LoRG 4

Remembering the attack Dunn had unleashed when he actually gripped his sword made Randidly shiver Still it wasnÆt like it was all bad thatÆs one more piece of evidence for where I sit in the Nexus hierarchy Plus Sulfur has been torturing himself due to the fact I wasnÆt able to wear him for the attack So heÆs practically begged that I help shift his form to match to the Grim ChimeraÆs form

Beyond any of these petty benefits there was another large reason for celebration right now two days after the Velio Dunn attack RandidlyÆs heart was warm even if he was currently on strict orders to rest

Are you cold A sharp eyed Vualla asked a Randidly as she spotted his shiver from across the apartment She quickly produced a blanket from her interspatial ring and draped it across him RandidlyÆs mouth twitched as he spotted a bloodstain on the rather threadbare blanket that Vualla had offered him it seemed that like Randidly Vualla didnÆt spend any effort collecting material positions Seemingly oblivious to RandidlyÆs thoughts Vualla continued to speak Is there anything else you need IÆm not extremely skilled in any domestic arts but I want you to recover as quickly as possible

IÆm really fine Randidly pointed out If you wanted to spar IÆm prepared ItÆs just my Fatepiece thatÆs still a bit shaken up

She had shown up suddenly using her credentials as a member of the Xyrt Brigade to get onto the Rally Station She had even somehow managed to capture some of the raw Nether from the Fifth Cohort bringing it to Randidly as a gift because she understood how he wanted to study Nether

Her expression had instantly shifted when she had found him and examined his state Even if there were no visible wounds Vualla had taken in his turbulent emotions and instantly understood that something had happened They had been apart but their connection had snapped back into place instantly There was an implicit resonance between them that was partially the exchanged Aether and Nether and partially something primal Through that bridge Vualla had glimpsed a bit of the circumstance

Through that same bridge Randidly saw VuallaÆs honest response And surging from the depths of her soul Randidly had briefly witnessed a baleful force of annihilation With his newfound attentiveness to emotion he could feel the sharp teeth of her rage snap at this world

Strangely it was one of the most touching displays he had ever seen

Of course as she now sat on his lap in his apartment Vualla ignored RandidlyÆs claims that he was prepared to spar She settled sideways across RandidlyÆs blanket covered lap sliding her arms naturally around his neck During her time training with the Xyrt Brigade she had let her hair grow out Her azure curls flowed down over her shoulders to the middle of her back like a sedate stream Her clear azure eyes were locked onto RandidlyÆs emerald ones as she seemed to measure him

Through her eyes Randidly could sense how much fury she possessed Fury toward the Nexus for destroying so many lives and the fickle nature of this world that Randidly had almost been destroyed the day before she would have seen him RandidlyÆs heart began to beat faster and his features softened

I know Vualla said quietly She leaned forward and laid her forehead against RandidlyÆs shoulder When she released a deep sigh of exhaustion Randidly felt her warm breath on his throat I know that you managed to survive this time We are just too far away from our goal I donÆt want to lose you Not now that IÆve finally found you Across space and time

Randidly meant to reach up and pat VuallaÆs head but he abruptly realized his left arm was still melted to nothing inside the collapsed tunnel of the Rally Station He had begun making a new blueprint with Neveah but that would take a few more days before they used their polished Engraving abilities So he grimaced and used his other hand to reach up and squeeze VuallaÆs shoulder

For a few seconds he simply savored how warm she was They could worry about the impending crisis later For now they simply reminded each other of their connection As their proximity continued the fidelity of their connection increased

Without quite knowing how he was so certain Randidly knew what Vualla wanted He squeezed her shoulder and then brought his fingers across to her chin and nudged her upward And when she relaxed and looked up to meet his gaze Randidly kissed her

Her lips were soft but what he mostly noticed were her hands They were clamped around his shoulders squeezing as though she was deathly afraid of letting go even for a second Their kiss shifted Vualla angling her body a bit away from Randidly

His hand went back to her shoulder and squeezed as their kiss grew more intense IÆm here

Her hands remained tight on his shoulders as she pressed herself against him You might not want to but they might make us leave one day

On an unspoken cue they began removing the obstacles between them Vualla ripped her threadbare blanket to pieces with obvious glee At this moment in this ostentatious penthouse apartment they had each other within arms reach the experience was heady

Both were so filled with fire that despite their desires to linger near each they would return to the dangers of the Nexus They would not compromise on their goals So these precious chances couldnÆt be missed

For a while after that Randidly didnÆt think about anything at all

Lady IellayaÆs eyes blazed as she thrust her right arm forward Her black feathers were flared outward as her limb unleashed a tide of darkness at the chest of Dmitri Qiolo Apep the Peregrine Serpent spread its wings will all of the smothering power of a torrential downpour that bordered on sleet QioloÆs image was extinguished by that gushing wave of force In its wake there were only scales and black feathers and swirling darkness remaining in the surroundings

Despite the fact that his image was destroyed Qiolo quickly recovered Perhaps because of his history of being crushed he was surprisingly resourceful in bad situations He sprang sideways narrowly avoiding the rustling charge of Lady IellayaÆs image Then he planted his feet and raised his arms A naked iron blade seemed to flicker life above him Qiolo seized the implement and dashed forward heading to strike at Lady Iellaya

She shook her head almost sadly The offensive Peregrine Serpent that had flashed past Qiolo vanished and then reappeared its body curled tightly around Lady Iellaya in a defensive posture Its eyes gleamed in the darkness Grimacing Qiolo tried to roll to the side but he could not avoid the serpentÆs tail from that distance He was smashed back drowned in a wave of raven feathers that clung to him weakening him further

He crashed against the ground but rolled right back onto his feet He spun the sword adeptly and cut his way through the flow of feathers Yet small amounts of inky darkness began to stain his limbs

Just as Lady Iellaya smiled sweetly and prepared to finish the test Qiolo raised his arms in surrender The serpent hissed in her ear that she should strike and devour this weakling anyway but Lady Iellaya ignored that voice The image she had received from the Class Randidly made for her despite being quite powerful was ultimately short sighted in its decisions But she couldnÆt suppress the unwilling rumble of her stomach as though she missed a meal

Gradually the darkness receded The raven feathers shriveled and vanished eventually taking with them those inky stains Dmitri Qiolo looked at Lady Iellaya with quite a bit of fear in his face Lady Iellaya didnÆt even bother to suppress her smirk So are you convinced

Yes You are truly powerful The former Disciplinary Magistrate could only shake his head at her oppressive image superiority Yet despite the fact that his former image had been broken he still had demonstrated a very solid foundation One that convinced Lady Iellaya she wasnÆt mistaken for offering him a job

His features furrowed as he carefully considered his next words I am convinced you are a worthy superior to follow But can you truly arrange for some additional Aether to be given to my home planet

It is within our abilities Lady Iellaya nodded as she walked across the training area to be near the man in front of her She obviously wasnÆt going to be too specific about this ability lest she reveal the astound capabilities of Randidly Ghosthound It was enough for Qiolo to assume they would simply misuse some other Aether allotment to improve his home planetÆs situation

Yet as they stood an armÆs length away from each other she couldnÆt help but hesitate

Even now after seeing his image Lady Iellaya had a few reservations about the man in front of her She didnÆt want him to sacrifice his potential to her because that would be detected down the line she needed him independent But because of the fact that he would be an independent existence she had forced him through these series of spars Each had left her unsatisfied they gave her no more insight into his personality than she already possessed

Of course it was also a good exercise for her image and body And in the meantime Octavius Shrike had begun pulling some strings within the NLC to find out information on Dmitri Qiolo But Lady Iellaya knew that such information would likely not sway her opinion

Lady Iellaya received a message When she saw it was from Military High Command her expression turned serious She was required to report immediately to the observation room Something had happened in the Fifth Cohort

Get yourself a clean pair of pants Lady Iellaya said tersely She narrowed her eyes and looked at Qiolo There were large holes in his attire after being ravaged by her image This can finally be considered a pass IÆll arrange for your planet to receive additional Aether you should be able to verify the change by the end of the week From now on you are my second For now just observe and followed me Can you handle that

Dmitri Qiolo looked at Lady Iellaya for four longs seconds Then he nodded You wonÆt regret this

Lady Iellaya snorted A lot of people had told her what she would and would not regret in her life Generally they ended up being wrong But it is true that most of that impression was formed through the early parts of my life So many people told me that I would regret the day that I had chosen them as a foe heh

If I had a penny for every grave I dug for pompous fools

With a wicked smile on her face Lady Iellaya quickly prepared herself to head to Military High Command Three minutes later both she and Qiolo were wearing freshly pressed uniforms as they moved through the Nexus Ways toward their destination

As could be expected by the seriousness of the message the guard post was a mess as large numbers of people rushed in and out of Military Headquarters Aides were dashing back and forth through the hallways as Lady Iellaya and Qiolo walked quickly along the gauntlet of portraits Qiolo looked around with a heavy gaze but stayed closed to Lady Iellaya as they cut directly through the press of bodies When aides drifted too close in their haste Lady Iellaya felt no qualms about releasing a sharp pulse of her image to send them stumbling out of the way

The duo took a sharp right near the middle of the building and headed down the stairs to the lower bunker The observation deck was kept below grounds where it could tap more directly into the Nexus Ways for its information When they pushed open the double doors to their destination they found a tight bunch of high ranking military officers waiting for them looking with concern at a fluctuating pattern displayed within an Aether array

The room was relatively small despite the fact that twenty soldiers were stationed here full time monitoring the heavy Aether scaffolding that supported the Nexus The walls were lined with tightly packed desks while there was a central display between them to bring up the important information

The one Commandant in the room the featureless humanoid Commandant Larian glanced at Lady Iellaya as she arrived and then turned back to the chattering group that surrounded the central display area He unleashed a deep vibration instantly silencing the others Alright we are all here I think itÆs time to talk about what this means

All eyes in the room turned to a single individual

The soldier manipulating the Aether array instantly went pale and took a deep gulp Lady Iellaya frowned at him for a second before being able to place the low ranking soldier As the grunt who had noticed the anomaly in the Nexus Ways and reported it he was given the opportunity to speak in front of the senior officers It was clear that the tension rolling off this powerful individual was doing him no favors She almost pitied him Ah I was at m my normal post when I saw

He gestured helplessly at the Aether display unable to find enough Willpower to keep talking While the senior officer responsible for the observation deck quietly led the trembling cadet away the Commandant vibrated again As most of you are aware the Nether forces have been seeking to establish these Nether Nodes within their territory The Xyrt Brigade has been hard at work raiding and destroying these but we havenÆt been able to determine their function and therefore have let some of our zeal lapse in recent weeks

Plus the Xyrt Brigade specialists needed a break Unfortunately that gave the Nether the opening to do this The Commandant gestured to the display Lady Iellaya frowned as she tried to take in the confusing details of what she was seeing The display covered the whole of the Fifth Cohort which was a complex network of worlds and the Nexus Ways Of course the Nexus used the System to relocate most of these worlds to reproduced environments around itself meaning that they were much more closely packed than they had been previously

But there were still almost a hundred thousand worlds in the Fifth Cohort With some failing to even make it to the Calamities and therefore being moved further the final map was relatively spotty But amongst these lines of white and green lines to delineate the Nexus Ways the tiny black orbs were rather eye catching In addition it now appeared that the black orbs were arranged in a particular pattern

are they attempting to break space again As they did with the Great Rift The Highest Commander of the Nexus garrison asked Lady Iellaya could already hear the rising panic in his voice Likely the man had the position for hundreds of years and the thought of actual battle left him fearful

Commandant Larian shook his featureless head No After struggling with the corrosion of the Great Rift for so long weÆve now taken many steps to prevent such an event from occurring ever again Space is reinforced across the Nexus These Nether Nodes would not be able to accomplish that even with a Nether King at the helm

But Lady Iellaya turned around A young woman with her white hair up in a ponytail walked into the room She was very conspicuously not wearing a military uniform although there was a metallic patch over her right eye This Nether guy is smart HeÆs not trying to break the space just bend it Those nodes are already beginning to warp and twist the Fifth Cohort

Who is this An officer cut in glancing between the young woman and the Commandant

It was difficult to read the ranking officerÆs expression but Lady Iellaya could instantly tell something was off It took Commandant Larian several seconds to reply to the question this is a specialist in Nether phenomenon that we called in to examine the working

Shit Lady Iellaya blinked It must seriously be bad if they let a civilian in to this meeting And judging by her cocky expression

I work for the Engraving Guild IÆm Pyllipia Bounafferre The NLC dog flashed a rather charming smile before clearing her throat lightly She walked forward to stand at the center of the room As I was saying If this continues as I suspect the space of the Fifth Cohort will begin twisting inward

Why Lady Iellaya asked sharply

Pyllipia beamed over at Lady Iellaya Well because our strong defenses against space being broken means that there is a very powerful connection to the surrounding space So after the Nether King begins folding the space he has taken from us

The Commandant turned to look at the projected map Hostilities have continued but battle lines have gradually stabilized The Nether hasnÆt been able to expand since Commandant Wick began exerting his influence in the Fifth Cohort But we havenÆt committed too large a force to attacking the Nether either We were waiting for the recruits to finish their training

But it looks like we wonÆt have that luxury much longer Even if we donÆt attack the Nether King intends to drag the surrounding space into his domain

Chapter 1548

Are you sure youÆve managed to completely heal I havenÆt given you much time to rest Vualla said with a grin Randidly just rolled his eyes and raised his massive left arm He hadnÆt remade his metal limb yet but SulfurÆs transformation had been supercharged by an enthusiastic thumping by Vualla over the past three days His left arm wasnÆt physically present which would drastically lower the offensive power of his left arm but the armor would be able to handle the defensive actions even without physical support

It was a handicap but not a large one

They were standing in the massive ditch in the Southern portion of RandidlyÆs training area Considering both of their strength they needed a space at least this big in order to spar safely Plus he had an ulterior motive for sparring with Vualla out in the open the recruits were busy being put through another sadistic round of training by Helen but they would hopefully be able to sense his images

Randidly had detected in the Nether that the recruits had been uneasy knowing that a powerful figure had attacked their Head Drill Sergeant and eliminated over a dozen other Drill Sergeants in the process Their hesitance noticeably slowed their rate of improvement according to HelenÆs reports So Randidly wanted to send a message Hopefully feeling his movements would get them back on track

Vualla shrugged and waved the massive gauntlets that she wore on both bands Then her azure eyes blazed as she released her image The details of her person seemed to dim as a thin metal exoskeleton spread to cover her entire body The dark blue metal seemed to blur the details of her features aside from her cascade of azure hair and her glowing eyes

She became a navy shade with azure accents

Vualla planted her foot into the ground and accelerated forward without even waiting for Randidly to deploy his own image Vualla was nothing if not direct

And she was more than willing to punish him for not taking this spar seriously

Randidly moved his Nether Nebula first feeling his sense of time slowing down as he savored the possibilities within his own physical form The vortex of darkness began to churn in his chest To be honest he had spent the last few days truly recovering He had cooked meals with Vualla and walked through the bamboo forest To his relief his difficulty in using the PhilosopherÆs Key had noticeably dropped although Vualla pointed out to him that repeatedly using the Fatepiece was probably hindering the healing process But at this rate he should be healed before he went to the frontlines

RandidlyÆs right hand flexed

Military High Command appeared to be busy with something referenced by Lady IellayaÆs most recent report but Randidly didnÆt concern himself with that His own capabilities were his primary concern He needed to grow stronger

VuallaÆs presence meant that he hadnÆt pushed himself much in regards to his recent discovery of the alternate ways that Nether could flow but just being aware of this face opened his eyes to several possibilities As his Nether Nebula began to spin more quickly and his four grey bubbles stirred in the core region he could alternate between flows through his body to spread out some of the accumulated Nether significance Some of the suffocating feeling in his Nether was eased leaving him with only the potency

Vualla had crossed almost half the distance to Randidly blurring forward as she somehow continued to accelerate even though she hadnÆt touched the ground a second time RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed in disbelief There is something about that metal covering her body itÆs able to reverse the influence of inertia What a monster

Of course Randidly wasnÆt going to stop back from a direct physical confrontation

His three images surged to the forefront of his mind The Grim Chimera became the physical form Yggdrasil became the heart and veins and the Stillborn Phoenix was his left eye and his very real desire to overturn the established order of this world Sulfur hummed with pleasure as the three images flared to life adding some passive pressure to the armor

RandidlyÆs muscles bulged with force He thrust Acri forward all his power focused into the tip of that spear to meet Vualla

Grit of an Ascendant Bane Yyrwood Body of Yggdrasil Cosmic Necessity

Congratulations Your Skill Grit of an Ascendant Bane has grown to Level 378

The ground beneath RandidlyÆs planted feet shattered and cracked But VuallaÆs glowing eyes widened when the two of their bodies smashed into each other she was knocked slightly backward Still there wasnÆt even the slightest hesitation as her physical power was overmatched by Randidly She lightly touched the ground with a foot and spun behind him with a graceful pivot

Randidly followed with just as much poise and with barred deadly intent

Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes The Tug of Tragic Silence The Inscrutable Mien of Yggdrasil

Randidly spun around and raised Acri on a new line As the Tug of Tragic Silence came from behind Vualla and pressed her lightly from the back to restrict her movements Randidly exploded forward with Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes Due to how close they were to each other the impact was almost immediate The holy and purifying light of Yggdrasil spread outward sizzling against her exoskeleton

VuallaÆs azure eyes narrowed

Congratulations Your Skill The Tug of Tragic Silence has grown to Level 238

A ripple ran through VuallaÆs metal form and the force from RandidlyÆs attack was somehow shunted off to the left The muddy ground ruptured and blasted upward in a ten meter area but somehow Vualla had escaped harm Fistfuls of heavy mud were thrown back toward where they were standing but both of them had leapt apart from each other

The metal exoskeleton on VuallaÆs body shifted further obscuring her features to the point that she was just a dark blue shadow with an azure trail behind her head Randidly pursed her lips Heh Sulfur looks like you two are slightly similar in your ability to manipulate force but to think she can also redirect foreign attacks is there a limit to this ability

Both fighters shot forward at the same time Randidly couldnÆt wait to figure out the limits of VuallaÆs defenses Portions of the VuallaÆs metal gauntlets pulsed and began to expand Destructive forces concentrated in her palms It seemed that she was done fighting him with the kid gloves something began to stir in her wake

The barest hint of the true shape of VuallaÆs image began to reveal itself like her current form was just an obstruction to true perfection She was the moon passing in front of the sun becoming a blinding eclipse RandidlyÆs heart began to pound as he couldnÆt control his surging excitement

Yea this is what I need Randidly grinned widely as both Acri and Sulfur joined him in his joyous physical revelry of a well matched battle

VuallaÆs foot looked like it lightly tapped the ground mid dash but a wave of mud exploded outward RandidlyÆs vision was completely blocked by the explosion of soil but he only grinned Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil cut through the wave of mud like swiss cheese ripping through to strike at the interior space Thick thorned roots whipped and coiled like the edges of a buzzsaw through the middle But of course Vualla had vanished

