LoRG 4

Slowly Randidly began developing an impression of Tim Young but not immature Likely because he grew up with the chaos of the System around him A strong sense of justice because one of the few times Tim spoke he had carefully defended Randidly when Delilah had claimed she had been viciously attacked by the Ghosthound

Well maybe it might be a bit self centered to jump to a sense of justice from him defending me

Pausing in his thoughts Randidly glanced around the dining room table with a helpless smile They all seemed to be waiting for another person to start eating I mean if no one else is IÆll take the first bite

He scooped up a spoonful of the risotto and popped it into his mouth The mellow muskiness of the Level 66 Hellion Ram that Randidly had used for the meat combined well with the carrots Plus nothing could rival the creamy smoothness of a good risotto the butter harvested from KharonÆs farms was no joke Randidly didnÆt have the time to make the stock from scratch and transfer the stock in small batches into the rice so the texture was a bit inconsistent But he was pretty confident in the result

Under his expectant smile everyone took a bite of his risotto Watching their individual reactions was somewhat gratifying

What Delilah sat bolt upright like she had received an electric shock Then she rapidly began shoveling food into her mouth Why is such a good food such an ugly sandy color

DerekÆs expression brightened mm This is dam dang good

Tim closed his eyes and revealed an expression of pure bliss after he took his first bite While Delilah raced to devour her plate like someone was going to steal it and even Derek hasten the pace of his chewing Tim savored every bite

Somehow the very purposeful manner of eating broke RandidlyÆs heart HavenÆt had the chance to have many good meals huh

Yet there were other encouraging signs that Randidly noticed as he spent time with the Mosses First it only now occurred to Randidly that the energy source of the city was called moss spirits Because ever since Randidly had arrived at the apartment the emerald spirits had been circling the building excitedly They liked that Randidly Tim and Derek were in the same place at the same time Randidly could feel how much the energy lifeforms adored them in their rapidly escalating numbers

Moss spirits even began to seep under the door and through the window to join the party but Randidly quietly willed them away The situation was already complicated enough as it was I wonder if I truly teach Tim how to do this someday the Moss family name will seem to be more than a coincidence to the people of Kharon

Secondly Randidly felt how Derek MossÆs image was an offshoot of his own He was the Bombardier of the Sacred Grove Although Randidly could tell that Derek hadnÆt yet quite uncovered the core of his own image his ability to use images was rapidly growing under the tutelage of the Order Ducis Now it was only a matter of time

Finally Randidly touched both of their images more directly with Grim Intuition It was a much easier prospect with Derek but Tim seemed to possess a Skill that was naturally teaching him how to use images It was likely the same Skill that made the moss spirits so enthusiastic about him With that simple brush Randidly had some insight into their desires Both seemed if not content in Kharon heading toward that direction

For now at least their desires stayed with the Wandering City

After a few more messy compliments for the risotto from a full mouthed Delilah the meal proceeded in peace Each person asked for seconds Which was fine until Delilah noticed that Randidly was filling his plate for the third time and announced that she could eat more Watching her struggle through the third plate was slightly amusing but Randidly didnÆt bother serving himself a fourth plate from the pot despite the fact that he was still a bit peckish he just stored it away in his interspatial ring for later

Our physical baseline is just too different Randidly thought with amusement Even in terms of hunger you arenÆt my match Delilah Hehe IÆll eat you under the table anytime you want

Derek looked over at Randidly hesitantly as he cleared the plates and rinsed them off in the sink So Mr Ghosthound You said you were over here for business

Yea I am I was hoping I could ask for your sonÆs help Mr Moss Randidly said slowly Tim twitched and looked up with wide eyes There is a project that I plan on working on in the upcoming weeks and I want an assistant Someone who would learn to perform that task for Kharon after IÆm gone Tim was the candidate I had in mind

Derek rubbed his chin as he sat down again at the table Then he stood back up to return the to the cabinet and poured himself another scotch When he sat down at the table again he looked at Randidly with serious eyes This is just a request

Randidly heard the tension in Derek MossÆs voice Some part of him winced at the helpless feeling in DerekÆs voice but Randidly didnÆt flinch Just a request I do come as the leader of Kharon but I come to speak to you as TimÆs father And to Tim individually I wonÆt force you to accept my offer I want someone who assists me of their own free will

While he was speaking to Derek RandidlyÆs attention wandered to the two children sitting at the other end of the table He looked at Tim to gauge his reaction but he also kept a little bit of focus on Delilah because of her antagonistic earlier statements But to his surprise both children looked contemplatively at Randidly as he spoke Huh looks like there is more depth to her than I expected too

although maybe she just has a stomach ache from eating too much

WhatÆs the job Derek asked into the serious silence

Engraving Randidly responded A specific type of Engraving Most people can manage it well enough already to make floating platforms but I want someone to help me make more floating pieces of land like my island At that scale the requirements for uniformity and shape are much higher

Derek Moss hummed to himself Then he looked at Tim and heÆs uniquely suited for it because of his relationship with the moss spirits right Well what do you think Tim Do you want to help Mr Ghosthound to make floating islands

Tim opened his mouth to speak but Delilah interrupted Heh that Even I can do that And if you beg me maybe

I donÆt want a floating platform that needs to be renewed every 24 hours Randidly rolled his eyes When Delilah abruptly went white Randidly couldnÆt help but chuckle I mean I truthfully havenÆt been able to find out how you do it by looking at the remains But did you really think that I didnÆt understand the limitation of the methods you were using

With Delilah silenced Randidly focused on Tim This will help a lot of people But I want to say upfront that learning this Skill will be a lot of responsibility And responsibility is hard When people learn you can do this people will want you to give them special treatment You will need to be able to know when to use this Skill for the good of Kharon

Randidly felt somewhat awkward speaking about responsibility It was only in the battle against Kaan that he suddenly realized the scope of consequences that surrounded each of his actions But perhaps for that reason he felt compelled to stress those factors to Tim So he spoke even if Randidly wasnÆt sure that Tim would understand

Tim stared at the table for a long time But finally he raised his head and nodded I want to help Mr Ghosthound I want I want to learn the Engraving Skill

It will be a lot of work Tim Derek said softly

Tim nodded again But it will help people right I can help people

Randidly and Derek shared a glance Randidly could see the hesitation in his eyes but Derek Moss ultimately nodded slowly alright then But you canÆt let it interfere with your grades alright

Ugh dad Tim rolled his eyes You know that school here is super easy It wonÆt be a problem I promise

And to that Randidly couldnÆt help but reveal a predatory smile To be honest I havenÆt heard many first hand accounts about how Kharon handles education right now Since we are on the subject can you give me some of the details of what is expected of you

Chapter 1411

Once he had Derek and TimÆs agreement to the Engraving project things began to accelerate Randidly basically lectured Delilah into staying on a semi permanent basis with the MossÆs in order to keep her someplace predictable Then he worked out a schedule with Tim for his assistance

At TimÆs current knowledge of Engraving it would take quite a while until Tim would be of any substantive assistance with creating the Engraving for the floating islands But since it was Friday night Randidly whisked Tim off to his Alpha Cosmos and dropped him off with Lucretia for a crash course in the basics of Engraving

In the meantime Randidly also traveled through his Alpha Cosmos to pay a visit to Wendy

Their meeting was a tension filled tea session in WendyÆs office while both made small talk and sipped at their steaming beverages The longer this went on the more Wendy began to sweat and pull at her collar rambling on about how important her current research was even though she never spoke with enough specificity for Randidly to have any idea what her research entailed

Not that Randidly minded his bait was already out there He just needed to wait for Wendy to bite down on the hook

Especially after the discussion at the MossÆs regarding the teaching situation in Kharon RandidlyÆs would not let this opportunity to enlist WendyÆs brilliance pass After Tim had run out of things he could remember about the tasks they had been given Delilah had been quite happy to chime in and list off dozens of dumb things about the current educational system in Kharon

Most of the information Randidly had heard before in a more palatable form from an overview he had been given on the education program Yet it was more alarming to hear how the children received it

It would take some time to figure out how accurate DelilahÆs statements were but Randidly had already sent a message to Tatiana to give him the comprehensive version of KharonÆs teaching doctrine Still it had firmed his resolve to rebuild the system from scratch And the mechanisms of Kharon Academy would be central to that effort

Even if it was just a complex building that complex building built above a labyrinth would become a symbol As Randidly had experienced with the thriving image of independence and creativity in Kharon a symbol was a very powerful thing for motivating people

Finally Wendy could stand it no longer and set down a ginger snap cookie I uh had some spare time before bed IÆve glanced through those schematics that you passed to me A little immature but the idea is ah mildly interesting

Wendy was practically squirming in her chair While grinning from ear to ear mentally Randidly shook his head sorrowfully and waved his hand Yes well I thought so too And we had just approved a significant budget to have it built so many rare materials were gathered in order to expedite the construction yet we simply couldnÆt find an architect with enough confidence to take the project and nurture it to completion Such a tragedy

Wendy coughed into a napkin Yes well There are significant flaws with many of your ideas heh and human engineers well you know

Yes of course They were simply overwhelmed by the complexity of the project Randidly said in mock sorrow Then he continued to shake his head What I donÆt understand is why they wouldnÆt be tempted to try it anyway Considering the growth of the moss spirits around Kharon they have an almost limitless energy source at their fingertips The sort of innovations they could make are practically infinite

Wendy licked her lips Well obviously the energy source isnÆt limitless But considering the growth of the engine in Kharon unnghh certainly the amount of ambient energy grants whoever is at the helm of such a project vast flexibility the experiments one could run but someone like that would probably need specific Classes in order to take advantage of that opportunity

Randidly chewed on his lip while thinking of how to ratchet up the tension on Wendy you know that makes sense

Give me two Class lighthouses that fit my specifications and IÆll take over the project Wendy snapped Then her hands jumped to cover her mouth as though she was shocked by the suddenness of what she said

Randidly blinked Then he began to laugh that was your goal the entire time huh So I guess you already knew I was trying to tempt you into helping

Of course Do you ever come to visit me if you donÆt need something Wendy said sourly She picked up the discarded ginger snap and nibbled at the edge of it Then she put it back down But IÆll admit the project is interesting

After thinking about WendyÆs request for a bit Randidly nodded slowly He was now just a normal individual within the Alpha Cosmos but his normalÆ abilities still put him head and shoulders above the most powerful individuals in the Alpha Cosmos In addition his recent experimentations with physical manifestations of his images seemed to have created a vast underground network of caves that were currently unexplored Within them a casual scan had found a few unactivated Class Lighthouses

I can show you two lighthouses but you will be in charge of getting the right Classes from them Select the first user carefully Abruptly something occurred to Randidly A grin spread across his face Actually I have another thought

After Randidly discussed his idea with Wendy she agreed to pass word on to the other populations within the Alpha Cosmos With that confirmation Randidly returned to Earth and met with Tatiana and Wolfram to discuss the concrete details of the first two floating islands as well as some political issues inherent in the project Reading the relevant maps sent over by Vye they identified some valuable and unique areas that they should target in the borderlands before any of the Zones expanded outward and annexed them

The meeting stretched on much longer than they had anticipated taking them well past the setting of the sun Eventually Randidly had to cease the impromptu strategy meeting in order to return to his Soulskill and pick up Tim from LucretiaÆs care When he dropped Tim back off at his familyÆs apartment the kid was mumbling unintelligibly to himself and casually drawing Engravings on a piece of wood Luckily Derek wasnÆt yet home from his Order Ducis shift and Randidly could flee without trying to explain the reaction

Through the night Randidly spent some time repairing his Nether Nebula As with drops of liquid Aether that grey Nether bubble he had conjured was the accumulation of all of the weight that Randidly had gathered for several months Luckily once expended that weight would gradually reaccumulate So with his tending the Nether Nebula soon regained enough of its former potency that Randidly needed to restrain it lest it affected the surrounding space

With the sunrise Randidly sent out several messages to various political entities on Earth revealing a few concrete details regarding the duos tournament Then he went to the MossÆs apartment to bring Tim back within his Alpha Cosmos and continue his crash course in Engraving But Randidly was taken by surprise when Delilah wanted to come as well

When asking nicely didnÆt work she threatened him with both violence and telling her parents When threatening didnÆt work she begged and clung stubbornly to his leg Finally in the interest of conserving time Randidly relented and brought her along too Delilah was a bit unpredictable in her actions but at the very least she was extremely talented Perhaps Lucretia teaching some structure would do her some good

Then Randidly had to go to the legs of Kharon and update the Engraving there using his understanding of gravity due to the improved Stillborn Phoenix in order to decrease the physical weight of Kharon on the ground below it Apparently there had been complaints from the Zones that KharonÆs passage damaged the ground

The damage left in the cityÆs wake was relatively small so far as Randidly could tell but since Kharon was currently making a beeline for the Orchard in Zone 1 he wanted to completely silence KharonÆs critics before they could even open their mouths And when Randidly complained about how exhausting keeping up with the running of a city was Tatiana laughed in his face

It took a while for her mirth to subside enough for her to speak How do you think I feel Randidly you can literally solve all these problems with a little time and focus Most of the rest of us just need to make do with what we have ThatÆs why you are such a valuable strategic asset for Kharon ThatÆs the mundanity of being the most powerful man in the world You are too efficient at solving problems for your own good

She patted his back fondly and left chuckling the entire time

Kadir cracked his knuckles when the contents of the message was announced to the room EveryoneÆs face was grim Your majesty this Ghosthound shows us all disrespect First he said that we are being plotted against by Zone 1 now he expects us to do nothing in the face of this conspiracy until the tournament We

Silence you fool King Phirun didnÆt bother to glare at his subordinate The only thing that was necessary was his image Despite the fact that the man was a two meter tower of tattooed muscle he quickly was shaking and took a step back in the face of King PhirunÆs focus

King Phirun allowed his image to fade His heavy lidded eyes shifted from his most powerful warrior and scanned the surrounding group of elite troops he had gathered in preparation of the duo tournament Idly King Phirun drew lines across his bulging stomach with his right hand Can anyone tell me why I am not angry at the GhosthoundÆs words

The question was a trap and King PhirunÆs followers knew it They all lowered their eyes deferentially none would dare speak for their sovereign To do so would be treason King Phirun eventually smiled and asked a different question Or perhaps why is the GhosthoundÆs action not disrespectful to me

Again no one answered But this time King Phirun was not going to let them off His image grew increasingly heavy in the surrounding air as the silence stretched onward King PhirunÆs image was conjured from a memory from the horrible tsunami that had leveled his village to the ground when he was a boy To this day he still awoke sweating from the nightmare of that day when he fell asleep in a place where he could hear the sea It was why Ifrenne was the City in the Clouds

That fear and panic in King PhirunÆs heart became a cudgel That sense of overwhelming helplessness in the face of natureÆs power became his strength which he then unleashed in the surrounding area The weaker amongst his guards began to squirm underneath the pressure Still no one could come up with an answer

King Phirun began to frown Strength was not enough in this world A true warrior also needed the instinct to discern when one should strike and when one should flee If no one present had that instinct his people had no hope of winning the tournament unless he participated Which would be a great loss of face for him

King Phirun intensified the pressure Everyone was trembling now and the nearest guards were gritting their teeth so tightly the muscles of their jaw were bulging Then a voice cut through the silence Because the Ghosthound is strong

When King Phirun smiled his image vanished He turned to look at the speaker The man was standing at the back of the assembled warriors leaning against his spear and breathing heavily Perhaps the weakest of his guards Tosam had spoken And it seemed like he hadnÆt spoken willingly But he had spoken anyway because he could no longer withstand the weight of King PhirunÆs image

It seems this Tosam is intelligent King Phirun noted as he studied the kneeling man If he had not spoken he would simply have collapsed That would show weakness To show weakness as a member of the greatest group of warriors he would have been killed

Yes because he is strong King Phirun said aloud If he were an equal this would be disrespectful and I would kill his subordinates for such a slight to my honor But in this world Randidly Ghosthound is the sole man unequivocally stronger than me For the strong to speak to the weak that is already a sign of great respect So I will simply accept the content of the message and act accordingly

That is the way of the strong So it is now so it will be someday when I become the strongest individual in the world

Then King Phirun patted his belly Alright leave me Ah except Kadir and Tosam I have a mission for you two

Chapter 1412

Randidly turned away from the messy scrawl of the layers of academy plans in front of him and frowned at the message he just received Then he looked down at the plans he had been adjusting Randidly had just returned from dropping off Delilah and Tim in his Alpha Cosmos and had planned on using the morning to address the preliminary list of problems that Wendy had with his designs And for a preliminaryÆ list it was certainly comprehensive to RandidlyÆs eyes

Even if he was perfectly solved all of her gripes this goal of addressing each issue in a single morning was likely quite optimistic Wendy was extremely demanding in her requirements for the plans She would help Randidly assemble the whole but she refused to waste her time designing the trivial detailsÆ Which meant that Randidly needed to spend quite a bit of time finalizing his plans into a satisfactory form

Despite the importance of the task the message had already derailed his focus No point in forcing it now

If Octavius doesnÆt reply in the next few days IÆll just need to badger him until he can give me a definitive answer as to whether there is a danger in using Dungeons Randidly flexed his right arm back and forth as he walked out of his work hut With a more focused wave of his hand he pushed away the moonlight spirits surrounding his island and revealed the clear light of the early morning around him Despite the chill the sky was clear and blue

The light reflected off of the dusting of snow on the surrounding hills and created an aura of inviolability on the ground over which the Wandering City passed Kharon had proceeded to the edge of the borderlands and was now crossing into the Southern area of the Zones on its trek to the Orchard They would likely arrive there around noon

Randidly turned away from the brilliant light of the flawless morning the message still held his attention It was a short message asking for his presence at a dinner in a few daysÆ time Randidly scratched his neck The sender was Lyra

Truthfully Randidly had plenty of motivation to talk with Lyra after her experience with Kaan Swacc He just kept finding excuses not to reach out And honestly he already had so many things on his plate that the extra emotional turmoil of that meeting seemed like a problem he shouldnÆt bother to deal with In a lot of ways Lyra and his relationship had come to rest after he had created a Class for her Or at least it had from RandidlyÆs perspective

From the framing of the message it seemed like she didnÆt share his feelings on the subject

But she likely had some information about Kaan Swacc After how difficult the fight against the former Special Investigator had been Randidly knew better than to leave any stone unturned Plus she could give him some valuable information about the Nexus Ways after seeing Kaan use them for so long And yet

I would prefer if I hear from Octavius before that Time in a Dungeon would be a nice buffer to consolidate my current state Randidly thought sourly knowing that he was looking for another way to delay Then because he was thinking about it so much Randidly sent a reminder message to Octavius about the situation in the Nexus But he specifically stated that he would like OctaviusÆs opinion on the dangers of Dungeons as quickly as possible

In the meantime Randidly opened up his Path menu to cash in on his spoils The confrontation with Kaan Swacc had been extremely fruitful combined with the unspent PP he previously had Randidly now had accumulated 1114 PP that he could spend It was a significant sum Even considering the high PP costs of some of his Paths Randidly had the choice between finishing one of the larger Paths or even several of the smaller Paths available to him

