he had followed the path of rot down to entropy and ruin For a second that other Randidly stood there pressing his hand against KaanÆs chest The other Randidly raised his head and laughed

It was just a flicker but an image manifested behind this alternate Randidly for a brief moment It was the World Tree but one broken and corrupted by Armageddon The charred bark was cracked and oozing black tar The tips of its vast network of branches were pointed upward like the pitchforks of a lynching mob The roots were pale and eerie like ghosts in old polaroid photos The image was just as big as RandidlyÆs Yggdrasil and cast a long shadow even in this isolated place

Then the true Randidly was wrenched back into place as the Skill finished Sweat dripped down RandidlyÆs brow and he struggled to remain standing Perhaps because of that brief moment of manifesting another RandidlyÆs image his mind was slightly bleary The mental drain of this use was extremely high

Luckily Kaan Swacc was worse As he staggered backward and hissed out discordant notes a black handprint remained on his chest The edges of the mark sizzled It took him a few steps to regain his footing and then he stood tall and glared hatefully at Randidly

Randidly grinned back But as all of the pyramids around Kaan began to glow he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach

During the practice fights this always happened There would always be a point where he lost control and after that it was very hard to fight him without relying on Nether So Neveah I hope you hurry

Chapter 1396

Kaan Swacc kept his eyes locked on the Nether spy in front of him as the sinister human regarded the two harmonies floating above his head with grim determination equal to what Kaan himself was feeling Based on his expression and the way that the Ghosthound had acted thus far in their fight it was clear that he had a basic understanding of KaanÆs image That was unfortunate

Hmph the Nether information network is more fearsome than I imagined but so what YouÆve barely been able to hold out against one harmony even if you alternate the source of your Skills I will eventually catch you And then you can only submit and reveal your methods to me

KaanÆs gaze flicked sideways to the active Nether Suppression Cell around them His mouth twitched as he suppressed a grin We have so much time to get to know each other donÆt we No need to rush

As a counterpoint to that thought that horrible image of destruction that the Ghosthound had unleashed on him sizzled uncomfortably Kaan had been able to wall it off somewhat but even he was disturbed by the potency of this image Without his full attention Kaan wouldnÆt be able to rid himself of the lingering rot of the image

Almost at the same time both individuals blurred into motion Kaan had to give the Nether spy this his sense of timing and battle sense were impeccable It was something of a tragedy that such a talented recruit had been corrupted by Nether But who was to say that his talent had been this impressive to begin with Perhaps this was all just the result of some sort of diabolical deal with a Nether King

Kaan SwaccÆs only choice as a proud member of the Nexus was to end this threat before it could develop into a legitimate threat

The suddenness of the movement sent a spike of pain from the wound on his chest KaanÆs eyes flashed as he thrust out his left palm Despite the fact that the Xyrt Brigade so blithely tossed me to the side my resolve isnÆt shaken When they see my results my struggle will be vindicated

But even if this Ghosthound was able to utilize Aether Kaan could see the way that the animalistic instincts of Nether eroded his intelligence The Ghosthound met KaanÆs palm directly despite the fact that he now had two harmonies empowering his body The clash between his palm and the GhosthoundÆs left arm sent a surprising jolt through KaanÆs body but the Ghosthound lost and was forced several meters backward

The winner was clear

With a wave of resonance accelerating his movements further Kaan surged forward Twisting around Kaan brought one of his legs whipping upward at the GhosthoundÆs temple The two harmonies floating above his head were shining and the other four began to spin around prepared to strike directly as soon as the Ghosthound moved to dodge

As expected the Ghosthound ducked down under the kick But what Kaan hadnÆt expected was for the spy to surge forward his body somehow rippling to just barely avoid the harmonies as they spiked down and broken the solid ground rather than the spyÆs body

His physical speed is truly monstrous

But Kaan had seen the aggressive tendencies one too many times his hands were already moving to seize the Ghosthound as he approached Of course as though he had expected this the Ghosthound stopped on a dime right outside KaanÆs reach and made a grasping gesture with both hands Kaan felt the air behind him ripple and two ghastly claws made of bone ripped out of the ground

They moved more quickly than even Kaan could anticipate once they manifested surging forward and smashing into KaanÆs back The impact made him grunt but he just swayed the power wasnÆt enough to force him to take a step forward This spy wasnÆt even using his image to empower his Skills From the narrowing of the GhosthoundÆs eyes it was clear that he hadnÆt anticipated that the lone Skill would be so ineffective

Fool Do you think your Skills without an image can match me You might have broken through the physical limit of the System but how much Aether have you stored in your body When you run dry IÆll be waiting KaanÆs eyes gleamed

Again the Ghosthound responded to the unexpected with aggression Rather than backing off after his ploy failed the Ghosthound simply accelerated forward again flesh and metal limbs raised to strike KaanÆs hands moved but he didnÆt leap forward After being tricked a few times by this foe Kaan played it safe The two harmonies above his head began to glow more brightly and the four that hadnÆt yet been activated surged toward the GhosthoundÆs exposed back

As Kaan had expected there was a moment when the Ghosthound blurred Because he had nothing else he relied on his speed They spy traveled beyond the physical limits of the System twisting hopping up and kicking off KaanÆs chest before he could be grabbed and pulled into a wrestling match In addition this sent another wave of pain from the stubborn wound on KaanÆs chest

Seeing that motion Kaan reevaluated Although Kaan was confident in his strength it was the speed of this spy that was the most intimidating He didnÆt just break the limit of the System he went well beyond it

The GhosthoundÆs slightly steaming body practically vanished from right in front of Kaan and appeared ten meters away Those harmonies that had been about to smash the GhosthoundÆs spine were now ripping toward KaanÆs chest without anything between them

Kaan smiled Exactly as planned

Generally Kaan didnÆt use his harmonies in this way in order to keep the attack a surprise But considering the fact that Nether had informed the Ghosthound of KaanÆs other attack and defense patterns he was willing to risk the reveal of this attack in order to accelerate the demise of this foe

Kaan reached out and pressed his palm against the first of his harmonies to shoot toward him The three harmonies behind it paused in the air instantly dispersing their inertia and beginning to resonate with each other The singular harmony that continued to shoot forward the gold harmony impacted his palm and ricocheted backward It passed through the resonating trio and accelerated toward the Ghosthound at a speed that was impossible to follow with the eye

Even now the Nether spy surprised Kaan Just as the golden harmony reached the trio of other harmonies the GhosthoundÆs emerald eyes flashed His body rippled somehow twisting to avoid in a manner that was even more disturbing than his impressive speed

Still it wasnÆt enough The blow that should have caved the GhosthoundÆs chest in was escaped Instead of crippling him or killing him outright the golden harmony punched through his grey armor and ripped a hole the size of a fist in the GhosthoundÆs side Blood sprayed outward tumbling slowly through the air like a liberated stash of emeralds

KaanÆs eyes narrowed and he stepped forward The two harmonies above his head were shining brightly pushing his physical abilities right up against the limit set by the System His step cracked the incredibly tough ground of the Nether Suppression Cell The GhosthoundÆs body was leaning backward pain and shock flitting across his face And then Kaan was there above him palm raised

His palm descended But a powerful image blasted outward from the wounded Ghosthound Kaan frowned in irritation as he felt the Nether spy contest his imageÆs dominance over the surrounding area He tried to suppress its influence with force but the image was tenacious It climbed around KaanÆs vast power forcing its way through cracks in KaanÆs harmonies Then it spun together and grew forming a towering image in the area around the Ghosthound

Perhaps even then Kaan could have normally managed to suppress it But at the moment the smallest sliver of his image needed to deal with the remnant image from the earlier attack So Kaan could only look on in irritation as the GhosthoundÆs image manifested

Its bark was covered in golden script depicting the secrets of the universe Its emerald leaves oozed life The wound in the GhosthoundÆs side rapidly began to knit together under the influence of the life giving aura

Snorting Kaan again struck downward with his palm The Ghosthound crossed his arms to take the blow helpless to dodge With the physical power of two harmonies KaanÆs smashed the GhosthoundÆs defenses to pieces and bounced his opponent off the ground like a rubber ball The wound that had been healing in the GhosthoundÆs side ripped open once more Blood sprayed out once more even before the first spray had hit the ground

Still at the moment of impact Kaan experienced both surprise and horror The surprise was from the sudden increase of the integrity of the GhosthoundÆs body That image vastly increased his defenses otherwise the strike would have turned him into meat paste

The horror was because KaanÆs neck tingled right as he struck the Ghosthound From the boughs of the vital tree shimmering in the air above the Ghosthound something horrible looked out from the shadows and locked onto Kaan It had thousands of arms and mouths It was a tight ball of flesh and ruin And Kaan felt all those mouths smile at him

Kaan staggered backward gritting his teeth as a formless dagger of death energy stabbed into that horrible handprint the Ghosthound had already left on his chest More than any lasting damage the trouble was the pain that briefly blinded Kaan

In that moment the Ghosthound pressed his hand on the ground and regained his bearings The two sprays of blood finally hit the ground leaving abstract emerald markings on the floor of the Nether Suppression Cell A purple black energy rose out of the GhosthoundÆs skin as he made to stand up again But at the last second the Ghosthound grimaced and twisted

However it was too late The golden harmony that Kaan had shot out previously came back It clipped the GhosthoundÆs thigh and ripped out another large chunk of flesh The damage was a lot less than the first strike but it would hopefully reduce the GhosthoundÆs mobility for a short amount of time Without that speed the Ghosthound was doomed

Kaan surged forward pushing his way through the pain of that strange mental attack Two trees one filled with life one corrupted and filled with death And sitting in that tree of life was the seed of death so it stands to reason that there is a seed of life on the death tree IÆll need to watch out for that in the future So these are the images of Randidly Ghosthound

After seeing the images Kaan had to admit in his heart that Randidly Ghosthound was truly a talented individual Those images while their foundation was still slightly shaky and blurry were dominant In the Xyrt Brigade such images were considered Atmospheric Images their existence affected the surrounding area and created powerful effects Comparing such a powerful Atmospheric type image to KaanÆs Tool type image on a battlefield Randidly Ghosthound would really be much more influential than he would be

Still there was an obvious advantage of Tool type images Even now the two bright harmonies above KaanÆs head began to gradually shift their resonance to restrict the two tree images of Randidly Ghosthound Because the effect of Tool type images was more focused they could exert incredible power in a small area

The Nether spy straightened right as Kaan arrived in front of him This time he didnÆt bother with a palm attack he directly pounced forward to grapple with him It was time to finish

The surrounding air shimmered and then faltered While Kaan struggled to figure out what was going on a golden radiance erupted out of the Ghosthound It was a weak imitation of the powerful divinity that Kaan had seen before when meeting some of the elders of the Swacc Family but still that sudden luminescence impacted KaanÆs psyche For the briefest moment Kaan felt like he was facing an individual far beyond him in power So he hesitated

At that moment the Ghosthound slipped backward and escaped despite the wound to his leg

In the following moment the Nether Suppression Cell around them shattered into pieces Suddenly they were back on the highlands standing on a slope of a low hill The GhosthoundÆs Soulbound companion was there in a dimming ring of Aether Engravings glaring at Kaan

Even more disturbing was the dense wave of Nether that rolled off of the GhosthoundÆs body The Nether spy looked at Kaan and laughed as bold as brass Now itÆs my turn

Chapter 1397

Although Randidly laughed confidently he inwardly was sweating slightly after enduring KaanÆs repeated attacks Even though he had survived he was forced to activate his Yggdrasil image Now Kaan would have a little bit of tuning to that image lowering its effectiveness in the future But escaping that strange place while only revealing a single image could be considered a victory

For his help in reducing the damage of KaanÆs attack Randidly patted Sulfur several times His living armor cooed at him in worry then rapidly began converting some of the kinetic energy he had gathered back into armor Within a few seconds the hole in Sulfur on his side began to ooze outward and heal

Plus RandidlyÆs body was now practically swimming in Nether The dense energy of connection and memory gave him a little bit of confidence The clash was meaningful the moment had weight So even now his Nether spread outward in an increasingly powerful aura

Yet Randidly didnÆt fail to notice that only two of KaanÆs pyramids were emitting light Even after so much this was only one third of the tuning that he could manage What was most aggravating to Randidly was that he had been taken by surprise by the way that Kaan had used the pyramids as a blunt instrument even an atypical attack had been so brutal

Ignorant of RandidlyÆs thoughts Acri squealed in pleasure at his return and hopped back up into his hand Truly hefting the familiar weight did a lot to ease RandidlyÆs mind In addition Neveah slowly walked to stand next to him and glare toward Kaan Swacc

Despite everything he had survived the first and most dangerous portion of the battle Now they just had to finish this Special Investigator off

How Kaan Swacc asked But this time his gaze went from Randidly to Neveah and back again In all likelihood he was asking about breaking out of the Nether suppression area Again his emotions were resonating off of him in powerful waves Confusion and annoyance and a deeper all consuming fury radiated off of him Randidly tilted his head to the side It seemed that the more of his pyramids were active the more difficult it was for him to control his emotions Or rather the more he broadcast his emotions That might be something to take note of

Neveah and Randidly shared a glance then turned to look back at Kaan Neither spoke Was there any point in answering

Of course they could understand KaanÆs confusion That weird zone that he could create in response to Nether was extremely difficult to address It created a physically isolated space and used the principles of Nether to create distance The created space had been almost mind boggling distant from their current position The idea was somewhat brilliant

But Neveah had enough time studying the Bizarre Spike to harvest some of its strange ability to create a tunnel of meaning for the strange exchange that the item facilitated By creating a similar tunnel she had bore a hole directly into the isolation area Then the weight of RandidlyÆs Nether trying to push itself back into its proper place collapsed the false space

Neveah’s eyes went to RandidlyÆs still healing side and thigh while Kaan remained passive HeÆs tough

Worse than I feared but not more than we can handle Randidly said with the corner of his mouth turning upward

Both of you are idiots Kaan declared into the silent air with a sneer He raised his hand and twisted it abruptly causing the golden pyramid to float rapidly upward into the sky and unleash a shimmering wave of light Instantly Randidly felt the increased pressure on his body as KaanÆs tuning restricted their movements

At the same moment Randidly released a nova of Nether Most of the suppressing effect immediately vanished as KaanÆs image in the surrounding space corroded But Randidly still felt slightly uncomfortable with extra pressure

Both sides moved at the same time Randidly dashed directly forward to meet Kaan ducking three times in rapid succession to avoid the three remaining pyramids that zipped past As he moved forward he kept a small amount of his attention on them so a repeat of being hit from behind wouldnÆt happen again

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Avoidance has grown to Level 259

Meanwhile Neveah spread her arms wide There was a rumbling noise and a large portion of the surrounding slope was destroyed as a huge monster manifested in the space behind Neveah It was a serpent of bone as thick as a tree trunk and twenty meters in length leading up to a horned head that seemed too large for its body In addition two long and spindly arms stretched out of the bone wyrmÆs torso leading to thin hands with long and razor sharp claws

Screeching NeveahÆs image dug its claws into the ground and flung itself forward ripping huge gashes in the ground as it barreled toward Kaan

Randidly arrived at Kaan first forcefully breaking through the suppression by relying on the thick Nether that was swirling through his body KaanÆs golden pyramid surged brighter but a wave of Nether blasted out from Randidly again weakening his hold on the space As soon as he was in front of Kaan Randidly thrust Acri forward to impale Kaan

When the first attack failed Randidly struck again and then again Kaan turned all three of the attacks to the side then blurred into motion He moved two quick steps forward using AcriÆs immense size against Randidly In the next moment KaanÆs shimmering leg whipped up in a high kick forcing Randidly to twist to the side Then he pounced forward to pull Randidly into a grappling hold

His grin stretching ever wider Randidly raised his hands to meet Kaan directly

RandidlyÆs heartbeat pounded like the hooves of a horse desperately fleeing a wave of lava The twoÆs hands met with a boom as they both mobilize significant force Yet even with both MonstrosityÆs Appalling Physicality and Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil Randidly could only struggle for a few seconds before he began to give ground to Kaan Randidly heard the flesh of KaanÆs hands sizzling from the waves of Nether he released but KaanÆs tuning made him physically dominant He was after all relying on both physical power and an image for his force

Randidly had Nether Brawn but that was not a direct connection Thicker Nether couldnÆt bridge this gap on his own At least not with Nether of this density

Still RandidlyÆs emerald eyes were bright with glee in those few seconds of struggle NeveahÆs bone wyrm arrived its long claws swinging to reap life

Snorting Kaan brought two of his remaining pyramids shooting upward They impacted each other right in front of NeveahÆs claw releasing a painful clang that somehow completely dispersed the momentum of her image NeveahÆs image was left awkwardly stretched out

Then Kaan focused on Randidly using his superior strength to twist Randidly to the side and force him to stumble Then he quickly released his original grip and made to seize Randidly from behind

Randidly sent a mental thought to Neveah in that sliver of a moment releasing Acri so the weapon could strike freely IÆm going to give him some exposure to my images We need to do some more damage as quickly as possible