Randidly looked up and activated Chimeric Impunity with full force as she smashed into the ground in front of him unleashing a devastating wave of force that just passed harmlessly through his ethereal body She must have jumped up hit one of the drifting rocks in the loose atmosphere about them and immediately shot back downward

Not just inertia then She must be able to affect friction for her to do such violent movements and not release and signals RandidlyÆs right hand snaked outward at VuallaÆs crouched form even as his fingers began to glow cherry red Unfortunately Chimeric Impunity also meant that Randidly lost his grip on his weapon

But his Skill had earned him a chance for a sudden strike and Randidly was going to take it

Congratulations Your Skill Pernicious Fang of the Shade has grown to Level 299

Vualla twisted and avoided the blow With her exoskeleton sliding through the air she swept her leg around to knock RandidlyÆs feet out from under him He slammed his left arm down in front of the kick and blocked it directly sending VuallaÆs leg rebounding harmlessly Sulfur cooed in pleasure as it absorbed the brutalizing force Randidly released a breath that was pure steam as his body began to heat up

Instead of retreating again Vualla hopped to her feet and stepped forward in wide sliding steps Her fists cut high low and then high again as she unleashed a potent punch combination Randidly ducked under the first one but had to grunt as the second slammed against his stomach He used Hallucinations of the Bloodless Heart to blast the finishing straight to the side with a burst of gravity

His hair was blasted away from his face just by the force of her punchÆs passage

Meanwhile Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold energy began to congregate in his swirling abyss of a left eye His vision began turning strange as he used that Skills power to peer beyond the veil of the physical Everything was flattened allowing Randidly to observe the subtle movements of energy and image in the surroundings

To his surprise he almost had to squint as he looked at Vualla Her image was near blinding Heh looks like sheÆs only getting started Well then

Congratulations Your Skill Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold has grown to Level 347

RandidlyÆs upper tail snaked out and lashed against VuallaÆs neck earning only sparks as it encountered her tough exoskeleton From the shape of her image moving in response Randidly unleashed a laugh of pure joy VuallaÆs image was more complicated than he had thought Not only was the armor across her body serving as a protection but it was also constraining her image somewhat

Beneath that exterior something was building

A ripple of that image spread out with enough force that it dispersed RandidlyÆs momentum completely A split second later he used Chimeric Impunity to cut through the space behind him and distance himself about ten meters away from Vualla In the next second her coiled image finally cracked through her metal exoskeleton

CRACCCCCCCkk

The mud around her was annihilated Suddenly Vualla was standing on a thin pillar of stone above a hole a sphere around her had been completely blasted to oblivion Her image faded allowing Randidly to see her grimacing over at him You always were too sharp for your own good But this is enough of a warm up I think

Randidly barred his teeth but there was no joy in the expression Revelation energy continued to let him witness her image Similar to Sulfur Vualla appeared to be able to absorb the kinetic energy directed at her But she seemed then capable fo discharging it into her surroundings with devastating force When combined with her ability to accelerate rather freely and somehow alter the trajectory of physical attacks

ItÆs unfortunate to admit it but why the hell does it seem like Vualla has spent the last few months speccing herself to crush me Randidly grumbled inwardly His Skill Levels had continued to improve but a lot of his growth had see him pouring his gains into his powerful body There was likely a limit to how much force Vualla could actually absorb and manage but that would be facing her image directly

In comparison Randidly was irritated to think that Vualla might be an easy opponent for someone like Kaan Swacc who could counter her image with his metal pyramids

Still that didnÆt mean that Randidly was completely without any recourse Earlier his Inscrutable Mien of Yggdrasil had inflicted some light damage on Vualla Direct images would be more effective at hurting her than his strikes had been

As Vualla began to accelerate the enormous phantom of the World Tree manifested in the surrounding space Its branches and leaves covered the entire sky And deep within the shadows of that canopy a hateful shadow began to stir

Today Exodus would exact its price

Chapter 1549

It was a draw Vualla said with the wide smile of a woman who was very confident in her victory She reached behind her head and took a few seconds to tie her azure hair up into a ponytail After their spar finished she was flushed and bright eyed seemingly ready to go for another session

You are a monster Heh is this what people think when they fight me

Randidly who was covered in dust and laying on the ground waved his hand in irritation at VuallaÆs beaming complexion DonÆt give me that shit We both know you would have won if we had pushed it all the way to the edge

Yes but you are being a sore loser so I was giving you an easy out Vualla chortled to herself She crouched next to Randidly and smiled down at him with warm eyes that began to melt his annoyance Then her gaze began to wander across his body She licked her lips I hope you know IÆll still be attracted to you even if IÆm stronger than you Especially with this armor mm I love how yummy your bare midsection looks

Randidly waved his hand again but he couldnÆt keep a smile from tugging at the corners of his mouth Truthfully he wasnÆt all that upset about his loss You know itÆs not that ItÆs just I want to be stronger Especially after being so thoroughly thrashed by Velio Dunn ItÆs felt like IÆve improved so much enough to fight against the mid tier fighters in the Nexus But after meeting him

IÆm in the Xyrt Brigade which is the most powerful group in the Nexus Vualla pointed out while her eyes continued to drag over his midsection And IÆve been doing nothing but training like crazy for the past few months PLUS the only reason my image has been able to grow so effectively is that youÆve been supporting me from the shadows I couldnÆt have gotten to this point on my own Besides itÆs not like you didnÆt have a few trump cards remaining right When you were meeting my eye at the end as I was smashing my fists against you you smelled like danger

Randidly growled in disappointment even though Vualla was right He hadnÆt mobilized the grey bubbles in his Nether Nebula that had been so effective in the final confrontation against Kaan Swacc It was a method that might very well be able to overwhelm VuallaÆs force diffusion In addition he hadnÆt attempted to use All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth as he was still tinkering with the shape of the image So it wasnÆt like he had exhausted every option available to him

But they had compared base specs and VuallaÆs were slightly higher As her acceleration continued to escalate over the course of their spar she was practically unstoppable

Besides Vualla continued as she stood and offered Randidly a hand up He took it and she pulled him to his feet and slid her arms around his waist As a backdrop for the sudden moment of romantic embrace the muddy ditch had been turned into a smoldering ravine The observation made the corner of RandidlyÆs mouth twitch

Vualla tilted her head to the side and looked up at him YouÆve focused on your attention on your ancillary abilities you havenÆt been pouring as much attention into just beefing up your images Obviously youÆve improved since fighting at the Great Rift but There is a reason that images are the main focus in the Nexus Images are powerful

True Randidly admitted as he allowed his hand to wander down VuallaÆs hips

She snorted and playfully spun away Ah not today This is a prize for the winner of our spar unfortunately

Rolling his eyes Randidly brushed the mud sweat and blood off of his torso as well as he could with just his right hand Most of it had been earned toward the end of that fight while Vualla displayed increasingly overwhelming acceleration Her speed had pinned him down and forced him on the defensive Ignoring the other issues Randidly asked a genuine question he had been wondering about Do you have any advice you learned as part of the Xyrt Brigade that can help me IÆve seen plenty of examples but IÆve very rarely received any guidance

Actually yes Vualla took RandidlyÆs arm as though she had completely forgotten about her previous coyness and the two of them began walking back toward RandidlyÆs apartment in the Northern sector Well not much advice but some understanding that might help you when you work on your images Up to the point where you are now the power of the image comes from specificity and clarity right Well beyond that there are three tiers where you are aiming for exactly the opposite YouÆve already achieved the first but itÆs a matter of mindset You must learn to trick with your image

Fool an observer into doubting his senses Fool the universe into doubting its laws Fool the self step onto the Pinnacle Those are the phrases repeated ad nauseum by the Xyrt BrigadeÆs trainers

Fool the self step onto the Pinnacle huh Randidly muttered to himself For a method to reach the vaunted heights of the Nexus it sounded like ambiguous nonsense

Vualla waved her outside hand rather lightly as she squeezed RandidlyÆs arm ThatÆs the goal yes But only two images have managed to make it to the Pinnacle since the Nexus was created itÆs not an easy Path so donÆt get your hopes up For now you should start thinking about how your images can negate the universeÆs laws Learning to mess with friction and inertia is how I grew to be this heh well overwhelmingly stunning So if you figure your own middle finger to this universe

RandidlyÆs lips twisted into a smile That final blitz of attacks that was the first time in a long time that IÆve actually had trouble following punches ThatÆs how quick you were So I suppose you could consider me stunned

Stop you are making me blush Vualla teased She fluttered her eyelashes at Randidly Then she took off her heavy gauntlets and allowed them to fall to the ground Unencumbered she slid her arm through RandidlyÆs once more Now as the victor of our spar I demand that you take me for a walk to the training area I simply love the way your cute little recruits shiver and avoid eye contact when you walk by

Ha Randidly snorted But he allowed himself to be pulled forward by Vualla Her hair cascaded down her shoulder and brushed against his arm Sulfur separated itself from his torso and non existent left arm and plopped onto the ground with VuallaÆs gauntlets Acri was already using its sharp head to nudge the gauntlets over intent on investigating these powerful pieces of equipment

As they climbed up out of the remnants of the enormous ditch Randidly glanced behind him and unleashed a pinch of Mana Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil became his rapid response landscaping crew large and thorny roots pushing dirt around to turn the apocalyptic battlefield into a normal pit of mud He couldnÆt help but notice that the ditch was a little deeper than it used to be they had literally annihilated some of the ground during their fight

But it would be usable should the Overseers require it

Randidly spared a small glance for Vualla as they continued forward SheÆs truly strong and she makes an interesting point Deceiving the universe overturning the laws with image heh maybe thatÆs the area I should pursue in regards to the Grim ChimeraÆs final Skill It somehow manages to fool space and time

While Randidly steadily began to brainstorm about his Grim Chimera image the duo moved toward the training area Exhausted grunts and the demanding shouts of the Overseers filled the air Helen and Heiffal were busy leading a physical fitness exercise but the presence of Randidly and Vualla almost immediately drew the attention of the recruits They began sprinting forward despite their significant weights and suppressions against them unwilling to attract RandidlyÆs attention by being the slowest performer But what Randidly found the most shocking was that he basically had to do nothing to be an intimidating force in their eyes these days

He had been almost instantly replaced in a manner that was somewhat insulting Randidly could read the recruitÆs emotions the brightly smiling Vualla next to him injected them in an even more crippling fear than all of his aloof cruelty put together To the recruits the playful twinkle in her eyes appeared to be hellfire

Vualla deliberately slowed their pace so the two of them stopped right outside the ring in which the recruits were struggling If anything their deliberate pauses made the recruits throw themselves more frantically into the action of exercise But through the press of bodies Randidly caught sight of two individuals who were performing remarkably better than the others

Their eyes were glazed with exhaustion but they had been going at the frantic pace the entire time Their shoulders shuddered with their heaving breaths as their bodies struggled to keep up with the physical demands placed on them And as the other desperate recruits accelerated so did they a tiny bit DiOrtho Vant and Raymund Ballast continued their idiotic training regimen so their issues with images could be adjusted

According to the earlier schedule they should be in RandidlyÆs Soulskill now However his own injuries had delayed the schedule somewhat Looking at them now it was clear that they were almost ready Nether continued to linger in their bodies preparing for a breakthrough

Helen walked slowly over to where Vualla and Randidly were standing and offered them a short bow Then she turned away from the recruits so they couldnÆt see her expression and raised her hands to her cheeks Her face eased with the soft edges of pure bliss Ah truly I admire your mm dedication to the recruits training Miss Vualla Randidly here stopped by so regularly and possesses none of your flair for motivation

Please Miss Helen IÆm simply an observer VuallaÆs smile grew even wider as she shared a malicious glance with Helen Those sparks of hell flame shot between the two women Without your instruction my assistance with motivation would be completely useless heheh itÆs so rare to see such single minded determination from recruits You truly must have a gift

While the two women continued to chortle Randidly said a silent prayer for the mental health of the recruits But he was quickly distracted by a message from Lady Iellaya

Military High Command finally unfucked itself There will be a large scale mobilization of forces coming from every frontline to the Fifth Cohort considering the recent activities of the Nether In addition a second wave of recruitment is going to happen on a much more expedited time schedule

IÆll be heading to the Fifth Cohort as soon as I send this message Apparently the occurrences there are fairly disturbing

Stay on the Fifth Cohort Rally Station as much as you can The Commandants will protect you from threats but donÆt for a second believe that they are on your side Something is going on at headquarters it feels like someone cut a deal to the NLC after the corruption allegations I bet someone paid a kingÆs ransom to keep those details from leaking The report should come out soon so we might be able to tell more then

Stay sharp

Randidly scanned the message a few extra times gradually beginning to frown He quickly sent back a response to Lady Iellaya to confirm that they would remain here for the full three months She sent back an affirmation but also added the extra warning of being careful of the Engraving Guild

Randidly rubbed his forehead which finally pulled VuallaÆs attention away from the recruits Her forehead creased Everything alright

Right now yeah Randidly sighed But thinks are starting to get more complicated arenÆt they

Vualla nodded slowly Then her eyes brightened Yea maybe we should spar again

Chapter 1550

Anything to report Jelick Youmun asked the guard he was relieving at the observation station There was a ritualistic cant to the speech it was the same phrase Jelick had said every day as he came to relieve the other guard It signaled the shift between them The only moments they shared were these bordering edges of their twelve hours shifts and they gradually came to hold special meaning WIth them the two guards were a perfect whole despite the other dangers on this battlefield of the Fifth Cohort these moments of oneness helped Jelick cope

Nothing the guard replied with similar relish Both smiled at each other This was the best part of their greetings the confirmation of normalcy Because neither denied that there was a horrible possibility waiting in the darkened eaves of this place something might genuinely happen

Yet that horror hadnÆt yet arrived For another day the ritual continued uninterrupted

The Nether had recently established enough Nether Nodes in the Fifth Cohort to activate a great working What this portended no one knew Yet as one of the many guard outposts they would theoretically be the first to know It was a responsibility and a curse

Jelick Youmun would never say it out loud but sometimes he wished he could simply bury his head in the ground If death came for him he wished for it to be sudden and utter

After a nod the other guard hopped down and left the small tower Jelick clambered up the stone edifice and planted himself in the observation chair Displays in front of him showed movements in the nearby Nexus Ways while there was also a wide glass window beyond the display to observe the surrounding space

The observation tower was built on a high mountain top giving Jelick a grand view of the surrounding peaks rising up over the wispy traces of clouds like triumphant spears But as this planet barely possessed any sort of atmosphere the sky was exceedingly clear Jelick could look outward and upwards toward the wide and dangerous universe

Somehow the observation tower felt exposed His ability to see also became a barely suppressed fear that some being was out there scrutinizing Jelick in turn

Stars hung bright and low overhead If he squinted it was also possible to make out the shape of other planets within the System But Jelick set those aside for now The more he looked the more worked up he would become Instead he stuck to his tiny rituals He took out his notebook and carefully transcribed what he saw on the displays in front of him The displays would automatically record the results but having the notations helped keep him focus

Then Jelick settled back in his chair and began to count his heartbeats His eyes steadily glazed over

Jieu RonaultÆs emotions were chaotic Part of it was a defense mechanism the image of Randidly Ghosthound was simply that powerful As he exposed himself more deeply to it his own image struggled and twitched The previously quiet sound of the Stillborn Phoenix sucking away the surrounding air and emotions became a howling gale

The two of them were sitting inside the GhosthoundÆs personal training chamber JieuÆs flames were chaotic as he was exposed to the image of the Stillborn Phoenix directly For someone who prided himself on his self control this filled Jieu with a deep sense of shame But there was something overwhelming about the ambient craving that the Head Drill Sergeant could release from his image

The self assured strength of that desire began to completely smother Jieu strangling his flames He looked deeper and deeper into that abyss and began to see something stirring amongst the cataclysmic natural forces The sheer size and weight of the matter that had gone into the image was completely ludicrous Just feeling its massive gravity filled him with a sense of awe and dread

The flame elemental felt an inexplicable shiver run through his body Staring into the howling maw of nothing his mind somehow found the spare moments to wander

Jieu Ronault was a being that truly did not understand his origins His ancestorÆ had discovered him existing on a tumbling hunk of interstellar metal a placid flame the size of a palm with eye catching color His ancestor had allowed his curiosity to convince him to bring that flame back to his abode where he had been shocked to discover that steady flame possessed a meager consciousness

Jieu Ronault had no true homeworld He had never experienced the horror of the SystemÆs arrival and the Calamities either not even passed down through culture He was a being adrift unmoored and confused

Somehow the dark oblivion of the Head Drill SergeantÆs image seemed to sense that directionlessness The shadow of a bloodthirsty bird of prey seemed to be piercing Jieu with its eyes And as it carefully examined his past the resentment that the image felt for him steadily grew

Forty years of training after being discovered that ancestor had released a now fully self sufficient Jieu Ronault into the Nexus earning him a position within the elite squadron of the force that would retake the Fifth Cohort from the Nether Invasion This was an opportunity for the flame elemental who would have preferred to remain secluded for the rest of his existence his ancestor insisted An opportunity to discover a truth about himself His ancestor assured Jieu that should he accumulate sufficient strength the truth of his existence would come to him naturally

Even though Jieu still doubted his own senses that informed him it was there he could sense the gradual movement of this Stillborn Phoenix Its body twitched unnaturally but it dragged its bulk forward It eyed Jieu greedily as though relishing the thought of devouring the flame elemental

ease up The Head Drill SergeantÆs voice cut sharply across JieuÆs emotional reaction You struggle too much against the image If you cannot manage to control yourself in its presence

Jieu wanted to retort that this was a difficult task but he knew that the Head Drill Sergeant would not accept excuses Besides he could not deny that he had been allowing his mind to wander to unnecessary details during this session His own existence would remain stable until he gathered more information regarding this image As long as Jieu could continue to accumulate experience he would understand this strength He trusted the Head Drill Sergeant

And yet The flame elemental felt the even illumination released from his body dim Even his light was being steadily sucked away by that horrible carrion creature within the egg of darkness For the first time in a long time he felt helpless Why am I now hesitating What do I fear within this image Its determination is admirable and exactly what I need

In the initial stages of absorbing some of the principles from the GhosthoundÆs image it had gone extremely well The process was smooth to the point of being unbelievable The Jieu who usually prided himself on his self control couldnÆt help but be surprised by how quickly he gained incorporated some of the GhosthoundÆs strength The Stillborn Phoenix because it was quite opposite Jieu was everything that he lacked His own image grew more robust and grounded the more he experienced this strange phenomenon

Yet after a few days he had reached a point where everything ground to a screeching halt A grand and mysterious choice was manifesting in front of him slowing the steady and reassuring speed of his improvements

Could I be losing control of my image as happened with Vant But now my analysis seemed to indicate that I was sufficiently compatible with this image More tremors ran through JieuÆs flames and he quickly tried to reign in his disparate thoughts The shrieking of the GhosthoundÆs image increased in volume as it devoured more and more ceaselessly hungry Yet