Heh itÆs just a matter of choosing what to do Randidly spoke awkwardly to the air and scratched his cheek as he pulled up the list of Paths Honestly the thing had grown almost too massive as he had accumulated various options in his journey through the System But he supposed that most peopleÆs lists were just as long if not more so at least he had the ability to generate a lot of PP to pursue the gathered Paths

Lumped together it was a pretty dense mass of text question marks and numbers

Friend to Humanity 0/100 Mantle of the Patron 0/500 Aether Convergence II the Bell of Doom Tolls 0/600 The Ashes of Ulaat Patron of Ash 0/1000 Order Ducis Font of Guidance HumanityÆs Torch 0/500 Bearing of a Teacher Puppet Master 0/100 Pain Immunity I 0/250 Cleaver of the World Tree Weakness of the World Tree 0/500 Guilty Conscience I 0/100 Peerage of the Baleful Court I 0/600 Hands of the Artisan 0/ Ashes of Illym the Above Average Child 0/5000 The Flame that Burns Memories 0/ Exodus the Terror 0/1000 Genesis the Considered 0/1000 Image Cooperation I 0/100 Body Refinement I 0/ ChimeraÆs Struggle II 0/ Spear Mastery III 0/200 Mysteries of the Fiery Emerald Waltz 0/ Violent Heat I 0/ Sovereign of Violence I 0/1000 Body Beyond the System 0/ Deathwish III 0/3 The Pursuit of Alchemy 0/750 MonstrosityÆs Growth 0/1000 Weakness of the Grim Chimera 0/500 Weakness of the Stillborn Phoenix 0/500 Greater Visualization 0/ The Shadow Beyond the Threshold 0/

The first and most obvious thing that Randidly noticed was the change in Deathwish it had become Deathwish III Chuckling darkly he set that Path to the side just one more question he would save for when he headed into the Nexus

The list was pretty impressive but Randidly quickly began to remove a dozen Paths from contention as soon as he laid eyes on their familiar names Although he thought finishing everything would be the most satisfying life wasnÆt designed for that sort of method There were a lot of attractive options but if Randidly didnÆt focus even he wouldnÆt be able to accomplish his main goals

The much abridged list ended up being a combination of tempting previous options and some new arrivals that grabbed RandidlyÆs attention

Aether Convergence II the Bell of Doom Tolls 0/600 The Ashes of Ulaat Patron of Ash 0/1000 Cleaver of the World Tree Weakness of the World Tree 0/500 Ashes of Illym the Above Average Child 0/5000 The Flame that Burns Memories 0/ Exodus the Terror 0/1000 Genesis the Considered 0/1000 Image Cooperation I 0/100 Body Refinement I 0/ ChimeraÆs Struggle II 0/ Spear Mastery III 0/200 Sovereign of Violence I 0/1000 Body Beyond the System 0/ The MonstrosityÆs Growth 0/1000 Weakness of the Grim Chimera 0/500 Weakness of the Stillborn Phoenix 0/500 Greater Visualization 0/ The Shadow Beyond the Threshold 0/

The problem was how many of the Paths appealed to Randidly In the end he had only cut the list of Paths down by half Perhaps it was a sort of curiosity that kept them in the contention through the first round of cuts but he still had too many options to consider any of them seriously So he began to rule out other Paths

The easiest to remove were the Paths relating to a specific image and the two Ashes Paths Or at least Randidly initially wanted to sheer down the options like this And Randidly was only too happy to set aside the Weakness Paths for the moment including the two newly appeared ones for the Grim Chimera and the Stillborn Phoenix

But what was somewhat frustrating were the Paths that seemed related to one image but only generally Both MonstrosityÆs Growth and The Shadow Beyond the Threshold seemed powerful but possessed clear links to specific images Perhaps because of the recency of their arrival Randidly assumed that they were relatively more powerful than his more long held Paths Although he didn’t want to imbalance his triple image further the power they hinted at was tempting

For now Randidly left them as options And he cut the Paths he could choose down to a more reasonable number

Image Cooperation I 0/100 Body Refinement I 0/ Spear Mastery III 0/200 Sovereign of Violence I 0/1000 Body Beyond the System 0/ The MonstrosityÆs Growth 0/1000 Greater Visualization 0/ The Shadow Beyond the Threshold 0/

If Randidly wanted to actually try and complete multiple Paths the obvious choice would be for one of those Paths to be Spear Mastery III At 200 PP it was easily within his ability to immediately complete And afterward he would have more than enough to push most of the way through the higher cost Paths His remnant 900 PP would have a lot of purchasing power

Yet that road didnÆt much appeal to Randidly Mostly because his current spear style was a bit rough To put it very directly he couldnÆt even manage to demonstrate all the training he had done with a spear with his new powerful body As he was barely able to manage manifesting his three images at once he hadnÆt gotten much time to grow used to fighting with his new form Even just walking around while all three images merged physically was a struggle Until he could manage himself and felt more confident in his fighting Randidly didnÆt want to take the next Spear Mastery Path

For a similar reason Randidly was deeply conflicted about the Image Cooperation Path Although it seemed useful he ultimately decided to put it on hold First because he wanted to take an extended crack at the issue of utilizing the images together by himself And also because he didnÆt believe that the SystemÆs Path was designed to help him utilize images in this manner anyway Better to spend his PP elsewhere

Of course as soon as Randidly thought that the System wouldnÆt help him he had a Path called Body Beyond the System He was aware that Paths would allow the user to deviate from System guidelines but in RandidlyÆs experience those deviations came with costs So even though that Path interested him greatly he wouldnÆt casually complete it

Which finally left Randidly with five choices

Body Refinement I 0/ Sovereign of Violence I 0/1000 The MonstrosityÆs Growth 0/1000 Greater Visualization 0/ The Shadow Beyond the Threshold 0/

Body Refinement would likely increase his physical abilities even further Sovereign of Violence implied it would give him more fighting tools MonstrosityÆs Growth drew RandidlyÆs eyes because of the term Monstrosity likely it was a Path specifically to draw out the potential of Skill MonstrosityÆs Appalling Physicality As the Skill currently sat at an Ancient Rarity there was plenty of room for growth

Visualization was one of RandidlyÆs core Skills allowing him to utilize images more efficiently So taking that Path to increase his imageÆs power further was very appealing The Shadow Beyond the Threshold seemed related to Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold which was a Skill that Randidly was continually surprised by Empowering it was sure to result in Randidly receiving a large benefit

And in fact as Randidly considered his five options he activated Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold The purple black energy filled with twinkling orange and emerald stars covered his body He gazed deeply at his options for a long time peering into casualty to see if he could intuit the results of taking each Path

Of course all his information was speculative So very quickly the future broadened into meaningless ambiguities So just as quickly as he summoned the energy he dismissed it with a small smile on his face The revelation was only a tool Instead Randidly pressed his eyes closed All this is fine but what do I want

In the center of his being three images spun slowly Growth survival obsession Each began to resonate slightly as RandidlyÆs mind followed his desires

What will bring me closer to what I want

Just as Randidly was about to choose a Path a message came from Octavius He asked RandidlyÆs forgiveness for the delay on his reply but explained that he and Vualla were still dealing with some small issues that had cropped up since her return Apparently her citizenship status was somewhat sensitive But to answer RandidlyÆs immediate question Octavius gave him a mostly positive answer Dungeons probably were likely harmless

Be careful with your Nether while you are within the Dungeon it might affect the surrounding space in special ways But there are no secret tests or tribulations from spending too much time in the Dungeon Just Aether Sickness Octavius wrote Your situation is pretty unique Most people in the Nexus have more time than they know what to do with They donÆt need to stretch their time out even further in order to increase their power

Randidly grinned at the message Thank god

Already he was making plans for his trip into the Dungeon Different weaknesses Randidly identified in himself and projects he needed to focus on were added to a quickly growing mental list and filed away for later As Randidly continued to stand on his island with a grin on his face he began rapidly ordering the list into descending importance

Then with a blink Randidly looked back at the Path screen in front of him One thing at a time I guess And since I know IÆll be in the Dungeon soon anyway

As Randidly tossed the 650th PP into the Path he completed it

Congratulations Your have completed the Greater Visualization Path There are many Paths forward but it simply isnÆt true that all routes can be traversed by mundane means The further toward the Pinnacle you travel the bleaker the terrain becomes As you walk forward you pass unmarked graves and shards of broken blades littering the ground The Path leads forward yet passing through the broken ground leaves you without sight of your destination

Dirt and bones soaked in blood have slowly oxidized resulting in a vast stretch of grey green wasteland as you travel upward on this vast slope As you gaze at the surroundings it is obvious that this is a playground of disease and death Fissures into the abyss are laying beyond ever lip of ground gleefully waiting to take the lives of the unwary They are so prevalent that you begin to wonder if this vast mountain you have spent so long climbing is hollow

And that makes you wonder what forms the foundation of this path toward the Pinnacle

Gas seeps upward from cracks in the ground visibility becomes increasingly scarce as your legs carry you up the slope If the goal has vanished you at least trust that upward is forward With the creeping mist comes an increased danger from the faults in the ground beneath your feet As your speed slows to avoid danger silence descends to hush all but the sound of your own breath Trailing behind you your shadow laying against the surrounding mist is your only companion in this broken land

Yet as you continue upward along the mountain path the tint of the mist around you changes While at first appearing to be innocuous steam it now thickens and curdles like milk left out to sit under the beating sun The scent of it is heavy and clings to the roof of your mouth as you continue to breathe The sound of air passing through your throat is rough

What follows the curdling of the mist is the darkness Perhaps it is simply your imagination but under the cover of the surrounding shroud a greedy darkness is reaching its cold fingers out to grasp at your flickering life Its long tongue slips up through the gashes in the ground and laps up your sweat

But the darkness is not even the final shift As the mist around you deepens and darkness begins to dance your shadow steadily twists and shudders Its joints silently twitch One sharp broken movement at a time it warps into a monster Each of your breaths cause the twisted creature trailing behind you to shudder with repressed hatred The change weighs on your mind

To reach this place have you become a monster

RandidlyÆs mouth slowly stretched into a grimace as he continued to read the notification he had received for finishing the Path he was already in a bad mood because the Path only gave 2 free Stats every 50 PP but now to receive this sort of dreadful notification

And along with the notification came a series of sweeping images that seemed injected directly into his mind While Randidly read through the words in front of him RandidlyÆs consciousness turned foggy as though he had gone into his Dreamcatcher Then he was somewhere else living the notification as he read it He felt the sandy ridges of bone dirt and dried blood beneath his feet He looked down into the darkness of those fissures and could not see the bottom even with his powerful Grim Intuition

When the mist came he tasted the moisture on the air He saw the strangely corporeal form of his shadow behind him With a mild gaze he watched it shift from a humanoid to a twisted demon of violence In the same moment a wave of insidious mental energy blasted forward to hit RandidlyÆs images It seemed that by completing this Path Randidly had volunteered himself for some sort of mental test

Is it because I chose the Greater Visualization Path Or perhaps because my images are a certain requisite strength Or even because I broke through the physical limit Perhaps it is for the best that I didnÆt try to complete a bunch of Paths at once Randidly hummed to himself suspended in the reading of the notification Sensing another wave of mental attacks he quickly refocused

That strange energy sought to use such a transformation to weaken Randidly but it found no purchase on his will as the waves of energy lashed out The shift in his shadows only caused Randidly to release a bark of laughter Have I become a monster Of course I have To survive I became the Grim Chimera And I will continue changing as I need to in order to survive and accomplish my goal

Yet you cannot stop now Take this gift so that your corpse might trudge just a little further into the grip of the darkness before it collapses and feeds the horror that slumbers here

Certainly this notification is the most sinister that IÆve ever received Rather than the System trying to attack me this just seems like the System has given in to despair

Congratulations You have finished the Greater Visualization Path Willpower +50 and Wisdom +20 Congratulations Your Skill Visualization has evolved into Greater Visualization

Congratulations Your Skill Visualization has evolved into Conviction of the Smiling Horror Skill Level will be maintained Your ability to conjure details has slightly increased Your ability to broaden the number of details in your image has vastly increased

Mission accomplished Randidly rubbed his chin contemplatively

Chapter 1413

The rather morbid notification left Randidly with more worries than he had anticipated but it wasnÆt like he could do much about the strangeness of content right now In the future he would be careful about the mental attacks but for now he didnÆt see any reason to focus a significant amount of his attention on the issue

Although this mental attack was really poorly matched against me Randidly thought grimly Perhaps in the future resisting it wonÆt be so simple

Nor would he refuse the change to Visualization As Randidly looked as his newly created Conviction of the Smiling Horror he couldnÆt help but grin The image for the evolved Class Skill was mostly based on the Grim Chimera but there were also elements of the Stillborn Phoenix in it That sense of bleak obsession

The result was a good one and a timely boost to RandidlyÆs strength In addition it was a small step toward his images working together That alone was cause for celebration

Still only one step forward Still a lot of improving to do Clicking his tongue Randidly opened up his Path menu once more He still had 464 PP so he could push a significant chunk of the way through another Path Perhaps because it was due to the Grim Chimera that he so easily disposed of the mental attack Randidly chose to go with the MonstrosityÆs Growth Path

464 PP was only enough to get a little less than halfway through the Path but every 50 PP did reward Randidly with 1 Vit End and Nether Brawn Still a pretty low yield result but enough that RandidlyÆs stats slowly crept upward His body began to shift toward an even more powerful form

There was also a new notification that Randidly received as he was steadily feeding PP into the Path When his Figure of the Alpha Cosmos Soulskill reached 25000 he received a notification that he would receive his next tithe from the Alpha Cosmos at Level 27500 Randidly felt somewhat sour that such a reward would require him to gather another 2500 PP on his own but he knew that it was just a matter of time with his large number of Skills

Hopefully I could get 1/5th of that in this next journey into the Dungeon

All in all Randidly grinned after feeling the changes to his power In addition Randidly hadnÆt yet spent the free Stats he had obtained after killing Kaan Swacc So with all the gathered free Stats he was able to push both his Reaction and Resistance to over 1000 Plus Endurance was creeping upward at a steady pace With the Endurance he got from MonstrosityÆs Growth he was only 33 away from another Stat reaching 1000

After the two Stats reached 1000 in quick succession Randidly was briefly overwhelmed by the prickling sensation of change across his body If his Grim Intuition and Control hadnÆt already been at 1000 he likely would have been lost in the clashing sensations that overwhelmed him But with a fine and practiced touch Randidly could trace the different sorts of responses that struck him simultaneously

RandidlyÆs newly improved Reaction seemed to sweep across his body activating all of his nerve endings to a painful degree In a very visceral way it felt like the previous wiring was being ripped out so the entire electric system could be revamped Randidly leaned forward and gritted his teeth as the pathways between the nerves became increasingly steady and secure

The process felt like forcing needles down his spinal column but the effect was good Information could move from his body to his brain and back again just a sliver more quickly In terms of sensitivity RandidlyÆs skin evolved to be much more discerning Those small hairs that covered the human body now seemed hard wired to trigger his nerves when they sensed something

Of course considering RandidlyÆs current ability to react even a sliver of time decrease was very significant in dangerous fights It was with those sorts of impossible moves that Randidly had been able to physically suppress Kaan Swacc even without using his combined images

In addition to his inflamed spine there were also especially concentrated pains in RandidlyÆs elbows and knees When he investigated the sensation further Randidly discovered that a growing mass of nerve endings and brain cells were weaving themselves into the tendons and muscles of the joints In essence Randidly was developing mini brainsÆ that could independently react to external stimuli Although he wasnÆt yet sure how well they would function Randidly savored the strange super smooth sensation of movement as he straightened his bent form as the pain faded

The change in his Resistance was more subtle But Randidly felt that as he stood whole and uninjured there was an extra intangible something to his defenses It was a strange impression but it felt like it would be quite difficult for an opponent to inflict their first wound on Randidly

It was almost an image So by the same token it was half a Skill But when Randidly focused on it it was difficult to pin down the source Just something vital appeared to have changed in RandidlyÆs body In its base state he had achieved some equilibrium As such there was a certain inertia keeping him at equilibrium

After that balance was broken his defenses would return to their prior state But by reaching 1000 his Resistance had a qualitative change that would shield him from the first batch of harm

Nodding to himself Randidly looked at the whole of his Stat sheet

Level 62 (34%)

Health(/R per hour) 12051/12051 (4699)

Mana(/R per hour) 11198/11198 (2788)

Stam(/R per min) 8301/8708 (1761)

Vit 1054

End 967

Nether Brawn 1009

Agi 1187

Grim Intuition 1080

Reaction 1000

Resistance 1014

Willpower 1207

Intelligence 1058

Wisdom 744

Control 1510

Focus 804

Skills (Soul Skill) Figure of the Alpha Cosmos Lvl 25014

Combat Spear Mastery Lvl 309 Heavy Blow Lvl 134 Iron Skin Lvl 47 Dodge Lvl 145 Block Lvl 77 Calculated Blow Lvl 139 Roundhouse Kick Lvl 97 Idiosyncratic Cut (Un) Lvl 126 Stalemate Breaker Lvl 142 Talon Strike Lvl 146 Counter Lvl 94 Ruinous Drive Lvl 84

LoBW Class Skills Spray Holy Sap (Un) Lvl 27 Sharpness Lvl 169 Earthquake (Un) Lvl 48 Invigorating Call (Humanity)(Un) Lvl 14 Erode Image Lvl 100 SpriggitÆs Tinkering Lvl 172 Aether Understanding Lvl 155 Aether Infusion Lvl 47 Volatile Ash Lvl 44 Conviction of the Smiling Horror Lvl 311 Fruit of the Planting of Enmity Lvl 49 Absolute Timing Lvl 140 Cycle of the Gloomy Wood Lvl 45 Riders of the Baleful Court Lvl 199 Lantern of Harsh Truths Lvl 168 Sigil of an Approaching Fate Lvl 66 Profound Influence Lvl 21 Reckoning of the Bleak Dawn Lvl 99

Descent of the Grim Chimera Chimeric Avoidance Lvl 259 Cursed Appetite of a Wraith Lvl 289 MonstrosityÆs Appalling Physicality Lvl 307 ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe Lvl 130 Molten Fang of the Pariah Lvl 211 Man is Proud but the Chimera Takes Lvl 200 The Chimera Weeps as Man Mourns Lvl 167 All Else Succombs Yet Time Whirls the Earth Lvl 179

The Stillborn Phoenix A Star that Prayed it would be Reborn Piercing Gaze of the Egg Lvl 210 The Tug of Tragic Silence Lvl 145 Cosmic Necessity Lvl 244 Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart Lvl 234 Tide of the Void Lvl 205 Stigma of the Stillborn Phoenix Lvl 263 Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold Lvl 302

Aether Skills Aether Detection Lvl 217 Aether Manipulation Lvl 224 Living Aether Lvl 165 System Interference Lvl 88 Aether Surgeon Lvl 104

