LoRG 3

This Nether seemed to have slowly gathered and stewed for quite some time The potency of it was staggering RandidlyÆs unprepared bubbles from his stars were overwhelmed and his image body was forced to endure much of the Nether directly But still Randidly struggled to gather himself and keep his gaze forward

RandidlyÆs gaze was solemn as he quickly used Nether Sensation to spread out his perception Although he couldnÆt be sure due to the constant interplay between the Nether Wells he counted at least six hundred in a quick scan Six hundred Nether Wells roaring at full capacity in a veritable sea of Nether

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 30

But Vualla was there to step forward past him and face the onslaught as Randidly was forced continually backward

One last punch for all the marbles Vualla whispered quietly as she moved past Randidly She looked at him and smiled almost sadly Her eyes were so blue and pure they bit into him like a clear sky on a freezing cold day Randidly to say something in response but he was forced another step backward as wave after wave of Nether crashed against him

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation « has grown to Level 135

In the next moment Randidly was knocked even further back as the concussive force of whatever monstrous image that Vualla threw forward smashed into hundreds of Nether Wells For several seconds even RandidlyÆs Grim Intuition wasnÆt able to pierce through the chaotic conflict of energies to see how the clash was proceeding There was only a horrible grinding noise so viciously loud and all consuming that even a fuzzy minded Randidly had to grit his teeth in pain

Perhaps even more embarrassing for Randidly was the fact that the fluctuations of energy were more than enough to addle his already weakened image body If he had to do much more fighting

Then the light winked out Vualla crumpled from a standing posture to a heap so suddenly that Randidly didnÆt even have time to respond But just as he was about to run to her side his eyes were pulled upward by a shifting movement in the chasm of dense Nether in front of them

Although Vualla had decimated the Nether Wells she hadnÆt been able to completely destroy them Two whirling discs of light slid forward weaving between each other as the aimed toward VuallaÆs limp body

Randidly moved without thinking toward the first Nether Well his eyes burning He steadying himself and tried to calculate how quickly he would need to move in order to block both of the approaching Nebula

Luckily KelÆev moved with a roar toward the right one YOU CANNOT DIE )( ##

The sudden string of gibberish where the System would generally translate tugged at RandidlyÆs attention but he just as quickly shoved it to the side It could wait Instead Randidly braced himself as this Nether Well crashed into his chest and slid just as easily past his defenses As the other one had it immediately nestled up against his core and began to pump out Nether into his body

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a blur of light and KelÆevÆs body twisted and grew But then his focus shot down to the problematic Nether Well in his chest

It burned against his will as he reached out toward it but Randidly ignored the worst of the pain with a stoic sort of determination that he had learned from ShalÆs harsh lessons His two cores swirled down to surround the Nether Well suppressing its Nether production by a significant amount Then his hand alighted upon the fragile substance of that core nebula that was a portal into the negative energy

I know itÆs hard to be alone But you cannot just destroy

We are not alone We are one All of us are connected Æ The Nether Well screamed ineffectually But Randidly ignored its words and brought his will to bear against it He tightened the seal

This second attempt was much more straightforward than the first Within a few seconds he had completely closed off the gushing Nether Well While trying to catch his breath in the aftermath Randidly turned to look at KelÆev

At that exact moment KelÆev spun to look at him concern evident on his face Both blinked at the other

How did you KelÆev began

With raised eyebrows Randidly interrupted What the hell happened to you

When the Nether Well had approached earlier Randidly had seen a surge of light and motion coming from KelÆev But Randidly was still floored when he looked at the man now and saw that the right side of his body seemed to have swollen into a body builderÆs muscular physique and grown a thick coating of bristling quills across the top of his right arm They fluttered as KelÆev looked at Randidly the tips a dark orange color

At RandidlyÆs question KelÆev grimaced perhaps there are more important issues at the moment than our relative secrets

yea Randidly agreed slowly Then he proceeded to pick up VuallaÆs limp form But no sooner had he touched her arm than there was a rumbling wave of Nether that crashed against the group If not for having hold of Vualla Randidly himself might have been blown away by the abrupt force Even more peculiar it was like Randidly could hear someone speaking in a language he didnÆt understand with the noise hidden in the subtle reverberations of the Nether wave

But the emotion was clear

The Nether Gatekeeper is coming KelÆev whispered We have to go Now

Well itÆs not like I fucking wanted to sightsee here Where do we need to go for the rendezvous Randidly spat out

KelÆev shot him a reassuring furious glance and then said The opposite side of the base from where we arrived We were supposed to mark the location of the Nether Wells and then lead a mad chase through the remainder of the base but now There should be a small Aether Key floating there currently although well hidden So

KelÆev faltered as another dense wave of Nether carrying the Nether GatekeeperÆs ire pressed against them Randidly looked down at the unconscious form of Vualla Without her strength fighting against a foe like this

Then Randidly shook his head No even at VuallaÆs best she hadnÆt been able to produce such strong emotions that would persist across such distance If she had been able to the Nether Gatekeeper would have been drawn over to her presence before she had the chance to destroy the Nether Wells No their only hope was to make it to that Aether Key

And as usual KelÆev was completely worthless

What did I even expect Weird transformation aside this guy is just a source of negative energy

So Randidly closed his eyes and blasted himself outward

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 31

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 32

Another wave of anger hit RandidlyÆs senses scattering them for a split second But then they snapped back together and continued the search After all Randidly had been expecting just such an outcome since he had exposed himself to the sensation of Nether

But that fucker is getting damn close Randidly thought worriedly as he felt a presence approaching them that moved with all of the brutal destructiveness and weight of a tornado

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 33

Got it Randidly hissed He pushed Vualla up onto his shoulder and looked at KelÆev with a mocking grin Or do you think you know better than I do about this

Try to keep up KelÆev snapped But Randidly was amused to note that he fell in easily behind Randidly as they began to rush forward toward their goal The only problem was Randidly quickly began to sweat as they continued to steadily accelerate Bouts of dizziness nipped at the edges of his consciousness

It was easy for Randidly to forget about his wounds after seeing Vualla being injured But the lingering damage from those blasts of dense Nether remained Forcing his image body to move quickly was aggravating them

Okay okay this is easy right Randidly thought with a grimace We have the direction so all I need to do is worry about going forward for the rest ah also donÆt drop Vualla

Congratulations Your Skill MonstrosityÆs Appalling Physicality has grown to Level 227

Chapter 1076

With most of his mind freed up by simply following the cascading motion of his own momentum Randidly was able to slap some much needed stop gap fixes onto his heavily damaged image There wasnÆt any immediately noticeable healing but the edges of RandidlyÆs will did stop annoyingly drifting away as he struggled to continue

Fuck that was much closer than I would have liked Randidly thought through the pounding of his headache I canÆt believe IÆm still upright

Stemming the worst of the mental wounds in turn freed up a few more iotas of his mental strength and allowed Randidly to perform a few quick repairs and return his image to an even more stable state Of course this healing progress wasnÆt free while Randidly was carefully fixing himself and rushing headlong forward the soldiers that followed him were furiously repelling the attacks of the Nether Beasts It seemed that they no longer felt the need to wait to amass before attacking They were simply flowing forward like an unending river that battered at them from every angle

And Randidly was leading the charging group of soldiers directly upstream

Who the fuck decided to put the exit point on the exact opposite side of the base from where we arrived Randidly thought grimly We have to push directly through their main forces to escape And if IÆm doing that while IÆm trying to recover

Randidly barely was able to keep up a basic perception scanning the surrounding area while they continued their mad dash Not that there was any real point to it He didnÆt even bother to make even the slightest evasive maneuvers Such an expenditure would quickly bankrupt his already overworked mind When he looked too far forward his vision seemed to shake as his mind couldnÆt smooth out the rapid changes in information that he was receiving

Too much was going on at once The Nether Beasts were too numerous

His brain hitting a limit was obviously not a good sign But it just went to show how well guarded the base of the Nether Gatekeeper was Although the number of foes Randidly had fought on this mission were small they were all elites that he had defeated only by relying on his abilities with both Nether and Aether not because he was more powerful than them Perhaps even more troublesome was all the extremely dense Nether he had to swim through to travel around the area Most of the time they had a protective image to take the edge off of it but the most dangerous battles always meant that Nether was pushed through the protective image to eat directly at his body

Pressing his eyes closed Randidly allowed his own momentum to carry him forward He really needed to steady himself For a split second his entire focus confronted the gruesome task of giving his entire remaining image a scan to determine if there were any areas that would be easily repairable Because that was exactly what he needed

Unfortunately Randidly didnÆt see any easy fixes His heart sank But as his attention stayed for several seconds Randidly discovered something extremely strange occurring within himself

His image body was healing automatically It was slow but even with the continued corrosion of Nether it was definitely happening

RandidlyÆs eyes flicked open in shock But when no obvious explanations for that sudden change presented themselves worries began to congregate in his heart A frown creased his face as he continued to rush forward

Now that he considered the past couple of encounters more directly it was extremely strange that he had been able to stabilize himself after being weakened and then smashed backward by the collision between Vualla and the Nether Wells That alone should have knocked him out Plus Randidly then handled several seconds of the inner portion of his image being blasted by the Nether Well without any ill effects at all

Due to how quickly each of those events had occurred Randidly hadnÆt been able to pay much attention to them He had just been thankful that he had been able to pull through the trials But honestly

Trying his best to ignore the grunts and groans of the soldiers following him Randidly did his best to calm his mind and quickly find the source of this healing

Once he knew what he was looking for it didnÆt take long to find the culprit However when he first traced the strange healing reverberations he couldnÆt believe what he saw From his two cores an ambient warmth was spreading outward through thin tendrils of Nether that brushed against the wounded portions of his image

When Randidly examined the cores more closely he was shocked to realize that there was a faint outline of his prior image hovering inside of them an exact replica of the image he possessed before coming to the Great Rift today

Randidly shivered Of course the bubble doesnÆt matter as much as the core The outward image is maintained by the energy flowing outward to form the bubble Which might also be a reason that too many cores begin to bog down a physical body its attempting to heal the bubble to its prior form but the body resists the change naturally To the body it just feels like a strange foreign image But since I am a relatively more malleable image

As RandidlyÆs awareness brushed up against the cores a strange certainty filled him that he had no way of explaining if he were to bring his cores to touch the edge of the bubbleÆ around him it would take a snapshot of his current image that would be the source of healing henceforth

Obviously that would be a waste at the moment as those two cores steadily sending energy toward his image was the only reason he had maintained his clarity to this point But it was a good reassurance that Randidly wouldnÆt be stuck with his current image forever

The only problem was that this would technically put a stop to the rather productive process of having the Grim Chimera image ground down to nothing and then steadily built back up again However sometimes long term growth needed to take a back seat for current survival And considering the constant attacks that the Nether Beasts were launching toward them Randidly could worry about becoming even more powerful at another time

The growing noise of combat made Randidly groan and force his eyes open His mouth twisted as he glanced behind him and noticed that two of the previously injured soldiers were not following along with the group any longer it appeared that they had been completely killed by the barrage of attacks Even more concerning was the fact that their formation was slowly spreading out as those who were protecting Randidly couldnÆt keep up with him and his continued mad dash

Once the formation fell apart it became that much easier for the Nether Beasts to pick off the stragglers

Dammit Some part of Randidly wanted to go assist with the fighting but for all that he was delighted by the healing from his cores it was a gradual thing It would be quite some time before Randidly was safely away from devolving into an image blob And that was exactly what he would become if he was overstrained at the moment

Sure he could kill things as an image blob but all of the growth he had so carefully experienced since arriving at the battlefront would collapse into nothing Which wasnÆt even considering the damage that the main body might experience if the Grim Chimera image that Randidly held was destroyed

For all that the main body had been pissing him off Randidly didnÆt want to be the cause of such a blow against it Beyond the battlefield there was still the Earth and the System he couldnÆt afford to lose here

While trying to turn a deaf ear to the intense fighting continuing behind him Randidly glanced down at Vualla in his arms It was difficult to carry Vualla in a comfortable position with one of his arms being a long bone spear and the other one being an oversized claw Still Randidly did his best with his arms and used his larger lower tail to wrap around VuallaÆs waist and keep her relatively secure

She was breathing peacefully blissfully unaware that her soldiers were fighting and dying around her Her braid had begun to come slightly undone so several strands of azure hair fell down along her strong jaw And strangely Randidly felt slowly easing into a smile as he looked down at her A moment passed then completely isolated from the frantic death around them Randidly felt some tension in his chest ease somewhat as he saw that Vualla remained alright despite their frantic flight

As long as she is okay

With gleeful eyes Randidly raised his head once more Another soldier had disappeared in the rain of Nether Beasts there were now only six of them remaining with Randidly and Vualla both so out of commission that they couldnÆt assist with the continued threat of Nether Beasts Above and below their rapidly moving convoy thick trunks of blue veins spiraled outward like geysers of water

These two thick geysers ran parallel with their group both hemming them in and forcing them forward And the Nether Beasts were the droplets of moisture that dripped off of these geysers and rushed toward the group in uncountable numbers

Fortunately whatever transformation that enabled KelÆev to resist a Nether Well directly also transformed him into a killing machine He was more shadow than even the Grim Chimera as he flitted back and forth and ripped forcibly through the Nether Beasts that were massing around the group The other soldiers really just needed to clean up the scraps it was only by KelÆevÆs will that they had made it this far

Randidly also couldnÆt help to note two facts the first was that the strange transformation had progressed past just KelÆevÆs arm Now his entire torso had inflated and was bristling with orange tipped quills Second and even more shocking Randidly couldnÆt feel even the slightest hint of an image from him as he went about his deadly work

An image was clearly present the Nether Beasts were reduced to dust just by the ambient image of his presence as he passed near them But such was the tight control that KelÆev kept over his image that none of it seeped toward Randidly

In a way it was just as impressive as VuallaÆs enormous show of power

Randidly released a hissing breath between his teeth as he continued to hurtle forward through the Great Rift His senses expanded rapidly to check their progress

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 34

RandidlyÆs eyes opened once more They had already punched through the middle portion of the base and were moving to areas that had less abundant Nether But all of these areas were covered in blue veins which meant that the ambushes wouldnÆt be slowing anytime soon

And even worse than that

Rooaarr

Everyone shuddered and slowed as a wave of concentrated rage blasted outward Hundreds of blue veins spiraled down about two hundred meters directly in front of them and formed a strange pulsing sigil in the air Nether began to rapidly rush forward to support the strange working

We need KelÆev began but the portal opened before he could finish

Two long tentacles as thick as a tree trunk that ended in brutal obsidian spikes slithered through the sudden opening Nether gushed out like air conditioning from a department store quickly affecting the surrounding area Then the Nether Gatekeeper began to heave the rest of his body out into their path

Chapter 1077

Randidly rushed forward doing his best to accelerate even as the Nether Gatekeeper sent two more deadly looking tentacles out of the huge portal to grip the edges and leverage its body through the opening His heartbeat began to accelerate rapidly Its staccato drumming seemed to fill Randidly with heat Even though it was just the physical presence of the Nether Gatekeeper Randidly couldnÆt help but tremble with anticipation

This is the level of strength that matters If I want to be able to change the fate of Earth I need to get to this level And I need to do it quickly Randidly thought as he looked toward the portal with luminous olive eyes His body was far beyond its limits He could barely manage his current task the thought of facing this foe left him hopeless

And yet he kept accelerating

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 35

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation « has grown to Level 136

RandidlyÆs Nether Sensation kept him very informed of how stupid his current trajectory was Directly in front of him were now five tentacles that oozed pure Nether strong enough to eat away at the flesh of his image body even as he was throwing his all into his defense Even with the two bubbles he possessed he was fighting a losing battle This Nether was on another tier altogether than any he had previously encountered Perhaps the only reason that it wasnÆt quickly tumbling out of control was the small repair ability from his cores stemming the tide

But Randidly didnÆt stop pushing forward Meters disappeared as his eyes scanned the strange working Around those tentacles was a completely black portal of Nether Surrounding that portal was a wreath of interlocking blue veins that pulsed more brightly and frequently than Randidly had ever seen for the veins It seemed that the role of the Nether Gatekeeper was more than just the strongest Nether Beast in town

Around that was a steadily growing number of Nether Beasts There were jellyfish alligators dinosaurs eagles raptors badgers bears and eels They screamed and roared and bared their slimy and dense bodies Although quite a few continued to come and draw KelÆevÆs attention most were just massing in a vast circle

With an unconscious Vualla at their center the squad was trapped Randidly could feel the realization hit the surviving soldiers in their chests like a thrown dagger Those that had been pulled into the mission by TerithÆs request quickly turned immediately sluggish It was only KelÆev and the rather short man who was VuallaÆs other subordinate that continued fighting with the same vigor

All the while Randidly accelerated His mouth stretched wider He had a very very dangerous idea

KelÆev materialized next to Randidly as though he sensed the increasing aggressiveness of RandidlyÆs thought process At the same time Randidly finally had a taste of KelÆevÆs image the strangeness of hit smashed over RandidlyÆs head like a splash of cold water

It was the reflection of a moon in a pond in the eye of the beholding woman on the mossy bank who had come up in a story someone else remembered that an acquaintance had told to a stranger while all parties involved were drunk It was a life of empty spaces between empty people who were endlessly copying other empty people and chasing each other in a circle while seeking empty happiness

This time when the main bodies furious disapproval of this strange image appeared Randidly agreed wholeheartedly This was a dirty and dangerous image

But KelÆevÆs words pulled Randidly back to their situation and out of the hideously empty image that he wielded What are you doing We must turn around Even if it takes longer to reach the Aether Key

Randidly activated Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes to shoot forward at an even higher speed Like a peerless steel knife Randidly cut forward through the thick flows of Nether and headed straight forward toward the Nether Gatekeeper that was slowly manifesting The distance narrowed to one hundred meters As Randidly watched its struggling figure with narrowed eyes two more tentacles swam out and seized the edges of the portal

With one final heave the main body of the Nether Gatekeeper was revealed And to RandidlyÆs surprise it was very clearly a human

ItÆs bald and sweaty head lolled sideways on a completely tensionless neck The eight tentacles stretched out from the human bodyÆs back and lifted the body to stand high above the hurtling form of Randidly But as Randidly examined the seemingly lifeless human body at the core of the tentacles RandidlyÆs blood froze as he met its eyes

They were crimson and fixed upon him with a baleful stare Those eyes brooked no disagreement the Nether Gatekeeper had ordained it would kill Randidly and the woman in his arms who had destroyed the Nether Wells With just a stare the Nether Gatekeeper began to gather flows of Nether that twisted into a tight river and began to push against Randidly to slow him down

To RandidlyÆs fury it was working His defenses were slowly crumbling as the Nether became even more fucking caustic but he did not turn away from his path even as spots of darkness flashed across his vision