He had been very skeptical that he who cultivated an image of a perfect flame sitting on top of a rotating brass wheel would be able to incorporate the image of an anthropomorphized black whole Yet the more he was exposed to it the more Jieu realized that the crux of the Head Drill SergeantÆs image was desire A desire so twisted and desperate that it became an eternal purpose

Desire at a sufficient strength grounded itself by warping the surroundings If Jieu could incorporate just a sliver of that desire

youÆre afraid The Ghosthound announced and Jieu tried to marshal his honest expression that pronouncement drew a flinch out of the fire elemental despite his best efforts The usually placid tongues of flame along his person began to flicker and tremble There was a stretch of silence after that which applied an invisible pressure to Jieu

But the silence was nothing compared to the deep sigh released by the Head Drill Sergeant as he withdrew his image Clicking its beak in disappointment that ravenous Stillborn Phoenix gradually vanished The howling died down to nothing

In the suddenly peaceful training facility Jieu lowered his head I apologize It is this foolish discipleÆs fault for not being able to understand a masterÆs teachings

DidnÆt I tell you to stop with that master nonsense We are nothing that serious The Ghosthound huffed and shook his head The two were sitting on the ground in the unlit training area letting the gloom pool around them To Jieu it was the perfect breeding ground for flickers of the vanished image Heh I think I understand why you are having difficulties You are a raw being that defies explanation quite like the Stillborn Phoenix Gravity heat cosmic radiation I believe you are woven of the same elements Yet the reason I thought there would be a great deal of common ground is because you both deny your true nature

Jieu kept his eyes on the ground even as he felt a deep sense of shame Just like Jieu couldnÆt help but silently watch as that kindly ancestorÆ that raised him and taught him all about philosophy and poetry walk away

I have built everything so carefully Jieu thought as he looked down at the rippling flames of his existence Yet why does it almost appear like I have truly built nothing for myself

It is an all consuming black hole The Head Drill SergeantÆs features were hidden in the shadows as he spoke Yet it just wants to be a simple egg You are the pure incarnation of fire but you refuse to truly burn You exist in extended stasis

Jieu Ronault said nothing He just focused on keeping a tight grip on the flames of his body

You are both so desperate Yet why is the desperate you so still Even through the darkness Jieu felt the Ghosthound press his lips together in disgust A tremor ran through him Reflect on that You are dismissed recruit Skip our next image training session Desperation without resolve is just panic And IÆm not in the business of wasting my time with weak willed recruits

Chapter 1551

Charlotte couldnÆt help but look at the far wall of the canteen in admiration Many a time had she witnessed the glorious sight of Overseer Helen tossing a misbehaving recruit into similarly sturdy walls and had been impressed by the structural integrity But now she realized such displays had been misleading the casual looking buildings were even more monstrously sturdy than she had expected

They had to be after all

Despite the fact that it was only their Head Drill Sergeant and his lover that were fighting the whole of the Fifth Cohort Rally Station seemed to be shaking with the force of their passion Charlotte Wick had heard from some of the other elite recruits that the normal Drill Sergeants scattered around the Rally Station eventually just told their recruits to ignore the seismic disturbances Plus it seemed like the Superintendent of the Rally Station had completely given up on restraining Randidly Ghosthound

Besides when the reverberations are that powerful Charlotte shivered and looked down at the trembling food in front of her Her spoon clattered across the rim of her bowl like it was performing a country jig Who would want to come and tell him to stop

The canteen shook again but the ground was largely still Which probably meant that the two fighters had impacted each other in the air dispersing most of the force upward and outward But still the radius of their collisions was horrifying Both the wild laughter of the Grim Chimera and the thunderous rustling of YggdrasilÆs leaves could be clearly heard

The latter noise made bear woman tighten her hands on the edge of the table The World Tree was the image given to her to learn by the Ghosthound and she had benefited immensely from it But the circumstances still filled her with a suffocating dread

In an effort to suppress her unease Charlotte cleared her throat lightly and looked across the table anyway what were you saying about this Vualla Ben

The pale Benjamin Rex paused with a spoonful of mutton soup on the way to his lips As he slowly lowered the spoon he tilted his head to the side as though listening for the arrival of another sundering clash When none came after a few seconds he nodded in satisfaction and began to speak I donÆt know much but it is clear that the azure haired woman was wearing the uniform of the Xyrt Brigade After their near constant deployment in the Fifth Cohort they were given a week break so the timeline also lines up To this woman spending time with the Head Drill Sergeant is a vacation

Even the usually emotionless BenjaminÆs expression displayed the same sort of awed fascination that had infected the rest of the recruits since the arrival of this Vualla No one knew whether to admire her or fear her

Charlotte tapped her fingers on the table her own mutton soup was already mostly devoured Only a few dregs remained in her bowl which was her fifth helping The combination of carrots turnips potatoes and stewed meat was surprisingly delicious Her mind went to the stern expression of her grandfather IÆm surprised that the Ghosthound was able to get the Head Drill Sergeant position with ties to the Xyrt Brigade

They must not have known BenjaminÆs expression was conflicted as he stared down at his plate There is no way that a Commandant would have let the Ghosthound anywhere near us if they had known IÆve heard some other recruits talking that they were deployed on the same frontlines so it makes sense that they would have met but

Charlotte Wick rolled her shoulders as the conversation was briefly stalled Gradually she was deciding that she was part of the majority of recruits in her opinion of Vualla she deeply feared the woman Because after listening to the duo spar and feeling their images clash against each other an unavoidable fact had emerged the Xyrt Brigade woman was stronger than the Head Drill Sergeant It wasnÆt by a lot but it was easy to see their relative power from the fact that the Ghosthound emerged from their spars disheveled while Vualla was positively beaming with pleasure

Of course none of the recruits dared look down on their Head Drill Sergeant for this they had felt the overwhelming power of his image Either of these powerful individuals were enough to crush them Instead it just earned her a whispered nickname the Azure Death

No recruit wanted to draw her attention while she continued to dally with the Head Drill Sergeant on the Rally Station Hers was a smile that hid fangs in the eyes of the recruits

Charlotte shook her head and then looked toward the third individual at their table She wanted to change the subject remembering the Azure DeathÆs bright expression chilled her to the core When the Vulpine continued to mechanically shovel stew into his mouth despite her pointed look Charlotte kicked him under the table Oy Raymund Wipe that depressing look off of your face donÆt you have a break today HowÆs the special training going

The wolfman blinked several times before raising his head Almost instantly Charlotte felt somewhat bad for him She had believed that what the Overseers forced the general recruits to do was brutally spartan but then she had witnessed the way that Raymund and DiOrtho were constantly tormented with repeated demands of superhuman feats of strength Even the usually cocky DiOrtho had become taciturn and cooperative with Overseer Helen after constantly having extreme displays required of him The duo moved smoothly but with the blank eyes of robots

But after those blinks RaymundÆs gaze cleared somewhat He seemed to consider her question for several seconds before quietly answering To be frank it is an astonishingly effective training regimen It has become clear to me that my difficulties with image development are a product of a personal defect Being too exhausted to think has given space for my psyche to get out of its own path

Benjamin nudged the Vulpine in the side Obviously that was the point but youÆve still been doing near constant physical training How has the Skill growth been

Oh the results on that front are similarly unequivocal Raymund responded casually My passive physical Skill has been pushed up by near one hundred Skill Levels I think the exact number is ninety three but it is a testament to the OverseersÆ commitment to our growth that I have come this far in so short a time

CharlotteÆs mouth formed an O Finally her nagging worries were truly dislodged from their quiet burrow in her brain You youÆve gained almost a hundred Skill Levels in just a single Skill since youÆve come to the Fifth Cohort Rally Station ThatÆs

All three paused for a second it seemed the spar was not yet finished The wind outside the canteen began to howl as the Ghosthound activated his Stillborn Phoenix image Charlotte reflexively reinforced her own image with life energy one needed to be careful when the Ghosthound released the image of the egg of depression It had a habit of stealing away energy from the surroundings in a way that was easy to miss until it was too late

Several recruits had been humiliated to realize all their carefully accumulated energy from two hours of rest had vanished devoured by the maw of darkness Of course the Overseers were very unsympathetic training went ahead as normal no matter how poor your performance was going to be

If you had a problem you needed to raise it with the Ghosthound Which no one did

Raymund cleared his throat and continued speaking Well no actually This accumulation occurred solely in the past eleven days since the initiation of the special train My other Skills have unsurprisingly stalled during the one note methodology but physically I feel rather confident in myself

Almost a hundred Skill Levels in ten days Benjamin muttered in disbelief Both were staring at Raymund like he was insane Charlotte couldnÆt get over the fact that Raymund had basically achieved over half of the Skill growth that she herself had all in a single Skill in ten days

Still is such an accomplishment really that worthy of note Raymund shook his head in answer to his own question Then his sharp eyes went to Charlotte Out of the three chosen to directly receive the GhosthoundÆs image youÆve definitely made the most progress Miss Charlotte The benefits youÆve harvested are impossible to miss Right now if there was another tournament

Charlotte resisted the urge to preen in front of these two but she subconsciously released a pulse of life energy from her Primal Force image A few surrounding recruits looked up gratefully before continuing with their meal After studying Yggdrasil for ten days Charlotte was able to capture the smallest bit of its healing aura Yet a split second later a near imperceptible twitch ran through her body

As it always was things related to the GhosthoundÆs image were tainted in her mind Those nagging fears steadily returned to nibble at the edges of her attention

well I cannot say itÆs that not impressive Charlotte demurred But beneath her thick layer of fur her body began to sweat Her body responded instinctively even as she carefully controlled the timber of her voice Truthfully the Head Drill Sergeant well is it fair to say that he has a knack for inspiration This training we all endure is hellish and oh I believe your current situation is similarly demanding Raymund but still he prodded me to discover new reserves of motivation within myself I cannot seem to bring myself to rest in regards to his image Perhaps thatÆs why my results are so unusual

Perhaps she was a suspicious bit more verbose than normal because there was an imperceptible widening in Benjamin RexÆs eyes He considered her expression carefully Indeed

Meanwhile Raymund didnÆt notice anything was amiss He nodded tiredly and said We were blessed to have the opportunity to study under Randidly Ghosthound His methods are beyond reproach

the truth is I dare not show anything less than stellar results The Ghosthound could destroy me at any moment Despite her best efforts CharlotteÆs lip trembled She bit into the plush worm of flesh to keep it from displaying any more weakness Overseer Helen is perfection in motion but even I can tell she is a temperamental and private person Some of those drawings that I made That I canÆt help but keep making would give such a cultured and refined angel more than enough motivation to end my life

Or even worse ignore me completely

CharlotteÆs Primal Beast was more powerful than ever before yet she couldnÆt help but feel insidiously stifled on the Rally Station The tight grasp of the Ghosthound spun around her limbs like chains For now all that he required was the incorporation of his image but the prospect of continuing this existence weighed heavily on CharlotteÆs mind

Her association with Commandant Wick would mean that the Ghosthound would not dare directly have her cultivate his image to later cannibalize her for strength but she could not envision a way of escaping from under the Head Drill SergeantÆs thumb for the rest of her days Yet her turbulent emotions betrayed her again at that thought her foolish heart at least accepted that this way she would remain near Overseer Helen

Charlotte released a deep sigh Somewhere she had no doubt the Ghosthound was snickering at her expense

Benjamin was still frowning at her for someone who has achieved such rapid gains in such a short amount of time you donÆt seem very excited Were there any side effects of adapting to the GhosthoundÆs image No offense but I donÆt understand why your growth is so quick compared to Jieu and Vizzeret None of us lack effort

For several seconds Charlotte attempted to condense her irritation toward BenjaminÆs accurate bluntness into a searing glare The pale skinned Benjamin didnÆt even bat an eyelash forcing Charlotte to release a hissing breath of defeat She was just opening her mouth to sharply retort when she was completely blanketed by an immense noise

The ground beneath their table shook from the impact which meant their table shook The remaining dregs of CharlotteÆs stew sloshed side to side in her bowl Gradually the rumbling calmed down And from the diminishing presence of the GhosthoundÆs and his loverÆs image the fight had ended

Before Charlotte could respond to Benjamin Raymund stood “Please excuse me for departing early This day is not entirely a break Apparently Sir DiOrtho and I will require a history lesson before we take on this special mission Overseer Muareth is going to lecture us for a few hours today so we are prepared for most eventualities “

“What’s your mission ” Benjamin asked curiously “I’m quite a bit jealous that you will be outside of the suppression array but I’ll bet it’s another hostile environment correct “

But to both of their surprise Raymund shook his head Then the Vulpine shrugged “I also cannot interpret the Ghosthound’s actions this time As far as we can tell the task is simply to accomplish a certain mission in twenty four hours without consciously using Skills or images “

Chapter 1552

With a rush of stale and humid air the three cloaked individuals found themselves crouching in a pitch black cave Air was displaced by the teleportation but the surrounding wind soon turned sluggish All three looked down in annoyance as they found themselves ankle deep in cool and murky water they hadnÆt noticed this issue until their shoes were soaked through And by then it was too late

Well two of the figures seemed distracted by the state of their damp feet

Ah Raymund released a thunderous sigh that echoed in the enclosed space Although he couldnÆt see him DiOrtho could clearly feel his movements as the vulpine raised his arms as if to pray Such sweet release

DiOrtho Vant clicked his tongue at the display even if he inwardly agreed To be finally freed from the excessive restrictions of the GhosthoundÆs suppression array was a great relief After their own training weights had been individually retooled to help with their training they had literally been left with no spare energy for any thought but their tasks

The mission was mysterious and strange but at least it was a vindication

Overseer Helen gestured sharply and hopped out of the puddle The two recruits tried to mimic her silent steps as they followed her even as their senses expanded through the cave system in front of them They both soon had to curse and accelerate without concern for the noise they made as Overseer Helen shot forward through the branching tunnels She seemed perfectly content to leave them behind

Of course both recruits could now keep up with her explosive movements Their coiled muscles flexed as they left a spray of dirty water in their wake as they pursued the Overseer Both loped forward with uncanny balance and grace their time training their bodies meant that tasks like this were refreshingly simple

A new place DiOrthoÆs image whirred with excitement Those ancient steel mandibles covered in stains of long forgotten blood began to stir The ancient machine horror chirped as its engine slowly initialized A new sacrifice to return to perfection

The unbidden thoughts were as unpleasant as always

DiOrtho kept his eyes forward basically ignoring the words from his image as his feet padded silently against the stone ground He wasnÆt sure how effective the training had been for Raymund because the foxman seemed remarkably confident and relaxed during their debriefing meetings but there had been no change with his image At best DiOrtho had taken the distractions as a chance to reassure himself that although his image might now seem to possess an independent consciousness it wouldnÆt do anything independently

It was quite safe to ignore his imageÆs mutterings

It only took a few minutes of running to reach the edge of the cave Before he saw the light DiOrtho felt the wind on his face His nostrils flared for the first time in a long time he smelled organic matter other than the soft fresh scents of gardens and bamboo The warm and slightly spicy scent of autumn leaves reached his nose Soon the trio slowed down and steadily walked out of the mouth of the cave to a high ridge along the side of the mountain A thick slope of slowly dying trees was all around them

Overseer Helen gestured to the land below Welcome to Jewel the capitol of the Shelley Kingdom This will be where your mission starts

A beautiful location Raymund replied inanely with an absolutely goofy grin across his snout Tsking in annoyance DiOrtho pulled his cloakÆs hood down to reveal his horns and studied the landscape below

Despite the fact that only the moon was present in the night sky there was plenty of light to see the surroundings The ground rapidly fell away before them as the forest transformed into low plains that was heavily cultivated Due to the fall weather the fields were half cleared as the owners of the land steadily harvested their gains from the summer Large piles of compost matter could be seen dotting the landscape dark lumps next to the half sheered farms

DiOrthoÆs eyes wandered even farther Truly from their vantage point it was possible to see for quite a distance

Beyond the farmland were several small clusters of buildings Even from here DiOrtho could see an impressive amount of craftsmanship in both the orderly roads and neat buildings No movement was visible during the night but the area seemed completely picturesque On DiOrthoÆs homeworld such an area would be an easy target for raids His fingers itched just looking at it

Sacrifices The machine horror hummed Ignoring his image DiOrtho looked further

Beyond the small towns there was a massive lake It was so large that the far edge was beyond the capability of his eyes The water that he could see was so placid that it almost seemed fake The perfect replica of the hanging moon seemed to have been painted onto the water rather than being a fragile construct of refracted light Several boats could be seen drifting across the lakeÆs surface but those left no mark either as though the water craft were simply specters gliding across the surface

And beyond the lake with its perfect reflection crouched underneath it like a shadow was the indicated capital of Jewel The buildings of the city were tall and tan The roofs were a distinct red color that could be identified even from a distance Unlike the small towns Jewel was alive even at night Several massive buildings along the shore were illuminated by ambitiously large bonfires DiOrtho narrowed his eyes he had seen such large cities in the Nexus but never on normal worlds there simply wasnÆt enough Aether present to support populations that large With a frown he cast his mind back to what he knew about this world

Over the past six hours they had been forced to sit through a mildly detailed history of this continent in order to prepare for their mission which the Overseers had refused to explain to them until they were set loose Basically this continent was ruled by two large political entities the Armgrast Empire and the Shelly Kingdom While the Empire was the larger and more centralized power the economic strength and political connections with the smaller unaffiliated States allowed the Shelly Kingdom to stand toe to toe with the Empire

That precarious balance was slowly shifting toward the Empire as it consolidated its control over certain areas that it had recently conquered but then came the Great Migration Although the lecturing Overseer was suspiciously vague about the details DiOrtho could only accept that a several million individual population appeared out of nowhere Even now Overseer MuarethÆs refusal to answer filled DiOrtho with annoyance The way they explain it itÆs like the entire Northeast portion of the continent was simply dropped onto an already present landmass perhaps it had something to do with the System Or a powerful Skill Bah what nonsense

Just tell me what I need to do to fix this fucking Skill

Either way a current of rising power had gushed forth from within the Shelly Kingdom In addition the advent of Class Lighthouses another concept from this world that mystified DiOrtho seemed to favor the Shelly Kingdom The locations of this worldÆs version of the System Village were unfairly distributed to the North and East parts of the continent

In order to combat this rising combat potential the Armgrast Empire was forced to make several political sacrifices to control a significant portion of the large mountain range the formed the lionÆs share of the border between those two political States This area was the primary source of Netherite a powerful and dangerous mineral that appeared to truly just be steel that was infused with Nether

Within the past six months things had settled into an uneasy truce as both sides settled on cultivating their newfound resources It was a race to see which could weaponize their advantage fastest

This at least DiOrtho understood implicitly A similar phenomenon happened when two rival demon tribes agreed to a temporary truce to each attack other factions Both sides knew that the peace would end quickly it was a matter of who was willing to take the gamble first