Crafting Potion Making Lvl 73 Farming Lvl 34 Analyze Lvl 29 Refine Lvl 106 Extract Lvl 92 Architecture of the Primordial Ways Lvl 279 Experienced CreatorÆs Ingenuity Lvl 138 Touch of the Ghosthound

Yggdrasil the Universe that was First a Tree Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil Lvl 196 The Golden Roots of Yggdrasil Lvl 262 the Emerald Sap of Yggdrasil Lvl 199 the Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil Lvl 269 the Inscrutable Mien of Genesis Lvl 252 the Implacable Price of Exodus Lvl 219 Reign of the Eidolon Crucible Lvl 245 Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil Lvl 290

Auxiliary Sneak Lvl 56 Acid Resistance Lvl 22 Poison Resistance Lvl 21 Sewing Lvl 11 Digging Lvl 9 Cooking Lvl 101 Clockwork Mastery Lvl 30 Aether Connection Lvl 21 Soul Bond Lvl 155 ChefÆs Palette Lvl 36 Nether Modification Child of the Rain (Un) Lvl 59 Engineering Savvy Lvl 192 From Darkness Genesis Lvl 17 (Domain) Crossroads of the Alpha Cosmos Lvl 199 Connection to the Alpha Cosmos Nether Sensation Lvl 220 Nether Ritual Lvl 164

Stop right there Hydie yelled while trying her best to avoid the bemused pedestrians as she dashed forward down one of KharonÆs busy streets Her boots were stained with splashes of the now drying blood from the crime scene they had stumbled across catching the perpetrator in the act So despite the constant onslaught of unlucky coincidences that Hydie encountered she dared not slow down

Hell she didnÆt want to slow down The sight of that pale teenager leaning up against the wall a crimson stain slowly creeping out around his body

A platform rapidly settled down in a small empty space on the busy street a few meters ahead of Hdyie Due to the platformÆs sudden arrival a large man stepped to the side directly into HydieÆs Path Her breath hissing through her teeth Hydie hopped sideways to the side to avoid the man and caught a sharp elbow from another pedestrian for her troubles Suppressing her annoyance she ignored the pain and hurried forward

The man she was chasing hopped up onto a cart of melons and then bounded to a second story balcony He flipped himself up from there onto a nearby roof and vanished Hydie skidded to a stop on the street below completely unwilling to approach the precariously balanced pile of melons Instead she flicked her wrist and produced a rope with a hook on the end She tossed it up to the roof and rapidly scaled up to that level to see the man sprinting across to another building about fifteen meters away

Not that she needed to rely on the rope to climb but she had learned from Derek to eliminate the effect that chance could have on her life reliable methods were always desirable And while Hydie had a clear line of sight on the man HydieÆs hands twisted to form a rapid series of seals While she could see him two hexes shot forward and landed soundlessly on the manÆs back As they flared to life luck in the area around him rapidly decreased

The man then hopped down onto another street Sighing Hydie chased after him so she didnÆt lose him in the crowd

With the city having just settled outside of the Orchard the entire population was out in force ready either to do business visit the Orchard or entertain the inevitable throng of people that came to see Kharon for themselves

Her quarry took a quick glance backward as he stepped into a heavily populated square giving Hydie the impression of a sharp face and a well trimmed goatee Then he was around the corner and out of sight

Huffing to herself Hydie pumped her legs as fast as she could As she crashed to the ground from the rooftops she somehow landed on the tail of a cat The creature yowled loudly making everyone in the surrounding area turn to look at her and block her sight of the man Goddamnit it Derek You said you would cut him off You know my physical stats are

Biting her lip she pushed forward Although the peopleÆs looks were disapproving they quickly saw her uniform and made way As she wheeled around the corner into the alley several bananas smashed into her face She froze simply by dint of how ridiculous the sudden appearance of bananas was Some simply bounced off her forehead and cheekbones but one was ripe and soft enough to squish messily against her glasses spurting sugary mush everywhere

This damn luck Hydie growled In a practiced manner she pulled out a small cloth and began to rapidly clean her glasses before replacing them In order to not lose the man she was chasing she continued to sprint forward while staying in the middle of the alley to avoid the refuse bins that were pressed against the buildings But of course that path made her smash into the collapsed form of the target while she was distracted

She tumbled forward for a few seconds before two warm hands grabbed her out of the air and gently settled her on her feet Hydie blinked and looked up at Derek Moss who gave her an amused look and then walked up to the collapsed form of the man they had been chasing Hydie turned away to hide her blush and then rubbed her knee

Judging by how much the joint hurt her kneecap must have slammed directly into the back of the manÆs head Hydie inwardly hoped that his head hurt just as badly as her knee did Derek crouched down in front of the man You alright

Not fucking now the man swore He swiped his hand sideways aggressively Derek pulled his limb backward letting the man flail harmlessly at air Then he staggered to his feet and glared at them both His hands twitched but the man suppressed it Two empty sheaths were at his waist He had left his weapons at the scene of the crime

Huh thatÆs strange Hydie frowned Who uses sheaths these days Interspatial compartments are so much more convenient

I would advise you not to run again Derek said lightly as he stood to match the man Except Derek Moss had six inches on the man and likely forty pounds of militarily built muscle Despite the fury in the manÆs expression no one standing in the alley was in doubt who would win in a confrontation between the two of them Then Derek tilted his head to the side Why did you run in the first place We are wearing the Order Ducis uniforms

Heh I thought you were a fucking Visitor You know how scary those fucks are ItÆs like they arenÆt even human The man shivered then shrugged and spoke in a sarcastic voice So my apologies for running Just caught me by surprise is all So are we done here Or does the Order Ducis like to bully

IÆd like to see your ID card please Hydie interrupted shortly Then she smiled at the man and produced an item from an interspatial ring Also is this shortsword yours

The manÆs face twitched and his hand stopped as he had been reaching toward his interspatial watch IÆve never seen that weapon before

Good Derek rumbled Because we found this weapon six inches deep in a fifteen year old boy He looks pretty old for his age and heÆs pretty strong but as IÆm sure you are aware the punishment for harming anyone without a Class is vastly harsher than assaulting someone who is of age Heh but it looks like the idiot thatÆs been assaulting people around Kharon was too soaked in bloodlust to care

The man went white

Chapter 1414

Hydie stood next to Derek outside the interrogation room with her arms folded They had been standing like statues for almost a half hour staring through the false mirror at the captured man in the goatee while he sat with his head bowed DerekÆs brow was furrowed as he considered the man

Honestly Hydie couldnÆt stand it anymore What What is it

DerekÆs frown remained an immovable presence on his face This is strange We need to be careful

Despite HydieÆs previous boredom and DerekÆs perpetual gloominess she felt a spark of excitement Yea we heard the rumors but to think we would actually find the perp in such a short amount of time hehehe if he hadnÆt tried to attack that kid while his older brother was upstairs that fool

DerekÆs gaze turned sharp if he hadnÆt a fifteen year old would have died Hydie Why the hell are you laughing

I Hydie flushed Shame devoured her excitement as quickly as it had arrived Her fingers gripped the still cuffs of her Order Ducis uniform I just meant this is just like a crime show Of course I donÆt actually want someone to die

Then take this seriously This man he hasnÆt tried to leave at all Something strange is going on right now DerekÆs gaze went back to the man within the room Since you love true crime so much how well do you understand due process

Err Hydie scratched the side of her head Inexplicably her nails caught on a small imperfection and ripped open a gash on the side of her face Her mouth twisted as she produced a tissue to dab at the blood Due process is lawyer related stuff right All the courtrooms and the judges Honestly I wasnÆt so into that portion

Derek chuckled which did a lot to rid Hydie of the anxiety she held in her heart since Derek had glared at her for laughing earlier Well yes Lawyer stuff But more specifically Due Process is related to the actions that a State can justifiably take against its citizens In this case This Lazlo Derran came to Kharon on a work visa that expired several months ago As such it would have been easy to just kick him out of the city and make him someone elseÆs problem under normal circumstances

But now heÆs attacked a minor with deadly force Even worse it was done in a very public way That street was drenched in blood this morning Even if word hasnÆt spread yet itÆs only a matter of time And when that happens well Kharon as a city will want justice Derek continued to stare through at the perpetrator within the room If we knew his affiliations we could apply political pressure and use that as an outlet to alleviate KharonÆs thirst for justice But as it is we only have him

So what Hydie asked Since he doesnÆt have any backing doesn’tÆ that make it easier Just punish him We have laws in Kharon WhatÆs the punishment for using deadly force on a minor

True we have laws And the punishment for his crime is either imprisonment or having his Class destroyed Derek said slowly He raised his hand toward the fake mirror in front of him as though to touch it then stopped himself at the last second His hand lowered back to his side But it isnÆt that he doesnÆt have backing he just wonÆt speak of it now I have no doubt that as soon as we make a final decision on his punishment some entity will show up and make a stink Considering the bloody scene I have no doubt the tribunal will vote to cripple his Class

Hydie rubbed the bridge of her nose This was not the sort of crime drama that she had in mind during the pulse pounding chase Well fine letÆs just throw him off of Kharon and forget about him or otherwise don’t we have the backing of Randidly Ghosthound Who would try and pick a bone with his city

Randidly Ghosthound does not want Kharon to become the sort of city where the strongest individual can enforce any sort of justice they want Derek answered quietly Keeping him here and punishing him Kharon doesnÆt have a codified process for its justice it really hasnÆt needed to yet Releasing him people wonÆt like that Stalling until we can make a framework to deal with him is a morally questionable option Honestly now that weÆve caught him it feels like we are actually the ones who have been caught

Crippling a Class it is a fraught method Derek cracked his knuckles and turned away from the interrogation room This is a test Someone is sounding out the depths of Kharon with this man Seeing what sort of spirit we have

So what do we do to stop such a sinister plot Hydie asked Her imagination quickly shifted from crime drama to international spy thriller Perhaps they would need to meet a contact in a casino

Derek chuckled again The one good thing about being at our level is we might sometimes worry about the high level stuff but it isnÆt our job to solve it For now we just go interrogate him See if we can find out any details

Oh OH HydieÆs expression brightened as she hurried after Derek So are we doing good cop bad cop or

From the very beginning Tim had been relatively unsure about DelilahÆs sure fire plan to have Tim not get bulliedÆ in the weird country that the Ghosthound had taken him to learn Engraving Honestly he wasnÆt even sure he had been bullied in that first day But after making Tim talk about it Delilah announced that she would accompany Tim to that place next time

He needed her protection she had claimed Tim knew she was just bored But he didnÆt mind Seeing Delilah was energizing somehow Her determination and energy was infectious And considering the difficulty of Engraving he could use all the extra help he could get

A few tantrums later the Ghosthound threw his hands up in the air and Delilah was brought along with him as the Ghosthound teleported them to TimÆs new teacher Lucretia Honestly Tim quite liked Lucretia She smiled a lot and had hair that was a lovely lilac color Even when Tim had needed her to explain things several times the prior day she was always patient with him

The only problem was her other students As someone who had recently moved Tim had some recent experience reading the attitudes of other children around him And from the jump the children of Lucretia did not appreciate TimÆs existence Their intent gazes had followed him as Randidly Ghosthound took him to meet Lucretia

The wide field where Lucretia hosted her school was filled with her house and dozens of differently colored flags setting atop or beside simple cloth tents Apparently the flags denoted various factions amongst the students and the colors showed how proficient the groups were at Engraving Tim also later learned that there was an inherent hierarchy in their placement only the strong could set up their flags near LucretiaÆs house

But due to the fact he had been brought by the Ghosthound Tim had been set up basically outside of the door to LucretiaÆs house Whenever he had a problem she would come over and help him instantly After giving a general lecture Lucretia would then wander through the field in looping motions so that those near the middle would receive her guidance more often than those at the periphery But when Tim had struggled Lucretia had veered from her path and returned to his side Due to Randidly coming personally it was clear that Lucretia valued Tim highly

And the children at the surrounding flags observed it all

But while he might someday be bullied for this Tim could tell that there were a lot of rules that these other kids followed that he didnÆt quite understand The few children he saw only went to the tents of those with similar flags So even though he kept being pricked by sharp gazes those invisible rules also functioned as a protection for Tim The other kids couldnÆt freely come and make trouble with him

Of course the first thing Delilah did when she arrived was give the other kids the justification that they needed

A loud crash spread out through the relatively sedate grassland as Delilah stood innocently next to a flag that she had knocked over With a sigh Tim set down the spear that he was trying to Engrave and looked around to see what DelilahÆs reckless behavior would bring Of course she had chosen the flag next to the largest tent

Aside from TimÆs new position it was the tent the closest to Lucretia

Tim didnÆt need to wait long for his fears to be confirmed After ten anxious seconds of stillness the surrounding tents erupted in movement Various youths between the ages of 8 and 16 hustled out of their small dwellings and began to form a vast circle around them Delilah spun around continually trying to find a single antagonist amongst the kids that gathered in order to perform her goal of protectingÆ Tim but no one made eye contact with her So she continually frowned around as more and more people began to gather Very soon Delilah was glaring around in frustration

She looked over at Tim and threw her hands up into the air Why are they all just circling around like creepy ghosts

Tim pointed toward the tent next to Delilah and the knocked down flag The student within that tent hasnÆt come out yet I think I think they are all waiting for him

What here Delilah walked up the tent and batted the walls several times with her hands The tremors ran through the cloth surface of the structure but it ultimately stood tall underneath her small hands Eventually she frowned and stood with her arms akimbo Are you sure Because it seems like this tent

Cease this nonsense Said a high pitched voice as a young boy stomped out of the tent that Delilah was slapping He looked to be TimÆs age but that meant that he towered over the much younger Delilah You have already dishonored yourself enough Why do you insist on making trouble for me during the training period

Hehe Delilah giggled She waved her hand toward Tim Well you havenÆt been giving my friend and me the respect that we deserve So I figured it was time to show you how things are going to work around here from now on

From now on Tim shook his head nervously How long do you plan on remaining in this place I asked around and no one here has even heard of Zones or Kharon before If you plan on moving here it seems pretty far away from home

Him The kid who came out of the tent looked over at Tim Despite the fact that they were a similar age he certainly talked like he was pretending to be an adult He was brought by Mr Ghosthound yesterday We havenÆt spoken to him at all Nothing so petty as bullying has occurred I refuse to allow you to slander my honor like this

Just shut up and fight then Delilah growled pouncing forward with her hands raised Inwardly Tim sighed He had seen her behave like this in the past Despite the fact that she was much younger than most of the kids in Kharon she had earned quite a bit more Skill Levels than any of them had and therefore could overpower most people with the element of surprise It seemed that Delilah planned on using similar tactics here

But the kidÆs response surprised Tim He easily knocked DelilahÆs hands away and then kicked her in the chest Her breath came out of her lungs in a rush and she tumbled backward While Delilah was struggling to her feet the kid returned to his tent and then came out carrying a long wooden pole He leveled it at Delilah Hmph Weakling

Bah just because you are a little bit older oof Delilah glared at the kid and began to mutter but he then launched himself forward and jabbed his weapon into DelilahÆs stomach She was sent tumbling backward once more

True I might be older than you The kid said I have recently turned thirteen But at least I am not full of excuses A loser has no right to complain of circumstance Especially when she instigated the conflict in the first place

HeÆs only a few months older than me Tim thought in a daze As the kid turned away from the collapsed Delilah he shouted at his back You whatÆs your name IÆm Tim and this is Delilah IÆm sorry about her attitude

Delilah wheezed as she rolled around on the ground likely trying to say something like Someday you are all going to be sorry about my fist Æ

The kid stopped and glanced over his shoulder For several seconds he studied Tim but then he turned fully and bowed Well met Tim I suppose the girl is somewhat right We should have approached you earlier But it is not often that a new arrival is brought before Lucretia especially by Mr Ghosthound We were confused Ah but where are my manners I am Annon of the Willow Tree Spear Style

Chapter 1415

Randidly sat cross legged in the center of his floating island and focused on the Nether Nebula in his chest Below him Kharon was abuzz with activity as the populations of the Wandering City and the Orchard mixed but Randidly completely ignored the bustle His entire focus had narrowed to a point within his chest

In the days since his fight against Kaan Swacc the Nether Nebula had slowly been recovering At this point the density of Nether had returned to the viscous thickness that had even been able to dampen the image of the Special Investigator when he hadnÆt been suppressing Randidly with that infuriating Skill It might not be RandidlyÆs peak but it was close

Although in terms of dangerousness by far the strangest part of the battle against Kaan was that Skill that teleported him to a location without Nether

Still Randidly set aside the capabilities of the Xyrt Brigade for now he needed to focus on his current project During the climax of that fight Randidly had briefly conjured a more concentrated version of Nether in the form of a fragile seeming grey bubble It was a Nether equivalent of liquid Aether

But what fascinated Randidly was that mistakenly summoned bubble had held such immense weight that it had both shattered the suppression Skill and then shattered KaanÆs body in a follow up attack Now Randidly carefully examined his Nether Nebula to review the steps that had brought him to that power Because the grey bubble was a failed product Instead of conjuring liquid NetherÆ Randidly had meant to construct the equivalent of a Fate Randidly had been aiming to make what he had named a Penance

In retrospect it wasnÆt a surprise that he had failed to accomplish that lofty goal Randidly created no basis for this Penance to be formed in his desperate attempt as a Class provided for a Fate He had his Nether Nebula but that was a more organic mass of Nether currents than any sort of actual planned construction In fact it might be better to say that it was a miracle that he had any sort of result at all from the half baked idea

Randidly had ground the currents against themselves in the heat of battle trying to crazily power up in the moment This decision had forced the density of his Nether to increase by just enough to generate that grey bubble but it was very close to simply causing his Nether Nebula to detonate and level his entire Soulspace The pressure had been immense

Randidly suspected that he would have been able to survive the damage from a ruptured Nether Nebula but he wouldnÆt have been able to go on to beat Kaan Swacc in that condition Thinking of how close he had come to losing everything was a splash of cold water on RandidlyÆs dreams of quickly mastering Nether

Still even if he had no functional understanding of Nether that didnÆt mean he didnÆt have methods to address that RandidlyÆs memories were full of impressions of Nether Gatekeepers Nether Heralds Nether Princes and even a Nether King Of course the information he could extract from his memories regarding the Nether control methods utilized by the first Nether King was tempered by the fact that the Nether King had been controlled by Aether forces

But just recently he had sensed the powerful Nether of a Nether King during its attack on the Seventh Cohort That gave him two points of data regarding Nether Kings With that as a comparison Randidly was able to discover a few things about the way these Nether beings utilized their energy

While still sitting on the cool stone ground Randidly brought both of his hands up and pressed the palms together Due to the decreasing temperature his metallic limb was pleasantly chilly to the touch Randidly still wouldnÆt trust his metal arm in a fight but the damage had been steadily knitted together to the point that he was no longer immobilized the limb to protect it Besides it had recently been becoming a serious interference with his training

Once the connection between his hands was established Randidly released a breath and then gradually pulled his palms apart to create a small space between his hands Under RandidlyÆs careful watch two flows of Nether energy wound their way down his arms to his palms and began to circle each other