NeveahÆs reply came as Randidly utilized KaanÆs shove to pivot on his heel bringing his shoulder toward KaanÆs reaching hands Make the hits count

As RandidlyÆs wild grin stretched to his limit his left eye flickered Kaan arrived next to Randidly his hands grasping outward Then RandidlyÆs left eye was plunged into darkness and light in the surrounding area seemed to melt and swirl down a hole that had been ripped in the world The Stillborn Phoenix spread its wings A ravenous desire pulled at the surrounding emotions intent on devouring them

Piercing Gaze of the Egg

Randidly unleashed several bolts of power from his left eye containing all the concentrated vitriol that the egg of darkness could produce With the two pyramids above his head releasing light and empowering his body Kaan only frowned at the impact But it was enough of a distraction that the attack that came from behind took Kaan by surprise

Congratulations Your Skill Tide of the Void has grown to Level 205

The smoking and ominous claw of the Stillborn Phoenix ripped into KaanÆs back causing his to adjust his footing But at that moment Acri erupted forward and impacted KaanÆs legs causing him to stumble Randidly exploded in a wave of purple black revelation energy populated with the minuscule and blinking stars of emerald and orange Lowering his shoulder Randidly activated two Skills at once

Cosmic Necessity Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart

Randidly created three Cosmic orbs and used them to launch him forward shoulder first at the same moment that his legs exploded with Nether fueled force The ground cracked beneath him Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart unleashed a wave of gravity at Kaan restriction his movement enough that RandidlyÆs shoulder could directly impact the still smoldering handprint on KaanÆs chest

Randidly bared his teeth at the failure to strike quickly enough but he shifted to the next stage of the plan He released another steamy breath and used Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart to pluck Acri off the ground and lower it at Kaan Swacc who was staggering backward Neveah arrived at that moment claws swiping left and right

Kaan ducked under her attack and slammed his head against the underside of NeveahÆs jaw She didnÆt even flinch Randidly surged forward at the same moment that Kaan gestured sharply and his three free pyramids shot downward at Neveah They smashed into her back cracking her bones But they couldnÆt pierce through her exo skeleton and do any sort of significant damage Even Kaan seemed to be taken by surprise

Jesus you are strong Randidly thought solemnly His body rippled and suddenly there was a monster overlaid with his body Its ghastly gaze was locked onto Kaan Swacc Acri vanished replaced with a right arm that had been stained with the blood of an ancient god Molten Fang of the Pariah

Congratulations Your Skill Molten Fang of the Pariah has grown to Level 211

Image and reality overlapped To match RandidlyÆs overheating body Acri began to glow a brilliant red as the attack slid forward Kaan twisted out of the way of another one of NeveahÆs vicious swipes only to put himself directly into RandidlyÆs path The attack hit AcriÆs tip pierced into KaanÆs chest and KaanÆs face warped in vicious indignation

IÆll crush you

The hair on the back of RandidlyÆs neck tingled A wave of power blasted out from Kaan and an enormous pyramid of glass appeared in the air above him Randidly looked up at it with narrowed eyes HeÆs using liquid Aether

The pyramid began to vibrate and Randidly unhesitatingly activated one of his own drops of liquid Aether An enormous phantom of Yggdrasil manifested seeming even more solid than KaanÆs image due to the small amount of Nether flowing through it Just as the pyramid was beginning to release a wave of resonance thousands of roots surged out of the ground and bound the pyramid stifling the noise

They were a thousand leafy chains and emerald locks sealing the attack before it could even strike

Congratulations Your Skill Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold has grown to Level 289

Yet something was wrong

Randidly twitched to the side on instinct The golden pyramid that had previously been suppressing the area ripped through his esophagus rather than cracking open his skull Fully sixty percent of his Health was annihilated in that single attack Randidly dropped Acri and his hand surged up to stem the spurts of blood into the air The gooey liquid was scalding on his hand

He used liquid Aether as a distraction This piece of shit

With a toothless glee Kaan rushed over at the wounded Randidly

Chapter 1398

RandidlyÆs powerful regeneration fueled by Yggdrasil kicked into high gear immediately but he still felt a sweeping wave of dizziness run through him He had simply lost so much blood in a short amount of time Another gushing blast squirted out through his fingers His previously thunderous heartbeat began to falter as his blood pressure dropped

Releasing a quick breath Randidly mobilized Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil to buy himself some time Waves of razor sharp roots slithered up out of the ground and stabbed at Kaan Swacc The stone and dirt of the slope was turned into swiss cheese in an instant But Kaan just rushed forward while one of the two pyramids that he had tuned to himself rose up into the air With a shimmering wave of light it released a powerful and very much borrowed image of rot and destruction That image impacted RandidlyÆs root spears and thoroughly reduced their piercing power

Randidly grimaced That was the trouble with extended fights against Kaan Swacc Eventually he would tune his pyramids directly to your image and release a counter image at you The image he could produce that way was only some fraction as powerful as his usual image it was not easy to so quickly develop a solid image But it was an image created by resonating with the weakness of a target image Even if other images would overpower it easily against the targeted image it was an unasked for Achilles heel

Randidly responded to KaanÆs tuning with a blast of Nether to thoroughly crush this weak image but by that point Kaan had already ripped through the slightly withered roots and was racing toward Randidly Neveah was surging to help but there was too much distance Randidly needed to help himself

The sensation of blood spilling through his hand that kept the pressure on the wound was strangely distant Rather than any pain Randidly only felt a strange buzzing Perhaps because a more reasonable part of Randidly realized that was not a good sign he shook himself quickly to keep himself focused on the fight at hand

He raised one of his legs and stomped on the ground at the same moment he unleashed another torrent of root spears But this time RandidlyÆs target was not Kaan Swacc Instead he simply destroyed the ground in the surrounding area For thirty meters in every direction stone and dirt was blown upward in an explosion of plant matter Huge chunks of rock cracked and splintered only to smash into each other in the air and shatter further A wave of dust and debris filled the chaotic air

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 290

In that hectic environment Randidly slipped behind a large rock and rapidly focused on the image of Yggdrasil A pulse of energy spread out from his chest His fingers tingled The aura of life

Even if he couldnÆt find RandidlyÆs location KaanÆs pyramid once more released a wave of a suppressing image This time it was tuned further The pyramid contained an image of the Implacable Price of Exodus running wild beginning to devour the World Tree Because it more easily fit into RandidlyÆs existing image the effect was more pronounced the lifegiving aura of Yggdrasil wavered and began to fade

Randidly pressed his back to a particularly large stone slab that drifted through the air As two other large rocks collided pebbles and small shards of stone peppered RandidlyÆs skin Even with his weakened image as long as he had a few moments to recover

Snorting Randidly smashed his elbows against the stone behind him and thew himself forward Another fistful of emerald bubbled up and dribbled along the ground as his healing wound was ripped open once more by the sudden movement Randidly spun around and unleashed a Piercing Gaze of the Egg that hit a slightly surprised Kaan Swacc right as the Xyrt Brigade member had been about to smash through the stone and attack Randidly

Still with one pyramid still releasing an image of strength to empower his body Kaan quickly recovered and launched himself forward RandidlyÆs feet hit the ground and he unleashed the Tug of Tragic Silence The image of the Stillborn Phoenix condensed once more in his left eye turning it into an orb of darkness The Skill Tug of Tragic Silence was the disintegrating aura of the event horizon gradually ripping away space light and even time

Randidly became the black hole the edge of his Nether bubble became the event horizon

Congratulations Your Skill Tug of Tragic Silence has grown to Level 145

With the additional boost from the Nether Nebula which was only too happy to join in the feast on the surrounding Aether bound space the Skill quickly exploded outward and covered more and more space As the ground beneath RandidlyÆs feet was beginning to come to pieces under its influence Kaan charged forward into the area of the Skill

Congratulations Your Skill Tug of Tragic Silence has grown to Level 146

Congratulations Your Skill Tug of Tragic Silence has grown to Level 147

What Randidly didnÆt have in Skill Levels he quickly made up for by completely throwing his Willpower behind the image The Egg of Depression hated and the physical world slowly came unhinged under that pull Plus the Nether he radiated outward quickly took up the cause and added its own caustic effect to the mix

Visual deviations began to appear in the area around Randidly but Kaan gritted his teeth and continued to approach Randidly narrowed his eyes once more with his right hand apply pressure to his neck

Congratulations Your Skill Tug of Tragic Silence has grown to Level 148

As the destruction of the surrounding ground intensified Kaan frowned and gestured That same pyramid that had tuned to RandidlyÆs Yggdrasil image he could see now it was the copper pyramid illuminated once again and released a new image This time it was an image of peace and fulfillment It struck at RandidlyÆs aura of destruction

Snorting Randidly watched as the Stillborn Phoenix eradicate this tuned image In his haste Kaan had chosen a poor strategy for reducing the Stillborn PhoenixÆs power In that opening Randidly began to coil dense ropes of Nether in the surrounding area vastly increasing the auraÆs power Kaan had cut the distance between them to two meters but by this point Randidly was positively twitching with visual distortions The ground and air around him was devoured by his Skill at a visible pace creating a whirlwind of pressure

Even KaanÆs near invulnerable skin hissed and spat Especially the area around the handprint on KaanÆs chest began to fester and spit

Congratulations Your Skill Tug of Tragic Silence has grown to Level 149

This time KaanÆs copper pyramid released a new image hopelessness It contained the thought that the long held desire in the Stillborn PhoenixÆs heart would never come to pass

Instantly RandidlyÆs area of destruction shook and weakened But he had held out long enough Neveah had arrived behind Kaan Swacc

Kaan twisted around sneered at her while she ripped her claws through the air The strike had enough image power to steady the visual distortions around her but Kaan once again manipulated two of his pyramids to shoot in front of her attack and smash together Once more a discordant note exploded outward neutralizing NeveahÆs momentum For a split second she hung frozen

But right after the note ceased NeveahÆs huge bone wyrm exploded into motion once more and attack with her other claw it was clear the first was a feint Kaan frowned and twisted fully around giving Neveah his entire attention Heh if you truly wish for me to break you

Other than the copper pyramid that floated between Kaan and Randidly and the silver pyramid that continued to release a calming light that empowered KaanÆs body his four remaining pyramids spun together in front of Kaan Swacc Three formed a floating triangle that shimmered and transformed into a shimmering energy shield The other pyramid flew upward and began to glow Kaan narrowed his eyes as he looked at the bone wyrm in front of him Hum letÆs see as a puny Transformational image how shall I break

NeveahÆs claw hit the energy shield and sheared halfway through the damn thing before it stopped Even Randidly was somewhat stunned for a split second That shield has the power of three pyramids shouldnÆt it be more powerful than that

Before Kaan could respond Neveah twisted her claw and ripped sideways impacting one of the pyramids in the corner and knocking it to the side Then her huge body exploded forward both claws scything downward After seeing Neveah rip through his shield Kaan wisely chose to retreat backward

Randidly released a breath and fully concentrated on healing himself Likely sensing the rise in his Yggdrasil image the copper pyramid once more released an image of the Implacable Price of Exodus going wild and devouring the entire tree Although it slowed down the process of healing there was little to do besides ignore it It weakened him somewhat but percent by percent RandidlyÆs Health was coming surging back

My regeneration isnÆt just because of my image you piece of shit

While his blood dried on his hands and his wound healed Randidly watched the confrontation between Neveah and Kaan To his shock she was a dominant force Although her image was less complicated that simplicity brought with it an immense weight that she demonstrated time and time again Her claws were virtually unstoppable leading Kaan to retreat backward as he unleashed image after image toward Neveah to weaken her advance to no avail

For whatever reason Kaan couldnÆt quite tune to Neveah

Randidly was basically fully healed when Kaan finally laughed Ah of course How could I miss that The sort of image that grows stronger on adversity Fine then you are powerful Monstrously powerful

All at once NeveahÆs bone wyrm swelled in size with the assistance of one of KaanÆs pyramids From as thick as a tree trunk it grew and grew until it was bloated and as thick as a city bus The already weakened ground shuddered and cracked beneath its weight It grew three more long and spindly arms on both sides of its body and those limbs were like windmills of death But with that increased size the maneuverability dropped

The thin arms were no longer strong enough to propel the immense body While Neveah struggled to close the distance to Kaan Kaan grinned and clapped his hands together

DONgg

Randidly winced as the pyramid that had been tuned to him released a terrible wave of pain that set his nerves on fire in a way reminiscent of attaching his new arm Neveah similarly groaned as her pyramid did the same Meanwhile Kaan called the three free floating pyramids to his side setting them spinning around him

Narrowing his eyes through the continued resonance of pain Randidly looked at KaanÆs back This is no good HeÆs starting to get a read on both of our images Plus itÆs hard to tell how much more liquid Aether he has It should be incredibly rare since they need to refine it from System Aether but still

Randidly flexed his hands Time to go all out and force him to reveal any secrets he is still hiding

Chuckling to himself Randidly unleashed a wave of dense Nether The suppression from the pyramid above him wavered and fell Then with the image of the Grim Chimera coming upon him he threw himself at Kaan SwaccÆs back

Chapter 1399

RandidlyÆs left arm warped into a taloned claw Picking up Acri amongst the wrecked ground RandidlyÆs right arm became a spear of bone stained with ancient blood The skin of his torso grew almost translucent while his arms and legs were warped and burned toward something like black chiton Two tails flicked side to side one from his waist and the other from the spot where his spine became his neck

The Grim Chimera surged forward practically swimming in a current of Nether After its baptism on the frontlines it was the image that had been fully immersed in the dark energy Nether Brawn surged through RandidlyÆs physical body The Nether Nebula within him spun faster and faster His heartbeat once more began to accelerate His body began to heat back up

Kaan sensed the threat and couldnÆt even be bothered to look at Randidly he simply gestured While he bounded over the ground toward NeveahÆs comically large body his two pyramids shot back toward Randidly Immediately Randidly saw KaanÆs intention he was going to hit them together and disperse RandidlyÆs momentum

Heh

The Grim ChimeraÆs chest was illuminated by an inner radiance that began to manifest itself as the image unleashed its full power Randidly raised his left hand and seized the air Not with any Skill of the Grim Chimera but directly with the influence of the Nether Nebula As the Nether had thickened Randidly could feel that the core of the Nebula was becoming powerful Now he put that power to the test as he reached out and forcibly tore apart the space where the two pyramids were going to collide

The pyramids shot past each other and smashed apart the nearby ground close physically but separated by a torn stretch of space Then Randidly activated Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes to accelerate rapidly forward raising Acri and becoming a freight train of weight and power as he arrived at KaanÆs back

Kaan was finally forced to twist fully around his face suffused with fury at another interruption The pyramid tuned to Randidly released a wave of light and a new image to attack him it was an image of surging life that seemed to rise out of the ground

If anything the Grim Chimera perked up in pleasure as the life giving image flowed out of Kaan and into his body Almost immediately Kaan seemed to realize something was wrong and adjusted his image Suddenly it wasnÆt so much life but a broad sense of freedom that filled the air

Why the hell would he be trying to weaken the Grim Chimera like this Randidly thought in something close to amusement And in the next moment Kaan switched the image again to the sense of explosive growth that overwhelmed the senses Which was the image he was maintaining as Acri pierced into KaanÆs chest

Donn Crack

For a second it seemed as though KaanÆs defense would have been enough to disperse most of the force from RandidlyÆs attack But KaanÆs attention was split between too many of his pyramids trying to keep Neveah encumbered while also defending against RandidlyÆs attack As such the force was just enough AcriÆs huge shaft continued forward for several inches even after the strike opening up a large wound on KaanÆs body

Kaan looked at Randidly in shock as AcriÆs tip just barely pierced through to his back Thick syrupy blood that looked something like honey dripped out of the wound RandidlyÆs emerald eyes began to glow Molten Fang of the Pariah

Acri began to glow red hot On the image of the Grim Chimera the ancient blood of whatever beast the Grim Chimera had once slain began to awaken waves of heat and unwillingness radiating outward from the implement of death Unfortunately the Skill quickly burned away the remnant of the attack Randidly had landed with All Things Succumb but then it continued to sear outward into KaanÆs flesh

YOU Kaan bellowed His image blasted outward but was literally met with enough thick Nether that the image drowned before it could accomplish anything The thick energy current spun tightly around Randidly and the Acri length away Kaan couldnÆt help but be caught up in its pull

Chuckling Randidly released AcriÆs shaft and pounced forward Once it was released AcriÆs tip came apart and it began to wrap its body around KaanÆs torso With his heartbeat once more reaching a crescendo Randidly simply threw himself at the struggling and wounded Kaan and used his fists to bludgeon the foe

Congratulations Your Skill MonstrosityÆs Appalling Physicality has grown to Level 300

Congratulations Your Skill ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe has grown to Level 130

With an ashen energy filled with notes of Nether swirling around him like a cloak Randidly lashed outward with his left and right hands The talonÆd claw ripped deep gashes in KaanÆs shoulder The bone spear pierced his thigh and ripped out a large chunk of flesh as Randidly twisted before pulling it back out Although Kaan was furiously struggling to throw Acri off of him the problem was that Acri had pierced through his chest and then bloomed open on the other side like a hook

