LoRG 3

S so s sad Very dangerous looking Salizar shook from side to side

Vualla bobbed her head I guess the face is okay but that huge claw of yours ehhehe itÆs definitely a capable body that you have there

sharp claws Came the low whisper from Zauna But by the time Randidly twisted around he could see any proof that she had spoken

Despite the strange compulsion Randidly felt earlier to come on this walk with Vualla suddenly Randidly felt profoundly tired The three people around him were all weirdos And Vualla especially did she have a fetish for large hands It made a certain sort of strange since while looking at her huge gauntlets

The group had avoided the edge of VuallaÆs camp and joined the low road that led back toward the towering rocky outcropping of the headquarters Glancing to the side Randidly saw that VuallaÆs eyes were aimed upward toward the tendrils of Nether that still remained in the sky Ah does she want to go see the damage to the camp that was attacked But why was she so adamant about it

Then Vualla clanged her large fist into the metal palm of her other hand I suppose itÆs my turn IÆm Vualla The reason that IÆm special is that I will destroy the System someday

That brought Randidly to an abrupt halt He stopped walking completely Vualla continued forward as Randidly stared at her back her long hair swishing side to side as it lightly brushed the ground His words came to him slowly He felt even less capable of speech than Salazar You want to destroy the System

Of course Vualla nodded seriously as if it was the most natural thing in the world

Randidly found himself nodding almost subconsciously along with her I I also wish to destroy the System

Finally Vualla paused and turned to look at Randidly Her mouth slid easily into a smile as her azure eyes sparkled mischievously Then it will be a race wonÆt it Try not to make this too easy for me Randidly Ghosthound

S she has a big advantage Salazar whispered conspiratorially to Randidly With her b body But Sir I think

Snorting Randidly raised his claw and physically snapped SalazarÆs mouth shut The snake manÆs eyes widened as the dangerous talons gently pressed the mechanism of his jaw Randidly grinned dangerously at him DonÆt worry IÆve got it

The foursome continued to walk for quite some time At first the only noise that accompanied them was the soft patter of their feet on the tightly packed dirt of the path Of course Salizar eventually forgot the implied threat of RandidlyÆs claw and began to chatter again explaining all of the many accomplishments he had in his own world

Most mind boggling of all was the fact that both Vualla and Zauna appeared rather amused by the snakemanÆs wild stories The only benefit of the constant chatter was that once he got on a roll SalazarÆs stutter completely disappeared He even appeared to gain some confidence His voice deepened and suddenly the narrative carried a persuasive sort of energy

RandidlyÆs Grim Intuition could feel the edges of a powerful image lurking behind SalazarÆs voice Perhaps not just a coward then but someone who was not meant to ever exist on a battlefield If we can maintain the integrity of his image he will be useful for weakening the surrounding Nether at least

With Salazar extolling his own virtues the group passed by the vast base of the rocky outcropping that served as headquarters They walked around the inside keeping an eye on the destabilized and warped land at the edge of the Great Rift But their path did take them nearer to the edge of the lands that Aether held sway Even from here Randidly could feel a strange thrum from the blackness that he associated with the blue veins

It was like the Great Rift was breathing Without a doubt the victory Nether had won by attacking the far camp had given that breath strength

It was around dawn when they arrived at the farthest camp The landscape over here was much rockier and uneven then the space around IellayaÆs camp perhaps due to the recent attack But because of it they were able to ascend a low hill that gave the group a good view from which to see the damage done to the camp

It was hard for Randidly to understand what he was seeing however There seemed to be strange window like panes that reflected light and space that dominated the center of his view The middle of the camp had been folded in on itself completely isolating the staging area from the rest of the surrounding camp A group of people led by a man with closely cropped blue grey hair were gathering around the distortions and slowly healing them

The man was tall and vaguely familiar It was clear that this individual was the one in charge of the camp Every second he issued a string of orders all the while utilizing an image potent enough that Randidly could sense the edges of it from here After watching for a few minutes Randidly glanced sideways at the pale face of Vualla

She grinned weakly when she noticed his gaze Yea heÆs why I came He is my father I just I just wanted to make sure he was okay

Do you want to go down and talk to him Randidly asked This was murky territory for him As the Grim Chimera he didnÆt have any parents And the main bodyÆs relationship with his parents was rather strange as well But he understood that these subjects were rather delicate for most But also Randidly found himself strangely disappointed that this was the reason she so wanted to come here

It just seems so mundane Randidly thought as he continued to carefully scrutinize the azure light of VuallaÆs eyes

No WeÆve never met VuallaÆs voice was filled with bitterness I was born after he was sent to the frontlines He probably wouldnÆt even recognize me HeÆs been serving here fighting against the enemies of the System for 50 years

Her heavy iron gauntlets tightened into fists ThatÆs why I will destroy this System IÆm tired of it using us until we break and wither And then replacing us My father used to visit home occasionally before I was born He made it home to see the birth of all three of my brothers But then those three grew up As individuals with lower tiered citizenship in the Nexus they were drafted into the SystemÆs army And they died trying to expand its borders IÆve seen their graves they are shallow pathetic things They

Vualla choked up and released a hiss

Randidly watched her in fascination She had walked here the place where her family had died He wondered if she would cry again Why come here then if you werenÆt going to talk to him

Turning away from her father ordering his soldiers Vualla crouched down and pressed her chin to her knees Her long and brilliant hairs scattered into the coppery dirt around her Because heÆs still my father Because I wanted to see if some part of me would soften when I saw him He serves the System after all Reveres it even If he learned my plan he would spare no effort to stop me

RandidlyÆs emerald eyes flashed And did you soften

No Vualla whispered If anything I just became more sure I want to end this farce so badly that my chest is heavy with the dream of it Have you have you ever wanted something so wholly that the small mundane details of the world feel exhausting Like youÆve become so completely tied up in one endeavor that you have only apathy remaining for the rest of it

Some part of Randidly stirred Because deep in his core the Grim Chimera had heavy strains that came from the destructive impulses of Alta and Ulaat the Patron of Ash Those were two individuals who drank deeply of the cup of obsession

Although Vualla was clearly more considered and less self destructive in her goals he sensed the same unwavering resolve in her that had been in those two tragic individuals

Some instinct urged him not to answer VuallaÆs question about drive and obsession but Randidly was grinning down at her Yes I know deeply the sensation of craving

She smiled up at him but her face was shadow and her hair seemed to be so luminous that it blinded him to the details of her face The only thing that he could see was her white teeth I knew there was a reason that I was drawn to you

Chapter 1059

As the dawn slowly crept outward they remained in their respective positions Randidly wondered idly whether they would ever move It felt like VuallaÆs words had transformed him into a statue And honestly Randidly didnÆt mind

Eventually Vualla stood and shook herself a bit like a cat She started with her feet then her legs her hips her torso and her head All the while her hair spun around her like a gleaming waterfall Then she waved her heavy gauntlets at Randidly Alright letÆs head back I just I got what I came for

Randidly nodded slowly His two followers remained silent and behind him as the foursome continued back toward their respective camps

Perhaps it was due to the fact that no one spoke on the return journey but time seemed to drag out into a long spool of endless thread as their trundled procession proceeded forward There was no sun but the ambient light to this strange slice of land at the edge of the universe slowly grew more abundant The harsh reflected light off of the orange dirt beneath their feet grew increasingly unbearable and added an unearthly quality to their journey

Yet still Randidly remained silent while in the thick of those strange sensations It wasnÆt that he was uncomfortable during the procession No that wasnÆt true He was uncomfortable But it wasnÆt the silence of their journey that had seized the deepest recesses of his brain and refused to release him It was the memory of VuallaÆs bitter words embedded in that strange sudden night walk

I knew there was a reason that I was drawn to you

Randidly blinked What was he afraid of Unlike most people that he encountered he didnÆt particularly fear being alone Isolation was the lot of the Grim Chimera And although he greatly struggled to avoid death Randidly had already made his peace that his end would come eventually That was one of the core tenants of the Grim ChimeraÆs image life was just a matter of how long you could drag out the chase

Yet Randidly had still felt that silent resonance in his chest when Vualla had said the first line about fear The worry and anxiety he held inside himself trembled with something akin to shame as she spoke It revealed itself by its fear of being revealed and Randidly was disgusted with himself for feeling it So he picked and picked trying to find the source

Unfortunately nothing emerged from his efforts And this was also an area that the main body struggled with So what did he fear His thoughts chased their tails endlessly

Although time dragged Randidly soon found himself facing Vualla as she prepared to enter her own camp The sudden picture was so abrupt and such a sharp change from their journey that for several seconds Randidly could do nothing but blink

Thank you Vualla said finally after examining him for a long minute Her azure eyes seemed determined to measure and memorize every facet of his physical body It was an unnecessary thing you did But But I think because of it we might be able to change our futures We we are both people who will end tragically wonÆt we

Randidly tilted his head to the side There was something oddly familiar to the way that Vualla was speaking No it wasnÆt her tone it was a sensation Randidly felt something from her words as she spoke but he couldnÆt place the sensation What

Blinking Vualla abruptly shook her head and laughed I honestly have no idea where that came from But anyway yes thank you I hope I hope to see you again

Then she spun on her heel and walked away her long hair wreathed around like an aquamarine halo RandidlyÆs eyes remained fixed upon her until her form was swallowed up by the uniform sea of tents of her camp Several times he almost spoke but he had no idea what to say He didnÆt have anything to say but he wanted

With a sigh Randidly turned away Then he reached both of his limbs up toward the sky until the joints of his shoulders and elbow popped and snapped Now that Vualla was gone some of the more mundane concerns were returning to him It wasnÆt tiring exactly to move in this image body But because his image had become increasingly detailed there were some unfortunate side effects

For example Randidly was shocked to find that his feet were rather sore Or rather he imagined that they were sore which made them so Twisting around he looked at Zauna and Salazar The snake man straightened immediately and pounded his chest with a self important air

Ahem In m my world females often enjoy receiving the h headless corpses of common v v vermin

When Randidly raised his claw menacingly SalazarÆs mouth clicked shut with a strangely satisfying noise Shaking his head at the foolishness of the more talkative of his two subordinates Randidly once more underlined the mental note to determine what sort of influence he had over them If it was possible to use some sort of punishment to improve their attitudes

shiny rocks

Randidly paused Then he twisted around and looked at Zauna Her face was completely stoic In the face of her unexpressive visage there was nothing Randidly could do but sigh and continue his walk across the no manÆs land between the two camps

When they arrived back at the tent Yggdrasil nodded to the group while he continued to concentrate energy toward Ignition Essence Randidly walked to the far end of the tent and took his usual seat against the wall Zauna and Salazar filed in after him and took their own seats in the suddenly rather cramped tent It was three meters long and two long but ZaunaÆs stocky body took up quite a bit of space and Salazar seemed to like to drape himself over a large area

Randidly pressed his eyes closed and attempted to focus once more on improving the image of the Grim Chimera Any improvements he could add now would help him in the future These peaceful days were an important opportunity for preparation Iellaya wouldnÆt have gone to the trouble of giving him two subordinates just test YggdrasilÆs recuperative powers Undoubtedly he would also be sent to increasingly difficult areas to fight

Which is just fine RandidlyÆs claw curled inward as his excitement bubbled out and tightened the muscles of his arm drawing deep furrows on the dirt floor of the tent If I canÆt figure you what sort of fear that I am holding within me IÆll just drag it out by throwing myself into danger Even near death experiences are better than just sitting bored in Nether and feeling like I am getting slowly boiled

So Randidly tried to focus on making himself more refined and potent It didnÆt work very well But the reason that Randidly grew increasingly distracted was not one that he had guarded himself against Rather a new realization came upon him

Randidly became very aware of the subtle influence of IellayaÆs image over the whole of her camp Its touch could be felt everywhere the place was steeped in it

Of course when Randidly had originally arrived at the camp with Zagnal he had also been hyper aware of that pervasive image It was the image equivalent of a scent it seemed to waft out of every aspect of the camp until it became completely ubiquitous Every inch of even the tent they were sitting in was soaked in IellayaÆs personal stench So much so that it was difficult for Randidly to initially parse apart exactly what he was sensing It was all too much at once

But the night walk across the entire front of the battlefield gave Randidly a bit of perspective Now that he returned he could distinctively feel the thin veil of image that swirled around them As indicated by the sharp cry Randidly had distantly sensed as Iellaya struck one of the inky tentacles in the sky Randidly felt the very powerful pride of an eagle

A vast eagle that could spread its wings and cover the sky

And pride wasnÆt a grand enough word for what that eagle personified In itÆs long and straight feathers were dominance and glory at the expense of all others It was the arrogance of the apex predator of the sky It was the regality of the King of the wide blue expanse that hung above the ground

Or the Queen

Randidly pursed his lips It seems that Vualla wasnÆt kidding when she said there were weird rituals and worship going on in this camp drown in this image its no wonder that people are slowly brought around to her side And it has the added benefit of assuring that they will be completely loyal to her That dominance thatÆs included in the image is no joke

After identifying the problem Randidly was able to turn his attention inward and sniff out the presence of that image in himself As he examined his image body he could see that a thin film of his own image in his breath kept IellayaÆs influence away But when he really examined himself he found a few scraps of her eagle cry that had likely been instinctively brought in for support when he had come back from the Great Rift bloodied and wounded

It took some time but Randidly ripped out these minor threads and healed his Grim Chimera image to its whole state This was exactly the sort of karma that Randidly could not afford to sew right now His path was not of the subordinate but of a ruler in his own right He might no longer have a Crown but now Randidly Ghosthound Reigned

Afterward RandidlyÆs attention shifted to the fragile image bodies of his two subordinates IellayaÆs image was surprisingly scant around them Of course Randidly could see that neither was as instinctively on guard against it as he himself was Likely that was due to the suspicion and paranoia inherent to the Grim Chimera It was constantly assessing the surrounding environment for possible threats and taking countermeasures

Which isnÆt the fear IÆm looking for Randidly frowned ItÆs just one of the rare areas that IÆm prudent

But as he examined their images they were relatively untouched Which came as quite the surprise considering that Randidly had expected them to be spies against him that were deeply in IellayaÆs pockets As he had noticed when Salazar was talking at the snakemanÆs core burned an extremely bright and powerful image So much so that Randidly couldnÆt help but feel a grudging respect for the talkative fellow Even Randidly didnÆt have that much raw force to his existence

Zauna well Zauna was a lot like the stone that she resembled although IellayaÆs image had grown thickly on her exterior like some sort of psychic moss it didnÆt touch any of her inner portions Even so Randidly hesitated for a few moments before spreading out a mantle of ash to cover them both and force IellayaÆs image away It wasnÆt easy or clean or completely thorough but it still severely reduced their exposure to it Both of them twitched a few times while it was happening but Randidly was careful to keep hostility out of the action By the end of it it didnÆt seem like either noticed

Better safe than sorry

While Randidly slowly refined his understanding of this place and IellayaÆs image time once more slipped between his fingers The mental was an area of constant toil Soon he finally received word that it was time the moment had arrived for their first group sortie

Chapter 1060

The trio popped into existence in the Great Rift with a muted smack Salazar immediately began shivering and rubbing his scaly shoulders as the Nether began to bite and snap at their relatively vulnerable image flesh Zauna simply floated in the vast space filled with intermittent blue veins seemingly at ease despite the obvious corrosion of her body Both looked to him for guidance

RandidlyÆs eyes glowed emerald Ash billowed outward in waves driving back the Nether and giving the group a brief respite from the Nether

It wasnÆt impossible to push back the Nether without Aether Aether just functioned as a weapon for someone to use that could strike directly at the substance of the Nether and weaken it so your image would have an easier time making itself at home It pretty directly corresponded to the difference between convincing a stranger to give you their wallet and using the threat of a gun to coerce them into doing so

But of course the Grim Chimera was very persuasive In this case it just wouldnÆt take no for an answer

Yet it was also an extremely draining exercise Only a small area of Nether was currently suppressed by the weight of RandidlyÆs will and already the familiar buzz of a headache was emerging Without Aether to ground the shift the area would immediately revert to primordial Nether when he stopped pressing against the substance of the world

Randidly glanced sideways at Salazar IÆll hold it up while you get your bearings Afterward you will stay toward the back and keep this area filled with an image while Zauna and I handle any Nether beasts

Immediately Salazar began to twitch and wring his hands His thin and pink tongue flicked out between his lips I d donÆt think thatÆs f f f for the b best I canÆt

Some part of Randidly died as he opened his mouth to speak The worst sort of hells are the ones you bring upon yourself willingly and knowingly DonÆt think about it Just tell your favorite story About yourself IÆm sure it will work out

Zauna nodded in agreement and Salazar immediately brightened R really Well if you are sure ahem ohohoho itÆs so embarrassing to have you beg for stories like this but I suppose I canÆt say that IÆm not used to it ah now which to tell there are simply so many deed and adventures that would leave the world shocked

He hadnÆt even started the story but Randidly already felt some of the pressure on his will wane As Salazar worked up a head of steam his image billowed outward away from him An incorporeal phantom that Randidly had to assume was SalazarÆs vision of himself began to manifest directly above the trio The phantom resembled Salazar in so much that it was also of the same race but that was where the similarities ended

This phantom had powerfully muscled limbs that flexed constantly as it prowled And weirdly it was constantly walking back and forth and twisting to reveal a snake fang smile over his shoulder as if it was a model prancing about on a catwalk Its tail was as thick as a dolphinÆs flicking back and forth with serpentine grace

Ahem I suppose the best place to start is the day I was born My mother was a princess in exile the secret descendant of Salashak the ancient emperor who had once conquered the world

Randidly did his best to ignore Salazar and let his senses expand outward as the snakemanÆs image surrounded them all and granted him a measure of respite Immediately he grimaced as he examined the Great Rift around them Not as bad as the mission from the Beacon of Duty but that Nether Well is pretty damn close

Randidly could also sense five nether beasts immediately swarming toward their position None were as large as the one batbeast Randidly had faced but each was close to that size But what really caused his mood to dip was the heavy pulse of the Nether Well against the edge of his awareness Distance was hard to judge here in the Great Rift but Randidly felt how the strange Nether Well slowed as soon as they appeared

It seemed like it was turning around to head for their position A small resonance began to build in his chest but Randidly was used enough to such feelings that he didnÆt allow it to distract him Which of course meant that the resonance grew and it became even more distracting But still RandidlyÆs focus was drawn elsewhere at the moment by the weight of necessity

Randidly spared Salazar a glance and then spoke loudly to drown out his voice Zauna I doubt he can maintain this if he gets spooked so we will need to leave the bubble to intercept the Nether beasts You take the two heading up from below and IÆll manage the other three pieces of shit If you canÆt kill them just stall IÆll handle the fucking rest