After careful study of Nether KingÆs using the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night Randidly had discovered a few patterns in the way Nether was manipulated The methods to accomplish it were rather complicated but the process was simple Randidly simply had to make his Nether currents flow in both directions at once

Which wasnÆt entirely accurate because to make the process work involved a lot of mental gymnastics to fold the flows back in on themselves in certain specific ways but it was at least something to work with Essentially an ideal Nether current would have Schroedinger’s Flow It would simultaneously flow both directions and neither

RandidlyÆs emerald eyes were locked onto the two thin flows of Nether between his hands as he began to work The process was awkward at first but Randidly didnÆt mind that If anything he was glad there wasnÆt an immediate surge in his Nether density he still wanted to head into the Dungeon soon He was slightly wary that some strange force was going to strike soon and make his training session unable to occur

Due to his wandering mind Randidly felt the flows collapse Gently chiding himself Randidly focused and tried it again

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 222

Time and time again Randidly lost control of the Nether flows and everything to nothing between his palms But to reach this point Randidly had gone through tens of thousands of practice hours to hone his Skills When he failed at this new task he simply reflected on what went wrong and made another attempt His Willpower surged forward and began to fold the Nether once more

His gaze never wavered

Each time he failed he proceeded a little further He was a little bit more adept with the way he could manipulate Nether Randidly began to twist while folding the flows to avoid direct conflict between the same flow as he wove it together in both directions When it became apparent that his current method was fundamentally flawed Randidly just grinned

Rather than trying to draw up a new method from scratch Randidly just began to experiment Since it seemed that his folding strategy wasnÆt the right answer he didnÆt become bitter Instead he used it as a lesson learning to utilize an entirely new energy wasnÆt easy So his intense Nether exertions became more of a thought experiment Framed in a new way a lot of tension went out of RandidlyÆs shoulders With that more relaxed approach Randidly began to play

If the Nether flows he wove together were doomed to collapse perhaps he could create a shifting flow that could only reach the omnidirectional flow for a brief instant before separating Randidly tried it

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 223

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 224

Just as quickly as he had thought of it Randidly attempted it and then tossed that idea to the side The implementation of the idea was more difficult than just accomplishing his original goal So instead Randidly tried to design a way to gather three woven Nether flows together so that they would collapse inward toward each other Perhaps they could balance each other out like his images could against Kaan Swacc

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 225

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 232

This idea was a better one than the prior attempt but again Randidly quickly realized his ability to manipulate the Nether wasnÆt quite deft enough for what he wanted to accomplish right now Nether SensationÆs Skill Level was increasing but it was rough sledding

But life requires hard work This wonÆt slow me down Randidly hummed to himself He checked the time then returned to the practice Even if it was just Skill Levels and familiarity the accumulation mattered The steady motions and repetition of moving Nether flows would someday be the basis for RandidlyÆs strength

He tried new things and made mistakes When he ran out of ideas he played and experimented with Nether Slowly he grew more comfortable while utilizing the energy directly

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 233

Of course he couldnÆt do it all today With a yawn up toward the slowly emerging stars above Randidly stretched and straightened Working on his ability to manipulate Nether was an ongoing project Besides he had a hands on demonstration of Nether that was long overdue

After idly combing his fingers through his hair Randidly activated Nether Ritual and reached through time and space for Vualla As he did so he kept his touch light because of VuallaÆs situation he didnÆt want to interrupt her during something important But the Xyrt Brigade training was without a doubt a process meant to break most of its applicants So he was determined to reach out and once more provide some mental sustenance to her Randidly wanted to give Vualla every advantage he could so that wouldnÆt happen

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 165

As he activated the Skill Randidly kept a close eye on the way the Nether spun itself together and became a prayer It was especially annoying to see that the base utilization of the Skill could weave his Nether better than he could But looking at it Randidly had a few more ideas about how he could adjust his own methods in the future

He had been too forceful in the past Randidly noted while he watched the Nether Ritual rise upward to build the connection He had to remember that Nether wasnÆt as certain as Aether It was built on connection but also on faith It was an amorphous energy that rarely possessed a definitive shape

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 166

The Nether Ritual activated RandidlyÆs will reached across space and time to find Vualla For an extended second there was no response and Randidly abruptly felt chilled by the reality of what might have happened to her in the Xyrt Brigade training But then the familiar warmth of her presence could be felt through the ritual Stifling a sigh Randidly gently reached out to ascertain VuallaÆs current situation

This time he at least didnÆt find that her image had been ground down to almost nothing But there was still a sense of fragility to Vualla as he felt her current image But rather than her being shattered it was more akin to seeing an old friend who had lost an unhealthy amount of weight since you had last met VuallaÆs image of destruction was gaunt and starved to his senses Yet as Randidly felt her using it he couldnÆt deny that this slow starvation had made the image pure and focused

From what Randidly could tell Vualla was currently engaged in some sort of training Her body was sweating and her image was raging at its full strength Randidly didnÆt dare extend his perception outside of her body so he simply pressed his hand through the ritual to her back and passed on a little bit of warmth to let her know he was there Then Randidly withdrew

Within a few seconds he had received a message from Vualla stating that she would be done for the night in two hours Which gave Randidly the chance to take Tim and Delilah out of his Alpha Cosmos and home for the night

As soon as Randidly came and landed outside of LucretiaÆs training area he sensed that something was wrong The air was rife with the scent of violence and the oppressive weight of tension Although all the tents and banners looked fine Randidly carefully scanned the surrounding area He didnÆt need to look for long One look at the swollen face of Delilah made it clear who had likely instigated the trouble and been punished for it

Randidly slowly glanced around at the surrounding tents The children who lived here with Lucretia hunched their shoulders and turned away from him as he glanced around Likely they were wondering whether they went too far by fighting with Delilah But in RandidlyÆs mind this was probably a good lesson for Delilah Knowing that there were kids her age who were just as strong as she is would probably help ground her in the future

So although Randidly could tell that something had happened he didnÆt bat an eye and simply smiled as he collected Tim and Delilah Contrary to his expectations Delilah didnÆt say anything even after they left his Soulskill When Randidly escorted them back to the MossÆs apartment she stayed completely silent and then proceeded directly to her room

Tim stammered an excuse about her being tired and then fled Rolling his eyes Randidly left the apartment and went to the Order Ducis offices to talk with Derek He found the man bent over a tall pile of paperwork looking more like an office drone than a probationary member of the most powerful Order on Earth

Derek looked up sharply as Randidly walked into his office Something happen

Randidly shook his head No I just wanted to ask you something Soon I plan on going into a Dungeon for a few months to train In order to make sure Tim is ready for the project IÆd like to take him with me Of course IÆll make sure he is safe during that time And if you donÆt want him to age strangely through a Dungeon

But Tim canÆt go into a Dungeon He doesnÆt have a Class Derek pointed out And from his heavy tone it was clear what he thought about his son getting a Class before his 16th birthday

I cannot believe that arbitrary choice we made in Donnyton has basically become a universal standard for Classes Randidly chuckled True people without Classes cannot enter or exit a Dungeon alone But individuals can be brought along into a Dungeon if they donÆt technically try to enter However I do think that there are some costs to bringing individuals without Classes into a Dungeon

Once again DerekÆs gaze was sharp Like what

Randidly coughed lightly He didnÆt think they would stay in long enough for Aether to become an issue for Tim especially if he was in RandidlyÆs Alpha Cosmos the whole time but even so Well Delilah was raised mostly in a Dungeon It is an unusual existence Without a significant amount of life experience to act as insulation against the isolation of the Dungeon

Ah Derek blinked Then he began to rub his chin Ahh

Chapter 1416

Compared to the lengthy discussion that Randidly ended up having with Derek Moss Annie’s response to his message was much more straightforward as long as he guaranteed her safety of course he could take Delilah into the Dungeon for a while

When he received the lightning fast response Randidly blinked in surprise The abruptness of the agreement and the lack of questions made him feel strangely at a loss after all the preparations he had made So just to reassure himself that what he was suggesting was a safe option Randidly began to talk about some of the things he discussed with Derek

Very quickly Annie interrupted him No need to explain Enjoy your trip

“Huh ” Randidly said aloud He rubbed his chin and examined what he had said and then Annie’s responses again and again Was he simply better at persuading than he suspected Or was there something that he was missing

Finally Randidly figured he had nothing to lose so he simply asked Annie why she had agreed so quickly This time her response was much slower but it was again short

You don’t understand what it’s like to be a parent

At this point Randidly threw his hands up in the air and accepted that he didn’t quite get Annie’s response but her agreement wasn’t faked And Randidly doubted that he would get a different decision out of the typically stoic Dozer As long as the kids agreed he could take them both with him into the Dungeon

One task down a million to go

Over the next hour Randidly engaged in several discussions with Tatiana regarding the new political system they would implement in Kharon and also the details of the duos tournament The tournament itself was scheduled to start in six days hosted in the Orchard so there were some details that needed to be finalized as soon as possible Specifically Randidly was currently grappling with the messy task of the tournament preliminaries

Because they didnÆt want to bar anyone from participating applicants were already flooding in The current count was a little less than a thousand but it seemed like they might even reach 3000 before the Order Ducis stopped accepting applications the day before the tournament It was an added strain on KharonÆs resources that was not needed right now

Even if I can’t finalize the details now I can take those questions into the Dungeon and work on them there Truly having the ability to secretly train while no time at all passes in the real world is quite the advantage

Of course Randidly wasn’t the only one who knew the advantages of Dungeons He was just one of the few people who could avoid the drawbacks But despite those risks he was aware that hundreds of people had flocked to Dungeons after the announcement of the duos tournament planning on pushing their Skill Levels just a little higher and working on teamwork Most of the projected applicants were those who had gone recently into Dungeons and stayed there for several hours of actual time

For that reason those preliminary rounds were very important The gathering of Classers was basically unprecedented Even those unaffiliated with the established Zones dreamed of naming the Earth And the Order Ducis had to deal with such a large number of people both efficiently and fairly They had to appear in control

Heh simply so many things to do But thatÆs for the best There is no way that the people who want to target Kharon will let these chances slide Randidly’s mouth slowly stretched into a grin But I think they will be quite disappointed if they believe they can pressure this city even if I don’t personally move

Then Randidly shook his head and let the thoughts about political issues fall away Despite the fact that there seemed to be endless things to do with the Dungeon visit planned Randidly had some time Plus the two hours was up it was time to once more reach out to Vualla RandidlyÆs fingers flexed

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 167

For whatever reason this activation of Nether RItual proceeded even more smoothly than the prior one had Perhaps it was because the connection was already established and Vualla was aware that it would appear so there was a base for the connection on both sides The Nether seemed to weave itself together faster than RandidlyÆs eyes could follow But no matter what the cause was the resulting connection was instant and intimate Randidly could feel Vualla’s warm rush of joy as he reached across time and space to suddenly swirl in her Soulspace

Those first few moments were just the two of them being present with each other allowing their familiar existences to ease both the accumulated worries that both had gathered It hadnÆt been long but a lot had happened since they had last conversed

Randidly looked at Vualla and felt some sort of horrifying certainty hanging over her slowly lift as they simply interacted with each other It was a feeling that he recognized from NeveahÆs struggles but the terrible specter of loneliness and depression was slowly extinguished as Randidly was there breathing with her

For Randidly’s part some deep inner fear he had been ignoring regarding Vualla was finally reassured She hadnÆt died she hadnÆt been turned against him Breath by breath they both relaxed

Hey Randidly began slowly Then he abruptly felt foolish Maybe he should have prepared something more meaningful to say

Vualla’s amusement was a rich and vibrant thing Her previously sparse inner landscape lit up like someone had turned the power back on at an amusement part at the witching hour If you don’t want to talk about it you don’t have to But don’t think for a second I can’t take a single look at you and know that you almost died recently Randidly Ghosthound

That forced a mental chuckle out of Randidly Well I would have brought it up eventually A Special Investigator from your very own Xyrt Brigade came to Earth He was well he was convinced I was a Nether Spy

I wonder what gave him that idea Vualla laughed You know that my senses tell me you are even more dangerous than a Nether Gatekeeper right

Randidly just mentally shrugged and continued to explain and he wouldn’t let the issue go To the point that even the Xyrt Brigade effectively abandoned him on my planet for failing to fulfill his duty With that opportunity and in order to rid the Earth of another threat I killed him

The air between them was silent Around his physical body back on Earth Randidly felt the Nether Ritual waver As his mind wandered the weave slowly began to come undone And he knew it was his own fault because he pulled back slightly as he admitted that he killed a member of the Xyrt Brigade Ultimately Kaan had been a tool of the Swacc Family but Randidly wanted to be honest with Vualla And he was very afraid of what her reaction would be

As Randidly pulled slightly away Vualla reached out and pulled him back Relax the Xyrt Brigade isn’t some cult I haven’t been brainwashed into feverishly cursing anyone that kills a Xyrt Brigade member From what I can tell there are a lot of competing factions within the Xyrt Brigade They encourage infighting so long as there arenÆt any enemies present Honestly it might be better if the Xyrt Brigade was a cult

But they are much more practical than some religious organization and much more dangerous Something in Vualla’s tone began to change The bright lights of her emotions that had been given power by Randidly’s arrival began to flicker and die around him I it’s been hard here To still believe that our promise is realistic That this Nexus can ever be shaken It’s hard to do this alone IÆve itÆs so dumb Without you I

You arenÆt alone Vualla Chiding himself silently for missing her weakness to this point Randidly reached out with Yggdrasil and wrapped his thick roots around Vualla’s Soulspace and images Mental energy began to rapidly pump outward radiating from the roots and nourishing the surrounding space And as Randidly released more and more energy to nourish Vualla he was horrified to discover that the mental starvation Vualla had experienced was much worse than he had originally sensed

Starvation might even be less accurate than dehydration The parts of Vualla that were the brightest and most valuable her courage and kindness have withered and faded to almost nothing Under the relentless pressure she endured the Xyrt Brigade had managed to transform this Vualla from a hopeful young woman into something very close to the bleak fatalism of the first duplicate Vualla which even now bound Ileot Swacc

So this is the method of the Xyrt Brigade RandidlyÆs eyes flashed Both the Grim Chimera and the Stillborn Phoenix stirred in response to his rising rage

Randidly Vualla began but Randidly released a wave of sternness

Rest first We can talk later And Vualla I’ve missed you too

Randidly’s eyes began to glow emerald as his inner world shuddered and Yggdrasil emerged to the fore of his mind The two other images withdrew into the shadows watching the process with a terrible stillness All of his potent mental energy that had been tempered by the fight against Kaan balancing three images at once and manipulating Nether swirled and focused itself to empower this one image of healing Nurturing waves of simplified growth formed a gold and emerald aura that surrounded VuallaÆs soul Almost instinctively she released a sigh and leaned deeper against him mentally

The effect was small at first but desiccated and almost mummified portions of Vualla’s personality began to shiver and stir after their long hibernation As the healing accelerated Vualla shared some explanation of her earlier statement as well as her thoughts on the particular brand of brainwashing of the Xyrt Brigade

Rather than trying to pin the trainees’ loyalty to the organization the Xyrt Brigade took an entirely different tack They tortured and goaded the trainees to be the most powerful elites in the Nexus but then also constantly exposed them to prove that even with their significant increases in power they were nothing compared to the larger powers in this universe

They showed the effects of the wars against Nether and told the Xyrt Brigade members the vast secrets of the Nexus Ways These trainees were exposed to information that very few Nexus citizens would ever have access to and all of it hinted at the impending disaster waiting down the line if the Nexus ever slowed in its expansion They were exposed to the litany of threats that lurked beyond the edge of the Nexus territory

Randidly was especially alarmed as Vualla relayed a story she had been informed about the one time the Nexus failed in its attempt to form a Cohort and all those worlds and nascent images were pressed down into a single orb

Hundreds of worlds destroyed in an instant as the Aether architecture attempted to engage but instead simply crushed everything inward to a small ball And the most disturbing part was that this orb occasionally would release ominous pulses of energy Even now there was an entire prison devoted to keeping that failure inert and harmless

In essence the Xyrt Brigade gave its trainees capability and then instilled in them a sense of lonely helplessness when there wasn’t the force of an organization behind them Then they were set free allowed to do whatever they wished And of course in the trainees’ minds what organization was more capable than the Xyrt Brigade

So even if the Xyrt Brigade didn’t command their loyalty it was only through the Xyrt Brigade that the trainees felt like they could address their helplessness Many of those released elites slowly made their way back into the organization that trained them And that was enough for the leaders of the Xyrt Brigade

Only when Vualla appeared to have revived from the almost sleepwalking state of determinedly surviving did Randidly speak again He mentally reached out with remarkable gentleness utilizing every point of his 1500 Control We always knew it was going to be difficult Trials and hurdles arenÆt to be feared

yes Exactly these preparations by the Nexus That’s why its worth doing That proves we are on the right track Again a wave of light and emotion swept through Vualla’s inner world Seeing that wave of determination a lot of Randidly’s worries eased Thank you I had almost lost something very precious here I can see that now

The why Randidly whispered Why you desire power That should always be at the center of your decisions

Exactly VuallaÆs inner world darkened but not in a way that Randidly associated with weakness Why I must tear everything down for what it has done to my family and so many others before me

With Vualla recovering it allowed him to focus more attention on the area around him Randidly quickly took in the sloping wall of the surroundings It appeared Vualla was floating in the middle of a stone orb The walls were covered in glowing Aether symbols This is a different sort of rest area

Vualla snickered Heh Yea I guess you could say so After you last visited me I might have ah mouthed off to one of my trainers You put me in a very good mood which isnÆt well received here Since then my sleeping time was taken away and I was forced in here to meditate instead The construction of this place is actually quite interesting It isolates you from the outside world and also punishes you if your mind wanders Any stray thoughts or images you release are reflected back at you as an attack by the room Luckily it seems this Nether Ritual of yours takes our thoughts to the connection between us and I don’t need to face it Certainly makes this place more restful

Randidly smiled and continued to channel Yggdrasil energy through to Vualla As her personality was restored to her previous state he could feel her planning on taking revenge against the Xyrt Brigade teachers who had doggedly tortured her during her time here And while Vualla’s thoughts of revenge were much more thunder than lightning Randidly already had the blood of Special Investigator on his hands He privately swore to himself that when he gathered enough power to reach this place

You’ve already done enough for me Randidly Vualla mentally poked him Please don’t try and steal my prey away You donÆt get to play hero all the time

After chuckling awkwardly Randidly began to withdraw his Yggdrasil image into himself Then he paused and examine the surroundings once more He didnÆt recognize everything but he could piece together the way this place functioned RandidlyÆs eyes slowly brightened This reflection room do you think that they can observe what is happening here

Vualla thought about it for a little while Perhaps But it doesn’t seem likely If the seal in this place wasnÆt perfect the effect wouldn’t be so infuriating I can tell when they are about to let me out because the reflection becomes much weaker