Each of KaanÆs movements worsened the injury on his chest Randidly ripped again with his left hand inflicting several shallow cuts on the side of KaanÆs face But then another of KaanÆs pyramids flew to over his head and began to glow with an image of strength The change was immediate KaanÆs movements turned sharper and he was able to smash away RandidlyÆs thrust even while it was empowered his bone spear image

Randidly sent a mental message to Acri and his spear wiggled itself out and sprung backward of KaanÆs chest before the Special Investigator could seize the spear and attempt to break it Although Randidly still outclassed him in speed KaanÆs physical power combined with his imageÆs boost was nothing to sneeze at

Undoubtedly that strike did a lot of damage but why do I feel like it wonÆt be enough Randidly took several steps backward from the ragged form of Kaan Because even if he was wounded the four bright pyramids that were active didnÆt waver in the slightest His images were still rock solid despite the slow drip of the honey blood

Kaan slowly raised his head as the two dormant pyramids pushed up out of the ground by KaanÆs feet They were waiting hoping that Randidly would continue to attack and expose a weakness For a spy you have sharp eyes

Then he gestured sharply The honey like blood shivered then rapidly began to flow upward into the air After spinning together for a second it formed into an amber colored pyramid Immediately it surged with light And rather than hearing anything Randidly felt through their Soulbound connection that this attack didnÆt target him

Neveah whimpered and her bone wyrm collapsed while the wounded Kaan began to laugh

Ace had originally been completely distraught when Randidly Ghosthound and the foe he was preparing to face immediately vanished With a subordinate with long range spying capabilities he had seen how Neveah had set about preparations for some sort of ritual seeming intent on bringing Randidly back Yet AceÆs worry was that he had missed his chance

For a little while Ace had considered intervening then to stop Neveah but that didnÆt feel right Suddenly he would be an interloper in the fight between a hero and another villain adding onto the villainÆs side Typically in that scenario the side villain would be crushed with almost comical ease

No that wasnÆt the move What he needed was a grand entrance he needed to set himself up as a third party demonstrating the powerful forces present on Earth He would be RandidlyÆs ultimate rival So Ace had forcefully stilled his fingers tapping against his biker helmet and waited

Luckily he was soon vindicated Neveah finished her Engraving and the air in the area shimmered Soon Randidly Ghosthound was back laughing in the face of the villain he was currently facing Instantly the surrounding space was full of chaotic images as the fight resumed

Ace lifted his helmet and then hesitated as he looked at the fight Although this was a little bit more intense than he had expected he should be fine He had stolen that agonizing training method from Randidly He had the egg he helped refined There was no reason to fear the man who had once been his best friend

No reason at all

Before Ace shifted completely to become Dauntless he turned away from his spying subordinate to look behind him Ezekiel is the egg

Ace paused Where they had set up camp Ezekiel was unconscious on the ground Instead A familiar woman stood over Ezekiel and next to the extremely large egg into which Ace had poured months of effort A chittering rodent sat on the womanÆs shoulder tilting its head to the side to peer at Ace

Sydney Ace said slowly He scrutinized Sydney From her position and gaze it was clear that she wasnÆt here on accident You came to stop me Do you truly think you are strong enough to beat me with only one of your elemental creatures Let me tell you as soon as that egg hatches

I wonÆt let it hatch Sydney said Then she lifted her left hand The creature exploded in a burst of blue light And these days I only have one elemental One that is more than enough to put you out of your misery Ace Frigid Lightning

Chapter 1400

As soon as the amber pyramid congealed into a recognizable shape and began to attack Neveah directly Randidly realized what it was Kaan SwaccÆs Fate And from it emerged something that was not a true image Instead the profound emotion of loneliness radiated outward into the surrounding area with Neveah as its target

Randidly leapt forward across the deep gashes in the ground that the battle thus far had created feeling through the Soulbound connection how NeveahÆs mind was struck and broken by those emotions at a shocking rate Gritting his teeth Randidly once more transformed into the Grim Chimera He thrust forward with his bone spear and shot toward KaanÆs back

It was foolish not to think of KaanÆs Fate but damnit Neveah snap out of it

Randidly unleashed a burst of mental energy through their connection For the briefest moment Neveah stirred But the aura radiating from the amber pyramid swiftly buried any of NeveahÆs resistance Although her physical body was powerful Randidly was beginning to realize that NeveahÆs mental strength was much more vulnerable to attacks

Her pain was felt distantly by Randidly and every dagger of agony she felt became a fire of rage in RandidlyÆs chest

RandidlyÆs eyes remained fixed on Kaan SwaccÆs Fate A Fate that he had practically disassembled into a liquid form and spread through his body as blood Why had he done that

A Fate is the tool to assist the Class which is an Aether construct made with Nether Principles The Class is the prayer to reach a dream while the Fate is the culmination of the first 50 Levels of a Class In Nether terms the Fate is the beginning of a bridge to the dream in Aether terms it is the condensed emotions of the journey the Class holder has taken Yet he dispersed it into this form and made it part of his body Would it provide some passive bonus to his physique

Actually now that I sense the way he utilizes his Fate This sensation is familiar ItÆs almost like what liquid Aether does is elevate an image to the status of a Fate for a brief moment by crystallizing emotion and energy it becomes fuel for an image A fuel powerful enough that a simple image becomes a tool to help realize the ultimate dream upon which everything is based

Surging forward Randidly thrust his spear at KaanÆs undefended back The pyramid tuned to Randidly released a new image impacting his attack and causing him to drop the previous train of thought For the moment he just needed to deal with the concrete realities of the fight the details could wait

Kaan glanced over his shoulder with luminous eyes as Randidly approached The image Kaan had chosen was one of impending death Yet the Grim Chimera simply cackled and accelerated forward even faster When hadnÆt the Grim Chimera needed to struggle across the jaws of death KaanÆs hand whipped up to block the thrust of the bone spear but then Randidly twisted and lashed out with his leg striking the thigh he had impaled earlier

Kaan grunted and stumbled unable to activate his defensive Skill in time That gave Randidly a bit of confidence as he considered the wounded figure in front of him Although Neveah was struggling KaanÆs mobility had been severely hampered by the accumulated wounds His defense was strong but he didnÆt possess the same monstrous recovery power that Randidly had

Tune your body all you want itÆs so damaged that IÆll tear you to pieces Randidly thought fueled by a bubbling rage Kaan set his feet and unleashed a powerful chop with his hands but Randidly broke through the System limit on physical powers with ease stepping forward and to the left and then forward to the right He moved with such speed that Kaan blinked in confusion until RandidlyÆs elbow smashed into the small of his back from behind

Randidly hopped away as Kaan spun around more goopy blood dripping from his wounds Now he stood between Kaan and Neveah but in order to help her he would need to address KaanÆs Fate Direct attacks likely wouldnÆt work so he needed

The pyramid above Randidly released a new image one of certainty Instantly the Grim Chimera image overlay on his RandidlyÆs flickered and faded Which left Randidly standing in a swirling cloud of Nether his chest rising and falling rapidly with his heavy breathing His brow furrowed as he stood in strained stillness Rage urged him to attack yet with all three of his images tuned Randidly was cautious

KaanÆs face was twisted into a triumphant grin Two of his pyramids empowered his body one each suppressed Randidly and Neveah and the Fate pyramid continued to unleash waves of emotional attacks against Neveah That left two pyramids one floating above each of his outstretched hands as he regarded Randidly This has been educational But now itÆs time for you to perish I have finally caught you Randidly Ghosthound I see all of your powers And compared to me you are insufficient

Randidly opened his mouth to reply but suddenly he was struck with an otherworldly force His vision twisted and then snapped back into place What he saw was two worlds pressed tightly on top of each other On the one hand he saw the shattered slope strewn with cracked stone and dirt Kaan was about ten meters down the slope his shoulders hunched with a large wound on his chest and another on his thigh

On the other hand Randidly saw that familiar area of suppression with the endless darkness and the stone floor Nausea struck Randidly as he stared out at the two landscapes yet was separated from both but he suppressed it After a few more seconds understanding snapped into place Kaan Swacc had tried to isolate Randidly once more but whether because of his serious wounds or the fact that his Willpower was stretched to cover so many of his pyramids he hadnÆt quite succeeded Randidly hadnÆt been teleported and he still had access to his Nether

Yet he hadnÆt quite failed either There were two worlds pressing on top of Randidly and even his powerful body couldnÆt do anything about it Stuck in that crack Randidly was frozen At least he could still move images

The Grim Chimera manifested itself with an impressive roar but it was shattered just as quickly by the sense of certainty from the floating pyramid In a world without chance the Grim ChimeraÆs struggle was meaningless It could only wait for its ordained death

Immediately after Randidly tried both the Stillborn Phoenix and Yggdrasil But that infuriating pyramid floating above Randidly released counter images that had been tuned to him For the Stillborn Phoenix it was hopelessness and failure For Yggdrasil it was the inevitable weakening that came with the passage of time

A groan escaped from RandidlyÆs mouth His muscles positively thrummed with the strain of trying to move but he couldnÆt get his body to budge His thunderous heart was completely caged

Kaan pursed his lips and looked at Randidly as he began to hobble forward How strange IÆve never seen anything like this but still it appears to be effective Just wait spy Once I deal with your companion IÆll extract all the answers I need from you

RandidlyÆs rage exploded again but he quickly cut through it with the knife of necessity Anger would get him nowhere right now Kaan had bound him and now focused on eliminating Neveah Truthfully Randidly wouldnÆt have been able to deal with several of KaanÆs methods if not for Neveah So the prospect of continuing the fight without her

No those are just the logical reasons RandidlyÆs eyes burned Rage was birthed in his heart and extinguished at a rapid pace Every muscle of his body screamed to be able to explode into motion The truth is if this piece of shit tries to harm Neveah No heÆs already harming her The way her mind is shuddering I havenÆt felt this powerless since Damnit Damnit

His Willpower was sunk into the chill core of the Nether Nebula The wild currents of RandidlyÆs Nether energy kept his emotions from overwhelming him If he wanted to save Neveah and also himself he needed to be smart KaanÆs Skill didnÆt teleport him but it still bound him So all he needed to do was breakthrough that Skill as Neveah had done and he would be free to fight once more

Kaan began to walk forward

Freeing himself would leave him with the problem of dealing with Kaan with all three images being struck by counter images but Randidly ignored that problem for now Kaan was three meters in front of him and Neveah was twenty meters behind him He didnÆt have much time

His first thought was to borrow the knowledge from Neveah but Randidly could tell through their connection that her mind was a mess The targeted blast of loneliness had triggered a deep depression in NeveahÆs heart that was probably there the entire time waiting for weakness in her psyche Now it engulfed her making even the smallest action seem monumentally difficult

Instead of searching around in NeveahÆs chaotic mind Randidly focused on his Nether It was the energy of connection after all Usually KaanÆs Skill would take away his ability to use Nether but it hadnÆt managed it this time Therefore as long as Randidly could create a connection with his Nether

As Kaan passed Randidly he took a small glance at him In that glance Randidly saw the answer to a secret question that he had why didnÆt Kaan use this opportunity to wound Randidly directly

In that lingering gaze Randidly saw that Kaan wanted to hurt him And Kaan recognized that he could use Neveah to do that Plus Randidly had only been able to escape the isolation Skill with NeveahÆs help Now that she was dealt with despite the partial activation of the Skill Kaan Swacc was confident

Kaan looked away from RandidlyÆs feverish glare Then he proceeded forward several more steps There were now only eighteen meters between the hobbled Kaan and Neveah

RandidlyÆs mind continued to race He attempted to create a Nether Ritual but just as he started he stopped That would let him witness himself stuck across space and time but how would that free him Its usual activation wouldnÆt actually bridge the distance between two places Then he thought about the old Skill given to him by Yystrix Touch From Beyond but he set that aside just as quickly Both of those Skils had aspects of what he wanted but he would need to take them apart to find the core activations

Then he would need to repurpose those core activations with time it was possible But right now

Perhaps it was his panic but his Nether rose to the occasion It swirled around with increasing speed The density of the energy at the core was becoming overwhelming even for Randidly In order to balance it with the Aether in his body one of his five remaining drops of liquid Aether needed to take up residence

Five Randidly blinked I should have refined seven drops of liquid Aether Even if I used one there should be six remaining So where

But Randidly could only bite his tongue and tear his attention away from that issue for the moment As ridiculous as it was if he misplaced one of his drops of liquid Aether so be it All he needed to do was build a connection and the suppression would shatter But Randidly was quickly realizing that he truly didnÆt know how to utilize his Nether at all He had simply unleashed the raw Nether against his enemies thus far He had no true ability to use Nether

Kaan Swacc continued forward He was now ten meters from Neveah

I canÆt just stumble across the ability to manipulate Nether freely now but maybe I donÆt have to As IÆve seen Nether and Aether are two sides of the same coin they mirror each other in several important ways

Aether in the shape of Nether uses a Class to create a Fate to achieve a dream Randidly pressed every ounce of the rage panic and worry that he felt in the current moment into the Nether rushing wildly around him The beginning of something unusual was taking shape in his Nether Nebula With a deft touch he guided the currents of Nether to run in alternating circles creating a huge amount of ambient energy in the areas of friction between them The waves of power rolling off of him intensified Then Nether in the shape of Aether fueled with emotion

A rumbling began to emerge from RandidlyÆs body Although he couldnÆt really understand the source the collision of energy he was creating was damaging his physical body directly But without any other ideas he continued to push forward What he needed now was power Power he could use This construct of Nether is also attempting to accomplish the same dream But while Aether uses Fate as a tool Nether would use

The struggles of his muscles slowly shifted from preparations for an escape to agony fueled convulsions The pain came black today nipping at the edges of his consciousness Yet Randidly persevered

For Nether a Penance

Randidly burned with the wild currents of Nether that continued to grind against each other That word held weight It began to depress the area in the center of his Nether Nebula It was a base for something greater to form But worryingly he hadnÆt completely succeeded in his attempt The dangerous energies of Nether continued to flow without reservation or result Very soon the strange state of agonizing acceleration would collapse into chaos He hadnÆt been able to crystalize all his accomplishments in Nether thus far as Aether did to form a Fate

But he hadnÆt completely failed either

The density at the center of his Nether Nebula was overwhelming That depression was a gulf generating immense amounts of powerful Nether currents A single spectral grey bubble bobbed upward from the core of the nebula radiating an overwhelming destructive power Randidly tried to laugh but his body was still frozen

He hadnÆt truly formed his imagined Penance but he had formed the equivalent of a drop of liquid Aether And with this grey bubble he could briefly wield the power of a pseudo Penance

So Randidly seized the bubble and it became weight beyond imagination With that weight he smashed KaanÆs suppression to pieces

Chapter 1401

Kaan felt his Nether Suppression Cell shatter right as he reached the enormous body of the Transformative Image user His plan had been to eliminate this element and then finally break the Ghosthound Yet the sudden failure of his Skill caught him by surprise

For a second he didnÆt know what happened In all of his training in all of the stories of his seniors in the Xyrt Brigade there had never been a foe that could escape on its own from the Nether Suppression Cell Sure other parties could intervene but it was an absolute guarantee against one target

perhaps I underestimated how badly I failed on this attempt He was clearly still on this plane of existence Hmph I can only blame my own incompetence Kaan thought bitterly as he turned around Truly this fight had shown Kaan how pointlessly arrogant he had been in the past A Nether spy had wounded him gravely forcing him to reveal his Fate When he returned to the Xyrt Brigade he would train

But KaanÆs thoughts came to a dead stop because a Randidly Ghosthound with eyes filled with emerald fire was already in front of Kaan with his arm raised and his body bent like a bow In the next instant he was lashing out to strike at Kaan steam trailing out of his nostrils

Snorting Kaan brought his two hands together and smashed the two harmonies he held together Their sweet note exploded outward and completely dispersed the spyÆs momentum at the very least it was clear that the Nether Suppression Cell had dispersed his Nether It now radiated chaotically off of him no longer the dangerously thick energy it was previously

Yet Kaan knew that stopping this desperate offensive would not be simple As with his companion the spy had seen his momentum dispersal one too many times He activated his image of the dark egg and quickly accelerated forward once more Kaan used a harmony to destroy that image but the Ghosthound quickly switched to the strange monster with a spear for an arm That image was shattered by KaanÆs harmony but he easily switched again to become the life giving tree

The Ghosthound used that impressive golden aura to briefly force Kaan to pause KaanÆs mouth warped into a frown Fine you truly want a direct confrontation IÆll show you just how little you know of me

The two harmonies Kaan had used to disperse the spyÆs momentum floated up above Kaan and began to glow along with the two harmonies already present Two released the profound aura of strength One released a sense of indomitability The final harmony provided flexibility and circulation With this his physical form was truly unstoppable

When the Ghosthound slashed at him with a talonÆd claw that was releasing a light grey energy Kaan met it confidently The light of his four harmonies was bright Even if the Ghosthound had pushed past the limits of the System