Initiative was important but so was having the conviction to follow through with the strike

During the lecture DiOrtho had been shocked at the way that Raymund Ballast had simply nodded and accepted everything that the spider Overseer had been saying The stupid fox didnÆt question a single strange fact about this world Classes from lighthouses No fear from Calamities or history of dealing with the Calamities Nether was a part of the mineral composition on this planet

Unless this planet was testing a new arrangement of the System most of these facts seemed simply to have been invented by Overseer Muareth It went against every established and uniform custom of the Nexus

Yet now as DiOrtho looked down over the city below he could feel the truth of those facts in the surrounding air Nether swirled in thick currents above them As he pushed his Perception to the limit he could feel areas where a dominant yet somehow inert image held sway in the larger world these would be the Class lighthouses

Any questions before I give you the mission recruits Overseer Helen said Because afterward the twenty four hour time limit will begin and you will receive no further help from me

DiOrtho suppressed his instinct to observe that the Overseer had provided no help at all thus far anyway Then just as quickly as he backed down the muscles of his shoulders tightened in self hatred that he had been so easily cowed His eyes narrowed He was about to open his mouth and spew verbal bile when Raymund spoke in a careful voice No images or Skills correct But I must inquire how would you rate the capability of this world

If you were allowed to fight at your full strength perhaps there are one or two individuals present that could rival you Which is why you are restricted to solely your physical force Demonstrate the results of your training over the past ten days Overseer Helen said Then she folded her arms Anything else

What happens when we crush this taskÆ you keep teasing us with DiOrtho growled

Overseer HelenÆs mouth twitched IÆm so glad you asked There is one other fact you need to know about this world there are demi gods running much of the normal System behind the scenes A hybrid position between Village Spirits and the Nexus technicians that handle the finer points of Skills and Paths In fact your clientÆ for this mission is

Me

Despite himself DiOrtho Vant took a sharp step to the side as an image abruptly manifested A horrifying avatar of ash and self immolation spoke up behind him He whirled around and lowered himself into a fighting stance This figure radiated woe and regrets so deeply that the ground underneath her feet began to shiver and crack Her body seemed to be burning itself from the inside out fueled by a horrible hunger for destruction

The Machine Horror in DiOrthoÆs chest stirred Within that glowing figure it recognized a kindred spirit It clicked its mandibles excitedly

But then that inner fire flickered and died revealing a rather young looking humanoid woman who studied DiOrtho with interest Then she looked to the side at Raymund and smirked If you manage to complete my mission IÆll assemble a personalized Path for each of you I hope youÆve been saving your PP because my product will definitely be more lucrative than your usual Path

Her gaze lingered on Raymund for several more seconds For you the Path will be a key to open up the darkness in your heart And for you The womanÆs eyes flicked to DiOrtho For a split second they glowed red orange like the dying embers of a fire For you you donÆt need the key your darkness is already rampant But you need the courage to face it

You think DiOrtho took a half step forward but Overseer Helen blurred into motion Despite his improvements DiOrtho was unable to respond before the Overseer had speared his thigh from behind pinning him to the ground with her weapon As his body shuddered in pain more and more of the thick muscles of his leg were torn open

Just as quickly Overseer Helen removed her spear and spun it flicking away DiOrthoÆs blood No more questions recruits ItÆs time to start Alta here will be providing you with further instructions when you finish the first task but for now you are here to kidnap the princess of the Shelly Kingdom Good luck Oh and one more thing no killing If you take anyoneÆs life you are immediately disqualified

While DiOrtho was staggering and putting his hand over the wound Overseer Helen jabbed him in the back with the butt of her weapon That means you Vant Play nicely with the locals okay Or IÆll bury you here myself And enjoy it

Chapter 1553

1693 1694 1695

The slow beat of Jelick YoumonÆs heart continued to follow along with the constant march of time The steady relationship between time and biological function was his lifeline Sometimes the Nether could use its strange influence your perception of time However JelickÆs body would always be completely honest

At exactly 1750 beats Jelick opened his eyes His shift was almost over After checking the display and recording the readouts Jelick gathered himself and exited the observation tower The other guard waited below

When their eyes met the other guard spoke in a rumbling voice His eyes were as serious as a priest during a service Anything to report

The moment of tension stretched as Jelick slowly opened his mouth Despite himself his heartbeat quickened This was the moment that their ritual could finally have summoned a monstrous disaster that would destroy the careful peace of the Fifth Cohort Dancing across that razorÆs edge was horrifying and thrilling

Nothing Jelick finally said Both smiled as they exchanged positions Jelick hoped the days would always be like this

Is this wise Raymund Ballast asked of DiOrtho Although the Vulpine knew that the ram demon was getting extremely annoyed by his constant inquiries he couldnÆt restrain himself His instincts warned caution and this course of action was anything but prudent

By asking around they had managed to identify the location of the royal compound But Raymund didnÆt think for a second that their massive cloaked forms wouldnÆt attract attention They were both quite a bit larger than the average citizen of this Shelly Kingdom

As he expected DiOrtho glared over at him as he continued to crack his knuckles The ram demon clearly needed healthier methods to deal with his anxiety We know that the kidnapping is just the first of five tasks that demi god Alta set for it We only have twenty four hours to complete all five Do you really want to drag our feet when this first task seems so simple I donÆt believe for a second that bitch Overseer Helen will make this easy for us

Raymund winced You should not curse the Overseer She is undoubtedly observing our movements

A noise halted Raymund mid sentence Both of the recruits glanced warily around at the wide street before the wall Currently they were simply pressed up against the wall three fourths of the way down the compoundÆs West facing wall There were towers both at the corners of the square compound and halfway down each section of wall which meant there was no ideal location for entry

As dawnÆs light slowly filtered down onto Jewel and its citizens started waking up the two of them glanced up at the ten meter tall wall behind them Raymund was very aware of how exposed they were the cloaks they wore covered up their features but he could vaguely sense some capable individuals within the royal compound

When it was clear that the noise was a false alarm DiOrtho shifted his hips and farted loudly Then he waved his hand wafting away the expelled gas into the air above them Let her observe She said she wouldnÆt interfere the entire day and if nothing else the bitch is definitely someone who would keep her word

RaymundÆs eyes turned heavy as he gave DiOrtho a long look please consider being more respectful with your language Even if you do not like the Overseer donÆt for a second pretend the current you would be able to eviscerate your past self due to her efforts Show some respect

You DiOrthoÆs eyes widened and then narrowed For the first time since they had arrived in the city he stopped cracking his knuckles Fury radiated off him like steam from a boiling kettle Heh finally growing a backbone Let me just say that both my past and current self could kill you without even

Oy

Both of the recruits looked upward in surprise A grey skinned humanoid leaned over the wall glaring down at both of them He adjusted his golden helmet as he bent over to stare down at them If you both of you are just here to work out your issues fuck off This is the property of the Royal Family If you refuse to leave IÆll call the city guard who can rightfully detain you for up to 48 hours oof

Raymund released a sigh and quickly scaled the wall Halfway through the guardÆs threat the thick layer of anger DiOrtho directed at Raymund sharpened to killing intent and cut upward The ram demon flipped up onto the ten meter tall wall as though it was the first step in a staircase and slammed his fist into the guardÆs gut After a spittle spraying grunt the man twitched and collapsed Raymund got on top of the wall just as DiOrtho brought his leg around in a brutal kick that caught the stunned second guard who in the jaw

With a sickening crack his neck twisted sharply and the humanoid collapsed

Vant Raymund hissed and rushed to the second guard He placed his hand on the manÆs neck luckily the man was still breathing It looked like the crack was his jaw breaking He looked up and barred his teeth at DiOrtho Your hubris will doom us Such a blow could kill this humanoid Then all our efforts

DiOrtho grunted and looked around at the two towers at either end of the stretch of wall But I didnÆt kill him did I IÆm not a fucking idiot Anyway we canÆt leave them here Grab the bodies and letÆs go

Grab the Raymund blinked but DiOrtho had already hopped down off of the wall into the interior of the compound Raymund rapidly glanced around his ears strained to catch any movement nearby

Luckily there was none

Perhaps because they hadnÆt used any of their images during the brief conflict their stealth was still intact Still it was with sweaty palms that Raymund gently lifted the guard whose head he heard crack while more casually seizing the belt of the other guard who was beginning to mildly drool from the sudden blow that knocked him unconscious

They dropped down off of the high wall and landed behind some flowering bushes This whole wing of the royal compound was decorated with tasteful vegetation and lofty gazebos Despite the season the dark blue blooms on the nearby bush still managed to hang on to their branches Tossing the one guard under some foliage Raymund carefully laid the other onto the ground

Yet it earned him an over the shoulder glare from DiOrtho What the hell are you doing The longer we have to get in and out the better Just carry them with us if we have to keep them alive If we just leave them under a bush what if they wake up and start making trouble

You dare imply that I should Raymund began thoroughly tired of DiOrthoÆs disrespect but of course DiOrtho was already loping quietly across the gardens Cursing quietly to himself Raymund hefted the two guards over his shoulders and hurried to follow They couldnÆt unleash their full speed with leaving very obvious tears in the ground when they planted their feet but just a light jog to the two recruits made them as fleeting and hard to catch as the wind

They wound their way past the stable and the kitchens attracting the attention of only a few chickens which squawked in displeasure at the rush of air the two left in their wake Their completely nonexistent understanding of the layout of the compound should have made the process difficult but architecture helped them quite a bit They quickly identified the three sprawling manors at the back of the compound as the houses for the king queen and crown princess

Each had a golden statue in the ownerÆs likeness giving even the cautious Raymund confidence in their conclusions

Of the three the princessÆ home was the smallest which meant that it was the size of RaymundÆs entire home village as compared to being as large as the entire fertile river valley where he was raised Plus it was the only home of the three which pressed directly up against the edge of the lake which formed one border of the compound

Which was for the best because when they made to cut between the king and queenÆs manor in order to reach their target more quickly DiOrtho pulled sharply up and raised his hand Wait Hey idiot you

Yea my touch will be lighter by far than yours Raymund answered shortly He immediately understood what DiOrtho was saying the ram demon sensed something up ahead but didnÆt have much natural Perception without the aid of Skills So Raymund paused in the lieu of a massive fountain and closed his eyes

The sensation of this planet possesses a bit of extra RaymundÆs tongue flicked out Spiciness was the word that came to mind but it didnÆt cover the whole of it There was simply a broader range of energies in the air The images and emotions were especially rich but the Nether that was present behaved differently than normal Nether too

Somehow the Nether here genuinely seemed to belong to this world

But Raymund put those thoughts to the side and carefully listened to the air His ears flicked forward The effect was small but individuals at a certain power tended to subconsciously buzz The amount of energy contained within their body was never truly inert It was simply waiting to be used If he listened and slowly turned

After a few seconds Raymund released a quiet growl YouÆre right Two powerful individuals near the kingÆs house and someone weaker around the queenÆs

So we go the long way Why the hell are we unable to use images or Skills again DiOrtho grimaced Then he turned and beckoned to Raymund Well fuck it Make sure you bring the trash

They had to take a wider circle back around through the servantÆs quarters and now the sun had risen enough that most people were waking up Still Raymund and DiOrtho could easily rush up the side of the servant apartments and pad quietly across the roof toward their destination They paused at the edge of the lawn around the princessÆs house and Raymund closed his eyes once more Then he snorted and pointed toward the veranda where the powerful guardian of the princess was located

An elderly woman was sitting there bold as brass drinking a cup of tea and looking out at the water She was perhaps twenty meters from the small outbuilding where Raymund and DiOrtho were crouching Although they could only see her in profile the relaxed smile on her face was obvious She was completely unprepared for an attack

Raymund lowered the two guards he had been carrying one under each arm to the ground As long as we take her by surprise

Again DiOrtho moved before he finished speaking Like a bolt of greased lightning he streaked across the yard and hopped lightly over the railing of the veranda At the last moment the old woman seemed to understand something was happening and twisted to look at the charging form of DiOrtho She flicked her cup of tea to the side and raised her hands just as the ram demon slammed his fist into her diaphragm As her eyes bulged he spun sideways and smashed his elbow into the womanÆs temple

RaymundÆs eyelids twitched as he watched the old woman drop like a bag of potatoes He hefted the two unconscious guards once more and rushed forward His ears strained the entire time so he could give a report when he arrived next to DiOrtho there has been no alarm raised As we likely have a few spare moments to gather ourselves then we should

There was a crash above them drawing both their gazes upward A split second later a large and shadowy figure burst out onto the lawn and started sprinting toward the lake DiOrtho and Raymund exchanged a glance

Do we Raymund began but DiOrtho shook his head

Looks like someone noticed us Hopefully that wasnÆt the princess fleeing Fuck we donÆt even know what she looks like do we I guess we saw the statue LetÆs just brute force it then The ram demon growled Then he exploded upward ripping a hole into the mansion After a brief hesitation Raymund draped the two guards across the old womanÆs body and followed his partner

With their limits on their speed removed they quickly ripped through the long hallways and found the princessÆ quarters The golden doors and sparkling chandeliers were a dead giveaway But when they looked around the room

What the hell DiOrtho blinked

RaymundÆs breath hissed out through his nose as he streaked across the already destroyed room and to the wide balcony The vaulted windowed doors to the outside patio had been shattered scattering broken glass across the spacious overlook Raymund stopped at the edge of the balcony and stared intently after the disappearing figures Behind him the bed had been ripped to shreds and several end tables had been overturned There was a few drops of blood on the ground leading from the bed to the broken doors In front of him

Another party is currently kidnapping the princess Raymund said slowly as he looked at the fleeing figure One individual was carrying another

Just as DiOrtho made to respond a bell began to ring in the central portion of the royal compound A booming voice echoed across the surrounding area Intruders

Chapter 1554

Vualla looked around with interest In the darkness her azure eyes seemed to glow I mean IÆd heard about how insane the construction was but they took me right to the Xyrt Brigade training ground when I arrived in the Nexus I havenÆt had much time to explore Is the Nexus really squatting on top of a giant skeleton And damn You really can feel the dead emotions wafting upward huh

Randidly folded his arms across his chest and looked downward They were floating in the Web while the Stillborn Phoenix released its latest batch of emotions into the surrounding space Thick tentacles of emotions lashed outward Most spiraled upward but a few put tentative feelers toward Vualla She swung her fist with a playful smile and annihilated the offending emotions

As the Stillborn Phoenix continued its emotional purification the finished product became more stable and its hunger for more emotions grew At some point Randidly would be worried about where he could freely devour emotions like this But for now

You are sorta a monster you know that Vualla smiled cheekily over at Randidly as she flicked a finger and destroyed another clump of his released emotions

Randidly could only chuckle and shrug IÆve had no choice but to become one ThatÆs the Nexus right

And thatÆs why we will end it Vualla said as her expression becoming solemn She had left her gauntlets back in RandidlyÆs apartment but when she brought her right fist sharply against her left palm Randidly felt enough force in the impact to shatter a continent like a china plate One fucked up piece at a time we will tear it all down So we no longer need to become monsters just to survive

So we have the freedom to choose our own lives Randidly replied quietly He reached across and squeezed VuallaÆs hand for a few seconds before clearing his throat The Stillborn Phoenix rumbled in dissatisfaction at this delay How are you feeling We might need to go quite a bit deeper into the Web to satisfy my image ItÆs a glutton

Bah is your superpower breathing Nether Vualla wrinkled her nose and looked down into the swirling gloom below them with obvious distaste They werenÆt quite as deep as Randidly normally went but they were definitely past the point where the structure of the area had renovated for living habitation they were clearly hovering in a hollow spine This was the point where the air began to turn strange

The corner of RandidlyÆs mouth twitched If you need assistance just stay near me

Nah there really isnÆt that much Nether here Just enough to be uncomfortable Plus itÆs good enough practice to resist the growing influence of Nether and also these wild emotions She looked at Randidly and flapped her hand Lead on

With a nod Randidly allowed himself to drop down through the Web The Stillborn Phoenix released a strange crooning noise as it sucked at the surrounding space showing how excited it was to devour more emotions Although the noise was somewhat off putting Randidly was just glad that he had built a working relationship with the spiteful image A split second later Vualla followed him down

There wasnÆt any real useful method of telling how deeply Randidly descended aside from the presence of Nether so he used that as a gauge He pushed past his former deepest location curious how Vualla would handle the chaotic rush of emotions while he did so Seeing that she seemed to be managing fine he stopped holding back Heh honestly sorta dumb of me to worry about her When it comes to power and image purity sheÆs got me beat

At the point where they finally slowed the Nether was about four times as prevalent as was generally allowed underneath the control of the System It was still only about 5% of the ambient energy but its presence in the air could no longer be denied The walls around them were warped in bulging in some places likely due to prolonged exposure to Nether The yellowed bone darkened to a rotten brown in some places

RandidlyÆs gaze lingered on the continued drop below them for several seconds

The Nether in his body whirred With his newfound insight into layered alternate Nether flows the stability of his Nether Nebula had largely increased Therefore remaining at this depth presented no problems He also had some spare effort to blunt the gravity of significance that reached for Vualla And based on the fact that she wasnÆt yelling at him she likely didnÆt notice which was a blessing

The Stillborn Phoenix began to inhale

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 335

Congratulations Your Skill Tide of the Void has grown to Level 289

As Randidly looked down in the impenetrable darkness below him he gradually understood that the presence of Nether was unavoidable around the Aether Refinery below it was only due to the Nether that the escaping emotions were as blunted as they were And as the two people floated there allowing the Egg of Darkness to absorb more and more emotions there were intermittent blasts of truly violent outbursts Against all odds a few waves of obsessive desire had survived the grinding below

even beyond that mass of significance I can feel tugging at me from below the churning Aether Refinery might be enough to destroy me Randidly reflected If some of the escaped emotions can be this powerful at this distance how powerful are the ones that are too large not to be annihilated

Of course there were a few unsubstantiated assumptions about how the Aether generator worked in RandidlyÆs train of thought He couldnÆt be sure how accurate his conclusions were So he set that to the side and concentrated on another issue how he could adjust his images to fool the world

Specifically in this case how the image of the Grim Chimera could transform into something even more overwhelming

While the Stillborn Phoenix continued to guzzle down emotions Randidly looked down at his hand He idly traced the creases across his right palm with his eyes All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth creates a connection across parallel universes to find the answer to whatever problem IÆm currently facing Paradoxically the Skill is already designed to fool the universe which is why itÆs so difficult for me to find an effective strategy to expand my Grim Chimera image IÆm looking for something grand and in this case but the mundane function already accomplishes what I want

So how do I strengthen that ability to fool the universe

The lids of RandidlyÆs eyes slowly slid down to shutter his gaze His senses expanded to capture the surrounding flows of emotion The undercurrent of natural Nether hissed and spat as it continued to suffocate the life out of the escaping energies and dulled their edges RandidlyÆs Willpower began to resonate with All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth He activated the image without activating the Skill just brushing lightly across the surface

