LoRG 3

Randidly kept his thoughts to himself as he finally drifted down to arrive at the opening to the illuminated opening below Rather than this being the armory it looked more like a shaft of liquid Aether that protected the real armory below allowing only glimpses of the powerful light and faint rumblings contained within

Yet the journey was not easy As he proceeded deeper the combined weight of the liquid Aether around him continued to climb Randidly gritted his teeth and continued to forcefully endure it Even if all he was required to do was maintain his body it was beginning to become extremely difficult

Although he hesitated to do it Randidly began actively using the bubbles from his three cores to share an extremely limited portion of the weight He hadnÆt wanted to try on the off chance that the bubbles were Nether enough that they would cause an extremely violent reaction from the surrounding Aether But it was swiftly becoming apparent that he had no choice

Luckily it seemed the fact that these were simply knock off cores and bubbles worked to RandidlyÆs advantage It might only take away 10% of the weight he had to face but it was enough to allow him to relax

Much more comfortable with the assistance Randidly floated down into the light and saw the roiling currents of the armory below

Chapter 1092

The first thing that became obvious was that armoryÆ was used extremely loosely by the forces of Aether Randidly currently was floating above a raw force of nature

If anything the beauty of the armory grew more apparent as he exited the shaft and appeared in a wide crystal cavern Most of what Randidly could see as he descended into the lower area was huge currents of liquid Aether buoying with them the tumbling mass of weapons armor and strange crystal shapes that could only be Fates Refracted light and noise bounced off every surface reflecting infinitely with a luminosity enough to leave Randidly momentarily blinded

Huge currents of Aether carrying thousands of Fates whirled around below in a vast maelstrom throwing of gleaming reverberations of power and light as the Fates chaotically smashed into each other in the violence of the Aether currents For a split second Randidly paused and just watched them move in wonder His breath and thoughts disappeared and Randidly just witnessed

Because truly Randidly was just a speck of dust before an uncountable number of whirling Fates They formed thick columns of light and energy that wriggled across the submerged armory like eels Thick rings of gold beams with that safe refreshing orange as the fruit rind deep midnight blue speckles the spread out and mixed hitting each other and the crystal covered walls It was a vast dance that held Randidly transfixed

His eyes could only follow those vast currents wondering how heavy the will needed to be in order to move such a heavy amount of substance Even more shocking was the fact that they periodically dived down to smash into the bottom of the large area below Randidly sending hundreds of Fates careening sideways

Yet there seemed to be some sort of facet of the dark bottom of this place that Randidly couldnÆt make out from his vantage because a little later another eel of Fates would form and rise sinuously from the ground smaller but still similar enough that Randidly could only assume that this was the very same grouping of Fates that had been flowing before

As Randidly blinked some of the refracted light became easier for his mind to parse apart Beauty gave way to a basic understanding

Now that he knew what he was looking for Randidly saw large piles of Fates along the bottom slowly ebbing toward the sides Randidly shook his head numbly as he realized what he had assumed were crystalline walls were really titanic mounds of dim Fates that sat forgotten against the edges of the cavern These were rough and unused but sometimes the roiling eels would pass closely and gather some of the drifting Fates

But not all were picked up In this way those pillars of Fates would grow larger and larger until they turned once more downward and smashed into the ground

Pretty violent way of storing weapons Randidly muttered Again Randidly felt the bits of energy left by Nadia flare to life and he began rapidly descending down Which immediately made him very nervous

Not that he didnÆt think he was very tough but being smashed with one thousand Fates pulled by a strong current of Aether seemed like a quick way to die

Thankfully Nadia clearly appeared to be guiding his descent around the more violent of the currents that smashed Fates into the ground Proceeding at a speed that had Randidly wincing they first headed toward the edge of the open area and followed the wall steadily down toward the vast piles of Fates along the edges

Congratulations Your Skill MonstrosityÆs Appalling Physicality has grown to Level 230

One thing that Randidly noticed as they moved downward was that he could feel that familiar resonance in his chest while he was suspended in the liquid Aether which meant a Skill might be activated soon Likely it was exactly Aether Detection that he had bided his time for an Aether Key in order to learn

However there was simply too much pressure for the process to happen smoothly in the armory When he tried to leave the feeling along it was shattered by the pressure squeezing him When he tried to protect it his attention made the resonance falter and cease So Randidly could only throw his hands up in the air and turn his focus to the Fates that he sped past in the descent

Most of the ones along the wall appeared to be closer to haphazard crystal than any sort of intelligible shape Quartz and sapphire and ruby and emerald sparkled as Randidly passed looking like some sort of dragonÆs treasure trove stacked up here at the bottom of the armory

They produced none of the light that was coming from the Fates in the more violent currents but there was a certain aura of raw power that wafted off of them especially when so many were gathered together Their combined presence pressed against his senses in a way that Randidly hadnÆt often encountered

Maybe thatÆs why condensing an actual form is so unlikely Because the System makes it difficult Randidly thought grimly as he scanned the stacked Fates As Nadia hinted the System is creating a large quantity of them in a very raw form If they guideposts are poorly shaped they are less bound by the rules of their makers I suppose

Which means Randidly looked back to the center of the huge room A dull rumble swept outward as a huge column of Fates smashed unhesitatingly into the ground and some were flung away by the impact That this isnÆt a natural phenomenon or even a whim done to pass the time This was designed to slowly grind well formed Fates into a more raw and suggestible form

Soon RandidlyÆs path was forced inward as the heaps of Fates along the walls crept slowly toward the interior As he did so he could see that he was right earlier the ground of this place was covered in gaping holes Likely a portion of the Fates would continue down after smashing into the ground and find their way through the cave system below which was the source of the Fates reappearing a few seconds later

Some part of Randidly was alarmed as he proceeded down directly toward one of those holes but too much of his attention was distracted by the increasing weight of the liquid Aether against his image As they reached a greater depth the cumulative weight that Randidly had to endure kept growing At this point he dearly wished for weight at the level of what he had faced in the shallower portions of this armory Randidly remembered it quite fondly

Congratulations Your Skill MonstrosityÆs Appalling Physicality has grown to Level 231

But at least itÆs fueling Skill growth Randidly thought as he shot into a jagged crack into the ground and was immediately surrounded by darkness Several times during the hurried passage through the tight tunnel there were large rock outcroppings that Randidly whipped past far too closely for comfort but it seemed that this was just the reality of the cave system rather than Nadia teasing him

Or it better fucking be Randidly grumbled inwardly

Ultimately however Randidly soon emerged from the honeycomb like caves into a deeper wider thoroughfare It was still dim here but only dim embedded in the walls and ground were luminous Fates

These unlike the Fates that had been piled against the walls were mostly formed as objects A pair of ivory wings fluttered out from behind a low stone in which they were lodged There was a humming ax stuck into the dark stone wall on RandidlyÆs left Directly in front of him on the rutted stone ground were seven crystal balls the size of the fist Small jumps of electricity periodically flicked out from one to another nearby

Randidly spun slowly around The main portion of the tunnel stretched forward into the darkness dimly lit by other Fates that had become trapped down here like candles leading him forward But Randidly also noticed the presence of small side alcoves Most interestingly each one of the alcoves was emitting a bright light

We donÆt have much to do down here so we do separate the Fates worth keeping and tidy up small rooms for them

With annoying slowness due to the heavy liquid around him Randidly spun and saw Nadia standing there

She smiled at him almost shyly Truly impressive that you can manage to move as an image down here Yet how long will you hold up underneath the pressure I cannot help but wonder

Randidly didnÆt even twitch staring at her with a rather tired determination After all it wasnÆt like he hadnÆt dealt with sadistic teasing rather constantly since the System had arrived and whisked him away from his normal life And that was even the main body For the Grim Chimera anything less than an active attempt to kill him was pleasant And even though Nadia had been rather upfront about the fact she hoped the Fate she would give him would devour him the Grim Chimera didnÆt take it personally

That was just the way the world worked People died and became food for the next cycle of people seeking to run from death There was no reason to get worked up about it

Nadia chuckled when he didnÆt respond to her prodding Fine fine youÆre no fun But I suppose it is that iron in your spine that lets you handle the liquid Aether Anyway my daughterÆs Fate is right through there in that alcove I wonÆt force you to take it but believe me it is the most powerful Fate in this place If you want power that is the path forward

I want that power I need that Path forward Randidly showed his teeth to NadiaÆs amused expression even while another part of himself was shaking his head at the Grim ChimeraÆs aggressive choice

This isnÆt a matter of fear at all ThereÆs no need to use VuallaÆs words to justify this decision In fact doing so is exactly what someone seized by fear would do

Those words gave Randidly pause but ultimately it didnÆt change his decision With that typical moving through liquid Aether slowness he walked past Nadia into that small alcove

Immediately the light changed From an airy ambient blue Randidly stepped through the threshold and found himself inside of a harsh red furnace The ground was hot and volcanic with thin cracks in the ground showing the lava bubbling below the cracked stone

But for Randidly the entrance into the room was quite the relief suddenly it seemed like the pressure from the liquid Aether was gone as this Fate warped the surrounding area to suit its image Which certainly made NadiaÆs claim that this Fate was extremely powerful much more credible But really Randidly suspected he wouldnÆt have the capability of determining if it was truly the most powerful

ItÆs enough that it can stand up against liquid Aether

In the center of the room there was a pillar of fire running from floor to ceiling The heat flowed upward in a spiral submerging the dark colored Fate in its red light Yet the Fate itself was a plain slate grey Perhaps in an even more mundane choice it was a blade Randidly took several steps forward and examined the Fate more closely but it truly was just the blade of a sword

It was about a meter long and as thick as RandidlyÆs forearm It spun slowly in the fire pillar revealing the exceedingly sharp edges of the blade But although the top ended in a point the bottom ended in a flat bluntness that was so sharply separated it gleamed

Like your right arm our daughterÆs Fate came as simply a weapon when she condensed it It did start with some rather ugly crystallization on the attachment point but as she grew she refined that away She was a genius

Randidly twisted sideways and found himself looking at the form of Kailm crossing his arms and looking up at the naked blade with raw longing His mouth was slightly opened as though he wanted to say more but no words he could come up with were enough to explain what he was feeling

After all words couldnÆt truly make Randidly understand It was only after seeing Kailm look on this blade and seeing its light reflected in his eyes that Randidly understood how extinguished this man was now

Chapter 1093

Turning his head slowly Randidly looked up at the blade and then back to Kailm Eventually Randidly was unwilling to allow the silence to remain any longer The raw look of loss in KailmÆs face made him uneasy

You are here to Æ Randidly started to stay but he held his tongue rather than accusing Kailm of coming to kill him Even for someone as aggressive as the Grim Chimera it was a little much to antagonize Kailm right now

The old man sighed His short grey hair seemed so thin and frail I will not help you claim this Fate nor will I hinder you But also

Kailm let his arms fall to his sides I would not have acted if you had simply passed this place by But you walked into the room and looked upon the grave to my daughter You have stood before her memory I am not fool enough to think that this lingering fragment of her dreams is truly her not in the way that I believe Nadia still hopes But that does not mean that I like seeing the woman who shared with me that debilitating tragedy disappointed Since you came into this place you will leave with this Fate or die trying

Randidly turned his attention back to the grey blade hanging in the pillar of fire His mouth quirked up in amusement Then I suppose there is no reason to delay

Walking slowly to recovery some of his will while he didnÆt need to fight off the liquid Aether Randidly approached the hanging Fate Undoubtedly the liquid Aether had been pushed back by a towering aura of heat and fire but these were old hat to the Grim Chimera He had lived through the fires of calamity and then endured the chill of oblivion as the tragedies of his life were slowly forgotten Even though Randidly didnÆt currently have his related resistance Skills he did not fear fire in the slightest

Instead he continued forward until he stood right before the blade It seemed to react to his presence spinning faster and faster in its column of lava Before it spun so fast that RandidlyÆs eyes couldnÆt follow it Randidly raised his claw and seized the blade

Immediately he winced Maybe it was a bit early to say that there was no reason to fear fire

Randidly felt the skin of his palm blister and flake away as it was baked by the proximity to the blade There was no discoloration to the blade itself but it was clear that it was the source of the heat The only comparable heat that Randidly had ever encountered was the core of AegiantÆs image Which in retrospect compared to the completely inert and faded Fate that Randidly now struggled to hold in his hand did quite a bit to make Randidly realize the tier of opponents he had been matched with thus far

But there was a positive side effect as the heat that blistered RandidlyÆs hand sent sharp daggers of pain and then proceeded to follow up with waves of agony Randidly could feel the slight resonance in his chest as one of his Skills activated That resonance grew and grew until

Having trouble Kailm chuckled Take your time I have nowhere to be

Why the fuck are both of these guardians so chatty Randidly thought with a frown as the distraction shattered the resonance This time Randidly closed his eyes and did his best to ignore the mounting pain in his hand as he waited for the resonance to build

Time crawled past as sweat dripped down RandidlyÆs temples It was a close thing His arm was beginning to tremble as the notification that Randidly was finally waiting for arrived

Congratulations Your Skill Fire Resistance has grown to Level 114

Congratulations Your Skill Pain Resistance has grown to Level 112

Jesus fucking christ Randidly gasped Instantly the Skill whirred to life and did a lot to blunt the edge of the heat that was making the skin of his claw hiss and pop Yet even if his Resistance Skill was active once more it wouldnÆt completely dull the damage done by the ambient heat And it also wouldnÆt get rid of constant pain that Randidly already possessed from allowing his hand to get burnt to its current state

Randidly took a few steps backward unsure of what to do next Kailm laughed but otherwise didnÆt offer any guidance After sparing the old man a glance Randidly focused back on the blade in his hand Up close Randidly could see intricate runic patterns covering the superheated blade Again Randidly bitterly wished the main body was here Likely then he would be able to learn much more from this weapon than he could currently manage

But the main body has his own troubles Randidly released his breath through his nose This is my own task But honestly what do I do now

Congratulations Your Skill Fire Resistance has grown to Level 115

Although it seems like simply waiting here isnÆt entirely the worst decision I stay here an hour and I bet I could get thirty Skill Levels

I can see you are confused Kailm said quietly Would you like a hint

Randidly glared at Kailm extremely torn whether he wanted to hear the hint or whether he just wanted to rip KailmÆs throat out for suggesting that he needed it Either way Randidly definitely would need to be the one to make a decision soon He felt his flesh crack on his claw as he continued to clutch the grey blade Yet it seemed like a failure if he dropped it now

Kailm continued to remain silent Randidly grimaced and tightened his grip on the blade Or at least he thought he did Unfortunately most of the feeling was gone out of his hand so most of his grip was guesswork on his part Furrowing his brows Randidly continued to project disgust and distaste toward KailmÆs passive stance

To RandidlyÆs vicious pleasure Kailm scratched his cheek and sighed Ugh I hate you patient types Fine the Fate is currently in a dormant state Although you can never receive the same benefits from an external Fate you can absorb a portion of its potency and flavor for lack of a better term If you bring it in proximity to your image the Fate will intermingle with you Considering the current state of your image that will boost your strength quite a bit

Patient types You barely lasted two minutes Randidly was so abruptly amused that he almost dropped the grey blade But then his thoughts focused on the last portion of what Kailm said If thatÆs true why donÆt more people absorb Fates Does it happen more than I think IÆm not sure IÆve heard of it happening while IÆve been at the front lines

Kailm gave Randidly a strange look Of course not itÆs incredibly dangerous to mix foreign Fates with your own And if you do this now and eventually regain your body there will perhaps be a conflict with your original Fate But arenÆt you here to gather power enough to live that long Everything becomes moot if you die

But maybe even more importantly do you think itÆs easy to obtain a Fate powerful enough to make enough of a difference to be worth the risk of corrupting your own Fate The System watches such things very carefully You might not realize it but this is a chance of a lifetime for you

One which I earned by being sent to die Randidly muttered Kailm shrugged

But KailmÆs previous points did give Randidly pause It was obvious in retrospect that this wouldnÆt be a costless process Of course the main body didnÆt possess a Fate currently so there wouldnÆt be the sort of negative reaction that Kailm spoke about But what that made Randidly worry was that taking in a Fate now would preempt him forming his own Fate later Which would be quite the tragedy

Because no matter how capable this deceased woman was Randidly refused to admit defeat to her Their differences lay in age and experience not in potential

And also in how our stories will end Randidly thought with a tinge of sadness as he looked at the plain grey blade

Still RandidlyÆs sudden unwillingness to absorb the Fate into himself put him in an extremely awkward position as Kailm had made his stance clear Randidly would absorb the Fate or Kailm would kill him All the while the blade in his hand continued to exert its dangerous influence over RandidlyÆs hand and arm He initially kept the blade as far away from his torso as possible but as his arm weakened from constant exposure it drifted closer to him

Congratulations Your Skill Fire Resistance has grown to Level 116

Very quickly Randidly had an idea Quite like how the maker of the System had taken the principles of Nether RItuals to create Classes Randidly had it in mind to treat this new Fate like a coreÆ of Nether and have himself become the bubble The problem of heat would likely continue but was debatably beneficial in the long term

Plus if he could learn to harness the heat it released it certainly would do a lot to help him survive in the Great Rift by purely burning away Nether

Besides Randidly couldnÆt deny that if the blade produced this much heat in its passive state its activated form might be more dangerous than he wanted to deal with at the moment Especially because he expected the protection against liquid Aether afforded by the Fate to swiftly disappear once he took any action with it leaving him once more in the unenviable position of resisting the liquid Aether directly with his image body

Closing his eyes Randidly turned away from Kailm and attempted it as discretely as he could His image for what was about to happen was sharp and clear The burning blade would become a part of him floating in his internal world His will stretched out to accomplish his goal

And of course It didnÆt work

Taking a risk Randidly unleashed a bit of Nether and had it circulate through him to more fully duplicate the feeling he was looking for Then he tried again But even with the Nether strengthening the specificity of his desire his mental grip on the slate colored blade could not find any purchase

unfortunately it looks like it would need to be in an active state to be pulled in like that Randidly frowned at the shimmering grey surface Not because of the power required but because an object canÆt be a core A bubble can be anything but the core the core needs to be special Vital Connected

Which was valuable information in its own right but didnÆt help Randidly in his current predicament

Congratulations Your Skill Fire Resistance has grown to Level 117

Congratulations Your Skill Pain Resistance has grown to Level 113

Randidly barely kept a groan from slipping out of his lips Then he did his best to school his face into something relatively neutral before he turned around to face Kailm Even though it was probably pointless Randidly refused to show any weakness in front of this powerful man who had forced him into action with an ultimatum

Which Randidly was aware was sweeping under the rug the fact that he had rather thoughtlessly proceeded here in order to become more powerful in a short amount of time knowing the risks Likely he would have made this attempt even without KailmÆs ultimatum he would have attempted it Yet the fact that Kailm did force the issue made all the difference to the Grim ChimeraÆs pride

Randidly even allowed what he thought was a relatively convincing smile to cross his face as he looked at Kailm No need to play coy Do I really even have a choice in whether I absorb this blade The alternative is death The ultimate failure

With much more weight than Randidly had expected from his flippant remark Kailm looked at the grey blade in RandidlyÆs hand there is always another choice There are even many who take it