RandidlyÆs heart was pounding Hot imaginary blood surged through his limbs If the Grim Chimera would sweat he would be sweating The thought of the wild conflict that was about to occur sent tingles through RandidlyÆs entire body And waiting beyond these Nether beasts was the Nether Well He hadnÆt fought one before but

canÆt see them coming

Randidly blinked and refocused on ZaunaÆs muttered words You canÆt feel them coming They

The resonance in RandidlyÆs chest built until it popped up in the form of a notification

Congratulations You have learned the Skill Nether Sensation Lvl 1 After your bodyÆs slow adaption to Nether the state of the surrounding substance becomes increasingly clear

Nether Sensation Increases effectiveness of your evolved Perception stat in areas dominated by Nether In addition gives you some understanding as to the perverse laws of the Nether Effects increase with Skill Level

Immediately RandidlyÆs awareness reached outward and seized the Great Rift In addition he became acutely aware of a strange sort of pattern to the Nether BeastsÆ movements In a short amount of time he couldnÆt figure out exactly how they were moving but it suddenly occurred to him that the way each moved had distinct similarities If he could grasp the pattern

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 2

Shaking his head Randidly pointed quickly twice down toward the approaching monsters There and there They should arrive a few seconds apart so you might want to engage the first as hard as you can to attract the second

For the first time since they had met Randidly saw Zauna tilt her head to the side and open her mouth Which weirdly meant that the upper half of her head moved upward a tiny bit in a similar way to a puppet would be made to look while it was speaking handle three

Randidly chuckled Honestly I wish it was more Ten seconds until they get here DonÆt let them touch this bubble or else we will need to endure the Nether for the rest of our stay here

And that was when the jealous mongoose leapt out of the bog Salazar continued to enthusiastically tell his story his eyes so filled with stars that he didnÆt even notice that his audience had drifted away Which at least also meant he would not easily notice the approaching Nether Beasts From its belt it drew a curved dagger which it licked provocatively while gazing at my heavily pregnant mother

Randidly shuddered Even letting his concentrate slip for a second let too much of SalazarÆs story into his mind It would be a while before he could scrape his consciousness clean So instead of staying inside the bubble of SalazarÆs image while he could Randidly deliberately left the safety early and floated out into the caustic Nether

His skin began to burn RandidlyÆs breath came faster and rougher

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation « has grown to Level 119

Yea thatÆs the stuff Randidly grinned out into the vast void around them Now that he was out within the Nether his feel for the surrounding area grew even more acute But there was still too much strangeness to parse apart and Randidly didnÆt have the time or attention to give the environment his consideration

Randidly inhaled His heart was pounding The fire was burning in his chest

Grim Chimera exhaled its murderous appendages tingling in anticipation

With a roar the first Nether Beast arrived It was not a jellyfish or a bat but this time something that looked like a cross between an angler fish and an eel With its milky eyes slick and bulging body and strange wiggling singular antenna it certainly fit the part of a strange monster from a different dimension better than the prior two types of beasts Randidly encountered

But ultimately its form didnÆt matter

Randidly ripped forward Such was his momentum that he practically cut through the sizzling Nether as he shot forward toward the Nether Beast While he was moving RandidlyÆs entire focus narrowed to the tip of his bone spear All the weight and momentum he could muster was thrust and compacted into that singular point The tip of his spear rumbled ominously even though the sound was dampened by the Nether around him The Nether Beast twisted but Randidly was too quick the beastÆs body was punctured like a balloon hit with knife

Nether splashed outward in a wave as RandidlyÆs tightly compacted image smashed into the core of the Nether Beast Unfortunately Randidly felt the core crack but it didnÆt completely shatter And its two fellow Nether BeastÆs roared down at RandidlyÆs back

Congratulations your Skill Chimeric Avoidance has grown to Level 201

Randidly spun away earning two shallow gashes across his back where the antenna of the attackers scored hits Scanning quickly Randidly determined that Zauna had successfully stopped the other two beasts and focused back on his own opponents The Nether Beast Randidly had struck originally was gathering itself together but its fellows flipped around and shot after him Grinning Randidly spread his arms wide and welcomed them with talon and spear

Cursed Appetite of a Wraith

Randidly pulled deeply at the surrounding space The Nether Beasts stalled for a split second as his image smashed against them but Randidly missed that opportunity to strike because he paused briefly as well

Because when he pulled RandidlyÆs will caught on the wafting image that Salazar was madly producing as he grew increasingly fervent in his storytelling And when that image was pulled toward Randidly it funneled into his body and was transformed into strength And strength in the body of the Grim Chimera became confidence in violence

When the two Nether Beasts attacked him Randidly didnÆt dodge He simply raised his spear and activated Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes once more The Skill propelled him forward so he smashed directly into the skull of the left Nether Beast and this time both the outer bubble and the core was completely destroyed Wreathed in a nova of Nether guts and gore Randidly began to laugh

Congratulations Your Skill Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes has grown to Level 173

While the first Nether Beast continued to try and restore the Nether hemorrhaging from its core RandidlyÆs emerald eyes locked onto his last remaining prey in prime condition Come on then don’t you dare disappoint me

Chapter 1061

Inwardly Zauna sighed as she considered the two sinuous beasts that shot out of the vast blackness below her and struck in a whip of Nether and violence just as Mr Ghosthound had indicated that they would Interesting that She moved her body in front of the quicker of the two and forcibly endured its charge

Her body shuddered from the blast of Nether but Zauna Tjak could sense that her torso could endure this level of impact One of the many benefits of her people was that even their images were heavily reinforced with a hard outer exterior it just came with the territory No matter what her body would endure

Of course she would need to because the second Nether Beast looped around its companion and slashed at her leg with its antenna Zauna channeled her image of eternity into her leg and the strike glanced off without leaving any lasting mark But now the two were circling her aiming for her blind spots

Just break me please

Although her oath to Abiodun kept her from actually aiming for her own death Zauna felt it justified to sneak a glance toward her commanding officer while the two beasts swarmed around her That was a reasonable course of action in this situation to check in on how his fight was progressing He was facing against three of the Nether Beasts at once after all Protecting companions was an integral part of the army

And one aspect of the oath Abiodun had extracted from her was that she needed to obey all of Randidly GhosthoundÆs commands for the duration of his stay at the frontlines So if he requested help now and she was forced to expose some slight weakness in order to rush to his aid

Deliberately she looked to the side And then ZaunaÆs eyes barely registered the blur of motion before a flailing Nether Beast smashed into one of the two enemies that were circling behind her back A split second later Randidly Ghosthound himself crashed into the other Nether Beast in an explosion of gore and Nether residue Some splashed onto Zauna

Is he laughing Zauna tilted her head to the side How can he enjoy this hell WouldnÆt it just be easier to roll over and die

He was laughing too it wasnÆt her imagination She watched as he twisted away from the flailing sludge he left of the first Nether Beast he smashed into and thrust his spear directly into the skull of the second one Then he used his left claw to forcibly seize and rip the vicious antenna off of its head in a gesture so overpowering that Zauna was forced to admit that today was not the day she would finally be free

Tossing the antenna to the side Randidly struck again with his claw and ripped several deep gashes in the Nether BeastÆs head The beast that he had thrown earlier recovered slightly and lashed out toward him But the Ghosthound simply breathed in a way that Zauna couldnÆt understand and the colors of his body were abruptly so vivid and sharp that it hurt to look at him directly And when he moved he seemed to completely avoid the mundane difficulties of traveling through space and instead just displaced himself several meters away

He was unstoppable

His raptor like leg stomped downward shattering the Nether BeastÆs skull like it was rotten fruit Then grey motes of ash blasted out from him in a wave and gradually disintegrated the remnants within a few seconds

Zauna floated in the vast darkness completely still Some part of her felt disappointment that this was not the day where she would finally die and be free from her oath but the larger part of her was flooded with a grand sense of awe

She watched the slow rise and fall of the GhosthoundÆs chest as he breathed here in the Great Rift Which of course was impossible because she was aware that he was an image as she was She could see small distortions at his edges were the Nether was eating away at him but it seemed like some part of him was meant to be here fighting in this lonely darkness He seemed completely at ease

More than at ease He was thriving

Perhaps he finally condensed his first star That does help you resist the Nether Zauna thought dubiously as she examined his body But she had received quite a bit of information from Abiodun as preparation for this repayment of her great debt And from what she had learned from AbiodunÆs explanation the effect of earning a Nether Star shouldnÆt be so sudden or drastic Otherwise the mortality rate of images on the frontlines wouldnÆt be so gruesome

You alright

Zauna twitched several seconds later as she realized that the Ghosthound was talking to her She nodded quickly forcefully bound to answer honestly on a very surface level to any question that he asked In actual fact however Zauna believed she could have worked herself up to a no if she had concentrated on her depression for long enough prior to him asking But what would saying no really accomplish

Then he would remove her from danger thinking her status was related to damage from Nether And she would lose her one outlet to end this life Which was exactly the opposite of what she was aiming for

It would be better if he believed that she was completely fine so she would receive more dangerous assignments

After nodding Randidly floated back down toward the area of Aether conjured by Salazar He had not slowed in the slightest in their absence nor had he noticed any disturbances But then again Randidly Ghosthound had been able to eliminate five Nether Beasts in a little less than ten seconds All without taking any damage

But to ZaunaÆs shock after the Ghosthound returned to the safety bubble of Aether he seemed somewhat diminished A lot of the luster went out of his body and it was easier to see the damage that the Nether had inflicted on him His spear of a right arm was still sizzling and the claw of his left hand was missing one of its talons

Not without damage then but he took all the damage selfishly onto himself

Zauna felt an impulse to ask the Ghosthound how he was faring but she was also under compulsion not to volunteer any information and speak only when spoken to As such she could only convey her concern in the stance of her body but the Ghosthound was too preoccupied with his own struggles to notice that she loomed over him in a protective manner

And because only ten seconds had passed Salazar was still in the midst of his rather amusing story And to that my mother replied I will never surrender because the son that will be born from me will be cunning enough to devour the whole world And his name will be Salazar Æ and the mongoose and its rat minions fled in fear from my name as on top of that volcano

Despite the fact that the fighting hadnÆt grabbed SalazarÆs attention at all he immediately shut up when the Ghosthound slowly raised his claw and clicked two talons together It seemed that the effect of the threat wasnÆt diminished at all by the mission talon

With the small tail on his neck flicking side to side Randidly lowered his claw No need to continue letÆs save the rest of the story for times where we are in a more peaceful situation ItÆs hard to concentrate on your virtues out here in the Great Rift

Salazar nodded and gulped visibly The effect of his image on the surrounding area rapidly began to shrink but such had been the strength of SalazarÆs belief in his own stories that it had grown into quite a large area in the time he had been talking They would probably have a few minutes longer of rest before all of it was eaten away by the Nether

The Ghosthound reached up and scratched his neck IÆd like to congratulate everyone but we arenÆt out of the woods yet Something big is heading our way It might be what they call a Nether Well has either of you encountered one before

Zauna shook her head mutely but a surge of excitement started rising in her chest

Salazar blinked several times Well this is my first battle without an Aether Key

Cracking the bones of his neck the Ghosthound shrugged Then I suppose we will go in blind ThatÆs fine IÆve been waiting for a challenge

And although Zauna would like nothing more than for herself to finally be killed and therefore freed of her oath the GhosthoundÆs words were quite alarming Because you didnÆt fight Nether Wells You ran away from them lest they seize your body and corrupt you with their strange energies That was the reason that Nether Wells were so dangerous the people who encountered Nether Wells werenÆt technically killed

Just like the stars Nether itself generally had a core and a bubble People were seized by the Nether Wells were worn like a suit becoming the bubbleÆ around their core The individuals probably knew something was wrong of course but they were largely overwhelmed by the evil of the Nether Wells They would wait almost unconscious pumping out Nether constantly until someone else returned to send them back to the staging area

Which was exactly how the tragedy of the recent attack on the one camp had occurred Someone who was just constantly pumping out Nether was sent directly back to a staging area rapidly destroying and destabilizing the surrounding area

Look at me Zauna thought desperately She took several hesitant steps closer to the Ghosthound But his eyes were pressed closed and he seemed to be using whatever trick he had utilized earlier to sense the approach of the Nether Beasts I canÆt volunteer information but if you ask the right questions

But of course what questions would he need to ask Something akin to should we fight the Nether WellÆ Which was an impossible question for a superior officer to ask subordinates and be taken seriously

Zauna sought oblivion but she had enjoyed these peaceful few days serving out her sentence under the Ghosthound much more than she had expected It was the worst sort of torture to think that these lives would be ended because of her Because she had the information to save them but she was not able to share it with the group in time

As Zauna watched the Ghosthound stretched out his spear and pressed it passed the edge of the dispersing image and into the Great Rift Immediately his eyes snapped open to reveal the warm green of the deep forest in summer It was a gaze filled with light and life It was the look of a determined man who trusted his own ability to survive

And so soon you will die Zauna thought bleakly It was cold comfort to know that she would also be joining him

About ten minutes The Ghosthound grunted ThatÆs how long we have until it arrives Make your preparations this fight wonÆt be easy

Chapter 1062

In such a short amount of time there was only so much that Randidly could do to repair the damage to his image Not that he had experienced any truly dangerous wounds in the short and violent fight but he had gotten so caught up in the heat of battle that he had directly exposed himself to the dense cores of Nether much more often than was necessary Emotions had gotten the better of him after his last boring sortie into the Great Rift

It was only light superficial damage as he punctured and popped the bodies of the Nether Beasts but it added up And as always in the Great Rift this was ultimately an endurance contest It wasnÆt enough to just defeat these foes but there was also the reinforcements and the environment itself that he would need to cope with

Randidly shook his head roughly trying to dislodge the distracting thoughts Even if the healing he could accomplish was small he needed to give the process his entire attention That was how he would survive

And to the Grim Chimera survival was everything

Finally a foe worth fighting too Randidly shivered in excitement before allowing everything else to fall away but the form of the Grim Chimera that hovered before his eyes As before the faint echo of the original image that was used by the main body could be faintly perceived There were an increasing number of things that were different about his current form to the main bodyÆs image but that didnÆt bother Randidly too much In fact Randidly believed that a lot of the changes he had main since splitting off from the main body were improvements

What he was looking for was potency The specific details didnÆt matter so much as the fact that there were details associated with the image Heaviness reality and weight were the touchstones of his refinement And Randidly was proud of his work

After so many sorties into the Nether the skin of the Grim Chimera had taken on an extremely sickly quality It had always been rather grey with large flaking chunks but now there were thick black veins pulsing visibly across his torso and arms As his skin visibly paled and thinned the tenacity of the image actually strengthened his resistance to the Nether But it did mean that the shuddering movements of his internal organs were partially visible

Still Vualla didnÆt seem to mind

Shaking his head in irritation at the sudden distraction Randidly once more banished the thoughts and focused his attention inward Then as an afterthought he checked the approach of the Nether Well with Nether Sensation Probably two more minutes Time enough for a few small things stay focused Randidly

SalazarÆs image was almost completely devoured by the Great Rift but Randidly couldnÆt deny that some of the low thrum of pain from Nether was starting to grow on him Just like the Eidolon Reign it was a constant grind that would force him to grow stronger Even if it was uncomfortable that sensation of growth was enough to keep him addicted

And he would need it Just feeling the weight of the Nether Well against his senses caused Randidly to shiver in a mixture of anticipation and dread These were fundamentally different beings than the Nether Beasts that was clear Rather than a monster that fought and killed in the Nether these Nether wells seemed to be the pillars that held the Great Rift up And it didnÆt escape RandidlyÆs notice that this was the foe that so destroyed the camp of VuallaÆs father

Randidly gritted his teeth IÆm not fucking afraid

Both Salazar turned to look at him Nether hissed idly at the skin of each as they both watched him with wide eyes

Randidly scratched his chin with his neck tail and tried to think of something to break the silence the Nether Well is gonna arrive soon Get ready for battle IÆll engage first Zauna follow up and see if you can figure out its weak point If you see a chance hit hard Salazar I suppose you can continue your story where you previously left off

Salazar brightened immediately but then it tilted its head to the side and looked at Randidly curiously DonÆt they say that the first person to engage a Nether Well usually dies

Chewing on the inside of his cheek Randidly considered Salazar Do they say that I havenÆt heard much about Nether Wells

they do Zauna whispered with remarkable volume

Randidly looked at her and chuckled when he saw her stoic expression This woman maybe she and Abiodun have more in common than just their race Bloodthirsty fuckers So I suppose what you are saying is that you think I shouldnÆt engage first Are you volunteering

Yes Zauna said

Denied Randidly shook his head This one is mine You can fight the next Nether Well we fight alright

From her stance it was clear that Zauna didnÆt agree with his decision But she kept her mouth shut simply expressing her significant volume of displeasure from a dead stare from her flickering eyes She at least was much easier to handle than the snakeman and his unpredictable behavior

Chuckling again Randidly turned away and looked out into the darkness Thirty seconds Salazar Get started with that story will ya

A ah Oh ahem W where was I Salazar looked at Randidly and Zauna as though he actually wanted an answer

Randidly cleared his throat meaningfully as Salazar continued to remain silent Twenty seconds

O oh I suppose just picking up anywhere would be fine so a as I w was saying I was born and the v volcano underneath my mother erupted in an explosion of molten metal glory heralding my arrival

Randidly gritted his teeth to ignore the constant drivel from Salazar but that struggle only lasted a moment For the next moment he saw the approach of the Nether Well

Unlike the horrid and strange creatures he had encountered thus far this was bright At first Randidly believed that it was something akin to the personification of the blue veins of the Great Rift but then he realized that it was just that the Nether Well had the veins chasing after it like a school of fish hiding in the shadow of a whale

It was also bright There was a piercing light to it that seemed to appear so suddenly and abruptly in the vast emptiness that Randidly couldnÆt help but blink in shock It wasnÆt light not quite But Randidly supposed that it was the closest Nether had to light

It flowed out like a silvery moonlight liquid in thin membranous waves It ebbed and flowed after the rushing form of the Nether Well like a diaphanous cloak RandidlyÆs breath caught in his throat as he looked at it It was the milky way personified It glittered and gleamed a lake reflecting the infinite stars at night

Because the last realization that struck Randidly was exactly how beautiful the Nether Well was And then it had arrived and only instincts from years of receiving threats from all sides propelled Randidly out of the image bubble to clash against the approaching doom before it hit them all at once

It was like a spear of quicksilver sliding through the Great Rift with thousands of blue veins spiraling behind it Randidly peered closely at it and realized that those veins were dancing As the seconds ticked past the spear seemed to grow larger and larger and the sea of blue veins became so fast that the Great Rift was transformed into an actual ocean RandidlyÆs eyes widened as he realized that much of what he was seeing wasnÆt the actual Nether Well it was just the wave of extremely dense Nether that the Nether Well was dragging along with it