Releasing a breath Randidly didnÆt have anything he was seeking There was no problem that became the base of the Skill But floating in the hollow spine of the Nexus he spread his awareness through to the parallel worlds closest to him His senses could just barely capture these other Randidlys who had utilized slightly different avenues to reach his same current position Due to it only being a resonance the others aligning with his position helped him bridge the gap Without pulling any abilities from the disparate Randidlys to his present self it was actually somewhat relaxing to spread himself out

In the strangest way it reminded Randidly of having two Nether flows happening at the same time It required the same unfocused effort the same mixture of concentration and relaxation the same inner acceptance If he gradually allowed the edges of himself to spread outward

Congratulations Your Skill All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 235

As he did his best to simply savor the sensation Randidly could see a Path forward for his image The Grim Chimera was more than a single entity It spread across all universes seeking to help itself survive at all times Or to expand it even further the Grim Chimera was all life seeking in different scenarios to always surpass the danger of the environment

A smile quirked across RandidlyÆs mouth ruining his concentration It might be a bit much to say that IÆm all life But to draw more of a connection between the various versions of myself

Shaking his head he once more released a breath and cleared his mind The Stillborn Phoenix continued to slurp down emotions and Vualla appeared to be meditating in the air next to him His skin tingled from the cool air flowing up through the spine of the Nexus as though he was being brushed by the breath of a sleeping beast The image of his ultimate Grim Chimera Skill began to shine as it resonated with his intentions Across space and time Randidly felt the other versions of himself also floating in the Web

That resonance acted as a beacon drawing more and more significance in toward the center RandidlyÆs Nether Nebula shuddered and began to accelerate Distributed across all the versions of himself the pressure of his significance eased

As he stretched he began to move beyond this place His mind was practically buzzing from trying to contain all the possibilities available to him but he pushed himself further and further The very familiar feeling of a mental strain headache began to pound behind his closed eyes He raised his hand and pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose but he didnÆt break his concentration

Randidly grasped at the divided versions of himself seeing the limits of his reach In the core of his Nether Nebula an additional grey bubble began to form

Very soon his headache worsened He achieved a precarious balance in his Soulspace buoyed by thousands of phantom Randidly The process was fascinating He could feel these different versions of himself and feel the slight ways they differed from him And the longer he managed to balance himself here in some massive communion with the various Grim Chimeras more and more were drawn into arriving Those RandidlyÆs that were further in likelihood from the main body could gather adding their thoughts and feelings to the grand collective

Congratulations Your Skill All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 236

Congratulations Your Skill All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 243

Suddenly a ripple came through the Randidlys One by one they began to be ripped away from the collective And the strangest wave of information came to Randidly Although they vanished he didnÆt lose the details of those that had been so suddenly cut away Those that hadnÆt proceeded as deeply into the Web

Congratulations Your Skill All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 244

RandidlyÆs eyes shot open The muscles along his jaw flexed Despite the fact that the image was not yet sated Randidly ruthlessly cut off the Stillborn Phoenix Then he looked over at Vualla with what he hoped was a relaxed smile Hey Vualla Do you mind if I ask you for a favor

WhatÆs up Vualla opened her eyes and tilted her head to the side

Randidly shrugged The hairs on the back of his neck were beginning to stand on end Helen needs some help beating some sense into those two troublemaking recruits that I was telling you about I hope you donÆt mind but when it comes to beatings you are the best woman I know Can you lend a hand

VuallaÆs azure eyes regarded Randidly for a few seconds as though she sensed something that he had tried to keep from his tone Just as he was about to say something else to try and force the issue she nodded and smiled With a sharp gesture she sent herself drifting over toward Randidly But as he put his hand on her arm she reached over and squeezed his shoulder

Her fingers felt as cold and dangerous as daggers pressed against him Her smile sharpened You are a bad liar Randidly Ghosthound But I trust you WhateverÆs going on donÆt die

Then Vualla allowed herself to be teleported to within the Alpha Cosmos After she disappeared a voice drifted down to Randidly from above Heh An audience is the best companion for a duel but I suppose I admire your bravery in facing me alone Who was that anyway She smelled strong I guess IÆve had good luck since running into that Lamel I keep finding people I want to meet

Randidly released a breath and faced upward The reason that the alternate RandidlyÆs had been ripped away was now grinning down at him with his tattooed arms folded across his chest It was certainly a strange application and one that would be almost impossible to maintain constantly but All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth had given him just enough of a warning

Not enough to escape of course but enough that the combative voice didnÆt cause Randidly to flinch Somehow Velio Dunn had tracked him down

His Philosopher’s Key was steadily recovering but it still took between thirty seconds and a minute to build a bridge between two positions Randidly brought up his messaging function and then clicked his tongue in annoyance his ability to utilize the System was being suppressed

They came prepared Damnit Who knows that I regularly come here

Randidly was alone with Velio Dunn And the manÆs smile was slowly widening

Chapter 1555

How did you know I was here Randidly asked quietly Although the Web had narrowed somewhat as Randidly descended the space was still massive His words echoed off the walls

Velio Dunn wagged a finger at him with his other hand on his hip Shush Why must you question the details of our meeting It was ordained by fate To always dig at the trivialities of existence is to live drowning in a sea of grey inanities You completely miss the revelries of existing Is that the way you want to live Mr Ghosthound

Randidly pressed his lips into a thin line The reason he had decided to come to the Web was that the Stillborn Phoenix had been nagging at him lately and Vualla had casually offered the fact she was curious He had presumed the field trip to be safe for two reasons First his experiments with truly powerful individuals indicated that no one could sense the activation of his PhilosopherÆs Key Which didnÆt mean that no one would have the ability to sense it but that it was a relatively stealthy method of transportation He was confident in its secrecy

Which was why I want to know how Randidly thought with a frown Were you waiting for me or can you track my movements

Second Randidly had confirmed Edraine to be in her dwelling on standby should an unfortunate accident occur He had assumed that he would be able to send her a message when any sort of danger appeared He didnÆt expect Velio Dunn to arrive with some sort of array to cut off his ability to send messages She had warned him to take care with the depths of the Web but this

RandidlyÆs gaze shifted from Velio and to the darkness behind the man They were using the same array that suppressed messaging to hide their presence but Grim Intuition was much more exacting than Perception there were two figures skulking behind Velio Based on the sophistication of the array either they were simply geniuses when it came to Engraving or this was a trap they laid here for him

That was almost the more intimidating option They had prepared for this

Bah yes I must admit that I did not come alone but they have assured me that the array would not suppress your combat abilities at all Velio Dunn shrugged Then to RandidlyÆs surprise he pouted like a toddler What was I supposed to do You refused to finish our duel when I visited you I was so exhilarated to meet someone who thrilled me with just a look and then you fled and hid Do you know how that made me feel

RandidlyÆs gaze turned heavy He was already tired of VelioÆs ridiculous and self absorbed way of framing their interactions He released a breath his heartbeat was steady even as his muscles tensed in the savored moments of preparations His previously frantic mind had already settled upon the most likely way that this confrontation would end but that Path was fraught with difficulty So despite his distaste Randidly decided to stall for time in case Edraine could notice something was wrong and would arrive to assist as had happened with Octavius

But of course she was much closer to Octavius Randidly couldnÆt help but reflect

Outwardly Randidly smiled and pointed to his nonexistent left arm I havenÆt yet recovered from our previous fight perhaps we could push it back a few decades

Velio Dunn shook his head The cool blue glow that was coming from his rune covered sword was gradually spreading out to illuminate the Web This assassin was preparing as well with much more frightful results Relying on external help for power will only bring you grief Mr Ghosthound I was doing you a favor that metal limb was a length of chain wrapped around your potential Honestly you should be thanking me

RandidlyÆs smile faded Although his heartbeat increased in frequency he was still relatively calm Because after listening to VelioÆs last response he began to realize something He took a more exacting look at Velio The muscular man continued to grin down at him but the expression didnÆt reach his eyes In those delicate orbs there was only a chilling intent to kill Randidly The tattoos along the manÆs arms seemed alive undulating in the shadows

Anticipation Randidly thought HeÆs savoring this

You are playing coy Randidly said surprised at the realization You know just how unreasonable you are being Do you get off on watching your victims think that they have a chance of talking you out of the duel Accidental victims my ass Those eyes of yours you love the sight of blood

Velio Dunn froze for a half second Then his expression shifted The corners of his eyes crinkled and he released a booming laugh Ha Hahahaha Mr Ghosthound would you believe me when I say that the first time I saw you that I knew you were special Heh In fifteen hundred years ItÆs probably been fifteen hundred years since IÆve been called out like that If it wasnÆt for the fact you reminded me of someone I hate I might even let you live after I shatter your image But that resemblance dooms you

Velio reached up for his sword Randidly watched the movement The light from VelioÆs sword began to surge The muscles of VelioÆs arm bulged Randidly just pressed his lips together and watched His images spiraled together in his chest preparing for his defensive effort

But as Velio seized the hilt of his sword he paused as he was staring intently down at Randidly The man reached up and scratched his cheek as though embarrassed Umm arenÆt you going to do anything This should be where you say something cliche like if you think IÆm the same me that you beat last time you are making a mistakeÆ or this time will be differentÆ Can you have an outward reaction Truly moments like this are the only way to break the monotony DonÆt ruin it for me

You want me to help you enjoy your life by regurgitating cliche lines back at you Randidly quirked an eyebrow upward His nerves thrummed in his chest now that Velio was gripping his sword but he couldnÆt help but tease the man who came to kill him For someone who spends so much time complaining about how boring life is you seem to be embracing the predictability WhatÆs so scary that you seek out and kill anyone with potential Velio Dunn

VelioÆs expression vanished as though his emotional wattage had been exceeded and the breaker failed What was left was dead flesh still bearing the resemblance of expression but only out of necessity There was only despair and darkness animating his feature A chill ran through Randidly It felt like he was looking at a thin sheet that had been drawn across a rotting corpse Although the shape was blunted somewhat by the covering VelioÆs soul was so warped that the gross deviations from the norm were clear no matter the obstructions

Even worse VelioÆs image changed That pale blue light radiating from his sword became suffocating The array that isolated the two of them began to sizzle from the force of his presence Randidly couldnÆt tell what they were doing but the two shadowy figures moved quickly to stabilize the situation

You ask heavy questions for a man about to die Velio said quietly If you donÆt plan on volunteering the information IÆll drag out the source of your confidence and crush it And just so you know your teleportation trick wonÆt work twice

As Randidly shrugged he would see the knuckles of VelioÆs hand tightening on the hilt of his sword ItÆs no secret And I didnÆt want it to come to this but I donÆt think I have a choice I have a superpower just one In most locations it wouldnÆt end up mattering But here

A superpower An expression of shock returned to VelioÆs face Then he snorted as some of his facade recovered Heh is that so Then IÆm looking forward to it With death below and death above letÆs have a fun duel Hey What the hell are you doing

Halfway through VelioÆs words Randidly began to rapidly shoot downward If there was one thing that he could trust it was that Velio Dunn valued his own life And considering the fact that Velio now considered Randidly trapped here it seemed logical that even someone as powerful as Velio held some wariness toward the mass of significance below

When he had confirmed with Edraine that she would be paying attention to his position even she had warned him not to go too deep down the spine The power there was a threat to even her Hopefully RandidlyÆs unique advantages would allow him to survive at the depth required to warn off Velio

As Randidly shot downward the presence of Nether in the air rapidly increased In addition thick geysers of dangerous emotions smashed against the sides of the hollow spine as they ran their violent course Velio must truly have been caught by surprise because Randidly opened up quite a bit of distance before he began to move

Randidly even used Man is Proud but the Chimera Takes to explode downward with a little extra intensity From the location where Randidly originally had been floating the Nether content in the air increased from 5% to 5 5% Then it shot up to 6% and then 7% The air whooshed past his skin leaving him tingling

But then Velio was there right in front of Randidly with a vicious expression on his face Fucking kid If you are just going to be suicidal let me help you along

Velio DunnÆs hand on his sword twitched At the same time Randidly was mobilizing every bit of strength that he possessed Revelations of the Atramentous Threshold Chimeric Impunity All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth

Congratulations Your Skill All Else Succumbs Yet Time Whirls the Earth has grown to Level 245

As he did in the practice Randidly didnÆt search for a version of himself that could survive Or at least Randidly didnÆt reach for specifics With Revelation energy sharpening his vision and giving him a predictive edge Randidly joined the collective sea of parallel Randidlys and rapidly gathered more and more versions of himself in the same hanging moment To him they were all data

They were alternatives

He observed them die in droves through their resonance experiencing a horrible backlash from the extinctions in the process It was mental strain on a tier that he had never experienced before Each death was like a small emotional bomb that sought to infect and destabilize his images Yet he couldnÆt spare the attention to deal with that now

After observing one thousand six hundred and three varying methods of moving through the present and feeling one thousand five hundred and eighty two end in his death Randidly slammed every ounce of himself into Chimeric Impunity He slid to the side seeking to dodge through one of those narrow possibilities

1 4% survive rate from only the first blow Randidly barred his teeth And he calls this a fair duel What a hypocrite

But that was not all the preparations he needed to make to survive Aside from the recently formed still small grey bubble in his Nether Nebula Randidly pulled all four of his other grey bubbles into his right hand He didnÆt attempt to meet the blow simply struck at the space between them in an attempt to screen the attack Time turned sluggish as the sheer mass condensed in his hand warped the surrounding space Radiating waves of gravity rippled through the distance between them

VelioÆs eyes narrowed in mild surprise

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Impunity has grown to Level 338

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Impunity has grown to Level 340

Randidly felt the bones of his wrist and forearm shatter The entirety of his hand was simply numb when made it seem likely the nerve endings in the appendage had just been annihilated before he could feel The next thing he knew he had slammed into the side of the Web skidding and tumbling deeper down toward the mass of significance waiting below

Randidly blinked several times as Yggdrasil wrapped its warm branches around his Soulspace and began to rapidly heal the mental and physical damage he had taken The speed of his descent was quick almost as quick as he had been going previously just smashed downward this time by the force of VelioÆs attack His rattled mind gradually calmed down and Randidly immediately forced his gaze back upward toward the figure of Velio Dunn

The manÆs wild smile had returned his eye was filled with a manic gleam Hey youÆre pretty tenacious you know that ItÆs probably been a hundred years since IÆve faced a seed like you But if you think this is enough

Perhaps the most horrifying detail of the picture was that the last blow was struck with VelioÆs sword still in its sheath Now Velio gripped the leather piece of equipment and pulled it off revealing his massive blade in all its glory The gleaming cruelty in VelioÆs eyes brightened

He was playing with his food It seemed that VelioÆs enjoyment of this process wasnÆt faked at least

Of course Randidly didnÆt have much spare attention to study the sword everything about him hurt The Nether content in the air around continued to steadily rise as he fell nearing 15% Some of the more powerful emotions surging through the air had enough potency to sizzle and blister against RandidlyÆs skin Yet after Velio finished speaking he vanished

Feeling a sick sensation Randidly twisted midair Velio waited below the blue runes on his sword glowing so brightly that it was almost blinding This is where you die Mr Ghosthound Truly itÆs been a pleasure

Randidly looked down at his hand the skin of his right hand flopped around like the slimy remnants of a popped water balloon A bitter smile covered his face I suppose itÆs too much for this foe to look at me and have some deep realization about himself leading to a mental breakdown huh

Chapter 1556

Velio Dunn appearing confident in his victory didnÆt strike immediately with his image as the two moved toward their next clash Besides Randidly was zooming directly down toward him like a fastball toward a batter Instead the excited Velio began to speak This was always your fate for having the hubris of breaking through the physical limitation ugh

Although RandidlyÆs hand was useless for punches he flicked the appendage and unleashed a spray of blood at Velio that spattered in the manÆs eyes They were close now only a few meters apart To RandidlyÆs disappointment there was no sizzling or burning it was clear Velio was powerful enough to ignore the damaging effects of RandidlyÆs blood Still it was extremely satisfying to force the assassin to reach up and wipe away his blood

Then several things happened at once

Although he had never done it himself Randidly had witnessed the methods of his Fatepiece and Nether enough times to have a hunch about a new use for his Skill In the brief period of time that the overconfident Velio was distracted Randidly gathered as much Nether to himself as he could His Nether Nebula continued to accelerate spinning wildly to reaccumulate the mass that had been depleted already in this fight

He near instantly wove the Nether into a tight funnel His Willpower ached from the strain but he dare not hesitate Gritting his teeth Randidly connected two points in space Another dangerous tremor ran through his Nether Nebula At the same time he felt a ripple through the surrounding Aether the suppressing array was shattered

Screams echoed from above just as a message arrived I wonÆt be able make it down in time to prevent him from killing you And fighting him

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to level 192

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 201

I understand Randidly replied as his Nether Ritual bridged space One fraction of time he was shooting toward VelioÆs chest the next he was beyond Velio shooting deeper into the darkness The distance covered was only five meters yet the entirety of his Nether Nebula was depleted It was more exhausting than he had expected And with both of his arms out of commission IÆll be able to survive down here I believe at least for a while Enough to escape later But he needs to be pinned down for a few seconds

His now completely exhausted Nether Nebula began to accelerate further It was spinning crazily sending waves of destabilizing energy through the entirety of RandidlyÆs body His images weakened rapidly caught by surprise by the phenomenon But of course there was currently nothing Randidly could do These next few moments were too important to spare much attention for the issue

Got it came EdraineÆs reply

Just as Velio realized something was wrong and twisted around to glare at the figure of Randidly that had teleported past him a beam of sizzling orange light shot downward like judgment from heaven Velio had begun to move to strike at Randidly again but he instantly recognized the danger presented from EdraineÆs strike and was forced to ignore Randidly

Instead he faced upward Randidly couldnÆt see VelioÆs expression but he could hear the barely controlled fury in his growl His back was wide and ominous Just who the fuck are you

Edraine didn’t reply but her light laugh echoed down through the Web Velio raised his sword and smashed it against the orange energy The two lights mixed and became as blinding as a direct blast from a floodlight after your eyes grew accustomed to the dark

Randidly continued to shoot down in the meantime tumbling through the air Yggdrasil was knitting together his flesh but both the emotional damage from the strange utilization method of the Grim Chimera and his destabilizing Nether Nebula were extremely dangerous The Nether content in the air continued to climb finally pushing past 25% of the ambient energy

Luckily the prevalence of Nether meant the space turned chaotic Although he had only traveled a short distance the air turned murky Even the powerful image reverberations as Edraine and Velio clashed were muffled by the turbulent emotions and thick Nether around him

Still RandidlyÆs expression turned bitter The Grim Chimera image was largely lifeless having spent everything on Chimeric Impunity and still been deeply wounded by Velio A wave of emotions smashed into RandidlyÆs from the side dragging a groan from his lips In addition the ambient Nether hungrily tried to eat at his flesh

Normally he would create a buffer of his own Nether to protect himself but his Nether Nebula continued to dangerously accelerate without showing any results all of the Nether he was producing was being steadily stolen by the mass of significance below Which meant that his Nether Nebula continued to rev faster trying to accumulate Nether faster than it could be stolen