Chimeric Avoidance As Randidly stretched his already overtaxed will to start avoiding some of the damage from the Nether the rate of his mind unraveling slowed back down to acceptable levels It wasnÆt free however RandidlyÆs headache intensified But at this rate Randidly should last long enough to accomplish what he wished

Once more KelÆev caught up to Randidly and began to speak The ease with which he did so rankled quite a bit If you wish to give up your life in order to help us escape there are better ways to do it And please put Lady Vualla

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Avoidance has grown to Level 208

I wish I could avoid this fuckerÆs nagging Randidly thought rather bitterly This time he was careful to keep his Grim Intuition close to himself so he wasnÆt forced to endure KelÆevÆs image for a second time

But as Randidly kept his senses away from the figure next to him suddenly remembered the strange failure of the System overlay in translating KelÆevÆs words as he referred to Vualla a few minutes prior Combining that with the feeling of unease that both he and the main body sensed from KelÆevÆs image Randidly no longer was willing to trust this man Which even left out the fact that he was the reason that they were forced to come here to this death trap

But that doesnÆt mean heÆs not useful Randidly chuckled darkly Plus its pretty obvious that for all his idiocy of reporting her Vualla has an important place in KelÆevÆs shriveled heart And I donÆt mind using that

Huh Why are you laughing KelÆev snapped

Just as quickly as Randidly opened his mouth to snap back a retort his jawed clicked painfully as he instinctually forced his mouth closed in response to a wave of furious Nether gushing toward him Apparently the Nether Gatekeeper was tired of them rather blatantly ignoring it as they rushed toward it

Those crimson eyes narrowed at the two figures streaking toward it Perhaps only fifty meters or so remained between Randidly and the Nether Gatekeeper And considering that the tightly muscled tentacles of the Nether Gatekeeper probably could stretch out to fifty meters they had just entered its territory

One of the tentacles shot outward with all of the subtlety of a charging rhino to smash into RandidlyÆs chest Meanwhile RandidlyÆs Grim Intuition warned that the real threat was the five other tentacles that sneakily began to spread out in a net around to all the directions that he could use to escape the first strike

Give me dammit you fucking image you need to dodge KelÆev bellowed

Randidly chuckled again and activated Man is Proud but the Chimera Takes once more He was still under the influence of the first Skill but his current speed wasnÆt enough So he layered the two Skills together and continued to shoot up through the flows of Nether that the Nether Gatekeeper was throwing against him His muscles twitched and spasmed in protest but Randidly managed it

Congratulations Your Skill Man is Proud but the Chimera Takes has grown to Level 178

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation « has grown to Level 137

You fucking fool KelÆev spluttered as he realized Randidly was only moving more quickly toward the certain death However RandidlyÆs attention was completely focused on another issue a well timed notification popped into being in front of him

Congratulations You have completed the Nether Adaption II Path Truly this Path is one rarely traveled by those who are primarily composed of Aether The two energies of Aether and Nether are inherently opposed even now they fight in your body Yet through strength of Willpower and Endurance you have managed to handle the complications It may not yet be clear where this fractured Path leads but there can be no denying that the symmetry present can be used to construct something that will endure the ravenous passage of time

Congratulations Endurance +100 Skill Levels in Nether related Skills count for an extremely small amount more You have learned the Skill Nether Rituals Lvl 1

Nether Rituals Although Nether cannot be used in the same manner as Aether to Engrave there are certain pseudo religious offerings that can be made with Nether as the base Depending on the desired result and the created offering results may vary If the desired result is vastly superior to the offering consequences may result Significance of result increases with Skill Level Likelihood of correct result increases with Skill Level Possible size of the Ritual increases with Skill Level

Your Soulskill has passed Level 10000 You sense that you shall receive the next PP tithe from the Alpha Cosmos if your Soulskill grows to 11000

Chapter 1078

Of course Randidly couldnÆt benefit from the rather significant Endurance reward which was quite unfortunate considering his current troubles relating to enduring the obnoxiously thick Nether But the additional bonus for Nether related Skills would help even if it was rather small change overall

Of course Nether Rituals as a Skill seemed rather dubious Randidly wasnÆt a fan of the fact that the term religiousÆ popped up even if it was prefaced by pseudo But experiments with his new toy could wait until later Randidly still needed to survive His tail tightened around VuallaÆs torso like a skittish boa constrictor while she continued to rest peacefully

Almost unwillingly Randidly glanced once quickly down at Vualla in amusement Are you seriously able to sleep through this

But then his focus came sharply back upward

As Randidly predicted KelÆev gnashed his teeth but threw himself in front of the tentacle that was racing to meet the duo of Randidly and Vualla with a swift death Once again Randidly was left supremely impressed and not a little furious at KelÆevÆs sudden speed Even though Randidly was moving forward as quickly as he could manage KelÆev still managed to catch up and interpose himself between the two charging forces

In preparation for the collision KelÆevÆs transformation intensified His body increased in size even further until he was about four meters tall and two meters wide His quills became almost completely burnt orange with a glimmer of gold at the tips The aura he radiated triggered Grim IntuitionÆs warning against dangerous foes

Despite all the preparations KelÆev was only barely able to deflect the tentacle And even though he managed it in the end the obsidian tip drew a deep and bloody line across his left side Randidly continued to rush forward using Chimeric Avoidance to shimmy just a little to the side and make it past the collision point without being buffeted too badly by the violent aftershocks

Unfortunately the dense Nether wafting off of the tentacle just ripped RandidlyÆs bubbles open and began eating into him He pulled Vualla more closely to the other side of his body to protect her from the worst of it and hurried forward with a grimace

DonÆt think I donÆt know what you are doing KelÆev hissed right into RandidlyÆs ear Randidly didnÆt bother to acknowledge him But it is a foolÆs errand If I die this whole thing collapses Your precious Vualla (# #( )(

Like a curtain dropping across the stage suddenly none of KelÆevÆs words were being translated by the System More warning bells went off in RandidlyÆs fuzzy mind that this was much bigger than KelÆev just being a dick but Randidly was dipping down toward sleepwalking by now The Nether GatekeeperÆs very presence brought too much Nether for Randidly to resist for much longer

But he didnÆt need much longer His body continued to skip forward through the Nether Twenty meters fifteen meters All he needed

The Nether Gatekeeper roared again The tentacles that had been waiting for Randidly to dodge no longer were poised in wait now they struck from every direction like the patient vipers that they truly were

# email protected)(#

KelÆev materialized in front of Randidly again This time he ignored the tentacles and reached out toward Vualla With his huge body there was barely a ghost of a chance that Randidly could get around him to his goal

RandidlyÆs gaze was glassy as he considered KelÆevÆs monstrously muscled form His thoughts clicked noisily together like copper pennies It was increasingly hard to focus There are no perfect Paths just appropriate ends

A spear can only advance

But even Randidly tried to push his body one more time to get around KelÆevÆs huge orange hand he felt his image tremble with the exertion There was just no more mental strength that he could use Even that extra weight he had gathered from repeated triumphs against the Eidolon Crucible was reaching its limits

Not yet Randidly didnÆt need to look down at Vualla to feel the rise and fall of her chest Not her

But there was a pinch more With Randidly shooting rapidly forward across the last dozen meters KelÆev trying to block his way and seize Vualla and the Nether Gatekeeper unleashing an attack on the two of them with six of its tentacles it was the time to put everything he had on the table

All Things Succumb Yet TIme Whirls the Earth

Randidly felt his perception stretching He was two RandidlyÆs then three then twenty then a hundred and one searching for that perfect combination of growth that would have made this situation possible to overcome

It was hard Too much was smothered by Nether Almost as quickly as Randidly stretched himself to find a Path forward some of the alternate RandidlyÆs disappeared as they drowned in Nether in those far flung timelines and ceased to be Numbers grew and shrunk Each dragged away a little more of RandidlyÆs mental strength each intensified the throbbing pain in his skull The number of lives Randidly managed to sift through doubled and then dropped to one tenth of their original amount as RandidlyÆs died like flies drowning in molasses

Yet eventually Randidly found that perfect Randidly He took a step forward even as he felt something deep inside of himself rip and tear as it was overstrained

Congratulations Your Skill All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 144

Congratulations Your Skill All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 145

Congratulations Your Skill All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 146

Congratulations Your Skill All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 147

Congratulations Your Skill All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 148

Congratulations Your Skill All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 149

Congratulations Your Skill All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 150

Even as he moved with more speed and elusiveness than should be possible the Grim Chimera sensed something was wrong The fragment of personality that it had inherited flickered and cracked That certainty of self went dim leaving the Grim Chimera in near darkness while surrounded by foes

Of course that just made the Grim Chimera smile When had it not been this way Such a situation was more familiar than family or friends

A pressure the Grim Chimera hadnÆt truly noticed until now suddenly disappeared as he had been able to lose the gaze of the Nether Gatekeeper for a brief moment The Grim Chimera shivered A frightful beast the Nether Gatekeeper one best avoided And even though its sense of self departed the Grim Chimera still remembered the old mindÆs plan It was a good one although dangerous

The Grim Chimera glanced behind as it continued to streak forward through the final few meters That fool KelÆev had swelled again becoming almost ten meters tall In addition the Grim Chimera suddenly could sense that this swelling body was just a puppet something vast and dangerous was lurking behind this strange transformation

But the body it currently possessed was simply too weak to handle that terrible empty image Three of the tentacles had punctured the body and now ate rapidly away at KelÆevÆs flesh But even though he was incredibly injured KelÆev only looked confused

Finally KelÆevÆs eyes located the Grim ChimeraÆs form He ground his teeth in fury It was obvious who he blamed for this turn of events

The Grim Chimera grinned allowing its long tongue to loll out of his mouth Following its instincts the Grim Chimera pressed Vualla against himself and absorbed her into itself She became a core and the Grim Chimera the bubble It was slightly uncomfortable but it would do for the moment

Then while KelÆev continued to bellow something unintelligible the Grim Chimera reached out and touched one of the blue veins He became a core to the bubble that was this vast network that the Nether Beasts hadnÆt bothered to shut down around him

With an effort that had the Grim Chimera shivering and sweating he pressed himself elsewhere and disappeared

Unfortunately the Grim Chimera hadnÆt been able to make it completely to the location of the hidden Nether Key Still it was now only a short while away and no Nether Beasts materialized to attack it

Perhaps more importantly the density of the Nether in this area was so much less than it had previously been enduring that it felt almost refreshing Still with its tongue hanging out of its mouth the Grim Chimera took several steadying breaths

Grinning with the glee of a successful delay of its final death the Grim Chimera quickly began to move through the Great Rift It seemed like the Nether Gatekeeper was not pleased to find that it had escaped

Very quickly the Grim Chimera moved until he was very near to the Aether Key Then with another shudder inducing effort it removed Vualla from his chest It studied Vualla carefully Even though most of its cognition was gone it still was deeply attached to Vualla The destruction she pursued seemed sublime to its sensibilities

Luckily she seemed to still be sleeping peacefully being a core didnÆt have any lingering effects

So the Grim Chimera took a step forward and arrived at the hidden space with the Aether Key

Nine pairs of eyes widened as the Grim Chimera appeared Then they noticed Vualla in the Grim ChimeraÆs arms and they instantly became annoyingly agitated They were speaking to the Grim Chimera but it couldnÆt understand what they were saying The words were as empty as their eyes

The Grim Chimera gestured toward itself Vualla hoping this would convey what it wanted Then it pointed toward the Aether Key

It would be difficult to kill these people the Grim Chimera decided but not impossible But considering that Nether Gatekeeper was likely pursuing it fighting would take too much time And the Grim Chimera was so so tired

One of the people stepped forward and said something else in a low voice

Helpless the Grim Chimera cast its weary mind around to try and remember how the personality would have handled such a situation

But before it found an answer another roar ripped through the Great Rift And this roar was much closer it seemed that the Nether Gatekeeper was heading in their direction

Just as the Grim Chimera was about to take action the individual that had spoken to it last reached out and touched the Grim ChimeraÆs shoulder The Grim ChimeraÆs first instinct was to cut off this offending limb but it kept control and observed this motion It remembered dimly that this sort of gesture could convey intimacy Which was quite confusing

After that the speaker gestured to itself and spoke several sentences very quickly The individual patted the Grim ChimeraÆs shoulder and then offered it the Aether Key

The Grim Chimera didnÆt really care what they were saying After blinking rapidly several times the Grim Chimera confirmed that they truly had understood it So it simply took the key and was finally teleported with Vualla back to safety

Chapter 1079

Some part of Nahlun knew that he was making a mistake by putting himself into the line of fire here But as he looked at the wretched state of Vualla and witnessed dead eyes of the soldier that managed to carry her out of the Nether hell

Shivering Nahlun had to look away from those eyes Even though that individual was just an image and Nahlun possessed a body there was a terrible intensity there that had nothing to do with power and had everything to do with determination It was that core of steel that had allowed these two to escape where it looked like VuallaÆs significant power had failed

Yet even though they had made it to this rendezvous point it was clear from the wrathful roars that the Nether GatekeeperÆs attention was definitely attracted in this direction The first Squad had accomplished every task flawlessly At this rate there would be nothing left for the other Squads to assist with

Perhaps even that amazing capability wouldnÆt have been enough for Nahlun to expose himself to danger due to the lack of relationship with this unknown soldier and Vualla herself if the first exhausted message of this soldier hadnÆt been so breathtakingly clear

Without any ability to say words the soldier could only gesture Yet that was more than enough to get his point across Please use the Aether Key and take our Squad Leader She at least needs to survive Æ

YouÆve accomplished our goal of destroying the Nether Wells so please allow us to handle your role we will lead the Nether Gatekeeper toward the ambush Nahlun said solemnly As a veteran of fifty years on the frontlines who possessed three stars he knew exactly how likely it was that he would die for this decision

Yet as he said it it was suddenly like a weight was removed from his shoulders In his heart Nahlun knew that this was the correct decision They all were soldiers And it was clear that the other squad had taken action so NahlunÆs squad wouldnÆt be exposed to danger Honor dictated that Nahlun return the favor

Nahlun could see the hesitation and confusion in the silent soldierÆs eyes It was an image somehow having reached the level of two stars likely a veteran of an uncountable number of battles The image undoubtedly knew that NahlunÆs squad would be exposing itself to unnecessary danger by giving him assistance So when he arrived there was a pause as the two duties warred within the imageÆs heart His hesitation betrayed his kindness

Yet even after Nahlun made the offer the soldier hesitated It was clear he did not want to truly expose them to this risk

To emphasize his point Nahlun offered the soldier the Aether Key Torn by indecision the soldier looked down at Vualla That seemed to harden its heart somewhat When he looked back up at Nahlun the soldier took the Aether Key and disappeared back to safety

He didnÆt even have the strength to speak One of NahlunÆs subordinates said softly What the hell did the first Squad need to go through

War Nahlun said shortly And they sacrificed seven lives to get this far Look sharp boys LetÆs not let their sacrifice be in vain LetÆs lead that pig of a Nether Gatekeeper to slaughter

Everyone nodded

“I fucking hate headaches ” Randidly spoke with such acidic vehemence that his own words woke him up from his fitful slumber What was waiting for him was an almost reassuringly mundane ceiling of canvas Then the thundering headache his sleeptalking had reference to made itself known and Randidly winced and pressed his eyes closed

Even after several seconds the pounding didn’t abate In fact Randidly had a terrible suspicion that the pain was growing worse every second Randidly could only forcefully release the tension he was holding in his jaw and neck to relieve some of the worst symptoms

Congratulations Your Skill Pain Resistance has grown to Level 108

Great at least this is a sort of pain that I can grow from Randidly forcibly warped his mouth with a manic grin

Above him Yggdrasil chuckled dryly “If you truly hated headaches you wouldnÆt continually put yourself in situations that result in them You’ll have to forgive us if we start to suspect that you are a masochist

Randidly barred his teeth while keeping his eyes closed In the brief few moments that he had his eyes open the light raked his grey matter across a bed of coals and he was loathe to experience such a thing again “I’m not even sure if that’s incorrect But it’s all to grow If you know a better way of growing “

Randidly face suddenly twisted into a scowl as pain like few feelings he had ever experienced pierced through to the very core of his being Existence from RandidlyÆs perspective stuttered to a stop For several seconds he couldn’t even move that pain was like a spear that pinned him to the ground while his thoughts helplessly circled him in dismay at his terrible circumstances

Congratulations Your Skill Pain Resistance has grown to Level 109

Now that I think about it why am I gaining Skill Levels Is this not pain from Nether Then what

Something at his core flickered on and off causing agonizing fluctuations to run through Randidly Sensing the sudden shift Yggdrasil’s branches rustled down to alight on his shoulders Warm streams of energy flowed into Randidly attempting to address the vicious pain that was eating at his consciousness and flash freezing his thought processes But for whatever reason those streams of warmth seemed less potent than Randidly remembered They seemed helpless before this pain they could alleviate the symptoms slightly but it wasn’t affecting the broken source

Finally that cracked thing in Randidly core flickered for the final time and remained lit A hissing breath escaped Randidly as he slowly relaxed this time almost helplessly All his Willpower drained out of whatever crack from which the pain originated

“Fuck me ” Randidly said Now that the central core of pain was gone Randidly was recovering more quickly under Yggdrasil’s ministrations But he was also shaking from the aftershocks of that strange pain that had left him completely incapacitated albeit briefly Something old and dark from the Grim Chimera seemed to wake as Randidly tried to cope with the knowledge that he had been so helpless for a few seconds

Hatred blossomed like a crimson flower in Randidly’s chest He hated this feeling of weakness If there was away to avoid every being forced to feel this weak again if he could kill everyone who threatened him

Blurred images of Nether Beasts appeared in Randidly’s mind In these memories Randidly seemed to be shooting forward through the Nether barely hanging on to his life The memories themselves floated fuzzily around in his mind and Randidly regarded them with shock These memories where did they come from But that feeling of weakness ItÆs the same

The memories came to him in sharp fragments There was darkness and the sensation of manipulating the Nether bubbles to rush out and attack something The victim was a blur Then there was a strange moment where a soldier was reaching out and touching Randidly’s shoulder and then the limp and violent form of the Nether Gatekeeper

“Vualla ” Randidly spat out with every ounce of energy he had been able to muster while sifting through the memories He sat up quickly smashing his forehead into the knobby elbow joint of Yggdrasil With a groan Randidly collapsed backward as those fragmented moments floated together to give him a picture of what happened

The ‘Randidly ness’ that he possessed had been so strained by utilizing his Willpower beyond his natural capacity that it had cracked Even now that exposed flaw was exactly why he was hit with such an unnatural pain out of the blue The fact that he had been able to continue after that was slightly puzzling but combing more carefully through his memories provided an answer It had been the instincts of the Grim Chimera that had carried Vualla forward to try and escape the base of the Nether Gatekeeper while Randidly was out of commission