Swearing quietly Randidly gestured sharply at Zauna Change of plans Stand directly behind me Even if we survive the Nether Well we will just end up being washed away by the thick Nether itÆs bringing with it if we donÆt act intelligently

Zauna glowered at Randidly for a second so that he worried that she wouldnÆt agree to his plan But then she nodded and shifted back behind him She even took the time to drift backward and move the babbling Salazar into line with the three of them

Twisting around Randidly faced the Nether Well with only a few seconds to spare He breathed in he breathed out His skin began to flake away like it was being exposed to nuclear radiation on an extremely high scale That certainly made his eyes narrow Even the vanguard of the Nether wave was thick enough to significantly damage his skin Which made him believe that his worries about the depths of this waveÆs power were well founded

RandidlyÆs limbs began to tingle The sizzling of RandidlyÆs skin began to rise toward a crescendo The vibrating quicksilver spear seemed to take up the entirety of RandidlyÆs vision It was buzzing all light and wave and liquid energy It was so vast and bright that it blotted out the wave of blue veins that was surging behind it

To his own surprise Randidly looked inside himself and really found no fear Which was something of a relief to him As he had thought earlier this was not what he was afraid of It was something much more terrible that had worked its way insidiously inside him That traitorous fear at least wasnÆt this weak

Closing his eyes Randidly braced himself His awareness slid outward over his body What is within without And what is without within I am the Grim Chimera and this place will not be my grave

There was a moment of waiting then there was the moment of impact The Nether arrived first thick and acidic

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation « has grown to Level 121

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation « has grown to Level 122

Randidly had believed it would be a momentous meeting that would jar even his consciousness with its concussive force but it wasnÆt not really There was the immediate upward escalation of the rate at which his image was being eroded to an alarming degree but that didnÆt send waves through Randidly He could stand firm against the flood of Nether that crashed against him

No when the Nether Well arrived it was gentle As RandidlyÆs consciousness became increasingly fuzzy at the edges under the constant assault of Nether the Nether Well itself flitted forward like a small fish

Honestly Randidly was reminded of a compact galaxy as he saw it approach It was a spinning disc of specks of cosmic light Like the entirety of its entourage it was breathtakingly beautiful The sort of natural beauty that you could describe but couldnÆt convey But it was also shooting unerringly toward RandidlyÆs chest He braced for the impact but once more it didnÆt matter

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation « has grown to Level 123

When it hit him it slipped right through his defenses Rather than impacting the image it seemed to phase into another plane of existence and appear inside of his chest Suddenly it was there curled tightly next to all the inner workings of the image of the Grim Chimera blasting out Nether every second The images at the core of the Grim Chimera were made of sterner stuff than the edges but even the core couldnÆt last long underneath that constant barrage of Nether

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation « has grown to Level 124

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 13

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation « has grown to Level 125

It was like standing next to a hot water jet in a hot tub but this jet was spewing out molten plasma His body was softening very rapidly under the constant assault The pain was spiking upward even as Randidly began to gather himself

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation « has grown to Level 126

He prepared all of his mental faculties to force an ejection of it but then the Nether Well started to do a strange thing it sent out thin silver tendrils that began to touch and surround all of his Grim Chimera images Silver light flowed rapidly out protecting Randidly from the constant surge of Nether

Which was good but at the same time Randidly felt increasingly light headed The Nether Well was just blasting out Nether into the surrounding area in an intoxicating feeling of release RandidlyÆs conscious began to be dragged away lost in the flood of genesis that was now assimilating into his image body

But RandidlyÆs Willpower was heavy from the constant sharpening of the Eidolon Crucible He resisted the enticing pull of the Aether For the first time since that first battle in the vastness of the Great Rift Randidly felt an overwhelming flash of rage that emerged from something outside of himself it seemed that the main body was watching what was occurring Immediately several thick currents of Aether filled RandidlyÆs core ready to be unleashed to destroy and reject the strange actions of the Nether Well

As Randidly seized that Aether that appeared within himself the pull of the sensation of releasing Nether seized him once more For a brief moment he was dizzy But the red hot rage of the main body surged again and Randidly was able to snap back to himself Yet that brief interlude of mindlessness had brought a single thought to RandidlyÆs attention one that had been previously buried beneath the sensation of the experience

And his emerald eyes began to glow as Randidly turned that thought over in his mind

You know this sensation feels a lot like what the main body felt when he started seriously pumping Aether out of his Aether Crossroad When he released so much that he almost got lost in it

Chapter 1063

While Randidly narrowed his focus and immerse himself in the sensation the sense of fulfillment from the expulsion of Nether once more threatened to engulf him As much as he had been reinforced from his repeated successes over the Eidolon Crucible it was still dangerous to expose himself to too much to its influence

Which was exactly the opinion of the main body that Randidly could feel through the anger helplessness and fear that was radiating palpably through their connection Randidly wasting his time testing the sensation was not bringing the main body any sense of security

Randidly pressed his lips into a line And suddenly you are completely capable of understanding what is going on with me huh How convenient

Then again the arrival of the Nether Well in his chest was probably an extremely noticeable event for the main body Suddenly one of the images was being isolated from outside influences and also became a font of Nether which had thus far proven to be an extremely destabilizing influence on all of Randidly

No not yet Randidly ignored the increasingly desperate flow of Aether from the main body and immersed himself in the Nether Well that was quickly ingratiating itself into his existence The sensation of wholeness from release grew and grew until it became all Randidly could sense The sensation of his image body faded away to nothing The feeling was so consuming that even his sharpened will wavered But suddenly Randidly sensed that the Nether Well had completely finished connecting to him

At this point they had become one

The natural thrill in that knowledge was primal Just like with an Aether Crossroads it was profoundly instinctually rewarding to be part of this eternal cycle of energy So much so that the first time one experienced the sensation it was too overwhelming to parse apart You could only allow yourself to be swept away by it

Of course Randidly realized he had been correct before this was not his first time experiencing this sensation It was exactly the same as releasing Aether

This is what happens with Nether Wells Randidly abruptly realized They latch onto images and become one with them But the image is surprised b the feeling of release and completely lets their sense of self be washed away They become suicide bombers eventually

Yet I wonder if the Nether Well does this purposefully there isnÆt any malice that I can feel from the Nether Well itself it is simply a facet of the natural world It fulfills its purpose But that doesnÆt mean that there arenÆt entities that release Nether Wells toward the Aether Zone purposefully

Yet all those thoughts were too light to exist anymore and were born away in the flood of Nether emerging now from RandidlyÆs core Everything without weight was dragged away Randidly didnÆt attempt to hold onto those minor thoughts at all instead he allowed them to be dragged inexorably away in the swirl of Nether What remained was purpose and Randidly honed and hammered that until it was hard as a diamond and as cutting as a butcher knife Then he began to follow the flow of Nether

It was not an easy journey His mind shook and ebbed His awareness was becoming fuzzy from the accumulated wounds his image body had suffered in the initial surge of Nether Without repairs he was slowly degrading Still Randidly persevered allowing his perception to swim outward in that wide sea

Because to pull back the exploding flood of Nether Randidly would need to allow himself to go to the very edge of this expulsion He would need to be completely lost in it

Because then he would find the core So Randidly swam ripping through the tangled lines of gleaming moonlight around him

Although Randidly tried his best to trim unnecessary thoughts the escalating emotions from the main body were a constant source of instability And every wavering moment of hesitation would cost him so Randidly was forced to stop in his pursuit and pivot to address the main bodyÆs demands

With brutal intensity the main body pressed with his Willpower thrusting Aether out toward Randidly and demanding that he use it to reverse whatever was happening And the main body really leaned on him demanding that something be done

Do you trust me Randidly asked solemnly This is not what we need to fear

The main body hesitated Some of the weight was removed The Aether coiled ineffectually inside RandidlyÆs chest waiting for an outlet

I want to try Randidly said again He hated how soft the words sounded even to him But he couldnÆt deny that the main body was the source of everything He felt an almost instinctual subserviency to it Which was infuriating

It was also true

This was his rebellious stand however He would not give in on this issue The Nether Well shouldnÆt be expelled There was potential here Randidly truly wanted to see the end of this

The Nether continued to batter at RandidlyÆs distracted sense of purpose while the main body weighed the decision Randidly felt the fuzziness dig inward from the edges of his mind seeking to corrupt his core

Please hurry

There was a pause and then a sigh that reverberated through RandidlyÆs entire existence Such a choice is dangerous You will become a monster Not literally but something that the System hates to his core Something even more reviled than a Heretic In its mind Aether and Nether cannot coexist We have already attracted so much attention it is dangerous to take on another aspect of the unusual

Monsters have long claws

So they do And itÆs not like the System has ever been our ally For a split second a vicious smile reverberated through their connection One that was immediately mirrored on RandidlyÆs own face And then the main body withdrew his focus taking his Aether with it

Just as quickly Randidly twisted himself back into the tempered knife of purpose and allowed himself to be born outward by the wave of instinctual release It was difficult to get a sense of time but everything seemed too fast to handle and too slow to escape

Randidly was growing drowsy The darkness and liquid moonlight lapped around him urging him to let go of his tight fisted purpose and stay here in the dappled light Disperse his tight will become a part of the vast flood Oneness beckoned him

It would be so easy to release all of the tight tension in RandidlyÆs body Immediately all the hatred and secret fear that lined the Grim ChimeraÆs core would disperse When he became a part of the flood of light nothing would need to bother him anymore He would have an infinite number of others just like him that had become a part of the Oneness Accepting that Oneness would mean transcending his individual emotions

He would be free the moonlight Nether whispered

The small kernel of RandidlyÆs will bobbed up and down as it was born outward in the deep waves of gleaming Nether Farther and farther deeper and deeper The sea seemed to have no end and Randidly was comparatively so small

So far and so long Randidly traveled without reaching the edge of this vast flood Without being able to touch the core of the Nether Well and attempt to taper off its flow And he began to wonder whether it was worth it to continue this struggle It was a thought that he struggled against but it kept re emerging to distract him

As long as he refused to accept the Nether it burned and devoured him It was a hungry thing And out here completely submerged in the Nether Randidly was entirely alone

The Grim Chimera shivered And that small spike of fear brought with it a burning clarity to RandidlyÆs mind The fire in his core exploded outward in emerald brilliance

This is exactly what IÆm afraid of IÆm so terribly afraid of being alone forever

Then join us Æ the Oneness of the Nether around Randidly whispered We are never alone We are One If you become One your fear will disappear Æ

As he was pulled even farther outward Randidly considered that It was difficult to think but somehow he knew that he could not take the decision lightly The small motes of uncompromised consciousness scoured the problem Clockwork gears whirred the most exterior and superfluous slowing down and stopping

Randidly was drifting while thinking

The Oneness is perfect The Oneness is complete The Oneness Æ

Is alone isnÆt it The fire of consciousness flared brighter in RandidlyÆs chest The gears of RandidlyÆs mind began to tick rhythmically The Grim Chimera clicked its sharp teeth in time with the thoughts to maintain its clarity You spread and destroy everything you touch You annihilate all others or absorb them into the Oneness You are just as afraid as I am arenÆt you If you are One you are alone

We are not afraid Æ The Oneness roared The quicksilver moonlight stretched and arched into violent blades of light that spiraled dangerously around the kernel of RandidlyÆs will

But the Grim Chimera just smiled If you claim to be alive you cannot be afraid all the time DonÆt let the fear control you

WE ARE NOT AFRAID Æ The surrounding Nether began to rumble Like the floodgates opening Nether at a volume hitherto unheard of smashed into Randidly It ate and ate a jealous spiteful thing filled with fear

Shaking his head Randidly reached out and grasped the core of the Nether Well It was so close that Randidly couldnÆt believe he had missed it before That terrible loneliness felt like home to him It urged him to join the unending flood of negative emotion into the world flooding away all the rest of existence in a futile attempt to prove that he was also not afraid of loneliness

Well I am afraid Randidly said quietly And he pictured Vualla her face streaked with tears

Randidly reached out to the edge of the Nether Well and began to pull It was like a spigot that had gone out of control and Randidly had the tiresome task of slowly tightening the bolts to reduce the flood of Nether from it All the while the sense of Oneness continued to try and tempt him into joining it

Randidly was alone true and lonely for it But that was okay He saw again VuallaÆs tears We arenÆt the only lonely ones in the world you know

If the time to reach the edge seemed confusing time slowly and gradually controlling the flood of Nether was even more difficult Because the expulsion of energy was an escalating thing it should have gotten easier the longer he worked at it Yet the effort weighed on him like a mountain every short step of the way It was a wall of Nether constantly wailing for release

Randidly tightened the spigot

Randidly tightened

Randidly didnÆt dare stop lest he never start again

Chapter 1064

Time was grey and rattling like a snake The light from RandidlyÆs mind slowly dimmed so it was barely lit All that was left was the continual struggle

At some point Randidly tightened and immediately something was different Then while his face slowly shifted into a frown he tried tightening again He blinked owlishly as the sensation once more informed him that something was wrong

His remaining thoughts buzzed around him like heavy bees in the height of summer Those individual thoughts were definitely making noise but it was hard to understand them through the constant drone he was hearing Sensations were such complicated things that Randidly remained perplexed for quite some time by their strangeness So instead Randidly did his best to ignore the pesky thoughts and returned to what he knew he tightened

Ah Randidly blinked again IÆm done But

His awareness blearily wandered down to the Nether Well that now sat docilely in his chest Just like his thoughts had been his whole image body was buzzing Which even a distinctly out of it Randidly knew was not a good sign But Randidly remained focused and quickly arrived before the Nether Well

One problem at a time

The reason that he didnÆt think he was done was because there was still a thin flow of Nether that was trickling out of the Nether Well But despite that no matter how much Randidly strained against the Nether Well it wouldnÆt shut all the way The flow remained

RandidlyÆs bleary mind tried to remember if the Aether Crossroads had either been completely closed and concluded rather quickly that it really hadnÆt perhaps it was impossible to close such things As such his long trial was finally completed Or at least the first portion of the trial was completed

LetÆs see if it behaves

Settling down on his mental haunches Randidly closely watched the Nether Well for any changes after he had finished tightening it The worst case scenario was that it would slowly force itself open while he wasnÆt paying attention reducing him to a bomb Considering the fact that RandidlyÆs current watching abilities essentially amounted to blinking and hoping that too much time didnÆt pass between blinks such a result would be catastrophic for him

Randidly blinked Darkness was a timeless place that Randidly dived into and from which he then emerged

Nothing seemed to have changed Randidly did his best to suppress the urge to yawn He was supremely drowsy and not in the Eidolon Crucible was about to arrive kind of way He was exhausted because he had pushed too hard for too long His image was in shambles and some of that damage ran to the very core of the Grim Chimera

The kind of drowsy that means IÆm near my end That send a spike of vivifying energy into Randidly He shook himself Nothing brought the Grim ChimeraÆs focus to a point than the looming threat of death

Time trickled past His heart rate was erratic Randidly abruptly realized he had stopped paying attention to the Nether Well and shifted his attention back

Nothing had changed

Well if its opening itÆs very slow Randidly tried to tighten the Nether Well again and it still wouldnÆt budge And since he trusted the sensation of tightening more than he trusted his current vision on the thin flow of Nether Randidly assumed that perhaps he would be okay to turn his attention elsewhere Perhaps to the deep wounds to his image he had received while trying to control the flow of Nether Where it was drastically fucking needed

But before Randidly completely turned away to focus on other things he created a tight spiral of Nether in his chest where it would continue to flow He still remembered some of the problems that resulted from the tepid Aether the main body had encountered Although he had no proof he suspected that Nether would behave similarly if allowed to gather and pool Better to have it swirling in his chest than pouring out into the outside world anyway

Then Randidly began the exhausting process of repairing his image Due to the extent of the damage he started with broad strokes

Survival violence loneliness talon claw spear arm two tails pale skin raptor legs

All things check Time to take a quick break Randidly dozed off allowing his consciousness to shift into another place to heal

This time when Randidly snapped back to himself Randidly opened his eyes and actually considered the real world Thin blue veins flitted away from his face as if surprised by his sudden movements

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 14

The notification made Randidly wince but he did get a sense of the surrounding area A bleary sense that informed him there were no Nether Beasts and he could distantly feel two other foreign objects among the Nether Those would likely be his subordinates However it was immediately clear that neither was moving

Some part of Randidly wanted to check on them further but he was in no state to do that So Randidly turned his focus inward once more He checked the Nether Well immediately There were no changes after the extended period he spent hastily shoring up his image Satisfied he turned back to himself

The musculature the pale skin the dark veins the brilliant green eyes the tactile sensations of bone and talon the violence the pride the wrath the Chimeric changes

ugh I have such a fucking headache Randidly slumped back down into rest He could feel his image body fuzzily drifting in the Great Rift Yet he simply didnÆt have any energy to create a buffer of images to dull the worst of the damage he was receiving

IÆll do that later

Oblivion took him once more Again he came to and checked his surroundings and the Nether Well No changes Randidly idly wondered how much time has passed but didnÆt care enough to follow up on the thought at all Instead he began to work again

This time Randidly started by repairing all the damage that he had received from Nether corrosion while he was resting It wasnÆt particularly significant but it was best to have a clean base to start his changes to the Grim Chimera He couldnÆt simply allow it to continue to wear away at him

Then he began to work on his image again this time taking inspiration from that phantom that Randidly received from his connection to the main body However there were times now that he consciously differed from that image he could sense

Because there was a very important change that had occurred to Randidly Suddenly he had a Nether Well inside of him Something that even the main body didnÆt have Smirking Randidly began to trace out the implications for his own image

Rather than being extremely subtle with it Randidly physically placed the Nether Well in the core of the image of the Grim Chimera That spiraling nebula of dappled light how was physically present in his chest near his organs Strangely it fight perfectly nestled vertically between his two lungs Plus it spread a wide illumination outward

Which had the strange effect of combining with his near translucently pale skin to make his torso seem almost completely see through The damaged skin of his arms and legs was dark and marred but near his hips and shoulders the pale skin took over With the light from the Nether Well you could see every muscle and bone the Grim Chimera possessed

And the thick black veins that carried his sludge like blood throughout his body The sudden shift made the Grim Chimera seem even more sickly like it was a fragile thing that could break at any point But of course it was that fragility that had given the Grim Chimera its eternal craving for survival And that was an impulse that would not go easily into that good night

Another strange result was that the color of his eyes shifted They were still green of course but now there were thin veins of black that ran through the emerald of his irises Rather than being bright his eyes were dark and dangerous

This time when Randidly returned to himself to rest he didnÆt lose consciousness He simply drifted allowing his thoughts to move freely

So he thought about Nether If as he suspected Nether was just the polar opposite of Aether what constituted Nether