That half formed grey bubble at the core of the Nebula was the only reason things hadnÆt completely collapsed

After tumbling down for thirty more seconds Randidly huffed out a breath and decelerated Blood continued to trickle out from the ruined wreck of his hand The Nether content of the air was almost exactly 30% Although it wasnÆt ideal he manifested his Yggdrasil image directly in the space around him It clashed with the Nether but it also gave Randidly some time to gather himself

He felt oddly isolated surrounded by the murky clumps of Aether and emotion But that was for the best He needed a chance to

Shit Randidly spat out his eyes turned upward

Although it was being weakened by the ambient Nether and those same emotions that were burning RandidlyÆs skin a light blue slash cut sharply down toward Randidly VelioÆs image didnÆt waver at all even as the Skill it was riding faded Luckily Yggdrasil was already manifested So Randidly could quickly unleashed the Inscrutable Mien of Genesis and Yyrwood Body of Yggdrasil to defend himself A purifying and holy halo bloomed from RandidlyÆs body The emerald leaves of Yggdrasil rustled their indignation at this affront to their dignity

All of the power of Yggdrasil reached its apex inside the enclosed space of the web And into that power that rather dull looking blue slash arrived

Congratulations Your Skill the Inscrutable Mien of Genesis has grown to Level 301

The strike was much weaker than the first one Randidly had endured today likely due to the environment and EdraineÆs assistance But Randidly was also in a much worse condition than he had been at the beginning of the fight Yggdrasil could only endure for a few moments before flickering and vanishing Once more he was smashed downward by the strike

Eventually Randidly managed to recover and slow his descent But this time the ambient Nether reached about 41% of the environment Painful tremors ran through his Nether Nebula as it accelerated beyond its limits to gather Nether But of course this much closer to the horrifying significance below Nether was stolen before Randidly could manage it at all

Without much choice Randidly bloomed into the Stillborn Phoenix A vortex surrounded him bending the surrounding energies Both emotion and Nether were devoured by the nondiscriminatory image The process was painful but Randidly needed some safety to stabilize himself His headache intensified but Randidly used his remaining dregs of his Willpower to naturalize and convert some of the raw Nether into his own energy

He kept a tight grip on that Nether and used it to ground his Nether Nebula Some of the strain immediately eased although he now needed to constantly divert a portion of his attention to stabilizing his Nether The greed of that significance below was truly horrifying

Might give me a bit of inspiration later for Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil Randidly shook his head and took a long needed breath Then he glanced upward through the murky air Even with Grim Intuition he couldnÆt sense anything at all from Velio and EdraineÆs fight Gradually the sense of tension in his shoulders eased

It took about five minutes of meditative recovery for Randidly to feel at least safe No further attacks had come from above meaning that he was stable for now He produced his PhilosopherÆs Key and gave himself a few more minutes to focus The Fatepiece activation remained fraught with discomfort which wouldn’t help his current circumstances Then he raised the key and sought the folds in space time that would allow him to escape

After a minute he gave up with a vicious expression the only locations he could find with his Fatepiece were deeper toward the core of the Nexus Then with rising alarm in his chest Randidly noticed something else

Although he believed he had been floating in the same position during this recovery the amount of Nether in the air had risen to 42% It might mean nothing but considering the result of his Fatepiece

Randidly had gone too near whatever lurked at the heart of the Nexus He was now being inexorably pulled down into the depths

Lady IellayaÆs expression was blank for several seconds And you just left him down there

Edraine nodded slowly Even I cannot do anything about the core of the Nexus YouÆve felt it right The horror of that place What would be the use of sacrificing myself Besides Mr Ghosthound is the most resourceful of us all If anyone can make it out of that place alive he can

True but Lady Iellaya hesitated

Edraine turned away and walked to the window He hasnÆt responded to my messages which leads me to believe that the Ghosthound is already at a dangerous depth Still have faith in him But that is not why I called you two here I assume youÆve seen the report released about the Seventh Cohort

Across the room Octavius nodded slowly Military High Command has found no traces of systemic corruption The hidden Aether was a result of a few independent actors

Quite different than expected And the fact that there was no corruption rather than corruption on a small scale EdraineÆs voice was heavy This wasnÆt just a brokered deal between the NLC and Military High Command this was a cover up We are missing something So I need help from both of you

Octavius gather every report you can find on Aether yields for the Cohorts As far back as you can I want to see the numbers And Lady Iellaya do you think itÆs possible to get me into the Vault IÆd like to speak with our ignoble former Overseer of the Sixth Cohort

Chapter 1557

This feeling A bitter smile stretched across RandidlyÆs face His emotions to describe them as chaotic would be understating the issue Several parts of his body were tingling as his nervous system was flooded with adrenaline Despite the aches in his recently healed right hand he stretched it outward and grabbed at the air Every breath was still difficult His heart beat rapidly but it was accompanied by a pounding headache that made it especially taxing to focus

Considering the fact that Randidly had to maintain the Stillborn Phoenix and keep a tight grip on the reins of his Nether the exertion was all but impossible He walked along a precipice where a single failure would lead to the long fall toward death

Yea Randidly said again looking to his left Although there wasnÆt much meaning to it he had drifted toward the side of the hollow spine since figuring out his situation A yellowed and bumpy bone was next to him gnarled like an ancient tree As he looked at it the wall seemed to be warping before his very eyes Yet if closed his eyes and touched the bone he knew that this distortion was an illusion the bone wasnÆt being warped Randidly was This sensation The tingling approach of death

Randidly endured a raging torrent of emotions that smashed into the Stillborn Phoenix from the side and then checked the Nether content of the air 46% After two hours of floating and stabilizing his mental and physical state the mass of significance below tightened its grip on him He was getting pulled downward faster and faster

Yet some part of Randidly couldnÆt hate the tension It was almost a nostalgic feeling

The Stillborn Phoenix howled around him Randidly had a sensation in his chest akin to volcanic heartburn from the wide assortment of emotions and energies his Egg of Darkness devoured but it was necessary It was only because of the buffer his image created that Randidly had been able to nurse both Yggdrasil and the Grim Chimera back to a stable state

The Grim Chimera had endured the brunt of VelioÆs first attack Even though it had been with a sword still tucked into a sheath the hit had been a direct one YggdrasilÆs situation was slightly cleaner it had been taken by surprise but at least it was a weakened image that reached Randidly

At that thought there was a flash of fury in RandidlyÆs emerald eyes VelioÆs attacks turned out to be more insidious than even he had expected It was just another piece of evidence that despite his brash persona Velio Dunn was very deliberate in his hunting of the young talents of the Nexus

He hadnÆt thought much of it at first but VelioÆs sword left some trace remnants in the wounds left on his images Of course he had immediately sensed that the wounds were for lack of a better term frozen by the strike Their natures were heavily suppressed Yet it was after the healing process began that he discovered the latent danger there was a sense of rot and degeneration to VelioÆs chill as well Those more dangerous elements were almost completely masked by the chill and might have completely ruined his images if he had not taken the time to inspect them closely

Randidly grimaced as another blast of emotion hit him from the side This spear of emotions was strong enough to pierce through the Stillborn Phoenix and directly impact Randidly For several seconds angry red lines of infection appeared on RandidlyÆs side where he had been impacted They burrowed underneath his skin spreading rapidly outward Sensing the danger the Stillborn Phoenix increased its suction devouring more and more in an effort to protect its bearer

The swirling whirlpool of suction spread pulling more and more of the dark surroundings toward him

The smoldering pain in RandidlyÆs Soulspace increased as the Stillborn Phoenix ran rampant but it did give him some time to deal with this new threat Growling Randidly slapped his hand against his side As he smashed the insidious emotions with what little Nether he could maintain for himself the spread of those red lines on his side slowed

I donÆt like using my Nether like this but otherwise Heh

With the problem under control Randidly pushed back more aggressively against the invading emotions The red lines retracted When the emotions had completely been forced back into an angry red boil on his side he simply ripped away the chunk of flesh and tossed it to the side

It tumbled quickly through the murky air below him warping and mutating before his eyes The irritated flesh bulged and twisted By the time the flesh had vanished into the darkness below it had warped into a tiny misshapen imitation of Randidly himself And it turned to glare hatefully up at him as it was sucked downward

Randidly shivered yet his lips still twitched into a smile His eyes were bright with the particular brand of madness that he had learned from Shal Heh hopefully whatever horror waits below is just as dangerous as advertised I donÆt want a doppelganger running around plotting to kill me and steal my Fate

Chuckling to himself Randidly reached out and touched the wall The surface was so smooth that it almost felt wet to his fingers so much so that the first few times Randidly touched the wall he had assumed his shattered hand was still bleeding Such a gnarled yellow surface was conveyed to him as smooth Even the sensations being fed through RandidlyÆs nerve endings was somehow being curtailed by the significance below

The situation he found himself in was quite serious Plus due to the fact he hadnÆt heard from Edraine despite the several messages that Randidly had sent

Absolute Timing informed him that time was passing but he already knew there was a time warping effect within the Web At this depth beyond the event horizonÆ of significance the effect was probably even more pronounced So the small worry that his recruits would be sent off to the frontlines without any more instruction could at least ease Randidly Ghosthound likely had as much time as he wanted to deal with this problem

Gradually RandidlyÆs expression shifted as he looked around Although his images were still recovering he could ease up somewhat Time to address the impending danger head on

Randidly rapped his knuckle against the weird wet seeming wall with his knuckle His wicked smile was still firmly hung across his face Honestly what IÆm most curious about is the origin of these bones how are they so powerful that this significance hasnÆt ripped them down

Truly the Nexus is a mysterious place RandidlyÆs smile widened He knew it was somewhat crazy yet he couldnÆt help but feel an inexplicable surge of joy THIS was what he was missing This impending sense of doom that he had so commonly encountered due to the System in the past His encounter with Kaan Swacc had the resemblance toward it but Randidly was much more prepared in that situation It wasnÆt exactly the same

He had his Fatepiece to practice the fight against Kaan multiple times Although the foe was strong Randidly held some significant advantages

Not now The suddenness of the ambush by Velio Dunn reminded him of the actions of Yystrix time and time again as she plotted against Randidly his Soulskill and also Expira This was the sort of situation that spurred him toward growth Thinking back the last time he felt this sort of sensation was when he was slowly sizzling in a pool of lava looking up at the radiant power of Aegiant on Tellus

Since then Randidly pulled his hand back and looked at his palm In his chest the injured Grim Chimera stirred Its eyes half opened with the languid satisfaction of a cat laying in a pool of sunlight The image smirked even while still fuzzy at the edges

It still lived despite the sudden overwhelming attack That in and of itself was the greatest victory it could achieve RandidlyÆs expression slowly morphed to mirror the Grim ChimeraÆs Even as another blast of emotions hit up against the devouring defense of the Stillborn Phoenix RandidlyÆs glee didnÆt ebb

Now itÆs just a matter of figuring out how to escape this Randidly muttered to himself He checked the Nether content of the air 47% Some of RandidlyÆs joy gradually dimmed It was just a gut feeling but he sensed that even now he was only in the periphery of the significance below

50% was a watershed After that things would accelerate even further

Yet Randidly could only look with a heavy gaze at his Nether Nebula The most effective method he had for slowing his descent appeared to be his own Nether that was how he felt safe and confident going as deeply as he had previously He might be wading into a deep current but he had his own weight that gave him some control

His depleted Nether Nebula continued to rapidly spin churning Nether out of his Nether Wells But the raw energy was quickly pulled away Not all of it of course but most If Randidly had come to the Web early today with a lakeÆs worth of Nether and had ended his clash against Velio with only a pinch he now had a fistful He was not accumulating Nether quickly enough to use that as his method to escape

His other options

Randidly paused in his thought process as the Stillborn Phoenix rather meekly made a request to stop sucking in so much and start releasing the refined energy Randidly glanced around at the murky darkness Currents of emotions still blasted through the surrounding space twisting and visibly warping the air as it passed Being exposed to those influences was troublesome but Randidly understood that keeping his currently healthiest image running was important So he nodded slowly

With a huge sense of relief the Stillborn Phoenix withdrew its whirlpool suction Then it began to belch out thick cords of emotions that spiraled in the surroundings wildly

As his image lowered its defenses Randidly pursed his lips and did his best to clamp down on both his feelings of despair and the near manic excitement that resulted from his circumstances He couldnÆt let emotions cloud his judgments The environment was definitely having an effect on him His emotions were running especially high

Despite that he would need to figure out a method to escape and do it extremely quickly

Physical movement had already proved ineffective It certainly felt like he was moving but there didnÆt appear to be any discernible change in the air Nether basically immunized Randidly from the attacks of foreign emotions but it didnÆt solve the problem of significance

Randidly narrowed his eyes Damnit am I once more stuck on Nether Rituals and a Nether Class then Fuck I should have set aside my pride and just approached Benjamin Rex while I had the chance Neshamah Rex So far all I really understand is that the important part of the construction comes from the layering IÆve started to be aware of the different alternatives in Nether flows but combining them or understanding what the different patterns do

It was essentially the same as Engraving a piece of paper as a part of the whole and then stacking these pieces on top of each other until you have an entire book To shift an analogy fully it was like writing a novel Each page was important but was only a vehicle to convey the whole of the narrative

In essence Randidly was starting to understand the tools but not really what he was trying to build with his Nether And to change that here while completely isolated from the rest of the world

Randidly narrowed his eyes as he looked as the strands of emotion that the Stillborn Phoenix exhaled They were even more chaotic and powerful than he remembered they greedily swam out and tried to devour the blasts of emotion that were shooting past him Most of the time they were obliterated but sometimes they managed to infect the emotions It seemed the Stillborn Phoenix was getting better at this

Randidly chewed on his lip The amount of ambient Nether in the air had increased to 48% Perhaps an option would be observing the Nether in the Alpha Cosmos but that task requires more time than I have I have two other cardsÆ but both seem pretty useless here The coin I received from the Nemesai that replaces something present with something from the depths of the Nexus It wouldnÆt help me escape unless I could summon something like a Nether King and even then would the Nether King help me escape

The other card is my Fatepiece The Visage of Obsession Letting a hiss escape his lips Randidly waved a hand to bat away some curious emotions that swirled back from the Stillborn PhoenixÆs maw to investigate him They scattered like a school of nervous fish as Randidly recalled the explanation of the Fatepiece

The Visage of Obsession is the ever shifting reflection of the AlchemistÆs determination that borders on madness To a mundane viewer it is just a painting Yet to the Alchemist it is a potent catalyst to cleave the userÆs mind from the limitations of a worldly perspective In the depths of Obsession reality begins to fragment

Truthfully perhaps a new perspective on the problem of Nether usage would be useful but it doesnÆt solve the problem of time Randidly growled in frustration as he glared upward from where he came

Then he froze A few seconds later he blinked Then Randidly began to laugh He reached up toward the sky and seized the emotions that freely traveled upward He reached even further beyond that he seized all of the refined emotions he had released thus far to which he still maintained a slight connection

A shudder ran through RandidlyÆs body It was difficult but his descent stopped He could feel the invisible current of significance that had been naturally guiding him down thus far By resisting it he became aware of it and could resist it even more directly Grinning Randidly tried to pull himself up But somehow the connection didnÆt work like that Just the same way that emotions ignored the grip of significance they also refused his demands of necessity Randidly could only sigh and shake his head

The connection was there preventing his descent That was all Randidly checked the Nether content He had stabilized himself at 49%

At least now I have some time to breathe Randidly muttered to himself

Chapter 1558

YouÆve got to be fucking kidding me RandidlyÆs mouth twitched as he surveyed his surroundings His tongue danced along the inside of his teeth Then despite the dangerous circumstances in which he found himself he began to laugh

Truthfully he wasnÆt just engaging in a short laugh It was a guffaw of such madness tinged mirth that he curled up slightly like a shrimp as he experienced it Some part of Randidly urged him to suppress the laughter but he didnÆt want to It was enjoyable Despite the fact that he had now been stuck hanging by a thread of emotions in this place for a week he was having fun here

The constant threats were fun With the unsatisfying confusion about his Skill Levels these attacks helped break up the monotony

Gradually his laughter slowed like a sprinter moving to a jog and then beginning to casually walk Soon all that remained was a smile stretched across his face Randidly also had to admit to himself that there were some serious emotional deviations occurring within him It was just difficult to care too much about that

As the Stillborn Phoenix stopped its defensive absorption it released a worried keen The fact that the previously misbehaving image was now so meek almost incited another round of giggles but Randidly managed to suppress that impulse Besides he was prepared this time As the danger surged from below both the Grim Chimera and Yggdrasil filled the void left by the Stillborn Phoenix His Nether Nebula was relatively feeble compared to his previous heights but it was far improved from the version with which he had arrived at this depth

Still the sinister currents from the depths spiraled upward A chill ran down RandidlyÆs spine He narrowed his eyes Even with Grim Intuition the movements were disguised as first slippery grey knives hiding within the misleading distortion of the wild emotions that surged to and fro These grey eels were condensed emotions too but they were anything but wild Dangerous but not wild

Randidly barred his teeth as he stared downward at the stalking emotions that toyed with being a predator His emerald eyes were luminous in the darkness of the spine This was the third time that the Stillborn Phoenix needed to take a break to exhale the refined emotions The first attack Randidly had thought was just a coincidentally powerful blast of emotion that took him by surprise The second attack was even more aggressive and clued him in to the fact he was being targeted but it was clumsy Meanwhile this attempt

Just as the Stillborn Phoenix completely withdrew its own event horizon of absorption Randidly sensed sudden movement from the emotions around him But instead of those slippery grey beings below the attack came from below

As Randidly twisted and looked up at the torrent of infectious emotion that struck him from above his smile widened Well looks like you really are getting smarter arenÆt you But if its just this itÆs not enough

This is not nearly exciting enough to hold my interest

YggdrasilÆs branches spread outward around Randidly The leaves rustled releasing a horrible rumbling through the surrounding space Somehow the soundwaves reflected off the nearby wall and escalated to a crashing landslideÆs worth of noise A brilliant purifying light flared to life from within the World TreeÆs canopy Before the attacking emotions could even react they were cleanly annihilated As that light dimmed nothing remained of the infectious energy

Below him the grey eels surged upward Yet Randidly giggled Again this Skill has reached Level 301 again The first few times I had figured my intellectual state was worse than I feared but now IÆm definitely gaining the same Levels over and over again Is that another effect of this significance below I donÆt earn PP

But will I receive a large gift wrapped package of Skill Levels for real when I eventually leave this place Hehehe

This is a throwback to those days where I completely cut myself off from Skill notifications

Randidly didnÆt bother to look downward at the eels that were weaving their lithe bodies amongst each other as they attacked him Because while Yggdrasil protected him from above the Grim Chimera protected him from below He had absolute confidence that this attack could be easily handled by his images