For several seconds Randidly was too taken aback to speak He looked at the blade one more time this time looking less at its surface but more at its shape A blade with no handle I suppose it is fitting that the user bled herself until she died with such a Fate But that does not mean that I will be bound by that future

His resolve firmed Randidly reached out with his bone spear and pressed it against the blade His image raised its head and howled in challenge to the sleeping Fate Ash and the tenacious craving for survival swam down around his bone spear and congregated at the tip Then inspired by his experience with Nether he began to rotate those facets of his image at a high speed until they wove themselves into a deadly point

Then be began to drag that point across the slate grey blade

Chapter 1094

For several embarrassing seconds Nothing happened

Randidly continued to drag the tip of his bone spear across the blade but although the blade itself was long it wasnÆt infinite Small motes of ash drifted away from his spear that was currently overflowing with the tang of the Grim Chimera but it apparently wasnÆt enough Randidly felt something from the blade but it was a dull and fuzzy sensation this would not be sufficient

It was KailmÆs chuckle that set Randidly off He barred his teeth Fine then letÆs stop playing around Cursed Appetite of a Wraith

Normally Cursed Appetite of the Wraith would pull some attributes from individuals surrounding him Namely Stamina and Mana in order to help Randidly recover more quickly than he could independently Without a body much of those specific benefits were lost But as Randidly had found fighting in the Nether with the support of Salazar there was a very large benefit to be gathered from using Cursed Appetite of a Wraith on Aether

His first pull didnÆt bring him much too much of the surrounding air was dominated by the image of heat coming out of the blade in his hand But the amusement on KailmÆs face instantly disappeared as he felt RandidlyÆs gentle tug So Randidly pulled again harder spreading his reach to outside of the alcove and tugging at the liquid Aether that was waiting there

Congratulations Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith has grown to Level 255

It was exceedingly difficult to pull the liquid Aether toward himself So much so that he barely managed to grip half of a drop even when he threw every bit of attention he could spare behind the Skill

Yet that little bit came and instantly Randidly began to burn

Which was perhaps an unfortunate choice of word as his hand continued to be scalded by the presence of the blade Because the Grim Chimera was not lit on fire by the energy that flooded through it It just swelled and crackled with sudden power quite in the same way as RandidlyÆs Judgement had become ridiculously potent by being fed enough Aether to drown Randidly in it

With only a small distance left on the blade to go Randidly shoved his bone spear against the delicate patterns covering the slate grey blade with renewed ferocity and the blade instantly flared angrily to life

The wave of heat that followed in the wake of the Fate activating was so vicious that this time Randidly did drop the blade Fortunately or unfortunately depending on you looked at it the same awakening that caused the heat to spike so sharply upward meant that the now cherry red blade began to float up before Randidly like a furious god about to pass judgment

Congratulations Your Skill Fire Resistance has grown to Level 118

Energy began to concentrate around the blade clearly indicating that the blade wasnÆt going to take this obvious attack laying down Taking a deep breath Randidly drew once more with Cursed Appetite of the Wraith and pulled another small drop of Aether toward himself He shivered in pleasure as it pressed against his skin The refreshing chill and hidden heat of it was addicting As it filtered through his body the slight flickering that had come upon his image with the new advent of the heat ceased

Growling the Grim Chimera rose tall and regal and cloaked with ash and woe Where it couldnÆt cut through the heat it simply pressed it downward forcing the aura of unending fire backward before the raw Aether fueled strength it now possessed

Of course this was all a front Randidly was literally burning through his Willpower much more quickly than was intelligent But he was doing this purposefully so what was about to happen wouldnÆt seem too abrupt

Why does it always have to be heat Randidly thought sourly as he regarded the spreading plumes of molten stone around him But he supposed that eventually these resistance bonuses would add up It was just a quite unfortunate reminder of how much he had struggled against Aegiant

The Grim Chimera and Randidly with it pulled for a fourth time with Cursed Appetite of a Wraith With his vision starting to spin Randidly stepped forward and raised his claw against the red blade It flared even more brilliantly trying to erode the small advantage that Randidly had seized by relying on the fuel of liquid Aether A brilliant white light flashed outward

RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed Perfect

Randidly took another step forward and allowed his body to be baptized in the illogical level of heat His skin dried and cracked The pain was back worse than ever and seemingly everywhere Then now targeting an object with legitimate substance and purpose Randidly grabbed the blade and pulled it into his internal world

and promptly doused it with the swirling Nether that he had been furiously stockpiling ever since he had conceived of this plan His body shook and swayed as he was buffeted internally by the violent reaction between the blade and pool of Nether it was thrust into

Painfully Randidly burped out a mouthful of smoke

Seconds ticked past as Kailm carefully watched Randidly and Randidly did his best not to simply keel over

Congratulations Your Skill FIre Resistance has grown to Level 119

Kailm seemed genuinely surprised You are you alright

Yep Randidly growled breathing out another plume of smoke with his statement

Hmm Kailm studied Randidly carefully As the two figures regarded one another the column of lava that the blade had been floating in collapsed hardening to stone and metal The image of heat rapidly dissipated and soon liquid Aether flowed back into the alcove progressively immersing them

Congratulations Your Skill FIre Resistance has grown to Level 120

Congratulations Your Skill Pain Resistance has grown to Level 114

Wincing Randidly loosened the control he had over his Nether Wells even further The sword in his chest seemed to have realized the dire situation it was thrust into and it began to burn even more furiously It had lightened from red to orange and was now approaching yellow In terms of pain Randidly had no more useful words to describe what he was experiencing

It just fucking hurt His jaw was numb from clenching

So I suppose youÆve swallowed our daughterÆs image Kailm said drily as he continued to study Randidly Congratulations

It uh isnÆt quite complete Randidly snorted out a breath black smog as he modestly denied his success Or rather accurately depicted his current continued struggle

Yea well you havenÆt died yet For a split second KailmÆs face split in a smile that was warm and shining The years seemed to fade away and suddenly he was just another beaming father She takes after me you know No patience If she hasnÆt turned ya to kindling yet you have a fair shot of actually incorporating her into your image

Then the smile faded and Kailm regressed to the wrinkled old guard that had a deftness with images that Randidly dearly wanted Yet Randidly kept his tongue still unwilling to offend Kailm at the moment After all his words made it clear that Kailm was aware that Randidly didnÆt necessarily manage to subdue the image from the blade by playing fair But from the way he spoke it was also clear that Kailm didnÆt care very much

This was sufficient to satisfy the ultimatum

Unfortunately that didnÆt mean that RandidlyÆs situation was a good one The blade in his chest brightened further to release a white light that seemed to sear RandidlyÆs internal image with its light His cores were furiously working to heal the damage dealt to his image body but was only a fraction of the power of those iridescent rays

Luckily the flood of Nether Randidly was now pumping on top of the sword seemed to be doing the trick Finally the light was fading away from the blade

Congratulations Your Skill Fire Resistance has grown to Level 121

Still fucking painful though Randidly huffed out a breath The smoke this time was blessedly more thin and grey With great care he turned and began to set one foot in front of the other to cross the alcove toward the opening into the broader tunnel Randidly kept his spine straight and moved with purpose across the room that was now thick with liquid Aether

Learning from his prior experience Randidly used Cursed Appetite of the Wraith every few steps to fill his body with strength once more He was somewhat sour that it seemed that he was reliant on this method now that he had started enduring this way but it was too late to back down Besides each use of the Skill made his image heavy and solid in front of KailmÆs watchful eyes

Even if just to hide weakness it was definitely worth it

Unfortunately Randidly still moved at a snailÆs pace through the liquid Aether It was simply difficult to force his image there the extremely dense Aether RandidlyÆs eyes never left KailmÆs But IÆm not fucking asking for help from this asshole

After a full minute Randidly had managed to cross the room and passed Kailm But as he did so Kailm spoke softly Wait

Randidly turned and raised an eyebrow at Kailm but as he did so a low rumbled was conveyed through the stone ground to him With a vicious roar the tunnel outside of the alcove was suddenly filled with tumbling Fates The sound of their collisions with each other and the stone walls left Randidly wide eyed

After a few seconds the current of Aether carried them all away A few remnant Fates drifted idly past

Kailm patted RandidlyÆs shoulder Take your time making it back to the surface You have to pick a second Fate right No rush

Then he disappeared leaving Randidly alone in the deep depths of the armory

Chapter 1095

Zauna tiredly rolled her shoulders as they continued to wait for the Ghosthound to return from the armory As her joint lightly popped as she worked through the kink she considered the people that were gathered around them She could tell from SalazarÆs stance that the snake man was nervous but Zauna could do little for him

At the very least most of the mocking commentary from the guards of the armory was only directed toward Zagnal For his part Zagnal had done well enough enduring the constant mocking but it was clear that the more that he was mocked for being a subordinate to an image the more Zagnal forgot what mission he had been clearly given by Queen Iellaya and grew to resent the trio for putting him in a situation like this

Something to watch out for ZaunaÆs eyes glowed quietly

After all in his eyes it was the GhosthoundÆs fault that he was being sent on a mission that he would likely not return from It was one thing to wait for Queen Iellaya to save your people while alive It was quite another to die in her service and hope she kept her word after you were gone

Zauna surprised herself with a long sigh as she confronted the likely truth that she would die soon Despite the fact that she had been long waiting for the chance to die and be liberated from this binding now that there was a concrete chance that would happen her heart seemed to have lost its way

A chance Zauna shook her head ruefully Even I am infected by the GhosthoundÆs madness Even if Yggdrasil can heal us if we make it back to camp it is no help to us out in the Great Rift Even if the Ghosthound is powerful on this mission we can not escape our fate This mission is strategically necessary but all know the result for those sent on it We will die without a doubt

Again Zauna sighed at the heavy word dieÆ But this time she didnÆt question her instinctual reaction A bone deep weariness that stemmed from her own emotional confusion and the weight of the geas she bore was enough of an excuse for the sigh She simply accepted that as the truth and allowed time to pass

The small distraction of the guards teasing Zagnal was eventually cut off by the return of the two figures around the fire that Randidly went to talk to before proceeding into the armory They had been gone and then suddenly they were at the fire playing with smoke Within a minute the guards scattered like pidgeons fluttering out of the way of a car to head toward more hidden parts of the camp

Zagnal sagged like a deflated balloon after they left displaying clearly the weakness that had been picked bloody by these scavengers Rather than standing he sat on the ground and looked at the dirt Licking his lips Salazar stepped forward probably to try and comfort the man but Zauna surprised herself by moving to touch SalazarÆs shoulder

She shook her head strongly nothing good would come from trying to talk to Zagnal right now He was a rusted blade that would be turned on anyone who approached him Trouble enough that they would need to stay with him for their extremely long duration in the Great Rift No need to antagonize him now

Zauna knew only generally that the Aether Key they would be given would last quite some time but she didnÆt know the specific amount But either way keeping relations civil know would stave off the inevitable After all Randidly Ghosthound was not a gentle leader Zauna had no doubt tensions would be high during the mission

Despite SalazarÆs rather vapid expression Zauna knew that the snake man was quite perceptive Seeing her reaching for him Salazar sighed and nodded nervously then moved back toward the largest of the tents Zauna watched him go with mild eyes

If he hadnÆt been so perceptive he wouldnÆt so perfectly needle the Ghosthound whenever the GhosthoundÆs mood became particularly dark Perhaps even more important to Zauna his actions were also a demonstration that Salazar had an empathetic and kind heart

The kind that usually gets you killed in the army Zauna thought moodily as she returned to her silent vigil outside the armory

The sky above them began to darken The shadows flowing down from the high walls of the valley swiftly engulfed them Zauna clicked her teeth together They hadnÆt specifically been given a time limit for the trip to the armory but it had almost been three hours and it was pretty clear that Lord Miln expected them to begin the mission today

Would he come to fetch them after a while Only time would tell

Zauna couldnÆt help herself she chuckled earning herself a sharp look from the morose Zagnal But it truly was funny Although they were being sent to their deaths obviously Lord Miln didnÆt want to directly kill them himself Otherwise he wouldnÆt bother with the fiction of the mission So he could reprimand them for delaying and give them a punishment but that punishment wouldnÆt actually occur until they returned from there mission

Honestly then there was no reason to rush Perhaps the Ghosthound was leisurely proceeding below with his training He was just reckless and masochistic enough to think of something like that even with a death sentence looming above his head Therefore Zauna settled in to wait

At about the six hour mark since the Ghosthound had gone into the armory Zagnal finally could stand it no longer

Hey You two Zagnal said as he walked toward the two figures tending the fire Has he when is Randidly Ghosthound going to be finished with his selection

A cold wind whispered through the camp The subtle background noises of the other guards attending their business suddenly became obvious as they suddenly ceased completely Within that moment Zauna saw all the guards turn and look at Zagnal with a pleading look in their eyes But she also saw in their expression the truth that it was already too late The damage had been done They dreaded would result from this thoughtless shout across the camp after the visitors departed

Inwardly Zauna checked her reaction Had her geass recognized Zagnal as an ally of the Ghosthound that she was required to protect

No came the rather malicious answer Nothing compelled her to move and draw the attention of these powerful individuals ZagnalÆs punishment would be his own So for several seconds she simply watched ZagnalÆs arrogant way of walking toward the fire He opened his mouth again Can you not hear me I asked you

Sighing Zauna stepped forward to follow after Zagnal First sighs and now unnecessary actions today was a strange day for her But she didnÆt regret moving because for the first time in quite some time she was completely in control This was her decision to make Even if she required a direct word from the Ghosthound to speak she could at least choose to protect this fool with her own will

Finally one of the two by the fire looked up and tilted her head toward Zagnal The air shifted

Keh Zagnal flew backward like an invisible giant had kicked him in the chest Luckily Zauna was there to catch his broken form and prevent him from crashing and knocking over one of the guardÆs tents

Zauna checked the foolÆs breathing still alive although reduced to unconsciousness by a single blow That caused Zauna to look carefully up at the two figures by the fire She didnÆt really want to consider what would have happened had either Salazar or herself been the one to endure that sudden blow to the chest The fabric of their image would have collapsed immediately

But as Zauna looked at the figures by the fire she could only blink as she found that the old woman was now standing directly in front of her

My my my The woman tutted She reached out and poked Zauna hard in the chest That boy might make a good show of having patience but he canÆt understand the deep patience someone like you possesses ArenÆt you quite similar to my taste

Even if Zauna wasnÆt quite confused by the sudden movements and touch of the old woman she still wasnÆt able to respond to her due to the geas that prevented her from speaking on matters unrelated to following orders or answering the GhosthoundÆs questions She could only stare firmly at the old woman and hope she didnÆt misinterpret the look

The old woman chuckled DonÆt be like that I can see the weight you bear with you It would even be simple to well perhaps saying so is a cruel truth Instead

The woman reached out and pressed her palm against ZaunaÆs chest with her fingers splayed outward There was a surge of burning heat as the woman forced something out between her fingers and into the substance of ZaunaÆs image But as soon as it arrived it seemed to disappear amongst ZaunaÆs accumulated images As soon as it disappeared Zauna found herself so abruptly chilled that she gaped in surprise

That feeling

A gift for the future The old womanÆs smile was enigmatic Then she turned back toward the pit and the liquified Aether within it As for that boy he should be coming out shortly He well he is a certain sort of monster isnÆt he

Zauna set Zagnal down and moved to the edge of the pit to look down toward the Aether below Salazar moved to join her and they exchanged a glance before looking back toward the armory Perhaps on some level they had begun to worry that he would not even make it out of the armory Especially after listening to the guards ruthlessly mock Zagnal They had made a very compelling case as to why such an action was not possible

But the man who walked down into the armory was not the average Even this monstrous old woman who could destroy Zagnal with a look thought that the Ghosthound was a monster

The first thing they saw was the discoloration The pure azure of the liquified Aether in one small area was slowly corrupted by crimson It started as a pinprick before expanding to the size of a fist and then a basketball Bubbles wandered upward in ones and twos and then by the dozen until the Aether was frothing

The crimson color deepened dominating the azure as it expanded Then the GhosthoundÆs head broke through the surface and his glowing emerald eyes could be seen He was gritting his teeth and suddenly Zauna could see the slow staggering steps that the Ghosthound was taking to move forward Even if he had escaped it clearly had not been easy

But before Zauna could see much more a wave of flame wafted out away from his body It seemed that it had been restrained by the Aether but now that he had broken the surface it the flames were released The stretched upward like grasping hands greedily filling the sky above him The fires around him pushed the liquid Aether backward becoming a pillar almost five meters high

Zauna could hear the Ghousthound curse quietly to himself and watched as the flames slowly shrank back down to simply fingers of fire against the GhosthoundÆs skin He took another staggering step forward then another revealing his entire torso His skin was scratched and burned to an extremely painful degree He honestly looked more than a little disheveled as he moved forward

Again Randidly heaved moving forward another step This time as he ascended out of the Aether he revealed an object he was carrying in his hands A rather sizable wooden trunk kept tightly closed by a shimmering ivory lock

After another step the Ghosthound was only submerged up to his knees Another step Another step And then he was free slowly walking up the slope toward the lip of the armory

H how w w was it Salazar cleared his throat and asked

RandidlyÆs only response was to glare at the old woman standing behind Zauna who began to laugh loudly in response It seemed that his anger was so palpable that when be hissed out his breath two dark streams of smoke curled outward

Delightful Randidly spat out spitefully

Chapter 1096

Groaning Randidly allowed himself to collapse onto the ground in one of the larger tents Although he knew that he had already wasted quite enough time he couldnÆt force himself to head out and get whisked away by Lord MilnÆs plot quite yet He didnÆt have the strength of will remaining to square off against the Supreme Commander of the battlefield at the moment The armory had left Randidly Ghosthound almost completely drained

It was honestly a satisfying feeling Randidly rarely was able to push himself so perfectly on his own the last time he remembered this sensation was during a training session with Shal

As an added bonus this wariness was much different than his usual damage after a journey into the Great Rift Because there was no actual damage to his image he could feel his energy recovery rapidly once he sat down and took a break Plus his Willpower seemed to come back much more compact and potent than it had been previously The pressure of the liquid Aether certainly would end up being a long term boost to his capability

But there was a single problem

Randidly wiped sweat from his brow and turned his focus inward If you donÆt cool it down IÆll drown you in Nether again

A towering pillar of rage blossomed out of the bare blade that was nestled between his two Nether Wells The force of the emotion made Randidly wince However the blade didnÆt unleash any heat this time so Randidly refrained from pouring Nether on it in response The two squared off like that for several seconds waiting to see the otherÆs response Both were running short of patience and understanding

Slowly the rage from the blade dissipated into nothing Sighing Randidly leaned back and shifted his position to something more relaxing The blade was difficult to predict It was only with the help of its flames that he had been able to offset the pressure of the liquid Aether and escape the armory However the behavior of the Fate was extremely erratic

There were times that it seemed to understand Randidly perfectly like it possessed sentience equivalent to a human There were other times however where it completely ignored him or its emotions suddenly dispersed abruptly as though it had reached the edges of its limited consciousness Both of which made communication confusion and frustrating

It did however seem like it was finally remembering where it was and its new relationship with Randidly No longer did it suddenly send out terrible waves of heat to give Randidly internal agony at the slightest provocation Which had led to Skill Levels but it hadnÆt made his journey through the armory any easier