Kaan wasnÆt able to put up the slightest resistance to that grey claw He felt his arm literally crack and disintegrate from the impact His forearm was annihilated almost immediately Then the blow continued forward and struck his torso Although his body was generally very powerful against straight bludgeoning attacks the huge flaw introduced by the GhosthoundÆs spear earlier in the fight meant that his right shoulder and much of his side was also crushed to powder in a single strike

And then Kaan was only aware of himself being thrown sideways crashing and skipping off of the ground in a series of small scale explosions of stone chips and dirt However they had been fighting on the slope suddenly the ground fell away before KaanÆs horizontal momentum dispersed which meant he was tumbling in the air Growling in pain and fury Kaan swiped his remaining arm and stabilized himself in a standing position still shooting away from the Ghosthound

KaanÆs eyes narrowed as he saw that strange grey energy dissipating from the GhosthoundÆs image What was left was a sorry figure the GhosthoundÆs metallic arm sundered by a huge crack It made Kaan feel a little better to see that the spyÆs arm was also shattered and hanging limp at his side from the force of his own blow What the hell was that That energy

Then Kaan slammed into a nearby mountain cliff fully two hundred meters away from his initial position As the stone face collapsed on top of him Kaan growled once more Whipping his left arm back and forth he clawed his way out and considered his current condition Then Kaan mobilized every perception Skill that he possessed in order to determine the combat strength of Randidly Ghosthound

For the first time in their fight a flicker of fear emerged in KaanÆs heart Is this Nether spy truly more powerful than I am

Although he maintained the emotional attack with his Fate Kaan Swacc allowed all of his other pyramids to go dormant Each was not a debilitating amount of mental energy spent but the costs associated with them did add up That was the reason that while Kaan possessed six harmonies and his Fate he often only used two or three during fights Mobilizing all seven meant that the amount of time he could fight for was shortened proportionately

From this distance KaanÆs eyesight made it seem as though he was standing next to the man Because of that he could see every tremor that was running through the GhosthoundÆs body Kaan could feel the weak and feeble circulations of Nether energy in the area around the spyÆs body

so the last desperate struggles of a dying man But still that attack where did that power come from I didnÆt sense an image at all

But one thing had become abundantly clear in this confrontation Kaan Swacc had underestimated the Nether spy The forces mobilized to strengthen Randidly Ghosthound had exceeded his imagination Kaan even had the impulse to retreat As long as he could provide his memories as proof the Xyrt Brigade would gladly mobilize to investigate And before the true powers in the Xyrt Brigade this Ghosthound was nothing

Yet Kaan immediately rebuked himself for that thought How could I retreat now Look at this man I now torture his companion and his rage is obvious He practically burns with it Yet he doesnÆt have the strength remaining after that last strike to even move His left arm is now in shambles Against this pitiful foe am I really thinking about retreating

Kaan then turned his attention to his own body Although my right arm and torso are mostly shattered my physical prowess is less important than utilizing the harmonies Besides this body can easily be repaired with a little bit of energy

That vulnerability made Kaan uncertain once more After all to fight against the Ghosthound he would need to protect his head That was the source of the notes that could become powerful due to the harmonies Without his head he would truly die So he could only marshall his Willpower and expend a bit of mental energy to recover his body The substance of his physique trembled and then began to propagate

At a speed visible to the naked eye KaanÆs metallic flesh began to grow back into place The Ghosthound standing opposite Kaan on the other mountain twisted his hands with hatred His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Kaan

Again the sight did a lot to amuse Kaan Can you feel me continually torturing your associate Heh good This suffering is a lesson Before a member of the Xyrt Brigade you are helpless IÆve seen your images IÆve seen your trump cards do you think breaking past the physical limit of the System is impressive Any individual of sufficient caliber can manage it yet they would generally not due to the high costs of such an action Do you truly believe your Nether masters can protect you

This time when Kaan mobilized his harmonies he only kept one tuned to his body Three others zipped forward soon settling and circling over the Ghosthound And once again one harmony flew to each of his hands Even with just one harmony strengthening him he was able to step and leap across the gap between them His Fate continued to suppress the spyÆs companion emotionally but she was just a distraction As long as Kaan dealt with this foe in front of him everything else would fall into line

After being tossed aside by the Xyrt Brigade a victory here would completely vindicate him Due to the obvious strength of the Ghosthound his rewards would no doubt be incredible Once they extracted the details of the Nether King behind him

Heh I must be getting old To think this sort of foe was enough to make me feel even the smallest shiver of fear But no longer I will defeat you Randidly Ghosthound on the honor of my name Kaan Swacc

Kaan landed on the slope only ten meters down from the Ghosthound and his resolve had firmed And strangely the Ghosthound showed a sly smile for a sliver of a second

Fool Laugh while you can Kaan exploded into motion The three pyramids above Randidly Ghosthound began to shine ready to suppress his image No matter which image this fool attempted to use Kaan would crush him

Waiting was hard

Behind him Neveah was in agony Although Randidly didnÆt think the emotional attacks would have permanent damage some part of him was being twisted by the fact that she was in pain and Randidly was doing nothing to address it The helplessness he felt was a bitter poison in the pit of his stomach

Yet Randidly had no choice After ripping out of the suppression Randidly had been surprised to find that he had a little bit of his psuedo Penance remaining So he had rushed at Kaan and smashed the man as hard as he could But even Randidly was surprised by how effective the attack was

Which left Randidly with a metallic arm that he had poured so much time and effort into and carried with it NeveahÆs hopes that was now on the verge of collapsing Luckily it seemed like the self repair function hadnÆt been impacted too badly and the damage was swiftly being erased At least the surface damage would be smoothed over in a few more minutes So Randidly also needed the time to restore his full fighting prowess

In addition KaanÆs emotions had been abundantly clear in the moment that Randidly had struck him due to the activation of so many of his pyramids For the first time in their conflict Kaan felt fear And Randidly even in his peak condition had no confidence in being able to chase Kaan down if he tried to retreat So more than his left arm being repaired Randidly didnÆt dare to attack Kaan while he was at his weakest in case the Xyrt Brigade member chose to flee into the Nexus Ways

Even as every second required him to contain seething waves of fury Randidly stood still and gritted his teeth And it paid off Kaan came back More than that although Kaan healed the damage done to his body Randidly could tell from the gleam of the healed skin that it was a degraded product The line of the old and new flesh was stark His resiliency had in all likelihood taken a huge hit

But now Kaan seemed prepared to tune himself completely to Randidly One pyramid each to counter one of his images And each time Kaan countered him Randidly felt that each of the counter images was being tuned just a little bit more The countering became a little bit more effective

With his Nether Nebula still drained and sluggish Randidly had no choice but to rely on his images Kaan was vulnerable but with more time his tuning would become more effective So Randidly intended to bet it all in the next few exchanges

Seeing Kaan approach Randidly couldnÆt help but smile Time to see if these physical manifestations of my images are worth a damn

Chapter 1402

The two foes shot toward each other Randidly Ghosthound descending the slope and Kaan Swacc ascending The ground between them was cracked and pitted from their earlier clashes Behind Randidly NeveahÆs overly large form continued to flail unpredictably around crushing what remained of the mountain peak The dull rumbles of crushed stone were all the accompaniment that this fight needed

RandidlyÆs already flagging mental energy flared up one last time He gathered all the Willpower he could manage If he failed here he would still have some drops of liquid Aether remaining but it was safer to use liquid Aether as a counter to anotherÆs use of liquid Aether As an offensive move liquid Aether only worked if the other had none

And although Randidly hoped that he possessed more liquid Aether than Kaan Swacc he wasnÆt willing to bet on that fact while in a disadvantaged position

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Randidly and Kaan rushed toward each other Randidly felt the distracting sensation of the dirt and pebbles beneath his bare feet with each step Revelation energy spun around Randidly sharpening his vision and discernment Truthfully Randidly felt quite a bit of disgust for himself in his heart as he marshaled everything he possessed for one last barrage of attacks

If nothing else he had learned a lot from this battle

Two things had given him the confidence to challenge Kaan Swacc the fact that he had broken past the SystemÆs limit on physical power and the fact that he had NeveahÆs support for the fight In terms of the latter the fact that Neveah was now in agony was proof that Randidly had been a fool While he had been traveling to Tellus and the frontlines honing his Willpower Neveah had remained on Earth and learned what it meant to be human

When he returned to Earth he had seen NeveahÆs strengths and reassured himself that this was enough never pushing himself to consider her weaknesses It was a devasting oversight the result of which was NeveahÆs current predicament

In addition Randidly had some deep misconceptions about what breaking past the physical limits meant for his battle potential While it was true that he could easily avoid the negatives that other individuals would encounter by breaking past the limit the benefit he received was small The limit functioned as a restriction so before Randidly had broken past the limit he had perhaps only been able to wield physical prowess equivalent to 90% of the System limit

After he broke past that he could suddenly wield all 100% of the power plus an additional few percent due to his rapidly growing Nether Brawn So his abilities perhaps reached about 105% of the System limit

But that limit was purely on physical strength Kaan could easily use only one of his pyramids and an image to bridge the 15% difference in strength between 90% and 105% A second pyramid made Kaan even stronger than Randidly RandidlyÆs future growth would no longer be limited by the Nexus but that growth hadnÆt happened yet

Yet despite those failures Randidly had grievously wounded Kaan and arrived at this point More than the disappointment he felt toward his mistakes in the past what buoyed Randidly forward now was excitement Because the circumstances were forcing him to rapidly grow

Randidly could only rely on two rather unproven methods to overcome Kaan The first was his Nether Nebula which he had desperately damaged in order to briefly produce that strange grey bubble that had contained incredible weight But now RandidlyÆs Nether Nebula would need quite a bit of time to recover For now it was a spent resource

The second method was the physical manifestation of RandidlyÆs three images in his body Surging down over the devastated slope toward Kaan those three images began to stir in his chest spinning together to form one whole

The air filled with the sound of rustling leaves Ripples spread outward from Randidly and light in the surrounding air began to bend and turn milky Small particles of ash drifted from RandidlyÆs silhouette billowing out behind him like a grey cloak

There was a glaring weakness to this method however And that was the problem of balancing the three images against each other while fighting It simply took too much concentration to keep the images balanced correcting in his body while doing any sort of demanding thinking And battling definitely counted as demanding thinking

Yet Randidly charged down toward Kaan with a wide smile on his face Because Kaan Swacc had given Randidly the keys he needed to unlock this powerful balance Although his suddenly scant Willpower couldnÆt suppress the three images to stay equal he didnÆt need to Randidly just needed to make the three images reliant on each other

Yggdrasil exploded upward its trunk covered in dense golden script its leaves brilliant emeralds At the same time one of KaanÆs pyramids began to glow and the inevitable waning of growth due to age shined down on Yggdrasil The image struggled but the counter image struck at its base too deeply Not even Yggdrasil could escape the pull of time

And to that weakening image of Yggdrasil the Grim Chimera spoke If your current method of growth begins to fail adapt If that method does work adapt again The passage of time is the ultimate tool to survive As long as you continue to live what is strength What is beauty What is truth Only the living has the honor of making those distinctions Give up everything to chance gamble and struggle

This time Randidly released the tall and bloodthirsty form of the Grim Chimera as Yggdrasil faded Although his claw was still wounded his physical form was streamlined and perfected to kill and survive The warped skin on his limbs cut through the air He accelerated quickly as he loped toward Kaan

Another pyramid began to glow releasing the aura of certainty As the Grim Chimera flickered the Stillborn Phoenix cackled Although some transformations are impossible a will that does not waver can create truth from illusion To be certain To never give in Obsession will overwhelm the established order My dream IÆll take everything IÆll definitely obtain it

Light bent as the Stillborn Phoenix spread its imagined wings Randidly and Kaan were only a few meters apart from each other both raising their hands in preparation to attack And KaanÆs third pyramid floating above Randidly radiated hopelessness squashing the Stillborn Phoenix even before light in the surrounding space began to bend inward around the hole in the world

Finally the branches of Yggdrasil groaned and creaked as it moved Heh you overeager youngster Did you know the past and the future are both illusions Why obsess over them Instead focus all your effort in the present live every moment to the fullest No matter if it is angles or demons as long as you dedicate yourself none can belittle the accumulation of effort Such a foundation can even support entire worlds

Kaan Swacc had struck again and again at RandidlyÆs weaknesses giving him a greater understanding of the shape of each of the three images that Randidly had nurtured And although the fit wasnÆt entirely perfect the three images could fold naturally into each other to hide those weaknesses In Randidly GhosthoundÆs body the three images began to blend

His left eye turned pitch black and the light around his face bent and warped The skin of his torso became translucent and his veins transformed to become golden RandidlyÆs hair shifted to become emerald while his left hand twisted into a claw and his right lengthened to become a bone spear Every beat of his heart released a small pulse of light that would travel through his golden veins spreading his strength throughout his body

Although the amounts were small Nether flowed along with that light strengthening his physique further

More importantly the aura of all three of RandidlyÆs images began to radiate from his body Right as they were about to meet KaanÆs face twisted into a scowl You fool Did you think that expending your mental energy pointlessly would be enough to bluff me Three at once Then IÆll crush you all at once

Yet to RandidlyÆs senses he could feel that the aura he released was like the tip of an iceberg In his physical body the vast majority of his image strength was still mixing and connecting with each other The three images assisting with their fellow images’ weaknesses didnÆt just eliminate KaanÆs avenue attack but it also changed the images in a fundamental way RandidlyÆs three images didnÆt exactly mix but they were no longer as isolated as before The details of the physical manifestations became sharper

Light swirled inward Each of RandidlyÆs emerald hairs was outlined in golden script hiding the truth of the world Two tails manifested granting his physical form unmatched poise

The sensation in RandidlyÆs body was much more manageable than his initial experiments in mixing images had been It was akin to that feeling when a rider finally grasps the essence of riding a bicycle The structure at a sufficient momentum helps keep the vehicle balanced all on its own

All at once every one of KaanÆs pyramids began to glow The one above his head released an image of power while the three above Randidly released the three counter images to target his weaknesses But RandidlyÆs eyes went to the two pyramids in KaanÆs hands

The left one released an image of impenetrable While the right released an image of killing

KaanÆs tuned counter images impacted RandidlyÆs body For a second RandidlyÆs images shivered but they endured With his physical form as a refuge and the connections between the image handling the stress they did not fail And then Randidly began to make use of the true power of mixing his images

Yyrwood Body of Yggdrasil MonstrosityÆs Appalling Physicality Cosmic Necessity

In the past Randidly had activated several Skills at once Mostly because he simply had too many Skills But that was like having two horses pull a carriage rather than one the carriage went faster but most of what happened was that the two beasts shared the burden

What he was doing now was like splicing together three horses and having your carriage yanked forward by the horse equivalent of Cerberus

Randidly exploded into motion Space around him shattered as all three image burned through his body and exerted themselves on the surrounding air He crossed the last bit of space between the two of them and thrust forward with his bone spear Kaan immediately adjusted his defensive left hand bringing it down block the thrust but Randidly effortless guided the attack further down His muscles twisted with both explosive power and delicacy due to the efforts of the two physical Skills

Rather than striking against the weaker newly grown flesh Randidly ripped another hole in KaanÆs already wounded thigh The flesh around the first wound had mostly healed but it was a weakness that he could target And because of the force of the thrust RandidlyÆs strike drilled downward and clipped the side of KaanÆs knee

You Kaan blasted Randidly with his tuned counter images again and then slashed out with his killing right hand

RandidlyÆs eyes one emerald and one a pool of darkness didnÆt even flicker He swayed and the attack passed through him like he wasnÆt even there A huge chunk of his mental energy vanished as he once again used three images Chimeric Avoidance Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold Inscrutable Mien of Yggdrasil

Using three Skills at once it was almost too simple to avoid KaanÆs counter attack The weight of all three images was mobilized toward one goal increasing the efficiency further Inscrutable Mien created a zone of inviolable space around himself to weaken KaanÆs attack as befitting a deity Revelation energy gave Randidly the focus to toe the line of this space Chimera Avoidance handled crossing the distant unscathed

If Randidly didnÆt feel the alarming consumption of his mental energy he would consider this fight to already be in the bag As it was the edges of his vision were becoming fuzzy even with the help of the Revelation energy He couldnÆt last much longer

Gritting his teeth Randidly raised his leg feinted a high kick toward KaanÆs temple to draw his defensive pyramid upward then stomped brutally downward on KaanÆs wounded leg As the man howled in pain in fury he twisted around and swept his killer right hand across his body In addition Kaan didnÆt forget to release three more pulses of counter images

Plus he had tuned them further Randidly grimaced although the effect was still small Kaan changing up the images further made his balancing more difficult He didnÆt have time to waste

So Randidly decided not to dodge With his mind practically buzzing from the effort Randidly once again activated three Skills and images at once Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe

While an aura of frigid ash and the focused oppression of gravity settled over KaanÆs body and restricted his movements a rush of thick golden roots exploded out of the ground and wrapped themselves around KaanÆs right arm They spun around his bicep up to his shoulder and then wound themselves down to cover his forearm For several seconds he struggled but the combination of RandidlyÆs Skills were enough to bring KaanÆs attack to a shuddering halt