After spending so much time in the past few days struggling to manifest three images at once Randidly knew that he needed some extra pressure in order to progress to a steadier level And just when he had that need he discovered this place

RandidlyÆs grin widened What a lucky coincidence

There was a sardonic sort of resignation in Vualla’s tone After barely speaking to each other for a month now that we are reunited and have some privacy you want to train

Mentally Randidly winced Ah well not immediately How how has your day been

Oh don’t start that with me Vualla waved her hand Then a wave of enthusiasm burst out from her In fact this is perfect I wanted to ask you to demonstrate this triple image fusion I could sense you thinking about but I wasn’t sure if it would be appropriate considering you were already doing so much for me Hehe but since you were the heartless monster that brought up training first If you want to train by all means train

I never want you to think you can’t be yourself around me Randidly Ghosthound And a part of who you are is that obsession with power So let’s indulge it a bit Put on a show for me

Randidly studied Vualla for several seconds She wasn’t lying to him In her soul Randidly could feel his drive and ambition mirrored back at him That sense of strangeness to her vanished as her warped personality was restored to its original state

And seeing this Vualla Randidly felt warm

Chapter 1417

Tatiana tapped her fingers against the wide table and then adjusted her pair of chopsticks so it was perfectly straight relative to her plate “This is a good problem to have And it’s much better than the alternative “

“Have you spoken to Randidly about it ” Naffur asked as he took another sip of his sake The four of them sat in a hibachi restaurant in the Orchard patiently waiting for their chef to come out of the back and cook before them Due to their rather sensitive identity and discussions they had booked the entire restaurant But because there was only three tables it wasnÆt quite as extravagant as Tatiana had initially assumed when Commissioner Arrietti had suggested it

Honestly with the dim lighting it was easy to relax and feel like they were the only people in the building buoyed out of the darkness by the candle chandelier hanging above their table

At this point they had given up on waiting for their fifth dinner companion in order to place their orders Helen had a penchant for arriving at her own time anyway But since these four influential leaders of Kharon were partially here to work through some issues and there was no reason that they couldnÆt get an early start on that

Not like Helen will do anything but glower while we talk business Tatiana allowed herself a small smile

Commissioner Arrietti sighed and leaned back in his chair Already the police force is pushed to its limits It helps to have the Order Ducis members following up on any serious issues but in terms of population there is only one police officer on Kharon for every 1000 people My people are running themselves ragged to keep up with reports

Honestly those numbers would be quite high in the pre System world Tatiana pointed out

The almost trademark frown of the Commissioner creased his face with lines making him seem decades older than his actual middle age Perhaps But did everyone in the pre System world have the ability to shoot flames from their hands Plus Skills are only limited by the imagination of the user The types of crimes that are now being committed

Perhaps thatÆs where we should focus our attention Naffur cut in As he began to speak more patiently a silently moving server came through and deposited their previously ordered drinks in front of them Setting aside the natural tensions between the various groups in Kharon the bigger problem is the scope of law enforcement hasnÆt been well defined Most other governmental bodies simply added a few addendums to their penal code and applied it to the System world We donÆt have that luxury If we can clarify what constitutes a crime a large amount of the police forces work would disappear

Wolfram has been working on such a prospect but some of the facets of ogre culture have made the initial result less than ideal Tatiana sighed HeÆs currently adjusting per my instructions but more and more questions crop up as we continue refining the definitions Honestly the ogre methods of challenging each other and having the loser obey the winner are at least simple

ThatÆs a horrible way of running things Commissioner Arrietti fluffed up like a disgruntled hen Simply fighting to determine the righteous party What of justice and fairness Is strength really what we want to use to arbitrate these matters

Finally the fourth person at the table set down his martini and spoke in a quiet voice Then Kharon would rely on who has the biggest stick to maintain order For now thatÆs the Order Ducis but how long will that last

Tatiana smiled sweetly at Austin Dvelta the most influential businessman in Kharon A good point Austin The structure that we create right now is the most important thing Keeping it just is paramount Beyond that we will rely on the image that Kharon has cultivated to avoid others abusing the arrangements that we have made But weÆve already dominated the conversation with talk of criminal justice please tell us how business has been

Austin Dvelta pushed some of his short blonde curls out of his eyes and sighed theatrically Honestly it has been almost too good I know now is not a good time to raise other complaints but on the other hand what better time than now I think thereÆs an issue even more important than crime immigration I IÆd hoped to get all your opinions on this

Tatiana smiled at Austin while rolling her eyes inwardly YouÆve just recently expanded your scents and soaps business to rival the metalworking sector of Kharon and you expect us to believe you came to this dinner begging for opinions Well at the very least he is relatively straightforward to deal with Tatiana rapped her knuckles on the table Perhaps before jumping to immigration why donÆt you explain to everyone here the content of the report you gave me That will give them some context

Austin smiled shyly and twisted in his seat to look at Naffur and Commissioner Arrietti Due to his slight stature and short height the smile on AustinÆs face was relatively endearing Then Austin began to speak Over the past six months my company has gone from a shack next to a single field to dominating most of the agricultural sector of Kharon From working alone with my aging mother Dvelta Luor has grown to employ just over nine hundred employees Compared to the overall twenty two thousand population of Kharon that may seem small but

No need to dwell on your growth Tatiana remarked dryly Also those population numbers are very dated With the convoy coming down from the ogre nation we expect to be at about forty five thousand before we leave the Orchard And yet you still want to allow more people into Kharon

For a second Austin blinked It was clear that he hadnÆt expected that the population of Kharon had grown to that extent Honestly neither had Tatiana If she hadnÆt requested that Randidly use his sharp senses yesterday to do a hard count of the lives in Kharon they still wouldnÆt realize that their population had ballooned upward to this point

Finally Austin spoke quietly That impossible If there are so many people

Unfortunately it appears to be true Naffur sighed Then he gestured helplessly The problem is the children We made the decision to allow guardians into the city along with their children and as far as we can tell every individual from bubble cities who had children has taken us up on that offer And these arenÆt generally even their kids those guardians were just the ones with enough decency to try and protect the children after the original parents died Because of that kindness the Order Ducis generally turns a blind eye to it

But that leaves us with almost ten thousand children below the ages of sixteen Tatiana grinned at Austin Relax wait a few years and a whole slew of new employees will be available to you Problem solved yes

Ah well itÆs not just employees that we need Austin continued Since arriving in the Orchard through various channels Dvelta Luor has sold nearly 120 tons of soap The Ghosthound scent in particular has been very popular ThatÆs more than half of our total stock and our depleted warehouses now require that we operate our factories constantly in order to keep up with demand Without additional space we will quickly reach the limits of our capacity And considering Dvelta LuorÆs effect on KharonÆs economy

Commissioner Arrietti harrumphed And where will this space come from Did you know we are basically at our wit’s end when it comes to housing We are expanding many of our apartment complexes upward but even with the benefits of the System it cannot be done overnight

Considering the economic impact of Dvelta Luor Austin insisted

But Commissioner ArriettiÆs expression brightened Oh actually I know what you need to do Stop growing so many flowers plant tobacco Ah what I would do for a good cigarette the Donnyton brand cigars are simply too expensive

Smoking is bad for you Commissioner Tatiana said lightly

Commissioner Arrietti shrugged Heh wonÆt the System take care of it

Chuckling Tatiana pointed out the flaw in his thinking WonÆt the System also take care of the nicotine high YouÆd just be inhaling smoke

Er well the familiar sensation The Commissioner mumbled but Tatiana could tell that he hadnÆt thought about this issue before

Naffur shook his head and looked at Austin to get the conversation back on track We arenÆt idiots Yes your company was a significant driver of growth for the past six months But those initial expansions are the easiest sort of growth to achieve Besides donÆt act like you are unilaterally improving KharonÆs situation We are aware that you attempted to develop fields outside of Kharon and found the result less than satisfactory Do you want to guess as to the reason or should I

Austin sighed although we have no proof we suspect it is due to the moss spirits They provide ambient energy that is very useful to the growth of the plants we use for our scents

Exactly Tatiana steepled her fingers YouÆve grown so quickly because of Kharon You want more space because KharonÆs space is valuable Not just to you but to the entire city ThatÆs what it means to be the Wandering City under Randidly Ghosthound every scrap of land carries significant benefits even if they are easy to miss at first Let me say this Austin So far youÆve been enjoying the benefits of the GhosthoundÆs land But those benefits come with responsibility ThatÆs why you are here tonight So you can see the hard work that goes into making this city a reality

Austin was silent for several seconds He took another sip of his martini Then he slowly nodded I understand

Commissioner Arrietti glanced around and frowned down at his empty cup Where the hell is that waiter The beer here is excellent Ah but does that mean we arenÆt going to talk about immigration There is still some room in the cheap housing having youth is all well and good but if we recruit capable individuals now it will benefit us in the long run

Naffur scratched his chin That would be great but we canÆt keep stealing away the best and brightest from other Zones Even if Kharon has the Ghosthound standing behind it we donÆt want to go out of our way to antagonize the various States Most of our income comes from shipping out high end goods Tariffs would devastate us

Plus the lurking issue of bringing in more people is the integrity of KharonÆs spirit Tatiana said Everyone else at the table turned and looked at her She wasnÆt sure whether these power individuals had put it together yet but this was the reason that they had set up such strenuous requirements for entry into Kharon It wasnÆt necessarily in order to make sure these people could use images but the image training would temper their Willpower and let the Order Ducis nudge them in the right direction

Seeing that she had their attention Tatiana continued to elaborate Randidly Ghosthound has emphasized time and time again how important it is to cultivate the right sort of image for the people of Kharon The reason that the immigration process is so slow is to partially condition the applicants to possess that sort of image

Can we speed the process up Austin asked looking over at Naffur

Naffur chewed on his lip Well possibly But not in a way that will matter Instead of taking three months to get their image in the right spot we might be able to do it in two and a half But that ties up more of the Order Ducis operatives

IsnÆt that better Basically all the Order Ducis seems to do when you let them out into the borderlands is to bring more people to Kharon to train anyway Commissioner Arrietti pointed out

But rescuing those that need help will be the basis for our inviolability as an organization for when the Ghosthound leaves Earth Tatiana said quietly We need to be the most active force in the Borderlands Besides thatÆs how we spread the word about this cityÆs image to EarthÆs population If we back off the mystique we cultivate will weaken We have no choice but to embrace it

Is this truly necessary What happens if the image of Kharon isnÆt so ideal Austin said after a moment of hesitation He too had finished his drink by now I know it is important to the Ghosthound but

Spoken like someone who doesnÆt understand all the hard work that has been done by someone else for you to have this opportunity Tatiana thought quietly as she looked at the young owner of the fastest growing company in Kharon But that combination of capability and naivety was why she had decided to pull him into these sorts of meetings They needed an actor with AustinÆs influence to be aware of the consequences for Kharon as a whole

Without that image the Ghosthound has cultivated Kharon will collapse Tatiana said quietly It wonÆt be a quick thing and Kharon might even become more powerful by switching its image for dozens of years But that image we have right now is the spine of Kharon Built to last by the Ghosthound Everything else we do grows from there Altering our spine right now is not a smart decision

Naffur and Commissioner Arietti both constantly interacted with people and helped normalize KharonÆs image in their lives so they understood the subtle distinctions it created in people The way it made them stand straighter and take more risks The way it made people willing to try something and fail without being consumed by bitterness Because Kharon was the city that wandered the edges of the world They didnÆt need to be perfect they just never needed to surrender to the unknown

They were always the first blazing a Path That gave the people of Kharon pride

Austin was clearly confused and unsure but he ultimately nodded Satisfied Tatiana smiled However we can look into more efficient methods of immigration We donÆt want to be bottlenecked by this in the future Preparing now can become KharonÆs strength for years to come

Heh finding more willing grunts to accomplish tedious paperwork has a certain sort of satisfaction to it

Before the conversation continued the waiter finally returned Trailing behind him were two women

Helen jerked her thumb over her shoulder Figured it was easier just to bring her

ClarissaÆs eyes were sparkling And I absolutely adore hibachi

Chapter 1418

Randidly sighed and leaned back in his chair Almost listlessly he adjusted some of the piles of schematics he had sitting in front of him on the desk Tatiana do you take joy in making more work for me

She chuckled and shifted her weight IÆve wondered that same thing about you for years Randidly Ghosthound The Kharon police force is relatively underleveled and understaffed for what this city is growing to be Since you are going into the Dungeon anyway this is a good chance to work on the cityÆs foundation Take them into the Dungeon there are only about a hundred of them You donÆt need to train them personally in how to be a police officer but having them there to fight against monsters will make things easier for you anyway If the police are stronger they can handle threats more easily WhatÆs the problem

The problem Randidly supposed was that he could use Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil to effectively exterminate every monster in the Dungeon within only a few minutes of arriving All from the comfort of his own root structure that he would create in the same moment His ability to deal with large amounts of low Leveled foes was almost unfair

Such a display would earn him more experience than he wanted to get right now of course but it was also much more convenient method than relying on helpers Plus if the police force of Kharon was in the Dungeon Randidly would need to be pickier about what Level Dungeon he chose for this Or he would need to devote a little bit of extra attention to keep them safe

Still I planned on taking some of my Riders into the Dungeon anyway so I could extract the raw resources Randidly rubbed his chin I can likely leave the police forceÆÆs safety in their hands At the same time it does present another opportunity to raise the level of KharonÆs image use the police force could be a powerful symbol to encourage further growth

Randidly sighed Sometimes his action of founding a city seemed to be the biggest roadblock to his training but he knew that it was a cheap price to pay to help the Earth Randidly ultimately raised his head and nodded Alright I can handle that Anything else

Tatiana smiled sweetly at him That depends How much time do you have right now

Growling Randidly shooed Tatiana out of his small hut before she could provide him some other thankless task to consume his time Then he looked down at the table in front of him Due to the recent count of how many children swarmed across KharonÆs parks in its current educationÆ system Randidly was forced to vastly overhaul some of his plans for the Academy accommodating this high a number of students was a not one of his original goals

Of course the fact that they arenÆt all the same age makes it slightly easier but this number isnÆt something that you can just cleverly plan around Randidly frowned down at the papers on the table crisscrossed with recent revisions With this many prospective students we need space And more importantly teachers

Randidly had made steps to address the second problem but now he began to worry that it wouldnÆt be enough Ten thousand kids how many teachers did you need for ten thousand kids The more Randidly grappled with the issues of the Academy the more he realized he only had hazy memories of his own education And certainly from what he could remember it was nothing special

Having a hundred educational staff one teacher for every one hundred students was probably the bare minimum Beyond that Randidly had sorta imagined that there would be multiple focus areas within the school that resembled majors in a university Those different specializations required additional staff Plus Randidly wanted the students to come through Kharon Academy to get enough focused attention to develop

Which probably put the absolute minimum number of teachers somewhere closer to 500 Randidly scratched his head and grimaced A strong headache was brewing as he considered other options It seemed pretty bad if he would need to take out a classified ad in the newspapers of other Zones to recruit teachers

Perhaps it was because of their generous spirits but teachers were a profession that did not have a high survival rate through the arrival of the System More likely they spent their time trying to protect children from the suddenly appearing monsters and lost their lives

I wonder if I could make a specialized Rider to teach Or even a Soulseed bah both seem like bad ideas

Tsking quietly to himself Randidly used Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil to bring a handful of dirt into his hut and place it on his shoulder Then that dirt began to stir and several thin roots extended out of it Very quickly they had thickened to the size of human fingers They pick up pieces of paper and pencils and rapidly began the process of adjusting the designs he had already made

Randidly wouldnÆt be able to do this with complex projects because of the focus required for each revision but while he now worked to simply make his plans larger the relatively small amount of processing power he put behind each root arm could manage it RandidlyÆs metallic left and fleshy right arm also moved to work on the task For almost a half hour the only sound within that hut was the sound of rustling papers

Piles shifted from one side of the desk to another as he poured over the designs and marked areas that would need to be addressed in more detail For things like student housing he simply added more buildings and floors

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 292

On the one hand what Randidly was doing right now had some surprising benefits expanding the size of Kharon Academy made some of the other problems he had with various traps disappear With more size he had more leeway in terms of design inefficiency for the Engraving Some of the more frustrating bits of Aether construction were relatively simple with more space

But of course there were significant drawbacks to this expansion Not only would more resources be required but the amount of work to build the thing would probably double from just a 50% increase in size In addition to the functional issues of making Kharon Academy larger there were the practical implications A larger Academy needed not only more teachers but more custodians cooks cleaners and real estate for all these people to live And with these other areas taking up more space the space dedicated to teacher housing needed to be fully updated and expanded as well

In RandidlyÆs mind this was still a powerful draw But it needed to have the right sort of flair and ambiance for that to pan out

Still while Randidly worked on this exhausting task he also paid attention to the behavior of his right arm During the revision process he experimented with allowing the mini brain that had formed in his elbow when he reached 1000 Reaction to guide his actions It clearly didnÆt possess very much intelligence but with a clear goal it could act independently from his main body It was something that Randidly would keep in mind in the future

Congratulations Your Skill SpriggitÆs Tinkering has grown to Level 173

Congratulations Your Skill Engineering Savvy has grown to Level 193

Of course once Randidly started working on the Kharon Academy he quickly was drawn more deeply into the intricate layout of the entire complex RandidlyÆs emerald eyes began to sparkle as he realized that some aspects that he had originally left out from the plans such as the garden maze a sprawling library and a stadium might as well be added back into the Academy due to the increased size

They always say to aim high Randidly pointedly didnÆt think about how much all these fixtures were going to cost in raw materials alone

Congratulations Your Skill Engineering Savvy has grown to Level 197

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 293

The rustling of papers around Randidly intensified He cleanly manipulated the root arms to sift through the dozens of plans Gradually a clearer picture of what the Kharon Academy was going to become emerged from the chaotic mess of papers And while Randidly saw the shape changing he started thinking generally about the teaching philosophy

The distinctions for the various specializations are the real problem having a more Class centric organization would make things too segmented Plus I want to make the Kharon Academy rather unique anyway So perhaps rather than choosing what you want to study you chose what you donÆt want to study

Randidly chuckled and wrapped his knuckles against the table No that doesnÆt make any sense But on the other hand

The oppressive images of Kaan Swacc came to RandidlyÆs mind His eyes began to glow as the beginnings of an idea formed in his mind What if instead of taking classes to build up strengths they are framed as a way of countering weaknesses

RandidlyÆs thoughts began to race His root arms set down the pencils and he began to pace around the central table in his planning hut Considering the layers of his underground labyrinth there should be an equivalent number of weaknesses in Kharon Academy And once you selected the weakness you wanted to address the teachers could offer their own solutions to deal with those weaknesses

In RandidlyÆs mind it was also a better way to prepare the children for the realities of the world In the grand scheme of the Nexus they were weak Only by constantly working to address those weaknesses would survival be possible

As Randidly began to settle on weaknesses in his mind his hands moved to the design of the labyrinth With better themes the plans were changed once more The root arms dragged over piles of papers that had been taken to the doneÆ pile reopening their design