Aether was substance energy and image The System was a ponzi scheme were it took the images of the people underneath it in exchange for its tightly regulated energy Was Nether run under a similar scheme

That didnÆt feel quite right There was a very different feel to Nether an aching sort of pain that was very different from any discomfort that Aether had ever caused to Randidly But Randidly had also noticed that the Nether Beasts he had encountered had been extremely feral in their actions Perhaps no Nether creatures possessed intelligence but Randidly wouldnÆt assume such a thing easily

IÆll have to visit Vualla when I get back Randidly thought drowsily Maybe she will be able to tell me more about how the whole of the war is progressing

This time RandidlyÆs rest was directly interrupted by a sudden sense of displacement He was there floating in the Great Rift slowly coming to terms with his body and then a hand touched his shoulder and he was teleported elsewhere

The first thing Randidly felt was relief Although he had gathered himself mentally enough to endure it was still nice to be out of the Nether rich environment of the Great Rift One realization that had hit him suddenly was that as he tightened the expulsion of his Nether Well the function that protected Randidly from the other Nether was severely diminished That was why he had been damaged by the surrounding Nether

With the Nether Well almost completely shut off it provided a barely noticeable boost that only covered the interior of the Grim Chimera image

A light cough dragged RandidlyÆs attention above him So Mr Yggdrasil will you be able to heal him from this

Chapter 1065

Randidly stayed very still as the voices passed back and forth above him His Grim Intuition quickly wafted outward immediately reporting the strong presence of IellayaÆs image

So strong that the other figure looming over him could only be her

YggdrasilÆs trunk creaked as he twisted his branches I believe so Although there is significant exterior damage those portions of the image can be very easily repaired And it appears the core of the image is still sound

Uh huh IellayaÆs rather unconvinced drawl set RandidlyÆs teeth on edge So this is primarily exterior damage That is good to know And what about the other two Is their damage similarly concentrated on their exterior They hardly have bodies any longer

This time Yggdrasil hesitated we shall see

Heh so even you have some things that you can be honest about Iellaya chuckled Just remember our deal as long as you protect these two nothing else will be required of your particular skills As your superior officer I suppose the least I can do is drag these blobs back from the staging area We donÆt what them gumming up the works do we And based on the Nether massing above us

She trailed off Randidly felt YggdrasilÆs warm branches reach down and wrap around his body Immediately warm streams of energy began running through RandidlyÆs body with such familiarity that Randidly had to suppress the urge to groan in pleasure But YggdrasilÆs worried question brought him right back to focus

You think another attack will come Here this time

RandidlyÆs eyes were still closed but he could sense the subtle motions of a nod from Iellaya With the forces of Nether waiting at the gates I have to assume they will send another Nether Well to make trouble for us at our core Their attack on Commander ThrallÆs camp was similarly arranged Which is why I am here personally at the staging area Ah feel free to tell the Ghosthound that the reason I was here was out of concern for his safety He is my star recruit after all

Chuckling Yggdrasil shook his canopy and set his leaves rustling He will not believe such a thing Lady Iellaya

He is smarter than is healthy for a foot soldier He also But then IellayaÆs whole bearing changed The violence in her voice rapidly escalated What the hell

Randidly was shocked when suddenly IellayaÆs hand was suddenly on his face Her fingers were so strong and sure that Randidly felt more like there was a bear trip sitting docility in front of his nose than an individualÆs hand At any moment Randidly sensed that hand could tense up and shred the bones of his skull Yet she moved with surprising gentleness Iellaya turned RandidlyÆs face from side to side as if searching for something

Thankfully Yggdrasil spoke Is something wrong

He has already condensed his first star and is now more than halfway on his way to forming a second star Iellaya hissed How is such a quick improvement possible Based on all the Nether damage to his body it is almost assured that he will reach the two star level if he is given time to recover

Must have been a very violent encounter in the Great Rift Yggdrasil said mildly We are the type of images that grow quickly when challenged

Iellaya released RandidlyÆs face It seemed her attention turned to Yggdrasil The two of you are profoundly peculiar images thatÆs for sure The things you do shouldnÆt be possible The things you do should only be possible if your body is a Ritualist with a steady supply of Aether

From the way Iellaya said the word Ritualist she expected a strong reaction Yet Randidly was quite clear that Yggdrasil was only puzzled In addition focusing on that word meant they didnÆt need to address the last part of her sentence IÆm not familiar with the term Ritualist

That gave Iellaya pause really Who is your sponsor

RandidlyÆs mouth was dry Why were all these strange labels coming up If they answered incorrectly

Yggdrasil made no pretense of their knowledge and Randidly respected him a lot for it IÆm also not sure what a sponsor is

Iellaya was clearly gritting her teeth Have you spent no time at all in the Nexus Who is the individual who has citizenship in the Nexus associated with you On whose planet did you live I can help you here but only if you give me the information I need We need to apply external pressure if Lord Miln is to give up your body Otherwise Well

Seeing YggdarsilÆs continued confusion Iellaya shook her head Your loyalty would be even more useful

Of course we are loyal Yggdrasil said shortly You are our commanding officer

Pah you know that is not the loyalty I am talking about I cannot help but notice both of you have isolated yourself from my influence Lady Iellaya took a few steps away so her voice was less imminently present Not that I mind Certainly be surrounded by individuals bound to my will carries with it certain risks But I have to wonder what such capable images intend refusing to be bound or explain themselves to me

We have no sponsor Yggdrasil said slowly Our world was only recently brought into the System we have not yet even faced the first Calamity That is why we are so desperate to get back and so careful We cannot afford to fail here There is so much we donÆt know

RandidlyÆs heart rate increased as Yggdrasil professed so directly to not knowing anything but he also trusted YggdrasilÆs instincts The slow natural progression of growth was YggdrasilÆs territory If he believed that their best option was so directly to bare themselves then it was definitely in their interest to do so

Several long seconds of silence followed that admission

How is that possible If thatÆs true why are your images so

SKRee

The concussive force blasted outward from the nearby staging area smashing into Randidly and Yggdrasil Quick as a spark Iellaya was gone in a brutal screech of fury Above the machinations of Nether began to rumble as the long awaited signal finally arrived Yggdrasil quickly set Randidly on his feet likely knowing that Randidly had been conscious and shifted over to grab the limp form of Salazar

Randidly opened his eyes blinked and staggered and then followed Yggdrasil to seize Zauna Both of his subordinates appeared unconscious and Randidly felt a pang of worry as he looked at their soft and melted looking forms Although they resembled their usual look they seemed like wax figures that had been left too close to the fire

A black wind heavy with nether swirled around the edges of the staging area where they were currently located Very quickly the entire surrounding area was obscured by the opaque currents of air laying across the area like drapes As Randidly heaved Zauna onto his shoulder the ground around them began to crack and destabilize as Nether wormed its way into the ground

Wincing Randidly straightened Although he was only carrying an image body that was severely deteriorated his own weakness meant that this task was a difficult prospect Apparently his own repairs to his image hadnÆt been as complete as he had initially assumed

It wouldnÆt be the first time

Randidly glanced upward This black tentacles from the Great Rift were slowly twining downwards It was difficult to see through the distorted space and Nether tainted wind around him but it was clear that the attack would arrive soon If they didnÆt move

Suddenly all of the Nether in the surrounding air was eradicated The previously unbalanced space slowly realigned itself Even the usual visual effects of the Great Rift were barely visible underneath the heavyweight of IellayaÆs image that billowed outward

Randidly turned slowly and regarded the hulking black form that spread its wide wings over the staging area It was a ten meter tall statue of polished obsidian with a wingspan that seemed broad enough to cover the whole of the camp Every feather was a perfect crystalline piece of art assembled together into an image that was so heavy and potent that it weighed physically on the surrounding area

When Iellaya had struck out at the attack to the other camp Randidly had been somewhat awed by her casual power But now that the attack came toward her own camp the power that Randidly saw at this moment left him breathless and tight lipped This was the sort of power of one who thrived in the Nexus If Randidly wanted to fight his way toward the top this was the sort of foe he would need to face

Although the difference between their strengths wasnÆt the vast chasm between himself and that individual that had used him to find the Creature Randidly felt very small as he looked toward that obsidian eagle And that feeling filled him with desire

The Grim Chimera stood before an edifice to the power of the System and it craved

Once more Iellaya raised her head and unleashed a piercing screech Immediately the camp around them began to buzz with activity Where soldiers had previously been waiting in their tents to escape the sudden blast with its epicenter in the staging area they now swarmed outward Their eyes were grim and determined as they marched toward the edge of camp to face the threat of the Nether invasion

Those huge tentacles twined down smashing into the shattered badlands between the camp and the Great Rift Floating boulders tumbled slowly outward in a weightless wave Although Randidly couldnÆt see it from where he was standing he felt the wave of Nether Beasts that surged outward in a ravenous horde

Suddenly Yggdrasil was at RandidlyÆs side We should return You need to recover before you can fight

I can still fight Randidly wheezed Then he coughed several times trying to clear his throat But the skin of his esophagus was parched and dry

Yggdrasil snorted And I donÆt doubt you will get the chance Look at the sky It isnÆt just our camp that is under attack This is a full on assault from Nether There will be plenty of chances For now come back even if you are alright these two are not

Randidly looked down at Zauna Although he didnÆt like to pull back when Iellaya had so tantalizingly showed him what he could one day become he nodded

So Randidly and Yggdrasil turned away and headed back toward their tent to recuperate while Nether fell like gloomy raindrops toward the camp

Chapter 1066

As soon as Randidly sat down to work on his image and healing again he realized how dangerous going to fight in this form would have been Although some of the damage he had accumulated was just subtle markings on his subconscious currently if Randidly had fought with this image it might have been even more deeply engrained in his understanding It would have become a series of permanent debilitations built into the Grim Chimera

Which made Randidly wonder what sort of weaknesses he had slowly bred into the image of the Grim Chimera without him knowing thus far Which Randidly supposed was exactly why the process of refining an image was an endless journey

Fucking images More fucking effort than they are worth Randidly thought glumly How long will it be until we have the body again

Although he purged the impurities Randidly did accept the physical and aesthetic changes that he had made in the Great Rift Honestly he quite liked the luminous quality the Nether Well added to his torso In addition he felt the strength slowly flowing through him from the Nether Well in his core to his image It would take a while to understand what exactly its presence would mean for him but it would certainly push his strength upward

Mostly however Randidly was just glad that Iellaya hadnÆt been able to sense the fact that he possessed the Nether Well Her discovering that he was carrying such an object within him would have been bad

For all that she believed that they might be useful it was hard to argue that the constant threat such a presence posed wasnÆt too much to risk And at this point Randidly wasnÆt sure how well he would handle its removal His image was still quite fragile after the fight

Randidly opened his eyes and shook his body to give himself a small break from the mental exertions At this point headaches had become just another constant at the frontlines of the battle against Nether Then he glanced at Yggdrasil and frowned What are you doing Performing surgery on them

Yggdrasil shook his canopy IÆm harvesting this grey condensate He held up a cupped branch filled with goop that looked a lot like spackle This forms when Aether and Nether are forced to combine rather than destroying each other It doesnÆt look like much but after removing some from you previously I noticed that it is excellent insulation IÆm thinking of building a chamber for Ignition Essence with it To prevent his energies from leaking away

Nodding in agreement Randidly looked to the end of the tent to the place where Ignition Essence continued to sleep As previously he remained flickeringly present but it did seem like his size was slowly diminishing The lines across RandidlyÆs face tightened with worry

Main body canÆt you do something about that

Randidly waited a beat there was no answer Irritation slowly grew in RandidlyÆs chest Still nothing changed Then Randidly scowled down at the ground Of course suddenly you are too good to interfere to protect your images

Again there was only silence Randidly scratched his head with his claw and then settled down to focus on other things

This time when Randidly turned his focus inward Randidly examined his newly condensed first star And the second star that was nearly finished forming

Just as he had noticed from destroying Nether Beasts in the Great Rift Randidly could now feel a thin film that covered both his insides and outside He had a tight core of energy that had lodged itself quite near to the Nether Rift and gleamed with a small amount of energy This was likely the tightly wound source that the great arrays around the camp had caused to form

Randidly prodded the core in his chest and immediately sensed that there was a trick hidden in it It possessed some capability Yet for all RandidlyÆs prodding he could not cause any changes With a frown Randidly shook his head and pulled his focus away if there was a trick to it he would discover it eventually

In addition there was a small bubble of energy that surrounded his body As Randidly moved it easily shifted to follow him There was a small bit of space between the edge of his image and the bubble but it wasnÆt so large that it was easy to notice RandidlyÆs only regret was that it was difficult to tell what effects the would have It was clear that a portion of the bubble barrier was Nether but it was only a small portion There were also strange constructs of Aether that mimicked the Nether closely Overall it was an extremely intricate barrier and Randidly once more wished he had Aether Detection

Randidly had heard the bubble would benefit him defensively but he just wished he had a more concrete idea of what that meant Although he would soon have a second star which might make the benefits he received even more palpable

Because the other thing that Randidly discovered was that the flows that he had hastily created now swirled in five distinct spirals around the Nether Well and from there were dragged directly by the grand array into his next star The Nether Well was still as tightly closed at it would go but the small constant flow of Nether in his body would continually be channeled into the array creating more and more stars for himself

Which if he was ever absent from battles for a long period of time would become slightly troublesome to explain In the short term it would just be that Nether was being extracted from his wounds But when the time since he had last been wounded grew

Shaking his head helplessly Randidly turned back to Yggdrasil How are they

They will live but there is some very significant damage Nether has invaded too deeply into them It is difficult for my Skills to force it out Even if I can stimulate their image they do not have the strength to throw out the Nether on their own Yggdrasil sighed and leaned back from Salazar His leaves were drooping This this is beyond the current me

Actually Randidly chewed his lip as he looked at his two limp subordinates IÆm not sure if it will work but I have an idea that I want to try

The monthly status report meeting could not have come at a worse time for Iellaya After putting out all of the fires she could at her own camp she shook her head and prepared to set out

But she would be damned if she didnÆt show up and stick Lord MilnÆs feet to the fire for the recent string of attacks they were suffering It was exactly what Iellaya had been waiting for proof that his wait and see approach to the battle was not working In the face of these results perhaps some of the other Commanders would support her ideas for a more proactive stance

Iellaya made sure all her feathers were immaculately groomed and oiled before she walked out of her tent Then with the teleporter from the rapidly repaired staging area she was spirited immediately across the battlefield to stand on the rocky outcropping that dominated the landscape

When she arrived the first thing Iellaya did was to glance across the battle Her mouth twisted into a frown Of course although the Nether did unleash token attacks against the other camps the bulk of the invading forces had made landfall near the camps at the edge of the line That is her own camp and the camp of the previously attacked Commander Thrall

Although she was able to repel the invaders she could see even from here that Thrall had struggled to do the same After all she had been forewarned by his own loss and didnÆt have any of the lingering damage he was dealing with Iellaya had prowled about the staging area until the Nether Well finally arrived It had been almost childÆs play to squish it out of existence and then turn her full attention toward the attacking forces But it had been an infuriating exercise in patience

A more aggressive stance would lead to more casualties of course but that was only in the short term Once her strategy had time to get its legs under it it would begin to pay dividends Allowing the forces of Nether free reign was a mistake The dominant opinion of the Nexus was that the beings of Nether were wild savages but it was clear that there was something out there that had a plan for the distribution of the Nether forces

They were slowly and surely ceding strategic space to the Nether forces Despite the fact that most considered Nether Beasts to be little more than monsters no one denied that the Nether was capable of creating great arrays that it used to concentrate its Nether into dangerous weapons Even high command couldnÆt deny that danger Which was why the battle for control of space was originally offered as an option

And yet Lord Miln

IellayaÆs face was impassive as she walked into Lord MilnÆs rather plain meeting tent To her disgust all ten of the other Commanders were already present Even Commander Thrall had someone managed to beat her to the meeting

IellayaÆs eyebrow twitched Although I suppose if I had abandoned my camp to the worst of the Nether threat it would be possible to have made it over here so quickly But I shudder to think the grievous losses we would have endured if that were the case I suppose I need look no farther than ThrallÆs own camp to see what would result

Ah Lady Iellaya Lord Miln said with a smile He gestured to her chair Please join us We were about to discuss the rising threat of the Nether

That sentence at least did a little to pique her curiosity As Iellaya walked over to the long wooden table and took her seat at the end she tempered her expectations After all she had been endlessly disappointed by Lord MilnÆs avoidance of responsibility in the past But it was true that the attacks were coming more and more frequently

As you all know the unending forces of Nether have long crashed almost pointlessly against the iron bulwark of our defense Lord Miln began Even though what they were currently seeing was just a projection of his actual body the projection also mimicked the strange trait of being completely glued to a single spot Lord Miln leaned forward over the table However they have recently began assembling their forces for a concerted attack This is dangerous even for us

Despite the fact that Iellaya had allowed a small glimmer of interest to build in her heart even she was shocked at the sudden about face of Lord MilnÆs stance Had she missed something crucial occurring during the attack

Suddenly he was taking the threat seriously

Generally we strike at the vast empty space of the NetherÆs territory forcefully destabilizing the flow of Nether Lord Miln continued That is no longer tenable Instead I believe their current aggression requires that we teach these monsters a firm lesson To that end we shall be launching an attack on a Nether Gatekeeper A key one which will completely scramble their network One order of business for this meeting then is to seek out a volunteer among you Commanders to arrange such an expedition

WHAT Assault a Nether Gatekeeper directly ItÆs suicide to attack a Nether Gatekeeper that is enshrined on a throne of Nether IellayaÆs hands tightened on the table It was only when the table creaked ominously that she realized how strong her grip was The Nether Gatekeepers are the equivalent of our Commanders Unless several of us mount an assault together we are going to sustain heavy losses without any guarantee of success

Does he honestly believe that a single Commander would volunteer for this Its the equivalent of

Actually

Iellaya looked sharply up at the Commander next to her Terith She wasnÆt familiar with the man but he was known to be a notoriously a stickler for regulations The fact that such a conservative man volunteered was quite the surprise

Commander Terith cleared his throat I have some insubordinate elements within my camp I think an assault on a Nether Gatekeeper is the perfect way to handle them

Lord Miln smiled Just what I was waiting to hear Excellent I suppose that is that Now on to other business

IellayaÆs face twitched in frustration So it was just a front Lord Miln wonÆt address the problem but this will buy him time But the real purpose was to get Terith involved Why

WhatÆs going on behind the scenes

Chapter 1067

The tent was quiet in the way of churches and hospitals Randidly sat with his eyes closed and breathed rhythmically to the sound of his subordinateÆs labored breathing beside him But of course as Randidly listened to their breathing he smiled despite the fact that their current struggles were still significant Because the worst of it had passed for those two Because his idea had worked