If I could figure how to get it to talk that would be even better But I have the feeling IÆm going to need quite a bit of time before I acclimate to this Fate inside of me I donÆt want to force it before IÆm ready

At that thought Randidly turned his attention to the wooden box that he brought out with him as his second selected Fate Of course the box itself wasnÆt the Fate the true Fate was locked inside by that extremely powerful lock There were also patterns on the box that Randidly vaguely recognized as Aether Engraving Yet the reason he had chosen this Fate was a sense of familiarity that Randidly felt as soon as he had touched the box What was frustrating was that there was something just a little off about that sensation that kept Randidly from being able to place whose image it felt like

Considering some of the entities that Randidly was familiar with he was deeply wary when he felt familiarity wafting up from the box But it couldnÆt be denied that every being that Randidly had met from the Nexus was extremely powerful Perhaps even then Randidly wouldnÆt have risked it without first learning how effective his two Nether Wells were at restraining the other Fate so he hoped the risk would be somewhat mitigated

Worst case scenario and the Fate was the CreatureÆs Randidly could open up his Nether Wells and simply drown the fucking thing until it disintegrated to nothing

Besides the box had saved his life

It was quite soon after he had left the alcove where he obtained the burning blade Randidly was still struggling to control the heat pouring out from his core while simultaneously moving through the dense Aether The pressure was so crushing that his pace was abysmally slow He had made it out into the tunnel but a rumbling made Randidly grit his teeth in furious helplessness

One of those pillars of Fates had struck the ground At that very moment it had been rushing through the underground tunnel system toward him

Randidly had pushed himself as much as he dared ignoring the terrible internal burns his image received and simply dedicated everything to will himself toward a nearby alcove Yet it wasnÆt enough

The current around him was growing making proceeding even more difficult Small Fates that werenÆt stuck in the ground or walls began to tumble slowly down the tunnel around Randidly as they were tugged forward by the growing current In the distance the rumbling sound of the Fates smashing into each other and the walls of the tunnel grew steadily louder

It only took a few seconds before Randidly realized that he wouldnÆt make it it wouldnÆt even be close He was stranded in the middle of the tunnel due to his abysmal speed At that time he had immediately prepared himself to use All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth when he saw something approaching rapidly from a distance

A rather large trunk rolling directly toward him spinning end over end With a wild grin on his face Randidly had lowered his body and prepared for its arrival As the rumbling grew louder RandidlyÆs eyes had glittered More and more Fates were becoming visible pushed down the tunnel by the force of the Aether current behind them The walls of the tunnel had begun to shake

So Randidly had seized onto the large trunk and allowed himself to be carried forward at a speed that he couldnÆt duplicate with his body Because the trajectory of the trunk was slightly off center of the tunnel as the rumbling behind him grew louder Randidly and his trunk transportation neared the wall and eventually tumbled into an alcove

In the nick of time too because the whole tunnel shook with the passage of the Fates with such violence that Randidly was jarred and numb afterward It was only then as he was recovering when Randidly examined the trunk and realized how familiar it felt

There was one problem with this choice of Fate however Randidly eyed the ivory lock that kept the trunk closed suspiciously Somehow without even trying Randidly could sense that whatever material was used in the making of this lock was truly extraordinary When he looked at it he didnÆt think any amount of physical strength would make a difference without the true key

Well thatÆs why IÆm going to cheat and burn it open with Nether Randidly thought with amusement Better to wait until we are in the Great Rift though But itÆs strange Nadia clearly saw the trunk but didnÆt say anything about it Is that a good or a bad sign

Either way Randidly closed his eyes again and simply breathed His strength slowly recovered as he could feel time passing

Eventually his eyes snapped open Randidly walked out of the tent and found his three subordinates waiting for him Time to go We canÆt keep delaying forever

ZagnalÆs expression amongst the three was particularly sour CanÆt we We will only be assigned punishments but those wonÆt take effect until after the mission Might as well savor life now

Randidly sighed and shook his head ruefully DonÆt be such a piece of shit about this That sort of attitude doesnÆt help anyone

yet what other attitude can I have Looking sharply upward Zagnal spat out his words at Randidly He kept his fists at his side but Randidly could see they were clenched You are naught but an image Where does your confidence in survival come from Even if you have obtained two old Fates it is only a matter of time before they devour you

In terms of survival there is no one in this universe more skilled than I The Grim Chimera laughed Randidly eyes flashed cruelly as he considered Zagnal Besides is there any meaning to having or not having confidence If I am finally insufficient it will all end no matter if I worry about it or not Then it seems foolish to waste our time worrying doesnÆt it

You are deranged Zagnal snorted

Randidly shrugged unwilling to admit that this casual insult was likely the most effective of ZagnalÆs verbal barbs so far After all he was a fragment of a personality that was becoming increasingly fragmented the more damage his image received The connections between him the main body and the other images were difficult to define

He continued to think of himself as Randidly Ghosthound but whether that was actually the case

Suppressing his mental doubts Randidly moved past the bitter Zagnal and led the way back toward Lord MilnÆs base Above their heads the strange half light of dawn slowly filtered downward Randidly shook his head in disgust

An entire day wasted Not that I think it was worth it to antagonize Lord Miln purposefully but making him wait is slightly amusing

To RandidlyÆs relief the journey back to the base was an easy one In addition they received no questions when they returned apparently their delay was considered par for the course for trips to the armory Without even needing to speak to Lord Miln they were escorted to the staging area and given the Aether Key they would use

Even in its dormant state Randidly couldnÆt resist staring at the heavy form of the Aether Key in his hand The power wafting off of it was palpable So much so that Randidly felt his image body tingling just from holding the thing In terms of power

But RandidlyÆs examination would need to wait The guards hurried them through the gate and with a nauseating twist Randidly was once more floating amongst the blackness of the Great Rift Randidly breathed in and out letting the Nether sizzle against his skin It was almost a nostalgic sensation at this point especially because his three bubbles reduced the damage from Nether in this relatively unconcentrated form to an absolute minimum

RandidlyÆs claw tightened on the Aether Key and energy surged outward like a stampede of horses But just as quickly as it exploded outward Randidly was there guiding the energy to swirl inward Unlike last time Randidly was prepared for the phenomenon and much more experienced at shaping images especially quickly Therefore a relatively small and solid image appeared in the surrounding area Rather than size Randidly kept the energy concentrated

In addition with a bit of inspiration from his experience with Nether Rituals Randidly arranged some of the lines of the Aether image into a formation that should reinforce the area against outside attacks It was rough work without Aether Manipulation but it would do well enough for now

For the form Randidly chose an old memory It was the small wooden hut that he had stayed in at the beginning of his time on Earth after he escaped from the Dungeon The door was slightly off kilter letting wind and rays of sunlight through to the small interior area There was a cultivated patch of land nearby where Randidly farmed

Randidly was extremely dutiful in his reproduction He created the small dirt path that led down toward the hill of Donnyton proper as well as the track that led out to the place where Sam had been staying with Lyra and the other actresses The soft slope of the valley could barely be seen from the relatively small cross section that Randidly recreated but it felt extremely familiar to his eyes

An old home Randidly thought rather sadly

Chapter 1097

Although he had mostly recovered the first thing that Randidly did in this small nostalgic cabin was rest He spared his two subordinates and one watchdog a glance Salazar was explaining excitedly to Zauna about his skill with herbs while Zagnal was sitting with his arms crossed beneath a tall maple tree

The area was about the size of a football field so there was space enough for the three to wander around in the short term They would swiftly grow bored but it was a diversion for now So Randidly entered into the cabin and settled himself on the familiar straw met pressed up against the West wall

Randidly had gotten a few moments of rest immediately after leaving the armory but what he did now was completely let down his guard With the current Aether density around him Randidly didnÆt think it was possible for the Nether to approach without causing significant reverberations Plus his three companions might not have his same Nether Sensation as he did but they would still recognize a significant force heading in this direction

Despite their presence in the Great Randidly felt safe Although it was clear Lord Miln wanted to kill him all he did was send him out here Which meant no one would be able to watch how Randidly made the impossible possible

The tightly clenched pieces of Randidly and the Grim Chimera gradually loosened as Randidly concentrated on breathing and let everything else fall away Some part of Randidly was aware that time was slipping quickly past but he ignored it If anything it was better this way Plus his attention swiftly became drawn into his internal area

Aether became form and motivation while Nether connected the disparate fragments Grim Chimera in a way that Randidly couldnÆt quite explain It gave him a core and a surface while Aether filled in everything in between His whole being seemed to be slowly approaching a sort of harmony but the note at the core of this transformation was slightly off key

RandidlyÆs relaxed thoughts seemed to intuitively follow that strange feeling of dissonance to the source The strange half dream around him whirled and suddenly Randidly was standing in front of the answer He looked deeply at his three cores So itÆs because these three things are fake huh but if the cores were real

The dream logic twisted and Randidly mentally shrugged Who could say what would happen if the cores were real It certainly wasnÆt like he had seen a true Nether core in action

Well that technically isnÆt true Ripples ran through RandidlyÆs dream as he shifted to the base of the Nether Gatekeeper There was an open doorway he didnÆt need to step through and he was there Even in the dream the Nether sizzled annoyingly at his skin Because it was a dream Randidly felt the pain not as the true agony that it had been but just a constant tingling along his skin

Looking around an endless parade of Nether beasts seemed to be pressing in from every side With a haphazard flourish RandidlyÆs bone spear ripped through large swathes of Nether Beasts In the dream the frustration Randidly held as he was forced to flee without fighting was finally given an outlet

The Nether Beasts died without any noise or struggle but the distinctive sensation of them remained Randidly narrowed his eyes and allowed the sensation of the Nether core to echo through his body His bone spear impacted Nether core after Nether core sending subtle reverberations through his arm His extremely meticulously created skin tingled with the vibrations

Eventually Randidly ceased struggling abruptly realizing that this was a pseudo dream and any information he gathered here might be corrupted by his perception The Grim Chimera was so annoyed at the pointlessness of being here that he raised the bone spear above his head with the intention of shattering the whole area but he paused at the last second

His gaze had caught on VuallaÆs unconscious face Even though this was a dream or perhaps because it was a dream of that place she was clutched in his left claw Her lips were red and several of her azure hairs had escaped from her braid and were curling away from her chin To his sensitive claws she was as cold as the grave the body he held couldnÆt even be considered a corpse

Slowly Randidly lowered his bone spear For several minutes he studied Vualla carefully What is it about you Why do I keep seeing your face in strange places

Then Randidly woke himself up

Shaking his limbs Randidly stood and stretched Then he crouched down and meditated for about ten minutes allowing the resonance in his chest to slowly build In only a few minutes the notification that he was waiting for appeared before him

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Detection has grown to Level 169

Randidly grinned Was Aether Detection always this high of a Level Seems like the main body truly hasnÆt just been sleeping in the meantime well all I really need now is to figure out a way to free him from Lord MilnÆs fucked up suspension pod

Shaking his head Randidly turned to the wooden chest and examined it with his newly recovered Aether Detection As he suspected not only the ivory lock but also the whole of the wooden trunk was covered in meticulous Aether Engravings

Some of his original knowledge of Engravings returned with Aether Detection but not all of it So it was extremely slow going to try and interpret what the Aether on the wood was doing Even after spending several hours examining it he couldnÆt be entirely sure what most of the more intricate Engravings did But Randidly did have a pretty good idea that the Engravings main purpose was to make the box impossible to open without the key

Which is basically what I already knew

Snorting Randidly crouched down next to the box and reached out with his claw A shiver ran through him as he activated NetherÆs Caress With his Nether Sensitivity Randidly carefully examined the process of the Skill That familiar pain came but now Randidly had a better understanding of why it had hurt so much to use previously

Because the Skill NetherÆs Caress seemed to open a portal directly to somewhere that was filled with extremely dense Nether It wasnÆt as dense as Randidly had experienced in the Nether GatekeeperÆs base but it certainly would have done incredible damage to both his physical body and his image when he used it on Earth

As Randidly experimented he realized that he was able to independently close that small portal in his hand while keeping the Skill going Of course the Skill then quickly failed without Nether but Randidly opened up his Nether WellÆs and supplied ample Nether to the Skill Very quickly thin tendrils of black energy danced across his long talons With a much much diminished feeling of dull pain in his hand

Grinning Randidly reached out and began to squeeze the ivory lock

Congratulations Your Skill NetherÆs Caress has grown to Level 88

Unfortunately the lock didnÆt swiftly disintegrate as Randidly had been hoping In fact it felt like he was doing very little The closest sensation Randidly could compare it to was the feeling of spraying water on a stone in order to wear it down He would get results eventually but it would take quite a lot of water

Grumbling about the typical struggles of his life Randidly brought his three pseudo cores spinning into his taloned claw As they accelerated Randidly was forced to allow more and more Nether to go pouring out of his Nether Wells and flow into his arm

Which unfortunately had the blade Fate in his chest flaring with agonizing heat

Jesus relax IÆm not going to dose you again Randidly said through gritted teeth He tried his best to convey his lack of aggression to the Fate although it was becoming difficult as the pain made him strongly consider teaching the Fate a lesson by blasting it with Nether

However the Grim Chimera had more than a little sympathy for the blade It was clear that it wasnÆt entirely conscious and it was completely at RandidlyÆs mercy Despite the fact that it wasnÆt a person or perhaps because of it Randidly couldnÆt bring himself to use the Nether against the blade unless it was absolutely necessary

The Grim Chimera easily remembered the pain of being weak and afraid In spite of the pain the Grim ChimeraÆs image swirled protectively around the blade to keep Nether away from it

After a few seconds it seemed that some of RandidlyÆs emotions reached the blade Like a pouting child the heat from the blade faded to a slow but still painful simmer The Grim ChimeraÆs patience was almost completely spent but Randidly gritted his teeth and turned his attention back toward controlling the Nether in his left hand Despite the constant distraction of the bladeÆs heat very quickly the three spinning cores had stabilized

Instantly the dark flames of NetherÆs Caress grew to double their size With a renewed determination Randidly once more pressed his Nether against the ivory lock

Congratulations Your Skill NetherÆs Caress has grown to Level 89

Well itÆs definitely better Randidly sighed But itÆs still going to take a while which sort of reminds me shouldnÆt we have heard something from the Nether by now

Slowly stabilizing the Nether cores inside of him Randidly walked out of the shack and looked around Whereas Zauna and Salazar seemed to be busying themselves with harvesting plants from the farm Zagnal was still lying underneath the maple tree looking upward toward the deep blackness around them

Randidly approached his fellow images first No sign of the Nether

no Zauna said shortly

Salazar brightened and offered Randidly a tomato N no but I d d did find t these They a appear to b b be a fleshy edible sp sphere

Despite SalazarÆs usual nonsense and the difficulty Randidly had with opening the trunk he was still in a good mood So he was opening his mouth to actually engage SalazarÆs nonsense when a voice cut across him

Are you daft

Randidly twisted and looked at the sitting form of Zagnal The dragon man was glaring over at him with undisguised contempt So much so that Randidly didnÆt even bother to answer He just regarded Zagnal cooly with his emerald eyes

As Randidly expected Zagnal quickly spat out a blob of saliva and stood Why would the Nether attack now The Aether Key is at its strongest right when it arrives They will wait and bide their time until we are weak

HavenÆt I been working within the hut for quite some time Randidly growled In fact he didnÆt really know how long it had been his strange dozing state had seen him lose track of time and he still didnÆt have the Absolute Timing Skill But Randidly felt sure that it had been a significant amount

A week has passed but thatÆs nothing to this Aether Key Zagnal said dismissively Randidly froze at the revelation of how long he had been meditating and to his surprise Zagnal seemed to take great joy in it Ha WerenÆt you informed this wasnÆt your usual Aether Key The Nether might not attack early but they will eventually attack because they are insane creatures of instinct And the reason Lord Miln is sure that we will die is these greater Aether Keys the time varies based on attacks from Nether but they last for around one year

Randidly blinked slowly We will be here for a year

ZagnalÆs mouth twisted Plenty of time for Nether forces to gather and smother us

Chapter 1098

Like IÆm gonna fucking gonna waste a year of time here The Grim Chimera immediately growled With a flinty light in his eyes he ignored the rest of ZagnalÆs tirade and got to work

The first thing Randidly did was return to his shack and confirm the truth of what Zagnal had been saying His Aether Detection Skill focused in on every flow and ebb of the Aether around them With a patience that the Grim Chimera rarely showed he carefully monitored the situation of the Aether Key and the energy flowing out of it He carefully monitored the amount flowing out of the Aether Key and the tightly bound chunk of Aether he still felt within it

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Detection has grown to Level 170

Hours passed with agonizing slowness Even though he felt his Perception stretched to its limits it wasnÆt enough He still couldnÆt make out any change in the quantity of Aether contained in the Aether Key His face twisted in a scowl

ItÆs an answer If I canÆt fucking tell any difference after this long itÆs going to last a long time And itÆs hard to know if I m going to be away for what I think is a year or a year in real time If what I heard about Aether warping the perception of time is true

The second thing Randidly did was rip the careful but ungainly arrangement of Aether he had added that helped maintain the vulnerable energy once it was exposed to the influence of the Great Rift If he was already going to be stuck here for almost a year Randidly wanted no other forces extending that time limit It was one thing to be away from the battlefront for a year but to also be away from Earth for that length of time

The First Calamity isnÆt something I should need to help with anyway but still RandidlyÆs bone spear lashed out in the middle of the shack gleaming with the baleful flames of Nether The air in the surrounding area warped and rippled but quickly recovered the Aether in the surrounding area was simply too dense

But at least that proves I can actually use my own Nether to deplete the Aether here if I have to RandidlyÆs eyes burned emerald as he turned his gaze on the Aether Key But his mouth twisted But I doubt it would be smart to attack the Aether Key directly The Engravings that cover it are clearly powerful it was specifically designed to be sent into the Great Rift there is no way the forces of Aether would send it out alone if it had no direct defenses against attacks Which means the safe plan is slowly depleting it

Randidly released a breath and did his best to force himself to calm down Despite that terrible urgency in his chest the cautious way was the best method A year felt like a long time especially considering all the other factors that were in play But it wouldnÆt be that long not so long as he kept working at shortening it

Without relying on Nether this time Randidly reached out toward the steady flow of energy that was coming out of the Aether Key and began to try and seize it It was an extremely difficult thing to manipulate directly The familiar icy coldness and burning heat of Aether flowed unwillingly through his fingers like water He could force it to flow in certain directions but he could not control its movements However the difficulty didnÆt make Randidly give up If anything he bent over his task with even more determination

After an extended struggle against the Aether he felt the familiar resonance in his chest With renewed vigor Randidly continued Very soon the notification popped up

Congratulations Your Skill Aether Manipulation has grown to Level 199

Well that Skill Level is certainly much higher than it was previously Randidly looked at the notification with relish What has the main body been doing that made Aether Manipulation rise so quickly

Randidly could guess the details but the specifics really didnÆt matter for his current purposes All that mattered was that it was one more confirmation the main body had his own struggle and that he had not just given up and was waiting for his images to return to him