Since he was here and in one piece it appeared that the Grim Chimera had been rather successful But Randidly had no memory of what happened when they returned to the Aether side

“She’s fine as far as I can tell ” Yggdrasil said warily The energy that he was channeling into Randidly slowed to a trickle and then stopped Yggdrasil creaked as he straightened upward “Vualla I mean Unfortunately I was more concerned with getting you back here as quickly as possible than I was with checking in with her status any more seriously than determining that she wasnÆt in critical condition “

“Was I that bad ” Randidly asked with a heavy sigh Honestly he could guess what the answer was based on the pain that had just seized him

“Well yes but I was more concerned about the energy you were throwing off ” Randidly could hear the smile in Yggdrasil’s voice “I believe it is a way of instinctively healing the damage you’ve taken but you have the distinct scent of Nether wafting off of you currently Easy to explain just as you return but as time went on questions would have been asked “

Randidly checked his inner area and sure enough his two Nether Wells were radiating significant Nether Most of it was gobbled up by the two cores that continued to try and restore Randidly’s exterior to its prior state but some was no doubt leaking out through the cracks Whatever sort of thing had been established inside of himself it had been done completely subconsciously And Randidly had to admit that he wasnÆt the most delicate engineer of these things even at the best of times

Especially without the Skills of the main body

Randidly both tightened his control over the Nether Wells and created more powerful currents of Nether in his core to control the energy It wasnÆt a long term solution but it would at least reduce the amount of Nether that he was producing

Such actions of course earned him a sharp spike of pain from his persistent headache

“Plus ” Yggdrasil continued cheerily “You were only a few seconds away from having enough Nether in your body to reach three stars So I wanted to get you away from Commander Terith before that happened Too many shocks in one day is dangerous for a man his age you should have seen his face when you and Vualla appeared “

Again with trepidation Randidly turned his attention inward and discovered that Yggdrasil had been telling the truth a third star had already formed inside of himself Perhaps even more shocking was that a fourth was also halfway done

However Randidly discovered something extremely annoying about the new produced core Perhaps because of his subconscious actions the third core had recorded a very flawed version of his image He must have moved it to press it against his bubble during one of his dreams As such while two cores were trying to heal himself the third was working against them and trying to keep everything in its murky state Which had halved his recovery speed

Gritting his teeth Randidly touched the offending core and followed his instincts to completely cleanse it of the terrible image it had imprinted Instantly it stopped absorbing Nether to use to affect his bubble Some internal tension Randidly hadnÆt even noticed finally relaxed Nether began to flow more easily through him Which made a marked difference in the speed that Randidly felt his image was slowly restoring itself

“How long until the next mission ” Randidly asked grimly The healing speed increased but the image body was only half of the battle he still needed for his Willpower to recover And also Randidly needed to find out how gently he needed to treat this cracked psyche that was at his core

He assumed it would heal but if he kept ending up in situations where he was forced to use every ounce of his power

For several seconds Yggdrasil was silent The lack of response stretched for so long that even the bleary Randidly opened his eyes and blinked rapidly at the dim light of the tentÆs interior While Randidly tried to get his bearings Yggdrasil quietly said “Two days “

Two days But that would mean

Randidly had an urge to sit up again but quickly suppressed it “I don’t suppose Lady Iellaya was so moved by my generosity in volunteering that she gave us a day off “

Yggdrasil’s leaves rustled as he shook his head “I went into the Great Rift in your stead After being there I certainly can’t blame you for returning with grievous injuries every time And we only encountered three Nether Beasts during our stay Compared to the trials that you have faced “

Even though it hurt Randidly forced his body to sit up Then he turned and regarded Yggdrasil

Likely earlier when it had felt like Yggdrasil’s healing streams were less powerful than before it might not have just been context The current Yggdrasil looked more like a weeping willow with greying leaves than the towering tree that held up the world It was clear that the image hadn’t become any less detailed since Randidly had seen Yggdrasil last but certainly it was less vibrant

Randidly’s eyes flashed as he ruminated on the coldly calculating Iellaya I’ll fucking kill that bitch

Chapter 1080

That violent thought echoed through his mind once then twice while Randidly was suffused with the raw emotion of the impulse Then Randidly felt a rather shocked horror at the sudden vehemence of his thoughts But even though he felt rather alarmed at the instinct the desire to kill Iellaya didn’t fade

Looks like there are changes from my main consciousness weakening Randidly thought with a frown The Grim Chimera’s instincts are closer at hand I’ll have to be careful about that moving forward

But do I really need to be careful Another part of Randidly responded If I’m strong enough to kill everything that threatens me why not get rid of liabilities And based on her blatant disregard for our safety Iellaya qualifies What would have happened if I didnÆt wake up in time for the next mission

To that Randidly had no answer Or at least not one that wouldnÆt simply infuriate him further And he was honestly too exhausted to get embroiled in this internal debate at the moment Instead he refocused on his meager attention on Yggdrasil “You went with Salazar and Zauna “

Yggdrasil nodded “And both performed admirably Without them “

“Yea I won’t forget that they helped you while I couldnÆt ” Randidly said lightly Despite their individual quirks Randidly was willing to forgive a lot just for the fact that they had been with Yggdrasil as protectors

With all the gentleness he could manage Randidly brought his claw up to his forehead and held his skull His talons attempted to draw small circles around his temples Truly for all that it was useful for battle the claw and the bone spear were absolutely useless for normal living Randidly was just as likely to inflict even worse damage than he was to make himself feel better like this

Shaking his head Randidly dropped his arms and looked around Aside from Randidly and Yggdrasil the tent was empty It seemed that Zauna and Salazar were busy elsewhere Maybe they were driven away by the Nether that I was producing and maybe thatÆs why

With gritted teeth Randidly spared Yggdrasil another glance His leaves were simply so much more grey than he remembered The emerald color had become incredibly dull since they had last seen each other Turning away Randidly forced himself to focus on anything else than his fellow imageÆs wounds

Then Randidly’s eyes caught on a large egg shaped grey mass in the corner At first he was confused but then he recognized the same strange material that Yggdrasil was using to make an isolating structure for Ignition Essence Randidly gestured at it with his bone spear while trying to keep his neck and head completely still in order to manage his headache “So you finished the home for Ignition But why is there a crack in it “

Yggdrasil chuckled “Indeed Not that I truly know it will help but somehow I suspect that it will As for the crack I do not know That appeared while I was busy completing the mission When I came back the crack was already present “

Randidly’s eyes narrowed with another flash of fury “You don’t think someone “

“Snuck in and shook it around to determine what was inside I doubt it ” Yggdrasil’s leaves rustled reassuring as he repositioned himself Randidly released a breath and a lot of his sudden tension went with it “After all no one thinks we images possess anything of value I prefer to think that it was Ignition Essence itself Perhaps he was gathering enough strength to break out of the isolation chamber of its own accord After all the main body created Ignition Essence in darkness “

As he looked at the slightly cracked egg Randidly held his tongue It truly wasn’t a crack from an outside force but it was just a thin crack that ran along one of the sides More likely than either his suspicious theory or Yggdrasil’s optimistic one was simply that the material constituting the egg had dried out and cracked for that reason

But Randidly felt no reason to point that out Words were important because they shaped belief and from belief came images As someone who was currently entirely an image he would not casually transgress against a fellow image needlessly

Instead Randidly simply leaned back and stared at the ceiling as Yggdrasil continued you speak “You know there is some good news “

“Hmm ” Randidly said drowsily Now that he was laying down again he wanted to return to a meditative state to heal as quickly as possible With the foolishly destructive core switched off the speed of his healing should double

“Your next mission is offensive You’ll get your hands on an Aether Key again ” Yggdrasil said lightly “And if my suspicions are correct you’ll be able to synchronize Aether Detection with the main body “

Randidly smiled sharply Knowledge was what they still lacked most And it seemed like every time he meant to ask some questions to learn more an attack came that would distract him for several days with recovering from his wounds But as long as Vualla had recovered Randidly had no doubt that she would be willing to give him greater context for what was going on here at the borderlands That knowledge would be further supplemented when he could use Aether Detection to investigate some of the grand formations in the area directly

Then Randidly grimaced I hope Yggdrasil is right about her being less injured than I was it seemed like she stretched her boundaries too far as well to annihilate all of the Nether Wells at once

Then Randidly shook his head Nothing would come from just sitting here He needed to prepare himself for what was coming next

After taking a long rest to recover his strength Randidly sat up bright eyed and bony tailed His claws and bone spear drew deep scars in the ground as he stretched lazily Then he immediately hopped to his feet and checked the state of his body Finding it to his liking he glanced around the tent

To his relief Salazar and Zauna still had not returned And it appeared that Yggdrasil was doing some resting of his own in the far corner trying frantically to recover enough to assist in RandidlyÆs own recovery

Shaking his head Randidly started to stretch more vigorously to check the state of his image Yggdrasil was too generous for his own good with his strength If he didnÆt have someone like Randidly with the Grim ChimeraÆs viciousness to protect him such a kind hearted image would likely be devoured by the frontlines

The more that Randidly thought about it the more quickly and violently he moved His body continued to accelerate easily through the motions so Randidly kept on pushing himself while keeping his movements not so violent that it would produce enough noise to distract Yggdrasil Just as Randidly was getting into the silent exertion of testing his body there was a noise from the front of the tent

“B b boss” Salazar stuttered as he walked into the tent “Y you are a a already up “

Randidly just grunted slowed back down to stretching lightly He much preferred the silent intensity of Zauna’s gaze when she walked into the tent to SalazarÆs rapid tongue movements and stuttering There was however an accusation hidden there in ZaunaÆs eyes but it was much easier to ignore something if the person in question didn’t bother vocalizing their feelings

After staring at Randidly for a bit his two subordinates shuffled into the suddenly crowded tent Every time Salazar opened his mouth to say something else Randidly’s sharp gaze would focus on him and leave the words beheaded on Salazar’s tongue as a lesson for those that would come after In that way Randidly could focus on his own tasks and also Yggdrasil’s easy breathing wasn’t disturbed

Yet Randidly had to spare both of the subordinates an extra glance as he continued to check his image body for flaws Because on the first glance it might have been some of the visual effects of this borderland that confused Randidly but as he looked at them again it was clear that they were both changed

Salazar’s case was more subdued but several looks allowed Randidly to determine that Salazar’s neck was quite a bit longer than it used to be So much so that his head seemed to bob up and down with all of his movements

In Zauna’s case her mud color had deepened from shallow and wet mud to deep dried mud mixed with loam and decomposing leaves It was a darker greener brown that caused Randidly to wonder whether he had any influence on the change in shade

Randidly glanced at Yggdrasil Was this due to his ability to heal images Was he also allowing them to grow in the same way that Randidly was Or would all images grow if they were given the ability to slowly heal and recover after fighting If it was the latter option then certainly the Commanders here were vicious for forcing the images to go out and fight even when it would mean they would disperse into nothing and waste their potential for growth

But how many images lose all sense of self when they are ripped out of the host body Randidly licked his lips Truly those are the monsters that deserve to die Perhaps the Commanders can be forgiven but the System’s recruitment methods

Shaking his head Randidly banished his aggression and tried to focus on the task at hand Satisfied that his subordinates would remain quiet for the foreseeable future Randidly turned his focus inward He instantly focused on the three Nether cores revolving slowly around the two Nether Wells

Randidly hesitated for a split second but then he touched both of the remaining cores with his Willpower and erased the recorded image there Suddenly the Nether in his chest began to swirl listlessly no longer able to flow into healing him Randidly quickly tightened the opening of both Nether Wells as tightly as his still relatively tender mind would allow Then he began the exhaustive task of sharpening his image even further

Perhaps Randidly could have skipped this part After all his image had been completely refined almost four full times since he arrived at the battlefield and it hadn’t been a weak image before he had come here Or rather the weakness of the image was due to lack of time and depth rather than a faulty base image The sharp details that Randidly had managed to add since arriving here were just icing on the cake

But Randidly somehow sensed that he could still take it farther And that taking it farther was an exhausting task that would lead to immense rewards So Randidly rolled up his mental sleeves and got to work

The first step as always was just to observe every inch of himself Then Randidly decided to focus his attention on three areas keeping his changes relatively clustered rather than attempting to improve everything at once After all Randidly only possessed a certain amount of time and attention

If there were some area that he could use to extend time Randidly wouldnÆt mind putting together a much more exhaustive investigation and going piece by piece through his image to determine the best paths for improvement But Randidly didnÆt currently have that time He had two days until his next mission and he didnÆt want to waste more of that time than he needed to on his image

After all there was a lot Randidly needed to learn about utilizing his cores Now that he had the general knack he could really turn it into an advantage in his future fights

But that meant Randidly needed to move quickly through his image now So he simply looked carefully and trusted his gut when it indicated he touched upon something valuable

Chapter 1081

After his careful examination Randidly decided that there were three specific areas where a little bit of attention would result in quite a bit of effect to his overall image his arms his skin and his tails

Of the three skin seemed the easiest to use as the starting point In addition it would require the most careful touch of the three areas so Randidly wanted to start before he had expended most of his Willpower So Randidly really focused on the skin that covered the body of the Grim Chimera

As he had slowly incorporated Nether into his body the skin of his chest had become increasingly translucent while the skin of his limbs became rougher and darker So now Randidly began to carefully smooth out that transition from translucent to rough It wasn’t that the change in texture was a sudden thing in RandidlyÆs mind it was that the skin nearer to the Nether Wells was constantly bombarded with that light energy and purified Meanwhile the limbs were forced to endure the hostile elements of the world and had grown more dangerous to compensate

I’ve become a dermatologist Randidly thought abruptly with not a little bit of remorse Then he shook his head at the strange old Earth joke that manifested in his imagination But still creating the right sort of feeling was an extremely delicate process So much so that it seemed likely that it required an expertÆs touch

Randidly worked with both the thickness and texture of the skin’s image Which if he was being honest was not his forte Both Randidly himself and the supplemental bit of personality of the Grim Chimera weren’t exactly experts in softness and smooth skin Their initial attempts proved to be woefully inadequate

It was only after several unsuccessful and frustratingly vague attempts that Randidly stumbled across an answer One that made him feel not a little guilt in his heart

Well I’m only copying the soft sensation of skin Randidly’s mouth twisted at the thought that contained a shade of dishonesty within it But he really could think of no other option at this point It’s not like it’s that personal a thing

So while anxiously glancing over his shoulder at an invisible specter shaking her heavy gauntleted fist Randidly used his brief and sparse memory of holding onto Vualla’s bare shoulder while fleeing from the Nether Gatekeeper as a source of inspiration for what soft skin should feel like Even though the nerve endings in his claw weren’t as developed as those on a humanÆs hand he could still remember the sensation of holding her shoulder in his palm Even now even despite the mental damage he received and the accumulated weariness of these efforts that sensation was crystal clear With Vualla’s soft skin as a base Randidly rapidly changed his skin to its new form

Because although the skin of his chest that was most often being purified by the Nether Well’s strange light was that soft his body was swiftly corrupted by the environment and his exterior became the rough and grey skin that was more cartilage than anything else It came off and flakes and healed with all the quickness and tenacity of a nest of cockroaches

Which is the balance I need to strike Randidly thought sadly Strength but not so strong that I turn into a stone monster that seeks to kill all threats to my existence Because that’s just fear I would be lashing out only because I’m afraid And I want to be strong enough to live with fear

There was a small disgruntled reaction from the Grim Chimera but it quickly settled back into place without comment It accepted this truth that Randidly had presented

Immediately after finishing refining his image for skin he felt the difference in his body As he sat breathing in the crowded tent his skin felt sensitive It suddenly tingled as he became aware of the movements of air in the surrounding area and the heat of the Aether runes that lined the tent Or at least his core felt these things even as his arms remained completely numb and dangerous

Which was a good point to transition Randidly’s focus from his skin to his arms Mostly he was working on their innate deadliness He lengthened and sharpened the talons on his left arm He enlarged the forearm muscles to improve the grip strength to the point that he could easily imagine himself crushing a skull The bone spear of his right arm became more tapered so the base around his elbow was thicker than the jagged and vicious point

Then again and again Randidly dragged his attention across every surface of the arms and tightened the sensation and muscles connections in the area As much as possible Randidly wanted to make his image not just look like a body but feel and function like a body That would become a source of strength for him moving forward

The more reality there was in his image the less his Willpower would need to be spent to make up the mechanical deficiencies of the image he had created

Lastly Randidly worked on the tails After his experience with carrying Vualla and dealing with the headaches from his constant battles he was becoming supremely fed up with how useless his arms were for normal activities So Randidly decided to add the same dark skin that covered the outer portion of his extremities and line the tails with muscle The lower tail could now move dextrously to grab nearby items and the upper tail had been lengthened so that it could perform most of the deft and reassuring touches to himself that Randidly remembered doing with his body

After carefully layering the muscles along the tail Randidly performed an experiment he used his upper tail to rub the bridge of his nose

It curled easily around his face and pressed up against his nose Then the rest of the tail twisted expertly around that area so the bridge of his nose was completely cupped Still Randidly could only shake his head and sigh

Although it looked like he had accomplished his goal there was no real pressure applied from the tail Like a real snake he would need to wrap himself completely around an object in order to possess the leverage to squeeze it with any sort of strength What Randidly currently possessed simply looked like it was performing those casual human acts

Ah well it’s better than fucking nothing Randidly thought bitterly Then he brought all three of his cores up to touch the bubble and record the image There were a few more areas he wanted to refine but as his headache was coming back it was time to rest

Randidly eased himself onto the ground and controlled his breathing Breathe in breathe out Allow the mind to loosen its grip and relax Very soon his consciousness had dipped back down beneath into that meditative mindset

However a demanding thought kept nipping at him like carefully raised fish might eat the dead skin off people’s toes No matter what Randidly did to try and shake it he couldn’t allow himself to truly let go as long as that thought remained active in his mind It buzzed with intensity demanding his attention like an alarm clock

With a grim expression Randidly opened his eyes Most of his headache was gone but he knew it wouldn’t take much for it to come roaring back to life But he couldn’t help himself This was something that he needed to investigate

After returning from the Nether Gatekeeper mission which Randidly still didn’t even know the outcome of he had slept for a day and a half Then he had required another six hours to recover and had just now spent six hours refining his image All told almost two days had passed since he had returned

And Vualla’s face was very prominent in Randidly’s subconscious He couldn’t get either the image of her triumphantly destroying the army of Nether Beasts or the image of her unconscious in his arms out of his head Both warred in him seemingly pulling him for completely opposite reasons to look for her However those emotions mixed in his chest into something warm and precious now that Randidly was partially recovered he needed to address these feelings

Snorting Randidly got back to his feet

His expression turned frigid as Zuana and Salazar unhesitatingly mimicked him in getting up off the ground Randidly calmly drug a long talon across his lips before he spoke “And where do you think you are going “