Randidly brought his bone spear around and prepared to attack

But Kaan Swacc was a well trained member of the Xyrt Brigade he was nothing if not decisive After all the concentrated mental attacks on Neveah he finally ceased his assault and recalled his amber pyramid It spun around and then shot downward at its new target aiming for the spot where RandidlyÆs spine met his head

Still as the Fate surged forward the ground beneath it exploded Acri who had been buried under rubble earlier shot upward and smashed into the Fate It wrapped its large body around the amber pyramid knocking it off its course and pinning it to the ground

Probably KaanÆs Fate could quickly deal with Acri and once more threaten Randidly But Randidly wouldnÆt give Kaan that chance

Cosmic Necessity Man is Proud but the Chimera Takes The Implacable Price of Exodus

This time Randidly didnÆt avoid a direct clash with KaanÆs defensive left hand From his back heel up through his knees and hips and finally to his torso and shoulders a wave of explosive momentum roared to life and concentrated in a single point Three cosmic orbs were conjured and expended corralling the vast energy of RandidlyÆs body and sharpening the point of impact

His bone spear smashed against the pyramid and punctured the energy shield it conjured The beast of the world tree smiled widely and devoured the image that Kaan attempted to use to defend himself The bone spear continued forward unhindered But the attack was knocked off its course and skewered KaanÆs shoulder joint

Unluckily it was KaanÆs left shoulder the one holding the defensive pyramid that he struck Because it wasnÆt the weakened side of his body the bone spear hit the joint and skidded to a halt half a meter deep Randidly could only force down his dizziness and smash Kaan with his left hand

MonstrosityÆs Appalling Physicality Stigma of the Stillborn Phoenix

The pain and torture of obsession and depression drove RandidlyÆs power upward Again he channeled the force through his entire body and generated a vicious blow Already the strain of utilizing all three images on top of the previous battle was too much for Randidly For this attack he could only mobilize two images But those two images were joined with his impressive physical prowess In addition Kaan SwaccÆs defense had been pierced and he could not dodge So the punch smashed directly against his temple

That attack landed briefly stunning Kaan Even more importantly the reverberations traveled through KaanÆs body until they reached the healed flesh There small cracks began to form

Behind him Randidly could sense the amber pyramid exploded into motion simply dragging Acri along with it The three pyramids above Randidly continued to attack with counter images but luckily the tuning had stopped Kaan Swacc didnÆt have the spare focus to adjust the image attacks

Cosmic Necessity Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil

Despite feeling like he was going to destroy his left arm Randidly marshaled every bit of strength that he had and punched Kaan Swacc again The golden veins in his armÆs image pulsed with power Metallic fist cloaked in image flesh smashed into the same spot Randidly had attack previously Kaan SwaccÆs face crackled KaanÆs eyes were bulging out of his skull as he looked at Randidly He was struggling furiously tearing through the roots that bound his right arm in place even as cracks began to form in the base of that arm You

RandidlyÆs body was trembling His mind was fuzzy Somehow he admitted to himself that his next image activation would likely only be one image already the physical manifestations of his images on his body were disappearing His eyes returned to their normal state albeit very bloodshot His right hand was dripping blood from where he had to use his fingers to pierce through KaanÆs impenetrable defense His skin was red and steaming from the exertion of the past few moments

KaanÆs eyes seemed to examine every inch of Randidly He tugged again and tore almost all of the roots Randidly could see that the roots would give in before the structural integrity of KaanÆs arm would There was fear and confusion in his expression as Kaan realized that he might die in this fight Fear fanned his will to live You

Even after expending all of his images and physical strength Randidly had only cracked KaanÆs skull He wouldnÆt be able to deal enough damage to get through KaanÆs defense with just his hand He needed something special to create an opportunity

His first thought was using a drop of liquid Aether more if the first didnÆt work But Randidly recognized the difference in their states right now Kaan was briefly stunned and filled with fear and confusion dropping his fighting capabilities But in terms of mental energy he was nowhere near as exhausted If this assault didnÆt strike home

Maybe Neveah was even now recovering but Randidly wasnÆt sure His mind was too bleary to check while also preparing for his next strike

Decisively Randidly chose to attack the confusion that Randidly saw on SwaccÆs face Kaan had pursued Randidly to this point because he was certain Randidly was a Nether spy It was the basis of the entire fight So when Randidly activated the last image he could manage with his mental energy it was from neither of his three dominant images

Randidly activated the Lantern of Harsh Truths with every bit of energy he had left

Congratulations Your Skill Lantern of Harsh Truths has grown to Level 146

Congratulations Your Skill Lantern of Harsh Truths has grown to Level 166

You arenÆt a Nether spy KaanÆs expression turned cloudy and he frowned His pyramids flickered and drifted through the air listless The expression that Randidly saw then on KaanÆs face he felt a great deal of pity for the man In his empty gaze Randidly saw a man who had had briefly glimpsed the truth and been shaken by it But then why Your Nether

It would have been more kind to let you die thinking I was a Nether spy

Whatever justification Kaan had needed to arrive at that conclusion Randidly didnÆt have the energy to care He simply twisted around and caught the shaft of Acri who had leapt off of the amber pyramid as it had stopped struggling Then he straightened and rewarded Kaan for his epiphany with AcriÆs tip into the bridge of his nose

At the last moment KaanÆs eyes flashed with clarity and he looked upward His will to fight had returned after a brief second of confusion Yet even if he couldnÆt use an image RandidlyÆs physical power surpassed the System limit the attack was brutally quick

And just like that the great Special Investigator died

Chapter 1403

For a while Randidly just stood above his fallen foe and breathed In his entire life he couldnÆt recall ever being so exhausted mentally and physically As his body began to cool down he found himself completely submerged in sweat and dirt Also it was convenient right now just to stand and look Because Randidly had earned two Level up notifications for his efforts

Congratulations You have reached Level 62 +8 Stats distributed between Vitality Perception Resist Intelligence and Control +37 Free Stats +1 Stat to a Mental Stat +1 to a Physical Defense Stat +1 to a Mental Support Stat +2 Control +46 Health +55 Mana +50 Stamina +6 5 to all Regenerations +1 to Health and Stamina Regeneration

Due to your Fatepiece the PhilosopherÆs Key +3 Intelligence Wisdom and Focus +4 Reaction and Grim Intuition

Due to your Fatepiece Dreamcatcher of the Long Night +1 Grim Intuition +1 Reaction +1 Focus and +3 Control per Level

Randidly blinked for a while at the two notifications in front of him he had went from Level 60 to Level 62 in one go Why was Kaan Swacc considered a creature worthy of experience and also why so damn much Then he tugged on Acri Hey why didnÆt you take that experience You know IÆm trying to save Levels for when I have more Fatepieces

It wasnÆt a big deal to gain Levels now but Randidly was somewhat confused that his gluttonous weapon hadnÆt intervened And AcriÆs response was somewhat horrifying It wasnÆt that his spear hadnÆt devoured the experience from killing Kaan Swacc In fact it had eaten about three fourths of it But the kill had rewarded so much experience at once that Acri couldnÆt handle it The weapon had no choice but to stop devouring experience and pass the rest onto Randidly

Heh what a rich harvest Randidly thought rather sourly He couldnÆt get that image of KaanÆs sense of loss when he realized he wasnÆt a Nether spy out of his mind And he was so so tired

Shaking himself back to wakefulness Randidly tugged on Acri His spear was still stuck in KaanÆs head Rather than pulling Acri free Randidly just ended up pulling KaanÆs body forward so it flopped onto its stomach Despite all the difficulties in keeping the Earth safe and the scenario that meant Randidly was forced to kill Kaan he felt somewhat uncomfortable treating the body so casually Yet in RandidlyÆs exhausted state what choice did he have

In the end Acri itself had to pull its tip out of KaanÆs skull Then Randidly stood over his foe and just exhaled Pressing Acri into the ground he leaned against his spear and considered what he had learned from Kaan Swacc The prospect was a daunting one Randidly wanted nothing more than to just collapse on the ground and sleep for several hours Not only to address the famine of mental energy but also to take some time and stabilize the Nether Nebula that was still chaotically spinning in his chest

Yet Randidly forced his gaze upward Perhaps revisiting his lessons could wait His Grim Intuition made him aware of two situations One was Neveah and the other was a battle to his West Gritting his teeth he walked up the slope toward the area of cracked ground where Neveah was lying One thing at a time

When he reached Neveah Randidly allowed himself to fall to his knees next to her NeveahÆs current distress meant that her illusions had completely fallen to pieces The humanoid bone wyrm was collapsed on the ground the long bone protrusions stretching from her back splayed out like brutal wide brushstrokes on the terrain Randidly leaned forward and pressed his forehead against NeveahÆs back as he reached out through their Soulbound connection Neveah

NeveahÆs mind was still chaotic but at least she now recognized RandidlyÆs presence But much like Randidly Neveah seemed too shaken to respond for a while For several minutes the two just sat there leaning against each other Some of RandidlyÆs sweat dripped down from his forehead onto her back

Finally NeveahÆs Willpower stirred IÆm okay Just a little tired

The bleak depression he sensed in her mental message stung Despite his weariness RandidlyÆs right hand tightened into a fist Then he winced as daggers of pain stabbed upward along his wrist and forearm it seemed his hand hadnÆt quite healed yet after breaking through KaanÆs defense with his bare hand So he forced his hand to relax Even just sitting here for a few minutes RandidlyÆs body was slowly recovering

When he moved to stand the vast majority of the muscle tremors had stopped He was still exhausted but he was no longer about to slip into an abrupt coma IÆll be right back Neveah There are a few things I need to check

What made NeveahÆs response all the worse was the immediate fear not that she felt for herself but for him Are you sure I can tell you are barely holding yourself together if you cannot fight

IÆll be fine Randidly replied To reassure Neveah Randidly reached out to some of his Riders and pulled them back from the patrols around Kharon Although the city had continued forward it would only take RandidlyÆs Riders about ten minutes to make it back to the location of their confrontation with Kaan I have reinforcements Besides I donÆt think IÆll need to fight

With a deep sigh Randidly heaved himself to his feel Then he shook himself wincing again as his right hand twinged from the sudden movement And compared to his wounded flesh his metallic arm was even more damaged It was riddled with cracks and sparked intermittently Sweat was dripping into his eyes but neither of his arms were in a shape to be used Yet Randidly ignored the inconvenience as he walked West up past the destroyed peak and down to the valley beyond it

There he found four individuals

Ezekiel Ghosthound was knocked out slumped over next to the strange blood egg that had grown to the size of a small house Hovering over EzekielÆs body was a man that Randidly didnÆt recognize but he could immediately tell was rather weak In addition to the lack of any sort of image around his body the combination of a radiating stench of fear and his pale face caused Randidly to look past him

The final two individuals were further down in the valley Sydney was standing the edges of her clothing covered in a thick layer of frost Each of her breaths was labored but she stood straight and proud A sinuous flowing cobalt animal circled in the sky above her As it moved it released a thin layer of mist that crackled with electricity

Opposite her was Ace his body contorted in the center of a crater Even as Randidly walked down the slope Ace struggled to his feet The biker helmet over his head was cracked Although Randidly couldnÆt see AceÆs face within it blood was steadily leaking out of the cracks and dripping down onto his leather jacket

Sydney glanced upward at Randidly To RandidlyÆs surprise her eyes contained a warning do not interfere Then her gaze shifted back to Ace Being in pain doesnÆt give you the justification to inflict pain on others Ace IÆm sorry that I cut ties between us But you supported Roy even after he assaulted that woman You supported violence and chaos once the Villages were established You lashed out and plotted to kill because you wanted attention YouÆve tortured Drake for almost a year All that ends today

Ace cackled and swayed His left arm was bent backward his forearm snapped and flopping around with his every movement The flow of blood out of the cracks in his helmet intensified ItÆs so easy for you to be self righteous huh Men make mistakes thatÆs life We both know you are just as flawed as the rest of us Heh you lied to me for two years gaslighting me making me think I was crazy All because of your own selfishness

I thought we were over this Randidly sighed inwardly as he looked down at them We should have been honest with you Ace Sydney shouldnÆt have hidden her illness and of all people she shouldnÆt have shared that secret with me your best friend But we were so young and stupid She had known me for so long donÆt you see that it had to be me to help carry her secret

The lines at the corners of SydneyÆs eyes deepened And for lying to you IÆm sorry

So you admit it You have no right to look down on Roy Ace staggered forward with his arm bouncing with only the partially torn muscle and skin keeping it attached to his frame Finally it seemed like he noticed RandidlyÆs presence immediately he twisted around to face Randidly and spread his arms wide The left arm swung like a pendulum Ah the guest of honor has arrived But from the look of you heh you might even be more injured than I am Well it doesnÆt matter ItÆs time you pay the price for thinking you could leave the Earth behind With the power IÆve gathered

Ace Sydney spoke sharply drawing AceÆs attention back to her Roy and I are not the same He never bothered to apologize for what he did he denied it and made excuses He raped a woman and didnÆt even have the decency to admit he might have been in the wrong Just like you are doing right now refusing to admit how insane youÆve become

While they spoke Randidly didnÆt listen so closely to the words But instead his eyes were on AceÆs image He could detect traces of Straud Yystrix and even some sort of warped mirror of RandidlyÆs own images in the aura around Ace But they mixed chaotically and weakened each other Randidly pressed his lips together and closed his eyes It seemed like Ace truly had lost himself

Do you think I would have become like this if not for both of you cutting ties with me Ace snapped The two of you might have had an easy time but I

If all it took to turn you into a monster was me not paying attention to you Sydney interrupted You were a weaker man than I thought Ace

To that Ace couldnÆt gather up the words to form a response Instead he growled StraudÆs image of blood exploded outward through the chaotic mass of image fragments that Ace had obtained and infected them all with a crimson flush They began to surge together and form an abomination of blood But even when all of those images gathered together Randidly still found them to be quite weak

Of course IÆm not anywhere near in shape enough to overcome even that image Randidly thought with a bit of irony Right now Heh I guess I have drops of liquid Aether shit is another drop seriously missing

As Ace raised his head and howled Sydney turned and looked at Randidly Do you want to say anything to him before

The lines around SydneyÆs eyes deepened and even she couldnÆt finish her question But Randidly knew what Sydney was asking In sharp contrast to AceÆs wild energy SydneyÆs image was incredibly condensed It was almost entirely focused in the body of her elemental In terms of combat strength Sydney was so strong that Randidly was surprised

Sydney was asking whether he wanted to say anything to Ace before she killed him

Ace took several staggering steps in the direction of the blood egg He raised his right hand toward it and the fleshy surface of the egg rippled The original spongey surface was soon covered in small openings that sucked at the surrounding air Very quickly it began to devour the image that Ace was creating

And honestly when the huge blood egg ate and shivered with delight it released an image that was much more powerful than anything Ace had managed to cobble together A sea of blood seemed to churn in the area around it that weak subordinate went pale as he was submerged in that image of a blood sea

Not as strong as Helen however Randidly looked away from the egg and glanced at Ace who continued to stagger forward Yet even though the blood sea was of a different nature than HelenÆs Randidly felt slightly wary as he felt something stirring in the depths

Yes yes rise Hehehe Ace cackled as he continued to stumble forward Flecks of blood splattered outward as AceÆs wounded arm continued to tear No matter how hard Randidly stared at him he couldnÆt catch a single glimpse of AceÆs face

This time when Randidly trembled it had nothing to do with physical weakness Ace and he had not been close since the System had arrived on Earth Too much had changed by the time they met each other even though RandidlyÆs original goal was to find these two people that had shaped his prior life So at the time they hadnÆt really reconnected at all

And of course the familiar excuse that characterized RandidlyÆs entire existence with the System had manifested itself and added an extra layer of difficulty to the relationship he had been busy with other things

Some part of Randidly felt sorry he hadnÆt tried harder to help his former friend but SydneyÆs words rang true You were a weaker man than I thought Ace

Randidly sighed

Although some part of Randidly knew it was very dumb and a waste of mental energy he raised his right hand and brought the rope bracelet on his wrist to his lips The Dreamcatcher of the Long Night unfolded itself creating a complex three dimensional amalgamation of geometric shapes that floated in the air in front of him Then Randidly flowed into the Dreamcatcher and touched on a memory from long long ago

His perspective flickered Colors around him melted and spun like he was falling into a surrealist painting And suddenly he was standing on pavement the sun sinking behind low clouds and dyeing the surrounding sky pink above him He raised his hands and caught the basketball thrown at him

Yet despite everything else what made Randidly the most uncomfortable was the fact that he was wearing sneakers

Ace grinned over at Randidly and put his hands on his hips Tied at 8 first to 12 wins Are you ready to know whatÆs riding on this game

Randidly smiled back but something must have shown in his expression After seeing blood flowing out of the broken helmet suddenly seeing this version of Ace was too much for Randidly to stand