That thought gave Randidly pause Does that mean the main body is severely weakened because all of the images were taken out of him It might be why he can only really work with the Aether based Skills nothing else has enough punch to make a dent without an image behind it

But RandidlyÆs focus quickly returned to the present It wasnÆt like there was a hard time limit on what he wanted to do but the Grim ChimeraÆs impatience urged him forward

The third thing Randidly did was speak quietly to Zauna and Salazar Around SalazarÆs frequent digressions and ZaunaÆs one word answers Randidly was able to basically flesh out the information that Zagnal had so harshly flaunted in RandidlyÆs face

It confirmed his worst fears They were using a strategicÆ grade Aether Key whereas most missions usually involved tacticalÆ grade And this difference would mean that their experience would be vastly different Even worse Zauna confirmed that the time limit for the mission was measured in real time not in the time that they would experience

Tactical grade Aether Keys were genuinely used to destabilize the strange formations that the Nether used to gather momentum for attacks Meanwhile the strategic grade Aether Keys were often used as a smokescreen for large scale operations When a sufficient number were deployed at key locations essentially all of the NetherÆs available information was blocked off Nether could send forces around the outskirts to attack but most of the frontline was screened off

Of course the Nether could overwhelm these Aether Keys But why would they Considering the presence in the Great Rift the Aether Keys would eventually be depleted without the main forces even raising a finger Because in the history of this long war between Aether and Nether a year was a pittance

Yet neither side would miss this chance to mass their forces for the confrontation that was to come

The reason that everyone believed that this was a suicide mission was that the Nether would inevitably break through the Aether keys eventually after they had weakened so as to take the forces of Aether by surprise It was partially a question of when but it was also a calculated gamble on the part of the Nether

Too early and they might take the forces of Aether by surprise but the attack would be too costly Too late and the forces of Aether would have basically finished their own preparations anyway and moving wouldnÆt be worth it But it also wasnÆt like the Nether wanted to let Aether dictate the timings of their engagements

Randidly chuckled darkly as he returned to his shack I suppose both sides will be quite surprised when this Aether Key flickers out early But it might be a problem if the massing Nether forces notice and attack while this thing is still dimly functioning

There was one more piece of information that Randidly obtained from Zauna Unlike the tactical grade Aether Keys which worked off of a timer the strategic grade would only teleport back to the battlefront when all of the Aether in it was completely exhausted or if it was triggered by a powerful force of Nether

Unfortunately for Randidly the teleportation process for the later would be prefaced by a devastating explosion designed to punish those seeking to attack the Aether Key So it probably wasnÆt safe for him to trigger the Aether Key the second way even assuming ample preparation time The Grim Chimera was designed for survival but none of its Skills were really defensive in nature He could only deplete the energy the old fashioned way and hope for the best

With everything confirmed he got directly to work

Slowly RandidlyÆs days settled into a certain sort of routine In the mornings he focused on training up his Grim Chimera images These Skill Levels came slowly but it was the only time that Randidly could rid himself of the insidious hatred that was bubbling up toward Lord Miln and the ridiculous unfairness of the Great Rift battlefront So much had been done to him and Randidly was left with very few ways of refusing

The price of being weak The Grim Chimera whispered The Fate blade in RandidlyÆs chest hummed in agreement

After exercising Randidly first spent some time communicating with the Fate blade and raising his intimacy To his surprise despite the continued erratic behavior out of the blade he found himself getting along with it quite easy Slowly but surely Randidly could feel some of its defenses lowering and a warmer and more nurturing heat flowing out of the Fate blade to reinforce RandidlyÆs image body

Of course warmer and more nurturingÆ was simply a relative term

Congratulations Your Skill Fire Resistance has grown to Level 142

It was still an extremely painful process Even if the Fate was slowly feeding Randidly power willingly it was still power from a blade with no handle there was no way to get around the fact that this power would wound the user just as deeply as it would cut the enemy

In addition Randidly was somewhat surprised by the jumbled and contradictory answer he received when he timidly asked the Fate blade why it was willingly giving up its power

Do you think I wanted this power It is the reason I have not yet been able to die Take it all from me Tomo

The Grim Chimera grew very still at that answer and it wasnÆt the fact that the blade had started weirdly referring to him as Tomo at some point A deep kaleidoscope of emotions flashed out of the depths of the Fate blade as it spoke a dense misture of hatred and fear and depression and an endless sea of loss drowning all of the rest The blade began to glow cherry red with the force of the emotions and the will behind them But then the emotions twisted and vanished In the next moment it seemed like the blade completely forgot what it had said

Randidly didnÆt ask about its motivations again

From midday to midnight Randidly practiced with Nether and wore away at the ivory lock on the chest During this time he didnÆt forget to allow a significant amount of Nether to escape and deplete some of the surrounding Aether These were the most tedious of RandidlyÆs training methods but he had no choice but to simply put the weight of his will against the lock and continue to force the issue Unfortunately progress was annoyingly slow Some part of Randidly worried that the Aether Key would give out before the trunk did

Once every day Randidly would leave the shack and talk to his subordinates To his surprise both Salazar and Zauna seemed quite content to just savor the image and do their best attempts to harvest the image vegetables and fruits that grew in this place They had almost doubled the size of the farm while Randidly kept himself locked away and this action made some deep part of Randidly trembled There were simply too many memories here

Then sharing a meal about two weeks after they had arrived in the Great Rift Randidly realized something He grinned up at the sky The issue of escaping this place and the relative time difference had grabbed too much of his attention He was stuck here but that doesnÆt mean he was blind

Randidly still had Nether Rituals

Chapter 1099

From the moment that Randidly recalled Nether Rituals forward he spent the middle portion of his day depleting Aether with the convenient distraction of the Nether Ritual taking his attention to another place It was a surprisingly complex process but it definitely helped alleviate some of the monotony of the task

For better or worse Randidly chose Vualla as his first target Inwardly he justified it by saying that Vualla was the only individual who he had successfully targeted in the past and therefore she was a safe first choice but the Grim Chimera was very glad to have another opportunity to see her Considering the fact that he was forced to leave so suddenly

There was a moment of hesitation as he fed Nether into the ritual as he wondered if it would work from within the Great Rift with the strategic grade Aether Key active but almost immediately the image of Vualla fluttered to life before his eyes

Randidly gritted his teeth If this works is there actually any point to using the Aether Keys to screen the forces of Nether If not then why

But for the moment he let that thought slide away and focused on Vualla Of course this was where the difficulty started

There was a marked time difference between Randidly and Vualla Because his Perception accelerated she appeared to be walking underwater in slow motion Randidly studied the difference for several seconds then clicked his tongue ItÆs about one third of the speed of what IÆm experiencing Shit that means that it will feel like I spent three years here if I let the Aether Key run its course

But honestly it was better than the alternative of time passing too quickly while Randidly was training here At least this gave him more of a chance to work up some Skill Levels But while watching the Nether RItual Randidly couldnÆt handle the speed So he breathed slowly in and out and forced himself relax Then he relaxed further With half closed eyes he slowed his heart rate down until it beat only once every five seconds

Slowly his Perception slowed down until the picture he was watching seemed close enough to a normal speed

Vualla was walking along the supply caravan track along the rear of the camps accompanied by two people To RandidlyÆs surprised this was one of the few times where the supply caravans appeared to be running so large clouds of dust partially obscured their figures But Randidly could see that VuallaÆs long strides put her well ahead of the other two who were trailing along behind her while talking to each other quietly

One of the two Randidly recognized it was Lady Iellaya looking particularly well behaved But the other person was a small hairless main with rather pallid grey skin RandidlyÆs lip instinctively curled upward as he considered the three people filled with a flinty rage that seemed to have no real justification But then Randidly noticed the slight interference and pulled back to look inward

Main body this isnÆt funny RandidlyÆs rage easily shifted to a new target Even if her Aether feels ancient she is a good person DonÆt you dare try and influence my feelings any longer

There was no response from the main body but that feeling of disgust and rage directed toward the individuals he saw in the Nether Ritual faded away After waiting a few seconds to be sure the emotions were gone Randidly turned his attention back to the picture in front of him Once more he forced the heart rate that had accelerated with his rage to slow back down

Vualla continued to stride forward gaining more distance between her and the other two Eventually Lady Iellaya looked up with a frown Vualla Mateo As I said he has already departed for his mission There is no purpose in hurrying Why not enjoy the sights

Vualla gave Lady Iellaya a look so disgusted that Randidly snorted After gesturing with obvious sarcasm to the surrounding area that was mostly obscured by smoke Vualla said Ah yes the sights Wonderful Then she turned on her heel and continued to stalk forward

Little missy not much farther than that The hairless man said with a disturbingly high giggle Which was exactly when Randidly realized that there was no visual variation on this man at all He dominated his own image perfectly

With deliberate care Vualla slowed and turned around Bah havenÆt the testimony of all those in Lady IellayaÆs camp proven that Randidly was sufficiently singular Which proves that you donÆt catch every talented individual called here Which should prove that IÆm not maliciously here on the frontlines your stupid Brigade simply isnÆt as effective at catching all the talent here as you think it is DonÆt be too disappointed realizing your weaknesses is just part of growing up

The hairless manÆs smile grew sharper but he only shrugged in response to VuallaÆs scathing words This boy is a diversion nothing more IÆm sure you realized that I didnÆt really care much for him Otherwise would I have simply let him go on his mission without acting

VuallaÆs jaw clenched but she didnÆt seem too surprised So then Terith keeping me locked up in my tent for insubordination

Games are never fun if they are too easy The hairless grey skinned man grinned wickedly at Vualla His voice continued to pipe up erratically as he spoke If you have a problem with my behavior there is an easy solution just agree to join the Xyrt Brigade IÆll have this Randidly fellow recalled immediately And believe me I naturally possess the clout to order your precious Lord Miln around

Vualla didnÆt answer The manÆs smile stretched even wider Do you care about him or donÆt you girl Is he so singular that he caught your attention or is he an image you will let die like every other image here on the frontlines

Randidly could see the throbbing veins in VuallaÆs temple His gaze narrowed to a sizzling point as his focus moved back to the wrinkly and small man This bastard was trying to use him to apply pressure on Vualla Although Randidly didnÆt have much information about the Xyrt Brigade he certainly couldnÆt think it was a very good place to be if this was how they typically recruited people

But some part of Randidly did snag on the word singular ThatÆs thatÆs a good way to describe how I feel about Vualla She

It seemed that VuallaÆs anger was obvious to this hairless fellow as well because he cackled again Of course there is always the third option if you can defeat me in battle IÆll swear my eternal loyalty to you I will become naught but your humble slave But if you lose youÆll come to the Xyrt Brigade for one hundred years ArenÆt my terms fair Ah I know what this hesitation is an older man such as myself propositioning a younger woman are you perhaps intimidated Let me assure you your shapeless and fleshy body isnÆt what I desire ItÆs simply that image you possess That is what will soon be mine

This fuck RandidlyÆs gaze contained every ounce of condensed hatred that he could manage So much so that the blade Fate in his chest activated in response Its howl for blood exploded outward inside of Randidly scalding his insides His heart rate spiked once more and he began to grudgingly force his rage down so the time difference didnÆt grow too great It isnÆt enough to goad her into a duel against someone who has lived for far longer in the Nexus than she has but heÆs also insulting her

IÆm just one more lever in a litany of tools this piece of shit is willing to use against Vualla

Vualla turned away from the man He leaned forward sneering as he walked with Lady Iellaya up toward Vualla Do not believe I will hold up my end of the deal I swear on the honor of my name Cail Tweocs Ah or perhaps this GhosthoundÆs life isnÆt important enough to you Lady Iellaya made it clear what his mission was yes He will not return alive from the deployment of a strategic Aether Key The Nether will overwhelm him in an endless swarm If you donÆt act before that happens

Randidly bit his lip so hard that it bled His gaze went to Lady Iellaya who remained completely passive through the entire conversation In addition this CailÆs statements about being able to recall Randidly it seemed like he was from another battlefield of some sort One that had a much higher standing than Lord Miln

This was exactly the sort of figure that Randidly wanted to get in contact with so he could try and use this power from within the Nexus to get his body back Yet as Randidly watched this Cail Tweocs using RandidlyÆs own life as a bargaining chip to coerce Vualla

I will kill you someday Cail Tweocs The Nether in RandidlyÆs body that he was using to erode the surrounding Aether and the ivory lock roiled Time was slowing down in the Nether RItual as his own time returned to its normal progression but he didnÆt care There was a strange sense of oneness coming from his chest It seemed that every fibre of his being was imbued with that burning hatred against this man With the strange feeling of parallel time the sensation was chaotic and violent but Randidly found strength in that oneness I will not forget what you are attempting to do here

Only after he had burned his resolution into his mind did Randidly set about the task of reducing his heart rate once more But even once he returned to watching the scene the strange changes werenÆt finished

In the periphery of his focus Randidly sensed the Nether Ritual begin to mutate Perhaps it was really a gradual process of evolution but as Randidly allowed his Perception to slow down to match the vision he was seeing in the Nether Ritual the Ritual itself now seemed to bubble and warp at a monstrous pace As his emotions seethed through his chest the Ritual was fueled to a transformation monstrous enough to match them

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 17

Perhaps even more strangely Cail Tweocs abruptly froze in his stalking walk toward Vualla He raised his bald head and slowly scanned the surrounding area Randidly felt a tingling feeling of shock but the hatred was too large to take back now The emotion flowed endlessly into the ritual It had previously filled his being and now it was being fueled by that wild obsession of the Fate blade inside of him The Nether Ritual was coming to a point

who Cail Tweocs muttered but at that moment Vualla raised her head and laughed

Is he that important I actually find myself asking myself the same thing pretty often He couldnÆt be right Vualla flashed a dazzling smile toward Cail I havenÆt known him long WeÆve only been on one mission together taken one walk and had two conversations beside that The amount of time we have spent together is so short And yet

Do you ever feel like your life has been completely laid out for you Like even as you walk and talk you are simply repeating the script that someone else provided to you ThatÆs how I feel Or how I felt Vualla shook her head ruefully I didnÆt even realize how stale my life had become until I met Randidly Ghosthound The image who had fought long and hard enough to obtain two stars Something I had never seen before Someone who thew himself into danger time and time again not because he knew he could survive but because he wanted to make a difference He woke me up from a dream that everyone else had for my life

Randidly twitched awkwardly IÆm not that selfless a person

Even as warmth surged through Randidly at her words it didnÆt stop his emotions from flowing into the Ritual The fuel changed but if anything it only grew more quickly once RandidlyÆs hatred toward Cail changed into something more tender aimed at Vualla

If Cail had been able to sense whatever it was that was occurring with the Nether Ritual his attention was now dragged back to the young woman in front of him by the same words that had such a profound effect on Randidly Vualla raised her heavy gauntleted fist and pointed toward Cail Tweocs ThatÆs why yes heÆs important to me More important that can just be explained by whatÆs actually happened Because because I believe when we finally get the chance the connection we will make

I shouldnÆt feel as connected to you as I do yea I get it But still ThatÆs the way I feel All of the hatred faded into something less violent but the Nether Ritual continued to rapidly inflate underneath the surge of emotion that Randidly felt

Shallow relationships will fade with time Someone like you someone like that you two should not have met Cail arrived next to Vualla Although he was slightly shorter than her his presence was still a towering shadow cast by this strange man Every step seemed to shake the visual cues in the surrounding area into a more frantic vibration You were meant for a higher calling With an image like yours we can finally find what we are looking for

Chuckling Vualla raised her head to the sky Then why canÆt I get the warmth of his tail wrapped around my waist out of my mind Why even now do I feel him by my side ItÆs like heÆs looking over my shoulder right as you are blabbering nonsense at me

Yes thatÆs exactly right DonÆt give up and neither will I If we never get up this whole fucked up System RandidlyÆs eyes burned The Nether Ritual began to rumble ominously The energy spiraled inward toward the core building and building With the time difference Randidly could barely keep track of the changes going through the Nether Ritual It was barely enough for him to continue to peer through it to Vualla

And then Randidly felt it If he raised his hand now

He didnÆt hesitate at all Randidly reached with every fiber of his being toward the woman with the azure hair and the will to destroy everything in her path The Nether Ritual exploded but his hand was traveling across time and distance Heat and desire and the memory of the sound of her voice carried that reach forward even as some terrible weight of the universe took notice of his grasp Instantly Randidly felt resistance from the surrounding area The things between them were a wall that prevented the connection The wall whispered to him it was insurmountable

Randidly continued to reach The wall denied him passage and chided him on his foolishness

Yet somehow

It was like Randidly could follow the particular image of Vualla right back to the source The grasp pierced forward through the talkative wall shooting through the Great Rift and back toward the domain of Aether

But as soon as that certainly of arrival reached Randidly the Nether Ritual in front of him withered With the touch sent the vision that Randidly was watching faded The dull ache from channeling so much Nether wildly through his body for so long hit him and Randidly could only groan His heartbeat sped rapidly up as he finally released the tight pressure he had kept against it Nether was visibly wafting out of his body so Randidly hastily closed off his Nether Wells

Collapsing on the ground RandidlyÆs mind yearned to be with the whatever he had sent toward Vualla But for now it was enough that it was sent

Chapter 1100

Of course whatever had happened with the Nether Ritual meant that Randidly was stuck out of the watching for a while In addition his left claw was extremely sore as it had remained in the drawn out time of this dense Nether flow while his Perception slowed down to follow that sort stint of VuallaÆs that Randidly had watched It had earned him several Skill Levels but that might just be a relative time thing

But honestly the pain was a bitch Even with his cores and bubbles it was aggravatingly constant

It felt like not very long had passed but time moved strangely as Randidly used the Nether Ritual More strangely than usual

Sitting cross legged in his shack Randidly dearly wanted to use Nether Ritual again to try and confirm that he had reached Vualla Considering the things that Cail said he was clearly trying to push her toward something Maybe not now but it was building toward something To give in to the more dangerous side of her emotions It was frustrating to be used as a tool by this weird looking man but most of RandidlyÆs fear was focused on the possibility that Cail would succeed

Yet for the first time since Randidly had conceived of the Grim Chimera it counseled patience If one Nether Ritual wouldnÆt convince her more would also not convince her Did you see her spirit Respect that

Randidly closed his eyes and waited for the pain of using Nether to fade He needed to trust in the emotions that he had transferred through the mutating Nether Ritual With every fiber of his being he had sought to confirm the very same emotions that made Vualla say those lines The hatred for those in power the wonder toward their seemingly fragile connection the hope for the future Those emotions had been dispatched For someone who those things werenÆt enough more wouldnÆt change things

But even as Randidly told himself that he knew that the fear in his heart urged him to send more To overwhelm Vualla with the message until she had no choice but to believe Releasing a breath Randidly stood

To keep himself distracted Randidly continued with his daily practice as the deep wound he had received from letting his attention wander from how much Nether was moving through his body The schedule became law to Randidly Adapt to the energy of the Fate blade Follow through the motions of the Grim ChimeraÆs moves Carefully examine and tug away the loose strings of the Aether Key with his Aether Skills so this strange prison in which Randidly found himself would tumble down faster

Meditate and calm his emotions while he waited for his claw to recover from the exposure to Nether