” walk ” Zauna said quietly Salazar watched Randidly’s expression with obvious fright and simply nodded vigorously along with ZaunaÆs point

The muscles along Randidly’s jaw flexed His two tails flicked aggressively from side to side making soft thwaping noises as the lower tail impacted the walls of the tent with the controlled ferocity of a predator

“Surely you’ve had enough exercise today ” Randidly said with exaggerated patience Both subordinates shook their heads

The Grim Chimera’s hot annoyance exploded to dominate Randidly’s perception for a few seconds but then it slowly faded back into the backdrop of his mind Although the Grim Chimera had powerful impulses it had grown to understand there was a need to suppress them while interacting with others As such it allowed the emotions to run its course while simply enduring them

Then after the emotions had drained it looked upon the situation with rather calculating eyes

Randidly shook his head helplessly Even though his threats worked well enough to stop Salazar from speaking this was another animal altogether His subordinates took their roles very seriously And as he considered their expressions now

Some of their fear was backed by concern Randidly’s lips tightened with guilt

He could understand why they would be concerned especially now A few days ago he had disappeared for several hours and come back unconscious Worse than unconscious From what Yggdrasil had shared he had been speaking in his sleep although nothing particularly intelligible But to have your commanding officer reduced to such a state and being able to do nothing about it

The rest of the annoyance vanished from Randidly and he was simply left with exhaustion That’s exactly why I fight against the System So I don’t simply need to watch the Earth suffer any longer So I can take the future into my own hands

” fine ” Randidly finally said Both Salazar and Zauna fell in behind him as he walked out of the tent and followed the familiar path toward the badlands between camps It seemed that it was quickly very obvious where their goal was because Randidly sensed both Salazar and Zauna exchange a knowing glance behind his back

Ugh sometimes I wish Grim Intuition wasnÆt so fucking insightful Randidly thought with disgust right as Salazar opened his mouth

Y you know b b boss donÆt r read too deeply into Vualla not v v v visiting you during your r recovery Maybe she didnÆt know SalazarÆs mouth clicked audibly shut before Randidly had calmed himself down enough to turn around and get him to shut up

The thought hadnÆt even crossed my mind Randidly said stiffly And completely honestly But now that Salazar had brought it up

There was no way that Vualla wasnÆt aware of how dangerous the Great Rift had been for Randidly After all she had protected him through most of their journey only allowing him to join the defensive rotation when there was no other choice Considering the fact that she had gone unconscious toward the end

Unwillingly RandidlyÆs brows furrowed Unless someone hid his involvement from her altogether Perhaps they claimed that he died or didnÆt attribute the rescue to him

Chapter 1082

Randidly carefully considered the mysterious absence of Vualla from every angle Originally he had just vaguely thought that perhaps Vualla was also still recovering somewhat but as that idea was exposed to the light of day it clearly disintegrated into nothing There had to be another reason

As RandidlyÆs tension mounted Zauna and Salazar exchanged a knowing glance behind his back as though his behavior was extremely predictable Which of course only served to infuriate Randidly further Yet now that the possibility had been planted the leafy shoots of doubt were springing up all through his subconscious

Fuck I wish I had a Nether Beast to tear apart

Randidly continued in his rather grim brooding up to the point that he walked out into the badlands and witnessed that there was a rather noticeable difference from their previous visits to the area a fence had been erected around the Commander TerithÆs camp The walls were four meters high and covered in spikes but there was an open gate about halfway along the perimeter

Standing at the open gate were two people talking quietly and although Randidly didnÆt recognize either of the figures he began to accelerate toward them Despite their unfamiliarity they represented a connection to Vualla Even if all they would do is carry a message for Randidly that would be enough

The two uniformed humanoid men noticed his approach but didnÆt seem to make any sort of preparations for his arrival They simply continued to talk quietly as Randidly strode briskly over toward them

It was only when Randidly was a few meters away that the one individual straightened and held up a hand for Randidly to stop Sorry CommanderÆs orders to no longer allow anyone from other camps inside We are tired of associating with well letÆs be honest Riffraff

Especialy all you fucking images The other man snickered

There was a second where RandidlyÆs mind slowly mulled over this sort of response Then the Grim ChimeraÆs fury burned like a forest fire through his chest filling him with heat and ash This time Randidly was very willing to lose control and simply attack the two arrogant fucking guards But to complete the emotional switch the Grim Chimera held Randidly back Its Grim Intuition howled foul play

This was a trap the Grim Intuition urged They were trying to upset him on purpose

That sudden clarity from the Grim ChimeraÆs instincts calmly Randidly immediately down Although he had arrived while trying to see Vualla if these idiots were actually trying to harm him he would devote his full attention to their antics

But why would they want to kill me Randidly wondered as he considered the two sneering guards Is it general hate against images Or is this targeted

God Randidly dearly wished it was just prejudice against images Because if it wasnÆt suddenly he would need to go through the very long list of people who wanted him dead in order to have any true hint as to what was going on here And even then the sad truth was that most of RandidlyÆs enemies didnÆt bother to approach him directly they simply manipulated the circumstances around him

The guards settled back with smug expressions perhaps accepting that Randidly wasnÆt simply going to attack them One raised his hand and waved it airly as though shoo ing a rodent Well run along then If you arenÆt going to at least be a little entertaining you better run on back to your ah you donÆt have a body do you What a sob story Imagine an image without a body

Randidly just looked at the two guards studying them while engaging with an internal dialogue with the Grim Chimera

Even if itÆs a trap they only possess a single star each We might still be able to kill them

Perhaps Hard to judge between image and body

We have the cores With three of them the power of Nether we can use to attack will take them by surprise

And suddenly we have killed them with Nether Which might come to light if the scene is investigated Which could perhaps lead to an investigation that reveals our Nether Wells No better to be cautious Withdraw for now

The Grim Chimera image might be enough to kill them

Survive first All else is secondary The Earth

And what about Vualla while we are busy focusing on survival What if this is a plot against her and I am just the soldier who made it back with her

That silenced all of RandidlyÆs inner voices Gritting his teeth Randidly forced himself to turn away Better to gather some more information before forcing the issue Although they werenÆt trustworthy there were avenues in Lady IellayaÆs camp that he could sound out to find out the situation in the neighboring camp

And at exactly that moment that Randidly was turning away Salazar was stepping forward with a vicious expression on his face Bah w weaklings We might all be images b but our C Captain has condensed his third star already He is a p p peerless warrior compared you r rejects

As soon as the words left SalazarÆs mouth Randidly felt the mood in the air change Where they had been opportunists before now Randidly felt the abundant bloodlust rolling off the two guards They stood again but there was none of the lazy arrogance in their movements that had been there previously

We know that you fucking puppet We arenÆt blind The meaner of the two hissed Which is why we wonÆt squash him no matter how disrespectful he is At least his body is worth something in this war But you you absolute sack of shit

Randidly spun around with a scowl on his face as the two guards advanced toward Salazar Zauna stepped up to join Salazar in a show of solidarity SalazarÆs face was a strange mixture of satisfaction shock and absolute terror The three emotions chased each other across his face as the guards came closer

Randidly stepped forward between them DonÆt you have a door to guard like good little doggies

It was Randidly had to admit profoundly satisfying to watch as the two guardsÆ faces contorted in fury Thanks for that one Lyra

At the moment Randidly was very sure that the two forces were about to fight Just as he was trying to make a mental inventory of how much force and what abilities he was going to use for this fight that moment of tension proceeded to the next And then everything was different

All five individuals and likely everyone in the two nearby camps looked directly upward as a wave of sound smashed directly against them and pulled at their attention Randidly felt dizzy for several seconds and the visual variance shot sharply upward as the force smashed against them In the sky above them an invisible dome that had been supported by some grand formation seemed to be crumbling Large panels of brilliant golden glass fell slowly down toward the camps below

Directly toward their current position Randidly realized with a grim horror And what was worse three thick tentacles of Nether rushed downward toward TerithÆs camp out of the shattered portion of the dome that they had created From this distance they seemed dangerous but it was only as RandidlyÆs high Perception calculated the distance to those tentacles and their scale that Randidly began to pale

Those tentacles of Nether were probably as thick as a city block and hundreds of times as long If they struck down toward a camp and their group was outside

Shit the one guard muttered as he looked up toward the descending broken barrier and grasping Nether tenacles with a raw sort of horror He almost looked completely numb after that one word as though his emotions had overwhelmed him

Think it wants back whatever the Commander stole The other guard asked anxiously Randidly glanced sharply at them both

Then a loud snort echoed out and a wave of energy blasted outward from the center of TerithÆs camp When that energy hit the panel that was about to crash into the camp it disintegrated into thousands of motes of gold Then those sparkling fireflies of energy reformed into the shape of a huge ax A booming voice that Randidly recognized as Commander Terith followed

Quite sentimental for a monster made of Nether donÆt you think

Just as quickly as the Nether Tentacles smashed downward that gleaming golden ax shot upward to meet it The two blows met and the sky shuddered from the combined force Grimacing Randidly felt not a little pain just from the reverberations And as the two forces began to battle there was a piercing shriek and two black wings seemed to materialize in the skies above Lady IellayaÆs camp

Quite popular you are Terith Rumbled outward as the wings became a shadowy blur that zipped upward and smashed one of the tentacles to the side and struck at the trunk of another Commander TerithÆs only reply was a dry chuckle

For a few seconds it seemed like the forces of Aether would pretty easily win here But then a huge swarm of blue veins appeared above the chaotic battle by the hole that had been punched in the barrier Very quickly those veins swirled together to construct a powerful formation that pulsed with light every few seconds

And those pulses were becoming increasingly frequent

Randidly stood with his hands at his sides and solemnly looked upward Again this was it Beyond that line fought the people who mattered And here he was on the ground watching helplessly It was infuriating But Randidly couldnÆt tear his eyes away from the titanic clashes that were occurring above him

It seemed that both Iellaya and Terith understood what was happening but even working together it was difficult for them to pierce through the thick bodies of the three Nether tentacles to get to the huge formation The ax cut back and forth and Iellaya was the shadow of death in the skies but it was a race against time

Very quickly one tentacle was completely severed another had been so wounded that all of its Nether gushed out of holes in its body and the final one seemed to be swaying dangerously Iellaya used that opening to fly rapidly forward but she pulled up sharply as three more tentacles ambushed her below the grand summoning portal

Her cry was so pure and piercing that it seemed to hum in RandidlyÆs lungs for several seconds after the noise had ceased But still Randidly breathed heavily and looked up at the sky with worry

Because the portal was beginning to glow with pure light

Perhaps after fighting the Nether Gatekeeper Randidly automatically assumed that whatever was coming through the portal was something like that Some enormous monster that would rampage through the front lines fighting against the Commanders of the various camps Ultimately something that would be resolved but would be insanely dangerous for the short term Especially for those people in TerithÆs camp who appeared to be the target of whatever was coming

But what happened was much much harder to understand at first Darkness seemed to gush out from the portal but it seemed like a diverse fractured thing Frowning Randidly stretched his perception as much as he could He willed his Nether Sensation to spread out and touch that web of darkness

But it was simply too far away The only thing he could truly rely on at this distance were his eyes And they told him

Randidly paled and turned to Salazar and Zauna We are moving As much as I hate it we are just putting ourselves in danger by being here We are returning to IellayaÆs camp

It was a difficult decision to make Randidly wished dearly to see Vualla more still to see that she was prepared for the attack that was about to land on the camps But Randidly knew very clearly the difference in their strength If this fell wrong for Vualla and was hit directly she could be able to endure

Image Randidly could not It was that simple

Zauna nodded but Salazar just looked at Randidly dumbly RandidlyÆs new hair trigger temper flared to life All RandidlyÆs thoughts of giving Salazar more respect after he had stood with Yggdrasil fled and Randidly simply seized Salazar by the scruff of the neck Because the sad truth is that images are inherently weaker against Nether by those with bodies And based on what is coming down

Randidly looked up at the sky and toward the blackness that appeared to be gushing out of the portal and transforming into tiny manageable bits In the distance the whistling sound of objects moving very very fast reached RandidlyÆs ears

He chewed on his lips as he considered the sky I donÆt suppose you understand what an artillery strike is do you

Chapter 1083

Randidly pulled Zauna and Salazar along behind him while hurrying back to IellayaÆs camp as the noise above them grew increasingly loud Every few steps he cast a glance up over his shoulder toward the darkening sky where Lady Iellaya and Commander Terith frantically tried to shield their personal camps from the reign of Nether meteorites that were spewed out of the portal

Their images were so monstrously large and strong that the reverberations rippled out down and pressed down against Randidly with enough violence he had to grit his teeth But it was only the prelude for the damage that was about to come

An unending stream of Nether corroded the air rapidly increasing the visual variance Even though it was too distant for Randidly to feel his Nether Sensation tingled ominously

The previously present teamwork between the two camp leaders instantly vanished as their individual interests were threatened Not that they particularly tried to deflect the Nether bombs toward each otherÆs bases but they concerned themselves solely with eliminated the attacks that threatened them

Certainly there is enough fucking Nether to go around

The meteors of Nether were enormous even from a distance The came out in dense obsidian clusters seeming to completely blot out a small portion of the sky Suddenly both of the Commanders didnÆt have the spare attention to help each other

Perhaps even more disastrous to their defensive efforts were the four remaining Nether tentacles that harried them while they struggled to destroyed the descending Nether One continually harassed Lady Iellaya while the other three focused their efforts on completely tying down Commander Terith

Randidly was rather surprised to see that the three tentacles were far from a match for seemingly possessed Terith He began methodically cutting back and forth with his impossibly huge golden ax forcing his way through to strike at the vast bombs of Nether that were careening down toward his base

But even though both narrowed their focus neither had much time to spare When most of the black meteors were hit they werenÆt simply destroyed They seemed to be designed so that the largest portion exploded and spread an intimidating amount of smaller Nether meteors into the surrounding air And although these were smaller they still appeared to RandidlyÆs senses to the size of sports stadiums

One of those landing on the base would not be pretty

These meteors too were soon broken into pieces as Lady Iellaya avoided the miserable tentacle that tried to slow her down in the sky Yet after they were destroyed suddenly there were two dozen lumps of Nether the size of two story buildings that were dropping down toward the camp Randidly licked his lips and continued to hurry forward

Lady IellayaÆs black wings swept left and right avoiding the tentacle that was aiming to hold her down while ripping like a scythe through the Nether But even if she managed to catch most of the larger portions smaller ones began to whistle ominously as they made it through her defenses Before she could address these human sized bombs of Nether heading toward her base IellayaÆs attention was pulled inexorably upward by the unending stream of Nether that blasted out of the portal

Looks like this isnÆt a one and done sort of scenario

We need to hurry Randidly said again as he turned back to his subordinates I donÆt think the bombardment will stop for a while Not until someone comes to help close that portal

As the group resumed their flight the rumbling voice of Terith shook the air Do you think you can stop me ME

The group of three ignored the fights above and hurried back into their own camp Very quickly they made their way through the thin pathways between tents while a warning bell began to ring across the camp As the trio was hurrying past several confused individuals stepped out of their tents and peered uncertainly around trying to understand what was going on

Luckily the descending bombardment of Nether was quite obvious once the muffling influence of the tent was removed

Around them Randidly could clearly feel that the more powerful individuals were coming together and weaving a barrier of images above the camp that would handle the worst of the damage Yet as they did so Randidly could only chuckle with grim humor Heh guess itÆs not so much of an advantage to have a body now is it I hope you enjoy relying on your image to directly resist Nether like the rest of us who were torn from our natural bodies Unless you went to take a hurtling blob of Nether directly to the chest

With the screeching descent of the Nether above them reaching ominous levels of volume the trio arrived back at their tent Randidly gestured sharply for the other two to go within while he turned and looked up at the dim sky

The Nether shooting down toward them was sporadic and small but it still possessed quite a bit of power

They must really be desperate after they lost all of the Nether Wells Randidly thought with a frown Or is this because of what the guard referred to earlier Something that Commander Terith was able to steal Which probably means that the ambush went well

Both Zauna and Salazar were hesitating and Randidly aimed a glare at them YouÆll get in the way I need to concentrate Get inside and make sure Yggdrasil isnÆt disturbed And if you fail to keep him safe

Randidly let some of the Grim ChimeraÆs cruelty creep into his expression Salazar went pale but even Zauna took a half step backward and wouldnÆt meet his eyes

Snorting Randidly turned back and looked up toward the sky His mouth began to curve outward Show me how much you want to kill Nether And then IÆll show you how little your resolve means

The specter of the Grim Chimera growled with pleasure as its influence unrolled itself into the surrounding area Its two violent limbs reached up toward the sky and prepared to worship in the only way it knew how

In the aftermath of the bombardment Lady Iellaya scowled down at the casualty report given to her by Abiodun It had not been a good day So much so that even she felt the subtle tugs of wariness Why would the Nether even do this It doesnÆt make any fucking sense

On the one hand Iellaya was rather pleased that their position had once more been under heavy fire from the Nether The more evidence she could provide to parties back in the Nexus that Lord Miln was a fool the better But her camp being the one on the receiving end of the bombardment set her plans back quite a bit

It was hard to earn merits when her forces were limping toward the fight Or when half of her forces were working on repairing the grounds rather than recuperating after missions into the Great Rift

Especially because that idiot Commander Terith actually succeeded in giving the Nether Gatekeeper a mortal wound Iellaya gritted her teeth Lord Miln doesnÆt need any excuse for the losses today to the Tier 3 citizens what do the lives of non citizens matter compared to the damage done to a Nether Gatekeeper

Yet even that was only a portion of her frustration because Lady Iellaya was also pulling her feathers out as she tried to understand what the Nether had been thinking by launching such a disastrous attack A bombardment like this hadnÆt happened for almost a thousand years

And for good reason After the grand formation to create stars was activated all of that ambient Nether this bombardment had injected into the area would be sucked away and fed into the soldiers across the battlefront It probably wouldnÆt be much when it was divvied up among so many people but if it pushed everyone up about one tenth of a star without any danger involved it would certainly be a boon to their forces

Some veterans might need to be retired as they reached near to five stars but that was barely a factor A vast majority of the individuals on the battlefield were fresh that was just the hard truth about how deadly the Great Rift was Most of the people receiving this benefit werenÆt even one star And reaching that first star would boost the soldierÆs survivability by as much as 10% for the rest of their career as a soldier This attack could be considered a long term boon for Aether

Lady Iellaya flexed her hand and the piece of parchment was reduced to dust Thirty nine suffered serious wounds with another hundred wounded almost one tenth of my total number reduced to nothing in a single day

While Iellaya continued to grit her teeth and make calculations regarding what she could do to keep the group ready for an opportunity to prove her worth on the frontline Abiodun slowly lifted his head to look at her His gaze was solemn but it easily drew her gaze as the light in his eyes faded independently of each other