Rather than using Aether to try and forcefully destroy the remnants Nether that remained in their bodies RandidlyÆs suggestion to Yggdrasil had been to create a thin flow of Nether with RandidlyÆs Nether Well and wash the area around the wounds with that flow Rather than continuing to fight and destroy itself while working against Aether Randidly figured that Nether would respond to the presence of the flow and follow the relatively low pressure pathway provided to join up with its own kind

In theory it would be quite easy It had however been a very tense operation in practice Careful to not allow too much Nether to flow at once Randidly had slowly and methodically used a Nether flow to pull out the large lingering chunks of Nether that were in his subordinates wounded image bodies It was a difficult thing to see them so frail but Randidly had gritted his teeth and continued with his talk

For every second that the Nether remained there the corruption to the image grew increasingly severe Randidly couldnÆt afford to wait until some of his own issues were healed to begin the operation Which meant there was the slightest tremor in his will as it was going on

What was worse was Randidly was extremely aware of YggdrasilÆs mild gaze on him as he triggered the Nether Well in his chest to produce the stream of Nether It felt like Randidly was suddenly hyper aware of the fact that the main body had been resistant to the Nether Well It was difficult to tell whether Yggdrasil would be similarly against Randidly possessing it

Such was his distraction that there was a point that the flow of Nether was a little too robust resulting in some light damage to ZaunaÆs stony skin But considering how much damage she had already received Randidly immediately paled He put his own hesitations to the side and threw himself unreservedly into the task

After both Zauna and Salazar had escaped the danger of accruing addition Nether damage Yggdrasil had given Randidly a long look That is an interesting development

Yea Randidly had said shortly But something in his tone must have alerted Yggdrasil to how conflicted Randidly still was about the Nether The treant stretched out his branch and placed it on RandidlyÆs shoulder Randidly couldnÆt bear to look up to meet YggdrasilÆs eyes so he studied the golden lines of text engraved across the branch

You are one of the images of Randidly Ghosthound No matter how you evolve that will not change We are him as much as he is us And we are in this together

Randidly was oddly comforted by YggdrasilÆs words despite the fact that he still preferred to consider himself an actual incarnation of Randidly that had simply been split off of the main body But it was difficult to claim it after he had interacted directly with the main body and defied his will

but what does that make me

Shaking his head Randidly let it go and returned to his breathing All that mattered now was the Nether was removed from his subordinates and Yggdrasil had been able to use his image to heal much of the damage done to the two of them It was time for RandidlyÆs focus to shift to his own progress once more

Randidly rested When the constant headache had subsided he rolled his shoulders to warm up his body and then turned his focus inward Unfortunately the stars of Nether that he now possessed were not easy to handle

Time continued to flow as Randidly sat entirely still inside the tent After several hours of experiments Randidly was profoundly fed up with his new core of Nether The only active effect he had accomplished was figuring out how to move the core around Once he knew the trick it was even rather simple But after moving his core around Randidly still found nothing interesting about what he could accomplish

Sure he discovered that he couldnÆt push the core beyond the edge of the bubble And the bubble of Nether would warp slightly when the core was moved up next to the limit But Randidly wracked his brain and couldnÆt think of any way where such an effect would be actually useful

When Randidly touched the core he was always struck by the certainty that there was a hidden purpose of the cores to the creatures of Nether Yet his optimism had no choice but to slowly wane as that hope was never substantiated

Maybe itÆs just that these cores are imperfect imitations of what the Nether Beasts possess or maybe I need to be in the Great Rift to understand its capabilities

Randidly stood up slowly in the tent the muscles from his legs flexing as he stood Grinning down at his body Randidly allowed himself to feel a small hint of pride at the current state of his image For all that his image had been repeatedly eroded down to its basic form every time he encountered the powerful forces of Nether it had also been chances for Randidly to build himself up from the basics

Of course that meant the amount of effort and time he put into his image increased drastically as he remade himself multiple times The headache of an overextended will was now a constant companion to Randidly Not that he really needed to sleepÆ in the traditional sense but that constant pounding made any sort of rest that wasnÆt fueled by YggdrasilÆs relaxing energies almost impossible

Still Randidly felt not an ounce of regret as he considered his newest form

RandidlyÆs talon gleamed darkly with an entirely new sort of sharpness that would shred through flesh even though he was just an image His bone spear seemed to have aged a thousand years The bloodstains seemed so desiccated and sacrilegious on the yellowing bone that the one whose blood so stained the bone to remain stained there to this day couldnÆt have been an ordinary individual His legs flexed powerfully the long and thin tendons bulging out of his skin like steel cables

And his eyes the dark green of forest and peat mud

With this amount of improvement there is no way that the main body wonÆt be satisfied

But just as Randidly had that thought his face tightened into a scowl It shouldnÆt matter so much to him that he come back and prove to the main body that he had been able to survive on his own The approval of the main body was a ridiculous thing to seek As Yggdrasil said he was just as much a part of the main body as the main body was of him Their relationship shouldnÆt be so one sided

And yet the fucker remains completely distant when I want to talk with him Randidly thought resentfully Shaking his head he stood and stretched his body Yggdrasil looked up shortly at him as he moved but then returned to the slow sculpting of the housing structure for Ignition Essence Still recovering Zauna and Salazar breathed in unison in the other side of the cramped tent

even if its a bit tighter in here now itÆs not such a bad feeling Randidly reflected Moving carefully he stepped around their still forms and left the tent The gloomy alleyways between the canvas dwellings were uniform and empty allowing Randidly to quickly slip through them and appear at the edge of the badlands

When he was walking over Randidly supposed he was heading over to attempt another training session like he had experienced a few days ago Where his consciousness became so light that it floated on top of his actions like a bubble in bathwater

Such a metaphor accurately illustrated how hard it was to maintain but there were commiserate benefits in terms of grown if he could achieve that balance once more For a short amount of time Skill Levels had come so freely that it was shocking There was something intrinsic about that mentality that Randidly sought to capture for a second time

If he could master it his growth would be positively monstrous

Yet when Randidly actually arrived at that borderland between two camps he realized that although training was important that wasnÆt why he had walked to this desolate place No it immediately became abundantly clear that the reason that Randidly had walked over to this place in the middle of the night was that this location was where he had twice experienced the pleasure of encountering Vualla

And the third time was still the charm she was standing with her pale face tilted upward toward the sky when he arrived

Her azure hair was usually flowing freely behind her but now it was tightly bound up into a thick braid Rather than a waterfall her hair was suddenly a river of remarkable currents and depths The sort that could sweep a careless adult away underneath its surface without even a ripple passing across it

Unlike their previous encounters they noticed each other almost immediately After seeing him Vualla began walking slowly out toward the middle of the no manÆs land Randidly accelerated to meet her Their footsteps were the only sounds in the wide night

When they arrived they stood almost exactly one meter apart from one another simply looking at the other individual It was clear to Randidly from the places that her gaze lingered that Vualla noticed the changes he had made to his image yesterday and today refining his physicality after it had been so thoroughly brutalized A small surge of pride made him raise his chin

Yet at the same time Randidly noticed how somber and resigned VuallaÆs expression was The way her hair was pulled tightly back into a braid emphasized the harsh lines of her high cheekbones and made her look five years older It also revealed messy scar along the left side of her jaw almost directly below her ear Likely her wild hair had hidden the old wound previously Now Randidly stared at it in wonder curious about the story behind it

They were silent

RandidlyÆs emerald gaze that had become a dark olive and VuallaÆs azure eyes played a delicate game of fencing all testing thrusts of attention and coy reposites

Eventually it became too much for Randidly to take There was a truth hanging heavy over VuallaÆs head that Randidly found himself too curious about to ignore But he couldnÆt get his mouth to ask about it directly So instead he asked So we arenÆt going to start our meeting with a fight today

VuallaÆs mouth twitched a tiny bit You think what we did previously was a fight

Randidly grinned and raised a flexing claw Well it would have been a nice warm up wouldnÆt it

But almost as soon as it had appeared that spark of amusement died in VuallaÆs eyes Perhaps But I donÆt IÆm sorry I suspect that I wonÆt be the best company tonight

Is something wrong Randidly lowered his claw

Vualla sighed and look upward to the strangely luminous maroon brushstroke clouds above them They appeared rusty and grey in the dim light of night here Yes and no My that man you saw me talking to the other night reported me As he said he would but I thought that well it doesnÆt matter now IÆve been assigned to a special squad that will spearhead an assault against a Nether Gatekeeper in two days They will light the Beacon of Duty but I donÆt expect many will heed its call With so few of us going

Vualla shook her head

RandidlyÆs body was tingling What is a Nether Gatekeeper

Shrugging Vualla spoke with a complete lack of interest A being of the Nether that possesses actual intelligence My squad is tasked with drawing its attention so other teams may assault its stronghold and destroy as many Nether Wells as possible The assignment it is likely a death sentence for me

Vualla raised her arms up toward the sky I just wish there was a moon here This place seems so much darker than the world I remember

Chapter 1068

Just as quickly as Vualla raised her gauntleted hands up toward the blank sky in askance her arms went limp and the limbs dropped back to her sides She turned and gave Randidly another look sizing him up with those luminous azure eyes But enough about me what about you YouÆve managed to achieve a two star status as an image and yet I donÆt believe you even had one star when we last met Certainly there must be a story to that fact

Shaking his head Randidly said harshly DonÆt change the subject Is there any way for you to get out of this assignment Even if you have a body

Do you want to know a secret about those stars Vualla interrupted as she turned to her body to face him directly

RandidlyÆs mouth firmed into a line His mouth moved more quickly than he could censor the words that he was thinking DonÆt treat what you just said like it doesnÆt mean anything I donÆt want you to die

There was a split second where RandidlyÆs mind ground to a halt as he tried to figure out exactly what Vualla probably thought he meant when he said it but then his annoyance and worry continued to push him forward So much forward that he could safely skip any reflection of his own on what saying that meant to him

Even if she thought that he that he well no matter what she thought it was fine It was much more important to make sure that Vualla wouldnÆt allow herself to go on this suicide mission than to quibble over intent at this point

What was even more strange than his own feelings was that a queer resistance was building up in RandidlyÆs chest to counter his words and intentions Some part of him seemed profoundly reluctant to try and save Vualla from this mission In fact some part of him was seized by a complete aversion to her Some instinct of his seemed to paint her less of a person and more of a rotting corpse

The feeling rapidly spread so that RandidlyÆs proximity to Vualla suddenly gave him a strange urge to vomit Which of course was completely improbable he was just an image So why

In a split second of rage Randidly realized that the revulsion was coming from the main body For whatever reason he could sense that the main body believed it was better for him to just leave well enough alone and let Vualla go on this mission The main body believed it would be in his best interest to allow Vualla to die

The suddenness of the sentiment had confused Randidly for the following split second as his rage struggled to parse the information apart and then as realization dawned all of his frustrations and complexes regarding the main body crystalized into a hot ball of caustic hatred in his chest

After all that IÆve done for you You are going to fight me on this Randidly hissed mentally toward that ambient impression from the main body Do you think saving lives is a waste No wonder you let Alta destroy your Soulskill No wonder you so quickly murdered Ki Kunot without any hesitation No wonder you sent your precious Kharon to fight at the borders of the world without any supervision Life means nothing to you

Even as Randidly thought the words he felt a glimmer of regret But at the moment there was too much violent rejection of the main bodyÆs disgust toward Vualla

Unfortunately there was no response from the main body There were no sudden sparks of hurt or anger to indicate that RandidlyÆs barbs had found purchase against the main bodyÆs psyche Again it was hard to even tell whether the main body listened to what he was saying Aside from that one moment in the Great Rift where there was direct contact between the two of them it was an ambiguous bond that they shared

Finally Randidly seized control of his body and banished that foreign revulsion toward Vualla She was someone who had walked a lonely Path Randidly would not abandon her just because the main body desired it

As Vualla fell silent and considered him Randidly found his voice once more and continued to speak Is there no way for you to avoid going on this mission

Well itÆs not like itÆs impossible but Vualla took two sharp steps forward devouring the meter of distance between the two of them Suddenly she was only a few inches away from his face Such was the sudden proximity of their bodies that Randidly barely suppressed an impulse to step backward despite the fact he had just reaffirmed the desire in his heart to help her

But being so close so suddenly

VuallaÆs azure eyes were very serious as she looked at him Just as you worry for me I am worrying for you I am not flippantly bringing up your stars So listen to what I have to say and then we can talk about my matters

Some part of Randidly wanted to point out that he had asked first and therefore his concern should be addressed first but some note of solemnity in VuallaÆs gaze was enough that he held his tongue Either way he trusted her word if she said they would talk about it they would talk about it

Fine Randidly said shortly Plus he was somewhat distracted as the disgust and rejection from the main body surged up once more This time there was a note of warning in the main bodyÆs emotions

That set Randidly to chuckling inwardly as he squashed those emotions Oh suddenly you feel like talking do you Well fuck you

As though the main body got the hint the feelings faded away

Seeing Randidly truly meant to allow her to speak first Vualla smiled Thank you Now as I was saying it seems youÆve acquired some method of handling a lot of Nether very quickly Very enterprising of you And as this Nether is being transformed into stars very useful in the short term to increase your survival in the Great Rift But there is a secret that no one tells the new recruits at a certain amount of stars there are negative side effects

What sort of side effects Randidly muttered hotly But mostly his animosity was aimed at the rather useless stars themselves He was still quite sour that there was so little of an effect after all the suffering he had endured

Even if they are basically a bonus itÆs fucking annoying that everyone made a big deal out of the stars when they turned out so mundane

Well for lack of a better turn motion resistance Vualla shrugged Obviously itÆs not something that they talk about often I only heard about it from my mother who heard from my father during one of the times he visited for the birth of my brothers Apparently the Nether stars create a barrier around you that provides significant protection from Nether But also

When enough of those barriers overlap there is a resonance the physical body is affected There Vualla paused as she looked at Randidly Well I donÆt think images often possess stars So IÆm unsure how it would affect you But if it creates a physical resistance that even bodies struggle with its likely even worse for images Symptoms manifest around five stars and each successive star after that makes it worse

actually I donÆt think images would be affected more strongly by the bubble portion of Nether RandidlyÆs brow furrowed as Vualla continued her explanation The problem is probably that even if the array takes out most of the Nether aspects there is still a significant amount of Nether in the bubbles And Nether and substance donÆt mix well So when a sufficient amount of Nether is present it reacts adversely to a physical body

Is there an upper limit on stars then Randidly asked aloud

Ten

Randidly blinked So someoneÆs gotten all the way to ten huh

But Vualla shook her head causing her braid to bound back and forth across her shoulders No I think the actual record is eight stars After that the individual couldnÆt even move properly and retired from the frontlines

Frowning Randidly asked Then why did you just say nine

I honestly donÆt know An instinct maybe Vualla flashed Randidly a smile Since it is physical resistance I suspect that a sufficiently strong body should be able to resist the effect of the stars for longer than a weaker body could Therefore I think someone could get to ten if they pushed hard enough Still this is why most Commanders engage Nether Beasts sparingly All of them are nearing that five star state

Randidly gave Vualla an unamused look She winked at him in response Would it help if I called it a womanÆs intuition

Rolling his eyes Randidly threw his hands up into the air Fine so the bubbles make it difficult to move But do they notice anything from the cores if there are that many gathered together

At the very least Randidly hoped he would be able to find some useful information from Vualla in regards to the starsÆ uses But when she replied Randidly was even more confused

Cores Oh you mean like you sometimes feel break when fighting a Nether Beast Although most people theorize that stars create something similar in us itÆs never been proven Vualla tilted her head to the side and carefully studied RandidlyÆs face After all no one can sense Nether So itÆs just a theory

Yea Randidly finished lamely VuallaÆs eyes narrowed

Is there something youÆd like to tell me She asked evenly

Well obviously yes but Randidly hesitated Was it so easy to just tell Vualla that he had learned a Skill related to Nether That he carried a Nether Well in his chest right now even as they stood so close to each other

Obviously not so simple Randidly sighed But out loud Randidly said yea I do have an extra sensitively to Nether I donÆt know if other people have them but I can sense the cores of Nether inside myself

Rather than speaking out about the Nether Well his ability to sense Nether was much more innocuous And it would probably leak anyway when his two subordinates recovered It was also an easy way to explain away a portion of RandidlyÆs accomplishments in the Great Rift thus far

VuallaÆs eyes stretched into happy crescents Really You certainly possess many strange talents Randidly Ghosthound In another life Well nevermind WhoÆs to say if we would even have met in another life

That made RandidlyÆs head tilt to the side Both because it was an odd thing to say and because the main bodyÆs ire abruptly roared back with a striking intensity Gritting his teeth Randidly pointedly ignored it and asked Vualla Is there something youÆd like to tell me What would we be in another life

For the first time since they had met Vualla hesitated At the moment that Randidly had surprised her she hadnÆt hesitated to spin around and strike at Randidly But now she seemed frozen

Silence slowly stretched The air and land around them was dead aside from the constant visual variance caused by proximity to the Great Rift Randidly watched as the lines of her face stretched and flitted side to side The joints of her overly large gauntlets moved with an oily silence as she nervously flexed her fingers

We could have been together Vualla said so softly that even Randidly couldnÆt catch the words The only reason he understood was that his Grim Intuition had the uncanny to pick up speech from even the slightest movement of lips

arenÆt we together now Randidly asked slowly

Until I go on this mission Vualla replied in a normal tone of voice She took a step back away from Randidly All of the tension in the air drained slowly away like it had been lanced with a needle To answer your earlier question yes I could get out of going I could beg for mercy I could go to my father and reveal myself But I wonÆt

Why not Randidly asked through gritted teeth

Would the woman who will destroy the System run away from a fight

Chapter 1069

After VuallaÆs lonely pronouncement Randidly had nothing to say In his adventures he had learned exactly how important it was that your images and your actions aligned almost perfectly To allow for dissonance was to invite a fatal weakness into yourself And when Vualla had asked her question to the empty night Randidly had felt the gentle reverberation of denial from her image

No the woman who will destroy the System wouldnÆt run away from a fight

Yet even as Randidly recognized that and recognized that his instincts would come up with the same answer he couldnÆt help but think of the main body The main body had fallen for the arrogance of such an outlook many times and been thoroughly chastened by reality each time In order to survive the main body might recommend Vualla take a step back

That is of course if the main body stopped wishing for her to die

Perhaps because of the fact her veritable waterfall of hair was now done up in a braid VuallaÆs back looked extremely slender as she turned away and moved across the badlands back toward her camp Even her huge metal gauntlets couldnÆt cover up the desperate uniformity of her steps This was the choice she was making but it was not an easy one And Vualla was aware of the consequences

Although her image was prodding her toward this Path Vualla was well aware of how this would likely end