Small steps forward Small steps he took alone ignoring the maelstrom of emotions that chased each other endlessly in his chest If feeling something could change the world wouldnÆt Nadia and Kailm have been able to revive their daughter No the only thing I can trust is my own strength Vualla and I are in this situation because we are weak If we can take that step forward

After his practice finished he went out and forced himself to spend some time with Salazar and Zauna

For their part it was obvious that they were both savoring the simple life of farming that this image provided them The relish with which they approached the tasks was staggering to Randidly To them nothing seemed more satisfying than continuing their idyllic existence here in an oasis in the Great Rift But in some way he understood

Although it wasnÆt fair to say they had given up they had accepted that their fates had been bound to Randidly Their survival was tied to him When it was so obvious that he was furiously training himself it was their job to relax and wait They found harmony in their existence Aside from the continually grumpy Zagnal the dinner of harvested fruits and vegetables that Randidly had with those images become something of a mental sanctuary for him

Which Randidly supposed they understood Which was why they so enthusiastically embraced it

It wasnÆt that his hatred for the System that took advantage of him faded but his empathy for the other people struggling in the System grew Vualla might be the one who so perfectly shared his ideology but they did not have a monopoly on suffering from the whims of the Nexus Seeing these people seize onto the small moments of peace was oddly moving

With a calmer heart Randidly returned to his tent and began to weave a Nether Ritual The wound of his claw had finally recovered

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 25

At the number RandidlyÆs eyes flashed It seemed he had been so wrapped up in the vision of Vualla two days ago that he had missed some Skill Levels But it did make sense that whatever happened yesterday would lead his Skill Level to shoot upward

Slowly the image before him resolved He focused in on VuallaÆs figure Once more he detached his Perception and allowed it to slow down to match what he was watching Steadily the figures came into sharper focus

Vualla was now standing outside the tent of Lord Miln with Lady Iellaya Both were looking toward the closed entrance to the tent but RandidlyÆs focus narrowed on Vualla Her face looked strangely drawn Although she still looked determined it was a much more passive stance than Randidly was used to seeing on her face

What had happened while I was away

Before Randidly could worry further Cail Tweocs walked out of the tent with a huge grin on his face Seeing both of the women looking at him in askance Cail pounded his chest self importantly and piped up Ahem After much consultation I have agreed with Lord Miln that it is best for all involved that the image Randidly Ghosthound remains on the front lines

Randidly studied VuallaÆs reaction carefully but she didnÆt even bat an eyelash

In fact it was Lady Iellaya who spoke You spoke with Lord Miln for three hours just to reach that result

Cail Tweocs gaze was extremely sharp toward Lady Iellaya I certainly am not in the habit of letting subordinates speak so disrespectfully to me Or justifying myself to my lessers

Lady Iellaya flushed and looked at the ground As Randidly studied her his mind slowly grasped an inkling about what was going on in front of him Probably just like Randidly Lady Iellaya was seeking support from a powerful outside force to help her against Lord Miln Perhaps she had believed that Cail might be exactly that force but she had no choice but to rethink her stance after witnessing how long Cail and Lord Miln spoke to each other

The length of time implied that an accord had been reached there and it was bad for anyone who was aiming to deal with Lord Miln

Of course my apologies Lady Iellaya said mechanically Then shall we

Ah no Cail Tweocs hopped forward to land directly in front of Lady Iellaya While we are here Lord Miln expressed an interest in speaking to you Please head inside

What Lady Iellaya blinked Then an invisible mask seemed to settle over her face and she nodded like this was the most obvious thing in the world Without sparing either of them a glance Lady Iellaya stalked forward

RandidlyÆs focus turned toward Vualla and Cail But unfortunately they settled next to each other without much comment Both seemed content to wait with their thoughts Randidly sighed and twisted the Nether Ritual to look toward the tent

As he grew more proficient with the Skill he realized that it was possible to move the perspective a bit although Randidly wasnÆt sure whether it was his own capabilities increasing or he was finally taking advantage of the options that were already present in the Nether Ritual Either way his focus drifted slowly toward the tent The connection was directed toward Vualla but as long as he didnÆt stray too far away

At the edge of the tent Randidly hesitated It was possible that there were defenses in the tent that would keep his Nether Ritual away And in fact Randidly could feel powerful lines of Aether coursing through one side of the tent likely doing precisely that But that was the far side likely where all of the bodies were kept by Lord Miln

Feeling himself stretch away from Vualla Randidly slid through the service of the tent

WhatÆs your game Lady Iellaya hissed

Lord Miln was in his typical place behind his desk looking at Lady Iellaya with an amused expression ArenÆt we in the same boat I seek to advance the status of my Citizenship ticket In the Nexus power and influence are everything I simply cannot fail here Why do you act like our interests are at odds

Your leadership is bleeding us dry Lady Iellaya countered Honestly Randidly wished he would have come into the tent a little bit earlier to see what it was that Lord Miln had said earlier to upset Lady Iellaya so much Besides do you not already have the qualification to apply for Tier 3 Citizenship If you wish to retire

What if Tier 3 isnÆt the limit Lord Miln whispered

Lady Iellaya froze

Softly laughing Lord Miln cracked his fingers I heard a rumor that Tier 4 is possible Rare but possible It simply requires sufficient qualifications You might see it as bleeding our forces but thatÆs not what IÆm doing IÆm setting the stage for my triumphant victory

You are insane Lady Iellaya whispered She shook her head Do you think that Tier 4 could remain hidden if it was true

Do you think people like us are privy to all the secrets of the Nexus Suddenly a shadow came across Lord MilnÆs face Then he slowly shook his head I know youÆve been investigating me I advise you to stop for your own sake But I am a generous man The rumor said that the reward for Tier 4 Citizenship is an entire Cohort wouldnÆt that amount of land be sufficient for my own purposes and for your own followers to settle

Lady Iellaya stared at Lord Miln The silence stretched until Lord Miln leaned purposefully forward

You have no idea how big this is going to be Lady Iellaya Set down your crown and serve me and you will receive everything you ever desired

except a throne Lady Iellaya raised her head The feathers on her arms flexed And that is the one thing I cannot compromise on I have my integrity

fine we will set aside the issue of fealty for now Lord MilnÆs smile was wide and white However perhaps an easier compromise is in order Please send the image YggdrasilÆ to die in the Great Rift

Chapter 1101

After his exhaustion from long hours of Nether expenditure starting to build up once more Randidly allowed the Nether Ritual to fade with a furious expression The pupils of his emerald eyes were narrowed to pinpoints Lady Iellaya had left the tent without giving Lord Miln a definitive answer but it was clear that she was considering it

Once more the Fate blade gleeful released waves of heat through RandidlyÆs core as she reveled in the roiling emotions he was releasing The emotions swirled around with the heat and became something almost physical RandidlyÆs image body slowly became increasingly heavy as it was weighed down with the solidified emotions

I really canÆt waste too much time here Randidly pressed his eyes closed Everyone is too vulnerable without me

But they are definitely stronger than these fucks think The Grim Chimera opened its eyes and offered a promise in the form of a crooked smile They will not go easily into the vast and final darkness Try sending Yggdrasil out on a normal mission and I bet he survives and grows stronger just like I did Hell heÆs been around with main body longer than I have In the short term he will probably be fine

Then itÆs an issue of how much faster I can push the destabilization of the Aether Key Randidly muttered as he looked down at his hand His left claw now was covered in faint blue veins that pulsed slowly with light exactly like the veins of the Great Rift Perhaps the variation in the form was a result of his distracted usage Nether Acclimation is going quickly upward but to unleash even more Nether

Randidly hesitated He assumed that when he went back he didnÆt want it to be leaked that he could freely use Nether Well perhaps freely was the wrong word But he wanted to keep his capabilities a secret from his subordinates in case they would inform someone else on him But if he kept his actions convert

It had been a little over two weeks since Randidly had first come to the Great Rift An unprecedented amount of Nether currently swirled in his chest Due to the rather constant usage of the Nether his proficiency at keeping the Nether and the Aether from eating into each other had sharply risen And in those situations where it couldnÆt be avoided Randidly used the bubbles of his false Nether cores to reduce the collateral damage

Releasing more Nether was the quickest method to make a change but Randidly wasnÆt sure how much difference it would really make There was simply a difference in quality between the Nether he made and the Aether of the Aether Key Making more Nether would certainly have an effect but it would be relatively small

No what Randidly really wanted to do was increase the quality of the Nether he was releasing If he could refine it a little bit

Of course the only method he really had was to utilize the fake cores but he would need more in order to condense more potent Nether

But then Randidly blinked Well I have a half finished fourth core inside of me and IÆve seen the way they are formed is there any reason why I canÆt just make more cores There is the worry that too many will physically restrict me but I believe thatÆs just because no one else realizes how to manipulate them

Tentatively Randidly focused his attention inward toward the half finished fourth star that was floating in his chest Without the grand formation slowly moving energy toward him it had not grown since arriving in the Great Rift But very quickly Randidly realized that the process of feeding Nether into it was extraordinarily simple

Within a few minutes a fourth false Nether core popped into existence inside of him He rapidly brought it and the others to touch the bubbles so they would record his current image Because it became clear by the physical weight of his burning emotions and the blue lines on RandidlyÆs claw that his image was progressing both due to the heavy usage of Nether and because of the Fate blade inside of him

Small things but things he didnÆt want the cores to wipe away These were Paths that would lead him toward power Perhaps others would worry about purity of image but not the Grim Chimera It was the beast that accepted all evolutions In order to pursue the goal of survival no change was too drastic

A few minutes of practice sufficiently confirmed that Randidly felt no physical impediment from the presence of the new core but it was also true that RandidlyÆs current image body wasnÆt truly physicalÆ in the classic sense

With the four cores Randidly began practicing concentrating his Nether Previously he had sensed that there was a qualitative change that he was approaching as he rotated three of the pseudo cores in order to concentrate his Nether for an offensive attack Now he fully intended to push past that boundary and see if what was waiting beyond would help him refine Nether into a more dangerous weapon

Breathe in breath out Randidly forced himself to relax as the four cores began whirling around each other inside of his chest He eased open the two Nether Wells more and more as the energy required to sustain the motion grew The image of the Grim Chimera appeared hovering over the four cores His limbs were monstrous and he bore the manic grin of Randidly Ghosthound He reached out his claw and pressed his will against it The whirring became faster and faster even as the Nether required skyrocketed upward

A frown tugged at RandidlyÆs face A keening cry emerged from the humming cores as they spun He could feel them calling out for more energy Perhaps due to the fact there were now four cores as part of the rotation the energy required increased at every level So if Randidly wanted to reach that pinnacle speed the Nether requirements

Gritting his teeth Randidly opened up his Nether Wells further Randidly suddenly felt suspended in the middle of a whirlpool of Nether He deftly used his bubbles to keep the damage from spreading too far but waves of Nether crashed again and again against the surface of RandidlyÆs image But even as the form wavered he could feel the implacable will of the Grim Chimera growing stronger

The whistling noise from the spinning cores grew louder Between the four whirling cores there was a tremor in the air RandidlyÆs image body was shaking with the contained power

Just a little more Randidly pushed a little harder feeding more and more Nether into the process It was like an unending hole these four cores continually sucking in more and more Nether Within a few seconds all of the Nether Randidly had built up was sucked away into the process without an end in sight

Narrowing his eyes Randidly came to a decision He opened up his Nether Wells further flooding himself with the dark energy His image distorted and hummed from the feedback from so much Nether but the whirling cores gleefully began to devour it Then something abruptly changed

RandidlyÆs four cores cracked and shattered There was a horrible feeling of disorientation and then there was a vast sucking sound All of the whirling Nether was devoured in an instant All that was left

The dizziness grew more intense before it got better Randidly had to lean forward and press his hands to the ground in order to steady himself Minutes ticked past and slowly the sense of equilibrium came back allowing Randidly to look inward and examine the source of that terrible feeling

Although he approached with worry weighing heavily on him what he found was a pleasant surprise He blinked and then he laughed Certainly this can be the weapon to cut this realm apart

What he found waiting in his chest was obvious the dark black marble floating there surrounded by seething blue black flames was the true form of the Nether core All of the false cores and bubbles had been sacrificed but now Randidly felt how shallow and empty they had been The new bubble and core probably had an additional 50% power over the combined capability of the four previous ones

More than that though as Randidly spun Nether through the core the energy condensed and more dangerous strands were spun out of it A smile tugged at RandidlyÆs mouth as he flicked that condensed strand forward and had it sizzle against the ivory lock

Unfortunately it didnÆt immediately disintegrate the lock but the damage was obvious In that brief few seconds where his dense strand of Nether continued to burn away at the lock it likely was three times more effective than any of the Nether that Randidly had tried previously even with the help of his false cores

Of course the Nether strand was also depleted in four seconds Before Randidly attempted such a thing again he planned on stockpiling quite a bit of the stuff

With this new tool RandidlyÆs days entered into a new variable cycle Because Randidly now had to make several hard decisions on how to spend his Nether He still continued training in the mornings but his days were now divided between spending Nether to create additional pseudo cores refining Nether into the dense Nether strands and actually using the Nether he possessed to reduce the Aether of the ivory lock and the surrounding area

Ultimately Randidly decided that while it would hurt him in the short term he would focus on the first option of pseudo core genesis in order to create a second true Nether core and speed up the refinement process Unfortunately the false Nether cores were somewhat haphazard to make

Once the false core had been given shape and was started it was an easy thing to supply enough energy to finish the thing But his early attempts at setting the shape of the pseudo cores ended with no results Randidly was sorely tempted to give up but he knew that being hasty was the wrong decision Even with his most optimistic projections after seeing the Nether strands it would take him perhaps another 6 more months to accomplish his goal

Six months of real world time For him it would feel like a year and a half

Which was five months faster than expected so it was not a small thing Plus Nether might attack in that last month of his stay and accelerate the timetable even further So he could afford to waste a few days seeking that shape for the false cores And then even when days turned to weeks Randidly refused to give it up

Meanwhile Randidly continued to use Nether Ritual to watch Vualla He saw her training underneath Cail enduring that fuckÆs constant attempts to undermine her confidence and her relationship with Randidly He saw her internal struggle as another huge Nether attack arrived at the frontlines concentrating its fire on her fatherÆs camp

Randidly also used a few days to check on Yggdrasil and Lady Iellaya but both seemed relatively inactive Despite Lord MilnÆs rather ambiguous offer of assistance to Lady Iellaya if she sent Yggdrasil to his death she was not acting Randidly didnÆt trust Lady Iellaya overmuch but he wouldnÆt forget her restraint on this point

Of course most of RandidlyÆs focus was on Vualla

Vualla wanted to help the individuals being attacked by the huge Nether assault but she also knew that she was still not yet enough to make a large difference Her father continued to suffer as the Commander on the flank and she could do nothing

Randidly also saw how effective CailÆs training was at strengthening her abilities VuallaÆs image was intensifying even as Cail stressed all the destructive and dangerous parts of VuallaÆs image

Randidly watched as Vualla snuck out of TerithÆs camp and stood on the spot where Randidly and Vualla had first encountered each other She looked resolutely up at the sky and Randidly knew that she was wishing for a moon

I can feel you you know Vualla said

Randidly a dimension away and surrounded by Nether blinked in shock

Maybe itÆs just my imagination but ever since the visit to the headquarters itÆs like I can feel your warmth Vualla hand went to her collarbone Do you do you feel me too Can you hear my voice

I can hear The Grim ChimeraÆs eyes blazed as he looked down at Vualla

Shaking her head with a small smile Vualla continued Do you see the struggle Should I stay and train seeking the power to change something or should I go help now even knowing that I donÆt yet have the power to change something For how long should I sequester myself and focus on growing my power

Randidly looked sadly down at Vualla That was a question he couldnÆt answer Perhaps it was one that Randidly had struggled with unconsciously over and over since his arrival in the System There were so many times that he had regretted not acting to protect the people he could protect Those memories were heavy with regret But also there were times where he was able to protect another and that was only because of the focus he had put toward strengthening himself in the past It was an unending balancing act

As a storm of indecision brewed inside RandidlyÆs heart Vualla suddenly laughed Well I used to wonder about that but you know after meeting you

Vualla raised her heavy gauntlet and looked at it Then she slowly reached over with the other hand and loosened a buckle The heavy gauntlet crashed to the ground while Vualla also removed a thin under glove and dropped that on top of heavy gauntlet

It wasnÆt like Randidly didnÆt assume she had normal hands underneath the gauntlet but it was still exceedingly strange to see her like that He had grown so used to her oversized hands that it now felt strange to see her human fingers and knuckles VuallaÆs gaze turned upward to the sky and she reached her bare hand as though hoping to put apart the sky and reveal the coy moon waiting beyond

But you know it isnÆt just capability we are training Vualla announced We also need to train our desire Our desire to stay involved Our desire to protect Our desire to be connected because if we lose those things how valuable is power Which is why I need to go to try and help Despite the danger

Randidly nodded although she couldn’t see him But he knew somehow that their connection was enough for that understand to pass between them Or maybe Randidly just hoped that was the case Then with a deep sadness Randidly closed the Nether Ritual

Not that he no longer wanted to watch but he felt guilty He had already shown his support for her And just like Vualla said sometimes you needed to cultivate your empathy so all you sacrificed for power was worth it

So this time when Randidly activated Nether Ritual he chose a different target It was time to cultivate empathy His focus had been distracted since losing the main body but even the Grim Chimera felt he owed a deep debt to the planet that birthed the main body

The world swirled and suddenly Randidly looked down at Alana

Chapter 1102

Alana pulled her hood tighter around her face to block off the chilling snow covered edge of the wind It cut off her vision somewhat but her Perception was more than high enough that she was able to keep her feet underneath her on the snowy mountain path

She would not fall here This pilgrimage up the mountain was the goal of how she had spent the last three weeks after all

After being knocked off of the mountain by the terrible breath attack from the Dragon Alana had struggled with every fiber of her being to survive the fall Even with a profoundly reinforced body due to the System there was so much ice and rock tumbling down with her that it was possible to have been buried and smashed out of existence

But Alana had survived And during the fall she had an epiphany

I canÆt be all of DonnytonÆs image But that doesnÆt mean I canÆt possess an image of my own with enough power to protect an entire city

So Alana had ignored the messages from the other members of the party sent by Donnyton to this Zone and hunted She had struggled alone for two weeks straight simply letting all of the responsibility she had let suffocate her into failing to create her own image She had relied on her own Skills and refamiliarized herself with her own desires

Without anyone else around AlanaÆs internal and external worlds finally seemed to overlap Rather than responsibility she could now move confidently toward her desire

The hunting was extremely abundant in the area around the Epic Dungeon which was exactly why the individuals from this Zone had required DonnytonÆs immediate help High Level pseudo dragons like wyverns and kobolds bred like flies underneath the purview of the Broodmother that ruled from the peak

AlanaÆs spear during those weeks drank deeply the blood of dragons And she had grown strong

Class Valkyrie of the Red Dust

Level 69

Health(/R per hour) 3101/3952 (963)

Mana(/R per hour) 1474/1474 (421)

Stam(/R per min) 1927/1927 (642)