Instantly Ace shed his cocky demeanor and looked at Randidly with a look of genuine concern His face was unlined He looked so young His hands had never been stained with blood Hey you alright Look itÆs not a big deal IÆm not gonna ask you for money or anything there is just a question I want to have answered Answered honestly

how about this Randidly said with a shake of his head While dribbling the ball with his left hand he reached up and pressed the tips of his pointer finger and thumb against his eyes When he pulled them away he took away any gathering moisture in his eyes His gaze was clear and focused even though his lack of mental energy made him slightly dizzy LetÆs agree the bet is to answer a question When we get ten points we can ask that question First to get twelve gets the answer heÆs been waiting for An honest answer

In the original memory Randidly had been slightly afraid of what they were betting so he had told Ace to wait until they found out who was the winner Ace and Randidly had been best friends for almost a year at this point Ace and Sydney had started dating already and the fact that Randidly and Sydney knew each other from childhood was a subject that they had often danced around

Because recently Sydney had been acting strangely As her disease aggressively spread she needed to head to the hospital for more treatments Randidly had only recently learned of it at this time but Ace had already known something was up There were still seven months remaining until the System arrived

In this situation all those years ago Randidly had lost the bet to Ace Randidly was never very good at basketball And when Ace had asked Randidly his question Randidly had lied Although Ace hadnÆt said anything at that time on the old basketball court behind the dorm the beginnings of the stress on their friendship could be traced back to that lie

But now reliving the moment Randidly smiled at the young and pure Ace in front of him Then he stepped forward and shot the ball immediately He missed purposefully and Ace hopped up to grab the rebound Laughing Ace dribbled around to half court and then turned back toward the basket Trying to catch me unawares huh You always were shit at three pointers But now IÆm wondering what question you have for me

Randidly didnÆt bother to answer He just tilted his head at Ace and beckoned for his now best friend to come at him Snorting Ace raced forward In their current bodies Ace was an inch taller than Randidly and probably had thirty pounds of muscle on him So he charged forward aggressively trying to use his size to push Randidly back

Of course the current RandidlyÆs abilities had come from the present into the memory So he had to be exceptionally careful to not touch Ace lest he inflict serious injuries on him Which was one more damned drain on his mental energy that he didnÆt need But he also didnÆt want Ace to think he was letting him win in the original memory Randidly had struggled to stop him from scoring out of fear of what he would ask

The further Randidly deviated from the original memory the more mental energy he would expend And in RandidlyÆs current state every bit of mental energy counted Already he could feel himself running out of gas to stay in the Fatepiece

Yet what do I want to ask Ace Randidly wondered He had come into the Dreamcatcher well because he didnÆt know what to say to his former best friend He felt so distant to him now And after seeing the way that people like Decklan Hyde had been tortured and twisted by their emotions Randidly wanted to be able to say something that could reach Ace So he came here to look

But what question would give him that insight

As Randidly had intended Ace scored and got his chance to ask the question in his heart first Did you love Sydney

The past Randidly had been frozen by this question It was phrased in the past tense but he had heard the phantom of the present tense lurking in the question So at the time he had lied He had said no

But the current Randidly just chuckled It was fall in the memory and the wind rustled falling leaves on the ground Huge piles had been raked up next to the basketball court with the surface layer of leaves being steadily blown onto the concrete ground His skin tingled with the chill of the night air Overhead the pinks darkened to maroons while half of the sky sank into the navy blue of the deep night at the time I thought I did But now IÆm not sure anymore

That made Ace freeze as Randidly dribbled back up to midcourt Even the act of not popping the basketball took a little bit of mental effort Obviously he hadnÆt expected Randidly to answer immediately Not until he scored again His gaze on Randidly revealed the jealousy that he felt even then toward Sydney But still he forced himself to smile as Randidly walked forward with the ball What do you mean you arenÆt sure Love is love It takes a lot of forms but if you felt it at all I just wanted to know

Randidly shot again from only a few steps beyond half court But with his high Stats the ball passed cleanly through the basket without any trouble Swish

Again after watching the ball arc cleanly through the air and enter cleanly into the hoop Ace froze Then he shook his head in mock disgust as he jogged over to the ball that settled into one of the piles of leaves Well even a blind squirrel can will score every once in a while So whatÆs your question

RandidlyÆs mental energy was almost completely gone Instead of asking a question however he spoke to AceÆs previous statement Love isnÆt just love Emotions are complex Love was a part of what I felt for Sydney But it was also obsession And yearning And a sense of loneliness I couldn’t shake I donÆt think the percentage of love in what I felt for her was very high Especially compared to what I feel now toward Heh Honestly Ace if itÆs just any sort of love toward you

Yet even now knowing how all this ends I’m dancing around the issue Is it really so hard for me to just say I love someone Randidly let that thought trail off but his mind shifted to Vualla Of her determination and certainty Of the way she rolled her eyes and the color of her hair Her strength and her sad smile on the night that they met

Ace looked at Randidly for a long time thanks for being honest I was worried well whatever But what the hell is this You have a crush and you havenÆt told me Is she in your psych elective Damnit whatÆs her name and when can I meet her

RandidlyÆs head was beginning to throb from freely using the pinch of mental energy he had been able to recover The trembling had come back Luckily AceÆs sudden explosion of questions let Randidly walk up to defend him And when Randidly didnÆt reply Ace laughed Hey donÆt be like this I promise I wonÆt steal your crush this time

You always were such a dick but youÆd really do anything you could to help Randidly thought as looked at Ace and truly saw him You would just never stop yourself from hurting me

Then Randidly took a single step forward almost effortlessly taking the ball from AceÆs hands This version of Ace was just a normal human being with no System help By the time Ace had spun around in horror Randidly had already shot Swish again

WhatÆs your dream Ace Randidly asked urgently The whole world was trembling around him as his mental energy once more hit rock bottom He needed something What do you want to be more than anything else

ThatÆs your question Ace said in shock Then he shrugged A strange hesitation kept him silent for a second that felt agonizing to the strained Randidly but he finally answered I donÆt think IÆve ever said this out loud but I kinda just want to be a dad You know One that just is there oo and one that has a grill

Randidly left the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night Back in the real world he swayed and almost fainted But after biting his tongue he managed to stay on his feet His hazy vision gradually settled on Ace

Ace was still cackling He was bleeding and his face was completely covered His left arm the muscle finally ripped and the limb plopped onto the ground As long as this egg hatches all of you All of this hehehehahaha

The answer he had found in the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night did not give Randidly any epiphanies In the end it just made him sad Sad for the reckless and proud young man that Ace had been So instead of the current Ace in front of him Randidly spoke to the Ace he never had the nerve to be honest with in the past

IÆm sorry I lied to you Randidly said to Ace with an honesty he was embarrassed to admit was impossible for him even in a conjured memory I loved Sydney even then You were right to be jealous

Congratulations Your Fatepiece Dreamcatcher of the Long Night has grown to Level 64

Congratulations Your Fatepiece Dreamcatcher of the Long Night has grown to Level 71

Sydney gave Randidly a long look that he didnÆt return after he spoke Ace continued to cackle and stumble forward almost tripping over his own bloody forearm it was like he didnÆt even hear RandidlyÆs apology But really saying the truth out loud was all Randidly could do He couldnÆt force the other party to listen

Sydney sighed and raised her hands That flowing mammal raised its head and chirped A bolt of lightning smote the air and impacted AceÆs chest He twitched for fully two seconds frost slowly condensing on his body Then he collapsed forward and the blood infected images hovering around him dispersed Without his energy aggravating it the energy around the blood egg slowly calmed down Those mouths closed unhappily

Chapter 1404

AceÆs twisted body was slowly devoured by frost To the point that his figure blessedly wasnÆt recognizable

Randidly sat down on the ground and meditated for a while Activating Dreamcatcher of the Long Night had been a bad idea But he didnÆt regret doing it More than the Fatepiece Levels Randidly was glad he had a chance to be honest with Ace No matter how late or ineffective that honesty appeared to have been

Around fifteen minutes later Randidly got back to his feet He didnÆt look over toward AceÆs body On the one hand he thought his friend should be buried But he also had serious doubts whether Ace had earned that respect So he looked around Sydney was still standing in the same position she had been when she killed her former boyfriend Her eyes were calm on Randidly as he got to his feet

RandidlyÆs mouth twisted as he took in her rigid posture Her elemental had settled down on her shoulders and released long misty breaths You look as exhausted as I feel

It was a long day She replied simply

Randidly tilted his head to the side and cracked his neck Then letÆs go about our business We should talk but that can wait until weÆve both had time to recover I suppose And grieve

But Sydney shook her head The whole reason I kept standing here until now is that there is something I want to say to you We wonÆt need to talk again ItÆs fine to interact professionally but I donÆt want to reconnect Randidly I know it isnÆt showing on my face and I know most of my numbness is the influence of my image but I just killed Ace You let me do it This it will take a long time to grieve enough that I donÆt wish things had been different If you had valued our relationship you would have reached out to nurture it while it still existed

She bowed at the waist So thank you For for everything And goodbye

Then Sydney left And honestly Randidly was too exhausted to have much of a reaction to her abrupt departure So he returned to NeveahÆs side and allowed the wave of Riders that finally arrived at their location to carry him back to Kharon He left the unconscious Ezekiel and random other man on the ground but took the blood egg with him

A part of him figured destroying it was for the best but Randidly couldnÆt quite bring himself to do it Not now anyway For the moment it was inert

When they finally returned to Kharon and Randidly carried Neveah up to his island both collapsed and slept to heal their significant wounds

Tatiana had expected the summons for a while Her Skill had informed her that it was coming but she hadnÆt needed the Skill to realize the shift in RandidlyÆs priorities After the battle that had rocked the Western wildlands the entire world had been on edge The images released spread out across half the world Those that were close enough to feel the power of those images were left shocked

No one knew what the Earth would do if Randidly Ghosthound was killed

The rest were driven mad by curiosity over the details of that echoing clash It was an unfortunate time for Kharon to be in civilized areas because Tatiana had to field quite a lot of questions through professional and personal channels about what had happened Those image reverberations were enough that even the issue of the Runic Tablet was lost in the shuffle for a day

Tatiana refused to comment at all Because she honestly only had a general idea of why the fight was necessary she trusted that the Ghosthound had his reasons And twenty six hours after Randidly had returned he had woken up from his slumber

Tatiana had sensed that too her Skill really had quite a few useless uses Rather than call her immediately Randidly engaged furiously in several activities that Tatiana couldnÆt determine the nature of but could clearly feel the images he released as he did them Part of it was Engraving she believed while there was also some meditation and image training thrown into the mix

Again all pointed out to her by her Skill

Then eight hours after he had woken back up Randidly asked Tatiana to come to meet him on his island Tatiana came with Wolfram and three of his best ogre scribes Somehow she figured that they would be needed Annoyingly her Skill wasnÆt able to give her any insight into how Randidly was feeling So she was a little nervous as they landed on his island and proceeded toward the central portion

Randidly was waiting for them in his typical modest shack But the first thing that Tatiana noticed when she walked into the building was that there were stacks of paper everywhere it looked like Randidly had lined the walls with bookshelves in order to contain all the papers that had somehow proliferated wildly since she had last been on the island

Then TatianaÆs eyes settled on Randidly He seemed odd There was a faraway look in his eyes as she entered and the ogres remained beyond the walls of the tiny home He was tapping his finger on the desk and staring at the wall as though he hadnÆt quite noticed their presence yet

His gaze sharpened and his emerald eyes focused on Tatiana a few seconds after she entered Ah you brought ogres Good that might make things easier

Randidly hopped to his feet and walked outside Tatiana dutifully followed her attention focused on the Randidly in front of her In terms of image she was slightly impressed by how controlled the energy around Randidly was The images he produced were very mild And that oppressive weight he was radiating only a few days ago now seemed almost imaginary to her senses Yet somehow Tatiana also had a sense that there was an increased intensity in the air around him

ItÆs his eyes Tatiana realized as Randidly turned and looked at each of the people standing in front of him with a direct glance ItÆs not that heÆs usually distracted but heÆs usually juggling a bunch of thoughts at once But not right now Now heÆs focusing solely on us The weight from his Nether vanished but if anything the force of his gaze is just as heavy

First thingÆs first I want you to schedule a tournament Randidly began Then he flicked his right hand and produced a heavy stone object the size of a textbook This will be the prize Single no thatÆs probably too individualistic Maybe fives No then the playing field will be tilted toward Donnyton Duos then A duo tournament

TatianaÆs eyes widened Is that

The Runic Tablet to name Earth yea Randidly flipped the heavy piece of stone shaped like a miniature tombstone in his hand For a second his expression was bitter but very quickly his frown turned into one of determination I was going to leave it up to Earth to decide and I still think thatÆs the correct decision I donÆt want to name the Earth nor do I want the Order Ducis to have a hand in it But in the past I adopted an attitude of non interference to stay as distant as possible from the politics of Earth for the sake of my image

Yet in the end I couldnÆt stay distant the typical growth of a planet will require too many deaths to teach the people of this world the lessons it needs So I interfered intermittently Which was confusing and dangerous for most of the forces on Earth Because I was suddenly an unpredictable unreliable element of great power For a second RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed In that way I can see why President Greyman wanted to conspire against me

She did it poorly of course But I can now see where she was coming from I added stress to an already strained political ecosystem So for this last month or two that I remain on Earth IÆll interfere as necessary to shape the world up Starting with this Runic Tablet Any questions

Tatiana shook her head None about the tournament IÆll send out word immediately But are you alright

When she asked the question Tatiana specifically pointed at RandidlyÆs metallic left arm She was aware that it was only recently made yet already it hung limp at RandidlyÆs side Periodically white symbols would flash to life but very quickly they would be shorted out as a broken connection was revealed in the Engraving

Randidly chuckled IÆll be fine The arm has some self healing capability the only problem is how much it was damaged It will take some time to build up some healing momentum but IÆm in no rush to return to the Nexus

After thinking for a bit Tatiana scratched her chin Actually I do have a question What sort of timeline do you want for the tournament If you plan on two more months here it should be easy to have while you are still on Earth

Ah Well I was hoping you could delay it until my other projects were established So that they could be revealed all at once When Randidly showed his teeth after speaking Tatiana felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach She gestured for the ogres behind her to prepare themselves

This was where they learned the projects to which they would sell their souls to accomplish in the next two months

First IÆm ready to move ahead with the additional islands to follow behind Kharon The first wave will just have three very large pieces of land each one fully one third of the size of the current Kharon They will be used for agriculture housing and a special project which I will elaborate on later

Tatiana did some quick mental calculations over how much space Randidly was talking about The housing will be apartment style then

Yes with some specialty housing for the ogres We donÆt want space to be the issue holding us back Randidly rubbed his chin He quickly turned around and walked back into the shack before returning with three bundles of paper that he passed to the waiting individuals As Tatiana began to scan through the papers Randidly began to speak

The second big change is the governmental structure The details are in that packet Take your time reading I want to know what your thoughts are Randidly kept a packet to himself which he then opened and began to peruse While Tatiana continued to study him for several seconds he produced a pencil and began to rapidly sketch out several shapes on the paper in front of him

Likely not related to governmental stuff then Tatiana thought Then as she began to read through RandidlyÆs writing she began to frown A few minutes later she was chewing her lip Finally she couldnÆt stand it any longer and spoke I can understand your motivation for some of these choices but if you want to increase predictability why make this roundabout method for selecting the individuals who will be on the council

You might know better than I do how people will react but I donÆt think it will matter Randidly said slowly The representative nominations will eventually be pulled toward the big organizations Whether it be through money or strength I donÆt believe that any process I casually design will be able to resist the human bend toward corruption Which is why the Order Ducis and the Kharon local government will be independent hopefully those forces can act as a protection

What about the threat of chance Tatiana frowned What if one demographic is overrepresented Repeatedly

Randidly shrugged his shoulders while keeping his arms very still Then the other underrepresented group got very unlucky Which is too bad but IÆm not here to make a utopia As outlined in the packet the true point is to make most of the civilian powers of Kharon quibble over those three seats on the council for as long as possible

Because we will control all the true power as the government of Kharon and the Order Ducis And you intend to keep tight control over those areas Tatiana watched RandidlyÆs reaction as she said that The leader of Kharon and the strongest man in the world just smiled mildly Randidly Ghosthound had never been a very charming individual but that smile had the sort of confidence that formed the solid foundation of charm

HeÆs finally become aware of the influence he has on the world and he intends to use it knowingly Tatiana realized She wasnÆt sure if that knowledge was a good thing or a bad thing for the relatively socially out of practice Randidly

Still chewing her lip Tatiana looked back down at the packet in her hands After skimming through all the details she snapped the folder closed There are some adjustments in the details but I think all of these arrangements are fine So whatÆs this project that youÆve been teasing for so long

This time when Randidly smiled it was a wide and enthusiastic grin that made him seem like a normal young man He twisted around the sketch he had made and offered it to Tatiana Heh Let me introduce you to Kharon Academy It will be my legacy and probably my nightmare for the next several weeks

Chapter 1405

They had purposefully designed this training ground out of sandstone but still the stone was smoking and cracked Alana filled the surrounding area with orange fire pushing past her previous limits Her focus slid amongst the tongues of flame carefully sharpening and enhancing the image In the aftermath of Randidly GhosthoundÆs clash against EarthÆs foe Alana had not been able to keep still She positively blazed with passion