Even heroes need time to grow into their strength

Silence was the only answer Randidly had for the Vualla who resigned herself to fight against every foe that was thrown into her path He watched her without moving until she vanished back into her camp

Yet despite the fact that he allowed Vualla to walk away without asking to accompany her that did not mean that Randidly didnÆt intend to help her He was just aware that he would receive exactly the opposite answer that he had received when he had asked to accompany her on a walk a few days prior

No if Randidly had shown any desire to accompany her she would have taken measures to stop him from doing so Therefore Randidly watched her go in silence His eyes glittered as he slowly made plans for tomorrow Then still maintaining the silence he returned to his tent and began to meditate

Every chance to improve himself counted especially now when he planned on heading to somewhere very dangerous And suddenly Randidly had a pretty fair hope of improving himself Because one thing that Vualla had mentioned had given him a bit of inspiration

The people in the camps treated the Nether stars as solely a source of the bubble with that outlook they were completely unable to control the bubbles to the point that too many of them could stack on top of one another to a troublesome degree Even powerful individuals who had made it to the frontlines were unable to move underneath the stacked bubblesÆ influence Opposite but just as incorrect as these individuals Randidly had been trying to move the cores without thinking about them in terms of what they were

Both methods were insufficient because the core and the bubble were intimately connected Treating them as anything other than a whole was squandering their abilities They were intimately bound

So this time when Randidly turned his focus inward he didnÆt attempt to just move the core around Instead he focused on the connection between the core and the bubble He felt their relationship His energy and effort began to flow into that space between the two Because he had two stars there were two cores that slowly drifted apart and resonated with the surrounding bubble as his attention began to cause a reaction

Feeling that change Randidly didnÆt try to control what was happening at all He simply let the resonance build within himself Soon the cores began to align themselves naturally within his body One settled in his clawed left hand the other within the tip of his bone spear

As they did so Randidly felt the bubble around him change Rather than staying uniform much of the strength of the bubbles followed the cores to concentrate the thickest portion of the bubble around his arms and torso Because of that the covering around his head and legs became extremely thin The covering was still present in those areas but the concentrated force that now emanated from RandidlyÆs arms put the thinner areas to shame

It was additional defensive energy that was all at the moment Still Randidly grinned at the discovery

His focus narrowed to a point as he carefully gathered his Willpower Rather than let the resonance continue naturally Randidly continued to pour himself into stimulating the connection between core and bubble while consciously moving the core out of his clawed hand With great care he pulled that core across his body and over toward his bone spear to join its sibling at the tip of the spear

Of course the difficulty of continually stimulating the resonance sharply increased as Randidly tried to move the cores around It became even worse by the time Randidly had moved the other core to his right arm Maintaining them in such close proximity was a lot like putting two magnets near each other at close distances they repelled

There was so much resistance that Randidly was sweating and gritting his teeth as one core was in the tip of the bone spear and the other had made it down to his elbow But to proceed forward

As was typical for his time at the frontlines a headache was building behind RandidlyÆs eyes Still he continued to push and strain at the cores They inched toward each other while digging in their heels like fanatical mules Randidly let out a hissing breath between his tightly clenched teeth

Then there was a glimmer of response from his core and abruptly the effort he was required to expend vastly decreased Curious Randidly turned his attention inward and discovered that a thin flow of Nether had diverted from the Nether Well and was spiraling down toward his right arm

With increased density of Nether in the surrounding air the two cores were able to drift closer to one another Very soon both were present in the tip of his bone spear and rotating rapidly around each other A thin seed of Nether formed a coreÆ between them and the two rotating cores became the bubbleÆ of this new arrangement

At that moment Randidly saw it How just like all of reality governed possessed spaceÆ in which to exist everything that was Nether was composed of cores and bubbles Sometimes many things formed a core or many things formed a bubble but they were all repeated into infinity animating the vast chasm of Nether that existed

Even the inexplicable Nether moved in certain patterns

The RandidlyÆs attention returned to his actual situation Because although the two cores were a bubble around the core of pure Nether they were actually the core to something else

And of course the actual bubble

Randidly opened his eyes and smirked down at his bone spear The variant visual effects that the Great Rift caused had tripled around his limb Rather than a single deviant layer that was vibrating around there were now five or six layers that spastically stretched and twitched every second His bone spear was a blur of motion that was almost impossible to track with the naked eye

In addition a small glimmer of black flame danced around his limb Although the thin and filmy flames were much less eye catching than the visual effects Randidly could sense that this condensed form of the bubble was much more dangerous than the average version

Not only was it a shield but it would also function as a weapon

Pleased with himself Randidly leaned back and closed his eyes once more He allowed his consciousness to drift away toward rest buoyed by the rhythmic breathing of his two wounded subordinates If he planned to answer the Beacon of Duty of the neighboring camp he would need his strength

Just from VuallaÆs bitter expression as she considered the option available to her Randidly understood that this mission would be very different from his assignments thus far Whereas his status as an image had seen him sent to relatively unimportant areas to waste Nether energy by affecting the space this was an assault on one of the bases of Nether A Nether Gatekeeper sat at its helm

But despite that it would also give Randidly a sense of the power possessed by those who fought here on the front lines Something that he had thus far been unable to really intuit

RandidlyÆs face split into a grin The look on VuallaÆs face when she sees me will be priceless

Commander Terith spent almost an hour making sure all of the chairs were in perfect alignment Three tables were set up in his tent surrounded by nine chairs each Four on each side and one at the head of the table Each table designated a separate team that would be sent to attack the base of the Nether Gatekeeper

One table to perform reconnaissance and distraction One table to strike once the location of the Nether Wells had been located One table to lie in wait a blade to strike at the Nether Gatekeeper if that beast would overextend pursuing the prior two teams

Terith straightened to consider his work Noticing that one of the chairs was slightly off alignment and pointed to the side Terith frowned With a short shake of his head he returned to his work this time taking the time to check every possible angle for any flaws Then for good measure be produced a rag from his pocket and wiped down the wooden surface of every piece of furniture until it gleamed

He could have asked a subordinate to do these mundane tasks but Terith was entirely too familiar with the haphazard nature of his subordinates’ work No if he wanted something done he would need to do it himself

Which was exactly why Terith had stepped out of his comfort zone and volunteered to handle this punitive expedition Something extremely strange was happening on the frontlines and Terith was too close to obtaining the requisite amount of fame to retire for him to allow it all to go to shit now

In the last yearÆs meeting quite a bit of the militaryÆs budget for Aether had been haphazardly allocated in a way that made it obvious Lord Miln was embezzling the Aether for some personal purpose One that appeared to benefit someone with connections because no questions were asked Even more ominously immediately after that Aether disappeared the disposition of the Nether forces immediately changed Their foes suddenly seemed to double in size and were much more aggressive in their attacks

Since then the forces of Aether had been constantly dogged by the flood of Nether Beasts Yet Lord Miln remained completely calm Which meant that there was something happening behind the scenes and Terith was determined to avoid the fallout of that

Huffing in annoyance Terith straightened and considered his work A good chance to clean house as well Some of my subordinates have grown altogether too complacent Without a firm hand they will spoil and turn insubordinate Just like that Vualla welp

Shaking his head Terith banished his emotions He carefully constructed a firm face of conviction Then he walked sharply outside and turned to his aide waiting beyond the edge of the tent

Commander Terith cleared his throat Light the Beacon of Duty

Chapter 1070

Commander Terith glared at the commander of the Nether Well Strike team who had been bored and tapping one of his many tentacles against the table to pass the time It almost sounded musical In the silence of the tent it was an unnecessary and obnoxious distraction Instantly the multi limbed individual withered underneath TerithÆs pointed glare

Terith turned to face forward and stand perfectly upright behind his desk They would wait for four hours or until all 27 of the spots in his expedition was filled During that time these individuals should have training enough to wait Terith was mildly tempted to call in some favors that were owed to him but he at least wanted to allow the opportunity for his subordinates to volunteer

After all he would be carefully noting down who joined the mission After all quite a few of those engaging in this mission would not be returning

Still despite his stoic expectation of very little from his subordinates Commander Terith was disappointed to see that it looked like they were heading directly for the four hour time limit rather than having a sufficient volume of volunteers When Commander Terith came back he would certainly require a thorough explanation for why his subordinates were too lazy to volunteer when the Beacon of Duty was lit

Almost unwillingly Terith looked at the commander of the reconnaissance and distraction squad the girl child Vualla Even he couldnÆt help but feel a grudging admiration for how her head was held high despite the fact that only three people had agreed to join her squad Certainly a good soldier if only her pride didnÆt keep unruly and dangerous

That is the sad truth about my position I have the choice between innumerable inappropriate options And the great Commanders are the ones that can arrange the circumstances to make do with the talent that they were given

As Commander Terith continued to study Vualla he sighed Truly capability was present in Vualla in a way that rarely happened It took a special sort of determination to catch TerithÆs eye but still she managed it Despite the fact that Terith was suspicious of her strange and hasty admittance into the army

It made Terith wonder if he shouldnÆt allow her to participate in this mission It made him wonder whether this Vualla would be missed by someone who would take a pound of flesh from Terith Still talented soldiers died every day Such was the reality of war If she fell in battle certainly Terith couldnÆt be blamed

And Terith had previously mentioned in passing to Lord Miln his desire to rid himself of some variant influences which had led to this opportunity Surely if Vualla was truly that important Lord Miln would be aware of her true identity

Bah worthless Let all the petty schemes of the spiders fall away Better to focus on strengthening my own position for now

Terith glanced at the other two group tables both were completely filled with volunteers The elimination group had plenty of talent and Terith himself would accompany the third group to prepare and ambush the Nether Gatekeeper Most of the pieces were in place All that was left was to fill VuallaÆs group

Which was proving to be extremely difficult everyone was aware of how disastrous the casualties would be for that group They would not only be required to sneak into the base but also cause a distraction that would draw the Nether GatekeeperÆs attention sufficiently to lure it into an ambush Honestly most of the responsibility for the success of the mission would lay at the feet of Vualla Which was quite annoying from Commander TerithÆs perspective but there wasnÆt much he could do

Perhaps that was exactly why Terith decided to overlook VuallaÆs strange arrival to the army and expose her to danger anyway he knew of few individuals aside from her that could pull this operation off

Despite VuallaÆs young age she was acknowledged as one of the top ten strongest individuals in TerithÆs camp after less than a year Her two subordinates that had joined her werenÆt anyone to sniff at either Yet even with that much concentrated power in the squad only one nonaffiliated individual volunteered

Still that man is a brave fool Good riddance

If the trash wasnÆt going to make itself available to be removed having such an obvious refuse bin became a critical weakness Should he have offered more benefits for volunteering Commander Terith turned back to face forward Even if no one came

But just as his thoughts began calculating whether VuallaÆs group could handle the task with so few of them there was a commotion at the front of the tent Eventually one of TerithÆs aides led someone into the tent Commander Terith blinked in surprise when he realized that the individual who had entered was an image A cognizant image from his direct and focused gaze but still a bodiless cluster of ideas

Even worse an image from another camp

Still it wasnÆt like there were any limits on who could apply for the Beacon of Duty And without any regulations against it Commander Terith pondered whether he should acquiesce to such a volunteer Even more intriguing was the fact that this image had somehow managed to achieve two star status Commander TerithÆs curiosity was somewhat piqued to discover that an image could have lived long enough in order to develop stars He cast his mind around but couldnÆt recall any other examples of it happening

Theoretically possible but highly improbable Considering an imageÆs innate resistance to Nether a tolerance would need to be built up gradually In addition the image would need to be naturally resilient

In terms of tangible benefits to the expedition it at least meant that the image was likely a veteran of many battles But still

Please donÆt joke with us Vualla said with remarkable coldness Terith eyed the womanÆs white knuckled fingers as she gripped the table Escort the image out of the tent Such a liability can do nothing but jeopardize the safety of our mission

Perhaps most damning in TerithÆs eyes Vualla had spoken just as he was preparing to make a similar pronouncement She had spoken with timing that overstepped her authority Which of course earned his ire

Commander Terith kept his odiously upright posture and spared Vualla a contemptuous glance The Aether expended to teleport an image deep into the Great Rift is a fraction of what a physical body requires As such wonÆt such a companion ease the process of infiltrating the base

Vualla blinked at Commander Terith Fury confusion and some other emotion warred across her face Clearly she hadnÆt expected Terith to intercede on the imageÆs behalf He could see her replaying her previous words to herself in her head and the dawning realization that she should have waited to speak until he had settled on an opinion

Too impetuous girl You wear your emotions on your face truly a piss poor soldier Practically a mercenary Then Terith turned and studied the image itself He was slender with a mostly humanoid torso surrounded by warped and dangerous looking limbs From the way he walked it seemed the image had a certain confidence in its own strength So I wonder what your connection is to this image girl Either way a tool is a tool If your fellow soldiers become more than that to you you are in the wrong business

I formally object to an imageÆs inclusion in the expedition Vualla hissed This image isnÆt even from our camp Our teamwork will likely be negatively impacted by the unknown and untrustworthy presence of this image

So you claim to have never met this image in the past Commander Terith asked simply

Vualla froze with her mouth half open All the while the image stood calmly and waited Commander Terith clicked his tongue inwardly as he examined the imageÆs face for a second time This time his examination was even more exacting Already Terith could detect flaws in the imageÆs mask of ambivalence Even if he is better at holding his tongue he is just another young welp who is altogether too easy to read Even if Vualla spoke out of turn first it does not please me to have you both attempt to use me to get around the will of the other

I suppose it would be pitiable if I wasnÆt magnanimous enough to forgive both of you considering you will soon die for me

Commander Terith smiled lightly Which is why I will allow you both to sacrifice your lives gallantly for the successful completion of this mission To use me as a bit character in your drama well then what is more romantic than a grave

Your name Terith asked aloud

Randidly Ghosthound The image responded There wasnÆt a hint of nervousness in his words So much so that Terith almost reluctantly looked at the image for a third time This time he ignored the physical form and simply allowed his own image to gently sound of the core of this image

TerithÆs smile faded away What he heard in Randidly GhosthoundÆs voice and felt from his core was bubbling excitement The image held no fear In fact at that moment of speaking Terith realized why this strange image had come here It wasnÆt out of concern for this girl although the image might convince itself that that was the case No this image was one of the oldest types of soldiers The ones that lived and died in pools of blood under dark skies

It came because violence brought it joy Which reminded Commander Terith of some of the old monsters that lived in the Nexus

If you had a body no with the obvious strength of your image probably all you would need is time And someday you would be a Commander yourself soaked and blood and roaring at the sky in ominous fury And it is exactly due to people like you that I cannot afford to fail There are already too many half mad berserkers in the Nexus whipping us uselessly toward war Please proceed easily to your grave

Well then Randidly Ghosthound Thank you for your service Commander Terith inclined his head toward one of the tables You will be serving underneath Vualla Do your best to follow her orders to the best of your ability

Then before Vualla could figure out what she was about to say with her half open mouth Terith beckoned one of his aides Please carry these messages to some of the individuals within my camp If they wonÆt come willingly IÆll drag them here

Nine is a good number Very round IÆll get nine volunteers even if I need to blackmail them Commander Terith resumed his straight ahead staring After being reminded of the Nexus by Randidly he was no longer in any mood to wait around for volunteers After all after this I will likely retire There is no need to worry about my future here

It only took five minutes from the moment when Commander Terith dispatched his messages for four more volunteers to turn up They were grim eyed and surly but it was at least clear that they were capable individuals

Randidly was impressed by Commander TerithÆs ability to mobilize forces on short notice The new arrivals barely spared Randidly a glance but they carried with them a palpable sort of image that radiated off of them

RandidlyÆs eyes glittered Finally IÆll be able to see individuals with actual power

Once everyone was present Commander Terith began to outline the plan

Randidly tried his best to stifle a yawn during the drawn out explanation Although they couched it in fancy terms and overly wrought descriptions the plan was comically simple VuallaÆs team team 1 will sneak into the base of the Nether Gatekeeper and locate where the Nether Wells were being kept Then they will signal the second team and cause a distraction in another portion of the base giving the second team time to accomplish the real goal of the expedition exterminating Nether Wells

Then incensed by the distraction the Nether Gatekeeper will be kept busy by VuallaÆs team Should the Nether Gatekeeper pursue them to a ridiculous degree the third team will strike and attempt to wound the Nether Gatekeeper Randidly did perk up when Commander Terith mentioned he would be acting personally in team three but it seemed unlikely that his involvement would come to pas

After all Randidly was able to intuit that the amount of time and distance that VuallaÆs team was required to survive before help would arrive They were in effect on their own in the interim deep behind enemy lines

No specifics about the makeup of this base came up either They would be wandering in blind for all intents and purposes

Randidly glanced over toward Vualla Her hair was still up in a braid and her chin was raised She listened calmly to Commander TerithÆs explanation of their roles without every glancing RandidlyÆs way

Still RandidlyÆs Grim Intuition told him that she was just as focused on him as he was on her

With great reluctance Randidly looked away and tried his best to listen to this drivel If nothing else my Nether Sensation will give us an edge neither of us will die on this sortie

RandidlyÆs claw tightened into a fist No matter who I need to kill to make it so

Chapter 1071

During this teleportation this time the travel felt different Randidly had to grit his teeth and flex his imagined muscles in order to keep control of his body as cosmic forces battered him from every angle The breadth of the distance they were being sent was immediately apparent in the violence of the passage If not for the extra oomph that he had gathered from his victories in the Eidolon Crucible even this amount of battering might have been enough to overwhelm him

When they popped out into the Great Rift the Nether was like a hammer blow on RandidlyÆs will But rather than wincing in pain RandidlyÆs mouth stretched into a smile He could immediately feel the bubbles from his two stars protecting him shunting away a portion of the Nether that was seeking to damage him

The other thing that was immediately obvious was the presence of the numerous blue veins running through the space around their small band Although the veins were pretty much omnipresent in the Great Rift they usually drifted slowly past in a meandering way But at their current arrival point lay a dense web of blue lines that formed strange esoteric patterns in the air Even worse those patterns rapidly fluctuated as the blue veins drifted closer as if they were curious about the new arrivals

With the veins of course came even denser and caustic Aether that lapped up against them in calming waves But no matter how gentle the waves were the Nether that they brought was anything but As RandidlyÆs skin met the Nether that terrible irreconcilable violence of the two energies came to the fore with a vengeance

This is how I will grow Randidly closed his eyes and savored the sensation of the Nether sizzling against his skin Nether Sensation wandered outward almost idly quickly scanning the surrounding area for any threats To RandidlyÆs great disappointment he found nothing By exposing myself to these stimuli