Vit 321

End 419

Str 424

Agi 393

Perception 462

Reaction 235

Resistance 215

Willpower 313

Intelligence 199

Wisdom 211

Control 106

Focus 305

Skills Life of Alaihym the Angel with no Lineage Lvl 2249 Ferocity Lvl 139 Running Lvl 203 Physical Fitness Lvl 179 Spear of Red Valkyrie Mastery Lvl 206 Triage Lvl 72 Great Leap « Lvl 129 Animal Skinning Lvl 49 Prey Stalking (Un) Lvl 117 Sun Strike Lvl 209 Advanced Fighting Proficiency « Lvl 180 Hawkeye Lvl 74 Block Lvl 19 Heavy Blow Lvl 132 Herculean Strength Lvl 114 Spear Deflect Lvl 82 Sweep Lvl 51 Mana Bolt Lvl 16 Dodge Lvl 99 ValkyrieÆs Clarion Call « Lvl 96 Hot Blooded Lvl 98 Child of the Sun Lvl 205 Crimson Ire « Lvl 74 Avatar Form Lvl 101 Descent of the Radiant Wings Lvl 79 Solar Flare (Un) Lvl 49 HunterÆs Instincts (Un) Lvl 61 Dragon Slayer « Lvl 52

How much have I narrowed the gap between you and I Randidly Ghosthound Alana wondered as she shouldered her way upward through a particularly deep snowdrift Her thighs churned ruthlessly pressing up against the elevation and the weight of the snow around her that was made illogically heavy by the magic of the Dragon Broodmother Or is this still not enough to be able to catch up to you

Over the past several weeks as Alana pushed herself to her limits to find her own image one word kept ringing in her head over and over It was a word with such weight that it continued to press against her subconscious even now

That terrible cry that rang out from the Grim ChimeraÆs mouth as it condensed around RandidlyÆs true body on that final stage of his challenge against Donnyton It raised its head to the sky and roared its contempt of Donnyton but more largely that word had been a dismissal of the entire Earth Before that incarnation of the Grim Chimera the humans could not even approach It was only by borrowing the weight of Donnyton that Alana had been able to move to meet him

Yet even then she was still found wanting

Despite the fact that it allowed snow into her hood to land on her face Alana turned her gaze upward Almost there now This time

At least against this monster I

Because the truth was that it was not the message of the Grim Chimera only After Alana had faced the breath of the Dragon Broodmother and then struggled alone around the base of the mountain she realized that message that had been delivered by the Grim ChimeraÆs mouth was part of a litany of hate that was spewed toward Earth by the System every moment

That was why Randidly had felt it was necessary to make a stand and force DonnytonÆs attention to focus Because it had overcome the initial trials of their new world but that was just the beginning of the hell that awaited them

The System had more yet in store for Earth If they rested on their laurels today they would die tomorrow Because truly in the broad spectrum of things

They were weak

Silently Alana trudged up the snowy mountain She broke apart the ice in front of her with the butt of her spear and continued to put one foot in front of the other Broken ridges and long fields of ice arrived and faded as Alana made a meandering path upward Although her high Endurance did a lot to block out the cold her feet were still tingling from the slush that she had hiked through for the last four hours She did not rush but Alana also didnÆt hesitate Her pace carried her toward the towering form of the Level 80 monster that waited above

Alana had no doubt that the monster hadnÆt been sitting idly either Unlike most monsters these three disasters that had come out of the Epic Dungeon were able to grow relatively quickly compared to most monsters More quickly even than humans could grow at least in terms of Level and each Level above 79 contained a frightful amount of power The Dragon Broodmother was the most visible but the other two were also staking out areas where they were setting up monster kingdoms

Despite the fact that Alana had refused to answer any communication that came her way she still received updates on the status of DonnytonÆs expedition Both the Bog Hydra and the Rakshasi had been seen moving and attacking humans In the latest report the Rakshasi was reported to have reached Level 81

Alana barred her teeth toward the summit as she continued upward DonÆt you dare disappoint me dragon

Alana maintained her silent pace as she arrived at the familiar top portion of the mountain The clearing was exactly as she remembered it with but a single difference from her first arrival the towering black form of the Dragon Broodmother was not present

This didnÆt throw Alana She calmly walked to one of the nearby piles of snow and dug herself a burrow Then she drew her hand along the outside and tested its strength Using the heat of her hand she melted the interior slightly to add some structural integrity Finally satisfied Alana settled herself within the burrow Then she waited for the Broodmother to inevitably return

While she waited her thoughts were completely still Not a single ripple ran across them Time lost all meaning as she settled down to stalk prey

Because that was the image that Alana found She might be a spear but when she stared at the depths of her soul she learned that she wasnÆt a warrior not truly She would never lead armies or orchestrate thousands of people She could not carry the banner as the supreme commander of DonnytonÆs forces Or rather she could but it would be missing out on her own truth

Because Alana was something far older and more primal than a warrior Her spirit harkened back to the days where small communities were propped up by the daring actions of a single individual that left the safety of the settlement and came back with the meat of a dead beast Tribal instinctual but most of all unrelenting Alana found in herself a Hunter She still was the spear of Donnyton Yet as Alana discovered herself what that phrase meant to her changed

The Valkyrie of the Hunt The being that had guided humanity and protected them long enough that they could settle and shift toward an agricultural society

Eventually the flapping of wings drew AlanaÆs attention upward Her eyes flicked side to side quickly piecing through the flurrying snow above and seeing the long winged dragons that glided down to land around Alana The young and small dragons opened their mouths and shot bursts of ice toward each other the gentle and primal posturing of siblings

Once they were on the ground they sauntered toward each other stretching their long necks to nip at each otherÆs vulnerable bellies and sides Their scuffles shook the snow around Alana but she didnÆt even blink Her breath was slow and even

Then after a few minutes past the roars and hisses fell silent Now arranged by strength the Dragons awaited their Broodmother

When she arrived she slowly circled before descending It seemed that this Dragon was more than intelligent it was also arrogant Alana could clearly tell that the thing enjoyed making the others wait for her descent But as Alana looked up toward the Dragon Broodmother she was forced to admit that this creature definitely had the capital to make others wait

Dragon Broodmother Lvl 82

Its wide wings spread and beat downward slowing its descent The snow around Alana rustled and was blown away slightly revealing her burrow Still Alana didnÆt move Instead she watched the Dragon with glittering eyes

As soon as you land your life is mine

Chapter 1103

AlanaÆs eyes were almost dull as closely she followed the movements of the Dragon BroodmotherÆs descent There might be swirling snow between them but AlanaÆs heavy gaze tore through all the intervening distance Those heavy black claws hovered for a split second then alighted upon the ground As the Dragon began to pull its massive wings against its sides Alana made her move

Great Leap Solar Flare Child of the Sun

Golden light erupted from AlanaÆs body as she threw herself forward to cross the distance to the Dragon BroodmotherÆs side Her hiding place exploded and the surrounding snow was blasted outward She would have preferred to choose a place closer to the Dragon Broodmother but Alana had been aware that its arrival would shake the surrounding snow Had she been too close her hiding spot would have been revealed too early to strike

And the one thing that the hunter didnÆt fear was some extra effort to secure a kill

Instantly the surrounding dragons twisted around and tried to spew their ice breath to slow Alana down But she was too quick crossing the distance to her target in a single second The golden fire of her body burned away any physical barriers in her path and made the journey a smooth one for her loping stride The Dragon BroodmotherÆs huge sapphire eyes narrowed as it considered the brilliant light of AlanaÆs approach

But of course Alana had been waiting for this moment With its wings half withdrawn the Dragon Broodmother was faced with a choice Either extend its wings once more and take off to the sky or pull its wings in to defend its torso And based upon the arrogance earlier displayed by the Dragon Broodmother Alana knew that it would be the former And then with its heart revealed

Despite AlanaÆs thoughts the Dragon resolutely pulled its wings in the rest of the way to protect its vulnerable torso It came as a shock but it wasnÆt as though Alana hadnÆt mentally prepared for this eventuality as well

As she neared the burning heat wafting off of her Child of the Sun Skill spiked sharply upward as AlanaÆs Willpower fully embraced that image of a burning sun It was not yet a concrete thing but it was vast and powerful The vestigates of that sea of Willpower Alana had channeled to fight against Randidly in the challenge had left her with a very peculiar weight to her will That weight settled onto her shoulders and made the golden light around her body strike out with a physical force

Sun Strike Alana hissed Golden petals bloomed around AlanaÆs spear as she thrust her weapon directly toward the shoulder joint of the dragon the size of an apartment building The shoulder bone itself was the size of a motorcycle The Dragon Broodmother raised its head and howled toward the sky and Alana saw icy armor rapidly condensing around its body but Alana moved too quickly

We are not weak Alana roared as more and more light gathered around her spear The ice armor the Dragon Broodmother tried to condense melted and evaporated before her strike and then the spear smashed into the vulnerable bone of the joint No matter its size a direct hit against the bone was still a dangerous thing The resulting crack made a simple smile of joy cross AlanaÆs face

But then the Dragon Broodmother roared and reared up on its hind legs to create some distance between its body and this sudden threat Blood was coursing out of its shoulder and the wing hung limply at its side but it was still a huge Level 82 monster In fact the only reason that Alana had been able to inflict a wound that serious on it was because she had taken it by surprise

Now she no longer had that luxury

Alana didnÆt panick as the surrounding Dragons screeched and shot blasts of ice toward her in defense of their Brood Mother Their blows whirled together in a blizzard that seemed to cover all of AlanaÆs escape paths Forward was into danger backward was into danger Danger was on both of her sides And to stay still and allow the swarming dragons to shoot at her freely

On its hind legs the Dragon Broodmother barred its teeth and began gathering a flood of freezing energy in its maw Wisps of frozen wind gathered out of the air and formed a tight ball of power that Alana could see floating above its tongue

It is ever so the wounded beast struggles the most fiercely Alana thought almost sadly But as long as you fight just as a beast

Descent of the Radiant Wings Solar Flare

Congratulations Your Skill Descent of the Radiant Wings has grown to Level 80

As though it sensed what was about to happen the Dragon Broodmother lowered its head and blasted out a torrent of freezing power to try and strike before Alana could dodge out of the way It was the same power that blasted Alana off of the cliff with a glancing blow

But over the past several weeks Alana had grown Even if she had possessed the upgraded Stat Inviolability at the time that didnÆt mean she could use it to its fullest potential A portion of having Stats was that proper usage and understanding Now as she surged upward with golden wings springing from her back and a helmet with miniature white wings on her head Alana surged upward without trying to dodge

Her Willpower burned to push her upgraded Stat to the limit and conjure the short term shield that made her Inviolable The pale white fire clashed against the blast of freezing energy and she sliced upward through it like a canoe slicing through frothing rapids

As the breath attack of the Broodmother faded it lifted its head and looked at the floating form of Alana with wide eyes Alana stared solemnly at the Dragon while she gathered herself the golden wings on her back beating softly This hidden effect of Inviolability had a severe mental cost that meant it couldnÆt be used very often but obviously the Dragon Broodmother didnÆt know that

All it knew was fear as it recognized Alana for what she was a hunter

Which made these Dragons prey And in the System that was a sin that condemned you to death

The Dragon BroodmotherÆs arrogance crumbled as it turned and shrieked as it tried to scuttle away with a broken wing The younger dragons surged up into the sky and belched spikes of ice toward Alana in attempt to cover their motherÆs escape

AlanaÆs eyes were half closed as she surveyed the mountain top below her Is this truly all a Level 82 monster amounts to Compared to Randidly you are just

Which Alana supposed was why the Earth was truly blessed It was easy for them to see what Randidly accomplished and admire what he had done and chase him but it was only now as Alana had struck the first blow against this Dragon Broodmother did she truly understand the impossibility of RandidlyÆs existence

There was a strange sense of satisfaction that burned in AlanaÆs chest as that moment looking down at the Dragons

The only reason that I could inspire such fear was surprise and my evolved stat but It could be done without those things This is a beast that could be killed if we would have beaten this sort of foe without RandidlyÆs interference our belief in ourselves would rise even further Our confidence would become even more entrenched And the moment that confidence was shattered would become all the more dangerous

How did you display such disregard for the System Ghosthound Where did you find enough power that you could disregard us all But Alana knew the answer It was an image A clear image of a world without fear of the System

As the Dragon Broodmother fled and the minions surged upward toward her AlanaÆs eyes burned She lowered her spear and dived sharply down toward the ground Most of the Dragons twisted to try and keep up with her movements except for the unlucky Dragon that was directly beneath Alana

AlanaÆs heels smashed into that poor fool and it was smashed into the ground with enough force to shatter the frozen ground Snow and blasts of ice swished around her but Alana was already flitting forward like a ghost her golden wings burning a path forward through the precipitation so she seemed to leave a wake of mist

A Dragon with a torso the size of a horse and the wings the length of a planeÆs crashed down in front of her and lashed out with its claw but Alana didnÆt even blink As she ducked under the blow she reached up and seized the offending wing with her left hand while she brought her spear up in her right Without even using Sunstrike AlanaÆs spear shot forward With the addition sharpness and damage from Dragon Slayer the spear pierced through its scaled skin and stopped the DragonÆs heart with a light touch

Then Alana leaped into the sky her golden wings beating rapidly and the limp body of the dying Dragon pulled behind her When the next volley of ice blasted toward Alana she simply tossed the Dragon in front of that and watched as even its constitution that was adapted to this climate it was stiffened and frozen by the barrage

AlanaÆs golden wings beat again and she shot forward blasting the flurrying snow in the surrounding area away to clear a path Her gaze was fixed on the still bleeding Dragon Broodmother Unfortunately these wings cost far too much Mana maybe only a minute remaining I need to kill it soon

Alana accelerated further even as two DragonÆs about the size of buses surged up in the air to protect their Broodmother Both were Level 73 higher even than AlanaÆs current Level

And yet those Levels now seemed insignificant now Their breath attacks surged toward her and Alana solemnly activated Inviolability once more She had wanted to save the second activation for pinning down the Dragon Broodmother but it was more important now to close the distance before her Descent of the Radiant Wings ran out

The breaths smashed against her and AlanaÆs breath was knocked out of her chest But she pushed forward and raised her spear She unleashed six quick Sunstrikes against the left most Dragon puncturing its torso and ripping a bleating cry from its lips as it groaned and fell backward As Alana turned with burning eyes to deal with the remaining Dragon a notification popped up

Congratulations You have reached Level 70 +2 Strength +5 Stats distributed between Endurance Agility Wisdom and Focus +2 Inviolability +8 Free Stats +15 Health +15 Mana +18 Stamina +4 to Stamina Regeneration

Congratulations You have learned the Skill Valkyrie’s Relentless Crusade Lvl 1

Congratulations Due to the evolution of your Soulskill you have learned the Skill The First Sermon of Alaihym The Shadow of a Distant God Lvl 1

Chapter 1104

Ice attacks zipped closer pulling AlanaÆs attention away before she could really read the descriptions for either of her new Skills The first was obviously from her Class and seemed relatively self explanatory but as for that second Skill that was based upon her Soulskill

The Dragon in front of her belched out ice and Alana forced away all of her distractions Her HunterÆs Instincts brought her sharply back to the matter at hand Almost reflexively she activated her new ValkyrieÆs Relentless Crusade and felt the expected boost to Agility and Reaction As she moved subtle afterimages followed after her

With a flick of her wings that sent motes of golden light spinning outward Alana twisted under the breath attack and appeared next to the second dragon With the powerful image of a hunter slaying its prey condensed into her attack Alana used Sunstrike and Dragon Slayer to slash open the second DragonÆs throat

Congratulations Your Skill Dragon Slayer « has grown to Level 53

Unfortunately Alana instantly knew that the blow was shallow Why the hell would I get a Skill Level for a failed kill

Shaking her head Alana planted her foot on the DragonÆs face and stomped downward Screeching out its pain humiliation and fury the Dragon crashed into the snowy ground below The DragonÆs behind her had almost caught with Alana but then she accelerated rapidly forward with her step off of the DragonÆs head and left them all in the frozen dust

In fact Alana slightly underestimated the boost given to her by the new Skill and she crashed into the ground about twenty meters behind the Dragon Broodmother with all the violence of a meteor falling to Earth

Grumbling to herself Alana straightened herself and cracked her neck As soon as she did so she stopped the action and frowned Just because Randidly does dumb overly casual stuff like that after being wounded doesnÆt mean you need to do it too

Then she pushed herself forward and rushed toward the Dragon Broodmother It spun around at her approach and lashed out with its whip like tail but the new Skill Alana had obtained was really something She was able to lean back and allow the tail to whistle past her nose before continuing to rush forward

Ice blasts from the hurrying Dragon reinforcements crashed around Alana but she ignored them Even if she was hit Inviolability in its passive state would do a lot to prevent any lasting damage The Dragon Broodmother hastily brought its body around to face Alana squarely Despite the fact that its attack had been broken and its wing was wounded it was still a towering Level 82 monster Its neck writhed deceptively like a snake as its luminous sapphire eyes considered her assault

But Alana knew she couldnÆt slow down now Hunting was all about momentum Now that she had the Dragon Broodmother on its back foot she needed to finish this beast or risk it escaping and being prepared for her next time

This time when the Dragon Broodmother blasted out its breath Alana relied on her golden wings to completely dodge Combined with Valkyrie’s Relentless Crusade Alana was nothing but a shining golden blur while the blast of ice flowed like a conjured river toward her A split second later she landed on the DragonÆs long snout in front of the eyes that were half as large as Alana herself was Her Mana failed and the wings slowly began to fade but that didnÆt truly matter

As soon as Alana landed on the Dragon BroodmotherÆs snout it flinched in fear and resignation

At first Alana raised her spear but then she paused Well one Sunstrike isnÆt going to do much IÆm going to need to maul this huge thing to finally kill it Perhaps I should give the new Skill a shot

So Alana activated her new Skill while the Dragon Broodmother regarded her fearfully

Congratulations Your Skill The First Sermon of Alaihym The Shadow of a Distant God has grown to Level 2

To her surprise AlanaÆs mouth opened almost automatically and she began to speak words without conscious thought Although he came briefly he asked us all an important question He faced us who had followed him and lived in his shadow and spoke quietly Is this really the strength that you need to surpass this place Because something greater will always await you on this path Endlessly until your strength is not enough Æ

Shit AlanaÆs face twisted as her tongue went through the unfamiliar words I didnÆt think the Skill was literally a sermon But also

Even though it was a liberal interpretation of what happened Alana could see Randidly Ghosthound standing on that platform surrounded by enemies on all sides They had raised their Levels and sharpened their Skill but he raised his arms and showed them a power that seemed to make all of that completely inconsequential

Warmth suffused AlanaÆs whole body She felt herself glowing but with a much softer light than had emerged from her Valkyrie wings That same feeling she experienced when she realized how powerful Randidly truly was swirled around in her chest To speak of him felt right somehow

Riding on that strange joy in her chest AlanaÆs mouth opened and words continued to tumble out And when we didnÆt understand his message we fought his shadow until we were exhausted and broken and realized that he had already gone to a higher stage In his wake we felt lost But more than that we felt empty Because in this world the greatest enemy was not the foes in front of us whom we could kill but the very world that led us endlessly forward on this Path of Carnage