Iellaya spared him a glance They were alone in her tent so the fact that he was meeting her gaze without saying anything meant that something was bothering him Something that Iellaya wasnÆt currently addressing Speak

Abiodun hummed in his thoughtful way as a show of respect before he began mm it is about that variant image The Ghosthound

A sharp spike of annoyance slipped through her ribs and prodded at IellayaÆs heart After all the fucking work I did to free him all for nothing So he died

To the contrary he continues to live with remarkable zeal Quite aggressively so Abiodun shook his head slowly No I bring it up because he significantly contributed to the defense of the base It is only due to his image weakening the bombardment that casualties among the images are so light

Pressing her lips into a line Iellaya considered Abiodun She wished she still had the piece of parchment to wave in his face This can be considered light We barely have fifty images More than half of them are now seriously wounded It is difficult to be thankful for such an accomplishment

Abiodun lowered his head without saying anything If anything it only served to aggravate Iellaya further She huffed out a breath and forced herself to calm down It was with half open eyes that she considered AbiodunÆs statement He was correct of course and she was letting her emotions get the better of her When what she really needed to do was follow the slow and methodical lines of AbiodunÆs thoughts What was she missing

No he hadnÆt brought it up because he thought it was an accomplishment that the Ghosthound should be rewarded for Iellaya decided Then her eyes brightened in realization

He brought it up so I would be aware of the imageÆs growth So his image continues to rapidly grow eh Then the likelihood of him being a Ritualist is even higher But there is still the problem of liberating his body from Lord Miln

which brings us right back to the problem of unseating that ass as the Supreme Commander of our forces

Can you get any information from the subordinates we provided him About how much he has truly grown Iellaya tapped her chin Before she put any more actual resources behind this it was better to understand what she was gambling on with the Ghosthound After all Lord Miln had already stonewalled her To push it further meant working around him

Of course half of the reason that I want to free him is just to wipe the smug look off Lord MilnÆs face

Abiodun hesitated IellayaÆs expression twisted into a scowl You cannot

it is not that I cannot it is that they will be forever broken by the collection of the information Abiodun said slowly There are recourses but they would reveal our hand If I might suggest an alternative

Lady Iellaya rolled her eyes This time she could see his idea When you pretend like I donÆt know every flow of your thoughts IÆm almost insulted my Abiodun Yes I donÆt have any work for Zagnal Perhaps it is time for him to reunite with the Ghosthound He can serve as a partner And now if you will excuse me

Iellaya stood The obsidian feathers along her back and arms flexed I must go visit Commander Terith He owes me a favor

Chapter 1084

The walk toward Commander TerithÆs camp was illuminating Probably one fourth of her own camp was lightly damaged but Terith had clearly borne the brunt of the fallout from the bombardment Entire swaths of the previously pristine rows of tents had been razed to the ground Wounded sat in huddles around fires talking to each other in quiet voices

Perhaps most interesting was the strange array Iellaya paused briefly by right outside of TerithÆs tent It had been completely annihilated in the bombardment if anything it seemed like quite a bit of the firepower was concentrated here It was clear that an Aether formation had been built in that area but Lady Iellaya couldnÆt fathom what it was That area was not her forte

Then she raised her chin and walked into the tent to meet Commander Terith He was annoyingly sitting in his desk as though he had been waiting for her She took a seat opposite him and did her best to keep her posture stiff

To pass the time Lady Iellaya folded her hands across her lap as she sat perfectly facing Commander Terith Because she understood that she held the power here Iellaya felt no desire to end the silence better to give the stickler Terith space for him to make his own decisions as to how he should deal with Iellaya

He doesnÆt seem like the type to forget aid freely given but he also is the type to take offense at the smallest thing The less I speak the less chance I give him to change his mind

But also the silence gave Iellaya the perfect opportunity to examine Terith himself Although he did well to cover it up with his sizable armor he was wearing Iellaya could tell how strained and wounded he was His spine was bent forward ever so slightly underneath the weight of the stress that he had been handling the past few days Which for this Commander was extremely telling

Their victory over the Nether had come by TerithÆs hands but it seemed that it hadnÆt come without cost

thank you Commander Terith finally said to break the silence Both for your assistance when they opened the Nether Gate for the bombardment and also for allowing one of your subordinates to accompany the expedition He performed his duty admirably earning terrible wounds in order to bring his commanding officer back safely Such dedication to duty well perhaps I misjudged him as just an image I wonÆt make that mistake again

Lady Iellaya smiled An image Who ah somehow the Ghosthound was involved in this as well He certainly has a nose for trouble

Her eyes twitched as the implications of that rolled over her Which means that he proceeded into the Nether GatekeeperÆs base and made it back alive While lugging whatever officer of TerithÆs was with him And he recovered in time to aid in the baseÆs defense Abiodun is perhaps right It is not enough to just say that heÆs strong for an image

Randidly Ghosthound is becoming legitimately strong

Aloud Iellaya said We are allies it is my duty to come to your aid IÆm sure any Commander would do the same

Terith snorted and leaned back in his chair He brought his hands up across his knees in a strange mirroring of IellayaÆs own position LetÆs not insult each otherÆs intelligence despite the fact that I had two neighbors only one Commander came to my aid The silence to my other side will not be forgotten or forgiven

Reaching out Commander Terith grabbed a pile of papers and straightened them Then he carefully set them back down before he continued to speak Also there is no need to act so coy I disdain the political games that you are playing because our full attention should be on our battle against Nether but I will not let that stop me from repaying this favor

For the first time in several weeks Iellaya released a genuine smile You mean

Commander Terith stood sharply up from his desk and walked over to Iellaya On his way he picked up the pile of papers that he had previously adjusted and handed them over to her For several seconds Iellaya paused to scan the thick papers The page in front of her was covered in a record of all the communications that Lord Miln had sent and received for the past several weeks As she skimmed through it seemed that the entire year had been accounted for

Lady Iellaya was also shocked to note that several unusual names had been highlighted extremely precisely likely by Commander Terith himself Did you really just get up this morning and do some light research

Iellaya raised her gaze from the papers These are

IÆm sure you are aware that Lord Miln embezzled an extremely large amount of Aether this year Commander Terith said shortly I figured that I could repay my favor by tracing this vanished Aether it would serve as the leverage you need However I encountered something extremely strange The actors at play here they are so far beyond me that I dared not dig further than this And I warn you to cease digging too deeply as well

This gave Iellaya pause She skimmed through the names that Commander Terith had noted in MilnÆs communication Then she looked up at Terith with a frown I donÆt recognize any of these names

Commander Terith chuckled How much do you know about those who seek the pinnacle of the Nexus Lady Iellaya You were born in the Sixth Cohort were you not

After she nodded slowly Commander Terith continued to speak And let us be frank you use the benefits of citizenship that you hope to seize to bind potential to your cause But you should know that is only one use for citizenship coins that the System carefully spreads The most fashionable use currently but a relatively shallow one

There are three Tiers of Citizenship 1 2 and 3 These are generally earned by contributing greatly to the Nexus or accomplishing a feat so impressive that even the System takes notice But ultimately citizenshipÆ is a one use token For example you possess Tier 2 citizenship but have not yet turned it in for the benefits correct You aim for Tier 3

Yes Iellaya said slowly I had heard that some consider the difficulty in rising to Tier 3 too difficult so they simply accepted the smaller amount of Domain and Aether reward and claimedTier 2 benefits before they died but from the way you are speaking is there another use for citizenship

Of course Commander Terith sat back down at his seat and remained silent for several seconds Then he sighed Have you heard of Alymiyan

The special district within the Nexus Lady Iellaya frowned at Terith What reason could Terith have for bringing up that overpriced vacation destination Lady Iellaya had been to Alymiyan by using her status as a possessor of a Tier 2 citizenship coin to visit the Nexus since failing her Fourth Calamity It had been a beautiful dreamscape of clouds that had seemed to have been whipped from rainbows and was populated by stunning waterfalls that gleamed aquamarine and turquoise

So you know that itÆs not just for the beauty that people flock there Commander Terith said grimly

Lady Iellaya scratched her chin Well yes The System doesnÆt function there Or at least you canÆt see any of your Stats Skills Paths or Levels You are some people claim freed But really itÆs just self delusion And what does this have to do with the issue of Lord Miln

Waving a hand Commander Terith released another sigh I am getting to that This was before even my time as a citizen in the Nexus but it is without a doubt that there is a second use for citizenship tokens they allow you to access the Final Path The open the door to the thoroughfare that leads to the pinnacle of the Nexus

Lady Iellaya blinked as her mind whirred to file this bit of information away Very rarely had she ever heard anyone speak willingly about the history of the Nexus A Path like

In this case a literal path Commander Terith said A difficult one with three doors one for each Tier of citizenship However if you succeed you gain the power to shape a portion of the System You can create Alymiyan the Nostalgic Dream by altering the very System to your will

ThatÆs Lady Iellaya struggled to find the correct words to describe how she was feeling For a second she felt a small flame of greed twitch in her heart With the power to shape the System everything she had ever wanted

Commander TerithÆs chuckle broke through her brief daydream You see Even you are tempted However only one person has ever succeeded at reaching the pinnacle starting from the Tier 3 door That individual created Alymiyan showing us all that it was possible Yet no one has since been able to duplicate that feat And all those who use the Tier 1 and Tier 2 doors have died It has come to the point that no one attempts it any longer To the current generation it is not even known as an option

What is the price of failure for Tier 3 Lady Iellaya asked easily

Nothing lucky All of those who use the Tier 3 doors have come back alive Just a loss of opportunity I donÆt even think anyone has come back injured Then Commander Terith leaned forward and smiled so widely that Lady Iellaya believed she could see every one of his teeth Yet it must be galling no They say that all who return from the attempt have experienced such trials that their images and stats are greatly strengthened And they refuse to speak of it so none my ascend higher than they did

Yet for all their newfound power they have already used their opportunity at citizenship to seek the summit and failed They remain landless and without followers forever It is a lonely and maddening existence to be sure Especially as they watch less capable individuals become citizens of the Nexus and enjoy superior benefits to their own

Just like those who choose a domain when they obtain citizenship those who fail to ascend to the pinnacle are carefully monitored by the System their Aether is measured and given sparingly Some handle the tedious strain of their strange existence by acting as Administrators for new Cohorts or by pretending to be mere Patrons And then there are others that are constantly plotting ways to make it back to the Final Path

You think the missing Aether is related to that Lady Iellaya said slowly

Commander TerithÆs smile disappeared I dare not attempt to confirm this However there is some support for this theory The war against Nether is one of the few areas where the Nexus is rather liberal with its supply of Aether So much so that it is provided to the Supreme Commander with only the oversight of the Commanders And Lord Miln has long held the interests of most of his subordinates close to himself

Yet despite his experience on the battlefield and personal power Lord Miln is a small fry in the war against Nether He is one of the twelve Supreme Commanders on the twelve battlefronts but letÆs be honest these are just the bare defensive preparations the Nexus makes so it is not directly threatened The true military strength of the Nexus is in the Xyrt Brigade who perform the deep raids into Nether Territory Those are all the individuals that caught the eye of the Nexus during their Fourth Calamity We posturing fools are simply a citizen militia that tends the fires at home

Lady Iellaya tried to keep her expression neutral but she felt her smile becoming increasingly fragile She absolutely hated being reminded of how powerless she had felt during her home worldÆs Fourth Calamity Three fourths of her raceÆs population erased by the power contained in a single cruel laugh while she was forced to watch her people die Again you wander away from your point Commander Terith It is unbecoming for one so exacting in their etiquette

Heh so even the ice queen has sore spots eh Commander Terith didnÆt laugh but his mouth twitched toward an expression that might be his version of a smirk What IÆm saying is that Lord Miln would be a fool if he attempted to use all that Aether himself He would possess great might for a short period of time sure But ultimately he could not handle the reigns

Yet these names Commander Terith gestured toward the paper What little research I did reveals that they predate the Third Cohort These are old monsters that Lord Miln was contacting These ominous individuals are who might grow annoyed if you dig too deeply These are the ones that now possess half of our budgeted Aether and I donÆt think they will have any qualms about using it for their own gain So take care of yourself Lady Iellaya

Chapter 1085

Randidly scowled at Salazar and threw up his hands I canÆt tell you how to feel it You either do or you donÆt And if you canÆt manage to find the core of your star inside yourself then IÆm not going to waste time trying to train you

W w well if y you would j just share your t t trick Salazar began but Randidly had dealt with the snake man’s nonsense for long enough He simply seized his rather skinny subordinate with his claw and tossed him to the side like a ragdoll Salazar hissed in alarm and tumbled down the narrow alley behind their assigned tent

Randidly folded his arms across his chest and stared at the collapsed image So this time let me go alone I promise to not put myself in danger without first finding you to be my personal meat shield

Huffing in annoyance Salazar pushed himself back up to his feet Z zauna is staying with Yggdrasil S so

Randidly stepped forward and used Chimeric Avoidance to cut through the intervening space at a speed that shouldnÆt be physically possible for him Abruptly Randidly was right in front of the other man With as much gentleness as Randidly could manage while his temper flared he helped Salazar to his feet while making sure his talons wouldnÆt cut through his skin

Then his Grim Intuition spread outward to scan for individuals in the surrounding area before he whispered to Salazar We both saw how some of the images were looking at Yggdrasil after he helped heal some of the most dangerously wounded after the artillery strike The recovery he could cause was too stark I fear that some of the imageÆs greed would get the better of them As strong as Zauna is I donÆt want to have her face it alone

This was only partially true After all the stink of Lady IellayaÆs image and AbiodunÆs meddling was thick over all of the people that were carefully watching as Yggdrasil did his work among the burnt tents and impact craters sporadically spread around the edge of the camp Plus it seemed unlikely that any image underneath Iellaya would have enough gall to aggressively try to seize Yggdrasil as a resource She would be more circumspect about how she went about acquiring his services

Yet there was always the chance something would happen Even if it wasnÆt some greedy image that was the real source of danger the very real Nether bombardment was still fresh in SalazarÆs mind So after a hesitation he nodded and walked back toward the tent

Heaving a sigh of relief Randidly finally turned away from the tent so he could find a place to train his ability to use his Nether cores without being constantly worried about someone watching and reporting what he was capable of to Lady Iellaya It was fine for them to hear whispers about it but they would most likely assume that RandidlyÆs image had adjusted somehow to mimic Nether rather than the shocking truth that Randidly was learning to utilize Nether

And to his supreme annoyance Randidly found himself face to face with Zagnal the soldier who had helped Randidly immediately after he had arrived on the front lines From his stance it was clear that he was blocking RandidlyÆs path forward

ItÆs been a while since we talked the dragon headed man said amicably I figured it was time to catch up

Get out of my way Randidly said shortly It did not seem likely at all that ZagnalÆs words were even remotely honest His arrival to catch up right after a heavy bombardment seemed completely farcical We donÆt have anything to discuss

Zagnal snorted out an ember of flame as Randidly tried to move past him Pretty quick to sever old ties donÆt you think

WasnÆt I the one who stuck my neck out for you And afterward you were pretty quick to throw your lot in with Lady Iellaya and conveniently forget about any relationship between us Randidly barred his teeth at Zagnal

ZagnalÆs hand snaked out to seize RandidlyÆs arm That was a misunderstanding Between my new responsibilities and your injuries there hasnÆt been much time where we are both conscious and in the base So I would appreciate

The Grim Chimera growled out the barely controlled aggression roiling in RandidlyÆs chest Back the fuck off How many times do I need to make it clear that IÆm not the usual oblivious image I donÆt care you chose yourself over me But donÆt expect to be able to scamper back to me when your new keeper asks you to

Tightening his grip on RandidlyÆs arm Zagnal leaned forward Now listen here I didnÆt want to do it this way but if you arenÆt going to

After feeling uncomfortably guilty for putting Yggdrasil into danger by being wounded being rejected from visiting with Vualla by TerithÆs idiotic rules and finally being followed around by puppy duo Zauna and Salazar Randidly had left the tent today with the expressed intent of working off some steam He needed the outlet dearly

He hadnÆt expected Zagnal to be the method but at the Grim ChimeraÆs urging Randidly didnÆt think too much about the circumstances

His arm blurred upward and his bone spear ripped through the air like a scythe In his chest Randidly began to resonate his Nether to force his three cores up into the tip of his spear They began to spiral rapidly around each other as they moved from the slow rotation in his chest down through his shoulder and elbow Nether gathered and seethed through his limb

The further that he pushed the cores through his arm the more quickly they spun More and more Nether was sucked in between them to form a core of energy that they circled Still as the cores accelerated the required energy to keep them in balance was also rising sharply With the current supply the rotation was swiftly becoming unsteady

RandidlyÆs mouth firmed into a line as he cracked open both of his Nether Wells to continue to fuel the attack Zagnal sneered as his other hand blurred up to try and seize RandidlyÆs moving arm Heh you have no idea what I went through to get here and yet you dare

The image of a dragon of smoke and smog roared behind Zagnal blowing out mist into the surrounding area But the dense ambient Nether that covered RandidlyÆs bone spear didnÆt spare the image at all as it ate upward through the dragon imageÆs scaly torso Zagnal immediately paled as he watched the attack approach with wide eyes

Randidly could feel the Nether in his limbs weakening as he pushed his attack forward Once more the rotation began to stutter and slow After all it was eating directly through ZagnalÆs Aether to hit the infuriating piece of shit in his shocked face But a large amount of RandidlyÆs Nether was consumed in the process Zagnal wasnÆt as powerful as some of the other soldiers on his mission into the Nether GatekeeperÆs base let alone Vualla herself but he was a veteran with an extremely stable image

Honestly Zagnal would normally be a difficult fight for Randidly Although RandidlyÆs current aggression assured him he would defeat Zagnal in a straight up confrontation it would take a great deal of time and effort but Randidly would ultimately triumph

But Randidly wasnÆt playing fair He didnÆt need to rely on solely Aether any longer And some part of him longed to try it out

Nether flooded down his limb frantically to keep the rotating cores balanced but the attack didnÆt lose any momentum It cut cleanly through ZagnalÆs image and ripped viciously into the fleshy portion of his shoulder Randidly felt a strange shock of sensation as he cut directly into a physical body for the first time in a while Real solid blood sprayed onto his torso sizzling strangely as substance and image took the measure of each other

Zagnal the owner of the blood released RandidlyÆs arm and stumbled backward What the hell

DidnÆt you hear me I said move Randidly said coolly Some part of him wanted to strike again while Zagnal was off balance but another part of him realized that one quick exchange could be overlooked but if Randidly continued revealing his Nether capability it would only be a matter of time before someone with the power enough to overcome Randidly would show up asking questions

So instead Randidly swept past Zagnal and continued down the narrow lane Around them Randidly could sense the images that were drawn by the sound of the fight watching with avid interest