The next time this world needs that amount of strength in order to survive Alana swore to herself I must rise to the challenge IÆve lived in RandidlyÆs shadow for far too long This planet doesnÆt always need him to be its hero

So Alana threw herself into training In terms of heatÆ the recent events pushed her imagination into overdrive The heat continued to steadily rise the orange stone around her barely able to withstand the high temperatures she was releasing

When she could no longer find areas to improve in her flames Alana picked up a spear and began to smoothly move through different attack styles Then she shifted to more defensive spear work Each movement was one that she had performed thousands of times That was AlanaÆs strength The slow accumulation of repetition In terms of dedication she had almost no equal

It was only a matter of time before that accumulation became true power And with the current motivation in her chest her previous pace would soon be obliterated Her direction was set

For now Alana satisfied herself after several hours Because she felt Wivanya sitting outside of the training room radiating impatience she eventually wrapped up her practice and calmed her soul down Only when she was perfectly at peace did she walk across the semi melted sandstone and open the door frowning at Wivanya Is something the matter

We just received word that the Order Ducis is hosting a duos combat tournament in order to distribute the Runic Tablet Wivanya said quickly Her sinuous neck undulated as she talked revealing her excitement This is the chance that we the Frost Dragon Brood have been waiting for You and I must participate and win this tournament

Alana considered that piece of news A tournament certainly would make the current undercurrent of political struggles much more manageable Rather than the Zones beginning to plot against each other they would throw all their effort into preparing for the tournament

Mostly AlanaÆs response was a strange sense of curiosity toward what happened in RandidlyÆs fight that would push him in this direction It was definitely out of character for him to intervene now after setting up the whole chaotic rush for the Runic Tablet Hopefully it was proof that he was maturing under the heavy weight of the worldÆs expectations

That thought made Alana shiver she couldnÆt imagine the sort of pressure that Randidly had to endure But the fact that he continued to endure it alone was the reason that the fires in her heart burned so brightly That determination once more flared to life Alana was strongly tempted to turn right around and walk back into the training area

Still her Willpower was currently depleted after her training session So Alana calmed herself down and looked at Wivanya So if we participate and seize victory do you know what you want to name the Earth We shouldnÆt compete unless we have a distinct goal in mind Preparation is key

Of course I have a name Wivanya snorted out two blasts of chilled air There is only one appropriate name considering who the savior of Earth is We shall rename the planet Ghostworld

Alana blinked

ItÆs a play on words Wivanya said smugly Her tail flicked back and forth ItÆs like Ghosthound but an entire world Only in this manner will the glory of the Ghosthound be preserved for all time Ghostworld doesnÆt it have such a nice ring to it

Alana could only shake her head at the single mindedness of the Frost Dragons

And then she giggled as she pictured RandidlyÆs expression if they ended up winning the tournament and choosing that name

Randidly Tatiana Wolfram and the ogre assistants heatedly discussed Kharon Academy for almost six hours By the end of the time Randidly had to admit that he hadnÆt worked out all of the details of the administration yet as most of his focus had been on the design and structure of the Academy It was clear from TatianaÆs expression what she thought of his prioritization skills but she had agreed that he didnÆt need the details yet

The changes to the governmental structure and the construction of the agricultural and residential floating islands would take quite a bit of focus of their own For now KharonÆs government would throw itself behind these relatively simpler projects until Randidly had some more concrete thoughts on how Kharon Academy would function

Which meant Randidly was left alone once more Almost immediately Randidly produced the PhilosopherÆs Key and created a connection across the world to the hideout that Ace had been using He had put this task off for long enough

Although he was given a stay of execution for the problems passed up to him by Tatiana that didnÆt mean Randidly wasnÆt busy If anything he felt overwhelmed by the things that he had to accomplish before he left the Earth

The act of choosing between them was almost as exhausting as the fight against Kaan Swacc had been Almost

At the beginning of the fight with Kaan Randidly had abruptly became aware of the influence he had on the people around him even when he tried not to have an influence That sticky sort of connection was just bred into human behavior Randidly could ignore the people around him but considering his accomplishments they wouldnÆt ignore him Even if he hid deeply they would look for him in order to obtain an advantage expending valuable time and energy in the attempt

So it was better for him to act openly revealing his intentions He should manifest his desires in a clear manner And now that Randidly considered the problem he thought of a lot of changes he wanted for Earth Once again he found the list of tasks in front of him growing As he understood his influence he recognized the proliferating number of methods he could use to accomplish his goals It was honestly intimidating

But at least now these were tasks he wanted to accomplish They were no longer just things that he felt were necessary

That small shift drove him forward So now he went to the hideout of Ace and quickly located YystrixÆs memories that had been previously stolen Or rather that Yystrix allowed to be stolen as one last annoying stunt from a confusing and complicated individual But at this point Randidly couldnÆt hold it against her she was dead and would have no more playfulness in her life

Forgiving the dead was easier somehow

Ace Randidly frowned as he strode through the dimly lit caves and arrived at AceÆs own quarters Rather than a human dwelling it truly resembled the domicile of a monster He had an amalgamation of straw crumpled shirts and folded cardboard as a large nest like resting area Several monster corpses were hanging against the wall likely draining of blood so Ace could cook the meat later But most disturbingly the corpses had been hung above a basin to catch the blood By this point the whole area was thick with flies

Yet RandidlyÆs Grim Intuition continued with its disturbing competency as he glanced over at the area There were cracked remnants of dried blood in the shape of lips at the one end of the basin

Shaking his head in disgust Randidly forced himself not to reflect too deeply on what he was seeing and walked to the corner of the room There he found a square tile with a symbol that looked vaguely like four fleur de lis spreading outward from a central point As soon as Randidly reached out and touched the tile he felt the presence of YystrixÆs memories

Holding it in his hand Randidly released a breath This was the last unstable element present on Earth Now that he had obtained it he felt part of himself relax Well there is also the blood egg but I currently am holding it and will investigate how dangerous it is before I leave Despite what Ace said in the dream projection if that creation of his turns out to be dangerous IÆll crush it without remorse

The one thing humans have no trouble creating is more weapons

Then Randidly took another glance around The place was disgusting but not dangerous it was clear that Ezekiel had used that brief period of time where Randidly hadnÆt pursued immediately to come back and clear things out

His connection to his father was something that Randidly knew he should address But now didnÆt seem like the right time for it

A blast of the Tug of Tragic Silence annihilated the flies in the room Suddenly the cave dwelling was very very quiet So Randidly pushed his Grim Intuition into the memories cautiously very aware of the fact that even now several days after the fight his mental energy was still recovering Truly he had pushed himself too hard against Kaan Swacc The simultaneous activation of three images and Skills left him drained

So if there was a trap within the memories Randidly was perhaps more vulnerable now than he usually would be The only reason he took the risk was due to the fact that Ace had exposed himself to the memories and only made himself deranged as a result That didnÆt seem like the sort of trap that Yystrix would lay

In another way perhaps the gamble was a bit based on faith and trust toward YystrixÆs promise no more tricks These memories were genuinely something that she wanted Randidly to possess

When his perception entered into the memories Randidly immediately felt the oppressive wave of rejection that Ace must have exposed himself to repeatedly Gradually Randidly began to frown as the pressure intensified no wonder the man had looked like shit toward the end But then a few seconds later something clicked and the pressure folded in on itself Randidly found himself floating on a small piece of rock with a brilliant starfield glittering around him

Above him wasnÆt a milky way that he recognized but a golden sunburst of cosmic radiation and brilliant stars In front of him on the piece of rock was a small card and a button with the play symbol on it Randidly first picked up the card

I want to give you some context but not all of my secrets So IÆve taken a page out of your humanÆs book and created a movie I hope you enjoy

P S You will likely need to be at least as strong as I am in terms of images and Engravings before you can crack open all of my memories So if my directorial abilities leave you unsatisfied work hard

Yystrix

Randidly chewed on his lip and lightly brushed his fingers against the button in front of him Immediately he could sense the images and memories that Yystrix wanted to show him folding inward to form a tunnel The golden starfield began to warp and spin opening up a circular space directly above him

He couldnÆt tell how long the memories would last but it was clear that it wouldnÆt be something he could easily peruse as Randidly had hoped So for now he lifted his fingers off of the button took away the tile and then opened a portal to another location The movie wasnÆt going anywhere and there was always more to do

Chapter 1406

When Randidly stepped through the portal to his next destination he was surprised to see that he was not the only person nearby A young woman grunted with exertion and stuck her spade into the ground She was hunched over perhaps six meters down the slope from him With an extremely slow movement she tossed the dirt to the side Then she stuck the head of the shovel into the ground once more

They were standing on the Western slope of a low mountain exactly opposite the position where Randidly had fought Kaan Swacc several days ago The clouds above were thick and white against the blue sky although the wind was extremely cold It seemed like the Earth had finally shifted toward the long delayed winter

Randidly recognized the young woman below him too It was Rose Callaway the young woman who served as AceÆs second in command From the look of it she was digging a grave

Basically she was stealing RandidlyÆs thunder

As she flipped her second shovel full of dirt to the side she noticed Randidly standing on the slope She stilled and looked at him for a long time Randidly saw her trembling lips and watery eyes He saw how red and raw her hands were From the fact that she had only reached a depth of about a half meter so far she either had started her grave recently or she wasnÆt very good at digging

So Randidly took a single step forward Can I help

Rose Callaway continued to watch Randidly for a long time She pressed her lips together so tightly that they turned white Then finally she nodded

As Randidly conjured a shovel completely composed of roots he glanced up at the sky More clouds were beginning to gather and the accumulation turned their countenances dark with their luck enough clouds would gather for a storm before they finished Still Randidly was an old hand at digging graves from his time on Tellus so he quickly hopped down next to Rose and began to dig

She quickly frowned at him I know you can use that root Skill for more than making a shovel Why make us both dig

Randidly took a very pointed glance at RoseÆs hands Although it had rubbed off in most places there was clearly still blood under her fingernails Then he glanced sideways at AceÆs corpse which he had been avoiding looking at thus far Even his severed left forearm had been retrieved and set neatly next to him while his other limbs seemed to twist and curl inward on themselves with the unwillingness he had felt at the moment of his death Some things are worth doing by hand ItÆs a sign of respect right

A sign that the other party will never receive Rose replied in a whisper But she fell into place next to Randidly widening the hole while he handled adding more depth In order to work effectively Randidly summoned another wave of roots this one forming into a replacement for his left arm while his metallic arm continued to heal

Why arenÆt you taking his body back to the Refuge to bury him Randidly asked casually

A hollow smile flashed across RoseÆs face It was one of AceÆs earliest rules You can only be buried in Refuge if you die in the defense of refuge And I think no one would argue that this was anything but AceÆs own labor

For a while they worked in silence Even though his mental energy was largely depleted RandidlyÆs physical Stats meant that he was a veritable work crew when it came to grave digging Within ten minutes he had reached a depth of three meters with enough length and width to comfortably lay Ace By this point the clouds had completely darkened from white to dark grey

Randidly hopped out of the hole and offered his hand down to Rose She ignored it and pulled herself up out of the hole part of the wall crumbling down into the grave as she hauled herself over the edge Then Rose dusted the dirt off of her knees and sat down next to the crumpled form of Ace After burying her head in her arms she sat there for several more minutes

Although Randidly had other things to do none of it was particularly pressing So he reigned in his impatience and gave the woman a bit of space to grieve Instead he looked up and watched the first few flakes of snow drift downward toward Earth

So much change all at once Randidly thought tiredly ItÆs honestly hard to keep up with it all

Rose spoke in a hoarse voice not bothering to raise her head Why are you even here Why bother giving him a grave IÆm aware of what happened You let him die If you think digging some fucking hole will help with your guilt

I donÆt feel guilty Randidly said slowly He reached up toward the sky with his right hand stretching the shoulder joint until it popped pleasantly Bits of snow drifted downward and melted in his outstretched palm IÆm not here as some form of repentance I came to dig Ace a grave because I wanted to do it

You watched a man get slaughtered and calmly planned to come back later to bury his body Either you are more a monster than even your worst critics say or you are lying to me Mr Ghosthound

Despite the fact that Randidly didnÆt know this woman personally or perhaps because of it the first part of her statement stung But Randidly ignored that Instead he just allowed a sad smile to drift across his face as he lowered his arm I just believe that humans are sometimes shaped to our detriment by simple narratives You cannot summarize a life

There were several seconds of silence Randidly looked freely at Rose CallowayÆs hunched form trying to gauge her reaction Her skin was as pale as a corpse and the bones of her elbow jutted sharply out from her folded seated position Without her expression or any noticeable images he had to rely on just these details This thought about simplicity had been one bouncing around RandidlyÆs head since the fight and SydneyÆs chilled reaction afterward but he hadnÆt had the spare time to explore it fully So if he had the opportunity to talk through it

When Rose didnÆt speak Randidly slowly continued You seem to think that I couldnÆt agree with Sydney killing Ace and also have enough respect for him to want to bury him But Ace IÆve seen too much of him He was too big a part of my life to be summed up by a single emotion He was many things to me I owe him so much and he probably owes me a little bit more than that but I wonÆt just reduce our relationship to the difference between our obligations And I also donÆt need an easy label like good or bad to understand him

He was a good man Rose responded fiercely finally raising her head in order to glare at Randidly Her eyes were red and leaking tears like a rusted bucket

Randidly didnÆt try to contradict her he didnÆt even want to contradict her Instead his mind turned to another shadowy figure in his mind that of Yystrix Randidly rubbed his thumb against the knuckles of his pointer finger If he had to qualify her as a good or a bad person

but he made a lot of mistakes RoseÆs gaze settled on the middle distance seeming to remember the past

Revelation energy sparked to cover RandidlyÆs hand And from there it raced up his arm and down his torso like wildfire in a dry grassland until his entire body was smoldering with it Of all of the Skills he had used to fight Kaan Swacc this was the one with which Randidly had improved the most Because suddenly he realized how far his gaze could reach while holding that energy

A threshold was a door and beyond that door was a sea of shifting possibilities Randidly flexed his fingers and saw the ripple he spread outward through those possibilities Action and reaction the connection made clear and highlighted by the revelation energy It wasnÆt perfect of course but still With that energy boosting his focus he could glimpse the possibilities in front of him As long as he controlled his own actions this energy would give him a glimpse of what that would cause

But instead of looking at the outcomes in the sea of possibilities Randidly looked at what little he could perceive of the steps to get to those outcomes before his eyes He focused on the details that paved the Paths to the future that he could see

Next to him Rose shook her head He was a complicated man but IÆm still going to miss him

Yeah Me too Randidly sighed Knowledge often brought with it a choice between the awareness of the knowledge he was missing or surety The former would point him toward increasing his knowledge further but the latter was easy

As he now sought to deepen his knowledge Randidly instead found irony He had protected the Earth but he had killed a member of the Xyrt Brigade a group created to defend the Nexus to do it And honestly perhaps it was correct for the Xyrt Brigade to target him he had made a vow with Vualla to target the Nexus

Yet that was the future Right now Randidly looked at the past that leads him here standing next to AceÆs grave And the closer Randidly peered at the chain of causality the more disturbed he became It was clear in retrospect that Yystrix had made every effort in order to nurture Randidly It was a tough love that would have let him die if Randidly had failed to keep up with expectations but the results were tremendous RandidlyÆs growth was impossibly fast

If not for Yystrix Randidly would not have had the strength to defeat Kaan Swacc He was the progeny of a known enemy of the System and he carried that inheritance well In addition Randidly probably had the chance to intervene in the life of Ace Ridge in the past It wasnÆt a sure thing but Randidly expected he might have been able to sway AceÆs Path had he known and intervened early enough

Was Yystrix a torturous mother figure or a heroic trainer with high expectations Was Randidly the villain for the roads he hadnÆt taken in the past

But as he said to Rose earlier those were simple narratives To follow them was a mistake You can either look for more knowledge or be sure One of those is much easier than the other

The revelation energy burned across his body melting the increasingly thick flurries of snow His eyes stared at the ground completely oblivious to the world around him

If Randidly shoved an individual was he at fault if that individual shoved back What if Randidly knew that the shoved individual was aggressive What if Randidly had seen the individual shove back for dumb reasons in the past What if Randidly was 100% percent sure that the individual would shove back but he shoved anyway despite forewarning of that reaction Was he at fault for the reaction if he knew it was going to happen

Was it the intent the action the result or the awareness that would make him a guilty party Where did culpability lay The possibilities buzzed in front of Randidly like a swarm of bees in a tunnel full of honey

Congratulations Your Skill Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold has grown to Level 298

A dangerous Skill Randidly thought tiredly as he opened his eyes and extinguished the energy around him He could see the danger of reducing anyone to just one or two descriptors but he didnÆt have any secret insight into the workings of the heart If anything this newfound understanding of social interaction only made him more confused

To want to answer these questions would help him continue to improve To obsess over the details of culpability would doom him to simple narratives

But his exposure to revelation energy did have one desirable side effect One that would now assume its place at the core of RandidlyÆs behavior from now until the day he died Now that all the pieces seemed to disassemble themselves before him truthfully or not Randidly stumbled across something important He didnÆt need just to react anymore He could act in accordance with his own wishes