There was a strange silent chime that spread out from Alana The soft light around her blasted outward and she couldnÆt resist shivering For a split second everything in the surrounding area had been frozen Snowflakes hung in the air around them as Alana stood before two large sapphire eyes and spoke of Randidly Ghosthound

Finally the moment passed Snow began to fall Alana remained silent and tightened her grip on her spear The two monologues might have been brief but gaining her momentum back after taking those breaks

But to AlanaÆs surprise when she looked at the Dragon Broodmother the eyes were half lidded and filled with a strange light ItÆs gaze remained fixed on Alana who was standing on its snout What was even stranger was that the Dragons that had been shooting ice blasts at her back had ceased their bombardment With her Perception Alana could sense that they were slowly crawling forward and forming a half circle in front of the Alana and the Dragon Broodmother

Then the Dragon Broodmother sighed

With surprising gentleness the Dragon Broodmother lowered its neck to the ground and tilted its head indicating that Alana should get off The HunterÆs Instinct sensed the lowered guard and urged Alana to strike but some other instinct held her back

This was letting go of a chance to strike It was perhaps foolish But was this Dragon really AlanaÆs foe

Something else was happening here The light in the Dragon BroodmotherÆs eyes confirmed it Considering the fact that she had just given a sermon could it really just be

Alana stepped off of the snout of the Dragon Broodmother Then in a rumbling voice it spoke to her We we all wish to escape the thumb of the Nexus But it is impossible Do you truly expect me to believe that someone plans on fighting against that enormous machine

Yes Alana said simply

The Nexus has the power of countless worlds The Dragon Broodmother showed teeth as long and thick as dolphins Numerous heroesÆ have been devoured by the Nexus My world has already been trampled beneath its Calamities It is very likely that this supposed God of which you speak will end up the same way

Even so Alana whispered Just like she had realized abruptly how powerful images were when she saw Randidly use them another facet of RandidlyÆs magnetism became clear to her as she watched the light in the Dragon BroodmotherÆs eyes

He was someone whose existence became synonymous with hope

The Dragon Broodmother was silent for a long time Snow drifted down around them and settled on the rocky ground still stained with the Dragon BroodmotherÆs crimson blood As AlanaÆs golden light faded it was the only splash of color on the whitewashed summit During this time Alana gaze remained on the slow coursing of blood down from the Dragon Broodmother and counted how many Dragons over Level 60 were surrounding her

Fifty four There are fifty four of them But at least this gives me some time to regenerate Mana

Finally the Dragon Broodmother opened its mouth again You what is the name of this god

AlanaÆs face twisted Calling him a god is a bit

But still she opened her mouth to speak His name is Randidly Ghosthound

Congratulations Your Skill The First Sermon of Alaihym The Shadow of a Distant God has grown to Level 3

Congratulations Your Skill The First Sermon of Alaihym The Shadow of a Distant God has grown to Level 4

Congratulations Your Skill The First Sermon of Alaihym The Shadow of a Distant God has grown to Level 5

Congratulations Your Skill The First Sermon of Alaihym The Shadow of a Distant God has grown to Level 6

Congratulations Your Skill The First Sermon of Alaihym The Shadow of a Distant God has grown to Level 7

Congratulations Your Skill The First Sermon of Alaihym The Shadow of a Distant God has grown to Level 8

Congratulations Your Skill The First Sermon of Alaihym The Shadow of a Distant God has grown to Level 9

please tell us more about this Ghosthound The Dragon BroodmotherÆs expression was troubled enough that Alana could recognize it even on the gargantuan reptilian face

So feeling strangely foolish to be talking to so many Dragons Alana began to relate what she knew about Randidly Ghosthound

Then when she finished The Dragon Broodmother bent its neck and allowed Alana to mount it once more

Randidly closed the Nether Ritual feeling profoundly embarrassed Technically Alana was talking about the exploits of the main body but still

Shaking his head Randidly turned to look at his work on the ivory lock and his jaw dropped at what he saw In disbelief he reached forward and touched the lock This doesnÆt it look like itÆs almost one third of the way through the lock I shouldnÆt have used any of the refined Nether to reduce it so why

After a bit of hesitation Randidly checked his swirling stock of refined Nether and none was missing Then Randidly pressed some addition Nether against the lock and witnessed as the lock barely decreased underneath the assault as he had expected

So he leaned back on his heel and racked his mind What had suddenly accelerated his depletion of the lock while he was focused on the Nether RItual A couple of days had passed in this time while he was fixated on Alana but that was nowhere near enough to explain the sudden difference in the lockÆs corrosion

Randidly spent a few more hours searching his mind for ideas but it wasnÆt like there was an obvious answer He could only reluctantly assumed that his instincts had perhaps found a weakness in the lock while he wasnÆt focused upon it Yet that explanation seemed profoundly insufficient to deal with the magnitude of the change he noticed

Randidly had perhaps depleted 1% of the ivory lock before this Now suddenly he had pierced through 30% That acceleration was ridiculous with such a flimsy explanation

But Randidly knew that part of his fixation with this new problem was simply a way of not thinking about what Alana was doing right now on Earth

What will change if these monsters listen to stories about me Randidly wondered I mean itÆs not a bad thing if more people directly confront the fact that we are being used by the System No matter how skilled we get at dancing their tune we will never evolve beyond their sick dance if we donÆt try and understand broadly why these things are happening

Shaking his head Randidly settled back down Now that he had a taste Randidly was curious how other things were going on Earth Some part of him considered choosing Helen next but Randidly somehow understood that there was a significant chance that she would just be fighting or training Despite her influence over his Order Ducis she wasnÆt someone to look at to understand broader trends

So this time when Randidly fired up the Nether Ritual he bit his lip and focused on Miranda Hamilton

Chapter 1105

Miranda Hamilton took a slow sip of the pale green tea as she surveyed the surrounding four individuals seated around her in the waiting room Even now her mind wanted to pull her forward toward the careful arrangement of politics that was coming But the delicate touch of mint on her tongue was poignant enough to pull her attention away from her constant calculations and just regard the tea in the small burnt orange cup with obvious relish Despite Zone 1Æs rather uninspired lodging accommodations at least they provided high quality refreshment

She took another sip and savored the flavor Then she breathed deeply flooding her sinuses with the refreshing scent of mint It sent tingles through her sinuses in a way that meant that this tea wasnÆt something originally grown on Earth It was something far more powerful Powerful enough to be memorable despite the high Endurance of individuals under the influence of the System

It was a welcome break to feel almost human

Only after allowing herself a brief respite from her true situation did Miranda open her eyes and raise her chin And in that moment she was Mrs Hamilton once more

Why are they making us wait Ed grumbled idly rubbing his elaborately oiled mustache as he scowled at the door Why donÆt we just start with who all is already here Maybe that way this fucked up World SummitÆ wonÆt just be a pile of bullshit

A small portion of the world powers meeting early is exactly what the hosts are trying to avoid Mrs Hamilton thought with amusement But she didnÆt disagree with the sentiment

Mrs Hamilton and Ed were seated in an elaborate tea room with the two representatives from Zone Eleven while they waited for the rest of the representatives to gather They had been shepherded here very quickly and likely the only reason that they had been put in the same room was the fact they arrived together

On her way here however she hadnÆt been idle Mrs HamiltonÆs subtly spread mental threads covered almost the entirety of the garishly opulent hotel that housed this first ever World Summit So she could sense that the disparate government representatives were slowly converging on their location Their wait would not be a long one

Warlord the leader of the strongest Village in his Zone and representative of Zone Eleven rubbed his own beard He glanced sideways at Mrs Hamilton Certainly waiting so long doesnÆt reflect well on the organizer But I think we can all admit that this canÆt be an easy endeavor gathering this group of divas has taken over a month

IÆm simply quite busy Mrs Hamilton said with a wry smile Warlord snorted

Ed seeing Warlord rubbing his own rugged beard snorted dismissively to mock the man and fluffed his own mustache so it appeared almost double its original size Meanwhile WarlordÆs swordswoman companion Melanie sighed mournfully and stared blankly at the wall

Mrs Hamilton and Warlord shared a short smile it seemed that both had chosen the second representative from their respective Zones for the same reason rather blunt reason Sometimes it was safer to let short tempered people draw the ire so the two of them could make more deft preparations in the background

It wonÆt be long now Mrs Hamilton said shortly Then her expression turned more serious as she received a message from the Donnyton expedition that had been sent to help with the monsters that were streaming out of the Epic Dungeon After reading the message several times she quickly sent a reply

Are you sure

SamÆs reply was so quick that Mrs Hamilton knew that he must have begun sending it before she even sent her own reply Alana still isnÆt replying but all air raids from the Dragons around Mount Olympus have ceased WeÆve sent a party to the summit and they found DragonÆs blood and several corpses Not so many as there should be if there was a flat out fight but it seems like at least one of the Three Disasters has been dealt with

Mrs Hamilton looked up Based upon WarlordÆs face he had received a similar message

This frees up our hand a lot Warlord couldnÆt prevent a wide grin from spreading across his face As long as we show the capability to take out one of the problems we donÆt come as beggars to the table

Melanie yawned and sat up Did something happen

Heh some people possess leonine countenances whose facial hair requires more than a single hand sir Jealousy is quite unbecoming Ed continued to furiously stroke his mustache

Blinking MelanieÆs focus shifted to Ed Her lip curled up in disgust What Is there something wrong with you

But dealing withÆ doesnÆt necessarily mean dead Mrs Hamilton said lightly Yet she couldnÆt forget the image that Mrs Hamilton had briefly glimpsed while she had been looking at AlanaÆs back Despite the horrible violence radiating out of the arena that woman had moved to face Randidly in the challenge Wings releasing blinding golden light spread wide and protected all of Donnyton from the monster that descended to teach them a lesson Even if Alana had ultimately failed to rival Randidly in combat that didnÆt diminish the trust Mrs Hamilton had in her

That would was the surest of all of DonnytonÆs elites that stepped forward to fight against the System If Alana moved Mrs Hamilton didnÆt doubt that the Dragon Broodmother would no longer be a problem

Have you not eyes Ed snapped at Melanie For the first time in a while his hand dropped from his mustache as he elaborated flourished Does it look like there is anything wrong with this the gentlemanÆs pride

Even as Ed and Melanie were glaring at each other the door to their tea room opened and a soldier of Zone 1 entered with a bow Sirs and Madams if you would follow me the Summit is about to begin

Nice timing Mrs Hamilton thought as she hid a smile behind her hand Then she stood and graciously accepted WarlordÆs extended arm as he moved toward the door Some part of Mrs Hamilton thought it was a touch forward of him to offer her an arm but she didnÆt hate that side of Warlord Besides that with some of DonnytonÆs elites accompanying the Zone Eleven forces to alleviate the problem of the Epic Dungeon the relationship between the two Zones had become quite close

There was no harm in implicitly saying that with some human touch

As they walked into a hallway lined with heavy crimson carpet Mrs Hamilton spared Warlord a glance Arm in arm their faces were actually quite close to each other When she spoke her voice was pitched low Have the promised forces from the Orders arrived yet

Warlord gave Mrs Hamilton an amused glance As he turned to regard her their faces were even closer to each other as he replied in the same low tone You also have forces stationed at the same fireline before the monster horde Why bother to ask me I bet youÆve already heard the litany of excuses theyÆve fed us about the skirmishes around the Ogre Gorge

Mrs Hamilton chuckled I had honestly hoped the Orders were more forthright in private But I can assure you that while they might be excessively whiny their concerns arenÆt unjustified The Ogre Gorge is a problem even considering the fact that a sizable contingent of orcs continue to sneak through the portal and defect to the so called Ogre Holy LandÆ that we have growing to the East of your Zone IsnÆt their presence why youÆve been able to focus all of your forces along the Mount Olympus mountain range and stop the flood of monsters You should understand how strong they are

Sighing Warlord shrugged The warm skin of his arm rubbed against Mrs HamiltonÆs relatively cooler skin Maybe so fine fine I just donÆt get why it suddenly became a problem now that we are finally making progress on the monster flood

Suddenly some of Mrs HamiltonÆs good cheer faded She could only shake her head and turn her gaze forward it is because the personal Order of Randidly Ghosthound used to be responsible for the suppression of the Ogre Gorge And nobody took over for the first few weeks after they left allowing several ogres to discover the portal to Earth Now that the Order Ducis isnÆt there to beat the ogres back

Before Warlord could reply the soldier leading the foursome stopped and pointed to a pair of mahogany double doors Without waiting for any more invitation the representative of Zone 32 and Zone 11 stepped through and arrived at the World Summit

The interior of the room was dominated by a long round stone table with an empty space in the middle so that all the people who sat at the table could see each other The diameter of the table was perhaps twenty meters but with the advent of the System growing Perception meant that this sort of distance wouldnÆt cause any interference with having a normal conversation

Aside from the heavy stone table the only two other features of the room were the high stone pillars and the spinning mobius of flowing water that functioned as a chandelier in the room Mrs HamiltonÆs eyes narrowed as she considered the mobius above them It appeared to be composed of hundreds of thin bands of transparent water that orbited around a dimly glowing light source in the center

No matter how Mrs Hamilton looked at it she couldnÆt figure out what was keeping the thing airborne While she studied it it fluidly continued to softly flow in an endless circle the bands of water floating a certain distance from the light source and creating the illusion of some sort of sphere floating above their heads

So cool Warlord whispered

Mrs Hamilton nodded idly Not that she hadnÆt expected Zone 1Æs technological advancement to continue but even she was baffled by what this object above them was Without using her mental threads to examine it more closely they would need to continue with the World Summit talks with this strange thing hanging above them Which was a bit

ItÆs like King ArthurÆs round table Warlord continued

Blinking Mrs Hamilton looked at Warlord and found a rather goofy grin on his face as he beamed at the heavy stone table in that dominated the room Then she could only roll her eyes Sometimes its easy to forget that all of the people from Zone Eleven are a bit

Several figures were already present as the representatives from Zones 32 and 11 approached And just as Mrs Hamilton was going to open her mouth to speak the door to the room opened once more and a rather short and ugly man walked into the room behind Ed and Melanie

If there is nothing else letÆs get to this The newly arrived Phirun ruler of the largest Zone and untouchable King in his floating city Ifrenne said He scratched his belly as he walked forward toward the table I am a very busy man

Chapter 1106

After they were all seated Mrs Hamilton glanced around at the other people sitting at the table In total there were fifteen all neatly spaced around the perfect circle of a table so there was a clear view of every individual Seeing so many of New EarthÆs elite in one place Mrs Hamilton could only sadly lament that those individuals at the top were swiftly returning to the trappings of status

Almost everyone with the notable exceptions of DonnytonÆs group Zone 11Æs group and Phirun himself wore ornate suits sewn from bright cloth Rather than world leaders the people here looked like peacocks Tutting to herself Mrs Hamilton reviewed the identity of everyone present

The two from Donnyton and two from Zone Eleven Mrs Hamilton knew quite personally There was also Phirun who had come alone from his Zone for the meeting Han Yazhu gave Mrs Hamilton a perfunctory smile as she sat down only two seats from him then continued to speak in a low tone toward the two aides that he had brought with him from Zone Seven

Some part of Mrs Hamilton wanted to antagonize him purposefully after Zone Seven had so deliberately set about undercutting East EndÆs elemental exports but Mrs Hamilton restrained herself Before she had come she had spoken at length with most of the leaders of Zone 32Æs Villages including Sydney If anything Sydney had seemed almost pleased that Zone Seven had challenged them even as profits from their business were drying up

Which likely meant that the chill inducing leader of East End had another card to play and that Donnyton shouldnÆt try and interfere

ItÆs a little reductive but Sydney certainly fits the bill of someone who grew up knowing Randidly Ghosthound Her determination is abnormal Then Mrs Hamilton severed her own animosity toward Han Yazhu and turned to some of the other figures at the table

One of the more sizable contingents at the table were representatives at the Orders In total four Orders were present Order Ferocitas the Order Sapientia the Order Sanus and someone from an Order with an insignia that Mrs Hamilton didnÆt recognize on sight All bore their brightly colored Order livery very proudly

But it was strange that someone from and Order Mrs Hamilton didnÆt recognize was present because although the announcement of the Orders and the growing popularity of them meant that they had blossomed at the beginning the last few months the Orders had begun to consolidate into a few hegemons of power And Mrs Hamilton made it a point to keep track of these things

Ferocity Wisdom and Health the three Orders that Mrs Hamilton recognized were the primary beneficiaries of these reshufflings of power The Orders Fide Caelim Ferrus and Umbra were slowly diminishing down to smaller entities The Order Veritas continued to serve as judges and adjudicators across the Zones but their recruitment was relatively strenuous and they didnÆt seek to gather secular power

And the Order DucisÆ possessed the almost comically difficult recruitment standard of tracking down an entire moving city well suffice to say that while the Order Ducis was the overlords of the Order they were effectively absent for the time being and had been for a couple of months

There were also two individuals from the newly connected Zone to Earth Zone 19 The man and the woman representatives both had their hair tied behind their head in a bun and shared tanned and wrinkled skin The resemblance was so uncanny that Mrs Hamilton couldnÆt help but conclude that these people were related

From what she understood Zone 19 possessed a much smaller population than the other connected Zones In addition the team that had passed the Raid Dungeon had suffered rather grievous casualties in the process So much so that there was no longer much centralized authority in the Zone If anything it was a miracle that this Zone had managed to join onto New Earth

However the reason that they were able to brute force their way through the Raid Dungeon was clear in a way that perhaps only PhirunÆs Zone could rival Zone 19 was a treasure trove of natural resources Even though only a few independent traders had made it from Zone 19 to Zone 1 so far the metals and gems they had brought were so wondrous that apparently Erickson SteelÆs City had moved through the populated regions and collected all the raw materials it could

Apparently it was precisely these resources that enabled the Zone to succeed at the Raid Dungeon In spite of the fact there was no one who had taken on a role like Sam to lead a forging revolution the clumsy methods of Zone 19 worked All they had to do was sharpen one end of the metals they mined and swing it at monsters That was how powerful these materials were

In fact everyone wanted to establish an agreement with the new Zone But there was one factor that explained why these two figures hadnÆt agreed to anything and their frowns were so severe

The bloodless murders

Someone had recently snuck into the newly connected Zone and was freely killing Zone 19Æs inhabitants It was also clear from the tracks that Zone 19 had discovered that this individual came from New Earth with no intention of hiding his or her movements Yet even as they pursued the trail day and night no one could catch the ghost like killer And until the culprit could be determined there was very little chance of these two entering into an agreement with any other Zone regarding their significant natural resources

Honestly Mrs Hamilton was surprised that these two had agreed to attend It was no small thing to bring these two very bitter individuals to the table It took quite the force of personality to move them Mrs HamiltonÆs gaze shifted to the smiling woman who sat at the head of the table

Theodora Greyman the recently elected president of Zone 1 wore a relatively demure sky blue sleeveless dress and looked on to the quietly talking attendees with obvious relish

The first thing that was obvious about Theodora Greyman was how young and pretty she was Her hair was dark and she had the sort of natural charisma that made it difficult not to return one of her wide and honest smiles