Randidly flashed a bitter smile IÆm not your posture child for images deserving equal treatment to individuals with physical bodies If you want something to change you need to seize your own fate

Moving quickly Randidly left Lady IellayaÆs camp and thoroughly enjoyed the sensation of being able to breathe deeply without the distinct tang of her image filling his lungs Rather than heading toward the badlands between IellayaÆs and TerithÆs camp an area that now filled Randidly with an aggressive bitterness that he didnÆt know what to do with yet Randidly headed directly away from the Great Rift

He crossed the pitted track that the supply caravans used and arrived at the pitted scrublands that had the comparative benefit of only being weakly affected by the corrosion of the Great Rift by virtue of its placement behind the camps of AetherÆs forces The stones and ridges seemed relatively normal compared to the floating boulder field that was in front of the Great Rift

But as he walked out into the scrublands Randidly had to grimace Well that might have been true until last night

The effects of the Nether bombardment were abundantly clear in the surrounding area While the Commanders had frantically protected both of their camps neither cared overmuch about the Nether meteors that shot down toward uninhabited areas Which meant that the ground that Randidly now surveyed was even pitted and damaged than IellayaÆs base

Most of the ground was warped in a weird combination of scorched and corroded as if the Nether couldnÆt describe which one of many destructive substances that it wanted to imitate Some particularly deep craters were still smoking

Suppose thereÆs no better place to practice though Randidly said as a smile crept across his mouth If I make a few more holes no one is going to notice right

Chapter 1086

The ground cracked and shuddered as Randidly thrust with his bone spear spurring the surrounding space to wildly gesticulate as the Nether in RandidlyÆs attack destabilized the surrounding area Space seemed to shiver in pain from the passage of the strike even as Randidly frantically fed Nether into the whirling trio of cores that were intangibly present in the tip of his spear

Keeping his breathing even Randidly took a step backward and surveyed his work

The hole was large Large enough that several horses could fall into the broken hole in the ground and with enough leftover that another could tumble down to join them But perhaps even more important to Randidly was the fact that the damage was rather concentrated Perhaps because the force came partially from Nether the aftershocks decreased exponentially as it spread out into this Aether dominated area It was only at the exact tip of his spear where the grim work was accomplished

The ground that Randidly had struck directly had been completely annihilated Naught but a memory was left It was only as that tang of Nether was diluted that the physical impact and corrosion had time to take effect Overall it was an incredibly impressive display Yet Randidly could only grimace as he maintained his breathing and tried to cope with the results

The power was more than enough that Randidly had much more confidence dealing with foes both those of the Nether and Aether However

Hissing Randidly continued to channel power to the three cores as their frantic spinning eased down to a manageable rotation in his arm His image body shivered in distaste as a large volume of Nether was freed up as required Nether to maintain the attack dropped sharply off and Randidly hadnÆt yet mastered the easy shift in managing his Nether Wells to match the amount he needed to control his cores Nether spread out in haphazard waves as Randidly struggled to control its motion

That incidental damage would be quickly healed by his cores passively but it was still painful to experience But perhaps even more annoying was the fact that it took time and conscious effort to ease the cores down from their destructive form

More than that Randidly had been able to sense two things while he pushed his cores up to that speed that could annihilate substance on impact The first thing was that it was possible to provide an insufficient amount of Nether during the process and the attack would fail Spectacularly RandidlyÆs instincts assured him He wasnÆt exactly sure what form that failure would take but it seemed likely that it would not be costless

It wasnÆt something that he wanted to experience if it could be avoided

The second thing was that there was a qualitative transformation waiting if Randidly revolved the three cores at a sufficient speed The Nether began to move erratically during the height of the attack Just beyond that erratic movement there seemed to be a new plateau present that Randidly could reach if he would just push a little bit more

Yet Randidly didnÆt force himself toward that qualitative change in these experiments Half because he feared damaging himself with rampant Nether and being unconscious for another mission and also half because he didnÆt quite feel comfortable enough opening his Nether Wells up to the required amount to fuel that transformation

As Randidly slowly acquired more cores and bubbles more and more he felt strangely unphased by the Nether present in himself Yet with three cores it was not yet a complete transformation And because the cores he possessed were ultimately created from an Aether formation his immunity was ultimately a seeming and not a being When Nether was left to press against his image damage would slowly start to occur as it couldnÆt quite prevent all damage

Still better than nothing Randidly peered at the slowly dimming Nether flames around his bone spear and shook his head in wonder And for whatever reason my fourth star is already halfway done I suppose it will be pretty soon that I find out whether IÆll be physically affected by possessing too many stars Although it will be impossible to know if thatÆs because IÆm simply an image or because I can sense and interact with Nether

Yet thatÆs all premised on the fact I wonÆt be affected Randidly mused The more he thought about it the sourer his mood became Because if I am affected IÆll need to start figuring out a way to get rid of the cores Because with the Nether Wells inside of me more cores will continue to form as long as I stay on the frontlines

Coughing Randidly shook his head ruefully Of course the main body will need to find a way to deal with the Nether without the grand formation once we return to Earth Ha it seems like our work never ceases

Randidly turned away from the hole he had made in the ground and looked up at the sky His thoughts followed the maroon clouds and Randidly willingly allowed them to drift away until his mood had evened out once more After narrowing his eyes he nodded sharply to himself He should still have a few more hours before he needed to head back He had some time to attempt his other new Skill one more time although not a lot

After all his next mission would take him back to Headquarters to engage in a mission with an Aether Key as support Randidly needed to allow for time for the trek back to headquarters to receive his orders

Randidly grinned Gonna be a damn boring mission after fighting in the Nether GatekeeperÆs base

A sound in the sky brought RandidlyÆs gaze sharply up Then he sighed

Titantically large pitch black tentacles smashed against the repaired golden dome that surrounded the camps From his current vantage they appeared to be extremely manageable but Randidly still recalled how intimidating those tentacles had seemed as Iellaya and Terith struggled against them

The noise was pretty subdued from the distance that he had tred beyond the supply route behind the camps but Randidly could see the reverberations travel from the point of impact across the whole of the golden dome spreading right and left and over like ripples from a stone thrown into a pond

The attacks against the barrier had arrived sporadically since Commander Terith had managed to smash through the Nether bombardment portal and hastily repair the dome The intermittent strikes seemed to be more of a mental attack than a physical one because it reminded the individuals of the two camps of the disastrous artillery strike they had suffered

Randidly turned his gaze back toward the rocky outcropping on top of which the Headquarters sat He had been able to see ripples traveling from the other direction as well It seemed that it wasnÆt just this flank that was enduring the attacks

Even as the huge waves slid smoothly outward Randidly turned away from the sky and the frontlines and focused on his own training That tier of struggle was still beyond him He needed to work his way up to that through training

While utilizing Nether offensively and defensively had proceeded well understanding his new Skill Nether Ritual had been nothing short of an experience akin to learning a language from a mute instructor There was a strange instinct that he possessed that enabled Randidly to make some rather half hearted attempts at the process but it had gotten him nowhere Just as soon as he attempted to form his ritualsÆ they fizzled out and left him strangely drained

Nothing was more frustrating than the fact that these early attempts had yielded him Skill Levels even as they had sputtered out and accomplished nothing It seemed to hint that these strange workings were indeed not like Engraving at all where it was repetition and precision that earned him his Skill Levels As the text of Nether Rituals had implied these were a more ephemeral construction

And they required faith to function

Shaking his head Randidly just closed his eyes and attempted it again

First came the desire That much was clearÆ in so much that the word desire was a clear guide to beginning Which honestly for Randidly was a little bit of a non starter He had tried focusing on Stats and Skill Levels as a desire but both of those ritualsÆ had ended in failure But other than that

No there is something I want RandidlyÆs eyes blazed intensely green for a brief second I want to see Vualla Just to know that sheÆs alright

At the sudden thought VuallaÆs face popped into RandidlyÆs mind Tumbling turquoise hair raised eyebrows and curious eyes the quirk at the corner of her mouth that Randidly had taken to interpreting as she was amused With picture perfect clarity Randidly could recall every detail of her every stray hair curling out of her braid and every freckle on her nose

And in a way that he hadnÆt before Randidly felt desire

There was a shift and immediately the sensation that Randidly felt as he activated the Skill became a reassuring hum Suddenly his ritual had shape where it hadnÆt before This was a desire that the Nether Ritual accepted VuallaÆs face became the core and mental grooves materialized around it that seemed to call for Nether

In RandidlyÆs inner world the coreÆ and the bubbleÆ slowly began to undulate Lines of power stretched and rotated a series of concentric circles spinning about that image of VuallaÆs face like a hula hoop would slowly dance across someoneÆs hips

Baring his teeth Randidly began to feed Nether cautiously into the strange working that was balanced precariously in his mind Again he hesitated at the beginning and fed the Nether into those whispering lines of power slowly But very quickly it became clear that the structure was beginning to warp and wither without sufficient Nether to sustain it

Fucking shit Randidly swore After a split second of indecision he opened his two Nether Wells and allowed Nether to pour out and sink into the shape of the ritual Very quickly it grew steady and dark energy began to grow branchingly upward like a vine on the invisible infrastructure of the ritual that Randidly had created Those hula hoops began to twist each rotating on a different slightly off kilter axis

With a few seconds it had become an extremely thick three dimensional weaving of Nether Yet as it grew RandidlyÆs attention was tugged away from the details because what he was seeing abruptly struck him as incredibly familiar Not in this particular shape but considering the way it was weaving itself together

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 5

As his attention wavered so did the whole structure Shaking his head sharply Randidly tried to bury his attention back into the process The Nether Ritual stuttered and swayed but slowly its momentum built back up The dark energy spiraled inward and Randidly felt a strange sense of deja vu

All that energy followed the lines and began to congregate at the central point becoming an anchor that held down the image of VuallaÆs face that Randidly had conjured As he looked at the bead of energy that everything was being woven toward he could feel Vualla Her presence That tingling happiness that he had started to experience around her That sense that she was someone who had struggled beneath the same sort of sins that Randidly had endured That her enemies shared similar names and faces That she truly understood the reasons that Randidly felt the need to cut himself to the bone every day in order to grow stronger

They craved power for the same reasons And they hated the System with the same chilling intensity

It was an instinctive recognition Randidly felt around Vualla that signaled that they both understood each other In an implicit way that had nothing to do with shared words or cultural expression but was instead grounded by the fact the things in life they believed to be important were significantly similar And because of that their proximity became harmonious in a way that Randidly would never have dared believe

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 6

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 7

RandidlyÆs attention was transfixed on that bead as it grew more robust and powerful If this truly could give him a vision of Vualla

And it was then that Randidly realized why the Nether Ritual shape was familiar Another image superimposed itself on what he was seeing One he was intimately familiar with

Holy shit Randidly whispered as his distraction caused the ritual to collapse inward on itself Nether blasted outward searing Randidly and causing him to wince in discomfort But of course his three cores rapidly jumped to the task of healing the damage while Randidly hurriedly regulated the amount of Nether running through him

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Acclimation « has grown to Level 138

Even though his chance to see Vualla collapsed into nothing Randidly was too shocked by his realization to really put much disappointment into the result The truth he had discovered was that important He began to chew on his lip as he looked down at his hands

It seems like Nether Rituals are just like Randidly paused Then he began to chuckle No itÆs not that way is it Nether Rituals probably came first

Randidly raised his head and looked at the sky So the question is who adapted the principles of the Nether Ritual in order to fashion the NexusÆs Class System

Chapter 1087

Perhaps the most obnoxious thing about Nether Rituals was the fact that there was a cooldown on their use Especially because his ritual had imploded on him Randidly sensed as he tried to start it again that it was a very bad idea to attempt another ritual now

Earlier the cooldowns had been so short that by the time that he had regained his mental strength it was over But perhaps because this time he proceeded much farther along in the working as he started his instincts warned him away from continuing

He pushed forward anyway again aiming to see Vualla but he ultimately stopped as even his Grim Intuition began to sound its own warning bells So Randidly could only grit his teeth and let the working wither and die before he forced any additional Nether into it In this case it seemed that patience was his only route

But perhaps if I try and visit again Hissing Randidly shook his head and tried to calm his heart During his training his desire to see Vualla had faded somewhat He had been placated by repeating to himself the message that she was stronger than he was She likely had a good reason for being busy they were currently at war

Besides Randidly himself had very important ways to spend his time which did not involve pining after Vualla Namely slowly unpacking the fact that he wasnÆt alone in his ability to touch Nether

Perhaps he shouldnÆt be so shocked to find that someone other than him understood Nether and was able to use it But likely because everyone Randidly had encountered on the battlefield hadnÆt mentioned it some part of him had just begun to believe that he was special That his gifts were unique

Which of course was not only dangerously foolish but extremely unlikely The Nexus and its System had been in existence for a long time ItÆs reach had grown to a staggering size so much so that individual worlds held barely any meaning to it any longer All that mattered was how many worlds could produce soldiers capable of fighting the Nether That and the continual expansion of influence

Randidly had been blessed by many things but he understood that most of them boiled down to one message he had gotten lucky He might have a knack for using the spear and an innately stubborn will but those things had only grown valuable after honing them for several years he was not a genius that would have gotten to this point without the CreatureÆs meddling and ShalÆs guidance

Was it so strange that the existence who had created the System had the ability to understand Nether Perhaps that individual had needed to understand Nether because as far as Randidly could see the System was designed to fuel the war against the Nether And it made sense that you would steal some of the most valuable techniques a foe possessed and put it to use for yourself

Yet I feel like there is something IÆm missing Randidly frowned down at one of the cracked pieces of ground he had created with his Nether infused attacks ItÆs not just that the shape is similar Classes are a Nether Ritual done with Aether So what does that mean for Fates For reaching Levels

But without having successfully completed a Nether Ritual it was difficult to know what a success would look like And also there was the minutia of the Level portion of the Class that didnÆt seem to fit in with what Randidly had seen of Nether Rituals so far

Sighing Randidly could only turn around and carry his perturbed thoughts back with him to their assigned tent it was time to prepare to head back toward Headquarters

Waiting there was a piece of bad news Zagnal But he seemed to have ingratiated himself with Zauna and Salazar and Randidly didnÆt have the fight in him to try and prevent him from following after him

This one was a spy that was directly working for Lady Iellaya of that Randidly had no doubt But as they began their journey he couldnÆt focus on that issue

All he could do was force himself to look at anything but Commander TerithÆs camp and walk straight toward the rocky outcropping

It wasnÆt that Lady Iellaya couldnÆt do anything to improve the recovery of her camp toward fighting shape it was just a matter of opportunity cost With the frequent attacks continuing against the barrier around the camps she was somewhat loathe to spend her own strength during such a dangerous time by helping the recovery effort

Or perhaps more accurately Lady Iellaya was well aware that her work with Commander Terith to close the grand Nether portal would percolate through the upper echelons of the camps Turning the opinion of the other Commanders toward respect and awe was exactly what Iellaya wanted So rather than helping her camp recover she wanted to keep her strength in case another opportunity to prove herself came knocking

Despite Commander TerithÆs warning Lady Iellaya wasnÆt deterred from continuing to involve herself with ousting Lord Miln If anything the knowledge of such big fish swimming around the situation only made her more eager to dip her toes in the water

After all if she could demonstrate her own capability it might be possible for her to make her own connection with such powerful characters All she needed to do was prove that she would be a superior ally than Lord Miln And when it came down to it that was basically what she had been attempting to do her entire stay at the front lines albeit with a different intended audience

Lady Iellaya had also been able to learn that Commander Terith had managed to steal or capture some precious formation of Nether which was why he had been constructing a cage of Aether to contain it in the central portion of his camp Unfortunately it had been utterly destroyed by the attack it appeared that it had been the NetherÆs ultimate goal with the bombardment

I suppose it truly must have been valuable for the Nether to be so desperate to throw all of that ambient Nether into the air Lady Iellaya thought with a sigh But if their goal is accomplished these flailing Nether tentacles might just be a way to hide their own weakness after we destroyed their Nether Wells In which case focusing on the foundations of my faction is the best way to proceed

So Lady Iellaya closed her eyes and let her focus drift outward to all those lost souls that had bound themselves to her She was the whale and they were the krill joined together in an enormous symbiotic relationship that was truly terrible to behold The monstrous knot of karma that Lady Iellaya managed was a grotesque pulsing thing But she did not look away from it Instead she reached out and touched it

Never again Lady Iellaya swore Never again will I let my people die due to weakness

Generally energy and potential flowed upward from those who offered Iellaya fealty to her With that she would grow in power and capability Slowly her increased power would circulate through the bonds she possessed and have the effect of gradually strengthening her followers But it was also possible for Lady Iellaya to bless her followers much more directly by flooding the connections with her own power

Of course this was not without cost

But Iellaya knew that if she was going to demonstrate her power she needed to be ready for what was to come If the Nether was really as hurting and desperate as it seemed there would be a large operation coming up soon Either an offensive by Lord Miln to seize back recently lost territory or a defensive effort against a tide of Nether Beasts in such numbers that the front lines hadnÆt in a generation

No matter what it was Iellaya needed to distinguish herself at that time And once that confrontation started she wouldnÆt have attention to spare for her forces If she didnÆt do it now it wouldnÆt happen

Perhaps it was best to think of Iellaya as a reservoir behind a dam As more individual ponds and streams were willing to feed into her they would connect to the river system that flowed out of her Although their water volume might decrease in the short term the amount that she casually dealt with was so large that even the tiniest bit of favor from her would be the equivalent of what most of these individuals could hope to get after a year of hard work

And like today when she completely opened the floodgates they would experience ecstasy that a normal mind couldnÆt even fathom Her mental fingers against that knot of karma tightened Then she twisted and that carefully held reservoir of power blasted outward

Lady Iellaya trembled as she released the pent up energy through the connections It wasnÆt something she did often so the sensation always left her uncomfortable It stunk to her of weakness but it was a necessary evil

As she did so a collective gasp went through the camp as everyone experienced the intoxicating rush of power that Iellaya had released She could feel their happiness their joy feel the grainy sensation of despair being slowly swallowed the murky prospect of hope in their hearts

Then after a few seconds of releasing that power Lady IellayaÆs hand on that knot of karma tightened once more She became whole again although quite empty of her usual vigor Hopefully it would prove worth the gamble

With her power still percolating down through those who were connected to her they would experience increased recovery and capability for some time The energy would slowly dissipate on its own but most would likely find a use for it in the next week as they were continually sent on missions despite the fact they suffered an attack

Now all that she wanted was some time to recover

On cue Abiodun rapped on the partially rigid flap that covered her tent Groaning Lady Iellaya straightened and did her best to smooth her bristling feathers Abiodun was obviously aware of what she had just done so the fact that he had knocked anyway meant that whatever it was it was very important