Just as Randidly was really getting to enjoy the sensation it was wiped away as a gentle radiance blossomed outward from Vualla The energy flowed rapidly outward and wound between the individuals like silky bindings Soon all nine of the figures were cloaked in her tight image Randidly blinked tasting the wafting note of mint on the surrounding image

Certainly it was an impressive display But why did the air suddenly taste like mint What sort of image was she using to accomplish this

Perhaps even more shocking to Randidly was to see that there was a sharp divide along the edge of VuallaÆs image Normally when an Aether image and Nether touched there was a powerful rejection where both depleted the energy of the other Which is what routinely happened with RandidlyÆs image body out here in the Great Rift Yet on the edges of VuallaÆs image there was a sharp demarcation that only a small percentage of both energies crossed Therefore they were effectively screened in the area

The veins approached ceased as though the new arrivals had been whisked away just as quickly as they had arrived Unfortunately the other result of being suspended in the image was that Randidly wasnÆt able to sense the surrounding area But at least he could be sure that they were safe for the moment

Vualla noticed Randidly studying the edge of her image and frowned You didnÆt know that thinking of a specific past moment where your image originated made the image much more impervious to Aether How did you avoid detection in your past missions then

I didnÆt I just killed any Nether Beast that showed up Randidly shrugged with forced nonchalance Or any Nether Wells that drifted past But hiding really would have been a lot easier

Still I would have done the same even if I had known ItÆs the only way to grow

Clearing his throat Randidly asked This image tastes like mint And it feels like family

Which was true While Randidly stood inside of VuallaÆs image he felt warm breezes brush across his skin The scent of mint was the strongest but as Randidly continued to breathe the image in he also detected other floral notes In the nebulous environment of an image they were clearly located in a garden He could feel actual sunlight on his skin

As Randidly savored the image he felt teleported to a moment in VuallaÆs past Like Earth before the System arrived it was clear that some parts of VuallaÆs upbringing were idyllic She was not raised in a war torn hell like Tellus

Distantly he could hear the tinkling sound of a childÆs laughter

For a second VuallaÆs eyes softened as her own memory swayed her But then she glanced sideways at the grim faced warriors that were with them Instantly her face returned to its determined stare Does it Well thank you I suppose And if we are all done chit chatting letÆs focus on the mission KelÆev Take the lead

Rodger said a man with a short nod and Randidly was surprised to recognize that it was the same tall man that Vualla had been arguing with that night in between camps Which probably meant that he was the exact reason that they were here

Randidly wanted to be rather furious at the man but the fact was that he had clearly volunteered to accompany her here So even if he was a dick he at least also punished himself for what had happened

At least heÆs loyal Randidly thought darkly as he watched KelÆev step outside of VuallaÆs image and conjure his own Then the tall man quickly headed deeper into the surrounding darkness of the Great Rift following the densest paths of the blue veins that ran through the surrounding area

Once the image was up it appeared that the new arrivals were hidden from the veins so they settled back down to peaceful drifting Frowning slightly Randidly looked at the strangely whimsical veins in the surrounding area and then peered in the direction that KelÆev had proceeded In the darkness every direction looked almost exactly the same Only the flowing veins distinguished each direction

As time ticked slowly past Randidly became more and more worried that he couldnÆt rely on his Nether Sensation to figure out what was going on in the surrounding area He needed to make contact in order to spread his senses out through the Nether He did have a general impression from the brief touch he had felt earlier but it was rather fuzzy Yet from what he had seen KelÆev was heading in exactly the wrong direction

Randidly turned to Vualla and opened his mouth to say just that Yet when he looked at her the words curled up and died on his lips like leaves in fall She glared at the vast abyss floating below their feet like she was completely unwilling to be disturbed at the moment So Randidly closed his mouth and settled in to wait in silence

He didnÆt decide not to speak because of how sharply she had spoken to him earlier that was annoying but it was ultimately a small act of lashing out that Randidly of all people understood Vualla was occupied with larger dangers than Randidly at the moment Their situation was quite dire

No the reason that Randidly decided not to speak was exactly because of the way Vualla was reacting to these larger dangers From her tense stance and surly attitude it was obvious that some part of her had already accepted that she would do her best on this mission and probably die anyway That pessimism seeped into her like a poison coloring the bright azure of her personality a murky slate grey color Fear was ruining her

In the same way that Randidly had at some times let his fear of being alone ruin his relationships

RandidlyÆs eyes burned as he examined the darkness around them It seems I donÆt just need to keep you alive in here I also need to remind you how bright and defiant a spirit is needed to survive underneath the System You might believe you will be the woman to destroy the System but it wonÆt happen if youÆve lost your way

RandidlyÆs mouth twitched Too bad Ignition Essence isnÆt on his feet and here He was always better at this inspiration than me

Only a few minutes after he left KelÆev was abruptly appeared racing through the darkness with a dozen Nether Beasts in hot pursuit behind him These monsters were much larger than any sort of Nether Beast that Randidly had ever encountered and where they werenÆt physically more oppressive the darkness of their substance was much denser

As they approached RandidlyÆs wild smile skittered out across his face on spindly limbs like an eager spider Finally

Vualla unleashed a snort that set a low rumbling through the air As Randidly blinked in surprise the image she maintained around them dissipated slowly as she focused her attention elsewhere Very quickly RandidlyÆs Grim Intuition screamed that staying near Vualla right now was dangerous Then she raised her heavy right gauntlet and threw a single punch

It was a casual motion There wasnÆt anything profound about her action But the punch carried with it VuallaÆs will and that desolate rage was one of the most horrifying things that Randidly had ever encountered

A dull roaring filled RandidlyÆs ears as a wave of annihilation spread outward from the tip of VuallaÆs steel knuckles KelÆev hastily dodged out of the way as that spiraling oblivion rolled forward Even though he probably understood what was coming the tall man was still blasted downward a fair distance into the darkness by the displacing force of the attack passing above him

RandidlyÆs eyes were wide and solemn as he felt that destructive image shoot forward and annihilate all of the Nether Beasts that were charging forward toward their group It didnÆt even take a full second and they were once more alone He had thought that Vualla had spoken figuratively when she talked about destroying the System Like he was currently seeking he thought Vualla was looking for a way to escape the influence of the System more generally

But that understanding was shattered as Randidly saw VuallaÆs dominant image No she really planned on destroying the System After all there had to be some vast Aether construct that handled all the minutia of the Nexus and the worlds that were held in its thrall If Vualla could find the vital and precious machinery at the SystemÆs core and unleash that image

Randidly released a nervous breath that came out with tiny flakes of ash That image was at least the beginnings of an answer to exactly how powerful those who fought on the frontlines were She was weaker than that terrifying being suspended in a veritable continent of solidified Aether but Vualla was still far beyond RandidlyÆs own strength by quite a bit

Even with his own body facing that destructive punch Randidly shook his head helplessly There would be nothing to do but dodge Certainly with Chimeric Avoidance he would have methods to continue fighting against her But it would be foolish to expect this to be all of the tricks she had up her sleeves

The surrounding veins were shattered into dozens of motes of blue light by the echoing aftershocks of the attack But just as quickly more veins flooded downward to spiral around in the wake of that horrifyingly powerful image

KelÆev shot back up to join the group He was visibly trembling as he wiped the sheen of sweat from his brow S sorry about

Did you find a lead Vualla interrupted bluntly Her sharp gaze scanned the surrounding area Because our presence is no longer a secret

All because of how ludicrous that attack was Randidly thought with amusement Not that I mind of course

I KelÆev hesitated Then he slowly pointed about thirty degrees to the left of where he had gone Based on the defenses that direction is the most likely

Randidly barely suppressed a dark chuckle at KelÆevÆs uncertainty Instead he stretched his hand out toward the dispersing edges of VuallaÆs original image The scent of mint in the air slowly faded as Nether ate gleefully into that happy memory submerging them once more in darkness Then his fingers broke through the remnants and out into the Great Rift The skin of his claw began to sizzle lightly

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 15

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation « has grown to Level 128

As RandidlyÆs Grim Intuition blasted outward he regarded the tough exterior of his image claw almost fondly At least it really seems like all that extra work refining the image is worth it Add that to the bubble from the two stars I could survive out here for quite a long time

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 16

RandidlyÆs awareness continued to swim outward amongst the slowly shifting Nether Beasts He felt the threaded veins in the Great Rift and several dense patches of Nether that surrounded them Belatedly Randidly realized that the Nether was somehow grafted onto the dense patterns of the veins Or rather the Nether was a product of those patterns The more Randidly could feel the shape of the veins the more it became obvious that the Nether patches were growing on the veins like they were fruit off of a vine

The reciprocal of Engraving Randidly thought in wonder But ultimately that was a question for the main body Suppressing his sudden irritation at thinking of the traitorous main body Randidly spread his attention even further afield to look for Nether Wells

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 17

VuallaÆs voice was extremely sharp How sure are you KelÆev We cannot fail here or else we will have thrown ourselves into the fire for nothing

It is the most likely direction KelÆev said his mouth firming into a line The rest of the soldiers shifted awkwardly around as the two maintained heated eye contact for several seconds

Well I suppose its a fucking sure thing then Vualla replied sarcastically But still her eyes flashed as she looked around at the group Since there are no other ideas

Wait Randidly said

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 18

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 19

Chapter 1072

Randidly could feel the edge of it Once he saw it as a grand plant the pattern immediately became clearer He could follow around the stem to the vine vine to the stem stem to the trunk

I wish Yggdrasil was here He would understand the knack of this vein system so much easier

RandidlyÆs awareness rushed along following the vast network of blue veins He had located a few independent Nether Wells drifting around them but he could sense that something much more valuable was hidden somewhere tucked stealthily between two dense discs of Nether Randidly felt like he weirdly could picture the location that he was searching for like some part of him already knew that it was definitely here Yet that weird certainty that the Nether Sensation provided didnÆt match up easily to his actual perception of the surrounding area

So he could only expand his area of scanning looking for the similar swirling shape of the Nether that he pictured around the Nether Wells In the few seconds since he had asked the group to wait he hadnÆt been able to locate anything concrete

Vualla visibly restrained herself from the snapping response she had originally intended to give Instead her eyes studied Randidly very carefully for a few extra seconds can you really sense things out here

Yes Randidly grinned

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 20

Impossible KelÆev spat Randidly just barred his teeth at the man who had immediately given away their stealthy approach But it did reassure Randidly that the casual divide that Vualla had created with her memory image wasnÆt as easy as she had made it seem

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation « has grown to Level 129

Out of the corner of his eye Randidly noticed that one blue vein was swirling down toward his finger Part of him wanted to pull back immediately to escape its attention once more but they were already revealed correct What was the harm in allowing the thingÆs approach

So instead Randidly ignored the immediate surroundings and continued to follow his perception outward along the pulsing veins

So what can you see Vualla asked in a neutral voice

After a few distracted seconds Randidly pointed sharply in three directions One of them was the direction that KelÆev had indicated that they should go Three groups of Nether Beasts Large ones heading from those directions They will get here in a few minutes

Then we should move KelÆev said harshly His eyes gleamed with a fanatical light as he spared Randidly a furious glance If forces are coming from the direction I indicated that will mean the Nether Wells over there will be unguarded for the time being ItÆs the best chance weÆve got

All you had was a feeling and the honorable designation of being the one who blew our cover Vualla narrowed her eyes at KelÆev The air was tight with the knowledge that KelÆev had also earned their place here by reporting VuallaÆs movements that night So perhaps we wait for confirmation How many times need I gamble my life on your terms KelÆev

Do we have time to wait for this fucking image KelÆev glanced at the other seven soldiers for support The silent watchers shifted uneasily their eyes scanning across the Great Rift around them Randidly understood that it was difficult for them to accept that he could truly sense things in the Nether after all no one else really could

But Randidly never bothered appealing to these people There was only one person in power on this expedition To approach anyone else was just a waste And as he watched Vualla he continued to frantically search

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 21

She seemed so lonely and solemn with her hair drawn back into a braid leaving her face completely uncovered Her eyes looked at Randidly Slate grey met forest green

Perhaps because Vualla had talked about the memory of an imageÆs origin but Randidly thought about his previous interactions with Vualla Her stubborn determination Her willful certainty Her casual hubris

Then slowly as their gazes remained almost magnetically connected to each other azure light flowed back into that pair of eyes as Vualla looked at him Almost helplessly Vualla shook her head and laughed Ignoring the surrounding shoulders she spoke directly to Randidly with the first pinch of genuine emotion she had displayed toward him since he had come to volunteer without informing her IÆm really glad you are here Ghosthound but you know we might die here right

Randidly grinned Will it really be us who will die today

Well IÆve already dug the graves Vuall retorted But her eyes were as crystalline blue as the untouched depths of the sea in summer Someone will surely be buried here today

Seeing something was occurring KelÆev stepped forward Vualla

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 22

And at that moment that KelÆev stepped forward the drifting blue vein that had quested after these strange interlopers alighted on the tip of RandidlyÆs finger His entire mind stuttered and froze as information smashed into him

It was like too much air being forced rapidly into a balloon Randidly felt himself inflating rapidly beyond the point that he could handle it His mind and image spasmed painfully under the forceful injection

Which of course was the moment when Randidly felt the main body there that soothing Willpower bolstering his own strength Randidly immediately felt bitter but the main bodyÆs thoughts flowed into Randidly like an apology

You have to trust that I have my own concerns the array isolating me is not a simple thing It learns every time I escape its clutches to contact you Theoretically enough of these contacts will mean I am completely bound Then you guys out there will need to break me out directly without any assistance from me

Randidly could sense the truth of the main bodyÆs words in that brief contact So he shelved his resentment and rage and focused instead on handling the surging tide of information Very quickly Randidly realized that the strength of willpower wasnÆt coming from the main body the main body could simply provide him a haven of selfÆ so he wasnÆt born away by the flood of information From that safe haven it was much easier for Randidly to leverage his own power to channel the forces that were flowing through him

RandidlyÆs awareness of the surrounding area had grown so quickly that he knew too much about the Great Rift On a scale that was useless to an image that was only as large as he was What was even stranger was that Randidly could feel a grand pattern from the aggregate of those minuscule veins of blue But then the main body grounded RandidlyÆs focus back to the area where he actually was

With a heaving groan Randidly tore his finger away from that thin blue vein The flood of information stopped Even though he was an image Randidly wretched and vomited pale yellow bile out into the Great Rift It floated downward slowly beginning to sizzle as the imagined bile was consumed by Nether

The discussion was briefly halted as the surrounding soldiers looked at him in stunned silence Even VuallaÆs face creased with concern

Be careful of that Vualla The Aether around her itÆs extremely strange And old And familiar It might be better to stay away from her until I am freed to inspect it directly Right now I can only barely use your senses

And what happens to my feelings for her until then Randidly thought bitterly But just as quickly as that reassuring presence of the main body was there it was gone

Sighing Randidly straightened He supposed there was no point blaming the main body for struggling with his own issues Besides they currently had more important fish to fry I found where we want to go ItÆs that way

Randidly pointed To his annoyance It was in the general direction that KelÆev had pointed only upward about 45 degrees They would never have encountered the Nether Wells if they proceeded in the direction KelÆev had indicated but Randidly would have been much more satisfied if the direction they needed to go was exactly in the opposite direction

Then letÆs head out Vualla said shortly Randidly was surprised how much relief and warmth flowed into him as she immediately trusted him Then Vualla sent a sharp glance toward KelÆev when the tall man opened his mouth to say something else We donÆt have much choice now do we They will begin blinking closer soon So move out Speed over stealth at this point

Although it was clear that several of the soldiers were skeptical they followed orders quickly The group began to shoot in the direction that Randidly indicates covered loosely by VuallaÆs image but mostly focused on simply plowing forward through the Nether like a sailboat looking to outrun a storm

Randidly brought up the rear furiously struggling as much as possible to keep up with the rest of them In this area it was quite clear to him that having a body was an immense advantage for moving in the Great Rift So violent were his struggles was that he earned two Skill Levels in MonstrosityÆs Appalling Physicality as he pushed his body far beyond its usual limits to keep up with the group

Very quickly Nether Beasts began popping up Which also taught Randidly what Vualla had meant by blinking One moment there was nothing and RandidlyÆs Nether Sensation felt that enemies were quite a ways off Then in the next moment five or six Nether Beasts were right there roaring at them from the side and approaching with their claws raised

During the first of these brief ambushes Randidly had hardly noticed the Nether BeastsÆ arrival before a few of the soldiers diverted from the center and exploded out with their own various dominant image With a workman like efficiency small groups of VuallaÆs subordinates butchered these Nether Beasts that Randidly inwardly acknowledged that he would struggle against

Then they would return to the rapid procession easily overtaking RandidlyÆs own speed to rejoin the group formation In terms of capability they didnÆt approach VuallaÆs ominous supremacy but they were still more powerful than RandidlyÆs main body

All the while Randidly continued to push himself Nether SensationÆs Skill Level continued to quietly tick upward to Level 27 After all these are the cream of all of the worlds underneath the Nexus Even if this is just one of many camps on many frontlines this level of power is nothing special

Which means I need to start improving much more quickly than I have been thus far Otherwise I will never make a difference IÆll never be able to save Earth from what is to come

But although the power of their group was impressive RandidlyÆs focus kept going to the Nether Beasts It irked him that his perception wasnÆt able to track their movements If he could figure out the trick of what they were doing

Which of course meant Randidly was trying to comprehend Nether And so far all he knew was the bubble and the core These were two important tenants of how Nether behaved but in context they were relatively incapable of explaining such rapid movements Furiously trying to brute force an answer was just giving Randidly a headache

As they rushed forward along the twisting branches of the blue veins Vualla spared Randidly a glance How much farther

Randidly considered that vast map that had been forced into his head when he had touched the blue vein Even now it was difficult to struggle with the size of that information and force a realistic scale onto it I think just short of halfway

Fuck one of the soldiers muttered

Vualla nodded grimly Yea thatÆs what I figured Alright boys look sharp ItÆs about time the real party starts

Frowning Randidly opened his mouth to ask what they were talking about but then he felt it

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 28

An armyÆs coming Randidly said Even he was somewhat floored by the veritable flood of Nether Beasts that suddenly seemed to surround them They were one drop of substance and image in a sea of darkness

Vualla just smiled Welcome to the front Randidly Ghosthound DonÆt lag behind

Chapter 1073

As the leader of the expedition Vualla handled the lionÆs share of the fighting against the enemies directly in front of them And oftentimes she spread that to enemies that were visible to her as they rushed forward Although her squad gallantly handled the task of keeping the foes pestering them from the sides off of her back it only took an additional five minute of fighting before Vualla was starting to feel gassed

Unfortunately she wasnÆt the only one who was nearing her limit

She glanced behind and looked at her squad Of the people behind her it was clear that three of them were beginning to accumulate too much Nether damage to continue to fight They needed time to recover Considering the fact that they probably had two more minutes of activity before they reached the destination indicated by Randidly