Congratulations Your Skill SpriggitÆs Tinkering has grown to Level 199

Congratulations Your Skill Engineering Savvy has grown to Level 205

Eventually Randidly was pulled from the heady intoxication of finalizing his plans by Grim Intuition Someone was coming up to his island A more focused look revealed the figures of Mareen and Ed Dugg standing on a floating platform

Abruptly Randidly realized why they were here the construction of his home was scheduled to begin today Rubbing the back of his head Randidly organized his papers as best he could made some notes so he wouldnÆt lose his train of thought later when he returned to the task and then walked out of the hut to meet them at the edge of the island

When he arrived Mareen smiled Mr Ghosthound good day Did you have any chance to work on the plans for your house this week

Randidly kept his face stoic Unfortunately not

Honestly thatÆs for the best Ed Dugg grinned and produced a sheaf of papers that were covered in detailed drawings of a rather sprawling home Hehehe IÆll tell you something that I learned after years of working in the construction industry the first time you build a home you vastly underestimate the number of water pipes you will need in a building so I took the liberty of drawing up a preliminary plan

Randidly barely even glanced at the papers His eyes were focused on Ed Mareen asked if the plans were alright and Randidly nodded and told her to begin work as soon as possible Then he turned to Ed And Mr Dugg considering your experience in the field IÆd like to ask for your advice on an unrelated project

Chapter 1419

IÆm fine Tim Go work on your stupid drawing stuff Delilah groused When he didnÆt immediately leave she threw herself down onto the flower filled field rolling back and forth across several unfortunate patches of daisies like a steam roller

Tim the kind kid that he was hesitated before listening to her But at the moment that only made Delilah more frustrated When he opened his mouth to speak Delilah hopped to her feet DidnÆt you hear me Leave me alone I need time away from a dummy like you

Looking chagrined Tim retreated and left Delilah alone in the field Every time he peeked over his shoulder at Delilah as he walked back toward the hill Delilah felt a surge of dissatisfaction in her heart But as she glared over at Tim she felt the familiar weight of her dadÆs hand settle on her shoulder Even though he wasnÆt here he was there chiding her softly when she behaved too wildly She could feel his warm and patient smile easing her anxiety Although her temper flared she did her best to force it down due to the reminder of that hand

UGH This is so stupid Delilah whispered and knocked the back of her head against the grass covered ground She knew that Dozer would push her to let go of her anger but it was hard Especially when after being beaten up the prior day she had spent all night preparing to get her revenge She had designed several specialty weapons that she carefully inscribed But of course when the Ghosthound brought her away to this place the moss spirits didnÆt follow

Without the moss spirits her special weapons were useless So she was just beaten up again without any ability to resist The other kids had simply watched It was infuriating It was embarrassing

In DelilahÆs mind there were two types of people that she encountered on a daily basis Those who were older than her and more powerful and people that she had eventually surpassed because her potential caught up to them In her heart Delilah had always believed that the first group would slowly morph into the second group It wasnÆt that other people didnÆt try to train they did it just wasnÆt enough to keep up with DelilahÆs growth Because she was special

Even her mom agreed with that

Even Randidly Ghosthound the man who even now made Delilah shudder in fear was only powerful because of how long he had spent training One day she would surpass him She would develop her own image and crush him for how cruel he was during their games of hide and seek It was one of her main goals

Yet with this Annon Delilah hesitated She saw how hard he worked He was only a few years older than her yet his power appeared just as overwhelming as the GhosthoundÆs Logically she knew that Annon was weaker than the Ghosthound but the fact that he had been able to grow to his current strength placed a lot more pressure on Delilah mentally than anyone else ever had

After being beaten yesterday she had studied him like a hawk for the remainder of the day And as though beating Delilah up meant nothing to him Annon had returned to the same dull and boring work that Tim now struggled with It was so dumb

Delilah had watched his eyes most of all It was there in the steady focus that he displayed that Delilah found what she feared That look she saw on AnnonÆs face seemed to announce to the world that he would never compromise He would continue pushing forward at any cost He would never stop growing

Can I keep up with that Delilah bit her lip Then she slammed her fists back down to the ground and began to roll back and forth

Having fun destroying the flowers like that

Delilah pressed a hand to the ground and then flipped up to her feet She raised her hands ready and willing to take out her frustration on this stranger who dared interrupt her But as she looked around there was no one in the surrounding area Even the air was still there wasnÆt the slightest breeze

The voice continued to speak IÆve done similar things in the past Fields of flowers they remind me of something IÆd prefer not to remember So sometimes I level them and turn them to ash

What are you Delilah demanded

The voice laughed Just someone with a lot of regrets But I can probably help you How about it little girl do you want some help becoming strong I can give you a Path

At the recommendation of Derek Moss Randidly proceeded forward through the heavy iron doors and proceeded down from the surface into the large training facilities that surrounded the engine of Kharon This was where the lionÆs share of the people currently trying to earn citizenship in Kharon spent their day

It wasnÆt the most enjoyable existence but most of the people who were in the image adjustment process were willing to put up with the dim lighting and strenuous workouts in order to become an official citizen of Kharon This was their chance

Plus the people who were applying for citizenship werenÆt even kept in the underground chambers they were simply required to finish a certain amount of training hours each day From the most recent report the number was set at eight Which gave these people plenty of time to experience what living in Kharon was really like They could even get some part time work

But for eight hours a day they would accept being sharpened and honed Both physically and mentally

You could clear the physical and image based training courses arranged by the Order Ducis and free yourself for days at a time but there had basically been no one thus far that had been able to do so Very few extremely powerful people were willing to endure this treatment This was the path for the desperate or the determined

After watching several sweating individuals struggle to roll several hundred pound tiresÆ forward through mud Randidly turned away and walked along the periphery of the physical testing area to the training pavilion Randidly could tell immediately that the Order Ducis members here recognized him immediately by the way their heads perked up and whipped toward him but the applicants were too caught up in their own struggle to notice

And here I thought I was doing better at hiding my image Randidly mused Well perhaps its because of the connection they have with me Tatiana does always have an insane sixth sense regarding where I am and what IÆm doing Perhaps this is a lesser version of that IÆll have to ask Naffur about it sometime

It was something of a relief to be able to stroll quietly through the dark hall with the reverberating grunts of exertion and shouts bouncing off the metal walls form the ambiance of a gym Randidly walked into the training pavilion with a strange sense of contentment As he did so a woman who had been slouching against the table in front of her immediately sat bolt upright and used her hands to press herself into standing M m m mr Ghosthound I didnÆt realize err I what are you doing

Randidly opened his mouth to answer when the table that the woman was leaning against collapsed underneath the force of the womanÆs hands In a rather ungainly pile of limbs the woman fell forward and slammed her head against the ground RandidlyÆs mouth twitch Just stopping by You must be Hydie Mordath right The Hexwitch

Ah heh yea Rubbing her forehead Hydie stood She furtively glanced at Randidly and then adjusted her glasses She stood up straight too looking more at the ceiling than at Randidly directly You why are you here to see me

Randidly took a glance at Hydie It was only for a brief second but RandidlyÆs training in regards to both images and Nether had been proceeding very steadily over the past several days Combined with his already high base image the amount of weight that he could create with a casual look equivalent to some current Earthlings full strength image

For a brief moment that weight was on Hydie and she flinched

Now why would you assume that I am here for you Randidly thought idly He had seen NaffurÆs report regarding the suspicious points regarding this woman but he had ultimately left the decision over how to address it in NaffurÆs hands But having her so obviously draw his attention right now Randidly let a flicker of purple black revelation energy swirl around his left eye Considering this behavior you really arenÆt suited to be a spy

But considering that an Order Ducis member died due to a strange accident canÆt hurt to check

The threads of causality spun outward from HydieÆs back dragging her past along behind her as she existed in the current moment With the information Randidly had been given it was enough to peer backward in time Those same threads also rolled forward and Randidly watched as they grew increasingly entangled with the fate of Kharon A frown emerged on his face

Congratulations Your Skill Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold has grown to Level 303

But then Randidly looked away and the weight was gone The energy vanished from around his eye He had peered as well as he could with the inferences available to him and it didnÆt appear that Hydie was responsible for that death Because Randidly also knew of the preparations that Tatiana had been making recently in regards to problems like this he wouldnÆt bother to pry into this womanÆs backer as of yet

But had she been responsible

Heh Randidly shook himself gently right as his emotions caused his image in the surrounding area to intensify Truly his control over his image wasnÆt as steady as he had thought The shouting of the applicants outside the building immediately fell silent Randidly could sense their throats had been frozen before his aura Their eyes bulged He felt a flash of guilt These are innocent parties And people that Kharon is trying to recruit No reason to bear my fangs here

IÆm actually not here for you Randidly said giving Hydie what he believed to be a winning smile From her pale expression it was clear she didnÆt believe him it seemed his cutting off of his chilled anger was a single beat too late His smile faded to a small grin IÆd like to talk with one of the applicants here One Gertrude Collins Can you bring her into the tent please

For several seconds Hydie was motionless as she coped with her fear Gradually her hands began to twitch Randidly was content to wait She soon dethawed enough to pull at the edge of her collar Ah I wish I could help you Mr G g ghosthound but Miss Collins isnÆt here She completed the image challenge yesterday and has sixteen hours’ worth of training off

Randidly frowned I thought the challenges were purposefully designed to be almost impossible to pass

They were Even Ajax was surprised when she did it Hydie explained nervously SheÆs the first person to ever do it Besides never being willing to spar sheÆs probably the most capable image user in all the applicants So IÆm sorry but

No thatÆs fine Randidly said Inwardly he was sighing He hadnÆt bothered to check for Gertrude CollinsÆ location because he believed that he knew where she would be Now finding out that wasnÆt correct it felt like a certain kind of karma

So as to not subject himself to anymore stammering or touch upon TatianaÆs scheme further Randidly produced the PhilosopherÆs Key and directly portaled out of KharonÆs interior From high up on his island RandidlyÆs Grim Intuition spread outward to cover the whole of Kharon Then when he had located Gertrude Collins he descended quietly from the sky and landed nearby in the sprawling park in which he found her

Randidly watched Gertrude Collins for a long time She was younger than he had expected probably very close to RandidlyÆs age Her long dark hair was in a heavy braid down her back and she was dressed in jeans and a grey button up shirt In addition she was pretty in a way that suddenly made Derek MossÆs vehemence about her talent make a certain sort of sense But more than the details of her person Randidly watched her as she tested out of KharonÆs examination in order to come to these parks and gather a group of unruly children

She was reading them a childrenÆs story Toward the beginning the older kids rolled their eyes but as the story went on they began to gather in larger and larger numbers First twenty then fifty then a hundred As more people came over to figure out what was happening they asked the people already there what was going on and were quickly shushed

In addition to simply reading her story she used illusions to draw out what was happening above her head so more children could see But to put it mildly her illusions were quite bad

The characters were blocky and somehow vague Rather than facial features she relied mostly on each characterÆs signature color to distinguish them

Or at least thatÆs what Randidly thought at first But as he watched her continue through her story Randidly realized that it wasnÆt color that made him so sure of what he was looking at it was because Gertrude CollinsÆ characters practically sung with their own images and motivation

Slowly Randidly nodded So this is the woman that Derek Moss thinks is the greatest teacher in the world Good Still the question now is why she didnÆt come forward when the Order Ducis inquired about individuals with teaching experience

Chapter 1420

By the end of her story Gertrude Collins could barely suppress the tremors in her body Underneath her shirt thick drops of sweat were trailing down her spine The combination of using the Mana for the illusions and doing her best to imbue them with poignant images had completely depleted her Willpower She was even a little bit dizzy

As she let the final image fade her smile was bitter I can see why the Order Ducis insists that we train our bodies as well as working on the images itÆs not enough just to be able to conjure a clean image if you cannot wield it oof I need a chair

Of course she didnÆt have the chance to sit down The surrounding kids surged forward bright eyed and full of questions about the characters in the story The bitterness in GertrudeÆs expression vanished and she turned to each child in turn and tried to explain her own thoughts on the story Secretly Gertrude felt quite a bit of pride at their interest to see the children so enthralled with a story that she had written herself was an amazing feeling It was sufficient sustenance for her to endure her exhaustion By the end of it she probably had a little over two hundred kids of various ages gathered around to listen

But as the groups of children started talking amongst themselves and conversations drifted into her ears GertrudeÆs eyes twitched

If I was the fire I would have just stayed as a cold flame One girl insisted stubbornly So what if it made other people cold I love the snow Snowball fights are so much fun

It was dumb to switch an older boy agreed Much better than being a fire made entirely of light like she ended up at the end Even if the fire could then be with the candle without melting him as light whatÆs the point of just being light

My dad has light Skills and they are actually pretty powerful Light can be cool A chubby boy cut into the conversation But this action of speaking just seemed to draw a target on the boyÆs back

Oh shut up orphan

We know heÆs not your real dad

DonÆt try and act cool just cause you got lucky who adopted you

The boy in question reddened and looked toward the ground There was a young girl with red pigtails next to Gertrude that was asking her a question but most of GertrudeÆs attention was focused out of the corner of her eye on that particular interaction amongst the kids Her heart ached They canÆt just be let to run wild like this for all of the good in Kharon it doesnÆt understand the travesty that is happening underneath its nose

So many of them orphans Maybe even most of them Yet there is a part of them that hates themselves for that

If they donÆt step in these children are going to develop into gangs There are already rival factions that fight against each other ItÆs all play fighting now but as soon as one person gets seriously injured this could escalate into something dangerous Why would the Order Ducis allow this

After balling his hands into fists the boy that was ridiculed for being an orphan turned around and fled from the crowd of children With the laughter of his peers at his back he pushed his way out of the gathering Some part of Gertrude wished she could help him but another part of her knew that a teacherÆs comfort was exactly not what the kid needed now Plus she had come to this park to instill the spark of curiosity by showing them images To address all the internal problems

Yet as she saw him run all she could think about was Tim Moss and when she had previously failed as a teacher

Gertrude Collins blinked Because as that sad child charged out of the group he ran directly into a man that rather suddenly appeared in his path

With his lowered eyes that were probably tight with tears he wasnÆt paying attention at all he bounced off the man and fell on his butt With a trembling lip he looked upward The man became the center of everyoneÆs attention and the surrounding laughter died as was though he had come and devoured it The man squatted down in front of the kid and smiled at him WhatÆs your name

For a second the kid was silent Everyone was silent Because rather than the kidÆs name everyone in the surrounding area was thinking of the name of the man crouching down and smiling in front of them They stood transfixed held captive by the force contained in that simple question Someone everyone knew that it wasnÆt their place to speak when they were not the subject of that manÆs attention

But finally something in the childÆs chest stirred him to move This time he had been chosen My name is Paine

Nice to meet you Paine Randidly Ghosthound said softly But even if his voice was pitched low the surrounding children all heard him Even Gertrude could barely pull her eyes away from him as he crouched there in front of young Paine There was something about him that seized attention He offered a hand to Pane And it doesnÆt matter who you are or where you come from You are here now And therefore a citizen of Kharon And that means that you get to decide who and what you are and who your family is

Kharon is the place for bold choices ThatÆs why I made it so the city could move DonÆt let anyone tell you what you are or arenÆt

Then the Ghosthound stood He was taller taller than Gertrude had been expecting and covered with wiry muscle His metallic left arm moved as naturally as though it was flesh as he turned to regard the surrounding children His black hair was unruly across his head a testament to his wild nature His eyes were a bright emerald color that was captivating yet somehow chilling as his gaze swept the surrounding area Toward your fellow citizens you should always have respect for their choices Have I made myself clear

The children all nodded as one Gertrude even heard someone gulp audibly

Then the Ghosthound spread his hands wide Above his two palms different images flickered to life There was a brief scene of light filtering through heavy emerald leaves then there was an image of light turning milky and swirling around a dark marble Then there was a chilling dawn rising over a wasteland its rays both a relief and a curse to the creatures that had been struggling to hide in the darkness

GertrudeÆs skin tingled as the image seeped into her body The image was so powerful that she even felt like she could smell the dust of that wasteland It left her in awe True she had exhausted herself for weeks to improve her images to the point where she could just barely pass the Order DucisÆ tests but that was nothing compared to this Her skin was warmed by those rays of light This was Randidly Ghosthound This was why he was the most powerful man in the world

Then the Ghosthound lowered his arms and the image disappeared He grinned around at the surrounding children Light is indeed powerful but anything can be powerful if you work at it for long enough ThatÆs the beauty of images you can share whatever truth in your heart that you possess so long as you focus

His eyes flashed again So make sure you donÆt give up on your convictions

All at once the GhosthoundÆs charismatic gravity vanished The heaviness that he released was abruptly gone The change was so sudden that it was slightly alarming to Gertrude The children around him began to stir as the Ghosthound straightened Then he put his hands on his hips and announced Now if thatÆs all IÆd like the chance to talk with Miss Collins Alone please

The children began furiously whispering to each other Gertrude cursed her own pale face as she felt herself begin to blush furiously ah Is there a problem I believe I didnÆt break any rules in coming here

Randidly Ghosthound chuckled IÆm not here because of rules just to ask you a few questions I need your help

Randidly quickly opened a portal and brought himself and Gertrude Collins away from the whispering children Once they were safely on his island he turned to face the teacher I just wanted to ask you your opinions on KharonÆs current education situation And I think to start IÆd like to know why you didnÆt volunteer when the Order Ducis called for teacher volunteers

ThatÆs why you wanted to talk to me Gertrude Collins seemed shocked Her hands came up and toyed with her silver necklace After a few twists she sighed ItÆs not that I donÆt know I just didnÆt think it would be a good fit for me Working with all this

Randidly raised his eyebrow ItÆs hard to totally believe you when I just watched you use your free time to interact with children Please donÆt feel like you canÆt Randidly abruptly realized that he had quickly brought Gertrude Collins to a floating private island covered in silver mist Honestly she was behaving rather calmly considering the fact that she didnÆt know where she currently was If he wanted honest answers from her perhaps he should adjust the context a bit

Ahem Randidly cleared his throat Follow me

This time Randidly used the PhilosopherÆs Key to open a portal to the outskirts of the Orchard below Due to the rapid slew of construction for the duos competition a constant night fair had emerged on the Southern edge of the Orchard Bright lights flashed from lightbulbs around various carnival games mixed with food stands Scents of oil salt and sugar filled the air Due to the general increase in proficiency for humanity the difficulty of the games had increased sharply Shouts and good natured cursing was a constant companion in that area

Randidly casually walked with Gertrude for a bit She trailed after him casting strange glances his way as they wove their way through the crowd It had started as a way to make the talk more informal but Randidly quite enjoyed this break from work Plus no one here seemed to recognize him despite his bare feet

As his mood improved he allowed himself to grin around and sniff the air Still with Gertrude taking surreptitious looks at him when she thought he wasnÆt looking Randidly followed his nose to purchase a funnel cake covered with powdered sugar and chocolate syrup Then he sat down at one of the many wooden tables in the area and gave Gertrude a long look He held a piece of the funnel cake poised in front of his mouth Let me ask again why didnÆt you volunteer IÆd like an honest answer IÆm asking precisely because I want to improve KharonÆs education system