Perhaps more obviously impressive to Mrs Hamilton was the story of the womanÆs rise to power Theodora Greyman was a relatively recently liberated individual from the borderlands who had adapted remarkably quickly to System life In addition she had taken the political world of Zone 1 by storm Whereas most powerful individuals were satisfied with setting up bases of power and becoming incumbent Senators Theodora had risen in popularity due to her leadership as a member of Zone 1Æs Internal Security Administration and used that to seize the presidency

Although she had only been able to raise her Level to the early 30s around the time she rose to prominence her leadership as the first waves of monsters rampaging from Zone Eleven had protected Zone 1 from a disastrous flood of Raid Bosses into its heartlands With that victory as a launching point she had begun campaigning on the platform of dismantling many of the pre System government administrations and reshuffling the Zone 1 government to engage more directly with the problems the world now faced

They needed to adapt Theodora Greyman claimed And despite the relatively tepid response from Congress the people agreed

She had fought on the front lines she supported science funding and expanded System focused schools and as Mrs Hamilton had earlier noted she was charming She won the seat of President of Zone 1 by a landslide despite having no real allies among the Senators Following that she had cashed in her first political fistful of political clout not to accomplish her stated platform goals but by organizing the first World Summit of New Earth

Mrs Hamilton watched Theodora Greyman carefully wondering what sort of individual she would turn out to be She also didnÆt overlook the fact that Theodora had continued to fight to the point that she now was Level 48 Which meant that she didnÆt currently have a Fate but getting to Level 50 in a little less than nine months was not possible for someone who avoided hard work

In contrast Mrs Hamilton glanced sideways at Phirun who was only Level 29 It had clearly been quite a long time since he was required to actively fight his opponents A shirtless towering pillar of a man standing with his arms folded behind Phirun noticed Mrs HamiltonÆs look and gave her a glower that warned her of being too free with even her glances Mrs Hamilton kept her face mild as she turned her face away

Theodora spread her hands and opened her mouth Everyone thanks for coming The System made Earth a tough place but itÆs not something that we canÆt overcome if we work together And also I agree completely with King PhirunÆs earlier sentiments letÆs not beat around the bush We are all busy people If no one has anything else to say letÆs get started

Mrs HamiltonÆs eyebrow quirked up at the frank admission of PhirunÆs status as a King but she supposed it wasnÆt surprising This was a woman who didnÆt hold the old world order in very high standing Theodora Greyman couldnÆt be older than 30 Throwing Phirun a bone cost her basically nothing and it could earn her some valuable goodwill

Which based on PhirunÆs expression it had Mrs Hamilton considered the rather lecherously pleased look Phirun was giving Theodora Theodora boldly returned his smile before speaking again The set up is simple each delegation will be given the opportunity to bring up an issue for the World SummitÆs consideration After some discussion we will vote for and against Each representativeÆs vote on an issue will be assumed to be binding on the Zone behind them If that turns out not to be the case well I donÆt need to explain why not keeping your word would be a bad idea right

Theodora grinned The four representatives from the Orders laughed nervously Phirun guffawed Even Melanie sitting next to Warlord snorted

Wait a moment I have something I want to say before we start

Mrs Hamilton could have kissed Ed as he stood and stroked his mustache just as Theodora Greyman was building up momentum Not that Mrs Hamilton had anything against the woman but there were a few issues before the actual World Summit could start And she somehow knew Ed someone who was a notorious stickler for status wouldnÆt miss the first issue

Ed pointed his fat finger toward the representative of the Orders Who the hell is this Especially that guy Are they really the sort of people that should be at the table with people like us

Mrs Hamilton literally had to cough to cover the bark of laughter when support for the question emerged from an extremely unlikely source

Indeed Phirun nodded solemnly as he studied the four people from the Orders He picked his nose and flung a moist booger into the open area in the middle of the table Most of the rest of you represent land which I magnanimously choose to acknowledge But these people arenÆt they just members of a social club or something

A tall man amongst the people from the Orders stood The emblem on his chest indicated he was from the Order Sapientia He bowed toward Phirun Begging your majestyÆs pardon but we believe deserve to be here at the table for the World Summit Not only that but we believe that once we explain our position you will agree

Phirun rubbed his chin Mrs Hamilton tutted inwardly Certainly the world has gotten strange So easily we mimick the language and roles of fantasy

The tall man continued to speak to the table You might all represent more powerful forces than us but let me say this most of your power is stationary You require a significant expenditure of resources to protect your territories from the constant threat of Dungeons and monsters A truly magnanimous goal undoubtedly But in some ways the great strength of the Zones means they have more difficulty responding to smaller threats

Meanwhile we Orders are forces that are composed almost entirely of high Leveled individuals with no hard roots in any one Zone Therefore we are uniquely poised to accomplish the will of the World Summit The reason we are here is simple we wish to offer our services as the tools of this World Summit Although each of you controls a capable army it will be difficult to remain confident that the decisions are carried out in an unbiased manner if one ZoneÆs army performs the dirty work We hope for that role

Mrs HamiltonÆs eyes narrowed Perhaps but is that really the tack you want to take You only exist because the Zones allow it And also

But then Theodora Greyman spoke ThereÆs no point in bandying about with words everyone here is aware that your strengthÆ is just leeched off of the Zones themselves And despite your stated neutrality is valuable abstractly this is the real world no one believes you truly have no stake in the game So itÆs valuable to have some separation between powers but donÆt pretend that your existence doesnÆt rest on our generosity You are here to apply for a job nothing more

Even more surprising while the man from the Order Sapientia grew pale Theodora continued to speak And I think that we all know what the Donnyton representativeÆs real point was you sir are not from an acknowledged Order Can you defend your presence here

The man raised his chin and stood to stand next to the man from the Order Sapientia The issue I wish to bring to the World SummitÆs attention is the status of my Order the Order Argentum as an official Order

Argentum Silver Mrs Hamilton tapped her lip Another attempt to set up an Order that was servile to those with power and money huh well itÆs not like I canÆt understand the desire but

In another move that surprised Mrs Hamilton Theodora snorted You are asking this World Summit to give you the designation of an official Order without the approval of the Order Ducis

Ah but the Order Ducis has missed the last several council of Orders The man said with a greasy smile The other representatives from Orders nodded as he spoke As such we have had no choice

If you want to offend Randidly Ghosthound be my guest Theodora spoke with a smile but her tone chilled the room But this Summit will not be a part of it Besides without having the standing to attend the Summit what gives you the privilege of bringing an issue before the Summit Please leave

I The representative from the Order Argentum began but the air cooled even more considerably at his words When he glanced around he saw the frosty gazes of all 11 of the individuals who were not part of the Orders And to have become the representative of these Zones none of them aside for perhaps Phirun lacked personal power The man squirmed visibly barely capable of resisting the combined

We wonÆt ask twice Theodora said simply

Mrs Hamilton didnÆt miss the way that Theodora spoke so casually for the group She also was aware that in this case the will of the representatives had very quickly solidified behind Theodora

Certainly a capable woman Mrs Hamilton thought with an admiring glance She graciously accepted this manÆs request to be here and then used him to align the other representatives with her point of view Quite aggressive too

Chapter 1107

After the unrecognized OrderÆs representative left the negotiations began in earnest

Theodora Greyman started off the issuesÆ by bringing up the three disasters that came out of the Epic Dungeon Instantly Warlord brightened but that only made Mrs Hamilton increasingly weary After even a few minutes of spending time with Theodora Greyman it was clear that this woman was not a normal sort of leader If she had been Mrs Hamilton wouldnÆt have been so impressed with her

She wasnÆt the direct blunt type like Donny was or the rather cruel and whimsical brand of leadership that Phirun ascribed to She also didnÆt possess the calculating mind of either Mrs Hamilton and Han Yazhu

No Theodora Greyman was more dangerous than that She was the unpredictable charismatic type She accomplished what she wanted by paying attention and valuing different things than the average person And until Mrs Hamilton had pinned down what this woman wanted she wouldnÆt let down her guard

Still it was not nothing that the Zone 1 representative brought up the issue of the three disasters It also allowed Warlord to stand and explain that it appeared that the most active of the three was dealt with Then the Orders thawed enough from their companion being ejected to join in the discussion and talk what actions could be taken now to reduce the power of monsters streaming out of Zone Eleven

Very soon everyone offered opinions And with the persuasive arguments of Theodora Greyman and Warlord sentiment slowly shifted toward an agreement

Although Han Yazhu was quite scathing in his comments the discussion proceeded smoothly Even if no one particularly wanted to waste their forces helping Zone Eleven there was an elephant in the room which made them unwilling to not participate Everyone was particularly sensitive to the modifier EpicÆ that was associated with this Dungeon Perhaps the reward for clearing it wouldnÆt be as significant for those that could be obtained from a Danger Zone but all the Danger Zones thus far had ended up being connected with other worlds once cleared If the Dungeon was controlled and could be used as a high Level training ground without the risk of a whole world waiting on the other side

In the end it was agreed that the three disasters needed to be dealt with before they seriously attempted to assault the Epic Dungeon

Theodora clapped her hands together Took a while for everyone to agree She shot Han Yazhu a look The man didnÆt even blink Mrs Hamilton smirked Tough bastard

As Theodora turned back froward she continued to speak but the goal for my issue is settled we will work together to destroy the remaining two disasters IÆm slightly sad that one has already been dealt with but part of the reason I wanted to bring everyone here was to show you all something Something that our research team has been working on for quite a while This can be unveiling of Zone 1Æs most dazzling scientific accomplishment to date

Theodora gestured and a rumble rippled through the room Then the floating sphere descended slowly to sit in the middle area of the table As it was still translucent it was possible to see the other representatives through it But as Theodora gestured again the translucent streams of water began to gather and spiral together Very soon brushstrokes of color appeared on the sphere

Then those brushstrokes resolved themselves into visions of a faraway place Two images to be exact reflected on three sides of the orb so everyone could see clearly

The first was East Providence showing a relatively undeveloped field South of the city While some of the high roofed buildings of the science complex could be seen in the background it was a completely unremarkable vista

Meanwhile the other image displayed was a dense swamp populated by Level 70 Basilisks that were dozing in the water Mrs Hamilton blinked several times finally realizing what she was looking at The marshes seemed to stretch for miles seeming filled with infinite Basilisks And of course seething in the middle was the vast body of murky water was the Level 80 Bog Hydra

Once she had identified the subject of the pictures Mrs Hamilton admired the strange display sphere Certainly an interesting bit of science Does it work like scrying or are we receiving a feed from something on site If this really is a mass scrying device though

In order to protect the Earth we need to work together Theodora continued as the representatives around her stared in confusion at the images Which is why IÆm showing you all these two almost divine toolsÆ that Zone 1 has created The first is this viewing orb inspired by the Champion of Zone 32 With it it is possible to track or view almost anything in the world Right now we are relying on the information given to us by Zone 19 to try and find the culprit in the heinous bloodless murders Which is just one of many anti terrorism functions this orb can fulfill

While also putting quite a bit of power into your hands Mrs Hamilton thought with a twist of her mouth But it wasnÆt like Donnyton didnÆt also closely monitor its subordinates

And the second divine tool

As she waited to speak Theodora Greyman licked her lips There were pink and fleshy and Mrs Hamilton sensed something monstrous from the woman Which was usually the problem with the charismatic sort of leader They generally used logic but they were not bound by it like a true rhetorician was And generally those few slightly off kilter believes were exactly the reason why this type of leader was so dangerous

is Mjolnir

The ground in the picture of East Providence began to shift The grassy field crumbled and ripped as metal panels slid backward revealing a dark opening in the rather idyllic field However as the image continued to roll Mrs HamiltonÆs eyes widened She could clearly sense the vast catastrophic danger roiling upward from this opening The viewpoint drifted closer giving a better angle of sight down into the opening

Energy gathered slowly illuminating the interior of the silo For a second Mrs Hamilton worried that Zone 1 had reclaimed and was about to use a nuclear warhead Setting aside the issue of radiation poisoning Mrs Hamilton had some serious concerns about the ecological consequences of using nuclear weapons within the closed area the System had created on Earth

But as the gathering energy illuminated the silo it was clear that wasnÆt quite the case There was a tall form within the dark silo but it was a seething mass of movement It looked less like a missile and more like a misshapen blob that was constantly trying to sculpt itself into something presentable

With the energy came light but there was only a brief moment where that light crossed the threshold from dim to blinding and they were similarly isolated from the information Yet for a hair thin split second Mrs Hamilton witnessed a portion of the operations at the core of this Mjolnir And what she saw was actually vaguely familiar

Like the floating orb that Zone 1 had created to display pictures of a faraway place what Mrs Hamilton saw was a towering pillar of thin slug like somethings The wriggled and spun gathering energy to themselves

And then as that light became completely blinding the viewpoint began to back away from the opening A split second later whatever that thing was blasted its incandescent energy into the sky The perspective that had previously shown East Providence shifted and suddenly they could see a brilliant beam of light shoot upward into the sky and then curve Northward Only a few short seconds later that beam arrived at the view of the swamp

Instantly that blinding energy severed the view that the representatives had The display went immediately black the second after that energy arrived Everyone was deathly silent

Exactly five seconds later the display reestablished itself A smoking crater about the size of a small town filled most of the screen Murky water calmly flowed into the newly created crater carrying with it the large and charred corpses of the basilisks that had dominated the swamp previously

The representatives watched in a sort of detached horror as the Level 80 Bog Hydra struggled to its feet and swayed Of its intimidating nine heads seven were completely burned away and one head had been so badly scorched that the bones of jaw were exposed to air Puss dripped from its agonizing burns Its one remaining head cried to the sky in fear and fury

Of course the danger of the Bog Hydra was that it would quickly recover and heal But as the view panned outward squads of Zone 1Æs forces could be seen trooping forward preparing to take advantage of the wounded Bog Hydra

Theodora Greyman steepled her fingers with an innocent smile This is just meant as a display of Zone 1Æs sincerity We strongly urge everyone in the World Summit to consider themselves as part of a broader world relationship rather than simply as characters in antagonistic Zones And we hope you will soon join us in enthusiastically seeking to accomplish the resolutions of the World Summit

After a pause she turned to the surrounding representatives The orb displaying the destruction wrought by Mjolnir floated upward while maintaining the pictures It was a constant reminder of the weapon that Zone 1 had boldly revealed without batting an eyelash

Mrs Hamilton kept her breathing even as she considered Theodora Greyman This is Zone 1Æs Sincerity huh

Randidly eventually withdrew his attention from the Nether Ritual After the display from Zone 1 the other issues brought forward by the World Summit were quite minor Even Phirun appeared shaken by what this Mjolnir had accomplished The only other thing of note Randidly had learned was the fact that another World Summit was scheduled for a month where the group would select a chairman for their meetings

Yet how could he blame the representatives for their reaction Even Randidly was shaken by what he had seen As he slowly massaged feeling back into the claw that had been channeling Nether for the entirety of his time watching the World Summit meeting he gritted his teeth and tried to figure out how to proceed

That weapon that fucked up thing Even no one else had been able to see what was going on clearly Randidly could The Nether Ritual had given him vision that was exceedingly clear Plus a clue to what was going on had been hanging above the group the entire time

Because Randidly had carefully studied the flowing orb with strange flows of water around it before the World Summit had started Even he had been somewhat confused by what it was But soon it hit him The Grim Chimera growled its fury and a fire was lit in his belly as he considered that floating orb and what it meant Then when he had seen the strange Mjolnir activate

I should never have let the government of Zone 1 off so easily after seeing what the church was allowed to do RandidlyÆs eyes burned emerald activating the energy he had obtained from the Fate blade subconsciously The fire in his chest was so hot it seemed to even warp the image around him that was sustained by the Aether Key These tools they are just thousands of specialized Raid Bosses that have been spliced together to one mass organism

For Mjolnir most of those Raid Bosses gather and transfer energy and then a few at the top blast it outward Even if the Raid BossesÆ Levels are capped in the mid thirties the energy that a thousand Level 30 monsters can gather well

The result spoke for itself

Perhaps even more dangerous than the fact that it had been able to critically wound a Level 80 monster was the fact that it had left a rather large area wrecked by the blast All of the Zones or Orders present at the World SummitÆ had bases that could be demolished by an attack like that It was a barred threat toward every other force in the world just like a nuclear bomb used to be Having that capability for mass destruction once more return to humanity

And Randidly had no doubt that Mjolnir was much more dangerous than a single use bomb After all such a unified usage didnÆt seem possible just while relying on the intelligence of monsters Perhaps just like the church the souls of human beings were placed inside of Raid Bosses to make them work in concert with each other Which meant that the more Mjolnir was used the stronger it would become

The System would recognize its progress and allow that horror to grow

Still one fact that most of the watching representatives had missed had been immediately obvious to Randidly What they were seeing from the other amalgamation of Raid Bosses hanging over the World Summit were simply recordings

Based on the way it was shown the attack had been launched and landed only a few seconds later But for all that it was a quick moving attack it wasnÆt that quick Perhaps more importantly Randidly had been able to detect the subtle angle of launch that enabled the Mjolnir to strike almost directly downward toward the target Based on what Randidly had been able to project they likely needed to shoot the energy bolt in a loop up into the atmosphere before it slowly was able to turn all the way around and descend Due to the nature of the attack the turning radius would likely be severely limited

Even if the energy blast moved quickly it could not turn quickly And that trip up into the atmosphere with enough distance to curve back toward Earth was significant It would be possible to detect the launch of such a strike and move out of the target area The devastation would be large but not so large that it couldnÆt be avoided with a warning

But it did give Randidly pause Because it didnÆt seem like this Theodora Greyman was a fool And showing Mjolnir was very clearly a show of force A lot of the population probably thought they were protected from such abrupt destruction with the rise of their Stats But this weapon would remind people of the commodified fear of sudden and violent death Randidly had no doubt that some of the Zones would respond very dangerously toward this sudden power Zone 1 now possessed

Still thatÆs not so big of a deal Some of the fire in RandidlyÆs chest cooled The logic of the Grim Chimera eased some of the surging emotions People die Such is life The stronger the weapons they possess the more people of Earth can grow to rival them But the real worry is that these weapons will be TOO strong That they will cripple humanityÆs desire to grow by cowing them with a terrible fear of death

Randidly raised his gaze toward the wall of his hut Fearing something isnÆt a problem ItÆs living without doing anything but fear allowing that fear to control you With a threat like that hanging over them it might cause the Earth to collapse on itself and spend too much of its effort crafting grand weapons for murder Which would mean that the Earth was doomed against the Calamities

Besides that power there was no image to that power

Although he had intended to take a break after the long viewing of Mrs Hamilton Randidly was no longer in the mood to rest after seeing Zone 1Æs demonstration of Mjolnir After forcefully suppressing the ache from overusing Nether Randidly began to conjure another Nether Ritual

You might not want to cross me Greyman but youÆve certainly got my attention Randidly grimaced as pain lanced up his arm But he ignored it And if you threaten the image that I want the Earth to have well I will just ensure the Order Ducis wonÆt be shaken by a power without an image

Chapter 1108

As Randidly watched the image in front of him reformed into a muddy training ground To his great relish it seemed he had begun watching the scene in his Nether Ritual right as a large group of people was nearing the image stones that Randidly left for the Order Ducis to use to train Even though Randidly had continued to periodically face the Eidolon Crucible he still worried that his people would fall behind in terms of image without him present to prod them forward

It seemed however that RandidlyÆs worry was in vain