And if he is mistaken A thin voice whispered But Vualla shook her head and banished that thought If she let doubts creep into her head now all of the work that they had done would be wasted

A sudden appearance of almost thirty Nether Beasts dragged VuallaÆs attention forward Her eyes quickly scanned the group what she saw made her face twist into a scowl It seemed like whoever was in charge was finally getting serious about eliminating the Aether dagger that was cutting into this baseÆs heart

Likely due to the grand array on the frontlines that created defensive stars in their chest most people on the front had taken to grading the high Level Nether Beasts based on the number of stars you would need to possess in order to resist the ambient Nether energy that each beast released

Of the thirty Nether Beasts that appeared Vualla could sense that twenty were four star Nether Beasts Even worse their leader possessed the caustic strength of a five star Nether Beast It opened its mouth to roar and scent a shockwave that made the surrounding area quake As someone who possessed three stars currently Vualla couldnÆt rely solely on the physical to rival even the weakest Nether Beast of this group

But Vualla had something much more deadly than her physical body She had the blade she had so carefully polished her whole life with the stated purpose of destroying everything in her path

She had grown up in a military household so even before the System had earned VuallaÆs ire she had been preparing herself for a life dedicated to killing She had carefully visualized the most complete destruction she could imagine and learned to unleash it to annihilate both Nether and Aether alike

Young Vualla still hadnÆt been satisfied with her small capability even as her peers were left in the dust she continued to push herself to create a more comprehensive and piercing image Annihilation became the god to which she prayed And her own exercise of power was her sincerest form of worship

As she raised her gauntleted fist Vualla said a silent prayer to that familiar god But as she did so she felt the surrounding air reverberate with the strength of it Those pure moments of connection to her lifeÆs work were the only thing in this vast darkness that could give her confidence that she would survive Because here as it was with all places destruction demanded its steep price and accepted no deferment

Well confidence now comes from my power and also

But Vualla didnÆt let her finish that thought Not now not with enemies ripping toward her with their claws spread wide to butcher and gut her allies To be vulnerable now even only to herself would have been a mistake Instead she simply threw a punch that held every ounce of her baleful will to end this farcical world

In response the world rocked backward a half step as she unleashed her unfiltered power The Nether Beasts attacking them from the front were gone Still they werenÆt out of the woods yet VuallaÆs felt a bone deep weariness settle across her shoulders She only had a few more punches fo that caliber left in her

Perhaps even more dangerous more and more Nether Beasts were appearing from the sides and launching sudden attacks on their group Mostly these were two star Nether Beasts but numbers were beginning to wear on an already depleted squad The steady accumulation of injuries was catching up with them

Vualla did her best not to think about the fact they were supposed to cause a distraction after this

Plus with three individuals nearing the end of their strength

Although she hated herself for it Vualla turned around and glanced at Randidly Ghosthound again It was clear from his face that this speed was already too much for his image body to handle To ask him also fight was a bit

Randidly looked up sharply as if he sensed her gaze Which Vualla realized he probably did Somehow Randidly Ghosthound was able to detect the presence of the Nether Beasts even in the Great Rift Some part of that piercing green gaze could see in a way that Vualla didnÆt truly understand He was an enigma Every fact that she learned about him just made her more confused about what he was truly capable of

Which was probably why her life had felt so different since she had encountered him Like he was the push that took her off the rehearsed script of her life and into something completely fresh and new

His smile was wan as she continued to consider him You want me to help out against the Nether Beasts right

If you can do so without dying yourself Vualla said frankly Your ability to sense the surrounding area is useful enough that losing you now would be a waste considering that there is more we need to accomplish here

If he isnÆt just making it up KelÆev muttered But Vualla ignored him Randidly Ghosthound might be a lot of things but a liar was not one of them

It also wasnÆt irrelevant that Randidly Ghosthound was also not a snitch

Vualla turned her gaze back to the area in front of them but her attention remained focused on the actions of Randidly behind her Occasionally she was forced to throw out destructive punches to clear their way but it seemed like the blue veins had parted and allowed them to accelerate rapidly forward for the time being Almost reluctantly Vualla increased the groupÆs speed

With her attention behind Vualla was able to ascertain that Randidly hadnÆt just been following meekly along with the group as soon as she had given him permission he did his best to slip into the rotation of soldiers fending off attacks from the sides When it came around to his turn Vualla was aghast to see that he had to fight off only a single opponent but that opponent was a three star Nether Beast that looked like an oversized pitbull

Even for soldiers with a body

But Randidly Ghosthound also didnÆt hesitate He raised his bone spear and a strange spectral fire that filled Vualla with a deep sense of foreboding flickered into existence to cover his weapon At the same time his skin began to hiss and steam as Nether began to eat directly away at his image

Vualla chewed on the inside of her cheek in confusion Did his stars stop working Why is he so suddenly open to the Nether damage where he hadnÆt been previously

Then he was a blur of momentum and that relatively fragile image body smashed forcefully into that three star Nether Beast without a hint of warning Immediately the Nether Beast roared and swiped out with its dangerous claw but RandidlyÆs form seemed more shadow than substance as he slipped underneath the attack and dug deeply into the beastÆs flank with his own claw on the way past

Clearly earning all of the beastÆs ire Randidly followed up with a sharp kick to the side of the beastÆs knee joint on its back leg While Vualla twisted to watch she saw that the black flames around his spear disappeared and suddenly his leg was wreathed in those same dangerous looking flames At the same time the damage Nether was doing to his legs fell to basically nothing and his arms began to hiss and spit

Vualla could feel her heartbeat slow in her chest as she studied Randidly Can he truly control the stars as he wills Turn them into weapons wherever he needs them

This time when the beast screamed its voice was filled with less rage and more fear But as the Nether Beast scrambled to open up some space between them Randidly struck almost eight times in quick succession with his spear Huge gashes were torn in the Nether of the beastÆs body Then the talons on his left hand began to glow cherry red like a brand freshly taken from a fire and he raked it across the panicking Nether BeastÆs eyes

At that point the beast seemed to realize that this relatively insubstantial foe was more dangerous than it had expected Rather than continuing to engage at a distance and try to dogfight the beast simply leapt forward to try and overwhelm Randidly with the weight of its Nether

Randidly didnÆt even flinch in the face of the beastÆs charge With a smile so insane that it infectiously spread to VuallaÆs mouth Randidly stood his ground and raised his arms to meet the Nether Beast directly Their bodies smashed into each other and Vualla gasped as the Nether Beast seemed to pop and deflate while the image stood as straight and dangerous as a bared blade

Lightning fast Randidly struck out with his bone spear and pierced through the Nether to strike the beastÆs core There was a light tinkling and then the surrounding Nether turned sluggish Very soon RandidlyÆs blurred form returned from the drifting Nether to rejoin the rest of the group

To be frank he was much slower compared to the other soldiers present But he had made it back within a reasonable amount of time Which bought the rest of the soldiers a few more precious seconds to recover Right now that was exactly what they needed

Perhaps even more importantly no one took him lightly after Randidly managed to defeat a three star Nether Beast while only being an image VuallaÆs subordinates looked at him with newfound respect as he took his place in the rotation

Twice more Randidly left the safety of VuallaÆs image to fight against attacking images But no matter the number of foes he was required to face he triumphed over them and returned to the convoy with a heaving chest

Still Vualla couldnÆt help but notice that RandidlyÆs long limbs were warped and fuzzy from his contests It was not without cost that he continued to go out there and fight against Nether Beasts without a body to rely on His status as an image was starting to catch up with him

If because of this he dies VuallaÆs shoulders trembled It would be her fault primarily of course But that didnÆt mean that she minded laying his wounds at the feet of the System Because Vualla knew that all the vital energy and life she had felt was so suddenly injected into her after meeting Randidly would die along with them And what would be left was only the grim purpose of her lifeÆs work First IÆll personally take a limb from both Commander Terith and Lord Miln And IÆll stop there only if IÆm feeling fucking generous

After Randidly returned from his third defense rotation he gestured forward and spoke in a low and guttural voice Here Soon

That brought VuallaÆs attention swiftly back around to the are in front of them Although she had no way of ascertaining that Randidly was correct directly in front of the group there was a large space that was densely packed with those blue veins and supported on each side by planes of Nether so dense that they seemed to glow with pale flames As Vualla peered closer to examine those flames that were so shockingly similar to the ones Randidly had created Nether Beasts began to surge out from behind above and below them to crash toward them

DonÆt worry boys this one is mine Vualla hissed After cracking her knuckles she spread her arms wide She sucked in a breath and suddenly Vualla was standing next to her mother in front of a gravestone that had her brotherÆs name written across it in large letters Vualla tightly clutched at the thin silk of her motherÆs maroon dress

Several times the name on the gravestone changed The fabric and color of her motherÆs dress changed But what didnÆt change was that her brother was dead and her father never returned home

You took everything from me Vualla thought as she looked up at the vast Great Rift Her gaze seemed to pierce through that non space to see the looming specter of the System under which she was raised grinning down at her fighting its wars Her rage was directed at anyone and everything that supported this behemoth of an institution that had devoured her brothers and was currently eating her father alive

Then Vualla smiled defiantly But all that did was teach me how to take

Then Vualla took and all of the Nether Beasts in the surrounding area died with all of the noise of a little girlÆs tears

Chapter 1074

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation « has grown to Level 134

Randidly did his best to catch his breath as that terrible destruction that Vualla held so close to her heart raced outward from her body with all the terrible momentum of a wildfire on a dry summer day Nether Beasts were eradicated and the blue veins unlucky enough to be in the surrounding area were forcibly shattered What remained in the aftermath was only an ominous silence

The action struck him as even more impressive after Randidly had gathered some context by joining the body possessing soldiers to fight against the Nether Beasts that were harrying the group as they rushed headlong toward the Nether Wells From his first battle the quality of Nether Beasts here was several tiers higher than he had encountered previously To see Vualla treat them like nothing after tasting their strength firsthand

Honestly IÆm pretty near the end of my rope already ItÆs honestly sorta a miracle that IÆve maintained as much clarity as I have Randidly thought as he stared at VuallaÆs back

Had he not discovered how to manipulate the bubbles he had obtained from the stars there was no way that he would have been able to keep up with this pace Even with his newfound control over the faux Nether in his body he was battered and bruised after three run ins with Nether Beasts His edges were charred and bloody He could only watch as Vualla threw her punches and annihilated everything in her path

At least my admiration toward her isnÆt unfounded Randidly shook his head Then he remembered the main bodyÆs spoken warning against being close to her and he reflexively barred his teeth

Even if her Aether is old and familiar that doesnÆt prove anything She grew up in the Nexus just the fact that her Aether feels ancient means nothing

However Randidly couldnÆt deny that the warning from the main body took on a less aggressive and superior tint in the context of the attack that Vualla just unleashed It instead seemed more cautious If Randidly were to become antagonistic with Vualla

Then Vualla swayed and Randidly snapped back to the situation at hand with a pang of guilt over his previous train of thought Although RandidlyÆs own image body groaned in protest he stepped quickly up behind Vualla and pressed a steadying hand against her shoulder He tried to keep the touch of his claws gentle so they wouldnÆt pierce her unprotected skin Hey Group Leader NowÆs not the time to take a break

Vualla turned and looked at Randidly sourly Yeah well nowÆs when I want to take a break So be a good subordinate and prepare my reclining couch

Grinning Randidly responded IÆll send for the manservant immediately But what about the mission

Vualla released an aggrieved sigh with all of the energy of a forgotten closet swinging open due to the wind But before their banter could continue any further KelÆev and his permanent glare aimed at Randidly stepped up beside the two of them He pursed his lips at the sight of RandidlyÆs claw on her back Vualla We must continue An attack like that will attract

Yea yea Vualla waved a gauntlet warily On we go There is more work to be done The reclining couch will have to wait

But Randidly couldnÆt help but notice that she stood still for several seconds leaning back against his supporting hand before she finally took that step forward As the group slowly regained its previous speed no Nether Beasts appeared to harry them Rather than being relieved Randidly felt a tight knot forming in his chest as they hurried forward unmolested Looking around it was clear that the other soldiers felt the same no more ambushes could only be bad news

It only took a scant thirty seconds to arrive at the entrance of the Nether Well area Vualla slowed down clearly confused by the dense web of blue veins that formed a halo around the entrance But with the image of what he had to do clear in his mind Randidly pushed past her and raised his hand toward the blue veins

All he needed to do

Look out Vualla bellowed but it was too late Almost a hundred Nether Beasts appeared in front of Randidly one less than a meter away from him All oozed the deadly sort of Nether that meant they werenÆt just average Nether Beasts These were meant to be their heavy hitters

But although Randidly was ambushed he did have a flash of insight as he watched them suddenly materialize in front of him ThatÆs how they teleport They donÆt teleport really they move along the veins They become the bubble and the blue veins are the core and they shift themselves

Just like I manipulate my bubbles they simply make their bodies focus elsewhere ItÆs probably not an easy thing to move the self across such vast distances but if you have enough Willpower

RandidlyÆs thoughts were interrupted by the bear like Nether Beast in front of him ripping into his shoulder with its claws Feeling a bit foolish that he had allowed himself to be distracted he spun away to avoid letting the bear make the wound worse with a brutal rend RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed as the bear then swiped with its other limb to complete the evisceration

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Avoidance has grown to Level 206

It was a close thing but the movement was enough to avoid a matching serious wound on the other side of his body Randidly wasnÆt interested in matching wounds at all From the edge of fuzziness that he felt slowly drifting over him he knew that he was finally nearing his limit once more Truly his volunteer trips into the Great Rift are one of the worst habits that Randidly had developed

One of these days his generous spirit was going to get him killed

But right now he was grinning from ear to ear Molten Fang of the Pariah concentrated energy into his bone spear He moved like a shadow and stabbed his limb directly between the Nether BeastÆs eyes Of course it didnÆt have a true brain it had a core But still Randidly found it immensely satisfying to land such a typically deadly blow The feeling of the Nether flesh parting before him was rich and wet

In response the bear Nether Beast just lashed out with its paw again Around him Randidly could feel Nether Beasts surging closer and Vualla howl with retaliatory fury Her image soon followed The sudden wave of destruction that blew a huge hole in the suddenly arrived Nether Beasts was so close that it ruffled RandidlyÆs hair with its passage

Although RandidlyÆs left shoulder was a mass of gore he was just an image his actual mobility wasnÆt affected at all So he raised his claw and brought all of the resonance he could muster between his cores and his bubbles to press the Nether BeastÆs attack to the side by thrusting the bubbles out against it like some sort of telekinetic ability The paw whistled past a scant inch away from cutting into him once more

But it did give Randidly a second to gather himself

The Grim Chimera Skill that was the combination of Spear Advances Ash Trails and As the Sun Stills remained the most powerful sudden attack in RandidlyÆs arsenal The sudden burst of momentum and the concentrated force both became blunt instruments to smash directly into the Nether BeastÆs already bleeding body Their forms buzzed and hissed from the sudden physical contact and the Nether Beast was sent tumbling backward

Man Weeps but the Chimera Mourns

Randidly followed up with his quickest Skill striking out nine times in quick succession to rip the Nether flesh of the beast and inflict some distracting damage It roared furiously scrambling backward to open up additional space and regain its footing After that most recent exchange the Nether Beast appeared to finally consider Randidly a threat But of course more space was exactly what Randidly wanted the harassment was only to give him a clearer shot on his true goal

Congratulations Your skill Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes has grown to Level 177

This time RandidlyÆs sights were firmly set on the core of the Nether Beast With a brutal crash the tip of RandidlyÆs bone spear skewered the thing

But RandidlyÆs face immediately fell he hadnÆt been able to shatter it It might have been a result from his slow weakening under the influence of Nether or the fact he hadnÆt utilized his bubbles to add extra force to the strike but the core was cracked yet unbroken In addition the Nether Beast was thrown backward away from Randidly from the force of the strike

Randidly was considering his follow up when one of his fellow volunteers appeared next to the wounded Nether Beast and bisected it with a swing of his huge copper ax Afterward the bull headed man nodded toward Randidly and moved to assist others against the remnants of the most recent ambush force

Twisting around Randidly found himself face to face with a trembling Vualla Her eyes were locked on the wound on his shoulder Her gaze was so intense that Randidly couldnÆt resist looking himself As he looked down at the mass of gore Randidly winced the wounded flesh was steadily disintegrating and flaking off like ash off a burnt house

Randidly did his best to offer a cheerful smile Made it Now we just need to give the signal and run away right I bet just the forces following us will be more than enough of a distraction for Terith

Vualla didnÆt respond She was just looking at his slowly disappearing flesh

As Randidly opened his mouth to say something else KelÆev materialized next to the duo Truly he seemed to have a banter radar that let him stick his nose in at the most inopportune times But to RandidlyÆs surprise he wasnÆt glaring at him at all right now instead VuallaÆs former assistant seemed extremely worried about her Vualla give the signal and let us depart

Finally Vualla spoke Randidly can you open the way to the Nether Wells

Randidly blinked Well probably but

It wasnÆt supposed to be this way KelÆev hissed A tremor seemed to run through his body None of it was supposed to happen like this

Ignoring KelÆev Vualla smiled at Randidly Open it up then Why should we bother waiting for the Second Squad I need to blow off some steam anyway

Chapter 1075

After studying VuallaÆs overly bright expression for several seconds Randidly turned around and reached for that dense plane of Nether balanced perfect in the halo of blue veins It took a few tries to focus his Grim Intuition due to accumulated Nether but Randidly used all of his Willpower to force his Skills to activate

No if you do this now the Nether Gatekeeper will proceed here directly KelÆevÆs eyes were very wide and white You have a role to play Vualla If you die here how

If you cared about my life we wouldnÆt have had to be here Vualla chuckled darkly

KelÆev balled his hands into fists How could I have known you wouldnÆt back down You backed down before how could this time be any different

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 29

RandidlyÆs senses spread outward toward the portal in front of him It was clear that it wasnÆt possible to simply walk forward and see the Nether Wells but with RandidlyÆs ability to sense Nether it shouldnÆt be impossible to make his way through His delicate touch traced the lines of the blue veins looking for patterns and shapes

Vualla didnÆt bother to answer She simply began to gather her power to herself KelÆev was twitching now but he remained silent as Randidly continued to work What was much more persistently distracting is the cracking reverberations of VuallaÆs image that she steadily released

Whatever she was preparing it would be big Very big

Even with those distractions after feeling out the surrounding area for a short amount of time Randidly found the key he was looking for The dense panes of Nether slid easily sideways revealing the hidden realm that was positively filled with Nether Wells In fact they were packed in so tightly in that area of bent space that the blast of rich Nether that rolled outward knocked Randidly several steps backward