Really Gertrude seemed stunned Then she smiled bitterly Then I feel somewhat stupid I I didnÆt volunteer because I had seen KharonÆs schoolingÆ and thought it meant that the city didnÆt value its youth I didnÆt just want to be another body that was thrown at the problem the whole system needs to be redesigned IÆm tired of being part of administrations that donÆt care about their students

You really refused just because of a misunderstanding More than bodies what we wanted was people with ideas Randidly thought to himself But he didnÆt vocalize those thoughts Instead he carefully chewed on another piece of warm and sugary fried dough before saying Well in our defense I donÆt think any of us expected to have such a large population of children Considering the survival rate of that age group through the SystemÆs arrival having one fourth of our population needing an education took us by surprise

That makes sense Gertrude took another peek at Randidly and then blushed I IÆm sorry I was just I donÆt know disappointed Kharon Kharon is doing so many things well I donÆt like how much violence is emphasized but its clear you arenÆt trying to turn people into an army You are just trying to give them the tools to defend themselves I was just disappointed to see that education had become the equivalent of independent study

ThatÆs why I wanted to talk to you We only have about ten people with actual teaching experience employed by KharonÆs government considering the number of students Randidly shook his head We DO need bodies But we need more than that I would love your help to refine our teaching philosophy But I want you to know that we arenÆt just going to let students engage in independent study forever Actually IÆve recently been working on a very special project Kharon Academy

Then while Gertrude Collins listened closely Randidly explained the details of Kharon Academy He went through the design and then the purpose before turning to the details Then Gertrude began asking questions questions that were very pointed and relevant Questions that made Randidly realize exactly how far out of his league he was by designing an educational institution

During this process Randidly watched GertrudeÆs image And that pure dedication to education caused a small smile to form at the corner of his mouth The pure joy and commitment to helping others grow was exactly what he needed

At the end of her slew of questions Gertrude stared down at the table in front of her The previous shyness she had was shed as the focus on education came to the fore of her being Randidly waited silently feeling rather satisfied that he had listened to Derek Moss and come out to talk with this teacher He could already tell she could help shape the spirit of Kharon Academy

Chewing on her lip Gertrude finally spoke some of these things are too big for me to know any decent methods IÆll need to contact some people I knew back in Zone 1 They they have more experience than me Even if they arenÆt as talented at images they know how to handle children But I do have one suggestion even though IÆm not sure how realistic it is

Well obviously not the whole thing but Gertrude gestured toward the still scaffolding being assembled for the duos tournament It sat next to them in the dark opposite the bright lights of the carnival If you really want Kharon Academy to be an institution that epitomizes KharonÆs spirit of forging its own path what would capture the image of trailblazing better than having a portion of the Academy built by the very children who will spend their time there

Randidly froze His thoughts began to race Obviously there needed to be a base structure in place but other than that a portion of the students would likely choose to address weaknesses related to building or craftsmanship anyway It could be an on going process We donÆt need to build it all at once As they graduate the students can shape the Academy or they act as support to throw their vote behind which professor should shape the Academy

Very quickly Randidly shook his head and brought himself back The details could wait until later But for now he needed to make sure he had GertrudeÆs support going forward What better way than a Kharon municipal team building retreat Do you have some spare time tomorrow If you do IÆd like you to come into a Dungeon with me to work on these ideas

Chapter 1421

Randidly frowned Due to the smoldering flames in the center of the room the enclosed space was really hot But the response he received was enough to distract him from all of the specialty tool laying about in the workshop What do you mean Why donÆt you know if you will be able to help DonÆt you think

Randidly stopped himself before he could complete that sentence It was somewhat rude to admit that he had thought Sam would be swept up by what he was offering and accept immediately But truthfully Randidly was somewhat floored that the resources Randidly had described didnÆt seem to tempt him

Sam idly waved a hammer that was the size of a human head to dismiss RandidlyÆs words Due to its strange shifting hue Randidly could tell that the item wasnÆt a simple tool The fact that Sam could so casually wave it was a testament to his strength My schedule is extremely busy Even if I am no longer in charge of DonnytonÆs refinery I have quite a few projects lined up right now IÆve accepted down payments it isnÆt an easy thing to push back such work for a favor even if itÆs for you

When Randidly didnÆt respond to him Sam snorted and then continued to hammer the piece of metal in front of him Every time the heavy tool smashed the metal a clear ringing echoed out in the small room A shifting and amorphous image thickened the air around the tempering demonstrating why Sam was the pinnacle of his field Even though he wasnÆt imbuing it with any specificity that Randidly could see it was slowly growing more powerful The image shaped the metal and the metal shaped the image Randidly had no doubt it would slowly develop into something powerful

This ability is why I want him to help with Kharon Academy but this reaction Randidly stared at SamÆs grizzled silhouette as he continued to work Wearing a leather apron and working away with the metal the figure was a familiar one to Randidly His friendship with Sam was one of his oldest and strongest They were bonded through Aether Sam was his Dawn Smith Yet now Sam seemed completely content with where he was

Smiling slyly down at his current work Sam placed the strange hammer to the side and picked up a pair of tongs Then he lifted the metal in question and regarded it critically from several angles He even brought it to his face and sniffed it Once he set it back down the hammering began with renewed vigor

As Randidly watched a sense of strangeness grew in his chest Watching SamÆs movements nothing was off but this sort of behavior wasnÆt like Sam Normally if he really wasnÆt willing to listen to my offer he would have just kicked me out Which means that he probably wants something

Eventually Randidly sighed The better he got at observing people the more work seemed to appear in front of him Things just get more complicated donÆt they IÆm sorry that the first time I came to see you it was work

Sam glared at him this time with genuine irritation He slowly lowered his strange hammer to his side Kid do you really think I would care about that I understand how busy you must be running a city Plus heh the projects you bring me are always the most interesting ones Nah itÆs fine you are a bit forgetful

Hearing that RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed Then what is it you want How can I get you to come agree to work on the construction of Kharon Academy

SamÆs assistance wasnÆt absolutely necessary but it would be a huge help to the project Not for the general construction any average worker could handle the details of the typical buildings Due to GertrudeÆs suggestion Randidly was even considering allowing the kids themselves to do the lionÆs share of it But for some of the critical pieces in the labyrinth for the components that would blend images and Engraving to hold the whole Kharon Academy together Randidly would rest easier leaving it in SamÆs hands

Finally seeing that he had RandidlyÆs attention Sam coughed lightly IÆm not much for negotiation IÆd prefer if everyone was direct about things So IÆm just gonna say my demand No room for discussion I want to explore one of the Corrupted Worlds Soon And I want to be the first human to do so Since the Order Ducis is in charge of them I assume you have that power

Randidly frowned Corrupted Worlds referred to the five extra Danger Zones that had been pasted onto Earth due to the test from the Xyrt Brigade After the Earth had completed its task in time these worlds had brought their Aether and significant resources to Earth At least in theory that is Right now they were just a bunch of portals to dangerous worlds

The populations of those worlds had just been primed by the System to attack and massacre the Earth a few weeks ago as part of the test Although that prompting disappeared the Nexus never bothered to send out a follow up notification that the people of these planets should cooperate with the Earthlings So the Order Ducis had been trying to establish communications with the various factions within the worlds with mixed results

You want the materials Randidly guessed after thinking about it

Of course SamÆs eyes were shining now An entire worldÆs worth of resources Not that I want to monopolize them but IÆve already noticed that the EarthÆs resources are curving toward mythic materials that were the stuff of legends prior to the System If our images shape the materials too I definitely need to test out the materials that these other worlds imagined

Randidly thought about it for a bit before slowly nodding From what IÆve heard discussions with one of the worlds has gone pretty well I think that trade will start up in earnest soon And at that time Randidly paused as a thought occurred to him But then he shook his head and continued at that time I believe you can be the first to see and experience the materials within the world

Thank you Sam revealed a rare smile Then his expression shifted and he gave Randidly a long look Now will you be staying for dinner

Randidly felt quite a load of expectations within that expression and couldnÆt help but sigh I suppose Do you think

For a second SamÆs expression was warped by commiseration He walked over to Randidly and patted his shoulder Yes I might not mind your habits but Regina will undoubtedly have some opinions on your lack of social etiquette You are after all SunanÆs godfather But still Facing it now is better than letting more sourness accumulate for a few more years

So despite his frantic schedule in preparation for tomorrow Randidly stayed for dinner with Sam and Regina As expected the first portion of the dinner saw Regina calmly lashing out with sharp comments about how long it had been since Randidly had visited or inquired about their son

Randidly took a glance at the rather silent baby sleeping within the cradle Ultimately he decided that there was no meaning to pointing out that little Sunan wasnÆt old enough to even notice Instead he simply smiled awkwardly Luckily as the three of them continued to converse through the meal ReginaÆs attitude softened Although it wasnÆt how he wanted to spend his time Randidly enjoyed the small break chatting with Sam and Regina

When he left their residence he had a message from Gertrude Collins WeÆve obtained all the guardian signatures we need All told we have thirty two volunteers to come into the Dungeon with us IÆve spoken with them and they should be mature enough that the extra few months wonÆt matter much

Randidly produced his PhilosopherÆs Key with a flick of the wrist as he was replying That seems fast Did you check to make sure all the signatures were genuine

Of course I was a teacher Mr Ghosthound I know my job Gertrude quickly replied ItÆs somewhat awkward to say but a lot of the children live in large groups under a single homeowner There are very few children with genuine familial ties So to sign a form that the child will be gone for two days itÆs quite a casual thing

RandidlyÆs heart tightened when he thought about the lives of these children but then his emerald eyes flashed This was why Kharon Academy was so important It could be the lifeline that these people needed

But Mr Ghosthound Gertrude said in another message IsnÆt thirty two too little

RandidlyÆs eyelid twitched This much will be fine Thank you Miss Collins

It had been GertrudeÆs idea for Randidly to bring children into the Dungeon with him and train them to help make Kharon Academy while also training the police force Randidly had immediately expressed a strong desire not to on account of the number of children that he would suddenly need to manage but Gertrude had responded rather blithely

I mean not everyone will volunteer if you ask They are kids

Privately Randidly feared that Gertrude was dead wrong

Randidly didnÆt want to overestimate himself but he was somewhat aware that he was a powerful figure in the minds of these children If word spread that he was offering a bit of training he believed that quite a few children would agree Perhaps even most of them And then suddenly he would be responsible for the ten thousand children that were already causing headaches all across Kharon

So instead of putting RandidlyÆs name on it they had spread word to the children that the Kharon government itself was sponsoring a workshop for children looking to focus on careers in architecture construction gardening blacksmithing metal working and materials processing Despite GertrudeÆs complains Randidly insisted on making the language of the request as dry as possible

He didnÆt want people to come that thought the project sounded cool He only wanted children who truly were interested in the field Thirty two volunteers was abysmally low from a population of ten thousand but Randidly had a good feeling about those thirty two They could be left in the hands of Ed Dugg for most of the time in the Dungeon Hopefully they would be able to gain quite a bit of experience

Humming to himself Randidly opened a portal and walked through to visit Neveah

Chapter 1422

Neveah chuckled as she looked at RandidlyÆs face She walked up next to him and poked him in the side WhatÆs with that reaction Did you think I wouldnÆt finish the Engraving

Well no but Randidly blinked He shifted his weight from one foot to the other feeling awkward that he had been seen through so easily It made sense Neveah could detect his thoughts through their Soulbond Hiding his thoughts from her was basically impossible But still IÆm just the Engravings are great I didnÆt realize you had so much progress in understanding YystrixÆs murals recently I had sorta thought

Randidly The corners of NeveahÆs expression turned downward We both know what this is really about The pain I suffered when we fought Kaan It was a lot I havenÆt ever encountered anything like that Not personally IÆve seen some of your memories but this was Even now I still have nightmares about his hand squeezing my soul The sounds of bells or wind chimes make me flinch ThatÆs why I think itÆs for the best if I donÆt go to the Nexus with you this time

Randidly stood very still as Neveah was speaking but the words still hit him with more power than he had expected He pressed his hands down against the counter in front of him His fingers tensed but he was careful not to grip with too much strength This cabin of NeveahÆs was only made with basic materials

Neveah put her hands behind her back and continued to speak We each have our own strength This the Engraving understanding the secrets of Aether that is my strength And here on Earth is the place where I can take advantage of it best So I really think staying here will benefit both of us I can remain here and deepen my understanding of YystrixÆs teaching

As Neveah turned to look at him Randidly was very careful to control his emotions He didnÆt want his response to that to taint their relationship But simultaneously there was no way that Randidly could hide his feeling of disappointment To have long anticipated them both going to the Nexus together to become strong and fight against the System Randidly was sad for that to change

For several seconds he simply stood and looked at Neveah His heart ached His metallic hand twitched

But then he shook himself slightly and showed Neveah a fragile smile although itÆs not what I had planned before it might be for the best Besides the beginning period of the Kharon Academy will be the most dangerous So with you present there

Oh please Neveah interrupted him She rolled her eyes and waved her hands as though to push what he said away Are you trying to leave that pile of work in my lap Nuh uh no way Besides if we intervene too directly in the Academy wonÆt we be spreading your image too widely I hope youÆve realized how quickly the scale of your Kharon Academy is growing

Ah humm Randidly immediately frowned Actually he hadnÆt thought about that problem Originally Kharon Academy had been relatively small He had assumed there would be maybe five hundred students within its walls But with the huge population of children in Kharon he had expanded his schematics to be eight times the original size Even then things looked like they were going to be a tight fit

But Randidly had been so caught up in scaling Kharon Academy up that he had forgotten about the latent threat that his image presented to Earth passing the Second Calamity In the end Randidly could only shake his head at NeveahÆs words I honestly donÆt know I hadnÆt thought about it But even if ten thousand is a lot of people have you seen the most recent reports A conservative estimate of the population of all the bubble cities in the Wildlands and Zones is about 100 million people Compared to all those growing images ten thousand isnÆt too much

Heh DonÆt try and say that with a straight face Based on the work that you are doing those ten thousand images will grow faster and with a better foundation than most Those images are much more likely to become elites They will influence other images Neveah walked over to the stove of her cabin and picked up the pot of stew She brought over a ladle and then carefully poured some into his bowl You are gathering some of the most talented people on Earth right now Randidly You need to handle this carefully

Do you have a solution Randidly asked with a frown

Neveah nodded slowly Part of it is that I wonÆt just stay here and mind your Academy But most importantly you need to leave before it opens Or perhaps even more drastically than that The connection to you or more specifically your image cannot be too strong

Randidly slowly tilted his head to the side What are you suggesting

Theodora Greyman looked at the neat font of the report sitting on her desk Even the looming problem of the impeachment vote was pushed to the side as she scanned through the briefing with wide eyes

Her first response was that this was a joke No one would be this erratic But her desk was covered with similar reports The Order Ducis had made a very public announcement of the upcoming changes to KharonÆs government They were rather considerate of the fact that the Zones were watching the Wandering CityÆs movements very closely

But to make the government random And switch several of the people in charge every two months Theodora drummed her fingers against her desk The tempo of the percussion continued to increase but no answers emerged in her heart There was a very obvious loophole in the arrangement too Is this some sort of trap What the hell is Randidly Ghosthound thinking

There was a knock at the door interrupting TheodoraÆs thoughts She grunted and the door swung partially open An aide poked her head through the doorway and glanced meekly around Uh President Greyman Congress has refused to push the date of the impeachment vote back

The drumming ceased immediately Theodora could barely pry her teeth apart to force the words out For what reason

They they say that as you are not the one participating in the duos tournament the vote will proceed as previously scheduled Your presidency and that tournament are entirely independent events

Theodora suppressed the urge to snarl Really After everything I have done for this Zone They wish to push me out before I can win this for the Zone

ThatÆs fine Thank you Victoria Theodora Greyman responded The aide hurriedly nodded and closed the door with a sharp click perhaps worried about TheodoraÆs temper in response to the news But Theodora remained very still even after the aide had been gone for several minutes Her mind was buzzing carefully turning over possibilities in her mind

The obstinance from congress the duos tournament to name the Earth the strange changes in KharonÆs government They were like strange puzzle pieces in her mind No matter how Theodora arranged them she couldnÆt figure out the larger picture

Finally she stood Touching a painting that hung in the back of her office Theodora opened up a secret passage and descended into the bowels of the building The long corridors were dark but TheodoraÆs Perception allowed her to navigate them flawlessly Besides Theodora Greyman had taken this pathway down into the sub basements quite often in the past week and a half At this point she had every corner memorized

She reached out and brushed her fingers along the wall The cool stone was reassuring Heh if I had known how things would end up I was once the Chairperson of the World Council I was the most powerful woman in the world and now

now I wonder how much I really ever had

Eventually she reached a door that was guarded by two muscular men In the dark passageway it was almost impossible to distinguish their features even with high Perception But Theodora didnÆt pay them any attention They inclined their heads as she walked forward through the door Within the small chamber beyond the door Richter was sitting in his wheelchair with his eyes closed Strange energy filled the surrounding air and most intimidatingly the stone ground beneath him rippled like it was the surface of a pond in a rainstorm

Wary of the energy he was releasing Theodora stopped only a few steps past the threshold and didnÆt proceed deeper Instead her eyes searched RichterÆs face for hints of his waning longevity She was relieved that there were no signs of corruption to be seen there but she didnÆt doubt that the strange corrosion of RichterÆs skin was slowly spreading from his legs to the rest of his body Her eyes went to his torso wondering how much of his pale flesh had been twisted and warped

However Theodora didnÆt dare disturb him So she waited silently

Soon after Theodora arrived Richter opened his eyes Ah itÆs you Still worried about me DidnÆt I tell you that I have it under control

Richter all of the other experiments have resulted in failure Is it strange that I would be concerned about you President Theodora said slowly She did her best to imbue her voice with warmth and authority

Richter chuckled darkly True Plus without me it will be difficult for you to hold onto the seat of the President

TheodoraÆs fingers twisted as though they were squeezing the last breath out of someoneÆs throat but she kept those hands behind her back Richter should not have so casually spoken of such things Yet her emotions seemed to have been devoured by her circumstances Her face was extremely neutral as she replied As it turns out your efforts wonÆt matter at all Congress will not delay the impeachment hearing I suspect even if I were to refuse to attend

That got RichterÆs attention He raised his head slowly studying Theodora Greyman Perhaps To think it has come to this point You have not made many friends with your recent string of actions

You were about to say failures werenÆt you Theodora thought rather distantly Her fingers twisted and wiggled around each other like blind worms searching for food Ironic Considering the energy that currently is devouring your body is exactly one of my actions If I hadnÆt decided on ignoring the words of the Ghosthound at that time

TheodoraÆs expression tightened but then her powerful self control smoothed out those lines Well it is too late now All of my most loyal followers have already been sacrificed Congress has made up its mind in regard to my fate Due to their participation in these experiments the Order Valorem has fractured heh All I have left