And since he knocked someone else is with him

Enter Lady Iellaya said a few seconds later after she was satisfied with her attempts to hide how exhausting that loss of energy was to her She slipped the hand mirror she had used between her back and the chair on which she sat

Three people walked into the room The first was Abiodun looking imposing and dangerous fortified as he was by IellayaÆs energy Although he wasnÆt physically larger his image had such weight now that the visual deviation in the surrounding area was partially suppressed As the first and most important source of her strength Abiodun received the larger share of her expended potency than most

Next to him was a tired looking young woman wearing large iron gauntlets and possessing tightly braided turquoise hair This woman Iellaya gave a second glance after feeling the ambient potency of her image This was just the type of individual that Lady Iellaya would dearly love to have swear fealty to her but based on the power present in her image there was little chance of it happening

Ah well Lady Iellaya thought sadly Then she turned to the third person in the room And she immediately froze

It was a rather short and slight man who was completely hairless His pale grey skin made him share more than a passing resemblance with a day old corpse and the lack of hair didnÆt help his ghastly complexion at all But around his body there wasnÆt a hint of visual variation due to the Great Rift His image was so solid that the surrounding air stilled by his presence

Abiodun clasped his hands behind his back and stood at attention Lady Iellaya blinked The two strangers seemed to both be waiting for the other to speak

The turquoise haired woman sent a questioning glance at the hairless man who just smiled Shaking her head in something close to disgust the woman turned to Lady Iellaya Greetings Commander my name is Vualla Meteo we are here looking for one of your subordinates Randidly Ghosthound is his name We had hoped Another pointed glance at the smiling grey skinned creature with an aggressively powerful image next to her to speak with him As quickly as possible This man believes it is impossible for an image to possess stars

Keh you leave out the most important part When the hairless individual spoke his voice was quite off putting in shrill pitch and cadence Only by finding another such variant element can you prove that it is reasonable for such a quality recruit such as you to have slipped through the cracks Otherwise hehehe I suppose it will be up to me to persuade you to reveal how you managed to infiltrate the Imperial Aether Army

Yes that dumb theory The turquoise haired woman replied with a stone face She kept her gaze on Lady Iellaya

Lady Iellaya for her part suppressed a shiver and licked her lips On the one hand some part of her was annoyed they both seemed rather dismissive of her rank Yet on the other hand the manÆs presence made Iellaya nervous enough not to press the issue Unfortunately Randidly Ghosthound is currently out participating in a mission but IÆm sorry I donÆt recognize either of you And without knowing more I cannot

Ah Where are my manners The hairless man whistled He opened his mouth in something like a smile and revealed rows of rotten teeth I am Cail Tweocs I am a special investigator of the Xyrt Brigade part of the Internal Affairs division A pleasure IÆm sure

Chapter 1088

Randidly fought to keep a scowl off of his face as he looked at the painted on smile on Lord MilnÆs face What do you mean I should expect some temporal variations Æ while participating in the mission

Zagnal who was standing behind Randidly with Zauna and Salazar flinched like he was struck at RandidlyÆs words Considering how Lord MilnÆs smile sharpened with malicious glee some part of Randidly realized that ZagnalÆs shock was likely due to the tone that Randidly had chosen to take

But the smug fucking look in this bastardÆs eye when he said it Randidly purposefully didnÆt let his gaze stray from Lord Miln leaning over his desk to the pods covered in Engravings behind him In one of them RandidlyÆs own body currently floated

The only reason that Randidly managed it was that the Grim Chimera refused to give this fuck the satisfaction of being the one to break eye contact and look away So his gaze remained fixed on the jailer of his main body

There was a small temptation to take RandidlyÆs newfound Nether capability as a sign that he should strike and try and free himself but even the Grim ChimeraÆs aggression abated somewhat when faced with the serene aura that Lord Miln threw off as he held RandidlyÆs gaze He didnÆt want to admit it but this guy was powerful Likely just as powerful as what Randidly had seen from Lady Iellaya and Commander Terith

And considering he was their boss likely a little bit more on top of that

As I explained we are currently under constant siege from the forces of Nether Lord Miln said smoothly For all that his expression seemed to scream that he wanted to murder Randidly in his sleep Lord MilnÆs tone was cool and professional Our normal missions involving Aether Keys have had to have been scrapped in order to keep abreast with the developing situation on the frontlines Therefore we have spent extra resources to significantly empower Aether Keys and send them to strategically critical areas

As such not only will your missions tend to last a small degree longer so that the Aether Key can accomplish its mission but it has been noted by respected scholars that the collision of powerful Aether and Nether often result in small deviations to normal temporal proceedings So it might feel like even more time has passed during your mission that has actually occurred I offered it as a well meaning warning soldier

RandidlyÆs claw tightened into a fist with such force that Randidly felt his own talons beginning to dig into the toughened skin of his hands This hardly seems like the sort of mission you would give to an image then Especially not when I know there are plenty of soldiers who possess bodies that could serve more aptly

Again Lord MilnÆs smile grew exponentially sharper But this time an accompanying chill followed the curling of Lord MilnÆs lips that smashed into Randidly with a physical force Frost began to form on RandidlyÆs limbs creeping in toward his torso

DonÆt think that your accomplishments thus far mean anything Lord Miln said quietly All you have managed to do is survive A cockroach can routinely claim as much If you disrespect me one more time IÆll show you why such tenacity has earned cockroaches no dominion over the world and why people like me still rule it

A shallow and pathetic rule you have here on the frontlines Randidly thought acidically But he held his tongue

Lord MilnÆs smile shifted to something more genuinely cheery But of course you are right you are vastly under qualified to serve as Captain for this mission Yet now one of your subordinates possess a physical body Which barely qualifies you as a suitable choice in the eyes of my superior And you know you and I have a personal relationship We were connected intimately before you even came to the front lines Considering our history it would be heartless of me to not do you this one favor

Randidly frowned This drivel again But then Lord Miln raised his hand and conjured a golden hammer covered in extremely familiar runes and Randidly was left speechless

Do you know how much trouble you caused for my nephew Lord Miln mused as he looked down at the golden hammer he held a hammer identical to the hammers that RandidlyÆs Judgement had used against him He has his own dominion you know Only Tier 2 Citizenship but still respectable enough He possesses a realm that requires Aether to function which is why he serves as the Judgment underneath the Patron of Frostbite Allowing a Heretic to reach the final conscription Path is not a death sentence but it certainly makes him look incompetent His people have suffered immensely due to your actions Thousands have died from Aether Deprivation while he struggled to cope with your growth while he was limited by the System

Again that cold came this time freezing RandidlyÆs feet to the ground Then the ice continued to creep upward covering RandidlyÆs raptor like legs and reaching his waist Randidly simply stood with gritted teeth careful to not reflexively use the Nether bubbles to negate a portion of the image that Lord Miln was radiating

Unlike the individual who served as RandidlyÆs Judgment it was immediately clear that Lord MilnÆs power was not due to the weight of Aether behind him No this was simply someone who reached the pinnacle of power with his image Abruptly Randidly was very glad he hadnÆt attempted anything more foolish than disrespect This was not a foe he was ready to face directly

With all due respect Randidly said through gritted teeth hating himself for every word IsnÆt the situation on the front more important than our previous differences

Oh I have the situation quite under control donÆt you worry Lord Miln said with remarkable cheeriness He glanced to the side toward a specific suspension tank behind him and Randidly was immediately sure that the object of his gaze was the very tank that held his own body I suspect that a very lucrative business deal that has been on the table for quite some time will finally go through quite soon In which case all of my problems will be solved

Then Lord Miln looked back to Randidly In any case IÆm a busy man and you are just one of many foot soldiers You have your orders get to it

Two powerful looking guards stepped forward but Randidly looked at Lord Miln for several long seconds His mind was whirring at a rapid clip as he studied the Supreme Commander of this frontline Then Randidly turned away The Grim Chimera roared silently and the muscles of his legs flexed The ice that was binding him to the ground shattered and Randidly casually turned away trying his best to look more in control than he actually felt

If he is really referring directly to my body when talking about that business deal Randidly thought with a sinking feeling in his chest Then it might be that someone is aware that I physically am the Alpha Cosmos And that this mission he is sending me on is especially designed to be deadly

As he left the command tent and stood on the high rocky outcropping over the entire battlefield Randidly had to suppress his desire to laugh Or at least he tried to but then the sheer irony of his solemn vow to avoid suicide missions from now on came back to bite him only a few days later

Salazar reached out and patted RandidlyÆs shoulder ItÆs f fine to be a little mentally b b broken by circumstance Even if y you start s stuttering

Randidly waved his hand still chuckling Relax this isnÆt a mental breakdown ItÆs just funny This is how it always happens ItÆs like there is a fickle god watching over me constantly making my life more difficult than it needs to be

Everyone has that Zagnal said with a scowl Sometimes its someone trying to kill you sometimes its an idiot for a commanding officer ThatÆs just life

Randidly spared him an amused glance The dragon man still was both bitter about his inexplicable loss to Randidly in between the tents and also because he would be following Randidly on this mission designed to kill him

But before Randidly replied one of the guards spoke up Although this mission is difficult that does not mean it is impossible Lord Miln has seen fit to allow you to go to the Armory and remove two weapons before you depart

The armory Randidly asked in confusion Valuable weapons were slightly intriguing but not so much that it would affect the outcome of the battle Even if they were powerful Randidly didnÆt currently have a body that could be affected by the Stats or properties of a weapon right now Although some part of him was intensely curious about what sort of weapons the warriors of the System possessed at the high end of things

Sam would probably be drooling right now

The guard nodded Yes the armory It contains thousands of years worth of Fates harvested from those who have died fighting the Nether If you are lucky you might find something powerful in there that can save your life

Chapter 1089

Randidly raised his eyebrows as he looked down into the pit in front of him Gleaming azure waters about ten meters down from the edge of the hole on which Randidly stood seemed to obscure a strange light that filtered up to his eyes This is the Fate armory

In addition to the two guards that had escorted Randidly and his three subordinates down the mountain face opposite the Great Rift there were around twenty nervous looking guards that stood around the pit with their weapons raised defensively These score of guards were as far as Randidly could tell an emergency group that wasnÆt generally together based upon their widely divergent uniform and armor choices

But itÆs not like the System seems to demand any sort of uniform from its soldiers Maybe IÆm reading into their posture too much

When he received the affirmative nod on this being the armory from one of their two guards Randidly turned to face forward once more As he looked down toward the dappled light coming out the pit he wondered idly what had occurred that had convinced Lord Miln to station so many people here

And why are they jumpy as rabbits

It looks like a lake Zagnal said as he rubbed his chin Randidly agreed with him but he was still sour enough at ZagnalÆs presence that he didnÆt vocalize his thoughts There was a need to keep up a united front of disdain toward this spy after all

The more talkative and dismissive of the two guards snorted Heh a lake Are you fucking blind This is one of the most tightly guarded locations on the frontlines That is no mere lake

itÆs liquified Aether Randidly supplied quickly in order to deprive the know it all guard of the satisfaction His eyes widened as he looked down into the hole in front of him trying to judge its size and depth Compared to the Dungeon that Randidly had been led to on Earth that possessed a similar Aether feature this lakeÆ was nowhere near that size But as Randidly focused he could tell that the depth in front of him was deceiving likely the Aether was being used to stretch or shrink the area below

And with the light coming up it was basically just guesswork on RandidlyÆs part to try and determine how deep it was

Which made a certain amount of sense This was supposed to contain thousands of years worth of Fates Some things could be among the gleaming lights teasing from within that liquified Aether but this armory wasnÆt as impressive or militaristic as Randidly had been picturing in his mind

The guard looked at Randidly with a disappointed look likely because he had ruined his moment of verbal superiority over Zagnal All of which was likely fine was it not also wasting RandidlyÆs time But as the guard glared at him RandidlyÆs breath caught in his front because he noticed something else about the armory below A shiver ran through his image body starting from the tip of his toes and running to his black hair on his head

There was no evaporation Not a hint of the titanic energy that was contained below was wafting upward Although the surface of the liquid Aether was covered with playful ripples there was no whiff of energy

Randidly slowly spun around on his heel and surveyed the surrounding area To control that amount of energy itÆs absolutely insane ItÆs hard to know how much Aether gets condensed to become liquid but it isnÆt a small amount and keeping it there requires pressure The individual who is in charge of this

Recovering some of his haughtiness seeing RandidlyÆs shock the guard chuckled Yes pure liquid Aether And I donÆt even know why the Supreme Commander allowed you to come here Heh maybe it was a sense of humor He even let you choose two fates but do you images think you can handle the pressure of liquid Aether And you

The guardÆs focus shifted once more to Zagnal Zagnal could only clench his scaled hands and endure the overt mockery You with all of the strength of my farts can you resist being corrupted by the powerful Fates that lay within this pool

Randidly ignored the talking and continued to survey the surrounding area He had ignored the guardÆs earlier boasting about this being one of the most heavily guarded locations on the front lines but after seeing that someone managed to completely keep the liquid Aether well behaved Randidly felt that it might not be too much of an exaggeration Someone with a lot of fucking power was in the surrounding area

Of course I bet the place with the most protections is Lord MilnÆs sick fucking body chamber Randidly thought with distaste But then he focused on the task at hand and continued to scan the surroundings

The armory was in a small valley hidden between two steep ravines In terms of location it was one that would have been extremely easy to overlook if they hadnÆt known what look for Even with the correct path the way they arrived was through an extremely narrow passage with high stone walls on each side Inside the valley itself the space widened somewhat to allow four or five larger tents to be pressed up against the gentle slope down to the roiling liquid Aether below

But aside from the pit the tents the guards and some common necessities to living there wasnÆt anything else in the valley

As Randidly looked around he was once more convinced that most of the guards there were extremely nervous Randidly ignored those people those shaky soldiers were just here as window dressing Instead he continued to allow his Grim Intuition to guide him and spun to consider all of the surrounding individuals

And then Randidly found two people that seemed completely absent to his Perception They sat by a fire quite a distance from any tent squeezed up against the high stone walls of the valley An old man was tending the fire with a stick and an old woman was smoking a bone pipe Although they felt completely ordinary they were anything but

After taking a deep inhale the woman blew out a thin stream of smoke that spiraled up in the air in front of her to form the fluttering silhouette of a bird Its wings beat rapidly and it hovered in front of her with its head cocked to the side

Then shaking her head she raked her hand through the bird and it dispersed to nothing She took another deep breath of smoke and held it in her lungs seeming to consider Then she released her breath this time from the corners of her mouth The smoke drifted downward to form two grey squirrels and due to the coloration of the smoke they possessed a remarkable likeness to the actual animals Randidly seemed to be able to see every individual hair on their bodies comprised of delicate strands of smoke

The old man turned and said something Randidly couldnÆt hear and the old woman laughed Grasping with his thumb and forefinger the man pinched a tongue of flame from the fire he was tending and tossed it to the side It hit the ground between the two smoke squirrels and blossomed upward into a rapidly growing flame But as the fire stretched and spread Randidly realized that it wasnÆt truly the shape of fire he was seeing

The old man had sculpted a meter tall tree out of a pinch of flame Delighted the smoke squirrels darted up the tree and chased each other frantically The flames of the tree spread and suddenly it wasnÆt just the trunk and branches but luminous red gold foliage that Randidly could see The casual display left Randidly floored

Yea those seem like the people who are in charge here Randidly thought nervously After releasing a steadying breath he walked over in their direction in order to speak with him

RandidlyÆs reasoning was twofold first he wanted more information about the armory And second Randidly couldnÆt stay away after witnessing that power It was a small thing not on the scale of what he had seen from Lady Iellaya or Commander Terith but it was this effortless use of imbuing image into smoke and fire with such potency that it became a medium for life that truly made Randidly tremble

These two were stronger than the Commanders And although it was more hope than based on any facts Randidly believed they were also more powerful than Lord Miln

The guards who had brought them here glanced at Randidly but ultimately let him go they were more concerned with the continued harassment of Zagnal But as Randidly began to walk away one of the nervous looking guards stepped in RandidlyÆs path Although Randidly could sense his unease this tall furry guard seemed much more composed than some of his fellows

He leaned forward and spoke in a quiet voice that only Randidly could hear It is not smart to approach If they do not like you well Many have died in the armory Even guards go missing on occasion

The Grim Chimera instantly was on guard as Randidly met this guardÆs eyes but they were completely clear and guileless Slowly Randidly relaxed It was unfortunate to learn but Randidly was still tempted by the casual power he had witnessed At least this explained why the guards in the surrounding area were twitching and exchanging uneasy glances after their party arrived They were likely afraid one of the arrivals would do something to upset these two powerful figures and the negative emotion would be taken out on them later

Even so the Grim Chimera hungered for the slightest whiff of power and Randidly agreed

But it was not selfish worry that motivated this guard Randidly could tell This furry fellow seemed genuinely concerned about Randidly So he offered him a grin and asked And if they like me

Obviously your task of selecting Fates becomes more manageable But I have heard rumors about you You are an image that Lord Miln is sending to his death The guard said slowly The corners of his eyes crinkled Could you have ended up in this situation if you were a likable individual

Randidly genuinely laughed Certainly it seems that Lord Miln is a popular leader His soldiers follow his lead in many areas

The crinkles around the guardÆs eyes deepened How could it not be so All soldiers are loyal to their commander

Well well well What have we here Randidly thought with interest as he continued to look at the guard in front of him The man appeared more beast like human likely something akin to a wolfman But his eyes were honest and amused as they spoke with obvious sarcasm Someone who isnÆt so keen on Lord Miln Offering me that warning even knowing that I will probably die soon is it kindness or guile

Randidly Ghosthound Thanks for the warning Randidly said as he offered his hand

The wolfmanÆs long tongue lolled out between his jaws Colhnan DonÆt underestimate the Armory Mr Ghosthound

Nodding Randidly moved past the guard and left the circle of idle individuals that were watching the worthwhile pursuit of knocking Zagnal down a peg Randidly kept his pace even as he approached the area where the two old looking individuals were sitting around a fire

Part of the reason that they caught the eye was their tranquil atmosphere but they both also appeared to be completely human At perhaps 10 meters neither of the two had looked up toward his approach and Randidly found himself forced to slow down Both because he wished to be respectful and because the air became distinctly heavy

Too heavy to be natural Randidly thought as he stopped about 5 meters away from the backs of the two individuals The weight had grown to the point that each step took a titanic effort Neither of the two figures looked over at him but Randidly noticed that both of the two had stilled in their movements somewhat They were waiting

But waiting for what

Randidly gritted his teeth and took another step forward Instantly the pressure in the air doubled If Randidly had possessed a physical body a hiss would have escaped his lips as the air in his lungs was physically squeezed out of him As it was he managed to bring his other foot forward and stand while enduring the ominous pressure in the air