Although the Grim Chimera continued to be bothered by its lingering injuries it roared in fury and threw itself down to combat the emotions directly Its massive right arm splattered a grey eel like it squished a bug while its right arm scythed through their bodies back and forth without any perceptible resistance The eels attempted to writhe around the strikes but their movements were clumsy Whatever was animating them was getting better but they werenÆt yet proficient

Or even interesting Randidly thought as his lip curled upward

When the eels realized that the Grim Chimera was like a god of death compared to them they gave up their attempts to rush past at RandidlyÆs body and simply targeted the image itself The eels opened their mouths and bit down at any exposed flesh they could find These small bites added up as they injected chaotic emotions into the Grim Chimera exacerbating the lingering wounds left from Velio DunnÆs attack

Yet Randidly didnÆt mind In the real world a continued stacking of wounds would eventually lead to the degradation of the Grim ChimeraÆs strength But in this strangely imbalanced state hanging by a rope of emotions in an area that was beginning to break down under the influence of Nether Randidly saw with a remarkable amount of clarity that while images were easiest to make when they were grounded in reality they didnÆt need to be Although it was actually impossible for one to grow stronger like a berserker the more wounded they were

The Grim Chimera was one such impossible existence

Fooling the universeÆs laws huh Randidly reflected His glee instantly vanished as his thoughts turned Somehow the rational part of Randidly was more disturbed by the capricious changes in his emotion than the giggle fits but it was rather convenient when the shifts moved toward reflection and gravity This can perhaps be considered a transgression against common norms but laws Heh and this Path leads to the Grim Chimera becoming omnipotent by dying a dangerous gamble

I cannot deny IÆm tempted IÆll need to think about it more

Congratulations Your Skill Grit of the Ascendant Bane has grown to Level 378

Below him the Grim Chimera finished its grim work on the emotions Its shoulders heaved for several seconds exulting in the triumph before it faded as it returned to RandidlyÆs Soulspace to lick its wounds The Stillborn Phoenix steadily began to release refined emotions that earned RandidlyÆs envy by being able to swim upward out of the event horizon

Randidly sighed Still with a serious expression he looked downward His lips moved purposefully as he spoke to the darkness He knew the target of his words couldnÆt hear him but he spoke anyway There seemed to be some meaning to that Nether stirred around him even through the mass of significance pulling it away A sneak attack huh thatÆs certainly new

Of all the repeated Skill growth he had seen the most was definitely Tide of the Void A portion of his attention was now constantly maintaining the pull on emotions that resisted the grasp of the significance below The strain was tiresome but compared to the alternative Randidly reassured himself by checking the Nether content in the air still 49%

Yet he twisted his mouth as he looked downward I might need to come to kill you huh

Just like how the connected emotions could hold Randidly up there was a sinister existence that persevered below using its connection to him to prevent itself from being pulled any deeper into that grinding power plant on which the Nexus was built A hunk of flesh that had apparently gained sapience and the desire to survive

Randidly scratched his chin Aside from the attacks no information flowed upward Truly he wondered how the warped thing below managed to sense him

What was most frustrating about the connection was that the growing piece of flesh Randidly had cast away had one significant advantage over him the time dilation was even stronger where it was because it was closer to the significance This was why its control over emotions was rapidly increasing to the point that it could launch concerted attacks against Randidly from its position He had to assume its ability to detect him also stemmed from a mastery of emotions that he didnÆt possess

Randidly tskÆd but he had a smile on his face The madness in him liked the presence of this hateful doppelganger ItÆs attacks brought him a threat the scent of danger was back in the air Randidly could sense the precipice of death once more and his growth again quickened due to its proximity

But it was a dangerous gamble Made worse by the very few recourses Randidly had to deal with the problem

The ideal situation was to figure out a method to pull himself out of the Web In the past week he had been familiarizing himself with the behavior of Nether in the air non stop He didnÆt have any true results but the accumulation of such experience was important He also used small scraps of Nether to experiment with different Nether Rituals but he didnÆt have much to spare His resources were still limited

Ultimately if Randidly needed quite a lot more time to figure out how to escape he would probably need to deal with this escalating threat in order to have that time It was possible that the doppelgangers attacks would plateau but it was foolish to rely on that possibility The System might be displaying misleading Skill Level notifications but the pessimistic part of Randidly assumed that the more unfortunate possibility was the true one

Below him that weird chunk of his flesh that had been infected by strange emotions was gaining Skill Levels Even if it wasnÆt quick it time on its side

Descending further also seemed manageable After all Randidly had a method to hold himself steady against the pull of the significance So he could annihilate the doppelganger now while it was weaker and simply establish a new equilibrium

Ending the threat would make this place insufferable but on the other hand

One moment there was a fluttering of excitement in RandidlyÆs chest at the thought of going down to seek a fight with the doppelganger but the next he sighed and shook his head Heading deeper had some disadvantages Right now he was steadily accumulating more Nether As his weightÆ of the Nether Nebula increased the speed of his accumulation accelerated Deeper in the spine accumulating Nether would be much more difficult His experiments with Nether Rituals would be slowed even further

In addition Randidly suspected that the strain of holding himself against the grasp of the significance would increase as he went deeper Based on the fact the emotional doppelganger managed it such an effort wasnÆt herculean But Randidly was still a bit from his peak capability Based on the increasing sophistication of the attacks from below he still had some time

Besides there were also some advantages to staying here First there was an increasing complex Nether flow around him that had nothing to do with either his own efforts or the significance It seemed that this extended confrontation between him and the emotional mutant was triggering something from the Nether

Which made sense such a confrontation was significant The patterns due to their strange relationship were unfamiliar to Randidly and extremely educational

In addition even time RandidlyÆs images crushed the emotional attacks they naturally absorbed a portion of the shattered emotions used as weapons From them Randidly could feel he was incorporating some instinctual understanding of how to utilize emotions Just from that the emotional weight that each of his images possessed grew more profound

Due to the time differential Randidly had quickly set aside the idea that he would practice weaponizing emotions in a similar way his opponent simply had more practice time Besides wouldnÆt he just absorb those same lessons by defeating the attacks with his own strengths

But RandidlyÆs emerald eyes looked down with a hint of greed The connection and desire within the emotions that attacked him

DidnÆt that hold a hint of resemblance toward Nether

IÆll come down for you one way or another Randidly whispered to the air Then feeling like he was saying the lines of a villain Randidly began to laugh once more But while his face was crinkled in revelry the fingers of his right hand continued their controlled movements A small Nether Ritual was formed tested and banished upon that palm over and over again

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 201

Holy fuck I might be going insane Randidly grinned downward He blinked several times Then he snorted

He didnÆt hate the feeling

Chapter 1559

The woman called Edraine tapped her chin several times in a row as she considered It was clear that she was somewhat shocked But despite the tall stacks of scrolls in front of her that indicated how much work was on her plate she stopped immediately when the new arrival had made herself known You are

Neveah Neveah responded with a firm expression Her insides still trembled from coming to the Nexus but she had no choice I came because something has happened to Randidly

The rhinoman Octavius Shrike looked up sharply from his own desk They were in the study right now with the most dominant items in the room being tall piles of scrolls It was almost impossible to move through the cramped room He reached up and rubbed his horn We are aware that Randidly was stuck in an unfortunate situation but Did something happen recently

Octavius shot a secret glance toward Edraine whose expression was much more placid Neveah felt the sharp blade of fury rising in her chest apparently they knew that something was happening to Randidly That was both good and bad But Neveah was relieved that the concern she saw in OctaviusÆ expression was genuine

Obviously Neveah understood these people through RandidlyÆs previous impressions of them but it was another thing to meet them herself Randidly could be somewhat oblivious Seeing them with her own eyes gave her a better sense of the sort of people they were And from this brief impression she had to conclude that they genuinely cared about Randidly

So Neveah cleared her throat I can confirm that I sense Randidly is alive but I also simultaneously sense that he doesnÆt exist like our Soulbond never was created in the first place That strange contradiction is why I came

Edraine closed her eyes When that vivid spirit wasnÆt being broadcasted through her gaze the woman looked old Her grey hair was extremely still as she spoke Randidly has proceeded beyond the danger zone below us approaching the core of the power plant of the Nexus Such a powerful facility had sinister side effects One of those is an all consuming chunk of significance that had been accumulating for thousands of years He is within its grasp

We are unable to give him any aide without also being consumed by it Such a phenomenon is not something that can be overcome with power

Based on her understanding of Nether Nevaeh nodded slowly She had been able to inuit that much by examining their connection before it so abruptly vanished without actually vanishing Alright But what I want to ask is is there any possibility we could send something down that could assist IÆm extremely worried about him

Octavius sighed We wish to but

In addition Edraine opened her eyes again The fact that you can confirm he is still alive that is reassuring He possesses capabilities we donÆt If anyone could survive this the Ghosthound can IÆm sad to admit it but I donÆt know what sort of assistance we could give

Neveah shook her head No itÆs not his capabilities that IÆm worried about ItÆs well it might be hard to explain how the Soulbond functions We were intimately connected but now we are not although we still are What worries me is that well have either of you either had a strong relationship with someone

The room was silent Edraine reached up and scratched her cheek as the silence continued Neveah turned to look at Octavius The Overseer of the Seventh Cohort coughed awkwardly Well due to the many responsibilities of a Overseer I havenÆt had an opportunity

Neveah waved her hand she wasnÆt interested in hearing about the plight of an overworked bachelor not right now So instead she just explained as best he could When you are with someone you find balance with them Both individuals might have started as outgoing and generous but when connected one person will be pushed downward in those traits For a concrete example due to our connection RandidlyÆs own study of Engraving has largely slowed I became the Engraver while he focused on improving his martial prowess

Octavius looked between Neveah and Edraine trying to understand what was going on But Edraine was beginning to frown Which was good in NeveahÆs mind It meant that this woman might be able to understand the danger of what Neveah discussed

the reason I am worried Neveah continued Is because our emotions intermingled so freely while we were connected And between the two of us I was definitely the more cautious one Simply by being connected to me Randidly became more aggressive but my caution was always a part of him acting as a restraint That was the balance we achieved Now that has disappeared WhatÆs left is only his wild aggressiveness which is used to having an equally strong caution subconsciously keeping it in check

Neveah bowed her head Which is why as quickly as possible I want to assist him Or reach out to him to warn him of the danger So please If there is anything you can do

Edraine closed her eyes once more She continued to tap her cheek

Raymund Ballast and DiOrtho Vant moved quickly in their pursuit They blasted off from the beach destroying the lake facing wing of the princessÆ manor as the ground beneath their feet cracked and destroyed the nearby foundations While the royal defenders roared in fury behind them they accelerated toward the cloaked figure that had managed to kidnap the princess before they did

Without the veneer of stealth they had maintained previously their powerful physical bodies displayed overwhelming force The other kidnapper had almost a minuteÆs head start but the duo had cut that lead to nothing within ten seconds Their blatant movements would eventually lead over the royal guards but both realized that stealth missions werenÆt their strong suit

Time to settle this with the only tool available to them their physical bodies

The kidnapper had been running along the edge of the lake so when they caught up Raymund pounced and landed in the shallows in front of their foe with a massive splash The kidnapper sloshed to a stop looking around warily Raymund snarled he didnÆt like the scent of desperation that clung to the kidnapper

Will the culpability lie with us if he behaves desperately and harms the princess Raymund thought uneasily Better open with a strong front then show empathy

Just give up and die DiOrtho said rather lazily as he began walking toward the kidnapperÆs back Make this easier on all of us

Raymund twitched

The kidnapper whirled around a cloak covering his features Meanwhile the expression of the princess that was slung across the kidnapperÆs shoulders brightened as she struggled and raised her head Thank god Take that you dirty immigrant ArenÆt my knights powerful If you give me up now I wonÆt have them torture you for so long And your sister well IÆll need to see how I feel but

As the desperation around the kidnapper turned to fury he threw the princess down into the shallow water Then he raised his foot to stomp on her head while she flailed around in the shallow water to find her bearings

DiOrtho and Raymund moved at the same time Water exploded

DiOrtho reached to pierce into the kidnapper’s head with his hand Raymund smashed the kidnapper in the temple and caught DiOrthoÆs strike The muscles of both their arms strained as the kidnapper collapsed Raymund let his breath hiss out through his snout Killing is prohibited

Just gonna rip out the fuckÆs tongue DiOrtho glowered Then he glanced over his shoulder Pursuit will be coming A mute failed kidnapper would leave fewer clues for the guards The less they know about us the better

IÆll carry him Raymund countered He reached down and seized the back of the cloak to lift the kidnapper Obviously his weight was negligible to the Vulpine but he was still somewhat startled to realize how light this being was He peeled back the soaked hood of the cloak to reveal a sharp featured face that made it seem like there was some ratkin blood in the kidnapper Better not allow variant elements to remain at liberty We must discover why he too wishes to kidnap the princess

Bah just more trouble DiOrtho shook his head

It was at that moment that the princess finally managed to sit up and spat out a mouthful of water on DiOrtho As the ram demonÆs eyes narrowed with fury the princess blinked in confusion and frowned up at them What the hell sort of rescue is this anyway He almost killed me Can you trash not even manage this properly And after you already failed to protect me too

He dropped you in the lake princess Raymund said rather lightly as he tossed the kidnapper over his shoulder Then he raised an eyebrow at DiOrtho Shall we go

The princess stood up She smiled sweetly at Raymund but the effect was somewhat grotesque For a humanoid she was extremely poor featured Her lips were thin and her nose was large Heh I donÆt believe you heard me sir knight He almost killed me And you were right there and you didnÆt do anything to prevent it I cannot believe someone like you a monster fuck half breed managed to become a royal guard But itÆs obvious from your failure here that it was a terrible mistake Hehehe so change your attitude or IÆll tell my father

DiOrtho Vant saint that the was picked the princess up by the hem of her dress and casually flung her across the surface of the lake The princess screeched like an owl as she skipped across the water in a series of tumbling splashes She skipped four times before she slowed down enough to sink With a refreshed smile on his face DiOrtho leapt up and splashed into the water next to where she had gurgled to a stop

He lifted her out of the water Say something like that again I dare you

RAPE The princess screamed as she struggled in DiOrthoÆs grip Half breed filth lusting after my flesh ggrrhh

DiOrtho dunked the princess’s head underwater Raymund looked toward the beach area where there were a few cottages with extremely manicured lawns From within a window of one of those cottages he saw definite movement in response to the princessÆ scream

We should go Raymund said quietly

DiOrtho grinned over at him Maybe soon But do we even know where we have to go WeÆve kidnapped oh wait He lifted the princess out of the water She spluttered and spat When it seemed like she was cognizant of what was going on around her DiOrtho sneered By the way we arenÆt your royal guards WouldnÆt take a shit gig like that We are here to kidnap you too Apparently itÆs a very popular profession

Then he pressed her face back under the water and turned back to Raymund Honestly I never thought IÆd get into political activism but we are doing this country a favor by cutting out this cancerous cyst of a girl So Maybe I was a little hasty to try and rip out that guyÆs tongue

to think DiOrtho Vant could stray so near an apology Raymund said drily Back toward the royal compound he could see a group of guards gathering and beginning to head in their direction A figure shot ahead of them clearing possessing much more capability But we need to move Pursuit is coming

RaymundÆs eyes narrowed and he spun around as a threat approached from the opposite direction than the royal compound but steadily relaxed as he saw it was Helen She landed with a massive splash that drenched both Raymund and DiOrtho and grinned around at them Good job You need to escape but heheh IÆve taught you all you need to know about running right YouÆll take that princess to the Southern Fang which is the Southern most mountain in the border region between this Kingdom and the Empire There is a Fate Lighthouse there Make the Princess get a Class

After a very uncharacteristic hesitation Helen also said There might also be some adjustments to your mission IÆll let you know after she has a Class Get to it recruits

Chapter 1560

Can you feel that IÆm getting the chills Randidly grinned as he spoke completely invalidating his own words

The sixth emotional attack was gathering below him A veritable sea of grey eels of emotions mixed hypnotically in a slippery On his level a hulking mass of darkness was rumbling closer from the middle of the hollow spine The emotional intensity it displaced could overwhelm the combined emotions of all three of his images Yet Randidly couldnÆt keep himself from laughing his head raised confidently in the air The noise echoed out in the murky darkness a vivid counterpoint to the silence of the emotions

As expected the attacks had increased in intensity as time passed The doppelganger was learning The sense of danger had approached oppressive levels even faster than Randidly had expected His eyes glowed as he looked downward Then again this thing is made of my flesh Should I be proud it improved so quickly A real chip off the old block

Again the Stillborn Phoenix keened softly in warning as its inhalation began to slow Perhaps because it had rather constantly served as the frontline defenses in this inhospitable place it now felt responsible for RandidlyÆs safety But Randidly just waved his good arm DonÆt worry Today today is special CanÆt you feel it in the air

Randidly had resolved himself for today The significance churning between himself and the doppelganger below wove together in thick inscrutable currents

The prolonged inaction had him panting for this fight A month of sitting watching the flows of Nether around him incorporating emotions more fully into his images and rather pointlessly earning Skill Levels saw Randidly greatly stabilize his Nether Nebula At this point he was halfway to completely recovering and his accumulation speed had doubled The halfway mark took him a month to reach but he would be completely recovered in a week But also

How did you manage this little me Randidly murmured as his eyes slide from the grey eels to the heavy ominous shadows that were approaching from the central area of the hollow spine Then he looked up Above him a spiky ball of emotions twitched and lazily spun Randidly smiled widely up at that most unnerving threat More than anything else it reminded him of a deep sea mine Likely it wasnÆt the main attack but its constant approach would provide a larger and larger threat as the conflict continued

All these things are just emotions Heh To be outclassed by a shitty chunk of fat frustrating Randidly continued to talk to himself His lips twisted He had continued to absorb emotional knowledge as he survived the previous attacks but it wasnÆt enough Especially the fifth emotional attack the doppelganger had reached a new plateau of power

The Stillborn Phoenix faded as Randidly shook his head sorrowfully His defenses had faded once more His skin was exposed to the chaotic air Randidly reached over and patted the wall next to him almost fondly Well this has been fun

An ominous rumble spread from the massive shadows that drifted closer to Randidly They unfolded and twisted like massive stone rubix cubes Soon some mechanism clicked into place and the chunks of emotion expanded into massive golems with hands large enough to squeeze Randidly until he popped With a chorus of shrieks the grey eels erupted upward From the darkness below the primary grouping three more such choruses emerged wave after wave of these weaponized emotions had been prepared It was a literal tide sweeping upward at Randidly

Grim Intuition thrummed these were all threats The doppelganger was going all out to kill him The imitation came to play

but it has to end today Randidly breathed out and knocked his knuckles one last time against the bone wall His grin widened The corners of his emerald eyes crinkled He looked over at his hand ignoring the rush of emotions Am I really such a petty person This place is doing strange things to me But I want what you have little me And today IÆm going to take it

His hand tightened into a fist The golems had almost reached them They stretched their wide hands toward him the emotional severity of their constitution radiating out from them and applying an oppressive mental pressure Right before they reached him Randidly severed the emotional lifeline that had kept him tethered for the last month He looked down toward darkness