I can act as I want ItÆs time I consciously live my own life

No more platitudes to try out on me then Rose asked sourly snapping back RandidlyÆs focus Then he shook his head and dislodged the bit of snow that had settled there She was still looking at him with a frown but a lot of her animosity was gone But okay IÆll bite To you heÆs more than a good man a bad man or a complicated one heÆs Ace So why does Randidly Ghosthound the heroic leader of the Order Ducis help dig the grave for Ace a man who planned to submerge the Zones in a sea of blood

Honestly I didnÆt just help I dug most of the grave Randidly cheekily pointed out

RoseÆs expression darkened Answer the question

DidnÆt I already answer I wanted to Randidly didnÆt smile He just let the pain of his drained mental energy and vague grief at AceÆs death show in his emerald eyes

Rose twisted her mouth It is enough I suppose It just isnÆt very satisfying And IÆll say this that was the justification that Ace used for all the things that he did So you are certainly in interesting company

To that Randidly just scratched his cheek After a bit more of silent standing Rose gestured to the body and Randidly nodded his head Randidly took the legs while Rose moved to the head They lifted Ace Ridge helmet still on his head and lowered him down into the grave Rose picked up his arm and tossed it in after him in a casual motion that probably had more to due with her exhaustion than any disrespect While Randidly rapidly shifted the dirt to cover his former friend Rose created a small headstone

Ace Ridge

He wanted to be Dauntless He gave everything to that dream

For a few minutes Randidly bowed his head and settled his emotions Snow immediately began to settle on the grave as though this storm had been brewed specifically to blanket the newly buried Ace Yet Randidly kept his focus inward IÆm not responsible for this But that doesnÆt mean I shouldnÆt try harder in the future to prevent things like it

Then he opened his eyes and they flared brilliantly emerald in the dark evening gloom Right now he needed to take another rest more than anything else The next thing Randidly wanted to do was test the merging of images in less stressful circumstances And to accomplish that he would need to be at his peak mental condition

Yet as he flipped the PhilosopherÆs Key and created a portal Rose spoke again Can I have a job

Randidly twisted around and frowned at Rose She wasnÆt looking at Randidly this time She was just staring at the rough headstone that she had carved Already the top was lined with snow Chewing on his lip Randidly thought about the question At the same time he couldnÆt stop thinking about what he had seen happen to other people that were left alone with grief

Randidly gritted his teeth It isnÆt a sure thing Do I owe it to her to try and steer her away from that Path

The possibilities hummed in front of him incessantly But Randidly pushed them away and forced the tense muscles of his back to relax No what I really should be asking is do I want to offer Rose Calloway a job

That turned out to be a very easy question Randidly nodded She might need to be watched for a while but he had subordinates enough for that And if she proved to be capable Sure You helped Ace run the Refuge correct I have a big project that could use someone of your Skills Do you have any experience teaching

As Randidly continued to speak RoseÆs expression became strange When he frowned at her unusual reaction and subsequent silence she seemed to shiver and then shook her head You you seem to be misunderstanding something I donÆt want to sell myself short but I basically just handed the reports to Ace He took care of everything He might have been crazy when it came to interacting with the world but for the Refuge Ace always made time Even at the end He was like a father to those people My Skills are mostly related to observation and analyzing problems Oh and general Skill knowledge

Huh Is that so Randidly glanced back at the headstone Following an impulse he walked up to the grave and brushed the accumulated snow off of AceÆs grave Then he forced himself to turn away

Chapter 1407

Just call me the bagel guy everyone does The man had his hair greased back and a remarkably cheeky smile considering the fact he claimed that someone had tried to murder him only twenty minutes ago If you ask around IÆm kinda a big deal Everyone knows me

Hydie Mordath tried her best to control her emotions in the face of this overly confident man Because when she lost her cool her passive ability to influence the surroundings negatively would greatly expand in scope and potency As much fun as it would be to have the building around them collapse on this greasy bagel guyÆ she was also in the same room as him Mr Deetz if you would just answer

Call me the bagel guy sugar How many times do I have to say it before it gets through your pretty little head Gary Deetz glanced at Derek Moss and chuckled as though he had said something funny With his good hand he continued to dab at the wound on his left shoulder with a rag

The three of them were standing inside DeetzÆs Bagels the scene of the attack Bagels were strewn across the floor of the shop making an already cramped interior feel especially cluttered According to Gary Deetz the assailant snuck in through the front door and attacked him Privately Hydie wondered how coming in the front door counted as sneaking But the prospect of the investigation was enough of a positive jolt that she had carefully noted down everything the man said

According to him Mr Deetz responded immediately and engaged in a valiant struggle ultimately fending off the superior image of the attacker due to several insightful strategies After failing to subdue Mr Deetz in a short amount of time the assailant turned around and fled before help could arrive

Hydie and Derek had already interviewed the textiles shop next door From the owner they had learned all about how Mr Deetz had been shrieking like a pig staring down a butcherÆs cleaver even after his attacker fled

HydieÆs smile was brittle Mr Deetz do you recall any distinguishing features of the assailant

Mr Deetz released an exaggerated sigh DidnÆt we talk about this before Honey IÆm not going to indulge in your ditziness and repeat myself

Two emotions warred in HydieÆs chest and anger won If this bagel baking piece of shit thought that the most dangerous threat to his life right now was a random act of violence from a stranger Hydie would take great pleasure in educating him about his very murderable face Also if the assailant really was eight feet tall how the hell would he fit through the door of this dinky little

Smells like your next batch of bagels are burning Derek Moss said sniffing the air He glanced lightly sideways at Hydie Seems like this just isnÆt your lucky day Mr Deetz

Shit Gary Deetz dashed into the back room leaving the two provisional Order Ducis members alone Under Derek MossÆs mild look Hydie didnÆt have the shamelessness to cover up her blush She idly kicked a poppyseed bagel by her foot

But then Hydie let her other dominant emotion in her chest to the surface excitement We we are practically detectives right now I used to love those crime shows She gleefully rubbed her hands together to hide her earlier embarrassment Now we are going to need to gather clues and interview suspects and if we are lucky there will be a chase Oh And the twist Probably the real culprit is someone weÆve spoken to already that woman who owned the textiles store seemed like a real cool cucumber

Calm down Derek Moss said as he rolled his eyes This isnÆt a murder maybe not even an attempted murder Just an assault New Earth is a violent place and a lot of the new arrivals to Kharon are used to a chaotic environment and are now trying to find out where they fit in the pecking order This could just be someone lashing out And apparently they were evenly matched with this bagel guy So perhaps they went to sulk and reevaluate their choices

Ah so you agree this guyÆs a giant piece of shit For a second HydieÆs face broke out into a grin Then she pouted Maybe we are just ahead of the game with the investigation So when this perp finally commits his first murder

Do you think we would be sent to investigate if it wasnÆt just an assault Derek asked If someone really lost their life randomly in Kharon this job would be passed to someone way above our paygrade

For a second HelenÆs lovely slightly crazed smile filled HydieÆs mind and she couldnÆt suppress a shiver She kicked another bagel This one skipped off another bagel and knocked into the coat rack by the door which teetered and then fell toward Derek The man caught it and straightened the piece of furniture without batting an eye

So for now just focus on capturing the image remnants that the killer left here alright IÆll handle the rest of the interview Derek continued

Once Gary Deetz finished in the back he returned with his wide smiles and greasy hair But Derek Moss professionally stepped forward and urged Gary in a low tone saying that Hydie was busy using a special Skill of the Order Ducis and should not be interrupted under any circumstances

So Hydie had the time to spread out her senses and brush against the edges of the images from the brief earlier clash Immediately it was obvious that Mr Deetz had grossly exaggerated his own exploits There was only a single small image from him being steadily corroded by the waves of violent image remnants left by the killer

Immediately HydieÆs excitement was reignited The only reason that Mr Deetz was able to survive was because his doughie gooey image perfectly countered the blade like image the attacker used Jackpot Hehe finally something interesting to focus on while IÆm blending in here

Trying not to let herself get too excited by the fact that someone had nearly died Hydie left her hyper vigilant state and gave Derek a subtle signal With a military brusqueness that Hydie couldnÆt help but admire Derek Moss announced that they needed to follow up on clues and marched out of DeetzÆs Bagels without a backward glance

As her partner stepped out from the shop into the chilly wind he just as quickly took a step to the side avoiding a sharp icicle that had dislodged overhead dropped silently downward at the top of his skull Derek dispassionately watched it crack against the ground to make sure there was no more misfortune waiting in the act Then he continued walking forward as though nothing had happened

Hydie hurried after Derek in order to keep up with his long strides Despite her points in Vitality the cold made her very uncomfortable DonÆt you want to know what I found Heheh if what I sensed is true it was only by luck that he was able to survive

You know I donÆt believe in luck Derek Moss said as the duo came to a busy intersection Snow drifted lightly downward around them but most of the accumulation was already present on the ground stamped into slush by the flow of bodies through KharonÆs streets “Besides you know that we will need to pursue this in our free time right We won’t be exempt from training duties because of it “

That reaction surprised Hydie “You are willing to let a violent individual just wander around Kharon “

“Have you been to Kharon It’s hard to be scared of a random criminal after meeting our superiors ” Derek said seriously His eyes were intense as he scanned the flow of people around them “I doubt a serious threat would remain at large for long in this city Images are too easy to trace once you catch ahold of them “

After making sure that there was no likely source of accidents coming from around him Derek crossed the street and walked into an alley From there he wiped away the few inches of snow pulled up a manhole and descended into KharonÆs underbelly

As she climbed down the ladder Hydie changed the conversation topic How can you say you donÆt believe in luck after partnering with me for these three weeks Everyone else gives up after two days due to my Aura of Misfortune eep

HydieÆs hand shot out lightning fast as a rat skittered across the pipe next to her head smashing into the rodentÆs body and turning into liquid gore that exploded outward Derek glanced upward calmly wiping some bloody fur that had been flung onto his cheek

It could have been one of the Level 30 Sewer Vermin Hydie muttered in her defense as she reached the ground Due to the nonexistent luck none of the ratÆs remains had ended up on her sharply tailored Order Ducis uniform If enough of them gather even someone as strong as us would be threatened

Derek simply pointed down one of the side passages nearby From the darkness Hydie could see hundreds of glowing red eyes in the darkness carefully studying the details of her person so that the lurking horde could avenge its fellow vermin in the future As HydieÆs face warped into a look of horror Derek had already tossed three glowing green orbs into the passage

With a crack each orb blasted out a wave of emerald fire that sent the rodents screeching and fleeing When the magical flames extinguished themselves a few seconds later perhaps three fourths of the horde had been turned into sizzling corpses Derek continued to walk forward down the main passage

Why donÆt we just wipe them all out Hydie complained as she followed barely catching herself as she stubbed her toe on a bit of uneven ground

Derek shrugged From what Naffur has said itÆs an ecosystem thing Plus they can breed in places that are quite hard for humans to reach And at least this way they are a manageable threat to send some of KharonÆs youths after Gives them a sense of direction

To that Hydie shook her head They quickly crossed through the passages toward the training area for the new Order Ducis Applicants And how do you feel having your son learning the Skills to be a rat exterminator How is your son anyway

Derek paused briefly and glanced back at Hydie A pipe above him leaked at that very moment causing a spurt of unidentifiable liquid to dribble over his hand Tsk ing to himself Derek quickly wiped the liquid away and continued forward Why do you ask so many questions about my son anyway It always sounds like you are making veiled threats on his life

Hydie flashed the most charming smile she could manage toward DerekÆs broad shoulders as he determinedly continued walking forward You are so military training guy all the time ItÆs only when you talk about your son that I remember that you probably behaved in a cute manner in the past Before you became

Hydie tried to find the right mixture of accuracy and insult so rigid Like an oak tree bred and raised by an obsessed mathematician

To that Derek sighed IÆm definitely not as rigid as you make me out to be Besides

But Derek snapped his mouth shut as he stopped abruptly in the passage In the next second the door in front of him burst open If he had continued moving forward the heavy metal door would probably have impacted his face and broken his nose The man who opened the door was wiping his sweat from his salt and pepper grey hair when he noticed the two people beyond the door

Mr Moss Miss Mordath I IÆm so sorry I know IÆm not supposed to use this set of doors The Order Ducis applicant mumbled but he was lightly nudged to the side as Derek Moss continued forward As opposed to the bubbling anger of Valor Rend or the fearsome geniality of Ajax Derek Moss had earned the fear and respect of the applicants with the brief glance he gave the man as he passed

It was a glance that said You are nothing to me IÆve seen you before and IÆll see the likes of you again Do not stand in my way You are wasting my precious time with your inferiority

The applicant despite being probably twenty years DerekÆs senior stepped meekly to the side and lowered his gaze Hydie tried to imitate that heavy glance as she passed but the result wasnÆt satisfactory The man just looked confused when he saw HydieÆs look

Truthfully itÆs a curse to have such good looks Hydie thought as she shook her head in mock horror Then she adjusted her glasses and continued after Derek into the training area There Valor Rend was standing with his hands on his hips looking down at the collapsed figures of the applicants around him in mostly feigned disappointment

Hydie secretly memorized that expression as well Later she would practice both in her mirror

But ValorÆs expression brightened when he saw Derek and Hydie After a few growled complaints to the exhausted applicants he walked over to them with a spring in his step You two ready to take over Training these weaklings is such

Both Derek and Valor froze and a split second later Hydie felt something strange in the air It was an alluring call

Suddenly she found herself swaying Blinking rapidly Hydie stifled a yawn What the hell was that

Why do I feel so sleepy The Order Ducis applicant that had opened the door for Derek and Hydie had followed after them and returned to his training and now barely stayed on his feet when he was hit by that energy Then as Hydie watched he collapsed

Eidolon Crucible Valor said in an excited tone And yes Word from the top Now that HeiffalÆs boys are back we can all go in You ready for some fun

Derek Moss reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose This always leaves me with such a headache

Chapter 1408

Unfortunately for RandidlyÆs plan to throw himself into training immediately after his return to his island and taking the time to recover he was not able to immediately begin researching the process of mixing his three images Because when he finally felt like himself after a refreshing three hours of meditation the familiar tugs of the Eidolon Crucible pulled at his consciousness

Randidly considered resisting the Skill activation but he also believed that it was important to ascertain the current state of Kharon They had probably doubled the cityÆs population in the last few weeks with all the refugees from bubble cities and Randidly wanted to make sure that these new arrivals didnÆt dilute his image for the Wandering City

This was the shield that Randidly was leaving for Earth to prepare for a threat he wouldnÆt be around to face This was to be the torch in the dark illuminating the Path toward salvation

So he sighed and allowed himself to be swept up into the Skill

Congratulations Your Skill Reign of the Eidolon Crucible has grown to Level 227

Congratulations Your Skill Reign of the Eidolon Crucible has grown to Level 245

Afterward Randidly collapsed again into a another batch of meditative sleep As far as he could tell in the contest of wills and images Kharon was still well on track to fulfilling its role To the point that even Randidly was starting to feel apprehensive of these clashes When he had finished suppressing his headache Randidly awkwardly rubbed his nose with his finger If my growth wasnÆt so monstrous these fuckers would have caught up and defeated me already

Heh maybe the timing of my departure to the Nexus is a good thing even if I am unbeatable alone just the weight of their numbers is becoming overwhelming

Once his mental strength was back to its peak he then needed to prepare and cleanse his mind Closing his eyes Randidly whipped out every spare thought His Soulspace slowly settled into complete stillness There wasnÆt even the smallest resonance in any of his Skills When he moved his images they needed to be as violent as a wildfire and as sudden as the storm on the plains

RandidlyÆs eyelids slowly rose and he checked his mental state He had no new messages and couldnÆt think of any pressing business He wanted to go talk to Lyra about her experience with Kaan but that could wait He was focused and prepped it was finally time to investigate the merging images

Humming to himself Randidly first stood and stretched Unity between mind and body Purity of purpose through motion When his heart began to quicken and his skin was warm he focused inward on his three images The Grim Chimera Yggdrasil and the Stillborn Phoenix all began to grow and solidify in his inner space they expanded to fill his physical form

At the last second Randidly stopped himself from activating his images and sent out a quick message Neveah are you alright

For a briefest moment a horrible wave of grief had swept through their deep connection After she had been mentally bombarded by Kaan Swacc Randidly had been keeping a close eye on his Soulbound companion So despite the fact that he had cleansed himself his thoughts and his body the stirring from that connection seized his attention

Quickly Randidly examined what he knew about NeveahÆs current situation While he had thrown himself into his work she had meditated on his island until only a few hours ago Then she had suddenly announced she wanted to go study some Engraving and make some soup

Randidly had figured that her return to YystrixÆs tomb would be a good distraction But for only a few hours to pass and already for her grief to have grown to this extent

IÆm fine I just found I was just surprised Through their connection Randidly felt Neveah push aside her grief and send a wave of disapproval his way And do you seriously think you can train while you are distracted like this Get it together You are going to need strength when you go to the Nexus