The old man chuckled and picked up a stick Rather whimsically he began to draw glowing characters in the air with the glowing ember at the end of his branch What was fascinating is that the light from the flame lingered far too long to be natural Whole strings of runes appeared in the air before the old man waved his stick like a conductor and dismissed them

Randidly grimly considered the two powerful people Having them right outside his reach was maddening And this strange atmosphere seemed to indicate that it was possible to reach them and speak with them Again Randidly remembered that casually constructed image of the smoke squirrels and tree of fire

Their images were so powerful that they seemed entirely real Yet the path forward was both difficult and confusing

Unfortunately the Grim Chimera was just as split as Randidly was On the one hand Randidly wanted to appear respectful and it was pretty clear that this pressure was meant to keep individuals away However this army might be twisted and dangerous but it had been pretty uniform in respecting capability Perhaps the barrier was present for people to prove their capability by pushing through it

The more aggressive part of the Grim Chimera urged action But it also cautioned patience before an individual with this much casual power Those manifestations of life with smoke and fire had left a deep impression on the Grim Chimera

Perhaps Randidly would have stood there for quite a while if a shift hadnÆt occurred between the two individuals around the fire All of the old manÆs whimsical nature slowly dissolved as time crept past Suddenly his mouth firmed into a line Meanwhile the old woman raised her arms above her head and stretched languidly From several meters away Randidly could her the slow and satisfying pops from her back as she extended her limbs toward the sky

The old man prodded the fire with his stick his expression unamused And as he did so Randidly had to grit his teeth as a wave of unmistakable weight spread outward and buzzed against the edges of his image body

There isnÆt one right answer Randidly realized ItÆs just a matter of which of the two paths I take You either force your way forward and pass the old womanÆs test or endure and pass the old manÆs And if I have to choose between smoke and fire

Chapter 1090

Youngster my apologies but my vision isnÆt what it used to be The old woman said cheerily as she turned around and smiled at him I didnÆt even notice you Please come join this old woman next to the fire and talk awhile

Randidly opened his mouth to reply but could only release a groan It had taken a full hour of standing and enduring the waves of force the old man produced before the old woman had deigned to take notice of his swaying presence During that time Randidly was reduced to an extremely groggy state from the constant assaults

They werenÆt necessarily mental attacks but without a body Randidly needed to rely on his mental strength in order to resist the mind boggling pressure It was like image but not It was an expression of image without an image It was made possible by these individuals believing in something that had no existence Randidly supposed it was somewhat similar to the myth that those who were extremely powerful with a sword or spear could transform any item they held into that weapon and display fearsome combat prowess

To an exhausted Randidly it seemed like this was a realm of image that was beyond the Tellus understanding It transcended giving sentience to image and allowed these two to give weight to nothing

The Grim Chimera was salivating And it seemed the foolish gamble had paid off Now if only I can get my body to behave

So Randidly staggered up next to the old woman and did his best not to collapse onto the stump next to her It was only by relying on the healing from his cores the defense from his bubbles and Chimeric Avoidance that he had been able to manage to endure to this point and it had been a close thing

Over the hour Chimeric Avoidance Leveled up six times which was a testament to how grueling a trial it had been

For the old manÆs part he huffed in annoyance as Randidly approached and walked away with his arms folded behind his back toward slender tent that seemed in danger of toppling into the Armory below The old man entered into the tent and didnÆt look back It seemed for better or worse Randidly had chosen his poison

Chuckling the old woman said Now where are my manners My name is Nadia Would you like some tea

Yes Randidly managed to croak He pressed his eyes closed and opened up a bit more of a flow of Nether from his Nether Wells It was somewhat frightening to do so next to such a capable old woman but Randidly didnÆt have much choice Otherwise he would just pass out And somehow he sensed that such an action would be considered a failure

Besides after learning that Nether principles were a part of the System Randidly had a bit more confidence in being able to explain away the Nether

To RandidlyÆs surprise he sensed that to prepare the tea Nadia simply took another long drag from her pipe and blew out smoke into the palm of her hand When he opened his eyes to confirm a grey cup filled with grey tea was swirling on her palm She offered it to Randidly with a small smile With some misgivings Randidly took the cup

The substance might have been smoke but the object felt smooth and cool to RandidlyÆs overly large claw He tilted the teacup to the side and watched as the smoke tea sloshed around as a liquid normally would Randidly stared down at it wondering what the consequences would be for drinking another personÆs image For the first time Randidly hesitated Perhaps talking to these two will end up being more trouble than it was worth

Apparently his misgivings were clear on his face because Nadia chuckled again Relax There is some of my power in it but none of my grip And for an image like you it will be incredibly beneficial to ingest Consider it a gift

So Randidly took a sip of the tea and carefully scrutinized the flow of warmth that flowed into him But his eyes quickly widened as Randidly realized it was an extremely familiar feeling This is the same sort of thing that I receive from the Eidolon Crucible It really is just more potency and weight to an image And so much strength is concentrated

Satisfied Randidly gulped down the rest As soon as the cup was empty it dispersed into smoke once more flowing around RandidlyÆs sharp talons and dissipating into the air With that extra strength reinforcing him Randidly turned to Nadia with a renewed self control

Although you are but an image you possess three stars Nadia said musingly And you are solid enough to survive KailmÆs trial Interesting IÆve never seen an image with stars you know And IÆve been alive for quite some time Your kind simply dies too quickly to be that tempered by Nether Considering how you are essentially suicide soldiers your growth is nothing short of a miracle

Randidly remained silent during NadiaÆs musings

She tapped her cheek Plus you have been given the chance to obtain two Fates as weapons Fascinating It will be difficult for your insubstantial body to endure while in the liquid Nether even with my blessing Harder still for you to not be corrupted by the Fate you choose as it possesses physical form and you do not I would recommend you turn back

You sound like the guard that told me not to approach you Randidly said slowly But I believe it will be worth it to make an attempt

Even if its just the Skill Levels and the image weight I got from the tea it was probably worth the hour of misery

Hell just seeing the way you can shape smoke and fire with your images would have made this trip worth it ThatÆs a goal I can pursue

Fine then you would know your limits better than I Nadia said with a smile that seemed to imply that the exact opposite was the case One more question why did you pick me You started walking forward quite aggressively just the way Kailm likes Yet then you paused What changed your mind

Randidly saw no reason to lie It was your game The squirrels and the tree Once I realized that I could either approach or wait to earn your approval I judged by with whom I was most aligned My image the image that I am is heavily based upon ash So I chose based on your ability to manipulate smoke

What There was something strange in her tone that made Randidly look sharply up Nadia stared at Randidly in slack jawed amazement for several long seconds Her mouth began to twitch Then she was slapping her knee and guffawing her laugh booming out through the entire valley

Even the guards who had been nervously watching Zagnal being continually berated paused and looked over at the booming sound

Did you hear that Kailm Nadia giggled A snort echoed out from the tent that Kailm had walked into hitting Randidly with such force that he was knocked off the log on which he was sitting and sent tumbling backward

Frowning and rubbing his back as he straightened Randidly stood and regarded the still giggling Nadia Is that strange

Not strange just unlucky for you Nadia chuckled I use smoke and he uses fire as a way to mock each other Our relationship is no longer what it once was To tell the truth my image is related to the fires of rebirth and Kailm is the ashes of war So in essence we deceived you into choosing the opposite of what you wanted

Uh Randidly blinked

To make matters worse Nadia continued to speak as her smile quickly shrunk I am well I wonÆt beat around the bush I am less potent than Kailm Not considerably so but I am not his equal If he truly wishes to kill you while you are in the armory I wouldnÆt have a hope of stopping him So it could be said that you made the worst possible choice given your particular circumstances

To be honest IÆm only explaining this so perhaps Kailm will find it in his withered heart to pity you and refrain from smashing you between two current of liquid Aether And because this is quite far and away the most amusing thing that has happened here for quite some time NadiaÆs cheer returned But DonÆt lose all hope There is one benefit I can offer you that Kailm would never be able to equal

Randidly blinked rapidly scrambling to keep abreast with all of the casual revelations coming from Nadia And that is

Our daughterÆs Fate Now NadiaÆs face was completely devoid of a smile She took her own life so there is some inherent danger to interacting with such a Fate Yet it is based upon fire and it is an incredibly powerful weapon My purview is fire so that weapon is mine to give I guarantee if you manage to completely harness the power of this Fate no one on this battleground aside from Kailm and myself would be your equal

However the Grim Chimera had Randidly narrowing his eyes Not only was Randidly inherently suspicious of relying on external power but the sudden proposition sounded too good to be true But why would you offer such a precious weapon to me

If IÆm being honest For a second NadiaÆs eyes were filled with flame My daughter and I can both be considered distantly related to phoenixes And I hope that her Fate will devour you and allow her consciousness to be reborn

That gave Randidly pause Well at least that was an honest answer

A split second later NadiaÆs cheery smile was back She waved her hand and dispersed a spray of sparks that sank into RandidlyÆs body and left him tingling

Grimacing Randidly opened his mouth quickly before she sent him away Can you answer me one thing What are Fates truly When I pick them out what am I getting

Nadia paused and studied Randidly Then she shrugged There isnÆt really harm in telling you Classes in the System and Fates by extension are prayers for an impossible connection A Fate is a guidepost forward toward that goal It seeks to create a path to make the ideal imagined form of yourself real

Which of course is impossible Nadia continued No matter how real or powerful an image becomes it never is real not in the same way that we well not you but not in the way that physical bodies are real

Randidly was honestly rather shocked by that frank admission What do you mean itÆs not real We can use images to affect the real world They take up space they can be seen and felt IsnÆt that real

Nadia gave Randidly a disappointed look What a strange thing to say IsnÆt reality affected by basically anything Paranoia emotions rumors and culture they all warp our reality But arenÆt they all substanceless constructs We are never bound by them no matter how powerful they are We can walk through them if we wish We can transcend the limits of those who seek to define our nature Because we are real

To RandidlyÆs surprise Nadia reached out and touched RandidlyÆs face You cannot understand yet To truly understand you need to lose something incredibly precious Someone Because no matter how powerful my image or my ex husbandÆs became we could never recreate our daughter Not truly Image can mimic but never achieve substance no matter how thin that distinction becomes no matter how much we pray it was not so Just like how the Nether can never return to its glorious past no matter how united it becomes with the memory

Again Randidly had to scramble to try and pull apart the dense train of logic Nadia was following Finally he opened his mouth and asked Then why Why have Fates at all if they are just failed attempts

Has impossibility ever stopped us from wanting the impossible Nadia laughed rather sadly Then her face grew somewhat stormy And eventually with so many failed hopes and prayers piled up who knows what the being who holds all that unrealized power would be able to do Perhaps if quality is not enough quantity will be

Then with a sharp gesture Nadia tossed Randidly over the edge of the hole and into the swirling currents of liquid Aether

Chapter 1091

It wasnÆt that Randidly hadnÆt believed the guards not to mention his own extremely acute senses that had informed him that his image body would have difficulty within the liquid Aether He certainly believed them what they were stating was unarguable fact Liquid Aether was not only volatile but denser than anything he had encountered in the past

Even if the tight control of Nadia and Kailm meant that the volatility wasnÆt an issue the density wouldnÆt be easy to overcome So he was aware it would be difficult

But in the same way that Randidly had managed to endure the extremely dense Nether when they went to lure out the Nether Gatekeeper Randidly believed he would be able to endure liquid Aether If the issue was the structural integrity of his body he trusted the trial he had experienced through the last few weeks and what it meant for his image He had been refined to the point of being incomparable to his feeble images during his time on Tellus and later Earth

It hadnÆt occurred to him however to think about the very legitimate fact that if there was liquid Aether there was probably liquid Nether And that dense Nether he so struggled with certainly wasnÆt liquid

Randidly smashed into the surface of the liquid Aether and realized that this assumption was very very wrong It bowed under him the surface tension refusing to allow him passage Perhaps if he hadnÆt been flailing and ripped the surface open with a claw it wouldnÆt have let him in at all

As it was the liquid Aether begrudgingly allowed him to sink into it closing up quickly after him and leaving him completely suspended in the Aether

In a way it was quite a bit easier than handling Nether After all the Aether didnÆt make any attempts to weaken and devour him This was RandidlyÆs natural element Although Randidly didnÆt currently possess the many diverse Aether Skills of the main body he could still move well enough through the liquid Aether

After the initial shock had worn off a gasp escaped RandidlyÆs lips The world hidden beneath the surface of the azure energy was stunning

Spirals of gleaming energy danced across his vision providing some variance from the deep pool of azure that surrounded him Small motes of golden light seemed to dance at the corners of his vision disappearing as soon as he twisted to face them Yet RandidlyÆs face became increasingly red as he took in the sights it was not an easy thing for his body to persist here Every second dragged past as it felt like Randidly was slowly being constricted by a fifteen meter long python that thoroughly enjoyed his torment

Suddenly the beauty became less of a wondrous treasure and more of a final gift from the world to Randidly before his journey to the afterlife His focus narrowed as the crushing force of the liquid Aether demanded more and more of his attention

Fucking shit Randidly panted I refuse to die like this

With burning emerald eyes Randidly marshaled all of the Willpower and mental weight that he had gained from the Eidolon Crucible and from drinking NadiaÆs smoky tea His image body began to shimmer with concentrated strength His chest expanded and Randidly raised his bone spear and claw in challenge against the surrounding liquid Aether

Congratulations Your Skill MonstrosityÆs Appalling Physicality has grown to Level 228

The Grim ChimeraÆs mouth spread wide and open Its teeth were sharp and dripping with saliva Its rakish grin was a challenge against the surrounding waters and the herald of an approaching triumph Again this environmental enemy the Grim Chimera would not bow It would only adapt

Of course there was no response from the surrounding azure waters The marvelous bright palette of colors continued their manic dance without any care toward its audience The thin reverberating waves from RandidlyÆs arrival to this place slowly dispersed and Randidly could see more clearly the spiraling lights leading him deeper toward the true form of the armory The stone walls of either side of the pool sloped quickly inward but Randidly saw an opening spilling white light up toward him

At first he tried swimming but Randidly realized with chagrin that rather than his motions what he needed to do was expend more will in order to proceed deeper into the armory It was only by displacing the rather vanilla image of the liquid Aether that Randidly was able to make room for his image body to proceed deeper Which was much harder than it seemed initially

So he stopped his flailing hearing a noise suspiciously like NadiaÆs laughter and focused all of his attention on making himself heavier His jaw trembled from clenching His chest was on fire But a few seconds later he had results

Slowly but surely he began to sink downward

RandidlyÆs expression was extremely sour as he drifted toward the brilliant light below IÆll be good for now but if I need to move everywhere like this IÆm gonna run out of steam before I have time to check out much

Luckily just as Randidly was beginning to wonder what his timelimit in this place would be he felt a flash of heat from inside of himself that quickly sharpened into painful tiny pinpricks of fire seemed to ignite all across his body

Congratulations Your Skill Pain Resistance has grown to Level 110

This must be NadiaÆs work Randidly twisted his mouth and relaxed his will as he began to speed rapidly downward toward the light without having to constantly think himself into doing so Well IÆm just glad that passing their little test turned out to be worth it

Of course whether that was actually the case remained to be seen There was still the issue of her daughterÆs Fate which Nadia had offered to Randidly Her explanation had certainly raised more questions than it had answered

But whether or not the assistance turned out to be worth it certainly the information that Nadia had casually provided about Classes and Fates certainly would be Now that NadiaÆs blessing took over most of the task of bringing him down toward the main portion of the armory below Randidly could reflect on some of the things that she had said

Classes being a prayer for an ideal self images not being truly real and what that means Fates as a guidepost forward Randidly sighed ItÆs pretty fucking ironic that the individuals who IÆve seen with the most powerful images are the ones who were the most dismissive of images But I suppose they might be right Images are powerful but that doesnÆt mean they are real

But does that really matter

Then NadiaÆs words came back to Randidly That he wouldnÆt understand until he had lost someone precious to him It stunk of arrogance to say that so boldly without knowing RandidlyÆs life but his tongue made no moves to defend the experience of his heart

Some part of Randidly wanted to claim that he had lost someone precious to him People he had known had died underneath the thumb of the System after all Individuals from Donnyton had perished despite RandidlyÆs best efforts to keep them alive and defend the town during those early days

Yet Randidly could point to even more recent examples On the bank of the Hallat on Tellus Randidly had buried no fewer than a hundred companions that he had traveled and eaten with as they slowly retreated back to the capital People he had spoken with had bled and died while he watched furiously battling against the Wights

But another part of Randidly admitted these were relatively shallow losses Even though the tragedy of those deaths had deeply scarred him it was purely external wounds None of the deaths that Randidly had endured had left him hollowed out and empty because someone who was vital to him departed from this life

His relationships with Ace and Sydney had soured and changed into something that felt too strange for Randidly to really address but that was different In addition the choices that RandidlyÆs father had made left Randidly somewhat shocked and helpless but they had never been very close to begin with His father had distanced himself from Randidly and his mother from an early age

And right now the person closest to me would be Randidly hesitated as he cast his mind around The Grim Chimera grunted agreement to the confusion I suppose Helen Probably more so than Azriel

Certainly he and Helen had spent the most time together and had been briefly intimate at one time She was his knight the individual that Randidly trusted the most If she were to die it would definitely hurt He would grieve for a long time afterward

Yet would that pain and loss be enough that Randidly attempted to recreate Helen using an image That didnÆt seem likely And it seemed even less likely that Randidly would be able to approach anything close to recreating her with an image

Because Randidly sensed that the sort of craving that allowed Nadia and Kailm to create such powerful images wasnÆt a mundane emotion It was something bordering on obsession Randidly wasnÆt sure if it was only such crazed individuals that could reach that tier of image but it certainly didnÆt hurt to desire something so strongly

would I seek to revive Vualla if she died

As soon as the thought drifted forward to the forefront of his mind Randidly blinked and shook his head almost to wish it away Certainly he felt strangely connected to Vualla Doubly strange that he felt so strongly because they had interacted on only a few occasions And certainly they shared a lot of implicit understandings Randidly or perhaps the Grim Chimera felt unprecedented freedom around Vualla A feeling of being able to truly be seen as the moderately violent mildly desperate struggler that he was

But it was a shallow thing Randidly assured himself The breadth of their interactions was simply too short

Besides RandidlyÆs claw tightened to a fist SheÆs still alive I can still protect her so I never find out the answer to that question But I cannot deny that if I really want to do that IÆll need strength And isnÆt that why IÆm considering the offer of NadiaÆs daughterÆs Fate

Congratulations Your Skill MonstrosityÆs Appalling Physicality has grown to Level 229

Even if it is dangerous even if Nadia thinks I will likely be consumed and used as fuel for the revival of her daughter if this Fate is as strong as she claimed it might give me the boost that I need to survive Lord MilnÆs plot Plus it might show me the sort of desire I need in order to grow even stronger