Weirdly it seemed like the abyss beckoned inviting him deeper

Congratulations Your Skill Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes has grown to Level 303

As he accelerated downward the Grim Chimera spread to cover his body The golems grasping hands seized nothing RandidlyÆs severed left arm condensed becoming a massive gauntleted hand Grey black armor covered his upper body YggdrasilÆs golden veins stretched through his person pumping revitalizing energy through all of him

Furious those impotent golems smashed their hands against the bone wall and attempted to pursue Powerful emotional ripples spread outward but there was no chance that they could catch him

The Nether content in the air rapidly increased Randidly began to laugh wildly enjoying the feeling of Nether and emotion parting in front of him The grey eels froze for a second surprised by RandidlyÆs response By the time they twisted and began to swarm toward him he had already reached their position Randidly flexed the fingers of his right hand which now ended in sharp points His heartbeat was thunderous in his ears

The Chimera Weeps But Man Mourns

Congratulations Your Skill The Chimera Weeps But Man Mourns has grown to Level 251

RandidlyÆs hand blurred into motion slicing and cutting back and forth to eviscerate all emotions in his Path Within RandidlyÆs range this Skill was unmatched in its indiscriminate slaughter He activated the Skill over and over as he continued to pierce downward buzzing through the middle part of the sea of emotional weapons like he was a meat grinder The tumbling spikey mine hummed in warning while the large handed golems roared their fury as Randidly opened up more distance between them

But suddenly Randidly slapped physically into an invisible barrier His eyes widened It didnÆt stop him but it slowed his descent immensely There was a qualitative change at the line of 50% Nether content in the air Suddenly it felt like he was swimming rather than floating in the air In addition a wave of confusing information invaded RandidlyÆs senses In a way very different way from RandidlyÆs experience with the Great Rift this Nether was unified and resonating with everything within it

Combined with Grim Intuition Randidly was near blinded by the flood of information he was receiving For a shard of time he was stunned into inertia driven drifting But just as quickly a vicious sharpness returned to his gaze Randidly had located his target

In addition as he had suspected the drag from below almost doubled in strength His Nether Nebula began rotating faster to steady his position

Or maybe the sensation isnÆt completely different Randidly pursed his lips his previous laughter forgotten as he angled himself for his new acceleration vector In the Great Rift IÆve felt something like this before from those blue veins But here that phenomenon is everywhere

Randidly didn’t give it much more thought he didnÆt have time to consider the situation deeply With another smile tugging at the corners of his mouth he glanced over his shoulder He had perhaps annihilated 5% of this wave of grey eels as he forced his way through with three more waves surging toward him at different angles But the eels he had blitzed a path through were spinning around and head toward his back

This isnÆt good enough Randidly muttered He could escape but he didnÆt want to Those golems were pretty intimidating but these eels The Implacable Price of Exodus

In the darkness of the World Tree a woman opened her eyes Then she opened her mouth Then as the thousands of misshape hands that stretched from her back stalked forward she began to scream

Congratulations Your Skill the Implacable Price of Exodus has grown to Level 269

Randidly turned away with disinterest as the invisible and bloodthirsty woman he had added to Yggdrasil shredded the eels that were foolish enough to approach him with malicious intent Some she tore directly in half others she seized and used as weapons to kill their fellows There were also some that she rather carefully cut in half so she could peer into their inner workings She mashed their immaterial hearts between her molars For a few seconds the all consuming madness of Exodus reigned It was a bloody and near instant slaughter

Leaving the shattered emotions in his wake Randidly shot downward The information he was receiving was confusing but he was quickly developing the ability to interpret its signals

As soon as he neared the target the natural flow of significance between them quickened Randidly barred his teeth and shot downward reaching the depth of 59% of the air being Nether before he found his target And what he found was disturbing

First the chunk of flesh he had tossed away had grown more twisted than he had expected Not to the size of a human adult but perhaps to the specifications of a gangly preteen It wore no clothes and was a farcical imitation of Randidly himself It had a head and limbs but those were purely decorative There wasnÆt even any skull eyeballs or teeth filling out the doppelgangers face The head flapped emptily in the semi liquid air looking like a hollow mask made to resemble Randidly The arms and legs were the same

It was more floppy flesh colored rubber gloves than human

Horrifyingly the real features were carved onto the torso Pure green orbs swiveled to fixate on Randidly A gaping mouth filled with crooked teeth spasmed and pulsed It quickly became clear that this creature was trying to say something to him

Randidly could feel its emotions too as the thingÆs expression continued to contort It was shocked and panicked at his sudden appearance but what truly destroyed any glee Randidly might have had for the confrontation was what he felt next A shy hopefulness emerged in the doppelganger In its frozen indecision Randidly could feel slowly wondering whether Randidly had come down to save it

It wondered whether he hadnÆt meant to toss it aside

Randidly closed his eyes as his right hand shot forward As he gritted his teeth he felt something crack in his jaw This world the burden of living here is sometimes too heavy to bear I canÆt believe I need to Fuck

The doppelganger screamed like a pig with a broken spine The brief flickers of hope were washed away by fear and pain as RandidlyÆs hand pierced forward Although the thing was made from RandidlyÆs body it had none of his accumulated significance or stats The image physicalizations werenÆt present So this strange being was depressingly easy to slaughter Significance spun around the two of them as Randidly crushed the dense bowling ball of matter at the doppelgangerÆs core The screaming stopped

Randidly didnÆt open his eyes He didnÆt want to look at the empty hollows of the skin mask the thing had for a head He didnÆt want to see the blood he could feel dripping across his fingers in case it was red like a humanÆs He was more tired than he could remember being in a long time In a strange inexplicable way Randidly had just killed an innocent child

It had developed the ability to weaponize emotions and lash out at him but still it was a chunk of flesh he cast away

No ItÆs pointless to think about this further The muscles of RandidlyÆs jaw clenched again earning him another pop He reached up with Tide of the Void and once more seized the extended emotions Suddenly he could feel the insistent pressure of the significance below dragging him downward It was more troublesome than he thought but it was still manageable He was at 61% Nether content I know IÆve had to do terrible things to live and sometimes IÆve done terrible things without needing to But thatÆs why I want to free us all from this hell

I cannot stop now

As Randidly gradually calmed his trembling emotions the Grim Chimera went about the grisly task of gliding forward and devouring the doppelgangerÆs remains Through the process it absorbed a significant portion of the emotional capability from the queer body Then the semi independent image glanced over its shoulder at RandidlyÆs main body still frozen in that moment that he killed the cast off bit of flesh

Very quietly the Grim Chimera gathered together some of the remnant thoughts and emotions it also absorbed through devouring the significance between the two of them Then it isolated those emotions and resolved itself to throw them into the Stillborn Phoenix when it had finished exhaling

There was no need to expose the main body to some of these thoughts

Despite his best efforts to deal with the strange emotional turmoil Randidly remained frozen for quite some time The doppelgangerÆs body had already been dealt with completely but his outstretched hand remained curled into a claw He held onto the emotions that flowed upward preventing him from falling any deeper He incorporated the significance he had gained into his Nether Nebula finally evolving that half grey bubble fully into a bubble He also tried and failed time and time again to keep his emotions even

As the Grim Chimera watched Randidly uneasily it was Yggdrasil that eventually awakened him from this fraught rigidity It brushed a branch along his back to draw his attention then released a pulse of energy there was something he had to see

Gradually Randidly opened his eyes He looked at his frozen hand for a second and then sighed The tension left him and he rolled his limbs to loosen himself up Then he turned to see what Yggdrasil was indicating

What he saw sent rumbles through his emotional state once more Shallowly scratched against the wall were three rough looking drawings With a trembling hand Randidly reached up and touched the childish pictures He had witnessed how durable the spine was how long had the doppelganger been down here insistently carving to make any sort of effect at all

Of course it was obvious as Randidly examined the area that the doppelganger had relied on Nether but it was still an impressive achievement The first picture was of a twisted tree with sharp branches The second picture was of a glowing sun The third picture was the perfect human body

As above so below Randidly sighed to himself Was the doppelganger trying to create its own versions of RandidlyÆs images Indeed that was most of the advantage Randidly had against the emotional attacks He traced his fingers across the messy pictures his expression turned thoughtful If the doppelganger had managed to replicate his images

Then Randidly noticed that although it was still shallow Nether was flowing through the images even now With wide eyes he inspected every inch of the drawings Then he could only release a humorless laugh and look down at his right hand thank you

Something clicked into place in his mind Randidly smiled bitterly at the wall This kid left me the keys to making a Nether Class

His shoulders sagged A deep sigh escaped his lips I guess IÆll need to find you somewhere nice And then IÆll dig you a grave Somewhere with plenty of sun and trees

Chapter 1561

In RandidlyÆs mind there had always been a link to the Nether chain that he had been missing Perhaps he had never consciously acknowledged the missing information but his experience in the Nexus had left him feeling slightly off balance Something didnÆt quite fit Specifically RandidlyÆs increasingly flagrant use of Nether had never drawn the ire of either the NLC or Military High Command despite the fact that both could have used it to threaten him He had his justifications loaded for any challenge but the challenges never came

RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed Like a perfect metronome his finger tapped against the bone around him Dark currents of midnight blue Nether spiraled around him

Randidly chewed on his lip as his thoughts continued to whirr His gaze slowly turned upward watching the raging torrents of emotions blast past him and strain against the near rubber rind of the border between above and below 50% Nether content in the air It seemed that there was a filtration quality to the near liquid substance in which he now floated which severely weakened the emotions before they escaped upward Which probably did a great job of protecting the fools like Randidly who decided to spend some time in the shallow portion of the Web

The downside of this was that Randidly had spent the last two weeks the time since he had killed his doppelganger mostly defending against emotions while he observed and considered the behavior of Nether the danger at this depth was a constant threat that kept his nervous system buzzing with tension Still the experience was fruitful Even if Nether and the wild emotions didnÆt interact directly with each other Randidly could witness the way that strong emotions could affect significance

And the more he watched the more he was developing a theory about the piece that he was missing

Briefly Randidly glanced downward there was some movement in the depths below him which stretched downward like a midnight blue chasm The slight coloration made it even more difficult to see very far in this place At first Randidly had believed it was just the emotions rising that drew the eye but now he was becoming a little less sure of that And in his heart he held a strong desire to descend further and slaughter whatever monsters might wait below

Heh Even that mass of significance that drove Roy to suicide

He moved his hand and reached downward seizing his opponents The corner of RandidlyÆs mouth quirked upward as he briefly allowed himself to revel in his bloody imagination But he quickly suppressed that indulgence and shook his head He reached out with his right hand and ran his fingers across the etchings on the wall that had been left by his doppelganger Until he was finished thinking about how to make a Nether Class it was probably for the best for him to linger here

But Randidly truly believed he had discovered the Path forward And with the etchings left by the doppelganger acting as the catalyst to mobilize his understanding his emerald eyes began examining the factors present in the Nexus with an entirely new penetration

Suddenly the act of Engraving seemed extremely suspicious to Randidly

In the darkness of the hollow spine emotions continued to surge past RandidlyÆs drifting form Gradually his brow began to furrow His mind meticulously gathered all the information he had ever encountered about Engraving

In the past he had learned Engraving without thinking too much about its mechanisms for functioning Honestly pop culture on Expira had a large influence on his immediate acceptance of Engraving there were many examples of such runic symbols possessing power in the fiction of RandidlyÆs childhood Why would the System be any different You had a strange language of meaning and energy that could add strange effects

But even from the beginning there were already several suspicious points about the act of Engraving Rather than having any true languageÆ the shapes of Engraving were drawn from personal experience There seemed to be some objective actions that could be taken to improve your understanding of Engraving but each individual developed their own school of thought as they improved their Skill

Different individuals could accomplish different results depending on their area of concentration That was why obtaining YystrixÆs tomb was so valuable she had provided insight into ten different areas

From the Engraving Encyclopedia Randidly had received years ago on Tellus he had learned that there were many methods of achieving the same result At the time he had certainly found this strange but the knowledge wasnÆt really actionable he was too weak to really think deeply about what this meant He simply labeled Engraving as a Skill that depended heavily on context

Now the word context seemed insufficient Rather Engraving seemed to be based entirely on significance

The second suspicious point was more innocuous unlike most other sources of power of the System Engraving was physical Contrary to the dominant and amorphous Skill sigils that formed inside of an individualÆs Soulspace a physical Engraving had the ability to create a Skill not from energy but from patterns and meaning

Third and perhaps most importantly there were the strange messages that Randidly had received from the Engraving Guild of the Nexus since his tenure as Head Drill Sergeant had begun At the time he had basically ignored those messages without thinking twice They were just another scroll in the daily pile But now thinking back to their content they were perhaps a bit desperate to rein in his actions and request that he meet with them

Of course after his first encounter with Velio Dunn Randidly had no intention of leaving the Rally Station That thought made Randidly now grimace then grin and laugh aloud as he continued to use the stretched emotions to hold his position in the depths of the Nexus The 61% Nether content of the air swirled around him now largely kept in check by his own recovering Nether Nebula

It wasnÆt ideal for careful meditation but it was good enough

Randidly shook his head These observations and a few others led him to one conclusion that Engraving was ultimately a Nether method that had been repackaged With that as a guide Randidly finally experienced several breakthroughs in understanding as he recalled the briefly witnessed Nether King as well as Neshamah RexÆs dense energy

Because Randidly saw another pattern from these memories To have an image was to take the immaterial and use it to affect reality Then the reflection that Nether should follow is to take the concrete and generate the immaterial Therefore the energy flows that Randidly witnessed were not isolated constructs but rather the natural consequences of some physicalized manifestation that was at the core

His metaphor about witnessing the body of a car was more apt than he had realized

The resulting energy flows might be layered but that just meant that the core was correspondingly complex RandidlyÆs eyes slowly blinked and then closed He could see NeshamahÆs smug smile as she noticed his intense examination of her Nether Then with that snapshot of energy as his guide he began to work those flows of energy backward to discover what was at the core

Gradually the complexity began to unravel

But after a few seconds Randidly opened his eyes with a growl Of course he couldnÆt manage to completely deduce her core At least not yet But Randidly didnÆt stay annoyed for long He turned and looked at the markings on the wall next to him The desperate scrawlings of the doppelganger still made Randidly slightly bitter about his heavy handed actions As he ran his fingers across the markings he could feel how long the doppelganger had worked to make these Engravings That effort and time became inertia that continued to push Nether through them even though the original creator had died

Randidly wondered if these would naturally give birth to some version of a Nether beast as an immense amount of time passed and those flows were naturally allowed to deepen Because what seemed to have happened was that the doppelganger had planted the seeds of significance in the base Engravings

Randidly touched the twisted tree the brilliant sun and the perfect human body on the wall each in turn They represented degeneration abundance and contentment or fulfillment The significance spoke for itself And Randidly wasnÆt entirely sure that he was interpreting the nested meaning of the etchings correctly but he could vaguely sense its shape

Randidly could feel the deep significance held by the doppelganger toward each of these ethereal concepts despite the fact that its life had been short and twisted Each was a large part of his experience

Well god knows how long it existed down here Randidly frowned at the wall Time is stretching even further but itÆs tough to know the state of the outside world Hehehe if it wasnÆt so inconvenient to escape this place it truly would be a great area for training

Then Randidly gritted his teeth as a long nagging thought surfaced in his mind How the hell did Velio Dunn know I would be in the Web

It was a question that plagued him but he forced down his curiosity and returned to the creation of a Nether Class There seemed to be a trick to mobilizing Nether instead of Mana to form the base of the Engraving but Randidly had rather quickly picked up the knack Still he held his finger wreathed in black energy aloft without scratching against the bone His mind continued to whirr

Rather than the process what now made Randidly hesitate was the goal

Architecture of the Primordial Ways was the Engraving Skill he had created in the past and now it would become the ultimate weapon toward the establishment of a powerful Nether Class Yet that didnÆt mean it would be a simple process

Because Engraving was a tool that Randidly had always wielded with a goal in mind Or more accurately RandidlyÆs Engraving was always some means to accomplish a goal He Engraved to create an arm to empower a Skill to suppress his physical abilities with an array etc Meanwhile the process of immortalizing his own significance was not a means of creating a Nether Class although it could be viewed as such Rather it was truly the pursuit of self actualization

Just the thought of such self examination gave him a headache

But Randidly sensed that proceeding without some care and thought would inevitably taint the final product He could not view this as a way to discover a Nether Class He truly needs to clear his mind and reflect on the significance of each of his images Rather than their shape Randidly needed to pinpoint what each meant to him

Thinking shallowly about himself the results of his significance examination were quite simple Yggdrasil was his first image and the one that spurred his growth The Grim Chimera was the image that allowed him to adapt to any circumstance And the Stillborn Phoenix was the most recent and the phoenix that represented the difficulty of RandidlyÆs dream

Randidly began to chuckle Will it really be that easy I wonder Significance huh what a loaded word

Humming to himself Randidly pushed himself to the side away from the doppelgangerÆs pictures While drifting through the overly thick air he casually unleashed a burst of Nether to deflect some emotions that were heading up from below toward his previous position But then Randidly swore quietly and grimaced as those emotions managed to shatter his Nether defense and ripped large chunks of flesh from his body As the muscle fat and skin tumbled through the air they began to wriggle slowly

Learning from his previous mistake RandidlyÆs left eye immediately darkened Light in the surrounding area bent inward and was absorbed Then the egg of depression shrieked and unleashed a wave of force those pieces of flesh were crushed to naught With a deafening clap

Congratulations Your Skill Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart has grown to Level 301

Sensing Randidly Æs decisive movements to destroy his flesh the flow of emotions curled up and regarded him as though they possessed intelligence It was a curious cobra regarding prey that continued to struggle despite its previous attack In its stillness Randidly felt a lurking threat

Yet before Randidly could lash out with a more concentrated blast of Nether Randidly looked sharply upward A powerful image shot downward His expression soon turned horrendous Are you fucking serious

A metal spike radiating a waning image slammed into the boundary between below and above 50% Nether content sending a wave of force through the surrounding space

Chapter 1562

RandidlyÆs heart clenched in a combination of fury and exasperation The image that smashed into the surrounding Nether and emotions was unfamiliar but his experiences with Velio Dunn were too fresh in his mind to take any chances As the impact expanded rapidly outward Randidly decisively released his emotional tether and dropped about fifty meters deeper into the spine This only increased the ambient Nether a few percentage points but it did create some space to gather himself

Holy shit Randidly muttered with narrowed eyes as the shockwave of the spikeÆs arrival spread out into the surrounding space he wasnÆt going to be able to avoid this His lips curled up into a sneer as his muscles flexed and locked into a strained and agonizing position Due to the conducive nature of the midnight blue air it was like he was repeatedly experiencing the grinding sensation of being exposed to that image even though there was quite some distance between him and the spike RandidlyÆs mouth slowly opened but no sound escaped his lips The moment slowly stretched