Perhaps Theodora replied very calmly In fact she felt rather at peace with herself After struggling for so long and trying to control things from the shadows it was something of a relief to reach out with her own hands to try and defy destiny But I think Congress will find it quite difficult to be rid of me

Richter raised his eyebrows You have a plan

A gamble Theodora Greyman whispered in response

Chapter 1423

Elmer Arrietti shifted uncomfortably as he stood in front of the assembled people his fingers rising naturally to pick at all the dangling bits of commendation that adorned his uniform He was currently decked out in his finest as were the rest of his force as they rose on platforms to Randidly GhosthoundÆs private island Moss spirits frolicked around happily investigating the police officers then zooming off Elmer hoped that the moss spirits didnÆt get so distracted that they forgot to lift the platform

Today would be the day they followed their leader into a Dungeon in order to do some intensive training Everyone was very on edge at the prospect

Of course Elmer appreciated the effort to raise the strength of the police force But after staying up all of the prior night tossing and turning he could only come to one conclusion how this training would end It would likely be polite but the Order Ducis and Kharon would find a reason during this training session to remove Elmer from his position as Commissioner and put someone more powerful in his place

By all accounts it would be a very good decision

Is something wrong Commissioner A patrol officer named Fenlin asked

Elmer cleared his throat Of course not I m mentally preparing myself Heh you have never been personally trained by the Ghosthound have you Let me just say that if you thought the normal Order Ducis training was difficult hehehe well feel free to rely on me if you have any difficulties But always remember that we are all in this together

Elmer was rather surprised at his own mouth as his secret fears somehow morphed through his esophagus into him talking out of his ass Around him the other officers began to whisper excitedly to each other and look at Elmer with eyes shining with respect

To his own misbehaving mouth Elmer was somewhat helpless Considering that he would be stuck with these people for at least six months within the Dungeon admitting now that he had no idea what he was talking about would be awkward He could only shrug his shoulders and straighten his spine squinting upward toward the GhosthoundÆs island that was shrouded in silver mist The more he considered the implications the more conflicted he became regarding the prospect of losing this position

On the one hand he was currently very influential within Kharon That was nice He was included in many of the large scale decisions and was very well paid for his amount of responsibility leading the city His entire force seemed very proud of him and respected his decisions He was seen as a leader

They even dedicated the bowling complex to me Elmer thought to himself

On the other hand Elmer had no time to spend his generous paycheck because he was constantly dashing around the city investigating this or following up on that He had built a report fort on top of his desk Every day he woke up thinking that this would be the day that he encountered someone powerful just wandering the streets maybe someone at Level 60 who would be able to kill him without much effort Any attempts to sleep were swiftly cut short by stress dreams

He knew with the benefits of the System that it was just his imagination but the stress of the job made him peer peevishly at his hairline any time he was in front of the mirror

With a dull thump the large platform carrying all two hundred and sixteen of the police officers and support staff going into the Dungeon crunched up against the side of the GhosthoundÆs island Elmer frowned around to see that they had apparently arrived at a supply depot for the building of the GhosthoundÆs house Tall piles of wood and metal ingots formed a maze around them

Clicking his tongue Elmer strode confidently forward and the rest of the police force followed him Although he hadnÆt been told exactly where to meet the group going into the Dungeon it wasnÆt hard to guess Although there was nothing concrete to sense Elmer could feel a strange weightÆ from directly in front of him That was the presence of the Ghosthound he had no doubt Even if his own image was rather feeble Elmer had been working hard to sharpen his ability to sense other images

Plus the Ghosthound was very easy to sense when he wasnÆt restricting his aura

How did I end up in a situation where I need to walk directly toward such a scary individual haa maybe law enforcement isnÆt the career for me

Although intimidating the GhosthoundÆs island wasnÆt overly large The police contingent skirted around the edges of a pit where workers were digging a foundation for a large complex and arrived at a point where people had already gathered

The Ghosthound nodded slowly as he looked at Elmer with those piercing emerald eyes Good we are all here Everyone itÆs time to go

As everyone began to gather and queue up ElmerÆs eyes widened at some of the individuals that were quickly disappearing under the GhosthoundÆs touch There was about fifty of the GhosthoundÆs strange Riders that went first After that group were the two representatives of the Order Ducis Helen and Ajax Then a bunch of teenagers filed forward their eyes wide as they looked at the Ghosthound in front of them

Elmer watched with sympathy as the first kid the Ghosthound reached for even flinched

Behind the children were another group of people that Elmer instantly recognized Sam the Dawnsmith Nathan the Architect of Souls and Clarissa the Weather Witch Then Dinesh followed after them chatting with a shorter man with an impressive looking mustache When they had all vanished the Ghosthound beckoned and the police force came forward

Elmer was last and when it came to his turn his entire body was stiff with nerves He could feel sweat dripping down his back Without the slightest hesitation the Ghosthound reached out and touched ElmerÆs arm Suddenly Elmer was in a large field with all the other people who had been taken before him The children gathered together in one group while most of the other individuals spread out and looked around with interest The Riders just seemed bored

Several officers hurried up to Elmer Commissioner where is this

Elmer cleared his throat and spoke vaguely The worldÆs a big place ThatÆs why we are here To grow and learn

The surrounding police officers nodded solemnly The adjusted their any minuscule flaws in their uniform that had appeared due to the teleportation and gathered in formation as though they were on a parade ground After struggling for several seconds in front of them Elmer opened his mouth to talk more honestly about his own feelings Seeing the serious expressions of the people around him he felt somewhat like a fraud

Yet just as he was beginning to speak the surroundings changed again The group found themselves no longer on those rolling hills and suddenly they were in a valley next to a gushing river The Ghosthound surveyed the surrounding people and began to speak Alright we are now within the Dungeon Riders check the surrounding area for what sort of monsters we have here Helen Ajax get some training areas started up on that slope Yes

Helen had raised her hand CanÆt I go with the Riders I could use some exercise

The Ghosthound rolled his eyes The monsters in here should be around Level 55 Do you really think you will enjoy hunting them But yes feel free Mr Dugg give some time for the Riders to clear out the valley and then start whatever construction you deem appropriate The kids will be your helpers And kids listen to Mr Dugg alright Even though he looks like that heÆs very good at his job

Even though he looks like that after the career IÆve had The short man with the mustache muttered to himself Then he shook his head and stomped off toward the river The kids glanced at each other and then scurried after the man

Finally the Ghosthound turned to Commissioner Arietti and the other members of KharonÆs police force as for you your training will begin immediately I need to get a good grasp of where you are in terms of image clarity These sessions hum will probably happen every three days Aside from that Helen and Ajax will handle your training Those of you who engage directly with the populace will receive additional combat training while support staff will need to solve some logic puzzles that have been arranged for you Any questions

Everyone shook their heads ElmerÆs skin began to crawl as he realized that everyone else had left the surrounding area Now it was just them and the Ghosthound

For this part The Ghosthound continued All you need to do is stand your ground and attempt to endure my image Ready LetÆs begin

There wasnÆt enough time after he said ready to respond at all Elmer thought in alarm He had been planning on clarifying the task but the Ghosthound moved too quickly he began to smile at KharonÆs police force And then the air around their leader warped

The change was instantaneous One second a slim and athletic looking Randidly Ghosthound was standing in front of them regarding them critically Then the air around him shimmered and his form seemed to become increasingly intense The corner of his smile kept curling upward There was so much weight to his presence that an onlookerÆs eyes were dragged toward him

His hair flashed and lightened to emerald and stirred as though it was being toyed with by a spring breeze His right eye began to glow with an emerald light and his left eye seemed to become a hole in the world Light bent and twisted as though it was literally being drained away by that hungry eye A long dark tail that looked segmented like a spine flicked back and forth behind the Ghosthound The muscles and tendons of his arms seemed to strain and flex His hands shimmered and were covered in warped blackened flesh His toes flexed and dug into the ground as they were also shifting to that strange flesh

The pressure smashed into Elmer with a physical force Elmer Arrietti couldnÆt breathe His entire body locked up one joint at a time until he was a sweaty statue Behind him he could distantly hear his force groan and shudder beneath that abrupt pressure But perhaps because Elmer was at the front his consciousness was directly smashed to the side

Goddamnit it knees just collapse and let me fall over Elmer roared in panic at his unresponsive body A second wave of pressure spread outward from the Ghosthound It seemed KharonÆs creator was laughing hysterically raising his head and daring the world to stand in his way That laughter ripped into ElmerÆs vulnerable thoughts wiping everything away

Then all he could hear was a strange buzzing and all he could feel was sweat trickling down his back in a small stream His eyes remained locked on the Ghosthound in front of him Specifically his gaze was drawn into that intense darkness that grew from his left eye But the more he looked the more Elmer began to understand that he had severely underestimated their leader He had always known the man was powerful he had been at the GhosthoundÆs birthday celebration He had felt the pressure that he could casually unleash

In front of him the GhosthoundÆs skin of his shoulders and torso was translucent Although most of it was covered up by the dark grey armor he wore within the small amount of exposed skin Elmer could see pulsing golden veins His pale neck was filled with thick flexing topaz serpents The GhosthoundÆs smile stretched wider and wider He took a step forward and the pressure that Elmer endured intensified His entire body began to tremble

Randidly Ghosthound wasnÆt powerful because of his images He was powerful because he was his images personified The surrounding air began to howl ElmerÆs muscles continued to spasm As much as he wanted to flee from the powerful figure in front of him he was too scared to move

He was a mouse before a leviathan Randidly Ghosthound was a monster that had once worn human skin

Congratulations You have learned the Skill Image Resistance

Image Resistance Slightly decreases the influence that images have on your body and mind A Skill that only emerges under extreme circumstances Power of own images will slightly increase with Skill Level Amount of resistance increases with Skill Level

Congratulations Your Skill Image Resistance has grown to Level 2

Randidly Ghosthound took an extremely heavy step forward The amount of light swirling around his eye increased Almost the entirety of the left side of his face was obscured by the swirling liquid light and that pitch darkness at the core of it He became a faceless horror stalking forward toward KharonÆs police force

ElmerÆs entire body shuddered The twitches wracking his body became increasingly erratic Behind him he could distantly make out panting and low cries But Elmer didnÆt have any spare attention to focus on the people behind him His own body continued to betray him barely allowing himself to move

Please just

Congratulations Your Skill Image Resistance has grown to Level 3

Congratulations Your Skill Image Resistance has grown to Level 19

ElmerÆs breath was stuck in his throat His constricted organs writhed in agony as his muscles refused to relax It was like his subconscious was locked in a wrestling match with itself Half of him wanted to turn and run away while the other half wanted him to avoid detection by remaining exactly still Neither was able to grasp an advantage Each remained determined to succeed So Elmer stood still and trembled

The Ghosthound took another step forward A strange desperate howling arrived at ElmerÆs ears The very air around this avatar of power seemed to seethe and scream in agony The darkness in the GhosthoundÆs left eye seemed to round until Elmer could see the faintest shimmer of an egg

Congratulations Your Skill Image Resistance has grown to Level 23

After the third step Elmer went unconscious His eyelids fluttered and closed with the most reassuring sense of relief that he had ever experienced

The fourth step woke him back up to find that his traitorous body had remained standing even after he had been knocked out The strange wind that was blowing the GhosthoundÆs hair finally reached Elmer somehow chilling him to the bone and scouring his skin like a raging sandstorm

Small wounds appeared up and down ElmerÆs arms As soon as he bled the liquid of life was whisked away into the deadly maelstrom around the Ghosthound

Congratulations Your Skill Image Resistance has grown to Level 40

Oh Interesting Considering your determination IÆll have Helen design a private training program for you Commissioner Arrietti Good job The GhosthoundÆs voice rumbled He released his image ThatÆs all for today I feel like I have a good understanding of what you are all capable of

Even now Elmer couldnÆt move His muscles had strained themselves to the point that he didnÆt have the strength to relax them He remained locked in place even as the Ghosthound turned and walked away Behind him most of his police force was unconscious unable to help him

Six months

Tears silently coursed down ElmerÆs cheeks

Chapter 1424

Sydney sat at DrakeÆs bedside with her hands folded in her lap Her eyes remained fixed on his still face Since she was able to rescue his familiar from Ace the lines around DrakeÆs eyes and mouth had certainly eased All of the doctors in DonnytonÆs premier hospital believed that his vitals were trending in positive directions According to them these sorts of results were basically unheard of Everyone was astounded by the physical power that was present in DrakeÆs body

Yet now a week after he was supposed to have been fully healedÆ Drake still slept without stirring The wait was difficult It wasnÆt that Sydney had given up hope of a recovery but her expression was becoming increasingly bitter as she observed her subordinate Perhaps I truly waited too long to take action the mental strain the continuous torture it has been years I have failed him

A single tear began to run down SydneyÆs cheeks but a crackle of electricity raced across her face Instantly the small tear was transformed into a small ball of ice Her skin itched at the sudden change in temperature With an irritated expression Sydney reached up and tore the tiny frozen orb off her face and threw it across the ward It clattered across the ground and bounced off the wall

Sydney pressed her eyes shut and did her best to prevent further tears

She sat there for several minutes until she could hear the sounds of footsteps walking down the corridor The very exact timing between the steps immediately revealed the identity of the approaching individual Hope and despair warred in SydneyÆs heart until her familiarÆs image descended and froze everything When the cold was strong enough even emotions succumbed She would be strong She would look with clear eyes no matter what the result was

Regina Northwind pushed open the door and looked at SydneyÆs stiff form She didnÆt smile Instead she walked smartly up to SydneyÆs side and offered her the folder in her hand This is the best that we can do Physically and with regards to his Aether Drake is entirely healthy The cause of his continued coma is likely psychological in nature

Sydney took the folder However due to the heavy level of chill she maintained to suppress her emotions her vision was somewhat fuzzy Although she looked down at the paper in front of her she didnÆt actually see any of the details on the page They were just tight lines and squiggles an unintelligible sprawl that left her feeling helpless

Regina took a step back but didnÆt leave the room Instead her sharp eyes focused on Drake while she waited for Sydney to speak

Finally Sydney thawed enough to clear her throat Do you have any ideas what might be going on

just a partial theory Regina admitted readily And honestly itÆs somewhat of a stretch but as the leader of East End IÆm sure you are aware that the bond between an individual and their elemental familiar is unusual but not unique It shares some characteristics with the Soulbound connection that some individuals in Zone 32 maintain to this day

Sydney nodded and Regina continued to speak The marked difference of course is that a contract with a familiar can be terminated unilaterally by either party I suspect the problem currently with Drake is that both he and his familiar were presented with circumstances in the past year that would have made it logical for them to sever their bond Yet neither was willing to abandon their partner They both attempted to protect each other So their bond endured but I believe they have become somewhat numb to external stimulus

We need a way to reach them then Sydney whispered Regina nodded

After a few more minutes at looking at DrakeÆs sleeping face Sydney stood Thank you for your help doctor IÆll think of something

Regina Northwind bowed slightly to Sydney If you need anything we are here

Then Sydney left the hospital her expression becoming increasingly stormy and vicious as she swept out of the buildings and out under the cloudy sky Snow flurries drifted downward subtly spinning in SydneyÆs direction It was time that she confronted the man who had caused it all Roy had been there with Drake at the World Crater and had somehow convinced him to take the personal boost in Stats rather than giving an experience buff to Earth Sydney would find out what that sick piece of shit had done to her subordinate

And then she would make him pay just as she had done with Ace

J j just a moment Miss Helen The police commissioner squeaked raising a hand for Helen to slow her assault while the other hand attempted to wipe blood out of his eyes

Helen ignored his panicked cry Would an enemy listen to such a request on the battlefield Of course not Helen might not care either way how strong this police commissioner would become but she certainly cared that it was widely known that he was being personally trained by her As such she made sure to shower him with affectionÆ

She had a reputation to uphold

A crimson wave of blood exploded outward from HelenÆs body It impacted the partially blinded commissioner in the chest He barely managed a yelp before he was tossed down the slope to impact a tall oak tree His body crashed through the canopy and then rolled down to thump against the ground It was clear from his dazed expression that the current training session would need to be paused until the man could recover

Clicking her tongue in distaste Helen turned away from her trainee and began to stretch It had been one week since the group had come into the Dungeon and Helen was becoming a bit restless As Randidly had suggested when they arrived the monsters within the Dungeon were numerous but none were so powerful that Helen felt even the tiniest spark of excitement as she hunted them Besides the Riders appeared to be having an unofficial competition to see who could clear the most monsters and greatly resented the fact that Helen had been encroaching on their turf So she could only pass the time with her own training and that of this rather unreliable commissioner

After all the prospect of trying to teach children or weaklings was even less appetizing to her

It was a small blessing that Ajax had taken over the training of most of the force but that just meant that Helen had more free time to become bored Some of it she spent watching the other people who came into the Dungeon but she found no joy in watching children learn to build mud buildings nor did Helen wish to listen to Sam Nathan and Gertrude excitedly talk about these keystonesÆ they were developing for Kharon Academy

Helen growled and as always happened when she was at her most annoyed and her gaze turned up toward the peak on which Randidly had set himself up

Even if she hadnÆt seen him physically go there it was quite easy to locate him The Ghosthound was constantly training his powerful images up on that peak seeming to seek a way to maintain all three images at once without compromising their power Helen had been rather confused by this training at the beginning but as the heaviness surrounding that peak grew more palpable she began to feel quite a lot of fear for what Randidly Ghosthound might become in the future

As it was Helen marveled at the way that RandidlyÆs images slowly spread out and formed a constant seal on the surrounding area The weaker individuals wouldnÆt notice it but to an experienced image user like Helen she could clearly feel how activating an image was just a little bit more difficult than it would be in normal circumstances RandidlyÆs domineering images spread out and warped the world to his will and the rest of them had to pay the price

The most intimidating part was that the effect was cumulative each day it became a little bit harder to utilize images that werenÆt related to the Ghosthound Helen couldnÆt help but be amused by the commissionerÆs bleak response when he noticed how little he had improved each day But each day saw him restrained by the increasing weight of ambient image It was honestly rather impressive that the man was improving faster than the restraint was It proved he was worthy of experiencing her training

Still Helen frowned up at the peak I planned on waiting until we had developed a while in here before making trouble but if you insist on making this area so beneficial to you IÆm left with no choice

Leaving the commissioner mumbling to himself and staggering to his feet Helen began to walk up toward the peak of the Ghosthound As she neared the base of that mountain the imageÆs reverberations grew more intense But Helen raised her chin and marched up the winding mountain path Then about halfway up the mountain the surrounding scrub trees that had hardily rooted themselves began to show signs that they were withering and dying from exposure Their leaves were brown and their branches drooped as though they couldnÆt handle the weight of the images in the air

Yet beyond that only a hundred meters below the area where Randidly had settled the trees seemed to come back to life But these trees were strange Their branches grew long and they seemed to sway in the wind The leaves on these trees were a deep green that produced an almost bell like tinkling as they rustled In addition the leaves were so thick that the area around the trunk of these trees was obscured with thick shadows